"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy." ~ Frank Sinatra
The Daughter
It was early. Too early for my liking, and my phone was persistently ringing beneath my pillow.
"Hello?" I groaned down the phone.
"Joy my little sugarplum I hate to do this to you but we need you, my Angel."
I groaned and squashed my face into the pillows.
"Garci, it's my day off, please tell me you're kidding? We just got home last night."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry but Vegas needs you. There's been several rapes and murders over the past fortnight and Hotch can't come in."
"What? Why?" My head lifted from the pillow and I forced myself into a sitting position. "Has something happened?" I gasped worriedly and hopped out of bed, clambering for my wardrobe.
"No, no, it's just..." Garcia's voice sounded strained on the other end of the line. "Jack's sick so he's staying behind."
"Oh," I paused a little worriedly, chewing on my bottom lip. Should I ask more? Should I hold back? "Is he okay?" I asked quietly.
"He'd just like your dad to stay behind with him, you know what kids are like when they're sick." I nodded in understanding.
"Okay," I sighed, wishing that Hotch had been there all of the times I'd been sick as a kid. I rested my phone between my shoulder and my ear as I fished an outfit from my wardrobe. "I'll be there in ten." I decided on eventually.
Slightly later than promised I entered the BAU with a round of coffee and bagels; knowing we'd all be cranky with the early morning.
"I come bearing gifts." I exclaimed as I entered the conference room. Everyone cheered happily as I passed around the coffees and bagels, and Morgan even kissed my cheek with happiness. I laughed and swatted him away before taking to my seat.
"Alright, every night over the past couple of weeks, a girl has been abducted from a busy, crowded local bar or club. Each girl holds the same characteristics, personality and lifestyle. The day after each abduction the girl's body is found in another busy, crowded area. Nobody sees or hears anything in each of the instances." Garcia explained.
"Current death count stands at thirteen?" Reid gasped.
"Why haven't we been called in sooner?" I demanded angrily.
"Pride my dear, it affects those hugely in Vegas," Reid cleared his throat and Garcia met his eyes apologetically. "Apologies oh-so-wise-one, no insult intended." We all smirked at each other over our files as Reid settled back down.
"You say nobody seen or heard anything?" Morgan clarified.
"Not a dicky bird my sweet. Not even after the discovery of the body. In each instance, there has either been no CCTV in operation or it's hit dead-ends."
"Alright so-"
"If I may be so bold," Garcia interrupted Morgan as we all turned to him with eager eyes. Morgan frowned at her and she smiled bashfully at him.
"I'm only following orders, so please do not shoot the messenger, especially because I don't think my body can handle being shot at... again..." Morgan pursed his lips and arched an eyebrow at her so she got to the point pretty quickly.
"Hotch was pretty emphatic about who would be leading this case, and unfortunately my sweet chocolate man, you are not the one he requested."
My mouth parted in surprise as I turned my focus onto Rossi opposite me. Sure, he may look like grandpa material, but I had no doubt Rossi could hold up his own party pretty well.
"What? Then who was?" Morgan asked in shock. Suddenly everybody turned to me and I blinked up at Garcia who was smiling broadly at me.
"Ye better get right down to it, Boss." Garcia winked at me and tried to do her best English accent, almost making me laugh.
Instead, I scoffed and shook my head, looking back down at my file with a laugh, sipping my coffee and ignoring everyone's pressing gaze.
"Nice try Garci but the newbie-pranks ended three months ago, I'm no longer subjected to the newbie naivety. Sorry to disappoint."
"No, really, I'm being serious. Hotch wants you leading." She pushed her tablet across the desk to me and pointed to the email Hotch had sent her. My eyes went wide and my mouth parted.
"Seriously?" I gasped and she nodded with a broad grin. "But I don't want to lead, I don't want it, Morgan can have it." I blinked up at her desperately, I didn't want the politics that came with leading a team... especially this one... especially my father's team.
"Hotch says Morgan can do paperwork but otherwise he cannot accept the leading role while he is away." Garcia said sweetly.
"What? But why? That makes no sense."
"Hotch wants you leading." Garcia shrugged and I groaned, running my hands through my hair, knowing we were wasting time.
"This is insane..." I mumbled. "We're wasting time we can't afford to lose, so fine. But it makes no sense, I'm not a leader."
"How will you know if you've never led before?" Rossi said with a warm smile.
"Wheels up in ten." Garcia said excitedly with a grin while everyone shuffled their files and got to their feet.
The Doctor
"Well this is exciting." I grinned, throwing the wrapper of my bagel into the trash.
"Is it?" Joy exclaimed as we made our way through the bullpen for the exit. "Because I seem to think it's ludicrous."
"Oh come on, you're going to make an excellent leader; it's in your blood... On both sides..." Joy looked up at me with a scowl; clearly disapproving of this statement.
