This is my third attempt, and hopefully my last attempt at Addison and Spencer's story. So far I have this one plotted out almost to the very end.
The major changes are:
1.) Addison is related to one of the team members, you'll find out who in this chapter.
2.) Addison and Sam are twins.
3.) Addison and Spencer do not have a pre-existing relationship, they will develop one over time.
I don't want to say much else other than this is set around the third season of criminal minds, I haven't decided the exact episode but that will be mentioned really soon. I hope you enjoy this version. Thank you for putting up with me, I don't know why you do. Let me know what you think!
John Winchester lifted his daughter from the backseat of the impala, careful to watch her head and the roof. She whimpered. "Get the door." He instructed Dean.
"Daddy, it hurts," Addison said into his chest as he ducked inside the apartment building. He had her wrapped up in his jacket, mostly to keep her warm but also to hide the several scratches and abrasions that littered her body. The worst ones on her back and abdomen were stitched closed and wrapped in several layers of tightly wound gauze.
"I know sweetie." John watched both his boys climbing up the stairs in front of him, both of them know the way to their aunt's apartment without any guidance needed. "It'll be okay." He assured, even though he had no way of knowing if it would be okay. He was hoping that her surviving the first night meant that her chances good.
"What if she's sleeping?" Sam asked once they made it onto their aunt's floor.
"Then we wake her up," John said gruffly as they came to her door. Dean knocked without prompting. Several minutes passed and no one came to the door and Dean knocked again louder this time. The knocks set off the neighbors dog and John blew a long breath out his nose. The last thing he wanted was anyone else coming out and seeing the state of his 11-year-old daughter. Eventually, he heard shuffling on the other side of his sister's door and the door unlocking.
"John?" She was pulling her robe around her as she opened the door. "Oh my god Addi." She pulled the door open and ushered her brother and nephews inside. She peered into John's arm around his jacket, but couldn't get a good look at Addison's face other than some serious bruising. John moved past her, setting his daughter down gently onto Fran's couch.
"We need a place to crash for a few days," John said. "Just until Addison can travel." Fran was still half asleep, it was taking her a few moments to process what was happening. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for John to show up unexpectedly, but normally it was to drop off the children. It was so common that Fran when she could afford to, would have the children's favorite snacks on hand.
"What happened to her?" She moved to the couch, brushing Addison's hair out of her face.
"Animal attack," John said curtly. "She'll be fine." Fran looked to her brother incredulously. Fran could see the pain on her niece's face, she looked down the child's arms, noticing that the gauze started up on her shoulder and disappeared underneath her clothes.
"Oh, sweetie." Fran couldn't tell if she was pale due to blood loss or due to the comparison of the bruising. "Dean, can you bring me a pillow and blanket out of the closet? You know where they are." Fran heard the sound of her kitchen cabinets opening and she looked up, John was grabbing a cup and filling it with water from the tap. Fran had to swallow her anger.
"Mom?" Desiree asked, coming out of her bedroom. "Uncle John?" Dean came back and handed Fran the pillow and blanket which she used to tuck Addison in and sat on the edge of the couch. John crouched down next to Addison's head and helped her drink a few sips of water.
"Desiree, can you help the boys blow up the air mattress on your floor?" Desiree opened her mouth to question it but the look on her mother's face was enough for her to do as she was told quietly.
John pulled out a small bag of pills. He pulled one out, broke it in half, and went to put it in Addison's mouth, but Fran put her hand on his arm, stopping him.
"What are you giving her?"
"It's for the pain," John said.
"What is it? That doesn't look like it came from a doctor."
"It's Percocet. Half of one isn't going to hurt her." Fran looked at Addison's pain-filled face before allowing him to give it to her.
"John?" Fran asked, smoothing out Addison's hair, "can I speak with you in the kitchen?" He didn't respond, just stood and walked into the kitchen. Fran smiled at Addison. "If you need anything, just ask. Okay, sweetie?" Addison whimpered and Fran pulled the blanket up to her chin.
