AN: There is a link in my profile to the unedited version of this chapter. This chapter complies with 's TOS.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Revelations
"Revelation can be more perilous than revolution – Vladimir Nabokov"
Outside: 8:00PM
"Pretty Boy," Derek said as he approached the couple, who were standing on the corner across from the police station. After the interrogation, Spencer had asked his girlfriend if she'd come with him to meet someone important to him. She nodded without hesitation.
They were barely away from the station, when Derek had called for their attention. Spencer turned to the man, who was jogging up to him at a rapid pace, and said, "That was awesome, Pretty Boy."
"Hey Derek," he said, a slight smile on his face.
"How did you know that would work?" Derek said to the younger genius.
He shrugged and said, "It was classic narcissism, Derek. The man was so sure of his position that nothing else could be even close to correct."
The man said, "So, where are you two love-birds off to?"
Spencer looked at the man and said, "I want to give JJ a native's view of Sin City, Derek. Can you tell Hotch that we'll be back tomorrow at the latest?"
"Yeah man. That's why I was catching up to you. We're going to hit the strip now that we're finished here. Do you want to meet up with us?"
He looked at JJ, who was leaning into him, and said, "If we have time, we'll meet you there."
Derek looked at them, a grin covering his face.
As they approached the standard issue SUV, Spence turned to the woman and said, "JJ, I need to ask you a really big favor."
She looked at him, concern on her face, as she said, "What's wrong, Spence?"
"Will you come with me, again?"
She gasped, and reached her hand forward, clasping him. "Are you sure, Spence? I… I don't want to see you hurt, again."
He smiled and said, "I am… it's only for an hour this late at night, but I hope that, if she's having a good day, that I can talk to her for a little bit. A-and afterwards, I sort of promised one of my old teachers that I'd introduce her to my girlfriend."
She smiled and said, "Alright, Spence."
The drive to Bennington Sanitarium was fraught with emotion, and JJ couldn't help but be reminded of the last time they made this particular trip. She looked over at her boyfriend, whose shoulders were tense in anticipation. She sighed as they approached the familiar hospital. Upon entering the parking lot, she gradually stepped out of their SUV, and placed her gun inside the built-in safe. Watching her boyfriend do the same, she sighed and walked over, grasped his hand and said, "It's going to be okay, honey."
He nodded, hesitantly at first, before squaring his shoulders.
They approached the familiar looking door, and she watched him enter his five-digit access code.
"Spencer Reid," said the same familiar voice through the intercom. Suddenly, a sense of déjà vu filled her, and she wondered if Spence was going to have his heart broken again.
"Yes, plus one." He paused and said, "We're hoping to see my mother, Diana Reid?"
"Your mother is having a good day, Doctor Reid. Please sign in at admitting, and you'll be shown back."
The door opened as usual, they stepped inside. JJ watched him go up to the admitting desk, and delicately sign his name, before turning and urging her to do the same. She wondered why, but gasped when she saw that it was a slip that gave her permission to visit without him present. She thought, for a second, to refuse; but the look of anticipation on her young genius' face was enough to make her decision.
She signed quickly, turning to the man to her left, "Hello Doctor Thompson."
"Agent Jareau, it's nice to see you again. And you as well, Spencer, would you like me to accompany you?"
Spence nodded his head, and as the Doctor took the lead, she heard him ask, "How has she been since we were last here?"
"Her episode lasted another three days after you last visited. Come to find out, Doctor Hanson changed her medicine again."
Spencer cursed the man that was continually messing with his patients' well-being at the slightest change in their personalities.
"We got her straightened back around, and she's been good for almost three weeks now. Your letters have helped immensely. And Agent Jareau, she was most gratified that you and her son have had such a progressive relationship."
JJ blushed to the roots of her hair as she realized what the man was implying, sending a small glare to her boyfriend, who she was shocked to note had a similar blush attached to his face.
"Why did you write about that?" she hissed when Doctor Thompson entered Diana's room. Spence looked down and said, "I've always told mom everything… it doesn't excuse my actions, but I promise that I just didn't think."
JJ sighed, and said, "Spence, we've really got to work on your social skills."
He nodded, and grasped her hand. She knew that he could tell she was tense, and slightly angry.
"I'm sorry, JJ."
"I know you are, sweetie," she said softly, laying her head on his shoulder as the door opened. Upon entering, Spence walked to past the many other patients that were having conversations with visiting family, and over to the lone woman sitting beside the window, a stack of letters and an open Margery Kempe book in her lap.
He softly settled on a chair beside her, and felt JJ slide into the chair beside him, as the woman looked back down at the letters.
"Hello mom," Spencer said softly. Diana turned, and her eyes widened, smile alighting her face.
"Spencer! It's lovely to see you, dear. I didn't know you were in town, is it vacation time already?"
He shook his head, "No mom, my job brought us out this way, so I wanted to see you before I had to go back home tomorrow."
Diana frowned, but turned, "And dear Jennifer! It's absolutely lovely to see you too, dear."
