One Week Later
"Juliet, beautiful woman of medicinal expertise, I love you, but I want to go home!" Penelope huffed, kicking her cast covered foot up in the air.
Juliet was checking the vitals of her favorite patient and was pleased at the progress she was making. Her wounds were healing nicely and there were no traces of debris floating in her system in her last scans. Her body had been responding to the medicines and anti-biotics and the computer systems in the hospital seemed to receive a refreshed boost of speed and storage.
"Ms. Garcia, it seems that you are healing right on schedule. You need to stay dedicated to your medicinal routine for the next three weeks and return to me for a follow up in a month from now. Nurse Austin can schedule that with you..."
"Once she is done flirting with Doctor Shepherd, of course," Penelope said with a smile.
Juliet laughed and asked, "Do you always seem to play matchmaker, Penelope?"
"Only when I see love, my darling," she said with a smile. "When is that handsome hubby of yours coming back to the hospital to visit you?" Penelope asked with a dreamy sigh.
Juliet smiled and replied, "He has been working a tough case. He and I have been looking to transferring. We always wanted to go to the beach, but I don't know. I have this weird feeling."
"Always listen to your feelings. They will get you far, love," she said fiddling with her blanket.
Juliet noticed her looking out the window and held her hand comfortingly. "What's the matter? I thought you wanted to get out of here!"
Penelope looked up into the blonde eyes of her doctor and asked sadly, "How's Rebecca?"
Sighing, Juliet said, "Pen..."
"I know, I know I am not supposed to ask. Doctor-Patient confidentiality, blah blah blah. But I haven't seen my boy genius since the case was closed and I know that means that Rebecca is doing very good or very very bad."
Juliet gave her a comforting grip to her hand and continued, "Not only is your friend not my patient, but you will be able to see her yourself in a couple hours. As long as your "husband" is here to check you out of here. How did you convince him to leave you for more than an hour?" Juliet joked.
"You know, my darling, that has confused me. at first I thought I was just annoying him, but every time he returns he has this sneaky look on his face. As if he knows something I don't. And he won't tell me. Sneaky bastard," she said with a chuckle. "I just..."
'Hmmm..." Juliet asked.
"I just don't want him to start pushing me away now that I am better. I know that the intensity of everything that happened these past few weeks effected our whole team, but I want him to know that I am in this for the long haul and if he needs time or space, I am willing to give him that as long as he tells me."
"You are so silly, woman," Derek said making his presence known.
Penelope's eyes widened and Juliet only laughed at the woman's now tense features. "I am going to help Nurse Austin assemble your check out paperwork."
"No! No!" Penelope said reaching out to her blonde companion but was left alone to face the music with her fiancee. "Derek..."
"You need to keep your mouth shut hard head and listen to me. I am going to say this as many times as I need to to convince you that this isn't just a fling for me. I am madly in love with you. I am going to marry you. You and I are going to have the family each of us has been dreaming of and I don't want to hear any more doubts from you. I know that communication wasn't our strongest asset before all of this, but that has been changing from the moment you agreed to be my wife. I am here and I am not going anywhere, you understand me?"
Penelope nodded and she pulled him down for a fire filled kissed. He was surprised by her initiating the kiss but didn't complain when her tongue pressed against the seam of his lips for access into his mouth. He hovered over her, pressing his weight against either side of her and tangled his right hand into her hair pulling her closer to him. Her hands were being devilishly kind as they maneuvered around the buttons of his henley. He smirked and moved his mouth toward her ear, "Devil woman," he whispered.
Penelope threw her head back and laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his pulse point along his neck. "I cannot wait to be Penelope Morgan," she whispered.
Before he could respond, there was a knock upon their door and they turned to see Doctor Ford and Nurse Austin standing in the doorway with smiles on their faces. "It's time sweet woman for you to leave us!" Kate said moving toward her favorite patient. "As soon as you hear Doctor Ford's instructions and sign off on these beautifully printed dotted lines, you are able to leave with Derek... Morgan right? Gosh, I am not used to not calling you Mr. Garcia!" she said with a huff.
They all chuckled at that and Derek said, "Its okay, I actually kind of like it," he said with a wink.
"Well, when the wedding comes around, I wanna be there!" Kate said handing the paperwork to Penelope to sign off on.
"Oh you will be honey bunny. As long as you bring Doctor Shepherd with you," she added with a wink.
