The Interregnum: Chapter 25
By Helena Fallon
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Max Pentall stretched out his legs as he sat on the couch in his Quantico office. He was coming to the end of yet another in-depth article in the Washington Post on the 'Capital Region's Paedophile Scandal'. The bold headline for the case was very familiar by now but even four weeks on the interest in the story had not lessened. It had been reported on every main news channel every night since the sweep of arrests and the public interest showed no signs of cooling. Max knew that the public couldn't get enough of the details especially because big names had been caught and the gossip seemed endless. The repercussions were still to be felt in many organisations ranging from law enforcement, the military, the judiciary, the government on several levels, members of the medical profession, famous names connected with prestigious charities, and members of cultural establishments associated with the capital's museums, art galleries and university academics. These were people that the public would not have associated with the sordid world of paedophilia but those who worked at catching them knew that a good education and social class did not save you from suspicion nor being an abusive paedophile.
When the arrested had been arraigned before the courts across six states, those courts had been full with television and press reporters eager to record the names of those caught in the sweeps. Then came the hounding of their families, the media seemed to enjoy besieging large luxury homes in the hope of getting a glimpse of the spouse or other family members of the arrested parties. The viewers fed on the diet of this righteous frenzy and were thirsty for any detail about the wider family and the case as a whole. But Max thought that these innocent individuals had been dragged into a hell that was not of their making and was more concerned for the young children that were caught up in the aftermath of the arrests. The next few weeks saw family lawyers stood before house gates and the entrances to exclusive apartment blocks to announce to the assembled media that the wife of such and such, arrested in the connection with the 'Capital Region's Paedophile Ring', was filing for divorce and custody of any children.
Pentall had admired the way that Katie Cole had managed the information to the media and she had always stressed the need for a respectful distance for the rescued victims. She and her team had worked hard to help re-united families to get the necessary psychological support that the victim and family would need for months, and probably years, to come. But most of all, Katie had firmly let it be known that if any of the media over stepped the mark and besieged these victims' families then she would make sure that any offending reporter would be barred from future press conferences with the CACU. So far it had worked but as the names of the children that had died became known some of these parents offered their stories to the highest bidder and this further fuelled the interest in the case.
Max looked towards his open door as he heard familiar voices approaching.
"Ah…help yourselves to coffee gentlemen," he invited in his most cordial manner. Although these two men were very aware that Max had summoned them to report on their observations of the paedophile case on the Bureau staff involved. Max folded the newspaper and placed it on the couch beside him.
Don and Arthur were not gong to decline a mug of Max's best coffee and made themselves comfortable on the couch facing him with the oak rectangular coffee table between them.
Max smiled as Arthur was the last to sit but once he looked comfortable then Max began.
"I'm quite pleased with how this case has been handled and the fall out," he said without preamble.
"Yes, it was a well planned and executed operation and the CACU people have coped with the stresses very well," agreed Arthur who had been at College Park daily to pick up the aftermath of the case.
"Katie was excellent as the Unit Chief," Arthur added enthusiastically because he wanted to give her his support especially after her brief spell away to sort out her 'secret' drinking problem.
Max's eyes met Arthur's with understanding. They both knew that Katie Cole was being carefully watched by the upper echelons and if she had shown any signs of slipping back into drinking, or not coping with such a demanding case, then it would have given the Bureau the ideal excuse for removing her to another position.
"Yes, the Director was very impressed with how she and her unit worked well together and supported each other both during and with the aftermath…But how about the other agents drawn into this case…How's agent Gerald?" Max asked aiming his question to Don.
"Gerald, real name Gregory Gerald Woodley," replied Don deliberately to remind the other two men that the agent did have a real name and persona. "Well his debriefing sessions have gone smoothly. Alex Nicholls has written very detailed reports on the sessions with him and my own interviews with the agent confirmed Alex's assessment. I think Woodley felt a bit disappointed that he was not involved with the final moves but he does realise that the evidence he gathered was just as important as that by those that came after him."
"He was seen after the Rankin raid and Katie couldn't risk him any more on the case. It was best to let the Rankin and his associates believe that Gerald was the weak link in the clientele and that the CACU were just after Rankin's clubs and knew of nothing more beyond that. I think Katie played her cards very well. Especially how she persuaded the Director to let her have Reid to help out on the case, but even Katie didn't realise that he would be so instrumental in breaking the organisation wide open and so quickly!" replied Max with a satisfied smile. "But Woodley's capable of doing more undercover assignments in the future?"
"Oh yes, he's quite happy with the thought of more undercover work but it's likely to be in the Florida area where his face is unknown," Don answered carefully and wondered if he should comment about the time factor.
Max however was already thinking on those lines, " I'm recommending that the Bureau leaves it at least 6 months before he's out in the field again and to work with a totally different case. The Florida area would be ideal although the Director also thought that he might have a role in the California offices."
Don nodded pleased that the agent was being distanced from the area and away from paedophile cases.
"And Agent Nigel?" Max pressed the psychiatrist.
"Nigel Nesbitt has returned home to his family and has stressed that he doesn't want any more under cover work in that field again. The Bureau is more than happy to assure him of this and recognise the service he has given over the years and he's been granted a period of 'down time' with his family. He has been regularly attending sessions with Joel Lansing at the Seattle Office and has freely admitted to feeling totally drained by the paedophile cover he had to use. Seattle want to keep Nigel, or rather Agent Nesbitt, and put his field experience to good use but in an administrative position…something like co-ordinating intelligence for one of the organised crime units."
Max nodded sagely, "Oh I would think that will be quite feasible and very wise of him to realise that he wants a change. I don't think the agent should be faced with any more under cover work, he's finished that side of things on a very big high and his work has only done good for his future career with the Bureau. Nesbitt really should concentrate on making up for the time away from his family while he can before he's re-assigned to a desk job."
