Hey all, here is the next chapter for this fic. I have some extra time on my hands at the moment, so I figured why not give the next update? Again, I just want to remind you all that not everything (such as story lines, characters, etc.) is going to match the show. This is a work of fiction and personally, I think it's great to see different sides of the characters that we love. Also, remember that we are getting closer to the more interesting chapters, so stay tuned! With that being said, I hope you enjoy and please remember to review. Happy reading. x

All rights go to the owners of Criminal Minds, except for my original character.


Not Like This

Chapter Ten: Casual Sunday

May 18th, 2014

It was early afternoon and Jamie had spent her last free day doing what she did best: lounging around in sweats and oversized t-shirts, watching unconvincing crime television shows and stuffing her face with different kinds of chips. It had been an ideal weekend, beside from the unfortunate encounter with a blast from the past. Jamie hadn't thought much of it after the incident, she simply brushed it off, considering it as something she had coming. So, laying around on her couches and boring her green eyes into a bright, flat screen was something she was indulging in, because without realizing it, things were going to get crazy.

A knock at her door stole her attention from the television. She placed her bag of half-eaten chips on her coffee table and took herself away from her warm spot on the couch. Before she opened the door, she looked through the peephole, just in case a psycho was on the loose. When she recognized the person the other side of the door to not be a psycho, her eyes narrowed in confusion. Jamie hesitated before she opened the door, bracing herself for anything to come.

"Spencer…" she said, dragging out the last letter of his name.

"Hey, can we talk for a second?" he asked, no hesitation in his voice whatsoever. He was standing in her doorway, dressed unusually casual than she remembered, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets.

Jamie shrugged and stepped back from the entry, motioning for Spencer to enter her home. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Spencer let a small grin flash across his face. "It's nice."

"Um, where-how did you know where I lived?"

There was no need for a verbal explanation. The look that Spencer provided Jamie said it all. She was surprised she didn't think of it before asking.

"…Garcia. Right." she slowly realized. She watched Spencer as he looked around her apartment more, eyes glancing from wall to wall. "Go ahead and take a seat. Do you want something to drink?" she offered.

"No, I'm good."

Jamie nodded, taking her own seat across from him on the same couch. "So, I think it's safe to assume you didn't come here to hang out with an old friend, right?

Spencer glanced at her, his head shaking lightly. "I was talking to my mom yesterday…"

"Oh, no…"

"Oh, yes." he responded. "Want to tell me what happened?"

Jamie regarded Spencer for a moment. She wondered if he would believe her, considering their messy situation. Maybe if she had left the café one minute earlier, even by thirty-seconds, she wouldn't be in this mess. "What do you want to know?"

"I mean, I know how my mom is." he chuckled low, making himself more comfortable on the couch. "So…just, what did she say to you?"

Jamie huffed out a laugh, crossing her arms and legs on the couch. "Well, she's definitely not the Diana I remember."

"Yeah, a lot changes in ten years."

"She's holding a grudge against me, Spencer. I don't blame her, I guess. I didn't even talk to her about anything back then-when we were going through everything. I told her if she wanted an explanation, I would give her one, but I don't think she buys into anything. She still blames me…"

Spencer shifted his gaze from Jamie, looking at anything other than the slightly hurt girl in front of him. "I'm sure I used some…choice words back then when I told her you'd left. I was mad, she was mad, it was chaos."

"I'm sorry. I-"

"Jamie, don't." His interruption didn't sound mad, but more understanding. "You don't need to apologize. We've both moved on and I think things are looking up, if I'm being honest with you."

Jamie gave him a half grin. "I'm glad to hear that." She uncrossed herself, moving so her legs were pulled up to her chest. "You know, after our conversation on the plane, after my first case, I didn't think we'd be so…I don't know how to put it…" she laughed quietly.

"Friendly?" Spencer finished for her.

"Yeah."

"Me either, but it's for the best. Believe it or not I think we're working well together."

