Chapter Twenty: New Rules
Hello! This is the last chapter. Thank you to all those that have read it. I have added more to my first chapter. I want my word count on AO3 to be exactly 80,000. Thank you for all those that have stuck with me all these months! Enjoy. Oh, and I am planning a sequel. Let you know about that later!
Much against her behest, Persephone spent a week in the hospital. In her less than humble opinion, she did not need to be there that long. By the time her doctor signed off on her discharge, Persephone had been contemplating her escape and leaving against medical advice. Finally, when they informed her that she had the clean bill of health, she was ready to leave. Reid came to drive her home and was currently wheeling her down the corridor. This was another decision Persephone disagreed with. She was perfectly capable of walking. Her doctor, however, had insisted and cited hospital procedure as his reason.
All in all, Persephone considered that she had gotten off pretty lightly. She was free to return to work and providing she kept her appointments she had also been cleared for fieldwork. Hotch had been pretty adamant that she agreed to the stipulation and Persephone had a shrewd suspicion that he would be checking. Not wanting her boss to hear that she had been anything but compliant (she wasn't scared of him anymore but still had to common sense not to irritate him) Persephone had given in to the doctor's orders without much protest.
"I'll bet you'll be glad to be home," Spencer mentioned as they turned the corner that led to reception.
"You bet! If I ever have to go to the hospital again it'll be too soon!" Persephone agreed.
Reid nodded to himself. If she ever had to go to the hospital again for that kind of thing it would be too soon for him too. He could go all his life without ever seeing Persephone like that again and he would be perfectly happy.
"Well, that is something I can get behind. Anyway, let's get you home. I've got some popcorn so I can make it the way you like it and then we could watch a film or something."
As they reached the doors, Persephone persuaded Reid to allow him to walk. After it was vacated Reid took it back to the nurses' station with a grateful smile. Once he returned he followed Persephone out the door just in case she collapsed.
"Some popcorn and a movie? That sounds like fun. Though, I must warn you I may fall asleep during it."
They would be back at work on Tuesday but as Hotch had given them the Monday off, they would have tomorrow to themselves. The thing was Persephone was already feeling a little tired and she wasn't sure if she would be able to stay awake the whole evening.
"If that happens. I'll carry you to the bedroom."
"Is that a promise?"
Reid chuckled as he opened the car door and allowed Persephone to climb in by herself. When he got out of hospital he ached for the independence he lost during his stay. He expected that Persephone would be the same.
"Are you comfortable? I have a blanket if you need it." Reid asked reaching over the where he had placed the blanket. He glanced at Persephone and saw that she was smiling warmly at him. He loved that smile.
"Thank you Spen, but I'm good. Now, home James and don't spare the horses!" Persephone joked.
Reid, predictably, did not understand the reference. Humour and confusion laced his tone as he spoke.
"What?"
"It's a British idiom based on the 1934 song by the same name. I'm not sure if he composed it or not but it was once performed by Ambrose and The Orchestra." Persephone explained.
Interested, Reid wanted to hear more. Then, just as he was about to ask for more information, he caught onto the name of the performer. He let out of an amused snort as he edged the car out of the parking lot and drove down the road.
"Ambrose?" Reid questioned. "Any relation?"
"Do you know, I never checked. Maybe." Persephone responded though she doubted very much that there was any connection at least not one that could be described as recent.
"We can look it up if you want," Reid suggested, lightly. He thought it would be interesting to research but was equally aware that she may disagree.
"I think that's tomorrow sorted. Bloody hell! What does that pillock think he's trying to do?!"
Said pillock, was the driver of a silver Ford. As Reid turned at the traffic lights, the Ford pulled out far too sharpy. It nearly caused a three-car pile-up as another car, a blue Chevy, was turning onto the same road and nearly slammed into the side of Reid's car.
"God! That was close. Are you all right Percy?" Reid demanded once he had recovered and started driving forward again.
"I'm fine, Spen, though I could go without another fright like that. I've only just, got out of the hospital."
