“You won’t kill me.” Penelope whispered.
He breathed into her ear: “If I can’t have you no one else will!” Smiling he took in the scent of her hair. Finally, finally she was all HIS. He just had to leave the hospital with her. But that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Everyone here thought they had caught the stalker. Oh, it had been so easy to pin the blame on Kevin Lynch. The poor guy probably still didn’t know what was going on. But now that he had been arrested no one would smell a rat if Penelope left the hospital with him. She just needed to behave and join in his little game. Well, maybe Derek Morgan would have become suspicious but he was occupied with his little brat in the NICU. He was supposed to be dead just like the baby. As long as they were still alive Penelope would never be entirely his. But he would worry about that later. First they had to leave the hospital!
She started to shake. This couldn’t be happening.
“Come with me, goddess!” he commanded and pulled her towards the door.
Penelope glanced around when he opened the door and pushed her forwards. No one seemed to notice anything amiss. She felt the muzzle pressing into her back and didn’t dare try to signal anyone.
She saw Derek stepping out of the NICU and heading for her room. He probably wanted to see what was taking her so long. Her heart started to pound like mad. Derek might not realize what was going on until it was too late. But once she locked eyes with him he would know what was happening.
Derek wondered what could be taking Penelope more than five minutes to join them in the NICU. He didn’t want to appear impatient but the expression on Penelope’s face when she’d watched Hotch leading Kevin off had worried him. As he headed down the corridor and saw Penelope with another man walking towards the exit he immediately knew what was going on. The fear in her face was enough to tell him.
“Don’t move!” Derek shouted and leveled his gun at Peter Bexter.
“That’s interesting.” Bexter smirked, as he put his arm around Penelope’s neck and leveled his gun at Derek. “I wanted to kill you anyway. What you can do today...”
“You weren’t efficient enough. None of your plans have worked so far. What makes you believe you can leave the hospital with her?” Derek grumbled. “Let go of her!”
Bexter just laughed and kissed Penelope’s cheek. “You are not in any position to demand anything, Agent Morgan. I suggest you put your gun down. Penelope’s going with me.”
“Like hell she is!” Derek hissed.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t just shoot you.” Bexter replied and released the safety.
“No!” Penelope screamed and then begged in a whisper: “Please, don’t!”
“Isn’t it cute how much she loves you?” Bexter laughed once more. “I bet someday she’ll learn to love me just as much.”
Derek looked at Penelope and saw a single tear running down her cheek. He couldn’t let him win. He had to stop him at all costs.
She had to do something to stop him. He would shoot Derek right before her eyes and Derek wouldn’t even shoot back because he would be too afraid he might hurt her. If only she had something to… the nail file! Slowly she let her hand slid inside her pocket and grab the small piece of metal. Bexter was much too occupied mocking Derek to notice her movement. Penelope pulled the file out of her pocket and held it in front of her so that Derek could see it.
His eyes fell on the small piece of metal in her hand and he remembered how she’d put the file into her pocket only a few hours ago. Nodding slightly he locked eyes with her trying to give her the most confident and encouraging look he could manage.
She could do this. She had to! In a fast movement she rammed the file into Bexter’s face. It broke into pieces when it hit his cheek bone. He let go of her, grabbed his bleeding face with both his hands as his gun slid to the ground.
Derek immediately seized his chance and lunged at Bexter. His gun slipped over the floor but Derek didn’t care. Shooting him would be much too fast. Dragging him to the ground Derek punched Bexter’s already bleeding face as hard as he could. This sleaze had tried to kill his baby, tried to kill him and now had dared to touch Penelope. He’d make him pay for everything he did to him and his family!
Unfortunately Bexter knew how to fight.
Penelope couldn’t move. She kept staring at the two men fighting in front of her, her fingers clenched around the gun.
Suddenly Bexter broke away from Derek hitting him in the jaw. As Derek landed on the floor Bexter grabbed the gun and whirled around leveling the gun at Derek once again. “I will win!” he snarled through gritted teeth.
The gunshot echoed through the corridor.
