Jacey looks at numerous opportunities for a new job, while taking care of a fussy Mia. Spencer tries to explain to JJ why his relationship with Jacey is important to him.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~[Opening Credits]
"SCREAM" (SEASON 10, EPISODE 15).
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~[ON TO THE STORY]
"Yes, sir, I've thought about this." Jacey told the voice on the other side of the phone. "I've done all I could do for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. I think it's time for me to leave. There are so many other young men and women who would love my job. I want them to have the same opportunities you have given to me." Jacey smiled at her newborn as she gazed down at her.
"But Jacey, you're the best of the best. People here love you."
"And I understand that, Chief Ryan. But I want to spread my experience and support to a branch a bit above the police department." Jacey placed baby Mia in her bouncing swing that was located in the living room.
Still on the phone, Jacey grabbed her paperwork and résumé, and made her way to the couch. She set her things on the coffee table in front of her.
"How many offers did you get?" Chief Ryan asked, figuring out his best trauma therapist was offered jobs that he couldn't provide.
"Thirty. Not including the ten I have in my mail stack."
Chief Ryan sighed. "Hand in your resignation letter when your leave is over."
Jacey smiled. "Yes, sir."
"And Jacey...It's been a hell of a time working with you."
"Damn straight." Jacey replied before hanging up. Jacey sighed as she glanced at her newborn, who was staring back at her. Her blue
doe eyes gazing at Jacey's brown eyes. Mia moved her gaze to the animal toys about her head. Jacey then turned on the baby bouncer so it can attempt to rock Mia asleep.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Jacey looked at the clock and noticed that it was a bit early in the morning. She knew it could have been her father, Spencer, or someone else from the BAU team.
"Coming." Jacey said as she tied her hair in a messy bun. Opening the door, Jacey was greeted by Spencer who had milk, coffee, and doughnuts in his hand. "Spencer."
"Hey," Spencer said with a smile. It was always nice to see Jacey. She was the only thing in his life that made a little sense. "May I come in?"
"Oh! Yes. Yeah, just whisper though...Mia is finally going to sleep." Spencer nodded as he stepped in the apartment. Jacey walked in the kitchen area, making sure she can see Mia where she stood. She could.
"So, what are you doing here this early? I'm not complaining but I wasn't expecting you." Jacey said as she grabbed two plates from her cabinet, placing them in front of her and Spencer.
"I was in the area."
"Uh huh." Jacey said with a blush appearing on her cheeks. Spencer brushed a loose strand of hair behind Jacey's ear.
"I wanted to see you and Mia."
Jacey wrapped her arms around Spencer's neck, just as he placed his hands on her waist. "We wanted to see you too."
There was a moment of silence between Spencer and Jacey. It was the first time in a long time where Spencer felt content. He felt complete. Having Jacey and Mia meant the world to him.
"How did you know I was awake?" Jacey asked as she laid her head against Spencer's right shoulder.
Spencer chuckled softly. "You're have a month old baby. There's no way you'd be sleeping right now."
Jacey started to laugh, pulling herself out of Spencer's arms. "You're right."
"You look exhausted."
"I am exhausted. Mia has been extremely fussy for the past few days. I mean, I took her temperature...everything seems fine. She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow." Jacey stated as she stuffed a piece of doughnut in her mouth. Spencer looked over at Mia then at Jacey.
"You mind if I come with you to Mia's appointment? I figured you could use the company."
Jacey smiled, her hand slightly touching Spencer. "Of course you can come. I'd really like that."
Just then, Spencer's phone started to buzz. It was his alarm telling him he needs to head to work. Spencer sighed, knowing his time with his girls were over. "I have to go."
"Okay. Well, be sure to say bye to Mia before you leave."
Spencer and Jacey walked into the living room together. Jacey picked up Mia from her swing, cradling the infant in her arms. Spencer softly kissed the baby on her forehead.
"Bye, Mia, see you soon." Spencer said. Before he had the time to stop himself, Spencer kissed Jacey on the cheek. "Bye, Jacey, talk to you later. Alright?"
