Chapter Two
Caught in a Storm
A/N- I would just like to say thank you to each and every person who reviewed, followed or favourited the first chapter. I am astonished at the response its gotten as this is my first proper story (because my the first one I uploaded was a couple of years ago and half-heartedly written) and I was apprehensive over whether anyone would like it so I truly appreciate it.
Great spinoff idea from EmEliza, I will definitely keep that in mind for the future!
Anyway I'll stop rambling on now...
Upon entering the state of Alaska, the landscape was dusted with deep, thick snow which was usual for the locals but alien to the agents from Virginia. Fortunately, the runway had been cleared before they arrived but Garcia had read the weather reports before they left and knew that the recent flurry of snow was just the beginning, there was a worse storm to come.
"There is going to be little difference in set up to last time we were in this state" Hotch informed the team as they began entering the small snow-covered building which housed the Sheriff's office "that means limited resources and little work space so everyone is going to have to be flexible."
Morgan leaned his mouth towards his best friend's ear before they reached the door "dibs on sharing rooms again" he whispered.
A smile spread across Penelope's face as he repeated what she had said several years ago. She gave him a nod as he held the door open for her and they followed the team into the cramped room.
A large man in a checked fleece jacket over the traditional beige uniform stood up from behind a cluttered desk and stuck his hand out to Hotch. "Sheriff Heston" he stated with a look of authority plastered on his face.
"Aaron Hotchner, Unit Chief for the Behaviour Analysis Unit at Quantico, these are agents S.S.A Rossi, Prentiss, Reid, Jareau and Morgan and this is our technical analyst Penelope Garcia" he replied politely introducing each member of the team "we would have ordinarily gone immediately to the latest crime scene but I believe the weather conditions have made it unable to access"
Sheriff Haston nodded "you folks are best going to the local lodge and making yourselves warm, I can tell you all I know and then hopefully when the weather clears up in the morning you can see where it happened" he said a little uncomfortably, as in most small towns crime here was low but in the exclusive, rural areas murder was highly uncommon and a serial killer was unheard of.
"Oh!" a gasp escaped from Penelope's mouth as she opened the door to the room that she and Morgan would be sharing for the duration of the trip. It was quaint and traditional, the flooring was real wood and there was a woollen, hand-sewn quilt on the large double four poster bed, but the main feature of the room which caught her eye was the roaring log fire which blazed in the beautiful fireplace adding warmth and cosiness to the room.
A low whistle came from behind her, she turned to see Morgan stood carrying their luggage. He placed the bags down and put his arm around her shoulder "we drew the long straw here, hey Baby Girl?"
"Oh Derek, It's like a fairytale bedroom!" she exclaimed walking slowly into the centre to examine it from every angle.
Closing the door behind him, Morgan's eyes fell upon the large double bed. The sleeping arrangements had been an issue last time they shared a room but an insecure, jealous boyfriend had been in the equation then. He hoped that she would not object but he knew she would, no matter how much his heart swelled when his angel was around, there was never an indication that the feelings were reciprocated.
Penelope let out a yawn before quickly stifling it with her hand "I didn't realise I was tired" she glanced at her watch "it's only ten"
"Go to bed Momma" he instructed
She looked at the bed and frowned "I was in the bed last time, I'll go on the floor"
He folded his arms and shook his head "oh hell no! I am not letting you sleep on the floor, what sort of man do you think I am!?"
She blushed in anger, he could be so infuriating and she knew that she couldn't win. Folding her arms across her chest she watched him through narrow eyes as he began rummaging through his bag, "what are you going to do now?" she snapped.
A slight smile crept across Morgan's face as he watched his best friend getting angrier "I am going to read over the case notes alone downstairs to be prepared for tomorrow"
"Where's everyone else?" she asked in a slightly softer tone
He ran his hand over his bald head and smiled "I suspect they've all gone to their rooms as well, we all had an early morning" he picked up his file from on top of his bag "right, goodnight beautiful girl and I'll try my hardest not to disturb you when I come up" and he kissed her on the top of her head.
"Night Hotstuff" she responded as she waved him out of the room.
With the fire almost out, the room had filled with the cold, northern air. Penelope lay in the large bed with three layers on under her fluffy, winter pyjamas but she still huddled under the duvet to get warm. An hour and a half after Morgan had left, the room was dark and she felt a sudden sense of loneliness. This was mainly due to the huge amount of space either side of her, she will be the first to admit that she isn't the smallest person and yet she felt miniature in a mass of mattress and material. Oh how she wished she could have asked Morgan to share the bed with her, how she longed his closeness, his warmth, his scent, his touch, but yet she couldn't imagine him wanting anything from her, so there was no point.
