Natalie

Chapter 10

Natalie sat in almost complete silence while Garcia worked. It was a good kind of silence. The sound of Garcia's keyboard while she furiously typed echoed in the room. Every so often, Natalie would hear a huff, or a loud sigh leave Garcia's lips. It made her wonder what kind of case they were working on, and how often it made her act like this.

"How many hours do you work a day?" Natalie asked.

Garcia paused, and turned around. She seemed genuinely confused, almost as if no one has ever asked her that. These people really lived in their own little world, and it was one that Natalie wasn't ready to understand. 

"Depends on what kind of case we're working on," Garcia finally answered. The confusion quickly wiped off her face, and she turned back around to go back to work.

Natalie nodded, and leaned back in her chair. There was no doubt that she was completely bored just sitting there. She wanted to go out and do something, but had no one to do anything with. If Natalie couldn't go anywhere, maybe it would be best to start convincing Garcia to mentor her.

"Hacking is, uh... cool," Natalie couldn't even believe what just came out of her mouth.

"That's exactly why I do it," Garcia said, not even slowing down on her keyboard. "You know my job isn't only hacking though right?"

Natalie raised her eyebrows as her mouth made an 'O' shape. Small talk was not Natalie's strong suit. She didn't do well getting to know people, but once she did, there was nothing getting in the way of her being social. That was something she and Flynn had in common. As far as she knew, Flynn was doing well. It hadn't been that long since she left, but it sure felt like forever. Being far away didn't really bother Natalie as long as they kept in touch.

"What else is your job then?" Natalie asked.

Garcia stopped for a moment, "A lot of searching and tracing," she smiled.

Natalie nodded, "All done through coding, if I'm not wrong. I started learning Java last year, and I know a bit of Python and HTML," she looked to one of Garcia's screens. There was a program running on it that she couldn't quite understand. She scoffed, and looked back at Penelope, "I don't know how to do anything like that though,"

Garcia laughed, "You might be able to eventually, it just takes some practice," 

Just before Natalie could speak, something on one of the computers beeped. Penelope quickly turned around in her chair, and opened up the file that appeared. From what Natalie could see, it had a picture of a run-down looking man, and a lot of information next to him. 

"What is it?" Natalie asked.

Penelope sighed, and started to make a call, "Pretty sure it's the unsub... So, I found your guy, but you're not gonna be happy with who he is," she began speaking to the person on the other line. "Michael Davidson," she paused to let the other person respond, "Yup, and get this he has a criminal record that I had to do some digging for... yeah, assault... be safe my loves,"

It was hard not knowing what the outcome would be when the team found out who the unsub was. Garcia was all too used to that feeling, and it wasn't something that she wanted Natalie to get used to as well. Unfortunately, it was part of the job, and whether she wanted it or not, it was now part of Natalie's life.

"They should be back soon," Garcia said.

---

Spencer sighed as he looked up from his book. Everyone on the jet was asleep, but he couldn't seem to keep his eyes closed. It was almost three in the morning, and he felt terrible that Natalie was left alone for that long. In times like this, the jet seats felt less and less comfortable. He glanced out the window, and wondered what she was up to, but he didn't want to call her at this hour. 

Everyone on the team thought Spencer was absolutely nuts when he presented them with the idea of bringing her back with him. Though, there was no convincing him not to bring her back. It wasn't that Spencer was trying to prove himself to them or anything. He just genuinely saw something in Natalie, and thought she deserved a better life. Now, it was up to him to help remind her that she shouldn't be afraid to show her intelligence. That's a conversation for the morning.

Spencer had hoped that she and Garcia got along well with each other. It wasn't a secret that Garcia doesn't usually like others in her office while she was working. Natalie was quiet for the most part so that shouldn't have been too much of a problem. Maybe he was worrying just a bit too much.

The sound of JJ stirring made Spencer realize he should try and get some sleep. Hopefully, he could actually have a day off tomorrow. That was something he only hoped for on Halloween, but now, everything was different.