Sergeant Abigail (Abby) Laurens transfers to the BAU after an operation in Iraq goes horribly wrong and she loses the one man she's ever truly loved. Desperate to escape her guilt she throws herself into her new position but when someone comes back...
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Abby, Spencer and Morgan stood in the eerily quiet corridor of the hospital. The feeling that something was not right continued to plague their minds.
"Reid, you and Laurens speak to the nurses who were part of the Munroe's care I'm going to go and take a look at the security footage, see if anything doesn't add up." Morgan instructed them.
"Excuse us, sorry. Uh, hi. I'm Doctor Spencer Reid and this is Agent Laurens, we're with the FBI," both showed their badges, Abby really enjoyed doing that. "Were of any of you present at Mrs Munroe's delivery and/or responsible for the family's care afterwards?" Spencer asked. A couple of the nurses nodded in response, Abby noticed a few were particularly teary eyed like unusually so, Spencer clearly noticed this too as the two shared a brief glance.
"Would you mind coming with us? We just want to ask you a couple of questions. Nothing to worry about." Abby told them with a polite smile. The three nurses and the agents walked away from the group of medical staff and local law enforcement who had gathered around the nurses station and they let themselves into the empty office next door.
"We're sorry to have to ask these questions but if you could be as honest as possible and try and remember anything at all, no matter how small, it could really help us find Bella." Spencer told the nurses and looked at Abby to begin, a quick look of panic flashed across her face but she composed herself before it was noticeable, to anyone other than Spencer of course.
"Did any of you help deliver Bella?"
"We did, me and Maggie, sorry uh my name's Ruby. She was my first delivery. Oh god." Ruby looked no more than her early twenties, she started to cry again, Abby put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I know this is hard, I'm sorry. Was Mr Munroe there through all his wife's labour?"
"Yes, he didn't leave her side once. She was very advanced with her labour when she came in, she was pushing within the hour and Bella was here a little over an hour later." Maggie continued, as Ruby stood beside her crying silently.
Abby shuddered, she couldn't imagine pushing for even an hour, childbirth seemed like modern day torture to her, screw the 'miracle of life'.
"So it was an easy birth, no need for any other midwives?" Abby asked.
"Yes, textbook. Which is why I had Ruby with me. Thought I'd ease her in gently."
"And were you part of the Munroe's after care..." Spencer asked the third nurse.
"Jane. Yes I was, with Ruby too. Both are such lovely people, Bella is their first baby. They were so excited, Kate could barely put her down."
"Did you know them well?"
"Yes, this is such a small town as I'm sure you can see, everyone knows everyone. Which is why it's so hard to imagine anyone could have taken Bella." Jane said.
"Are you saying you think the Munroes had something to do with Bella's disappearance?" Abby asked, she felt wrong saying it but they had to ask.
"Oh no, no not at all!" Maggie replied, quickly, too quickly. Abby and Spencer exchanged another look.
"Did you notice any other nurses around the family either during the birth or afterwards?" Spencer asked. All three women shook their heads.
"What about when they were discharged? Which nurse took Kate to the car?"
"W-what do you mean?" Ruby sniffled.
"Mr Munroe said a nurse wheeled Kate to the car whilst he was putting Bella in the car and Kate was following out with another nurse? Is that not true?" Abby asked confused.
"I don't remember anyone taking Kate, I just saw her when she ran back in. She asked me where Bella was and I said her husband must of already taken her out. Then she turned and just kept running, that's when I called Jane over." Ruby explained.
"Jane, do you know who helped Kate out?" Spencer asked. Someone was lying.
"No. I uh- as far as we were all aware Leonardo had taken Bella out and Kate was following them."
Neither agents could see any indication that either nurse was lying.
"Reid, Laurens." Morgan had returned from checking the CCTV, he nodded for them to come over to him.
"Thank you for your help. If you remember anything else, please call us." Spencer said, Abby gave her thanks too. She felt bad just leaving Ruby crying, she hoped this didn't deter her from being a midwife.
Once the three were out of earshot of the hospital staff Morgan spoke up.
"So?" He asked the two.
"Someone is lying. And I think it might just be the parents." Spencer said, reluctantly.
"None of the nurses knew that someone was helping Kate out, they all thought it was her husband. What does the security tape show?"
"Well it seems none of them were lying." Morgan said.
"What? What do you mean?"
"The nurses all thought Mr Munroe was taking both his wife and daughter to the car," Spencer and Abby nodded, "And the Munroe's say that a nurse helped them out?"
"Yeah, Morgan get to the point." Spencer said.
"Watch your tone, Kid. I'm getting there, alright?"
"Oi, girls." Abby scolded, chuckling quietly.
"All of them are telling the truth. Look." Showing his partners the footage on his phone, Morgan sighed, knowing they were about to be just as confused as him.
The footage showed a nurse, who had her back to the camera, coming up to Kate and starting to wheel her out. It looked as though she spoke to her briefly, probably asking if she wanted any help. Once they got to the door, Mrs Munroe realised her husband and daughter weren't at the car and the nurse turned the chair around back to the ward. Kate then jumps from the chair and runs to her room, speaks to Ruby and then runs back to the entrance of the hospital where she meets her husband. All of this corroborates the nurses statement and the Munroe's.
"The nurse here meets Kate once she is out of the maternity ward, Kate never even left the ward in a wheelchair. That's why the midwives we spoke to never saw her or even knew she helped her out." Abby said, trying to piece everything she's seen and heard in the last hour together.
"Exactly. I called Hotch and told him, he asked if anyone knew where this nurse went after."
"And?" Spencer asked.
"This nurse was not picked up on any other cameras after this. I think we've just found our unsub."
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don't forget to vote and comment, it really does mean a lot. i hope you're enjoying 'silence'.
