i'll keep you safe, criminal minds

019. fights

"Mail call!" Penelope announces, walking over to Mackenzie. "Letters? Little gifts? Anything?"

Mackenzie hands Penelope the sealed envelope, the blonde quickly taking it.

"Thank you. Whatever it is, he'll love it." Penelope smiles.

"Yeah." Mackenzie mumbles.

"You doing okay, sweetie?" Penelope asks. Mackenzie shrugs a little, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I gotta get to school." Mackenzie says, grabbing her bag.

"O-okay." Penelope mumbles. "Have a good day." She weakly calls out as the girl leaves. Penelope lets out a sad sigh, her eyes tearing up for a moment. "Oh, that poor girl." She whispers, glancing at the photo of her and Mackenzie from a few months ago that she has up on her fridge. A time where everybody was much happier.

+++

Spencer spots JJ when he walks in and he goes over to her.

"Hi." Spencer quietly greets.

"Hi." She smiles as they go to hug.

"No touching." A guard orders.

They both sit down.

"Is everything okay? It's not Kenzie or my mom, is it?" Spencer asks.

"No. No, they're both fine." JJ assures. "I saw your mom yesterday. She asked about you. Cassie said she was having a really good day."

"Where did you, uh, tell her I was?" Spencer asks.

"Uh, the beach." JJ says. "Well, she asked if that's where you were. It seemed to make her happy, so..." JJ shrugs.

"Good. Okay." Spencer nods. "What about Kenzie?"

"She, uh... she's managing." JJ says, Spencer deflating at the terrible answer. Granted, he'd be stupid to expect his daughter to be doing well given everything. "She goes between your place and Garcia's. Diana had a bad day a few days ago so-- so she hasn't been back there yet. Staying at Garcia's."

Spencer nods a little, looking down at the table.

"She, uh... she mailed me a drawing." Spencer says. "With that first batch of mail you guys sent. It, um, it was mushroom houses. Not-- not the ones that Earl Young built, but from the The Smurfs. She-- she was making me watch anything Smurf related before... before everything went bad. She was obsessed with them when she was little."

He lets out a weak laugh, JJ smiling at his love for the girl.

"How are you doing?" JJ asks.

"I'm okay." He says. "I, uh, I'm really happy to see you. I just-- I kind of wish you hadn't come. It's not a good idea."

"Sorry. You're stuck with me." JJ says. "Garcia has us on shifts, and she, of course, took first dibs, but, uh, they needed her in the office for a case, so I was the lucky one."

"There's a case? JJ, you should not be here." Spencer says.

"The last time I saw you, I promised you would not be alone. I am just trying to keep that the best way I can." JJ says.

"What's the case?" Spencer asks.

"What?" JJ asks.

"The case. I'm assuming you stayed behind unless it's local. Is it local?" Spencer asks.

"No. New York." She says. "You really want to hear this?"

"Yeah. I'd love something to think about besides, you know, this." Spencer says.