𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇- spencer reid ✔️

𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘. Celia's body was completely paralyzed with fear, even as Penelope rattled off information to him, something about how Spencer was being treated over there, then being transported back to a hospital here. Strangely enough, Celia didn't cry once. She felt so incredibly numb, like she was living outside of her own body and nothing was real. She had no control over anything that happened to her, and she wasn't sure that she could bear the thought of losing another person she loved. 

"I'm going to take a plane there," Celia declared, pacing the room in a panic. "I can call my brother and see if he can let me take the plane-"

"Cece, honey," Penelope started, gripping her shoulders to bring her back to reality. "I know you want to see him, I do, but there's nothing you can do for him there. When he's back here, I'll make sure that you're the very first one to see him, but for now I have Derek calling me with updates every half-hour, so we'll be the first to know if anything's wrong. Okay?"

She managed a nod, but all she could think to herself was What if he needs me and I'm not there? She was all the way over here, completely helpless, unable to help him. She hated the fact that she couldn't do anything, that she just had to sit by a phone and pray and hope that the next time it rang, it would be Derek giving her good news rather than bad. "I'm scared," she admitted through a shaky breath. 

"Me too," Penelope admitted. "But our boy genius will pull through, he always does. He's like a cat; he has nine lives or something." That may have been true, but Celia was so convinced that she was cursed, she wouldn't be surprised if this was the exception to the rule. "As much as it pains me to say it, the only thing that you and I can do right now is wait," she told her sadly. "Everything's gonna be alright, Celia." But you don't know that, she thought to herself. No one would know that, because there was no guarantee. 

Of all the things in the world, Celia thought that the waiting was the worst part. The not knowing, the uncertainty, wondering if the phone will bring good or bad news the next time it rang. But now, all Celia was able to do was just wait, unable to do anything else to help, and the thought of that just about killed her. 

She watched the minutes on the clock tick by, slowly but surely, and she made a mental note each time the phone rang. Penelope updated her every time Derek phoned, but she couldn't form anything other than a hum of acknowledgment. 'Doctor's have him in surgery now, we'll know more soon,' Penelope had said the first time. And then, 'Still in surgery, no complications as far as we know.' Celia held her breath the next time the phone rang, because by now, surgery would have been done, which meant that Derek was calling to tell her whether or not the surgery to remove the bullet went well. 

Celia was so no profiler, but she didn't find it difficult to decipher Penelope's expression as she chatted on the phone with Derek. First, there was worry on her face, and then it was quickly replaced by relief as Morgan supposedly told her that he was going to be fine. Only then did Celia let her shoulders drop, and she exhaled a shaky breath, waiting for Penelope to confirm what she already knew. Sure enough, as soon as she hung up the phone, she glanced at Celia with a small smile and nodded her head, "He's gonna be alright," she assured her. "Everything went okay." She hadn't cried once yet, but upon hearing the news, Celia felt a tear prick at the corner of her eye, until her eyes became flooded and the vision of Penelope in front of her became rather blurry. She tried her hardest to keep her composure, and her jaw quivered as she struggled to stifle a sob, which only resulted in a hiccup. 

She didn't understand it one bit. She had just found out that Spencer was going to be okay, which was good news. So why the hell was Celia crying right now? She should have been celebrating, thankful for the fact that this cursed day hadn't taken yet another thing away from her.