Ineffable - S.REID

54

・゜゜・．SIX MONTHS LATER .・゜゜・

Clara hadn't been anywhere near the FBI building for six months. She left the BAU via email and just hadn't asked for the job Hotch had offered to get for her yet. She liked being at home with her child, Maya, they could afford her extra time off and it made every aspect of life easier. And even though all their colleagues had understood, the lack of a goodbye party annoyed them all.

Naturally, due to her lack of seeing them all, she found herself incredibly excited to attend Rossi's wedding. Rossi had allowed only one person under the age of eighteen to come to his wedding, just so Clara could attend as her family was back in Italy and she didn't quite trust her brother to look after her just yet.

So she walked into the ornate hall with her baby resting on her hip and instantly spotted Garcia. As Clara handed Spencer their daughter, Garcia yelled joyfully and ran across the room to meet her best friend (whom she hadn't seen in a month due to busy schedules.) Clara laughed as Garcia locked her in a hug that squeezed every surface of her body. They had talked almost every day over the phone or via emails but nothing compared to in person conversation and hugs overall.

"And how's my favourite goddaughter?" Garcia grinned as Spencer met the two of them, only moving towards Maya when Clara broke the hug. She smiled brightly as the baby untucked her head from Spencer's shoulder, looked up and upon recognising Garcia reached out towards her. Garcia smiled with cuteness overload as her goddaughter started to babble and giggle happily whilst she bounced her gently. "Now Dr Reid I may have come to this wedding alone but I sure as hell am not dancing alone, do you understand?"

He chuckled as he readjusted the bag on his shoulder, "Yes Garcia."

Suddenly, as various other people entered the room and started to greet them, Maya began to frown. Despite Pen's tight hold, she managed to lean towards her father and reach out sadly. The tears began to fall and cries echoed through the room but they stopped the second Maya found herself back in her Dad's arms.

"Now onto my main mission," Penelope responded as Clara wiped her daughters' tears, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Wine?" she continued, question directed towards her best friend.

She watched as relief rolled through Clara's body. She hadn't drunk a drop for over a year due to her pregnancy and general lack of time for such luxuries. The idea of even a flute of champagne was heavenly. She sighed happily, "Absolutely."

After Clara and Garcia had both successfully downed their drinks and were onto their seconds, the wedding began. It was perfect and the love that Rossi and Portia felt for each other dissolved into the atmosphere and surrounded the hall in a merry feeling. Clara felt it more than most, given her Garcia fueled inebriation. Her best friend decided that after so long of not drinking, something that Clara really enjoyed because of the social aspect and the generally good tasting wines, it was her mission to make sure she got everything out of the evening that she wanted. The second Clara finished a drink, another would be placed into her hand. She decreased the alcohol content at the perfect time. Clara hugged and talked to Rossi and his new wife for a good twenty minutes as the three of them were all rather drunk and enjoyed that kind of company more than the others. Even through it all, Clara kept a keen eye on the location of her baby and Spencer by extension. Maya rarely left his arms and when she did, JJ and Will were often the ones to look after her when Garcia dragged Spencer up to dance.

She had danced twice with Spencer and once with Rossi before the only person in the room whom she did not recognise approached. "Davia?" he asked apprehensively, still nervous that he had gotten the wrong person despite all the stories he had heard.

She nodded, pulling herself away from a conversation with Morgan, to turn towards the new member of the BAU. "Clara, I take it you're Luke?"

He smiled in his response and the previous worry lines at the corner of his eyes dissolved. "I hear very great things about you and your mind. It's honestly rather difficult to be your replacement."

"Must be why I got a phone call about your last case from Pen then," Clara joked, laughing softly to herself. In doing so, Luke had a moment to himself and his thoughts. A split second, in which his gaze drifted towards Penelope and his eyes filled with a certain recognizable emotion. She looked over her shoulder at Garcia, who turned as she felt the eyes on her back. Once she'd caught her eye, Clara mouthed, "Kittens."

Garcia instantly shook her head in disbelief, not wanting to accept that Luke was the one that Clara thought she would be good with. Her perfect match, so to speak. Even if Clara didn't have her almost witchy intuition talent, she would trust her opinion as if it were gospel. But this opinion, she was not inclined to believe. She walked over quickly, heels clacking against the tile of the hall, and enthusiastically whispered, "You cannot be serious!"

Luke, confused as to what was going on, looked between the two as he asked, "What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it," Garcia was quick to interrupt, leaving Clara to smile softly to herself. She could see the dynamic between them already, the invisible strings that would at some point pull them together. "She's obviously drunk and doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Non sono!"

"I rest my case," Garcia laughed and excised the two of them, heading towards the bar to get a glass of water. Clara often slipped into Italian when she drank as her mind just couldn't deal with the constant translation as she spoke so Pen had picked up quite a few phrases over the years of their friendship and could just tell by her accent that water was needed as soon as possible.

"Okay I may be slightly drunk, only piccolo, but even drunk me knows the feeling. He's it for you Pen," she whispered as they both sat down at the bar, facing each other whilst acting as if the rest of the room didn't exist.

She frowned deeply, "I hate him."

"Love stems from hatred," she whispered back, knowing full well of the powers of hatred. "And it can be just as pure and perfect as any other relationship."

"He has a girlfriend."

Her brow crept onto her forehead and Clara glanced across the room, catching Luke's fixed gaze on her best friend before he looked away sheepishly. She smiled softly to herself, wondering if that's how obvious she had been with Spencer all those years ago. "It's not going to last. He's drawn to you, like magnets. It'll be awkward in the beginning but once you get over that... Pen it'll be everything you want. I fully believe it."

Penelope did not look convinced and instead frowned, not wanting to look anywhere near Luke's vicinity. "I don't know..."

"In the time we've been talking he's looked at you, blushed, smiled then looked away about fifteen times. He's infatuated with you. It might just take him a second to realise it."

"I hope you're right, you know."

She smiled, glad that something had finally worked to convince her. All Clara wanted was for her friend to be happy and she saw that with Luke, she saw them getting married and already knew what her speech would be. "When have I ever been wrong?"