Title: Momma Morgan's Birthday Wish
By: bahjcb
Pairing: Morgan/Garcia
Rating: PG
Note: I completely blame this on watching Profiler, Profiled again and reading cute, romantic fan-fiction. Combining the two is dangerous. And, I just loved Derek's family. This story wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down.
Summary: Fran Morgan just wanted her son to be happy...and give her lots of grandkids.

***

Derek was surprised at how cathartic it was to see Carl Buford arrested. His mother's and sisters' reactions of worry, but mainly support helped even more. Those dark secrets he kept locked up within him no longer seemed so dark or so heavy. Finally, they were manageable.

Thinking of his mother, Derek smiled as he leaned back into his seat on the airplane flying him back to Quantico, Virginia.

"Good, cause you owe me grandkids, lots of them."

Realizing that he'd passed through hell and made it out intact on the other side, Derek thought about maybe making his mother's dream a reality. Not lots of grandkids, but a few.

Evidently he had started laughing to himself because the woman seated next to him turned and gave Derek a suspicious glare.

Giving her a charming smile, Derek said, "Sorry."

The woman just narrowed her eyes and went back to her book.

Closing his eyes, Derek tried to imagine what kind of woman his mom would want for the future mother of her grandkids.

That was the easiest part. Someone who made him happy. Derek was sure there was more, but that was definitely the short answer.

Derek was surprised, however, that the foggy image of a woman was forming in his mind. Taking this, he built upon it with the characteristics he remembered from his parents' marriage. Derek wanted someone he could laugh with. Someone he could talk with, share things. He would need a woman, Derek decided, who wouldn't just put up with his family's teasing, but gave as good as she got.

Sinking deeper into thought, Derek added someone who supported him and would let him support her. Definitely someone he felt comfortable just being with.

And with that final thought, the woman in his mind converged into a single clear picture.

Startled by the fact that it was a real woman, Derek's eyes flew open with a start. He then looked around the airplane, almost as if to blame someone for putting the picture in his head.

Any further panicky and unrealistic thoughts were interrupted by the soft laughter of a deep male voice across the aisle. Turning, Derek glared at the offender, only to be met with more laughter.

"Sorry, it's just that your expression reminded me of me about ten years ago when I realized I was in love with my wife."

"Huh?" was all that Derek was able to manage.

The man laughed. "My wife, well, my girlfriend at the time, had gotten a job offer across the country. I was shaving while I thought about the different things I'd miss about her. You know, how she smiles, the way her eyes light up when I gave her flowers for no reason, her inability to eat with chopsticks."

Derek laughed at that, thinking of his friend, Reid.

Smiling, Derek's fellow traveler added, "It wasn't until I decided that I would even miss the way she tapped the rhythm of Row, Row Your Boat against her teeth while she was thinking, something that always drove me nuts, that I knew I was in love. I looked up into the mirror and saw the same expression on my face that was on yours a second ago."

Shifting in his seat, the other man leaned towards Derek almost conspiratorially. "So, what's her quirk that drives you nuts but you wouldn't get rid of for anything?"

Derek thought about this for a moment before laughing.

"Her obsession with Photoshop and chaps."

Laughing, Derek's new friend said, "Now that is a story."

Taking a deep breath, Derek squared his shoulders and walked down the hall. He hadn't even gone home yet, afraid that he'd lose his nerve if he did.

Knocking on her office door, Derek strode in with more confidence than he felt.

"Hey, baby girl. Did you miss me?"

Penelope turned around in her chair with a smile.

"It's good to see you got out of lockup, sweet cheeks. A man as beautiful as you would have had a hard time in prison."

Pulling her into a hug, Derek whispered against her hair, "I missed you, sunshine."

Hugging him tight in return, Penelope replied, "I missed you, too, my hot tamale."

Laughing Derek pulled back. He was surprised, however, to see Penelope's face overcome with worry.

"Derek, I'm so sorry."

Taking another step back, Derek closed his eyes against the pain of this conversation. He had hoped to never see his baby girl pity him. He hadn't wanted this experience to change their relationship—especially after he just realized that he loved her.

"I didn't want to look into your past, but J.J. insisted that it would help you. But, I'm even more sorry that I looked at your sealed records. I shouldn't have pried like that…"

Overcome with relief, Derek pulled Penelope back into a tight hug. "Oh, mama, you did help me. You did nothing wrong. I promise. I'm not mad at you."

Feeling her hug him tighter in relief, Derek decided that out of anyone, Penelope deserved to know the truth.

Pulling back enough to see her face, Derek nervously started.

"Penelope, about my history with Carl Buford…"

Penelope quickly interrupted him by placing a hand over his mouth, stopping his words at the source.

"Derek, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I—I put it together myself."

Looking at her in the eyes, Derek realized that nothing had changed. Penelope knew everything when he first walked in and she didn't pity him. He knew she was upset he had been hurt, but she didn't pity him.

"Knowing doesn't change what I think of you," Penelope assured him. "You'll always be my sexy, FBI profiler-man."

Grinning in replied, Derek gave her a quick peck on the forehead.

"Let's get out of here and have some dinner, baby girl. What do you say?"

"Sounds good, gorgeous. How about Mexican?"

"As long as we get to eat tamales," Derek teased.

Stopping her nightly process of closing everything down, Penelope looked over her shoulder at him and said with a lecherous wink, "Oh, I'll definitely be having tamales."

All Derek could do was laugh.

"Garcia, tell me all," J.J. urged with a grin.

Emily nodded eagerly in agreement from beside J.J.

