Chapter 13

Spencer's POV

Michael took Cat home that night; they wanted to spend some time just the two of them to grieve and remember Rosie. Spencer, as much as he wanted to go with her, thought that it was best for it to be the two who loved her most. So once he saw the car lights disappear, he hopped in his own and headed home. He needed a bit of a rest before work tomorrow. He was ready but he knew he would be drained after a day's worth of work he had not done in over a month. But oh the things he needed to tell Garcia about Morgan, the exhaustion would be worth it.

The entire drive home though he could not stop thinking about that moment in the hallway. He felt terrible about being so happy after what Cat had just gone through. He went through it with Emily and then with Maeve, he would never wish that on anyone. But she had said it. Those three little words he never got to tell Maeve, the ones that had haunted him for two years, Cat had said them. And he had said them back. He didn't think his smile could get any bigger. His heart felt like it would explode from how much it was pounding. It was all he could do to get it to slow enough for him to fall asleep. After reliving that moment one more time, he finally calmed himself enough to drift off to sleep.


He walked into the bullpen with a bounce in his step. Not only was he excited to be back at work, but he also could not wait to tell JJ about Cat. He had told given her bits and pieces of information from their various adventures around the city, but this was something he needed to tell her in person. Oh, and Garcia needed to know everything Savannah had told him of course. Setting down his bag at his desk he quickly surveyed the room. For this hour the office was unusually busy but his team was nowhere in sight. There were people he had never seen before scattered around, all of them holding folders and shifting nervously on their feet. Spencer was not one to talk to strangers but he went up to an unusually thin man around Hotch's height with greased back hair and beady brown eyes. He seemed the least nervous out of the group and the most likely to talk to Spencer, even if the man made him a little uncomfortable.

"Hello," Spencer tried his best to sound confident.

"Hi," the man answered curtly, glancing at Spencer before sweeping his eyes around the room again. It seemed like he could not decide what to concentrate on.

"How are you?"

"Good." Maybe Spencer had been wrong about how open this guy would be.

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, I'm just curious as to what all these people are doing here? I've been out of the office for a while." Spencer thought maybe being honest would get him to talk.

"Interviewing for the open profiler position." The man gave Spencer another look and then an up-and-down surveying glare. "Isn't that why you're here?"

"No, I work here. Dr. Spencer Reid," Spencer held out his hand for the man, standing a bit taller to show the man he was actually an agent and not an awkward kid.

"Sure," the man rolled his eyes and looked over in the direction of Hotch's office. Spencer followed his gaze and saw him in there with an older woman who looked to be around Strauss' age. "Can this guy move any faster? When I worked here everything had a schedule, cannot believe how much it has all fallen apart since then."

"I don't think-…" Spencer was cut off when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Morgan coming over to him. Seeing his best friend's familiar face was such a relief, even though he wanted to get some information out of this strange man he felt there was something off about him.

"Reid, Garcia needs us in her office," Morgan came up next to them and gave the strange man a funny look, one that Reid recognized as the face he normally gave suspects.

"Okay. Good luck…I'm sorry I don't remember getting your name," Spencer held out his hand to the man.

"That is because I did not give it to you," the man didn't even bother to look at Spencer. He was hurt but kept it off of his face as he turned to follow Morgan to Garcia's bat cave. It was common for people on cases to treat Spencer with a little suspicion, but most people in the FBI knew who he was and respectful. Whoever that man was either had something against him or was trying to hide something. Either way Spencer hoped Hotch felt the same way and did not hire him.

"I'm surprised Hotch still hasn't found someone to take Blake's place on the team."

"She's a hard act to follow. The candidates have big shoes to fill after Prentiss and Blake," Morgan looked over at Spencer. "I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"Savannah told me about Cat's mother."

"Oh, that. Rosie was a good woman, I didn't know her for long but she was so kind and welcoming."

"How's Cat doing?"

"As best she can. Even though she was sick I don't think they expected her to be gone so soon. She stayed with Michael last night," Spencer looked down at the floor, remembering what happened in the hallway again. "She told me she loved me."

Derek stopped and turned to face him. Despite the previous topic he had a huge grin on his face, "And did you say it back to her?"

"I did." He pulled Spencer into a hug, knocking the air out of his lungs. This was the reaction he had expected from Penelope, not Derek.

