"Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met." ~ Marguerite Duras
The Daughter
When we got back from the case on Monday night, we were all exhausted and ready for bed. I don't think Spencer and I had ever been so silent with each other as what we were on the car-ride home; mainly because we were too tired to even talk.
We collapsed into bed and slept straight through into the next afternoon when we were awoken with the buzzer ringing shrilly throughout the apartment.
"Go away." Spencer groaned into my shoulder. And that's how I'd awakened on Tuesday morning. With Spencer Reid sprawled across my chest, his head buried on my chest with his breath pooling the skin around my fading bruise on my neck.
The buzzer sounded again and I groaned, kissing the top of his head while gently pushing him off my body; sliding out of bed and narrowly missing his reaching hands.
I staggered out of the bedroom and into the living room, crossing to the door with the intercom on the wall.
"Hello?" I groaned down the phone as Spencer stumbled out of the bedroom after me, sleepily walking to me with his arms outstretched like a kid.
"Melanie?" Caitlyn's voice spoke through the intercom and I frowned. Why was Caitlyn at our apartment at... I turned and glanced at the clock on the mantle, realising it was one in the afternoon.
"Caitlyn?" I asked as Spencer wrapped his arms around me backwards, his breath tickling my neck as he buried his head into the crook of my neck where he seemed most comfortable. "What're you doing here is everything okay?"
"Can I come up for a sec? I'm sorry for disturbing you it's just I didn't know who else to turn to."
"Y-yeah of course, come right in." I buzzed her through and frowned as I hung the phone back on the wall and unlocked the front door, leaving it ajar for her.
"What's wrong? Why'd you do that?" Spencer mumbled sleepily and I frowned, patting his hands on my waist as I walked us both through to the kitchen, flicking on the coffee-pot.
"She sounded upset, something's not right." I nodded, decided.
"Why couldn't she just call?" He mumbled into my skin and I sighed.
"Maybe she didn't have time." I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist, the pair of us squeezing each other tighter one last time before,
"Melanie!" Was called excitedly by Ben and Daisy in the living room.
Spencer moaned slightly as we realised the kids were here too.
"Hey!" I said excitedly, breaking away from Spencer and hurrying out of the kitchen, into the living room where the kids were looking around for me excitedly, Melanie entering the apartment and closing the door behind her.
"Hey guys." I grinned as they hurried to me. "How are you?" I asked as Spencer exited the kitchen with three coffees. He cautiously walked to the table and set them down as the kids excitedly watched him.
"Are you just out of bed?" Daisy giggled and we both nodded.
"Yeah we were super tired after work yesterday." I explained.
"Did we wake you?" Caitlyn asked apologetically as we both crossed to the sofas. She took to one sofa while Spencer and I took to another, the kids scrambling up onto my lap, fighting for the major place. I sniggered and Spencer chuckled as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, we had to get up anyway." He was saying.
"Yeah I didn't realise the time." I admitted, hugging the kids tighter to my chest.
"Hey you guys, why don't you do me a massive favour," I asked Ben and Daisy, pulling back slightly. "Could you maybe find my cell in the bedroom please? I can't seem to find it anywhere."
Spencer frowned next to me but I elbowed him slightly to keep him from speaking out. Excitedly they nodded their heads and leapt off my lap, scurrying for the bedroom.
I passed Caitlyn her coffee and took my own cup into my hands now that my lap was a child-free-and-therefore-danger-free-zone.
"What's up?" I asked Caitlyn and she sighed, picking at the hem of her cardigan.
"Kieran and I had our first scan today," She admitted with a broad smile and my heart plummeted into my chest.
Something was wrong.
"But he never showed. We agreed to meet at the hospital because we both had work to do so I got there early and he just... never... turned up. I called and called and even spoke to his boss but he just told me he couldn't come to the phone. He said everything was okay and he was sorry but he was told to tell me he was busy and couldn't make it."
I frowned in confusion and narrowed my eyes slightly.
"He purposely missed your first scan?" I gasped and Caitlyn nodded her head with emotional eyes.
"He finishes work in an hour but the school's on holiday and I had to pick up the kids from group. I want to talk to him about it but I know it's not going to be an easy conversation... I don't want them around to hear what I have to say. And any sitters I use are on holiday too."
"Hey, it's okay, you don't have to explain Cait. Spence and I will happily look after Ben and Dais for you to sort things out with Kieran." Spencer was nodding his head enthusiastically.
"Absolutely," He agreed. "It's important you sort things out with Kieran." He said matter-of-factly.
"You guys," Caitlyn choked and covered her mouth with her hand, concealing any emotional words before clearing her throat and smiling broadly at us. "You're wonderful, really, the pair of you. First, you put your lives on the line to save Ben and Dais and now you're dropping everything in a second to look after them. Thank you both. Really." We shook our heads, scoffing.