"We kind of have to, though, right? Otherwise it wouldn't be working out as well as it has."

"True, but we both know you'd be there regardless, whether we were friends or not."

Jamie nodded, accepting his words. They two of them sat in a silence for a moment, both wondering if they should say anything else.

"I should get going." Spencer spoke, standing up from the couch. "Sorry for just dropping by."

Jamie stood up also, stretching her muscles as she followed him to the door. "It's fine, really." Jamie opened the door for him, leaning back on it before she spoke. "Look, I know you said not to apologize anymore, but I really am sorry. I know I'm not the best person in the world and your mom hates me, but I'm not going to do or say anything to make it worse."

"I appreciate that." Spencer accepted. "So, um, I'll see you at work tomorrow, then." he spoke as he left through her doorway.

"Yep. See you then." Jamie said, closing the door behind him. Her hand lingered on the door knob for a moment. She was about to do something risky, but she wouldn't be Jamie Carter if she didn't take risk. Then, she opened the door back up and stepped out on the mat with her bare feet. Her eyes looked for Spencer and she saw him walking to his car down the long driveway. "Spencer!" she yelled. She didn't know why, but she was all for jogging out into the open with her bum appearance.

Spencer looked at her with wide and curious eyes. "…yeah?"

Jamie came to a stop in front of him and put her hands on her hips. "Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked, knowing damn well she might be pushing it. "I was thinking of ordering Chinese, or I could cook something." Jamie and Spencer stood in front of one another, not a word spoken for what seemed like hours.

Spencer shifted his weight as he stared at Jamie, clearly considering her offer. He tilted his head and his mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but no words came out.

Then, Jamie came to her senses. "Oh god, you obviously…don't have to. You don't have to answer, I'll just…go back inside." Jamie was frazzled. She turned away, slowly walking back up the driveway to her apartment.

"Jamie!" Spencer's voice shouted from behind.

Jamie turned back around, her eyes squinting from the sunlight. "Yes?"

Spencer walked with a quick pace to where she stood, stopping in front of her. "I'm in as long as you're not cooking." he joked.

A smile came across Jamie's face and she motioned with her head for him to follow her back inside. "I've never been a bad cook." she defended, looking back at the man behind her.

"I bed to differ." Spencer replied as they entered the apartment once again. "Remember how the inside of the oven set on fire when you tried to cook your own Thanksgiving turkey?"

Jamie laughed, closing the door behind her. "Okay, that is not a testament to my cooking abilities. The oven was way too hot and it was my first time trying to cook an eight-pound bird."

"Fine, I'll give you that one."

"Here, give me your jacket." Jamie told Spencer.

He shed the top layer, handing it over to Jamie. She went to the closet next to the door, hanging it up on a hanger inside. Then, she made her way over to her kitchen island, opening a drawer and pulling out various take out menus. "So, we have several options here. Chinese, Italian-which Rossi would shake his head at no doubt, um, pizza, Mexican, take your pick, genius."

Spencer met here at the island, leaning down on his arms. His eyes scanned the menus, looking as if he was studying their food through the paper. Then, his hand reached for the pizza menu and handed it to Jamie. "It's been a while since I had some pizza."

"Let me guess, you want olives on it, right?"

Spencer gave her a small smile, laughing low. "You didn't forget…"

Jamie scoffed, opening the menu to look over the prices. "How could I? That's all you ever ate on your pizza and I still hate them, in case you were wondering." she informed him playfully.

"How about the Chinese then?"

"Hm, or," Jamie began, pulling out the pizza and Chinese menus together. "we can have the best of both worlds?"

"Sounds good to me." As he said that, his phone beeped, signaling a text message.

Jamie noticed his face when he read the message. It was a look that was conflicted over a decision. "What is it?" she questioned.

"It's Morgan. He wants to know if I want to go get drinks tonight."

Jamie's face lit up from amusement. "Spencer Reid in a bar? That's something I have to see."

