100:
Haley Hotchner was dead. She had been killed by one of the worst unsubs the BAU had ever seen. It was going to take a very long time for the team to recover from this. Derek Morgan was sick to his stomach. Aaron had been taken to the hospital with Haley's body, and Jack was going to stay with his aunt Jessica. Derek had one goal now that he was able to leave the crime scene. He had to check on Penelope.
When he arrived at headquarters, Derek all but ran to his best friend's office. He was desperate to see her. To know she was alive. He had to physically hold her in his arms to make his brain believe she was alright. The truth was, the pair had grown a bit apart. He had dated Tamara and lied to Penelope about. She found out the truth, and it caused a rift between them. Plus, Kevin Lynch was never happy about their friendship, and once he saw the chance, he wedged his way into the gap. But, Haley's death was going to take a long time for them to heal, and Derek knew he needed Penelope. And from the sounds of it, she needed him too.
Derek could hear Penelope's sobs coming from her office. She shouldn't have heard what she did. None of them should have. Foyet had slipped past them and now, one of their own was gone. Derek opened the door to her office, and Penelope collapsed into his arms as if she had been waiting for him.
"Derek," she sobbed. "Haley's dead."
"I know, baby." He replied, holding her close. Her sobs wracked through her body and he knew she hadn't stopped crying since she'd heard the gunshots. "I'm here, we're gonna get through it."
"Don't leave me." She pleaded through her cries.
"Never." He vowed, kissing the top of her head.
After a few moments, Derek was able to move them to the sofa in her office. He sat down and pulled her back into his arms onto his lap. Finally, he let his own tears fall. The entire team had gone through something horrific, and he knew there was going to be a full fledged investigation. But, for tonight, he just needed to be with his baby girl.
"How is he?" Penelope asked once she had calmed down a bit.
"He's a mess, to be honest," Derek said, refusing to lie to her. "But, I think he'll get through it. He has a lot of support, and Foyet is gone. He can grieve properly knowing her killer isn't hurting anyone else." Penelope nodded against his chest.
"Can we get out of here? I don't want to be in this place anymore."
"Of course, baby girl. My place or yours?" He asked.
"I don't care as long as you swear I won't be alone tonight."
"Honey, they'd have to pry me away from you." He vowed.
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They decided to go right to Derek's house. He lived closer, and she just wanted to change out of her clothes and curl up with the one person she needed right now. The distance between them over the last few months didn't matter right now. She knew he and Tamara were on and off, and really, she should have asked Kevin if she could stay with him. But she didn't want Kevin's attempt at comfort. She wanted to be with Derek. It was probably going to mess with her head, but her heart was winning the battle this time.
Derek gave her a pair of sweatpants and an old shirt to wear. Once they were both changed, they curled up together on Derek's sofa. His labrador, Clooney, was resting on the floor next to them. His snoring brought Penelope an odd sense of comfort.
"I thought they'd get back together. Even after the divorce, in the back of my head, I could never fully believe that Haley and Hotch were truly over." Penelope admitted as she leaned against Derek.
"Me either," Derek replied. "I hoped, at least, that they'd find their way back to each other."
"He loved her so much." Penelope choked out over another sob. Derek held her tightly, knowing there was nothing he could say that would fix things.
"Hotch said he was going to make things right. After we arrested Foyet, he had all these plans," Derek began to explain. "He said he was going to prove to Haley that he wanted to be a family. He said he didn't care if it took forever, he just wanted to be with her."
"He shouldn't have waited," Penelope replied sadly. "Time isn't promised. He should have told her he loved her before it was too late."
Despite the circumstances, Derek fought the urge to laugh. It was too ironic to hear those words come out of her mouth. Of course Derek loved Penelope. He had loved her since he'd first laid eyes on her. Even donned in her Black Queen get up, Derek couldn't have helped it. He saw her, and he knew his life would never be the same.
"Hot stuff?" She was staring at him curiously. She sat up so she was able to look at him better. "Derek, what is it?"
"You know, Haley told Hotch right before she died that love was the most important thing. She was dying, and that was the message she wanted him to know. Which is funny because I've been avoiding love practically my entire life."
"It's not too late, Derek. Any woman in the world would be lucky to have you."
"Including you?" Derek asked seriously. She opened her mouth, but Derek gently stopped her. "Seriously, would you consider yourself lucky to be with me? Because you're the only woman I want."
