Sorry for the first upload! I use the copy and past method from word and forget to clear the format! Anyways enjoy!
Elizabeth stopped consoling Mrs. Copeland for a minute before Mrs. Copeland bolted to the entrance when she heard her ex-husband's voice. Now, Elizabeth sat down with Agent Greenaway in the dining room, as Mr. and Mrs. Copeland argued in the doorway.
"I've been calling you all night!"
"I'm sorry Marilyn, I turned my phone off." Elizabeth was hit with the smell of gasoline and grass from Mr. Copeland's voice.
"How could you turn your phone off!? What if Billie got sick or –" Mrs. Copeland held her hand over her mouth, in disgust or anger Elizabeth couldn't tell. "We needed you."
"I said I was sorry." Mr. Copeland reached for her, but Mrs. Copeland brushed his arm off and stormed away. Elizabeth felt the awkwardness of the situation seep into the air. She wasn't entirely sure why she was still there, she didn't feel like she should leave yet, but she wasn't entirely sure what she could do while she was here. So, she made the quick choice to follow Mrs. Copeland leaving the Agents to the interrogation. She found her sitting down at the kitchen table, silently crying. Elizabeth approached, pulling out a chair, she placed her hand on Mrs. Copeland's arm, gently squeezing. Mrs. Copeland turned to her. They sat there for a moment in silence as Mrs. Copeland calmed down.
"Dr. Stocker, thank you." Mrs. Copeland's hand grasped hers. "No one else, no neighbors or other moms came over. only you, thank you."
"I was in the area when I heard the news, that's all, and its okay of your call me Ms." She said with a smile. She nodded in return.
"Do you think they'll find her?" Mrs. Copeland asked, with a certain calmness that Elizabeth hadn't seen from her all evening. When she looked at her hand though, it trembled as she sipped her tea.
"This may come as a surprised, but I know this team, I'm friends with one of them, and he's the smartest man I have ever meet, and this team, from what he's told me, they won't rest until they find her." She answered her with a certainty that surprised even herself. It seemed to help Mrs. Copeland though, as her hand stopped shaking, and while her other still gripped her hand tightly. She had just given her hope. Is this what Spencer helped to do every time he went out on a case? Bringing hope to those who have doubts? It sounded cliché, but she understood a bit more about why he took a job that had him having to think like the worst of humanity. She sat with , in the next room she heard Mr. Copeland break down crying, begging for someone to find his daughter. She heard Gideon make a call and then leave. Eventually Mr. Copeland came in along with Agent Greenaway. Giving up her seat to Mr. Copeland, she let them be with each other for a bit.
She went over and stood in the entrance way by Agent Greenaway. Giving the divorced couple some room to feed of off the others' hope and chase away their worries.
"So, you're a doctor? You pretty young to have gone through med school." Greenaway mentioned casually, trying to find something to talk about.
"Not that kind of Doctor, just 2 PhDs and a couple other degrees," she smiled. They stood there, awkward silence filling the air as Elizabeth grasped for something to talk about. She wanted Spencer's team to like her, they were his friends too. Wait, maybe she could make conversation with that? Man, why was it this hard to make conversation? It is never like this with Spencer.
"Actually, I kinda already know you, and the team, I'm friends with one of you coworkers, Dr. Reid?"
Agent Greenaway looked like if she had been drinking, she would've just spewed it all out.
"I'm sorry, but are you sure your thinking of the right person?"
"Yeah, Spencer talks about you guys all the time.
"Spencer?"
"Yeah, he loves working with you guys, says you're the first group who's not judged him on his age, other than the occasional prank."
"How did you guys meet? You're just substitute teacher in Delaware." Greenaway turned to look at her puzzled, though it sounded a bit accusatory, Elizabeth could tell Greenaway was just shocked still.
"Yeah, I like to move around, I have problem with getting bored easy, I don't really like permanent jobs, it gets too boring, but I have an apartment in DC and do a lot of work in that area." Elizabeth replied
"He's doing fine, I'm sorry, what's your name again?"
