Epilogue

I still don't own Criminal Minds and I still am pissed that the writers and creators of the show didn't put Penelope and Derek together.

A few days later

Penelope was so happy when she finally found a lead. Nobody could hide from her hacking skills. The team had told her about how they got a break in the case and she tried valiantly to find the woman on the phone that talked to Derek. This forced her to look into Tim's past, but she prepared herself. All of the team had a feeling that she was one of Tim's previous victims. That's what had her looking through her abductor's past to find the woman. She needed to thank her profusely for helping her to get out of her abductor's clutches.

The first thought that came to her head was that she should tell Derek and they could go visit her together. After the dust settled however, it felt like they were walking on egg shells around each other. They both needed to talk about what they went through, but they were both putting off the conversation for a later date.

Maybe seeing this woman would help them though.

Walking into their home gym, Penelope smiled when she saw her husband working out. The sight always turned her on. When he finally glanced at her, she motioned for him to take out his earbud.

"Yeah?" The chocolate god asked.

"I believe I found the girl that talked to you on the phone. We should have your mother and sisters watch the kids while we go there this afternoon."

"Nothing gets past you, baby girl." He joked and a remnant of a smile crossed his face.

"That's right and don't you forget it, hot stuff." She winked at him. "I'll let you finish what you are doing." Slowly walking back out of the room, Penelope smiled to herself. She knew that they were going to get through this and then come out on the other side stronger than ever.

Later that day

The couple held hands up to the address that Penelope found. When they got to the stoop, Derek knocked on the door. They waited a couple more minutes. Knowing that someone was home because there was a car in the driveway, the former agent knocked again. After another minute, they finally heard a voice coming through the door.

"Who is it?" A timid voice asked.

Derek saw someone glance at them from behind a window curtain. He knew that this was the woman that he talked to on the phone just from her voice. "Hello my name is Derek Morgan. I am a former agent of the FBI and this is my wife Penelope Morgan, a former FBI analyst. We know it was you on the phone, Jamie and we just want to talk."

Penelope cut in. "I'd also like to see your face so that I can give you a big hug and thank you for what you did. That is if that is okay…" She bit her lip, hoping that the door would open.

It was a few seconds before they heard a reply. "Can you show me some identification? Just press them against the glass here." She gestured to the window.

"Of course." The couple nodded, doing as the woman asked. After they showed their identification, they heard a lock scraping open. The door opened a crack.

"Come on in and please shut the door after you step inside." Jamie said and then she disappeared inside of the house.

Penelope went inside the house first, followed by her husband. They shut the door and then tried to discern where the woman went. Going down a hallway, they found the woman seated on a chair in what appeared to be the living room.

"Please have a seat." She motioned toward a couch opposite of her. "I'm sorry for the mess. I don't have much company."

"Pish posh!" Penelope waved her hand like it was nothing. "You should see my house after my kids mess it up." The mother sat down directly across from the woman and her husband sat down next to her.

"Thank you so much for calling in and telling us the location where my wife was being held." Derek smiled at her. Clasping hands with Penelope, he kissed her hand. "I owe you so much. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have my family back together."

The blonde squeezed her husband's hand. "Yes thank you. If it wasn't for you, who knows how long I would have been in that place. I…"

"Mommy?" A voice called out from further in the house, cutting off Penelope. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the living room handsome." A little boy maybe about the age of three or four ran into the room and right into his mother's arms. It looked as if the boy had just woken up from a nap.

"I woke up and heard voices." The child stated.

Jamie rubbed her kid's arm, trying to comfort him, "That's because we have guests, pumpkin. This is Derek and Penelope Morgan."

The little boy peeped his head out from his mother's arms to glance at the other people in the room. "Hi…"

"Well hello there. And what's your name?" Penelope cooed.

"My name is Ollie and I'm three and a half."

"It's nice to meet you Ollie." The former analyst waved at the little boy.

"Alright Ollie, our guests and I have some more talking to do. Can you go play with your toys with the door shut?" Jamie said.

"Okay." Ollie nodded and then disappeared again.

Once they heard a door close, Penelope hated to ask what she wanted to ask, but she figured that she should. "Is he… Tim's?"

Jamie sighed, nodding her head.

"What happened to you if you don't mind me asking?" Derek asked, sorrow filling his heart.

"Well… I was pregnant with my boyfriend's baby. I went in to get an ultrasound alone once because my boyfriend was visiting his family and that is when I met Tim. The notes started after that and then he abducted me three months later when I was eight months pregnant. He thought that he could be able to deliver the baby without any help, but it turns out the cord was wrapped around her neck. She was stillborn. Tim buried her in his backyard and then said that we could try again soon for another baby. I was completely devastated which just made the whole situation worse. I went into postpartum depression and then after I was finally healed physically… I begged him to put a baby in me." Tears fell down her eyes. "We tried and then a couple months after, I was pregnant again. Tim was so doting to me during that time period and he didn't want me to do too much. It was enough for me though to pretend that he was my boyfriend instead of my abductor. The pregnancy went smoothly and then Tim hired a midwife to deliver the baby. He paid the woman a lot of money to keep her quiet and he made me not say anything as well. He threatened to harm my mom if I didn't keep shut. I did what he asked because I was worried about the baby, but then Ollie was born and he was okay and so perfect. It all kind of went downhill with Tim after that. He was a doting father with Ollie and everything, but he abused me less and less. Then finally three months ago, he let us go. I didn't know why, but I wasn't going to question it. I found my boyfriend, but when he saw that I had a child with the abductor and I told him that we lost our baby… he didn't want anything to do with me. I found my mother after that, this is her house, and I've been laying low. Then I found out that Tim abducted you by watching the news. I guess he was done with me and moved onto you and I'm so sorry for that." Jamie cried.

