Disclaimer: I don't own them. Just the idea.

Chapter 5

Penny struggled to open her eyes. She blinked several times, trying to gather her wits, and tried to move her stiff body. She realized she was laying down on something soft and that her hands were trapped above her head and that her ankles were tied together. She moved her lips and felt a cloth jammed between them. The earlier events flooded back to her memory and she froze when a blurry figure stood over her and placed her glasses back on her face. She gasped when she recognized her kidnapper right away. He was the homeless man that would sit in an alley near the gaming center. She felt herself a fool. She had allowed Shane to treat her worries like paranoia and went against her instincts when she felt like she was being followed for days. Her head finally cleared and she realized he found her, like he said he would.

"Hello, Penny. My name is Derek. I'm sorry that I had to tie you up but I can't have you screaming or running away now that I've finally found you," Derek explained. His voice was smooth and deep, with no trace of the country accent he had spoken with before. Penny glared at him and struggled against her bonds again. She wanted him to know she wasn't a victim. She looked up at her hands and saw they were handcuffed to the headboard. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned into the gag in frustration. Her eyes flew open when she felt warn pressure on her hands. She saw Derek standing over her and forcing her hands to still. His hands were large and easily encompassed hers.

"Stop it," Derek ordered softly. "You'll only hurt yourself." Penny's brows furrowed. You drugged and kidnapped me and yet you don't want me to hurt myself? Seriously?"

"Believe me or don't believe me," he said and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm telling you right now, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." He stood up and rummaged around in his bag. Her eyes widened when she saw him fill a syringe with liquid from a vial. She renewed her struggling as he approached her again. She couldn't stop the tears that formed and quickly escaped her eyes when he first cleaned a patch of skin on her arm with an alcohol pad. He blew on it to speed up the drying before injecting her with the syringe's contents. He knew what he was doing and she barely felt the needle.

Penelope closed her eyes and let the drugs take over, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop its effects. She opened her eyes and saw the same lady that had visited her dreams from as far back as she could remember. As always, she was surrounded by a soft, yet powerful light. "Wait," Penelope slurred. She tried to reach out to the lady when she opened her arms in invitation but Penelope was still trapped on the bed by the cuffs. She cried out when night started closing in on them and watched in horror and the lady and her light was swallowed up by the inky darkness.

Derek felt chills run down his spine as he watched Penelope stare at the ceiling in awe. He had no idea who or what she was seeing and talking to but he felt like he was intruding on something personal. He was finally able to turn away when she closed her eyes and her breathing slowed and regulated. He hated himself for what he had to do. Even though everything he had done was to protect her, he didn't like scaring her. It felt like a knife piercing his soul when she cried. All he wanted to do was gather her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right so she would no longer be afraid, just like he did when they were children. He removed her glasses again and placed them on the nightstand. He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her forehead before getting up to take a shower.

A few minutes later he stood over the bathroom sink and shaved off the overgrowth of hair on his face and head. He only left his usual goatee and after he was finished he jumped in the shower to clean off. When he was done he slipped on a pair of pajama pants. He pushed his sleeping princess over a little before laying down next to her. He wasn't even aware when his eyes closed and sleep claimed him.

Derek woke up suddenly when he heard a noise. He was momentarily disoriented and looked around in alarm. He gasped when he realized that he had wrapped himself around Penelope while he slept. He pushed himself away but he was caught up in the sheet and in his haste he tumbled out of the bed. He managed to untangle himself from the sheet and sat up. His heart twisted when he looked up at the bed and saw his princess crying and shaking silently. He once again wanted so badly to blurt out his intentions, just so she would no longer be afraid of him. But he knew he couldn't, he had his orders, and she wouldn't believe him anyway.

"I... I'm sorry, Pr... Miss Garcia. I... excuse me," Derek stuttered as he picked himself off the floor. He all but ran into the en suite. Although he had just taken a shower the night before, he stepped into the shower and blasted the cold water, hoping to stop the raging hard-on he had woken up with. It wasn't just morning wood, he admitted to himself. Watching the princess sleep the night before, admiring her beauty and what he knew from his undercover stint, her gentle and pure heart, affected him not just emotionally but physically as well. He never felt such an emotional attachment to anyone before, although they were strangers, he felt a bond with her and knew no matter what, he'd always protect her with his life. He dried himself off and put his pajama pants back on before leaving. Horror washed over him again when he saw Penelope squirming on the bed.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry!" He wanted to smack himself. He was so worried about his own needs he completely forgot about hers. He grabbed his keys and freed her wrists from the cuffs. He went to untie the gag and stopped. "I'll take this off if you swear you won't yell or scream. If you do, I'll put this back on and make you keep it on until we get where we're going. Do you swear?" Penelope nodded in response and Derek took the gag off. Penelope sighed and licked her dry lips before swallowing several times.

"I know you need the facilities," Derek said as he untied her feet. He grabbed her hands and helped her sit up. He pulled her to her feet and when he saw how wobbly her legs were, he circled his arm around her waist and guided her to the en suite before closing the door, giving her privacy.

A few minutes later the door opened slightly and Penelope peaked her head around the wall. "Umm... could I... can I please take a shower?" she whispered, her eyes downcast.

