Chapter 8
It took the team another ten hours, but they solved the case. I was right, it was a Duo. Their plane should be landing in about four hours and then I won't be so lonely anymore.
"Hey Pen, do you want to go half in on a pizza?" I asked, running into Penelope in the break room after being overwhelmingly disappointed with the lack of food.
"Sure," she said. "After you answer my question."
I sighed and looked at her in the eyes.
"I can't, because I don't know the answer." I admitted to more of myself than her.
"Well, do you have feelings for him or not?"
"No. I don't know, maybe."
"And does he have feelings for you?"
"I'm a profiler, not a psychic Pen." I said, grabbing my phone so I could order the pizza. "And besides, Spence isn't the easiest to read."
"Ok, idea!" She said, clapping her hands together. "Invite him over and cook him dinner."
"Why?" I asked, typing in the pizza places website and starting an order.
"Wine and dine. Get the boy talking about something other than work, see if you click outside of the BAU. It's a sure way to figure out if a, you have feelings for him and b, if he has feelings for you." She explained.
"Maybe. Look, do you want pizza or not?"
"Yes, vegetarian please." She nodded.
I sighed, and ordered a half veggie and half Hawaiian pizza. "it'll be here in 15, can you go down and get it?"
........
I was alone in the bullpen, again, no surprise. After Garcia took her half of the pizza, she retreated back to her bat cave and left me out here alone with my half of the pizza.
I finished the last pile of paperwork that I had and reclined back in my chair, and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath in and sighed. Only eleven more days until I'm off desk duty. 264 hours. 15,840 minutes. 950,400 seconds. And yes, I was counting down.
My phone started ringing and I picked it up off the desk, answering it without looking at who it was first.
"Sheppard."
"Oh Eliza, sorry, did I bother you?" My mom, the only one who calls me that. "Are you on a case?"
I also forgot to mention to her that I was shot, that's not something she needed to know. She would just freak out and then uproot her schedule to come take care of me. It was just better if she didn't know.
"No, we just got back." I lied. "What's up?"
"Don't freak out." She started and I sat up, feeling concerned. "I have a tumor in my uterus."
"A tumor? A tumor? You have a t-tumor in your uterus and you're tell-telling me not to freak out?" I said, my voice slightly louder than the appropriate volume for an office. "Well is it benign or malignant?"
She was silent, that was all the answer I needed.
"What stage?" I said, leaning forward on my desk. I was praying that she wouldn't say three or four, those are practically a death sentence.
"Stage three c for right now. They're wanting to do exploratory surgery next week to see if it's spread."
"That doesn't make sense. Why would they do surgery to see if it's spread, an x-ray would be just as effective." I said, and then realizing. "Oh, they already did the x-ray, and it was inconclusive."
"Honey, I don't want you to worry about this until there's something to worry about." Too late for that mother, way too late.
"Where are you being treated?" I asked, already planning to have her transferred to Johns Hopkins.
"Mass Gen," she sighed, probably realizing that I wasn't going to stop worrying.
"Yeah, that crap show," I scoffed. "I'm getting you an appointment at Johns-Hopkins."
"Eliza-" she warned.
"Just for a second opinion, and so you can be closer to me so I can take care of you."
"Honey, you don't need to do that. I'll be fine." She tried to argue.
"No mom. This isn't up for discussion, I want you here. And you need the best care in the world. There's no one in Massachusetts to take care of you, especially if you have to go through chemotherapy." There was a long pause and then she sighed.
What was I about to figure out about my mom.
"Me and your father weren't completely honest with you when we told you about our divorce." She admitted.
"What are you talking about? That was five years ago."
"What I'm saying is that I'm not alone. I have someone to take care of me."
"Who? What, dad?"
"No." She took a deep breath, "do you remember Dr. Eastern from my department? You and her daughter had ballet together once upon a time."
"Yeah," I said, confused. But it only took about two seconds to realize what she was saying. "Oh. Wow. Okay."
