AN: Hello my ever faithful readers! It's Wednesday again! I had so much fun writing this chapter, the end in particular, and I hope you enjoy reading it as well. I finally get to slowly introduce you all to Jolene's personality, and I hope you fall in love with her as much as I have. As always, review and PM! 3
Derek woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing on the coffee table. He groaned and reached out to grab it and bring it to his ear. He didn't remember falling asleep after coming home from shopping with Garcia, but found himself waking up on his couch covered with a blanket.
"Go for Morgan."
"Reid and Prentiss tracked Mr. Wilson back into town. They caught him as he went back to his home. They're bringing him in now." Hotchner's voice was not the first thing Morgan wanted to hear in the morning, but the news was at least good.
"I'll be there in 45." Morgan flipped his phone shut and stood and stretched.
"Breakfast is ready." Garcia called from the kitchen, causing him to jump.
"I figured you would be asleep baby girl." She walked over and gave Morgan a hug.
"I napped a bit, but there was too much to get done to really sleep." Garcia handed him a cup of coffee. "Now go eat then shower and change. I've finished making your house girl worthy. I'm going to change and get ready for work."
"I'm sorry I fell asleep. You should have woken me up. I was supposed to help you and then take you home."
"Trust me chocolate thunder, I got a lot more done without you and you needed the sleep. Now go, or we're going to be late."
Derek charged in the office an hour later, a timed four minutes after Penelope as to not raise any suspicion. He sat his things down on top of the mountain of paperwork on his desk and headed to Hotch's office. When he couldn't find him there, Derek flipped his phone open and hit Hotch's speed dial.
"You're late. We're at the prison." Hotch hung up leaving Derek chuckling; out of all the team members, he was the one who was usually late.
Derek grabbed his keys and headed to the prison. When he got there he checked his gun and was led to the room where Hotchner was looking through the one-way window at the unsub.
"Has he said anything?" Derek asked Hotchner as he began studying the unsub as well.
"Not a word since he got here."
"I should talk to him."
"No. Not yet. Later." Derek looked at Hotch and could tell that he was planning something. As much as he wanted to storm in and work over Mr. Wilson, he knew that Hotch had a plan and Derek trusted him.
"What do you need me to do?" Derek turned his attention back to the interrogation room as he awaited Hotch's orders.
"Go see Garcia and get me all the information that she can pull on Mr. Wilson."
"And then?"
"I'll call."
By the time that Derek had a chance to check the clock it was already almost five o'clock. He felt like Hotch kept him running all over downtown Quantico to keep him busy and away from Wilson. Penelope had grabbed him a sandwich that he ate while driving for lunch, but now he was hungry again. As he was sitting down to take a breath and decide what he wanted to eat for dinner his phone started to ring again. He pinched the bridge of his nose and answered without looking at the caller ID, figuring it was Hotch yet again.
"Morgan."
"Mr. Morgan this is the hospital, you were put down as being Ms. Abigail's contact?"
"Is everything alright?" He sat up, his hunger, agitation and weariness instantly forgotten.
"Yes, she's perfectly fine." He could almost hear the nurse smile and picture her amused expression,. "She's just ready to go home and we need you to come pick her up and sign her release papers."
"I'll be right there." He hung up and called Hotch.
"Hotchner."
"Hotch it's Morgan. The hospital just called me and I'm on my way to go get Jolene." Penelope overheard him as she walked by and motioned for him to follow her. He rolled his eyes but followed her nonetheless.
"Bring her by the station before you take her home."
"You got it boss." Derek hung up the phone. "What do you want Baby Girl? I'm on my way out."
"I know, but you need this." Penelope handed him what looked like a go bag.
"I'm just going to the hospital…"
"It's not for you handsome!" she laughed. "It's for Jolene. She needs clothes. I wasn't sure what she would want to wear so I put a few different choices in there."
"Oh. Thanks." He gave her a hug and turned to leave.
"No problem. Just another duckling for momma Garcia." She laughed again and sat back down in her chair as one of her computers dinged.
Derek hurried out the door and over to the hospital.
When he arrived he handed the clothes over to Jolene's nurse so she could change while he signed her release papers, gathered her prescriptions and went over her care instructions with her doctor. His head was swimming with the sheer amount of new information and the doctor asked if Derek needed her to go over everything again.
"No I think I've got it. I've got a print out of her pill schedule, a list of appointments that need to be made with various specialists and therapists as well as check ups, and a list of restrictions, both physical and food, that need to be strictly followed and enforced." Derek added the stack of papers to his briefcase and made a mental note to ask Penelope for more help.
"You sound like a dad. Do you have kids?" The doctor asked. Derek saw her glance at his left hand out of the corner of her eye.
"None yet."
"You sound like you've got everything under control tough guy." She placed a hand on his forearm, and it took everything in Derek not to laugh at her and shake his head hopelessly. He pulled away as he noticed a nurse pushing Jolene their way in a wheelchair.
"Yeah, you could say that. Thank you doctor. Have a good evening." He took over pushing the wheelchair from the nurse. "Hey honey. How ya doing?"
"Much better now. They let me out early for good behavior." She gave him a small smile and he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Good behavior you say? Well maybe living with you will help me straighten out my wild side." He flashed her a smile and helped her into the car.