"Dr. Stocker, Elizabeth Stocker." She turned, smile on her face, and held out her hand to the female agent. "Nice to finally be able to meet you Agent Greenaway." The agent returned her smile, reaching out to shake her hand.
"Nice to meet you too, Dr. Stocker. If you don't mind me asking, are you like Reid?"
"Like Reid how?"
"You know, child prodigy, read super-fast, high IQ, eidetic memory."
"Oh no, well, I guess I was a child prodigy in that I graduated high school when I was 13, but I don't have the level of his ability to memorize, although I have my own tricks." Her smiled widened
"So far, in terms of reading I'm beating him 3-2, although he says I cheat." She stared off, remembering her victories, the adorable look on Spencer's face when she did.
"Um… Dr. Stocker?" Agent Greenaway interrupted her flashback
"Oh right sorry Agent! Where was I?" Elizabeth snapped back, a blush quickly spreading on her checks.
"You beat Reid in reading?"
"Yep! I'm a bit slower than him, but I can make up for it." Lowering her voice, she whispered her secret to Agent Greenaway, a tongue touched smile appeared on her face.
"If you haven't notice, he's very easily distracted, when the right subject is brought up." Agent Greenaway stared at this young woman, who just so happened to be best friends with one of her coworkers, a friend who she though had so much difficulty socializing he couldn't make friends outside of people who were required to always be around him.
"huh, never thought Reid could socialize outside work." Greenaway said, mostly to herself, not really realizing she said it out loud.
"Yeah, his is awkward, I'm a bit awkward sometimes, but I got lucky, I had siblings, he hardly ever got to hang out with kids his age, makes a difference you know?" Elizabeth kept her lighten hardened tone, but Agent Greenaway was trained to watch people's body language, she noticed Elizabeth's posture straightened, smile tighten, and eyes on guard. She thought she was attacking her friend. Before she could correct the young women's assumption, Greenaway's phone rang. Looking down, she read Gideon's number.
"Oh sorry got to take this." Backing away from Elizabeth, Greenaway turned around. Elizabeth turned her attention back to the Copeland's. They seemed better. They could resonate and understand each other's pain and worries in a way Elizabeth recognized she couldn't and wouldn't be able to unless she had a child. Greenaway came back.
"I have to go down to the station, we have a profile to deliver, look, I wouldn't ask this if I felt that they wouldn't do something…" As she gestures to the Copeland's "extreme. Do you think you would be willing to stay here and watch them?" Greenaway asked, fiddling with her mobile.
"Sure." Elizabeth replied. And immediately regretted it. She felt awkward and intrusive here, but before she could say anything, Greenaway was out the door, with an echoing quick thank you, leaving her to watch as two acquaintances as they deal with the unknown fate of their daughter.
Turns out, the parents really just needed a shoulder to cry on and with each other now here, Elizabeth went about making sure tea was available and with 's permission made some snack as she imagined both parents did not feel like eating a full meal right now, but probably also haven't been eating due to the stress and worry. After that was all taken care of, she just sat in the next room, trying to give them space but also bored out of her mind. The only thing of note was the disappearance of police on the street. Luckily, agent Greenaway returned shortly after she started counting the threads in the carpet. The smell of mango ocean and coconut was soothing and washed over her as she answered the door.
"Hey, how are they doing?"
"Fine as any parents who are missing their child." Opening the door to let Greenaway in, she only got a grim nod in response to her statement as she came in.
"So, how the search going, got a profile?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yeah, now I have to inform the Copeland's" she sighed " I hate these types of cases." Greenaway looks haggard and Elizabeth felt like she was seeing the real person who does all this heroic work at the cost of many sleepless nights, she gets why Reid admires his coworkers.
"Your telling me, I work with children half the time, these type of thing are.."
"Evil." Greenaway ends her sentence for her.
"I guess that's a way to put it."
