𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟐𝟎

"𝚂𝚊𝚏𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ

NOAH WAKES UP and notices that she woke up naturally, not by Emily or her blaring alarm.  She sits up and stretches her arms, peering at the spot next to her in bed where Sergio lays.  The teen sweetly pets his head, listening to his purr.

Noah gets out of bed and throws on some comfy clothes; a cropped tank top and some pajama shorts. She heads to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.  After freshening up, the teen grabs a hoodie and makes her way down the staircase.  Noah throws the hoodie on as she walks down the steps.  She pauses for a second as she hears a voice that is not Emily's.

"Those were all the images I could find, sir.  I can try and find more, but I've double checked them all."

"Penelope?" Noah speaks for the first time as she sees Penelope sitting on the living room floor with a computer on the coffee table.  The woman holds up a finger to say that she will be off the phone in a second.

"Copy that," Penelope says and hangs up the phone.

"Well, good morning my sleepy godchild." The blonde beams.

"What're you doing here?" Noah asks.

"They had a case, but Emily didn't wanna disturb your slumber, so Hotch let me work from here." Penelope replies.

"Oh," The teen frowns as she realizes that Emily is gone.

"But I need to get over to the BAU soon, so do you mind coming with?"

"I don't see how I have a choice." Noah says and shrugs her shoulders.

"Well, there's good news!" Penelope says as Noah heads into the kitchen.

"What's that?" Noah replies as she raises her voice so that the blonde can hear her.  She starts a pot of coffee and looks at Penelope.

"The case is in town and I have faith that we can solve it by the end of the day!"

"That's good," Noah says and waits for the coffee.  She peers at the time on the oven and rolls her eyes.

𝟙𝟚:𝟜𝟡 𝕡.𝕞.

Once the coffee is ready, she pours two mugs and takes one out to Penelope.

"Aw, thank you, my love." Penelope beams and happily takes the mug.

"You let me sleep 'til past noon?" Noah asks.

"Emily's direct order was not to wake you up."

"Well, I'm gonna put on some clothes, then we can go." Noah says and heads back upstairs.

The teen looks in her closet and throws on a pair of black cargo pants. She keeps her hoodie on, also leaving the cropped tank top on underneath. Noah grabs her white tennis shoes and quickly laces them. She gives Sergio one last pet, grabs her phone and a book, and heads downstairs.

"Ready to go?" Penelope asks as she stands at the front door.

"Yep," Noah replies and watches Penelope lock the door with the spare key Emily must have given her.

Although she probably should not, Penelope told Noah about the case. A young girl abducted at the mall in broad daylight.

"That's scary," Noah says as Penelope takes a breath for the first time since she started telling the story.

"Very," Penelope adds as she parks in the parking deck.