"Where's Reid? I want to talk to the whole team." Rossi spoke as he, Hotch and Morgan sat down at the round table in the conference room. Cassidy, JJ, Emily and Penelope on the other hand, they had been in the conference room since early that morning.
"Oh, Spence probably slept in. He took it really hard." JJ nodded, frowning.
"Well, let's start our after-action review now, and we'll fill him in when he arrives." Emily nodded.
"Okay, DNA results coming at ya." Penelope typed away at her screen.
"Casualty count still hold at 8, including Roberta and Everett Lynch?" Morgan asked, watching as Penelope nodded.
"Yes." She smiled. Suddenly, her face dropped.
"Wait, no." She shook her head.
"Garcia?" Emily said her name, expecting an explanation.
"Yes, 8 casualties...our 6 agents, Roberta Lynch, and Orlando Gaines, the private investigator. That's it." Penelope's happy smile turned into a face of fear.
"Wait. Wait a minute. That means that..." Cassidy's eyes widened.
"...Everett Lynch is still alive." Emily's face dropped.
"Reno P.D. just confirmed they found supplies under Lynch's hideout." Penelope was visibly shaken by the sudden development.
"So he must have built an escape to the tunnels under the house." Emily's eyebrows were furrowed in shock.
"This guy's a planner. He picked that target because it gave him an escape route." Cassidy nodded.
"We profiled Roberta would take them both out, but because of her love for her son, she hesitated." JJ exhaled.
"And that hesitation gave Lynch the seconds he needed to execute his plan." Morgan shrugged his shoulders.
"All right, so he escapes right before the explosion." Hotch shook his head.
"We got to get back to Reno before someone else gets hurt." JJ worriedly exhaled.
"Garcia run a search on Lynch aliases, any credit card activity." Emily looked at Penelope, who shook her head.
"He's radio silent for now." She explained, typing away at her laptop.
"It's only a matter of time before this guy gets desperate enough to use one of his old aliases, and when he does, we've got him cornered." Cassidy nodded.
"Stop. Stop, stop. Apply what we know based on our experience with Lynch and others like him. That's all profiling is, that's all it ever was. Now, you're Lynch. You have the full force of United States law enforcement on your heels. Where else do you go? Who else do you hurt?" Rossi shook his head, going into an explanation.
"Us. They come after us." JJ scoffed.
"He'll get off on the power of attacking on our home turf." Morgan rolled his eyes.
"We need security for our loved ones. Morgan, Rossi, Emily, contact troopers at all state lines. I'll notify the director that the Lynch case remains open. JJ, Garcia, Cassidy, check in on Reid. Fill him in on his way back here." Hotch instructed before the team separated.
CASSIDY
As instructed, JJ, Penelope and I went to check on Spencer. It wasn't like him to show up so late. We ran up to his apartment, shocked to find that the door was unlocked.
Pushing it open, my heart dropped when we saw Spencer's body on the ground.
"Spencer!" I could feel myself tearing up. I raced over to him, putting my hand on his chest.
"Spencer, it's Cassidy. Can you hear me?" I begged, trying to identify if he had a heart beat, which luckily he did. I put my ear near his mouth, trying to see if he was breathing.
"We need an ambulance immediately at 937 Hoover Street, apartment 23. We have an Agent down." Penelope called for help.
"He's breathing." I nodded.
"Yes, we have an Agent down. That's what I said!" She said, clearly panicking. I leaned back, my hand going to my chest as I cried, JJ taking my place. She was confused as to why I wasn't helping him.
My heart raced more and I felt myself panicking and crying more when he started seizing up.
"No. No, no, no, no." JJ's eyes widened in shock and panic, trying to stop whatever was happening.
Penelope could see the panic and horror on my face. She dropped to my level and wrapped her arms around me, clearly figuring out what Spencer and I had been trying to hide for a year now. She knew it, without saying anything.