"Why isn't she in the hospital?" Fran whispered harshly.
"She doesn't need to be in the hospital. She's going to be fine."
"She's not fine John! I haven't even seen the injuries and I can tell she's not fine. Did you even take her to a doctor?"
"Yes."
"A real doctor, not some back ally medical school drop out." He didn't respond. Fran felt herself getting angrier as she thought about the situation "You know what….you're going to carry her to my room, I'll take care of her tonight and we can talk about this in the morning."
"I can take—"
"John, I'm not arguing with you tonight. Take her to my room, she's not sleeping on a couch." John could see the fury on his sister's face, and he decided to not press his luck. Addison wasn't happy about being moved again, but Fran's bed was a lot more comfortable than the couch. Once again Fran tucked her in,
"I'm cold." She said quietly. Fran pulled another comforter over her.
"I know sweetie." She said. "You'll warm up soon. Just try and sleep, okay?" Addison eventually drifted off, more than likely due to the pain meds John gave her. Fran couldn't sleep thought. It reminded her of when her children were infants and she would constantly check to make sure they were breathing all throughout the night.
This wasn't the first time John brought them to her injured. Normally they consisted of bumps, bruises, maybe a broken arm or sprained ankle, but nothing like this. Of course, Fran didn't believe that her brother was capable of hurting his children, she attributed these injuries to him being neglectful. She'd already been contacted by DCFS after John left them alone in a motel room for two weeks when Dean was 9 and the twins were five. That's when she made John promise that if he was going to leave them somewhere, he needed to drop them off with her or send them to her on a bus.
As she listened to Addison's labored breathing, Fran decided that this was too much. Addison needed to be looked after by medical professionals and if she couldn't trust that John would get Addison the help she needed, then Fran worried about the safety of the children in his care.
When the sun finally started drifting through the windows, Fran closed them curtains as much as she could, not wanting the light to wake Addison. The longer she slept the better.
John was awake already, hunched over his journal at her kitchen table. To Fran, it looked like he'd never gone to sleep. "Did she wake up at all?" John asked.
"No," Fran said shortly. "She didn't." She got the coffee pot ready and waited anxiously for it to brew. "What happened to her?"
"I told you, animal attack," John said.
"I understand that. I want to know how she wound up getting attacked by an animal."
John was silent for several moments. "Her and Sam snuck out of the motel room in the middle of the night and went into the woods. Dean woke up and went after them, but he got there too late."
"Where were you when it happened?"
"Sleeping." Fran snorted.
"You mean to tell me that three children snuck out of your motel room while you were sleeping? You honestly think I believe that?" Fran could see her brother becoming agitated. "How drunk were you? Or were you even there?"
"Fran—"
"Don't 'Fran' me. Your daughter is currently sleeping in my bed in a ridiculous amount of pain. Explain to me why you didn't take her to a hospital."
"She didn't need to go to the hospital."
"Re—"
"I know what's best for my children," John said lowly. "She just needs to sleep for a few days, and she'll be as good as new. If you can't handle us here or its too stressful, I can take her somewhere else."
"You're not taking her or those boys anywhere." Fran knew instantly that that was the wrong thing to say.
"You don't get to tell me what I do with my kids," John said. Fran closed her eyes and took a deep breath, blowing it out her nose.
"She needs a doctor."
"No, she doesn't, all a doctor is going to do is stick their nose where it doesn't belong. Drop it." Fran felt her own temper beginning to rise.
"If you're so worried about DCFS that you're willing to risk your daughter's life, then maybe DCFS would be justified in getting involved. What do you think Mary would think about this if she were here?" The vain in John's face nearly popped out of his head. Fran regretted it as soon as the words left her lips. "John." But it was too late. He stood and slammed the chair back underneath the table. "John." She repeated as he moved towards her daughter's bedroom. He opened the door, told Sam and Dean to get up before going towards Fran's bedroom. He tossed the blankets off Addison and gently lifted her into his arms.
