Hey guys! Read this chapter and tell me what you think! I'm not sure if I want to continue this story, because I'm not sure if people like it. I don't want to keep writing if no one is reading it, haha. So, review or PM or something to tell me if I should quit or keep going. Thanks :]
Derek walked down the hall of the BAU, fresh cup of coffee in his hand. He sat down, waiting for Bella and Andrew to bust through the glass doors and tell him about their day, when he noticed that the bullpen was rather quiet. None of the team was at their desks, but rather crowded around the conference room door. Morgan set down his coffee and went to investigate.
"Well, actually, sound doesn't travel through wood that well. It would be much more effective if-" Reid was saying to everyone crowded around the door.
"Reid." Rossi cut him off.
"Shut up!" Prentiss and Penelope whispered, pressing their ears to the door.
Morgan walked up and tapped Prentiss's shoulder. "What's going on?"
"Andrew is asking Bella to the dance." Prentiss whispered excitedly.
Morgan's eyes widened. "What? Now? I thought it was later!"
"No, it's now! Now quiet! Is he saying anything yet?" Emily questioned the group eagerly.
"Does Hotch know you guys are doing this?" Morgan asked Penelope quietly.
"Boss man seems to have gotten pretty close with our little teen duo." She explained.
She giggled and moved aside revealing Hotch pressed to the door next to Reid. His eyes were scrunched up in determination as he struggled to hear.
Morgan smiled and shook his head. Then Hotch whispered. "He just asked her. She hasn't said anything."
Morgan, suddenly intrigued, pushed through the crowd and pressed his ear to the door.
-:-
Bella stood frozen as Andrew reached behind his back and pulled out 5 other yellow roses. He walked forward and handed them to her. She saw his cheeks were pink.
He looked up. "It's alright if you don't want to go with me. I mean, I'm sure other guys asked you and you'd much r-rather go…"
"No!" Bella exclaimed. Realizing she yelled, she looked down and blushed. "Um, I mean, yes, other people asked me, but I'd much rather go with you.
-:-
"Whoa!" Morgan exclaimed softly on the other side of the door. "Hold up. Did she just scream no?"
Reid sighed, "I think she did."
"She screamed no?" Penelope clarified.
Hotch nodded. "I can't hear that well, but she definitely yelled no…"
"Poor Andrew…" Emily whispered. "He was so excited about taking her."
"Shh." Morgan replied. "They're whispering."
-:-
"Really?" Andrew asked softly.
"Well, yeah." Bella said. "You're way better than those other guys anyways."
A grin spread across Andrews face. "You think?"
"Oh, of course. Sure they have 'good hair' and their 'buff' or whatever, but you're funny, and you understand my FBI obsession. And, you're really sweet." She answered, blushing at the last part. She leaned really close to Andrew's face. Now it was his time to blush. "And, um, to tell you the truth…you have pretty good hair yourself." She whispered, ruffling his sandy hair.
Andrew chuckled lightly.
"So…" Bella said.
"Um, I guess we should go out there." Andrew said, gesturing towards the door.
Bella smirked. "I guess we should." She reached for the door handle.
"Wait!" Andrew yelled catching her hand, and pulling her away from the door. He lowered his voice. "Um, just to warn you. I had to have some help form the team to set all this up, so…they know. And I told them not to eavesdrop, but…it's the team, so I'm quite certain they're all outside that door."
-:-
"He just yelled wait." Hotch reported to the team, who were all still crowded around the door.
"Do you think he's trying to convince her? Like, begging?" JJ asked.
"He wouldn't...would he?" Morgan asked, turning to Reid.
"Um, I'm not sure…" Spencer replied, sounding worried.
"Teenage boys can be desperate." Rossi pointed out.
-:-
"You're probably right. They can be kinda nosy. I don't want them to be there when we walk out. It'll be…awkward." Bella whispered. "What should we do?"
"Yeah. Um…I know! Just be really loud and announce we're leaving and they'll freak out and scatter. Right?" Andrew replied.
"Perfect. That'll work. Okay…um...you start." Bella whispered back.
"Um…I'm gonna go get some water now!" Andrew yelled.
"I'll be going now, too!" Bella practically screamed, holding back laughter.
-:-
"They're yelling again." Penelope said, sounding upset.
"Yeah, and they're coming out!" Panicked Morgan. "Just…spread out and act natural."
Just as predicted, the team scattered and acted like they hadn't been listening in.
-:-
Bella and Andrew walked towards the door. Bella was about to reach out to grab the handle, again, when she realized that Andrew had never let go of her hand when he first pulled her away from the door. Because of the flowers, both of her hands were full and she couldn't grab the handle. Andrew, also realizing they were holding hands, quickly let go.
