Disclaimer: I promise I don't own Criminal Minds!
As Morgan gradually began to wake up he felt a feather light touch on his head. With his eyes still closed he tried to figure out what it could be. It was soft, gentle and comforting all at the same time and for some reason felt vaguely familiar. With each stroke of the unknown object his worries seemed to disappear as if the last few months had never even happened. He felt more relaxed and peaceful then he had since….
That's when it hit him. He remembered the others going to sleep one by one before he laid his head on the bed next to Penelope and fell asleep too. So then it must be…
"Penelope!" He said as his eyes popped open and he sat up quickly. Sure enough there was his baby girl watching him with a slight smile.
"Hey there stud muffin." Penelope replied softly. Suddenly she stopped smiling and looked at him as if trying to figure out a puzzle. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in New York?" She asked.
"Baby girl I've missed you so much." Morgan stated as he took her hand in his and looked into her warm brown eye. "I was stupid and I'm so sorry. I should never have left, but by the time I figured it out you were gone."
"Figured what out?" She asked still slightly confused.
"Penelope, I…" He began, but before he could get the words out the others started to wake up.
"Pen?" JJ asked from Garcia's right.
Garcia smiled at her friend, but was still so surprised at Morgan she couldn't say anything. JJ jumped up and gently hugged Garcia causing her to flinch slightly from the pressure on her shoulder.
"Oh, I'm sorry…"
"Relax JJ, I'm fine sweetie." Garcia said with a smile.
By that time the others were awake as well and all gathered around her bed.
"So you remember now?" Emily asked anxiously.
"Mostly, though I still don't know how I got here or how you guys knew…" Garcia answered, but before she could finish there was a knock on the door. A second later the door was opened to reveal Directors Malloy and Leroy.
"Hello Garcia. How are you?" Director Malloy asked with a smile as the two men walked up to the group. "I must say, It's good to see you awake." He added.
"We came as soon as we heard you woke up from the coma." Leroy explained.
"Agent Hotchner, I know you and your team are anxious to talk with Agent Garcia, but Leroy and I really need to talk with her first so if you could step out of the room for a few minutes." Malloy said still smiling.
"Of course." Hotch said before turning back to Garcia. "We'll be right outside." He told her before heading out. The others smiled reassuringly at her before following, all except Morgan who squeezed her hand and leaned down to kiss her head. He smiled lovingly at her before reluctantly walking out of the room.
Malloy smiled at the two with a knowing look while Leroy raised his eyebrow and tried to hide his own smile.
Morgan and the others waited just outside Garcia's door the whole time. After about thirty minutes Doctor Micksney knocked and entered the room also. A few minutes later the two directors came out of Garcia's room and closed the door behind them. When they saw the team standing there watching them they walked over.
"We explained everything to Garcia, so she knows all about how she got back to Virginia and how you all know about what happened." Leroy stated.
"She also knows about Agent Morgan's transfer back to the BAU." Malloy said with a knowing look towards Morgan.
"We'll probably have to speak with her again, but for now that's all." Director Leroy said. "The doctor is in there with her now removing her eye bandage, so you should probably wait until he's done." He added before nodding to Hotch and leaving.
Thinking that Director Malloy would be leaving too the team started talking to each other happily and completely forgetting about the director.
"Agent Morgan may I have a work with you?" Malloy asked quietly so he wouldn't get the others' attentions.
Morgan nodded before following the FBI director down the hall a little ways, just far enough so the others couldn't hear.
"Believe it or not Agent Morgan I am not stupid." Malloy said with a smile. "In the past eight months it has become quite obvious to me that Agent Garcia is in love with a certain FBI field agent. Now whether the agent knows this or not I don't know. I'm not even sure Garcia knows she's in love." He said with a slight laugh. "But from what I've observed I'm fairly certain said field agent is just as much in love with her. In fact I'm almost positive."
"Director…" Morgan began, but was cut off when Malloy raised his hand to silence him.