"For sure." Jacey said above a whisper as she watched the known genius leave the room.
~CRIMINAL MINDS~
"Have any witnesses come forward?" Spencer asked the lead detective of their latest case. He was at the precinct facing the board of evidence and locations.
"I have my guys out interviewing local merchants," the detective said, "but so far we're coming up empty."
"Have you noticed any variations in traffic patterns near where the bodies were found?" Spencer asked.
"That road's a commuter nightmare. Why?"
"The unsub had to know the traffic in order to escape detection." Hotchner answered for Reid.
"Grand Avenue's is 18 miles long and runs through four other cities." Spencer said matter of factly.
"He could have spread out the dump sites but chose not to," Rossi said, observing the behavior of the unsub.
"Both victims were found within a mile of one another." The detective stated, catching on the ways of the unsub.
Rossi shook his head slightly, "that's a huge risk the unsub didn't have to take."
"The area must be important to him." Aaron said.
"Or convenient." Reid said, looking away from the map. "What are you willing to bet the unsub either lives or works nearby?"
~THE CRIMINAL MINDS~
It was a quiet afternoon, which wasn't something Jacey was use to. Usually, around this time, Mia would be throwing a fit because she's wet herself. But today was different.
Mia was asleep in her bassinet that was placed in the living room. Jacey was drinking decaffeinated green tea as she went through her mail.
"Bill. Bill. Bill. Credit card bill? Avoiding that for a little while longer. Bill. Job offer from the BAU in Quanitco." Jacey froze for a moment. She placed the cup of tea on the coffee table. She threw the other mail on the table while holding on to the mail from Quanitco's BAU. She opened it slowly, not really sure what she was so nervous.
She read over the letter, smiling softly to herself.
The letter read:
"DR. JACEY MONTGOMERY,
We are sending you a letter of qualification. We are offering you an opportunity to work with our agents as the newest member of our therapeutic staff. You will work with our agents who might be suffering from PTSD or any other psychological experiences as well as giving psychological evaluations. You will also have the opportunity to work with victims who could be suffering from PTSD. The opportunity to travel with one of our teams is very likely.
You will receive your own office as well as health benefits and open hours.
Please contact our head chief via phone. 703-555-4536. Hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you."
Jacey wanted to scream. It's been a dream to be able to work with agents who are constantly out on the field. Jacey didn't think this day would come so soon.
"I gotta calm down." Jacey whispered to herself, shifting her eyes to the sleeping baby. "I gotta call someone." Jacey grabbed her cellular device and carefully walked into the kitchen, putting some distance between her and the sleeping infant.
The phone rang twice before Jacey heard a voice on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Joy! You will not believe the news I have to share with you." Jacey said excitedly.
"It's a good thing I'm in California lunch traffic, huh?" Joy said with a slight chuckle. "So, what's the news?"
"I got offered a job–"
"That's not news! People always ask you to work for them!" Joy exclaimed.
"Would you let me finish?" Jacey snapped slightly at her "little" twin sister. "I got offered a job to work for the BAU!"
"The one in Quanitco?"
"Yes! Can you believe this, sissy?"
"Holy shit! That is news. I know you've always wanted to work with higher profiled people and criminals." Joy said. She was genuinely happy for her sister. "Wait. Dad and your boyfriend works there."
"Yeah, two things. One, yes, Dad and Spencer works there. Two, Spencer is not my boyfriend. We're just friends." Jacey told her sister as she pulled out a bowl of carrots from the refrigerator.
"Friends who go on numbers of romantic dates. Friends who cuddle 'unintentionally'. Honey, the man is probably the biggest father figure in Mia's life other than dad. And I can tell you really like him by the way you talk about him."
Jacey smiled slightly. "Joy, there's this thing called platonic friendships."
Joy laughed, "I don't know, sissy. Seems like this goes beyond anything platonic."
"What do you know anyways?" Jacey replied, snapping playfully.
