REID THIS :) Haha, get it? …I'm sorry you had to witness that…
Things were ordinary. Penelope, Andrew and Bella drove home, not talking much as everyone was tired beyond belief. When they arrive, Penelope showed Bella their room. It was purple. The walls were covered with all kinds of picture, plates, and trinkets. There was a big desk with two chairs and two twin beds. Andrew had been there before, so the desk had some of his school supplies on it and his bed had a couple extra pillows. Everyone took showers and the kids got ready for bed. Just as it was about time for the teens to crash, Penelope walked in for goodnights. She opened the door and there was Andrew and Bella, sitting on Andrew's bed surrounded by papers.
"What are you up to, my minions?" Asked Penelope, walking in.
"I'm checking all her homework!" Andrew said, quickly scanning a page before dropping it onto a stack to his left.
"Checking it?" Penelope questioned, smirking.
"Yeah, I did the work, but he's reviewing it to make sure I made no mistakes." Bella explained, smiling.
"Ahhh." Penelope said, nodding and sitting down on the edge of Andrew's bed. "I'm glad to see you two getting along again."
"Yeah." Bella said, sharing a smirk with Andrew. "I was being stupid."
"Yeah, you were." Andrew joked, earning a punch in the shoulder. "I'm joking. I'm joking. We were both wrong."
"Well, it's very mature of you two to decide that." Penelope praised.
"Mature enough to…I don't know…go with the team on a case next time?" Andrew asked, in a failed attempt to be casual.
Bella shot him a look. "Subtle."
He stuck out his tongue at Bella like he was five. Bella rolled her eyes. "Haven't seen that since preschool." She commented.
Andrew opened his mouth to respond, but Penelope cut him off before they broke into one of their bicker-fights that happened every five to seven minutes.
"Wait, what's this about you two on cases?" Garcia asked.
"Well, Andrew and I were talking, and since we both wan to work for the BAU one day, we thought it would be beneficial if we occasionally went with Morgan and Reid on cases." Bella stated as she put all the papers in a folder, which she then placed on the side table.
When she got no response, Andrew stepped in. "Think of all the opportunity! It would be a great experience for us."
"If by 'experience' you mean 'disturbance' then I totally understand. If not, then I just don't understand why anyone would willingly want to see any of that. Especially at such a young age." Penelope said, her voice monotone, remembering the time she accompanied the team on a case in Alaska. It had scarred her for life and given her nightmares.
When she got no response, she softened. "Look kiddies, I love that you guys want to grow up and fight the bad guys. It's great! Really, it is. But if you guys throw yourself into that world at such a young age it will disturb you. I promise. It disturbs me and I'm way older. And Reid. And Prentiss. And Jayje. And Morgan. And Rossi. Heck, it even disturbs Hotch, who is pretty much most intimidating guy on Earth. Now, I know you want to get started on your BAU career right now, but it's a long way away. So promise me that you'll be just teenagers for now. Enjoy it. Because once you're an adult, there's no going back. This is the best time of your lives. Utilize it." She explained. "Do you promise?"
The two looked at each other. "Yeah, we promise." They agreed.
"Fantastic." Penelope said, standing up. "Now. How 'bout you guys get your rumps back in your own beds and get some rest."
Bella laughed. She got off Andrew's bed and began climbing into her own, as Andrew settled into his bed.
"Whoa now, little squeakers. Isn't there something you're both forgetting?" She accused, pouting. The two teens remained silent and confused, so Garcia gave them a hint. "Why is Auntie Penelope getting no love?"
"Ohh." The both said, laughing. Andrew climbed out of his bed and kissed Penelope's cheek. "Good night, Pen."
"Goodnight, my prince." She replied, smiling.
Bella walked up and threw her arms around Penelope. "G'night, Auntie Pen."
"Good night, my sweet angel." Garcia responded, releasing the young girl to her bed.
"See you tomorrow. I'll be up late working if you need anything. I love you both!" She added, as she walked out of the room, flipping off the light.
Bella rolled over on to her back and immediately giggled. The word HELLO was spelled out on the roof in glow stars.
"What?" Andrew asked.
"Nothing, it's just…hello." Bella whispered, pointing to the ceiling even though it was too dark for him even to see.
"Oh, and I'M the immature one." Andrew responded, dubiously.
"Yes, because you never let anything go!" Bella replied, before letting out a little yawn. "I'm sleepy."
"That makes two of us. It's been a long day." Andrew said, yawning himself and completely forgetting their little maturity fight. "Night, Bells."
"Night, Dork." Bella called back, smirk.
Andrew groaned, but found himself smiling.
-:-
About the same time, the team sat on the plane, wrapping up brainstorming about the case with Garcia on video chat.
"Okay, Garcia, get some sleep now. We'll call you in the morning." Hotch said, reaching out to shut off the computer.
"Wait!" Morgan cried, causing Hotch to freeze with his hand over the laptop. "I wanted to check on Bella. She alright?"
Hotch nodded and looked back at Penelope. Just as Penelope opened her mouth to respond, Reid cut in. "And Andrew."
Penelope nodded. "Well, we got home, they got all ready for bed and then Andrew checked over Bella's homework. Just as they were finishing up, I went to check on them and I found out something rather interesting…"
"What?" Hotch said eagerly, causing Garcia to chuckle. He was very fond of the children and occasionally he would blurt out a little remark that would expose just how much he cared. Penelope thought it was adorable to see the most soft, caring side of Hotch.
"Did you know that they want to work for the Bureau? They're pretty serious. And they want to go on cases with you guys! They think it's a "good experience"." Garcia explained.
"What?" Reid asked. This was news to him.
Morgan sighed. "Bella has always to have my job. Of course, at first she thought we were some clan of super heroes…I always figured when she got older, she'd understand what I really did and she'd want nothing to do with it. Man, I was wrong. She's been asking about cases since the day we got here. I've always said no, of course."
