DAMAGED // spencer reid

10

I woke up the next morning on the couch, still in my clothes from the previous day. I looked at the clock and realized that I should've woken up fifteen minutes earlier, so I took a one minute shower and changed into black stilettos, billowy black dress pants and a baby blue button-up. I wound my hair into a tight bun, very professional. The problem was, Willow decided to throw a screaming fit about going to Ms. Harmon's for the day and there was a car crash on the way to work. Which is why I am currently fast-walking into the BAU, fifteen minutes late for work.

"I am so sorry I'm late," I say to Hotch, who is standing near the entrance of the office.

"You're excused, Grant, don't worry about it," he assures me, and I have a feeling that he knows it had something to do with Willow. I nod in relief, rushing over to my desk. Spencer is there, but he keeps his head down and doesn't acknowledge my arrival. Not that I want to talk to him, anyways. Before I can take off my coat and slide into my chair, Penelope comes prancing over to my desk.

"Addie! We've missed you! How's Willow?" She asks cheerfully.

"Um, she's good," I give a faint smile. I'm exhausted from her tantrum this morning.

"Late night?" Morgan smirks as he walks past my desk. I know I look awful, I spotted the circles under my eyes and my pale skin in the mirror this morning.

"Yeah, I guess," I mumble back, focusing on my desk. I know that if I look up, Spencer's eyes will be on me.

"Conference room, everyone!" JJ calls across the bullpen, holding up a case file. I exhale in relief and quickly follow her. I position myself between JJ and Morgan so that I won't have to sit next to Reid, like I usually do, but then I realize that now I have to sit directly across from him. Great.

"Several prostitutes have been found murdered in the Seattle area. This wouldn't necessarily be considered an FBI case, but all of the women were found with the words 'fear me' cut into their abdomens ante mortem."

"Definitely a male, probably one who has low-esteem and is invisible in his everyday life," I hypothesize.

"He makes himself feel powerful by dominating these women, it's the only way he thinks he'll be noticed," Morgan adds.

"Statistically, prostitutes are high-risk targets and the unsub likely recognizes that, which allows him to prey on them easily. It also means that once he dumps the bodies, he knows that he will be able to access more victims due to that high-risk nature," Spencer interjects as well.

"We don't have a lot of time, the next victim could be taken tonight. Wheels up in twenty," Hotch commands, walking out. The rest of us start to gather up our files.

"I don't have a sitter, I can't go all the way to Seattle," I suddenly realized, dread filling my gut. The three others look up at me, concerned.

"My mom is looking after Henry while I'm away and Will is at work, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to take Willow too," JJ assures me, placing a hand on my arm.

"Are you sure? I mean, she's still really young, and I haven't packed her a bag," I start rambling.

"Addie, it's fine. Will can pick her up from your place on his way home from work."

"She's staying with my neighbor right now, I'll send you the address. Thank you so much, JJ, you have no idea what this means to me," I thank her.

We board the plane twenty minutes later and I take a seat in the very back. Luckily, Spencer stays at the front, along with the rest of the team. As we lift off, I open my phone and call Ms. Harmon.

"Hello?" She asks.

"Ms. Harmon, it's Adeline. I'm just checking in, how's everything?"

"Everything is wonderful, dear. Willow is helping me put together a fun little puzzle right now!"

"That's great, thank you so much for looking after her."

"It's my pleasure, hun."

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that my coworker's husband is coming to pick Willow up after he gets off work, she's staying at their house for a few days while I'm away for work."

"I understand, I can go across the hall and pack her up a few things if you want?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you so much. Would you mind if I talked to her quickly?" I can hear rustling as the phone is passed to Willow.

"Ada?" Her voice says through the receiver.

"Hey, Wills! Are you having fun with Ms. Harmon?" I ask cheerfully.

"Yes! Puzzle!" She exclaims, causing me to chuckle.

"Listen, I won't be home for a few days because I have to work. A man named Will is going to pick you up later and take you to a friend's house. He has a little boy, Henry, who you get to play with."

"Come play too, Ada?"

"No, I can't come play with you guys. But I promise I'll be back as soon as possible, and then we can play. I'll call you every single night before you go to bed, okay?"

"Okay," she says reluctantly. I can tell she's getting antsy being on the phone.

"I love you so much, you know that?"

"Mmhmm," she mumbles, obviously losing interest in the conversation. Ms. Harmon takes the phone back and we say our goodbyes before she hangs up. I drop my phone onto the table in front of me and lay my head in my hands, feeling guilty that I'm leaving her.

"You okay?" A voice asks behind me, causing me to snap my head back up. Morgan is standing over me, and I can tell that he's heard my entire conversation by the look on his face. I sigh as he takes the seat across from me.

"It's not your fault, you know. It's just the job," he says.

"Yeah, well, sometimes the job sucks," I manage to produce a small smirk.

"Don't I know it. Hey, what's going on with you and pretty boy?" He asks, gesturing towards the front of the plane.

"Spencer? Nothing is going on," I reply, pretending to be casual.

"Oh, please. You've been avoiding each other all day and he's been casting you odd looks. You two are usually joined at the hip."

"Fine. We got into an argument last night, okay? He said some shitty things, and I guess I did too."

"Reid was at your apartment?"

"Yeah, he's been coming over a lot, usually bringing dinner when I forget," I admit. Morgan suppresses a smirk and I roll my eyes.

"We're just friends, for the last time! Although maybe not after our fight."

"Reid won't stay mad for long, he's not the type to hold a grudge, especially against you. I wouldn't worry too much about it, the guy practically worships you and all your genius-ness." Morgan winks before getting up and going back to the front of the plane. I'd be lying if I said I didn't already miss Spencer, even thought he was only several feet away. But he was being a real dick yesterday and I'm not about to let him get away with it. I lay my head against the window and fall into a light sleep, awakened by every slight jolt of the plane. I haven't been sleeping well for the past week, due to obvious events that bring uncontrollable nightmares whenever I allow myself to truly slip into a deep slumber.