Come Downstairs and Say Hello; S.R.

The Night Before Case 4

Jo gasped herself awake in a cold sweat. After calming her breathing, she checked the time. 2 am. She ran a hand through her now damp hair, her hands shaking as she recounted her previous dream. It was about the third night in a row that she had the dream, and she could never fall asleep afterwards. The dream was always the same: the people she had seen in the files of cases, the ones that the BAU were too late to save, crowding around her. They were screaming at her and telling her she could've helped. They called her names and threw things at her. When she awoke, she knew they were right.

Her eyes were tired as she swung her legs to the side of the bed and stood up. She grabbed a fluffy pair of socks and slipped them on, holding herself as she walked down the steps of her house. Her golden retriever, Cedar, happily trailed behind her, and she gave him a soft pat on his head before heading to her kitchen. Not a single positive thought was in her head as she made herself a cup of tea. She wanted that to change, but she also knew that if she were happy it would just turn back to guilt anyway. She had barely even processed the fact that she had picked up her phone and had her finger over the call button, Spencer's contact flashing into her bagged eyes. She thought it was a stretch to think that he was awake, but she also had a desire to talk to her friend. She shut her eyes tightly, and pressed the button quickly, holding the phone up to her ear almost immediately.

"Hey. What are you doing up?" Spencer replied, and Jo made the executive decision that he had what the ladies called a "morning voice". She frowned and bit her lip, unsure wether to tell the truth or not.

"I just...couldn't sleep." It was only kind of a lie, "I watched a horror movie earlier...I guess that was a bad idea." She chuckled. That was a complete lie. She heard him laugh a little on the other line, and her heart lifted a bit.

"Statistically speaking, loud horror movies only scare people if they have guilty consciences..." he stated, and Jo's heart immediately sank. She bit her lip.

"I'm sorry I bothered you...I should try and get some rest." Spencer began to protest but she hung up, putting her phone on the table and ignoring the number of times it began to buzz, taking slow sips of her tea and staring at the white walls of her house instead. She kept slowly lifting her mug to her lips until all that was left was the bag, and she was unpleasantly surprised when it hit her mouth. She spat it out and put her mug on the counter next to her still ringing phone.

She walked to her living room and sat in the middle of the gray carpet on her floor, Cedar walking over to join her. She ran her fingers through his fluffy coat while staring into space, her guilty thoughts keeping her the most company. She chewed on her lip as she began to wonder how fit for a job at the BAU she truly was. She wondered if the body count had increased since she showed up, and she wondered if the BAU even liked her in the first place. She realized that her phone had stopped ringing, so she walked back to the kitchen to pick it up, less than shocked to see that most of her missed calls were from Spencer. She just felt worse after seeing that, knowing that he was probably up worrying about her.

She rubbed her temples, a headache starting to bore into her head. She hadn't even realized the number of hours she had spent sitting and thinking until she checked the clock. She realized how bored she was, and made the executive decision to go for a swim.

Her bag was always at the ready, so after she had gotten on her bathing suit she grabbed it and left. Her eyes stung as she walked to the neighborhood pool, and she rubbed them to try and ease them up, but it didn't do much. She got to the metal gate of the pool and used her key to get in, then locking the door behind her and setting down her stuff on a chair. She stretched, rubbed her eyes again, and flicked some water on herself, preparing herself to hop in. She put pressure on her legs before taking all of it off and feeling the water envelop her. She pushed off the wall, her brain focusing on the movements of her arms and legs. She made a few laps, until she began to wonder again. She started to imagine what it was like to be the people she'd seen on the monitor at the BAU who had been found in the ocean, or who had water in their lungs. She forgot to take a breath, and started to struggle under the force of the water. She stopped in the middle of the lane and shot out of the water, immediately choking on air and spitting water out. Her heart was racing. She put some of her wet hair behind her ears and out of her face, still trying to catch her breath. An offering hand entered her vision, and it was to her own surprise that she was met with Morgan's face when she looked up. Still panting, she took his hand and he pulled her up.

"Why are you swimming so early?" He asked, wrapping a towel around her shoulders. She thanked him, and turned in his direction.

"How did you know I was here?" Jo snuggled her face into the warm towel, avoiding both Morgan's eyes and his question.

"Hotch sent me to get you. Well actually he asked Reid to get you, but he got all squeaky and anxious so I just volunteered." Jo smiled a little, feeling warmth in her cheeks. "You didn't answer the door, and I remembered you mentioning that you liked to swim, so I found my way here."

"That's a bit creepy, but also impressive." Morgan chuckled, nudging her.

"So are you gonna tell me what happened there?" He asked, referring to her little breakdown in the middle of the lane. Jo shook her head.

"It was nothing, just a small cramp." Morgan raised his eyebrows.

"You know you picked the worst job if you want to keep secrets, right?" He joked, and Jo sighed.

"It's really nothing." Morgan leaned close to her face and she immediately drew away from him as he studied her.

"Late night, huh?" He said, a large smirk appearing on his face. Jo's eyes widened.

"What? No, no, nothing like that!!" She shook her head, flustered, as the two of them began to leave.

"Well then, what keeps madame starling up at night? Feeding birds? Holding butterflies? Awake-dreaming about nerdy Prince Charming?" Morgan teased, making Jo scoff as she unlocked the door to her house.

"Quiet, I was just preoccupied." She grumbled as Morgan happily greeted Cedar.

"Hey, lil boy!" Jo smiled at the two of them, walking upstairs to get dressed in a white blouse and black leggings. She power-yawned her way out of the house, practically having to drag Morgan away from the dog.

She sat in the passenger side of Morgan's car, picking at her nails as they drove in silence to the BAU. Morgan began to chuckle at her when they were halfway down the road, and she gave him a questioning look.

"You were totally nerd-dreaming." He joked, and she punched him on the arm.