"I'm already here, so-"

"Spencer," Jamie said, pushing the menus aside. "go if you want to, you're not my prisoner."

He gave her a half-hearted smile, placing his phone on the island top. "It's okay. I'm good here."

Jamie let her eyes study her old friend for a moment. "Invite him here." she suggested, not thinking twice about it.

"What?"

"He wants to hang out, so invite him here. We'll still order food and have some beers. It'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked, eyeing her with uncertainty.

"Yes, Spencer. I don't see why the three of us cant…"

"…can't what?"

Jamie sat for a moment, pondering her own thought. "Why don't we invite everybody? If they can come, that is. Hotch can bring Jack, JJ can bring her family, so on and so forth."

"That's a good idea, actually."

Jamie smiled, digging for her phone in her pocket. "I'm full of good ideas, Dr. Reid." she teased. "I can send out the text right now and then we can see who can be here before we order anything."

Spencer nodded in acknowledgment, reaching for the pile of menus.

To: A. Hotchner, D. Morgan, J. Jareau, P. Garcia, D. Rossi, E. Prentiss

5:42 P.M.: Hey guys, Spencer and I were just about to order some takeout. Feel free to come by my place to join the epic party. Also, JJ and Hotch, if you decide to join, please bring your family. The more the merrier.

"Okay, I just sent the text, so hopefully we'll hear back from some of them soon." Jamie explained. When she looked up, she noticed that Spencer was looking at her. It was the same kind of stare that he had given her the first day she joined the team.

"Um, earth to Spencer." she sang, waving a hand in his face.

He flinched when her hand went in front of his face. He rubbed his hand over his face and looked back at Jamie, kind of embarrassed. "Sorry…"

"You alright there?"

"Yeah."

Jamie's phone rang twice, signaling double messages.

From: D. Morgan

5:45 P.M.: Count me in

From: P. Garcia

5:45 P.M: I'm so there! Leaving as I type this message!

Jamie laughed, holding up her phone for Spencer to see. "We've got two out of the six so far."

"I'm surprised Garcia didn't reply as soon as your thumb pressed send." he joked.

"She's something else…" Jamie leaned down on the counter top, absent-mindedly scratching her nose. "Hey, you want a quick tour of my palace?" she quipped.

"That'd be great." Spencer replied with a hint of laughter.

"Okay, so this is the kitchen." Jamie began, her arms stretched out to show Spencer what he could already see. She moved over the living room, standing in the middle of the floor. "This is the living room, but don't be fooled by the neutrality of it. This baby has high-definition surround sound." Her voice was tinged with proudness and Spencer watched her with amusement on his face. Jamie's phone rang again, another double.

From: E. Prentiss

5:51 P.M.: I'll be there!

From: J. Jareau

5:52 P.M.: We'll be there. Thanks for the invite.

"Four down, two to go." Jamie spoke, making her way to the stairs. "Up we go."

Jamie marched up the stair, Spencer following behind her. The walked through a long hallway, the walls lined with pictures. "Okay, here we have bedroom number one." Jamie spoke in a hosting voice, gesturing with her arm towards the room. The both popped their heads in, but there wasn't much to see. "And down here is my room and the bathroom. I know, not much to see, but it works."

"No, it's a great place." Spencer commented. He walked towards some of the photos hanging on the wall. The pictures were covered by frames of all shapes and four-sided-sizes. There were pictures of Jamie in college with her friends, of her and her parents, of when she studied abroad in London and other people who Spencer didn't recognize. Then, one particular caught his sight. He recognized that immediately, sending a wave of flashes through his mind. He pointed to the picture, smiling just a tad. "You still have this one?"

Jamie walked over to where he was standing. She observed the photo he mentioned and a big smile crossed her face. "Of course, I do. How could I let it go after we almost died jumping off that bridge?" The picture had Jamie and Spencer standing in the middle between several of their college friends on each side of them. They were standing on a bridge, bungee cords attached to their bodies.

