"𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚎𝚜"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘶

     "THEY FOUND THEM?!" Noah asks as she bumps into Emily in the hallway outside Penelope's office.

"We think so," Emily says and sees Noah look behind her shoulder.

"Where's Parker?" Noah questions, not seeing the boy in the bullpen.

"He's—"

"Em, where's Parker?" The teen asks again, making Emily put her hands on Noah's shoulders.

"Noah, he's at the hospital."

"What?" Noah mutters as she looks blankly at her mother.

"The unsub turned in his mom," Emily begins with a frown, "She's not in good shape, Noah.  She was hurt — badly."

"So, she's in the hospital?" Noah mumbles.  Emily nods as she takes in her daughter's expression.  It seems terrified while lifeless at the same time.

"I'm sorry, babe," Emily coos as she strokes Noah's cheek.

"What are they gonna do?" Noah asks as a tear drops down on to Emily's hand on her cheek.

"I don't know, love," The mother sighs and pulls Noah in for a hug, "Can I talk to you later?  At home?"

"About what?" Noah asks through a sniffle.

"We'll talk about it then, okay?"

"Okay," Noah agrees, just wanting to curl into a ball.

"Why don't you go sit at my desk?" Emily offers.

Noah simply nods and drags her feet to the floor next to Emily's desk.  She curls her knees to her chest and stares at the spot Parker once sat.  She regrets yelling at him, saying words she does not necessarily mean.

ɴᴏᴀʜ

I regret yelling at him.  I regret saying words I don't mean.  Well, I meant some of them, but I wish I had held back the anger.

Everything I say and do is out of emotion.  I try to come off as this cold soul, but I'm not.  I only come off like that because I have a funny way of showing love.  Well, maybe not funny, but a weird way.

I only told Parker all that stuff because I love him.  Maybe not in the way that he wanted me to, but in a I-would-never-wanna-hurt-him way.  Even after everything, I don't want him to think I hate him.  It sounds crazy, but I don't have it in me to pretend that I don't miss him.

We have so many memories that no one knows about.  We would get breakfast on the weekends at the diner.  We would sit on the dock late at night, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.  We would take boat rides on sunny days without his Dad's permission.  We would go to our favorite pizza place and sit past closing because Rossi introduced me to the owner and he'd let us stay.  We talked about traveling together after graduation because we both think we won't be ready for college.  We would make funny videos together when we were bored with all our inside jokes so only we could understand the humor.  We would go to the mall and try on dresses and suits that we could never afford.  We would take walks next to the river until we got tired and I made him carry me back.

Everyone keeps telling me to let him go, but I can't.  He's like a brother to me, and even though that may not be what he wants to hear, it means something to me.  He's everything I wish Nick would've been.

I don't understand how to let that go.

—
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ

Emily sits at her desk, getting a head start on the reports.  It has been a hectic day and the last thing she wants the team to have to do is paperwork.

Soon enough, the team files in from their drive and they split the last of the work.  Noah stays silent in her spot, worrying herself sick about Parker and his mom.

"Hey, kid," Morgan says and makes Noah peer up.  He nods towards the glass door of the bullpen.

Noah stands up and sees Parker.  He stares at her through the glass.  Her feet pick up their speed as she runs over to him, bursting through the door and into his arms.

"I'm so sorry," She whispers into his chest.

"It's alright," Parker says as he snakes his arms around her, "They say she's most likely gonna make it."

"Thank god," Noah says as she pulls back, clutching her chest with relief, "What're you doing here?  You should be at the hospital."

"I asked him to drive me," Parker says as he nods to Hotch, who is walking down the hallway, "So I could talk to you."

"About what?" Noah asks.

Parker takes a deep breath, staring right into Noah's fierce eyes.  He sees so much and feels so much when he looks at her.

"Noah, I never wanted to hurt you—" Parker sighs.

"I know," Noah nods.

"I'm really sorry. I should've never told the guys—"

"I'm sorry for leading you on." Noah says, "You know, I really tried. I saw how much you liked me and how much you cared. I really tried to make myself feel it, but..." She trails off, softly shaking her head.

"I'm not the guy — well, no one's gonna be the guy..." Parker says awkwardly.

"Yeah," Noah coos with a small smile.

"I should've never made you feel sorry for being yourself," Parker admits.

The girl nods — she was done apologizing.  She knew she apologized for too much already.

"I appreciate that."

"Jess is the best of us," Parker notes with a smile as he peers down at the ground, "I think she's good for you, Seattle."

