"So what were you guys talking about in the lunch room today?" Derek asked as he sat down in the chair next to Penelope. It seemed that when the agents were actually in the building, he spent more time at her desk than he did at his own.

Penelope shrugged. "I can't remember," she lied.

"Well, it had to have been about me," he reasoned. "When I walked in, everyone shut up."

Penelope turned to him long enough to grin. "Paranoid much?" she teased.

He laughed. "You're probably right." He looked at the clock and groaned. "It's only 3:30," he said.

"The office isn't exciting enough for you?"

Derek shook his head. "Never. I hate paperwork."

"Well, it needs to be done," she reminded him.

Derek's phone beeped and he looked at the caller ID, then frowned.

"What?" Penelope asked.

"It's the girls' daycare," he said, flipping it open. "Morgan," he said, getting up and walking out of her office.

He returned thirty seconds later. "Millie's got a fever. I need to go pick her up."

"Do you need me to do anything?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No. I'll stop and get some Motrin on my way to pick her up. We should be fine."

"Do you want me to pick Chessie up when I leave work?"

"No. I'll take them both home."

"What if you need to take Millie to the emergency room?" she asked.

"I'll call you," he promised.

Penelope nodded. "OK," she said as he exited her office once again.

___

The thing about having kids, Derek thought as he left the store was that they were so unpredictable. Millie had been feeling fine this morning when he'd dropped her off. Chessie had been quite the drama queen, but Millie had been just fine. Of the two, she was the mellow one most of the time. So when she said she was sick, Derek went into his own form of drama queen mode.

He made his way to the daycare and pulled in, taking his sunglasses off as he headed for the building. When he walked in, one of the ladies who took care of his daughters met him in the entry way. "How is she?" he asked.

The woman frowned. "Her temperature is up to 103," she said.

He nodded. "What's she doing?" he asked.

"She's been resting in the spare room since lunch. She didn't eat anything, and I've been trying to get her to drink, but she says her belly hurts."

"OK," Derek said. "I'm gonna bring her to walk in care," he said. "Penelope Garcia will be picking up Chessie at around five-fifteen," he informed the woman.

She nodded. "I'll make a note of it," she said leading the way to a small room that held a twin bed and a television sitting on a little stand. The Little Mermaid was playing, Ariel singing about her prince.

"Hey, Princess," Derek said softly, pulling the covers off his daughter. He picked her up and put his chin on her forehead. Just as he'd expected, she was burning up.

"Daddy, my belly hurts," she said weakly.

"I know, baby," he said tenderly. "We're gonna take you to see the doctor," he told her.

"Do I have to have a shot?" she asked.

"I'm not sure what he's gonna need to do, Mil," he answered, making his way to the entry way. He put his daughter down and she swayed. He grabbed her gently and wrapped one arm around her waist while he used the other one to put her coat on her.

"What about Chessie?" she asked, suddenly remembering her sister.

"Penelope is gonna pick her up," he said.

Millie nodded and leaned into her father. Derek picked her up and they made their way to his vehicle.

___

"Hello?"

"Hey," Derek said.

"Everything OK?" Penelope asked worriedly. It was seven o'clock and this was the first she'd heard from him since he'd asked her to pick Chessie up.

"Yeah. She has the flu," Derek told her. "And Chessie is probably next. Can you put the liquids to her so she doesn't get dehydrated?" he asked.

"Sure thing," Penelope said.

"The doctor just wants to get some more fluid in her, and then he's gonna let us go. We should be home within the next few hours," he informed her.

"That's fine," Penelope said. "Do you need me to do anything else? Go to the store or anything?"

"No, I think we're all set. But thanks," he said sincerely.

"No problem. I'll see you when you get home," Penelope said as she hit the button to disconnect the call.

___

Penelope opened the door a few hours later as Derek walked through the front door. Millie was fast asleep in his arms.

"She OK?" Penelope asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, she's fine," he said. "Her fever is gone and her color is back, so that makes me feel a lot better."

Penelope nodded. "Her pajama's are at the foot of her bed," she said.

"Great, thanks," he said. "Chessie sleeping?"

Penelope grinned at him. "Oh, no. She couldn't possibly fall asleep without her sister in the room," she said dramatically.

Derek laughed. "That sounds like my girl," he said, heading for the stairs.

Penelope followed Derek upstairs so she could say good night to Chessie and was surprised when he brought Millie into his own room.

She was on her way out of the room with the little girls' pajamas when Derek walked in. "Hey," he said heading for Chessies' bed.

She sat up. "Is Millie feeling better?" she asked worriedly.

Derek nodded as he sat down beside her. "Yeah. She's just tired," he told her. He tilted his head to the side and grinned. "Your hair looks pretty," he said.

"It's a French braid," she said excitedly. "Penelope did it."

"She did a great job," he complimented.

Chessie nodded as she crawled into her daddy's lap. "Where is Millie?" she asked.

"Millie is gonna sleep with me tonight," he said.

"How come?" Chessie asked.

"Because if she wakes up and gets sick, I want to be able to hear her," he explained.

Chessie nodded. "Can I see her, daddy?" she asked quietly.

Derek nodded as he stood up, his daughter in his arms. "Yes, but she's sleeping, so I need you to be very quiet, OK?"

"OK," Chessie said seriously.

Derek brought her into his room, and was surprised to find that Penelope had already put Millie in her pajamas and tucked her into his bed.

Chessie sighed as she studied her sisters' face. "OK, daddy," she said, satisfied. "I can go to sleep now." She turned to Penelope. "Will you tuck me in?" she asked.

"Sure," Penelope said.

Chessie turned to her father and gave him a kiss. "Good night, Daddy," she said.

"Good night, baby," Derek said, handing her over to Penelope.

___

"Hey," Derek said coming down over the stairs. He wanted to talk to Penelope before she took off. "Thanks so much."

"No problem," she said, putting her jacket on.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," he said genuinely.

She laughed. "You'd be fine, I'm sure."

"Well, I'm not so sure," he said. "Don't minimize your part in our lives, Penelope. I just want you to know how much I appreciate everything you do for us."

You're ultimately gonna end up married to him. JJ's voice invaded her thoughts. God, she hoped her face didn't turn red. That would really raise questions. "I'm happy to help out," she said quickly. Stupid JJ!

Derek grinned at her. "See you later," he said.

___

Penelope slammed the door to her car. She was going to kill JJ. And quite possibly Reid and Prentiss while she was at it.

When Derek had grinned at her, her insides had actually quivered. She'd felt them. He'd grinned at her thousands of times before, and she'd never had that reaction. For God's sake, her fiancé had just broken up with her three days ago! She couldn't possibly be ready to date yet.

And she'd never be ready to date Derek Morgan. Penelope was quite sure he was more man than she'd ever be able to handle.