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HOTCH DID not expect to hear laughter when he approaches Penelope's hospital room, nor did he expect to hear Taylor Swift playing. He knocks gently and Stella reaches over swiftly to switch off the music when she realises that it's Hotch.
"Hey," Penelope greets gently, bringing the lip gloss and mirror away from her face and letting Derek remove them from her hands, passing them to Spencer.
"How are you feeling?" Hotch asks.
Penelope shrugs. "You know, I've had better dates."
"What's going on?" Derek asks, clocking that Hotch's face is graver than it probably should be if he's just checking up on Penelope.
He sighs heavily. "We found an encrypted file on your computer." Glances are exchanged between Derek and Stella, but Penelope's eyes stay fixed on Hotch. "Are you involved in something that I need to know about?"
"No."
Derek's face has morphed into one of ultimate concern. "Hotch, what's going on?"
"Could this be connected in any way to whoever shot you?" he continues.
Penelope shakes her head. "I don't think so."
"I need the password."
"Is this really necessary?" he asks protectively.
Without blinking, Hotch's reply comes. "Yes. The password."
"Gilman Street."
"Thank you," Hotch replies gently.
"They don't honestly think Garcia's a security risk, do they?" Spencer speaks up.
Hotch shakes his head. "I don't know. We've been ordered by Internal Affairs to stop working the case."
"What?" Stella says angrily.
"And until this is cleared up... you've been suspended," Hotch informs her, his face covered in remorse. "I'm sorry."
"Right," Penelope replies uncertainly. Hotch sweeps from the room and he leaves in his wake an abundance of uncertainty. Derek, Spencer and Stella all exchange surprised looks until Penelope begins moving, attempting to unhook herself from the machinery.
"What are you doing?" Stella asks, trying to stop her hands without hurting her.
"I need to get out of here," she insists, panic evident in her movements.
Stella gets a firm hold of her hands and holds them still as Derek stops her from trying to stand. "Pen, we're going to get this straightened out, okay? We'll find out who did this to you, I've dealt with IA before, and I'll do it again. You are my priority right now, and you need to rest."
