So to be honest I originally had very different plans for this last chapter, but at some point I decided I really wanted some Emily/Spencer Hastings bonding and so this chapter turned into a little something different! I hope you guys don't mind!
I already know what my next story is about (haven't come up with a name yet though), but I will start posting just as soon as I get the first chapter written out!
Thanks so much to everyone who stuck with this story! You guys rock!
-J
Chapter 10
"Hey don't you have homework missy?" Emily asked as she stood in the doorway of the game room having just finished cleaning up the dinner dishes in the kitchen, finding Alex spread out on the couch playing a video game. "I thought you said you had a bunch of math questions."
"I do but they'll be easy," Alex replied, not taking her eyes off the screen. "Just five more minutes?"
"You know the rules kid. Homework first," Emily said, shaking her head. "Get moving."
"Fine," Alex sighed dramatically, turning off the game and dropping the controller on the table. "Such a party pooper," she teased as she walked past the older brunette, earning herself a playful swat.
"Aw is she ruining your fun again Lex?" JJ asked as she came out of the washroom, watching as Alex made her way towards the stairs.
"Like usual," Alex replied, with the hint of a grin. "She's banishing me to my room and making me do math problems."
"So cruel Emily," JJ laughed, shaking her head at the annoyed expression on Emily's face.
"Yes, yes I'm a terrible mother," Emily said rolling her eyes. "Now get up there you drama queen," she said turning to Alex who couldn't stop giggling. "Come back down and hang out when you're done."
"Yes ma'am," Alex saluted, earning a glare from her mother, the teen laughing as she ran the rest of the way up the stairs and to her room.
Once in her room Alex pulled out her math books, placing them on her desk while she silently cursed her math teacher for always assigning so much homework. Sighing, the teen grabbed a pencil, opening up her notebook and textbook and starting with the first question. Since she was pretty good with math the questions were easy, but time-consuming work; 12 questions in, when her cell phone began to ring with Spencer's name lighting up the screen.
"Hey Spence, what's up?" Alex greeted, grateful for the interruption.
"Hey," Spencer replied, sounding upset. "Are you busy?"
"I'm just working on my math, but that's okay," Alex said. "What's wrong? You sound upset."
"It's…it's kind of a long story," Spencer answered quietly. "Do you think maybe I could come over? And maybe stay the night? I…I had a fight with my parents and I just really need to get out of here," she explained. "I'll tell them we have a project to work on or something. I doubt they'll miss me. Do you think your moms would mind?"
"I'll ask," Alex replied quickly, concerned by her friend's tone. "Just give me a sec," she said, putting her phone on hold as she ran down the stairs to where Emily and JJ were watching TV on the couch. "Mom Spencer's on the phone and she's asking if she could stay over tonight. She had a fight with her parents or something and she sounds really upset," she explained, looking worried. "Would it be okay? I promise we'll work on our homework."
"Of course," Emily quickly agreed, seeing the concern on her daughter's face. "As long as it's okay with her parents."
"Thanks," Alex nodded, taking her phone off hold and putting it back against her ear. "Spence? Mom says it's fine, so come whenever you're ready."
"Thanks Alex, see you in a few" Spencer replied before hanging up.
"What was the fight about?" JJ asked as Alex hung up her phone.
"I'm not sure," Alex shrugged. "She said it was a long story, but she definitely didn't sound like herself," she explained biting her lip. "It must have been bad for her to ask to come over though, I mean normally she's very strict about her study schedule during the week."
"Well hopefully she'll talk about it when she gets here," Emily said as Alex nodded.
"I hope so," Alex agreed. "I'm gonna head back upstairs though, just send Spencer up when she gets here."
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When she had arrived Spencer had looked rather solemn, giving Emily a small smile as she was let in, thanking the older brunette for letting her come over before excusing herself to Alex's room. Hoping the teen would talk to her friend, Emily rejoined JJ on the couch where she cuddled up close, running her fingers through the blonde's long locks.
"You know I haven't spent a lot of time with the Hastings but they seem rather intense," JJ said some time later, breaking the silence that the pair had been engulfed in. "I mean Spencer's rather intense herself in terms of her studies, but it can't be easy having parents like that."
