I Love You, Emily Prentiss

Chapter 9: Spencer-less

TW: SPOILERS

     Walking through the sensors and scanning your security badge at Quantico, Emily follows closely. You discussed your meeting with your father to Emily, staying up all night talking about it. Sharing your feelings about the entire encounter, you came to see the outcome as an amazing thing. Your view on life somehow brightened, giving you a sort of optimism. After you pass through the security check, you both head to the elevator to go up to the BAU.

     "Are you going to tell Spencer how it went?" Emily asks.

     "I still don't know where exactly we stand on the matter." You reply, watching the elevator doors close behind you.

     "He'll have to put on his big boy pants and deal with it. The only way to maintain the relationship with the two of them is to be upfront. And as soon as possible."

     Looking at the elevator arrows indicating the floors it is passing, you sighed. "Yea, I know. I just wish he could accept the fact that we handle problems differently. I hate holding grudges, and not too long ago, I would have given everything to capture even the slightest interest of my father."

     "You're a different person now than you were before. You've grown so much, and I want nothing but the best for you. Don't let your relationship be like mine with my mother." She said, stepping closer to you. "I will be here, every step of the way, Theo. You know that right?"

     You peck her on the lips, turning toward the opening elevator doors. Walking out, you are met with Derek and Penelope coming from the bat cave. You smile, knowing nothing is out of place with them.

     "Hey, mama," Derek says, tapping your arm.

     Returning the same playful banter, you wrap your arm around his shoulder. "Sup, D."

     Embracing you like she does every morning, Penelope gushes, "Theo, I love you so very much."

     "Where's the kid?" He asks, looking around for Spencer.

     "I don't think he's gotten in yet," Penelope answers for you.

     "Huh. I'm going to my desk if anyone needs me." Emily looks your way, touching your fingers on the way by.

     Penelope follows and links arms with her, starting to talk about the television series they had both started together. Your face displayed the emotion of immense longing, which you had forgotten to hide from Derek. He made a face back, but this one was of confusion.

     "You okay, Theo?"

     "Yeah, I'm fine." You reply, tucking your hair behind your ear and looking up at him.

     "How about with you and Spencer? You resolve that whole thing?" Derek gingerly asks.

     "What thing?"

     "Come on, Reid, you're saying that I didn't hear anything going on when we were in Wyoming? I heard you guys in Spencer's hotel room in the morning, and it didn't sound pretty."

     Beginning to walk, Derek was alongside you. "We just had a little tiff."

     "About?" Derek replied, side-eyeing you.

     Pausing for a brief moment, you didn't know what to tell him. But you knew that Derek was like a brother to Spencer, and maybe if he spoke to him about the whole thing it would make it better. "My father sent both Spencer and I letters."

     "How long has it been since he left?" Derek asks impulsively.

     "Eighteen years. But I told Spence that I would be reaching out to meet up with him, and he just freaked. I don't know, I guess Spencer would take the jump and attempt to repair a broken relationship."

     "And how did that go for you?"

     "Spencer threw a fit, I found out about Tobias Hankel, and I went to meet with my father anyways." You admit.

     "He'll come around, you know how he is. Don't worry too much, Theo."

     Giving a slight smile, you let out a brief sigh. You didn't know if Derek was right, but he is not one to lie about what he thinks. He has to be one of the most honest people you know. But the thing that worried you most was not when he would come around, it is if. How damaged would Spencer be by your decision to give your father another chance?

     Shaking your doubts off, you mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead. Derek softly touches your arm and gives you a look of empathy.

     "I think we have a case. We should get going." He says.

     "Let's go." You reply, walking alongside him to the bullpen.

     Almost at the steps to get to the round table, Derek looks over at you. "So this thing with you and Prentiss... is it temporary or something bigger?"

     "What?" You ask, trying to play dumb.

     "Come on Theo, now you're going to play dumb? You know you're surrounded by profilers, it's pretty hard to hide anything from us."

     "We're taking it slow." You answer, walking ahead of him and into the conference room. Whipping your head back and giving a look of contentment, you sit down with the rest of the team.

     In the conference room sitting there, was the entire team with the exception of Spencer. The once chatty Penelope fell silent, as the rest of the team did. You look over at Hotch, looking more stern and stiff than usual. You get a bad feeling in your gut, as you begin to bite the skin on your bottom lip. Opening your tablet, you see the eerie crime scene photos and case information.

     "Morning everyone. Let's get started." Hotch began. "New York has seen an influx of crimes over the past two weeks, and just recently have they connected some of them. Other than your standard robberies, the crimes that have been linked have been brutal murders. We were called in by the Director to investigate this case."

     "Why were the murders just linked now?" Morgan asks, looking up from the tablet.

     "Because none of the murders happened in close proximity to each other, and the Unsub had crossed race, gender, social and financial status lines, therefore making it harder for us to connect. The only reason it has been connected is that the Unsub left notes in each of the victim's mouths." Hotch answers.

     "They're all ciphered messages. Has anyone been able to decode them?" You inquire.

     "The detectives had just found these letters, so no one had been able to so far." Penelope states.

     Looking around the room for your brother, you were wary of his lack of presence. "Spence could probably cipher it in no time."

     Hotch looks down at you from where he was standing. "Spencer isn't going to be working on this case. We need to put our heads together on this one. So, Emily and Theo, you two are going to be working alongside Penelope to decode the message left for us. But you will still be in the field with us."

     This made the most sense, as you have achieved a master's in literature which made you the ideal choice for this. Emily works well with codes also, but seeing as Spencer is the best at these things, he is usually tasked with it. But what you wouldn't understand is why Spencer isn't working this case with the team, and why he didn't tell you.

     "Wheels up at 30," Hotch states, walking out of the room.