Honesty - Criminal Minds || Spencer Reid Fanfiction

3. Digging The Dirt

"The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution." ~ Dumbledore.

The Doctor

Hotch and I got into the SUV and I sighed.

"She's doing good, huh?" I began, clearing my throat whilst fiddling with my scarf.

"Pardon?" Hotch asked as we pulled away from the crime scene.
"Joyner. It's been a month and she's adapted the quickest out of all the agents we've had in this team." Hotch shrugged his shoulders.
"I suppose you could say that."
"She contributes significantly to the team." There was a definite pause as Hotch considered my words.

"Prentiss' transfer should be cleared in a few weeks."
"You're still transferring her back?"
"We need her."
"We also need Joy."

"Why do you call her that? Her name is Agent Joyner."
"She told us to call us that on her first day. Everybody calls her that." Hotch rolled his eyes at my defensive tone.
"Just like her mother." He mumbled under his breath.

"I didn't know Kate that well... Is Joy like her?" I was trying to fish without being obvious; something I wasn't entirely good at.
"It's quite scary how much." Hotch nodded.

"What was she like?" Hotch shook his head and sighed.
"She was headstrong and determined... She had big ambitions and sometimes they got in the way of everything else. She didn't get along well with a lot of people because she always put herself first."

"But that didn't keep you apart."

"We were together once, Spencer," Hotch said in a firm tone. "I hadn't seen Hayley for years, I didn't think I was going to either. And at that time... Kate was... Well... She was just there."

"They were alike..." I said matter-of-factly.

"Who? Kate and Hayley?" The air between us was palpable at the mention of Hotch's late wife.

"JJ thought they were the same person when we first met her in New York." Hotch sighed as he got closer to the airport. The memory of meeting Kate Joyner all those years ago was a different one. The entire team felt like we'd seen a ghost when we laid eyes on Kate. So similar to Hayley... Now, it really was no surprise that Hotch and Kate had had a brief relationship that had ended with a child.

"Physically they were similar, but mentally... They couldn't have been more different." I nodded my head; feeling Hotch's sadness as he climbed out of the car, signalling the end of the conversation.

It was clear he still missed and loved Hayley more than he could ever love Kate, but I could tell he was still shocked by Kate's death as if it had happened only yesterday.

After all, Kate's death and that whole night were scarring enough for all of us.

On the plane, I sat down at the table opposite Joyner and smiled warmly at her.
"Well done on today." I told her happily.
"It was nothing." She insisted.

"Holding a repeat rapist at gun-point and not shooting him as he tried to touch you is a serious feat, kid, you should be proud." Morgan said, sliding into the seat next to her.

"Oh no, don't get me wrong, I am... It's just, knowing what he's done to all those women," She shivered and shook her head. "Makes me feel sick." JJ sat down next to me and nodded in agreement with Joyner.

"It is still horrible what he's done, but he'll pay for it now we've got him. And the women he pained are getting help and have the best support." JJ explained.

"But I get that it still doesn't help the fact that it happened in the first place." I sympathised and Joyner smiled at me.

"This is a great team." She admitted and Morgan laughed.
"It's only been a month, kid, give it time."