𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟐𝟕

"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."