Satisfied that they were both unharmed, Reid let out a relieved breath. He too could do without the shock of a close call. He was half expecting that someone would come storming out one of the cars to highjack their car. These things tended just tended to happen to them. They were trouble magnets.
"I agree. Honestly, I wonder how these idiots manage to pass their driving tests with things like this."
Just as Persephone suspected, there had been no connection between her and Ambrose and the Orchestra. It wasn't like Ambrose was a unique surname though it was a little rarer than most. It was fun though to do something with Reid. At first, she had been a little hesitant to research her ancestry with Reid but as he already knew about her father and siblings, there wasn't any reason to refuse.
"I must tell you, Percy, that Penelope has planned a surprise party tomorrow. Try and act like you weren't expecting it though and for my sake please don't tell her I told you." Reid warmed her as they tidied up the kitchen together on Monday night.
"If it's meant to be a surprise then why did you tell me?"
"Well, I feel I couldn't leave you to be ambushed. Allowing that would be a betrayal against my loyalty as your boyfriend."
Persephone smiled. She liked hearing that word. It filled her with great joy. Then she frowned as she considered something.
"Look, Spen, would you mind if we just keep it to ourselves for a bit? It's not that I'm ashamed or anything but I just want it to be between us." Persephone pleaded.
"Of course, whatever you want. You know, the team will be nothing but pleased for us, but we don't have to tell them until you are ready for that. OK?" Reid replied, rubbing her arms comfortingly.
"Thanks, Spen." Persephone smiled ever more thankful that she had fallen in love with a man so good and Spencer was. He never pressured her into something she didn't want and was so understanding. She didn't feel worthy of him, but she knew that Spen would disagree if she voiced that opinion.
That night, Persephone and Reid climbed into bed. It was a bit strange sharing a bed with someone after all this time. She hadn't done that since she aged out of the system. She trusted Reid though so after a short period of uncertainty, she settled down. Tomorrow would be a big day and she needed to get some rest. Sleep came to her fairly easily and Reid followed suit shortly after.
Persephone looked around her room with a smile. After 6 years of living in foster care, she had finally put all of that behind her. Now, she was studying at one of the country's most prestigious universities. With everything that happened with Cassiopeia and Ignatius, she decided that she wanted to work in law enforcement. So, she applied for a BA in Forensic Psychology. The degree involved an internship at New Scotland Yard. She had always been good at noticing things. It was a necessary skill born out of a need to survive. During the interview, she had impressed the interviewer by sharing her observations. Some alluded that her history as a foster kid was the reason she had been accepted. They believe
Unlike in American universities, it is the standard practice to have a bedroom and bathroom to yourself. Persephone was very glad of that. She was a very private person and preferred to have space to herself. She had scares and she didn't want to risk anyone coming in and seeing them. A knock on the door brought her out of her musings and Persephone went to answer it.
It was a girl about Persephone's age. She had light brown hair and hazel coloured eyes.
"Hello! I'm Kacey."
"I'm Persephone. It's nice to meet you." Persephone replied. Her tone wasn't exactly warm, and she would rather be alone rather than engaging someone in conversation, but she didn't want to be rude. The importance of manners had been impressed in her from an early age and she wasn't about to break protocol.
"So, what are you studying?" She questioned seemingly unaffected by the underlying coldness to her manner.
"Forensic Psychology." Persephone gave, not seeing the harm in answering the question. She pulled her door a little closer to her body and hoped that Kacey would be able to interpret the hint.
She didn't.
"That sounds interesting. Hey, I know! Why don't you try and guess my degree?" She suggested with a smile on her face.
Urgh. Hoping that if she guessed correctly it would mean the end of the conversation, she observed Kacey with a scrutinising eye. She squired a little under it. Persephone gathered the observations. Kacey's left hand had smudged blue ink on it. It was hard to read but she could tell it had some kind of equation on it. On the inside of her wrist was a tattoo of a chemical compound. Finally, the necklace she was wearing give her the answer.
"You are studying Organic Chemistry," Persephone stated.
Kacey's face formed a look of surprise before the edges of her mouth turned up to the corners of her mouth. She hadn't been expecting that.