Spencer laughed and scratched his head. "Yeah, even I have to admit that was pretty insane."

"But it was a great day. I never felt like I couldn't have that picture out, you know?"

Their eyes met for a moment, green and hazel. Jamie wondered if she had said the wrong thing, but it was the truth. There was a great memory inside that photograph and she never cared that it sometimes would remind her of something painful-painful but wonderful. Thankfully, their gaze had broken when her cellphone rang again.

From: D. Rossi

6:01 P.M.: No can do. Out of town for the night, I'll catch you all next time.

Jamie frowned a little. "It's a no-go for Rossi, says he's out of town." And as if on que, the last text message she was waiting for came through.

From: A. Hotchner

6:02 P.M.: Jack and I are having dinner with Jessica tonight, but thank you for offering. See you in the office tomorrow.

"That one Hotch?" Spencer asked.

"Yep. It's a no-go for him, too, but we have the other's coming. It'll be fun." Jamie declared, moving back to the doorway of her room. "I'm going to change into something more…clean looking. I'll meet you back downstairs."

"Alright." Spencer responded.

Jamie shut her door and mentally slapped herself for being an idiot. She didn't mean to make the atmosphere awkward, but maybe it was a given when you had your ex-boyfriend staying over for dinner. The night could go one of two ways: it could either burn down in flames or it could go smoothly and everybody would have a good time. Shaking her head, Jamie went to her closet. She searched through the clothes, taking out a pair of blue jeans and a basic, black t-shirt. Throwing them on, she moved into the bathroom, seeing herself look awful in the mirror. Maybe Spencer didn't care, he had seen her like that before, anyway; but Jamie wasn't about to expose that side of her to her coworkers. Grabbing a brush, she quickly ran it through her long hair, smoothing down the crazy fly-aways. She swiped her mascara from the counter, covering her lashes in the black substance. Then, she heard a heavy knock at her door and Spencer shouting that he'd get it from the floor below her.

She looked at herself in the mirror again, mentally preparing herself for anything that could be brought up from any of her teammates. Feeling satisfied, Jamie shut off her bathroom light and exited her bedroom, making her way downstairs. Her walk down the steps was quiet, as she wasn't wearing any shoes, just socks. When she hit the bottom of the steps, she stopped before she could round the corner. Familiar voices sounded from her kitchen, one belonged to Spencer and the other belonged to Morgan. Jamie listened as the spoke, attempting to keep their voices low.

"Dinner with Jamie? Really, kid?" Morgan questioned, a little bit of judgment in his voice.

"What's wrong with that?" Spencer remarked.

"Nothing, nothing. Just didn't expect to see this happen so soon."

"And what's happening exactly?"

"You two aren't…trying to start things up again, are you?" Morgan pressed.

"What? No way. I came by to talk to her about something and before I left, she asked me if I wanted to stay for dinner. Plus, it was her idea to invite everyone else."

"Look man, I just don't want to see you get hurt? Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, thanks."

There was another knock at the door, causing Jamie to jump as she was hidden behind the wall of the stair. Without thinking about it, she left her spot along the wall and looked through the peephole before answering. When she opened the door, she greeted her guest with a big smile. "Two for one, huh?" she laughed. "Come on in."

Garcia and Emily both entered her apartment., taking their jackets off.

"Here, I can hang those up for you guys." Jamie offered, taking the jackets and putting them on hangers in the closet.

"This was a good idea, Jamie." Garcia commented.

"Seriously, I would've been laid up on my couch for the rest of the night." Emily stated, humor coming through in her words.

"It's us, Morgan, Reid, and JJ is bringing her family. Hotch and Rossi couldn't make it, but that gives us an excuse to have dinner again sometime."

"Where is my Chocolate Thunder?"

Jamie huffed a laugh. "He's over in the kitchen with Reid. Come on." She led the other two women to the kitchen, being greeted by smiles from the two males.