"By saving them the other day we were just doing our job, Cait. And it was partially our fault too so we were only making amends. But now we want to do this. Really we do."
"They're great kids. And they're important to you both. It's really no trouble." Spencer agreed.
Caitlyn sighed and smiled emotionally.
"Well I better get going just now then," She placed her coffee-cup down on the table. "I'll let you know how it goes when I pick them up. Thank you again, really." I crossed the room and hugged her tightly.
"Stop thanking us silly." I smiled into her hair.
"You won't be thanking us by the time you come to pick them up." Spencer joked, briefly and slightly awkwardly hugging Caitlyn too.
She chuckled at his joke and scoffed, crossing to the bedroom and saying goodbye to the kids before she left.
"Melanie we can't find your cell." Daisy grunted from the doorway and I sighed, throwing my hands in the air.
"Just where could that phone be?" I rhetorically asked in an exaggerated tone before gasping and hurrying for my satchel on the armchair. I fished the cell out of the front pocket and held it triumphantly in the air.
"Silly me!" I laughed. "Found it! It was here this whole time!" I said ironically and the kids giggled, pushing me playfully telling me I was silly.
I glanced at Spencer to find him watching us with a large grin, shaking his head in awe.
*
After Spencer and I had properly awakened I made us all some lunch and we ate it while Spencer and Ben grew engrossed in Doctor Who. Daisy and I watched it too but with less intent than the boys.
"Let's go tidy up Dais." I smirked at her disgusted expression and she nodded her head enthusiastically, taking her plate along with her brother's into the kitchen.
We dumped everything in the dishwasher before heading into the bedroom.
In here Daisy helped me spread the sheets on the bed, open the curtains and helped me choose some casual clothes to wear.
At first she'd chosen one of Spencer's pink and red checked shirts and a blue skirt. But after explaining how neither of these items actually went together, and that only one of them was mine, she settled on a printed t-shirt and a pair of shorts.
I wasn't entirely happy with the outfit but to keep her happy I pulled the clothes on along with one of Spencer's hoodies and we returned to the living room.
In here the boys were completely chilled on the sofa; sat side-by-side; on the edge of their seats; their mouths slightly parted in surprise; their lips upturned in enjoyment and awe; their eyes wide with curiosity and astonishment.
They were both so beautiful Daisy and I stood watching until the episode finished and Daisy jumped in front of the TV before Spencer could turn another on.
"Hey, we were enjoying that." Spencer frowned playfully and I rolled my eyes at Daisy, making her giggle.
I shut the TV off at the mains and the boys gasped in shock.
"Time for some actual fun." I said matter-of-factly and pulled a board game out from the bottom shelf of one of Spencer's massive bookcases.
"A board game?" Ben questioned with a judgemental expression.
"Aw c'mon Ben, you're gonna love this." I said enthusiastically.
*
Perhaps I should've worn Ben's expression as I was kicked out of the game in the first five minutes with all three lives lost.
I pondered bringing out scrabble or chess; but considering only Spencer would be able to truly participate in both I decided against that idea and made us all a snack instead.
I was re-entering the living room when the buzzer went again. Frowning in confusion as I realised no way could it be Caitlyn, I crossed to the intercom and answered.
"Hey Mel it's Jack and I." Beth said excitedly and I grinned.
"C'mon up. Ben and Daisy are here too." I said and the three of them turned mid-laugh from their game.
"Who is it?" Spencer asked.
"You guys," I said excitedly, crossing to the table and crouching down by the kids. "I want you both to meet someone really special to me, he's my little brother Jack from the pictures." The pair looked at each other excitedly and Daisy squealed.
"How's my hair?" She said humorously and Spencer and I laughed at her comical maturity.
"Is Beth here too?" Spencer asked and I nodded my head.
"Who's Beth?" Ben asked and I opened my mouth, but not before there was a knock at the door.
"Beth is Melanie's dad's soon-to-be-wife." Spencer explained as I crossed to the door.
"So she's not Jack's mommy?" Daisy asked and Spencer shook his head.
"Where's his mom then?" Ben asked and I halted with my hand on the door.
"She died a few years ago. It's best not to talk about her." Spencer explained softly and the two kids nodded their heads, looking at each other silently exchanging warnings.
At that, I pulled the front door opened and grinned at two of my most favourite people.
"Hey!" I grinned as Jack threw his arms around me. "How are you Captain?" I asked, stepping inside the apartment and briefly hugging Beth.
"I'm good. How're you?" He asked, peering shyly at the two kids in the living room.
"I'm good big guy. How're you Beth?" I asked, closing the door behind her.