Penelope crossed the room over to her, tears in her own eyes. "I am so sorry for what you had to go through. I can't imagine what it would feel like to lose a child. You should not blame yourself for a thing. You hear me?" She looked Jamie in the eyes. "This is not your fault. It is all Tim's fault and now he is in jail. We should make sure that he says there when the trial comes. Can you help me do that?"

The woman nodded her head. "I can do that." She tried to wipe her tears away.

"Also I hold a survivor's group where I help counsel people who have gone through terrible things or who have lost someone that they love. I would like you to at least come to a meeting. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, but I think it would be good for you. I know that I'm going to need it too." Penelope searched through her purse until she found the info for the group and handed it over to Jamie. "My phone number is on there too. Please don't hesitate to call any time that you need to talk. I'm used to phone calls at all times throughout the night because I worked for the FBI. So don't worry about waking me or anything like that."

"Okay. Thank you so much and I think coming to the group will help me. My mom has been trying to get me to see a therapist, but I haven't wanted to go. I got so far as the parking lot once, but I just couldn't go in."

"Well if you need me to pick you up for the meeting I can do that. It's really no pressure and you don't even have to talk at the meetings. If you only just go and hear the other people speak, I think that will help too." Penelope tried to comfort her.

Jamie opened her arms and Penelope gave her a hug. "Thank you Penelope for being so understanding."

The blonde rubbed the woman's back. "Thank you Jamie for getting me out of that place." She broke away. "Now remember, please don't hesitate to call."

"I won't." Jamie smiled.

"I think that we have taken up your time too much and we should let you get back to your son. Right Derek?"

"Right." He nodded, getting up off of the couch. "Thank you again Jamie so much and thank you for sharing your story with us." He shook hands with the woman and then Penelope and him made their leave.

The ride home was silent. Penelope tried to strike up a conversation with her husband, but she would only receive one worded answers. She stopped trying after a while, figuring out that he probably was lost in his thoughts. They got back home in time for dinner. Fran had cooked an amazing meal. After they all ate, Fran and Derek's sisters left because they wanted to give the couple some family time. Penelope started on the dishes while Derek gave the kids a bath and then put them down to bed. Once the mother was done, she checked on all of her kids and then went to her bedroom. She hoped that Derek would be awake so that they could finally talk, but he was already asleep or at least pretending that he was. She shrugged her shoulders and got ready for bed herself. Once she was done, she got into the bed with her husband and snuggled up to him. It took her a little bit, but then sleep finally befell her.

The blonde woke up to cries coming from the baby monitor and an empty bed. She wondered where her husband went to, but she needed to take care of Samsam and Rhi first. She fed both of them and then changed their diapers. Rocking them a little bit, she put them both back down to sleep.

"Derek?" Penelope questioned softly as she came down the stairs of their house.

He turned to her, trying to wipe away his tears so she wouldn't see. "Hey…"

Joining him on the couch, she wrapped her hands around him. "What's a matter, my love?"

"It was just… listening to Jamie's story was hard. I could only imagine you being gone for five years and I don't know what I would do without you. I had to keep my cool because that was the only way that I could get you back, but it was so hard." He cried. "I missed you so much and I needed my sunshine. You make everything better and without you… I don't know what would have happened. If I didn't receive Jamie's call, I probably would have spiraled down and been a terrible father to our kids. I've never not once envisioned my life without you next to me so to have you gone for those three days… I don't know how I kept it together and I can only imagine it going downhill from there every day that you were still not found." He clutched onto his wife, more tears spilling down his cheeks.

"That didn't happen though Derek. You did receive Jamie's call and you did rescue me. I plan on being here for a very long time and I will kick your ass every day to make you a great dad, but I don't have to do much because you already are. You did what you had to do Derek and I don't blame you for that. I wouldn't have blamed you either if I was gone for a long time and you turned to drinking or drugs. Having someone taken from you is the hardest thing to go through. I remember what it was like when I lost my parents. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I lost you. I would be a shell of myself without you in my life. It was hard being away from you too Derek. I missed you so much. You are my foundation and the reason that we have four amazing children. It was so hard to be away from three of those children and only being able to see one to feed her." Penelope's tears joined Derek's.

"He kept Rhi away from you that much?"

The mom nodded her head.

"I'm so sorry Penelope. I can't imagine what that was like and to have to be in that man's presence."

"I knew that you were going to find me so that helped me get through it."

"I will always find you baby girl." Derek wiped the tears away from his wife's eyes.

"You won't have to look very far because I plan on being right here, hot stuff." Her smile grew to match the smile on her husband's face.

"I love you Penelope." The father drew her in closer.

"And I love you Derek, always will."

The couple finally got everything off of their chest and they could only go one place after this, forward together as a family.

THE END

So my story comes to a close now. Thank you for sticking with me and reading the story once my muse came back for it. What do you think?