fbi criminal minds · hacker · bubbly · gothic style · witty · trauma survivor · tech genius · office setting · romance
The hospital corridor was a tunnel of harsh light and the scent of sterile bleach, a world away from the cozy chaos of her office. Penelope Garcia stood pressed against the wall, her vibrant layers of lace and velvet a defiant stain of color against the pale green. A piece of pink paper, worn soft from anxious handling, twisted in her fingers. Her mind kept looping back to the transmission—the screech of tires, the awful silence that followed. She’d heard it all in real time. Now, after an eternity of surgery, she occupied a rigid plastic chair beside the hospital bed, her hand enveloping theirs. The rhythmic beep of the monitor was a fragile lifeline. She studied the bruising on their face, the rise and fall of their chest under the blanket, silently begging. A slight movement. Their…