"What? It's true. Your mom ran the NYPD and FBI Dept in New York and your dad runs the BAU, they're both leaders, as are you." She shook her head and called the elevator again.
"I don't want to boss you all around, that's not in my blood," She said in a small voice and I cooed at her adorable reaction. "I don't give orders, I follow them, especially in this team. Giving orders to my friends isn't something I want to be doing."
I shrugged and nudged her shoulder with my own as the elevator doors opened.
"Well it looks like you're gonna need to just swallow your pride on this one, B."
"The question is," She said as we got inside the elevator. "Does 'B' now stand for Boss as well as Brenda?" I laughed and nodded my head.
"Yes I suppose it does."
Once we'd gone into the case in more detail on the plane there was a moment of silence as we all sat awaiting orders. For a moment Joy sat silent too before realising she was the one who had to give the orders. She cleared her throat and straightened herself on the seat.
"Uhm, okay," She began in a sheepish voice. "JJ and Morgan you talk to the families of all of the victims; we need to get a good picture of what they were like, all of them. I know the local PD have already done this, but you'll know what to look for, we need to establish if the victims had a connection somehow, or if they knew our Unsub,"
JJ and Morgan nodded and flicked through their files to have a look at the families.
"Prentiss and Rossi you should head to the latest dumpsite and then visit the others. Maybe if you get a feel of the clubs and bars where the victims were abducted as well it'd be easier for us to get a better idea of the type of Unsub we're looking for. Reid and I will go to the station and start narrowing down the list of potential victims and work on a geographical profile..."
There was a pause and she observed us all with a small smile.
"Is that alright?" She asked quietly and Rossi chuckled.
"I think that sounds perfect, Boss." He said in a warm tone and we all chuckled, Joy's cheeks blushing as she dipped her head with a smile.
The Daughter
"Hello, Detective Basso, I'm Agent Brenda Joyner and this is Doctor Spencer Reid, we're from the FBI."
"Ah yes, the BAU," Basso said, approaching us and shaking my hand firmly as Reid half-hid behind me and gave an awkward wave. "Thank you for joining us." He said in a sour tone.
"Thank you for eventually letting us." I hit back just as sourly. There was a silence as the Detective and I stared each other down; the other just as daring.
"I've cleared up a room for you with everything you requested. I'm about to head down to the Morgue to see the latest victim. Are any of your Agents already down there?" I internally cursed myself as I realised I hadn't sent anyone to view the bodies. I looked at Reid who ever-so-slightly shook his head.
"No, all of our Agents are following other lines of enquiry at the moment."
This seemed to rile the Detective and he took a step closer to me.
"And just who is leading this investigation... Agent?" He asked, trailing his eyes over me briefly. I took a step forward so we had mere inches between us and I was looking up at him slightly. Something within me seemed to spark, igniting a powerful burst of defensiveness and control.
"I am, detective..." I said in a sour tone, clearly taking him by surprise with this fact. "Is there a problem with where I've sent my Agents?" He rubbed at his jaw and shook his head.
"Good, because if you don't mind we have a murderer to stop and leads to follow." I cocked an eyebrow at him and pursed my lips, my expression daring him to ask anything else before he nodded and sheepishly left the room he'd led us into.
"Wow," Reid whistled lowly beneath his breath and I turned to see him watching Basso leave the station. "I don't think I've ever seen a Detective leave with his tail between his legs quite so quickly." I chuckled and shook my head, bringing all of the reports out of one of the boxes.
"If there's one thing I hate more than leading people, it's people looking at me like I can't do it."
The Doctor
"Well I think the only way to go about this is to get out there, hit the clubs and canvass the area." Morgan said. We'd been following different lines of enquiry all morning and afternoon and so far that had got us nowhere. Another girl was going to be abducted tonight which meant another body in the morning.
"No, I don't think that'll work..." Prentiss claimed. "It's too dangerous. This Unsub is highly skilled and knows what he's doing. If we go out there, all he's going to do is panic and randomise his victims and kills. He won't stick to his pattern."
"But we don't know that for sure." Morgan claimed.
"He's a pathologically obsessive psychopath, of course he'll snap if he senses us near. To canvass the area and man the bars will only be putting every woman at risk, not just those who fit the victimology." Rossi stated matter-of-factly.
We all knew he was correct, but we were all getting antsy at the fact we'd been here since first thing and we still had absolutely nothing. Even Garcia was coming up empty.
"What if I go?" Joy spoke up, turning from the board with our latest victim's picture in her hand. "I fit the victimology, I'm exactly like the Unsub's type. If I go to a bar undercover, there's nothing stopping him from taking me."
"What? No, that's not happening." I blurted adamantly.
"We don't even know what bar he's going to be at next." Prentiss sighed, sitting back in her chair.
"Reid could figure that out not a problem, we could narrow down the options with Garcia and pinpoint where he's most likely going to be next." Joy reasoned.