"I know that you two should stop lying to yourselves and let it happen. Allow yourself to give 100%. It's not going to hurt you to love someone."
"Maybe you're right. You think I should mention this job offer to dad and Spencer before taking it?"
"You know dad's going to be excited. I'm not sure about Spencer. Taking this job...would it mean that you and Spencer can't date anymore."
Jacey frowned. "We can keep our relationship away from work."
"Aha! So there is a relationship."
Jacey playfully rolled her eyes. Suddenly, Mia started crying from the other room. "Okay, mommy duty calls awaits. I'll talk to you later."
"Give Mia a kiss for me! I'll visit you guys soon. Love you!"
Jacey chuckled. "Love you too, Joy. Bye."
~CRIMINAL MINDS~
The team was now back in Quanitco. Spencer was at his desk, grabbing his belongings.
"Hey, Spence." JJ greeted her close friend.
"Hey, JJ. What's up?" Spencer asked as he continued to grab his books. "How's your head?"
"I'll be fine." JJ reassured the genius. "The unsub fought unfair, he had a bat. But Kate had a gun."
Spencer smiled at JJ's attempt to make a joke out of a serious situation.
"Listen, Spence, Henry is in a play at his school and he'd love for you to see him. It's tomorrow night."
"I'd love to go. Jacey and Mia would enjoy it. Well, I'm not sure if Mia would really enjoy it. I imagine the auditorium to be loud. Mia doesn't like too much noise."
JJ gave Spencer a soft smile. She admire the way he would talk about baby Mia, if you didn't know the situation, you'd think Mia was his daughter. "Hey, Spence. Be careful."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you guys have only known each other for what...four months?"
"Three months and four days." Spencer said, giving JJ a more precise answer.
"Right. I'm just saying that...if she's asking you to be the father of her baby–" JJ started to say but was quickly cut off by Spencer.
"She's not. JJ, whenever I'm at her place she doesn't ask for my help with the baby. I'm the one asking if I could stay up with Mia so she could sleep. I'm the one changing her diaper in the middle of the night. I'm the one feeding her when she's hungry. Not that Jacey asks, I do it because I care about her and Mia. Jennifer, for once...things make sense. She's different. She's different in so many ways, more than one. I haven't felt this way about anyone–not since Maeve. I want to move on. I love Maeve. I always will. But I'm sure she'd want me to be happy. And I'm happy with Jacey. So, if you don't like her...then I'm sorry." Spencer started to walk off, his book in one hand, his phone in the other.
"Spence, wait." JJ said, gaining Spencer's attention. "It's not that I'd don't like her, I do. I just don't want you to move in a relationship too fast. I don't want you to pick up on a role of someone's dad too fast. I want you to be safe."
"Whoever I decide to be with has nothing to do with anybody. I want to be with Jacey. No one has a problem with that, not even her own father. The only person it bothers is you."
"I'm sorry. I just–I care about you."
Spencer nodded. "I know. And I care about you. But sooner or later, you're going to have to accept my relationship with Jacey." Without saying another word, Spencer walked off.
~CRIMINAL MINDS~
Jacey snuggled into her seat on the couch with baby Mia lying on her chest, looking around the room. Jacey love the small quiet moments with her daughter.
The infant started to coo at the Tv, kicking her feet. Jacey chuckled before turning to the "Baby & Mom" channel.
Mia was at the stage where she couldn't really make out shapes but her hearing seems to be okay, because she has a great time when the segment about music for infants comes on.
Jacey had Mia in her arms as she walked to the refrigerator, pulling out one of the prepared bottles of breastmilk. Just as the mother grabbed the bottle heater, there was a knock at the door.
She opened the door to see her favorite person on the other side. "Spencer!" Spencer smiled before hugging Jacey carefully, not wanting to smother Mia.
"Hey Mia!" Spencer said, playfully gasping at the infant. The sounds of Spencer's voice made Mia let out a little squeal. Both Jacey and Spencer laughed. "Can I hold her?"
"You don't have to ask." Jacey grinned, passing the baby over to Spencer. He walked in the apartment, slightly bouncing the infant as he cooed at here.
