RUNAWAY
CHAPTER ELEVEN...!
❝ SEASON TWO ❞
"I'M TELLING you, Spencer. I was a rockstar in that classroom."
Jennie had been going on all morning about her, obviously well, experience from the other day, where she went to her school and took her beginning of the year placement exam. The school usually has her take this so they can make sure that she could handle her grade's curriculum, as she is younger than all the other kids.
"I literally finished my placement exam like─ that." Jennie spoke, snapping her fingers to indicate how fast she was, "This school year's gonna be amazing."
"Weren't you just complaining last week about how you didn't want to sign up for your SATs?" Spencer asked.
"Okay─ That's besides the point." Jennie told him, as the two were walking outside the BAU bullpen.
That's when both of them noticed a certain figure standing by the door.
"Elle?"
"Well, if it isn't my favorite geniuses." Elle joked, but her tone made her seem somewhat nervous. She then narrowed her eyes to the man, "Nice haircut."
Spencer had a shy smile on his face, touching his hair, "Thanks. Yeah─ I like your haircut too."
"Is that a boy's regular?"
"Yeah, it is." He smiled, but it slowly faded, "Wait, do you not─ do you not like it?"
"It's totally you." Elle told the man, letting out a small chuckle. She then looked at Jennie, nudging her slightly, "And what about you, JenJen? How has junior year been treating you so far?"
"It's been good! My counselor said if with the extra courses I'm taking, I could potentially graduate college within three years." Jennie grinned.
"Wow." Elle spoke, her eyes moving to Spencer, "Watch out, Dr. Reid, Jennie Hotchner is catching up to you."
The girls shared a laugh, before Spencer spoke up, "Well, actually, I was already in college at Jennie's age. In fact, I actually got my first doctorate─"
"Spenc─ Spencer─" Elle cut him off, shaking her head, "It's not a competit─ you know what, never mind."
Jennie laughed, then looked back at Elle, her lips forming back into a smile, "So, how have you been?"
However, before the woman could answer, Jennie's father had come up to the group, his eyes narrowing to Elle, "I didn't think you were back until next week."
"Oh, uh, I got a text message so─"
"Then it was a mistake." The man cut her off.
"Is there a case?"
"Not until you're healthy."
Elle sighed, "Yesterday I found myself looking forward to watching a soap opera."
"Which one?" Spencer asked.
"Ooh, is it the one I told you about?" Jennie questioned at the same time Reid did, perking up.
Elle only ignored them, continuing to look at Aaron, "Please, can you put me back to work, Hotch?"
"The doctor hasn't cleared you for the field."
"Please, Hotch."
"You need more time."
"I've been out for four months. What I need is to go back to work." Elle told him.
The Unit Chief stayed silent for moment, as Jennie could feel the tension rise within the two, before finally he spoke up, "We're going to Cleveland. Reid's going to the Crimes Against Children Division. Go with him."
"But I can─"
"Or go home." With that, the man left the circle, leaving it back to Spencer, Elle, and Jennie.
The woman sighed, staying silent for a moment. She then huffed, looking back at Jennie, "No offense, JenJen, but sometimes your father can be a pain in my ass."
Elle then turned back to Spencer, "I'm all yours Dr. Reid."
With that, the two walked into the bullpen. Jennie, who was still processing the woman's words, scratched her neck.
"You know, sometimes when you say no offense it can still be offensive." The teen spoke up, but the two had already left ear-shot for Jennie, so they didn't hear her. Jennie cleared her throat, realizing no one was listening, "Mkay."
───
IT WAS A NEW DAY, when Jennie was probably the most stress she had ever been while not in school.
Even with having to type with one hand, due to the other being preoccupied with holding Jack, Jennie was typing on her phone at the speed of light. And she did it while swiftly moving in the BAU office. And if she didn't want her father to die today, she'd need to type quicker.
