As a bullied teenager Tyler Green had met Elias Voit who took an interest in him, took him under his wings, and helped him to stand up for himself. Tyler quickly became enthralled by Voit, and idolized him so much that when Voit asked him to prove his loyalty, Tyler eagerly and happily did so. It hadn’t mattered to Tyler that the price was going to be his sister Alison. As the years passed Tyler and Elias’s relationship shifted from teacher and apprentice to more of a brotherly rivalry. Elias had his very strict rules that he felt they had to live by, while Tyler was more impulsive and felt that doing the unexpected could be just as effective.
When Tyler had told Elias of his plan to infiltrate the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit it hadn’t started the usual lecture about following the rules that Elias would often give. This time Elias had remained quiet the entire time that Tyler had laid out his plan. And it made Tyler smile and filled him with pride when he noticed the way Elias’s eyes lit up in excitement, because he knew that this was Elias giving him his blessing. And Tyler would never have done any of it if Elias had not been on board, Elias still had that type of control over him. Elias did have one request, he wanted one victim from it, and Tyler was happy to oblige him.
Initially, when he had first seen this team of Profilers, Tyler, had thought he take the strongest physical-wise, the ‘Machismo’. Then he became interested in the brains of the entire operation, the man who had helped build the BAU from the ground up. Tyler thought Dave Rossi would definitely be a trophy that would be hard for Elias to top. Yet, in the end Tyler had settled on the mouthy blonde bombshell, Ms. Penelope Garcia. And he had picked her simply because she had told him she didn’t like him, and she had meant it. That gave him a challenge he couldn’t resist. So, his plan was to gain her trust, make her like him, and then kill her. And it had taken him four weeks to get her to be more at ease with him. Six weeks to get the team, save one, to be more at ease with him being around. And then finally, it had taken 10 weeks before he could convince her to go away with him. He had guised it as a romantic weekend where they would finally consummate their relationship, which she had been hesitant to do, and he had suspected it had something to do with Agent Alvez. The plan was for them to sneak away to a cabin he owned and they wouldn’t tell anyone and they wouldn’t take any mobile devices. He had ambushed her with it so suddenly he knew she wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about it, and the plan had nearly succeeded but for one flaw. Because Tyler had been in such a hurry and adamant that they leave then and there, Penelope had no one to watch her cats; Sergio and the Black Queen. So, they had to take the cats with them and the GPS in their collar tags had been Tyler’s downfall.
By the time the team had found a new shipping container and discovered it was one Tyler Green personally used and that he had foolishly kept pictures and journals in, Tyler and Penelope were already at the cabin hidden in the North Carolina mountains. All the evidence they had found in Tyler’s container had pointed them right to Elias Voit who Tyler had written in great detail about. The team had split up; Rossi and JJ took a team of agents and captured Elias Voit, which had been easy as he was having lunch at home with his family, and he was taken without incident. And Luke, Tara, and Prentiss took another team and tracked Tyler and Penelope through the pet GPS. Their team had not arrived before Tyler had already critically stabbed Penelope and caused internal damaged that was causing her to bleed out slowly and painfully. But a bullet Luke Alvez had put into the back of Tyler’s head a second before he could slit Penelope’s throat, had stopped him from completing his plan to kill Penelope. Then the 6 hours surgery to repair the damage Tyler had inflicted, would eventually save her life.
“What’s wrong with me?” She asked through quiet sobs. Luke immediately sat down the magazine he hadn’t really been reading and leaned in closer to the bed where he had thought her to be sleeping, reached his right hand up, and brushed her hair from her face.
“Nothing’s wrong, sweetie,” He assured in a soft, gentle voice. “You got through the surgery like a champ and the doctor says you’re gonna be just fine. Wait … are you in some kind of pain … do I need to call the nurse?” He pondered thinking he may have misunderstood what she was saying, but she shook her head, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened her eyes again.
