So this is a one-shot on how I imagined Rachel Morgan finding out about the death of her husband. Hope you enjoy it. :)

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Ally Carter. No copyright infringement is intended.

Waiting for Daddy

I was staring at the phone. Waiting for him to call. Waiting for him to tell me he was on his way home. To tell me that he'd see me in a couple of hours. But the phone didn't ring.

This wasn't the end of the world though. There was a chance that nothing had happened. It was fairly common for spies to have problems communicating while on a mission. It wasn't unheard of for a operative to miss a call-in or two. But Matthew was one of the CIA's best operatives. As was Matthew's field partner and best friend, Joe Solomon. Their operations were always quick and clean, in-and-out. Apparently not this time.

I was startled out of my misery when my 12-year-old daughter, Cammie, walked into the room. I quickly wiped my eyes dry of the tears I hadn't realized were falling and forced a smile for my daughter.

"Mom, wasn't Dad supposed to be home 2 days ago?"

"Yes," I responded, my voice barely above a whisper. Cammie's face, at first curious, turned to confusion and then finally understanding and sadness. "But you don't have to worry, Cam, these type of communication issues are very common during operations. Come on," I continued, grabbing one of her arms and pulling her into the kitchen, "You hungry?"

"Not for your cooking," she responded, her eyes amused. I forced a smile for her benefit and took out my cell phone to order a pizza. I didn't want to risk tying up the house phone line and missing a call from Matt or Joe.

Cammie turned on the TV and sat down on the couch to watch. I sat down next to her and stared at the TV, not absorbing anything. My mind was a million miles away.

There was a buzz from the front door of our appartement and I jumped, running to the door. I flung it open expecting to see Matthew standing there, arms open wide waiting for me. Instead what I saw was the pizza delivery guy. I quickly regained my composure and paid him before sitting with Cammie in front of the TV to eat.

By the time we were done eatingit was very late and I sent Cammie to bed. I decided to lie down for awhile as well and rest my eyes, I knew there was no way I'd be able to sleep. Just as I was closing my eyes, the apartment started buzzing. I jumped out of bed and ran towards the door. Flinging it open I cried "Matt" froze quickly once I realized who was standing there. Joe Solomon…alone. "Oh no…" I said, my legs giving out. I couldn't form coherent thoughts. Why was this happening to me? To Cammie? This was going to kill Daddy's little girl.

"Rachel," Joe said, " Rachel you need to get up." I tried but I couldn't, I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. Suddenly my life had taken a dream like quality where I was no longer sure what was real and what was not.

I sensed Joe picking me up and I lay limp in his arms, not feeling anything. He set me down gently on the bed and then everything went black.

The next morning I woke up with my body stiff as if I hadn't moved in years. I dragged myself out of bed and found Cammie already awake in the kitchen and Joe gone. I looked at my daughter, at her sweet face, and thought about how our lives were about to change.

I decided right then and there that I needed to go home. Gallagher Academy. It had been my true home since I walked into it for the first time many years ago. It was the one place in the world I felt absolutely safe, somewhere I didn't have to hide anything about myself, and somewhere I wanted my daughter to grow up. Sure, it's not the most normal way for a kid to grow up…but it's definitely the right way.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought!