I know that this chapter is longer than the first, but my thoughts about how this chapter should flow just kept coming and coming. Also, this is the final chapter of this short story, so please read, review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

-warhouseluver13

Previously...

I plastered a smile on my face when he declined, but at the same time it felt like my heart stopped. Out of everyone on the team, Hotch had suffered every agent's worst nightmare: a serial killer killed his wife for kicks and because of the deep hatred he had towards Hotch. Now he was a widowed father, who had a sole responsibility for his son, Jack. Not to mention he was still a committed member of our team, pulling all nighters to finish reports, only to have a new case thrown at us the next day. While I respected his decision to not join us, I silently wished that I could do more to help out our unit chief.

"Okay. We'll see you tomorrow Hotch. Let's go guys," I gestured towards the elevators.

After everyone stared sadly at Hotch for a minute, they complied and silently headed for the elevators. As I joined them in the elevator, I prayed that Hotch didn't lie to us about Jack, and was pulling an all nighter once again at the BAU.

I pulled my black SUV up in front of the club, and a neon sign stood out against the darkness, bearing the club's name, Echo. I figured that this club would be slammed with people waiting to get in, so we all decided to get out in front and have the valet park my car. Tonight was going to be a night of celebration filled with drinks, memories, laughter, and my favorite thing, dancing. I brought my friends into a huddle, knowing the easiest way to get into the club would be for us to something that would have Strauss steaming at the ears.

"How exactly are we going to get in, Derek? This place is crowded," said Rossi.

"Well Rossi, we can do two things: you can pay the bouncer to let us through, or we do something that would be considered abuse of our authority," I replied.

Rossi glared at me. "You know Erin would have our heads and disband our team in a millisecond if she found out we abused our authority to get into a club, Derek,"

"So are you going to pay up?"

"You're just lucky that I have sold enough books over the years to have a small fortune of my own," He shot back.

We approached the bouncer who was standing in front of the club with the VIP check list in hand. Rossi pulled out two Benjamins and casually placed them on the clipboard. "I think we are on this list," he said.

The bouncer's eyebrows shot up at the surprise of the Benjamins placed on list. "I think that you all are on this list," The bouncer smiled as he removed the red velvet rope, welcoming us into the club.

I found it fair enough to let Rossi enter the club first, because he was nice enough to dish out the money to get us in without causing a scandal for the FBI.

I casually slapped Rossi on the shoulder. "Rossi, do you always carry benjamins in your wallet?" I joked.

Rossi smirked. "Maybe Derek, but now you have to pitch in on the drinks too,"

I groaned. "Come on Rossi,"

"Not a chance in this world, Derek. You are not getting out of this one that easily. Now everybody, go have fun! Dance! Drink!" Rossi said.

Rossi walked over to the bar, JJ, Emily and Penelope grabbed a table of their own, and Reid went off to roam the club, trying to find people to impress, while I automatically hit the dance floor. I found that dancing was one of the ways to relieve the stress I have to deal with on a daily basis; and trust me, between my demons of Carl Buford, and the horrible graphic images I see at work every day, it's a miracle that I'm still standing. As I got into rhythm of the music, it didn't take long for girls to crowd around me, practically begging me to dance with them by showing off moves of their own.

An hour later, I was growing thirsty, so I excused myself from the dance floor to grab a drink at the bar. This gave me the chance to check in on everyone, making sure that they were holding their own. I spotted Rossi, who was sitting on the other side of the bar checking his phone- he was probably texting a lady friend. After looking around, I managed to find boy genius talking to a group of people, who were probably being blow away by his infinite knowledge of the world and his killer magic tricks. Finally, my eyes wandered over to where my Baby Girl, Emily and JJ were sitting. I smiled as I watched them from a distance. They were talking and laughing about something, when the DJ dropped the next track. I immediately recognized the song. It was Don't Cha, which was sung by the Pussycat Dolls. I guessed that Emily and JJ recognized the song as well, because they excitedly jumped up from their seats and headed to the dance floor. And as usual, Penelope hung back, refusing to follow Emily and JJ. I was about to walk over and drag her onto the dance floor myself, when our two co-workers noticed that Penelope was hanging back, and went back over to the table to see if they could convince her to join them, or, I could only guess, that they would drag her out onto the dance floor against her will.

I laughed as I watched Emily and JJ tried to coax Penelope into joining them on the dance floor. If Penelope didn't want to do something, she sure as hell wasn't going to do it, because she had enough blackmail against everyone on our team to keep us at bay. I was about to take a sip of my alcoholic beverage, when I saw Emily and JJ point in my direction, and I noticed that Penelope locked eyes with me for a minute before turning her attention back to her them.

Suddenly, a miracle happened. I had to do a double take to believe my eyes. Penelope actually admitted defeat and reluctantly followed Emily and JJ out onto the dance floor. As I watched my single co-workers get into the groove of the music, I couldn't help but admire their moves. They were giving off sexy vibes as they moved to the music. I nearly choked on my alcoholic drink, as I watched Penelope dance to the sexual song in her own way. I couldn't help but let out a small groan as my eyes washed up and down her body, taking in every inch of her beauty. She was just... so beautiful. I wondered if Penelope had a damn clue about how much she was torturing me right now. Then it occurred to me that she probably felt like this every time I have danced with other women in the past. If she actually lived through this kind of torture all the years we've known each other, I would get on my knees, beg for her forgiveness, and I would send her flowers every day to make up for the pain I have caused her over the years. After all, our friendship is priceless. I can't even imagine life without her anymore. Her crazy colored clothing, her amazing hairstyles, her computer lair filled with an assortment of stuffed animals and silly pictures of us, and finally, the constant banter we throw at each other, that even the team gave up trying to stop us and just grew used to the way we spoke during a conversation. Hell, even the FBI now holds a sexual harassment seminar every year because of our dirty, flirtatious remarks.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by Emily and JJ waving at me, and it seemed like they were trying to ask for my help. My eyes drifted in the direction they were pointing, and I saw Penelope dancing with some random guy. He looked sort of intoxicated, and that got me really mad that she would be stupid enough to dance with a drunk. But before I got the chance to get up and try to defuse this situation smoothly without pissing my best friend off, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out and saw that JJ had texted me. I opened my phone to read the text.