" Yes, Lansing and I both agree on recommending a desk position now. He was very convincingly in his undercover role but it has taken its toll," replied Don and sipped his coffee thinking that both of the under cover agents, who had been unaware of each other in the field, had been excellent at gathering data for the case. However, the psychiatrist then chose to change direction away from the undercover agents.
"How's Spencer Reid?" Don suddenly asked because by spending time with Gerald and Nigel he had not seen the talented profiler since the case had broken.
"He's held up really well," answered Arthur, "Like for all of the CACU agents its emotionally tough and he doesn't like the work as much as he enjoys being with the BAU. But he has certainly left his mark in that Unit and has the respect of the other agents and civilian personnel there. Katie has been very generous with her praise of how he has stepped in to cover for Danielle and has been an able deputy. The support he quietly gave his fellow agents has also been noticed and appreciated. Spencer Reid's a natural psychologist and could easily cross over to us in the future. The Unit had confidence in him as soon as they met him and Jo…that openness was just right for that situation as Katie and Danielle both commented. Katie was particularly pleased that he made the effort to be approachable straight away because she'd thought him very guarded about himself when she had worked with the BAU on an earlier case. However, she strongly hoped that once away from the BAU he would blossom more into himself…."
"Oh yes, it appears that he has definitely done that but then he really played that 'quiet card' for his own ends…" Don reminded the other two men who both nodded in unison.
"Yes, but they'll be no going back to that 'wall flower' or dreamy geeky genius role now…He has had too high a profile in the media and proved himself away from the BAU…" Max agreed and felt a glow of satisfaction that the talented profiler had prospered away from Quantico.
"As Adam Priest remarked to me on Monday, the BAU will not know him when he returns to them. But Hotchner seems comfortable with this more dominant Reid and told me that the secondment has been beneficial both for Reid and the BAU. His former colleagues will have to realise that he isn't a kid or a shy young man but a very capable and extremely clever agent who has proved himself in another tough Unit." Arthur said sipping his coffee and meeting Max's probing look.
Max nodded, he was very aware as to what Arthur was thinking and was pleased that he had taken the time to ask for Hotch's assessment of Reid now the paedophile case was tying up the loose ends. But Max also knew that Dr. Reid had been very forthright with the Director earlier when he wanted to assign him to Counter Terrorism because his computer skills in cryptography would be useful there. The Director had not expected the firm negative response that it was not his preferred expertise and furthermore that it would be a waste of his obvious profiling talents. Max was delighted that Reid had made a stand against being pushed into an obviously very important national security area but narrowing down to concentrate upon cryptography was not Spencer's view of his career. Although the Director persuaded him to step into the breach for a few weeks, Reid had got the firm assurance that it would be only until they had moved people around the world in order to finally get the man they wanted in Washington. Dr. Spencer Reid had even held out for a definite date concerning the matter and he was for the moment attached to the Washington Field Office, but spending much of his time at the Pentagon. Fortunately, the Director was impressed by the younger man's stance and told the story to Max with humour against himself. However, the Director further added said that he sensed he might have had a resignation on his hands, although Reid had not mentioned the word, it had obviously hung in the air. The Director decided that it was far wiser to have Reid with the Bureau than being picked up by another agency or have him drop out completely and go into professional clinical psychology, or academia, where he might be reluctant to be dragged back as a consultant.
Don's voice broke through Max's musings…
"It's been over a year since the Hankel case…Reid's come a long way hasn't he?" the psychiatrist stated with quiet satisfaction.
Arthur's eyes twinkled; the sessions at the Clinic had forged a trust between the three of them to help Spencer Reid come out of his experience a stronger individual.
"It's a good feeling to know that all our hard work was not mis-placed and he's stable despite the pressures he's been under at the CACU." Arthur replied feeling very proud that he and Spencer had regularly shared lunch, when he had first arrived at College Park, and then a coffee at the end of the day when the pace of cases became more demanding.
"He's been accepting support from the psych team over the big case?" Don probed because he hadn't been involved with the immediate support of the CACU people.
"Don, Spencer Reid's been sensible enough to know when he needs to unwind with a talk over coffee before going home. Spencer had been the ready listener for the agents in the Unit but he regularly dropped by my office and I know he's got his strategies for coping with the pressure. Then last week, he got called to the Washington Office but Hotch is based there so I'm sure he'll keep an eye on him and well Max is often around there with his ear to the ground…"
"Arthur! You make me sound like some eavesdropper!" Max protested but Arthur wasn't put off.
"Max…we all know that you're considered the 'Eminence Gris' of the Bureau," countered Arthur.
Max peered at him solemnly and then suddenly grinned and raised his hands in mock submission.
"My Anna wouldn't believe you," he said in his own defence but the other two men gazed at him with amusement.
"How long is he there for?" Don asked wondering what the Director was doing with the genius now.
"Only until his vacation in April…he's just covering for a cryptographer until the new permanent post holder is debriefed from his role based in Europe and brought up to speed here…" Max carefully said.
Arthur's eyes opened wide, "Katie didn't say what he was doing and Spencer had kept it vague but I guess he has had to fill the gap after arresting Tennison and our expert, Wilmott."
Max nodded, he knew that Arthur and Don wouldn't say anything about the matter outside that office.
"So how's Katie coping without her deputy and 'acting deputy?" delved Don who felt that Katie Cole had enough pressures with the work of her Unit without loosing capable assistants.
"Tony and Amanda are holding the line together like they did when Danielle had her first maternity leave. It's a closely knit Unit and the success of the 'Capital Region's Paedophile Ring' arrests has boosted morale and they have weathered the pressures of the extra hours and mountain of evidence to be processed." Arthur answered, "Reid getting Austin Shields to tell him where the bodies had been buried was the icing on the very big cake for the CACU…Carl Miyake was so proud to be in on that interview and entertained the Unit with his version when they got back. The bodies dumped at sea are never going to be found but at least we have to thank the Tortes' meticulous book-keeping for the names and the sites Shields mentioned rang true providing the same number of bodies the Tortes had listed too."