"We've been together for almost seven years, she really takes care of me."
"I still don't like the fact that you're being treated at Mass Gen, will you at least consider coming down here?"
"I'll talk to Patrica about it, after the surgery next week."
"Okay." I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. I took a deep breath and wiped my face. "I love you."
"I love you too my Eliza bug, I'll call you later."
........
It's been an hour since I got off the phone with my mom, and I haven't stopped crying since.
"The eagles have land-" Garcia said, running up behind me. "Woah, what happened? Do I need to punch someone?"
I shook my head and wiped my eyes again, though it didn't seem to work. Pen grabbed the chair from Spencer's desk and rolled it over to mine.
"Umm, my my m-mom. Sh-she just ca-called me." I said, in between sobs. "She has sta-stage th-three endometrial cancer."
"Oh honey." She said, her face falling before wrapping her arms around my shoulders and pulling me in tightly, "what do you need?"
"This is hel-helping." I said, still shaking, but starting to calm down.
"Do you need me to work some magic, get her transferred somewhere closer?" I shook my head no.
"She's, um, she's having an exploratory s-surgery next week at Mass Gen and th-then her and Patricia are going to talk about coming down here."
"Wait, who's Patricia."
"Her girlfriend," I said.
"Okay, so she has someone to watch out for her, that's good." She said, starting to look for a bright side. "And I'm sure Patricia is being an excellent advocate for your mom."
I nodded, and took a deep breath. Penelope rubbed my back again and I was slowly starting to feel better. Hugs really are so good for the soul.
"Woah, what's going on in here?" JJ said, walking up behind us, concern in her voice. I pulled away from Penelope and wiped my face one last time.
"What happened?" Spencer asked, them being the only two that had walked into the bullpen.
"Pen?" I asked, looking to her, hoping that she would explain for me.
"Natasha's mom just called her and told her that she has stage three endometrial cancer." She said, reaching out and grabbing my hand.
JJ's face changed to a look of pity, while Spencer's turned to one of someone who knew what it was like when a parent gets sick, and it's because he's been there before.
"Oh Nat, that's awful." JJ said, walking over and hugging me. "Do you need anything?"
"No, but th-thank you though," I said, offering up a weak smile.
"Okay, but let me know if you change your mind, my door is always open." She let go of the hug and walked towards her office.
"I'm going to go pull the credentials for all of your mom's doctors, make sure they all know what they're doing and aren't shams." Penelope said, standing up and straightening out her dress.
"Pen, don't be ridiculous." I called after her but she was already on her way.
"I'm sure you could talk to Hotch, take some time to go see your mom." Spencer said, walking closer with his hands in his pockets.
"If I didn't have a gunshot wound in my leg, I might." I laughed ironicloy, it seemed to be the only thing to do in the moment.
"You didn't tell her you were shot?" He asked,grabbing his chair and rolling it to his desk.
"No, I didn't want her to worry." I said, looking at him over the short wall that separated our desks. "And I can't tell her now."
There was a short silence while he unpacked his briefcase before he spoke again.
"Are you okay?"
"I will be," I nodded.
He smiled weakly and walked off, his phone in his hand. I stared at my computer, resisting the urge to look up everything I could about my mom's disease, knowing nothing that I would find would be helpful until we need the full extent of the cancer.
Instead, I went on multiple expensive websites and bought new shoes, and matching bags.
"Come on Nat," Spencer said, coming back from wherever he ran off to, and pulling my chair away from the desk. He grabbed my hands and helped me stand up before handing me my crutches.
"Where are we going?" I asked, watching him collect his things, as well as mine.
"I just talked to Hotch, and we are taking an early weekend. I can finish my paperwork from home." He said, motioning for me to follow after him.
"Spence," I said, "thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. We're going to see your mom."
I know I said comments before the next chapter, but I couldn't help myself.
But seriously, let me know what you think!