Dean and Sam stood in the living room when he came back out. "Dad, what's going on?" Dean asked, looking to his aunt.
"Get your stuff, we're leaving."
"John, you don't need to do this." Fran said, "She shouldn't' be moved." John ignored his sister as his kids gathered what little bit they had brought inside.
"Dad, why—"
"Just get your things Sam." John barked at him.
"Joh—"
"Mind your own business. Dean, get the door." Fran followed him out the front door, trying to talk sense into him, but he ignored her as if she wasn't even there. He loaded the kids up and took off, not even allowing Sam or Dean to hug Fran goodbye.
Ten years later
Addison listened to the music blaring on the other side of the wall. 3 am on Sunday, well Monday technically, seemed a bit excessive. At least Addison did her partying on Friday night like a normal person. She thought about getting up, banging on their dorm room door, and raising hell, but she was tired and didn't want to fight with anyone, especially after her 'feud' with her other neighbors was just resolved.
Several minutes passed, she covered her head with her pillow and nearly drifted off until she felt a large thump against the wall. She rolled over on her back, pushing the pillow off her face and blinked at the ceiling. She heard another thump, there wasn't a pattern to the added noises. It happened again and she sat up. Something felt off to her.
Her roommate Grace seemed unbothered by the whole thing; her earplugs seemed to be working. There was another thump and she could barely hear the sound of something shattering over the music. Addison swung her feet over the edge of her bed and jumped down. She thought about waking Grace but decided against it. Their room was all the way at the end of the hall on the bottom floor, the only room closer to the edge of the building was the one blaring music. The music seemed dimmer when she stepped out of her dorm room like they had the speaker pressed up directly next to her wall and it suddenly made sense why none of the other neighbors came to complain.
Addison raised her hand to knock, but she heard what she thought was a scream followed by another thump, but it sounded muffled. She frowned and reached for the doorknob, locked. Her heartbeat faster in her chest, and she glanced over her shoulder down the hall, nothing. She juggled the knob again. She couldn't explain it, there was a pit in her stomach, something was wrong. She took a few small steps back; she saw her father's presentation in her mind from when he'd taught the three of them how to kick a door down. Her own body following suit. She felt her muscles in her leg stretch in ways they weren't used to, but the door gave in and the music hit her in the face.
It took seconds for her eyes to take in what was happening. Lacy, one of the girls who lived in the room was laying on the flood, staring directly at Addison. It took Addison a moment to realize her eyes were lifeless and that her shirt wasn't supposed to be red. Movement in the corner of the room between the end of the bed and the wall of the room caught her eye, legs were flailing against the floor. The rest of the body was blocked by the bed, but Addison could see what looked like someone back just over the top of the bed.
"Hey!" It was like the flailing limbs shocked her into moving. The legs seemed to move faster the person she saw raised their head. Addison couldn't make out their face, a hoodie covered their head and their face was mostly obstructed by their hair. "Get off her." Addison moved towards her and the guy stood. He was breathing heavy and the legs from the girl underneath him seemed to have been ripped towards the bed and Addison saw Madilyn sit up against the wall. Addison licked her lips. Nothing seemed familiar about the man, not his clothes, his height, not the way he stood or the few features she could make out between the lack of lighting in the room and his hair. He stood at least a foot and a half taller than Addison, not that it was hard to do. It seemed like Sam had stolen more than a few inches from her while they were in the womb together. He glanced down at Madilyn and pointed something at her. Addison couldn't quite make it out, most of it was covered by the sleeves of his jacket.
Addison felt every hair on her body stick straight up. She watched him as he moved, noting he moved awkwardly like he favored his left side. She noticed the sweat on his cheeks, and then finally the knife in his hand, the blade looked like that of a pocketknife.