"Derek, I know that this whole situation has been horrific, but let's not pretend, okay? You don't want to settle with me just-"
"Stop it. Listen. Please." Derek practically begged, taking her hands in his. She was frozen, but managed to slowly nod her head. "I love you. You are my best friend, the one person who knows me inside and out. I know that we tease, and I know you think flirting is all for fun, but if you can't see it, I don't know what else to do. Penelope, I am so in love with you it's a little pathetic."
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, tears falling again but for a different reason now.
"I tried," He replied. "But, you got with Lynch, so I waited. I thought, eventually, our chance would come. If I was patient, I thought you'd eventually realize how much we belonged together, but it never happened. And now, I see clearly. I can't wait because damn it, Pen. If something happened tomorrow and I never had the chance to tell you how fucking much I want to be with you…"
"Derek…"
Derek gently cupped her face in his hands. He used his thumbs to clear the tears from her cheeks. He needed to get this right. If he didn't, he might not get another chance. He took a deep breath.
"I want to marry you, I want you to be the mother to my children. There is no one else in the world for me. You think I'd be settling with you? No. I'm settling now without you in my life. But, I can't do it anymore. If Hotch could go back and tell Haley how much she meant to him, he'd do it in an instant. They can't ever get that back. She's gone, and he has to spend the rest of his life without her. But, we don't. So if there's any chance that you might love me back then-"
She cut him off by pressing her lips against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him to lay on top of her on his couch. They kissed for what felt like ever. It was pure magic to be this way with each other. They'd both imagined this for years, but the real thing knocked any fantasy out of the park.
Penelope had never been so turned on in her life, and all Derek had done was kiss her. She was so in love with this man, she wasn't sure how she'd survived this long without his touch. She never wanted to go without it again. She grabbed the bottom of his shirt, and attempted to pull it off his body.
"Baby, slow down," Derek said, pulling back. She looked at him with confusion. "First, we gotta talk."
"Talk, right. Sorry."
"It's alright, princess." He smiled. He sat back and helped her return upright. He gave her nose a boop before they continued talking. "What does this mean?"
"Isn't it obvious, lover? I am in love with you too," She told him with a soft smile. "Always have been, always will be. I don't want to waste anymore time, either."
"So, we want to be together. What about Lynch?" Derek tried not to make a disgusted face when mentioning Penelope's boyfriend.
"I'm ending it." She replied without hesitation.
"Good." Derek smirked.
"We can't tell the team, yet." Penelope said. Derek nodded. "Haley just died, and even if I want everyone in the world to know how much I love you, we've got to wait. Hotch is grieving and our happiness….I just don't want to hurt anyone."
"Okay, we can wait, baby." He would have agreed to anything at that moment. He was finally getting the girl of his dreams. "We can't go any further tonight."
"Why?" She pouted.
"Baby, I love you, and I can't wait to make all those phone calls a reality, but I won't make a cheater out of you."
"Give me ten minutes."
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Penelope couldn't believe she was breaking up with her boyfriend via phone call, but nothing would have made her leave Derek that night. She needed to be in his presence, and she wanted nothing to hold her back. So, this was the best she could do.
"Plum Sauce, are you okay?" Kevin asked when he picked up her call. She felt a slight twinge of guilt for what she was about to do. "Do you want to come over? I can make some gluten free mac and cheese and we can watch that documentary on ancient aliens."
"Kevin, I need to talk to you." She replied.
"Penny, I'm so sorry about Haley, I'm sure it's tough for the team. But, how well did you know her? She was you bosses ex wife, right?"
"She was part of the family, Kevin."
"Right, the family." Sarcasm dripped through the phone. It was even more confirmation to Penelope that Kevin was not right for her. "And let me guess, you're with your favorite member of the family right now."
"Kevin, I need space. I'm going through a lot, and I just don't think I can handle this relationship." Penelope said.
"You want to take a break?"
"I want to break up." Penelope corrected.
"Penelope, if you want some space you can have it. I'll be here when you're ready."
"Kevin, I'm not coming back."
"You're upset right now, I get it. It's okay. I know you'll come back when you're over this."
Penelope wanted to scream at him, but it wasn't worth it. Plus, she'd asked Derek for ten minutes, and she didn't want to waste anymore time on Kevin. She was done with him, and if he wanted to hold onto something that wasn't there she couldn't stop him. Eventually he'd have to accept that they were over. On her part, though, she was free.