"Wow! You're correct! How did you know that?"
Persephone groaned inwardly. She should have known that if they would have to discuss how she reached that conclusion. So as quickly as she could she told Kacey how she managed to work out the answer and the observations that she made.
"Was there something you wanted?" Persephone questioned her patience beginning to wear thin.
"Huh?" Kacey grunted, ineloquently. Persephone sighed in response.
"You knocked on my door," Persephone reminded her "I assumed that meant you wanted something."
Kacey shrugged her shoulders. Persephone tried to calm herself down. It wasn't like Kacey was trying to get on her nerves, but she was extremely irritating. Sometimes Persephone forgot that not everyone could make the leaps she could. Some people were really oblivious, and it seemed Kacey was one of those people.
"Oh, I just wanted to chat. There aren't many people here yet and I saw you unlock your door."
"Hmm." Persephone hummed. "Well, if that's everything, then I really must get back to it. I have a lot of things to do."
Kacey finally realised that Persephone was not in the chatting mood. That wasn't particularly impressive though because Persephone literally told her. She was almost amused as she saw the realisation dawn of her.
"Right. OK. I'll see you later then?" Kacey inquired.
"Sure," Persephone answered without committing to anything. She waited until Kacey walked away before closing the door. She was pretty proud of herself for holding out that long. There had been several times during the conversation where she had been tempted to close the door on Kacey. She had managed to restrain herself though.
Persephone sat at her desk and took out her textbook. She wanted to get ahead of the game before the first lectures started on Monday. She also got a notebook out and began making notes in it. The quietness in the room made her grateful again, that she had a room to herself. How anyone could study when someone else could walk in anytime and start a racket was beyond her.
The alarm woke her up and she leant over to the phone and hit the 'off' button. She was briefly surprised when she noticed another body next to her but then she remembered that she and Reid were dating now. Spencer was already awake and was starting up at the ceiling. He smiled at Persephone when he became aware that she had woken up.
"Come on, let's get ready for another hard day's work," Persephone said after giving Spencer a good morning kiss.
If anyone found it unusual that the two of them arrived at the same time, no one commented on it. However, that may have been because they had arrived before the majority of the team got there. Hotch was in his office but he didn't give it as much as a raised eyebrow. He did come down from his office when he saw that she had arrived but that was only to welcome them back.
Persephone wondered when the party would begin. Spencer had already informed her about it but any further questioning about it had been hopeless. Either he didn't know or was keeping that information from him due to self-preservation. Well, if she didn't work it out then there would be no need to act surprised because she would be – at least partly. As it turned out, she didn't have to worry about that.
"Hey, Ambrose!" Morgan called to her and he leant back in his chair.
"Morgan. What can I do for you?" Persephone drawled. There was a slightly teasing tone in her voice as she spoke.
"Coffee." He replied.
"Tea." Persephone retorted. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought were naming random drinks."
Morgan snorted to himself. He liked this Persephone compared to the nervous Persephone she had once been. He enjoyed their little arguments and antics.
"As the latest person to go into hospital and make it out alive, you get to go and collect the coffee. Here is the list."
Persephone frowned at the oh so subtle suggestion. Perhaps if she hadn't been prewarned about the party she would have accepted it with any suspicion, but she had been warned. She knew exactly what he was trying to do. However, knowing that her absence would be required to put Garcia's plan in motion she pretends to be fooled by the request. No good would come to delay the inevitable. Anyway, it would make Garcia happy- that was what mattered. If she agreed to the coffee run too easily, it would be suspicious, so she grumbled to herself as she tucked the list into her pocket and walked to the lift.
Persephone decided to take her sweet time about getting the coffee. Apart from anything else, it would allow Garcia time to do whatever setting up she required. It was also a nice break from the paperwork and the looks several members of different units had been sending her. It seemed that news about her kidnapping had broken. Thankfully, knowledge as to who the perpetrator was and the reason behind his crime had been restricted to the team. It had been bad enough that the rest of the team found out about her family, she didn't want anyone else to.