"I'm great thanks sweetheart. Hey Spencer!" She grinned and he said hello in return, waving happily as I lead the pair of them into the living room.
"Jack, these are my good friends Ben, and Daisy. You guys, this is my little brother Jack." I introduced and the three kids waved at each other, Daisy smiling and batting her eyelashes. I chuckled at her cute reaction and Jack blushed slightly, acting coyly.
"We're playing a game. Wanna join?" Ben asked and Jack nodded his head silently, crouching down at the table too.
"Here Jack, you can play with me seeing as the game's already started and then you can join properly in the next one." Spencer offered and Jack grinned, leaping to his feet at the opportunity of playing with someone he actually knew.
"Coffee?" I offered Beth and she nodded enthusiastically.
"So what's my dad up to today then?" I asked, leading her inside the kitchen.
"He's doing some wedding work with Dave." I frowned in confusion.
"Isn't Spence his best-man?" I asked and she nodded her head, setting her bag down on the counter.
"Oh, he is. It's just apparently Dave is the guy who knows best about weddings and marriages and the do's and don'ts of them." She sighed and rolled her eyes as if to say 'don't ask' and so I chuckled, and I didn't.
"I didn't know you had the kids round today." Beth said happily, peering out at them all laughing.
"No me neither," I said with a small sigh. "But Caitlyn and Kieran are having some problems so we agreed to keep the kids until things are sorted," I explained and shook my head sadly.
"But isn't she pregnant?" Beth gasped and I nodded my head.
"It was her first scan today," Beth gasped again and I nodded again. It was a shocking situation. Not to mention sad.
"They'll work things out though. Pregnancy isn't easy in a relationship." I said matter-of-factly.
"You speak as if from experience." Beth chuckled as I passed her coffee.
I didn't really know how to answer this and she gasped when I didn't deny it right away.
"I have a complicated past." I explained instead and she sighed emphatically.
"There are so many sides to you Melanie Hotchner." She said sternly.
I chewed on my lip, feeling like I was being told off by my mum.
Absentmindedly the pair of us crowded in the doorway and watched the three kids playing the board game with Spencer; the way the four of them laughed and joked, completely lost in the fun of the game.
It wasn't a mature game, and yet it wasn't a kids game either. The four of them were just completely enjoying it. And that was a beautiful thing to watch.
"He's so good with them." Beth said after a long silence between us.
"Isn't he? It's so lovely to watch." I admitted, sighing.
"Oh," Beth smiled, turning to me with sparkling eyes. "Was that a sigh of longing?" She asked and I smirked, shaking my head.
"A sigh of longing for what?" I asked, avoiding her eyes.
"Well look at him with them... Doesn't it make you broody?" She asked and I choked.
"Kids?!" I scoffed. "Right now? Are you kidding?" I sniggered and shook my head.
"No, I couldn't... I've just settled down in Virginia at the BAU. Things are going perfectly with my dad and Jack and you, I've finally found my family and I couldn't be happier with Spencer. We're finally settled in our apartment and we love each other. We've just passed our first anniversary together. A kid? A baby? Of our own? Right now?"
I scoffed again and shook my head.
"Definitely not the right time at all."
"But one day?" She asked hopefully and I sighed, looking at Spencer again.
His smile was broad and genuine; dimples and teeth showing; his eyes sparkling and his laugh warming like smooth butter.
He looked in his element with the children and I could admit how beautiful it would be for those children to be ours.
To have Spencer's wild hair and my blue eyes. His smile and my ears. His cheekbones and my nose. His body and my strength. His intelligence and my bravery.
Our children would be quite the little miracles.
"I take your silence and brooding expression to be a yes?" Beth interrupted my reverie and I blinked away from my Spencer to see her grinning at me in joy.
"W-w-what?" I stuttered, completely forgetting what she just said.
"Kids, with Spencer," She said slowly. "On the cards for one day?" I smiled and nodded my head, turning back to see him glance over his shoulder at us happily.
"Definitely one day."
The Doctor
"We are just surrounded by kids right now." Melanie chuckled as both climbed into bed that night.
It'd been a long and exhausting day, but it had been amazing. I'd really had a lot of fun with Jack, Ben and Daisy. And it was no wonder they were disappointed when Caitlyn turned up again.
When she did she had puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks so Beth and I had volunteered to stay with the kids while Caitlyn and Melanie went to the coffee-shop across the road.
An hour later they returned a little happier and so Caitlyn had set off for home with the kids, closely followed by Beth and Jack.
It turned out that Kieran had felt that everything was happening too quickly too soon, they hadn't been together long when Caitlyn had fallen pregnant, and it turned out he wasn't fully committed to being a father.
Melanie had made Caitlyn see that she didn't need Kieran to prove she was an amazing person and that she could be an even better mom.