When she hung up the phone a few moments later, she felt relieved. She had nothing holding her back from Derek anymore. Now, they were going to be together, and she couldn't have been happier. Derek loved her. No, Derek was in love with her. And she was in love with him.
"How'd it go?" He asked as she returned to living room. She straddled his lap.
"Let's not talk about my ex boyfriend." She said, kissing his neck.
Derek couldn't put up anymore of a fight. He wanted her too badly, and he'd dreamed of this for years. He lifted her from the couch and carried to his bedroom. They made love for the first time for hours. It was like nothing they ever could have imagined. It was the most intimate and passionate sex either of them had ever had. And they both knew, they would never go back.
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After Haley's funeral, Penelope went back to Rossi's house with Derek and the rest of the team. Hotch had taken Jack home, passing on the offer to spend time with them. No one could blame him. But, being together was the one thing that was keeping the BAU afloat.
They gathered in Rossi's backyard with drinks. He'd set up some tables for them. Emily, JJ, Dave, Spencer, Derek, and Penelope sat together, talking about Haley. They told their favorite stories about her, and discussed how much they wanted to help Hotch.
"When I lost my son with my first wife, all I wanted was to grieve alone, but it didn't help. It made it worse." Dave told them.
"That's how I felt when my dad died too." Derek agreed.
"I was alone when I lost my parents, my brothers wanted nothing to do with me. I grieved by myself until I fell into a bad crowd. It ended up bringing me to all of you, though." Penelope said. Derek took her hand, squeezing it tight.
"I'm so glad we have each other." JJ stated.
"Hotch is going to get through this," Emily said. "He's strong."
"And he has all of us." Spencer added.
After a little while, everyone slowly started to head out. Emily, JJ, and Penelope were chatting behind the men. Derek smiled at Penelope, and Emily gave him a knowing look. She was on to them. She had asked them if something had changed, but they kept denying it. Derek wanted to tell them, but he knew Penelope had a point. Until Hotch had more time to grieve, it would be unfair of them to flaunt their happiness. For now, they were enjoying their bubble.
Derek and Penelope headed back to his place after wrapping up at Rossi's. Penelope hadn't left Derek since Haley's death. He didn't want her too, and the thought of being away from him made her sick. The only thing that they wanted was to be together.
Their clothes were shed as soon as they walked through the door. They had sex and then snuggled in his bed. She laid with her head on his chest while he played with her hair. It was pure bliss to be in each other's arms.
"Baby, I meant what I said. I want to marry you. And, I never want you to leave my bed. Move in." Derek asked.
"Five months. My lease ends in five months. By then the team will know. Hotch will have had some time to work through things. Ask me again then, and I'll say yes." She bargained.
"Deal, but only if you promise to spend nights I'm in town here with me."
"The force couldn't keep me away." She smiled.
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Three months later, the team was away in Florida solving a string of murders. Penelope was helping them from her lair as best she could. It wasn't an easy case. The unsub was good, and was covering his tracks well. On top of that, Penelope wasn't feeling the greatest. She was ready for Derek to be home. She wasn't sleeping well, and she felt off.
"Hey, I was sent to help you look through some of that security stuff," Kevin Lynch appeared in her office. "Don't worry I brought my own computer so I won't have to mess with yours. I know you don't like that."
"Actually, some help would be nice." Penelope said. She hated admitting it, but with her stomach threatening to expel her breakfast, she wanted to get this done and go home.
"Great, just tell me what to do."
The pair worked through getting evidence via security systems. With Kevin being a second set of eyes, they were able to get what they needed quickly. It led the team to the unsub, and after being gone for over a week, they would finally be on their way home. Penelope called Derek, excited to hear his voice.
"Hey baby girl, wheels up in fifteen," Derek told her. "If you want to wait around, I was thinking we could grab dinner."
"Dinner? Food? Uh, maybe." Penelope said. The thought of anything going into her stomach made her queasy. "Would you settle for a movie?"
"You okay?" Derek asked.
"Fine, just a little off. I'll be better when my hot stuff is back, safe and sound."
"Soon, honey, soon."
Penelope said goodbye and started to finish in the office. She grabbed an antacid, but before she could take it, a wave of nausea hit her. She grabbed the trash can beside her and threw up into it. She felt awful.
"Penny! Are you alright?" Kevin dashed into her office. She hadn't noticed his return. "Are you sick?"
"Fine. Just ate something that didn't agree with me." She replied, wiping her mouth and taking a drink of water.
"Let me drive you home." Kevin offered.
