You cross your arms in front of you, JJ's eyes widening at Spencer before looking over at you. You bite the inside of your cheek, Spencer's hand clenching and unclenching into a fist as he stands in front of the door.
"I, um, came to apologize."
"Are you apologizing because you mean it or are you apologizing to save face, Jennifer?" You ask, taking a couple steps toward Spencer.
JJ's eyes flick to the ground before looking at Spencer. Spencer clenches his jaw, his other hand still gripping the door so hard his knuckles are white. You analyze her, wondering why she's looking to Spencer rather than you.
"Ah, I see," you murmur, moving to stand right next to Spencer. "You really just want to save your friendship with Spencer."
JJ's eyes flick to you, a brief glint of anger flashing through them before she looks back at Spencer. Spencer snakes his arm around your waist, his hand rubbing your side slowly as he looks at JJ.
"Spence, we've—"
"No, you don't get to 'Spence' me, Jennifer," he says, his voice low and cold. "You literally put the woman I love in danger. She could've died because of you. Why? Why did you do it?"
"Because she in love with you," you say, eyes never leaving JJ. She turns her gaze to you, and you watch as one of her hand curls into a fist. "She loves you even though she has a kid and a whole ass boyfriend."
"Spence, she's lying, don't—"
"Don't call me that," Spencer says through clenched teeth. "I don't know what kind of delusion you're living, Jennifer, but we are not friends anymore." Spencer grips your waist tightly.
"But I love—"
"Stop," you hold your hand up. "Just stop. I don't know what you're trying to do or what you planned to accomplish by coming here and professing your love for Spencer, but it's not going to work, Jennifer."
"You're such a fucking bitch!"
You don't register the slap until your head is turned to the side, a soft gasp coming from you as the sting radiates across your cheek. You turn your head to look at JJ, her hand falling to her side. You don't realize how tight Spencer's grip is on your waist until you look up at him.
You've never seen Spencer really angry before. But how he looks now—it's scary. His eyes are cold, his nostrils flared, his lips pressed into a tight line. He's staring at JJ, her eyes widening with the realization of what she just did, flicking to look at Spencer's face. Heat spreads across your cheeks as you look at JJ, your own hand curling into a fist.
"Jennifer, I'm a man who was raised right, and I would never hit a woman." Spencer's voice is low, his tone so cold it makes you shiver. "But I swear on my fucking life, if you ever lay another hand on her, I will make your life a living hell."
You glare at JJ. "Have a great life, Jennifer Jareau. I suggest you get the fuck out of my apartment complex before I absolutely deck you in the face. Spencer can't hit a woman, but I sure as hell can."
JJ looks at the two of you, and before she even has a change to turn around, Spencer closes the door in her face. You two stand there for a moment, Spencer's fingers digging into your side. You wince slightly and he looks down at you, remorse flooding his eyes.
"Ace, I'm sorry," he whispers, loosening his grip on your waist.
"It's okay," you reply, looking up at him.
He wraps his arms around you, pulling you to his chest. You wrap your arms around his torso, closing your eyes, listening to the beat of his heart against his chest. He kisses the top of your head before pulling away, giving you a small smile.
"Wanna get takeout for dinner? I can call it in, and we can watch Hocus Pocus or Halloweentown or something." He brushes his thumb across your cheek softly.
You nod. "I'd like that."
You two settle in on the couch again, laying your head in Spencer's lap. He runs his fingers through your hair, and you close your eyes. His touch is light and soft, twirling your hair around his fingers as the sounds of the movie echo around you. Spencer's touch and the white noise of the movie relax you, and eventually you slip into a dreamless sleep, no nightmares waking you up this time.
•••
You push open the doors to the BAU, Spencer trailing behind you. Your heels clack on the tile, yawning as you hold the cup of coffee in your hand. You walk into the roundtable room, sitting down, placing your cup of coffee on the table. Spencer sits next to you, his fingers gripping underneath your jaw, turning your head toward him so he can admire the yellowing bruise under your eye.
"It's been a week, you'd think it would've faded by now," you murmur.
"Normally, it takes about two weeks for a black eye to fully heal," he mutters.
He drops his hand and you grin at him as the rest of the team walks into the room. You give him a little side smile as you sip your coffee, eyes landing on Garcia as she strolls into the room.
It had been a week since your kidnapping—a pretty uneventful week with no new cases and tons of paperwork. Slowly, the nightmares had started to fade. Falling asleep with Spencer's arms around you helped; you felt safe. The bruises faded, the cuts healed, leaving small scars behind. You had to go to the hospital for a follow up a couple days ago to get your stitches out, and the doctor said the cut on your forehead was healing nicely. It would leave a scar, but Spencer had assured you that scars were sexy, and you'd responded by punching him in the arm.
"We have a case?" You ask, tapping your fingers against the wood table.
Garcia nods. "Mhm. Three people have been stabbed to death in Los Angeles." The images pop up on the screen and Garcia shudders, refusing to look at them.
You grimace as you look at the pictures before glancing down at the file in your hands. "Any of the victims have anything in common?"
Garcia nods. "They all live in the same area."