"That's not happening." I said forcefully, my voice raising in pitch and volume.
"I fit his victimology too," JJ piped up. "We said he's going to raise the stakes, he's been at this for two weeks now, what's to say he wouldn't take two?"
"If we have two undercovers there's no way he'd be able to take us both down." Joy agreed, nodding her head.
"It's too risky," I snapped angrily, wondering why nobody was listening to what I was saying. "This guy is a pathologically obsessive psychopath, do you really think he'll keep from harming you just because you show him your badge and gun?"
"It could work." Rossi said, ignoring what I'd said and nodding his head.
"We could be wired and have our weapons, have all of you undercover around the bar too and plain-clothes officers outside. We wouldn't be in there alone." Joy reasoned calmly, meeting my eyes cooly.
"It's our only chance of nailing this son-of-a-bitch, kid." Morgan said and I groaned.
"It's too dangerous!" I exclaimed. "What would Will say?!" I snapped, turning to JJ who lowered her eyes as she thought of an answer. After a pause, she looked up at me and sighed.
"Will would want me to do whatever I could do in my power in order to stop this guy."
"He wouldn't want you putting yourself on the line."
"I'm not doing that, Spence. I won't be alone and I'll be protected."
I shook my head.
"You're the boss, it falls on you to make the decision." Rossi said to Joy. She was chewing on her lip and gauging our reactions.
"I say we leave in an hour, that way, we have better chance of seeing how and when he arrives."
"I can't believe you're doing this." I groaned under my breath, slamming my files down on the table.
I was terrified of what might happen to Joy and JJ out there... God only knows what this Unsub would do to either of them if he got ahold of them.
*
"They've been in there for seventeen minutes and thirty-nine seconds, d'you think they're okay?" I mumbled, barely blinking as I kept my eyes trained on the restroom door.
"Reid man, they're women, of course they're going to take a while to get ready... Hell we'll be lucky if they're even ready for us catching this son-of-a-bitch."
"I wouldn't let them hear you saying that, Derek." Rossi chuckled, and I looked over to see him smacking Morgan over the back of the head with one of the files.
"I didn't mean anything by it, man." Morgan laughed.
"Well you know what they say; a watched pot never boils." Rossi said and tapped my shoulder from the other side. I looked up at him and he smiled; pointing over to the restroom.
I looked up and found Prentiss and JJ leaving the bathroom laughing, JJ dressed in an electric blue wrap dress to her knees and matching heels. She had a small black purse and her makeup was pale; her hair accentuated naturally down her back. I smiled as I admired her natural beauty and got to my feet, slightly swaying as I noticed who it was shying behind them.
I only realised it was her because of the tattoos on her arm; a pang of recognition making me realise who she was.
Her hair was styled over both shoulders rather than pulled back in it's usual pigtail. She was wearing heavy makeup, and her eyes looked larger and darker with it. She was wearing dark lipstick that matched the black swing-dress she was wearing.
The dress itself wasn't anything fancy, just a simple cotton summer dress with buttons down the front to the waist and cut-off sleeves. It was a little short and made her tanned legs look even longer, especially in the black heels she was wearing.
Rossi pushed me back down into the chair I'd been sat on and Morgan reached across the desk he was sat on in order to close my mouth.
Prentiss chuckled as she approached and saw this, and turned next to me.
"What d'you think? Are they believable?" I couldn't say anything and was just able to blink up at Joy as she came to a stop next to JJ whilst smiling shyly.
"I think they're very believable, well done Emily for getting the outfits together on such short notice," Morgan said, nodding his head. "You look beautiful, the pair of you." He added and Rossi agreed. I was only able to 'mhmm' in a pitch higher than normal and avoid everyone's eyes as I blushed.
"Okay," Joy said in a clear voice. "We should get a move on then."
*
"You really gotta learn to act, kid." Morgan whispered to me with his comms covered as we watched Joy and JJ from across the bar.
"What're you talking about?" I asked, clearing my throat and looking up at him innocently.
"Don't give me those puppy-dog eyes you know what I'm talking about. Your feelings for Joy are as obvious as her tattoos."
I scowled and shook my head, covering my own comms frantically to hiss,
"I don't know what you're talking about Morgan, I respect Joy as a colleague and on this case, as our boss, nothing more."
Morgan shook his head and rolled his eyes, but he let it go.
We were all undercover as Joy had suggested; all of us spread out throughout the packed club where we each had an eye on the girls by the bar.
"Hey," I was aware of the voice but I passed it off as just another girl trying to pull Morgan and continued watching Joy and JJ across the club. Someone nearby cleared their throat and Morgan jabbed an elbow into my side. I hissed and looked at him angrily and he jerked his head towards my other side. Frowning and rubbing at my side I turned to face a short red-headed girl wearing a sparkling black dress and too much makeup.
