Here is the next chapter. This was gonna be the last chapter but I just couldn't end this just yet. There will either be a prequel or a sequel to this story. So some how chapter 28 which is the last one got uploaded on chapter 4 so I'm fixing that. Anyways in this one there is more of the case and Olivia goes with Amanda to therapy and we continue to learn about her autism.
I'm trying to write similar to fangirlmoon and littlenervousmile as well as Spencerscartigan so also check that one out on arkive of our own under the autistic spencer reid tag. Someone brought up the autism was unusual and I thought so at first as well until I began reading these 3 writers Mentioned above. I will post the link to the tag here. It's not a fandom so sorry for the confusion. Anyways here's the next chapter. I'll eventually do the request for Fin to take care of baby Amanda. I can't remember who asked for it but it will be coming soon. I've just got to figure out a reasonable explanation for her to regress so if anyone can help with that that would be great.
Here is the link. I'm just going to post the links to the three writers as well as the tag.
1. /users/Spencerscardigan/pseuds/Spencerscardigan
2./users/Fangirlmoon/pseuds/Fangirlmoon
3. /users/littlenervoussmile/pseuds/littlenervoussmile
4. /tags/Autistic%20Spencer%20Reid/works
2 days later
Amanda shifted her weight from one foot to the other and tried not to stim as she waited anxiously for Olivia, Fin and Kat to bring in their suspect. There had been 3 more attacks in the last 2 days and the last time he hadn't warn a mask, which had given the young woman a perfect look at his face. She just hoped one physical ID was enough.
Suddenly the squad room doors flew open with a bang and the blonde jumped and startled from where she had been pacing around the room repeating the numbers of pie to herself.
Looking up, she saw Fin as he manhandled a guy in his mid-20's to early 30's with unkempt, greasy hair and a beard as he pushed him forcefully towards an interrogation room..
"I've got this scumbag," Kat growled as she took over from Fin who walked over to Amanda.
"Where's Liv?" She asked quietly. "She's tied up with some stuff right now, baby girl," he said and Amanda sighed before hanging her head.
"Help?" She asked and he gave her a look.
"Liv is in her office." "Ask nicely if you can help," he encouraged, knowing with the blonde's autism she didn't always ask things in the most polite way and he and the brunette had been working with her as well as her therapist.
"Ask nicely," she repeated before nodding and walking away and he smiled. Nocking quietly on the door she waited for Olivia's come in before entering.
"Hey, Amanda, what's up?" She asked and the blonde could see she was extremely busy.
"May I please help Fin with the suspect?" She asked and Olivia ran a hand over her face before carefully thinking over her request.
"I won't be there," she said and Amanda nodded. "Watch through the mirror," she said but then stopped and rephrased her sentence. "May I watch through the glass?" She said and the brunette smiled and walked around her desk and hugged her gently.
"Good job, baby," she said. "I'm proud of you for being polite."
"I know you don't mean any harm but you know I only have your best interest at heart," she continued and Amanda nodded.
"Ask nicely," she repeated and Olivia looked at her. "Fin," Amanda clarified and Liv nodded before returning to her desk.
"You can listen in, but if you get scared come back in here," she said and Amanda nodded. "Yes mam," she said before leaving the office.
Entering the interrogation room she turned on one of the speakers before looking through the glass at Fin. When Kat entered she stopped her.
"Amanda does Olivia know you're in here?" Kat asked gently. "Does Olivia know you're in here?" She repeated, pulling out a stim toy and messing with it making the young officer smile, glad she was comfortable enough around her to do what she needed to.
"Yes." "Said I could listen in." "If you get scared come back in here."
"Back in her office?" She asked and Amanda nodded, smiling happily at Kat, glad she was making an effort with her.
"Mind if I watch with you?" She asked. "No," she answered.
"It would make me feel safe if I'm being honest." "I know," she said softly. "That's why I offered."
"Coward," Amanda suddenly spoke and Kat glanced at her worriedly. "Can't do anything by myself," she continued.
"No, Amanda you are not," she said, gently placing a hand on her arm. "You've been through something traumatic and you are just now getting back to work," she said gently and surprisingly Amanda leaned into her.
"Do you need Liv?" She asked but Amanda shook her head. "No." "You." "What about me?"
"You, help, better," she said and Kat smiled before they finished watching Fin questioning their perp.
Arriving at Amanda's therapy appointment a few hours later once the case was wrapped up the two women entered the office.
"Hello Amanda, Olivia," Dr. Phillips said kindly.
"Hello Amanda," she said and the other two women smiled at her response.
"So you wanted Olivia to come in with you?" She asked. "Yes."
"Do you think you help Olivia?" She asked the blonde who shrugged. Olivia had told her about the trouble with Kat and the references to being punished.
"Sometimes," she finally answered and Dr. Phillips rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked, making eye contact with the brunette. "Don't help her all the time, can't always explain myself," she said.
Suddenly Amanda began chewing on the fingers of her right hand while her left tapped rhythmically against the arm of the chair and Olivia shared a look with her therapist. "Amanda, do you need to calm down?" She asked as she saw her patient's tapping increase as well as the biting on her fingers. The biting wasn't a problem. They just didn't want her to hurt herself.
Amanda thought this over before signing slowly. "Quiet, please, no talking anymore, Liv, hold me, need to chew," she said as tears began falling from her eyes.
"Are you feeling overwhelmed?" Dr. Phillips asked gently, prepared to take as much time as her patient needed. Her next appointment wasn't until an hour after Amanda's so they had plenty of time.