"Reid really has made a name for himself away from the BAU, are you sure he wants to go back to Quantico?" Don aimed the question at Max.
"Spencer told Maskin that he did and I don't think the West Coast holds much attraction to him, especially as Jo's family are in Virginia, although he would be closer to Nevada. But I think Spencer sees himself as principally a profiler who can call upon his other talents to speed up an investigation," Max quietly asserted.
"He could get another book out of this," Arthur suddenly chipped in.
Max smiled at the thought, perhaps Reid would write down his thoughts about the case but he suspected that he would leave it several years before he ever thought about seriously opening up wounds for the victims and their families. There would probably be others, especially any journalist on the case, who would be tempted to take the opportunity to earn a fast buck. The public was insatiable for detail about this notorious case and there in lay the danger of the victims being further abused in print.
"Actually Arthur…Spencer Reid might lecture about it but a part of me thinks that our Dr. Reid will be reluctant to open such wounds for the victims and the families with a book. There is a lot of hurt and some of those wounds are going to leave deep scars," Don replied quietly thinking that Spencer Reid was not the sort of man to just trade on the misfortune of others. "But I was thinking that there was the anniversary of the Hankel case around the arrests of the paedophiles…I was wondering if Spencer had any bad flash backs at that time?"
Arthur turned to Don and said quietly, "I was keeping a close eye but he was so busy with all the arrangements and then the way he interrogated the perpetrators assigned to him…Now that is something else that has gone down in the history of the CACU. He was just not taking any of the usual delaying tactics of the prisoners and shattered their hopes of plea bargaining straight away. It was quite breath taking to watch from the observation room; the usual gentle softly spoken Reid was suddenly a cold spear of justice going straight through the rotten heart of the perpetrator. You ought to watch the films and the way he dealt with them and some very high powered lawyers."
"So he didn't seem to have any reaction at all to the Hankel episode?" pressed Don.
"Not that was noticed on the job," Arthur carefully replied, " But Spencer came for a chat before going home on the third day into processing the arrests. He said that it had suddenly hit him that he'd passed the anniversary of his abduction. I pressed him to see if he'd had any flashbacks and he said that he'd thought all along that he would around the time but he'd been so busy with the case. The man had been working flat out to break the Torte site and once he had then all that information had to be processed. Then suddenly there were arrangements that had to be put into place to rescue the children and capture the whole of the paedophile ring. Spencer admitted to me that he was so exhausted when he got home at night that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He had some unsettled dreams but, not about the Hankel kidnap, they were always about the children on the Torte site. It was noticed that he was regularly working 18 hour days throughout January and February. A few days before Spencer was re-assigned to Washington, he did say that there was only once that he'd had anything like a flashback but it had been very fleeting when he and Agent Miyake went to the first site Shields had used to dispose of bodies. It was in a wooded area and walking through the damp air early in the morning made him suddenly feel very cold and the smell of the rotting undergrowth reminded him of the old graveyard where Hankel had kept him. However, Spencer stressed that he'd not actually had a full-blown flashback at that time but it was just like his brain was acknowledging the past. The morning it had happened, it was easy to force his brain to concentrate on the task in hand because he was with a team of agents and crime scene operatives, all eager to reach the site, and Miyake was talking about their interviews with Shields."
"But he seemed confident about re-visiting the Hankel memory?" Max asked double-checking although he felt sure that if Arthur had been concerned he would have mentioned it earlier to him.
"Oh yes! We did talk about it that evening and I raised it again before he left for Washington. Spencer was reflective but said that he had the odd memory surface, usually when around dank leaves just like when he was at the Clinic. However, it was not like going into a full panic but rather like having a fleeting sense of unease and he would automatically go through his controlled breathing exercises and it would pass. There are still times when he has the unexpected nightmare but he usually wakes up to find Jo with him now anyway and she has helped him to get everything into perspective again just by being there. Spencer feels that his life has changed so much since Hankel that the hold it could have has been reduced by the positive life experiences he has since had. He acknowledged that the abduction is part of his Bureau experience but he also felt he was a far stronger person now because he'd returned to the BAU and had even moved on to hold a difficult post in the CACU. Basically, Spencer had been so busy that he'd not realised that the actual anniversary had passed as I mentioned earlier."
"Good, I think we all gave him excellent therapy at the Clinic and the necessary support once he left. I had hoped that he'd get through this first anniversary without too many problems. It appears that being exceptionally busy at the CACU has helped to push those difficult memories to one side not to mention the compartmentalising! However, we mustn't get complacent because those memories could return when least expected, especially once the pressure of work eases, so we had better just keep an eye on him." Max stated carefully.
"You don't think he'll turn to us for help?" Don queried.
"I didn't say that…I hope he will. Arthur here says he has been open about chatting with him before going home during that stressful time at the CACU. Now that's a very good sign and I'm hoping what we did for him has laid the foundations of trust that's going to be continued. But we all know what agents are like, they are just reluctant to come near us in case we remove them from the field despite trying to get it through to them that we're really here to keep them in the field as long as possible. Afterall, it costs a lot of money to train an agent so the Bureau doesn't want to waste them! Lets remember that Spencer Reid does have one foot in the psych camp and has shown himself to be very good at supporting his fellow agents… But Spencer has also used us to give him support in this past year so long may this behaviour continue," replied Max and observed the other two men nod their assent but each was momentarily lost in their own thoughts on the subject.
"Well gentlemen, lets discuss the latest round of psych assessments," said Max suddenly becoming the decisive Head of Mental Health Services and ready to get down to the rest of the business of that day.
