Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, CBS does, but my muse sure does like to play with them.

This is a new story idea that the muse has insisted I begin to write. Unfortunately, she has not yet worked out the entire plot or all of the details so I guess we will just start and see where it all leads. Of course, it will be M/G centric but I do like to include the rest of the team as much as possible. As always, please read and review! I have a feeling I'm going to need the help on this one. Enjoy!

Legacy

Chapter 1

It had been almost two weeks since the BAU team had flown out to Davenport, Iowa at the request of local officials who were desperately trying to capture a serial killer who preyed on single women. The case was finally closed and the team was ready to head home to Quantico, Virginia for a well deserved break. The whole team, including Penelope Garcia, their quirky but extremely adept technical analyst who had worked the case from her office in Quantico, was exhausted. Even Penelope hadn't slept in her own bed in several nights, opting to stay on the couch in her office at night in case the team needed her at a moment's notice.

"Hey, Baby Girl," Derek Morgan greeted Penelope as he called her from the BAU jet.

"Hey, Hot Stuff, what can I do for you?" Penelope responded in her usual flirtatious manner.

"Just wanted to let you know wheels are up and we should be back by six o'clock."

"Perfect! Tell everyone we have reservations at Pomodore's at seven and let JJ and Hotch know that I've already arranged for Will, Henry and Jack to be there when we arrive." Garcia advised. Garcia always felt it was part of her job to make sure her 'family' was well nourished and had a chance to wind down after a long case. She knew the best thing for the team was a chance to spend some time together focusing on things other than the horrors they worked with every day.

"And that's why you're my best Goddess!" Derek replied with a smile on his face.

"Ahhh, and I thought I was your ONLY Goddess!" Penelope replied with a fake pout.

"My mistake, silly girl. See you soon. " With a chuckle Derek hung up the phone and let the others know the plan before sitting back in his seat and putting his headphones back on.

It was after five thirty and Penelope was still trying to tie up some last-minute paperwork in her office when she noticed something strange out of the corner of her eye. Looking up at one of her numerous computer monitors, she noticed a small blinking light in the top right corner of the screen.

"What the hell…?" she thought as she began furiously tapping the keys on her keyboard in an attempt to locate the source of the signal. Suddenly a single date popped up in the middle of the screen, April 22, 1994. Penelope gasped when she saw the date immediately recognizing it as the single worst day in her life, even worse than the day she had been shot. April 22, 1994, was the date that her parents had been killed in a car wreck by a drunk driver, the day that would forever change the course of her life.

After about 30 seconds the date disappeared and in its place was a grainy black and white photo of her parents still trapped in their wrecked car with a caption underneath that read, THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS.

Penelope was stunned and as horrible as it was, she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the photo of the accident scene. She had never been allowed to see the photos the police had taken when her parents died and to see it now made it seem like it was all happening all over again.

As quickly as it appeared, the image was gone and the blinking light on the monitor stopped, indicating the connection had been cut. Still in shock, Penelope just sat staring at the blank screen, not knowing what to make of what had just happened. A whirring sound jolted her out of her shock and she turned to see her printer spitting out the images that had just appeared on her screen.

Tentatively reaching out, she took the printed image from the printer and sat holding it in her hands as the tears began to fall, her finger tenderly tracing over the broken bodies of her parents. Why now? Sixteen years had passed since her parent's death without any reason for her to believe there was anything more to it than a tragic accident. Who would play such a cruel joke, and why?

Eager to rush through a few minutes of the necessary paperwork so they could head to dinner with family and friends, the team wasted no time getting back to the BAU after the plane landed. Derek was surprised not to find Penelope waiting to greet them with open arms in the bullpen as she usually was when they returned but figured she was working with her "babies" and had lost track of time. By 6:45, everyone was ready to leave for the restaurant but Garcia still hadn't made her appearance.

"Why don't the rest of you go on and get our table. I'll go pry Garcia away from her computers and bring her over with me. We'll meet you there in a few minutes," Derek instructed the others. As everyone else grabbed their coats and headed for the elevators, Derek headed to Penelope's bunker.

Approaching Garcia's office, Derek was surprised to hear what sounded like a soft sobbing coming from inside.

"Penelope?" he asked with concern as he entered her office. "Baby Girl, what's the matter?" he asked as he kneeled down next to her chair. Looking into her eyes, he could tell that something was very wrong with his best friend.

"My parents," Penelope simply stated as she handed Derek the picture she had received.

"What? " Derek asked confused. Taking a closer look at the photo and the caption, he turned back to her and asked, "Where did you get this?"

"It just appeared on my computer screen, about 20 minutes ago." she tried to explain through her tears. "I tried to trace the signal but couldn't and then it just disappeared all together. Then somehow, it automatically printed out on my printer. Oh, Derek, what does it mean? Why would someone play a sick joke like this after all these years?" she begged to know as the grief washed over her and she began crying even harder.

"I don't know, Princess, I don't know," Derek said as he gently took her into his arms and held her as she cried. After she had been shot, she had explained to Derek how her parents had died and what losing them had meant to her. After that, they had had many a late night talk about Penelope's childhood and her parents whenever she was feeling homesick or had the occasional nightmare about the day she found out they died. Derek knew full well how much her parents meant to her and couldn't imagine what this must be doing to her now.

"Penelope, I think this is more than just someone's idea of a joke."

"What do you mean, of course it's a joke, a very sick joke, what else could it be?"

"Think about it, Baby Girl. Whoever did this was able to hack into, not only the FBI but YOUR computer system, and had access to the accident scene all of those years ago. This is bigger than some joke." Derek said as he realized himself the significance of what was happening. "I'm calling the team back and we're going to figure out what's going on right now," he said as he pulled out his cell phone to dial Hotch's number.

Barely able to process what was going on, Penelope slumped back into her chair. At 18, her parents death had almost destroyed her, now even at 34 she wasn't sure if she was any better shape to handle what may lie ahead.

TBC.

Please review and let me know what you think about the start. Maybe with this story we will get into a little of Garcia's mysterious past.

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