"No, it's okay. I want to wait for the team."
"Pen-"
"Kevin, I'm fine!" She snapped. Kevin backed away slowly realizing she didn't want him to bother her.
When Kevin finally left Penelope grabbed her purse. She rummaged until she found the pink box she'd picked up that morning. There was no way. She and Derek were always safe, except the one time they weren't. They had only been together for a few months. Two months ago, they'd had a little too much to drink, and hadn't used a condom. But, she was still on birth control. It was just food poisoning. But then why did her gut tell her something else. She took the test to the bathroom and waited an extremely long three minutes. When the time was up she finally looked at the test. Pregnant.
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"Baby, why didn't you wait for me?" Derek asked, walking into his house a few hours later. She'd texted him that she was going to head out and would meet him there. "Are you okay?"
Penelope was sitting on the couch. She was staring off into space, her eyes wet. Derek was worried about her. She had barely seemed to notice he was home. He knelt down in front of her, getting her attention. She finally looked at him.
"Penelope?"
"Derek I'm sorry," she cried. "I am so sorry."
"Baby, what happened?" He asked.
"I-I'm pregnant." She sobbed. Derek felt the smile forming on his face.
"That's nothing to be sorry for, baby girl," He said, standing up and planting a kiss on her head. "When did you find out?"
"A few hours ago." She replied. Derek sat beside her and pulled her close to him. "It must have happened on Spencer's birthday when we all went out to celebrate."
"So, two months." Derek smiled.
"Oh god, the team. What do I tell them?" she said aloud.
"We'll tell them tomorrow. Emily might have suspicions of our relationship already. And honestly, I think this could be the good news everyone needs."
"Derek, we can't tell them about us yet. It's still so soon. We haven't planned what we're going to say and Hotch-"
"Baby I know this wasn't the timeline we talked about, but we don't have much of a choice. I'm more than ready to tell them." Derek said. She didn't say anything. "You don't want to?"
"I'm going to tell them about the baby. I have to. But we can't tell them it's yours. Not yet." she replied.
"Penelope, that's my child. I'm not going to lie. What, do you want them to think it's Lynch's?" Derek pulled away from her.
"Of course not!" She insisted. "But we can't rush anything."
"You're kidding," He scoffed. "You expect me to listen as you tell them you're pregnant and pretend like I'm not the father. You really think I can do that?"
"Derek-"
"You know what. Do what you want. But I won't be there while you lie about it." He stormed out, leaving her to cry. He was so pissed and hurt, he didn't care.
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"What's up with Morgan?" Emily asked the next morning. Derek hadn't come home until late the night before. He'd slept on the couch and avoided Penelope.
"Lover's tiff?" JJ suggested teasingly.
"Is he upset that Penelope denied giving him that love child again?" Rossi joked. Penelope felt sick to her stomach. Did he know? "I'm kidding, Penelope."
"What's going on?" Spencer asked. He had joined them in the boardroom. Hotch was talking to Morgan about a case, but everyone could feel the tension pooling from the agent. "Morgan is in a mood today."
Before Penelope could say anything, Hotch and Morgan joined them. They were having their monthly staff meeting where they touched base on everything they had going on at the bureau. Usually, Penelope and Derek sat together and joked through the meeting, but today Morgan sat as far away from the TA as possible.
Hotch started the meeting and discussed some of the cases they'd closed recently. Penelope tried to get Derek's attention, but he refused to look at her. She had been so shocked by the pregnancy test. She had been processing, and in turn, hurt the one person she needed right now. She wanted so badly to whisk him away and talk to him.
When the meeting wrapped up, Derek and Reid were sent to a local police department for an assignment. Penelope was disappointed, but determined to make things right when Derek returned. She went to work on her own assignment, once again fighting the queasiness the baby was causing.
"Penny, how are you feeling?" Kevin, of course, chose that time to show up. Just as he walked in, his cologne making Penelope even more nauseous, Penelope lost her breakfast into the trash can.
"Does that answer your question?" She shot back.
"Have you tried ginger? When my sister was pregnant…wait…you're not. You can't be…"
"Kevin, shut up." Penelope ordered, trying to will the baby to stop making her barf.
"Oh my god. You…you…slut."
"Kevin I swear if you don't-"
"It's Morgan's isn't it?" Kevin demanded. "You dumped me so you could have sex with Derek Morgan and now you're knocked up."
"It's not like that." Penelope replied.