"Victimology looks different," Hotch mutters. "It doesn't look like he has a specific type."
"Which means he's not killing surrogates," Morgan says.
"Coroner's report says the unsub hit major arteries," Spencer remarks, looking around at the team. "He has to have basic knowledge of the human body and anatomy for that."
"How many times were they stabbed?" Prentiss asks.
"Ten each, finished off with a cut to the throat," Garcia says softly.
Hotch stands, gripping the file. "Alright, let's go. It's a long flight to LA; wheels up in thirty."
You stand up, gripping the file and your coffee as you walk out of the roundtable room. You set both of them down on your desk and Spencer grabs your hand, pulling you out the bullpen doors so the two of you can go get your go bags out of your car. You giggle as you lace your fingers with his, walking into the cool November air.
"You know, Ace, your birthday's coming up," Spencer says as the two of you make your way across the parking lot.
"Mhm, it is, brainiac," you reply, unlocking your car.
"What do you want?" He asks, grabbing his bag out of your car.
You grab yours and shut the door, locking the car again as you shove your keys in your pocket. "I don't want anything, brainiac. You being here is already enough."
Spencer rolls his eyes as you two begin the walk back inside to head to the jet. "I'm getting you something, Ace. It's your thirtieth birthday! You got me the best presents for my birthday; I have to one-up you."
You laugh, slapping his chest before lacing your fingers back together with his. "Shut up. I really don't want anything."
Spencer grins but doesn't reply as you two walk to the jet. You step onto the jet, Spencer following you. You two settle toward the back of the jet, and you see Morgan flash you a grin.
"No funny business, you two," he teases, Prentiss laughing beside him.
"Morgan, shut up," you reply, rolling your eyes. "Don't be jealous."
His mouth flies open. "Hey, I-I'm not jealous!"
Spencer laughs, resting his hand on your thigh. "Ace is right, Derek, don't be jealous."
You see Hotch crack a smile. "Behave."
The team laughs and the jet takes off. The flight to LA is about 5 and a half hours, and you rest your head on Spencer's shoulder, his hand running up and down your thigh slowly. You shoot him a look and he grins at you, leaning over to give your temple a quick kiss before squeezing your thigh. The two of you idly chit chat and Spencer starts reciting one of his favorite books from memory, his voice soft in your ear.
As usual, about fifteen minutes out, Hotch debriefs everyone, gathering around the little table.
"Reid and Y/l/n, you two go to the coroners to check out the bodies. Rossi and Morgan, you two head to the dump sites. Prentiss and I will stay at the station and begin working up at geological profile. Garcia's looking into the history of all of our victims right now."
"Sounds good, sir."
Morgan looks at Spencer, a crooked grin on his face. "Remember the last time you were in LA, pretty boy?"
A light blush appears on Spencer's cheeks. "Shut up, Morgan."
You raise your eyebrows. "What happened last time?"
"Lila Archer kissed him," Morgan says, and you raise your eyebrows, looking at Spencer.
"You kissed a movie star? Damn, brainiac."
Spencer looks at you, his hazel eyes searching yours. "It was a one-time thing; nothing ever came from it. And it was almost seven years ago."
"You don't have to reassure me," you whisper back, giving him a little smile. You lean in, your lips brushing his ear. "I know you're mine."
You pull away from him and stand, walking back over to your seat, strapping in for landing. Morgan laughs and high-fives Spencer, saying something along the lines of him being "whipped" before Spencer walks over and sits next to you, buckling his seat belt. He grips your hand, leaning over to give you a soft kiss.
"Don't worry, Ace, no one compares to you," he whispers in your ear.
You look at him, grinning. "Good."
The jet lands and everyone departs in their separate cars, the palm trees and soft glow of the afternoon almost making it a different world from D.C. You hadn't been back to the West coast since you left—and now it just seems like a foreign world to you.
"Hey, can we stop for coffee?" You ask, glancing over at Spencer in the driver's seat. "I need a pick me up."
Spencer nods and drives around until he finds a coffee shop. The two of you get out, the smell of coffee immediately hitting your nose when you walk into the shop. You and Spencer order—Spencer paying; he insisted. You grab your coffee and look at him as you take a sip.
"Come on, brainiac, let's go look at some dead people."
Spencer laughs as you walk out of the shop, holding the door open for you as you walk out. You two walk side by side back to the SUV when you hear someone call Spencer's name behind you.
"Spencer?"
You both turn around and you feel Spencer stiffen slightly as a blonde girl with a wide smile on her face walks over to you two, not even glancing at you as she wraps her arms around Spencer's neck. She hugs him, not even noticing Spencer isn't touching her before pulling away and planting a kiss on his lips.
——————————————
Author's Note
Oh shit, yes I went THERE and brought Lila back. Also we went OFF on Ms. Jennifer Jareau—how do we all feel about that?
Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it's just so much fun. Don't worry, Lila isn't gonna cause too much drama. I'm just bringing her in for funsies🙈
Thank you all for the sweet comments! I would like to remind everyone to NOT demand updates because I am this close to drop kicking someone. I have a life outside of Wattpad🙃
I love you all and hope you enjoyed this chapter! <3