safe inside, criminal minds [ 1 ]

007. coffee shop

Danielle rushes into the hospital, going to the front desk.

"Hi, uh, I'm looking for a Spencer Reid." Danielle says.

"Are you a family member?" The nurse asks.

"I-I'm his sister." Danielle informs. 

"He's in room 305." The nurse states.

"Okay." Danielle mumbles, going to the elevator and soon finding Spencer's room. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." Spencer says. "What are you doing here?"

"Garcia called me and said you got shot in the leg." Danielle says.

"Don't-- don't worry. I'm okay. Just a little bullet to the knee." Spencer says.

"Little bullet to the--" Danielle's jaw clenches. She grabs the pillow off the couch and whacks Spencer with it.

"Hey!" He exclaims, frowning at her.

"It's not so little if you can't fucking walk, dumbass." Danielle quips.

"I can walk. I just... need assistance." Spencer says making Danielle roll her eyes.

+++

They're at Haley's funeral and Hotch is giving the eulogy.

"W.S. Gilbert wrote, "It's love that makes the world go round." And if that's true, then the world spun a little faster with Haley in it. Haley was my best friend since we were in high school. We certainly had our struggles, but if there's one thing we agreed on unconditionally, it was our love and commitment to our son Jack."

"Haley's love for Jack was joyous and fierce. That fierceness is why she isn't here today. A mother's love is an unrivaled force of nature. And we can all learn much from the way Haley lived her life. Haley's death causes each of us to stop and take stock of our lives. To measure who we are and what we've become."

"I don't have all those answers for myself, but I know who Haley was. She was the woman who died protecting the child we brought into this world together. And I will make sure that Jack grows up knowing who his mother was and how she loved and protected him and how much I loved her."

"If Haley were with us today, she would ask us not to mourn her death but to celebrate her life. She would tell us... she would tell us to love our families unconditionally... and to hold them close. Because in the end, they are all that matter. I met Haley at the tryouts of our high school's production of "The Pirates of Penzance." I found our copy of the play and I came upon a passage that seemed... appropriate for this moment."

""Oh, dry the glistening tear that dews that martial cheek. Thy loving children hear, in them thy comfort seek. With sympathetic care their arms around thee creep, for, oh, they cannot bear to see their father weep.""

+++

The team, Danielle, and Will are at a table and watch Rossi and Hotch walk outside.

"What do we do?" Emily asks.

"There's nothing we can do." Derek says. "We just gotta wait him out."

"You think he'll ever come back?" Spencer asks.

"Would you?" JJ asks.

"He'll come back." Derek says. "I just don't know what he's gonna look like when he does."

"We just need to be there for him when he's ready." JJ says.

Derek's phone rings and he fishes it out of his pocket.

"They can't be calling us in. Not tonight." Derek says.

"I'm on it." JJ says.

"We can't go." Emily says.

"We have to." Derek says, getting up and going outside to tell Hotch and Rossi.

"Talk to Strauss, tell her to send another team." Spencer tells JJ.

"There's no other team available." JJ says. "Nashville's calling us in. Second body in 2 weeks. Both killed in consecutive Friday nights. They realize they're up against the clock and they're hoping we might find something they didn't."

+++

"Thank you." Danielle politely smiles at the barista as she grabs her coffee. She goes to leave, but bumps into somebody. "Oh, sorry."

"Sorry." She looks up at the guy. "Sorry." He apologetically smiles.

"No, it's my fault. I should look where I'm going." Danielle chuckles.

"I, uh... I'm Brady." He holds his hand out.

"Danielle." She shakes his hand.

"So, uh... what do you do? You-- you know, work." He says.

"Oh, uh, I-I'm actually at the FBI academy. Gonna... do that." Danielle says.

"No way." Brady says.

"Mm-hmm."

"Wh-- so am I."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you know, I did think you looked familiar."

"Right. Well, uh... see you around, I guess." Danielle says, starting to leave.

"Could I get your number?" Brady asks making her turn back. "You-- you know, just... keep in contact, you know?"

"Uh... yeah. Yeah, sure." She nods.

+++

Danielle is studying when her phone rings. Without looking at the caller ID, she answers it.

"Hello."

"Hey. Danielle?" She hears Brady's voice.

"Oh. Yeah, hey." She says.

"Hey. I, uh... I was just wondering if, um... if you wanted to go out. You know, get some dinner or something." Brady says.

"Uh... yeah. Ye-yeah, I-I'm cool with that. Yes." Danielle says.

"Okay." Brady lets out a small laugh while Danielle winces at her response. "Uh... tomorrow night work?"

"Um..." Danielle glances at her calendar. "Yeah. Yeah, no, tomorrow night works."

"7:00?"

"Yes. Yeah, that-- that fits. That's good. I-I will see you then."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." Danielle quickly hangs up, her head dropping onto the desk.