"𝙿"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭

     EMILY walks into the hospital with a sad Noah walking behind her. The team looks over and sees the two walking towards them. They all notice that it looks as though the teen is being dragged along. In reality, they all know that Noah is hurting. The teen is not used to coming towards the hurt, she usually runs from it.

"What do we know?" Rossi asks as he also joins the team.

"The police think it was a botched robbery." Hotch states. Noah looks down at the ground, hiding the tears that are daring to fall.

Emily looks around at the team and notices someone missing.

"Where's Morgan?" She asks, confused.

"He's not answering his cell," JJ replies.

"I'll call him again," Reid says and pulls out his phone. He steps away to take the call.

The team stands in shock as they each try to keep their composure. JJ looks at Noah and realizes that they need to keep themselves together not just for the case, but for her sake as well.

"Morgan's phone keeps going to voicemail," Reid says as he returns.

"Where the hell is he?" Emily asks as frustration rises in her body.

Noah feels anger arising in herself as well and curls her hands into fists. She steps away from the group and sits in one of the seats that are lined against the wall. She throws her bookbag into the seat on her left. Emily turns around and watches the teen's every move. Noah leans back into the chair but her right leg unconsciously bounces out of anxiety.

Emily takes initiative and sits next to Noah. She decides not to bother her with encouraging words or a touch to the arm; she is nervous that Noah will snap.

Emily looks to her left and sees JJ sitting next to her. The blonde has her chin resting on her hand and is looking into space. Her blue eyes have so much worry in them.

Emily reaches over and grabs JJ's hand and holds it in her own. JJ flashes a thankful look towards Emily and grips her hand. Noah breaks out of her dissociative state and looks over at Hotch in particular. He is standing firm with his arms folded and he makes silent eye contact with Rossi every few minutes; that can only mean bad news.

—

The team and Noah have been stuck in the hallway for what feels like hours. They have been silently wishing for a nurse to update them, but no one has come. Morgan is still absent and it is making the team worry.

Emily decided to get some tea from the cafeteria because she began to feel anxious. She was biting and picking at her nails and needed to step away for a moment. As she comes back, she hands one of the plastic cups to JJ.

"Thanks," JJ murmurs, "How is she?" She asks as she nods towards Noah, who is stuck still in her seat.

"I don't know." Emily honestly answers, "She's disassociating from it; she hasn't looked up from the floor."

"She just lost her family...and now she feels like she's losing a part of her new one too." Emily adds and looks at Noah, "I can only imagine what that feels like."

Emily cautiously walks towards Noah and sits next to her. The teen stares blankly at the ground as her leg still shakes. Emily puts her hand on Noah's knee and it instantly stops moving. Noah looks over at Emily, but there is no emotion on her face.

"She's gonna be okay," Emily says, "She's Penelope; she's strong."

"She's Penelope..." Noah quietly speaks, "This should have never happened to her in the first place."

"I know—"

"I keep trying to think of the last thing I said to her...and it wasn't good enough."

Before Emily can respond, Derek comes rushing around the corner. He locks eyes with his team and waits for one of them to explain.

"She's been in surgery a couple of hours," JJ says as she stands.

"I was at church. My phone was off." Derek replies.

"There's nothing you could have been doing here," Reid says and looks up at his friend.

The team starts discussing what they need to be doing right before a doctor comes out.

"Penelope Garcia?" He announces. The whole team stands and waits for him to tell them the verdict.

"The bullet went into her chest and ricocheted into her abdomen. She lost a lot of blood..." He explains, "It was touch-and-go for a while, but we were able to repair the injuries."

Noah listens in and sits up. Her heart pounds as she anticipates the doctor's next words.

"One centimeter over and it would have torn right through her heart. Instead, she could actually walk out of here in a couple of days." He reveals and the entire group lets out a sigh of relief, "I'd say that's a minor miracle."

"I don't care about protocol. I don't care whether we're working this officially or not..." Hotch commands his team, "We don't touch any new cases until we find out who did this." He says and takes Rossi with him to the scene of the incident.

"Noah," Emily says as she kneels in front of the teen's chair, "She's gonna be okay. She's resting."

The teen lets out a small smile and leans down to hug Emily. The woman is pleasantly surprised and holds the teen tightly.