"Hello Mrs. Reid," JJ said softly, "I hope you don't mind my intruding on your time with Spence."
"No, dear, think nothing of it. Spencer has told me that you two have officially begun courting. I hope your intentions are honorable, dear," she said looking at her son. She turned to Spence, who was blushing to his roots, and jerkily nodding his head.
"They are mom, I love JJ."
Diana smiled, and said, "That's good then. So, tell me what all has been going on. How is my son treating you, Jennifer?"
She smiled, "We haven't had too many problems, ma'am."
"Call me Diana, dear."
"Diana," JJ softly corrected, "Your son is the perfect gentlemen, most of the time. Doctor Thompson did, however, inform us that he wrote to you of our personal life, so I'll have to speak to him about that."
"Spencer William," Diana said, "I know I taught you better than that!"
He nodded, "Yes mom, I was just so joyously euphoric that JJ would deign to gift me in that way, that I did not properly engage my brain."
Diana laughed, and JJ was surprised to realize how much she enjoyed the sound of the other woman's laughter.
For what seemed like hours, but was just slightly short of one, JJ listened to her young genius' mother regale her with tales of her boyfriend's childhood. And, as engrossed as she often found herself in listening to her boyfriend's words, his mother made sense of all her lover's quirks.
"Spencer," Diana said as she noticed him watching the two of them, and smiled softly as he leaned forward.
"Yes mom," he said softly.
"Doctor Thompson told me what happened last time you visited."
He winced and said, "Mom…"
"Don't, Spencer, I need you to listen to me!" she said roughly. "I want you to know something, Spencer William Reid," she said softly again. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. And, I know that you've done everything you can to make me comfortable, and yes, I know when I'm… off my meds that I say things that are hurtful, but I love you Spencer. I love you so much, that sometimes I can't help but read everyone your stories."
JJ glanced at her boyfriend, as the door opened and Doctor Thompson entered carrying her tray of medicine.
"Spencer," Diana said, "I love you, and I am so proud of you. I know that I don't always say it, but I think you need to know that."
She could feel him trembling from beside her, and softly pressed her lips to his temple.
"I love you too, mom," he whispered, so softly. Then, before JJ had the slightest chance to stop him, her boyfriend stood and walked forward. "Can I…?"
Diana stood carefully, eying her son for any sign of hesitation, before slowly she opened her arms. She watched as her boyfriend embraced his mother, for what she could tell was probably the first time in years. The depth of the emotion between them was almost debilitating in its ferocity.
"That is the first I've ever seen her accept a hug from her son," Doctor Thompson said confirming her earlier thoughts. "I almost wish that I didn't have to break it up."
JJ turned to him, and said, "Just give them a few more minutes, and we'll leave."
He eyed her for a few moments, and she could tell that he was deciding whether or not to agree, before he eyed mother and son, and nodded in agreement. "They need this."
After a few more minutes, the embrace ended, and Spencer stood back from his mom, and said, "We have to go now, mom… but I wanted to deliver this one personally. I wish I could come by and see you tomorrow, but we'll be heading back to Quantico in the morning."
Diana eyed the bundle in her hand and smiled as her son turned to Doctor Thompson, and said, "Well see our selves out, Doctor."
"Doctor Reid," the man said suddenly, "It was good to see you again."
He nodded, and absently turned the knob, before he walked out of the room.
JJ was so used to him having a tight rein on his emotions that it was almost difficult to walk away from the room. She could feel that he wasn't going to last long, so hoped and prayed that he'd make it too the SUV, before he broke down.
Her prayers weren't answered. As soon as the secured entrance opened, and the fresh night air hit her boyfriend's senses, he collapsed; tears falling down his face. She watched as others exited the secure building, but ignored them in favor to kneel beside him, and pull Spence into the crook of her neck.
"This was a good visit," JJ said softly. "Even I can see that, Spence."
He shook and shook, and sobbed and sobbed. And, as she helped him pick himself up, and led him back to the SUV that was loaned out for their personal use until they went back to Virginia, she couldn't help but feel that some of that horrible weight was finally off of his shoulders.
"Do you want me to drive again?" she asked. Spence shook his head, "No, I'll be alright. I…" he trailed off, "I'm happy JJ."
She smiled and said, "Good, if you were angry after that, I'd have to shoot you."
Her boyfriend laughed and said, "I think they'd take your gun in that case."
JJ nodded, knowing that he was probably right.
"So, what else have you got planned for tonight. I'd really like to hit a casino, and see you clean it out."
Spencer blushed and said, "Well, I told you that I met one of my old teachers earlier, and she invited me over for dinner? I told her yes, on the understanding that I would want to introduce her to my girlfriend."
"That sounds fun," JJ admitted before she said, "Lead on, honey."
He smiled and peeled out of the parking lot, joyousness in his exhilaration.
Less than ten minutes passed before they were pulling up outside of a large, wrought-iron gate that led to a small, but extremely well cared-for lawn. The house wasn't the smallest on the street, but it was extremely close.
