This is the 15th and final chapter to this story. Now it's time to meet some old friends, and after that it's time to head to the cemetery. Yes, it's time to bury Penelope Garcia. Make sure to have some tissues in hand.

Enjoy!

JJ was heading towards the bathroom with Henry in tow when a voice came from behind her. "Hey, JJ," She turned around to see a brunette she never thought she'd ever see again.

"Elle!" She exclaimed, and hugged her for a long moment. "It's good to see you again," JJ said sincerely, and Elle pulled back.

"You too, but I wish it was under different circumstances," Elle said sadly, and JJ nodded.

"This is my son, Henry. Henry, this is my friend, Elle,"

"Hi Henry," Elle said, crouching to Henry's height.

"Hi," He said shyly, and Elle smiled at him before straightening.

"Elle Greenaway, as I live and breathe," Morgan's voice said, and Elle spun around to find herself in a hug. She hugged him back and smiled at him.

"How are you holding up?" She asked, gently touching his face.

"Not good," He admitted, but added, "I'll be okay, though, eventually,"

"Time heals all wounds," Elle murmured, and then Reid spotted the large group and headed over. "Reid!" She called, and he hurried over to give her a hug.

"Elle," He let go of her and they started to talk about what Elle had been doing since she left the BAU. Meanwhile, Hotch was taking Jack out of the church when a voice from behind him said,

"Aaron Hotchner,"

He smiled, recognizing the voice. "Jason Gideon,"

He turned around and saw his old friend walking towards him. Gideon held his hand out and Hotch took it, shaking it before pulling him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Aaron," Gideon murmured, and Hotch nodded as they released each other.

"Me too," Hotch said quietly, and then half-smiled, adding, "I didn't know if you'd be able to make it,"

"I made sure I could make it. I still can't believe it…" Gideon broke off, shaking his head.

"I know. No one can. I'm pretty sure most of us are still in shock," Hotch said, and Jack piped up,

"Hi Mr. Gideon!"

"Hey there, Jack," Gideon said, kneeling down and shaking the young man's hand.

"Did you come to say goodbye to Auntie Penelope?"

"Yes I did," Gideon said quietly, and Jack nodded as Emily walked up to the three of them. "Emily," Gideon said, hugging his former team member.

"I'm so glad you could make it," She said, closing her eyes for a moment and then letting him go.

"So am I," Gideon murmured, and then spotted Reid, Morgan and JJ standing with Elle. "I'm gonna go say hi," He said, and headed towards them. Emily linked her hand with Hotch and they followed with Jack bringing up the rear.

Gideon was hugging Elle and everyone else when Hotch and Emily joined the group. They chatted for a while longer, and then it was announced that the hearse would be leaving for the cemetery.

And then Morgan saw someone he never expected to be at the funeral: Kevin Lynch.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Morgan hissed, striding over to Garcia's ex-boyfriend.

"Paying my respects, Agent Morgan," Kevin said stonily, "You may have been her boyfriend when she died, but I know she loved me, and I loved her,"

"That's a load of crap and you know it. You can't love someone and beat on them at the same time," Morgan growled, his hands balling into fists.

"Don't go all high and mighty on me, acting like you know what Penelope and I had," Kevin said dismissively, turning away. Morgan yanked on his arm, saying harshly,

"I know what you didn't have, Lynch, and it's what Penelope and I had together. She didn't love you," Kevin whipped around and aimed a punch at Morgan's jaw. That was the last thing Morgan expected, and he felt the sharp pain of Kevin's fist hitting him in the jaw. "You really shouldn't have done that," Morgan muttered before striking out and punching Kevin in the stomach and then kneeing him in the face.

Suddenly, Kevin was yanked away and Morgan felt someone holding him back. "He's not worth it, Derek, let it go," Hotch muttered, and Morgan fought against him, seeing Rossi yanking Kevin out the door. "Stop it!" Hotch said sharply, and Morgan stopped fighting him. "I don't care what he said, today is about Penelope, nothing more," He added, and then stepped away, leaving Morgan to stand there for a long moment, controlling his anger.

Then they all trooped outside to get back in their cars. Morgan and Rossi was the first car behind the hearse, then Hotch, Jack and Emily, and then Reid, JJ and Henry. There were a few other people following them, including Gideon and Elle. It was a relatively short drive to the cemetery, and once there they all walked to the gravesite. Morgan didn't ask Rossi what he'd done with Kevin, because he knew that Rossi was just as pissed at Kevin as he was.

Morgan left the group and walked to the next plot over, kneeling down and bowing his head for a moment. Garcia had once told him that she wanted to be buried next to her parents, and he'd made sure that wish had been honored. He murmured, "Take care of her up there," Morgan had come to visit their graves a few times with Garcia, and he felt like he almost knew her parents, the way she always talked about them with her.

And now tears filled his eyes as the thought struck him that he was bringing her here to rest…forever. Morgan quickly stood up and turned back to where they had Garcia's casket set up to be lowered into the already dug grave.