———
(25 Minutes Later)
Before long, Spencer was being wheeled into the hospital on a bed, an oxygen mask around his mouth.
"It's Dr. K. Can you hear me, sir? How long has he been unconscious?" The doctor asked, looking at JJ, Penelope and I.
"I don't know. There was an explosion 24 hours ago. Could it be a concussion?" JJ asked, talking to the doctor while Penelope held my hand, trying to calm me down. Seeing him like this - unconscious - I hated it.
"So he's been under a lot of stress?" The doctor asked, JJ nodding.
"Yes, he's an FBI Agent." JJ informed her.
"I need to run some tests. Are you family?" The doctor asked, JJ looking at Penelope and I.
"Uh, not technically. That would be his mom." JJ nodded.
"Get him to CCU. I need to talk to his mother right away." The doctor demanded, walking with the other doctors and nurses who were beginning to wheel Spencer away.
"It's Emily." JJ looked down at the messages on her phone.
"Go." Penelope nodded.
"No, no, no. I'm not leaving." JJ refused.
"Spence will understand. The team needs you. I've got this. Go." Penelope smiled.
"Cassidy, you coming?" JJ looked at me, a confused look on her face.
"Let her stay here, JJ. She and I have a lot to talk about." Penelope smiled as she held onto my hand, JJ giving me a look of confusion before Penelope took me with her as we followed Spencer and the doctors.
Soon enough, Diana arrived at the hospital, Penelope seeing her. I sat beside Spencer's hospital bed, keeping an eye on him. The doctor brought Diana close to the room.
"Oh, Diana, hi. Hi. It's Penelope. I work with Spencer. I've come to see you before." She smiled, watching as Diana looked at her with confusion.
"Diana, Spencer fell and he hit his head really hard, and he's not conscious." Penelope explained, seeing the guilt and the sadness on my face.
"Well, let's wake him up. Let's see him." Diana pushed past Penelope.
"He'll listen to me. Spencer." Diana called out to Spencer, confused when he didn't reply back.
"It's not him. No. No, no, no. This is not my son." She shook her head, her face dropping.
"Diana, it's me. Cassidy. You remember me?" I looked up at Diana through my teary eyes, seeing her face light up.
"Oh, I do remember you. You're Spencer's girlfriend. How lovely to see you again." She hugged me. Penelope was clearly shocked by this reveal, but decided not to go into the details. She looked down at Spencer's body.
"Is this a friend of yours?" She asked, confused.
"No, Diana. This is Spencer." I lifted Spencer's wrist, showing her the star-shaped mark that Spencer had gotten when he was a kid. Her face dropped, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Oh, my baby. Oh, my baby. Oh, please." She cried, her right hand going to Spencer's shoulder and her left hand going to his chest.
"Mrs. Reid? The conservative approach would be surgery. It may reduce the swelling around Spencer's brain faster. There is risk. It could cause seizures and even more bleeding." The doctor informed. Penelope and I watched as Diana looked between the doctor and Spencer, clearly overwhelmed.
"I thought it was Tuesday, and it's not Tuesday. And so I can't tell you." Diana panicked, trying not to cry.
"Could we have a minute?" Penelope asked.
"Sure." The doctor nodded before leaving the room.
I remained seated, watching as Penelope smiled at Diana, who remained unsure of how to continue.
"What would he want? I don't want to make the decision." Diana refused, shaking her head.
"Diana, you know, one time Spencer told me that you, Cassidy and I are three of the smartest people he knows. I guess there's some study that shows that the heart and the stomach have like cells of consciousness, like a second brain. And I get it that your brain has done things to attack Spencer sometimes, but your heart and your guts have always known what's best for him. Am I right?" Penelope asked.
"Yes." Diana nodded.
"So we're just gonna use our brilliant insides to make a brilliant choice for Spencer right now, okay?" Penelope asked, holding Diana's hand. She nodded, starting to panic when Spencer started seizing again.
I jumped up and grabbed Diana's hand, watching as she clung onto my arm with fear in her eyes.