Her first reaction, when she had found out that Reid had divulged her secret, was anger. Then when she had time to think about it her logic stepped in. She realised that Spen had to be placed in an unimaginable position. She wasn't sure that if the roles had been reversed, she wouldn't have done the same thing. Sometimes, you had to do whatever you had to keep your family safe. If that meant breaking a promise or telling a secret then who was she to criticise his decision?
"Order for Persephone and Co?" The barista called out, a little uncertain at the unusual name.
Persephone walked forward and collected the drinks. She thanked the barista, not unaware that several people in the coffee shop were looking up to discover the identity of the woman with the usual name. She ignored their stares and left. She was sure that she had given them enough time.
When she got back to the BAU, Persephone was not so subtly ushered into the conference room by Morgan. No sooner had she entered the room had she been meet with large shouts of SURPRISE! It made Persephone smile and she attempted to morph her face into astonishment.
A table had been pushed to the side and had several different types of food on it. There was a large cake that had the words 'Happy 1st anniversary'. A banner above it read 'Welcome Back!'. There were balloons too. Some had little 1's on them and others had 'we missed you on them. Persephone chuckled.
"Wow! Thanks, guys!" Persephone gasped shaking hands with Hotch and hugging JJ.
"We wanted to mark this special occasion. It was just going to be a celebration that you spent a year on the team but then things happened so now we are celebrating having you back with us!" Garcia explained.
The actual day that marked a year since Persephone joined the team, was actually a few days ago. However, Persephone had been in hospital and despite all of Garcia's pleading, the hospital had not given permission for a party. In the end, Garcia had agreed that a hospital wasn't the best place to have a party and so decided to hold it at the BAU. Anyway, they could also celebrate the fact that she was alive. It could have easily gone to another way.
"Do you have plans this weekend?" JJ asked as she dug into a slice of cake.
"No. Why?" Persephone questioned. It was Hotch that answered.
"Jack and Henry have both been bugging us about going to the new water park. We were planning on checking it out this weekend and wondered if you might like to come." Hotch asked extended the invitation to the rest of the team. "All of you."
"That sounds like fun. I'd love to spend more time with the boys." Persephone agreed.
Ignatius and Cassiopeia gave Persephone the most adorable glare. They were dressed in their swimming costumes. Around their arms, they were wearing something that had been the cause of their annoyance. Each of them insisted they the armbands that they were using were not required. They were at the local swimming pool. They had been begging to go swimming lately and so when their friend's mum had offered to take them, Persephone agreed. She too was dressed in her swimming costume. She didn't really enjoy swimming, but she wasn't going to let Ignatius and Cassiopeia go without her.
"You can stop glaring at me like that Pumpkin Pies." She admonished only slightly seriously. "You need them. You've yet to learn how to swim. Either you wear the armbands, or you don't go swimming. It is your choice."
Her little brother and sister gave collective sighs. It was almost in unison. Then they nodded and agreed although they were still very relucent. Well, that didn't matter. What mattered was their safety and nothing else.
"Are you ready yet?" A voice asked.
Persephone turned to see Mrs Peterson standing in the doorway of the changing rooms. She was tapping her foot impatiently. Since the incident involving their padlock, Mr and Mrs Peterson had developed a dislike for her. She didn't care what they thought but forced herself to be respectful. When Mr Peterson had told her father about what she had done, he'd made his displeasure very clear. It had taken a week for her to move comfortably again. She didn't want that happening again.
"Yes, ma'am we're ready." She answered.
Mrs Peterson nodded. She didn't want to take the older girl with her. Persephone Ambrose had an attitude problem and didn't seem to care who knew it. She was a child and yet she acted as though she was an adult. It wasn't just unnerving; it was damn annoying. She thought she was an adult and needed reminding exactly who was in charge. She had insisted though and in the end, Mrs Peterson agreed.
"I don't see why you need to flap over them," Mrs Peterson sneered. "I have my own children. I can help out Ignatius and Cassiopeia."