Standing at only one story, it was not the house of a rich and powerful part-time tenant, but the house of someone that had been a member of the community for more years than she care to count.
Two magnolia trees stood out in contrast to the yellow, almost tan paint that covered the house. Softly, she removed her seat belt, and stepped as graciously as possible out of the door. Looking at her boyfriend, she noticed that he had a slight grip on the steering wheel, as if the thought of being inside this house terrified him.
"Spence?" she said. He smiled hesitantly, and she was about to change her mind and ask that they head on to the casino, when the sound of a front door opening and closing drew her attention.
JJ turned, and noticed a lithe, older woman standing there with a white apron wrapped around her at mid-waist. Her hair was up in a net, and she had white nylon gloves adorning her hands.
"Are you coming in, Spencer Reid, or do I need to send bambina out to meet you?"
Her boyfriend took a deep breath, and opened his door cautiously. JJ wondered, if the thought of meeting him scared her so much, after all these years, why he bothered coming by here.
"Hello Cynthia," he said softly, "Thank you for inviting me. I'd like to introduce my girlfriend, Jennifer Jareau. JJ," he said turning to her, "Cynthia Turner."
"Hello ma'am," JJ said grasping the woman's arm softly as she'd seen her boyfriend do. The woman smiled, and said, "Hello Jennifer. Welcome to my home. Please, come in and make yourselves at home."
She nodded, and in a show of unity that surprised JJ immensely, she and Spencer entered the home with nary a look of apprehension.
The inside of the house wasn't what she expected. Instead of the white or yellow paint she expected to adorn the walls, a soft rose red was the pre-eminent color. The furniture, frayed from decades of use, was well taken care of, otherwise. And, she could tell, the mattresses had only recently been flipped over to air out.
"You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Turner," JJ said softly. The woman turned and said, "That's nice of you to say, Miss Jareau. I only wish I'd had more time to clean up, it's harder to housekeep now that I'm getting older, but working the same hours. I can't get around like I used too."
JJ nodded, knowing the trouble she had keeping her own house clean during the hours, or days, she had off from work.
"So," the woman said softly sitting, "I'm making lasagna, it should be done in about an hour. So," the woman said, "Jennifer, tell me about yourself, and what makes you think you're good enough for my boy here."
She looked at Spence, who was staring at his former teacher in horror, but was glad that he had someone looking at him, like her own father had looked out for her on so many occasions.
Cynthia Turner was, if nothing else, a no-nonsense, blunt, woman.
Sitting slightly closer to her boyfriend, JJ sighed and said, "I ask myself that everyday."
Spence turned to her, to admonish her for her negativity, but she merely smiled and placed her finger to his lips, and said, "Its fine, Spence. I'm glad to answer any question she has."
While she and he had their moment, neither noticed the woman observing them. Cynthia smiled, sighing softly.
"I work with Spencer at the FBI," JJ said after a few minutes of silent contemplation, as she looked down at the well looked-after coffee table.
With that, she went on to tell the woman all of the things they'd only ever spoke of once before, all the stories that were too hard to speak of.
By the time JJ was done, the woman was sitting beside her young genius, lightly dabbing at her eyes. "I'm glad to see that Spencer has someone so wonderful looking out for him.
"JJ has been my rock," Spencer finally spoke up after she was finished, "Even before we started dating. When she first joined our team, I was an insecure child in a man's body. Everyone knew it, and almost immediately, started treating me as such. And," here her boyfriend was glancing at her shamed, "Often took their time ostracizing new members to our team in order to make me feel accepted."
Unbidden, JJ remembered his words to her dad just after those awful events in Boston, 'Before I met JJ, I was awkward at best. I never integrated with the team…"
And for the first time, she realized what he meant. She looked at her young genius, and couldn't help but see the anguish in his features. Too her shock, before she could think to hold him, the older woman reached forward, and wrapped her hand around his, and softly she whispered, "I'm happy for you, Spencer. You deserve it after everything that's happened."
And, not for the first time, she wondered what her boyfriend had gone through to make him the awkward, contradictory, but essentially wonderful guy he was.
Dinner was a wonderful affair, she would well and truly admit later. The lasagna was cooked to perfection, and the condiments chosen to accompany it enhanced, not drowned, the flavor.
It was difficult to watch Spencer say goodbye to the other woman, who had so easily showed she cared for her boyfriend, if not as a son as a favored nephew. And it showed, in the way he never hesitated, that he cared for her as a cherished aunt.
But, as they climbed in the SUV, JJ noticed a firm resolve settle over her young genius. And, she knew, that regardless of her expectations, her questions of his young life were going to be answered.
There was a serenity about her boyfriend, a calm that she knew came from his decision to open up about the part of his life that kept him from fully opening up to her. It was frightening, knowing that the knowledge of his life scared him so much that he was afraid to open up.
Sure, there were still things she kept from him, nightmares she'd long since buried, but she had the feeling… no… the almost absoluteness of knowing, that what he was going to reveal was going to almost make her secrets pale in comparison.