"Ohh! What's happening to my boy? What is happening to him?" She cried out, the Doctor coming back. I moved Diana and Penelope out of the room, the three of us trying to remain positive while the doctors tried to stabilise Spencer.
———
(2 Hours Later)
"Spencer. Spencer. Can you hear me? Hi." Diana looked down at her son, who was trying to open his eyes.
"That's a good sign." The doctor pointed to Spencer, a smile on her face.
"Is he gonna be okay?" I asked, Penelope holding my hand.
"He's putting up one hell of a fight. But it's still too early to know for sure. I need to keep him here for tests." The doctor smiled before leaving the room. Before we could get anything from Spencer, he closed his eyes again, falling back asleep.
"Has he been here before? In the hospital, like this?" Diana asked, looking at me and Penelope.
"Yes." Penelope and I nodded.
"Were you here for him?" Diana asked, Penelope nodding her head.
"Aw, how awful." Diana exhaled, letting a tear slip.
"It was, actually. And then there was the time Agent Hotchner was in the hospital. And Morgan's wife. And JJ earlier this year and...me. I've actually been in hospitals more times than I am caring to admit. Sometimes I think there's got to be a better way, you know. There's got to be a better place." Penelope exhaled.
"There is. There is for all of us. Spencer, I saw some cumuliform heaps today." Diana smiled before focusing on Spencer, who was still asleep.
"His favourite clouds. I plucked that for him. Everything is up there. And we pluck what we want when we want and we let go what we don't." Diana smiled, looking between me and Spencer.
"That sounds very good. Okay, I am plucking a memory about...Spencer's eyes, and they are brown with gold on the outside." I stood beside Penelope, who smiled at me.
"I think they're gold on the inside." Diana smirked.
"Gold on the inside." Penelope and I smiled, butterflies fluttering in my stomach as we tried to be positive.
"Gold on the inside. Hey, we were just plucking eye memories of you." Diana noticed that Spencer was waking up.
"I heard you. Forgot how much I loved those clouds, mom. You helped me remember." Spencer moved his hand, Diana holding it.
"I did, huh? Well, maybe I can come back tomorrow and we can watch clouds together." Diana smiled, tearing up.
"Am I alive, or is this heaven?" Spencer chuckled, trying to keep his eyes open.
"Sweetie, you are very much alive." Diana smiled before leaving the room.
Penelope and I sat with Spencer, Penelope respectfully telling the team that Spencer was okay. She let me know what the search for Everett was successful and that he was gone, for good.
"I think Penelope knows about us, by the way." I whispered to Spencer, who held my hand with a smile.
"I do know about you two and I'm happy to help keep it hush-hush until you two are ready." Penelope smiled.
"Hey, Garcia, is that my bag with my belongings?" Spencer asked as he pointed to the clear plastic bag on the bench nearby.
"Yes. Do you want it?" Penelope asked, Spencer nodding. Handing the bag to him, I watched as Spencer rummaged through the pockets of his shirt and pants, eventually smiling when he pulled out a small velvet bag. He looked at me with a smile.
"Spencer, what's this?" I asked as he handed the bag to me, nodding. I opened it, confused.
"That - inside the bag - is the key to our new apartment." Spencer revealed.
"Wait, what?" I stopped, leaning back. The key rested in my palm as I stared at it in disbelief.
"We talked about it a few months ago and I think it's time for us to live together. As long as you want to of course. We've been together for a year and I love you so much, Cassidy." Spencer finally said it. I smiled, feeling my heart race.
"I love you too, Spencer." I smiled, placing a kiss on his lips.
"Aww!" Penelope smiled as she quietly clapped.
"Before you say anything, the apartment is only 10 minutes from work." Spencer smiled, holding my free hand.
"Spencer, I think it's time that we tell the team. We've been together for a year and they deserve to know." I announced, Spencer nodding in agreement. We both smiled when Penelope looked visibly excited.