Façade//Spencer Reid

10. Knowing the risks

SPENCER
Hotch asked for an hour to think. When that hour was up, he exited his office and requested to see me and Y/N. We both walked into his office, both of us sitting down in the seats opposite him.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Hotch eyed me and Y/N. My eyes widened at his question.

"What?! No!" I exclaimed, shaking my head. That's when I looked at Y/N. She kept her composure. Sure, she agreed with me, telling Hotch that there wasn't anything going on, but she managed to do it without sounding so disgusted.

There was nothing undesirable about Y/N. She's pretty, smart and very resourceful. She had made it known that she could take care of herself if necessary. And the fact that she had a child didn't phase me. She was very open about showing her motherly love. When I discovered how long she and her son had been separated for, I was genuinely shocked and quite sad. No child deserves to be taken from their mother. No mother deserves the pain of having their child taken away. It didn't help that Carter's life could and would end if Y/N didn't do her job.

I collected myself and exhaled.

"Hotch, you know how cases with children involved impact the team. You're a father and JJ is a mother, and we're all close with both your children. I'm merely treating this case as if it was any other. My only concerns are the safety of Carter and the downfall of M." I explained to Hotch, who nodded.

"I understand. I totally do, but the BAU has been under fire for a while now. Strauss is looking for any reason - big or small - to take our team apart. If we were to complete this case behind her back, without informing her and she found out, she'd skip the transfers and move straight to firing us." Hotch sighed, explaining his thoughts.

"Hotch, the BAU has been under fire for years now. Rossi even admitted that the BAU was threatened to be taken apart when it first began. Everyone has tried - and failed - to take our team apart. All I'm asking is that you consider the consequences if we do let Strauss know what we're doing." I begged.

"Okay. Go back to the conference room." Hotch instructed.

Y/N and I walked back to the conference room, meeting up with the rest of the team.

"What's going on?" JJ asked as Hotch entered the room, his arms crossed. Y/N and I sat down, watching him.

"If we tell Strauss about this case, Y/N and Carter, she's more likely to make us follow every rule in the book, which won't help us save him and take down M. But, if we don't tell her about the case and she finds out, we're all fired, no doubt." Hotch started.

"So?" Penelope asked.

"I've decided to tell Strauss only half of the truth." Hotch spoke.

"Huh?" Morgan questioned, confused.

"We technically have a case, with or without Y/N. We have an unsub - M - who is targeting specific people, using contract killers to do his dirty work and use his M.O. That's all she'll know. We are not to mention Y/N's cooperation or Carter." Hotch explained further.

"Great. I'm in." Emily nodded, smiling.

"We're in." Penelope smiled as she looked between Morgan and Hotch.

"Let's save Carter and take down this ass-clown." Rossi smirked.

"I'm in." JJ nodded.

"Just to double check, we all know the risk by only telling half the truth?" Hotch eyed everyone.

"Yep." Morgan confirmed on everyone's behalf.

"Alright. Everyone go home, get some sleep. We'll start fresh on this case tomorrow." Hotch instructed.

Everyone stood up and left. I headed down to my desk, collecting a few things before heading toward the elevator. Y/N came with me, as I intended to take her home.

———

Arriving at Y/N's home, I walked her up to the front door. She unlocked the door and stopped. Turning to face me, she smiled.

"Thank you, Spencer." She spoke.

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"For sticking up for me. Before I was arrested, I worked day after day, night after night, hoping that I'd get the chance to see my son, to hold him. Since I met you and your team, my hopes of seeing my son have greatly increased. With you and your team's help, I might actually have a chance of escaping M's torment with my son, and for that, I thank you." She smiled, looking up at me.

For a moment, I just looked at her. Neither of us moved. But then...something happened. One moment, Y/N stood in front of me, a smile of gratitude on her face. The next moment, her arms were wrapped around my neck.

I stood, frozen. This woman that I barely knew was hugging me. Her chin was on my shoulder as her hands tightened on my upper-back. Weirdly, I didn't push her away, complain or awkwardly explain that I was a germaphobe. Instead, I relaxed slightly, my hands moving to her upper-back. I may have felt a bit weird allowing Y/N to hug me, but at least I had some idea as to where I should rest my hands. Oddly enough, this hug that Y/N had initiated was comforting, and I slightly enjoyed it.

"It's nothing. The team is just as adamant to save Carter as I am. None of us like it when a child is in danger because of an unsub, so having the chance to save the child is our number one priority - besides arresting the unsub, of course." I chuckled slightly, feeling Y/N slowly pull away from my grasp.

Y/N
You and Spencer arrived at your home. Without hesitation, he walked you up to your front door. Unlocking the front door, you stopped. Turning to face Spencer, you smiled.

"Thank you, Spencer." You spoke, seeing a look of confusion appear on his face.

"For what?" He asked.

"For sticking up for me. Before I was arrested, I worked day after day, night after night, hoping that I'd get the chance to see my son, to hold him. Since I met you and your team, my hopes of seeing my son have greatly increased. With you and your team's help, I might actually have a chance of escaping M's torment with my son, and for that, I thank you." You smiled, looking up at him.

For a moment, he just looked at you. Neither of you moved. One moment you stood in front of Spencer with a smile of gratitude on her face. But the next moment, your arms were wrapped around Spencer's neck. You didn't think. You just hugged him.

You could feel Spencer's body tense up, but not from disgust. It was more like he was caught off-guard by your hug, which you understood. Your chin rested on his shoulder while your hands rested on his upper-back. After a few moments, his body relaxed and his hands rested on your upper-back. It was clear that he didn't hug people often, but he seemed okay with you hugging him.

"It's nothing. The team is just as adamant to save Carter as I am. None of us like it when a child is in danger because of an unsub, so having the chance to save the child is our number one priority - besides arresting the unsub, of course." Spencer chuckled slightly as you slowly pulled away from his gasp. As much as you didn't want to let go of the comforting hug you and Spencer had just experienced, it was time for you to get inside and time for Spencer to go home.

"Goodnight, Spencer." You smiled sweetly, seeing Spencer blush slightly. He may have been caught off-guard by your sudden hug, but he clearly enjoyed it, even if only a little bit.

You entered the house and watched as Spencer walked up the drive-way, heading up to his car. Closing the front door and locking it, you turned to face the kitchen, a smile on your face.