Run Reid

Spencer

I hate baseball, I hate most sports actually. So of course when I complained to Clara how Morgan wasn't the team to play baseball Saturday afternoon she beams up in excitement.

"You actually want to go?" I groan in bed and Clara is already getting ready for this friendly game of baseball, which will definitely turn into a competitive showdown.

"Yes, I already texted Emily and told her we'd be there." Clara stomps over to her bed and rips the blanket off of me. I don't think we've slept apart in a month, minus cases, we're always at each other's apartments.

"Get up!" She yells in my face before turning back for the bathroom, which is connect to her bedroom.

"How do I look?" Clara comes out in a blue t shirt and a baseball cap, her hair is two little braids, spinning a circle.

"Beautiful as always." I sit up in bed and she turns her head away to hide the blushing. Neither of us have said it yet but I think we both feel it.

Derek Morgan, being the athlete that he is, took it upon himself to organize everything, including the teams.

"Nice of you two to join us." Hotch gives a fake half smile, he really doesn't have much expression, ever. I didn't mean to come late, okay, well I kind of did. I was hoping that maybe they would start without us and we could just watch them run around in circles and hit a ball.

"What are the teams?" I ask turning to Derek who has a whole clipboard in hand.

"Uh, Clara your with me. Spencer you're on the opposing team." Derek walks away fast and I stare at him in disbelief.

"Alright people let's see who's got the skills!" Of course he finds it funny to split us up. This is going to so embarrassing for me. At least the team likes Clara, i think more than me sometimes.

Rossi deemed himself the score keeper claiming he's too old for baseball.

Derek was up first and he hits it out of the park, literally. Good thing we brought more than one ball. When it's Clara turn to bat I make me smile to hear my team cheer for her, i should've introduced her sooner.

"Come on kid!" Derek yells from third base. She looks over at him after she missed the ball JJ threw at her.

"Strike 2!" Rossi shouts from behind her.

"I thought you played softball?" Derek shouts at her.

"In like 3rd grade? How do you know that?" She shouts right back at him and I snap my head around to a suddenly shy Garcia. Of course they looked her up.

When the teams finally switch places i'm up first, somehow I hit the ball, luck I guess. Running ain't my thing, i feel awkward.

"Reid, you're not even on my team but i'm trying to help you here. Run Reid!" Derek yells, almost looking like he's on the verge of a breakdown.

After a long torturous game of baseball Derek's team won, shocker. He and Clara actually started screaming at each other, she's so hot when she's mad. Now, we're all sitting in the shade chugging water due to the lack of water breaks we were allowed to have. Thank you coach Morgan.

"Okay, she's never on my team again." Derek laughs and points at Clara who flips him off.

"Not my fault you assumed I was good at baseball from stalking me." She glares at him and takes another drink. JJ and Emily were sitting down in the field basically the whole time so I really think that Derek just hit balls, yelled at people and ran around all day. This wasn't for the team, it was for him.

When everyone's getting ready to leave I grab my keys from the bench and look for Clara who is talking to Emily and Penelope, I don't want to interrupt so i wait.

"How it's going with you both?" Derek comes up behind me.

"Good." I press my lips together and nod.

"Have you dropped the L word yet?"

"I'm waiting for the right time." I explain to him but he shakes his head.

"There isn't ever a right time Reid. Life is unpredictable, you gotta tell her how you feel." For once I think i might just take his advice.

When Clara and I got home she tells me I'm not allowed anywhere near her until she showers. I tell her okay after she threatens my life, I grab my phone to order a pizza from our favorite place up town.

While she's in the shower, Clara's phone starts to buzz. I pick it up and it's just a spam call, I hit decline and sit back down on the couch. He buzzes again. Same number. Decline.

Again. Decline.

Again. Decline.

Again. Decline.

By the sixth call I answer. "Hello?"

"Uh, is Clara around..?" A soft voice is on the other side, i'm grateful i didn't answer with "Who the fuck is calling?" now.

"She's not able to come to the phone at the moment, can i take a message?" There's rustling on her end.

"No, just have her call me back." I wonder who's talking, and if they know Clara why aren't they in her contacts?

"Can I get your name?" Before i get an answer eh call ends and Clara is walking out of the bathroom with my clothes on and a towel on her head.

"Why do you have my phone?" She questions me and I hand it to her.

"Someone called you, six times, so i answered it. She asked me to have you call her back, sounded important but she didn't give me a name." I tell her everything the girl told me and she sits down in confusion. Unlocking her phone she looks at the number and shrugs before calling them back on speaker. She wants me to hear?

"Hello, Clara?" The voice is quiet again.

"Who is this?" Clara asks and the phone gals silent for a minute.

"It's Harper." I watch as Clara facial expression changes and she takes the phone off speaker and walks outside her apartment. She doesn't say anything to me, she just leaves.

What the fuck is that about? 

It's about 15 minutes later when Clara comes back inside, I can tell she was crying.

"Clare? What's wrong?" I sit up at the sight of her but she shakes her head and faked a smile.

"Nothing." Her eyes blink rapidly.

"You can't lie to a profiler Clare, who was that in the phone?" She makes her way to the couch and sits down next to me, taking the towel off her head.

"My sister." She breathes out. Sister? I didn't know she had siblings. I don't know much about Clara's family at all actually.

"Why isn't she saved in your contacts? Why'd she call?" Clara begins to cry, i should've kept my mouth shut.

I pull her to my chest and tuck her wet hair behind her ear, whispering it's okay and telling her i'm right her.

I don't know what any of this is about but we stay like this for 10 minutes.

"Um," Clara sniffles. "Harper is 17, 8 when I finally moved out. I didn't want to leave her there but I couldn't take her with me to college Spencer." She looks up tears pricking her eyes again.

"It's not your fault." I don't know what else to say, I know Clara's mom wasn't around and I know her dad was a drunk but that is just all I know.

"I've told you my dad is a drunk," She looks at me and I nod. "He likes to hit. He's not a violent guy, or at least he used to not be. It's only when he's drunk so often. My eldest brother Daryl left when he graduated. We never heard from him again. I raised Harper. When I graduated I left too, she begged me to take her with me but i couldn't. so left my phone number and told her to call me whenever she needed something and that once I got settled in I'd come back for her." Tears fall onto her rosy cheeks. It breaks my heart,

"Spencer, I never went back." Clara bites her bottom lip and shakes her head in disgust. "I was scared and she never called me." I grab onto her hand, trying to let her know ow that i'm here for her.

"Anyway, Harper finally called. He's dying Spence. My dad is dying." She cries hard this time, she says she hates him why would she be crying this hard?

"Clara," I clear my throat but she doesn't let me speak.

"I'm crying because now i have to go back there now, I have to be there. I owe that Harper, I can't leave her alone now." She wipes her face but it's no use.

"I'll go with you, he can't do anything if i'm there with you. Plus, Id love to meet your sister." I give her a soft smile.

"But what about work? Psychopaths don't stop just cause I'm having family issues." She runs her fingers through her half dried hair.

"I have some time off I can take. so don't really use it much so it won't be a big deal. I'll talk to Hotch tomorrow, when do you want to leave?" I realize i'm talking fast but I do that when so get anxious and she knows it too.

"I think on Sunday night, so we can get there by Monday." Clara pushes my chest back so i'm lying on the couch before she lays on top of me.

"Okay," I whisper to her. I think her life might be more complicated than she leads on. And I don't want to tell her this, but the by sound of her sisters voice the first time, her dad is not dying.

And I know I should tell her but what evidence do I have besides what I think, from what I heard? Clara is in a fragile mindset, she won't hear me out no matter what I say.