To her surprise, he didn't go immediately to his home, which is what she expected. Instead, he pulled into downtown Las Vegas, and pulled onto the strip. She kept glancing at him, making sure that he was alright, but noticed that his hands were gripped to the steering wheel as if it were a lifeline.
A sudden panic filled her, terror gripping at her, as thoughts raced in her head over the impending explosion she felt coming from him.
What has you so terrified, Spence?
They parked outside of a large, brightened casino. The parking lot was lit completely, with lights ever few meters apart, and was jam-packed so tightly together that she was almost afraid too move incorrectly, afraid of scratching one of the higher-end vehicles surrounding them.
A gulf seemed to separate them from the casino itself, and as she turned to meet him at the front of the SUV, she was surprised to see him bending over. Confusion washed over her, until he came out with both of their sidearm's in his grip, and their badges clipped safely to his pocket. She wondered, briefly, why he was bringing them.
"Better safe than sorry," he told her hesitantly, before holding out her badge and standard issue, before placing his in its holster, and slipping his badge into his lapel.
Surely, she thought, no one would be stupid enough to steal a federal agent's vehicle?
But the certainty of his actions made JJ stop to consider.
She gripped his hand softly as they started making their way too the casino proper, and for the first time a sense of giddy anticipation came over her.
They entered the casino with no problem, even with the metal detectors going off didn't bother them. Mostly, JJ knew, because the guard at the door had seen their badges and had turned off the alarm before it could sound.
That, she knew, she'd have to bring to his boss' attention.
Spencer turned to her, his eyes gazing into hers, a soft smile now covering his face.
"What is it Spence?"
"Tonight," he said softly, "I want to introduce you to my world. I want you to see what my life is usually like when I'm here, and I don't want you to worry about the cost. Anything," he said, "Everything you want tonight is on me, Jennifer."
A frown covered her face for the barest of moments, before another barely mentioned moment crossed her memory.
"How much do you spend on books," her mom asked, "And more importantly," her dad asked, "How can you afford it? We know that Jenny makes a good salary, but she can't spend a couple thousand dollars a week on a whim."
His fidgeting at the time had made her interrupt her parent's almost subtle interrogation, not wanting Spencer to feel even more out of sorts than he already was at the time.
"Spence, you don't have to tell me how… but I need to know you're able to afford that?"
He nodded, his shoulders firm, as he looked deep into her eyes. She wondered briefly, how much his multiple degrees helped him on the federal government's pay scale, and why, if he made so much, he chose to enter the BAU in the first place.
"Alright," she whispered softly into his ear, "then wow me, lover."
He kissed her forehead, his lips curving into a smile. Her hand moved to his shoulder, and she pressed her ear to his chest for the slightest of moments, before he tightly grasped her hand.
Walking confidently towards a teller, Spencer pulled out one of his oft unused credit cards, and pressed it towards the woman, who looked at him cautiously.
"Ten thousand in chips," her boyfriend said authoritatively. The teller's eyes widened and she swiped his card, before pulling out a tray and cautiously counting out the exact number of chips that her boyfriend had just ordered. He smiled and said, "And starts a tab, and keep it open for my girlfriend and anyone I send over."
The teller looked at her, and JJ could feel the woman's gaze settling over her for just a moment, as if studying her. Then, she turned her gaze away and said, "Will that be all, Mister Reid?"
She waited for her boyfriend to correct the woman, but to her surprise, he didn't. Instead, he grabbed the small tray that was pushed towards them, and placed it under his arm. "Do you want to order a drink before we head in?"
She shook her head. "No," she said softly, "I want there to be absolutely no doubt whom I'm going home with tonight, and a lot of idiots hit on drunken women, whether or not they're with dates."
He smiled softly. "JJ, they're not blind. You," he whispered into her hair, "are absolutely ravishing. If you want though," he smiled, "I can profile anyone that does come up and hit on you."
She swatted his arm, "I'll get something when I'm thirsty."
Smiling, Spence sat down at the nearest blackjack table, and separated the pile into two, before asking her to take over the one next to him. She sat, cautiously wondering why he wanted her to do so.
"Spence," she whispered to him, "This is five thousand dollars."
"I know," he said to her softly, "But I want you to have fun tonight too, and trust me, watching me clean out a casino isn't as fun as you might think."
She nodded, and settled in. If her date were anyone else, she'd worry about having to pay them back.
As the first rounds began, she watched her boyfriend eye the table, listening to every hit and stay going on around them. Then, without missing a beat, he entered the game with a flurry that she'd never before seen. Within an hour, he'd already doubled his initial offering, while her pile kept dwindling. To make matters worse, every time she thought about leaving, he'd hand her half of his newly grown pile, and slip her a sly grin.
Around them, people seemed to be getting into the game, watching the man and woman combo around them killing the bank. So much so, that when a third and then fourth person sat beside them, and the game became that much more involved, the crowd began placing side bets on whether or not the quartet at the table would break the bank, or be asked to leave.
It was an hour later, the first man up a grand total of twenty-five thousand dollars that he stood and said, "I'm going to take my chips to another table, alright JJ?"
