𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟏𝟖

"𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚢?"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕠𝕠𝕟

     "HEY, my little worker fairy," Penelope says and makes the teen look up from her homework, "They just landed." She tells Noah.

"Really?!"

"They'll be comin' off the elevator any minute." The blonde beams as she looks at the tracking device on Derek's phone.

"BRB!" Noah exclaims and jumps up from the sofa.  She rushes down the hallway, letting the excitement of seeing Emily bubble in her chest.

"Wait for me!" Penelope exclaims as she rushes to catch up to Noah.

The teen makes it to the elevator and sees the doors slide open.  Hotch is the first person she sees.  He flashes her a short, but warm smile as his greeting.  Next is Rossi, who smiles at her and pats her shoulder.  Then Derek, who ruffles her hair and calls her a nickname that mocks her short height.  He throws his arm over Penelope and walks her into the bullpen. After him is Reid, who gives Noah a fist bump.  Then JJ appears and greets her with a warm hug.  Then there is Emily.

"Emily," Noah mutters and immediately hugs the woman's waist.  Emily smiles at the tight embrace and kisses the top of Noah's head.

"I missed you so much," Noah says and it makes Emily choke up a bit. The woman feels bad for having to leave, but Noah told her it was okay.

"I missed you too," Emily mumbles into the teen's hair.

"Can we go home?" Noah pleads.

"Please," Emily groans. She is exhausted from the case and the jet ride, where she could not get any sleep.

"I'm gonna get my stuff from Penelope's office." Noah says and scurries off to the blonde's office.

"Here," Penelope says as she comes up behind the teen and punches in the passcode for the door.

"Thanks," Noah says before entering the office, "You know, I had a really good time staying with you." She beams as she grabs her bookbag and the book she borrowed from Spencer.

"Good! Next time, we'll find some more fun things to do." The blonde beams.

"Okay," Noah chimes and gives Penelope a hug.

"Alright, go hang out with your Mama Bear, munchkin."

"Bye, PG!" Noah beams and rushes out of the office. She heads back to the bullpen, where she sees Emily packing up her stuff.

"Thanks for the book, Doc." Noah says as she places The Alchemist on Reid's desk.

"Did you like it?" He asks.

"Yeah, it was a pretty easy read." Noah replies, "I liked the whole perspective of trust issues and how that influenced his fear." She explains as Emily listens in from her desk.

"One of Coelho's theme was that fear should be irrelevant when pursuing your dreams. That it's only a roadblock to a fulfilled life; that's where you picked up on the trust issue motif." Reid rambles and Noah nods along, understanding every word he says.

"If a person is living out his Personal Legend..." Noah quotes the book, "...he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve—"

"The fear of failure." Reid finishes the quote and picks up the book.

"Ready?" Emily asks as she looks over to Reid's desk.