Kate blushed as she moved to start removing Penelope's IV and monitors. "Well, Ms. Garcia, I have already given you your instructions. Should I inform your fiancee, or let him read the paperwork?"
"All ready done and memorized," Derek said with a triumphant smile.
"Good, I know our favorite patient will be in good hands." Juliet and Kate moved toward Penelope and gave her quick hugs. "We will see you in three weeks and hopefully no sooner," Juliet said.
Penelope gave them a teary smile and said, "Thank you, for helping save my life."
Before Juliet turned to leave, Derek added, "Thank you for helping bring my baby girl back to me. I don't know what I would have done without her and now I hope I never will know."
Juliet and Kate smiled and left the room quietly as Derek turned back to his fiancee. "Woman, you have a few minutes and then we are getting the hell out of here."
Pen lifted her arms in the air and did a happy dance of sorts in the thoughts of being able to leave this place. As she slowly moved to get the clothes Emily picked out and packed for Morgan, she asked, "Have you heard from the team?"
"JJ and Hotch have been in communications all week with officials about rebuilding and relocating the bureau. They want our team together and feel that Virginia is still a great location, however the politics are beginning to come into play and Strauss is being a particular bitch."
"Derek," Pen scolded as she motioned for him to untie her hospital gown.
"Well she is and you know it. Luckily we have Dave who knows how to schmoozy and get endorsements."
"Schmoozy? Now you are sounding like me, Hot Stuff," Garcia said with a smile.
"You catch my point, Baby Girl? Well, JJ has been throwing up constantly and its driving David crazy. Hotch and Emily know whats up, but find it more humorous that JJ hasn't spilled the beans yet. I swear if we hear she has food poisoning one more time, Hotch is going to make her sit with Reid on the next plane ride home."
At the mention of Reid's name, Penelope bowed her head down sadly and Derek caught on to his Goddess's worry. "I saw him this morning," he whispered.
"How is she?" she asked.
"Apparently Rebecca Puckerman is a tough cookie to break. However, Spencer is afraid to leave her."
"So she is going to be okay? No one is telling me anything!" Penelope said grabbing the sweats from the bag and sliding them up her legs.
"It was touch and go with the snake venom for a while, but she fought it and one. She is going to a have a cool scar along her thigh, she said, but that only seemed to get Reid more nervous. We have never seen Reid in love. He is spouting statistics left and right. I think Rebecca can't wait to get the hell out of this hospital and back into her place."
"I have to admit I understand that feeling. When is she able to be released?"
"Doctor Shepherd told Spencer that it could be anywhere from three to five days. She has been a pain in the ass about medications, so they need to find the right plan for her."
Penelope nodded and laughed when Derek rolled the wheel chair toward her. "Derek, I am not riding in that thing!" she said with her hands on her hips with her toe tapping.
"Hospital standards, woman!" he said with a mischievous smile.
"Can we see them?" Penelope asked.
"JJ told us that it would be probably best to check in with them tomorrow. Apparently Rebecca's sister, Rachel and her husband, Orlando, came into town to check on her and Rebecca has had enough with visitors. It will be easier once she and Pretty boy have some time alone to talk things through."
"Has he been having nightmares, Hot Stuff?" Penelope asked sadly.
"Oh Im sure, but he won't talk about it. I just hope he doesn't let this distance himself from Rebecca. But only time will tell, right woman?" He began rolling her out toward the hospital entrance, they both waving to the staff they grew to like over the past week.
As Derek moved her to his truck, he buckled her in and smiled when she rolled her flirty brown eyes at him. When he got into the passenger seat, he turned and surprised her with a deep kiss. "Time to take my Goddess home."
"Uh, to all those damn stairs!" she sighed thinking of getting up to her purple apartment.
Derek only laughed and shook his head.
Penelope looked at him curiously and leaned toward him. "Derek..."
"Hmmm..."
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Home," he replied simply.
"Derek..."
"Penelope..."
"My apartment is the other way," she sighed.
"Oh baby, we aren't ever going back there again," he said with a smile.
"Derek Morgan, tell me where we are going now!" she yelped turning her full body toward him.
"I told you, we are going home and if you tear out those stitches, I swear to all that is good baby girl you will have major consequences."
Penelope sighed and turned her body back toward the road. "Where..."
"Home, baby girl. Home."
Derek tightened the grip on her hand and she sat quietly taking in her surroundings on this new adventure. What she was about to see was beyond anything she could have imagined. "Surprise, baby girl."