Four agents ran down the corridor alarmed by the sound of the gunshot. Once they’d put Kevin Lynch in one of the police cars they’d decided to go back to the hospital and check on their friends. They stopped and stared in shock at the scene in front of them.
Bexter’s eyes were widened in shock. The blood slowly spread from the wound in his stomach all over his shirt. He sank to his knees and the gun slid to the ground.
Their guns still leveled at Bexter Hotch, Reid, Emily and JJ slowly stepped closer.
Derek rushed over to Penelope. “It’s okay, baby girl.” he softly said and grabbed the gun in her hands. “Gimme the gun! It’s over.” Once she’d let go of the weapon Derek handed it over to Hotch and wrapped the shaking Penelope in his arms.
Reid knelt down next to Bexter and called for a doctor. He was still alive.
Noticing a fast movement of Bexter’s hand towards Reid, JJ quickly pulled her gun and shot.
Bexter’s head flew back and the knife landed noisily on the floor.
Derek wrapped his arms tighter around Penelope and gently swayed her back and forth.
Fran who had watched the whole scene through the door of the NICU now stepped outside the door to check on Derek and Penelope. She had learned early not to intervene in situations like this until she was sure it was safe.
“I shot him.” Penelope whispered and leaned her head against Derek’s chest.
“You were very brave.” Fran smiled at her. “I saw that.”
“Technically I shot him.” JJ reminded her as he stepped next to her two friends. “Anyway I’m really glad he is dead!”
“Me too.” she nodded and shivered slightly. Then she looked up at JJ and said: “Thank you.”
She smiled at Penelope and explained: “I made Spence promise he’d let me shoot him if we ever got in a situation like this.”
“And you agreed?” Hotch asked watching the doctors examine Bexter’s body.
“Only because she’s the better shooter.” Reid shrugged.
“I want you to meet our daughter.” Penelope stated in a low voice. The eager look in everybody’s face made her smile. “The nurses said only the family is allowed to enter the NICU. But to me you are my family so I figure it’s okay.”
Slowly they entered the room and stepped towards the incubator. “Aw, she’s so beautiful.” JJ whispered. “And so small.”
“She had already grown quite a bit.” Derek said proudly.
The doctor entered the room and frowned a little at the rather huge group of people there. Then he smiled at Penelope and Derek and said: “I have good news. Your daughter has developed really well. She’s now able to breath on her own that’s why we removed the respiratory tube. You’ll be allowed to take her home in about two weeks.”
Tears sprung to Penelope’s eyes. “Two weeks.” she repeated in a whisper.
“Two weeks” he nodded. “You can stay here for the rest of her hospital stay.” Smiling he left the NICU. It was the best part of his job to be able to deliver some good news.
“Two weeks.” Penelope repeated once more.
Smiling Derek caught her in his arms and whispered. “It’s over, baby girl.”
Yes, it was over. It was finally over. Bexter was dead, they were safe and their little girl was going to survive. They would be allowed to take her home in two weeks. Only two more weeks. A sudden rush of weariness and exhaustion overwhelmed her and her knees started to tremble.
“What’s wrong?” Derek asked in concern and struggled to steady the woman in his arms.
“She’s probably exhausted.” Fran explained. “Just as you are. Go and get some rest!”
Nodding he lifted Penelope up and carried her to the room across the corridor. He placed her gently on the bed, settled next to her, caught her once more in his arms and quickly found a deep and strengthening sleep.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
“That means Fran is in?” Emily asked in a low voice.
JJ nodded: “Just as Desiree and Sarah are. They’re all going to share the bill with us.”
“Lara’s in as well!” Spencer smiled. Penelope had told him with a wink that he was supposed to bring a friend with him to their wedding.
“That’s so great.” Emily shrieked a little. “I can’t wait to see the surprise on their faces once they get our wedding present.”
“Do I detect a great conspiracy?” Rossi smirked a little as he entered the bullpen and saw Emily and JJ huddled together while Reid was keeping watch so that neither Derek nor Penelope arrived on the scene.
