Disclaimer: I own nada.

I am so sorry it took me so long to come out with the new one for this story! Many, many apologies. So now we took care of JJ and Olivia, now it's Penelope and Derek's turn. This story will end up happily ever after...like the rest of my stories xD Please enjoy and review!

The doctor returned to the waiting room with a grim expression on his face. By now, most of the team and SVU squad had gone to get some sleep. Derek was in a chair, his head in his hands. Only JJ and Olivia, who had not returned from getting coffee yet, Detective Tutuola, and Rossi remained with him. All of them were silently sitting in the room, awaiting news on Penelope. Derek rose immediately and went to the doctor's side.

"Doctor," he said hurriedly. "How is she? What's your update for us? Is she -"

The doctor held up a hand. "Agent," she began. "Ms. Garcia is in a very rough condition. She sustained massive internal injuries from a beating, she was stabbed several times, her hands were both stabbed through completely. About the only thing she didn't sustain from the attack was sexual assault. She's still going to need major counseling though. Her mental state will take much longer to recover than her body." She nodded. "Surgery was successful, though. It will be a long time before she's fully functional, but she'll heal nicely, so long as she has the proper care back in Washington DC."

"I will take care of her the entire time," Derek said firmly. "I'll move in with her, I'll help her, I'll take her to her doctor's appointments, I'll -"

Putting a hand on his shoulder, the doctor nodded. "I'm sure you will," she interrupted. "Now, follow me and I'll take you to your girlfriend's room. She won't be awake for several hours still, but there is a couch in there if you wish to sleep on it. I'll be sure to let the nurses know."

Derek didn't even bother correcting the woman on her use of the term "girlfriend." If she hadn't thought they were together, he might not be able to stay with her. He couldn't risk it. Turning around, he looked at Fin and Rossi. "I'll go in and see her. You guys go get some sleep. You look exhausted."

They both nodded. "Text or call us if anything changes," Fin said. Rossi nodded in agreement. "We'll be here as soon as you call."

He looked at them gratefully. "I'll be sure to call you," he said. "Thanks for staying."

"Of course," Rossi said. "You just be sure to get some sleep as well. Don't run yourself into the ground. You worked hard today as well."

Derek said nothing as he watched the two of them take off. He had no idea where Olivia and JJ had wandered off to, but he had some idea it would be a good thing for their relationship. But at the moment he could care less about anything other than Penelope and her health. He looked back at her doctor and nodded. "I'm ready to go see her," he said strongly.

She motioned for him to follow her. "Come with me," she said. "I'll take you to her room."

Once in Penelope's room, he observed her still form. She looked so peaceful, like an angel in slumber. However, her appearance was shocking and different than any way she ever looked before. Her skin was bruised terribly and her hands and arms were covered in bandages to mend the cuts. Tears filled his eyes. They didn't fall, but he felt nothing but grief as he looked at his love. He looked at the doctor and nodded gratefully. "I appreciate you helping her," he murmured. "I'm so thankful she's going to make it through this."

"She's very lucky to have someone like you being there for you," she said softly. "I've seen people come in here, committed to taking care of their loved ones, but when I look at you, I see a man whose whole word is with her. You care about her more than yourself."

He simply nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." He started for the seat at the side of Penelope's be and sat down, taking her hand and looking at her tenderly. He didn't notice the doctor vacating the room; his focus was entirely on the woman in front of him. Stroking her cheek with his thumb, he murmured, "I'm so sorry I didn't protect you, Baby. I'm so sorry that we were fighting and that the last thing we talked about was fighting. I want you to know that there was never a single thing between me and Olivia, other than friendship. She helped me realize that I had to stop pussy-footing around my feelings for you. That night you were telling me about...that night she was just helping me pick out a shirt. I was going to tell you everything about how I feel about you. Because the feelings I have for you are so intense that I don't know what I would do without you."

For several hours, he talked to her. He talked to her about everything. About old times, about what he planned to tell her when she was awake, about everything they would do together when she healed up.

"I'll never leave your side again, Baby Girl," he yawned, leaning his head down and drifting off with his head resting on the bed.

XXXXX

Penelope's fluttered open and she sat up in her place. She noticed that her body was completely normal and she was wearing flouncy dark blue dress and hot pink high heels. She looked shockingly like she was dressed for a party or a night out.

"Hey there, Baby Girl."

She turned around and saw Derek, clad in a pair of black dress pants and a gray button up, the sleeves rolled up his forearms. He grinned from ear to ear and went towards her. Stopping in front of her, he held out his hands and she took them. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and kept his hand against her cheek.

