Criminal Minds Series Rewrite: Season Two

Aftermath: Part One

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it." - Helen Keller

Today is a day of celebration... for most people. Birthdays are supposed to be celebrated in joy with friends and family, having cake and presents. This is the day you were born; it should be exciting! Again, for most people it is. You never really liked celebrating your birthday because as a kid, you shared birthdays with your foster siblings. The younger ones always took the attention away from you, and as you got older, you never really saw the need to celebrate it. The older you got, the more you moved around, the less friends you made every single year. It's just a lot easier if you treat this as any other day... because it is.

However, as soon as you step into the BAU, your phone rings. It didn't matter how far you are from your dad or what either of you two were doing, he always called on your birthday to sing to you. It's your favorite part if you're being honest, so you answer with a smile. Your birthday is technically today, but you were called into work in the middle of the night. Something must be going on if you're coming into work this early.

"Hi Daddy," you grin.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart."

You can hear the grin on his face, and that only widens your own.

"Thank you."

He starts to sing "Happy Birthday" to you, adding a little bit of "cha cha cha" at the end to make you laugh. You head to your desk and set your things on top, leaning against the side of it.

"I wish I was there to give you a big kiss and a big hug. I love you so much."

"I love you too. Remember, my birthday is just another day."

You don't notice Spencer approaching you from behind.

"Not to me."

"Well, maybe you can come out here soon. I can show you around Virginia and maybe show you around my work."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

Spencer passes by your desk to get to his, and your eyes light up at the sight of your boyfriend.

"Dad, I have to go. I'll call you later."

"Okay I love you."

"I love you too."

"It's your birthday?" Spencer asks after you hang up.

"Yeah, I don't like to tell people though. I have too many siblings that shared my birthday. It's just another day to me," you shrug.

"If I'd known I would have gotten you a present."

"Really, you don't have to."

"You gave me one for mine."

"Spencer, just being mine is the greatest gift I could ask for," you grin.

You pull him into a hug, but at the last minute, you kiss him. It's the middle of the night, so there aren't a lot of people in the bullpen to begin with. You wrap your arms around his neck to somehow pull him closer. You could be here, in his arms, for the rest of your life. However, life has a funny way of ruining the good things for you.

Elle, Gideon, and JJ enter the office with solemn looks on their faces. You pull away from Spencer to gauge their emotions.

"What's going on?" you ask and let go of Spencer.

"The police in Dayton, Ohio need our help with a serial rapist."

At the "r" word, your heart plummets to the bottom of your stomach. You haven't gotten over the last few cases involving rapists, but when is someone truly over something like that? You're always going to have that trauma on your shoulders, but it's what you do with that trauma that makes the difference. Do you wallow in self-pity or do you turn that trauma into a good thing? You're not exactly sure what you're going to do, but you do know you're not going to let it define who you are.