The priest began to say the final prayers and goodbyes, and then stepped back. Hotch, Emily, JJ, Reid, Morgan, Rossi, Jack and Henry were all holding pink roses, and they stepped up to the casket, waiting. The cemetery workers lowered the casket into the ground, and when the casket hit the ground, JJ and Emily fell to their knees, tears streaming down their faces.

Hotch knelt and wrapped his arms around Emily's shoulders, and Reid crouched and hugged JJ as well. Morgan closed his eyes when the casket hit the bottom of the grave and felt what was left of his heart shatter.

Jack and Henry stepped up to the grave first and tossed their roses on top of Garcia's casket and blew her a kiss. Rossi tossed his in next, looking sadly at the casket and then stepped back, putting his hand on Morgan's shoulder.

Hotch and Reid stepped up next and tossed their roses in together and then JJ and Emily were holding each other's hands as they stood on the edge of the grave and gently threw their roses down. Hotch and Reid joined them, and so did Rossi and Reid. They all stood around Garcia's casket and said their final goodbyes.

As the cemetery workers moved in and started shoveling the dirt on top of Garcia's casket, Morgan had the sudden urge to just throw himself down there and beg his baby girl to come back to him. He knew that was crazy, and he turned away, almost hating himself for turning his back on his girl.

And then he realized that she wasn't really gone, she would always be in his heart and in his memories. And for now, that was enough.

He stood there for what seemed like forever, and he eventually noticed that everyone else had backed off and left Morgan to say his own private goodbye. The workers eventually walked off, taking their machines back to the shed of the cemetery, and Morgan knelt down, tracing the letters of Garcia's headstone.

Penelope Garcia

July 7, 1974 – September 21st 2012

Always Saw The Good In People

Forever Missed

"Baby girl," Morgan said, and then he bowed his head as tears slipped down his cheeks. He could barely get a word out from the emotions that were blocking his throat. "I'm sorry, Penelope. I'm sorry for your pain, and I'm sorry for your tears. For all the little things I didn't know, I'm sorry for all the words I didn't say. I'm sorry for the lies, and I'm sorry for the fights. For not showing my love a dozen times, I'm sorry for not being able to save you. But I'm still loving you. That's one thing I will never be sorry for, and I will never, ever stop. I can't stop," He ended on a sob, and buried his face in his hands.

"Don't be sorry, Derek," A voice said, and Morgan jerked his head up. That was the voice of his baby girl.

"Penelope?" He breathed, blinking hard.

There she stood, in all her beautiful glory.

"Oh, Derek," She sighed, kneeling next to him and framing his face in her hands, but he couldn't feel her touch. It was almost like warmth on his face.

"Am…am I dreaming or have I finally gone insane?" He asked, staring at her with wide eyes. She laughed, saying,

"You've always been crazy, but no, you're not dreaming. I'm just a mirage, basically,"

"So you're not real," Morgan said dejectedly, and Garcia shook her head.

"No, Derek, I'm more real than you can imagine. I've been watching over you and the rest of the team since I died,"

"You have?"

"Of course I have. And I just wanted to remind you that everything happens for a reason,"

"You believed in that, Penelope, not me," He said sadly, reaching out and trying to touch her but his hands went right through her. She was right, she was basically a mirage.

"That's right, and that's why I'm reminding you. I only have one regret,"

"Which is?"

"That I didn't die Mrs. Morgan," She said with a gentle smile, and Morgan had to smile.

"Me too, sweetheart, me too,"

They just looked at each other for a long moment, and then Penelope glanced over at the group that was waiting for Morgan to return to them. "You have to go, Derek, it's time to go," She said, getting to her feet. He immediately rose with her and pleaded,

"Please, don't go,"

"Derek, you know I can't stay,"

"Are…am I ever going to see you again?" He asked desperately, and she smiled.

"You never know. You might need me again,"

"I always need you, baby girl,"

"Well, this visit was just to remind you that you can move on, it's allowed. I know, that's the last thing on your mind right now, but just keep that thought on the backburner, all right?"

"Whatever you say, Penelope," Morgan said with a smile, and Garcia stepped forward, ghosting her lips over his, and he could've swore that he felt her kiss. "I love you," He said in a strangled voice, and she smiled.

"I know. I love you too,"

With that she disappeared, and Morgan wiped his tears and walked back to the BAU. Rossi clapped him on the shoulder as Emily leaned into Hotch and JJ and Reid were holding hands.

"You'll be okay, Derek, we all will be," Hotch said quietly, resting his head on top of Emily's.

"Yeah we will, eventually," Morgan said, glanced skyward for a long moment and he smiled, feeling Garcia's smile on him, and he knew one thing was true:

He'd never let her go.

The end of this incredibly sad story! I hope you liked that last appearance by Garcia, in almost a ghost form. Thank you all for sticking with me and this story until the end! I know when I killed Penelope I didn't endear you to this story, but thank you so much for reading it and I hope you enjoyed this story!