A Moment of Normalcy
I wrote this a while back for the Wild Wednesday Word Wars on Facebook and only recently rediscovered it in my files. Prompts: an elastic bandage, a car, chicken, Reid loses a contact and whines about it. As always, I don't own anything.
Setting: In the car with Morgan, JJ and Hotch on the way to the gas station mid-episode. S8/E1
When the call came in about another body being found in a nearby service station, Hotch pulled JJ and Morgan to accompany him to the scene, leaving the other three to work the case from the station. As they piled in to the vehicle, JJ made a face and quickly opened the window.
"Oh God, what is that stench?"
Morgan groaned from the backseat, "Did Rossi let Reid have that chicken crap he likes in the car again?"
Hotch glanced at him in the rearview mirror but decided not to reply…the smell was foul but complaining wouldn't do any good. Distraction was definitely in order, "JJ, do you have the directions?"
"Sure. Take a right here…."
It was quiet for a few minutes before Morgan groaned again, "That smell just isn't going away. I swear, I'm back one day and Reid's already driving me nuts. Bad enough that he lost that contact and wouldn't stop whining about it. Now this…"
JJ had to hide a grin. She loved Spence but he had about driven them all nuts on the plane when he'd lost a contact after the briefing and spent the rest of the flight fussing about it. Alex had seemed to be the only one who'd not been ready to gag him by the time they'd landed and he could get a new pair out of his luggage. But if Morgan kept complaining, she was going to break out the first aid kit and gag him with an elastic bandage. And on that thought….
"Morgan…," she waited for him to bring his attention from his Reid rant and back to her, "Is Pen ok? She was pretty upset earlier."
Morgan was quiet for a moment before answering; despite Hotch's continued silence it was obvious that both he and JJ were worried. "Yeah, she'll be ok…eventually. We all know that she hates change. And I hate to say it but that temporary duty assignment just made it easier for her to pretend that nothing was changing, since we were with Prentiss and all. Give her a few days." A nod was his only answer from Hotch while JJ gave him a relieved smile. It had been weird seeing his Baby Girl so hostile to someone she hadn't even met yet but he knew she'd come around sooner rather than later.
The resulting quiet ended a few minutes later as they pulled up to the service station and were bathed in the flashing lights of the local police cars. As they re-entered the chaos of an ongoing, high profile case, each of them clung to that small moment of normalcy as a way of keeping their sanity. Hopefully they'd catch this guy soon…