Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds….darn it!

A/N: This is as much an anti Kevin story as much as it is an M/G story so fair warning….if you like Kevin…you may not want to read this one. Story takes place after 100.

Winter Blues

Penelope Garcia watched as the snow fell outside her window. Cupping her hands around a hot mug of cocoa she reflected back on the last few months. They had been difficult months for the BAU culminating in the death of Haley Hotchner and the subsequent investigation which followed. Luckily, Aaron Hotchner, the unit chief, was strong enough to refuse an offer of retirement from Section Leader Strauss and decided he would return to his team in his old position following the funeral and some time to get his young son Jack resettled after the tragedy. For that, Penelope was thankful even if she knew Hotch's return would mean that Derek Morgan would have to step down from that position, back to his old rank of SSA.

Outwardly, Derek was more than willing to let Hotch have his position back. "I always said I would only do this temporarily until Hotch was ready to return and Strauss was off our backs. I knew what I was getting into," Derek had told Penelope. But Penelope knew Derek too well not to see that at least a small part of him had enjoyed being able to lead the team, if even for a short while. He would miss it.

However, with the bad comes the good and Penelope smiled to herself as she remembered Derek calling her "Baby Girl" again the other day for the first time in a long time. While he was acting chief, Derek had turned into someone she wasn't quite sure she knew, the official company man who towed the line. He stopped using their long-standing tradition of nicknames and all of their phone calls had become strictly business, no fun flirtiness thrown in to combat the horrors they dealt with on a daily basis.

Of course it was more than the position. There was also Tamara Barnes. Several months prior to Haley's death, Derek had become involved with Tamara, a family member of a victim. Penelope had tried to warn her best friend that it wasn't a good idea but he didn't see things that way and dated her anyways. Maybe that was the beginning of the end of Penelope and Derek's special bond they had had for so long. Things definitely changed after that and Penelope had missed her best friend tremendously.

Sure, she had Kevin, whom she had been dating for several years, but she knew in her heart he wasn't "The One". She might love him but she knew she could never love anyone the way she had come to love Derek. Not that Derek was in love with her, not that way anyways, but their bond had always been stronger than anything she had ever experienced. Their friendship had gotten each of them through some tough times they may never have gotten through on their own.

And now, things appeared to be headed back to they way they had been, at least a little bit. Derek had not brought Tamara to Haley's funeral and now that he was back to his old position with the team, he had begun to flash that devastating smile of his again. He also seemed more comfortable around Penelope, flirting, touching and slowly beginning to confide in his best friend again. She still wasn't sure if it would ever be what it once was, but she was grateful to have him back in her life at all.

Kevin, on the other hand, was not happy with the way things were going. For almost three years he had had to put up with the "out of bounds" flirting and touching that had gone on between Morgan and Garcia. He had known of their infamous reputation even before meeting Garcia, gossip travels fast in FBI circles, but Penelope had convinced him it was friendship and nothing more. "After all, you're the one I'm dating, silly", Penelope had told him.

Then when Hotch stepped down and Morgan became unit chief, Kevin could sense the change in Morgan and he liked what he saw. Morgan was becoming more and more withdrawn from Penelope and while Kevin knew she was hurting because of it he couldn't help but feel it was about time. Now she could focus on him, her actual boyfriend.

However, things were changing again and he realized that Derek Morgan was headed straight back into Penelope's life if he didn't do something to stop it. "She's mine and I'll be damned if I let some hot-headed, over muscled, playboy take her away from me!" Kevin often thought to himself. It didn't matter to him that a big part of Penelope had been missing when her relationships with Derek was on the rocks and that she was hurting because of it. It didn't matter that Penelope considered Derek and the rest of the BAU team her family. To Kevin it only mattered that Penelope was his and she was going to start acting like it. Either she would be his or she would be no ones!

Penelope's daydreams were ended with a start when Kevin snuck up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Damn it, Kevin! You've got to stop doing that, you scared me half to death!" Penelope yelled at him as she turned to wipe some of the hot chocolate she had spilled off of her robe. "You could have burned me!"

"I'm sorry Pen. I thought you heard me coming." Kevin responded. "I just wanted to let you know it was almost seven o'clock and you better get in the shower if you are going to get to work on time."

"Oh, okay, thanks, Kevin. Sorry I snapped at you but you really do have to be more careful," Penelope said as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and headed off to get her shower.

"I'll make you another cup of hot chocolate for the road to make up for it!" Kevin said as he headed towards the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later as Penelope was heading out the door, Kevin handed her a fresh cup of hot chocolate in her favorite travel mug. "Here you go, Sweetie. It's my own special "Winter Blues" Hot Chocolate recipe." he said with a smile.

"Hmmm, special recipe huh? Smells sweet and delicious, just like you my little hapless hacker" Penelope giggled as she waved goodbye.

Kevin shut the door behind her and headed back to the kitchen. He didn't have to be at work until 10:00 am and set about cleaning up the mess he had made with the hot chocolate. As he picked up the bottle containing his "special ingredient" he chuckled to himself. Looking at the label that read "Antifreeze" he thought, "that should keep her warm today."

TBC

Poor Penelope, my muse keeps putting her through hell, but this idea just popped into my head and I couldn't get rid of it. Please R&R and let me know what you think. Your reviews are what keep me goingJ