"No one taught you to mind your own business?" She didn't respond. He seemed to mistake her lack of response for fear. The closer he got to her, the calmer she became. If he was closer to Addison, he couldn't hurt Madilyn. The closer he got; the more control Addison would have over the situation.
She thought about leading him out into the hall by running but thought better. He might decide to let her run and finish what he started before she got back with help, its not like she'd really be able to give a good description.
She could fight him; she could tell by the way he held the knife that he wasn't very experienced with blades and she'd probably be able to get it from him rather easily with minimal injuries. If she could get the knife then things would turn in her favor rather quickly.
Her body moved on its own accord, falling back in a familiar position. She could hear her brother's voice telling her to spread her feet in line with her shoulders, telling her to keep on eye on the blade and the other on his empty hand. It was like riding a bike.
He wasn't doing anything to block himself, he was just holding the knife down by his side. Was he just going to thrust it up towards her? Easy enough to block but very sloppy on his end. He chucked at her. Addison glanced back at Madilyn who was watching the two of them with wide eyes. If Addison could distract this guy long enough and get him out of the doorway, Madilyn could run and get someone.
That fact that he was almost moving as slow as he was, said that he wasn't worried. Addison felt like it was almost cockiness. The music was still blaring loudly, she was surprised she'd been able to hear what he said at all.
Three more steps and she'd be able to reach him. He smelled awful the closer he got; Addison had to refrain from gagging. It reminded her of the time her father left her out in the woods, and she stumbled on a dead deer, half-rotten. She fought to cover her nose with her hand. The second he was within reach, her arm snaked out and she punched his face as hard as she could. He stumbled back, regaining footing faster then Addison thought he would. His grip on the knife adjusted and for the first time, it looked like he was a little more experienced then she'd originally thought.
He moved faster this time, and Addison's train of thought disappeared from her head. She just reacted. Her body moved on autopilot. She felt the pain when the knife got her arm, but she pushed past it and twisted it from his hand. She felt his knuckles against her cheek and her back hit a wall, or maybe it was a mirror, her head following suit after. She saw him reach for the knife she'd knocked from his hand, the amount of time for him to dive for it was enough time for her to regain her footing enough to grab his arm with the knife, pin it to his side and thrust her leg up into his groin, once twice, three times. She felt his weight shift and he dropped, both his body and the knife. Addison pushed him as he fell, rolling him so he fell on his back. She kicked him in the face for good measure before grabbing the knife from the ground. She watched him groan on the ground, curling into a ball. She looked to Madilyn who was still curled up in the corner against the wall, but she was no longer wide-eyed, in fact, it looked like she was dozing off.
"Maddy?" Addison bounced on the balls of her feet for a second as she looked to the man, and then back to Madilyn. Her feet made the choice for her and she rushed to Madilyn, her eyes searching for what was wrong. It didn't take long. Her the front of her shirt was red and sticky. "No no no no." Addison looked back over her shoulder, but the guy was gone. Her heart dropped into her stomach. He wasn't in the room, she didn't know where he went, she could either go after him or— she pressed her fingers against Madilyn's throat; she had a pulse— she could focus on Madilyn. She chose to focus on Madilyn. It took her several moments to lift up her shirt, feel through the copious amounts of blood to find where it was actually coming from before Addison could put pressure on it. The speaker, like Addison, had guessed was pushed right up against the wall. She pawed at it with one hand until she found the power button and turned it off. She put as much weight as she could on her stomach, Addison began to panic. She couldn't leave her alone in here, she could bleed out, who knows how much blood she already lost or if he nicked any major organs. But she'd die if Addison just sat here and waited for someone to come upon them. Not to mention that guy could come back.
Addison lifted on hand and banged it against the wall. "Grace!" It took her several seconds to remember the earplugs Grace had shown her when the music started playing. "Someone!" Addison screamed, hoping that her voice would stir the other girls more than the music did. Eventually, someone did.
Hey, guys, it's been a while. Hopefully, third time is the charm.