"I'm so happy for you, kid." Morgan pulled away and the two rounded the last corner to Garcia's office. He opened the door and the two agents were met with a chorus of, "Welcome Back, Reid!" and a lot of confetti. Garcia, JJ, and Rossi were all crowded in the small computer room with cake and various drinks on a table and a banner that read "Welcome Back" hung across the monitors on the wall. Spencer was not normally one for parties, he made a point of not reminding anyone when his birthday was, but this made him very happy.

"Oh thank you guys!" Spencer went over to his teammates and they all surrounded him in a group hug, even Rossi. "I've missed you all."

"We've missed you too Spence. How's your neck doing?" JJ reached up to check the area where his bandage used to be.

"Just fine, no more random pain so I can finally focus on my chess games again."

"Ah, there's the genius we've missed so much," Rossi chuckled.

"Well now that he's back, I want to hear every detail about your 'vacation.' Savannah tells me you and Cat practically spent every minute together. I need all the dirty details," Garcia grabbed Spencer and set him into her usual chair.

"Pretty Boy here is in love," Derek leaned against the table next to Spencer.

"What?" JJ looked up from where she was cutting a slice of cake.

"It's nothing to get worked up over, we just…said 'I love you.'"

"Spencer that's huge! I'm so happy for you two!"

"You two are going to have the most adorable baby geniuses!"

"Kid it's a big deal!"

"Alright guys, sheesh. Can someone just hand me a piece of cake?"

Cat's POV

Michael and Cat had spent the night talking about Rosie and their favorite memories as a family over the past 17 years. 17. She had forgotten the anniversary; she had been so distracted with work and Spencer and Rosie she hadn't even realized April had come and gone. The realization made her feel even worse. She was a terrible daughter.

When they had woken up that morning they agreed it was best to keep themselves busy and continue their normal work schedules. They were so similar that way, always needing to throw themselves into their jobs to keep themselves afloat after tragedy. Rosie nicknamed them the dynamic duo because if they worked together no bad guys or illness would survive. So that was how they had departed, with a mutual agreement and a heartfelt hug before driving off to their respective work locations.

The Chief of Staff had tried to convince Cat that she needed to take time off after Rosie's death and that she was too upset to operate. And while Cat agreed not to operate, she insisted that work was the only way to cope. She promised she would only be in the lab studying her trial which she needed to make some progress on anyway. After a long staring contest, the Chief had agreed. Trial only. No OR. She was upset that she couldn't cut anything but at least she did not have to sit at home all day.

When her lunch break came, Cat was not ready to sit in the cafeteria with everyone watching her. She had noticed the way people were either avoiding her or coming up to give her hugs when she walked through the hallways. So instead of being the center of attention, she instead walked to her car and called Spencer, informing her boss she would be taking a longer lunch than usual. The Chief was more than willing to say yes.

"Cat is everything okay?" Spencer picked up after only one ring.

"Yes I'm fine. I was actually wondering if you wanted to eat lunch together. Everyone keeps treating me like I'm a glass doll at work and I cannot take it anymore."

"You went to work today? You should be at home with Michael," Spencer sounded exasperated but not surprised.

"Michael went to work too, neither of us could sit in that house all day."

"Alright, we're going to be taking lunch break in ten minutes. I think Morgan is going to get Chinese for everyone so I could have him get some for you too. Any preference on food?"

"Edible food?"

"Haha, very funny. Meet me in the lobby? I'll check you in as a guest."

"Thank you so much Spence."

"You're welcome. I'll see you in a bit." With that he hung up and Cat set down her phone. A weight lifted off of her shoulders as she pulled onto the highway and headed towards Quantico. Little did she know that weight would return just as quickly.


Cat waited in the lobby of the FBI headquarters for Spencer, standing awkwardly near the doors. It had been so long since she'd been here and the memories were coming back at an alarming rate.

The girl ran around the lobby with her brother while their mother watched. Agents laughed as they walked past the two kids playing superheroes and villains. What else could they expect from the children of an FBI agent? Today was their parents' anniversary and they were all going out to dinner. Their mother had insisted they meet and go out together, but the paperwork of his last case was taking longer than normal. But six year old Abigail did not mind. She had always wanted to see where her father worked. Her brother Nathan was not paying attention as she dodged his arm once again and turned to the left. He went to follow but accidentally whacked into someone's long leg and fell to the ground.

"Oops, sorry buddy!" A high pitched male voice. Abigail and her mother ran over to Nathan as the owner of the leg helped her brother up. "I better be more cautious with these smaller agents running around the lobby."

"I'm so sorry sir, are you okay?" Their mother said before kneeling down to check Nathan for any cuts or bruises.