—

"She's awake," A nurse says to Derek, JJ, Emily, and Spencer, "You can see her now."

Noah stands as she prepares herself to see Penelope. Emily walks over to her as the rest of the team begins to walk to the room.

"We have to question her first—" Emily tells Noah.

"But, Emily—"

"I'm sorry, but if we want to find out who did this, we have to find out everything she knows as soon as possible." Emily talks over the teen.

"Emily—"

"I'll be right back." Emily says, "Sit down and don't move." She adds as she turns to follow her team.

"Em," Noah says louder.  Emily stills her actions and gazes at the teen.

"I will take you to see her the second we're done.  I promise." Emily reassures Noah and places a gentle hand on her arm.

The teen nods and sits down in the chair.  Emily ruffles Noah's hair before walking to join JJ, Derek, and Spencer in Penelope's room.

Noah sits patiently in her seat as she tries to analyze what could have happened. She has an idea, but she knows that the team does not know about her date. Noah eats herself up inside as she begins to think that what happened was partially her fault.

The teen had always learned to be careful. Women have subconsciously taught themselves to always be on alert, especially when on dates with men they do not know. It is in the unwritten handbook of girl code.

Noah encouraged Penelope to go on the date. She picked the outfit, the accessories, she gossiped about the dream guy; all while being excited that Penelope was putting herself out there. But how far out is too far out?

—

Derek eventually comes into the hallway and sees the teen sitting alone. She is staring at the floor and bouncing her leg again. He sighs as he composes his anger from the situation and approaches her.

"Hey, kid," Derek says as he sits next to Noah. The teen stays silent and keeps her eyes focused on the ground.

"You wanna know where I was?" Derek asks, "I was at a church...I've been having this issue with faith recently."

"And I know that you don't have a lot of faith. I know that you've lost people — family. But not today, okay?" He says and watches Noah look up at him.

"Not today," Noah agrees with a smile and sees Emily come around the corner. She stands as she awaits Emily to act on her promise.

"C'mon, Noah." Emily coos and holds out a hand. Noah walks over to her and takes Emily's hand in hers. They walk towards the ICU hallway and Emily guides them to Penelope's room.

Emily slowly enters the room and sees Penelope look up. Noah hides behind Emily, afraid to see her friend in pain.

"Hey, Mini Prentiss." Penelope greets Noah, making the girl come out from hiding.  Emily stands behind Noah and puts her arm across the teen's chest.

"Are you feeling better?" Noah gently asks. She watches Penelope shake her head, which makes her sad.

"I brought you these," Noah murmurs and rummages through her bag. She holds up Penelope's glasses; the cat-eye frames that are half pink and half red, "They're my favorite ones that you wear." Noah tells her.

"Thanks, Noah."

"Hey, you never call me by my actual name," Noah says with a small smile.

"This is the most thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me. I wanted to make sure you knew who I was thanking." Penelope tells the teen and watches Noah's smile grow.

"I tried that new game you got." Noah says as she pulls out Penelope's Nintendo that she let her borrow, "You wanna see?" She asks.

"I could never turn that down." Garcia beams and smiles wide for the first time since the incident. Noah looks up at Emily, not really sure where to sit.

"C'mere," Emily says and pulls down the guard on the hospital bed. Penelope slowly shifts to make room for Noah and lets her sit next to her.

"Honey, I'm gonna go talk to the team, okay?" Emily says and strokes the teen's hair.

"Okay," Noah replies and watches Emily leave the room.

Noah turns on the Nintendo and looks over at Penelope.

"Hey, P?"

"Yeah?" The blonde replies and locks eyes with the teen.

"I'm really glad that you're here," Noah murmurs so that only Penelope could hear.

"Me too," Garcia says with a smile.

"I've never told you this, but..." Noah trails off, "I love you. And I would've never forgiven myself if I hadn't told you and you hadn't made it."

"I love you too, Noah." Penelope gushes.

Noah gets more comfortable beside Penelope and lays down next to her. Noah shows Penelope how to play the game as the blonde eagerly looks over her shoulder.

—

"Noah, you know I love you more than anything, but I really need to get some rest." Penelope sighs as she feels her eyes get heavy.