"Well, well, well…" Morgan teased, rubbing his hands together in a playful manner.

"Good to see you, too, Morgan." Emily greeted, sarcasm in her tone.

"Where'd the beer come from?" Jamie asked as she noticed the drinks on the counter top.

"Morgan brought it." Spencer answered.

Jamie nodded, taking it from the counter and over to the fridge. "Well, we will have children in our vicinity tonight, so, be cautious."

There was another knock at the door and Jamie zipped through the kitchen, already feeling the heavy-weight of the night down on her chest. She opened the door without checking to see who it was first, coming face to face with a beautiful JJ and her husband. "Hey guys, come on in!" she greeted them happily. JJ and her husband entered the apartment, eyes wandering around.

"Jamie, this is my husband, Will." JJ introduced.

Jamie smiled at the man, silently giving JJ props for snagging such a looker. She extended her hand for a shake. "Jamie Carter, it's so nice to meet you."

"Will LaMontagne, Jr. Nice to meet you, too. Thanks for the invite."

"Not a problem, it's my pleasure." Jamie insisted. "You guys didn't bring the kids?"

"I asked my mom to keep an eye on them for a while, which she was happy to do." JJ answered.

"I can hang your guys' coats if you want to head on into the kitchen. Everyone else is there."

"Thank you." JJ handed Jamie her and Will's jacket, walking to the kitchen where laughter could be heard.

With the jackets, all in a neat row inside the closet, Jamie shut its door and started walking back into the kitchen.

"Break out that beer, Carter. I don't think there'll be any kids here tonight." Morgan joked.

"As you wish." Jamie pulled the beverages from the fridge, placing them in front of the guest.

"No Hotch or Rossi?" JJ wondered.

"Rossi's out of town and Hotch is…" Spencer tried to explain, looking to Jamie for an answer.

"Oh, Hotch said he and Jack were having dinner with Jessica."

"Well, I'm starving so I say we order ASAP." Emily mentioned.

"Okay, whatever you guys want, it's on me." Jamie offered.

"Pizza is sounding like heaven right now." Garcia commented.

"Spencer was thinking pizza, but he wants to cover it in olives."

"Don't hate." the genius quipped.

"We're good with pizza." JJ spoke for her and Will.

"Same here." Emily voiced.

Jamie clapped her hands together and grabbed her cellphone. "Pizza it is, then. What kind do we want? I usually order from Gioni's"

"Get a meat-lovers here for my Chocolate Thunder." Garcia teased, sending a wink to Morgan.

Jamie smiled, watching the exchange and shaking her head with amusement. "Okay, one…meat-lovers, what else?"

"That barbeque pizza they have is pretty good." Will mentioned.

Jamie dramatically nodded her head with approval. "Yes, I like him, JJ." she razzed. "Okay, so one meat-lovers, a barbeque and one cheese and pepperoni with olives. Let me call this in really quick." She stepped away, calling and ordering the three, large pizzas. When the call ended, she listened for a minute to the sound of laughter and chatter coming from her kitchen. It had been too long since she had been in this environment. It was a nice change. Walking back into the kitchen, she was being handed a beer.

"Come on, Carter. Have fun a little." Morgan told her.

Jamie took the beer from him, twisting open the top and drinking it. "I have lot of fun, just so you know." Her voice was mocking, but playful nonetheless.

"What does Jamie Carter do for fun?" he asked.

Jamie's mouth gaped as she tried to figure out a decent answer. "I…catch serial killers."

"Then we all have fun...every day." Emily commented, earning laughs from those around her.

"You guys know just as well as I do that days like this are pretty rare."

"I second that." JJ declared, holding her drink in the air.

"What'd you do before the BAU, Jamie?" Will asked her.

Jamie finished her gulp of beer before answering. "I was with the NCAVA, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crimes." She took another sip of her beer. "Believe it or not, it was mostly a desk job with little field work, but I held that desk job for seven years. I even went through the courses and training that they do in Quantico. So, I put in my application for the opening in the BAU, went through the interviews and here I am."