“Why do they always hurt me, Luke?” She cried as fresh tears spilled out and he swallowed in an attempt to quell his own tears but they still filled the brims of his eyes but didn’t tip over the edge. “They lie and pretend that they like me. They make me like them …” She sniffed and closed her eyes again for a moment to collect herself. “I should have stuck to the rule. No, fraternizing with hot guys, that’s the rule. I made that rule years ago and I have always tried to abide by it. And I followed that rule with you too, even though I didn’t want to,” She confessed as she looked at him and he sat stunned by the revelation for a second. He had often wondered about the reason she had refused to go on another date with him when their first one had been such an amazing one. She had told him that she hadn’t wanted to get distracted and wanted to focus completely on her new job. He had morosely let it go and stopped calling to ask her out and trying to find excuses to hang out with her. At the time Luke had chalked it up to her just not being as into him as he had been into her. Now, he understood it hadn’t really been about him at all but about the physical, mental, and emotional scarring she had from others.
“Hey,” Luke reached down and grasped her hand and squeezed before he continued. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, Penelope,” He assured her. “Tyler Green is the monster in this piece. That son-of-a-bitch was sick. We found out that he set his own sister up. He gave her to Sicarius all those years ago,” These words made Penelope frown up in mild confusion and some anger. “Look, right now, you need to focus on healing, and I’m going to be right here with you if you need anything.”
“Luke, you don’t have to do that,” Penelope protested though she was happy at the thought of it. “You have your own life to live, and you have work. And what about Roxy or the lady you have in your life now? They need you more than I do.”
“Don’t you worry about any of that. I’ve already gotten approval from Prentiss to take some leave time. I’ve accrued quite a bit and I plan to use all of it. And Roxy is with a sitter, but as soon as I can I will be bringing her here to see you,” Luke promised and this news made a wide smile spread across Penelope’s face.
“I’d really like that.”
“I thought you might,” He replied with a smile. “And as for the lady in my life, well, she and I are still trying to work some things out,” This brought a slight frown to Penelope’s face and she felt quite jealous at learning there was actually someone. She dropped her eyes to their hands, where she tried to subtly pull back her hand, but he only tightened his grip more. “She and I, we’ve been dancing around each other for a couple of years now. Trying to get our shit together, you know,” Penelope simply nodded her bowed head not really caring to know but trying to still be a supportive friend. “Just recently I had decided to just throw in the towel. I thought maybe she’s right, we thrive as frenemies,” Penelope snapped her eyes up to his at these words, and found him smiling back at her. “Then I remembered that I am crazy about her,” Luke went on and fresh tears emerged and rolled down Penelope’s face as a kind smile of happiness touched her mouth. “Like, I have been in love with this woman for years now. Even when she was very mean to me, maybe even because she was very mean to me,” They both chuckled at this. “Also, I realize now that she has feelings for me too, but she’s just scared to show them because she thinks her feelings will be weaponized and then used to hurt her in some way,” He arched his brow questioningly and then paused as he looked at her. She caught his drift and she nodded her head in affirmation to his assessment. Her face crumbled under the weight of his very true words, and it filled her with fear and shame. Fear because she was truly very scared of her feelings for him, and had been from the moment she had noticed those feelings shifting to something romantic. And her shame was because she knew she had no reason to fear Luke, that he would never purposely harm her, which only created more fear of the new territory that could bring into her life if she allowed it. “Penelope,” Luke called to her gently and she lifted her eyes back to his. “I would never hurt you, not ever. I only want to love you if you’ll let me. Will you let me try?” The room grew quiet and they sat locked in a staring contest as she contemplated and he prayed.
“Well, if she won’t I’d be happy to,” Another voice spoke out after a moment and Luke and Penelope turned to the nurse that neither had even noticed had come in the room, and who stood on the opposite side of the bed to where Luke sat. She was checking the vitals on the machines. This nurse was a black woman who was well into her 60s and was probably on the verge of retirement. Luke displayed a toothy grin to the woman’s flattering comments, as Penelope smiled coyly and blushed profusely. “If you wouldn’t mind the unrequested opinion of an old lady who is kind of a busybody?” She went on and then paused for their response.