Katie sat at her desk in College Park looking over the detailed reports. She missed Reid already because he had been quietly efficient and his supportive presence in the bullpen was equally keenly missed. She didn't know if he'd be coming back after Easter but his brief secondment had been more than worth the fight with other units who had wanted him. In fact, Katie felt that the Reids' would be missed because they were a couple who were genuinely liked and fitted in well with the social networks in their area.
Katie had seen Josh Kramer yesterday at a meeting concerning the possible organised crime racket into baby trafficking from Eastern European states; the Russian Mafia appeared to be manipulating the trade according to Kramer's Unit observations. But Josh had also mentioned that he missed not seeing Spencer on a Saturday afternoon and Shelley missed Jo just dropping by when working from home for a break. The Reids' had returned to Alexandria while Spencer was based in Washington and he was commuting by train, like Jo. Josh further added that they had still kept the Berwyn Heights house because Spencer thought that he would be back at the CACU when he returned from his vacation. Katie wasn't so sure even if both she and Josh hoped he would be because they'd appreciate his skills with the 'trafficking case'. However, Katie felt she had been very fortunate to have got her way once and didn't think her wishes would get the priority treatment again…even if the placement had more than justified the inter-departmental arguments….
The Director had spent the morning discussing government funding. The recent high profile success of the Bureau had reminded both senators and congress representatives of the importance of a well-funded FBI. His Special Task Team had done a wonderful job in a short space of time by co-ordinating data from the different field offices concerning the immediate effects of the cuts. They had produced a very lucid report that further predicted the possible medium and long-term consequences of the financial shortfall in funding. No one on the Finance Committee controlling public money was talking about further cutting their portion of the public purse and they were giving 'Homeland Security' a good run for the re-instatement of some of the funding that had been suddenly taken from them the previous year.
He felt very proud of the Bureau and the successes that it had achieved recently. The CACU had been a very useful weapon against those favouring spending cuts because the emotive issue of children always meant publicity. There had been very good publicity due to Dr. Reid's work in solving the crimes of the abducted twin cases over decades then that success was quickly followed by the breaking of the paedophile ring in the Capital area. The CACU's work had all been a godsend. The rescued victims were still being talked about and some of the high profile abusers were an embarrassment to government. Those that wielded power were feeling vulnerable because they didn't want to be seen by the public that voted them in to be short-changing the organisation that had found lost children, and solved the mystery of abducted twin babies, and rescued the sexually abused. The Director actually felt optimistic about getting the funding restored for the first time since the summer.
The Head of the Bureau let his mind wander over recent staffing issues. He was aware that Katie Cole wanted Reid back, especially until her deputy was over her maternity leave. Dr. Cole did have a valid argument but she had coped without an acting deputy with Danielle's first pregnancy so the Director knew the Unit would cope again. He also didn't want to send Hotchner back to Quantico yet because he wanted to give Strauss enough rope to hang herself. Meanwhile, Reid was far too useful and the Director wanted to keep him close to more important matters than just under Strauss's thumb. Perhaps he should let him help Kramer and his Organised Crime Unit because he would still have one foot in Katie's camp over the 'trafficked' children, however, 'Counter Terrorism' were impressed with him and wanted to deploy him within their field of interests. The Director sighed and decided that perhaps he would discuss things with Maskin when he got back from the National Security meeting at the Pentagon.
Victor Lewinsky sat at his desk finishing his report of his latest batch of interviews. He had been brought in from the Dallas Office to take charge of investigating the list of agents who had been on Bradley Tyler's cell phone. Lewinsky was a very experienced field agent with 23 years of Bureau service under his belt and considered this assignment a matter of honour for the FBI. He was proud to have been pulled in by the Director to investigate this angle of the fallout of the massive paedophile case. It was still a hot topic at the Bureau and Katie Coles's CACU was riding high on the success. However, he had personally to look at totally different crime. The majority of the agents owned up to breaking the Bureau's anti-drugs policy when they saw the detailed logs of calls that were suspiciously close to tests and lab checks had confirmed that Tyler often personally tested the samples from the names on his list. Some of the personnel had been caught out by the extra tests following Tyler's arrest. Tyler for his part had kept his silence on the matter but the agents who co-operated quickly all told a similar tale and the pattern was repeated as Lewinsky went down the list. Some agents claimed that they were genuine friends of Tyler and this necessitated further checking. It appeared that three so far could claim a genuine friendship status and had been seen in social settings together or were known to 'hang out' with the senior laboratory technician. There was still the grey area of suspicion concerning if they were drug users but the surprise tests had been negative in the cases of these three agents and Lewinsky was prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt.
He was just finishing his report on Agent Derek Morgan who had been adamant about being a friend of Tyler's and had told Lewinsky about the things they used to do in New York when they were both working at the Field Office there. The details had all checked out and even Tyler had confirmed the friendship, right down to the wedding invitation that he could no longer attend. Morgan himself was quite upset to find that Tyler had been a participant of the paedophile ring. The agent had forcibly said that he had not suspected that Tyler had paedophile tendencies when in New York and he certainly wouldn't have invited him to his wedding if he'd had any suspicion. The agent had made a point of mentioning how both he and his fiancée were very upset that one of his friends had been arrested in the sweep and still couldn't believe it. Angela had said that she felt physically sick that the man had been to their home and shared a meal with them. Lewinsky had made a point of interviewing the fiancée alone and thought that her reaction was genuine especially because she taught young children. He had liked the woman and hoped that the couple would be happy together.
Meanwhile, Erin Strauss was awaiting his report because six of the 'suspect' agents came under her overall supervision. Aaron Hotchner expressly wanted to hear his findings on Morgan and added that he needed to know so he could pass on the information to Dr. Spencer Reid, who had been keeping a discreet distance since discovering Tyler's activities. Hotchner had approached him personally to explain the situation and Lewinsky sympathised because any Unit Chief would feel the same way even if technically Hotchner was no longer with the BAU. However, things were quickly seen to be going in Morgan's favour because the surprise drug test was clear. Consequently, Derek Morgan had been amongst the three who had not been suspended without pay pending a disciplinary hearing like the others. So far some twenty agents were facing dismissal and with it loss of their pension benefits and good references.
