History

Chapter 3

It took a few moments before Julie was able to compose herself enough to untangle herself from Spencer and sit back against the sofa on her own. Once she did, she was clearly embarrassed by her display of emotion, and repeatedly apologized over and over again to the two agents in the room, specifically to the young doctor sitting next to her.

"Julie," Spencer silenced the girl's apologetic ramblings. "As I said before, what you're feeling is completely expected. You shouldn't feel as though you have to apologize to me for anything."

Looking up from her hands and back at him, Julie nodded hesitantly. "I know, you said that before. I'm sor—" She caught herself before she could finish the word. She let a nervous laugh escape. "There I go again. Apologizing for apologizing." Spencer lifted the corner of his mouth ever so slightly into a hint of a smile, and she mirrored his expression. "It's just a defense mechanism of some sort, I suppose."

"Julie," JJ interjected, interrupting Spencer from replying to the young woman sitting next to himself. "Why don't we go get you cleaned up?"

Julie nodded eagerly in agreement, looking down at her nightgown that was still covered in caked-on mud in realization. "Yes, please." She stood up to follow JJ out of the room. "A shower would be nice."

JJ smiled softly at the girl, and ushered her out of the room. Spencer remained seated on the sofa, even after the two women had left him, still attempting to process all of the events that had unfolded before him. He cocked his head slightly, scoffing quietly to himself. Maybe Morgan was right, in a sense; perhaps this girl did view him as her hero after all.

…

"What do you mean by 'bad news', Garcia?" Hotch furrowed his brow, slightly frowning at the tech expert who stood in front of him, laptop propped under her arm and sympathy flooding her face.

"Bad as in very, ridiculously, extremely sad." Garcia explained herself further. Spencer, who had just reentered the bullpen in time to overhear their exchange, invited himself to impose into their conversation.

"I'm sorry, but what exactly are you talking about, Garcia? Is this about Julie?" He quipped.

Garcia looked at Hotch with pursed lips, who, in turn, nodded at her to share the information that she knew. She began with a pitying sigh. "I looked up every single possible thing I could find about her- well, you know, stuff that's happened in the ten years that she's been gone as well, of course – and it just gets sadder and sadder by the minute." She went on. "Her sister is dead, as we know – poor baby, she was only 24; her mother's been dead since the girls were in high school – cancer; and as if it can't get worse from there, her father died only a few months after his girls were taken – it made national news. He literally drank himself to death, poor guy. He withered away with a broken heart." Garcia shook her head, her speech becoming even more fast-paced as she went on, almost frantically so in nature. "She's got no other siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, nada. No family or next-of-kin that we can contact at all. Not to mention that the home her father owned has since been sold, as well as all of her personal belongings, I'm sure. The girl's completely on her own. Can you imagine? Being gone for ten years only to return and realize that you've got no one – absolutely nobody – who is st—"

Garcia was cut off by Hotch shooting her a warning glare and Spencer practically impaling her side with his elbow, much to Garcia's disapproval. However, when she looked up to scold him, she followed his gaze, and realized why the two men had silenced her so quickly: Julie had reemerged from the team's locker rooms, JJ at her side, having freshly showered and cleansed herself of the events of the morning.

Spencer honestly could hardly recognize her, as there was almost a rejuvenation about her. Her blonde waves hung damply down her back, and her skin, having been washed of the dirt and blood that had been caked on since the morning, practically shone with a newfound youthful tone. Her eyes were some of the brightest green that Spencer had ever seen in his life, but they were lacking the sparkle that he was positive they used to hold before she had been entwined in such a nightmare.

She wore an outfit that he was sure JJ had given to her from her go-bag, and the modern, white blouse and jeans were a decent transition into societal reality when compared to the nightgown which she had been found wearing. For the first time, Spencer saw her not as simply a victim, but as a quite stunning – albeit, lost and confused – young woman, trying to pick up where she had left off in the world.

He blinked a few times, trying to take in the transition, and before he could realize it, she caught him staring at her. She gave him a small smile, but there was a curiosity within her eyes, and she turned away, embarrassed to have been captured in his intellectual spotlight.

"Julie," Hotch addressed the girl as JJ led her over to the group. "Do you have anyone that you'd like us to call? An old friend, or a past boyfriend of some sort?"

Julie peered up at him, slowly shaking her head. "There's no one who…" She trailed off, then began again. "After all this time? I'm sorry. But I wouldn't even know the first person to call. It's been ten years." She looked down, realization slowly creeping in. "I-I don't have anyone. Or anything, even. I'm sorry."

"That's not true. You've got me." Before Spencer could even process what he was saying, he had already said it. And, immediately, he knew that he shouldn't have.

"Reid," Hotch said, monotonic as always. "A word?"

Hotch pulled Reid to the side, but not before the younger man caught a glimpse of Julie, who, rather than appearing off-put at his remark, seemed genuinely shocked by his statement – and pleasantly so.

"I know what you're thinking." Hotch said, trying to keep his voice out of earshot. "I feel bad for this girl, too, but you cannot just take her home with you. She's a victim."

"But Hotch," Spencer interjected, for some reason feeling assured enough to stand up to his superior. "Where else is she supposed to go? If we release her now, she doesn't even have two pennies to rub together. She'll sleep on the streets tonight if we don't do something about it!" Spencer's voice rose in pitch as he spit out the last sentence, clearly affected by the very idea of sending Julie off by herself.

Hotch sighed, trying to be the voice of reason. "Reid, I get that. But you're overlooking the major point here, that a male agent cannot just decide to take a female victim home with him."

Spencer blinked twice, as though the thought had never even crossed his mind, or, that he honestly didn't follow Hotch's train of thought at all.

Hotch sighed yet again, and rubbed his hand across his eyes. "You just can't, Reid. I won't allow it. I agree that we can't just cut her loose, but she'll have to go home with JJ or Kate tonight."

"Hotch, that's ridiculous!" Spencer laughed anxiously, trying desperately to get the older man to reason with him. Hotch crossed his arms, but Spencer went on. "JJ has a husband and a son. Kate has Meg. I can't just expect them to take Julie home for the night." Spencer quipped along, his words hurrying together in negative excitement. "You have Jack. Morgan has his girlfriend. Rossi has… well, Rossi just has a life. Julie and I, this is what we have in common. I don't have anyone, either, Hotch. Just like her." He sighed, then added, "Not anymore. I've just got myself."

Hotch was silent for a moment, but his expression was stoic nonetheless; although, Spencer could swear he saw a hint of empathy within the man's hard, dark eyes. "Reid, I know you feel as though you have a responsibility to his girl, but-

"That's because I do!" Spencer kept going. "You said it yourself. She trusts me. She feels as though she's safe with me. And she is." Spencer sighed, his eyes pleading. "Please, Hotch. Just let me do this, for her. I just need to know that she's going to be safe, and I can't do that unless I protect her myself."

Hotch breathed deeply, his arms still crossed, as he examined the young man standing in front of him. Finally, with a long sigh, he gave in, and ran a hand through his air. "You need to make sure it's alright with her first, obviously. She needs to be comfortable with this."

Spencer shook his head eagerly with relief. "Absolutely."

Hotch looked down at Spencer, gave him some semblance of an expression that he just couldn't read, and turned away on his heel towards his office. Spencer looked around for Julie, who had moved across the bullpen with JJ and Morgan, and headed in her direction to seek her approval, a slight smile of victory and reprieve creeping across his face.

To Be Continued

A/N: This was a bit of a shorter one, but the next chapter is bound to be good, I promise. A sleepover at the Reid residence, I mean, c'mon, what's not to love? :p

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