When Melanie told me everything she'd told Caitlyn; my heart swelled with pride and love. I really had the perfect girlfriend.
"It's kind of beautiful though isn't it?" I asked as I pulled the sheets over us both.
"What is?" She asked, turning to face me properly.
"Kids," I said a little apprehensively. "And their complete innocence and happiness. Like today... I've never seen such happy kids."
"I've never seen such happy people." Melanie said, reaching out and caressing my cheek. I chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah, I was pretty happy..." I admitted.
"You were completely in your element the whole day."
"I'm good with kids," I shrugged.
"I guess that's the main reason JJ and Will made me Henry's godfather." Melanie nodded her head and sighed contentedly as I turned to face her and kissed her palm, taking it into my own.
"You ever thought about it?" She asked and I frowned in confusion. "Kids I mean... You ever thought about having your own?" I almost choked. Where was this conversation headed?
"Y-y-yeah," I stuttered. "Of course but... There's never been the right person... O-o-or the right time." She nodded her head.
"Working in the BAU I guess there's never a right time... I dunno how JJ does it."
"There are sacrifices to everything I suppose..." I reasoned and she mhmm-ed sleepily, nodding her head. "Nanight Princess." I said sleepily, leaning forward and pressing my lips against her forehead before turning and flicking off the light.
The Daughter
"Alrighty team I'm glad you're all present and correct because this one is bold as brass,"
Penelope said, entering the conference room at full-speed. We all followed her as she marched to the front of the room and Morgan happily passed her the controller.
"Thank you my chocolate man," She said briefly before clicking three pictures onto the screen, all young African-American males. "Team meet Tyler Dawkins, nineteen. Dre Fall, twenty. And Dylan Southfolk, twenty-three."
"Well, we can rule out age as a part of victimology." Morgan stated and Garcia nodded.
"All three men were shot to death over the course of three months."
"One victim a month." Spencer stated.
"Indeed dear Reid," Garcia shivered. "Wisconsin PD are calling us in because they have no new leads and they believe the killings are connected."
"Are they sure it isn't gang affiliated?" Morgan asked.
"Pause please." Garcia said patiently before clicking three additional pictures onto the screen and shuddering again as we all observed the three dead bodies.
It would appear that each victim had his head completely shaved of hair, including eyebrows and facial hair before being stripped naked and shot execution-style.
"Bodies were dumped in public disposal cans along with the trash."
"But not shot there?" Prentiss asked and Garcia shook her head.
"Well it's clear the shaving of the head, the absence of clothes and the method of disposal are all final insults to our victims." I stated and JJ nodded her head.
"It's obvious the end goal is to further humiliate the men."
"Do PD have any suspects Garcia?" My dad asked and Garcia shook her head.
"PD originally thought the shootings were gang-related and so had local gang leaders and associates arrested but all alibis checked out. They're coming up empty."
"If we're to go by the Unsub's timeline there should be another body by Monday..." Rossi stated and I gaped at the photos on my tablets.
These young men looked innocent of all evil or harm. How could they have ended up shot and tossed in trash-cans?
"With that in mind," My dad said, following on from Rossi. "It's clear we need to up PD's game. Wheels up in thirty." He gathered his papers and tablet and hurried from the room.
"I wonder why he always does that..." I mumbled absentmindedly as I got to my feet far slower than my father.
"Who does what?" Spencer asked.
"My dad. He always runs from the room as soon as a briefing is over." I explained with a slight frown of confusion.
"He's kind of always done that." Morgan chuckled and Garcia, Spencer and JJ all nodded.
"I guess we'll never actually know Hotch's reasons for what he does." Rossi chuckled and I completely agreed.
*
"Detective Curtwig, I'm Agent Hotchner, these are agents Hotchner, Jareau and Doctor Reid." My dad introduced.
"I won't lie, I thought there'd be more than four of you." Curtwig said with a small smile, shaking all of our hands except for Spencer's of course.
"Our other Agents Rossi, Prentiss and Morgan are at the crime scenes." Curtwig nodded and gestured to a far corner of the station where several desks had been pushed together to form one bare section by the evidence boards.
"The victims' families arrived a short while ago, they're waiting for you along with the suspects we picked up this morning." Spencer, JJ and I shared confused expressions.
"Suspects?" My dad echoed and the Detective nodded, his hands in his pockets as he sighed emphatically and watched us set up.
"This morning we were called to an out-of-hours bar downtown. Barack South and Hektor Balls were kicking the living daylight's outta each other with a halved club. According to Balls, South had been following him from his block and so he'd jumped him. South had a club on him which was halved during the fight."
"What's South saying?" JJ asked curiously
"He's refusing to comment." The Detective sighed.
"Detective we'd like to observe the suspects if you please. Then we'll interview the families." My dad explained.
