be the one ⇢ s. reid

xxiii.

It was hard focusing for Melanie when all she could think about was the torso that was placed on her desk earlier.  It got to the point where she had moved to working into conference room. Her fingers drummed against the table as she looked through information for her next piece. She had wanted to help out with the case but considering she was a victim, she couldn't. 

"Melanie, my sweet honey, if you keep drumming your fingers I'm going to have to chop them off." Penelope stated. 

Melanie glanced up from her laptop to look at the blonde. She had completely forgot that she was sharing the space with the tech analyst. 

"Oh P. Im so sorry." Melanie chuckled softly. "I was just so completely in the zone of what I was doing that I forgot where I was for a second." 

Penelope laughed. "You and Reid really are the same person because he is the exact same way, especially when he's reading." 

Melanie nodded her head in agreement. She was well aware of what the woman was talking about. Other than really being involved with cases, Spencer was very involved in the books he'd read - even though he practically takes him two seconds to finish a book. Watching him being very involved in his books every night was one of Melanie's pastimes. 

"Have you guys started planning the wedding yet?" Penelope asked. 

Melanie shook her head. "There hasn't been time. I know we could get a wedding planner while Spence and I are working but something about having one of those stresses me out too." She then shrugged her shoulders. "But I do have something I have thought about and I need your thought on it." 

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "Yes of course. What is it?"

Melanie may have had a big grin on her face. "How do you feel about being my maid of honor? Since I won't have the time at the moment to --" 

Penelope had cut off the other woman's words by squealing. She instantly engulfed her friend into a big bear hug; her arms were quite tight on the other. Melanie, for once, hadn't minded. She let a laugh escaped her lips as she hugged the blonde back. Penelope pulled away and it was no surprise to Melanie herself that she was crying. 

"You're serious?! This isn't some sick joke or prank right?!" She asked. The blonde did want to make sure after all. She couldn't believe it. 

"Of course i'm serious! P, you're literally one of my best friends and I know you're going to have the most insane ideas. Just run things by me first okay?" 

Since they were waiting for the team to update them, Penelope and Melanie were bouncing ideas back and forth. For Melanie, it helped her keep her mind off the torso and everything in between. They were then interrupted by Melanie's phone ringing. She instantly answered it. 

"What do you have, Luke?" She questioned. She only hoped that they had got the guy or they had an idea of who it was. 

"I already know the answer to this but I have to ask. Database showed that you hadn't received any personal threats have you?" He asked. 

Before Melanie could respond, Penelope had interjected. "You could have gone straight to me, Alvez. I could've pulled up Mel's log quite easily."

Melanie shook her head and had ignored Penelope's words to answer Luke's question. "No, nothing." Weirdly enough, never had them when Scratch was alive. "Never had to put a restraining order on anyone either." 

"What about anyone who may have made threats against the office as a whole?" He asked.

Though he couldn't see her, Melanie shrugged. "I mean - it comes with the territory. People don't like to be talked about and when they do, they get defensive." 

The male hummed. "Alright. I'm going to send you pictures."

"Of what?" She questioned. 

Instead of her brother answering, he had sent her pictures of other women. When Melanie received them, she looked through it. As she was, Luke asked his question: "You recognize any of these women?"

"No. Did they get boxes too?" 

"Unfortunately so." 

Melanie sighed. "I really wish I could help more. I don't like feeling hopeless." 

"I know Mel. Hang in there we're going to figure it out." 

Once the Alvez siblings finished speaking to one another. Melanie sat back against her seat and placed her phone on Penelope's desk.  "None of this makes sense. It's random and unprovoked but they all come together somehow? Besides how does a guy just casually ship all these body parts - especially  into a government building? They're usually very thorough of what is coming in and out of the building.  You know what, I actually don't want to know the answers. I want it solved."

It always seemed like one thing after another.  The cases were always interesting and evolving. Crime never slept after all. Though sometimes it did get overwhelming. Melanie had been doing this (investigative journalism) for years prior to being a part of the BAU but it wasn't as taxing. She almost wondered if she was cut out for this.  The blonde noticed how zoned out Melanie was in her deep thinking that she had nudged her. Melanie snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at her. 

"You were kind of out of it, Little Bear. Are you okay?" She questioned. 

Melanie didn't know how to answer that question. Of course she was okay. She was more than that but the thought of possibly leaving the BAU was now stuck in her head. She could be overreacting. Right? That's what this was? 

The Journalist gave the tech analyst a smile. "Y-yeah I'm okay. It's been a long day that's all." The one thing she loved about being with either Sam or Penelope: neither of them were profilers. They couldn't analyze what she was thinking or assume what was going on with her. Sure they had their concerns but usually they would drop it. She leaned her head back against the chair and looked up at the ceiling. "I just want it to be over." 

author's note.

nearly three years later and this story is back in business! like previously stated i wanted closure on this baby and i hope to achieve that! thank you for the patience and the love for be the one!! it means a lot to me ❤️