"To the penthouse." Garcia joked.

"Ha, if you say so."

"How did you know I worked for the FBI?" Spencer spoke up, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"What?" Jamie threw back, a little too quickly.

"You said before that you knew I worked for the FBI, but you didn't know it was the BAU."

"Oh, funny story…"

"We're all for funny stories, Carter." Morgan stated.

Jamie rubbed her hand over her chin, trying to find the words to say. "Um, okay. So, one day, I'm at work, browsing the news. When I was younger, I used to live for those gossip sites, you know? So, when I saw the headline that read something along the lines of: "Lila Archer and Her New Mystery Man", my curiosity got the better of me." Jamie moved her eyes around the room, glancing at each of the people looking back at her. When she looked at Spencer, she knew that he knew where the story was going. "I click on the link and a picture loads in the middle of the article. I'm staring at the picture, seeing the girl, obviously, Lila Archer and she's kissing some guy. I look closer at the picture and then ding, ding, ding. It's none other than our very own Dr. Spencer Reid." Jamie took another sip of her beer, letting her bomb sink into everyone.

"How did that give away that he was an agent?" Emily questioned.

"Google can reveal a lot of information if you know where to look."

Spencer was visibly red and he tried to not look at anyone. "In my defense, she kissed me."

"Jealous, Jamie?" Garcia winked.

Jamie kept a smile back from her face. "No, I wasn't and I'm not. It's none of my business."

"Why would she be jealous?" Will wondered, taking a sip from his own beer.

"She's referring to the fact that Spencer and I dated." Jamie answered, nonchalant.

"Wait, you two?"

Jamie nodded. "Yep." She moved to Spencer, patting him on the shoulder. "Four crazy years with this guy."

"Four-and-a-half." Spencer corrected.

"Right, sorry."

"How did that happen?" Will continued.

"Ooo, orientation, class and then the rest is history!" Garcia answered for them.

Jamie laughed and nodded her head, her arms still resting on Spencer. "What she said."

"I think we need to know what Reid was like in college." Emily said.

That seemed to change the whole mood of the room from somewhat calm, to somewhat crazy.

"Oh my gosh, we need some stories!" JJ laughed.

"Don't hold back either, Carter!" Morgan joked.

"Okay, no." Spencer started, standing up straighter. He turned to Jamie, his face showing that he had something on her, too. "You can't ask the girl who spent her junior year doing keg stands."

The room burst into gasps and laugher. Jamie looked at Spencer, letting her jaw drop in genuine surprise. Her eyes were wide, but she played it off with fake offense. "Well, I still got my degree with a 4.3 GPA, didn't I? Besides, you can't trust anything that comes from the guy who used to sing Springsteen karaoke after one beer."

The kitchen came alive with heavy laughter and hand clapping, and it even made Spencer laugh. Jamie looked at him and shook her head. "He couldn't get Glory Days out of his head for days after that."

Then, there was a knock at the door, signaling that their food was there.

"That's my que." Spencer spoke through the laughter still going through the kitchen. He left the island, walking towards the door.

Jamie followed him, grabbing her cash from the table next to the couch. "Here's the cash, tell him to just keep the change."

Spencer took the money, paying for the pizzas. He carried them back to the kitchen, Jamie by his side. "Time to eat!" she yelled through the apartment.

They placed the pizzas in front of everybody and they all began to enjoy a simple meal together. If Jamie was still worried about the night going wrong, she didn't feel it anymore. She enjoyed swapping stories with her friends and hearing some that they had of their time as a team, or from simply being around one another.

They were a family and Jamie was a part of that family.


Thanks for reading and please remember to review. I would really appreciate it.

If you like Supernatural, check out my other work(s): The Unforeseeable Life of Alexandra Winchester & Alexandra Winchester: One-Shots