willow, criminal minds [ 1 ]

018. to a better place

"All right, sweetheart, come on. Get you to school and then I finally go back to work." Luke says.

"I don't want you to go back to work." Olivia whines.

"I know, baby, but I have to. It's what keeps us fed and clothed." Luke says making Olivia huff.

"But you're not gonna be here when I get home." She pouts.

"I could be." Luke argues.

"You never are when you work." Olivia argues. Luke quietly sighs.

"Look, I know I've been home every day, practically all day for the past little bit which has happened... probably never." He lets out a small chuckle. "But I have to go back to work sometime and that time has come. It'll be just like it normally is."

"Normal's boring." Olivia mutters, frowning. Luke notices her shoulders deflate slightly, her head lowering. He sympathetically smiles, knowing she hates when he's not home every night.

"Hey." Luke gently grips her chin in one hand, tilting her head back, forcing her brown eyes to look into his. "I'm coming home to you -- always. You got that?" Olivia nods, her creased brow disappearing. Luke kisses her on the forehead.

"Are you positive?" Olivia asks.

"Swear." Luke crosses his heart. "Come on. School." He holds his hand out, Olivia taking it.

+++

"It's so great to see all of your faces again." Emily says, walking into the round table room with Matt and Tara behind her. "I have a couple of announcements. Please hold your applause until I'm done. As you have obviously heard, Dr. Spencer Reid has been fully reinstated. Welcome back, Spence."

"Whoo hoo! Yes!" Penelope cheers. "Oh. That's not the end, is it?" The team quietly laugh.

"I would also like to thank the newest member of our team, Matt Simmons, for holding down the fort when we were on the sidelines." Emily says. "IRT's loss is our gain. So welcome aboard, Matt."

"Thank you. It is great to be here, guys." Matt says.

"Is that the end?" Penelope asks.

"That is the end." Emily nods.

"Whoo hoo! Yes!" Penelope cheers again as the others clap.

"Okay, let's get things started." Emily says.

"Ah, allow me to provide the unhappy transition to the sad part of our day job." Penelope says as everybody sits down around the table. "Okay, yesterday afternoon in Naples, Florida, two bicyclists stumbled upon 26 year old Ann Baker. She had been put in a suitcase and left by the side of the road."

"Disarticulated?" JJ asks.

"I hate that I know what that word means." Penelope says. "No, she was in one piece. Police found this in Ann Baker's apartment."

"She was getting ready for dinner." Spencer says. "Food was chopped and pans were ready."

"A special dinner. It looks like wine, candles, flowers, the works."

"Table for two." Matt says.

"Maybe her dining partner suddenly acquired an appetite for something else." Rossi says.

"Police report says no sign of forced entry or struggle." Tara says.

"Yes, however, some of the victim's blood was found in the apartment, so that means she was probably killed there and then moved." Emily says.

"If the unsub simply wanted her dead, why not just leave her there?" Madelyn asks.

"The obvious answer is it wasn't that simple." Rossi says.