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Chapter Ten: Can You Hear Me?
Harper sat in the waiting room, tapping her foot against the floor. Why did they make hospitals so bright, she wondered. She felt like she was the one in an X-ray machine, every muscle and bone on show.
She tapped her foot faster.
Kate, JJ and Garcia approached her, which did nothing to calm her nerves. She tapped her foot even faster, not making eye contact as they sat in the chairs beside her.
"Spence would've read like two books now, or three," JJ said lightly, causing Kate and Garcia to laugh humourlessly, nodding.
Harper couldn't help feeling annoyed. How were they acting casual? She knew they were likely more used to situations like these, but it made her feel a little incompetent. She could barely breathe and was focusing all her attention on not throwing up her lunch, while they attempted to make jokes.
She tried to swallow the feeling, but it clawed at her throat, turning her stomach. The louder they got, the more the fluorescent lights felt like needles under her skin. Her foot kept tapping as if on its own, each beat louder in her ears, isolating her in her own dread.
They seemed to notice her silence and loud foot-tapping.
"Hey, he's gonna be okay," Kate said soothingly, rubbing her shoulder. Harper didn't respond.
JJ had a strange look on her face as she watched her, hesitating before offering, "You know, he wants kids."
Harper looked up in surprise. What relevance could that possibly have to her, especially right now? She couldn't fathom why JJ would tell her that.
The thought of Spencer having kids began to race around her mind, and for a moment, it softened her anxieties. He would be a really great dad, Harper thought. She almost laughed to herself at the thought of Spencer with a daughter, trying to get through her first period by dropping random menstrual facts on her.
A doctor came out to notify the others that Morgan was ready for visitors. They stood, patting Harper and promising to return. She barely noticed.
Her fingers were digging so hard into her palms they had started to leave half-crescent bruises.
She didn't stop tapping her foot until a familiar face came out of the swinging surgeon's doors, and Harper stood instantly.
"How is he?"
"Incredibly lucky. Two millimetres to the right and the bullet would've torn through the carotid artery. You can see him now."
She nodded, frantically typing Garcia's number into her phone and grabbing her bag.
Garcia was putting Sherlock Holmes figurines on the table in the hospital. Harper just watched Spencer, not speaking.
He rolled his head to look at her, smiling softly.
