Baby Girl
Morgan and Garcia
Chapter Eight
March 2002
Working undercover was nearly the hardest thing Derek Morgan ever had to get through in all his life. Only a few horrible, pivotal events in his childhood outranked the hell he went through when he was undercover for eighteen months.
Sometimes he thought he was losing his mind. Losing his morals. Losing himself in an fake persona. And he was just about sure he had lost almost all semblance of his old life. He didn't feel connected to his old friends anymore. Didn't feel invested in his spot on the bomb squad anymore either. And the woman he had started to date before all this went down...he hated to admit it but he would more than likely never see her pretty face again.
The same day the case broke Derek made it home to see his mother. After a teary greeting from her and a short chat he went to the safe, opened it, and got out the phone number for Penelope Garcia.
Even though it had been a year and a half, and she had probably long ago moved on, he still wanted to call her. He had dreamt of hearing her voice again and he needed to do it the first chance he got. She may only tell him she was hooked up with some other man- in love, living together, maybe even married- but whatever she said he would get to hear her voice and he needed that.
So he had made his call, back in December when he got done with the case, and instead of hearing Penelope coo out a greeting he had gotten a recorded message saying the number was no longer in service. His heart had sank.
He tried to look her up online but couldn't find an address or phone number in California for a Penelope Garcia around the same age. Admitting to himself that she had moved on with her life, and could even go by her husband's name now, Derek just pushed down his grief over what would never be and started to make new goals in his life.
In January he applied for the FBI and within two weeks he was at their training facility. His application got fast tracked because he made such a name for himself undercover and the accolades were still very fresh. A call by the Chief of Detective on the Chicago PD and Derek had his spot at the academy. Now he had graduated from the academy and was given his assignment: The Behavior Analyst Unit.
It was a prestigious spot. Like his Ma always said, Derek was blessed. So many times things fell into place for him and worked out better than he could ever hope. But sometimes they didn't.
And it was those painful times that truly shaped this man. The loss of his father, the loss of his innocence at the hands of a child molester, and the loss of Penelope- a woman who made him believe in love.
He had lost more than he wanted to think about. So he wouldn't think about it. He'd go into his new job with a good attitude and impress the hell out of them so he could keep advancing in his career. He was moving up and he didn't need to look back ever again.
It hurt too much to do so anyway. And Derek did not want to get caught in a trap of his thoughts always making his mind go to a dark place. He needed to smile, joke, laugh, play the field again, and work his ass off at his job.
He was not a loser and so he didn't hang his head. He kept the pain buried deep. But it was always there.
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Penelope Garcia was the brightest and cheeriest member of the BAU. She always had a big smile for her co-workers and was willing to chat the hours away after work, especially if they were sad or lonely. She could talk for hours about any number of subjects and never tire.
But she was not an open book. She brushed off any and all questions about her past. Luckily, the profilers she worked with didn't push for more details about her life before she joined their merry band of crime fighters. They understood that some things were just too painful to get into.
When she was dropped into their lives last October she had just went through the worst month of her life, even more terrible then when her parents died. She had been arrested for hacking and put in jail. She could have been sent to prison for decades after that but the government wanted to use her skills instead of let them be wasted away behind bars.
One month of intensive FBI training and then she was working in the BAU. The team had embraced her like a family. Now she felt like she belonged here and she had people to rely on again.
Life was looking up these days. She had been through a lot of hard times but she would not let it keep her down. She'd plaster a smile on her face and forge forward into what would hopefully be a bright and shiny future.
That morning they were having their normal ten am briefing when Hotch walked in. "We're getting a new team mate today. Make him feel welcome, you guys. He's new to the bureau but I've heard good things about his time as a cop."
Penelope looked at JJ. "Flip you for him if he's cute," she joked.
Though she hadn't been on a date in forever she liked to lust after sexy guys. But she didn't think she was truly ready to open her heart to another man again.
"If he's cute you'll have to wrestle him away from me," JJ said "I haven't been on a decent date in months and months."
Elle said "That's because there are no decent single guys around here."
Reid cried "Hey!"
They all looked at him and "Awwed," him, then Penelope rushed to assure him he was cute too.
JJ teased him "I didn't know you were looking for a girlfriend, Spence. What happened to the girl in the mail room? What was her name? Amy?"
"Lets not go there again," Reid said with a small blush coming to his cheeks. "You know I never dated her."
