488 DAYS. IT had been 488 days since leah gray died.
488 days ago, leah gray was shot by a man named gregory campbell. you remember him, right? gregory campbell, in love with our leading lady leah gray- so much so that he and his partner jason porter killed her parents, killed her best friend, and- well- killed her.
her name was dead. not a soul would ever come to meet our lovely leah gray again.
but not for the reason you may think.
it was unbeknownst to anyone except agent hotchner and the surgeons in her hospital room that saved her, but leah gray was alive. she lived in england now, for her own safety. jason porter got away, and nobody knows where he is. until they know that he is no longer a threat, leah can't come back.
sorry, did i say leah?
right, our lovely leading lady leah gray. she truly was a beaut, wasn't she? spencer seemed to think so.
as i said, her name was dead. the name "leah gray" could make anyone on the bau tear up just by hearing the name.
but the person? she still lived. a beautiful, courageous soul still lived in her body. the only thing different was her name.
and her name was noelle.
when leah gray finally became conscious after her surgery, aaron hotchner entered her room, and he was the only one.
"we both know jason porter won't stop looking for you until you're dead," he had started. leah nodded sadly, knowing where the conversation was going.
"so you're going to england to live there. i already talked to an agent over there, you have a set job already."
leah nodded again, starting to cry. "i understand, aaron."
"will you be okay?"
"eventually. it'll just be hard- you know, not being able to say goodbye?"
hotch looked down, starting to tear up himself. he nodded.
"obviously you know you will have to change your name. any ideas on what you want it to be?"
leah started to think, still crying. and for a few seconds, she smiled, laughing a bit to herself.
"noelle."
hotch looked at her and smiled, knowing the reason she chose this name.
"and your last name?"
leah thought a few seconds. she hadn't thought that far. dozens and dozens of surnames flooded her head. noelle smith? eh, too boring. noelle carter? it's okay, but there's a lot of other better options.
how about noelle morgan? no, that just sounds stupid.
she smiled once again, wiping her tears before she finally answered.
"reid."
hotch looked up to her, nodding his head.
"well," he smiled, holding his hand out to her. "nice to meet you, noelle reid."
𖥸
"how you holding up kid?" derek morgan asked spencer reid as he walked towards his desk.
even though it's been over a year since leah's death, spencer still had some tough days and morgan took it upon himself to be there for him whenever he needs him.
spencer looked away from the framed photo of her on his desk (the only photo, nonetheless) and made eye contact with morgan. "i'm okay," he smiled.
and he wasn't lying. he really was okay.
even weeks after leah died, spencer didn't leave his apartment. he helped garcia and the team if they had any questions through the phone, but that was it.
he spent 4 weeks and 3 days away from work before he returned. he didn't sleep, he didn't eat much, he listened to "teenage dirtbag" on repeat and sobbed as he listened to the words, trying to reminisce her voice the way she sang.
when leah died, it was the hardest thing for spencer. it was even harder when the last words she said to him echoed in his head every few minutes.
"i wish we would've.."
and then she died. she never finished her sentence. spencer would never understand now, he wouldn't know what she felt, he didn't even know what she meant when she said those last words to him. all he cared about in that moment was the goddamn medic that took way too long to show up. he barely even listened to the words, but he should've. he would've if he knew they were her last ones.
but he was okay. it got hard sometimes, and he thought about her a lot. he cared for her deeply, as a friend, as a colleague, as a person- as his person.
but she was gone.
"we're going to head to the movie theatre tonight to catch a movie," morgan said, gesturing his head towards emily and garcia. "do you wanna join us?"
"no thanks," spencer replied. "rain check?"
derek smiled at him and walked towards the girls. spencer looking at leah's photo one last time before standing up and grabbing his coat.
"he's dead," hotch came out of his office and announced to the team.
the team turned towards him.
"who's dead?" jj asked him.
𖥸
it was around 2:30am when a phone call woke leah- noelle- up.
it was aaron hotchner.
leah groaned. yes, her and hotch talked every day just to catch up and fill each other in on their lives, but 2:30 in the morning?
"hotch," leah groaned. "why are you calling me at 2:30 in the mor-"
"he's dead," hotch cut leah off.
"what? who?"
"jason porter."
leah's eyes widened, and before she knew it, stray tears streamed down her face.
"w-what does this mean, hotch?"
"depends, leah."
leah's eyes widened. hotch NEVER called her leah, not since she took the name "noelle" so long ago.
"on what?"
"if you want to come home."