"I'm sure he ran for the hills as soon as he found out, right?" Kevin laughed. Penelope glared at him. "That's rich. He gets you pregnant, and doesn't want you anymore."
"Shut up." Penelope and Kevin turned to see Derek entering the office. A cup of tea in his hand for Penelope. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sloppy seconds, never satisfying right?" Lynch smirked.
Derek calmly handed the hot tea to Penelope. He turned and shoved Kevin against the wall. Penelope yelped for Derek to let it go, but she knew it was useless.
"If you ever, ever, say anything about her again I will kick your scrawny ass you son of a bitch." Derek snarled. He released the tech and Kevin took off running. Derek turned to leave the office as well.
"Derek, wait!" Penelope begged. "I'm so sorry."
Derek turned just as Penelope was jumping into his arms. She was sobbing as Derek held her. He wanted to stay angry at her, but it was impossible when she cried. He gripped her.
"I want everyone to know the truth. I was just…I was scared and shocked and my hormones are everywhere. I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm so sorry."
"Hey, hardhead, it's okay." He replied. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "We're gonna be just fine."
Before they could continue. JJ appeared, not at all surprised at the position she found them in. She told them Hotch wanted to see them all. They followed her to the boardroom for the second time that day. Hotch was standing and gestured for the pair to sit. The rest of the team was there, unable to make eye contact with them.
"Kevin Lynch has just informed us all that Penelope is pregnant with your baby, Morgan. Is this one of those jokes between you two or is there something we need to know?"
Derek looked at Penelope. She nodded her approval.
"It's true." Derek said. He grabbed Penelope's hand. "We've been together for three months. Obviously we weren't planning on having a baby so soon, but it's happening and we're happy about it. We were waiting for the right time to tell you because we knew it was a tough time for everyone."
"When?" Hotch asked.
"When Haley was killed." Penelope answered quietly. Hotch nodded. "We didn't want this to cause you pain. I…I didn't want you to hurt."
"Haley wanted everyone to know how important love is. She would have been happy you two finally admitted your feelings. Congratulations."
Everyone went around and congratulated the pair. It turned out, most of them know, or at least highly suspected that the pair had gotten together. The news of the baby was surprising but everyone was being very supportive. They were happy their family finally knew the truth.
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"Aurora, mommy and daddy are getting married." Penelope told her six month old daughter. Aurora was wearing her little flower girl dress that matched Penelope's wedding dress. "Are you excited?"
Aurora Haley Morgan had been the most perfect gift. She was a surprise, but they never would have changed a thing. Penelope was excited that her daughter would get to share this beautiful day with them. The little girl who looked just like her dad cooed at Penelope. The tech analyst smiled at her baby and scooped her up to give her a snuggle. JJ and Emily were helping Penelope get ready, and it was almost time to go. Derek's mother collected Aurora to keep an eye on her during the ceremony. Penelope gave Aurora a quick kiss before she grabbed Hotch's arm.
Hotch had agreed to give Penelope away. Everyone had expected it to be Rossi, but Hotch had been such a big supporter of her and Derek. Plus, she didn't know how long it would have taken them to get their act together if it hadn't been for such a tragedy. Hotch had grieved and was slowly moving on. He spent a lot of time with Penelope and Derek, and Aurora loved her uncle Aaron.
When they reached the end of the aisle, Derek smiled at the sight of his bride. He couldn't believe they were finally here. He took her hands, and they exchanged their vows. When it was time to kiss the bride, it was nothing short of perfection.
The couple danced to Feels Like Home for their first dance, which summarized their relationship perfectly. After the reception, the pair went home. They were taking a long weekend trip away, so for the night, they just wanted to get home. They put the baby to bed before climbing into bed themselves.
"Well, Mrs. Morgan, are you happy?"
"So happy I could burst." She grinned. He kissed her head. "I love you, husband."
"I love you, wife." Derek replied. They exchanged some lazy kisses for a bit. "So, this weekend, we should get working on making a sibling for Aurora."
"Derek!" Penelope laughed. "Are you serious?"
"When have we ever been good at waiting?" Derek asked.
"Uhm, the six years it took us to get together." She teased. Derek kissed her again.
"No more waiting. When you want something, you've gotta go for it."
"You got me there, hot stuff."
"So, what do you say?" Derek asked.
"Yes." She replied, kissing him again.
And, they did just that. Nine months later they welcomed William Hank Morgan into the world. The one thing they made sure their children always knew was that love is the most important thing.