Long Overdue

4 - The Mists of Avalon

"The older I grow the more I become certain that it makes no difference what words we use to tell the same truths."

- Marion Zimmer Bradley

While Y/N packed up her bag that evening, she checked the list of book requests and noticed a new title.

Le Morte d'Arthur - Sir Thomas Malory

Y/N smiled to herself, only Spencer Reid would request a 15th-century novel written entirely in Middle English. Folding up the paper, she slipped it into her bag, making a mental note to stop by the bookstore on the way home. She flicked off the library's lights and locked the door after her, waving goodbye to the officers stationed in the security office on her way down to the parking lot. She rushed to her truck to avoid the cold and started up the ancient vehicle. The truck roared to life, and she started the drive home, humming along to the music drifting from the radio. Before she made it home, Y/N stopped by the local bookstore. 

She parked and stepped inside the dim building, smiling at the smell of old books. 

"Hello, Mr. Dupree!" She said, rounding a stack of books and bumping into the owner of the bookstore. 

"Hello, Y/N. Back so soon?" He asked, pushing his thin-rimmed glasses up his nose. 

She smiled. "Yep! I've got more requests."

"And what do your friends at Mullburn need today?"

Y/N dodged the towers of books as she followed the old man to his desk. "Well, I need a set of Steven King novels and a copy of... Le Morte d'Arthur," she added, pulling the slip of paper from her bag.

"Interesting choices, let me see what I can do." 

Mr. Dupree disappeared into the maze of books to retrieve her requests. Y/N had been shopping at The Shelf since she moved to New Jersey, and she learned quite quickly that The Shelf was not the kind of store you could just step in to browse, Mr. Dupree's complicated organization system made it impossible for anyone to find anything for themselves, hence bringing book requests to the front desk, and having Mr. Dupree retrieve them. Y/N waited by the desk for a moment before Mr. Dupree returned with a tower of books. 

"Let's see how these work out for you," he said, dropping the stack next to the register. "I grabbed you a copy of The Shining, Misery, Carrie, Insomnia, Elevation, and Dr. Sleep. And here's your coveted copy of Le Morte D'Arthur, be careful with this one, it's fairly old." 

"Thank you," Y/N smiled. "How much?" 

Mr. Dupree rang up the books. "That'll be $47.93," he said as Y/N passed him her credit card.

"Thank you so much." Y/N shoved the stack of books into her bag and left the shop.

There was no rain today, so the drive home was quicker, and soon she was pulling into the parking space. 

Y/N walked quickly up the steps but froze at her front door when she realized it was unlocked. She never left the door unlocked. Y/N slowly pushed the door open to keep it from creaking as she stepped into her apartment. She could hear a faint humming coming from someone in the living room, so she tiptoed in that direction. She held her breath as she rounded the corner, only to be met with the neon being that was her cousin Penelope.

"Fuck, Penelope," Y/N exhaled, tossing her purse onto the kitchen counter. "You scared me."

"Oh! Hey! Sorry about that." Penelope rushed forward and enveloped Y/N in a tight hug. 

"Why are you here? It's only Wednesday?" Y/N asked.

Penelope stepped back and shrugged. "Prentiss let us go early. Something about 'needing a break' or something like that. But nevermind that, how's Spencer?" 

Y/N sighed and sat on the couch, Penelope following. "I mean, for someone who's been sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit, he's doing okay."

"What do you mean by 'okay'?"

"Well, he's in prison, Pen. That's gonna be difficult for even the hardest of criminals to adjust to. I spoke to him once, earlier today, and I don't want to scare you, but he doesn't seem like himself. Which is understandable. I've got him on a list to get a single cell..."

As you spoke, Penelope shuddered. "I hate that. Hearing Spencer's name and 'cell' in the same sentence. It's all wrong. He'd never hurt anyone-" tears started to form in the corners of her eyes as she rambled. 

"Hey," Y/N grabbed her cousin's hand. "He's gonna get out of this, it's all temporary."

She nodded, trying to reassure herself. "You're right, temporary."

"And he'll work in the library with me, instead of the laundry room," Y/N continued. "I've got it under control. Now, enough with the heavy, how's everything at Quantico?"

"We're still adjusting. With Hotch leaving and Spencer going to jail," Penelope shook her head. "It's been hard." 

"How's the new guy? What was his name? Luis?"

"Luke," she rolled her eyes. 

"Oh come on, he can't be that bad."

"He's just too... I don't know."

"He's just, not Derek?" Y/N asked, winking at her cousin.

She laughed. "That too, you know it wouldn't be hard for him to call." Penelope seemed to forget about her Spencer induced anxiety, moving on to rant about the departure of her best friend at the BAU. "like, of course, I get it, he just had a kid, but I've left him message after message regarding the arrest of his friend, and he refuses to answer!"

"Maybe he changed his number?" 

Penelope scoffed. "Y/N, I've tracked his home, his credit card, his wife's credit card- did you know Savannah does yoga? Wait, that's not the point. The point is, he should call me back before I show up at his house." 

Y/N laughed at the comically stoic expression on Penelope's face. "How's everyone else?"

She smiled automatically. "Good, Tara and Emily are good, JJ's kid just turned one-" Penelope paused as Y/N wrinkled her nose, an automatic reaction to the name 'Jennifer Jareau'. "Come on, still?"

Y/N shrugged. "I know, it's silly, but she just rubs me the wrong way."

"And why is that?" Penelope pressed. 

"I don't know, she's just- I don't know." Y/N shook her head. "It's nothing." 

Penelope laughed. "God, so judgemental."

Y/N scoffed. "Am not! Are you hungry?" She asked, standing up from the couch. 

"Starved," Penelope answered. 

Y/N grabbed her cellphone from the coffee table and called the pre-saved contact for the Chinese restaurant a few minutes away. "What do you want?" She whispered as the phone rang. 

"Ooh! I'll take the chicken chow mein."

"Hi! We'll take two orders of the chicken chow mein, and one order of the cream cheese rangoons, please! With two cokes." Y/N finished ordering the food, while Penelope searched for a movie. 

She chose a basic rom-com from the list, and as the beginning credits started to play, she turned to Y/N.

"So... Can I come to work with you tomorrow?" She asked, batting her eyelashes.

Y/N faked a frown. "You're only here for Spencer, arent you?" 

"Oh, you know I love you." Penelope said, "but I would like to see him while I'm here..."

"Of course I'll bring you tomorrow. It'll be a 'bring your cousin to work' day."

Penelope smiled widely. "I can't wait."