Chapter 54

The next two months flew by and yet each day seemed to drag. The team had next to no downtime as the unit received a record number of requests for aid. Everyone's desks were overflowing with files and Penelope was especially swamped since she had also started training two techs handpicked from the tech pool to cover for her during her upcoming maternity leave.

She chose two techs for a few reasons: with Kevin's transfer she already needed to find an appropriate backup for herself, and the backup would soon be taking over, he needed a backup of his own. Although she told the techs she picked that she would always be a phone call away, she also told them to keep it on the DL. The uptick in work showed that Penelope chose wisely for her replacements; they were bright and worked together fluidly. They took over several small cases and also worked with Hotch several times to get an understanding of his expectations. It was important to Penelope to find the right people for the job; the stress, the terrible hours, the work itself... wasn't for the weak. The nature of the work is why the tech who replaced her refused to do it again. It was too much for most people to handle.

Hotch did his best to keep the team close by but a few times they had to travel. It was a no-brainer when they received an urgent request from the Bangor, Maine field office about a case. The local agents and LEOs wisely deduced that a child's body found the same day another child was reported missing was not a coincidence. Even though Hotch had ordered wheels up in ten, Penelope had already found another case in a nearby state with potential ties before the plane reached altitude. The child was beaten as opposed to strangled like the other kid but the kid was near the same age as the deceased and missing children. The team was away for five days after another child had been abducted, from yet another state. Linking up the different jurisdictions had proven difficult for everyone and nerves were frayed all around. Cases involving children always affected everyone surrounding the case.

"Whoa, that was a bad one," Penelope muttered as she stood to turn off the two monitors directly in front of her.

"Yeah, no kidding," Derek replied as he turned off the remaining monitors. "But we got him before he could kill another kid."

"I just wish I could've found him before he hurt Kirk Reming." Penelope's eyes welled up as she thought of the eight year-old recovering in an Atlanta hospital from the three day ordeal with the UNSUB.

"Kirk will recover. His wounds will heal, and his mom will help him through the rest. Her boyfriend has been a rock for the both of them, and said he's there for them no matter what."

"Poor Reid is wreck. I could tell this case was deeply personal for him."

"Yeah, an UNSUB targeting child prodigies. It was personal for me, too."

"It was?" Penelope knew that Derek was highly intelligent; his school grades and numerous skills reflected it, but to relate to a child prodigy made her curious. "Why, my love?" she asked as she settled into her wheelchair.

"I married one," he replied as he walked ahead and pressed the buttons to open the doors for her. Ever the agent, he quickly scanned the hallway before stepping aside to let Penelope out of her lair.

"Derek Morgan, I know for a fact that you have never been married so don't you- oh." Penelope looked down and blushed as Derek grinned at her.

"That's right, Baby Girl. You." Derek reached out and straightened the cat ears headband Penelope wore.

"But I'm hardly a prodigy."

"Uh-huh. You were coding by what, age eight? Getting paid to consult in junior high and high school? You even went to the same university Reid did."

"He went at age twelve! I was eighteen, like everyone else."

"Sweetness, think about it. Those kids on that MasterChef Junior show you make us watch? Can you cook like that? I sure can't, and Reid definitely can't. Those, to me, are prodigies. Just like your magic with computers."

"And Reid's magic with everything." Penelope finished with a grin to match Derek's. "Thanks for the ego boost, Baby Boy."

"Anytime, Sweetness. Anytime."

"I was too busy empathizing with the children, I almost missed the UNSUB!" Reid vented. "I was those kids!" He stood up and paced Derek and Penelope's living room. "Twenty-seven years ago I was Kirk Reming. The innocence, the naivety, the confusion... trying to navigate life with the knowledge well beyond most adults and knowing it, yet wanting to do childlike things- playing and goofing off. They're so vulnerable."

"Focusing on the victimology was what led to me finding Duke. You did exactly what you needed to do," Penelope argued. "And that empathy is exactly what the team needed. You understood those children on a level none of us ever could. Understanding that vulnerability is what opened up the idea that the UNSUB was not a stranger to the children, despite what my initial checks revealed. This led me to do even deeper backgrounds on them and their families and find the link."

"Garcia, he was abducting child prodigies because he was so convinced his dead child was one. If it wasn't for JJ and Hotch talking him down..." Reid trailed off.

