Work Text:
Title: Thank you
Pairing: Morgan/Garcia
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to CBS. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time.
Summary: Written for darci_marie on LJ, who wanted ‘a baby ficlet of fluff'. I hope this makes up for the bad holiday.
warnings: Fluff, fluff and more fluff. No spoilers, no cliffies, no angst of any kind - even if my muse usually isn't the fluffy one. LOL
"Where is she?" Derek panted as he slid over the floor of the hospital corridor and came to a halt right in front of Hotch.
"In the labor room, silly," JJ giggled. "Come on, I'll show you the way."
Emily chuckled as she watched JJ calmly leading the way, and Derek almost bursting with excitement, following her down the hall.
"Shouldn't we... walk faster?" Derek pressed his colleague.
JJ rolled her eyes. "Morgan, she went into labor ten minutes ago. There's no possible way the baby is already there, believe me. Besides, your mom is with her. Relax, everything is fine."
"Yeah, yeah, but I should... I should be with her," he mumbled.
"You will be, in a minute." JJ sighed. She'd never seen Morgan losing it like that - and at the moment, she really hoped they didn't decide to have more children.
In fact, Derek had been unbearable for almost all of them during the past eight months, since the day he'd found out Penelope was pregnant. Of course, he'd been excited and happy and everything a soon-to-be-dad would be. And he'd been sickeningly overprotective. He hadn't even allowed Penelope to carry her purse anymore.
He'd refused to go on cases with the team, because he thought Penelope needed him. He'd spent most of his time in the bureau in Penelope's office, making sure she didn't need anything, or didn't feel sick. He hadn't even let her drive to work - or anywhere else for that matter - on her own.
Until one day the whole bullpen had heard Penelope yelling at him that she would run and hide somewhere he would never find her, and in the meantime, delete his whole existence if he didn't stop this behavior.
It had gotten better after that. Not much, though, but at least he'd gone on the next case with them, realizing that maybe his protectiveness wasn't doing Penelope any good.
"Morgan," JJ sharply turned to him, just before she let him enter the labor room, "just promise me one thing. Don't freak out in there, or I'm gonna kick your butt! This is a natural process, and the doctors and nurses in there all know what they're doing. Penelope needs you to help her and hold her hand, not to keep a sharp eye on or yell at anyone, understood?"
He blinked at her, then nodded insecurely.
When Derek entered the labor room, he was surprised. He'd imagined Penelope sweating and screaming and cursing him for doing this to her. On the contrary, she seemed very calm and relaxed.
"Hey, Hot Stuff." She grinned at him, but then her face twisted in pain, and she gasped.
Derek hurried over to her and took her hand in his. "Are you okay, baby?" he asked, worried.
"Just the labor, silly." Penelope drew in a sharp breath. "It's actually a lot less frightening than I thought it would be, but unfortunately, it's just as painful."
"I'm sorry, Baby Girl," Derek mumbled.
She giggled softly. "It's not your fault, hon, at least not entirely."
Smiling, Derek climbed onto the bed behind Penelope and gently pulled her in his arms, so that her back was resting comfortably against his muscular chest.
Penelope closed her eyes and took a deep breath to relax. At this moment, the door swung open, and a young doctor entered the room.
"Well, let's see if there's still time for me to drink a coffee," the woman said, smiling, and put on some gloves before sitting down in front of Penelope's bed.
Derek opened his mouth to say something, but reconsidered it. It was a joke. This doctor was here to help his Baby Girl, and she wouldn't just go and get herself some coffee.
"Nope, doesn't look like it."
That meant the baby was coming. Derek took a deep breath. He wasn't sure he was ready for this.
"All right, I know it's your first time," the doctor looked up and smiled at both Penelope and Derek, "but trust me, this is going to be a piece of cake if you just work with me."
"Yeah, I'm sure it is," Penelope mumbled. Her back felt like someone had stabbed her several times - and the rest of her felt like she was going to burst every second.
"Are you ready?"
"No." The calmness in Penelope's voice had completely disappeared.
The doctor smirked. "Push!" she commanded.
It didn't even take two hours, but to Derek, it seemed like an eternity. He could hear that Penelope was in pain, and it was obvious how strength-sapping the whole ordeal was. Even though Penelope wasn't yelling at him or anything, he couldn't help but feel guilty.
Then he heard a cry - and it was the best sound he had ever heard.
The doctor held up a blue, slimy something that reminded Derek of an alien from old movies, and for a moment, he was terrified.
Then a nurse took the something to the other end of the room.
"You made it," Derek whispered into Penelope's ear, kissing her sweaty hair. "You did great, Baby Girl."
Relieved and exhausted, Penelope leaned back against him and closed her eyes. Tears mixed with sweat drops were streaming down her face, but she didn't care. They had made it. Now, they were parents. Nine months they'd been waiting for, yearning for, and fearing this moment. A whole new life was starting for them now. She was a mom.
The nurse brought the little something back, now neatly wrapped in a light blue blanket, and placed it in Penelope's waiting arms. A boy. Now that the baby was clean, his skin was light brown, much like Derek's.
"Hey, little man," he softly greeted, and carefully let his finger run over the baby's cheek. So this was what it felt like to be a dad. He was proud. Proud of Penelope, and proud of the little boy in her arms. He was happy, at peace. He was home.
"Derek, this is our baby," Penelope whispered, as if she couldn't believe it yet.
"He's so beautiful," Derek replied voicelessly, fearing to destroy the magic of this moment if he spoke any louder, "just like his mother."
He wondered if every father felt this way the moment he first saw his newborn child. This moment of mere perfection, when the world stopped revolving, and there was only you and your little family.
"I love you," he whispered into Penelope's ear. "Thank you."
She turned her head to give him a questioning look.
Derek smiled down at his little family. "For giving me the best day of my life."