"Seattle?" Noah asks with a giggle, "I haven't heard that name in a while."

"You've earned your nickname privileges back," Parker jokes with a smirk.

"Shut up," Noah says as she hits his arm, "If anyone should be earning any privileges back, it's you."

"So, do I have the privilege of being your friend again?" He suggests as his smile fades.

"As long as you promise to never tell my secrets again." Noah declares.

"I promise," The boy states as he throws his hands up in defense.

"I'm serious, Parker," Noah says, "You can't do that again. Not to me or anyone else."

"I know," Parker nods with a serious expression.

"Plus, if I don't forgive you, then we won't be able to go on that trip to Portugal after we graduate." Noah adds with a smile as she walks towards the elevator.

"You still down for that?" He asks as he follows her.

"For Portugal? I don't care if I hated your guts, I'm still going." She giggles and presses the button before standing in front of him.

"Alright," Parker laughs, "Friends?"

"You're like a brother to me," Noah tells him, "Which means you can't be in love with me.  So, find someone more suited to you."

"I think I'm good on dating for now—"

"Don't tell me I scarred you!" Noah exclaims with a giggle.

"I just think I need time to work on me," Parker replies as the doors slide open, "I did a lot of wrongs that I need to make right.  Then, we'll see."

"Good luck," Noah smiles, "Now, go be with your mom."

"See ya, Seattle." Parker says before stepping into the elevator.  Noah waves to him and walks back into the bullpen, finding Emily, JJ, Spencer, and Derek staring at her.

"What?" She asks.

"Someone's got a boyfriend—" Derek sings.

"No," Noah sighs, "Just friends." She adds with a smile.

—
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴' 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵

Noah relaxes her body as she lays on the couch, her head resting on Emily's lap.  The teen drapes her arm around her mother's leg and takes a deep breath.

"Hey, Noah?" Emily speaks up.

"Mhm," Noah sleepily hums.

"What did Parker do?" The mother inquires.

"What do you mean?" Noah asks as she closes her eyes.

"Did he do something to you?"

"Why're you asking me that?" The teen says as she sits up, slumping into the couch next to her mother.

"You seemed hesitant to help him," Emily replies.

"What?  No, I didn't." Noah gasps, not believing the accusation, "Oh, I see.  You heard my conversation with him or someone did and they told you—"

"Me and JJ were waiting in the room—"

"It was nothing, Emily."

"That didn't seem like nothing," Emily says as she raises her eyebrow, signaling the teen to tell her the truth.

"Really—"

"I just wanna know that you're okay." Emily coos and puts her arm around Noah's pulling the teen's head on her shoulder.

"You remember what I told you about Jess?" Noah says softly.

"Mhm,"

"Well, Parker liked me — like, a lot.  So he got upset when I told him that I didn't like him back.  And I thought we had been good enough friends for me to tell him the truth about Jess." Noah explains and she stares blankly at the TV, "I was wrong."

"What happened?"

"He told everyone on the football team," Noah replies and feels Emily shift under her head.

"He what?!" The mother exclaims as she makes Noah sit up, "What did you do?!  Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I punched Jacob Howard," Noah giggles, "And I didn't tell you because you didn't know how I felt about Jess."

"So, what really happened with the fight?" Emily inquires.

"He called me a bitch and told me I could fool Parker, but I wasn't fooling anyone else.  Then, he asked me when I was gonna make Jess my girlfriend." Noah tuts as Emily rolls her eyes, "He actually called her blondie."

"So, you didn't start it?"

"I did punch him first," Noah replies, "Then he pushed me, so I pushed him harder.  It's not my fault that I'm a better fighter than him."

"Well, you're a Prentiss," Emily chuckles as she pulls Noah close again, "And as a Prentiss, I say we forget about Parker."

"We're okay," Noah tells her mother, "He apologized and I would hate to lose him as a friend.  And I...did some wrongs too."

Emily peers down at her daughter's head on her shoulder.  She kisses the teen's forehead, proud to call Noah her daughter.

"You know I love you, right?" Emily asks.

"Yeah," Noah giggles as she wraps her arm around Emily's waist, "I love you too."

"And don't you let anyone ever do that to you again, you hear me?" Emily says sternly.

"I'll just punch them," Noah jokes as she looks up at Emily.

"I know I shouldn't tell you this," Emily says quietly, "But I wouldn't mind if you did." She adds, making Noah laugh and sink into her mother's arms.

"I knew you were the best mother."