"JJ used her empathy, too. She lost a child herself." Derek explained. "By relating her loss to Shaun Duke's, she was able to get him to understand that the sudden loss, the mourning, of losing a child, is normal. That as much as she loves Henry and Michael, she still loves and misses the baby she lost."

"And that made Duke realize that the children he took will never replace the baby he lost. And that by killing those kids, he made their parents hurt like he hurt. Worse, because he caused that pain," Penelope added. "And that he robbed the kids of their futures."

"I just can't wrap my head around it! Shaun Duke... his wife said she wanted to try to have another baby but he refused. She's so upset, thinks this is all her fault. He wanted her to raise the kids he abducted. He was so convinced that the baby they lost was a prodigy." Reid shook his head. "I'm not sure if he really thought that. His wife said that he'd joked around about it during her pregnancy so maybe the grief..."

"We know and you know... we all know that psychotic breaks are unpredictable. Some break internally and harm themselves. Some engage in crazy risks with no regard to their own safety or the safety of others. Some react externally, deliberately hurting others. A lot of times they don't intend to harm their victims but when the victims don't react the way the UNSUB wants, they react in uncontrollable anger... and the victim is the recipient of that anger," Derek frowned. "Pauline Duke left him before she became that recipient."

"Some day she'll understand that Duke's break really had nothing to do with her," Penelope added.

"You should've heard the horrible things he said to her! Blaming her for a fluke of nature that happened a day before she was to give birth." Reid sat back down on the couch with a huff. "Like he had no idea that she was hurting too. Worse, because she had to go through labor anyway, knowing she wouldn't be taking the baby home with her."

"I'm sure it was horrible for everyone," Penelope replied softly.

"Oh, Garcia... I'm sorry... I wasn't thinking." Reid cringed at how his venting must've sounded to his best friends. "Statistically, umbilical cord accidents-"

"I know what the stats are, Reid. I've read up on everything, I think." Penelope smiled slightly.

"Baby Girl, I told you to stop doing that. All it does is stress you out," Derek scolded.

"Busted," Reid laughed as Penelope chucked a throw pillow at him.

"Like you haven't looked up everything, too, Reid," Penelope laughed as the baby kicked. She rubbed the spot and giggled at the kicks she felt. "Now that I feel her moving more and can tell when she sleeps, I'm doing kick counts. I am surprised you haven't scoped out OB/GYN journals about scheduled c-sections."

Spencer flushed and looked at a spot on the wall over Penelope's shoulder.

"Reid, you didn't!"

"I may have done some reading. I think, between me and JJ, if we had anesthesia, a sharp enough knife and the ability to sterilize it... or I could start carrying a scalpel at all times, we could-"

"Reid, you are NOT going near Pen's uterus with a knife OR a scalpel," Derek boomed. He slapped the back of Reid's head.

"Hey! I've delivered a baby before, and psyched out and disarmed an UNSUB in the process!" Reid protested as he rubbed his head.

"That was different, and you know it."

"Indeed. No offense Garcia, but in your case, I'd be more than happy to leave your delivery up to the professionals."

"You're damn right," Derek growled and Penelope giggled.

"What... what?" Penelope mumbled as her phone chirped. She looked up from the screen to Derek and Reid. "It's from Hotch. He says he needs to see me first thing Monday morning. Wonder what he wants."

"No idea, Baby Girl, but it must not be a pressing matter if Hotch is willing to wait until Monday to meet with you. We've earned this four-day weekend."

"We most certainly have! And you..." Penelope pointed to Reid, then the fireplace mantle. "Pay up."

"What?" Reid looked baffled as he looked to where Penelope was pointing. His gaze landed on the pink piggy bank. "Oh."

"Yup. And I counted three times I heard you say 'Garcia'. So, $3, please." She pointed to the piggy bank again.

"Dammit!" Reid grumbled as he pulled out his wallet.

"You wanted to see me, Bossman?" Penelope chirped as she knocked on Hotch's open door the next morning.

"Yes, Ga-Penelope, come in." Hotch smiled ever-so-slightly as she wheeled herself in. "I just emailed you the Bangor field office's notes and reports on the Duke case. They were the last o ones

"OK! I'll get right on with my data spreads from the case and once the rest of the team submits their reports, it'll be ready for your, then Cruz's signatures. Cruz is in the office so as long as nothing major comes up, both digital and physical copies will be filed by the end of business today."

"Good. I'm glad you're finally following my orders and only working when the rest of the team is."

"The extra time is helping us get adapted to married life and to get ready for the baby. The backup techs are doing good and are helping more and more."

