Disclaimer: I do not own nor make monetary gain from this is or my other stories.

Chapter 6

"Hey, I'm back," Derek announced. He staggered through the door, juggling several bags and a drink carrier. He shut the door with his foot before setting the bags and carrier on the table. He turned back and and set the chain lock in place. He put all but one of the bags in the mini-fridge. "I got you an egg and cheese sandwich and some hash browns and a blueberry cinnamon roll. I know you're a vegetarian so I didn't get you anything with meat in it," he explained as he freed Penelope from the cuffs and took the gag off. She gave him an odd expression before sitting up. She smelled the food and her stomach growled loudly. She accepted his proffered hand and allowed him to lead her to the table. He pulled the chair out and pushed it in after she sat down. He sat down across from her and pulled out their food from the paper bag. He passed her a wrapped sandwich, a box, and a pod of hash browns, then set a large cup of coffee down in front of her. "Cream, sugar?" he asked.

Penelope nodded. He passed her some creamer tubs and sugar packets and a stirring straw. She added the cream and sugar, stirring both in thoroughly before taking a sip. She sighed as she drank the caffeinated brew. It was her favorite brand and from her favorite place.

They ate their breakfast in silence, although they studied each other carefully. Penelope noticed that Derek had impeccable manners, although he practically inhaled his food. It seemed like he more than made up for her vegetarian choices. She saw ham, sausage, and bacon with egg and cheese inside the huge sandwich, plus a styrofoam container with a biscuit and sausage gravy. In her travels she learned that in some regions, biscuits and gravy were treated as a delicacy, although she never tried it herself.

She ate her food more slowly, as she was taught as a child. Her father made sure she learned manners and taught her how to act properly. He didn't care that they lived in a cabin in the woods; he had raised her and Spencer to be a perfect lady and gentleman. He also taught them to help the less fortunate. She never thought something she learned from her father would end up causing her so much trouble.

"What now?" she asked as Derek packed up their trash when she was finished.

"We have to wait until nightfall, then we're heading out."

"Oh." She didn't protest when Derek helped her out of the chair. He guided her over to the bed and gently pushed her down until she was sitting on it.

"Shove over," he ordered. He pretended not to notice that she scooted over to the very edge of the bed. She drew her knees up and hugged them and turned her head to face the wall . He pulled his handcuffs out again and sat down next to her. He picked up her right wrist and slapped a cuff on it before shackling his own left wrist with the other cuff. She didn't look over at him or even move. He sat as far away from her as the cuffs allowed. He knew she wanted space and gave her as much as he could. He turned on the TV and started flipping through channels. When he saw her turn her head and watch, he passed her the remote. She grabbed it and flipped it back several channels before settling on an old sitcom rerun.

After awhile he uncuffed himself so she could use the facilities. She emerged with her brown wig in hand. She finger-combed it, then pulled a plastic bag from her bag and put the wig in it.

"What other ones do you have?" Derek asked. He recuffed himself when she sat back on the bed.

"Excuse me?"

"You said you have different wigs. What do they look like?"

"I have one that's black and bob-length, a red one that's kinda long, a short blonde one, a brown pixie-style, that long brown one." She frowned at his prodding. "Why?"

"Just wondering. I like your real hair," he confessed. He gently tugged one of her long blonde curls. He watched in fascination as the curl wrapped around his fingers while Penelope shook her hair, then gathered it together with her free hand and draped it over her left shoulder, away from him. "But I can see you in all of those others," he added. He noticed his princess shifting uncomfortably and didn't try to engage conversation again.

They watched TV and movies the rest of the day. Derek let Penelope choose what to watch and didn't complain once about her choices. He only spoke when she shifted, to ask if she was comfortable, or to offer her snacks and drinks from the fridge. She didn't speak, only nodded or shook her head no. He moved with her, not caring about his own comfort. She didn't complain but he studied her expressions and knew when she needed to move around or needed the bathroom. By the time night had fallen, he was stir-crazy and more than ready to go home.

Derek left Penelope cuffed to a chair while he packed and loaded his things and her bag into the SUV. He came back for her last, removing the cuffs and keeping a grip on her arm as he put her in the passenger seat.

He stated driving and frowned when he saw a tear fall down Penelope's cheek as they left the village behind.

"Baby Girl, are you crying? Why?" Derek asked.

"Well, there's the obvious. I've been kidnapped and by a man who pretended to be a homeless person," she snapped. "I gave you money and food, and it appears you really needed them!" She waved her hand dramatically around the fancy SUV.

"You're upset that I took your money?" he asked incredulously.

"I thought I was helping you! I could have used what I gave you to help someone else, someone who truly needed it!"

Derek had no answer for that and he didn't know what made him feel worse: the fact that he had taken money from her that could've gone to someone who needed it or that it hadn't even occurred to him until a few seconds ago when she called him out on it.