"It's not," Emily sighed, knowing exactly what it felt like to have parents who were constantly on her about everything when she was young. "I'm assuming the stress of it all finally got to her. She seemed so quiet when she came in."
"You know it might be good for her to talk to someone who understands what she's dealing with," JJ suggested, worried that Spencer probably wasn't opening up to Alex upstairs. "Someone who's been there and gotten through it."
"Do you really think she'll talk to me?" Emily asked, picking at her nails.
"I think it wouldn't hurt to try," JJ replied, feeling pretty confident that Emily would know what to say to make the teen feel better. "Why don't you go up there and invite the girls to our spa day with Garcia this weekend. Tell Alex to call and invite Zoey and Olivia as well, she'll get the hint."
"You've put a lot of thought into this Jennifer," Emily laughed, realizing the blonde must have been thinking about her daughter's friend the whole time they were sitting together.
"I'm just worried," JJ shrugged. "Now get going," she said, giving the brunette a light shove, encouraging her to get off the couch. "Go talk."
"Yes ma'am," Emily smiled, leaving the blonde on the couch with a laugh as she headed upstairs towards her daughter's bedroom. "Hey girls how's it going with the homework?" She asked, poking her head in the door to find Alex working at her desk, while Spencer was spread out on the bed, both still working on assignments.
"Pretty good," Alex replied, throwing a worried look towards her friend for her mother to see. "I think we're both almost finished," she said, looking towards Spencer's notebook.
"That's good," Emily said, watching Spencer as she kept her attention on her notebook. "Well Jen and I were just talking about this weekend, and we thought that maybe you girls would want to join us for a spa day on Saturday before our dinner with the team," she explained.
"Just me and Spencer?" Alex asked.
"And Zoey and Olivia too," Emily smiled. "My treat. Thought you girls could use it and you'll all be here anyways since your slumber party is here this week."
"Awesome, that sounds great." Alex replied, looking towards her friend. "What do you think Spence?"
"Sure sounds good," Spencer nodded, attempting a small smile, that didn't come close to reaching her eyes.
"Great," Emily said before turning her attention back towards Alex. "Lex why don't you call Zoey and Liv and see if they want to go as well," she suggested. "And maybe get yourself a snack as well?"
"Good idea," Alex smiled in understanding, grabbing her phone before standing from her seat, making her way towards the door. "I'll be back," she said, giving her mother's hand a squeeze on her way past before heading downstairs.
With Alex making her way down the stairs, Emily entered the teen's bedroom, heading over towards where Spencer continued to work on her homework; the teen doing her best to act like her friend's mother wasn't still there.
"Hey sweetie," Emily said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to the teen who had become like family since her daughter had met her. "You doing okay?"
"I'm fine," Spencer shrugged, much like Alex would respond, making Emily sigh at the stubbornness of teenagers. "It was just a stupid fight."
"Well do you want to talk about it?" Emily asked, receiving another shrug in reply. "It might help."
"I got a B on my history paper," Spencer eventually muttered, putting down her pencil.
"A B is good."
"Try telling my parents that," Spencer sighed, sitting up so she could face her friend's mother. "Melissa never gets Bs. She's a straight A student. But I had two tests last week and I missed a day because of debate team so I had a hard time with the paper," she explained. "I aced my tests but my parents didn't even care about those. They saw the B and immediately started in on a lecture about how I'll never get into a good college if I let my grades slip now and why can't I be more like Melissa," she continued. "I'm only a freshman," she said, her eyes welling up with tears. "I study so hard, and I'm in like every club, but it's still not good enough. I'm never good enough."
"Oh honey that's not true," Emily replied, rubbing a hand comfortingly up and down the teen's back. "Sweetie you are more than good enough, do you hear me?" She said tilting Spencer's chin to make sure she was looking her in the eyes. "Sometimes parents want what's best for their kids so badly that they forget what's really important. You know when I was younger my parents were a lot like your parents," she revealed. "I mean I didn't have an older sibling to be compared to, but they were so concerned with appearances that I couldn't do anything right in their eyes, so trust me when I say I completely understand what you're going through sweetheart."
