Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity

Hackers

AN: Because the last chapter was so short I decide to upload two chapters today.

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Penelope woke up to sea green eyes staring at her. She and Derek had taken the air mattress that she did have to agree with Emily was not much better than the floor. "Hi," She whispered to the tiny blonde. A little hand reached out placing it over her mouth. Penelope kissed the hand resulting in a high pitched giggle to escape from the toddler. She sat up to face Harper. "Good morning gumdrop."

Harper tilted her head to the side before releasing another giggle. "Sorry she woke you up."

Penelope turned to the voice and found Charlotte standing in the doorway. "She didn't. She waited until I woke up on my own."

Charlotte smiled. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Could I have tea?" Penelope asked standing up.

"Of course," Charlotte said turning around. "Could you bring Harper into the kitchen?"

"Sure," Penelope replied picking up the little girl. Following Charlotte into the kitchen she was amused to see several empty mugs lined up on the counter next to two coffee pots.

"I'm usually the first one up so I fix all the coffee addicts their coffee; Mia is the only one who drinks tea." Charlotte turned around to make Penelope's tea. "Could you put Harper in her high chair? It's the yellow one."

Near the counter there were two high chairs. One had a mostly yellow theme and the other was blue. Penelope placed the smiling girl in the yellow high chair pulled up to the counter. "May I ask who she belongs to?" Penelope asked, her curiosity from the night before getting to the best of her. They'd already met Elle and Kate's kids so that left Emily, Andrew, and Cruz. Emily had never mentioned kids, but then again neither had Elle. Penelope had her money on Harper belonging to Andrew. Unless she belonged to the mysterious Jenny that everyone kept bringing up.

Charlotte turned around her skin paler than normal. "Emily didn't tell you?"

"No," Penelope replied. Maybe she was Emily's daughter.

Charlotte handed Penelope her tea before turning her back to her. "She's mine."

Penelope glanced to the tiny blonde happily hitting the tray on her highs chair and then to the older blonde gripping the counter as she waited for the backlash. Penelope plastered the biggest smile on her face. "So gumdrop's a little hacker in the making?"

Charlotte let out a breath she was holding and offered a small smile as she turned back around with her own coffee. "Maybe."

Penelope took a seat at the counter as Charlotte handed Harper a bowl of fruit. "Speaking of hackers, how did you get into computers?"

Charlotte took a seat next to Penelope. "My mom is a little on the overprotective side. If she had her way I would have never joined the unit. Growing up I wasn't allowed to go to the park, join activities, or even attend public school like a normal kid, so when my dad bought me a computer for my 8th birthday I was instantly obsessed. Computers were my world until I moved here. Then I met Emily, Libby, and everyone else and realized that there was so much more. Funny enough the first time Libby dragged me to a park I broke my arm; my mother had a fit. It took Erin and Cruz to convince her to let me stay."

"How did you break your arm?" Penelope couldn't help but ask.

"Libby climbed on top of the monkey bars, so I decided to follow her. She slipped and I grabbed her, but in the process managed to fall myself. I think it was more Libby falling on me that broke it more than the actual fall. Either way it didn't help any," Charlotte said smiling at the memory. "How did you get into computers?"

"It was an outlet during my parents' divorce. When I graduated high school I enrolled in Cal Tech, then my mom and stepdad died. After that I dropped out and started hacking. A few years down the line the FBI offered me a job in a way," Penelope replied. She glanced at Harper. "How old is she?"

"She'll be two in August," Charlotte replied picking up fruit Harper had dropped.

"A chatter box?" Penelope asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "No, not really. The pediatrician said not to be too worried until she turns two. Emily says Libby was the same way, and now she doesn't shut up in any language. Noah said it's probably the vast amount of languages we all go between. Sometimes even I get confused. Libby loves it though; mostly because her and Ziva can understand any conversation we throw out there."

Penelope nodded. She was enjoying talking to the younger hacker. "Do you plan to continue working for the FBI after you leave the EYU?"

Cruz had told them the night before about how the young agents could stay with the EYU until they were 24 when they would then choose to either leave the FBI or apply for other positions

Charlotte shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I still have a few years before that day comes anyway. There's a part of me that wants to stay, but there's also a part of me that says it's not good for me. Seeing all the horrors of the world really takes a toll, and I don't know if I want that for the rest of my life."

Penelope understood Charlotte's concern. "Do you know if any of the others will stay?"

Charlotte gave a small smile. "Libby is very adamant that she is staying. It's just dependent on whether she becomes a translator or profiler. There's nothing that could change her mind. Matt wants to stay too. I think he eventually plans to work his way up to Unit Chief of the EYU when/if Cruz leaves. Ro has also showed some interest in continuing work for the FBI if not law enforcement in general. Really Jamie has been the only one to say he doesn't think he'll continue working for the FBI. I think he wants to peruse something more creative."

"It doesn't matter what you decide as long as it is the best decision for you," Penelope told her.

"Thanks," Charlotte replied turning her attention to Harper.

"Does Harper stay at the office like Rosie and Addy?" Penelope asked wondering why they hadn't met Harper until the night before.

"Typically. She's been a little under the weather the last few days, and Jenny offered to watch her while we were working. She took a few days to work on paperwork at home, but last night they caught a big case," Charlotte explained.

"Jenny is Matt's mom?"

Charlotte nodded. "Yeah. She also helped get the EYU on its feet. She's the reason we have Kate, plus she helped find some of us."

"I hope I get to meet her one day," Penelope told Charlotte.

"Hang around long enough and you will."

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Chapter Question: Which character are you most interested on getting more backstory for?