JJ sing songed "That's not what I heard."
Hotch said "Lets focus. JJ, begin. Jason will bring in our new team member after giving him a brief tour of the building and run down of our unit. We can get started without them."
It was nearly ten minutes later when SSA Jason Gideon walked in. "Morning, everyone say hello to Special Supervisory Agent Derek Morgan, fresh out of the academy. Hotch, he can kick in doors for us from now on. My knees can't take it anymore."
Hotch stood up and extended his hand. "SSA Aaron Hotchner. Good to meet you."
But Derek did not shake his hand. He was staring at Penelope and she was staring at him. Her heart beat out of control. She could not believe he now had a job at the same place she did. Fate had brought him back to her! And after she had nearly given up all hope too.
Everything truly did happen for a reason.
"Baby girl?"
"Hello again, Derek," she said, warmly.
Hotch looked between them. "You two are previously acquainted?"
Derek broke his gaze away from Penelope and focused on Hotch. He stuck out his hand. "Hello, sir, good to be here. I look forward to being a valuable member of this team."
"Yes, we look forward to getting to know you and utilizing your expertise. You should know that the BAU is not like other units. This team practically eats, sleeps and breaths every breath with each other on some days so I hope you have no issues with having six other people constantly in your space. We work as a family here. It's the only way we can function effectively. The team must trust each other and not have any conflicts. So will you assure me that you and Garcia will be able to work harmoniously together, despite whatever past you share?"
"Yes, sir," Derek promised.
Penelope piped up. "Won't be an issue, boss man."
"Take a seat, SSA Morgan, and you can catch up. Let me introduce you to the rest of the team first though." Hotch made the rest of the introductions.
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Derek found a seat to sit in and tried to pay attention to the briefing but his eyes and his mind kept going back to Penelope. He wanted to talk to Penelope after the briefing but Hotch had requested a meeting with him. He had to follow his new boss to his office and have a sit down.
Hotch didn't ask about Derek and Penelope though. He stuck to business, for which Derek was grateful.
After that Derek had to spend time in personnel. It was hours before he even sat down at his desk for the first time. He was across from Greenaway and caddy corner to Reid.
"Good to meet you both. So y'all are a tight bunch around here, huh?"
"Yep. Pretty much," Reid answered.
"How old are you kid? Fifteen? They let teenagers work here now?"
"I'm twenty one and I have three Ph. D and I'm working on my fourth."
"Well go on with your bad self! Wow! So you're some kind of brain then, huh?"
"A certified genius."
"Cool! With you around I wonder what they even need me for on this team." He looked at Elle. "Are you a genius too like this big brained kid? I don't wanna get a complex if I find out I'm the only one who's got an average IQ around this joint."
"No, Reid is our only genius. But Garcia is scary smart. Especially when it comes to her babies."
"Babies?"
"Her computers. She's our resident bad ass hacker. So, tell me the dirt cause I'm dying to know, did you two use to date?"
"A gentleman never tells. But you could fill me in on something, if you don't mind. How long has she worked here?"
"Six months about," Elle answered.
"Five months, twenty three days and," Reid looked at his watch "seven hours. I'm not sure of the minutes because when I met her is not when she first entered the building."
Derek gave him wide eyes. "You seem very specific about that time line. Are you tight with Penelope?"
"Not tight enough to call her Penelope yet," Reid said. "But, yeah, we are good friends."
"Is she seeing anybody?"
Elle chuckled. "You did use to date! I knew it! You two were giving each other 'I want your body looks'during the briefing."
Derek ignored Elle and focused on Reid. "Kid, hey, be up front with me. Man to man, does Penelope got a guy in her life right now?"
"I really couldn't say."
"Couldn't say or don't know?"
"Couldn't say," Reid answered.
"Hmmm. Where can I find her right about now if I was looking to catch up with her?"
"Your best bet would be her lair," Reid said. Then he gave Derek directions there. But Derek didn't go. He instead tried to get started on looking over case files he was supposed to do written profiles on.
At the end of the work day he finally ventured to Penelope's office, hoping she was still in and hadn't went home yet. He knocked on the door.
"Enter and be acknowledged, mere mortal."
Letting out a short breath he walked inside. Her back was to him. He quickly looked over her office, smiled a little at the way it was decorated, and then said "Hey there, baby girl. I have missed you something fierce."
