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 22

"DEREK!" Penelope screamed, over and over. She couldn't get the image of Derek falling over the edge of the hole out of her head.

"Shut her up, will you?" Ford snarled as he peered over the edge of the hole. Montgomery tightened his arm around her neck and put his hand over her mouth, rendering her silent.

Ford sauntered back over to where Montgomery stood with Penelope. He sneered down at her with barely contained glee and put the gun in his pocket. "Your boyfriend's dead, Princess."

Penelope screamed and wrestled her face away from Montgomery's hand. "You won't get away with this!" she cried.

"He won't be found for days, maybe longer. By that time we'll be long gone. Besides, that hole is at least fifty feet deep. Even if I didn't shoot him, the fall would've killed him," Ford gloated.

"No," she whispered hoarsely. Her knees collapsed and Montgomery grunted as he held her up. She gasped when he picked her up and carried her bridal-style and walked back to the van.

"Is it true, is the girl pregnant?" Montgomery asked Ford over his shoulder.

"Ask her yourself," Ford smiled evilly.

Montgomery looked down at Penelope. "Are you? he asked. Penelope bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't answer.

"I saw a pregnancy test that said 'pregnant' when I went through her bag," Ford elaborated. "That look on Morgan's face was priceless. Everyone will want a pretty female Fed. Wait until we tell the potential buyers that she's pregnant! We'll get enough to disappear forever and then some."

Montgomery stopped and set Penelope down on her feet. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Don't even think about lying. It will be easy enough to find out the truth. Are. You. Pregnant?"

Tears welled up in Penelope's eyes and she nodded. "Yes, I'm pregnant," she whispered. "I just found out."

"Is it Derek's?"

"Yes."

Montgomery gazed into her eyes and nodded. Penelope jerked her face away when he lessened the pressure on her chin. She took a step back but Montgomery grabbed her before she could move further away. He wrapped his arm around her neck again and put his hand over her mouth. "Don't even try to get away," he warned. "It won't work and it'll be better for you if you don't." He forced her to walk with him the rest of the way to the van.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Montgomery called over his shoulder.

Ford shrugged. "Not important."

"Not important!?" Montgomery raised his voice. "I wouldn't..."

"You what? Wouldn't have molested her?" Ford mocked. "Wouldn't have spent so long at that store trying to find the perfect little outfit for her? Wouldn't have spent all that time undressing her?"

"No, you idiot!" Montgomery yelled. He flinched at his own volume. "Don't you remember anything about your woman being pregnant?" he asked, much quieter. "A pregnant Fed would bring us enough to disappear but a sick or dead fed won't bring us jack shit!"

"What are you talking about?"

"If she loses that baby she could bleed out! If she loses it and can't pass everything, she'll get an infection and die without help!"

"What the hell are you saying?"

"When my woman was pregnant with my kid, she was high-risk. She was in bed for months so she wouldn't lose the baby. I read up on everything. If she loses the baby, this'll all blow up in our faces."

"Fine, fine... whatever."

"Don't even think about hitting her again," Montgomery warned. "She needs water and food. When we get back to the hideout go get some food. Healthy stuff, fruits and vegetables. Not fast food.

Penelope mumbled something behind her captor's hand. Montgomery pulled his hand away, released her neck and turned her around to face him. "What?" he asked.

"No meat. I don't eat meat," she replied softly.

Ford caught up and leaned in close to her face. "You'll eat whatever we give you," he snarled. He raised and swung his fist and laughed when she flinched and cried out. She stumbled backwards and would have fallen if Montgomery hadn't reached out quickly to steady her.

Montgomery whipped around to face his fellow fugitive. He pushed Penelope behind him and knocked Ford's fist away. "Are you deaf, dumb or just plain stupid!? If that's the way you treated your woman while was pregnant with your kid, how did your son survive?" he roared. He turned back to Penelope and pushed her gently onto the back of the van.

"I wasn't going to hit her," Ford chuckled. "Pregnant or not, she needs to know her place."

"She almost fell!" Montgomery argued.

Ford shrugged carelessly. "And you were right there to catch her. No harm, no foul."

Montgomery gave Ford a scalding look before he walked away. Penelope heard him open the front of the van and rummage around. She turned her attention back to Ford as he walked up to her. She shrank back when he gazed at her lewdly and reached up to grab her throat. He held his hand there, not adding any pressure, and leaned over.

"If you want to live long enough to see your baby born, you won't even think about kicking me again," he whispered. He released her throat and knelt down in front of her. He pulled a roll of duct tape from his pocket and taped her ankles together.

Penelope flinched and Ford chuckled when the van's door slammed. Montgomery came around to the back He had a blanket in his arms, which he set down next to Penelope, and a bottle of water, which he held out to her. Penelope pressed her lips together and shook her head "no."

"It's not spiked or poisoned," Montgomery explained. He unscrewed the bottle cap and took a large gulp. "See?"

