Title: Threat â“ Part 2
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Morgan/Garcia
Prompt for 30 forbidden fruits: #10 Memory
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to CBS. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time.
Summary: Part 10/? of the âLove and prejudiceâ-series. Penelopeâs POV.
warnings: none
Penelope swore silently. This guy was just too good at covering his tracks, even for her. Or maybe it was just the fact that it was impossible for her to concentrate. On anything. Well, on anything except a particular FBI agent.
Sighing, she shut her computers down and tiredly rubbed her eyes. It was too late, anyway. She would put herself to bed and try again tomorrow. Maybe sheâd be more successful if she were fresh and rested.
Yeah, as if it was possible for her to find any sleep â“ any dreamless sleep.
When she came back to the lobby of the hotel, which was some sort of meeting room for the time being, she realized she wasnât the only one on her wits end. Hotch, Rossi, and especially Derek looked like someone had run over their dogs.
âAnything?â Derek asked, hope obvious in his voice.
âNada.â She sighed. She could have repeated the word in at least five other languages â“ and she certainly would have, had she been in the mood. But she honestly wasnât in the mood for anything right now.
âHeâs better than I thought,â she went on. âDeleted all his files, and thereâs just no way of bringing them back, not even with the help of my baby with all its nice programs.â
She heard Derek swore â“ something he hardly ever did.
âShower and bed for me.â She turned to make her way upstairs for her room. âI really need to rest.â
âDoes that mean Iâm not invited?â She heard his lustry voice behind her.
Smiling her most seductive smile, she slowly turned back to him. Donât do this, Penelope! Donât even think about going with this! she heard a tiny voice in her head say. But the voice was too tiny for her to pay any attention.
âHot Stuff, you wouldnât be able to keep up with me, even if Iâm in my worst condition,â she chuckled. This had been too easy.
âYou wanna try me?â
Hell, yes! God, how could he always turn her into a puddle of lust with only one look, only one word?! Her heart skipped a few beats. It should be put under restriction to look so damn hot!
âOh, be still my heart!â She made an exaggerated gesture to hide what she was really feeling at the moment, and turned to leave.
Her hands were shaking when she opened her door. Cursing herself, she went to the bathroom to change. Why did he still have such an effect on her?!
Because you let him!
Sighing, she crawled into her bed to get some much needed rest. If only she didnât dream of a certain FBI agent again. This heat was killing her â“ and these feelings were starting to make her become nuts. This wasnât normal anymore. Horny wasnât even near describing what she felt like when she was with Derek, or only just thought about him â“ and she couldnât stop thinking about him anymore.
She knew she shouldnât feel this way â“ not about him, anyway. Sheâd managed to repress these feelings for a while. Or maybe just to ignore them. But now, they seemed to come back multiplied. How was she supposed to resist a temptation like Derek Morgan?! How was she supposed to ignore what she had been feeling for so long?!
A knock on the door kept her from thinking further about that question. Unwillingly, she rose from the bed and waddled towards the door. When she opened it, she immediately wished she wasnât dressed in her pajamas. But Derek didnât seem to mind. In fact, he didnât even seem to notice. Heâd seen her in her pajamas before, after all.
âWhatâs wrong?â she asked. âYou look like someone got shot.â
Sheâd said that to lighten up the mood. But when the expression on Derekâs face didnât change in the least, she suddenly feared that she might have hit the nail on the head.
âCan I come in?â he asked, instead of answering her question. âI⌠Thereâs something I need to tell you.â
Okay, that was so not funny anymore. She almost didnât dare ask, when she stepped aside. âOkay⌠Someone got shot, right?â she mumbled.
âNo.â
Penelope sighed with relief when she heard him say that word.
âWe just⌠got a warning,â he added.
âWarning?â she repeated, and let herself drop on the couch in her room, her mind busy trying to come up with ideas of what kind of âwarningâ could worry Derek so much. But she came up empty.
âWhat kind of warning?â she finally asked.
He didnât say anything â“ just handed her a picture.
Staring at the picture in her hand, Penelope felt a cold shiver running down her spine. It was a picture of her, sitting in front of a computer. It cost all her self-control not to let Derek see that her hands were shaking when she turned the picture around.
Stop chasing me! was the message on the back.
âWe believe he hacked your computer, and this is the proof,â Derek said.
Penelope frowned. This was impossible. He couldnât have hacked her computer without her baby noticing it. He couldnât be that good.
It was hard to concentrate with Derek sitting so close to her, though. Penelope closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. God, this man smelled even better than he looked.
âHe didnât hack my computer.â It was hard to form a meaningful sentence â“ and yet, she moved just a bit closer to him. He was like a magnet.