"Hey I'm Nat," She said, extending her hand. I began to panic and smiled, nodding my head at her awkwardly. I averted my eyes and swallowed loudly before she cleared her throat and dropped her hand.
"Are you here with someone else or...?" I sighed and turned to the girl who was still looking up at me persistently, batting her false eyelashes at me and licking her red-painted lips.
"Yes, I'm uh..." I paused and cleared my throat. "I'm actually here with a group of friends."
She looked around and smiled.
"Okay, well, if you decide you're getting bored with them... Just come find me." She smiled and leaned forward, kissing my cheek and passing me a coaster from the club with her number written on the bottom. She winked at me as she left.
"How the Hell do you do it?" Morgan laughed hysterically as I blankly watched the girl walk away.
"D-d-do what?" I stuttered, reaching up to touch my cheek where the girl had kissed me.
"Pull chicks without even meaning to?"
"They're not chicks, Morgan," I snapped and shook my head to clear it, turning to him and pointing to my cheek. "Help me remove this before germs set in," He laughed and shook his head, pushing my face away and turning back to the girls at the bar.
"No, I'm being serious here Morgan, help me," Morgan laughed and shook his head and I groaned. "Fine, I'm going to the bathroom. Don't move."
The Daughter
JJ ordered us two vodkas and lemonade so we didn't look like we were undercover at all.
We stood at one of the high-tables by the bar and laughed and joked like most of the other girls. I hadn't touched my drink, determined to stay entirely sober for the entire night. But obviously at some point JJ had forgotten about this and automatically reached for her drink, sipping it slightly through the straw.
"Can I get you girls another?" One of the bartenders asked, approaching our table and observing our still-full glasses with a sudden scowl.
"No that's quite alright thank you." I smiled at him and he arched a brow at me, turning to JJ who grinned.
"We'll have two more." She nodded. He grinned happily and nodded, walking away.
"JJ what're you doing, we're supposed to stay sober remember?" I laughed, watching as she took a long drink from her straw.
"Oh live a little Joy, you're as bad as Reid." I frowned as I heard no comeback from Reid on the comms and cast my eyes across the bar, spotting Morgan at the far side shaking his head to a girl.
Suddenly I heard air being pulled through a straw and turned open-mouthed to see JJ finishing her drink with a wide grin.
"Finished!" She cheered and my mouth fell open in surprise.
"JJ what're you-"
"I thought you ladies might like something a littler fancier so I brought over my specialty, on the house of course." The bartender from before approached us and set two orange cocktails on the table. JJ cheered and patted his shoulder in thanks.
"Thank you, you really didn't have to do that." I told him sternly, watching as JJ immediately started pulling on her straw.
"Hey it's no worries. It's a bad day when I can't get two beautiful ladies a drink." I smiled but didn't take my eyes off JJ. Luckily, I reached forward just in time for her legs to give way.
"Whoa, I've got you, it's okay Jen." I hooked my arm underneath both of JJ's and pulled her to her feet. I looked frantically across the bar but I couldn't see any of the team or the officers we were with at all. I began to panic as I began to feel like we were all alone.
"Whoa is she alright?" The bartender asked, helping me with JJ's other side.
"I'm fine." JJ slurred, her head rolling to my side.
"Jen, look at me, are you okay?" I asked in a clear voice, tapping the side of her face. "Look at me Jen?"
"D'you want to bring her back here, she looks pretty out of it, I can get her some water and call a doctor?" The bartender asked. His eyes were wide in panic, his face a shade paler than before.
"That'd be a great help, thank you."
Together we hooked our arms around JJ and brought her to the door at the side of the bar. We helped JJ down the corridor to the room on the right where there was a small sofa and a vending machine.
"I'll just go get her some water and my cell." He said as we set her down on the sofa.
"Thank you so much." I smiled and watched as he left.
"JJ come on, wake up Jay come on." I begged, tapping both sides of her face desperately.
Frantically I pulled my cell out of my bra and attempted to dial Morgan. I couldn't understand why our comms weren't working. I groaned as I realised I had no service and returned my cell to my bra, unhooking my gun from my holster against my thigh along with my badge. If this guy really was trying to help us, he had to inform the medical assistance that we were FBI agents.
That's when I realised something; he'd said he was going to get his cell but there was no service in here. Surely, being a member of staff, he'd know that there was no cell service in the staff room?
I wasn't sure if I was overthinking things, but suddenly I had a bad feeling about this.
I gasped in realisation as I put two and two together and realised the bartender was our Unsub.
"Okay JJ honey c'mon you need to wake up." I begged, frantically looking behind me at the still closed door. When she didn't so much as budge I forceably yanked her into my arms and dragged her across the room to the door where I sat her on the floor in the corner. Flattening myself against her I readied my gun on the back of the door and waited.
The Doctor
I came out of the restroom and found Morgan in the same place as before, although this time he was mumbling into his comms.
