Usually, when any member or the entire team is given a few days off, they'd be very happy. But, Cassidy wasn't. When the team returned from the case, Hotch knew that Cassidy needed some time off, especially when she had just been involved in a case where her father was a suspect for murder.
"Cassidy, my office please." Hotch looked over at her, watching as she put her bag down on her desk in confusion.
The team watched as Cassidy hesitantly walked up to Hotch's office. The moment she walked inside, she locked the door, knowing that Hotch probably didn't want any of the team to hear what he wanted to say.
"Everything okay?" Cassidy questioned, sitting down.
"I don't want you coming in to work tomorrow." Hotch explained, confusing her.
"What? I don't understand." She furrowed her eyebrows.
"Cassidy, I feel like it's only right that you take a few days off. We just got back from a really personal case, and I think it'd be best that you take some time off, regroup and come back when we both now that you're ready." Hotch insisted.
"Hotch, you can't be serious! If anything, I should come to work tomorrow!" Cassidy objected.
"You're not coming in to work for the next few days and that's an order." Hotch glared at her.
"Fine." She hesitantly unlocked and exited his office, grabbing her bag on the way out of the bullpen.
She couldn't believe that she was being forced to stay home.
———
Cassidy didn't bother setting any alarms, considering she wasn't due to go in to work for a few days. Surprisingly, when her eyes opened and she adjusted to the natural light of the sun outside, she was almost shocked to see that her phone showed 10:45 AM.
Cassidy sighed, letting her head fall back onto her pillow. She sat up, feeling no energy to do anything productive. Her dad's face kept showing up in her mind, and she forced herself to think of something else. Her dad and his involvement in the previous case was the reason why she was being forced to take a few days off.
As she prepared some coffee and made herself breakfast, she scoffed, thinking about Hotch. He was also affected by the case, considering he was her dad's brother. In her mind, she found it a bit hypocritical that she was being forced to take a few days off, yet Hotch wasn't. That's when she reminded herself that unlike her, Hotch was the Unit Chief of the BAU, meaning his presence at work was probably much more important.
Instead of wasting away by grabbing the TV remote and watching some TV, Cassidy set her breakfast onto the coffee table and grabbed a nearby book, knowing that she'd enjoy just getting to read a book that she probably hadn't touched in weeks or even months.
The moment she opened up the book, she jumped a bit when she heard a knock at her apartment door. She groaned, wanting to spend the day alone reading. Hastily getting up off the couch, she walked over to the door, unlocking it and opening it. Her heart raced and she felt butterflies in her stomach when she saw Spencer standing at the door, his hands in his pockets.
He wore a plain white shirt with a navy blue tie. His hair was slightly messy and like always, his socks were mismatched.
"Hey Spencer, come in." Cassidy smiled as she let him inside, shutting and locking the door again.
"How are you? I don't imagine it's easy having to stay at home." Spencer questioned, curious.
"I get to read some books, so I'm not too mad- well, not as mad as I was when I woke up." She chuckled.
"So, uh what brings you here? Isn't there a case that you're supposed to be working on?" Cassidy questioned, confused.
"Oh, uh, nope. It's a paperwork day, thank god. But, I got all my paperwork done in my spare time, so I technically have an unofficial day off." Spencer smiled as he and Cassidy sat down on her couch.
"Lucky you." She chuckled, watching as his gaze drifted to the book she was about to read.
"I thought that I might as well keep you company." Spencer shrugged his shoulders.
"You want coffee?" She asked.
"Sure." Spencer nodded, watching as Cassidy happily stood up and walked over to the kitchen, not really caring that she was in her pyjamas, without a bra on. It wasn't the first time that he had seen her nipples.