Penelope gave a heavy sigh, she felt miserable and depressed, even more so that she didn't even have Kevin to talk to anymore. It was clear that no matter how tired she felt, she was not going to sleep anytime soon so she quietly grabbed her dressing gown and crept out of the door. The even colder, fresh air from the corridor hit her like a ton of bricks and she shivered violently. Luckily the room that J.J. and Emily were sharing was just across the hall, she knocked gently and waited to see if there was a response. As brilliant a friend as Morgan was, sometimes Garcia needed her girlfriends' company.
Almost immediately J.J. opened the door, her blonde hair was tied up and like Penelope was wearing her thickest pyjamas to shield herself from the cold.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile leaning against the doorframe
She shrugged in response "does one need an excuse to spend time with her family?"
Her friend stepped aside to let her in "of course not, we were going to invite you over but we saw Morgan and he said you had gone to bed early"
Emily was sat at the end of the identical double bed as in her room with one of the spare blankets wrapped around her.
"I really hate being cold at night!" she grumbled pulling the blanket tighter around her hunched body.
Penelope sat on the soft furnished chair opposite her "Britain can get pretty cold" she reminded her quietly, although she did not want to accept the fact that her friend was leaving she knew it was going to happen and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Only if you're in Scotland, London is one of the warmer areas" Prentiss replied reassuring herself
J.J. handed her friend a cup of the freshly brewed hot coffee "so Garcie, what brings you to our little slumber party?" she asked taking another seat.
She sighed before taking a sip, the hot liquid provided warmth as it moved through her body "I was just feeling..." she paused searching for the right adjective in vocabulary to try to describe how she felt "...glum" she concluded.
"Ouch!" Emily exclaimed "that doesn't sound good, Garcia you are not the type of woman who feels glum"
J.J. nodded in agreement as she sipped her own cup.
"I know, but everything seems to be getting to me recently, Kevin, you leaving" she sighed again "I think I've lost my spark"
Both of her friends gasped and widened their eyes "no!"
"If you lose your spark, what hope is there for the rest of us?!" J.J. cried "you are not seriously going to give up because of a moron like Lynch? Not when you've Derek Morgan, come on Garcia!"
Penelope snorted "I wish!"
J.J. looked at Emily and they both rolled their eyes, she opened her mouth to protest when a loud banging came at the door.
Emily looked at her watch "almost midnight, they might have found another body" she stated looking alert
"Oh no!" Penelope cried in horror, although she was fully aware of her friends experienced first hand in their job, she still hated hear about the loss of life.
J.J. walked to the door and looked through the peephole and opened the door cautiously, "what are you doing here?"
The figure of Derek Morgan strode into the room with a frantic look on his face, his eyes moved wildly around the room until they fixated upon Penelope "oh thank God" he sighed running his hand over his head.
She stood up and put her arms around him "hey, what's the matter?"
He held her head in his hands and stroked her cheek gently "Baby Girl I was so worried, I went back to the room to get a piece of paperwork that I'd left and found that you weren't there, I thought the worst"
She smiled at him "I'm fine, see, in mint condition. I was going back to bed now anyway"
He frowned slightly "oh no, I didn't want to break up your party"
"Don't be silly, sweet cheeks, it's almost midnight and now I really am tired" Garcia was feeling better now she'd had the chance to speak to her friends, she turned and blew a kiss to them "goodnight my lovelies" and they left with Morgan's arm wrapped protectively around her waist.
As Derek rummaged for their room key in his pocket Penelope turned to him "you know, I think you went a tad over the top there Hotstuff" she smiled
He pushed open the door and raised his eyebrow "you'd prefer me not to be worried about you? Sorry Baby Girl but that is not going to happen in this lifetime"
She shook her head before climbing back into bed "forget I said anything" the room was dark as the fire had completely gone out by the time they returned and there was a fresh chill in the air which cause her to shiver as she snuggled deeper into the covers.
"Are you cold baby? I could always come I and warm you up" he smiled cheekily
She tried desperately to conceal how much she wished he was serious "alas, as tempting as that sounds beautiful, you have work to finish"
He went to the wardrobe and began to pull out the spare bedding and laid it out on the floor "I've got as much as I can out of it right now at least until we go to the crime scenes tomorrow" he replied.
She nodded and then tried to stifle a yawn, Morgan gave her a look which she knew meant 'sleep, now!'
"Sleep well my prince" Penelope mumbled as she closed her eyes and turned her back on him.
After only several minutes she had fallen into a deep sleep as her breathing had evened and she began making little humming noises that she makes whilst she sleeps. Morgan smiled to himself as he watched his girl, she was so beautiful, he wished he could watch her all night but suddenly he felt sleepy himself. He leant over the bed and kissed her soft blonde hair gently "goodnight Baby Girl, I love you" he whispered and he meant every word.