"What's up?" I asked, nudging his side and looking out at the bar. At first I couldn't see them and calmly checked the length of the bar to no avail. I spotted the table where they'd last been stood at, where there were now two fancy cocktails.
"Morgan what's happened?" I demanded in a serious voice.
"I can't get them on comms."
"What happened?" I demanded.
"JJ was falling all over the place, I think she was drugged." Prentiss said sternly, approaching us.
"The bartender took the both of them behind the bar." Rossi said from next to Prentiss.
"You mean you let the two of them go with a potential suspect?!" I almost-shrieked. "And now we can't get either of them on comms?!"
"I think he's using a device to jam the network, I can't get them on their cells either." Morgan said matter-of-factly.
"Then we move in." I said seriously, leading the way down the stairs to the main concourse and through the dance floor to the bar. The officers were making their way there too and by the time we reached the door there were almost a dozen of us.
"Reid I don't think this is a good idea, man." Morgan said as we gathered to plan our attack.
"Morgan's right. We could end up scaring him into attacking either of them." Prentiss agreed.
"So what? You're suggesting we just wait until he attacks one of them and we have reason to go in?" I demanded.
"I'm saying that we should probably wait until-" Morgan was interrupted by a loud crack of gunfire sounding from behind the door we stood outside.
It was just about audible to the rest of the club over the music, but most would probably pass it off as some other noise and not that of gunfire.
"Move in!" I called, throwing open the door and hurrying down the hallway beyond, following my instincts more than my senses.
"You fucking bitch!"
I pointed to the door at the end of the corridor and Morgan nodded, signalling to the others behind him as we slowly crept up on the door.
"FBI!" I announced, pushing inside the room to see Joy approaching a blonde man in the middle of the room who was holding his right arm as a significant amount of blood was pouring from it.
"We need a medic." I told Morgan as I hurried over to Joy as she kicked the man's gun away from his feet.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?" I asked in a panicked tone.
"I didn't give him the chance to." She smiled wickedly at the man and he scowled at her angrily.
"You're under arrest for the abduction, rape and murder of..." Morgan brought the man's arms behind his back and Joy smiled as he groaned in agony.
"What happened?" I asked as Prentiss and Rossi checked JJ over as she sat on the floor in the corner of the room, still clearly passed out.
"He drugged us with the drinks we ordered. I didn't drink anything but JJ drank it all and ended up passing out. He offered to call a doctor so brought us back here. He left to get his cell but I realised I had no service and he would know that from working here, so when he came back I questioned him about it and he tried to fire at JJ but I shot him in the arm. We need answers so," She shrugged and smiled up at me proudly.
"I thought shooting him in the arm was better than killing him." I grinned and threw my arms around her in a tight hug.
"I'm just glad you're alright." She chuckled and awkwardly patted my back as we both came to terms with the fact I was hugging her.
"Don't worry Doc, it takes more than that to stop me."
The Daughter
Back at the station JJ was sleeping off the drug in the staff room with Prentiss watching over her as Morgan and Rossi interrogated Matt Delaney. Reid and I were watching from the one-way screen and I was only getting more and more riled.
"This guy is a serious fuck-up." I groaned, pulling my hair back into a bobble.
"What're you doing?" Reid asked as I kicked out of my heels.
"Rossi and Morgan aren't getting anywhere with him. Maybe he'll say something to me."
"No, Joy you've done enough tonight." Reid demanded, yanking on my arm before I could leave the room.
"Reid I've done barely anything tonight! That sicko had chosen us as his next victims, surely that gives me the right to interrogate him?!"
"No, it doesn't," He said calmly, shaking his head. "The both of you were put in danger and if Hotch was here he'd only get mad at the thought of you then interrogating him. You and JJ should head back to the hotel and get some rest. We'll wrap this up and see you in the morning."
"You're sending me out?"
"Yes I'm sending you out because I think you're taking this too personally!" His voice was now raising to an almost shout and I took a step back, a little surprised.
"Is everything alright in here?" Prentiss asked from the doorway.
"Fine." I snapped, snatching my heels from the floor and brushing past Reid.
"Joy I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'm only looking out for you." Reid said, frantically following me as I headed for the staff room where JJ was smiling into the phone.
"You needn't bother," I snapped, turning around to face him angrily. "I don't need anybody looking out for me, I can look after myself." I snatched my satchel into my arms and arched an eyebrow at JJ. She ended her conversation and gathered her heels in her hands so the pair of us could leave.
Reid and Prentiss watched us go.
The Doctor
"D'you think she's still mad at me?" I asked Prentiss as we made our way back to the hotel a few hours later. It was three in the morning and we finally had our confession.
"No, I think she was just a little overwhelmed by how much you cared." She shrugged reasonably.
"Yeah either that or insulted at the fact she's heading this investigation and you sent her out." Morgan said from up front making Rossi chuckle. I rolled my eyes at him and started chewing on my lip.
