𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟗𝟖

"𝚂𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚔𝚢"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘
𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵

NOAH WAKES UP the next morning with a big stretch and a yawn. She turns to look at the other side of the bed and finds it empty, the only thing beside her being the outline of where Hotch sat with her the night before. She sits up but longs to lie back down.

When you wake, your mind is in a state of bliss. There is a second where you forget everything going on around you and you take in the morning light. Then, it hits you. Every inconvenience, problem, and stressor sinks in as you try to process how you will handle the day. Then the wave of grief hits.

Noah pulls the covers off her legs, feeling goosebumps rise on her skin. She swings her legs over to stand and takes one last stretch. As she walks over to the door, she hears footsteps outside in the hallway.

The teen pulls the door open to find Jack standing at the door. She shows a smile as she watches him peer up at her.

"I heard you get out of bed," Jack coos.

"Were you waiting for me?" Noah asks.

"Daddy's still asleep," The boy replies and points to the living room. They both look over to find Hotch asleep on the sofa and snoring.

"You want some breakfast?" The teen asks.

"Yeah!" Jack quietly exclaims in hopes of not waking his father.

Noah picks the boy up and takes him into the kitchen. They grab some waffles from the freezer and quickly pop them into the toaster. Jack gets on Noah's back as she gets out the syrup and two plates. When the waffles pop up, they both eye each other before checking to see if the sound woke up Aaron.

"Shh," Jack shushes the teen with a smile.

"Sorry," Noah quietly giggles.

Noah puts the waffles on the plates, shaking her hand at how hot they are. She pours syrup over the waffles and grabs forks for each of them. They sit at the dining table, still quiet. They sit in silence as they eat, the only sound being the scraping of their forks on the plates.

Once they finish, Noah takes Jack into his room. He asks if they can watch cartoons, but Noah does not want to wake Hotch up just yet. He has had a rough few days and if anyone knows how restless nights can be after grief, it is Noah.

"We can watch on my phone," Noah says as she lays on Jack's bed. The boy cuddles up next to her as she opens YouTube and searches for an episode of his favorite cartoon.

They sit in silence once again. Noah usually hates silence, but with Jack beside her, she finds it peaceful. Noah is almost thankful that the person she experienced that day with is so young. She hates talking about her emotions right when they happen, she needs time to process them. Jack is too innocent to understand what happened, so he does not have the knowledge to question her about it.

With that being said, Noah still misses her mother. She would take Emily's hourly checkups over anything.

Jack's door opens and reveals a tired Aaron. Noah can see the bags under his eyes, meaning he still has not caught up on sleep.