"Yes," she whined as she began compulsively tugging at the collar of her t-shirt.
"Ok, Amanda, go to Olivia," she told her. "She has one of your chews for you to use," she continued and Amanda didn't need to be told twice.
"Here, Amanda," Olivia said, offering a pendant to her and she immediately climbed into Olivia's lap and began to chew on it once it was in her mouth.
After a few minutes Dr. Phillips spoke quietly to Olivia. "Does she rely on that often?"
"No, not as much as she should," Olivia said, looking down at the blonde who hadn't let up with the biting and chewing and Olivia new from experience that taking it from her would not go well. "She's seems happy right now," her therapist said with a raised eyebrow, gently reaching towards them attempting to remove it and Olivia just shook her head.
The blonde had become more comfortable with her needs and had sought out physical comfort from the therapist more and more lately.
"I wouldn't do that," Olivia advised. "Mine," she suddenly yelled after removing the chew briefly before roughly placing it back in her mouth, not quite over her urge to chew just yet.
"Easy, sweetheart, we aren't taking it from you," Olivia said gently and Dr. Phillips nodded in agreement.
"She is happy, but it also calms her," Olivia began. "She's stimming and she feels safe asking for what she needs," the therapist said with a smile and the brunette nodded.
"Yeah." "The other day she rode home with me and the whole drive home all she wanted was this," Olivia said, motioning to her friend who was once again chewing on the stim toy. "It's her favorite one."
"I've tried different kinds with the same material but she wants this one." "I gave it to her," Olivia said.
"She's finally secure with who she is, Olivia," Dr. Phillips began and the brunette nodded to show she was listening. "For years she was made to suppress the urges to stim, but now that she has you she knows she doesn't have to hold back."
"I know," she said with a small smile. "She trusted our old captain, Cragen, so once he talked to me and I finally excepted her as part of the unit she began trusting me just as much."
"She used to chew on the fabric of my shirts," she said and the therapist let out a chuckle but sobered quickly.
"That's like..." she started but then stopped, realizing something about her detective she hadn't known before.
"Like a baby," Amanda's therapist finished and she nodded, realizing the damage Amanda's parents ignoring her autism had truly caused.
"How are her nightmares?" She asked and Olivia smiled. "They're getting better."
"She only has them a few times a week now," she said.
"That's great progress, Olivia," she beamed.
"Do you think you can help her?" "I mean you have so far but..." she started but then stopped. "I do, Olivia," she confirmed and a glance at the time told her it was about to be time to go.
"Sorry." "I know this is her session," she started but the therapist just waved a dismissive hand. "I told you, Olivia, when you started taking care of her you could talk to me anytime," she assured and the brunette smiled.
"Well, I better get her home," she said glancing down at Amanda who still hadn't removed the toy from her mouth and it appeared she had no plans to do so any time soon.
"Hey, sweetheart, it's time to go home," she said softly and Amanda cuddled closer, stim toy never leaving her mouth. "She loves that toy," Dr. Phillips said fondly and Liv grinned.
"I'm telling you it's her favorite." "If I don't have it with me she will not take anything else."
"She resorts to chewing the sleeves of my t-shirts or her fingers," she continued and the therapist raised an eyebrow.
"It's about you, Olivia," she explained. "Doing all those things makes her feel closer to you, especially the toy," she said nodding to the pendant.
"I gave it to her and she takes that very seriously." "Once someone gives her something, it's hers," she continued. "Exactly, Olivia," she said. "Don't let anyone make you worry about her behavior." "It's totally normal under the circumstances," she said.
"She's getting from you what she never got from her parents," she told the brunette who began to relax. "Thank you." "I was a little worried," she explained.
"I need to go but if you need me before next week you have my number," she said and Olivia thanked her once more.
"Come on, sweetheart, let's go home," Olivia said softly, carefully removing the toy from her mouth and the blonde let out a shriek but was quietened by the brunette as her therapist silently watched.
"Baby, it's ok." "I'll give it right back," she said and the blonde began attemting to chew Olivia's sleeve. "Baby, not right now," she said gently and Amanda shot a pleading look to her therapist who knelt down in front of them.
"Amanda, that's Olivia's work shirt," she explained gently. "You can have your stim toy back as soon as you get to the car," she said and the words finally registered with her and she nodded.
Once they made it to the car Olivia got the blonde settled before walking around to the driver's side.
"Here, baby," she said handing Amanda her stim toy and she immediately slid to the middle seat, buckled up, cuddled as carefully against Olivia as she could with her boss driving and returned the toy to her mouth.
"M"sorry," she signed and Olivia shushed her quietly as she continued to drive. "Sweetheart, it's ok," she said.
"You can't help how you are, and if that helps you then that's totally ok," she said.
"Your parents shouldn't have ignored what you needed, and I'm so sorry they did," she continued. "I want you to know that I will never do that," she said, and vowed then and there to do whatever it took to help her truly heal, no matter how long it took.
Entering their apartment 45 minutes later the two women went to get changed.
A few minutes later Amanda entered the living room where Olivia was sitting on the couch and she immediately went over to her and crawled into her lap, still needing to be held.
"Sweetheart, can you talk to me?" She asked and Amanda just shook her head before chewing on her stim toy in response and Olivia pressed a soft kiss to her head. "Ok, honey, you'll come out of this when you're ready," she said gently. "Uh-huh," she mumbled around the toy in her mouth, continuing to suck and chew happily on the pendant and Olivia just hoped she came out of this soon.