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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-05
Completed:
2010-10-22
Words:
45,897
Chapters:
18/18
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17
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Loser Lynch

Summary:

The prompt was #17 Tiwaz (victory and success in any competition).

Part 1/? of the 'Loser Lynch' series. Written for my wonderful beta-reader Gretchen who also suggested the title. It took me long enough to come up with a story that fits it.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the auther. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

AN: As implied above this is going to be a story with several chapters. The whole story is Morgan/Garcia centric and the chapters are as well in one way or another - even if there's only one of them in some chapters.

"Why don't you stop working?" Kevin asked halfway through the dinner. When he saw the expression on Penelope's face he raised both his hands defensively. "I'm just saying. I mean, not forever but... as I said you're too stressed out recently so I thought..."

"Kevin, I love my job." Penelope interrupted him. "If you can understand that or not I don't want to quit."

"I understand that." he quickly assured. "I just think you could need some time off. You're not feeling well lately, right? And I think it's all work related. You just need some time on your own. Like a holiday."

"I can't go on a holiday whenever I want to and you know that." Penelope sighed as she picked at her food.

"Of course, I do." he nodded. "But still you spend too much time with these people. Maybe you shouldn't go out with them so often."

"Kevin, they're my family." she said a little angrily. "I love them and I love to spend time with them."

"I know that." he quickly assured. "And I don't want you to stop seeing them. But even when you're hitting the town together you mostly talk about work. That doesn't help you forget about the pictures you have to see every day, does it?"

"I can handle this." she frowned.

"Yeah, I know, but they don't even pay attention to what this is doing to you at times."

"Of course, they do." her voice was filled with anger now. "How can you say that? You don't even know them. They care about me!"

"So do I." he softly said and reached over the table to take her hands in his. "I just don't want you to be reminded of the horrors out there more than necessary. I love you, Penelope, and I'm worried about you."

"I know" the expression on her face immediately softened, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"As I said, you're too stressed out." he smiled. "That's exactly why I was thinking about a break from work. Maybe you can already take the maternity leave."

Penelope just sighed, pulled back from his touch and ran her hands over her face.

"It's because of him, isn't it?" Kevin suddenly burst out. He was carrying this around for so long that he simply couldn't stand it any longer.

"Whom?" Penelope gave him a quizzical look.

"Derek Morgan." Kevin snorted. "You just don't want to leave because of him. He has too much influence on you."

"That's not true, Kevin." she sighed. "Please, stop being jealous of him. He is my best friend and he already was long before I even met you. You won't make me forget about him."

"I know." he grumbled, then his tone softened a little. "And I don't want you to forget about him. Just to make your own decisions - not depending on him, you know."

"This IS my own decision." she frowned. "I don't want to quit my job and I don't want to go on an early maternity leave either. Period."

"No, there's a lot more to say about that." he tried to object.

But Penelope just closed her eyes and whispered: "I'm tired, Kevin. Please, let's stop this discussion."

"Are you feeling sick again? You hardly ate anything." he changed the topic as he started cleaning the table. But he would stick to his guns. At last she would agree with him, he would make sure of that.

"I'm fine." she assured. "It's probably just the morning sickness."

"At eight p.m.?" he raised both his eyebrows at her. "And still after four months? This should have stopped long time ago, right? You should go and see the doctor. Just to make sure that you and the baby are really alright."

"I had an appointment yesterday." Penelope sighed. "And the doctor said we're both fine, me and our baby."

"Good." he mumbled. "That's good. Then you should go and get some rest. I'll be there in a few minutes. Want some tea?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Penelope smiled and headed for the bathroom to take a shower first. For months she was feeling weak and dizzy and she wondered if this wasn't going to stop before the due date. It had taken three weeks and several doctors until finally someone realized that she was pregnant.

Penelope would certainly be on cloud nine if it wasn't for this constant sickness. She loved Kevin and everything was great. And she loved children and couldn't wait to have a child herself. But with this constant sickness...

A few minutes after she had laid down in their bed Kevin brought her the promised tea.

"Thank you." Penelope smiled at him, took the cup from him and sipped carefully. About two weeks ago they'd moved in together. Kevin had been trying to convince her long before she'd found out about the baby. After that she had finally given in to him. And now she was glad that she had done so ‘cause he took such a good care of her whenever she was ill.

"You look pale." he sighed. "And ill. Maybe you should try another doctor."

"I've been to at least a dozen doctors over the past months." Penelope sighed. "None of them could find anything. I'm just... sick and no one really knows why. It's possible that this is some kind of side effect of the pregnancy."

"I don't think that's normal." he frowned.

"The doctors said it was." she shrugged and then smiled at him. "And if this is a side effect I'm not going to complain too much. I'm thrilled about having a baby."

"I know." he nodded. "But still..."

"I'm fine." she put him off. "Just... tired at the moment. But having you around to take care of me helps a lot."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" he smiled as he settled down next to her. At least she willingly let HIM take care of her and not... well, anyone else. Derek Morgan for example. This time he was the one who was chosen over someone else.

Penelope shook her head no, emptied the cup and put it on the bedside table.

Smiling widely he took out the can of whipped cream and waggled his eyebrows: "Are you really sure I can't do anything to make you feel better?"

"Please, Kevin, not today. I just want to sleep." she replied and tucked herself in. "As I said I'm tired and I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Okay." he smiled, kissed her goodnight and switched off the light. She would certainly call in sick tomorrow anyway. She'd done that quite often lately. Then he could take care of her and show her what a great husband he would make.

Sighing she turned away from him and grumbled slightly when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. Sometimes she felt so sick that she just couldn't stand his touch - or anyone else's for that matter. But Kevin never cared about it. At least he accepted that she didn't want to have sex today - sometimes he tried to talk her into it until she finally gave in to him just to be able to sleep afterwards.

Not that she didn't enjoy it or didn't want him anymore. But when she was so sick that she felt like throwing up the whole time she just wanted to be left alone. Maybe she just had to get used to having someone around to hold her when she didn't feel well.

Sighing he took in the scent of her hair as he leaned his head against hers. He enjoyed being able to touch her even if they didn't actually have sex. They hadn't had sex in what seemed like ages. Since she'd found out about the baby that was.

They both should have been more careful! He had relied on her getting the shots but unfortunately that hadn't been enough. Now they were a few months away from having an annoying, screaming, drooling brat around all day and all night. That certainly meant they would never get a quiet night on their own again.

But it also meant that she called in sick even more often. Not that he wanted her to be sick but he loved having her around all day long and being able to take care of her. And if that meant she had to feel a little unwell then he could live with that for now.

One day he would convince her to quit her job and then they would move anywhere else, far away from this job and all her co-workers. As much as she loved this job he knew that eventually he could make her love him more. After all, he had already convinced her to move in together which meant he could spend yet more time with her.

He had shown to everyone who'd ever called him a sociopath, thought he'd never have any friends and especially never get a girl that they'd been wrong.

For the first time in his life he was the lucky guy who had gotten the girl. This time he had won. Penelope was his and only his - and he would make sure that things stayed that way.