𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟎𝟖

𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗸'𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

     "𝐍𝐨𝐚𝐡, you have to get up," Derek says as he stands at the end of her bed.

"Derek—"

"No, we do this every day," he interrupts her. "You say my name, roll your eyes, tell me you're tired, argue that I'm pushing you too much. All I'm asking is that you get up and eat something."

"I am tired and I'm not hungry."

"That's impossible," he objects.

"Well, when you spend all day thinking about your dead mother, you don't really have much of an appetite."

"You need to take better care of yourself. And if you won't, then I'm gonna keep forcing it on you. But at some point, that's gonna stop working too," he sighs, thinking out loud. "I think we should take you to get help—"

"I don't need help," she interjects and sits up. She eyes him with annoyance before slowly standing up, wobbling a bit as she does so. "Is this what you want?"

Derek watches her hold her arms out to put herself on display. He dissects her messy hair, tired eyes, and disheveled clothes that barely hang onto her decaying frame. She's falling apart, completely unwinding, and he's not blind to it.

"You want to see me stand up? See me at my worst? Is this what you wanna see? Well, here it is, here's me at my worst, losing myself—"

"You're distancing yourself," he mutters. "No one can get a hold of you, not even when they're in the same room and talking directly at you. You need to talk to Dr. Stephenson, you need to get some fresh air—"

"I will!"

"When, Noah?"

"Tomorrow," she replies. "I told Hotch I'd go on a run with him."

"You've barely stood up in the past week, how are you gonna go on a run?"

"I'll tough it out," she says as she rolls her eyes.

"Noah, you can't tough it out. All you talk about is how you hate having to get up—"

"I hate a lot of things," she cuts him off with a shrug. "I hate that I have to live without my mom, but I do that, don't I?"

"Don't start with me," he says as he looks around. "And you really need to clean up this room."

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺

Noah walks out of her bedroom and toward the front door. She knocks and waits to hear one back. This is how she knows that the agent outside is who they are supposed to be. When she hears the three knocks back, she unlocks the door and opens it.

"Consulting with Deer," the agent says to his earpiece as he steps inside and closes the door behind him. "What's up?"

"I hate that code name," Noah tells him.

"I hate standing outside your door all day long," he replies.

Noah rolls her eyes and looks back up at him. "I need to go to the park. I'm supposed to go on a run with Agent Hotchner."

The man looks down at her workout outfit and running shoes. "There was no call for that," he says as he crosses his arms across his chest.

"Can you just take me to the park?"

"Will there be someone else at the park?"

"Yeah," she nods with a sarcastic smile. "Although, you won't really be able to see them."