Chapter Text
“Did you pass?”
Penelope walked into the office on Thursday, the day after her carer training, to find everyone staring at her expectantly.
“Well, it wasn’t so much a pass/fail, more a ‘you completed the training’. Which I did. And once I’ve moved, I can get the house inspected, then I go in front of a panel who will either approve me or say no. Which is terrifying.”
“Was the training good? Or was it a ‘this could have been an email’ kinda deal?” Emily asked.
“It was good. I chatted with a lovely couple there who were planning on fostering now their own children are all grown up. And one of their kids was also there, he is planning on fostering with his wife. Which was just plain sweet.”
“They sound nice.”
“They were. One couple on day one asked how much you’d be paid, and how often… they didn’t come back for day two.”
“They sound charming,” Alex said, rolling her eyes.
“Penelope, welcome back,” Hotch said, coming out of his office, “And sorry, folks, we have a case.”
***
William glared at Spencer; the child was so whiny. Didn’t he appreciate everything he did for him? He fed him, clothed him, even took him to the paediatrician when that nosey ER man had told them he had a fever.
William shuddered slightly. That man – James? – may be trouble. He considered moving, even looked at job listings in other states, but decided against it. The man had a sick kid himself. He wouldn’t question him, he’d even sounded quite sympathetic when he spoke. He just needed to convince that girl who volunteered that he was good. How to do that?
William smirked. Picking up his phone, he called the school’s front desk.
“Hi Lizzie, this is Spencer Reid’s father, William… yes, he’s still poorly, the doctor was right, tonsilitis… yeah, antibiotics… yes… thank you… I have a request which may seem strange, but is there any chance you can pass my number onto the ‘Miss Penelope’ who volunteers? I’ve seen in Spencer’s book that she has helped with him quite a lot. I was hoping she’d be willing to babysit for me – of course I’d pay her – because I have a court case coming up and obviously I don’t want to leave Spencer with just anyone… perfect… thank you so much… have a nice day.”
Half an hour later, Penelope had phoned him and confirmed that she could babysit the next day for him. Perfect.
***
“I’m so sorry for this,” William said, welcoming Penelope into the house at seven thirty the next morning, “Our regular lady has this flu that’s been going around and Diana is working out of state for the week.”
“It’s fine, genuinely. It’ll be nice to see Spencer again, it’s been a while.”
“Yeah, this tonsilitis is stubborn. Apparently you were the one who asked Doctor Blake to come in and check him?”
“I did, I was worried because he seemed so distressed, and when I mentioned to Spencer that I may see if Dr Blake could come, he tapped the ‘yes’ card, so I figured he was feeling sick in a way he couldn’t explain. And tonsilitis sucks, I had it chronically when I was small, I ended up with them being taken out. No wonder he was feeling so miserable.”
“Well, thank you again. I’ll need to be off in a minute. You said you’ve had NG-tube training, right?”
“I have, yes. I did Ethan’s feeds a lot – Doctor Blake’s son. Don’t worry, Spencer and I will have a jolly good time.”
“He’s currently in his room, I assume you’re comfortable to move him between his chair and bed?”
“Yes. At the school two people have to move for insurance reasons, but Spencer’s so little I can move him alone.”
William nodded, beckoning for Penelope to follow him. He stopped outside a door which had a deadbolt on the outside.
“Sorry, that must look awful from an outside perspective. Before he was stuck in his chair, Spencer had elopement issues, so it was the only way of keeping him safe overnight. I guess it’s optimism that he’ll get better that has stopped me removing it.”
Penelope nodded, “I get it.”
“Thank you for being so non-judgemental. Some people are so quick to judge situations they don’t understand.”
William knocked lightly on the door before opening it, revealing a sleeping Spencer.
“Bless him,” Penelope whispered.
“I’ve explained to him that you’ll be here today. His meds are all labelled with times they need to be taken. I’ll show you.”
William walked Penelope through the list of medications, what it was for, when it was needed, and how it was taken.
“If he has a seizure that lasts for more than a few minutes, you may need to give him this nasal spray. We haven’t needed it for a while, he’s been seizure free for a week now, so I’m hoping his new anti-seizure meds are working, but just in case.”
“Noted. Ethan had these too, I’m used to administering them.”
William nodded, “Wonderful. The wi-fi password is on the router next to the TV, feel free to use it, you said you may need to work from here. And help yourself to any food or drink, mi casa es su casa, as they say.”
“Thank you, and don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”
“I know. I saw from the logs how much Spencer seems to like you, so I know he’ll be safe with you. I do need to leave now, do you have any questions before I go?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Thank you again.”
“No worries, have a good court, I guess?” Penelope said, grinning, “Be a kick ass lawyer!”
“I shall,” William laughed, “Have a good day.”
***
Penelope left the door to Spencer’s room ajar, not wanting him to feel alone when he woke up. With the Wi-fi up and running, she set up her usual security protocols and logged in remotely to the FBI mainframe.
“Hi Bossman,” she said, picking up the phone as Hotch called.
“Penelope, can you see if you can locate a Daniel Wright? Somewhere between 30 and 35, works at Atlas Diner – he was a potential witness we are struggling to locate and his address isn’t up to date on the work system.”
“On it, Sir Hotch.”
Within a few minutes, Penelope had tracked the man, his bank details, current home address, and the addresses of a few family members, sending them all to Hotch and the team.
A moment later, she heard distressed humming coming from the bedroom. Standing, she ran in, crouching next to Spencer.
“Hi buddy. Are you okay, sweetheart? It’s Penelope, from school. I’m looking after you for the day. It’s okay, sweetie, you’re safe.”
Spencer looked at her, confusion clouding his face for a moment before a small smile crept in at the corners of his mouth.
“Okay buddy, you want to get up?” Penelope asked, then remembered she was an idiot and picked up a small communication board, “Let’s try that again, you want to get up?”
Spencer slowly moved to tap ‘yes’ and Penelope grinned, “Okay little one, let’s get you up then.”