Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, just my OCs.
Forgotten is forgiven. - F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Jay!" Grace exclaimed. "Jay, stop it! I have a boyfriend!"
Jay pulled away and looked at Grace in astonishment. "What? Who? I thought you gave up on dating."
Grace pushed Jay away. "No, I'm dating Spencer Reid."
"That other agent?" Jay said.
"Yeah."
"Gracie, I'm sorry."
"Fuck off, Jay!" Grace said, storming off to her car.
When Grace stepped through the door of the apartment, Spencer immediately wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. Grace was consumed with guilt.
"Spencer, I told you not to wait up." she said.
"I couldn't sleep." Reid mumbled.
"Well, I can." Grace said, wiggling out of his grasp. "Good night."
Spencer followed Grace to bed and curled up beside her, but she pulled away from him.
"Grace..." he whined.
"Spencer, please, I'm not in the mood!" Grace said. "I'm exhausted."
Spencer rolled over and tried to fall asleep despite the excruciating pain in his head. On the other side of their queen sized bed, Grace cried silently. She felt terrible for treating Spencer so meanly, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him or touch him, the guilt was overwhelming.
The next morning, Grace left the house before Spencer awoke and was at work before everyone else. She sat down at her desk and began to review all the information on the current case, hoping it would take her mind off of what had happened the night before.
The unsub was raping his victims who were all young blonde women in their late teens and early twenties. They were not prostitutes, but two out of three were runaways and the third was a homeless heroin addict. All three dump sites were fairly open areas where the unsub could easily have been seen. The reason the BAU believed he had not aroused suspicion was that the area of the city he took his victims from and dumped their bodies in was an area known for heavy criminal traffic. A shady character in a dark alley or a skatepark in the middle of the night was normal for the area. Other than the assumption that the unsub was a white male between tweny-five and fifty, there was not much that they knew about him.
Grace jumped when her phone rang. The caller ID told her that it was Jay calling, so she hit the "Ignore" button. She scanned the room to make sure no one had entered the bullpen yet then picked up her phone and dialled her cousin's phone number. Having no mother and no older sister, Charlotte was the person Grace turned to most when she needed advice.
"Hello?" Charlotte answered the phone.
"Charlie, I need your help." Grace pleaded.
"Grace? Do you have any idea what time it is here?" Charlotte asked.
Grace had forgotten about the time difference between herself and her cousin. "Sorry, Charlie. I'm in trouble though."
"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Charlotte asked. "I know I used to tell you you could come to me when you needed help, but you're an adult now, Grace."
"I know, but Charlie, I fucked up real bad." Grace said.
"What happened?"
"I cheated on Spencer." Grace cried. "I don't know what to do. I love him so much, I never meant to hurt him."
"Did you tell him?" Charlotte inquired.
"No."
"Then he doesn't need to know." Charlotte said flatly.
Grace groaned. "But I can't stand the guilt!"
"Did you enjoy it?" Charlotte asked.
"Enjoy what?"
"The sex!"
"What sex?" Grace asked, confused.
"You said you cheated on Spencer, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but I didn't have sex with Jay." Grace said.
"Then it's not cheating!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"But I feel so terrible, Charlotte. I have to tell him, it's eating away at me!" Grace insisted.
"OK, think about this, Grace," Charlotte said calmly. "If he doesn't know, how can he be hurt by it? If you tell him though, he might leave you. Then what? I don't want to see you get hurt again, Grace."
Grace groaned in agony and slammed her head against her desk. "What do I do?"
"I can't tell you that, Grace, you're going to have to figure it out for yourself." Charlotte said.
Grace sighed and said goodbye to her cousin. As soon as she hung up the phone, it rang, Jay again. She hit "Ignore" and went back to the case file.
The other members of the BAU began to arrive, greeting Grace, surprised that she was the first one in today. Spencer was the last agent to get in, coffee in hand, ignoring Grace completely. Grace still could not bring herself to look at him. After about an hour, someone approached her desk to tell her that she had a visitor.
Curiously, Grace left the bullpen to see who was there.
"Oh fuck, no!" she cursed when she saw who her visitor was.
"Hey, at least give me a chance to talk to you, Gracie." Jay said. "After the hassle I got at security, it's the least you could do."