Looking up at the two women in confusion, Penelope asked, "Tell you all about what?"

J.J. rolled her eyes as if she was sure her friend was being purposely dense. "About Morgan."

"What about Morgan?"

Emily, throwing her two cents in, added, "You and Morgan have had dinner together every night for the last two weeks."

"So?" Penelope replied, genuinely confused. "We're friends."

"Every night," J.J. emphasized.

Penelope sighed. "J.J., Emily, trust me. There's nothing to tell. We eat together, but nothing else. Derek has never…kissed me. We flirt, but we've always done that. Nothing has changed."

"Oh," the two women said together. Both were disappointed. They had been so happy for their friends.

Derek froze outside Penelope's office. He can come up to ask her to help him run a search when he heard Penelope ask, "What about Morgan?" Curious as to what J.J. and Prentiss wanted, he hovered outside the door.

Upon hearing Penelope's answer, Derek's heart dropped as their friends sighed in disappointment. Penelope didn't know how special she was to him.

Running that through his mind once again, Derek realized that that was the easiest thing to fix.

All three women turned towards the doorway at the sound of Derek entering. Holding up the file, he gave them a wide grin.

"Hello, ladies."

J.J. and Emily exchanged a look.

"See you later, Garcia," J.J. said as she followed Emily out the door.

As soon as she was gone, Derek walked over to the door and shut it. Without a pause, Derek turned back around and hurried over to Penelope. Not giving her a chance to protest, he pulled her into a fierce kiss, which she quickly returned.

Finally needing air, Derek cuddled Penelope against him and rested his forehead against hers.

Slightly panting, he said, "Baby girl, you do not know how long I've wanted to do that."

"Why didn't you?" she asked with a grin.

"I didn't want to rush you."

Pulling his head back down for another kiss, Penelope teased, "You don't see me complaining, gorgeous."

Fran Morgan's birthday—the year after Derek was arrested

"Are you sure he doesn't need us to pick him up at the airport?" Fran asked her daughters as she glanced at the clock once again.

Sarah smiled indulgently at her mother. "Derek said he was bringing you a surprise for your birthday so we couldn't pick him up."

"He's probably just stuck in traffic," Desiree added.

Fran nodded, but it didn't stop her from worrying. Ten minutes later, when she heard car doors slamming, she raced to the door and smiled happily at seeing her baby boy arrive.

"Derek, you're late!"

Pulling his mother into a hug, Derek apologized. "Sorry Mom. We had to take care of some last minute problems with your birthday present."

Turning, Fran saw the blond who had accompanied her son.

"Penelope," she exclaimed, pulling the blond tech into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you could come."

"Thanks, Fran," Penelope replied as she returned the embrace.

Ushering them into the house, Fran asked, "What held you two up?"

Smiling, Derek shook his head and slipped an arm around Penelope's shoulders. Penelope reached up her left hand and entwined her fingers with his.

Fran smiled at the picture they made. Then she did a double take of their hands.

"Ohhh, Derek! Penelope!" she cried happily, pulling them both into a tight hug.

Hearing their mother squeal, Sarah and Desiree hurried into the living room to find a group hug, their mom happily sobbing, and Derek beaming.

Turning to her daughters, Fran sniffed and said, "Derek's engaged."

As her future sister-in-laws turned to her for confirmation, Penelope grinned and raised her left hand to show off her rock.

Sarah and Desiree soon joined in with the hugging and crying.

Much later, over cake, Sarah asked, "So, when's the wedding?"

"In six weeks," Penelope answered matter-of-factly. "It will just be friends and family."

Teasing his fiancée, Derek pulled her closer and said, "And everyone Pen's ever met."

"Oh, hush you."

Since Penelope then gave him a quick kiss, Derek wasn't to worried about her being angry with him.

As Derek was her brother, and while she was happy for him, Desiree had no desire to see him make out with his fiancée. With an aim to interrupt, while getting information of course, Desiree asked, "How are you going to put a wedding together in six weeks?"

Derek and Penelope exchanged a glance before he replied, "Pen and I have been engaged for two months."

"Two months!" the Morgan women exclaimed.

Grabbing Fran's hand, Penelope quickly said, "Derek wanted to surprise you for your birthday."

Seeing everyone's eyes on her for her reaction, Fran just broke into a large grin.

"As long as I eventually get those grandkids I asked for, you two are forgiven."

Desiree and Sarah burst into laughter while Penelope blushed and Derek protested.

"Mom!"

Fran just gave her only a son a completely innocent look.

A Year Later

Derek laughed as Penelope excitedly handed over their gift to her mother-in-law. Fran grinned in reply before she started to open the box.

Pausing just before taking off the lid, Fran teased, "This isn't another remote starter is it, Derek? Because the one you gave me two years ago still works fine."

"Just open the gift," he replied with a grin.

Curious as to what kind of gift could have gotten their sister-in-law that worked up, Sarah and Desiree sat perched on the back and the arm of the couch to get a better look. From their vantage points, they were able to see the blurry, black and white photo inside the box at the same time as their mother.

Recognizing the photo, Fran whipped her head up to look at her son and his wife.

"Really?" was all she could say.

Penelope started nodding frantically. "My due date is June sixth. If it's a boy, we're going to name him after Derek's father."

Penelope was quickly enveloped in a tight hug.

Later, Sarah and Desiree would tease Derek about trying outdo their gifts every year, but right now, they concentrated on congratulating Penelope and Derek about the coming baby. And, of course, on how they would spoil their little niece or nephew rotten.

***