ENTANGLED | CRIMINAL MINDS

Recovery

As she awoke from her slumber, Jean was immediately bombarded by a slew of questions, telling the team that she was okay and that they would all eventually talk about it later. Jean relaxed back into her seat, her head resting on Reid's shoulder as he continued to speak her praises for her work. "Jeanie, you were so brave back there. You put your life on the line for Hotch and our team, and on top of that, I know you wanted to try and help David, even though he could have killed you. Your empathy is out of this world" he rambled on and on. Jean simply smiled up at him and cuddled in closer, Spencer's mind becoming overtaken by emotion.

Soon enough, they pulled up to the Miami Police Department to pack up their stuff and get ready to return back home. The team gathered their stuff and began saying their goodbyes as they headed back to board the suburbans to head to hotel. Agent Hotchner watched as Jean packed up her belongings and as he saw Spencer making a beeline to her, he immediately called her into his temporary office.

"Jeanette, can you please come in immediately?" Hotchner questioned from the outside of his office, Jean nodding her head and briskly walking over, never knowing that Spencer was behind her the whole time.

"Jeanette, I know you're ready to head back to the hotel after a long day of work but I'm required to give you a psychological evaluation that will be faxed over to Quantico" Hotchner said sternly, looking up from the paperwork in front of him to longingly look at Jean. She met his gaze as she settled down into one of the two seats that sat in front of the wooden desk. "How are you feeling, Jeanette" Hotch questioned, his pen waiting to write out her response. "I'm doing alright, not exactly what I was hoping would happen, but all in all, everything ended up working out" she said with a soft smile. He looked at her, his gaze darkening as he said, "Jeanette, while I admire the fact that you put yourself on the line like that, you know that was extremely dangerous and out of line". With that, Jean felt her smile drop from her face, already knowing that she was about to get reprimanded. However, she was instead surprised when Hotchner brushed past what he said and continued on with the remainder of the questions on the psychological evaluation form.

After he had completed filling out the form, Hotchner was about to dismiss her when he noticed that her hands were shaking. He looked up at her again once more and could see the anxiety bubbling behind them, ready to take over and infiltrate her thoughts and her heart all at once. He walked out from behind his desk and sat down in the other seat besides her, reaching out gently and grabbing her hands, his calloused hands rubbing hers to try and bring her a sense of calmness after the day they had. "Jeanette-" he uttered until he was interrupted by Jean saying, "You know you don't have to call me Jeanette, Agent Hotchner" she giggled, "You can call me Jean or Jeanie if you'd like, we don't have to be so formal" she said as she laughed again, finally easing up around him and putting the day they had behind her. He let out one of his rare smiles that only seemed to happen around her as he let go of her hands and pulled her into a hug, glad that she was okay. Hotchner looked up at her, eyeing her lips and as he was about to move in, there was a loud knock on his door.

He immediately jumped away from Jean and said, "Come in" and with that, Morgan and Reid came marching in, all smiles. "Jeanie baby, you ready to hit the nightclub tonight? We've got one more night at the hotel, let's go blow some steam at one of the nearby clubs" he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Jean opened her mouth to answer, but Spencer beat her, saying "If you don't want to go, I'm more than happy to stay here with you. We can go back to my hotel room and watch some movies and order takeout and do whatever you want really. I just want you to be comfortable so just let me know". Jean found his rambling endearing, getting up from her seat and going in to give Spencer the biggest bear hug a 5'3 girl could offer. As Spencer held Jean in his arms, wanting to enjoy this moment for as long as he could, Jean turned to Morgan and said, "Count me in, Morgan. Are you buying my drinks tonight?" with a smirk. "Babygirl, anything for you. After today, I'll buy you that whole bar if that's what your little heart desires" he proclaims.

"Hotch, I guess we'll see you tomorrow?" Morgan questioned, as him, Reid, and Jean began to make their way out of his office to get ready. "No, I'll be there tonight" he said matter-of-factly to the trio. "But I thought you said on the way here that if we went out that you weren't going to go" Morgan said quizzically. "I've changed my mind, I'll see you there later tonight actually" Hotch said through gritted teeth, looking at Jean for the slightest second as she continued to walk out with Reid as Morgan stayed behind with Hotch, Morgan catching on to why Hotch changed his mind last second.

Thirty minutes later, Jean finds herself at the hotel and begins to get ready as she had promised Reid that they would walk to the club, aptly named Devil's Paradise. Garcia, Emily, and JJ were all in her hotel room, donning their makeup and getting ready to go out with a bang on their last night in Miami. Jean donned a short black dress that had a slit running up her left thigh with black heels to match, pairing a daring red lip to match with it and her hair loosely curled.

Before she knew it, there was a knock on her door and all the girls still in the room squealed. "Prince Charming has arrived," Garcia said with a grin as she went to let in Reid. The girls kept Spencer company in her bedroom as Jean applied the finishing touches to her makeup. She walked out and all chatter ceased, Spencer turning to look at her from where he awkwardly sat on the corner of her bed with his legs crossed, dressed well in a light blue button up shirt with blue dress pants. He stared at Jean, forgetting that there was anybody else was in the room, because for now, in this moment, it was just them and that's all he wanted.
"Shall we?" he said as he pushed himself up from the bed and made his way over to her, sticking his arm out for her to loop into his. "We shall" Jean grinned and with that, they left the gossiping girls who they knew would soon follow their suit.

The sky was dark as the moon shone down on them as they made their way to Devil's Paradise. The two agents made small talk which ended up with them laughing and smiling, almost as if they had known each other for eternity, and not just the few years that Jean had worked for the BAU. As they continued to make their way to the club, they passed a few run-down shops that had been graffitied and noticed some men lurking in the dark corners of the night, watching and waiting for the clubbing crowds to come through to steal from them. Spencer and Jean noticed them immediately, Spencer reaching out and grabbing Jean's hand and intertwining them as he pulled her in closer to him. No words were uttered between them but Jean felt that this, her and Spencer, could potentially be something more. However, she would never dare put herself out in the open with her feelings just to be rejected and create an awkward work space. Jean pushed these thoughts out of her mind and instead focused on this moment with Spencer, enjoying his presence.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the entrance to Devil's Paradise, the music blaring from the inside and the neon red sign luring them in for a night of fun, a night to escape from everything that had transpired earlier in the day. Spencer kept her hand in his as he used his other hand to open the door and they stepped into one of Miami's biggest nightclubs. The night was about to begin.

Author's Note: Things are heating up next chapter between Spencer, Jean and Hotch so be ready!