AN: I promise, one of these days, I will in fact manage to update more than once a week :)
Penelope wasn't entirely sure what to make of today. It had started already rather weird and was progressing so far even worse. What a crappy birthday. And somehow Penelope had a feeling this wouldn't change anytime soon. Right now she felt like crying. This just wasn't real. This was her birthday. It was supposed to be a day of laughter and fun and seeing her friends and just having a really good, great day.
Not even halfway through her day she was already brought in for questioning, a suspect of s murder investigation of her dead ex-boyfriend and now as well locked up. This was not going any which way she had expected and hoped for.
She should have known when he asked for her shoe size and the likes that this surely wasn't the best of signs, but she also knew the more she co-operated the better it would be for her. She didn't do anything after all. And weren't the good guys always cleared in the end? Well, maybe on TV but, as her handsome detective had mentioned earlier, this wasn't a TV show. This was real life. And she was locked up behind cell bars for real.
When he told her she needed to spent the night locked up, she was at first not very surprised. For whatever reason she already had expected the worst that could happen. But when he guided her back here and she saw the cells up close and personal and it sunk in she really would be spending her birthday in one of these, a whole different feeling sat in.
Sadness was probably not even close to describe what she was feeling when she slowly walked into a cell and looked around. She didn't know what to expect of a cell, she surely had seen the TV cell a few times in TV, but standing in one, looking at the few things that were in there, she was lost for words. This was probably the worst birthday she ever had. And it wasn't even over yet.
"It's not very comfy, is it?" she asked, a crocked smile on her lips.
"Darling, they aren't supposed to be the Hilton," she heard the detective said, closing the door behind her and locking it. "And it is just for a night – at least for now."
She really hoped this was only for a night. She wasn't sure whether she could survive a second night in here.
A bit lost she looked around her cell, as if hoping something would change the longer she looked. But nothing changed. Finally she decided on sitting down on her bed, which was made of only a cushion. There were no sheets, or even a blanket. Feeling like crying just that moment, Penelope decided she would be strong. She needed to be. Yes, this was bad but, maybe if she was lucky, in a few hours this would all be cleared up. In shows like CSI and the likes they always caught the killer over the course of a few hours, before the night was over. But then again, it was once again a TV show. She would probably end up rotting in this cell.
"Somehow I imagined my birthday slightly different," she final said. For a moment he looked surprised, as if he had forgotten. And she couldn't blame him. He had probably more pressing issues going on that remembering his prime suspect's special day.
"For what it's worth," she all of a sudden heard his voice, which made her look up. The floor of her tiny cell wasn't that interesting after all. "Happy Birthday," he continued and …. Was that a wink? A moment later he left her alone and Penelope decided she could as well start crying now. At least she wouldn't have an audience.
She remembered her best friend, and the annual surprise party, wondering how she was supposed to let JJ know that this probably needed to be postponed. And maybe she might need a lawyer after all. She was innocent, but her knowing that wasn't going to help. She needed them to know as well. And maybe the handsome detective going through her apartment would lead to something that caused her early release. But just maybe.
