Spencer rushes into the hospital with Clara in his arms, the girl still asleep. JJ stands up when she sees him.
"She's in surgery. There's no word." JJ informs.
"This is crazy." Spencer says, rubbing his daughter's back.
"What do we know?" Rossi asks as he and Emily walk over.
"Police think it was a botched robbery." Hotch says.
"Where's Morgan?" Emily asks.
"He's not answering his cell." JJ says.
"I'll call him again." Spencer says, walking a bit away.
~ ~ ~
"They can't give me an update." JJ says, walking over.
"Morgan's phone just keeps going straight to voicemail." Spencer says, pocketing his phone.
"Where the hell is he?" Emily questions.
~ ~ ~
They're all still waiting on any news, silence filling the area. Spencer has Clara curled up in his lap, her head resting against his chest as she soundly sleeps. He continues to stroke her arm and back, calming himself down.
~ ~ ~
Derek walks over and everybody but Spencer gets up, the man not wanting to disrupt his daughter.
"She's been in surgery a couple hours." JJ tells him.
"I was at church, my phone was off." Derek says.
"There's nothing you could have been doing here." Spencer says.
"The police got any leads?" Derek asks.
"I spoke to the lead detective. He doesn't think we'll get anything from the scene." Hotch says.
"Penelope Garcia?" A nurse walks out.
"Yes." Hotch says.
"Yes." Emily echoes.
Spencer stands up, carefully moving Clara around in his hold so her head rests on his shoulder. The girl moves around a little, though stays asleep.
"The bullet went in her chest and ricocheted into her abdomen. She lost a lot of blood. It was touch and go for a while, but we were able to repair the injuries." He explains.
"So what are you saying?" JJ asks.
"One centimeter over and it would have torn right through her heart. Instead, she could actually walk out of here in a couple of days, and I'd say that's a minor miracle. She needs her rest. You can see her in the morning." He walks off.
"Thank you." JJ tells him.
"David and I will go to the scene. I think the rest of you should be here when she wakes up." Hotch says. "I don't care about protocol, I don't care whether we're working this officially or not. We don't touch any new cases until we find out who did this.
+++
"You can't hug her too tightly. She has an injury on her tummy." Spencer instructs his daughter as he leads her through the hospital.
"No hug?" Clara frowns.
"You can hug, but just lightly. No bear hugs." Spencer says.
"Okay." She sighs.
"Trust me, she'll love to see you." Spencer says. He knocks on the open door, leading the girl in.
"Ah! My favorite munchkin!" Penelope manages to grin at the girl who grins back. "Oh, you are the best visitor."
YOU ARE READING
never grow up, criminal minds
Fanfiction[ criminal minds -- seasons 1-15 ] Clara Reid Stand Alone: Never Grow Up I DO NOT own Criminal Minds, any of the show's characters or storylines. I ONLY own my OCs and their storylines.
