Lost In The Fire | Spencer Reid

12. Thanksgiving

Trigger Warning: Discussion of Alzheimers

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A few weeks had now passed since Peter Cox had been identified as their unsub. When SWAT had arrived at his apartment, they'd found it empty. Matt and Luke had said it looked like it had been ransacked, his belongings strewn around the floor, and he'd left in a hurry with just the clothes on his back, presumably soon after Emily and Becca had visited him.

Once he'd left Washington, the trail had gone cold. Becca had been helping with the teams other cases while they tried to find a lead on Cox.

November was drawing to a close now and by some miracle, Thanksgiving had rolled around without a case calling the team away. A lot of the team had taken the opportunity to spend the holidays with their families, including Spencer who was having lunch with his mom at her facility.

Becca pulled her coat tighter around her, trying to shield herself from the howling wind, smiling to herself as she saw Hotch's car pull up at the kerbside. Jumping in, she sighed dramatically.

"Feels like being back at home," she laughed, glancing across at Hotch. "Thanks for picking me up."

"No problem," he smiled. "Last thing you need on a rainy Thanksgiving is trying to find yourself a cab," he said as he pulled away from the kerb. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you, the guys are keeping me busy," she smiled. "How about you? It feels like forever since I saw you!"

"It does," he nodded. "I'm doing great though, thank you. It's been a strange few weeks. Good, but strange! Thank you, by the way. I understand you had a little something to do with pointing Emily in my direction," he smiled, glancing briefly at her.

"Oh, she didn't need pointing in any direction," Becca laughed. "She just needed a little push IN that direction. And you're welcome, I'm glad things are going well, you both deserve it."

"So, is Reid joining us later?" Hotch asked quietly, a small smirk creeping across his face. Becca looked at him, her jaw falling open in realisation.

"Wow, she really can't keep a secret, can she?" Hotch laughed, shaking his head. "Does everybody know?" She asked, her voice panicky.

"Not everybody," he chuckled. "You think Garcia would have kept her mouth shut if she had even an inkling?" Becca laughed loudly.

"Good point. In answer to your question, he's just going to see how the day goes. His mom's not doing great at the moment so it depends on how she is," she explained sadly. "Doesn't sound like it's going to be much of a Thanksgiving for him." Hotch nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.

"He'll be ok. He's tougher than he seems," he reassured her.

She sighed deeply and turned to gaze out of the window. The city sped by outside as they wound their way towards the outskirts, the sky growing darker as they went, a storm rolling in from the distance.

After a few minutes, Hotch pulled into the long driveway, the gravel crunching loudly beneath the car. He parked up, switching the engine off and turning to her.

"You ok?" She turned slowly, smiling as she nodded. "I hope you're ready for this," he laughed as he swung open his door.

She followed him from the car, walking quickly towards the front door of the house just as it swung open.

"Ciao bella," Dave grinned loudly, laying his hand on Hotch's shoulder as he passed.

"Hey," Becca smiled as she held her arms out to their host, pulling him into a tight hug. "Happy Thanksgiving, Dave."