"Of course." The Detective gestured ahead and my dad nodded to me.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and dialled Garcia.
"Speak and be heard my little Earthling!" Her cheerful voice sung to me.
"Hello Garci..." I chuckled.
"Ah my Royale Princess!" She cheered. "What can I do you for ma'am?" I laughed and could practically see her curtseying as we made our way through the station to the back-to-back interrogation rooms.
"Garci I need you to run two names for me."
"Anything Prinny. Name 'em."
"Barack South and Hektor Balls. That's Hektor with a 'K' Garci."
"Balls? What an unfortunate soul," I sniggered at her words and she sighed beautifully. "Consider it 'K-ed' my Royale darling, you'll have everything I have on our two bad-boys before you can say 'Hektor-with-a-K'."
I laughed and shook my head in awe as we entered the viewing room sandwiched between the interrogation rooms.
"Thank you Garci."
"Anything my love. Garci out."
"Alright, that's South," Curtwig said, pointing to the right room where a young African-American male was sat behind the table, his broad and strong arms folded across his chest, his tongue running over three metal teeth.
"And that's Balls," Curtwig said, turning behind him and pointing to the left room. In here another young African-American male was sat behind the table.
Although this young man had half his face swollen and badly bruised, his knuckles busted as they rested on the table, his eyes darting back and forth across the room as his knees shook uncontrollably beneath the table.
"Now to me it's clear who the perpetrator is." Curtwig stated, folding his arms.
"Hmm..." My dad turned back to South and dug his hands into his pockets. "Sometimes first looks can be deceiving Detective." He stated.
"But c'mon Agent, isn't it obvious which one of these guys done this?" Curtwig scoffed.
"It's clear South attacked Balls. But why he done so is more to the question, Detective..." Curtwig was clearly still unconvinced.
"You see," I said, pointing to South. "South is calm and controlled, smug even. It's clear he's proud of whatever it is he's done and I bet if we were to go in there and question him right now about it, he'd tell us every last detail of what he done to Balls. But him..."
I crossed to the other window and pointed to the nervous wreck on the other side of the window.
"It's obvious he's hiding something. He's nervous and worried and clearly experiencing some anxiety issues. Yes, he was attacked by South, but it's obvious he's hiding something for South to have done that." I explained and Curtwig nodded his head, convinced and decided.
"This is why I called y'all in."
The Doctor
I watched from the viewing room as JJ and Melanie entered the interrogation room alongside Barack South.
"Hello Barack." Melanie smiled, tossing her hair over her shoulder and shrugging out of her suit jacket, draping it over the back of her chair and elegantly sitting down, pulling the chair further under the desk as JJ done similarly the same thing; all the while South sat staring with his mouth slightly agape; his eyes watching Melanie hungrily.
I was thankful that neither Aaron nor the Detective were in the room with me and were at the scene where Balls and South had been arrested that morning. The families had already been interviewed and now was our chance to dig deeper into these new 'suspects'.
"Well, it's about damn time." South drawled, smiling his metal smile at Melanie.
"Somehow this long-ass wait has been worth every second of my wasted time." He said, looking her up and down before turning to JJ.
The pair scoffed at each other and Melanie tossed her hair again, slapping a file down on the table-top and sliding it across to South, leaning on the desk to do so. South's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets at this and I smirked, my fingers digging into my upper-arms.
"I'm Agent Jennifer Jareau and this is Agent Melanie Hotchner. We're profilers from the FBI's Behaviour Analysis Unit, and we know all about this morning's incident with Hektor Balls."
Balls had already been interviewed and released with no further pending issues. It would appear he had a rare Anxiety Disorder and there was nothing further we suspected him of apart from being extremely nervous of course.
"Of course you do." South smiled, looking from JJ to Melanie.
"I want you to tell us about what happened with Hektor." JJ said.
"Well what I want, is to know what little-miss-sunshine here wants." South drawled, looking at Melanie and smirking. She scoffed and tilted her head to JJ.
"If you could just tell us about Hektor, this'll be over a lot faster." South sighed and leaned on the table, leaning a little closer to Melanie.
"You don't have to show me these, baby-doll," He said and I could practically see Melanie holding herself in line from rolling her eyes or biting back at the sexist pig opposite her. "I already know everything that happened with those kids, I know everything that happens around here." I frowned in confusion, that didn't add up; he wasn't a gang-leader or gang-affiliated.
"And before y'all even ask, no, I'm not in a gang. I just know a thing-or-two about my neighbourhood, is all."
"Well why don't you tell us why you attacked Hektor Balls this morning."
"Do I even need to tell y'all that I mean c'mon, y'all know his name! That alone is enough for me to whoop his sorry ass! Son of a bitch had it comin' to him. As soon as I heard those kids were killed and how they were found," He kissed his teeth and shook his head showing genuine sadness as he sat back on his chair.