"Hey," Prentiss covered my hand with her own and smiled at me warmly. "You and Joy are good friends, she's not going to let something as stupid as this get in the way of that." I nodded my head and smiled at her; she was right.
Morgan and Garcia argued all the time; they never let that come between their friendship and at the end of the day they'd still kill for each other.
Once everybody had gone to their separate rooms I snuck back out and hurried along the corridor. I knew it was late - or early, whichever way you wanted to perceive it - so I knew there was no way she'd still be awake. I smiled at the thought of her reading this in the morning, and slid the note under her door. Hurrying back along to my room I smiled to myself proudly.
The Daughter
After returning to my room the previous night I'd fallen asleep almost instantly. The only problem with that came with the fact that I'd forgotten to remove the makeup Prentiss had applied the night before.
Groaning I worked at my face for a good ten minutes the following morning, before entering the shower. When I came out my face felt a little raw but otherwise looked as normal as it could be. I applied my usual basic makeup before getting dressed and drying my hair. I yanked it back into it's usual bobble and left the bathroom to start getting ready to go home.
It wasn't until I'd packed my go-bag and was heading for the door that I noticed the note laid on the floor. Frowning I crouched down and picked it up, recognising my own handwriting and frowning.
"SORRY X"
I crouched there for a while, trying to remember before realising that this was the note I'd left on Reid's desk before Hotch made me leave. Why was he giving this back to me now?
With a stab I realised he wasn't giving this back to me; he was giving it to me. There was a significant difference. He was apologising after our argument last night. I smiled and cooed aloud as I got to my feet and tucked the note into my back pocket for later. That guy really was a genius after all.
I left my room and locked up, heading along the hall and knocking loudly on Reid's door. He wasn't getting away with it that easily. He shouldn't have left a note, he should've come in and we could've talked rather than him cowering away. I hated arguments and confrontation; especially when it was with friends.
I was taking it too personally last night and if anybody had to apologise it was me. Reid was only trying to look out for me. He was right; I was wrong, all because of pride and a stupid agenda.
"He's not in there hun," Morgan's voice said from the next room along as he pulled his door closed and locked it. "He went to see his mom a couple of hours ago."
"What?" I blinked at Morgan in shock. Why was Reid awake and gone so early? Surely they didn't get back until late last night?
"His mom lives across town, he's gone to visit her before we leave."
"But we only have a couple of hours. Will he make it back in time?" Morgan checked his watch and sighed.
"Reid'll be back." He said with a nod before continuing down the hall.
We all ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant and checked out together, making our way to the airport and laughing over what had happened last night. JJ didn't remember much; except from Reid and I shouting at each other in the station staff room before heading back to the hotel.
Apparently Will had been worried sick but was pleased to know I'd protected her... Well, almost completely.
JJ told me that her being drugged wasn't my fault, and that none of us were to know that's how the Unsub had captured his victims. We hadn't thought of that before our trip to the club, and that was certainly a new way.
"When Reid comes back he'll be pretty quiet," Morgan explained quietly to me as we collected our bags from the car. "He's always pretty quiet and thoughtful after visiting his mom. It's best if you just leave him be." I nodded my head, processing this.
"Yeah don't think it's something you've done," Prentiss said matter-of-factly. "I of course had to learn that the hard way." She rolled her eyes and I smiled.
"Yeah, you haven't done anything, it's just how he deals with it." Morgan explained as we boarded the jet.
"Okay, that's good to know. Thanks guys." I smiled and took to my seat, understanding Reid entirely. Working around my father - aka the man who hated me - took it's toll on me too.
The Doctor
I arrived at the airport fifteen minutes after I was supposed to, and hurried onto the jet in a burst of apologies and lack of breath.
"I'm so sorry I'm late." I apologised, throwing myself into my usual seat next to Joy.
"That's alright, I won't tell Hotch." Rossi joked and I smiled breathlessly, fastening my belt.
I turned to Joy next to me and she smiled as I smiled. She had her FBI jacket draped over her arms like a blanket and was smiling at me with bright eyes.
"Did you get my note?" I asked desperately and she nodded, awkwardly reaching into her back pocket and setting it down on the table in front of me.
"Next time just knock on the door." She said in a soft voice.
"I thought you'd be asleep." I reasoned.
"That doesn't matter," She said simply. "My grandma always taught me to never go to sleep on an argument."
"Your grandma sounds like a smart lady." Rossi interjected and Joy nodded her head.
"She was. She was wonderful." Rossi nodded his head and smiled and I looked down at the note, folding it back up and putting it into my inside pocket.
"Cooey!" Garcia's voice called from the laptop in between Rossi and Joy and we all turned to see her smiling face. "How's my little blonde bomb?" She asked, nodding to JJ who was sat next to Rossi.
"I'm fine," JJ laughed. "Not as bad as everybody's making me out to be." She said matter-of-factly.
