ɢᴀᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ (ꜱ.ʀ)

ii. DEEPAK CHOPRA

"The healthiest response to life is joy."

-DEEPAK CHOPRA-

SHE DID NOT KNOW THEY HAD A JET but Ginny continued to be thoroughly impressed by the setup the BAU had. It was like everything they could've possibly needed was right there at their fingertips. Compared to the way the show was run undercover, Ginny felt like she was working with the royalty of the FBI. Seriously, even when they were just walking out of the building to the jet, she could feel the stares and awe radiating off everyone they passed. It had been far too long since Ginny had worked with a team and she found it refreshing how the ideas bounced off each other, a constant flow of ideas. The flight to Durant, Oklahoma, wasn't long but somehow she'd managed to keep up with the team as everyone rattled off their theories and evidence.

With the plane beginning its descent Hotch handed out instructions, "Dave, you and I will talk to the parents, Morgan and Prentiss, you got to the disposal sites, and JJ, Monroe and Reid head to the abduction sites." Ginny looked up, ready to greet her teammates with joy but instead saw the sour look on their faces as Spencer ignored JJ and JJ finally realized.

The three of them walked down the curb, Ginny nose deep in the case file, recounting each step the victim took, "So, Beth got off the bus here," Spencer read aloud, pointing to the spot Ginny was standing on, "And then headed northeast to class."

Ginny glanced around from her position on the sidewalk. It was busy, crowded, "There's a lot of foot traffic here, it's amazing no one witness the abduction," She said, shielding her eyes to look at Spencer.

Spencer huffed loudly, "I know someone who was buried six feet under and wound up living in Paris, so I guess anythings possible, right JJ?" The attitude coming from him, felt so out of character, even to Ginny who barely knew him. The comment itself caught her attention more than anything else, dying and coming back? That was something that could emotionally scar a person.

JJ mimicked his irritated expression, "So that's what this is about." She mumbled loud enough that both Ginny and Spencer could hear. Though it seemed like she was talking to herself, it felt somewhat on purpose.

He didn't even bat an eye at JJ's words and continued walking ahead of both girls, "You know, maybe our UnSub's a little like Bundy and he feigned an injury to get closer to her."

Ginny caught up to him, walking alongside, "He'd have to appear pretty non-threatening to get a girl to walk away from here with him and not cause a scene."

"Spence if you wanna talk about..." JJ tried to get him to listen, placing a hand on his bicep but he shrugged it off and continued walking, glancing at Ginny every few seconds.

"Maybe he tried another tactic and was like 'wow you're really pretty, you should be a model, I can take your photo'." Ginny would've taken him seriously if it weren't for the mocking tone he was using as he profiled.

Trying to bring them back on task Ginny said, "Either one would easily disarm her." Spencer just nodded absently, only half listening to what Ginny was saying. He hadn't intended to be curt with her as he was with JJ but once he began, he couldn't stop. Maybe it was her intelligence that irritated him or just perhaps her flashy appearance, either way Spencer didn't want her around just as much as he didn't want JJ.

JJ finally chimed in, "Charm's quite the killer."

"So are tears." Spencer calmly snapped. The bluntness of his sentence caused all of them to stop for a second. Ginny was so far past confused, she decided to stop trying to decipher all together.

"Whatever his ruse was, it was quick, efficient and it got them into the vehicle," Ginny said, glancing up at Spencer, who was staring off into their surroundings.

"Well if Abby was last seen at a bus stop a few miles away, he must have a means of transportation," JJ said, keeping her eyes pressed to the ground.

"Hopefully the disposal site will tell us more," Spencer said, aggressively brushing past the two girls and disappearing off into the foot traffic.

"I'm gonna take a guess and say that, whatever that-" Ginny gestured off in the general direction Spencer headed, "was, isn't regular Spencer Reid behaviour."

JJ drew a long breath and let it out with a sigh, "No, no it's not." She laughed sadly, running her hands through her hair, "A few months ago, Emily was forced to fake her death for the safety of the team and herself but, Hotch and I knew about it. It hit everybody hard when she 'died' and when she came back,"

Ginny reached out and rested her hand on JJ's arm, "That must've been awful for you, all of you," She quickly corrected, trying to bring comfort to her new teammate.

She nodded heavily, trying to hide the sniffles she had, "It was, Spence, is just... He took it the hardest, especially when he found out I lied to him," JJ took a beat and then her eyes widened, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have dumped all of that on you, you're not supposed to know about the hard parts just yet," She laughed sadly.

"Trust me JJ, it's fine," Ginny smiled, reassuring her new friend, "If you ever need to talk, Snarky Spencer or otherwise, I'm here."

JJ nodded, smiling sadly, "Thank you, Ginny."

"Anytime." They both shared a pleasant few smiles. JJ liked Ginny. There was something saw warm and comforting about her, it was surprising for her to like someone new on the team so quickly.

With a few hours gone and another body found, Ginny opted out of enduring another awkward encounter with Reid and JJ. Rossi volunteered to take her spot with the two and left her alone at the station with Emily. According to her, Spencer was usually the one who worked on the geographical profile but given his attitude issues and tense demeanour, Hotch handed off the job to Ginny.

A hand extended in front of her face, holding a dark brown cup of coffee out. On the other side stood Emily, smiling happily at her, "I figured you could use some sustenance after the sidewalk ordeal,"

Ginny took the cup with a small 'thanks' and said, "JJ told you about that?"

She nodded, sitting down across from her, "Yeah she did." They both shared an awkward chuckle, shaking their heads in unison.

"An awkward moment to say the least." Ginny shrugged and continued marking across the map in front of her, "It's a hard thing for a person to wrap their mind around, your body goes through so much physical and emotional pain when it's grieving, so having to reverse that process is..." She sighed, trying to find her words, "Everyone comes out of it differently."

Emily nodded solemnly, listening and absorbing everything Ginny said, "This might be too much to ask but, what do you think I should do?"

Ginny thought for a moment, it wasn't unusual for her to advise people, it just wasn't usually people so directly close to her, "Time honestly might be your best option, you coming back interrupted the grief process, he has to fully finish grieving your death before he can properly accept your return."

Emily blinked but nodded slowly, "How old are you?"

She laughed lightly, "I'm 28."

"28. right... Are you sure you're not like 45 and really good at makeup?"

They shared a few laughs and finished their work, revelling in the budding friendship.