"How far is it to your house?" She asked after he got in.
"Our house is about twenty minutes away, but we have to make a stop first."
Jolene nodded and leaned her head back, and within a few seconds her steady breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep.
Derek hoped that Hotch knew what he was doing, asking Jolene to see the unsub so soon after waking up. Hotch was one of the few people he fully trusted, but sometimes he didn't fully agree with his boss's decisions. He was afraid that seeing her attacker so soon might undo any progress she'd made in the last few days at the hospital. Even with medication she would be unstable.
Derek was so caught up in his thoughts that he jumped when Jolene started awake. He quickly calmed himself before she noticed, chastising himself for being so jumpy and nervous around her. He pulled into the station and parked next to Hotch's black Tahoe.
"The police station? Do they need a statement or something?" Jolene rubbed her eyes and stretched with a wince.
"It'll be quick I promise."
Derek got out and moved to get her wheelchair out of the back of his truck. When he moved around to the passenger side she was already out and standing on shaky legs.
"What do you think you're doing?!" He called out as she took a step toward the door and shot a hand out toward the hood of the truck to steady herself.
"Walking inside." Derek sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Was she going to be this stubborn the entire time?
"You just got out of the hospital. Sit." He pointed to the wheelchair, but she turned away from him.
"I'm fine." She took another unsteady step, leaning heavily on the truck hood, which was running out alarmingly fast.
"You just woke up from a month long coma. You haven't walked in six months, you are not fine, and you need to sit down."
Instead of answering she kept taking slow, uncertain, unsteady steps. What did I get myself into? Derek wondered as he debated if he should just pick her up and force her into the wheelchair or not. He abandoned the wheelchair next to the truck and hurried to her side in case she fell, which he knew was inevitable, but it clearly wasn't stopping her at all. He took a few moments to study her face.
She was determined, her mouth set in a hard line and her eyes focused on the ground. Her brows were furrowed and he noticed that she was biting her top lip as she struggled through putting one foot in front of the other. She held her hands out for balance, but reached up and tucked her mahogany hair behind her ear when it fell forward. Derek noted that her legs were becoming more unstable and he prepared himself to catch her.
It happened in the blink of an eye. Suddenly her ankle gave out and she began to fall forward. Derek reached for her while she twisted surprisingly quickly in the air, as if it was her body's natural reaction. He caught her before she hit the ground, his hand cradling her head protectively and his fingers tangled in her hair. To an onlooker, it might have looked like he dipped her for a kiss.
"Are you okay?" He asked, looking into her eyes for a second too long before flitting his gaze away.
"I'm okay. I just miss walking, that's all." Her hand was holding onto the sleeve of his t-shirt, but she relaxed as he picked her up off the ground with ease.
"Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" He placed her in the wheelchair and began wheeling her towards the entrance.
"Do what?"
"You're recovery. You know that you're not supposed to walk until after your physical therapist gives you the okay to start trying slowly and in controlled environments. Not fresh out of the hospital through a police station parking lot."
"Oh, and you expect me to believe that you've never pushed your boundaries before?"
"All I'm saying is you need to follow your doctor's orders. Then you'll be walking around in no time."
She didn't say anything back, and instead stayed quiet while Derek pushed her inside. He could tell by the slight change of her posture and her sudden withdrawal that she was nervous and frightened. He wished that he could take her place, but they needed her to ID this unsub. Derek stopped and put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped beneath his touch.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. You don't even need to be in the same room as him, and I'm going to be right here with you the entire time okay?" He walked around and knelt down so he could be face to face with her.
"Promise?" He could see her eyes were dark with fear and the determination that had lit up her face earlier had all but vanished.
"I promise I will always be right here to protect you whenever you need it." She nodded and wiped a tear as it fell from her eye. "Are you ready? We can stay out here in the hallway for a few minutes if you want."
"No, let's get this over with. I'm ready to go home."
Derek wheeled her into the room where Hotch was waiting for them. He saw Jolene tense again and his heart went out to her. He knew she hadn't met Hotch on the best of circumstances, and his boss was a very intimidating guy. Derek nodded at Hotch and rested his hand on Jolene's shoulder for support. His lips hardened into a line as she trembled beneath his hand. We shouldn't be doing this now. He clenched his jaw as Hotch knelt to be face to face with Jolene.
He didn't focus on the conversation. Instead he stared ahead through the window in the front of the room. Inside sat a short balding man with glasses. Rodney Wilson had thick jaws and he looked average. He had his hands folded in front of him and he was looking around the room as if he was looking to buy the station. Derek instantly hated him.
Derek's attention snapped back to the room he was in as soon as he felt the warmth of Jolene's hand on his. She took a shaky, unsteady breath and looked up at him. Hotch backed away so that Derek could push her up to the window, but he hesitated.
"Okay. I'm ready."
Derek pushed her up to the window and felt her tense. He heard her breath hitch and saw her hands gripping the armrests of her wheelchair so hard that her knuckles were white. He was expecting an incoherent sob, but when she did speak a few moments later, her voice was hard and even.
"He's the man who gave me the house," a single tear fell down her cheek, "but he's not the man who beat me."