This chapter will be based on the episode 15x6: "Date Night."
I am changing / adding several things, and putting it more to Max's perspective.
Please note that some dialogue is taken directly from
the show.
date
noun
a social or romantic appointment or engagement
When Malcolm and Spencer returned from the bedroom, Max was sitting with her head in her hands and Michelle was next to her, a hand on her own temple.
Before anyone could say anything Spencer felt a buzzing in his back pocket. He hands Max's phone to Malcolm and slides his own out of his back pocket, looking at the screen.
"It's Emily," Spencer says, "they are probably wondering where I am."
Max was looking at him now, her face shook slightly as if asking: "please don't say anything."
He answered the call, "yeah?"
"Spence, we need you back in as soon as possible, we have a kidnapping," Emily says.
"Uh, yeah of course." Spencer says, glancing at the rest of them.
"And there is something you need to know," Emily says.
The others watched his face turn grey, more so than what Malcolm saw before.
Thoughts of anything else left his mind as Emily informed him of the kidnapper's demands to release Cat Adams, and how they would need him to get information out of her, yet again.
"I'll be right there," He ends the call and looks around.
"I've- there has been a kidnapping and they need me," he says.
Michelle made a scoffing noice.
"It's a mother and child. And—" he looks Max, and decides against telling her the rest right now.
He continues, "I won't say anything to my team if the two of you can stay with her." He looks at each of them as he says it. "I think Brian has something planned, but I need to handle this first," with that, he makes his way to the door.
Max follows him, closing the door behind them.
"Spencer.." she says, and he turns to face her.
She wants to touch him, but instead says, "I'm sorry for not telling you right away."
"Are you?" Spencer says, there is a bite to his voice she isn't used to.
"Yes," she says softly.
His eyes search hers, the muscle in his jaw jumping again.
It's been doing that a lot tonight.
"Do you trust me?" He asks, his tone is odd, almost as if he is trying to convince himself.
"Yes." She says again, blinking, then adds, "It's not you I don't trust, it's me— it's all this."
He steps towards her, wetting his lips. His eyes are full of words he will not say.
"Spencer what's happening?" Max says, taking his hand.
"I'm asking if you know that I would never do anything to hurt you, and if you know that my intentions are always to consider your well being. Even before my own."
She nods her head.
"And do you understand that I trust you, even if you don't trust yourself?"
She nods again.
"I don't know what's going to happen. I just need you to remember that. Trust me. Trust yourself. Get out of here and stay with Bright and Michelle," he says.
"Ok."
He swallows before saying, finally, "they're asking me to go speak with Catherine Adams."
"Th-," Max stuffers, "do you think this is connected?"
"I don't know," looking at her intently, "but I'm about to find out."
The next thing Spencer knew, he was assembled with the people he trusted the most, watching the doors of the BAU elevator open.
Michelle helps Max quickly pack a bag, and they were out of her apartment in a flash.
Max is in the guest bedroom of Michelle's place, curled in a chair with all the lights off.
She had saved her hyperventilating until she was behind the door, worry and dread combining as she thought of Brian having someone stalk her.
She digs her nails in her upper arm, creating half moons on her arms, and breaking the skin in some areas.
Spencer had implied that he thinks Brian has something else planned, but what could he do from a cell?
Max takes a few deep breaths, and resolves that it had to all just be some vane attempted to get her attention... and this helps her stop hurting herself for the time being.
She's ignored his calls for years, so he must have gotten a friend on the outside to find her, and when they did, he decided to mess with her.
He found her moderately happy, and with an FBI agent no less, and he couldn't stand it.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the hushed voices of Michelle and Malcom in the living room.
Max was thankful to no longer have to endure the longing glances they gave one another all night.
Not that she disapproved of whatever they had, but it stung knowing her person may be in danger, or otherwise victim to another round of psychological warfare with Catherine Adams.
"Cat Adams," she thought, "What are the odds that all of this is happening at once. Is this just our life? All of the chaos we have tried to cope with culminating into some sport of denouement of ... of what?" Her lip curls at the thought.