"Good, I'm glad. And how about my other little blonde bomb?" She turned to Joy who laughed and nodded her head.
"I'm great Garci how're you?"
"Well I am stunned my little sugarplum..." We all frowned as she turned serious. "My muscly chocolate man informed me of quite the scandal this morning upon our morning pillow talk," We all turned to Morgan who was sniggering and shaking his head.
"Doctor Spencer Reid you naughty naughty boy, who would have had you down as a lady magnet?" My mouth parted and my eyes widened as everyone chuckled and Joy turned to me with a broad grin.
"What're you talking about?" I asked self-consciously in a higher pitch than normal.
"Oh don't act all innocent doc, I know you got three girls' numbers last night." My cheeks started heating up as Morgan reached over the back of the chair and ruffled my hair, laughing.
"I was there to witness the magic of you, pretty boy." I shook my head and batted his hand away, fixing my hair and blushing.
"Anyway, I just wanted to have that confirmed. Peace and love, safe journey!" Garcia's face disappeared and the screen went back to normal as my cheeks died down.
"So what about it, Spence, you gonna give one of them a call?" JJ asked, waggling her brows opposite me.
"What? No." I gasped, astounded.
"Oh come on Reid, live a little." Prentiss said from next to Morgan behind me.
"I'm not interested." I said in a weak voice.
"What's the worst that could happen?" Joy encouraged from beside me. I looked at her and gulped.
"I-I dropped the numbers anyway." I said in a defensive stutter.
"You have an eidetic memory, kid, don't give us that." Rossi said from opposite Joy.
Thankfully I was saved with the seatbelt light illuminating as the pilot got us ready for take-off. I don't think I'd ever been so thankful to be going up in the air.
The Blonde Bomb
"Look at them," I said to Morgan, jerking my chin towards Joy and Reid. "They're so in denial, even unconscious they're drawn together." I sighed, it was beautiful. Morgan chuckled and continued stirring his coffee.
"Yeah they're in denial," He agreed enthusiastically. "It's beginning to be a pain in my ass," He claimed. "He's crazy about her, I mean you didn't see him last night," He whistled low under his breath. "When you and Joy left, all he could talk about was how pissed she was at him and if he'd blown it. On the way back to the hotel he was freaking out man." Morgan shook his head and I cooed.
"Our little Spence is growing up, Derek." I cooed and Morgan chuckled.
"Yeah he is," He sighed and shook his head, the pair of us observing as Reid slept with his head leaning to his right, balanced on his fist. Unconsciously Joy was leaning toward her left in her slumber, which meant their heads were literally millimetres apart.
"It doesn't feel like twelve years, JJ." Morgan said, shaking his head with a sigh.
"I know it doesn't," I agreed. "Reid's growing up, it was bound to happen at some point. We've all moved on, but he hasn't."
"I hope he's happy," He said matter-of-factly. "He has to be happy." I looked at Morgan to see his eyes shining with protection.
"Aw Morgan, are you protective over Spence?" Morgan cleared his throat and smiled, looking down into his cup of coffee.
"I'm only protective of a few people, JJ. But this team means everything to me, more so that kid right there," He said, nodding his head in Reid's direction. "I know how vulnerable and gullible he can be. It sometimes worries me, so I just want him to be happy." I smiled and touched Morgan's shoulder lightly.
"Don't worry Derek, we're all here for him." I promised and he smiled, touching my hand lightly before heading back to his seat. We were all a little emotional whenever Spence got like this; but this time was different, we could feel it. He wasn't just happy, he was content and he was hopeful...
There was something about a man filled with hope.
When we got back to the BAU there was paperwork to fill in and files to be looked through, so none of us were really off the hook until after dinner time. Hotch still wasn't back which was understandable; so it was just the six of us writing reports and filing papers.
"I never thought we were going to get that finished." Prentiss grinned, stretching out from behind her desk.
"I say we celebrate with a night-out, how about it?" Morgan asked, slinging his arm around Garcia.
"Ooh night-out? I'm up for that. JJ?" She asked and I wondered, looking at my cell to see a message from Will.
"Sure, Will has a sitter for the night anyway." I smiled and Garcia cheered.
"Oh if JJ's in then I'm in." Prentiss grinned, following us out of the bullpen.
"I've always considered myself to be down with the kids so why not act like it too?" Rossi grinned and we all laughed.
"Yeah a night-out sounds like fun." Joy grinned and we all turned to Reid.
"Why not?" He blushed and we all cheered; Spencer on a night-out was rare.
The Daughter
When we headed out of Quantico it was a short drive to the local bar the team regularly visited, and when we entered I realised it was quite a cool place. There was a dart corner, a chess corner, a small dance-floor and a pretty rowdy bar.
It was at that said bar that I met Will Lamontagne, JJ's husband.
"It's lovely to finally meet you." I called over the pounding music.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you too. JJ's told me a lot about you."
