Hello! Thank you for joining me on this very predictable journey. I've had this fanfic floating around in my doc drafts on my laptop for YEARS now, and I can honestly say it's grown with me. The beginning chapters are little more casefic oriented with M/P throughout, as a result me trying to write an actual ep of CM back when I first started writing this. I didn't want to scrap everything, but the profiler talk thins out as the story moves on. I promise. On Demily I swear. Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy. xoxo Lauren

I do not own Criminal Minds or these characters.

FBI Behavior Analysis Unit

Monday June 4, 2012

11:22 AM

She knocked twice on the agent's office door. Usually, he would leave it open so that his co-workers would know when he was in, but that wasn't the case this time around. For some odd reason, the door was shut and locked while he was still on the clock.

He was in today, and the entire team knew it. They had seen him come in to the building this morning, and they'd even seen him grab his morning cup of coffee from the kitchenette. So, he was definitely here— or rather, he was in there, in his office being unusually standoffish and distant.

It was strange because he hadn't come in this morning with his signature swag. He didn't join in their bull pen conversations, and he didn't even say good morning to her, his "Baby Girl".

He was so removed from the day, that when she texted him to tell him that everyone was in the round table room ready to review the case, he never replied. So she volunteered to go fetch him from wherever he was hiding.

After seconds of no reply, she knocked again,"Derek, it's Penelope."

The sound of shuffling footsteps on the other side of the door came as a relief to her. At least he was still alive.

The door swung open, revealing the quizzical expression on his face. "Sup?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but I won't." She scoffed, making her way past him and into his office,"You own me and the team an explanation. No questions asked."

"Baby girl, what'd I do?" He asked.

She arched her brows,"You're not serious, right? You couldn't have forgotten that you've been avoiding each and every one of your team members all day, and that, at this very moment, you are stalling the case briefing because I had to come drag you out of this dungeon where you've been doing god knows what all day."

Stunned, the man just stood where he was, fixed at the door. "Nobody told me we got a case."

"Oh, I did." The analyst remarked.

"Okay...well, then what're we waiting for?" He tried, as he made a move to leave the room.

Garcia shook her head. If her stationary position in front of him hadn't made it clear enough, perhaps denying him would. She wasn't going to leave without some sort of explanation.

"Okay, Miss Thang, stay here if you want, but Hotch is gonna get pissed if we don't-"

"Hotch is fine." She interrupted him,"Besides, if you don't start explaining yourself A.S.A.P., Hotch is the last one you'll need to worry about."

He frowned at the edge in her voice,"What's really going on?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She spat.

He walked over to his friend and stood face to face with her. Her eyes were filled with determination. He had a feeling that she'd come here to fix whatever troubles he was having, only she couldn't have expected that how he would play it: like there was nothing to be fixed.

Morgan placed his hands on her shoulders,"Nothing is going on."

"Derek you've been avoiding the team— you've been avoiding me." Garcia exclaimed," You can't play that card here."

"Baby girl, I have never avoided you." He insisted.

"Okay, yea, that's cool." She intimated with a playful tone,"So I'll just forget about today and last Friday when you came in and out without saying so much as a word to me. And two seconds ago when you ignored my incessant knocking."

Derek shook his head, "I'm sorry, baby girl, it will not happen again. I promise." He moved to kiss her on the cheek, but the tech stopped him short.

"Your kisses are as appreciated as they are always welcome, but you, sir, have not earned your get out of jail free card."

Slowly, the man's face sank into a grimace. He was going to have to talk.

The truth was he had been avoiding the team. He reasoned that it was a way to protect them from him, like a planned precaution, but it wasn't.

Last week- hell, even last month, he spent so much time preparing and coaching himself on how to handle the situation and how he should behave. But as the time came, the reality hit him a little harder than he expected.

Morgan sat on the couch.

"Derek,"Garcia assuaged,"You know you can tell me anything?"

"Yep." He said plainly.

The analyst noted his hunched back and long face. His calm and collected facade had been broken. "I know how you like to handle personal things personally, but Hun, you've got to get this out in the open."

"I guess..." Morgan started, his voice vacant,"...it's Emily."

"Oh my." Garica sighed, her face breaking into a sympathetic pout. She plopped down right next to him and gave him a hug.

Emily was leaving the BAU. The whole team had known for a while that she decided to move on, but no one could have expected just how hard it was going to be to let her go.

For a while, Morgan was able to front that everything was good, like he could be the sort of happy sap figure who could pat her on the back and say 'good luck'. He couldn't. Instead, the performance of it made him resentful, sour, selfish and, at times, angry— angry that he was distraught about something as simple as saying goodbye to a colleague.

"This isn't easy for anyone…"The techie said as she pulled away from hugging him. She was right. It wasn't easy.

Last Thursday, when Emily invited him over to help pack up some stuff, they both just stood together and took in the empty apartment. That was when it hit him: one of his best friends, and his partner of 6 years was going to leave.

At JJ's wedding, it seemed sporadic. It was like she was serious, but not that serious. But, as the weeks went by, her uncertainty became certainty and the reality began to settle in. She was leaving the BAU family.

And yes, it was rational and natural, things like this happened all the time. People move on, and at the BAU, people were lucky to even have the choice to do so. But, she would live oceans away. And she'd say "hi" every couple months. She would have a new team, and new obligations. She would live a new life where the old one didn't matter.

"Have you even talked with her?" Garcia asked.

"I mean…" He mumbled.

The blonde shook her head. "You should. That might help you find some resolve."

"Did it help you?" He blurted.

"Yes." She admitted easily,"I still cried once every day last week, but yes."

A weak smile tugged at the corners of his mouth,"I bet you did."

"Oh yea, tough guy." She teased,"But you know what I told myself? I told myself that those are selfish tears, and that usually dries me right up. But on occasion, I do keep watering the universe with my happy tears. Tears of joy for our Emily who is excited to move on from here to do greater things."

She gave him a few good-hearted pokes to his ribs, suggesting that it was okay for him to think and feel the same way, but he didn't react much. Instead, he fell silent, and sat even more still.

"Derek, she's leaving at the end of this week, and I'm already anxious about that," She soothed,"But now you're being all Mr. The-Shadows-Are-My-Habitat. And it's you being secretive that keeps me, and everyone else on edge. That's when I don't know how to keep it together."

He nodded slowly,"Yea, I know."

"We've got to lean on each other," She said as she squeezed his shoulders,"Now, let's not let our mopes keep us from doing our jobs."

Morgan watched as his friend started to bubble over with her natural energy. She got the answers she came for, and it was now time to go back to the grind. After she gestured for him to follow her out of his office, the techie hurriedly clonked away on her bright colored platforms.

Penelope Garcia was a prescription and the cure all in one. Without trying, she was a positive force, and every day Morgan thanked his lucky stars that he was blessed with that woman. But this time, he also wished that her anecdote was just a little bit stronger.

Demily pending... Also, guys! I did my honest to God best to proofread this, but somehow, somewhere I just know there's a stray betraying me. Anyway, thank you for making it this far! Feel free to leave feedback (be gentle with me though. ;)