Focus, Penelope! Focus on the picture!
Pointing at the background, she told him, âThis is his hiding place. He certainly didnât even need to hack the computer to take this picture of me.â
She saw Derek frown â“ and then he closed his eyes for a moment, certainly wondering why he hadnât seen what sheâd just told him. âSo heâs been watching us the whole time,â he stated.
âBut only in his place,â Penelope specified. Frowning, she wondered why this guy hadnât even tried to hack her computer. If he wanted to scare her, if he wanted to warn her and tell her that he was watching her, why on earth didnât he hack her computer then?! Or at least the CCTV system?!
âMaybe he isnât as good with computers as I thought he was,â she mumbled.
Derek turned to frown at her. âWhat do you mean?â
She was puzzled for a moment, before realizing that she had actually said the words out loud. âWell, he hasnât tried to hack my computers so far,â she explained, turning a little to look at him.
God, she could get lost in these eyes for the rest of her life. He was so close to her that she could almost feel his breath against her skin. She only needed to lean a bit forward to let her lips touch his.
Suddenly, the memory of what she had done the previous night while thinking about him returned quite vividly. God, if only she got the chance to find out if reality met her imagination. The thought made her chew on her lips. Just a few inchesâŚ
Stop it! Now!
âYou would have noticed if he had.â Derekâs voice came from somewhere far away.
Penelope blinked, looked at him for a second, and then nodded.
Derek shifted next to her. He suddenly seemed uncomfortable. God, had he noticed that she had been staring at him? He couldnât possibly know what sheâd been thinking about, could he? Though, he was a profiler, after allâŚ
âI wonât stop chasing him,â Penelope said, just to say something that ended the unbearable, almost embarrassing silence that had settled between them.
âI know,â he replied, nodding, and his face suddenly darkened.
Wait, was he actually worried about her?! Of course he was. He always was.
âHey,â she said, grinning at him and nudging him with her shoulder. âThereâs nothing to worry about. Iâve got you to protect me, remember?â
âYeahâŚâ He just looked down, as if he tried to avoid her eyes.
Okay, that wasnât exactly the reaction sheâd expected. Sheâd expected him to tease back. He hadnât. That either meant he was really worried about her â“ or he didnât want to babysit her.
Penelope decided not to think about this question. She didnât want to know the answer.
âOkay, so, if he tries to threaten me, it means he sees me as a threat, right?â Penelope frowned again. If only she knew why.
âCertainly, but it also means youâre in danger. We have to be careful. From now on, you wonât go anywhere alone.â Derek locked eyes with her, making the butterflies raise in her stomach again.
âIt scares me when you talk like that,â she whispered. Especially when you look at me like this while saying it. But was she more afraid of the potential threat from the unsub, or of what alternate scenarios with her and Derek on this couch were playing in her head right now?
Derek reached out to gently stroke her cheek, sending shivers down her spine. âIâm worried about you,â he told her, making her heart jump, knowing that she still meant something to him. âI didnât mean to scare you, but we really have to be careful.â
All she could do was nod, rubbing her upper arms to suppress a shiver that wanted to make her whole body shake. She still wasnât sure if it was the thought of a killer being after her or Derekâs gentle touch that made her feel this way.
You really shouldnât let him have such an effect on you! Yeah, but how could she not?
âYouâre safe in here,â Derek assured her. âYou got six armed FBI agents to protect you, after all.â
âYeah, well, I still donât really believe in guns, you know,â Penelope replied, rubbing her upper arms again.
âHey, Baby GirlâŚâ Derek waited for her to turn and look at him. âI wonât let anything happen to you, ever.â
âI know that.â She tried faking a smile, even though she didnât feel like smiling at all. Her head was spinning, her feelings were a chaotic pulp of fear, love, desire, and a number of feelings she couldnât name. âIâm just not used to situations like this.â
Derek nodded, certainly without knowing that she hadnât only been speaking about being menaced by a serial killer. He looked at her, and his eyes got that strange expression again, making Penelopeâs heart beat faster. If only she knew what he was thinking about.
A serial killer, Penelope, what else? Stop dreaming!
âTry to get some sleep now,â he said, suddenly jumping up from the couch. âCall me if you need anything.â
Okay, that was strange. âUm⌠sure,â was all she managed to say as she watched him leave.
Sighing once again, Penelope got up from the couch and turned to crawl back into her bed, but she froze in the middle of the movement.
A figure dressed in a black hoodie was meddling with the clasp on the window to her room.
For a moment, she couldnât move, couldnât say or do anything, couldnât even breathe.
When her voice finally came back, all she could really do was scream.