She looked at him, and nodded, before she too cashed out, five hundred dollars shorter than when she first came in. In reality, JJ knew, she'd lost well in excess of the five thousand her boyfriend had first given her, but she'd had fun while doing so, and from the look on Spencer's face, she knew that's exactly what she wanted.
"Are we doing the same thing at the next table?" she asked, as the two that had joined them, a couple of Mexican men, stood and started walking with them.
He smiled softly at her and said, "It's not that type of table, JJ."
She smiled briefly, wondering what he was talking about, before slipping her arm into his, and kissing him slightly on the cheek.
She didn't need to see his chips to know exactly how much she'd lost her boyfriend tonight. The wince alone made her shudder.
The next table they went too wasn't, as she expected, a blackjack table, but poker. And the buy-in was very steep; thirty-thousand dollars, to be precise. She looked at Spence, and watched as he eyed the tables around him, before he sat himself in an empty stool in front of him.
To her surprise, at the only other table he'd even hesitated with, Derek Morgan was intensely staring at a younger man that held two cards in his hand while staring at the board in front of him. Derek, she noticed blithely, had a flush diamonds, Ace high. But the man was smirking. She winced, wondering if Derek was profiling the man.
When the man negligently placed five thousand dollar chips on the table in front of him, she looked at Derek's far smaller pile, and mentally calculated the amount he had left. He had more than enough to cover the man's initial bid, but wouldn't have much to spread around if he lost.
To her shock, Derek raised the man, adding another two thousand to the growing pile.
"Derek caught the other guy's bluff," Spencer told her softly from beside her. She looked at him, her eyes asking him for an explanation.
"He hesitated before placing his bid on the table. Now," Spencer said, "Derek is going to milk him for all he's worth, because whether or not the guy wants to admit it, if Derek found his tell, then it wouldn't be hard for others to find it. He doesn't realize that our job is to see and exploit them."
It wasn't a surprise, then, that Derek ended up winning that hand, before the man stood up and walked away with his few remaining chips.
By the time she returned her attention to her own boyfriend, she noticed that he'd actually lost about five thousand dollars. Soon, the bets started getting larger, and more fierce than before, and she wondered if having her with him was causing her boyfriend too lose his concentration.
That was when she noticed it. On the table, a Jack, Queen and King of Spades were sitting prominently beside a six of hearts and an unturned card. The others at the table were smirking at her boyfriend, and she knew at least one of them had a full house, while the others probably were able to pair of one or the other.
Looking at his hand, she saw Spence sitting with the Ten and Ace of Spades, and watched as his hand quivered as he placed his matching bet on the table. The others pounced.
Soon, the bets were flying in, and within moments, a hundred and fifty-thousand dollars was sitting on the table. Her boyfriend was sitting there, eying his last five thousand, the amount he needed to call the bet, and he placed it on the table slowly.
"No more bets," the dealer said authoritatively, as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She jerked, and turned, ready to pull her gun, when she noticed the arm. It was very familiar.
"Derek," she said softly, "Don't do that."
"Hey JJ," he whispered in response to her slight rebuke, "Has Pretty Boy started yet?"
"No," she said equally low, "But he's about too."
Proudly, around them, the men started placing their cards on the table, and she was right one did have a full house, Kings over Queens. Then, she saw it. A shift from the nervous child that he was acting, to the confident FBI Special Agent she knew him as, as he laid his cards down and said, "Royal Flush."
The groans around her were like music to JJ's ears, and she saw the dealer reluctantly push the cards to her boyfriend, as he glanced at a man at the end of the table, who'd held the previously winning full house. Derek sat at a newly unoccupied seat, where one of the men smartly evacuated only moments before, and placed his chips on the table in front of him.
She groaned as Spence turned, and a slight jerk when through him, as he said, "Hey Morgan."
"Reid," their partner and friend said, "I'm going to win my money back now, you realize?"
"Mind if I get in on this," another familiar voice from behind them drew her attention. She turned, and immediately groaned.
"This is not going to end well," she muttered underneath her breath.
"Hotch," Derek said, "I lost you about an hour ago, where'd you go?"
Hotch smiled and said, "I got caught up playing the slots, when people started whispering about a nervous man-child that just cleaned out an entire table with his blond girlfriend sitting beside him. I took a chance," he shrugged. "Reid."
He blushed.
And then, their partners actually caught sight of his pile. Derek let out a slow whistle, while Hotch leaned down and said, "How much did he start out with?"
She grinned in hesitation, wondering how she should answer, when the table filled again, this time with newer, more intimidating looking players.
Their chips nearly rivaled her boyfriends.
Derek and Hotch sat on either side of him, their own slightly large piles paling in comparison to the others. As a waitress walked over, she looked at her friends, and smiled slightly.
"He," she said pointing at Derek, "wants beer."
"He," she said pointing at Hotch, "wants bourbon."
"He," she said pointing at Spencer, "wants rum and coke."
"And she," her boyfriend said smoothly, "wants whisky."