'Yeah because I'm going to trust you to look after them. I don't even trust our own father with them, and you were the ones that left them on their own. The last time you 'helped' out Iggy nearly died.' That was what Persephone thought but she didn't voice it. She couldn't risk being accused of disrespect. She didn't even glare like she wanted to – that would amount to the same thing.
"Sorry, ma'am. I just like making sure they are OK. I promised my mum I'd look out for them."
That was the case. She hadn't had time to speak to her mum before she died it was so sudden. Even if she had, she wouldn't have placed that kind of reasonability on her young shoulders. Mrs Peterson didn't know that though and being reminded that the children in front of her had lost their mum at an early age, softened her.
"All right. Now, let's go swimming. William and Lottie are waiting."
Lottie was William's older sister. She was thirteen years old and was not happy to have three 'babies' tagging along especially when it meant Persephone would not be joining her. Lottie was older than her but was at least closer to her age than the other three. She had been allowed to go off her father though, so she had complained too much.
"Persephone?" Hotch asked seeing that Ambrose had been having a flashback again.
"I'm fine," Persephone gave an abrupt response before realising that she could explain what the flashback was about. "I was just thinking back to when I took Cassie and Iggy swimming. A neighbour took us. Mr and Mrs Peterson. They didn't like me. Anyway, I was trying to persuade them to wear armbands That is, Ignatius and Cassiopeia, not the Petersons. Then, Mrs Peterson came in and asked why I 'flapped' about them."
"I take it you were not a fan of them either," Hotch observed. It was clear from the scowl of her face and the tone that Persephone had an extreme dislike for the Petersons.
"You can say that again! They were always getting me in trouble."
There was a brief silence when it occurred to the team what the possible repercussions had been for Persephone. It was a little awkward and Persephone was about to break the silence when JJ did.
"I get what you mean with the armband thing. Henry's the same." JJ laughed.
With plans for the weekend made, the team had some fun. The team were not on assignment until tomorrow, so they were going to make use of their free day. Strauss was out of the office as she had a meeting with the director so there had been little change of her interrupting.
A few days later, the team were sat in the bullpen. They had a pretty quiet week so far but that was about to change. Persephone kept giving secret smiles to Spencer who returned them. She had to remind herself to be careful. Profilers had a knack for finding these things out. She wasn't ready for them to know and anyway the mystery made it exciting.
"We have a case!" JJ announced coming down the stairs that lead to her office. So much for their quiet week.
Persephone joined in on the collective groan the team gave. They were happy to help with whatever case they needed to, but another case meant more murder. She enjoyed her job, of course, she did, but sometimes she wished she had chosen to be a teacher or maybe a doctor. Maybe, in a different life with a loving father, she might have been one. Her brother and sister would live nearby. They too would be successful. Maybe they would go to university, maybe they wouldn't. Maybe, they would have kids maybe they wouldn't. It wouldn't matter because they would be together.
She followed the rest of the team as they filed into the conference room. As she did she thought about what had happened over the last year. Cassie and Iggy were never coming back but that didn't mean she didn't have a family.
Her rules allowed her to survive. They grounded her when times were tough, and they stopped her from getting too hurt. Those three while created from her less than ideal childhood were not that bad. But they were not the best. She thought about that as she took a seat next to Spencer.
The first rule was important. Never trust without due cause. She still shouldn't trust that easily. This job reminded her of that. It could be edited though. Edited to account for the fact that she could trust people.
The second rule was sound advice but not always needed. The more she trusted people the less she needed to use them. Always have the upper hand. That could change too.
The third rule was perfect. If this year had taught her anything it was the importance of that particular rule. It didn't need to change. Family is what you make it and when you protect it all costs.
A new rule needed to be added. She had learnt something over the last year and sometimes she would need to be reminded about it.
Persephone thought about her new rules:
Trust but not blindly.
Be prepared to take the upper hand.
Family is what you make it and when you do protect it at all costs.
Remember, you are never alone.
'Yes' thought Persephone 'They were better rules to live life by.' Because she wasn't that scared little kid anymore. She was a fiery warrior. She's found her family, found something worth fighting for because she was damned if she was going to lose it.