Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters….CBS does. Lucky them!

Ok, so I know I said my next story would be a fluff piece but this idea was presented to me and I just couldn't pass it up. I'll do my best to include a little M/G fluff when possible!

Witness

Chapter 1

It was after 11:00 pm on a Tuesday night and Penelope Garcia was preparing for bed. It was only two days into the work week and it had already been a long one. The rest of the BAU team had left on Sunday to work a case in Jacksonville, Florida, chasing down a serial killer who was targeting social workers. With the help of Penelope's computer wizardry, the case was going well with the team quickly being able to develop a good profile of the man they were looking for. However, they still expected it to be another week or so before they would be able to return to Quantico.

Although she often slept on the couch in her office during a case, Hotch had ordered her home after finding out that she had spent Monday night there, assuring her they would be all right for one night without her. After a mild protest from Penelope and a promise from Hotch that he would call if they needed her for any reason, no matter the time, she relented and headed home.

Heading to the kitchen to set the timer on her coffee pot so it would be ready in the morning, she realized she was out of her favorite coffee blend. "Damn" she thought to herself. Penelope was NOT a morning person and definitely would need her coffee in the morning to get her kick-started. Taking a quick glance at the clock, she decided she could walk down to the local corner store and back in 20 minutes. Grabbing her coat and purse, she headed out the door.

"Thanks, Johnny," Penelope said as she smiled and handed the clerk her payment for the coffee beans.

"Anytime, Ms. Garcia," the young man behind the counter replied, waving after her as she went out the door.

A light drizzle began to fall as Penelope left the store. Pulling the collar of her coat closer around her neck, she picked up the pace as she headed back towards her apartment. Rounding the corner, she jumped as she heard something coming from the alley to her right. Hesitating for just a moment, she listened but could hear nothing further. "Probably just that old Tom cat that's always wandering the neighborhood," she thought as she chuckled to herself. "Nice, Garcia, you work for the FBI and get scared of an old cat rustling through the garbage." Thinking nothing more of it, she started walking away from the alley towards home.

That's when she heard the sound again, only this time it definitely sounded like a person. More specifically, it sounded like a woman crying. As much as she hated to go down the dark alleyway, she couldn't bring herself to leave if someone was in trouble. Pulling out her cell phone, she turned on the flashlight application and started down the alley. About 25 feet in, she saw her. A woman lay crumpled on the ground, bleeding from what appeared to be several knife wounds. She was barely conscious but was desperately trying to speak as Penelope approached.

"Oh my God, honey, what happened to you?" Penelope gasped as she knelt down beside the wounded woman.

"No," the woman managed to whisper. "You…must….go,"

Not paying attention to what the woman was trying to tell her, Penelope simply attempted to calm her, "Shhhh, just stay still, don't try to talk, honey. I'm going to get you some help," she soothed as she frantically dialed 911. Quickly giving her name and location to the dispatcher, Penelope requested police and an ambulance.

As she was disconnecting the phone, Penelope heard someone approaching from the end of the alley. Looking up, she saw a man of about 30, dark headed, wearing a tan jacket headed towards her, "Oh, thank God! I could use some help, could you help me put some pressure on some of her wounds until the ambulance gets here?" she asked the stranger.

The man said nothing, only stood with his hands in his pockets and stared down at Penelope. "Hey, c'mon, I really need your he…" Penelope began to say but stopped short when she noticed the rain falling at the man's feet had a red tinge to it. Looking up at him, she could tell that his jacket was covered with blood that was slowly being rinsed away by the rain.

Removing his hands from his pockets, Penelope saw a glint reflecting off of something in his right hand. It was a knife and he was quickly raising it as if to strike. Without thinking, Penelope quickly dropped from her knees and rolled away from the man's feet hoping to escape the attack. She rolled until she reached the wall of a building that backed up to the narrow alley and realized there was no where else to go. Using her hands and arms to protect her face and neck as best as she could, she prayed the attack would be quick.

As she watched the man come towards her, sirens could be heard approaching in the distance. Upon hearing the sirens, the man stopped, looked down the alley and then back at Penelope. "This is your lucky day, bitch" he said and taking one last look towards the entrance to the alley, turned and ran the other way, jumping a wall at the other end and disappearing into the night.

Taking a deep breath, Penelope crawled back over to where the woman was lying. It appeared as if the woman had stopped breathing. Raising to her knees, Penelope did the best she could to start CPR. Thankfully, within seconds the first emergency vehicle arrived and the paramedics were able to take over.

Standing and taking a step back from the scene, Penelope began to shiver, realizing how close she had probably come to losing her life. She jumped and screamed when a hand touched her shoulder from behind. "Sorry, Miss, it's okay. I'm Officer Walker with the Quantico Police Department. Can you tell me what happened?"

Penelope spent the next several minutes explaining to the officers what had happened and trying to describe the man with the knife. "Ma'am, maybe you can come down to the PD with us and look through mug books, see if you can identify the guy for us," the officer suggested.

"Well, actually, I may have a better idea, " she told the officer. "I work for the FBI as a technical analyst. I have access to a lot of databases that might have information on this guy if he's ever been arrested before. If you could take me to the FBI headquarters, we could use the computers in my office."

"Sounds good. Is there anyone you need to call before we head down there?"

Penelope suddently remembered that the team was in Florida on a case and as much as she wanted to speak with Derek or Hotch right now, she knew she couldn't take them away from the case they were working on…it was too important. "Uhmmm, no, I guess not. I'll call them later."

As Penelope was getting ready to leave with Officer Walker, one of the paramedics came up and whispered something to him. Nodding his head in understanding, the officer turned to Penelope saying, "Let's go."

"Wait a minute, Officer Walker. What did the paramedic say? Is the lady all right?" Penelope asked fearing she already knew the answer.

"I'm afraid not, Ms. Garcia. They couldn't save her. It looks like our assault victim has turned into a murder victim," the officer explained.

"Oh my God! Did she say anything before she died?" Penelope asked worried that somehow she would be held responsible.

"It's okay, she came to for a few minutes before she died and confirmed your story with one of my officers over there. You're not a suspect, Ms. Garcia, but we need your help finding this guy more than ever now."

"Of course. Let's go, officer," Penelope agreed as they headed towards his cruiser.

Around the corner from the alley, a dark haired man sat in his late model sedan, watching as the ambulance and police began to disperse from the scene. He watched with satisfaction as the paramedics loaded the lifeless body into the back of their rig but he was particularly interested in the red-haired, full figured woman who left the scene with the officer in charge.

"You were one lucky bitch, tonight," he said as he watched the police cruiser drive off. "But your luck is about to run out." Starting his car, he drove off into the rainy night.

TBC

Hope you liked the beginning and I hope the muse cooperates and keeps this one rolling. Please read and review and let me know what you think. Thanks!