"The director has been made fully aware of the high-risk nature of your pregnancy. You're authorized to begin maternity leave any time your doctors say so. And you're to take as much time as you need and want. Your job will be here when or if you return. The temporary analysts are aware of this, as you know."

"'If'?" Penelope repeated.

"You can take retirement if you choose to stay home with the baby. There is absolutely no pressure either way, Penelope. That decision is solely up to you."

"Thanks, Hotch."

"There's also something else I wanted to discuss with you."

"What's that?"

"They finally set a date for Grant Jackson's trial."

"Oh? After how many delays?"

"Well, they had to decide jurisdiction. Jackson's lawyers fought tooth and nail to get him tried in Indiana. But the courts ultimately sided with us, that because the original crime occurred here and the victim- I apologize- was a federal agent, that he'll be tried here through the federal court in D.C. The lead prosecutor will be Cece Hillenbrand and she has asked if you'd be willing to testify at the trial."

"Will that really be necessary? Won't the physical evidence be enough?" Penelope wondered. She and the team worked closely with the prosecuctor's offices compiling evidence- Penelope as the victim, which she hated, and the team in their official capacities.

"The evidence is overwhelming; however, your testimony could determine how much time he gets."

"So why would he even plead not-guilty? Why not try to take a deal or plead insanity?"

"I don't know. But I have a feeling Grant's attorneys have something to do with it."

"Don't they want Grant to get less time?"

"Unless they think he'll be acquitted. Jordan Froghart is known for taking risks."

"Who's the other attorney?" Penelope gripped her armrests as Hotch hesitated. "Hotch?"

"It's Alice Avery-Garcia."

Hello! I'm back. In honor of the show's last season (excuse me while I go cry in the corner!) I figured I owed it to y'all to update and (hopefully) finish this story. Re-reading the reviews definitely stroked my ego and I'm still getting PMs asking about continuing it. Then I checked the story stats and it's cray hire much traffic this story still gets!

As per usual, the last two years have been crazy! Unfortunately not a lot of positives: my grandparents in FL are not doing well. Gpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Gma has fallen twice in the last year, the last one causing a TBI. She has improved so much, amazing her doctors, but right before Christmas she had a fit, accusing my gpa of sleeping around and being completely irrational. Testing is still being done but we are expecting an Alzheimer's diagnosis. As soon as she's cleared to fly, we'll be moving her and gpa back to Indiana. My cousin's murder still remains unsolved. Next month marks 3 years since she and her friend were killed.

Personally, I'm struggling. Turning 33 forced me to confront my mortality. My dad was 32 when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He was 33 when he died. TBH, I was terrified of turning 33. But my brother and I both made it; he turns 37 in April and I turned 35 in October. I had to confront my mortality again when my cousin's wife passed away right before my birthday, ironically at age 33, of breast cancer. Although she wasn't a blood relative, it really frightened me. Due to numerous traumas shortly before and after his death, most of my childhood memories are suppressed. I haven't seeked help for that because I'm terrified it will be a Pandora's Box. I do have some fond memories but I also have some memories that still haunt me. They're kinda balanced and I'd rather keep that balance than upset it with what I suspect are the numerous negatives that caused me to lose most of my first 8 years.

Turning 35 was also a rough one. I had two more miscarriages in 2019- one in April, one in December. The due date for my spring baby was December 14 and the last miscarriage was on December 4. I now have the "advanced maternal age" label and it kills. I never envisioned myself as an older mother. I was luckier than most and met The One early, at 22. We weren't saints but we waited until just before we got married before trying to start a family. That was 9 years ago this month. I took inspiration from the Dukes in this chapter from another cousin (I literally have about 40 cousins) and his wife. Their baby girl passed away in utero the day before the scheduled c-section due to a freak umbilical cord accident. The doctor suspected a knot formed in the cord weeks, maybe months earlier, but it was never an issue, until that day, when the knot tightened too much too quickly and there was nothing that could've been done.

But... some of it was good. We adopted a puppy back in March. She's a black lab and was rescued from horrible conditions. I won't get into it all now, but i will say that we're still working with her behavior even after 10 months. We also moved again, to a much bigger house, and business is good. I've been writing non-fanfiction like crazy but I'm too chicken to publish more than a couple of chapters of one story on Wattpad.

Until next time, my ever-so-faithful readers,

PitaCake

P.S. Chapter 55 is already half half-written. ;)