"Okay," The teen agrees and slides off the bed. She helps Penelope position herself in the middle of the bed and pulls the thin hospital blanket up to comfortably cover the blonde.

"I'll check on you later—"

—
𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜

"I'll check on you later," Noah says as she looks down at the hospital bed.

She leaves the room and sees Nick waiting for her.  He is leaning against the wall, but he kicks himself off the wall to stand straight.  His skateboard hangs in his hand and he waits for Noah to speak first.

"I don't know," Noah answers his unasked question.

"I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

"And if he doesn't?" Noah snaps, "It's my fault—"

"Noah, you weren't there—"

"I should have been." She says and walks down the hallway.  Nick watches his sister walk away and hangs back, not knowing what to say.

He never knew what to say.

—

Noah quietly exits the room and sees Emily walking up to her.

"She wanted some rest," Noah says and Emily nods in response.

Noah walks towards the waiting area and sits in one of the chairs that looks into Penelope's room. Emily follows her and sits down next to her; something is off.

"I have to go to the BAU—"

"I'm not leaving." Noah states.

"Noah, I know you want to stay, but—"

"I can't leave." Noah puts her foot down and looks into Emily's eyes. The woman sees the seriousness in Noah's tone and body language and nods to herself.

"Morgan and Reid will be here if you need anything." Emily coos and rubs the teen's back, "Just try to get some rest yourself. You haven't slept."

Noah nods and looks into Penelope's room.

"I'll be back later," Emily says and stands to leave but before she does, she plants a kiss on Noah's head.

—

Noah still sits in the chair an hour later. She has managed to zone out most of the distracting sounds in the hospital but is suddenly panicked as she hears the shouts of a woman in the hall.  She quickly stands and scurries to Penelope's room, but finds her peacefully sleeping with Derek and Spencer by her side.

Noah turns her head to the right and sees a woman standing outside of one of the rooms, falling to her knees.  A nurse and a man try to pull her up, but it is like the woman's legs have turned to mush.  She has her head to the ground as she wails and seems to lose control of all the functions of her body.

Noah watches in shock as she feels the woman's emotions in her own mind.

"Kid," Morgan says as he comes out of Penelope's room, "Noah?" He speaks again, but the teen is stuck in a trance.

"Noah!" He snaps and sees a tear run down her cheek.

"Reid," Morgan quietly says and pulls Spencer out of Penelope's room.

"Noah?" Reid asks as he looks at the girl, "Noah," He repeats and stands in front of the teen.  Noah looks up at him and wipes the tear away.

"Noah, breathe." He assists her as he tries to calm her down.

"I need to sit down," The teen murmurs and feels her knees buckle and holds onto Spencer's arm for support.

"Morgan—" Spencer calls out, which makes Derek grab onto the teen and pull her up.

"Noah, what's wrong?"

"I feel dizzy, I need to sit down!" The teen whimpers, which stirs Penelope awake, "I need to sit down, please just let me go!" She shouts and tries to push herself out of Derek's arm.

"Noah—" Morgan calls out.

"What's happening?" Penelope asks as she sees the struggle outside of her room, "Derek, Reid?  What's wrong?!" She says louder, but everything is moving so fast.

"Let go of me!" Noah demands and pushes Derek away.  She leans against the wall and lets herself sink to the floor.

She looks down the hall and sees that the woman is being carried away by the man.  She is still sobbing in his arms, begging to go back to the room.

"What's going on?" A nurse asks Derek and Spencer, "What's wrong, sweetie?  Do you feel like you're going to pass out?" She asks Noah as she kneels beside her.

"Just..." Noah fumes, "I need space!  I need everyone to back up!" She exclaims and Derek nods at the nurse, telling her to do as Noah says.

"I'll call Emily," Reid says and walks off.

Derek turns around and sees Penelope trying to rip out her IV.

"Woah, baby, you gotta lay back down—"

"Derek, that is my goddaughter and she is in pain—"

"And so are you," Derek cautions, "You need to lay down.  She wants space, she doesn't want anyone to crowd her."

"But—"

"You have to leave her be, baby girl," Derek says and helps Penelope lay back down.  The blonde looks over at the teen outside her door and keeps her gaze on her.