The moment Rossi and Cassidy were out of the room, Cassidy escaped Rossi's grasp and ran out of the precinct. She jumped into a cab and gave the address of the hotel the team was staying at.
She couldn't stay in the precinct for long, not when her dad sat in the interview room, admitting that he was using drugs. Cassidy needed to take a step back. This was definitely hard for Hotch, but she felt it was harder for her. Drugs were the reason why she spent weekends or weeks at a time with her grandparents. She loved her grandparents, but she always wished that her dad was around more than he was.
She unlocked her hotel room, luckily being able to share a room with JJ and Emily. She sat on the couch, feeling a rush of emotions hit her like a ton of bricks.
The moment she her body sunk into the couch, she cried. She let every single tear slip. She couldn't help it. After a few good minutes of releasing her emotions, she heard a soft knock at the door. She didn't want to see anyone, not when she had just spent her time crying. Her cheeks would be puffy and her eyes would be red.
Standing up, brushing off her clothes, drying her eyes, she walked over to the door, expecting to see Emily or JJ, or even Hotch. Instead, Spencer stood outside, his hands in his pockets.
"H- Hi." He smiled, nodding.
"Hi. C- C'mon in." Cassidy offered, stepping aside. Spencer walked in, smiling.
"W- What are you doing here?" Cassidy questioned, sitting on the bed while Spencer sat on the couch.
"Rossi told me that you ran off, so I came to check up on you. Are you okay?" Spencer asked.
"Y- Yeah. I'm fine. I just needed to take a break, you know? Clear my head." Cassidy reassured him, but he wasn't so sure. He looked at her, seeing her darting gaze.
"Cassidy, if you're not okay, you can tell me. You know that, right?" Spencer smiled.
"My dad admitted to Hotch and Rossi that he'd been using. Ecstasy to be exact. Brought up memories for me." Cassidy admitted, feeling the tears.
"I'm assuming bad memories?" Spencer asked.
"When I was a kid, maybe 13-14, my dad would drop me at my grandparents house. He wouldn't return for at least 3 days. My grandma always had an idea as to what he was doing, but I was oblivious...until today." Cassidy exhaled.
"My dad and Hotch haven't really spoken to each other in years. On my 16th birthday, my dad and Hotch got into a fight. At the end of the fight, Hotch disowned my dad and abandoned him." Cassidy continued to explain.
"Since then, my dad and I haven't really kept in touch with Hotch. When I turned 18, I stopped going by Hotchner and started going by my mother's maiden name, Marlow. When I turned 20, I stopped talking to my dad because life got in the way and I put my career first. This year was really the first time that I had seen Hotch since I was 16, and my dad since I was 20." Cassidy leaned back, feeling a weight being lifted off her shoulders now that she had told someone about her troubling past.
"My mom, she is a schizophrenic. I visit her as much as I can, but sometimes I fell like I'm abandoning her." Spencer revealed.
"You're not abandoning her, Spencer. You try and sometimes, that's all you can do." Cassidy smiled, holding his hands.
"Your dad loves you, Cassidy. He may have left you a few times, but that doesn't mean he was abandoning you either. He was just giving in to an addiction that he couldn't escape." Spencer moved his hand so that it was now on her cheek.
Cassidy and Spencer had moved closer together, something seeming so right between them.
Without any second thoughts, Spencer and Cassidy closed the gap between them, a passionate kiss ensuing. Spencer's heart raced with excitement and joy. Cassidy could feel butterflies in her stomach.
Both of them knew, deep down, that this was right, that whatever was happening between them would seem unorthodox and against protocol, but to them, it felt natural, like it was meant to be.
"I'm feeling a bit better now, Spencer. Maybe we should head back to the precinct. Maybe you c- can meet my dad." She smiled, Spencer blushing a little bit.
"I'd like that." Spencer nodded, realising that he'd most likely have to meet her dad as her co-worker and not as a potential romantic partner.