"Sorry." He mumbled, blushing and avoiding eye contact.
"S'okay." She replied, doing the same. She reached forward with her now-free hand and opened the door.
-:-
"They're both blushing. And not making eye contact." Emily observed from her desk, where she was pretending to work.
JJ, who was standing next to Reid's empty desk and flipping through random case files, groaned. "That's not a good sign. I think she said no. I wonder what happened."
Derek spun in his chair and watched Bella, who was walking over to their desks. "Well, we'll find out soon."
"Hey guys." Bella greeted softly.
Everyone looked up and feigned surprise. They all greeted her cheerily.
"Where were you?" Emily asked casually.
Bella looked at them accusingly. "Oh, please. Like you don't know."
Emily sighed. "I know." She looked up to where Hotch, Reid, Penelope and Rossi were standing with Andrew, chatting. "Poor kid."
Bella's eyebrows scrunched together. "Poor kid?"
"Yeah." Emily said. "I mean, you know we love you Bella and we respect your decision, but I can't help but feel bad for him."
"What?" Bella asked, sounding hurt.
"Come on, Bells. He has to settle for nothing." Derek said, still thinking Bella had declined Andrew.
Bella's eyes began to water a bit. "Nothing?" She repeated, her voice shaking.
"Bella, why are you upset?" Derek asked, confused.
"Why am I upset? You guys are…maybe I won't go with him if I'm 'nothing'!" She replied angrily.
JJ cocked an eyebrow. "Wait, you said yes?"
"Well, yeah…" Bella replied, her voice softening.
"But you screamed no at him!" Emily countered.
Bella's eyes narrowed. "What? No, I didn't."
"But we heard you!" Morgan replied.
"Well, you must of heard wrong! That's what you get for eavesdropping." Bella scolded.
"Wait, so to clarify, you and Andrew are going together?" JJ asked.
Bella nodded. "Yes!"
Emily and JJ smiled engulfed her with hugs.
Morgan chuckled. "Congrats, Bells. And I'm sorry about the misunderstanding, that must've sounded pretty brutal, now that I think about it…"
"Yeah! It did." Bella said, placing a hand on a hip. "And it wouldn't have happened if you guys didn't eavesdrop!"
"Oh, Bella. Can you really hate us for caring?" JJ asked, shooting her the most wide-eyes innocent smile she had.
"Well, no, but-" Bella began.
"Hey, Bells." Andrew said, cutting her off. "Sorry, I just…you said you needed help with 's homework and I thought maybe…"
"Oh. Sure. Let's go." Bella said. She turned to Morgan, JJ and Emily. "I'll deal with you guys later."
Morgan chuckled as he watched his niece and her friend make their way to the stairs. As they walked Bella reached over and tugged Andrew's tie, for no apparent reason. Morgan saw Andrew reach over and tug on Bella's back. Just as Bella reached out to grab his again, he jumped up a couple of the steps, right out of her reach. Bella giggled, stepping on the first stair where a loose-leaf piece of paper was laying. As soon her shoe connected with the paper, her foot slipped. There was a small gasp and a sickening crack.
Morgan jumped up and rushed over to her as Andrew crouched next her, apologizing over and over, like it was his fault.
"Bella, are you alright?" Derek demanded, squatting next to Andrew.
Bella looked up with her eyes watering. "Um, yeah. But my knee." She rasped, the pain apparent in her voice.
Morgan looked down and sure enough, there was red liquid seeping through Bella's black tights. Scooping her up, Morgan carried her over to his desk, followed by Andrew. He propped up her right leg on the desk. JJ and Emily rushed over, realizing what happened.
"Is she okay?" Emily asked, worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Bella protested, though the tears falling down her cheeks told another story.
"Her knee's bleeding, I need to find out what's wrong." Morgan stated in his stern voice.
He grabbed the scissors out of his desk and gently cut a slit in her tights. Bella winced. Morgan pulled back the black nylon and saw that her knee was disfigured and bleeding profusely.
"JJ, tell Hotch what happened. I'm taking her to the ER." Morgan demanded. JJ nodded and hurried up the stairs, plucking the offending piece of paper off the ground as he went.
Morgan lifted Bella gently, making his way to the doors.
"S-Sorry!" Andrew called, as held open the door for them.
"Don't be crazy, kid. You didn't do anything." Morgan reassured, though he looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
"Oh. Um, thanks. Can…can I come? To the ER? Only if you want me to, Bells." Andrew asked.
