Author's Note:
Enjoy!
Chapter Thirteen:
Okinawa
J.J.
Gathered in a conference room, there was a lot of noise. A lot of arguing. Prentiss was raising her voice. Everyone wanted to know how this happened. How Reid could have abandoned them. Why?
Lewis took a seat beside her.
"Are you okay?"
"Why would you ask that, when you know I'm not!" J.J. snapped. "Spencer left me. He left us!"
"He left a note for the team, and you."
Lewis gave it to her.
Dear J.J.
Will wants you to leave him so you can be with me. I don't want that. I don't want to break up your family. I know what we're going home to. Raise the child as though he or she, were the kid you and Will lost. You deserve to be happy. Give the child a good life.
Jennifer, I'll always love you. But love isn't enough, you need a family, and you have one. I know you're mad and I'm sorry. I'm doing what is right for all of us. Please try to understand. I'm sorry for the pain I'm putting you through right now, but in the long run, I think you'll be happier.
Tell the boys I love them.
Best,
Spencer
J.J. picked up the letter and ripped it to shreds. The room went silent. Getting, up she stormed out.
"Jennifer!" Prentiss called out.
"What!?"
"Listen, I'm mad too. This isn't like Reid to abandon us."
"Is it really that bad at home? A media circus isn't the end of the world. We would have figured something out!"
"Jennifer, come with me."
J.J. didn't move.
"Please, this is important."
Sighing, she took a step forward.
Prentiss led her down the hall to a room on the right. It was computer room. Prentiss took a seat, and pulled up Google, as J.J. sat down.
She entered Spencer Reid, and auto-fill added "a drug", "a convict", "fit to be an agent."
"Oh, my god," J.J. said. "But how did he see this stuff?"
"He lost the psychologist in the library and found an open computer. Jennifer, someone broke into his apartment. They found a vial."
She sat back.
"Why isn't the FBI doing more to cover everything up?"
"They don't want people focusing on why no one found us sooner."
"Why didn't he try to talk to me? I would have talked him out of it! We spent a hundred twenty-seven days on an island with only a first aid kit and the clothes on our backs. We would have weathered this!"
"Honestly, I think he was exhausted. He knew this was coming and just wanted a way out."
"How are we going to find him Emily?"
"I don't know yet. I'm reaching out to my contacts abroad, and Matt is doing the same."
"Are you going to say confidently, we're going to find him?"
"No."
Day Five:
It was raining when they woke. The shelter barely covered them from the elements.
"I was hoping to add to this shelter," Simmons said.
"I'm on latrine duty," J.J. groaned. "Anyone want to trade?"
"No trading," Prentiss said.
"I don't know how much longer I can sleep like this," Rossi said. "Every inch of me aches. Is there Advil in that first aid kit?"
"I'm not giving it out except for extreme pain," Reid said.
"You're saying my pain isn't bad enough? Then I'll show you pain."
"Then I'll add to yours," Prentiss said. "I'm with Reid. We only use the medication as a last resort."
"Fine," he said with a huff.
They sat and watched the rain.
"What are we supposed to do?" Alvez asked.
"We conserve energy," she said. "We can't do anything in the rain. We'll see how long it lasts."
"Then how about a game?" Lewis said. "Two truths and a lie? I once danced naked on college dorm rooftop. I cheated on a calculus test. I wrote my name on a desk in permanent marker in Quantico."
"That's obvious," Alvez said. "You cheated, is the lie."
"I hate you," Lewis said.
"Yay, score one for Luke!"
"I'll go," Rossi said. "I made out with the homecoming queen. I beat Hotch at strip poker. I have tried lipstick on."
"Homecoming," Lewis said. "I beat Hotch once, and you strike me as someone who would look good in sinful red."
"I'm not including you in my next book!" Rossi said.
Reid stood up.
"I'm going to use the latrine."
When he was out of sight, Lewis asked: "Is he okay?"
"He doesn't like truth or dare style games after what we went through with an unsub the day before Rossi's wedding," J.J. said.
"I'm sorry. I forgot."
"What did you say to stall the unsub?" Simmons asked.
"Some ridiculous stuff," she said.
"Who'd like to hear how I beat Hotch at poker?" Rossi asked.
"That sounds like fun," J.J.
…
To say that cleaning a latrine in the rain was disgusting, would be an understatement. The smell, the textures. J.J. thought she had a strong gag reflex, up until this point.
"Here, let me help you."
It was Reid.
J.J. laughed. "Spence, you're the last person I'd expect to help me."
"You can help me when it is my turn."
"Thanks."
"Two truths and a lie," Reid said. "Max broke up with me because she sensed I had feelings for someone else. Max broke up with me because I cared too much about work. Max broke up with me because I said your name when we had sex."
"You're cheating. They're all true."
"I don't know how to get over you," Reid said. "I love you and I know you deserve to be with Will. I just don't know how I can be happy without you."
"You'll find a way," J.J. said. "The right person is waiting for you."
Reid continued to clean out the latrine.
"Reid, I'm sorry."
"I know you are. We can't help how we feel."
"It's going to be okay. We're going to make this work."
"I'm going to wash off. Don't tell the others."
He disappeared into the jungle, leaving J.J. with more questions.