"But how did you get through it?" Spencer asked tearfully, unembarrassed. "I mean I'm only 14 and I'm already stressed beyond relief. I don't know how long I can keep going like this. I just want to be a teenager without all of the added worries, but I don't know how."
"I wish I had the right answer for that kiddo," Emily sighed. "I won't lie when I was your age I went about things the completely wrong way. I was angry at my parents so I acted out and ultimately strained my relationship with both of them," she explained. "And then I did something that I didn't think they would ever forgive."
"What's that?"
"I got pregnant," Emily replied with a shrug. "Which ruined my relationship with my parents even more for a very long time, and honestly it wasn't until recently that I was finally able to repair that, with my mother at least," she explained, taking a short pause. "Look sweetie, I know it's hard and I know you're feeling way more stress than someone your age should be feeling, but I hope you know that your parents do love you. They love you and they so badly want to see you succeed, and yes, maybe they are going about it the wrong way, but they're trying. I don't want you to feel like you're not good enough though Spencer," she said, taking the teen's hand. "You're one of the smartest kids I know, and you're such a great girl! I know it's hard but you just need to keep doing what you're doing, because you are amazing. I have no doubt that you're going to do something great with your life honey so don't stress yourself out so much okay?"
Tears falling down her cheeks, Spencer could do nothing but nod in reply, wishing so badly that she could hear these words from her own mother.
"I know it's not always going to be easy though, so I want you to know that you can always talk to me Spencer," Emily then said, brushing the teen's hair away from her face. "I don't want to see what happened to me happen to you, so if you're ever feeling down or you just need to talk to someone I want you to come to me okay?" She said, as Spencer once again nodded sadly. "You're family Spencer. I care about you, so I'm always here for you okay?"
"Okay," Spencer nodded, throwing her arms around Emily's neck, feeling both overwhelmed and grateful. "Thank you Emily."
"Anytime sweetheart," Emily replied, keeping the teen in a firm embrace and placing a kiss on the side of her head. "Anytime."
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"This has been the best day ever," Olivia said, flopping down on the couch between Zoey and Garcia; Emily, JJ, Spencer and Alex taking seats around the Prentiss/Jareau family room, all laughing at the blonde's happiness.
"I second that one Cupcake," Garcia replied. "That place was amazing! I don't think I've ever felt so relaxed."
"Exactly!" Olivia exclaimed. "Thanks for taking us Emily, it was great," she said. "I mean this is the least tense I've ever seen Spencer."
"Gee thanks Liv," Spencer replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
After her talk with Emily, Spencer had seemed to be feeling better; her and Alex joining Emily and JJ downstairs for a snack and to watch TV for a while before eventually returning upstairs to sleep. The teen hadn't returned home since that Thursday night, but she had checked in with her parents more than once, who had seemed to have forgotten about their disappointment with their daughter.
With Olivia and Zoey over at Alex's for the night as well, Spencer had allowed herself to forget her fight; the girls enjoying a girl's night in with Emily and JJ spending some time with them too. Garcia had arrived early that morning, looking forward to their Spa day and as soon as everyone was up and ready to go all the ladies were out the door, looking forward to the facials and massages that they had been promised.
"Well I'm glad you girls enjoyed it," Emily smiled, putting her arm around Alex who was happy to cuddle up into her mother's side. "For 14 year olds you guys stress yourselves out enough. Thought you could use a day like today."
"It was definitely needed," Spencer replied, sharing a knowing smile with Emily who simply winked in response, glad to see the teen looking and acting more like herself than she had been two nights prior.
"So when's the rest of the team coming over?" Alex asked, resting her head on Emily's shoulder. "We're just getting pizzas right?"
"Yep," JJ nodded. "I'm dying for a supreme, and Rossi's gonna pick them up on his way over. They should all be here by 7 or so."
"Are we busting out any games tonight?" Zoey asked, having participated in more than one game night with the girls and the team.
"Oh we most definitely are," Garcia replied excitedly, having packed more than one board game before leaving her apartment that morning. "It's not a true night with the team if there aren't games involved! Plus my Chocolate God and I are determined to finally win against all you people!"
