Disclaimer: Though I love it dearly and would totally put Morgan and Garcia together, I do not own Criminal Minds :(

I must apologize profusely for not updating sooner! I have exams this week at school and if I don't study AP Bio I'm gonna fail. AP Lit, no problem :) Anyways, please read and review!

JJ sat by Penelope's bedside, her head in her hands as she looked at her unconscious best friend. She looked so frail in her weakened state, her body looking like a truck had run over it. The doctors had been able to pull her through surgery, but her condition was extremely critical. In addition to the massive internal bleeding she'd sustained, several of her ribs were broken, her jaw had almost been broken, and her wrist and ankle were shattered.

Harold Talbot had put her through hell. And she'd reemerged from it.

"Garcia," she murmured. "You have to wake up. You have to wake up for Henry. He'll miss his Auntie Pen if you don't come back to us. And us. The team can't survive without you. We love you so much. You bring light to our lives in the darkness that surrounds this damn job. We won't make it without you and your crazy banter with Morgan, your wild outfits. We'll not make it." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she sniffled. "So you have to wake up."

XXXXX

Penelope's eyes fluttered open and she was sitting in her wild and wacky apartment. She was on her couch, staring at the walls. On her Super 8 roll she could see herself lying on a hospital bed, her face beaten to a pulp and her body bruised all over. JJ sat by her bedside with tears running down her cheeks and her head in her hands.

"Oh, Jayje," she murmured, rising from her seat and going to the screen.

"Penelope…" The voice sounded distinctly familiar. Though she hadn't heard it for a very long time, she remembered exactly who it belonged to.

Turning around, she saw her mother standing in front of her, her eyes warm as the last time she'd seen her. "Mom?" she gasped. "Mom, what am I doing here? What is this? How can I see JJ?" Her breathing grew erratic and her mother came towards her, putting her hands on Penelope's arms in a soothing gesture. "What is going on?"

"You're in a state of dreams," her mother explained. "You're still alive, but you're trapped here."

"Trapped here? For how long?" Terror began to flood through her body and she started to shake violently. Tears flooded her eyes and she gripped her mother's arms. So many questions were running through her mind. "Mom," she whispered softly. "Are you mad at me? For causing your death? And Dad? Is that why he's not here?"

Her mother smiled sadly at her. She put her hand on her cheek to comfort her. "Oh honey," she murmured with compassion. "Of course we don't blame you for what happened to us. You are in no way responsible for the man who did kill us. That is in no way your fault. The reason your father isn't here is because I'm the manifestation of who you needed most right now. But don't you ever think that we blame you. We're your parents and we love you." Without another word she pulled her into a tight hug and Penelope responded with a crushing embrace back.

"Mom?" she asked tearfully. "How do I get back to Der – how do I get back to the world? I love seeing you, but there are people I need to get back to. People who need me."

Her mother nodded somberly and all of the sudden JJ and her own beaten body disappeared from the screen to reveal Derek in surgery. The doctors were using a pair of panels and attempting to shock him back to life. She let out a cry of despair and covered her mouth with her hand. "He's fading quickly," her mother said dejectedly. "Without something to live for, he won't make it back from death. He won't return."

Penelope's eyes shot to the image of Derek on the OR table and she whispered, "I have to get back to him, Mom. I have to give him a reason to come back. I have to save him!"

Slowly her mother's body began to fade and her voice was growing quieter by the second. "You have to find the way back to him then," she said. "Use your love to guide you."

"How do I get out?" she asked frantically. "What do I have to do?"

"You must find your own way out," she said as her body faded to nothing. Only her voice remained after that. "I love you, Penelope."

"MOM!" she screamed when her voice died away. She fell to her knees and wept into her hands, wondering how the hell she was going to get out of the place she currently found herself in.

XXXXX

Fran Morgan started on her second cup of coffee as she sat next to her son. He had come out of surgery only an hour ago after being in it for twelve long hours. He was now in a coma the doctors had no idea he might come out of. She always knew her son was brave, but she never thought something like this would happen to him. Penelope Garcia, the one woman he'd talked about with love in his voice and his eyes, was also in a state of critical condition and Fran wondered if she was ever going to get to meet the love of her son's life. It was up in the air about whether or not she would survive as well.

"Derek baby," she whispered. "Come back to me. Introduce me to the one woman who captured your heart and has made you the honest, courageous man you are. Wake up so you can live to fight for the lives of people who can't."

XXXXX

Derek let out a groan and opened his eyes. He frowned at his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was being in the shipping crate Harold Talbot had been keeping Penelope hostage in. Now he found himself standing in his office at the BAU.

"What hell am I doing here?" he wondered aloud.

"Last time we talked you weren't cussing yet."

Derek whirled around to see his father standing right beside him. "Dad?" he said hoarsely. "What – how?"

His father laughed and came forward to clap him on the shoulder. "This is all in your head, son," he said with a depressed tone to his voice. "You've come through a long battle for your life. Now you've got to fight your way back to it. You've got a woman who loves you waiting for you. Your mother and sisters too. You have to get back to them."

Penelope came into his mind and he rubbed the top of his head. She'd been so hurt, her body broken when he'd found her. He wanted nothing more than to shield her from it. Taking away the pain for her was all he could think about. "Dad, it's all my fault," he muttered. "I killed Henry Talbot and Penelope was punished for it. Harold wanted revenge on me and he took her. I'm to blame for this."

"No," he said gruffly, shaking him by the shoulders. "This is the fault of a delusional man who had his heart set on revenge. Penelope loves you and she would never blame you for that. Don't you forget it. So get back there and heal together."

Derek shook his head. "How do I get out of here?"

His father put his hands in his pockets and started to walk out the door of his office. "You'll have to find your own way out, son," he said cryptically. It's up to you to get back to Penelope. Take care of her. Love her right." He left through the office door, but as Derek tried to follow him to ask what he meant some invisible force stopped him from leaving the office and he cursed.

How the hell was he going to get out of the dream he couldn't escape?