Two weeks later….
Jo sat in the passenger seat of her Lexus while Spencer drove. They were going to call in on Derek Morgan and his fiancée to deliver the landscape she had painted for a wedding present. They could honestly say that they couldn't stay long because they were going to Sunday lunch with her family and she wondered if Spencer had deliberately chosen today to deliver the painting.
Jo had not met the couple before but she knew that some of Derek's actions in the past had annoyed her husband however, that was in the past now. So much had happened since the cuts for everyone and life had moved on. Jo felt content to be once more in Alexandria, it was her favourite place to be with its outlet for her art and nearer to family and old friends. She was determined to keep in touch with the Kramers and then there was Faye and visiting Danielle at the hospital, while she worried about baby Adele, had forged another friendship.
Spencer drove happily, at ease to listen to the Bach cello suite No.1 in the CD player, and was not in the mood for small talk. Jo was content to let her mind wander around her own thoughts. They would soon be going on their belated honeymoon, as the family liked to think of it, but for Jo it was an opportunity to introduce Spencer to her British friends and some of the places that she loved in Europe.
The past few weeks had found Spencer based in Washington but he never spoke about his work and she sensed that he was not able to discuss it. He had merely told her that he was just filling in until the new man arrived. However, Spencer did say that it was different to profiler work and relaxing because it was a change to the recent stressful experiences but he wasn't totally happy with the desk job. Jo was relieved that he had gained a little of the lost weight and he was sleeping better but the news was still dominated by further snippets concerning the victims of the paedophile ring.
Spencer swung the Lexus into the driveway and she found herself outside a modern town house and could hear a dog barking an enthusiastic greeting. The front door swung open before she had her seat belt unclipped and a handsome tall and muscular black American grinned with his obvious pleasure at seeing them.
"Hi great to see you Reid and this is Jo!" he beamed giving her his full attention.
He was opening the car door and she noted his skin was not as dark as she had imagined it would be. Jo also saw that he had an easy charm about him that signalled 'macho and flirt' to her.
"It's been a long time Reid and a pleasure that you would call by on your way to a family lunch," Morgan said and Jo thought it all sounded very genuine and wondered about the past antagonisms between the two men.
"We've the present in the back…We had to put the seat down to get it in," Spencer said amused by the look of surprise on his former colleague's face as the younger man went round to the rear of the car to open up.
"I could do with some help," Spencer pointedly said and Jo couldn't help but giggle.
"It took us longer than expected to manoeuvre it in," she added with her dark eyes twinkling with mischief. Morgan instantly responded to her warmth and sense of fun that the unusual very dark eyes implied.
"You mean the genius made all these calculations as to the correct angle to approach the opening and the correct way to hold the present for maximum and efficient purchase," he expanded solemnly.
"Yeah…the usual!" she replied and the two of them laughed while Spencer pretended to grumble about people who chose large gifts without the thought of how to transport them.
The two men carried the large wrapped article carefully inside…
"I guess it's a painting," said Morgan as they carried it into the large kitchen come dining room. Cluny made friends with Jo while the men placed the wrapped parcel on the floor but leaned it against the dining table.
"Hello…I'm Angela," a voice said from behind them and Jo turned to look at a striking beauty. Angela was taller than Jo who had instantly noted that the very open face betrayed all her emotions. At that moment she was radiating her warmth and pleasure at seeing them.
"Jo" the smaller woman answered and reached out to shake the proffered hand. She noted the beautifully manicured nails and the natural elegance that this woman had in the way she held herself and her softly curved figure that showed off the simple lilac linen dress.
"I hope you like your wedding gift because I chose it and Spencer agreed when he finally came home!"
Angela grinned, "The lives of agents…its amazing just what we end up doing for them isn't it… and even more amazing that they coped with life until we came along!" replied Angela, "Is it a painting?"
Jo nodded, "Now you two have got to open it together," she instructed from the sidelines and Spencer stepped back to join her.
"It's heavy," protested Morgan as he took the weight against his legs as he leaned in to start removing the protective outer layers beginning with the gold wrapping paper.
"Some of that weight is the solid oak frame…You're going to have a lot of bubble wrap for future use," muttered Spencer.
"Oh that's no problem it will always keep and can be used to protect future presents mailed to Chicago," Morgan replied as he and Angela tackled the outsized parcel.
The landscape was finally unwrapped and the couple stood back and stared at it in awe. It was a large painting and full of depth and colour.
"It's a JEM!" whispered Angela in shock at the generosity of the gift. "I've heard that JEM only uses a dealer at the Torpedo Art Factory as an outlet and JEM's can command quite a price tag. This must have been…" and then closed her mouth as she realised that this was indeed a gift that would only grow in value because the artist's reputation had already spread beyond Virginia and Washington DC.
"I couldn't resist it and thought of you two. Spencer said that Derek had this spacious town house and I thought that if you didn't like it that you could always find a spare room to put it. You could always sell it later and make a profit or buy something you really wanted," explained Jo but she was pleased that they seemed to genuinely like it.
"Sell it! I wouldn't dream of it…Its beautiful, it reminds me of the Blackwater Falls in the Monongahela Forest," said Derek who was captivated by the scene. "You can almost hear the water," he continued in awe and reached out unconsciously to hold Angela's hand as they continued to be drawn into the scene.
"I just don't know how to thank you both…It's a unique and wonderful present…" he said groping for words and Spencer beamed at the pair knowing that it was a rare occurrence to reduce Derek Morgan to silence.