...Do you think you can fix that situation, alley cat?

I looked up in JJ's direction and pointed to my phone. Seriously? I silently asked.

As if she heard my question, she laughed in response. She was using one of the nicknames that she, Emily and Hailey (Hotch's late wife) came up with last year when they decided to make fun of the way I danced.

I shot my thousand watt smile at her, shaking my head as I put my phone away. Once again I glanced in the direction of Penelope, and my blood ran cold. That guy was dancing way to close to her for starters, and I scowled at the way he ran his hands up and down her body. Penelope, however, seemed lost in the moment, and it looked like she actually liked the way that this random guy was dancing with her. I bit down on my inner cheek, so I wouldn't slam my fist down on the bar. After I got my emotions in order, I planted a fake smile on my face and moved back out onto the dance floor, to "accidentally" bump into Penelope and her dancing partner.

"Baby Girl, don't you remember a thing I taught you about stranger danger?" I playfully asked.

"Gorgeous, I am a grown woman. Stranger danger is a myth for children," she shot back.

"Baby Girl, that hurt right here," I said, pretending to grip my heart.

Actually, I was hurting between my legs because of the lightly splashed water colored dress she was wearing. It fit her in all the right places.

"If you can't take my heat, get out of my kitchen chocolate thunder," she wittingly replied.

"You make me crazy woman. Care to dance?" I asked, as I moved between Penelope and the drunk that was dancing with her.

She giggled. "I guess it's already too late to say no, seeing that you just cut into my dance,"

"Baby Girl, you don't know the first thing about dancing until you've danced with me," I teased.

"Are you offering lessons anytime soon, sugar?" She inquired.

"Only to you Baby Girl," I whispered in her ear.

She laughed. "I might take you up on that offer, angelfish, but for now, dance with me you sculpted god of chocolate thunder, "

Dancing with Penelope was electrifying. Literally. Every nerve in my body was tingling, and my adrenaline kicked into overdrive, as I caressed every inch of her sexy, curvy body. We were a perfect fit, and when she turned around to face me, it took everything I had to not kiss her, because I knew she would be shell-shocked by my actions and possibly never talk to me again. I was not about to gamble our friendship over a stupid kiss that could rock Penelope at her core. Hell no. She is my God given solace, and the truth is that she has saved me time and time again. She is the light that lights up my personal darkness, and if I lost her, my world would instantly crumble.

Three songs later, Penelope announced that she was thirsty. Without hesitation, I held my arm out to escort her off the dance floor. She gladly accepted, and together we approached the bar to grab a couple beverages to satisfy our thirsty needs. I flagged the bartender down and ordered our usual drinks. As he was making them, she looked up into my eyes as if she was searching for something.

"How do you know me so well, hot stuff?" Penelope mischievously asked.

"Well princess, I'm your best friend and a mind reader," I replied, fully knowing that my comment would offend her.

"Honey, I love you, but we both know that there is room for only one oracle around here," she slyly remarked.

I playfully widened my eyes in surprise. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I did not mean to offend the all-knowing oracle,"

She smiled triumphantly as I grabbed our drinks from the bartender. "You are forgiven, my love," she said, as she took her drink from my extended hand.

I laughed. "Good, because I wasn't forgiven, that would mean I wouldn't have anyone to flirt with at work anymore,"

We approached the small table to rejoin JJ and Emily. To my surprise, Rossi was sitting and talking to them, with his glass of whisky in his hand. They suddenly grew quiet as we sat down next to them. Awkward silence filled the air until Emily broke it.

"The way you two were dancing out there, we were thinking about starting a pool to see whether or not you guys were going to get a room,"

"Baby Girl, I think that they are forgetting something," I said.

Penelope flashed me a smile, letting me know that she would play along. "Hmm sugar, is it the fact that I have a geeky boyfriend, and a hunk of a man I am proud to call my best friend?"

"Exactly doll face," I replied.

"Hey Rossi, you might have to pull the fire alarm, because the sexual tension between Morgan and Garcia is too hot for any of us to handle," JJ commented.

"Do not get me involved in this JJ," Rossi sternly said.

"Baby Girl, will our friends ever stop being jealous of our friendship?" I asked.

"I don't think so hot stuff," she remarked.

And with that, Emily, JJ, and Rossi exploded with laughter, and it felt like I was missing out on some inside joke they had against me and my Baby Girl. I smiled and joined in on their laughter, just as Reid finally rejoined our small group.

"What's so funny guys?" He asked.

His question only brought about more laughter, and as we stood around that small club table, we remembered the good times, the bad times, memorable victories, and most importantly, we remembered that we were all still human, even after going toe to toe with the worst crazy psychopaths that mankind had to offer.

So, do you think I did everyone on the team justice? How well did I write this story from Morgan's POV? Any thoughts, or reviews are graciously accepted.

P.S. I'm sorry if you're upset that Hotch only got one line of dialogue... He's the only character that I don't really think I can captivate in words... yet.

-warehouseluver13