Grace sighed. "Fine. How could you possibly fuck up my life even more, Jay?"
"I'm sorry about last night, Grace. I really am." Jay said. "That's not why I'm here though."
"Why are you here then?" Grace asked.
"I saw something last night." Jay said. "I think it was the guy you're looking for. He came back to the skatepark."
"Did he leave another body?" Grace asked.
"I... I think so. I didn't want to get too close though."
"Well, I just got off the phone with the D.C. Police and the unsub did leave another body in the same skatepark last night." Hotch said, entering the conference room. "He killed a prostitute this time."
"So he's a house cleaner?" Morgan profiled.
"I don't think so." Grace said. "Jay described him like a homeless man. House cleaners couldn't be the thing they hate, could they?"
"No." Rossi said. "A house cleaner is a mission killer with a strong moral code. He would be mid thirties to late forties, middle class, well dressed, but obviously not brand names, probably religious. He certainly would not rape his victims."
"A homeless man in a psychotic break maybe?" Prentiss said. "He could think these girls were invading his turf or something."
"No, he's more like a hunter." Reid said, rubbing his forehead. "A new victim each night. Plus, a defensive homeless man wouldn't have the time to rape his victims then dump the bodies."
"Yeah, he'd just leave them where they fell." Morgan said. "This guy's transporting them somehow. Did Endino mention any vehicles at the skatepark last night."
Grace shook her head. "No, there were no other vehicles in the parking lot when I left him there."
Spencer show her a suspicious look, but Grace did not notice.
"So he's not a mission based killer and he's not a psychotic homeless man," Prentiss summarized. "What is he?"
"We need to look at him based on the evidence we have so far." Rossi insisted.
"And what does that leave us with?" Morgan asked.
"Just your average, run of the mill, friendly neighbourhood serial rapist." Grace said sarcastically.
Grace regretted her words as soon as Hotch uttered the word "undercover". Standing in front of the mirror in fishnets and a black leather mini-skirt, she reminded herself of her heroin days. Sure she'd never had to resort to prostitution, but the attire resembled what she would have worn on-stage when she was still singing.
"You ready?" Prentiss asked, also dressed like a lady of the night.
"Should I be getting used to this whole 'bait' thing?" Grace laughed.
"I wouldn't say get used to it," Prentiss said. "But definitely prepare yourself mentally for it."
Grace nodded and followed Emily to the Suburban. Morgan and Reid were waiting for them. Grace caught Spencer steal several glances at her in the rearview mirror, but they exchanged no words the entire drive.
"Be careful, ladies." Morgan said, stopping the SUV when they reached their destination.
Grace grabbed Spencer's hand before hopping out of the vehicle and gave him a long, apologetic look. He forced a smile through his headache and kissed her quickly on the forehead.
Grace got out of the Suburban and walked the block to where she had been ordered to go. She knew Emily was on the opposite end of the street, but could not see her. She surveyed the street for the unsub's other potential targets. There were small clusters of homeless people, seeming to be divided by age groups. There were several prostitutes leaning against a chain link fence, looking for johns. Grace observed a few loners, but they weren't the unsub's type, too old and a couple were men.
Suddenly, Grace heard a scream which she recognized to be Emily. She took her gun from her purse and ran down the street as fast as she could in the cheap stilettos she was wearing. Emily was pinned against a wall in a dark alley by a large man wearing a mask. Without hesitation, Grace aimed and pulled the trigger on her gun.
"So how do you feel about killing the perpetrator?" Dr. Harper asked Grace.
"Well, I saved Emily's life. He was a serial rapist/killer. I still feel terrible about it though." Grace said.
"And why do you think that is?"
"Well, I took somebody's life. If I don't feel bad about it, I'm no better than the sickos I catch." Grace sighed.
"Well, I think your guilt is healthy, but you shouldn't let it consume you, you saved your co-worker's life and the lives of many other women. You're good at your job, Grace." Dr. Harper said. She had finally gotten Grace to permit her to call her by her first name. Since that had happened, Grace was more open with her, just as Dr. Harper knew she would.
"It's not just that guilt that's eating at me." Grace said.
"What else are you feeling guilty about?" Dr. Harper asked.
