𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧 |~𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚒𝚍~|

Chapter Twenty-One

I sat in the jet, heading home from a case in New York. It had been about 6 months since the case with Katie Jacobs. 

We had gotten a new member on our team. David Rossi. I liked him. He came out of retirement to join us. 

I was just conversing with Reid. 

"Yeah, I actually have an abnormally low heart rate," I said.

Reid frowned. "That can't be good." 

I shrugged. "Bradycardia runs in my family. I haven't really ever had any problems with it." 

"Well, how low is it?" 

I shrugged and held out my wrist for him. He put his hand on my pulse point and nodded. "45 bpm." 

I smiled and put my index and middle finger on his pulse point. "Well, yours is normal." 

Morgan and Prentiss turned around and looked at us. "Aww, look, they're holding hands," said Emily. 

"C'mon, you two, just get a room already," said Morgan. 

I rolled my eyes. "We're doing science." 

"I don't care what you wanna call it, just wait until work hours are over, ok?" teased Morgan. 

Reid blushed furiously and looked away. 

After a few minutes of silence, I nudged Spencer. He looked at me. "Are you doing anything fun over the Christmas holidays?" 

"I'm gonna go visit my mom. You?" 

"I'm gonna spend time with my dad in Maine." 

Spencer nodded. "Are you driving up there?" 

"Yeah," I laughed. "It's probably gonna take a while; it's supposed to snow." 

When we landed, I followed Spencer off of the plane. We were all just going to head home and start our holiday break. As I was scraping snow off of my car, I waved at Spencer. 

"See you next year!" he said.

I smiled. "Yep. Have a safe flight!" 

"I will. You have a safe drive." 

"I'll be really careful," I said as I got into my car. 

When I got home, I took my suitcase off of my bed and put it into my car. Then, I got a few books and grabbed my Beethoven CD before heading out the door. 

I stopped and grabbed some food before beginning the 10 hour drive to my hometown. 

As the day went on, the sun started to set. I was getting tired. I knew the effects of driving while sleep deprived were really serious, so I found a hotel in Philadelphia for the night. 

Just as I was about to go to sleep, I got a call from Spencer. 

"Hello?" I said. 

"Hey, Laney." 

I smiled. "Hi. Is your flight about to leave?" I heard some background noise and assumed it was an airport. 

"Yeah. Are you driving right now?" 

"No, I stopped for the night." 

"That's good. You know how dangerous driving while drowsy can be?" 

"Yeah, Spence, I know," I chuckled. 

He laughed. "Ok. I'm just making sure you're safe. The roads get pretty slippery." 

"They sure do." 

I heard an unintelligible announcement in the background. "Oh, that's my call to board. I'll talk to you later," He said. 

"Bye," I said before hanging up. 

I set my phone on my dresser and laid down in the bed. I never liked staying in hotels. There was no way to really sanitize the whole room. I had no idea who or what had been in the bed before me. 

However, I somehow managed to push those thoughts to the back of my mind and fall asleep.

The next morning, I woke up at 9:00 am and grabbed some breakfast before checking out of my room and continuing on my journey. 

When I was about 4 hours into the day's driving, I got a call from my dad. 

"Hey Laney." 

"Hi, Dad." 

"How're you doin?" 

"I'm good. I'm in Massachusets right now. I'll probably be about 3 hours." 

"Ok, can't wait to see you!" 

I smiled and ended the call before I continued driving. 

3 and a half hours later, I was finally in Maine. It was 5:00 at this point. 

I pulled into my Dad's driveway and walked up to his door. He greeted me and pulled me into a big hug. He was immediately asking me about my wound and if I was okay. 

I laughed. "Dad, I'm fine. It's good now." 

He hugged me one more time before going out to my car with me and taking my suitcase in. 

There was a foot and a half of snow on the ground. I smiled and looked at the snow covered world around me. 

My dad showed me to my old room, where I set down my suitcase and got settled in. 

Then, it was time for dinner. It was snowing again. My dad was making hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. It was kind of nice to have someone cooking for me again. 

After dinner was over, my dad watched a hockey game on the TV and I read my favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. 

Then, it was late and I headed to bed. I was pretty exhausted from the day full of driving. 

I settled into the bed from my teenage years and smiled, feeling nostalgic. Then, I drifted off into a pleasant sleep, with minimal nightmares.