"Please agent Morgan let me finish." Malloy said. "Agent Garcia is very important to the FBI, especially after this last 'project'. Also a lot of people are in her debt. So you see if Agent Garcia and this other agent were to act on their feelings, then the FBI would just have to turn a blind eye on the situation. Do you understand what I'm saying Agent Morgan?"
"Yes sir." Morgan said with a smile.
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me I have a few things to take care of back at Quantico." Malloy said before starting to walk away.
"Director." Morgan said before he got to far away. "Thank you."
"Garcia is a very unique person Agent Morgan." The director said with a slight nod.
"Yes she is." Morgan replied with a smile as he watched the director leave.
Once the director was gone Morgan walked back over to the still talking team.
"What was that about?" Reid asked quietly so the others wouldn't hear.
Before Morgan could say anything though, Garcia's door opened and Dr. Micksney stepped out.
"I figured you all would be out here." He said as he approached the team. "I removed the bandage from Ms. Garcia's eye and before you ask, I've already scheduled her surgery for tomorrow. It appears her optic nerve may have been damaged so she can't really see out of that eye." He said and continued when he saw the team's worried looks. "The surgery should be able to repair the damage though and she'll be able to see." He added with a smile before walking toward the nurse's desk.
Morgan and the others silently walked back into Garcia's room and saw her looking out the window. They couldn't see her face, but they could tell she was lost in thought and a million miles away.
Morgan walked up to her and gently laid his hand on her arm to get her attention, but it didn't work.
"Penelope?" He said softly so that he wouldn't surprise her as he stroked her cheek lightly. Slowly she turned her head toward them and smiled. Her left eye was puffy and red. A dark ring encircled it and when she blinked Morgan noticed that her eyelid looked as if it'd been burnt.
"How's your eye?" JJ asked worriedly.
"It's fine sweetie." Garcia answered with a shrug and a smile.
"Good. Now how is it really?" Rossi asked with a knowing look.
Garcia rolled her eyes but answered anyways. "It's just a little sore and things are a kind of blurry." She said.
"Is there anything you need?" Emily asked.
"Nope, I'm fine." She answered. "I like the décor around here." She said trying to change the subject. "It's not very hospital like, which is good. Though I could swear that's my purple tiger over there." She added with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"Well we thought you might be a bit more comfortable if you had some of your stuff." Emily stated.
"Thanks guys." She said laughing, which made Morgan grin like he hadn't done in months. To him it was the best sound in the world and he never wanted it stop.
Garcia looked over at him and smiled before looking back at the others. "You know I mean it right? Thank you for everything. I knew you guys would look for me, but I figured you'd probably stop after the first few months since I was e-mailing you." She said seriously with a look as if she was thinking about something.
"You'd do the same for us." Morgan said simply and laid his hand on her arm. She looked back at him and smiled slightly as he stared into her eyes.
"It just wasn't the same without you." JJ said happily. "It'll be so great when you come back to the BAU."
At that Garcia turned her head in surprise and looked at JJ. "What?" She asked.
"You're coming back to the BAU as soon as the doctor clears you." Hotch said.
"But they transferred…"
"You are a member of my team and will continue to be so." Hotch said sternly, but a small smile played at lips.
"Thanks Hotch." Garcia said as tears began to form in her eyes, but she pushed them away.
The team spent the next few hours telling Garcia about what she'd missed while she'd been gone. They told her about a few of the cases and how much harder it was to solve them without her. How stupid the replacements had been. About how a witness had hit on Reid and anything and everything that had happened while she'd been away.
Morgan laughed and added something once in awhile, but basically just sat next to Garcia with his hand still on her arm and periodically staring at her when no one was watching. He wanted to tell her about everything. About how much he missed her, why he came back, and that he was head over heals in love with her. But it would have to wait just a little bit longer until they were alone. Until then he'd just enjoy the fact she was back with him and make sure that her smile was embedded in his memory forever.
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