"I'm fine, Christine. How are you?"

"How do you-Oh, Agent Duncan! It's good to see you," their mother looked up at the man. Abigail didn't notice then but her mother's face became guarded. "Nathan, what should you say to Agent Duncan?"

"Sorry, sir." Nathan looked down at the ground, his face red.

"It's okay buddy. I'll be seeing you. Say hi to Terry for me," Agent Duncan waved and walked over to the elevators.

"I will," their mother held the two of them close as she followed the agent with an icy stare.

The memory ended and Cat stared at the space in the middle of the lobby where she and her family had been. She could feel her eyes get warm as tears formed and she blinked them away. A slight warmth still lingered on her shoulder where her mother had held her close, the only reminder of the present was the feeling of the necklace around her neck that her hands subconsciously had gone to. It wasn't until someone bumped into her that she finally came completely out of her reverie.

"I am so sorry, I got lost in thought. Are you okay?" She murmured as she bent to pick up the papers then person had dropped.

"It's fine. Maybe next time you should be more mindful of where you stand," they grumbled back, joining her in the paper quest. Cat glanced at the man and stopped. It was him. The man who Nathan had run into when they were playing in this exact lobby. "You hear that girl?"

"Yes…yes…sorry. I will next time. I was just-I am so sorry," Cat grabbed the last sheet and stood up as quickly as she could, ready to bolt and find Spencer. Her mother had been wary of this man so she felt she should be too. Although it had been a while she still trusted her mother's judgement. "Here you go, sir."

"Thank you. Now I hope whenever you're back…Christine?" The man she remembered as Agent Duncan stared wide-eyed at her. Cat stopped at the mention of her mother's name, one she had not heard in 17 years. Rosie had said Cat took after her mother quite a bit, particularly the long hair and button face. But she had her father's eyes. Eyes that were very different from her mother's brown ones.

"I-I am sorry, I-t think you have me…confused with…someone else. I do not know anyone- anyone named that," Cat stuttered out as quickly as she could while avoiding eye contact.

"Are you sure? You look so much like someone I used to know. It's been so long," he reached out to touch her face and she stepped as far back as she could. What was wrong with this man?

"Sir, I assure you I do not know a Christine," she said much more forcefully this time. The attempted contact bringing her back to the mindset she was so used to: defense.

The man was taken aback by her sudden change of tone but his eyes flicked down to her neck and locked onto the one reminder she always had of her past. She could see the realization come to his eyes as he took in her mother's necklace. "Abigail."

But she was prepared for that; she had come up with response in the moment it took him to register who she truly was. Michael had prepared her for a scenario such as this one. "Sir, I just moved from California. I assure you, you must have me confused with someone else. I do not know any Christine's or Abigail's. Now if you will excuse me, I must go find Dr. Reid. He is helping me on some family business."

But when she turned to head towards the elevators Agent Duncan grabbed her wrist, "I know it is you Abigail. I have not seen that necklace in years. Not since that terrible night."

Cat tried to yank her arm away but the man was too strong. "I swear I do not know who you are talking about. Please let me go. I will scream and there are plenty of FBI agents here who would love to hear why you are harassing me," she said in the strongest voice she could muster.

"What's going on here?" Spencer came up next to Cat, his eyes flickering between Agent Duncan and his hand gripping Cat's tiny wrist.

"Nothing, just a small misunderstanding. Thank you for helping me pick up my papers, miss. I'll be seeing you," Agent Duncan let her go but never broke eye contact while he slowly backed up, fixing his suit and checking his paper stack. Then he gave a small smile, turned, and walked away. When she could no longer see him, Cat turned and pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Thank you," she kept her voice low hoping that he could not hear the tremble in it.

"What was that about?" Spencer hugged her back, resting his head on hers.

"I do not know. I just helped him pick up his papers and then he grabbed my arm when I tried to leave." She felt bad not telling Spencer everything but feared that if she mentioned that Duncan had called her Abigail, Spencer would put the rest of the puzzle together. Then she would be in even more danger. Rossi had already pieced everything together but he promised not to tell Spencer.

"That man gives me the creeps. He was here for an interview with Hotch but refused to talk to me about anything. He didn't even tell me his name."

"Me either," she took one last breath to calm herself before pulling away and smiling up at Spencer. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yes. Morgan should be getting back any minute with the food so let's go check you in," Spencer looked at her hand, probably unsure whether to grab it after the wrist thing. Instead she reached out and took his.

"Perfect. I'm starving."