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.

Chapter 11

Penelope emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas. Derek ended his call when he saw her.

"That was Hotch," he explained. "He needs us to meet with him at the police station first thing in the morning."

Penelope bit her lip. "Do you think he'd mind if I stay here in the room and Skype in?" she asked.

"Sure, Baby Girl, whatever you want." Derek's heart plummeted. He knew then something had definitely happened, no matter how much Penelope denied it.

Penelope set up her computers and resumed the searches. Derek arched an eyebrow. "You don't have to do that, you know."

Penelope matched his expression. "I'm not very tired. I want to have my searches done so you all will be all set for tomorrow."

"All right, all right. Just do your thing, Sweetness." He took his turn in the bathroom and when he came out she had her headphones on. He saw she was filtering and transcribing the last call made by the second local victim. She had already determined that it was made minutes before the victim was abducted.

Derek turned on the TV and flipped the channels. He stopped when he found a channel playing a re-run of a '90s favorite TV show.* The credits were rolling when Penelope turned off the computers. She disappeared into the bathroom and when she came out she went to the other bed and turned down the covers. "Did you get done what you wanted?" he asked as she settled down into the bed. He tried not to be disappointed she chose the other bed. He really liked sleeping next to her but it was getting harder to control his thoughts and feelings. Cold showers were the new normal in his morning routine.

"Yep," was all she answered as she took off her glasses and put them on the nightstand next to her phone. Derek frowned at her sullen tone and turned off the light.

"Goodnight, Baby Girl," he whispered.

"Goodnight, Chocolate Mousse," she whispered back.

"They never came home," Ford spat out. It was two o'clock in the morning and he had been hiding and watching in his car down the street from Derek's house since eight.

Montgomery swore. "They must've gotten a case. They've never stayed in the office this late." He was hiding in a car near Penelope's apartment building.

"What do you want to do now?" Ford asked.

"Come back in a day or two. Switch cars and see what happens. I'm not in a rush. The marshalls think we're in Chicago."

"What about Morgan and his FBI team? They probably know by now we escaped."

"They aren't looking for us so I'm not worried. I'm going home."

"I'll get some food and meet you back there," Ford said.

Montgomery started the car and drove back to the place he found. It wasn't the best but it was far better than the cell he lived in for three decades. He got comfortable and grabbed a beer and set up a tablet. He re-watched a video someone took of the BAU at a speaking engagement. He watched in fascination as Penelope spoke and sassed the class of college students. She was good with a computer, he gave her that. And she was so pretty. He always knew that she would grow up to be a beautiful woman. He spent thirty years fantasizing about what she looked like as she grew up and he was not disappointed. He searched online and found nothing about her as a child, besides a newspaper article out of California about a couple killed by a drunk driver and two obituaries that had a Penelope Garcia listed as their surviving daughter. He couldn't understand why there was nothing about her except for a few snippets of FBI related things and a couple of YouTube videos of her performing in play when there was a ton of stuff about Derek Morgan- his days as a Chicago cop, member of the bomb squad, and every FBI achievement.

A few hours later Derek woke up. He looked around the dark hotel room, trying to figure out what woke him suddenly. A soft moan came from the other bed, followed by a high-pitched cry. He was out of his bed in an instant and turned on the bedside lamp. His heart dropped when he saw Penelope curled into a ball on the far edge of the bed. She was still asleep but was shaking and making incoherent noises.

"Penelope. Baby Girl, wake up! Come on, Sweetheart, wake up. It's just a dream," he soothed as he climbed into the bed. He tried to gather her in his arms but as soon as he touched her she sat straight up and stared at the wall.

"He didn't let him take me. He stopped him. What's his name? I didn't ask. Oh, I don't even know his name!" she cried.

"Penny, it's Derek," he whispered as he brought her into his lap. "His name is Derek and he loves you more than anything."

"Derek?" Penelope pushed him away slightly and looked into his eyes. Derek saw she was now fully awake, blinking rapidly and squinting. "What's going on?"

"You had a nightmare, Baby Girl," he explained as he pulled her close again.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Don't apologize for having bad dreams," he scolded. "You can't help it."

"I know. I'm sorry for waking you up."

"I'm glad you did. It kills me knowing you wake up scared."

They sat there together in silence for a few minutes before Penelope drew in a deep breath. "Derek, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Is me being here a burden?"

"What?! Baby Girl, where on earth did that idea come from?" He pushed her away and looked into her eyes, which were swimming in tears. She didn't say anything.

"No, Baby, you being here is not a burden. If anything, it's the exact opposite. I love having you right here. I can focus on the case better knowing you're close by. I can't speak for the rest of the team but I think they feel the same way."

"All right," she yawned. "I think we need to get back to sleep so we're not dragging tomorrow."

Derek set her down on the bed and moved to go back to his bed but Penelope grabbed his wrist. "Stay with me," she whispered shyly.

"Baby Girl..." he murmured as he brought his lips down on hers. She gasped and her eyes fluttered closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer. She moaned as his tongue found its way into her mouth. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked huskily when they finally came up for air. He rested his forehead against hers.

Regretfully, she nodded. "Derek, what just happened?"

"I couldn't stop myself, Baby Girl. I've been wanting to do that for a long, long time."

"I... I... " she stuttered.

Derek put a finger to her lips. "Shhh... I'll be here whenever you're ready." He kissed her nose. "You're tired. Let's get some sleep." He settled into the bed and brought the blankets up. He tugged her down until she was lying down next to him.

"Hold me, please," she whispered as she found his hand and guided his arm over. She sighed as he wrapped his arm around her, bringing himself closer. She felt her eyelids getting heavy. "I love you too," she whispered as she succumbed to sleep.

Derek gasped. He sat up in his elbow and watched his baby girl sleep. She heard me! he thought to himself. He then hastised himself. She's afraid and out of her element, Morgan. Don't take advantage now just because she knows everything. She needs time. He brought his hand up and rested it gently where he knew her scar was. He was just as furious now as he was when he first learned she had been shot. He still blamed himself, even after all this time. If I would have just manned up and told her how I feel then, she never would have been vulnerable to a predator like Battle. And she never would have been available to Lynch.

Derek laid back down and kissed her head. He fell asleep, breathing in the scent of her strawberry scented shampoo, adding it to his list of things he loved about her.

A/N: *Shout out in the next chapter for the *1st* person to guess and name the TV show Derek watched. Put your guesses in the reviews.

Hello. I know it's been awhile and I apologize for it. We didn't get a flake of snow from the "snowocalypse" but that was the cable company's excuse for not fixing the cable for almost two weeks. Seeing the pictures from my friend in D.C. and cousins in NYC and I'm glad my area was spared. We've been to three funerals in the last week and my BFF asked me to be her witness for her fourth wedding. Ever since my husband watched "Entropy" he calls me ".45." He thinks it's hysterical and I'm just facepalming.

Xoxo,

Pita(not a hitwoman)Cake