Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or the characters in this story, unfortunately. However, the ideas are mine. (:
The team's case had been surprisingly short. The unsub wasn't very good once it came to hiding evidence..
Penelope was on her way home. It was a dark and cold night and it had just started raining. Although the case was short it had been stressing. She was really looking forward to a long hot bath. The thought of it made her smile as she reached for her keys into her purse. She pulled them out and unlocked the door. She turned the lights on as she stepped in and shut the door behind her. She set her purse on the couch and checked to see it anyone had called her house phone. No calls. She sat down for a little while.
Derek pulled into his drive way. He was tired. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately. As he walked up the steps to his home he pulled his keys out from his pocket. He unlocked the door and stepped in. He turned on the light and up stairs into his bedroom, leaving the door unlocked. He got into his room and changed from his work clothes into his t-shirt and sweatpants. He wasn't a big fan of the rain so he just wanted to get right into bed.
Penelope got up and went into her bedroom then into her bathroom. She left the water running and went back into her bedroom. She looked for her clothes and set them on her bed. She undressed and put her robe on. She was headed to the bathroom when her phone rang. She sighed and went out to the living room. "Hello?" She answered but no one answered. "Hello?" She called out again. Nothing. She put her phone down and turned to the bathroom. Her phone rang again. She groaned and picked it up again. "Hello?" It was JJ with not very pleasant news..
Derek went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth then washed his face. He then went back to his bedroom. He decided to go get a glass of water before going to bed. As he was going downstairs his phone rang back in the room, he was halfway down and didn't want to go up then back down. He went into the kitchen grabbed a glass. As he was pouring himself water he heard his house phone. Before he could turn around he was struck from behind. He felt a sharp pain on his back and the glass fell out of his hand. Before he attempted to turn around again he felt the same pain again, this time harder. He fell down onto his knees then onto the floor. He turned himself to find Kevin with a smirk plastered on his face.
"What do you mean he was let out?" Penelope frowned. She stood there listening to JJ. "A guy beats up a woman and is only put into jail for a few weeks.." She sighed and shook her head. "Good night." She hung up and called Derek. There was no answer. She sighed and went to turn the running water in the bathroom. She came back out and tried calling his phone again and again there was no answer. "Maybe he fell asleep.." She thought to herself. She went into her bathroom and got into the tub, she brought her phone in case she was called again.
Derek lay on the floor. His head was throbbing. The room was dark quiet. He was no longer on his kitchen floor. He looked around but could barely see anything. He groaned in pain and ran his hand over the back of his head. Why wasn't he tied down? He asked himself. He sat up and a light went on. It was Kevin, still grinning. "How'd you sleep, tough man?" Derek shook his head and tried to get up slowly. He held on to a table besides him. "You're not gonna get away with this.."
Penelope was out of the shower. She went to her bedroom and got dressed. She went back into the living room with the phone. She called Derek again. Obviously there was no answer. She began to worry about him. She eventually called JJ... She heard a loud knock on the door. JJ had arrived. She answered the door and she stepped in. "You're ready?" JJ looked at Penelope. Penelope grabbed her jacket and nodded. They stepped out and went to JJ car. They got in, buckled up, and JJ began driving. Penelope looked out the window. "I'm sure he's okay, Pen.." JJ turned to her as they approached red light. Penelope turned to her and JJ nodded and gave her a warm Smile. She wanted to believe Derek was but she felt like something was wrong. He never missed any of her calls and if for some reason he did, he'd immediately called her back. He hadn't though it had nearly been two hours since she called him.
"Don't worry, you'll be outta here soon.." He chuckled as he sat down. He pulled his phone out and set it on his lap and stared at it. He was obviously waiting for a phone call. Derek usually wouldn't be scared of a guy like Kevin but today right then, he had an advantage over Derek. Derek stood there trying to gain some strength. He was in pain but he didn't care, he was going to make Kevin pay for not what he had done to him but what he had done to his baby girl. As he stepped closer to him, Kevin's phone rang and Derek stopped.
JJ and Penelope drove into Derek's driveway. "The lights are on.." JJ pointed out. Penelope turned to JJ before unbuckling her seatbelt. They got out of the car, locked it and headed to his front porch. They looked through the windows and saw nothing so they knocked on the door and rang his doorbell. Nothing.. Jj tried turning the knob but it was locked. Penelope reached into her pocket and pulled out a copy of the doors key. JJ cocked a brow at her, "you have a key to his house?" Penelope didn't answer and unlocked the door. They stepped in and looked around. Nothing was out of place. They looked around, still nothing. They both went upstairs; they checked the bedrooms, his screening room, still nothing. They went downstairs and into the kitchen where they found nothing but a bat on the floor. They turned to each other. "A bat?" JJ asked Penelope. Penelope looked around to see if she'd find anything and she did. A note. "You know where to find me.. -Kevin "she read it out loud. She pulled her phone out and immediately called Kevin.
"Hello, Penny.." He grinned as he spoke into the phone. "Where is he?!" She raised her voice as she spoke into the phone before JJ placed a hand on her shoulder. "With me, of course." he chuckled. "Where else?" "Just let him go." She said softly. "I'm not going to give him up that easily.." She sighed as she heard him. "We can make some arrangements though.." He said. "What kind of arrangements?" She asked as she looked at JJ.
"You for him. Nothing bad.. I'll let him go if you come to me."
"Where are you guys?"
"Is that a yes?"
She didn't say anything.
"Well if it is.. I'll send you the address. Bye."
He hung up.
She looked at the phone quietly and waited for the text to arrive. Several seconds after the call ended, it arrived. JJ was calling Hotch. After that they grabbed their things and headed to Kevin's location. The team would be meeting them there. Penelope was nervous. She knew the team had hers and Derek's back but still. The last time she saw him was before he sent her to the hospital. They slowly pulled up to the address he had sent. The team hasn't arrived yet, so they waited. Not too long after the team arrived. It was dark and quiet. They got Penelope wired and she head in.
She opened the door and all she saw was a hallway. The lights were dim. It was quiet, her heart began to race. She looked back at the team one last time before closing the door behind her. She began walking, slowly, and looked around. "Kevin?" She said in a soft but audible voice. There was no respond. She walked further in and called Kevin's name again. No one answered but she found a door. She slowly turned the knob and looked inside.