As they approached another village, Derek's stomach growled. He pulled off the main road and into the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant. "Is this OK?" he asked. He pulled up short of the ordering speaker to look at the menu. She nodded. "What do you want?"

"A garden salad with ranch and a chocolate shake and a soda, please," she requested. Derek pulled up to the speaker and placed their order. He pulled forward to the window and paid, then accepted their drinks. When the employee gave him the bag of food, he passed her two fifty-dollar bills.

"The next one-hundred bucks in orders is on us," he explained to the wide-eyed employee. He looked over at Penelope who was as wide-eyed as the girl at the window before turning back. "Just say it's from someone who is learning how to be a better person and his teacher." He flashed the girl his dazzling smile before driving off. He glanced back over at Penelope and saw a tiny smile on her face.

"Are you going to eat?" he asked after they drove a few miles.

"I can't eat in a moving vehicle or I'll get sick," she explained.

"OK." Derek pulled into the parking lot of a 24-hour department store. He chose a secluded spot away from the other cars in the lot.

"Was that OK?" he asked as they finished their food.

Penelope shrugged. "What if the next people in line were well-off?"

"Then hopefully they'll take our good deed to heart and use what they saved and then some to help someone else," he shrugged back. "I can't help what they do or don't do." He put the SUV in drive and started driving again.

They rode for hours in silence. Penelope couldn't see which direction they were going in the dark and had no idea where he was taking her. All she knew was that he was taking her to him. She heard him brag about having several friends, hiding places, and homes throughout the country and that Derek could be taking her to any one of them.

"We're almost there," Derek said out of the blue.

"Where's 'there?'" Penelope asked.

"Home." Derek kept his answer purposely cryptic. He didn't want her to know where they were. It was one of the reasons why he decided to travel under the cloak of night.

The SUV approached a village and drove straight through it. Penelope watched as more trees popped up as the village thinned. Derek slowed the SUV at a stoplight. She squinted her eyes and didn't see any more lights ahead. She took a deep breath and flung open the SUV's door. She unbuckled her seat belt and slid sideways from the vehicle. She stumbled when her feet hit the pavement; the car had suddenly started moving faster at the last minute. She booked it straight for the trees, running as fast as she could, ignoring the heavy footsteps of her captor behind her. She gasped when a pine branch smacked her face, knocking her glasses askew. She kept running and was too busy fixing her glasses that she didn't notice the slope until it was too late. She was only scarcely aware of Derek yelling as she rolled down the hill and fell into a body of water. She was stunned for a moment and slowly pushed herself up to her knees when she heard a splash. She tried to get up but her sense of balance was off. She gasped when she felt warm hands pull her to her feet. She tried to shove Derek away and stumbled again on the unstable creek bed.

"Stop, stop fighting me, dammit!" Derek gripped her shoulders and shook her lightly. "Why did you do that? I said I wasn't going to hurt you, and I haven't!"

"Just because you haven't, doesn't mean someone else won't later." Her voice was soft, low, and her eyes dropped to her hands as twin tears fell from them.

"Pr... Baby Girl, nobody's going to hurt you." He frowned when she didn't answer, even though she continued to struggle against his grip on her.

"What are you thinking, running out here in the middle of nowhere? Jesus, Reid said you were stubborn but..." Penelope froze, then went limp. Derek released her when she stopped fighting. She sank back down into the shallow water and dropped her head into her hands.

"Penny...?" Derek dropped to his knees in front of her.

"My brother? You... know my brother?" she whispered.

"Yeah. I mean, he's the one that told us all about you. Your letters to him led me to the village you were hiding in," Derek explained. He frowned when she shuddered. "Come on. The water's cold. Like I said, we're almost there." He stood and held out his hand

Penelope sniffed and finally looked up at him. For the first time since he'd known her she looked broken and defeated and Derek was taken aback. She looked at his hand before she nodded and placed her hand in his. He tried not to think how perfect her hand fit in his as he helped her out of the water although he didn't let her go as they walked back to the SUV. He opened the back hatch of the vehicle and pulled out a blanket and wrapped it snuggly around her, then guided her to the front passenger seat. He took out his cuffs and cuffed her wrist to the inside door handle. She did not fight him at all or speak a single word. He then went back and pulled out a second blanket. He stripped off his wet shirt and dried himself off, then unbuckled his belt and dried off his lower extremities before replacing his underwear and pants with dry ones. He would've given the clothes to the princess but he needed to sneak her into the castle without her being seen and him coming home in dripping wet clothes would've drawn a lot of attention.

He started driving again and his senses heightened when he started seeing familiar landmarks. The lights of The District were in sight when he turned off the highway and crossed a long bridge. He drove down a tiny, narrow road through the woods before stopping. He got out and unlocked a padlocked gate. He drove through it before getting out again and re-locking it. He stopped again about fifty yards in and killed the engine.

"We're here."

A/N: Thanks for reading!

XOXO,

PitaCake