They had been in the town for over a week and another family had been murdered. They had eliminated all of the suspects they had, as they all had alibis, and had next to nothing to go on. They were there so long that Spencer had to call up his doctor and reschedule his latest appointment. His doctor wasn't too thrilled, as he was entering his third trimester soon, and wanted to see him soon after he got back home.
On their eleventh day in the city, Spencer was reviewing the security footage from the home for the twentieth time that day. They'd also been able to obtain security footage from a neighboring house of the second scene, and some from the new scene. He watched them all, side by side, hoping to find a link between the three.
"Spence, give it up. We must've gone through all of this at least fifty times in the last week and a half. If we haven't found something yet, we won't."
He put his finger up, and froze the frame on each of the security cameras.
"Who in the neighborhood knows it better than everyone?"
"What?"
"Who in your neighborhood knows everyone, and is aware of everything going on with the families, if they're friendly enough to share the information, as they would be in this kind of setting?"
JJ thought for a second. "I guess our mailman? He's always trying to talk to everyone, start small talk to make his day a little more tolerable."
He motioned her over to the laptop. "Look at this. The mailman stops at every single house, every single day, right? Well, the day after the family was murdered? He didn't stop by. Even though their bodies weren't found until well after the time of his usual route."
JJ took out her phone, calling Garcia and putting her on speaker.
"BAU's personal fountain of knowledge, how can I help you?"
"Garcia, I need you to give me all you can on the mailman in this neighborhood," Spencer said, running a hand over his bump and groaning.
"That doesn't sound good, prodigy."
"Spence?"
He shook his head. "Your niece is just using my organs as her personal kicking space. The bladder's her favorite." He pushed himself out of the chair and sprinted for the bathroom.
JJ smiled. "Can you get that for me, Garcia?"
"A.S.A.P. Garcia out!" she said, pressing the button on her phone to end the call.
He walked back, sitting beside JJ. "Sorry about that."
"Don't be, it happens."
"Garcia looking that up?"
She nodded. "Don't you have to go to the doctor today?"
He sighed. "Yeah, supposed to go to a specialist here and see if I can get this thing off," he said, lifting up his arm in the sling. "But if I'm needed here I can wait on it."
"What time's your appointment?"
"Not until 3."
"Well, if we find out it is this guy and they can get out there to find him before 3, I'll take you."
"Fine."
Less than an hour later, Garcia called them back and they saw a notification on their tablets.
"Garcia, please tell me you have something?"
"Dr. Baby Daddy, I'm shocked that you would even suggest I would call you empty-handed."
"What've you got, Garcia?" JJ asked, putting the phone on speaker.
"Our mailman might just be who you're looking for. His name's Jason Quinn, he's 47 years old. Growing up, he had a stay at home mother, his father worked long hours, his older brother had a football scholarship waiting for him, his little sister was a star gymnast, and he was quite the underachiever. They were all killed the one night Jason happened to be at a sleepover with his friend."
"Quite the coincidence…" Rossi said.
"He was raised by his aunt and uncle, both of which were accused of abuse but never charged. He had several marks on his record when he was in his late teens and early 20's, but seemed to be on track until his aunt and uncle died, her six months ago, him last month."
"And we have our stresser."
"Garcia, where can we find him?" Hotch asked.
They heard typing. "His address was forwarded to your tablets, but he's currently on his route which I am sending… now."
"Thanks, Baby Girl," Morgan said, hanging up the phone. He and Prentiss took one car while Rossi and Hotch took the other, leaving Spencer and JJ at the police station.
"Job well done, Spence," she said, rubbing his back.
He smiled slightly. "Glad I could help."
They'd been able to capture the unsub and bring him into the station, and getting a confession out of him was all too easy. Having wrapped up the case, they all couldn't wait to get back home – but first, JJ had to take Spencer to his appointment.
"Jayje, I could've made an appointment when I got home to see a specialist; I didn't need to see someone right away."
"That sling is making you miserable, Spence. I'm not going to let you stay miserable on top of feeling exhausted carrying around that baby."
He looked through another magazine in the waiting room, bored out of his mind. When his name had finally been called, JJ followed him to his room.
"I could've done this alone."
"Well as your big sister, I'm not going to let you. You may insist on raising that little girl alone, but I'm going to join you on anything I can."
"I'm gonna have to unbutton my shirt for him to check the wound and I really don't feel comfortable with you seeing me that way-"
"You do realize you invited me to be in the delivery room, right? I'm going to see your stomach sliced open and the baby get ripped out of you. And you're saying I can't see you shirtless in a doctor's office?"
He opened his mouth to argue, but sighed. "Fine, but no pictures. Last thing I need is Garcia putting that sort of picture in a baby book."
She smiled. "It's a deal."
When the doctor arrived, he took off the sling and removed his bandages, looking at the wound. He removed the stitches one-by-one, causing Spencer to wince and squeeze JJ's hand.
"This is nothing compared to labor, Spence."
"Well, in labor I can get an epidural, and it's going to feel fantastic."
"You, an epidural?"
"Well, I weighed the risks, and to be honest, it's worth the possible weak muscles, fluid retention, and fever if it means I'm having her and can still experience the whole thing without being knocked out."
She squeezed his hand back. "You'll thank yourself for that later."
The doctor had him go through some exercises, moving his arm around and trying to use it as he used to. Despite a few difficulties, the doctor cleared him to start walking around without the sling on his arm – he just wasn't allowed to put too much weight on the arm right away.
After the doctor had left, they met the rest of the team at the airstrip. He walked onto the jet, sitting on the couch, JJ taking the seat across from him.
Emily peeked around at them. "No sling?"
He smiled shaking his head and putting his arm up. "No sling. The wound is scarring and looks disgusting, but I can finally start using my arm again."
"But, fair warning, Garcia's banned us from allowing you to carry anything too heavy. She read up on pregnancies too, and she told all of us if you're carrying too much weight, she's going to hit us for allowing it to happen."
"She did not."
"Even threatened Hotch and Rossi."
He shook his head, taking the baby names book and highlighter out of his bag. When JJ tried to peek over at any highlighted names, he slammed the book shut.
"What are you doing?"
"Come on, I don't even get to see the possibilities?"
"Not a chance, you need to be surprised like everyone else."
Emily raised her hand. "I'd just like to note I already know half the name."
JJ gasped, faking insult. "Emily knows and I don't?!"
He shrugged. "She got it out of me."
"Come on, Prentiss!"
"Sorry, sworn to secrecy."
She shot a look to Spencer, who could only smile. "You'll see in 13 weeks," he said, opening the book back up and reading through. He clicked the highlighter a few times, then mumbled to himself, seeing what would sound right to him. He finally grabbed a Post-It from his bag, wrote down the name, and put it in the cover of the book. One more thing he can cross of his list.
