(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or ANY of it's characters.
A/N: This was written for the march challenge at the Chit Chat On Author's Corner forum.)
A New Day, A Fresh Start
Garcia woke to the sound of birds singing outside her opened window. The weather had been so nice lately that she'd turned off the AC and taken to sleeping with a natural breeze.
Today, however, was particularly nice. She lay there for a while listening to the song dancing on the wind. She didn't know what kind of bird it was. Gideon would know, but she'd never been much of a birdwatcher. The smell of freshly cut grass blew through the window, her purple curtains dancing in the spring breeze.
When the sun finally beamed full force through the window she could lay in bed no longer. This was a much needed day off, a much needed day away from the BAU, from the memory of Kevin Lynch and the mess she had made.
"A new day, a fresh start," she said to no one but herself.
She finally pulled her self out of the comfort of her bed and got dressed. As she looked around her apartment she tried to think how to start this 'fresh start'. Then it hit her. Spring cleaning! She'd been meaning to get started on it for weeks, why not today.
She started in the bathroom, as she usually did. She threw away empty shampoo bottles, worn out luffas, dirty makeup sponges. She paused when she came across a bottle of Old Spice body wash under the sink. Behind it was some hair gel and a few other things that smelled like Kevin. She quickly threw them into the garbage bag. He'd made it very clear the last time they spoke he didn't want to collect anything from her apartment.
When the white subway tile and the clawfoot tub sparkled in the springtime sun, she moved on to the kitchen. That went quickly as she cleaned all the surfaces and removed all the old leftovers from the fridge. Next she moved to the living room. Junk mail and old magazines went in the garbage, and then Garcia moved on to the hard part. It was time to really clean house. Her kitsch had become more like clutter. She had decided she needed to say goodbye to some of it, but what?
Single copies of graphic novels JJ had bought her in box set, those could go. The easel and other supplies she got for art class and never used, that could go too. One of the two 8mm projectors she'd refurbished. A few portable type writers, but not the Tiffany Blue one. By the time she finished the living room she had a huge stack of items labeled "go". In the bedroom she added a few books she didn't like, jewelry she never wore, scarves and throws she'd knitted just for the fun of it.
When the cleaning was done the front room was full of discards. So Garcia sat down at her computer and made a flyer.
Spring Yard Sale
All Items MUST go!
She added the date, time and location and posted it on craigslist, then posted it on the FBI employee message board.
One week later Garcia sat under a parasol in the courtyard of her apartment complex as people perused her old things. Around 11:00 Hotch came by and with Jack and a large Slushie.
"Blue Coconut," he said handing it to her. "Figured you could use a cool down."
"Thanks," she said. "Derek is supposed to bring me lunch soon, but I was dying of thirst."
"You have lots of cool stuff, Aunt Penelope."
"Thank you, Jack. I tell you what. Anything you like…I'll give you special Jack Hotchner price." Then she whispered "that means free."
Excitedly Jack dragged is dad around trying to decided what he wanted. "Just one," Hotch had told him. "Aunt Penelope has to sell some of the stuff."
He thought about one of the typewriters, a neon green one, but changed his mind. Next he moved to a snow globe with a pyramid and a sphinx in it. Then he saw it. A little black case sat open on the table. Inside were brand new, never used colored pencils. They were nicer than the ones he'd gotten for school and they had a squishy eraser.
"They're watercolor pencils," Hotch said when Jack asked why they were special.
"Can I get these," Jack asked as Garcia walked up.
"Sure," she told him. "In fact, I'll through these in too." She handed him three brand new watercolor sketchbooks.
His face lit up as he hugged his new treasures to him and his dad paid for a pretty green and yellow scarf. "For Beth," the told Garcia.
A few days later Garcia sat in her office straightening her desk when a knock came at the door.
"You busy," Hotch asked stepping in the doorway.
"No," she answered. "Just killing time. JJ hasn't picked a case yet. What do you need?"
"Nothing." He said. "Jack just asked me to give you this."
He held out a colorful drawing of a woman with bright blonde hair, hot pink glasses, and a wild flora print on her purple dress.
"It's me!" Garcia squealed.
"Yeah," Hotch said. "He did a pretty good job too. If I'm not mistaken that's exactly what you were wearing at the yard sale."
"Oh Hotch," she said. "I love it. Tell him I said thank you."
Over the next few weeks, colorful drawings appeared at all of the team members' desks. But no one received more drawings than Garcia. In time, her office walls were covered in Jack's art.