Penelope nodded and he held the bottle up to her lips. She drank her fill and pulled her face away when she was done. "Thank you," she whispered. Montgomery looked taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

"This tape better not be too tight," he threatened Ford. He knelt and checked the bindings around her ankles.

Ford rolled his eyes but didn't reply. Instead, he pulled out the roll of tape from his pocket. He ripped off a strip and pressed it over Penelope's mouth. He rubbed his knuckles over her pale cheek before traveling down to her throat. Penelope shivered and looked away as she remembered his earlier threat. Ford grinned at her act of submission. He couldn't wait to get to the hideout. He had been looking forward to breaking Derek Morgan's woman for months. He kind of regretted killing him so soon. He could've forced the Fed to watch his woman bend and eventually break. That would have been equally amusing to see but Ford knew that he couldn't have risked keeping Morgan alive. The man was too good, too smart, and had too many friends. "Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here already. She's not the only one who needs to eat. I'm starving. Once we get to the hideout I'll drop you off then get some food and she can make it. "

"Like hell she will. She's going to rest." The two fugitives continued to argue as Montgomery pushed her further into the van last, covered her with the blanket, and closed the doors.

Derek jerked when Penelope screamed his name. He felt a searing pain go through his head, then felt himself falling. He crashed hard onto something and then world started spinning. His body hit numerous rocks and debris as he rolled down a hill of dirt until finally stopping. He could hear Penelope screaming his name but the wind had been knocked out of him. As he lay there struggling to breathe, his heart pounded as her voice was suddenly cut off mid-scream. He heard Montgomery and Ford arguing. He couldn't make out what they were saying even when the arguing turned into shouting. He tried to sit up when he heard the van start up but fell back down immediately. His head spun and he closed his eyes as darkness descended on top of him.

Penelope tried her best to focus on her surroundings. She remained sitting and listened as they drove for what felt like forever on a smooth, paved road. They turned several times before slowing down significantly. They drove on a gravel road. The pebbles bouncing against the undercarriage were deafening, even though the van was driving very slowly. Penelope closed her eyes and willed her migraine to go away. She felt sick and dizzy and lost her balance and fell on her side when the van stopped suddenly. She felt too faint to try and sit up again but she forced herself to stay awake. She focused on the GPS still clutched in her hand. She refused to accept that Derek was dead. He knew the risks and came for her anyway and she believed in her heart that her team of BAU superheroes would find them both.

Derek woke up and groaned in pain. He could barely move at first but as he concentrated on focusing and slowing his breathing, the pain settled into a steady throb in his head and ribs.

"Baby Girl..." He muttered as he slowly pushed himself to a sitting position. He looked up and saw the clouds breaking up and the first signs of false dawn. He stood on shaky legs and slowly climbed out of the hole. He guessed he rolled fifty feet of so before stopping. He lost his balance as he climbed over the lip of the hole and fell to his knees. He was blinded at the glare of several sets of headlights and felt dizzy again.

"Hey, buddy... You all right?" a deep voice called from the direction of the lights. A few seconds later Derek felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Mercifully the owner of the hand was kneeling between Derek and the lights and the profiler was able to see better. The man was older, bald, with eyes full of concern. The man looked Derek from head to toe, immediately noticing the blood on his head and the way he held his arm against his ribs. It wasn't hard for the man to figure out what had happened.

"Call... 911."

The BAU and several state and Metro PD units approached the set of warehouses. On constant alert, they drew their weapons and split up. They cleared the area and were despondent when there wasn't a trace of Penelope, Derek, or the fugitives. The officers fanned out to search the area surrounding the warehouse while the BAU stayed and profiled the scene.

"Do you really think they were here?" Kate asked the group.

"I have no doubt," Hotch replied. "Morgan gave us a copy of this address and the text. He wanted us here."

"He's leaving breadcrumbs," Reid suddenly blurted out. "Think about it: he's leaving a clue wherever he goes."

"Do you think he left one here?" JJ asked.

"I'm sure he did," Reid nodded.

A few hours later the team and LEO's were still searching when a breathless officer all but shouted that he had located Morgan's truck. A few minutes later a Statie announced he located Morgan's driver's license next to a dumpster a block away from the warehouse.

"Why would he leave his license?" Rossi wondered out loud. "Why not his creds or..."

"He needed to keep everything on him... his badge, his weapons... if he was caught, they would definitely disarm him, especially if they were threatening Garcia. He needed something that would be instantly recognized as his, to let us know we are on the right track... but something they wouldn't notice was missing? No license? Why does he need one? He has an FBI badge."

Hotch's phone rang and he answered it gruffly. "Hotchner." His fellow teammates looked at him as his eyes softened slightly. "OK, we're on our way."

"What is it, Hotch?" JJ asked.

"Emergency dispatchers just received a call about someone claiming to be Special Agent Derek Morgan found bleeding and injured at a quarry site near Culpeper."

A/N: Merry Christmas!

XOXO,

PitaCake