Bella smiled softly and nodded.
"I'll call Spence from the car." Andrew saw before running to hold open the next door for them.
-:-
An hour later, Morgan, Andrew and Bella, now dressed in two hospital gowns (she refused to have the back opened, so wore one forwards and one backwards), sat in an all white, chemical-scented room. Bella's leg was thickly wrapped from her lower thigh to her mid-shin.
"It'll take a long time to fully recover and she may need physical therapy afterwards. However, I'm wondering why her knee shattered so easily. Have you had any past injuries to that knee?" The doctor asked Bella.
Before she could open her mouth, Morgan cut in. "She had a knee dislocation on that leg when she was a toddler, but she went for treatment for that and she also fractured it in the fifth grade, trying to jump off of a swing." He answered automatically.
Bella looked on in awe. "You remembered."
"Of course, baby." Morgan replied, before turning to the doctor.
The doctor sighed. "Well, that most definitely could weaken up the knee. Your knee cracked in three places. One of the bone shards had pierced skin on the inner knee. Thankfully, it wasn't wedged at a terrible angle and easily pushed it back in place. The cut will heal quickly. You'll be in a full leg boot for at least a month. After that, a smaller brace can be used. The bones just need be set back in place so they can heal in the right position. If not, you'll need surgery. However, your case isn't so bad, I think you'll heal up fine."
"The dance…" Bella mumbled.
"Bella." Exclaimed Derek. "Don't worry about that. At least your leg is fine."
"Yeah, Bells. It's alright. You don't need to go to the dance with me. I'm just glad you're okay." Andrew admitted shyly, earning an appreciative glance from Morgan.
"What?" Bella asked. "Of course I'm still going. I was just thinking, I'm going to look beyond weird in a boot."
Andrew brightened and Morgan laughed. "You are crazy, little miss." Morgan replied, shaking his head.
"Okay, Isabella. Let's get you booted up. We'll get you some crutches, too. I know it doesn't hurt right now because we applied EMLA before moving the bones and wrapping it, but walking may be strange and painful at first. Your uncle and boyfriend can wait out in the lobby for you. Then, you can head home."
Bella smiled. "Okay. I'll just- Wait! Andrew's not my boyfriend." She defended quickly.
"Yeah, just friends." Andrew added, his face flushing.
The doctor threw an apologetic grin at the kids. "I apologize. I just assumed with him being here and the talk about dances." He turned to Andrew. "You're a good friend, being here for her. She's lucky."
Andrew shrugged and walked out the door, followed by a smirking Morgan.
-:-
"Hey, Gimpy." Rossi teased, as Morgan, Andrew and a limping Bella walked into the BAU, half an hour later.
"Oh hush up." Bella scolded lightly.
Hotch couldn't help but to tease a bit as well. "Bella, I don't understand. How is it that a couple months with you can be way more event-filled than the past 5 years. I mean, dances, boys, falling down stairs. You're like a magnet for odd situations." He pointed out, keeping his usual Hotch-face.
"Imagine 15 years with this one. Talk about some crazy situations." Morgan added, making Bella pout even more. Everyone laughed.
The team split up, finishing papers and packing up belongings. As Bella scooped up her stuff into her bag, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to find Andrew, standing there, looking nervous.
"I, um, emailed from my phone and told him what happened. You have an extension for the homework. 'Til Wednesday. I hope that's okay…I mean, I didn't mean to…um, is it okay that I did that?" He rambled.
Bella just reached out and tugged his tie. He smirked.
"What? Is that the new signal for yes? I hope it is." He asked.
"Nope." Bella replied, causing Andrew to pale. "It's the new signal for definitely. Or of course. Either one will work. Thanks, dork."
Morgan, who had asked her if she was okay ever other minute, signaled it was time to go. She turned to leave. After a few limp-steps, she turned back him. "You know, I never asked you if that's okay. Calling you dork, I mean. I know it's a sensitive spot and-"
Andrew cut her off. "No. I like it."
"So, it's okay?" She asked, smiling.
Andrew just walked out to Reid's car, tugging her tie lightly as he passed.
So, crazy stuff happened. I wrote a rough copy of this on the plane to Canada, including the whole knee injury part, except the doctor notes. Then, my friend Crawford and I were at the beach and I slipped and hit my knee on a rock. It cracked, in three places. Just like how I wrote. Even the same knee! Weird, right? So, I wrote what the doctor said to me in real life on a little napkin and used a shortened version of it! Haha, awesome! Only one problem. I can't walk. And, I have an ugly boot D: …That's two problems. But anyways, review!