TO DAD; FROM JENJEN :
RUN
RUN
RUN
DUDE WHY ARENT YOU ANSWERING
HALEY IS COMING AND SHE IS
VERY MAD
GET OUT OF THAT OFFICE RIGHT NOW
WHY IS YOUR PHONE NEVER WORKING
Jennie huffed, her stress for her father increasing as she made her way up her office.
Aaron looked up from his desk to see his frantic looking daughter, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, and slight worry growing inside of him, "Jennie? Are you oka-"
"Dude, you really need to get that phone of yours fixed." Jennie spoke quickly, "That's besides the point. You need to get out of this office. Right now. Right this second. Wheels up in zero your ass out of here."
"I'm sorry?"
"Haley is going to walk through that door in any second, and she is mad. I mean, she is pissed-" Jennie's words were quickly cut off when she could hear Haley approaching the door, "Oh, Haley! Hey! So crazy seeing you here!"
"I drove you here-"
Jennie cleared her throat, adjusting Jack in her arms, before scratching the back of her neck, "Right."
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Aaron asked his wife.
"Your cellphone kept going straight to voicemail." Haley told him.
"Oh, yeah, yeah- I was in a meeting. Is everything alright?"
Haley nodded her head slightly, "Going out of town?"
"Yeah, we have to go to LAX. I was going to call you and Jennie from the car." He shook his head, as if he was saying he was sorry. Haley only remained silent, nodding. "What is it?"
Jennie cleared her throat to try and subtly catch her dad's attention, moving her head into Jack's direction, to try and hint why Haley was here.
He obviously didn't get the message.
"You really don't know why I'm here?" Haley asked.
The man still seemed confused, "Honey, I'm sorry. We're running late."
Haley sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, "We just got back from the hospital. Jack."
Although Jennie felt bad for Haley at the fact that her father had forgotten their son's appointment, she couldn't help but feel bad for her dad too, as she saw guilt and realization wash over his face.
"Oh my god, the tests. What happened?"
"He's got a condition. It's treatable and he's going to be okay."
Jack babbled, while still being held in Jennie's arms. The teen grinned at her baby brother, pecking his cheek with a kiss.
"I'm sorry." The man muttered to his wife, genuinely.
Jennie always hated it when she was in the same room as her father and Haley. Because, although they had many happy moments, they also had moments where the tension in the room was the most uncomfortable thing she could experience.
She hated it. She hated the guilt that she had for not choosing a side. She could understand why her dad would forget the appointment. It wasn't hard to get stressed from his job.
However, she could also understand Haley's feelings as well. The feeling of being somewhat neglected. The teen understood perfectly.
"H-How was he?" The man asked his wife.
"Scared." Haley told him, "They put those electrodes all over him and he was wondering where his daddy was."
The man sniffled, a small glisten in his eyes, which was something rare to see, even for Jennie. The teen bit the skin of her cheek, her weight shifting from foot to foot at the encounter.
"Babe, you promised you'd be there." Haley told him.
"I know, I'm sorry." Aaron shook his head.
The room was silent for a moment, before the blonde spoke up again, "Look, I know this job is important to you. But we're important too."
"You don't have to tell me that."
"I don't want you to wake up, someday, in some random city, and realize you don't know your own son."
"They can go without me." He suggested.
Haley let out a small, dry chuckle, "No. They can't. It's okay. Go. We'll talk about it when you get home."
"I'm so sorry." The man muttered again. He slowly began to grab his things.
At that, Jack babbled towards his father again. The uncomfortable look on Jennie's face began to light up, bringing her baby brother over to his father, moving Jack's hand to make him look like he's gesturing a wave, "You wanna say bye to daddy? Say bye-bye."
Jack babbled again, which let a smile form on everyone's lips. Aaron pressed a kiss onto Jack's head, before also pressing one onto Jennie's.
And after that, the man made his way out of the room.
Jennie's eyes followed him until he was finally out of her sight. The teen turned back to her step-mother, giving her a small, comforting smile, "Sorry, Haley."
Haley looked over at her step-daughter, her lips forming into an understanding beam, moving her hand to cup the side of the teen's face.
"It's not your fault, JenJen."