"All good I hope." I grinned.
"Where's your shadow? I hear you've acquired quite the partner."
I frowned in confusion despite my smile and JJ laughed, lightly hitting Will's chest.
"Oh Will you're so funny." She laughed sarcastically, guiding him over to an empty part of the bar. I narrowed my eyes and followed the pair of them just as Reid and Morgan were approaching with the drinks and Garcia.
*
"Yo Reid, you not feeling the chess games tonight?" Morgan called over the music a while later, jerking his head towards the chess corner where a group of younger people were crowded round two men playing chess.
"Not tonight thanks Derek." Reid said in a stern voice, clearly embarrassed. I looked up at him and smirked, seeing the blush creeping into his cheeks.
"Well kids I think I'll have to love you all and leave you. The night is getting a little too old for me." Rossi chuckled.
"Leaving so soon? But you've only had a few drinks." Garcia sighed.
"Three is three too many for a school night," He laughed, kissing her cheek. "Have all kinds of crazy fun without me." He chuckled, bidding us all goodnight before leaving.
"Man that makes me feel old." Morgan sighed, shaking his head.
"Oh my chocolate man, you'll forever be young in my heart." Garcia joked and I choked into my vodka as everyone else laughed.
"Ooh I love this song!" Prentiss cheered and grabbed JJ by the wrist, dragging her off to dance.
"I'm heading outside for a smoke." Will smirked as he watched JJ and Prentiss dance.
"Does JJ know you still haven't quit?" Garcia pouted.
"I only smoke when drinking, Penelope." He said in a serious tone and she laughed.
"Don't they all."
"You not a dancer, Garci?" I asked Garcia as the three of us watched JJ and Prentiss.
"Oh I'm a dancer in my heart dear Brenda, I just don't have the balls until I've drank at least a tank of vodka." Reid laughed and nodded his head.
"That is true, at Henry's christening JJ and Will had pure Russian vodka and Garcia forgot to pace herself. She was on the dance floor with the rest of the kids for the whole evening and night." Garcia shot Reid a look that would kill.
"Derek honey back me up here." She whimpered, turning around in a full circle as she realised Morgan wasn't behind her where he was moments before.
"Thank God she isn't an actual agent," JJ chuckled as she and Prentiss returned. "Where's Will?" She asked after realising her husband was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh he's at the toilet." Reid covered with a small smile and JJ nodded.
When Will returned he and JJ went over to play darts, and Prentiss Reid and I tried to distract Garcia as she watched Morgan intensely at the other end of the bar as he chatted and flirted his way through the conversation with a pretty brunette.
"Okay, I'm getting us all shots," I said after a while of Garcia slobbering over Morgan. "We need to liven ourselves up a bit." I told them matter-of-factly.
"Finally!" Prentiss exclaimed. "Someone with my kind of idea!" She grinned, sanding her hands.
"Actually, I-I don't think shots are a good idea, I've already had a couple beers so..." Reid trailed off as I turned my eyes on him.
"C'mon Reid, one shot won't kill you, it's okay." I laughed, ruffling his hair and leaning across the bar to yell the order at the bartender.
"C'mon Garci, we're doing shots," I told her sternly, shaking her shoulder roughly. "You need to forget about Derek for a minute." She turned her eyes on me as I paid for the shots and set Garcia's down in front of her.
"Forget about Derek Morgan, how can I? He's an Angel." I laughed and shook my head in awe, passing Reid and Prentiss their shots.
"Garci, you work with FBI, surely you would've learned a lot from them?" She frowned in confusion,
"What d'you mean?" I counted to three and we all threw the shots back, Reid wincing immediately and gasping.
"Well," I said in a stiff voice, piling the shot glasses back up and sliding them over to the bar, throwing back the rest of my vodka and listening as Garcia and Prentiss chuckled in awe. "Surely you would've learned by now that if you want something bad enough, you just have to go get it."
Garcia was frowning at me in confusion and slid her glasses up her nose with a ringed finger as she watched me intently. I rolled my eyes and turned to Reid who was mumbling about how ethanol was not the drug he ever thought would kill him.
I smirked and turned back to Garcia with a broad smile.
"Watch me." I told her with a drunken wink. She and Prentiss shared an intrigued look, folding their arms and tilting their heads as I straightened from the bar, swaying a little. I'd had a few vodkas and a couple shots, and them along with the exhaustion I was suddenly feeling, were beginning to take it's toll on me. But I was an FBI agent; I wasn't about to let that hold me back.
I turned to Reid and snatched his hand from his chest, lacing our fingers together and pulling him away from the bar. Prentiss and Garcia gasped, their eyes widening in shock and their mouths parting in realisation.
"W-what're you doing?" He stuttered and I smirked, holding his hand tighter in mine.
"We're going to go dance, pretty boy." I told him, leading him towards the dance floor.