Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters. Some "guest stars" are based on or named after people in my life while others are totally made up, as are some places and events.

Heads up: Sweary.

Chapter 3

2004 (cont.)

Derek threw down his pencil in disgust. He was pissed at everything, mostly himself for being so slow. His side and knee still throbbed from the hard landing after he had jumped to the other building. He almost had him. He had literally touched Matloff's fingers when he lost his grip on the ledge and fell. The fact that the man survived the fall was hard to believe. Derek picked up the now-completed reports on his desk and brought them to Hotch's office. For once it was dark and empty.

As Derek left the office he bumped into Garcia, who clutched a file in her hands. "What are you doing here so late?" he asked as he waited for her as she dropped the file on Hotch's desk next to his.

"Trying not to gouge out my own eyes at the ancient system you have me working with," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"Come again?" Derek asked as he closed the door behind them.

"The computers themselves are slow, the operating system is weak and buggy, and I've already boosted the firewalls and filters because you guys are just asking to be hacked," she elaborated. "I just put in a request to gut it all and rebuild it myself. I hope they let me but I doubt they trust me yet," she looked down at her feet.

"Do you want to grab a bite or something?" Derek asked.

Penelope froze. "I don't think so," she replied softly.

"Can I ask why?" Derek frowned.

"I read the rules. Fraternization between employees is forbidden," she said.

"Oh, that!" he laughed. "The team hangs out together all the time. We go to bars, eat out. Hotch brings his wife quite a bit. Whenever we have something going on we try to be there for each other. We're more like a family. It's quiet now since Gideon took sabbatical and two other agents transferred. Come on, I know a great diner that's open all the time."

"Well, OK." She smiled as she waited for him to get his bag. He walked next to her as she got her own things from her office.

"Where did you park?" he asked as they rode the elevator to the garage.

"I don't have a car," she said sadly.

"Geez, I'm sorry!" Derek apologized. "I forgot you're new to Quantico."

"Don't apologize," she said. "I actually do have a car but I have no idea where it is."

"I don't understand," he said as he guided her to his own vehicle, an SUV.

"The FBI has been so great. They helped me find an apartment and gave me an advance to get some furnishings. They were supposed to get someone to bring my car from California but I can't get a straight answer from anyone. That's all I had there. That and my purse was all wanted to bring with me into this new life."

They pulled into the diner and he held the door open for her, just like the car door. She wasn't used to the gentleman treatment from men.

When they sat across the booth from each other. She ordered a caesar salad and a chocolate milkshake. He ordered a double cheeseburger with everything with a side of fries and a chocolate shake.

"Tell me about yourself," Derek asked after they got their shakes.

Penelope shrugged and stared at the glass. "I'm a computer hacker who committed a felony who suddenly found herself working for the federal government."

Derek grabbed her hand. "I know all that. What don't I know?"

"I have no family. My parents are dead and I have four older brothers who hate me. I went to Caltech briefly before dropping out. I live in a city that I know no one. I'm a vegetarian."

"Hasn't anyone in the Bureau invited you out?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I might as well have, 'Felon' tattooed on my forehead. Nobody looks me in the eye or speaks to me." Penelope looked depressed.

"I'm sorry about that," Derek apologized.

"Don't apologize for the actions of others. Tech geeks like me will never win popularity contests. Add a tech geek with a record and I'm a pariah. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"I'm from Chicago. I got a football scholarship to Northwestern but I hurt my knee. Luckily I was able to keep my full ride and went to law school. I ended up joining Chicago PD. I eventually went with the bomb squad before being recruited by the FBI, then the BAU."

"Do you have a family?"

"I have my mom and one older and one younger sister. They still live in Chicago. My dad died when I was ten. Have you ever been to Chicago?"

"Once, when I was little. It was the only time I ever saw snow." Penelope looked sad again but was saved when their food arrived. In the time it took Penelope to eat her salad, Derek had polished off his burger and fries.

Derek insisted on paying and wouldn't hear any arguments. He was the perfect gentleman.

She gave him directions to her building.

"I can get myself in, thank you," she said when they pulled up. He surveyed the courtyard with distrust.

"Would you like a ride in tomorrow?" he asked.

"I don't want to put you out of your way," she protested.

"Don't worry about it," he replied.

"Thanks, that would be great." She said as she stepped out of the SUV.

"Text me when you get to your apartment," he ordered.

"Aww, you actually care," she teased as she closed the SUV's door.

"Yeah, I do," he whispered as he watched her enter the building. He waited at the curb for her to text him. He smiled when his phone went off:

* Made it in. Thanks for the ride.- P *

He texted back:

* Good night, my Lady *

He went to put the SUV in gear but stopped when he got another text. He grinned when he read her reply:

* Sweet dreams, Sugar. *

That night he dreamt of Penny again. He hasn't dreamt about his father's death in years but in his dream be relived the entire thing. The only thing that changed was at the end, when Penny kissed his cheek. When he looked up at her, she wasn't the little girl he remembered. She was replaced by Penelope Garcia.

Derek woke up covered in sweat. Was it possible? Could Penelope Garcia, the goth computer hacker, be the Penny from his childhood? Is that why he felt so drawn to her and why he wanted to protect her? She said she went to Chicago as a child. He remembered that it snowed the day his father was killed.

The next morning he picked Penelope up and surprised her with a coffee. He stared as she inhaled the rich aroma and her eyes rolled back into her head.

She caught him staring. "What?" she asked.

"You're really... passionate," he said as he looked into her eyes. They were the same eyes he dreamed about since he was ten years old.

"I haven't bought a coffee maker yet and the office coffee isn't the best," she explained.

They were quiet on the ride to work, lost in their own thoughts. Like the night before, he held doors for her. He even walked her to her office.

He walked passed the bullpen and went straight to Hotch's office. By the time he got there he knew in his heart his Penny was real and she was working with him in the same FBI unit.

"Hotch, I took the new tech, Garcia, to dinner last night." Derek announced after he knocked and sat down.

"OK... " Hotch looked confused at this information.

"She's brand new to town. She knows nobody and people here aren't helping."

"Are they being hostile to her?" Hotch asked. He never even considered how her past would look to the other agents when he offered her the job.

"No, just unfriendly. She is overwhelmed."

"I gathered that from this proposal she submitted last night."

"What does she want?"

"To be honest, I don't understand most of it. She wants to overhaul the current system. She wrote out, step-by-step, what all she wants to do. She offered to have another tech watch her do it." Hotch answered.

"She doesn't think we trust her." Derek said.

"I don't."

"You hired her, Hotch. I know you. You care about your subordinates. Why should you treat her less than the rest of us? You said so yourself that she's a good person. I agree. If you want her to be happy, let her do this. And maybe ask her to meet us at the bar tomorrow and bring Haley. Garcia needs to meet people. The more people get to know her, they'll see she's a sweet lady."

"All right, Morgan. I'm going to trust you two on this."

"Something else. She was told her car was supposed to be brought here and it's not here yet. No one can give her any answers. She didn't bring anything else with her besides that handbag."

"I'll take care of it."

A/N: I know I say this a lot but I really do have the best and sweetest readers ever. You guys rock.

Much love always,

PitaCake