𝙰𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝙾𝚍𝚍𝚜 | 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚒𝚍

Twice the Chances

Emily couldn't believe her recent choices. Putting a bid down for a house was shocking enough and alarming that it could happen. And she certainly didn't need the comments from the rest of the team either

"I can't believe I'm doing it," she admitted, "A row house in Dupont Circle..." Even as she said, she didn't believe it. "I mean, it's probably not gonna work out anyway, right? There are 5 other sealed bids, and I offered way below what the owners are asking."

JJ and Penelope started leading the way to the conference room, prompting Emily to stand up.

"Uh-huh. Sounds to me like someone's hoping they don't get it," Jj pointed out with a small laugh.

Spencer heard them on their way past him. He grabbed the hard copy file Aitana left for him on his desk and joined the others. "Orthophobia — fear of owning personal property."

"No, I don't have a fear of owning stuff," Emily said with a scoff to follow. "Turn me loose in a shoe store, I'll prove that. My fear is personal property that weighs 300 tons."

"Actually, depending on materials used, square footage—" Spencer crashed right into Aitana coming out of her office and up went their individual papers into the air.

"Hurricane of papers," Aitana chuckled and pushed all her hair behind her ears.

"Yeah, I'm s-sorry," Spencer said, his face flushed with embarrassment. "God, I'm so sorry."

Aitana waved it off. "Don't worry about it."

"We'll leave you two," Emily said with a smirk as she walked around the two.

JJ gave an affectionate, yet fully teasing, pat on Spencer's shoulder on her way.

Aitana preferred not to even bother with them, instead bending down to pick up the papers sprawled on the floor. "Did you see the case?"

"Yeah, thanks for the advanced copy," Spencer said, quickly doing the same thing with her.

"Well, when you get here early, you get a copy in advance," Aitana said, "Morgan tried doing the same thing and I sent him away."

Spencer just knew that would add fuel to Morgan's taunts. "Well, sorry for disorganizing everything."

"I think I'll survive," Aitana promised him. She grabbed the papers from him and fixed them to make one neat pile. "These were going to Hotch. I'll meet you in the conference room in a bit, okay?"

Spencer nodded, holding his own papers to his chest. "Yeah, okay. Sorry — again."

Aitana laughed softly and reassured him everything was fine. Now when she gave him an affectionate pat on the arm, Spencer loved the warm feeling she left on him. It blossomed in his chest and traveled in every direction of his body.

When did it get this bad? He couldn't remember — surprisingly. All he knew is that if he didn't see Aitana every day, his heart ached and there was no medical reason to explain it.

He didn't even realize he'd stayed there waving goodbye at Aitana until she had disappeared in Hotch's office. With a red face, he turned right around and headed to the conference room.

When Aitana returned to the conference room, she took the lead in presenting the case. "We're going to Enid, Oklahoma. A woman named Cara Smith was murdered in her apartment minutes after the execution of Rodney Garrett." She brought the picture of their victim on screen. Her gaze lingered on the peculiar icepick weapon still embedded in Cara's chest. "Neighbors saw her front door open and discovered the body. Look familiar?"

Morgan flipped through the file in front of him. "Young, pretty, short blond hair and stab directly through the heart? That's exactly the way Garrett killed his victims."