Natalie

Chapter 9

Soooo... It's been way too long. But, since I'm stuck in my house I might as well update this. Also, this kinda blew up in the recent years that it's been sitting here and my writing is not all that great. Technically, this is my third attempt at this book, and hopefully final.

I've been thinking about Natalie a lot, and how she would be later on in the show so I couldn't just let this one go. Sorry if this seems to take a different turn, it's been a while, and my writing is hopefully a little better.

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Natalie was used to being left on her own for long periods of time, but for some reason every time Spencer left for a new case it got lonelier and lonelier. She knew that his job was a lot to handle, but it was almost too quiet when she was alone in his apartment. It was a cozy place to live for sure, she just didn't know how much longer she could stare at the picture of his mom sitting on his desk. 

Natalie got up, and began observing her surroundings. There was something bugging her about this apartment, and it wasn't that musty smell coming from the several bookshelves in there. Spencer cared so much about the team he worked with yet, there wasn't a single photo of any of them. His desk was cluttered with papers like he was a hard worker, but not a single one of his degrees were hanging on his wall. There was just a big painting of a... she had no clue what that even was. It looks like something Spencer would create, but he didn't really seem all that artistic. Maybe that's what was bugging her. Spencer was definitely a show-off when it came to his knowledge about everything, but in his home he was just a modest bookwork. 

"I really need friends," Natalie mumbled to herself.

That was the biggest difficulty about moving here. Natalie definitely wanted a fresh start, but having no social life was the worst. Back at home, she may not have been the most popular girl in the world, but she had friends, and being far away from people she could just call to hang out with was hard. There were many things she and Spencer didn't talk about, and how her school life was going to work was one of them. Natalie didn't want to go to college full-time, and there was no convincing her to do that. She was fully aware that she was capable of doing that, but she was fifteen, and she wanted to have a normal childhood. This was something she had to remind Spencer of. 

After about ten minutes of being lost in thought, Natalie sat back down. She stared at the empty wall in front of her, and then it dawned on her. He has no TV. It wasn't surprising or anything when is came to Spencer, it was just strange how adding that piece of technology to a room can make it seem so much more normal. 

"Okay, I'm officially losing it," Natalie stood back up. "I have been observing this room for fifteen minutes because it bothered me that he has no TV?" She reached for her phone, and looked for the only person she knew that was currently in town. 

The phone dialed for a moment, and then the woman picked up, "Congratulations! You have reached the office of Penelope Garcia, what can I do for ya?"

Natalie smiled, "Hey! Uh... it's Natalie. I know you are working and everything, but I was wondering if I could stop by?"

Garcia paused for a moment, causing Natalie to regret even calling. She had a problem where she couldn't help but overthink every scenario. She probably thinks I'm pathetic.

"Of course you can kiddo, everything okay?" Garcia interrupted her thoughts.

Natalie sighed, "Yeah everything is okay, I just don't think I can handle sitting her alone much longer,"

Garcia chuckled, "What's bothering you? The smell of the ancient books, or is the ghost who died in 1888 that came with that couch being too loud?"

Natalie glanced at the couch, and then quickly looked away, "Well I wasn't thinking about a ghost at all, but yes, yes that is bothering me,"

"You are welcome in my office anytime, I try to keep the evil stuff on my screens to a minimum. Don't ever hesitate to come here," Garcia said.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it," Natalie hung up the phone. 

Beginning to grab her bag, Natalie stopped and looked at the couch again. There's no ghost that lives here... no way. She let the thought disappear, and then hurried out the door.

---

"Whoa," Natalie said, shielding her face from the unexpected brightness of computer screens in such a dark room.

Garcia's office was something else that's for sure. She had so many colorful things on her desk that Natalie wasn't sure what to focus on. "I know I can be a little much to handle sometimes," Garcia pointed out.

"I think it's nice, not something one would expect walking into any FBI office," Natalie responded.

Garcia's phone began ringing, and she quickly sat down. "You reached 1-800-SEXY, Penelope Garcia's information hotline, how can I help ya?" 

Natalie was puzzled, that was bold. Imagine not even looking at caller ID, and still being comfortable answering the phone like that. She only heard half the conversation, but the conversation she was having didn't seem very professional. 

"...PG out," Garcia slammed the end button, and began furiously typing on her keyboard. "Don't be too alarmed honey, that was the glorious Derek Morgan on the other end. We do that sometimes. Now, let's see what this guy bought on his credit card over the last few months,"

Natalie had a small amount of knowledge in Python and Java, but not nearly anything like Garcia. Maybe Natalie could learn more about it through her. It wasn't a far fetched thought, and it might help bring Spencer on board with her not taking a lot of college level courses. That was not a conversation she was ready to have, but it was a necessary one.