The Dangers of Falling (A Criminal Minds Story)

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       The funeral was long and terrible. I barely remember it, just crying and Spencer holding my hand. We left the next day and went home. Since I wasn't allowed to go back to work, I sat at home for the next few days, reading and watching crappy day time soaps on TV.
    Rose's murder hurt, but not as much as it did that day. Not as much as the funeral. I felt restless. The longer it had been, the more angry I became. Why didn't anyone find who killed her. I picked up my phone and called Garcia, praying she would pick up the phone.
    "Andy?"
    "Hi, Garcia?"
    "Is something wrong? Are you okay?"
    "Yeah, I'm... I'm okay. I was just wondering-"
    "I'm going to stop you there. Andy, honey, I'm not sending you anything about the case. You know I can't do that." I sighed.
    "Please, Garcia."
    "No." She said, much more firmly.
    "Garcia, this was my sister, okay? If I'm not allowed to come into work, I want to at least know where you guys are in solving this case. Just... any information at all. What's happening? Please." I begged, and Garcia sighed.
    "Okay, fine. Morgan went home." I blinked, concerned. This wasn't the information I was expecting.
    "What? Why? When?"
    "His sister was receiving weird messages." I felt my heart beat faster.
    "So this son of a bitch is going after our family members?"
    "We don't know." I sighed, standing up and grabbing my keys.
    "I'm coming in." I said, locking my apartment door.
    "No, Andy, you can't do that." She talked quickly. "You can't come in. Hotch will suspend you."
    "You need my help."
    "This isn't going to end well, Andy. Stay home." But I was already in my car.
    "See you when I get there." I said, hanging up. The drive to the office was quick and familiar and I realized then just how much I missed it. Everyone was surprised to see me when I got there, but I didn't care. Spencer approached me, clearly concerned.
    "Andy, what are you doing-"
    "Not now, Spencer." I said, brushing past him towards Hotch's office. I didn't even knock, I just entered to see him sitting at his desk, paperwork in his hands. He looked up when I entered.
    "Andy?" He looked incredibly surprised and I gave him a serious look.
    "I want to come back to work." Hotch sighed, shifting in his seat.
    "You know you can't do that."
    "I know that Morgan went back home. I know that you're down a person. I want to help." He gave me a serious look.
    "Andy, go home. If you keep this up, I'll have to suspend you. You'll give me no choice." I frowned.
    "Please, Hotch. You guys aren't any closer to figuring it out, you need me." He sighed again.
    "We currently think that your sister's death has nothing to do with Morgan's sister. We think it was a one time event, completely unrelated to you or the B.A.U. Until there's another killing, until anything else happens, there's nothing we could do." I felt my heart drop to my stomach. Hotch looked sad. "I didn't want to have you tell you that, you know. You didn't really leave me a choice." I nodded.
    "I know. I'm sorry." I apologized, my voice soft and quiet. "I'll go home, but can I at least see everyone?" He nodded.
    "It's good to see you feeling better, Andy." I gave him a small smile and nodded, too.
    "Bye, Hotch." I left the room to see Spencer waiting right outside. He looked concerned.
    "Are you okay? Why are you here?" I laughed.
    "Spencer, I'm fine." He looked even more concerned than before.
    "Are you sure?" I nodded.
    "I asked Hotch if I could come back to work, he said no." I shrugged. "No big deal." Spencer blinked.
    "Okay." He said cautiously, as if I was a bomb about to explode if he said that wrong thing. "Are you sure?" I nodded.
    "Don't worry. I'm fine. Hotch said I could hang around today for a little bit and say hi to everyone before I went home. Do you want to come over for dinner later?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow.
    "You don't cook." He pointed out.
    "I do now." I said, walking past him with a smile, walking over to Emily's desk. She looked up at me and smiled.
    "Andy! Are you back to work?" I shook my head.
    "Hotch won't let me, but he told me I could say hi to everyone before I went." I explained, and she nodded.
    "It's good to see you." She said, standing up and giving me a hug.
    "It's good to see you, too." I looked around. "Where's JJ?"
    "Oh, uh, I don't know. She wasn't feeling good, I think she went home early." She explained, and I nodded.
    "Andy!" Garcia shouted, running over from across the room, catching her breath. "Please tell me you didn't-"
    "I already did. You're a little late." I laughed. "It's fine, I'm not back." She sighed, wrapping me in a hug.
    "Are you okay?" I nodded.
    "Don't worry, I'm fine." I assured them, but everyone gave me weird looks. "Is Derek okay? Is his sister fine?" Garcia nodded.
    "Don't worry about him." Garcia said, and I gave a small smile in return.
    "Okay, well, I'm going to take her home," Spencer announced, grabbing my hand. "See you guys tomorrow."
    "Bye, Andy." Emily gave me a hug. "We'll see you soon, alright?" I nodded, letting Spencer pull me along.
    "Where's your car?" I asked, looking around the parking lot.
    "Oh, I took the bus today." He explained, and I looked at him.
    "Why?" He shrugged.
    "It's good to change things up every once in a while." I laughed, leading him to my car.
    "Are you okay, Andy?" He asked as he got into the driver's seat. I passed him the keys.
    "Spence, I'm fine. I promise, okay? I'm just... trying to move past it." He nodded as if this answer was good enough and started the car.
    "Thanks for taking such good care of me," I said, and he looked uncomfortable but smiled.
    "Yeah, of course." He said.
    "No, not of course. You're... you're a really great person, Spence." I watched him blush. He pulled into the parking lot of my apartment and walked me upstairs. "Will you stay?" I asked, and he nodded.
    "Of course." I unlocked the door and led him inside. "You're very pretty." He said, and I smiled, looking at him seriously.
    "Can I kiss you?" I asked, and he nodded, eyes wide. I leaned in like I had so many times before and kissed him, feeling the rush and spark that always accompanied it. I didn't realize how much I had craved him, how much I had missed his lips on mine until we were halfway to my bedroom undressing each other.