Resident Genius 2.0 (Spencer Reid)

34. Contact

AJ
I spent the next 24 hours talking to Bailey and Penelope on the phone, keeping in contact with the kids to make sure they're okay. At 10 am, I sat in the conference room, Chief Connor bringing me a coffee. Hotch and Rossi went off to talk to the Doctor's wife, while Morgan, Emily and JJ went to the M.E's office to see the body. As for me, I just sat in the precinct, catching up with colleagues.

As Hotch and Rossi came back, the conference room phone went off, confusing me. Hotch picked up the phone and answered.

"Agent Hotchner." Hotch made himself known.

"Hey Hotch. Long time no see." I heard his voice. It sounded like he hadn't slept in a while, judging by how tired he sounded.

"Hello Spencer." Hotch remained calm, gesturing for Rossi to contact Penelope.

"Is AJ there? I'd like to talk to her. ALONE." Spencer basically demanded.

"Yes. She's here." He handed me the phone, but told me not to speak. He pressed the SPEAKER button before opening and shutting the conference room door, making it seem as if he had left, which is what we hoped Spencer believed.

"AJ. Are you there?" Spencer asked. I put the phone down and exhaled.

"Y- Yes, Spencer. I'm here." I tried to remain calm.

"Are you alone?" He asked. I looked up at Hotch, who remained silent.

"Yes. I'm alone, Spencer." I lied, feeling my hands begin to shake.

"You really hurt me when you ended things. Did Hotch tell you that I was depressed? I barely left my apartment and he threatened to fire me if I didn't come to work. I LOVED you, AJ. I loved you more than anything, yet, no matter how hard we tried, you just gave up. I found it so sweet when you gave up your job for me, but then, as we became more distant, my life started to crumble around me, and you leaving just broke me." Spencer hissed, his voice sounding broken.

"I'm so sorry, Spencer. I never meant to hurt you as much as I did. That's why I asked if we could remain friends. I still loved you, just not in the romantic way." I defended myself, trying not to cry. Hotch silently walked over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"YOU were the stressor, AJ! When you ended things with me, my life fell apart and I couldn't handle it! The trigger came when that bastard of a doctor played the Angel of Death and killed my mother. I knew that I could get back at you and him. I was killing two birds with one stone, as they say." Spencer yelled before his sobs turned into a laugh.

"Spencer, whatever this is it, isn't you. The team- we can help you! Just...please, turn yourself in." I begged, feeling worried.

"And what are you and the team gonna do, huh? Send me to a fucking therapist?! Sit me down twice a week and let me talk about my feelings? Yeah, no thanks. I'd much rather spend my time getting to know Sophie and Archer. After all, they are my kids." My heart dropped when Spencer mentioned their names. He knew about them.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about them, huh? Why didn't you let me be apart of their lives? Because of you, I missed their births. I've missed their first 5 birthdays. I never went to the ultrasounds or even got to share in the joy of finding our their genders. I missed out on all of that, because of YOU!" Spencer growled, clearly angry.

"I didn't want you to choose between your children and your dream job. I didn't want your life becoming like Hotch's life. You never deserved that, and I wasn't about to let kids get in the way of you living your life. I'm so sorry, Spencer. I wish I could take it all back, I do, but I can't." I exhaled, feeling tears slip down my cheek.

"So, what? JJ can know about you being pregnant, but not the father of your children? That doesn't seem fair to me. Does it seem fair to you?" Spencer yelled.

"I- I'm sorry, S- Spencer." I stuttered, knowing that he was right. It wasn't fair of me to keep the twins from him, or my pregnancy at all.

"It's too late for apologies, AJ." Spencer hissed before the call was disconnected, leaving me to cry. I had to let it out. Looking up at Hotch, I hadn't noticed that Rossi, Emily, JJ and Morgan had returned to the conference room, and had most likely heard that conversation between Spencer and I.