"I uh... I cheated on Spencer." Grace confessed.
"You haven't told him?"
Grace shook her head.
"It may not end well," Dr. Harper said. "But it's the only way to get rid of the guilt."
Grace nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. "Can we end early?" she asked. "I have to talk to Spencer."
Dr. Harper nodded and Grace ran out of the office, pulling her coat on over her sweater. Her phone began to ring as she unlocked the door of her car.
"Hello?" she answered, forgetting to check the caller ID.
"Hey, Gracie, it's Jay!"
Grace smacked her palm against her forehead. "Hi Jay."
"Listen, Gracie, I'm sorry about the other night." Jay said. "I'm leaving town tonight. I understand if you don't ever want to see me again, but I'm sorry. I'll stay out of your life if that's what you want, Gracie, but if you need anything, just call, OK?"
"Alright, Goodbye, Jay." Grace bid her old friend farewell.
"Hey, Spencer, I'm home!" Grace called, kicking off her shoes at the door.
The lights were off, all the curtains were drawn and the small apartment was silent.
"Spencer, baby, are you alright?" Grace called out again.
She hurried down the hallway to their bedroom where she found Spencer sitting on the bed with
his head in his hands.
"Spencer, what's wrong?" Grace asked, sitting on the bed beside him.
"My head." Spencer groaned. "It won't stop. It hurts so much, Grace."
Grace placed a hand on Spencer's back and rubbed it in an attempt to comfort him. "Shhh... it's alright." she said, hugging him tightly. "Come here, I'll make it all better."
Reid shook his head. "Grace, it's not going to stop. It's been like this for weeks now."
"Spencer, have you even thought about seeing a doctor?" Grace asked.
Spencer finally caved and began to cry on Grace's shoulder. Grace held him and tried to comfort him. She felt horrible for not noticing sooner. She was a complete failure as a girlfriend.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Spencer?" Grace asked.
"You were getting better, I didn't want to ruin that for you."
"Oh, Spencer." Grace said, now crying herself.
"There's no point in seeing the doctor," Spencer sighed. "It's.. it's schizophrenia."
"Spencer, you don't know that for sure." Grace insisted.
"Yes, yes I do."
"Shhh... Spencer, it's OK, we'll get through this." Grace assured him.
"We?"
"Yes, we." Grace said. "I love you. Nothing is going to change that, not even schizophrenia."
"I love you too, Grace."
Grace hugged Spencer tighter and kissed his forehead. "Spencer, I know this is a really bad time, but I have to tell you, I can't keep this in anymore, it hurts too much."
"What is it, sweetheart?" Spencer asked.
"I... I cheated on you, Spencer." Grace sobbed.
Spencer broke out of her arms and stood up. Part of him wanted to run out of the apartment and never come back, another part of him wanted to stay and hear Grace tell him she was joking.
"Grace..."
"I'm sorry, Spencer, I'm so sorry!" Grace bawled. "I never meant to hurt you. I didn't mean for it to even happen, it just did and I feel terrible. Please, please tell me you'll forgive me, Spencer."
"Wh-who was it, Grace?" Spencer demanded.
"What?"
"Who was it?"
"Jay. It was Jay." Grace said, ashamed.
"You had sex with Jay?"
"What? No!" Grace exclaimed. "We only kissed! I'd never have sex with anyone else!"
"That's it?"
"What do you mean 'That's it'?" Grace repeated. "I cheated on you, Spencer!"
Spencer laughed and sat back down on the bed beside Grace. "Who kissed who?"
"Well, Jay kissed me." Grace said. "He caught me totally off-guard and-"
"Grace, as far as I'm concerned, you didn't cheat on me."
"R-really?"
"You had no intention of kissing Jay, did you?" Spencer asked.
"No." Grace replied.
"Then you didn't cheat, sweetheart. I just wish you had've told me sooner so you didn't have to feel so bad for nothing." Spencer said.
"So, you're not mad?" Grace asked in shock.
"No." Spencer said.
She bit her lip nervously. "Can we have make-up sex anyway? It might help your headache."
Spencer laughed and pinned his girlfriend to the bed. He tucked a piece of her long blonde hair behind her ear and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
A/N: Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.