"I knew he had summit to do with it. His name gives me the creeps. Someone with a name like that can't be doin' no good." I smirked and shook my head in awe.
"Hey kid, what's up?" Morgan entered the viewing room and nodded to the window just as JJ and Melanie collected the file and their jackets and got ready to leave the interrogation.
"South didn't do this, but he thinks Balls did."
"He say why?" Morgan asked, his hands on his hips.
"Claims Hektor's name was enough." I smirked and Morgan sniggered, shaking his head.
"Well it wasn't South that's for sure. Another's body's just turned up. Same victimology, same MO, same disposal method." JJ and Melanie were standing in the doorway behind Morgan and heard this too.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"We need to re-arrest Balls," I said seriously. "We release him one hour and by the next, a body turns up?" I asked rhetorically. "He has to have something to do with this."
The Daughter
"What've you got Garica?" JJ asked from shot gun as I drove us to South's home address.
"You're in a conference call with Reid, Hotch and the others," She said rapidly and we both nodded. "I've found something suspicious about our victims," She said. "Each of them had a girlfriend who visited the ER with 'minor injuries' in the past month before their boyfriend's deaths."
"What kind of minor injuries Garcia?" Spencer asked from one of the other lines.
"Broken ribs, broken nose, burst head, and broken arm."
"Those are minor injuries?" I scoffed.
"You guys, they're injuries sustained from domestic violence." I fell silent, my mouth snapping shut subconsciously at Spencer's words.
"That's exactly what I was thinking of my Prince," Garcia said from the phone. "And so I dug a little deeper and discovered that every weekend for three weeks leading up to the boyfriend's death, each girlfriend visited the ER."
"Garcia look into nurses and any other medical staff that was working at the same time of the girlfriend's admission." My dad ordered from one of the other lines.
"I'll hit you back ASAP sir." The line went dead and JJ shook her head in awe from shot gun.
"So this guy is hunting men who hurt their girlfriends?" Prentiss asked from the back-seat.
"It would seem that way..." JJ mumbled.
"It makes you ask yourself if we're doing the right thing by hunting them, doesn't it? I mean, we get guys hunting rapists and paedophiles and now wife-beaters. It kind of makes you question whether we're making the world a better or worse place by taking them out of society."
I was quiet as I thought of JJ's words. She was right; to a certain extent.
Who was to say that if we didn't stop these Unsubs from killing when we did, that they wouldn't escalate and descend into killing anyone and everyone?
The Doctor
"What d'you get?" I asked as Melanie and the others returned with sour expressions, shaking their heads and sighing.
"Balls wasn't there but we found a box full of trophies and a computer filled with child porn."
"He's a paedophile?" I guessed and Melanie nodded sadly.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as she wrapped her arm around my waist and hugged herself close to me.
"It's okay, we'll get whoever did this." I promised, kissing the top of her head.
*
Garcia called us back a while later with the name Carter Bromwick; a caucasian male nurse who worked in the ER on the night of each domestic-abuse case. Not that they were reported as domestic abuse cases; but considering the suspicious patterns; those women are either extremely clumsy, or their boyfriends were extremely fist-happy.
We got an address and after establishing he hadn't shown for work we stormed to his house, finding a hit-list on the back of his closet door where we discovered his latest victim; Trevon Newton; was due in hospital for a minor procedure.
"He's not gonna come easy," Aaron said as we all jumped into the SUVs.
"He's lost his fiance and is on the verge of being fired at work. He's on his final warning with his rent and he has no family left. He's not going to go down without a fight."
We knew Carter was going to go down in a blaze, but I wasn't quite prepared for the blaze we ran into.
The Daughter
We arrived at the hospital and stormed the floors to Trevon's ward where nurses and doctors were cowering behind the nurses' station whimpering about Carter having hostages.
"Reid you calm them." My dad ordered and I cursed Spencer's stereotypical weakness; promising myself that I'd teach him how to fist-fight and gun-fight like in the movies.
As usual, I was behind Morgan upfront; covering his back while the rest of the team took every door and corner along the way.
Eventually, we got to the end of the corridor where a pen of beds branched off to our right.
"Carter Bromwick." Morgan rang out loud and clear, his gun aimed.
Carter was stood at the bottom of Trevon's bed, tears running down his cheek, his hands shaking as he pointed his gun at Trevon.
In a heartbeat he jumped and turned, shooting his gun at Morgan before either of us had a chance to shoot or even blink.
I gasped and shot out as Morgan fell, shooting Carter in the shoulder.
"You white bitch!" He called out and I scoffed, stepping over Morgan and approaching Carter.