“What else?” JJ grimaced. “The wedding has to be as perfect as possible. It only seems right after all they’ve been through.”
“Maybe I can contribute to that.” he stated and handed JJ a piece of paper.
She studied it briefly and then shrieked. “How did you…?”
“Professional secret.” he smiled and walked to his office.
“What?” Emily wanted to know. “What is it?”
“He managed to hire Duran Duran for the wedding reception.” JJ explained and handed the paper over to Emily. “Pen adores them.”
“That’s great!” Emily grinned. “Okay, now what about the rest of the night?”
“Everything’s taken care of.” JJ waggled her eyebrows. “This is going to be perfect!”
“Enemies in sight.” Reid murmured.
Emily quickly hid the paper under a folder on her desk and started a conversation about their bridesmaid dresses with JJ. Once they noticed that Derek and Penelope had brought Eliana with them both women jumped out of their seats and rushed over to the stroller. “Can I hold her?” JJ pleaded.
“Of course.” Derek smiled proudly and took his little girl out to place it in JJ’s arms.
She rocked Eliana slightly. “Look, she’s smiling. She likes me, don’t you, little girl? Yes, you do!” she grinned from ear to ear, her eyes fixed on the baby.
Smiling Derek put a hand around Penelope’s shoulder and whispered: “Go ahead, ask her! I’m rather sure she won’t say no.”
“Um… JJ?” Penelope smiled at the blonde.
“Yeah?” she replied without taking her eyes off Eliana. “She’s so beautiful! You two did a great job!”
“Well, thanks.” she smiled. “You know, Derek and I have been talking about having Eliana baptized and… we need someone to be her godmother.”
JJ’s head snapped up and her eyes sparkled: “And you want me to do it?”
Penelope nodded: “If you want to…”
“I’d love to!” JJ shrieked. “Yeah, I’d love to!”
“I guess you won’t get your daughter back anytime soon.” Emily teased and reached out to stroke Eliana’s cheek.
“We also need a godfather.” Derek stated and grinned at Reid.
“Me?” he squeaked.
“Sure, why not.” Derek shrugged.
“Well, you know… I… um… kids usually start to cry when they see me…” he stuttered.
Derek laughed: “Why don’t you try and hold Eliana?”
Nervously he took the baby from JJ who only unwillingly let go of her soon-to-be goddaughter. But to see Reid holding her was worth it.
He was stiff as a poker as he held the small human being and looked around nervously for help. But the others where only grinning at him.
“Relax, Spence.” JJ finally said. “Look, she likes you.”
Perplexed he looked down at the baby in his arms and was surprised that her little hand reached out for his face. He smirked when her tiny fingers tried to grab his chin.
Penelope saw Kevin leaving the elevator and rushed towards him. It was obvious that he tried to avoid her. She practically had to run after him calling for him until he finally stopped and turned around to look at her.
“I…” she started and gave him an apologetic look. “I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to… I was so sure that…”
“I know.” he cut her off and gave her a weak smile. “Bexter did a pretty good job of putting the blame on me. I saw the files on my computer and… well, I would have thought it was me as well if I hadn’t known better. I’m just glad everything’s cleared up. And… I admit it wasn’t the brightest idea to visit you in hospital but… well, Bexter convinced me to go. He said it might help if you knew that… someone cared… I guess he expected it to be a trap.”
“Yeah.” she nodded. “I… I’m sorry you had to go through that…”
“It was nothing compared to what you had to go through.” he shrugged.
Penelope studied his face for a moment and then reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. “Kevin, I really appreciate that you care that much for me.”
“I always will.” he replied looking at the floor. “Can’t help it. Even though I know that you’ll never love me.”
“I…”
“I know.” he interrupted her again. “It’s okay, I don’t want an apology. You’re happy with Agent Morgan and you shouldn’t feel sorry about that.”
“I don’t.” she assured him. “And I didn’t want to apologize. I just wanted to say that I’m glad that we met and I hope that maybe one day we’ll manage to be friends.”
“One day.” he nodded and left.