“I’m kind of a busybody myself…” Penelope said and Luke quickly interjected.
“Kind of?” He and the nurse both chuckled when Penelope sent him a playful glared that silenced him, before she rolled her eyes back to the Nurse.
“Please tell us your thoughts,” Penelope coaxed and the Nurse smiled as she held a chart in her right hand up against her bosom, and planted her left hand on her hip.
“Baby girl,” The Nurse spoke and the familiar term of endearment brought a smile to Penelope’s face and a warmth filled her as she listened. “You are very lucky to be alive, and I read your chart so I know this is the second time around for you too. So, don’t you think it’s about time you started listening to the good Lord?” Both Luke and Penelope frowned up slightly in confusion. “He’s been telling you that life is too short and so precious. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being afraid but all fear is, is a teaching moment. Fear isn’t supposed to stop you from living your live, finding love, and being happy. It’s just supposed to help you make better and safer decisions in life. So, if some guy hurts you, you know he isn’t the right one for you, move on. Has this guy ever hurt you?” The Nurse asked this as she nodded her head at Luke, and Penelope turned to regard him again and quickly shook her head no. “And how long have you known him?”
“Almost seven years now,” Penelope answered as her eyes remained locked onto Luke as he gazed lovingly back at her with a sweet smile on his face.
“Chiiile, please,” The Nurse tsk’d out and she dramatically rolled her eyes and neck and Luke couldn’t help but chuckle as she reminded him of his Tia’s. “He’s put up with you trying to friend-zone him for ‘that’ long and he’s still sitting there telling you he loves you and wants to be with you. Well, I say go for it because he is fine as hell,” This caused Penelope to giggle to that very true statement and to the way it made Luke look uncomfortable. The Nurse then moved across the private room to leave out. “And if nothing else, at least get yourself a whole lot of sex out of it,” The Nurse concluded, threw a grinning Penelope a wink, and then exited the room.
“You know, that was one wise nurse, there,” Luke spoke out through a teasing smile. “I second her opinion.”
“Oh, do you?” Penelope asked as her smile broadened. “Which part exactly?”
“All of it,” He answered sincerely as his face took on a more serious look. For a moment Penelope lay there silent as she studied Luke’s face, and then she nodded her head.
“Yeah, I do too,” She confessed.
“Yeah?” Luke repeated excitedly as he again tightened the grip on her hand which he had never let go of. She continued to smile as she nodded her head, pleased to see he was genuinely enthused at the prospect of her agreeing to be with him.
“Yes, Luke, we can try to pursue something … more … but,” She held up the pointer finger of her free hand, and he clamped down the words that were on the tip of his tongue to allow her to finish. “We have to take things slow and gently for now,” She finished and Luke nodded his head in agreement.
“Of course, hey, I’ve waited for years for this moment but if you feel we need to wait longer, go slowly I’m down. I will do whatever you need me to do to prove to you that I am here for the long haul and I will never hurt you or break your heart.”
“Oh, baby, that’s so sweet,” Penelope cooed out. “But yeah, no, I just meant ‘slow’ and ‘gently’ because I just had major surgery and I’m feeling very ouchie right now. But once I am healed, I fully expect you to make major moves on me, Sir,” These words brought a huge pleased smile to Luke’s face, and filled him with delight to know that once she was fully healed, she would be ready to go full speed into a relationship with him. “But for now, you need to make ‘minor’ moves only.”
“Minor moves, huh? Yeah, I can do that,” He stated as he leaned up some from his chair and more into her space. She nodded her head and pinched her pointer finger and thumb closer together to indicate a small amount. Then she welcomed the kiss he planted on her lips with a joyous and contented sigh.