"Shut up Carter, you're under arrest for-" He shot at me with his other arm but missed and hit an officer behind me. I shot out at his other arm this time and he cursed me out; his gun flying to the floor.
"Calm down!" I boomed and he swore, running at me before I shot out at his leg and he fell to the floor.
"Stop fighting me, I don't want to kill you." I said through my teeth, pointing my gun over him as JJ ran forward from behind me to handcuff him.
"You're all trash, I'm surrounded by trash!" He called out as two officers took him by the arm and pulled him from the ward as he screamed out at the pain.
"How's Morgan and the officer?" I asked as I holstered my gun.
"I'm fine, he got me in the vest." Morgan hissed, pulling his vest over his head.
"Oh thank God." I laughed in relief and he chuckled, throwing an arm around me and kissing my forehead.
"Thanks for having my back, kiddo." I smiled and hugged into his side.
"Anytime."
The Doctor
"Mel..." We were packing our go-bags back at the hotel room the following morning in preparation to leave and Melanie looked more beautiful now than ever.
"Mhmm?" She smiled, turning to me sweetly.
"I was thinking of going to see my mom." I admitted and she grinned, nodding her head enthusiastically. "I was wondering if you wanted to take some of your holiday leave and come with me?" She grinned from ear-to-ear and nodded her head enthusiastically.
"It's not even Christmas," She grinned. "Were you thinking of going straight from here?" I nodded my head with a sheepish smile.
"It'll only be for a couple days. I promised her I'd visit soon and I won't be spending Christmas with her so..." She frowned before remembering my previous promise and nodding her head.
"I'd love to come see your mum." She said, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing the tip of my nose.
"I'll book the flights then."
The Daughter
My dad gave me time off without any problems and I was suddenly so grateful for having my father as a boss. The rest of the team shook their heads in awe and wished us a good time as we parted different ways at the airport.
I was excited to see Spencer's mum again; I'd kind of missed not seeing her after the brief glimpse in Vegas with the whole Callaghan case.
It took five hours to fly from Wisconsin to Vegas and we wasted no time in heading straight to the Sanitarium.
"Spencer!" Diana grinned as Spencer approached her in the dayroom.
"Hey mom, how are you?" He asked, hugging her tightly.
"I'm good. Oh look, you've brought a friend." Spencer looked at me apologetically and I smiled warmly at him, taking a seat opposite Diana.
"Hi, I'm Spencer's girlfriend Melanie." I said, extending my hand.
"Melanie, what a lovely name," She smiled up at Spencer as she shook my hand.
"She's very pretty too Spencer." I smiled and blushed and Spencer did too as he sat down next to me, taking my hand in his own and squeezing desperately, his eyes shining with tears.
*
"Melly...?" I recognised that tone and turned my face up to observe his expression properly, reaching up to run my fingers through his floppy hair.
"I was thinking..." He was chewing on his lip and I grinned. I loved it when he had ideas.
"After everything with the Kate..." A brief frown flashed across my expression and I ran my hand down his face, resting it on his chest in front of me.
"I want my mom to come live in Virginia." I gasped and tilted my head back further to see his entire face.
"Not to live with us... But I've been looking into it, and there's a great sanitarium just outside of Virginia which isn't all that long a drive and I was thinking if you thought that'd be a good idea?"
I swallowed the lump in my throat and pressed my lips to his softly and sighed, pressing my forehead against his chin as I gathered myself.
"Spencer..." I said in a small voice. "You are by far the most adorable human being I've ever known," I admitted. "I would love it if your mum lived closer to us," I explained. "I think that'd be truly wonderful." His whole face lit up and he grinned.
"You really think so?" He asked and I nodded my head emphatically.
"Of course," I said.
"I think that'd be really good for the both of you." He pulled me closer to him in the bed and squashed me against his chest, his arms like a vice around me.
"I really love you Melanie Hotchner."
*
The next morning Spencer stayed in the hotel, calling the sanitarium in Virginia to organise a transfer with the Doctor he knew there while I went to visit Diana by myself.
Spencer was wary and cautious of this but I wanted to see her on my own; it was important we spent time together separate from Spencer too.
"Hey Diana," I grinned as I knocked on her open bedroom door to find her sat at the window table reading. "It's me Melanie." I smiled, entering the room with a bunch of yellow carnation flowers.
"Ah Melanie dear," She smiled. "How are you? It's been such a long time. Christmas wasn't it?" She sighed and I smiled.
"It's been too long." I decided on, hugging her tightly.
"Where's Spencer? Did he come with you?"
"Actually he's back at the hotel making a few phone-calls but he'll be over soon. I thought we could spend some time together first."
"What a wonderful idea," She grinned, placing her bookmark inside her pages and resting her book on the table. "Is this when you tell me the great news?"