"Well Jo and I had discussed getting something that would be unusual and …well Jo came up with this and I have to admit I like JEM's work and I bought a couple for my apartment before I met Jo," he smoothly began to fill in for the embarrassed couple. " I have a painting of St Marks in Venice in the bedroom and an abstract canvas called 'Northern Lights' in the living room. I couldn't resist either of them when I saw them but JEM's work goes very quickly so you just have to buy things when you see them."
"Yes, and I had a couple of JEMs that I put in the Berwyn Heights' house. They have grown in value since I put them up so enjoy it…"added Jo.
"It would look perfect in the lounge area on the next floor," Angela suddenly said finding her voice once more.
"Yeah you're right…on the long wall beneath the console table. Reid and I will go and put it up and you two ladies can get to know each other…" answered Morgan who suddenly bounced into action and within a few minutes had found a drill and a couple of heavy duty picture hooks. "We'll take up the picture first," Morgan ordered the younger man who merely nodded and smiled. This was the usual all action Morgan who needed to see a result quickly.
"I'll get the coffee started," stated Angela and Jo followed her over to the furthermost kitchen counter.
Twenty minutes later the ladies were talking like friends and were called up to admire the men's work. Jo stood beside Spencer and slipped her hand into his as they watched Angela's serene beauty light up the room as she admired where Derek had hung their present.
"You know we have a little gift for you too," Derek said and Spencer was aware of a humble quality to his voice that he'd not heard before.
"When we heard of your marriage we wanted to get you a little something from us and hoped that one day you'd come so we could give it to you." Angela smoothly continued.
"How very thoughtful," Jo softly replied.
Angela slipped out of the room and quickly returned with a small box wrapped in gold and silver paper with a bright royal blue ribbon that she gave shyly to Jo. She turned to Spencer and placed the box in his hand while she tugged at the ribbon and then carefully opened the revealed royal blue velveteen box. Jo and Spencer grinned together in delight.
Jo reached into the box and brought out a silver coloured napkin ring and examined it carefully, there was an engraved decoration that looked like a humming bird. Spencer lifted out another and turned it to reveal a different bird, this time a falcon.
"How unusual," Spencer said softly and felt that this was a much-considered gift, "We don't have a set of napkin rings for special occasions and these are very fine."
"Of yes, the engraving is exquisite…Quite beautiful and each one a different bird," added Jo turning another ring over in her palm to examine it and the woodpecker image.
"It was very kind of you both to think of us especially as we had an extremely quiet ceremony on purpose because we are unfussy people and didn't want anything elaborate."
"Yeah... Reid you were always the dark horse on the team and very secretive about your private life," remarked Derek and Spencer felt that it was said in an apologetic tone.
"No, I wasn't the only one…Hotch and Gideon were the same, their off duty lives were separate to the work and the team. Mine still is to keep sane!" he admitted and Morgan gave a sad smile at the truth of the statement.
Derek Morgan then suddenly added, "You said that you were hoping to see Gideon while you're in England?"
"Yes, we fly out on Tuesday and we'll be visiting some of Jo's friends. Gideon's living and working in Cambridge and I have permission to give a few lectures while I'm there…One about my book and others about criminal profiling at the Bureau and some of the cases. Gideon says that the paedophile case has been all over the British news so students, police and staff are eager to hear about that case …even in vague terms. They also know about the twins case so they have booked a large lecture room because they expect a good audience."
"Wow…quite the celebrity!" Morgan said at the news.
"Yes, unfortunately it goes with the high profile of the job I was doing at the CACU but I was just glad to get home at the end of the day. Give me BAU case loads any day…A continual diet of child cases was getting unpalatable…" Reid replied with feeling. Morgan looked at him closely and saw the genius in a different light. He now looked older and more of a man who had the cares of the world carefully balanced on his shoulders.
Morgan admitted to himself that this was a Reid that was more than his equal as an agent and was in fact someone who had been placed in a higher position than the one Morgan presently held and had coped. Derek surprised himself in feeling no actual jealousy now he was in the same room as Reid. He could see for himself the transformation of the younger man since his secondment. There were no nervous mannerisms that had characterised Reid in the BAU…or at least the pre-Hankel Reid Morgan's conscience corrected. Reid had excelled away from Quantico and Morgan realised than the Bureau would not be able to put Reid back into the BAU as a lowly agent. It burned through Morgan's consciousness that the genius was being primed for the Senior Psych position in the team…the very position that Gideon had once held. But how did he really feel about that, did he want to be ordered around by Reid? When Reid had been called to be re-assigned, there had been those few minutes when the BAU bullpen raised the possibility of the genius being made a senior psych and Morgan had rejected the idea. However, it had been Prentiss who had told him firmly that promotion was about ability and not about just the length of service.
These troubled thoughts bubbled around in his head but then he felt guilty that the thoughts were even there when he saw how well Reid and Jo were interacting with Angela. He heard Angela tell them about the baby and witnessed their warm congratulations but deep in Morgan's heart he felt a disappointment about his own career.
Spencer noted the subtle change in Morgan's mood and wondered what he had done wrong or was he unsure about the expected baby? Angela was obviously delighted with the news and suddenly the two women were talking about children and Jo brought Melinda's pregnancy into the conversation and Spencer switched off to concentrate on Derek Morgan.
"You're a very fortunate man," Spencer stated to the older agent who looked surprised at being addressed.
"Sorry…I was miles away," Derek replied playing for time to recover from his thoughts.
"Your baby…Melinda, that's my sister in law, is expecting her third in the summer and I wondered if Jo might suddenly get broody," Spencer softly confided.
"Yeah…Well we hadn't planned it but we didn't take any extra precautions when Angie was taking a course of antibiotics. The doctor had warned us but we decided that if it happened it wouldn't be the end of the world for us…and it isn't," he hastily ended wondering if Reid's work at the CACU had made him hyper vigilant where children were concerned.
