The Hills [ S.R. ]

chapter 5

The ride back to the office was quiet. You felt bad for Jeremy. You were slightly upset because you knew you couldn't really do anything about what would happen to him. You looked out the window and allowed yourself to be distracted by the street lights and outdoor decorations of the restaurants you passed by. You could feel Spencer looking at you, maybe he was trying to figure out what you were thinking as you sat there quietly next to him. Part of you wished he would gently place his hand on your thigh but then, you bring yourself to come to terms with how unprofessional that'd be. You let out a sad and heavy breath, gaining the attention of your coworkers in the car, before Morgan pulls into the parking garage of the building. You climb out of the car, take off your blazer and walk slowly towards the doors. You look at the ground as you walk, not really paying attention to what was in front of you and you walked right into Spencer.

"Oops," you quickly grab hold of his arms as you try to keep your balance, "I'm so sorry! I guess my mind is just somewhere else." You say with a quiet laugh as you let go of him.

"It's okay I don't mind but, are you okay?" he speaks quietly, probably to prevent you from pushing him away.

"Do you want an honest answer?"

"I was hoping you'd give me one regardless." He flashes you a nervous smile.

"Well, I just feel really bad about Jeremy. When he asked what was gonna happen to him I'm glad you were the one to respond. I wouldn't know what to say. He lost both his parents like- how do you recover from that?"

"Well, you know I kind of went through the same thing. It may not have been under the same circumstances but I like to think I came out fine. You just have to trust that everything will work itself out," Spencer consoles.

"Thanks Spence."

"No problem C." 

You smile at him because he used one of your nicknames; "C" was short for "champion." It made you cringe at first, when he'd say "Champ" to purposely make you scrunch your nose in mock disgust. He came up with it when you were on the phone, the both of you delirious due to sleep deprivation. You told him about how you always won spelling bees and essay contests growing up. You made a joke that you always win at everything. It made you feel like a kid when he called you that but eventually it dialed down to "C" and then it stuck. 

...

The two of you take your time walking inside to get on the elevator. The whole time you're both just taking turns looking at each other; taking comfort in the silence. It's calm and you feel safe standing next to him in the elevator. As the doors open, Morgan and Prentiss were about to get on when they see you. They pause mid-conversation and look you two and back at each other before continuing talking as soon as you both walk past them.

"I wonder what they were doing down there," Prentiss whispered and you could barely hear it. You decide to keep it to yourself as you look back up at Reid. As soon as you enter, Hotch is also on his way out.

"I'm going to pick up Jack, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Don't stay out too late you two." Hotch says in a fatherly tone as he rushes out of the office.

"Night Hotch, see you tomorrow." You answer and Reid says almost the same thing as you after.

You're both working on your report of that night's events and in between, you and Spencer take turns going to the kitchenette to get coffee for one another. You finish at around 8 pm and close the folder shut on your pages containing the details of what you experienced. It was your first case report and you were really hoping you did it correctly. You assumed it'd be the same as it was when you were in Andi Swann's unit. You look up at Spencer and see he's also finished. He lets out a long breath and you giggle at him.