"Yeah, the job never ends, but what job truly does?" Greenaway seems to get a second wind for that statement as she stands straighter and stronger."Alright enough stalling, let's talk to mom and dad." She said with a strained smile as she entered the next room. As soon as they entered they were meet with shakily taking his meds out as well as accusations.
"You took all the police off the street?" Mrs. Copeland entered back into the room with a glass of water.
"We believe your daughter was abducted by someone in the area and that she's probably still nearby."
"Then shouldn't you be flooding the area with cops, knocking on doors?"
"It's not that simple."
"Yes, it is" Elizabeth couldn't believe how rude Mr. Copeland was being. Phycology, the human mind, simple? Who thought that? She was about to do some explaining, but Mrs. Copeland interrupted;
"Your taking the meds again." Disregarding his ex-wife's comment continued to be rather a rudely lively of skeptical to Agent Greenaway and how she does her job.
"Look…what exactly are you people doing to help get my daughter back?" If was not currently grieving about his missing child as well as the fact that he clearly has cancer, judging by the type of medicine he was taking, She would have schooled him. But he was, so Elizabeth maintained silence as Agent Greenaway handled Mr. Copeland as civilly as possible.
"You're sick again, aren't you?" The question was not really a question, even Mrs. Copeland knew it.
"We want you to meet with the press, both of you." She winced, maybe Agent Greenaway could have explained the situation a bit better to the parents because a press conferences sounds weak, even to her who knows a bit of this stuff through her studies in child psychology and contact with Spencer.
"Press conference. That's what you have? You just said you're already taking the press that's running off the air"
"I know. But this will be different. Trust us, Mr. Copeland." Before Mr. Copeland could reply with another snark comment the doorbell rang, Elizabeth made a move to the door, but Mr. Copeland beat her saying,
"I'll get it." She figured he probably wanted to avoid his ex-wife's prying questions for a bit longer, so she let him go. "Just tell Marilyn what you need us to do." He said as he walked away.
"That was his second remission."
"I'm sorry."
"Billie won't even talk to me anymore. How am I gonna tell her that her father's sick again?"
"One thing at a time, . Once we find your daughter, you'll figure it out" Now that was some sound advice Elizabeth thought before she heard the sound of yelling coming from outside. Turning to peek out the window, Elizabeth noticed a woman handing a piece a paper to . A solicitor? Why would they come to this house of all time? Going out to the door she hears the woman say,
"Mr. Copeland, I'm Helen Godfrey from a few blocks away" The woman's voice triggered the weirdest smell mix of ginger and peanut butter, not disgusting smelling but defiantly strange and overpowering." I have printout on all the sex offenders in the area. I think if you just look at any of these..." Oh no. Running to the door she sees Mr. Copeland run and hop into his truck.
" ! Please stop!" Running outside, there is no response from the distraught father, only a man that wishes to protect his daughter and now has a target for all his anger. Turning to the woman, Elizabeth is surprise by the amount of anger coursing through her. The smell of tapioca and fish offend her senses as tire squeak. She hears Agent Greenaway run out also yelling for Copeland to stop. The woman names Mrs. Godfrey meets Elizabeth's glare with smug pride of someone who thinks they did the right thing.
"There are sex offenders in the area. I thought he should know."
Agent Greenaway responses with just "Stupid." And flips her phone to inform her coworkers. However, Elizabeth responds much more furiously
"And why do you think he should know this information right now? So, he can possible go kill a person that may or may not be innocent?"
"They are sex offenders..."
"Look here, there are a lot of ways to get on that list, and many of them have nothing to do with Children!" And with that Elizabeth marched back into the house with all the self-control she had. Glad that the children she works with aren't arrogant as adults. She can't imagine how draining it would be with people like .
"Come on." Greenaway said, "We got to head to the station now." Sighing Elizabeth nodded, as they both went to tell what happen. Elizabeth only hoped that Spencer wasn't planning on doing any tackling and that his other coworkers would be able to get to Mr. Copeland in time.
Thank you for your patience! Another chapter should be coming shortly hopefully XD