Spencer smiled sensing that Morgan was unsettled about something but he didn't think it was the baby. Reid thought that perhaps he was embarrassed by the painting because it was such a large gift and somewhat ostentatious.
"It was very thoughtful of you and Angela to buy us a gift and we will use those napkin rings when we have dinner guests, they are very unusual." Spencer quietly re-assured and felt more comfortable when he saw Morgan's eyes glow with delight.
"I knew we had to find something unusual and there they were at a metal craft fair, they're only pewter but I thought the craftmanship of those rings was good."
"Morgan…they are beautifully made and Jo knows about these things. She's always on the look out for the unusual, not only in her line of work, but for our home aswell," the younger man replied earnestly and hoped that Morgan believed him because he knew that Jo was sincere in her appreciation of the gift. "They are a treasured gift as far as we're concerned and even more so when we had not expected anything."
"Hey…We didn't expect a JEM…I can't even imagine the…"
"Then don't," Spencer cut in, "Jo felt it was perfect and I agreed. Afterall, you can always sell it to pay for the little Morgan's college fees!" he suggested with a mischievous grin. It reminded Morgan of the young man he had met when he had first transferred into the BAU. It had been a time when Hotchner had himself recently been appointed as the Unit Chief and Gideon had been initially on sick leave, and then grounded to teaching, after the Boston bombings. Reid had a 'genius' reputation even then but they had lost the old 'away team' at Boston and Reid had not been on that case due to illness. Morgan had noticed how Reid still seemed to defer to Gideon when the older agent returned to work and Gideon treated him differently to everyone else in the Unit.
"How's the BAU these days?" Reid suddenly changed the subject to get away from babies and wedding gifts.
"Strauss is really in charge but Barry is the buffer. That woman sweeps in as if she owns the place and straight to Barry's tiny office. He's never moved out of it and Hotch's office remains empty, just like Gideon's…It's strange really because it's as if their ghosts are with us despite the new regime and the lack of an away team."
Reid nodded with understanding. He suspected that he himself was merely a pawn within an elaborate game of chess being played by the upper echelons with their own power struggles. He had been quite prepared to fight his corner with the Director and would have resigned if he'd not got the assurance that working as a senior cryptographer for National Security issues was very temporary. He reminded the Director that he had turned down the CIA at 17 because he didn't want to work in cryptography, despite his first doctorate in mathematics, and hastily departed to work on his second doctorate in physics at Harvard. Spencer felt that the 'Big Boss' had got the message even if the man had been stressing the rising concerns from those dealing with national security about cyber warfare from China. Cyber warfare was an important issue but Dr. Spencer Reid was very aware of his own worth and interests and knew that he could get a job anywhere in the world with any of his doctorates and experience within the Bureau. However, he mused, he could always completely change direction and choose a totally different career path that involved none of these past areas of expertise.
Spencer realised that Morgan was talking once more and shut down his own rambling thoughts.
"Garcia keeps herself busy and has been working with the 'white collar' crime people because they have been inundated with extra work. At first they just brought stuff down to her office then she actually moved up to their floor so she could be closer to the action. Couldn't blame her really because she wasn't being kept busy in the same way as she had been with an 'away team'. We've had several replacements in her room over the months just doing stints at the BAU to taste the kind of work before being moved on to another unit.
Prentiss is still happily beavering away but then I think it suits her to be at Quantico because of her private life. She's still seeing that widower, called George, and they hope to come to the wedding. J.J. got seconded to the West Coast and Prentiss says she's enjoying the work there and getting quite a suntan aswell. J.J. says she can't get away to come to the wedding but she's sent a present that Garcia is bringing on the day.
Barry is the usual taskmaster but, give him his due, he does keep the place running smoothly and keeps Strauss out of our hair, which is appreciated by everyone. Anderson doesn't change…although he's moved his desk to the other side of the room but Prentiss and I haven't taken offence."
Spencer nodded but he decided that he was not going to say anything about the friendship that he and Jo had with the Andersons nor the closeness that had developed between Penelope and Jo.
"More coffee, Spencer?" Angela asked.
"No thanks, I've had two mugs already…and I guess we'll have to get going soon," he replied eyeing the wall clock.
"Sorry Angela, we really do have to go…I know my Mom has a late Sunday lunch but we're going to have to get moving now…" Jo added picking up her forest green wool jacket.
Within minutes they were back on the highway heading towards the Petersen family home.
Jo was conscious of Spencer's withdrawn mood and hoped he was happy about the visit because she liked Angela and Derek had not been how she had imagined, infact, she had quite liked him too. He had certainly made them both welcome and the couple seemed to genuinely like the present.
"They liked the painting," she finally said into the silence.
"Yes, she's too good for him. I hope Morgan appreciates what he has in Angela," Spencer softly replied and Jo wondered what was causing him to have concerns. However, Jo sensed that her husband was in one of his quiet brooding moods and whatever doubts he might have he was keeping them to himself.
In two hours they would be touching down at Heathrow. Jo was dozing beside him but Spencer's mind could not switch off from all his thoughts. He was both excited and apprehensive; he was going to meet a couple of his father's old colleagues and also Gideon again. It was important to Spencer to discover how his father had fared when he had left the family home, especially as he had discovered through his journal and later contact with these old colleagues, that his father had not completely abandoned him. Dr. William Reid had regularly sent letters and parcels that had been destroyed by his mother before he could see them. Today, Spencer was wearing his father's purple silk scarf and would do so again when he met the old colleagues; it was an honour to wear the scarf and this trip was for Spencer a sort of pilgrimage to his father's memory. William Reid had been brought to breaking point by the situation with his mentally sick wife but he should not have left his son with her. However, hindsight is wonderful but the level of stress that had coloured the father's thinking was now much more understood by the psychologist son who was himself contemplating having a child.