"I've missed you so much, Mia."
Jacey was in the kitchen, smiling at the interaction Spencer had with her child. "You know, I'm starting to her a little jealous," Jacey teased.
"I've missed you as well, Jace."
Jacey raised an eyebrow. "Jace?"
Spencer looked up from Mia's face to see Jacey giving him an unfamiliar look. "Is it okay I call you that?"
"Perfectly fine. No one has ever given me a nickname...other than family...and bullies."
Spencer blushed. "I think what you're trying to say is that no one you've actually liked other than family has given you a nickname."
It was Jacey's turn to blush. "Maybe you're right." The pair held their glances at each other for a moment. "So, you staying in the guess bedroom tonight or are you wanting to go home–"
"I'm staying tonight. I'm going to the doctor's appointment with you tomorrow morning before heading to work."
Jacey nodded, handing Spencer a warm baby bottle for Mia. He took it, happy to feed the hungry baby in his arms. "Hotch knows why you'll be late?"
The genius nodded, walking over to the couch to sit down so he could feed Mia properly. "Yeah, I told him I'd be with you for Mia's checkup."
Jacey made her way over to sit by Spencer, her thighs touching his, her head on his shoulder, watching him feed her baby.
"You're so good with her. She loves you."
"And I love her." Spencer mumbled, his eyes not leaving the blue ones staring back at him.
"I didn't think she'd have blue eyes. I know her donor has blue eyes, so does his mom. I just thought...since my brown eyes were the dominant trait, less chance for her to have blue eyes."
"27% chance of blue eyes." Spencer said. "Not really that small of a chance."
"You're right." Jacey said with a smile.
"Her eyes remind me of my mom's." Spencer said, smiling down at the infant. Jacey sat there for a second, Spencer has never mentioned his mom or dad before.
"What's she like?"
Spencer looked at Jacey. He didn't mind talking about his mom, but only to certain people. People he could trust. His mother is a part of him. "She's great. I couldn't ask for another mom. I love her."
"I get that. I'm like that with my mom sometimes. We had a small falling out but she'll always be my mom."
"A falling out?"
Jacey nodded, scoffing humorlessly. "Yeah, we disagreed on a lot of things. She wanted me to dab into politics and the media like her...but I was more into fighting bad guys and helping people."
"Like your father." Spencer said, taking note of where her story was going.
"Yeah, like my dad." Jacey said. "I always knew, you know? I always knew that something was different. Joy and I look nothing alike, hint fraternal twins. I look like my mom, mostly. But who did Joy look like? Not our stepdad. So...I knew. Just never talked about it until recently."
"You were always 'odd', huh?" Spencer and Jacey shared a laugh.
"Yeah, always." Jacey smiled. Her smile faded for a moment, thinking about something. "Hey, Spencer...I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What?"
"I got offered a job..."
Spencer's face lit up. "Jacey, that's wonderful!" He placed his forehead against hers since his hands was full, holding Mia. "I'm so proud of you."
"But...the BAU...they want me to work for them. They offered me a job." Jacey said slowly, looking away from Spencer.
"Well, what's the problem?"
"If I decide to work there...there will be rules about what we have..."
"Jacey, I'm not worried about that. What we have is no one else's business. I don't care what people think."
Jacey blushed under Spencer's gaze. When she looked down, she noticed Mia spitting out milk. "Hey, I think she's done."
Spencer looked down to see the mess that was being made, he placed the bottle on the coffee table before positioning Mia's head on his shoulder. The profiler started to pat her back, hoping to get a burp out of her soon.
"You don't have to do that, you know?" Jacey said, trying to find a towel to put over Spencer's shoulder. Spencer nudged his shoulder against hers, gaining her attention.
"I want to." Spencer said before getting out of his seat to bounce Mia around gently as he patted her back.
Jacey watched the scene in front of her, admiring the love Spencer had for Mia. She realized then that she was one lucky girl. And Mia was a lucky baby to have Spencer in her life.