The Hunting Hour - A Criminal Minds Fiction

Chapter 25: Small And Determined

Later that day Cameron had to leave and Bella was not happy about that.
"Please don't go" the little girl said looking sad when her friend told her the taxi was on its way.

"I'm sorry Bella. I wish I could stay" Cameron said.

"Please" Bella stared to cry.

"B, don't cry. I can't miss school. I promise I'll be back soon"

"You said that last time" Bella cried.

Suddenly the taxi honked.
"I'm sorry I have to go" the girl said, hugged Bella and just left. She couldn't bare Bella crying and begging her to stay so she rather just leave.

Derek picked Bella up and Penelope walked Cameron to the door.
"Shuuuuu it's okay princess" Derek kept telling the girl. Bella calmed down eventually and sat with them to watch tv.

Later at night she was getting very tired so she said she wanted to go to bed. So both grownups followed her to the room.

"My pictures" Bella said in a whisper when she saw.

"I brought a few clothes, your school bag and some of your stuffies" Penelope said.

"Thank you" Bella whispered and gave the woman a hug.

"Let's sit down. We gotta talk really quick" Penelope said and sat on the bed with Bella.

"Tomorrow I have to go back to work but I'll just work at the office" the woman said. She had got a text from Hotch earlier that day.

"Are you going too?" Bella asked Derek.

"No. I'll be home with you" he said. The girl breathed out and they could see she was relieved.

"and we were thinking that maybe tomorrow we could look for some things to put in your room" Penelope said and Bella stared. "Would you like that?"

Bella nodded yes, not looking excited.

"Alright. So when my work is over we can go take a look at some things" Garcia said.

"So now... how about a quick shower and then bed?" Derek said.
Bella nodded yes and went to get her pajamas. She showered and walked back in the room to find both still there.

"Get on the bed, pumpkin" Garcia smiled and Bella did as told. Penelope covered her up and kissed her cheek.

"We love you" Garcia said.

"I love you too" Bella said low.

They both smiled.

"Have a good night" Derek said.

"I'm just gonna shower and I'll be right back" Garcia said, the girl nodded and Penelope left. Derek went to get ready for bed too. They were all tired.
Penelope walked back in the bedroom later to find Bella asleep holding her blanket, Duffy and Tramp. Penelope was a little scared about the next day but she tried to push those thoughts away. She laid next to the girl and was fast asleep in little time.
In the other room Derek also didn't take long to sleep.

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Monday morning Isabella woke up from a bad dream around 5:30. She just laid on the bed holding her blanket tight and staring at the ceiling.
She started thinking about everything that was going on. She started thinking about her mom and she knew Emily would not want her to be sad all the time and just glued on Morgan and not doing anything. She knew that if she wanted to feel okay again she had to fight through it. And she felt like that was what Emily would want her to do.
So that morning when Penelope's alarm clock went off, Bella was awake ready to talk to the woman.

"What are you doing awake? It's super early" Penelope asked.

"I want to go to school" Bella said almost a whisper.

"What?" Garcia asked in disbelief.

Bella sat up on the bed and said it again. "I want go to school today"

"Are you sure?" Penelope asked unsure of it.

"Yes" Bella said determined.

"Okay" Penelope said with a small smile. She went to get ready for work and Bella went to get ready for school. Penelope woke Derek up and told him what was going on and he was not very sure that was a good idea.
"Let her go. If she needs anything she'll call us" Penelope said.

"I don't think she's ready for that" he said.

"She needs to leave this house. And her friends will be there." Penelope said. "We need to let her try" she added.
She also didn't think Bella was ready but she knew that if they didn't let her go they could be holding her back.
So they took the morning as another regular morning. Both grownups got ready while Bella got ready. They had breakfast together. Penelope and Derek could see how nervous Bella was but they just kept rolling. When they were done Derek explained to Bella how she should take her pain medicine.

"You can drink this at 1pm, okay?" He said. "We'll try to schedule it around the school's hours."

"Okay" she said and they headed to the car.

As they drove to school, Isabella's eyes wondered around the streets. She was scared someone bad would find her but she kept telling herself no one would and she had to go to school, that Emily would want her to go.

Derek parked the car and Isabella's friends noticed them.

"Is that..?" Chloe said as she saw Morgan inside the car.

"She came?" Rose asked surprised.

"Guys, let's not freak out. Let her be. Act normal" Gavin said.

Inside the car Bella took a deep breath and took her seat belt off.
"Are you sure you want to go?" Derek asked.

Bella nodded yes even though her eyes filled with tears.

"Bella, you don't have to do this today" Derek said staring at her.

"I want to. She would want me to" the girl said pushing away the tears.
Penelope did the same.

"You can maybe pick me up early?" Bella suggested.

"Of course. At what time do you want me to come?" Derek asked.

"The time I need the medicine" Bella said.

"At 1?" Derek asked and she nodded.
"Okay. I'll be here at 12:30. And if you need anything you can just call me and I'll be here in a flash" he said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Can I get a hug?" Derek asked. Bella got close to him and he hugged her.

"Have a great day" he said.

"Bye" Bella said and gave Garcia a kiss.

"Bye pumpkin" Penelope said and the girl walked out of the car.

She took a deep breath and walked to her friends who smiled happy to see her there.
Chloe hugged her and Bella tried hard not to cry.

"Are you alright?" Chloe asked letting go of the hug.

"Yeah" Bella said pushing the tears away.

"Hi" Rose said and Bella hugged her too and then Gavin.

"I'm glad you're okay" Gavin said and Bella gave him a small smile.

"Let's go inside?" Rose asked and the other kids nodded yes, including Bella.

Isabella looked at Derek's car and waved.
Penelope and Derek waved back and she walked inside with her friends.

"What a tough girl" Derek said proudly.

"She is" Penelope said smiling proudly.

"Just like her mama" Derek said.

"Yeah" Penelope said as a few tears escaped.
Derek grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. She looked at him and smiled.