She and Spencer didn't speak much of the future.
Of their future.
They seemed to have an unspoken understanding that all they had was today.
While living in the here and now can be helpful, especially for people who have gone through what they have, Max wonders if it should have been a red flag.
"Maybe it was always meant to end bad," she tells herself.
Michelle and Malcolm stand in her kitchen, voices soft.
Max had went straight to the bedroom and turned off the lights when they got there.
"Let her rest" Malcolm had said.
Michelle lifts a shaking glass to her mouth, she had a talent for drinking whiskey straight, and the service was needed right now.
Malcolm had declined the offer for a drink of his own, and instead leaned his back on the counter, watching her.
The buttons on the top of his white collared shirt are undone, most likely the result of fidgeting to stifle the prevalent hand tremor he gets in times of stress.
"I know your worried, but she will be ok." Malcolm says, he looks down at his feet.
"It's just, she avoids all of this stuff... she wants so bad to be normal... I just... don't want anything bad to happen to her."
"You don't want anything bad to happen to her, or you don't want her to do anything bad." Malcolm asks.
He looks up at her slowly, the meaning of his words unspoken.
Michelle's eyes flash with understanding.
There are things about Malcom that Michelle knows.
She's a defense attorney after all, and while she believes Malcolm has a good heart, he's been involved in some things...
Not to mention the existence of the same neurosis as Max, the belief, among other things, that they might be be bad right down to the bone... that if the right circumstances happens they would be just like... their fathers.
Michelle sighs, "Can we talk about something else?" Michelle moves to the other side of him, leans forward, and rests her forearms on the counter, fingers grazing the glass in her hand.
Malcolm lets out an exhale, and Michelle cocks her head to the side to observe his profile.
He's looking straight ahead, and the whiskey is making him look really good.
"Like how about, other than you calling me for legal advice, I haven't heard from you since you left."
A smile plays on Malcolms lips as he continues to look forward.
She moves her long strawberry blonde hair to one side, revealing her shoulder.
"A nonverbal signal of 'opening herself up," he thinks.
"I never took you for a hit and run," she says with a milky voice.
Hours passed and the main room has been quiet for a while.
Max slips out of the room to find it empty.
No one is on the couch.
"He's gone to bed with her," she thinks, thankful she can continue to be alone.
She searches her purse she had left on the kitchen counter for her phone to see if there was any word from Spencer and finds she has...
7 missed calls.
From Eloise?
Michelle's sister...
She is about to call her back when another rolls in.
"Hello?" Max says.
She is met with Sammy's hysterical voice.
"Max? They're going to kill me if you don't go," Sammy cries, "I don't know where my mom is."
"What?" Max says, not comprehending.
She hears the muffled voice of another woman.
"She says you have to come alone. And to wait at Spencer's."
The line goes dead.
Max looks around as if for help, then resolves herself to follow the directions.
She finds Michelle's car keys and is out the door.
The clock of Michelle's car says 1am.
She is speeding.
Frantic.
She doesn't understand why, or how this is happening.
Nothing makes sense.
But now there are blue lights.
"No, no!" She says.
She speeds up more.
"Maybe I can lose them. I've got to get to Spencer's," She thinks.
Or maybe she screams it.
A police car is behind her.
She takes a few sharp turns down streets in an attempt to lose them, but the next thing she knows, a black SUV whips from the street across, blocking her in.
Her body lurches forward as she slams to a stop.
"No!" She yells slamming her hands on the steering wheel.
She scrambles out, hands up and begins to shout, "No you don't understand! This is an emergency!!"
"Max!" She hears a familiar voice. It's Penelope García.
Behind her is Agent Rossi.
Max puts her hands up higher, unsure what is about to happen.
Are they going to arrest me?
She stands frozen, waiting.
"Max," she hears another familiar voice say.
It's Eloise.
She runs to hug Max who is still frozen in place.
"She still has Sammy!" Eloise cries.
"What is happening?" Max says, hugging Eloise back.
Penelope has reached her now, her tone is serious, "we don't have a lot of time."
Max is prepped quickly in the car by García.