She turned to her boyfriend and the smile on his face. Hotch and Morgan was eying her, and she blushed before she said, "I have to try and even the odds for the others, you know?"
They laughed, but one of the others must have heard her, because the next thing she knew, he was ordering vodka martinis, and glaring at them. She groaned, and sighed, sitting back in her seat. When the drinks arrived, she handed the waitress one of the chips she had left over. The woman placed it in a pack at her side, before JJ handed her a similar chip and said, "Keep them coming."
The woman nodded.
Within a matter of minutes, the betting was fiercely competitive and she could see her boyfriend eying the table with nary a problem as Hotch and Morgan did the same. All three piles had grown respectively large, and by mutual agreement, none of them started betting against the others. She wondered why, when she noticed that, of the six players at the table, Hotch took the first man, who'd ordered the vodka martinis and was slightly inebriated now. Morgan took the second, more intimidating man, who was glaring at them, his hand gripping his side where a gun would normally be placed. And Spencer took the last, and had eventually bankrupted him, and was sitting back, not getting involved in the betting much, only too buy in and fold most hands.
Once the others were bankrupted, the dealer turned to them and raised the big blinds to five hundred dollars a pot, and again they had a crowd around them. The waitress came over with their fifth tray of drinks a second later, and placed them on the table in front of them.
Who knew that Spencer Reid could hold his liquor?
By the end of the night, Spence had nearly wiped out Morgan, and Hotch had withdrawn early knowing when it was better to give in than face the inevitable. She eyed her boyfriend's pile, just under a million chips, and wondered what he was going to do. To her surprise, he took a large pile and handed it to the dealer, whose eyes widened when Spence said, "the bank's cut." It was easily about ten percent of what he'd won.
He seemed to understand, and hesitantly placed it in the drawer. Then, Spence turned to Morgan, and handed the man back his initial thirty-thousand dollar buy-in, and handed Hotch enough to draw even for the night, and said, "This was fun, everyone, but I best be going.
Then, he picked up his tray and with slightly broken steps, he grinned and walked up to the teller they'd seen only five hours before.
He handed her the chips, and she reluctantly cashed him out. It was as they neared the door that a man walked over to them.
"I don't know how you cheated," the man hissed at them, "But you're going to pay me back what's mine, boy, or I'm going to kill you."
JJ almost reached for her gun, out of fear for her boyfriend's life more than necessity, when Hotch and Morgan arrived and stood behind them.
"It seems like no one is happy about you cleaning us out," the man grinned, until he noticed that all of them had taken defensive stands behind her boyfriend, who was merely looking at him. No fear, no expectation of violence.
"Your tell," Spence said a few seconds later, "Was pathetically easy to find."
Hotch and Morgan merely nodded.
"Whenever you'd have a losing hand, you'd look at your watch, and then pat your left pocket." Hotch said amusedly, watching the others around them as they took note of the man's face.
"And," Morgan said, "If you had a winning hand, which wasn't to often, you'd look at your watch, then pat your right pocket."
The man's teeth grit together, and she could see him reaching for his back pocket. To her surprise, Derek didn't hesitate and before he knew it, Derek had the man on the ground, his arms locked behind his back, as he said, "And, you really don't want to pull your gun on armed Federal Agents."
Suddenly, the room grew quiet, and she looked around them, and was surprised to see so many shocked faces.
"Morgan," Hotch said. Derek backed off immediately.
"My partner is right," Hotch said to the man who was now picking himself up off the floor, "I know for a fact that there are people in this room looking for the slightest provocation to start a firefight. Don't," Hotch said. "If you can't afford to lose your money, you shouldn't be here in the first place."
The now red-faced idiot was mumbling to himself, and was only seconds away, when a couple of bouncers showed up and escorted him from the premises.
"Well said Agents," a man said walking up to them. She looked at the man, who looked at Spencer and said, "Any particular reason you chose the table you did tonight, young man?"
Spence smiled and said, "The dealer and the man just escorted out were working together to swindle your customers. I noticed it as I made my way to the table… I usually try to avoid playing as strongly as I did tonight. Every time he'd deal cards, he'd show his partner the next card on the pile."
"So you decided to even the odds," the man said softly. "Why did you pay the bank?"
"Because," Spence said sheepishly, "I don't want to be blacklisted."
The man looked at him and sighed. "We owe you, Agent. You're welcome here anytime."
Hotch sighed as they were making their way out of the casino, "what have I told you about breaking the bank?"
"Not too," Spence said softly, "I just had more motivation to do so tonight than usual."
She didn't miss his backward glance.
"And you, JJ," the man said, "I thought you were going to keep him out of trouble?"
She blushed and said, "I was having too much fun watching him that I forgot."
Hotch sighed, "At least we only occasionally have to make trips here."
"Yeah," Derek said, "I don't think I could afford to live if Pretty Boy kept busting my chops like that."
Spence made to give them more of his winnings, but Hotch said, "I'm ahead on the night, Reid, so it's no problem."
