A Father's Daughter

Chapter Nineteen

"Wait, Rossi and Joy?" I ask as we run out of Reid's apartment and towards my car. "I thought they drove separately to the restaurant!"

"I don't know, Cara," Spencer tells me, "that's just what Hotch said in the text along with what hospital they're at."

We get into my car and Spencer gives me directions to the hospital.

Fuck fuck fuck! I didn't plan for this, I mean how could I have? They were supposed to just go to dinner and Joy promised she'd call me tomorrow before she left to tell me how it went. From there I was going to enact the next stage in my plan. If either of them die because of this, I'm going to end up blaming myself since I was the one who manipulated them into meeting. If it wasn't for me, neither of them would have been driving around tonight and no one would have gotten hurt.

I drive us there as quickly and safely as I can and we make it to the hospital within twenty minutes. Spencer takes my hand and we run through the parking lot and into the lobby to find Hotch and Garcia are already there.

"Are they alright?" I instantly ask.

"Joy is going to be fine, but Rossi is in surgery," Hotch informs us.

"I gotta..."

"Go," Spencer says, "go check on Joy, we'll be right here."

I nod and give his hand a squeeze before leaving them and asking the nurse at the desk where Joy is at. She directs me to the room they have her in and it takes everything in me not to sprint down the halls. She was never supposed to get hurt.

I finally find the room and knock on the door way before walking in. Joy is laying in the hospital bed with her arm wrapped in a cast, some bruising on her face, but nothing terrible.

"Oh thank god you're okay," I say as I make my way to her bedside.

"Awe Cara, you didn't need to come," she says as she sits up and winces slightly.

"I did," I tell her, pulling the chair up to the side of her bed, "you don't know anyone else in this city and no one should ever be in the hospital alone."

She smiles at me and takes my hand, "well thank you, I appreciate it. Honestly, this night was going amazing until that guy hit us."

"Tell me all about it," I say, giving her hand a light squeeze to encourage her.

She tells me how they went to dinner and that even though it was a little awkward at first, she's glad they did it because by the end they were laughing and sharing stories as if he'd always been around. They had planned for him to come visit her and her family within the next month and that's when the driver hit them.

"Have you heard anything?" She asks.

I shake my head, "no, when Reid and I got here, they told us that he was still in surgery. But I can go and check to see if there's any change?"

"Would you? They won't tell me anything even though I'm his daughter," she says as she rolls her eyes.

I let out a short laugh, "I'll see what I can do."

I leave her room and walk back into the waiting area to see that Morgan and Blake have arrived. Spencer stands up when I walk back into the room and places his hand on my arm.

"How's Joy?"

"She's a little banged up but otherwise fine. She's asking about Rossi though," I look past him towards the rest of our group, "any word?"

"The doctor came out just a couple minutes ago," Morgan tells me, "Rossi's out of surgery and in recovery now. They think he's going to be fine but we aren't allowed to see him right away."