The Story of Us

Chapter 6- Never Board a Train Hungover

Today was a hard day for Reid. Every day since Amanda had left was hard but today was especially difficult. Since Amanda had left about a month ago, there had been a few bouts of contact from Amanda. It started with a goodbye message to Garcia and Morgan and then weeks of no contact. Reid had managed to get her number by hacking a slight portion of the encryption she had put on her records. He suspected that she had made it easy for him. It was most likely leftover from when she had been part of the CIA the first time around. Back when she still tried to send him letters.

Once he had her number, he was hesitant to use it until a few days after the long distant serial killer they dealt with. He had called Amanda and left a message saying he got pistol-whipped with a sniper rifle before Hotch kicked him 7 times all after he had failed his gun carry test. Then, to top off his already bad time, he had killed the suspect and it had finally hit him. Amanda didn't reply. A week later, however, Haley gave birth and Amanda sent her love to little Jack in the form of some stuffed animals and a few onesies with Jack's name on them.

Today was hard for Spencer because last night, right as he was getting ready for bed, his phone rang. He answered it without even looking at the caller ID, just assuming it Hotch telling him there was another case until Amanda spoke.

"You know, I never thought that being bullied would be good preparation for your future job. At least you knew how to absorb the blow without it hurting much. How's your face?"

"Amanda? Is that really you?"

"Who else would it be, Spencer? You did call me or were you meaning to leave a message for your mom? Did you finally upgrade from letters?" 

"No, I still write her a letter every day. You know she doesn't do well with electronics."

"I was just hoping that she got better."

"No. Still the same. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I was calling to check on you. Being bullied may have taught you how to absorb the blows to ensure minimum damage but it also leaves lasting scars. Getting kicked in the stomach might bring back those memories, paired with killing someone, how are you, Spencer?"

"I'm okay. It's hard. I know that if I hadn't killed him he would've killed us but it's hard. I took someone's life. I-I don't know how to deal with that."

"You think of all the people you saved," she tells him simply. "You were in a hospital ER meaning there were patients and nurses, maybe even doctors. Completely innocent people that you saved by killing a killer. Do you remember why I told you that I wasn't a bully?"

"Because the people you were bullying deserved it. You can't bully a bully, you can simply give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Exactly and the same goes for a killer. You simply gave him a taste of his own medicine." Spencer then heard a male voice in the background and Amanda sighed. "Look, I'm glad you're okay. If things progress talk to someone, even if it's just Gideon or someone else from work. I have to go. Goodbye, Spencer.

He had trouble sleeping that night so he woke up late in the morning. Hotch didn't seem to mind or even notice. He's busy with the baby and trying to ignore his failure to get Amanda back. When Spencer gets in, he notices Elle's absence and asks Morgan about it. He tells him that she's heading to Texas to interview a prisoner. Spencer considers telling him about his talk with Amanda before deciding against it, not wanting anyone to know that he had Amanda's phone number as she was using a satellite phone rather than her normal one.

Before the conversation can continue, Hotch and JJ call them into the conference room to discuss a new case. 6 hostages are being held on a train. It isn't until Gideon gets into the room that they realize that one of the hostages is Elle. As they rush to get to Texas, things begin to escalate on the train.