"Yeah, Pretty Boy," Derek said as he took her boyfriend's offering, "I was up too, but I do thank you for your generosity."
"How'd you do, JJ?" Hotch asked. She blushed, "I lost about twenty-thousand dollars."
"Please tell me you were playing with Reid's money?" Hotch said softly. She nodded affirmatively, before she winced and looked at her boyfriend, her eyes pleading with him not to be angry. Spence merely grinned at her, "Did you have fun?"
She nodded.
Turning to her boyfriend, Hotch asked, "And how far are you up from where you started?"
Muttering, Spence answered, "Seven hundred and fifty-thousand after splitting my winnings."
"Dinner on Reid," Derek asked Hotch calmly. Hotch thought about it, and said, "Yeah, that'll work."
With that the duo grabbed either side of her boyfriend's arm, and led him, half-heartedly protesting, to the nearest restaurant.
April 19, 2005: 4:00AM
Relief filled the two of them as they slipped into Spence's large home, leaving behind the standard issue van out of place amongst the slim, newer model vehicles along the street around them. Thankfully, their night ended briefly after dinner, with Hotch and Morgan telling her that they'd called ahead and had two rooms at the closest hotel to Spence's home on hold, in case the two wanted privacy tonight.
They softly approached the master bedroom; JJ's breath sharp as Spence casually slipped the door open. Images of their vacation came to mind, and of the last time they'd been alone in this home, shortly after her then new boyfriend's breakdown over his mother's rejection.
Casually, she glanced at the safe as Spence opened it and secured their weapons and ID, before she silently slipped into the bathroom and started the shower. She stripped her clothes off and gently hung them on the towel rack outside of the door.
It wasn't a few minutes later, as she slipped into the now burning hot water that she heard the bathroom door slip open. A jolt of excitement shot through her, the thought of her boyfriend being bold enough to intrude upon a somewhat private moment filled her with anticipation.
She heard the slow fall of his zipper, and grinned as she waited for him to open the sliding door. Absently, she wondered how he should be greeted, whether he should be greeted with the site of her bent over, lathering her long legs, or with her arms upon her head, as she leaned back against the cold plastic of the shower that surrounded her.
The sound of his pants dropping to the floor caused her to grin in anticipation, waiting for the door to open. He hesitated for only a moment, and she wasn't surprised when the slight knock came to the glass door. She smiled, perfect.
"Yes," she mewled, her grin never leaving her face as she waited for her boyfriend to respond.
She'd been dropping hints, for what seems like months, that she was willing to take their relationship a step further, if he was ready. Some days he'd look at her askance, as if the very idea disturbed him. And then, there were the others, where he'd seem to hear what she said, and accept it, but never acted on the words she'd given him.
"May I join you?" her boyfriend's voice came back to her, holding a timbre that she'd only ever heard from him in situations where he was very scared, but very willing to work through.
Las Vegas International Airport runway: 8:45AM
They were the only two on the jet, as it sat at the end of the runway. Hotch and Morgan had both called earlier, saying that they'd be arriving together just before departure around 9:30.
And yet, the solitude and silence was just what they needed, or at least it's what she needed to bring up an uncomfortable subject that risked every bit of progress they'd made just hours before.
"Spence," she said hesitantly, "Why was this case so difficult?"
He looked at her and crossed his arms across his chest, a sure sign that he was uncomfortable, when he said, "What makes you think it was?"
"I might not be a profiler, but I know you, Spence. You've been… off… since we got here… and you in particular didn't want to take this case."
He nodded, absently acknowledging her words. "And," she said, "As amazing as last night was, and as much as I'm always going to remember it as a beautiful, wonderful night, I also want the morning remembered as a cathartic experience."
Spencer sighed and said, "Cynthia wasn't just my advisor."
She looked at him in confusion, wondering what the matronly woman had to do with anything.
"My senior year of high school, a girl named Harper Hillman came up to me with a message from Alexa Lisbon."
JJ's eyes widened at the name, and she shot him a glance.
"At the time," he said a look of grimace, "Alexa was everything that I thought I'd ever want in a girlfriend; beautiful, intelligent, and friendly to everyone… including the too mature genius that had shown her and her friends up since his arrival the year before…, and I was in the phase that I'd have done anything that she asked even if it meant that I'd be in academic trouble."
That statement told JJ tons, because other than his job, she didn't know of anything more important to Spencer Reid than academia.
"Harper said that Alexa wanted to meet me underneath the bleachers."
"And I'm guessing the bleachers at Las Vegas High School were used for everything that they're used for at most other high schools?" JJ asked.
"If you mean meetings of a carnal nature," he shrugged embarrassedly. "So, naturally, being the child of thirteen that I was, I was eager, more than really, and… I agreed almost immediately."
JJ could see that. So far the picture was not one she wanted to imagine, because even though the picture he was painting told one story, she knew differently.
"The entire time we're going there, Harper is telling me things that Alexa said she was going to do to me. I was... excited when we arrived. And, Alexa was there, standing underneath the bleachers, her jacket on the ground at her feet. And when I approached, she wrapped me in a hug, and… then she apologized."