"Never gonna happen Garcia," JJ laughed. "You two spend way too much time flirting to concentrate long enough to win a game," she said, as the rest of the girls laughed. "Oh I totally dibs Alex tonight," she then exclaimed before Emily or Spencer could.
"You got it," Alex replied with a laugh as Emily gave her a disbelieving look.
"Gee thanks," Emily said, shoving the teen away from her jokingly. "It's fine anyways because I'll take Spencer," she said, knowing that Olivia and Zoey would want to pair up together since they almost always did unless Garcia forced them to pick someone new.
"We'll crush them," Spencer replied confidently. "Doesn't matter the game, we've got this."
"Oh really," Alex replied raising an eyebrow, as Spencer simply nodded smugly. "Oh it's on."
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"YES! We win again!" Alex exclaimed, jumping up from her seat as she and JJ won their second game of Pictionary in a row, having lost only the first round just barely to Spencer and Emily. "We rock!" She practically squealed, high-fiving JJ who stuck her tongue out at Emily.
"Well I think it's about time we take a break from the games before there's some kind of riot," Rossi suggested from where he was sitting next to Reid. "I think I'll just refresh my drink. Anyone else?"
"I'll help," Hotch quickly replied, grabbing a few empty bottles and glasses from around the room in order to refill or replace.
"Aww come on," Alex said. "We can play something else!"
"In a little bit kid," Emily replied, laughing at the look of disappointment on her daughter's face.
"Yeah and I think it's time we separate you 4," Morgan said, pointing to Emily, Spencer, JJ and Alex.
"Well I don't think that's necessary," Emily quickly argued. "I thought everyone liked the teams."
"I think maybe you guys are taking it a little too seriously," Garcia laughed. "My Hunky Agent is right, we need to switch it up."
"Aw you guys are just scared," JJ grumbled as she stole the bowl of Cheetos off the table, resting it on her stomach as she began to dig in. "Obviously can't take losing to us anymore."
"Wimps," Alex added, shaking her head as she tried not to laugh at the way JJ was enjoying her snack.
"So Emily when are you getting back to work?" Haley asked in an attempt to change the subject before the arguing started.
"Well I'm officially back to the office on Monday, but I have to take a requalification test to make sure I can get my gun back before I get out in the field," Emily explained.
"Which you're taking first thing Monday morning," Hotch said as he and Rossi returned with drinks. "It's just a formality to make sure you're not having any problems with your shoulder anyways."
"And how much longer are you planning on working JJ?" Haley then asked curiously.
"Well I'm not sure," JJ admitted. "I mean I know I should probably stop travelling soon, but I'd like to keep working as long as I can. I mean I'm not very good at sitting around. I'll go stir crazy if I take too much time."
"Well you still have what? 2 months?" Rossi asked.
"Yep," JJ nodded rubbing her stomach. "Wow that seems so soon."
"I can't believe how quickly time has been passing," Emily agreed, moving to sit down next to the blonde; rubbing a hand up and down her leg. "It feels like we just found out about all of this."
"Personally I can't wait," Alex sighed, sitting crossed legged next to Spencer. "I'm ready to meet my little brother," she grinned.
"And I'm ready to spoil the little guy," Garcia added, a huge smile on her face.
"Oh geez we're in big trouble," JJ joked, shaking her head with a laugh. "Between Garcia and Emily the kid is going to get everything he wants."
"Hey!" Emily said, trying to sound surprised. "I can say no!"
"Sure you can," JJ smiled, winking at Alex who was laughing quietly. "Alright are we playing another game or what?"
"Yes!" Garcia replied quickly, the men in the room groaning. "Triavial Pursuit, but Alex is with me, Emily can be with her buddy Morgan, JJ gets Rossi and our two Spencers are together."
"Well that's a terrible idea," Alex said, as she moved to sit next to Garcia. "Spencer and Reid together? They're the two smartest people here!"
"Scared?" Spencer grinned, as Reid sat down next to her, knowing she was guaranteed to win with the genius next to her.
"Not a chance," Alex replied confidently, glaring at her friend and trying not to laugh.
"This is going to be a long night," Rossi groaned, the room laughing as they prepared for another epic game night.
THE END!
I WILL BE BACK WITH MY NEXT INSTALLMENT SOON MY FRIENDS!