𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟏𝟏𝟎

"𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚕"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕕𝕒𝕪
𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵

  "MINI PRENTISS!" Penelope shouts from the kitchen.

"Yes!" Noah shouts back from the bathroom. She is drying her hair, seeing as she just got out of the shower.

"I have the number for Italian, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, or Mediterranean!" Penelope says as she reads the cards stuck on her fridge.

Noah comes out of the bathroom, brushing through her wet hair, "We've never tried the Mediterranean."

"Mediterranean wraps are the best," Penelope tells her. "We definitely have to get that."

"Order me whatever, you know what I like," Noah says as she plops down on the couch, which is made into her bed.

Penelope talks to the person on the phone, telling them more information than needed, being her usual self. Noah would normally smile to herself about it, but all she can think about is Emily. Sometimes her bravery gets the best of her and she ends up coming home with injuries.

Just before Noah can get lost in her thoughts, Sergio jumps up next to her on the sofa. The teen turns to look at him and smiles, gently petting his head. He gets comfortable on her lap as Noah finds herself subconsciously fiddling with the red heart pendant on her necklace. Penelope comes into the living room, watching her goddaughter rub the heart from Emily in-between her fingers.

"Hey, kiddo, you alright?" The blonde coos as she sits beside Noah.

"Yeah, sorry."

"She always comes back in one piece."

"Barely," Noah tuts. "Do you ever worry that one of them won't come back?"

"Worry? I run myself thin just thinking about it," Penelope assures the teen that she is not alone. "They're family. There's nothing else we can do other than worry. But knock on wood—" She adds as she knocks on the coffee table. "We haven't lost anyone. Because they're good at their jobs and they look out for each other out there."

"Will you tell me about something happy?" Noah pleads.

"Let's see," Penelope thinks for a moment. "Oh! We're doing Romeo and Juliet at the theater soon, you should come to see it! We've been doing rehearsals and it's really good!"

"Who're you playing?"

"Juliet's nurse," Penelope answers.

"That's a pretty big part, P!" Noah exclaims, "That's so cool!"

"It opens next weekend, you have to come!"

"Of course!" Noah chimes and peers over at Sergio as he rubs against her hand. "I think he wants to come too."

"Don't worry, Serg," Penelope giggles. "We can sneak you in."

"I'll hide him in my shirt," Noah chuckles.

"And maybe you can bring along the girl," Penelope teases.

"The girl?" Noah asks.

"I wanna meet her," Penelope beams.

"You're gonna make her nervous," Noah giggles. "She's always telling me about how nervous she is to meet any of you."

"Why's she nervous?"

"I think it's because she wants to impress you," Noah says. "She wants you guys to like her."

"Well, I already love her, so I think I'm the perfect first person to meet from the team!" Penelope says excitedly. "So you'll bring her?"