She is told how Juliette Weaver was released from prison 6 months ago, and she was Cat Adams cellmate.
García informs Max that they believe Juliette has been stalking Reid, and subsequently Max, since her release , under Cat's orders.
Max's thoughts went inward. "Was Juliette responsible for the pictures? If so, what was the connection with Brian? There is no way this could be a coincidence, right?"
Max guessed she would find out soon when she got to speak to Catherine Adams herself.
Spencer was currently out with Cat, on a date, to try and get information, but they would soon join her in Spencer's apartment.
The team had found out Eloise and Jackson's connection to Spencer, and just in time intercepted Max en route thanks to Garcia's skills.
Juliette released Eloise, but for some reason they do not yet know, has kept her child.
"It's all a big game for Cat,"Rossi says from the steering wheel. "She's obsessed with Reid, found out the two of you were dating, and couldn't have that."
"Think high school mean girl, but more stabby," Garcia adds from the back seat.
"So you think this is just to mess with Reid, and has nothing to do with me?" Max says.
Max meets Garcías eyes in the rear view mirror. She bites at her lip, but Rossi only shrugs and says "we think we understand what Cat is getting out of it, messing with Reid. Juliettes motivations were a little more tricky. Cat took Juliette under her wing in prison, Juliette looks up to her. We think Juliette wants the kid to... groom... to look up to her like she looks up to Cat."
"That would make since if Sammy was a little girl... but from what you said, they hate men." Max says.
"Good catch. We think they're making due to make it more personal," Rossi reasons, "at least that's all we have to work with for now."
Soon, they pull into the front of the apartment complex, Rossi jumps out of the vehicle and leads a sobbing Eloise from another car to the nearby medics for treatment for shock, and to continue to speak with the other officers and secure the scene.
Penelope pauses with her hand on the door handle when she notices Max lingering, they are the only two in the the car.
Max turns to her and asks, without hesitation, "do you know who I am?"
Max had heard stories from Spencer about García's process during a case.
It would have been just as easy for her to stumble on a classified file as it was for her to pinpoint her location earlier.
García's eyes drop and she says, "I found a file that I did not open, and that I have not told anyone about."
She lifts her eyes to Max's and continues, "I'm no profiler, but I wouldn't be surprised if it comes up. Cat may try to use whatever it is against you."
Max considers this information and wonders to herself again, "I can't be sure, but it seems like Cat must have made contact with Brian somehow and they're in on this together. They couldn't just mess with us, they had to ruin it—-and put innocent people in danger, all for their own twisted pleasure, and now she had brought me here to gloat. If Cat's plan is to out me to the FBI, there is only one way to get ahead of her."
"Read it," Max says, finally—- "if Catherine Adams knows who I am, and she catches you with your pants down, it could put Spencer and Sammy in danger."
"Does Spencer know?" Garcia whispers, a painful tinge to her voice.
She is worried Spencer is going to get hurt tonight.
"Maybe I can trust them," Max thinks.
"Yes," Max says, and Garcia lets out a relieved breath.
They hear a knock on the window and Rossi's voice, "they're on the way here, let's move."
When they make it up, Emily is waiting in Max's apartment with a whole recognizance set up, as well as several other officers and members of the BAU.
"Sorry, we have to meet again like this." Emily says.
A pretty blond crosses the floor and puts a hand on Max's shoulder, "Hey Max, I'm JJ," she attempts a sympathetic smile.
"They're stressed," Max thinks, "And scared."
"We haven't told him your coming, we couldn't risk him giving away that we intercepted you. We have to let her think she is still playing the game, and winning," JJ says before continuing, "we need her to send a message to Juliette so we can get their location."
"It all comes back to abusive men," Emily says, "she blames the way she is, the things she has done, and what has happened to her on that. If we can play on that, I think we'll have her."
Emily gives her an ear piece to wear, and says, "we'll be with you the whole time."
Max takes the device in her hand and looks at Garcia.
Garcia nods her head at Max as if giving her permission, and Max says, "Agent Prentiss, there is something else you need to know."
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that." -MLK