"Is this a dream?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "Yeah," he said. "But it's a good dream."

She nodded. "It is," she murmured. "You're here."

Suddenly a soft tune started up and the ethereal voice of Norah Jones filled their ears. She grinned and pulled him towards her and brought her arms up around his neck. This was a dream, so she was going to make the most of it. She hungrily kissed him, letting the feeling of his warmth and desire run over her like the pleasurable hot water of a shower over tense shoulders. She nibbled on his lower lip and let his tongue slip into her mouth. The kiss was becoming too deep and she pulled away, breathing heavily. He held her hips in a tight grip and kept her there. "Since this is a dream, we're going to dance. So...are you going to ask me?" She raised a brow expectantly at him and smiled coyly.

He kissed her forehead and smiled, offering her his arm. "Let's dance, Baby," he said. They strolled over to the dance floor and began swaying to the music.

It's not the pale moon that excites me

That thrills and delights me, oh no

It's just the nearness of you

She laid her head against his chest and breathed in the spicy, wonderful scent of him. "I love you, Handsome" she murmured against the fabric of his shirt.

"I love you, too, Baby Girl," he said against her hair.

XXXXX

The first thing Penelope noticed when she returned to consciousness was the intense pain she was on from every surface of her body. It was excruciating. A small moan escaped her lips and she opened her eyes to look around at her surroundings. Her vision was a messy blur, but next to her hand, she saw a dark skinned person.

Derek.

Tears, both from pain and the fact that her best friend was at her side, filled her eyes. She raised her bandaged hand up and accidentally hit him in the face. Immediately his head shot up and he looked as if he was staring at her. "Penelope?" he said hoarsely. "You're awake!" He sat up and picked up a pair of glasses from the table next to her bed. Sliding them on her face, she immediately met his eyes. She saw the concern and the franticness in his gaze and watched as he sat back down in his chair.

"How long have you...been sitting there?" she asked softly.

He shook his head. "Penelope, are you feeling bad? You know what? Let me go get a nurse!" She watched as he bounded out of the room before she could even open her mouth. Her breathing was shallow and she closed her eyes momentarily. It was probably good that she had let him go get a nurse. She was in an unbelievable amount of pain. She could hardly take it.

"Alright, Baby," he said, coming back into the room. Behind him came a nurse. "I got the nurse. She's going to give you some morphine."

The only thing she could do was nod stiffly. Moving her head was awful. "Thank you," she managed. "I...appreciate it."

"I'm inserting the morphine pump now," the nurse explained. "You will be uncomfortable until it kicks in, but it will make your pain lessen. Press the button over here if you need anything."

Once she was gone, Derek sat down next to Penelope's bedside and took her bandaged hand. You'll feel better real soon, Baby," he murmured. "Don't you worry. The morphine will take care of the pain."

"I hope you're right," she said tensely. She smiled softly at him. "You know, I had a really strange dream while I was asleep. We were dancing to Norah Jones. Just me and you."

He smiled sadly. "I know how much you like Norah." With a deep breath, he said, "Baby, I'm so, so sorry I didn't protect you from this bastard. I'm so sorry we fought, and I'm so sorry you thought I was sleeping with Olivia. I swear to God I didn't." She tried opening her mouth to get a word in, but he kept going on and on. "She was just helping me pick out a shirt to wear to go and talk to you when were supposed to meet. We're only friends. And -"

Finally she gained the ability to speak. "Derek, stop," she said with a few difficult breaths. "I don't want you to apologize for anything. You're -"

"I was a jackass," he said. "The way I yelled at you was completely wrong. I -"

"No," she said firmly. "There is nothing you need to say. We were both idiots. And because we were both idiots, we'll be able to get past it." She took a deep breath. "I guess I'll start fixing it by saying that I love you. Not in a platonic way, but in a full blown, most important person in my life way." She smiled as best she could with her batter face. "I love you, Derek Morgan...no kinda about it."

A smile spread across his face and pure joy filled his eyes. It was clear, just by looking at his face that he felt the exact same way. "I love you, too," he said tenderly. "More than words can say. And I will always be near to you."

"It's the nearness of you that keeps me from going completely nuts," she said. It's a damn good thing that you'll be here."

By now (for those of you who have read "Beauty and the Morgan" anyway) know that I love Norah Jones. Thus, her songs appearing in this story as well. I am going to work so super hard to keep this one on the top of my list. I have an awful lot of stories going on right now (more than I can handle, truthfully) so I'm going to make this one a priority. Sorry to those of you who keep coming back and it's not updated. I know I got a few mentions of that in reviews and I wanted to let you all know that it should be changing, depending upon the workload I have.