"Of course," Derek replied. "Did you need something else?" he asked when she continued to stare unmoving at the floor.

"I saw my bag somewhere in there. Could I have it? I have my toiletries in it." She still didn't look up at him when she spoke.

"Yeah, let me get it." Derek rushed to the chair where he put her bag room. He double-checked the bag's contents and removed her hair spray and perfume before handing it over to her.

"Thank you," she whispered before closing the door.

Derek walked back to the main room and sat on the bed. He stared at the wall that separated the bathroom from the main room and tried to dispel the princess from his mind. His head jerked up when he heard the housekeeping cart go down the hallway. He suddenly remembered that he used both towels- from last night and earlier- and he didn't want his princess to use a dirty or wet towel. He caught up with the housekeeper a couple rooms down and got an armful of clean towels from her.

He put the towels on the bed and grabbed two from the stack. He knocked on the bathroom door and frowned when he received no answer. He peaked in and saw the room was full of steam and heard the water running. He walked in and placed the towels on the rack next to the shower. The water was shut off and before he could move the shower curtain was whipped open. He couldn't advert his eyes as he stood transfixed at the woman in front of him. It wasn't until she gasped and pulled the curtain back over, shielding her body, that he realized what he was doing and with whom.

"Um, sorry. I just realized I used up all the towels. I brought you some more," he stuttered and gestured to the towels. Penelope stared at him with wide, frightened eyes and didn't move a muscle. "I'm sorry," he repeated before backing out of the bathroom.

He sat back down on the bed and groaned. A hundred cold showers wouldn't be able to erase the memory of what he just saw. He'd never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. He'd had his share of women warming his bed, although no one stuck around longer than six months. The stress of his job, the traveling, and the secrecy were the usual deal-breakers. The longest relationship he'd ever had was with Savannah, although he didn't understand why she stayed with him. She was always complaining and didn't seem to be happy. He personally felt like it was time for him to settle down and tried his best to make the relationship work, believing Savannah wouldn't still be with him if she didn't want to be.

He looked up and glanced at his watch. Penelope had been in the bathroom for a long time- too long, in his opinion. He got up and knocked on the door and stepped back when she cracked it open. He saw she had a towel clutched to her chest.

"Yes?" she asked timidly.

"You've been in there awhile. Are you OK?" he asked.

Penelope raised an eyebrow but still kept her eyes down. "I'm fine," she lied.

"Don't lie to me, OK?" Derek sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I don't have anything to wear. I... I didn't know my dress had torn... and now it's ruined..." She finally looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I'll be right back," Derek said. He dug around his bag and pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

"Here," he said to the bathroom door. He passed the clothes through when she opened the door again.

Penelope finally emerged from the bathroom. Derek looked up from the TV and gaped. "You're blonde..." he said stupidly.

"Yes," she replied.

"I thought..."

"I have... a few wigs I like wearing for different looks."

"Or when you don't want people to recognize you," he smirked. She looked amazing dressed in his clothes. She was swimming in them but between that and knowing what was under those clothes, plus her blonde curls still damp from her shower, Derek thought she was the sexiest woman he'd ever seen. Stop it right there, he chastised himself. She's the princess. She is so far out of your league, Morgan. You have no right to think of her that way.

Penelope narrowed her eyes angrily. She glanced quickly at the door before bolting to it. She had her hand on the door handle when Derek grabbed her and swung her over his shoulder. She squeaked when the world tipped and she found herself upside down. She kicked out wildly and hit his back, but he tightened his grip before tossing her on the bed. She scrambled back to the headboard. "Don't..." she whispered.

"I told you I'm not going to hurt you," he said as he walked away.

"Didn't you already?"

"Excuse me?"

"Did you... didn't you...?"

"What?! Of course not!" Derek boomed. He was horrified that she thought he had taken advantage of her while she was unconscious.

"What do you want with me?" she asked.

"I have orders. I'm supposed to take you to my boss," he said. He walked back over and sat down on the bed. He took his handcuffs out of his pocket and advanced towards her. He pushed her down and easily subdued her struggling and cuffed her hands to the headboard.

"You said you wouldn't use that if I didn't scream," she whimpered when he brought the gag out. He felt like scum as he pushed it in her mouth and tied it behind her head.

"I know, and I'm sorry," he apologized. "But you just tried to run away and I need to run out and get us something to eat." He grabbed one of his bags and disappeared into the en suite. He returned a few minutes later fully dressed, in a dark button-down shirt and nice jeans. He replaced his bag and walked over to the nightstand. He tried to ignore her eyes trailing his every move although he noticed her visibly stiffen when he pulled out his guns. He strapped his ankle holster on and put his primary weapon in the holster on his hip, attached his knife and its holster on his other hip, and put his wallet in his back pocket. He finally got his keys and closed the drawer. "I won't be gone long," he said before opening and closing the door behind

him. He made sure the "Do Not Disturb" sign was still in place before jogging to the SUV.

A/N: Wow! I wasn't expecting that kind of response when I said I was considering deleting this story. I admit, it made me emotional reading the encouragements. I will continue it. I hope y'all enjoy.

XOXO,

Pita(humbled)Cake