Reid nodded. "She must've passed it on to Andrew."
"That's exactly what happened, my genius. And the two of them were convinced they should go, but I kind of went off on them…" Garcia admitted.
"You yelled at them?" Hotch asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not yelled, per say. Just lectured. You know, told them about to enjoy their young minds and lives before poisoning it with all of the horrible images that this job plants into your head. That seemed to get to them a little, but those two are so stubborn sometimes, you'd never know if what your saying is actually being processed or not." She explained, to the whole team, who had gained interest in the matter and were listening intently.
"I bet it did. Thanks, Pen." Morgan said, sighing. "I probably couldn't have explained that so well to them. They listen so well to you."
"Yeah, you probably would've yelled, which is actually the least affective way to get a point across, especially toddlers and adolescents." Reid agreed, looking at Morgan innocently.
"Yeah, and who asked you, kid?" Derek asked, shoving Reid's shoulder.
"Ow!" Reid exclaimed.
"Stop fighting, children." Rossi demanded, sarcastically.
"Speaking of, where are the children now?" Hotch questioned.
"Their bedroom. I heard them talking, but that was like an hour ago. It's silent now though, so they're asleep." Penelope announced proudly. Getting two teenagers to bed on time isn't always easy.
"Good." Reid said. Morgan nodded.
"That all?" Hotch asked.
"Yes, sir!" Penelope responded.
"Then I'll talk to you tomorrow, Penelope. See you."
"Bye." She said, before her image went black.
Morgan rubbed his head, inwardly worried about Bella and her goal about being in the BAU. Sitting down next to Prentiss and across from Hotch, he reached into his bag for his iPod. Laid on top of all his belongings was an envelope with Derek written on it in red. He immediately remembered Bella handing him the letter. Snatching it up, he carefully ripped it open, hoping its contents would make his worrying stop. Inside was a letter written in red ink.
Hi Derek!
It's Bella! Well, you know that because I handed this to you, but still. Anyways, I wrote this letter to let you know that I miss you. Every second of everyday. Really :) Just like I did when I was back in Chicago. But now, I know you're coming back really soon. Right? Also, this letter is to remind you to BE SAFE. Do what's necessary to catch the UnSub, but I swear if I find out you did something reckless…you don't even want to know what I'll do to you! And don't think that I won't check. I will totally ask Aaron. But really, you are the favorite, most important person in my entire world and I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt. So be careful. And this doesn't just go for you. For Reid and Prentiss and Jayje and Dave and Aaron, too. I don't want to find out ANY of you did ANYTHING reckless or stupid. Ha, I sound like Grandma Fran…But in all seriousness, DON'T BE STUPID. And last, this letter is to tell you to stop worrying about me. And Andrew. I know you, you'll worry for no reason. Trust me, we're just at home. We'll be fine. You left us in the most pristine care in all of Virginia. Just focus on the case, so you can get home soon. Okay? Thank you.
I love you to the moon and back,
Isabella Ashley Morgan :)
Morgan chuckled, feeling better immediately. He laid the letter down on the table in front of him.
"A letter?" Hotch asked softly.
"From Bella." Morgan specified, pushing it towards him to read. "She knows me so well. I don't know how she does it."
"Well, you're practically her father. Shouldn't she know you well?" Emily pointed out.
Morgan froze at the word 'father'. "I've never really thought about it like that…I guess I am kinda like her father, huh?"
"Well, yeah. She lives with you, loves you, and fights with you yet respects your opinion above anyone else's in this world. She wants to be just like you and heck, she even looks like you! You sound like a father to me." Emily said, smiling.
"Yeah, I guess I am…." Morgan responded, grin spreading across his face. "But still, should she be able to…predict my emotions like that?"
Hotch put down the letter. "Maybe she's a better profiler than you expect. And that letter is very kind. Bella is a good kid."
"Let me see!" Emily exclaimed, picking up the letter and scanning it.
"Come on, Hotch. She's fifteen. She can't be coming on cases." Morgan replied.
"Oh, I know. I'm just saying that in that letter, she profiled you and was right. While now may not be the time, maybe a job here in 10 to 15 years would be a good thing, in the long run." Hotch stated, taking a big sip of his water bottle.
Morgan just stared, processing the thought until Emily spoke up.
"Aw, this letter is adorable!" She cried. "You're so lucky. I want to have kid."
Hotch suddenly choked on his water. Emily froze and flushed bright red.
"Whoa! You okay, man?" Morgan replied, shocked.
After a few more seconds of coughing and sputtering, Hotch stopped. "Just fine." He replied, panting. He looked up at Emily who was looking out the window.
Morgan just looked between the two of them, confused, when suddenly JJ, who was sitting with Spencer on the seats opposite them, started cracking up.
Emily's head whipped around, shooting JJ the most obvious glare ever given.
"What's the matter, Emily?" JJ asked between laughs.
Emily just grumbled and said she was tired, pointedly not making eye contact with anybody. Everyone was smirking, except Hotch.
"Maybe we should all get some rest." Hotch suggested. "Lots to do tomorrow."
"I figured you'd mention that." Morgan replied before placing his headphones in his ears, leaning back and closing his eyes.
Everyone began to settle down, except JJ and Spencer who decided to finish their game on Gin before heading to sleep. They remained silent for a couple of minutes, but as soon as Spencer was sure no one would hear, he leaned close to JJ.
"I didn't get it." He whispered, embarrassed. "What was so funny?"
JJ just shook her head, holding back more laughter.
Terribly boring chapter. I apologize. But more almost immediately as the next chapter was originally part of this one, but it was way long so I split it into two. So, the other one is completely done. Faster you review, fast I update (: