Chapter 05

BAU Headquarters
Quantico, VA

Fall 2004

After far too long they finally made it back to the BAU. A very nervous Penelope met them at the elevators. "So." She said to Spencer and JJ. "You have a thing now?"

"In theory." Spencer replied. "But I don't feel any different."

"Neither do I." JJ said.

"Are you contagious?" Penelope asked. "Can I hug you?"

"Of course. We're not contagious." JJ replied, and she easily hugged her friend. Spencer followed suit, no one ever turned down a Penelope hug.

"And even if you get it you should be able to fight it off." Elle said as she followed them in. "Morgan and I have antibodies but we never felt a thing. Hotch and Gideon probably do as well by now."

"That's good to know." Penelope replied. "I just wonder what the government is going to do moving forward."

Within the month Penelope had her answer. "So how is this database supposed to work?" JJ asked over coffee one morning.

"OK, here's what I've heard." Penelope replied. "Everyone who develops transmitters is registered in the database by their doctor as soon as they test positive. The government uses that to track how many people are infected and where but your actual identity is protected under HIPPA laws. Once you're in the database you get a number. It's up to you if you want to make the contact info for that number public or not."

"So everyone can see it?"

"No, only someone with the same number. I mean, it's in your medical record but otherwise, no. If the computer finds a match it gives the other person the same number. If they also release their contact information you can go to the database and it will give you their info and them your info. Then the two of you can hook up however you want. So both you and Reid are in the database already, the question is, do you want your life mate to be able to find you."

That was a very good question. JJ sat back and looked at Spencer, who looked back at her. "Well, what harm can it do?" She asked after a long moment. "I mean, he could be a skeezeball, but so could my next date. I think I'm going to try it."

"I agree." Spencer replied. "Except for the skeezeball part."

"No, girls can be skeezeballs." Elle said. She'd come over for coffee and had overheard.

"I think I'll take the risk." He replied. "Do you know what we have to do?" He asked Penelope.

"That's the only bad part." She replied. "They're running the forms through Department of Motor Vehicles. They figured that infrastructure for databases of people was already there, it was cheaper to add to then to create new."

JJ and Spencer groaned. "Oh, the joy of a DMV line." JJ said.

Penelope gave them a sympathetic smile. "I know, but you only have to do it once."

"The one good thing. Come on, let's go ask Hotch what would be a good time to go." JJ said.

"Oh, he's not here. He's testifying at the Bryant trial."

"That's today?" Spencer asked.

"What's the Bryant trial?" Elle asked

"Roger Bryant." JJ replied. "He was, what, nineteen when we arrested him. He'd already tortured five prostitutes to death. Granted this was a couple of years ago."

"Why so long to go to trial?"

"Money. His family has lots of it. And he's the baby of the family. They've thrown a lot of resources behind him."

"Oh those are always fun."

"At least that means nothing exciting is going to happen today." JJ said. "Come on Spence, we can tell Morgan we're going to go do this."

"Ummmm..." Spencer hesitated. "Can we do this next week?"

"Um, I guess." JJ looked at him, confused. "Why?"

Logan School Condos
Apt #13
Washington DC

Twelve days later Spencer was hosting a moving party. Help him pack boxes, he paid for the pizza. Now he was showing his friends around his new condo. "Okay, how much did this cost you?" Morgan asked.

"Um..." Spencer kind of replied.

"Come on Spence." JJ urged. "This place must have cost a fortune."

"Ummm..."

Elle looked at him. "What did you do?"

"Ummm...It wasn't illegal..."

"Reid..." Morgan said.

"See, there's this poker game..." They collectively groaned at him. "What? It was a private game!"

"Do I even want to know how much you could have lost in that game?" Elle asked.

Spencer looked offended. "Lost? I wouldn't lose!"

"Never mind." JJ said. "Our resident card shark thinks he's unbeatable. But this guy really gave you his apartment?"

"Yes. He does this somewhat regularly, about every eighteen months. I thought he was due, so I wanted to see if one was coming up in the next game before I registered."

"Wait, this guy gambles away a condo every other year?" Penelope asked. "Why?"

"Because if he sold them his wife would find out about them."

"And the mistresses he keeps in them?" Elle asked

"Something like that." Spencer replied.

"That makes more sense." Elle said. "But why try to win one now?"

"Well, we're going to find our life mates eventually, right? I didn't want to invite her back to my old place."

"Oh come on! Whoever she is she's not going to care about your apartment."

"No, he might have a point." JJ said.

"What?"

"You haven't seen his old place." Penelope said. "It's, like, a closet. This little rinky dink studio in this ancient building. He doesn't even have a kitchen. He had to put up shelves to hold his coffee maker."

"She wouldn't have been able to sit down comfortably." JJ added. "He sleeps on his couch."

"Ew." Elle replied.

"It was what I could afford when I moved here." Spencer protested. "And it's only two blocks from Union Station."

"Still. I see your point, this is better. And just as close too."

"Oh yeah." Morgan had been looking around. "You got it going here. Your old place was no place for entertaining the honeys. But here, you got the romantic dining room, then the fireplace, down the hall to the bedroom. Yeah, this is Derek Morgan entertainment approved." He teased with a big grin.

The rest of the team rolled their eyes at him and went to collect boxes to pack.

BAU Headquarters
Quantico, VA

After Spencer moved, and he and JJ opened their names in the Virus Database, there was nothing to do but wait.

And work, of course. The Tuesday after the move Hotch came back to work. "So, how did it go?" Elle asked.

"Bryant got life without parole." Hotch replied.

"That works." Morgan said. The others nodded their heads in approval; another Unsub was where he couldn't hurt anyone anymore.

"I agree. But now we have another case."