A lurch filled JJ's stomach.
"What happened?" she asked, even though she didn't want too. Spence cringed, and said, "I asked her why she was sorry, and she just turned me around. In the few seconds since my arrival, the Varsity Cheerleaders, and Varsity Football team had arrived, and cornered us. Before I could even think to react, one of them came forward, and ripped my shirt off, and shoved me to the ground.
His friend then took his knife and cut my pants and underwear off."
JJ's eyes widened in horror…
"Did…?" she tried to ask. He shook his head, "No, they didn't rape me, JJ. I think, some times, that's why I didn't turn into the type of person that we chase. After I was naked, and after the team had laughed at my size, I was picked up by the captain of the squad and carried over to the goal post. Once I was there, the captain ordered two of his teammates to climb the ladders that they had placed there. Once they had, he handed me off, and I was tied, arms spread, to the posts."
"Crucifixion," JJ said softly. He nodded, "In a symbolic sense, yes…. The only difference was that I didn't have any wounds except for the burns that the ropes were giving me, and the emotional scars that I carried after that night. Once they were finished, they stood back and laughed, for what seemed like hours, until one by one they grew bored with watching, ridiculing, me. Then, they left.
The entire time, I'm watching Alexa, pleading with my eyes that she helps me down from there. I even begged her to help, to tell them that it wasn't right, but then her boyfriend, the Varsity Captain, walked up and placed his arms around her, and looked at me. 'This is what happens to little boys that don't show respect to their betters'.
I hung there for hours after they left, crying and pleading for someone to help me. It was ninety degrees that day, I remember because by the end of the second hour I was totally sunburned, and my back had the beginnings of first-degree burns.
I thought I was going to die. Then, night fell, and I started getting stung by bees, and bitten by mosquitoes, and that felt like acid on my already burnt skin. It wasn't until later that I was found. Cynthia was coming back to the school, she'd forgotten some important papers that she needed to return the next day, but had gone on a date with her husband the evening before. When she arrived at the school, I heard her car door slam, and her lights shut off, so I scream. I yelled, I begged and pleaded. I," he hesitated, "I even told them that I was naked and alone. It could have been anyone JJ!"
She nodded, having seen the types of UNSUB's they had, she knew that her boyfriend had been extremely lucky.
She turned her lights back on, and I thought that she hadn't heard me, until the car started coming towards the field. I was at the opposite end, so as she drove up, I started yelling… started screaming for help.
When she saw me, she gasped and pulled out her cell phone. I panicked," he said softly, "I'd already been laughed at, I didn't want to be ridiculed even more, so I begged her to just cut me down. She sighed and apologized, before she dialed. Within fifteen minutes, a police car had arrived.
It was her husband. He took one look at me, took another at Cynthia, and went to the back of his cruiser, pulled out a knife, and started cutting me down. Cynthia caught me."
As soon as I touched her, I screamed, and I remember begging, pleading to be taken home."
JJ was sick to her stomach, barely resisting the urge to vomit, as she pictured the scene in her head. Absently, she wondered what the statue of limitations was on torture and sexual abuse of a child was, and whether or not she could have the pleasure of arresting the bitch that hurt her boyfriend… when she remembered something. "Why on earth would you willingly talk to her, Spencer?"
He winced. "The case was more important than bad memories, JJ."
Of course he would think that, JJ thought sardonically.
"I later found out that I was released around nine that night. They took me by the hospital, and Doctor's covered me with Aloe Vera, and other creams to reduce the burn. I was then poked, prodded, and tested for everything they could think. Nathaniel, Cynthia's husband, came in after the doctors were finished, and asked me the names of everyone that had taken part in what happened. I hesitated for a moment, because I knew that if I said anything, I'd probably be killed the next time, but Cynthia promised me that she was going to take me too and from school each day until I graduated. So," he sighed, "I did. I told him every name I could remember. I gave him descriptions, and details he hadn't even thought to ask for yet.
The next day, police came by the school, and arrested every student that was responsible for my attack. Some, like Alexa, were let of lightly because her father was a high-priced lawyer. Others weren't so lucky, and for the next five months, I was afraid to walk the halls alone because I knew that I was going to be killed, if I was ever cornered."
"And they let someone like that work near children?"
"Like I said, Alexa was never prosecuted, her father said that she was influenced by her boyfriend, that she claimed to have been threatened with worse if she didn't go along with what they wanted, and that she truly regretted what happened. But," he shuddered, "By then, the damage was done and I've had an acute fear of women ever sense."
"Then why?" she asked him softly.
"I don't know," he said honestly, cupping her cheek, "But, as soon as I saw you, I knew you were different. You're closer to my age than any other woman I've ever known, and… I don't know… there was something about you Jen… something that made me trust you. It was as if some magnetic force drew you into my orbit, and refused to let you go. That's one reason I spoke up for you when I did."
"Thank you for sharing this with me, Spence."
"Anything for you, Jen," he said softly.
"People need revelation, and then they need resolution – Damian Lewis."