I frowned in confusion; how did she know about the sanitarium transfer? Spencer and I were going to tell her this evening. Together.
"Oh don't worry," She laughed, waving away my confused expression. "It's a woman's job - and a mother's - to know these things," That didn't really answer my question. "Do you know the sex yet?" She asked excitedly, cupping her hands and leaning forward.
"Sorry?" I laughed in confusion, my face heating up.
"The baby?" She asked, nodding to my stomach. "Is it old enough to know the gender yet?" I frowned completely this time.
"I'm uh..." I cleared my throat and shook my head with a short, embarrassed laugh. "I'm not pregnant." Diana sat back in her chair with a dissatisfied purse of her lips.
"You know lying isn't good for the soul. Your father would have a thing or two to say if he knew you were lying."
"Diana honestly, I'm not lying, I'm not pregnant." I laughed. She frowned and narrowed her eyes, shaking her head.
"Are you and Spencer engaged?" She asked and I frowned further.
"N-no," I stuttered, laughing. "What's this all about? If anything important was happening with Spencer and I, we would have told you by now." She frowned, clearly not convinced.
"There's something," She said matter-of-factly, waggling her finger. "A mother knows these things."
*
That night Spencer and I told Diana about moving to Virginia and she was over-the-moon, completely elated that we'd want her to live closer to us.
We agreed that nothing was happening right away, that we'd sort everything back in Virginia before bringing her over with us the following month just before Christmas.
She was completely overjoyed and told us she couldn't wait to see us more regularly.
We left Vegas the following morning and I told Spencer about what Diana had said to me the previous day.
At first, he was embarrassed and apologised for his mum's behaviour but I laughed and told him that sometimes, women were pretty adamant and hated to admit that they were wrong. She'd been confused; that's all.
The Blonde Bomb
"And they're back!" Prentiss cheered on Monday morning.
"Finally!" I laughed, turning to see Melanie and Spencer entering the bullpen.
"Sorry guys. Traffic was a nightmare." Melanie groaned.
"Don't worry about it, better late than never." Prentiss sniggered, rubbing Melanie's shoulder as she frantically set her satchel down on her desk.
"Now I can finally pee." She said in a flustered tone, hurrying away from the desk again.
"Aw Mel, why plant the seed?" I laughed, pushing off the desk and looking at Prentiss pointedly.
"Yeah I think I'll patter my nose too." She joked, following me quickly as we avoided Spencer's questioning eyes.
We met Garcia outside the restrooms and hurried inside excitedly.
"Are you guys seriously squealing about doing a pee?" Melanie laughed as she entered a stall and closed the door behind.
"Not just any old pee sugarplum," Garcia cheered as I entered the stall next to Melanie's. "This is the decider." She cheered and pattered on my door as I locked it.
"I don't understand. What do you mean by 'decider' it's a pee." She laughed, flushing the toilet.
"No, it isn't. It's the test pee." Prentiss said slowly.
"What?!" She gasped, unlocking her door.
"JJ's taking a test." Garcia said.
"But Jayje, shouldn't you be doing this with Will?" Melanie gasped from the other side of the door.
"He's out of town this week." I explained.
"That'd be such a sweet surprise to come home to." Melanie's voice told me and I agreed, flushing the toilet and waving the stick.
"Actually, it's weird you should be doing this," Melanie sniggered as I unlocked the door and hurried over to the counter-tops, setting the stick on the paper-towels next to Garcia. "Spencer's mum thought I was pregnant the other day." She laughed and the three of us turned to stare at her manically.
"You what?!" Garcia half-squealed.
"I know," Melanie sniggered. "How strange, right?" She shook her head and tightened her pigtail. "I mean, it was so random. Like she just asked me what the sex was and I was so confused."
"Mel..." I laughed, shaking my head. "That's pretty freaky wouldn't you say?"
"I know right. How off-the-cuff and completely extravagant." She rolled her eyes and smiled sweetly; the three of us blinking at her silently.
"What?" She laughed self-consciously.
"Maybe you should be the one doing the test." Prentiss scoffed and Melanie's expression fell.
"N-no I don't think so." She shook her head and Garcia gasped, picking up the stick before her own expression fell.
"What?!" I gasped, snatching it off her before I too fell in disappointment.
"Oh Jayje," Melanie frowned, putting a caring hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry..." I sighed and shrugged.
"It's alright, we'll just keep trying."
"Hey, it's always better late than never right?" I arched an eyebrow up at her and she smiled sweetly.
"The next time your period comes late, remind me to tell you that." Her expression fell a moment later and she swallowed harshly before stuttering a laugh and shaking her head, running her hands over her face.
"You guys have me paranoid. All this baby talk is making me feel a little peaky."