It was something that had always been in the background since deciding to marry but last night the pair of them had sat and talked rationally about the big step. Jo was honest enough to say that recently she had begun to feel that she was surrounded by pregnant women. She further remarked that even the wives of agents she'd met were mostly mothers. They had all told her the same thing: although violent death on duty was rare, considering the number of agents, but when it was your husband who was on call all hours their own career was just not enough to fill in those empty hours alone. All the wives had confessed that eventually they wanted their husband's child just in case they didn't come back one day. They also said that they wanted to have a child before the years passed so quickly that they got too set in their ways to even want to make the big changes involved to end a childless life style that they might have got use to.
Spencer knew that Jo had a strong maternal streak and he had admitted to himself that this had been part of his attraction to her because she was very different to his own mother. Granted Diana Reid was ill but she had always felt torn between motherhood and the personal satisfaction she had got from her own career. Jo knew that it would be easier for her to keep up a career within Fairfax Estates because it was a family business. Marilyn and Jeff had already suggested that they were prepared to pay for a nanny to help keep Jo within their business when she eventually wanted to start a family. It was a very generous offer and Jo said that it would be a great help considering her injured hand that had made changing diapers and dressing Lydia and Ben a bit difficult at times.
For Spencer's part, he agreed that the prospect of fatherhood was daunting but he did enjoy being with Craig's children and those of other friends. But he was concerned about the very hours he worked and that this might put additional stress on the marriage if they had a child aswell. However, Jo had repeated the Bevan's offer to pay for a 'live in' nanny as part of her salary package. Spencer had to agree that such an arrangement could work and perhaps Jo wouldn't feel so isolated with a baby and the Bevans were like having an extra set of parents to lean on as far as Jo was concerned.
Jo had finally burst into laughter at the seriousness and the way that Spencer was over analysing the whole situation. He had looked at her giggling, as she sprawled out on the bed, and finally could see her point. However, Spencer had not experienced a normal childhood and was anxious to be a good father because he had been very distressed when his own had left and his work only seemed to emphasise the negatives of life. He had pointed this all out to Jo and stressed that being a criminal profiler brought him into contact with some of the worst of humanity and work at the CACU had certainly brought home to him just how precious childhood was.
Jo had then suddenly stopped laughing and apologised for seeming frivolous but what it really came down to was did they both want to stop contraception. The trip to England was an opportunity that they might not have again for another year because it was totally away from the pressures of both of their careers. If she wanted to conceive then this was the ideal time to try but it had to be a decision that they were both happy with.
Spencer could see the scene replay in his mind; it was typical of Jo to reach straight to the essence of the dilemma. Dr. Spencer Reid relived the feeling of standing on the precipice of the potentially life changing decision….
He sat on the end of the bed staring at the JEM painting in the soft table lamp glow and marvelled at the fact that he had married a very talented woman who was prepared to put part of her creativity on hold in order to have their child. But she also seemed to be aided and abetted by her aunt and uncle. Spencer was reminded by his own conscience that Jo had also faced her own death and considered her present life an unexpected joyful existence. Spencer felt ashamed of his own doubting.
"Spencer," Jo reached out to him and came to sit beside him, "What's wrong?"
"Are you really prepared to give up some of your creative time. I know Marilyn and Jeff have been very generous with their offer and it would enable you to keep the interior design part going but perhaps not your artistic output…When would you have time to paint something like this aswell as enjoy being a mother?"
"Every woman has to make adjustments when they consider children but perhaps I need that emotional growth as a mother to also grow as an artist…like going to another level of emotional creativity. Is it because your Mom at times resented your demands on her time?" asked Jo wanting to get to the bottom of his uncertainty.
"Yeah…I guess that is the basis of my doubting…I love you Jo and I'm sure that you'll be a wonderful mother because you come from such a stable family and…"
"You doubt yourself because you don't have that background…" she finished for him. She sighed and then ploughed on with her own firm beliefs.
"Look, I wouldn't have married you if I didn't think that you would make a good father…You will put all of that psychology you have into practice and you can play and entertain you own child as a form of relaxation from the job when you're at home. Spencer you're good with children because of your experiences and, like you say, you married me because I was the opposite of your mother so deep down you must have wanted to have a child one day."
Spencer smiled and turned to her. Jo's eyes were black in that soft light and he wondered why he was putting up such a fight when she spoke with such conviction and common sense. The decision was made at that moment, of course it might take months or years to get Jo pregnant but it would probably be an enjoyable journey along the way.
He glanced at his wife and smiled, his eyes coming to rest on the deformed left hand. The Bevans were being very generous in their offer, they obviously didn't want to lose her talents but they also knew that Jo would struggle with all those little things that other mothers took in their stride. He had watched how she sometimes fumbled with fastenings on clothes and how she had overcome certain problems by adapting her approach. He thought suddenly of how she put on a bra; other women he'd known automatically fastened it at the back but Jo used front fastening bras. It was a little thing but it was all part of Jo's normality and made life a lot easier for her when she didn't have much movement in her left hand.
Spencer stretched out his legs and rotated his feet to help the blood flow. It was a long flight but soon they would be landing and for him the excitement was bubbling up together with a wonderful sense of freedom to be totally away from work and out of the country. Gideon was scheduled into a full itinerary for the final four days but the first three days were to be spent with Jo's friends in rural Essex. Then Spencer had a trip to meet some of his father's old colleagues over the first weekend to be spent in York and after they were going to travel down to Bath and finally to London. Jo had even fitted in a trip to Paris on Eurostar before he travelled to Cambridge to see Gideon. Jo had arranged a couple of days at an 'interior design' exhibition in the city before she would be joining him but the hotel was already booked and it seemed that every day was spoken for. Spencer wondered if there was going to be enough time to fit in all these visits but the total change of pace and events planned were the pleasure of the whole trip. Above all, it was away from the normal routine of the past six months.
End of Chapter 25.