Penelope Garcia liked to believe that she could notice things out of place like her co-workers — the magnificent profilers. Sure, she wasn't on their level but she could do a decent job. There was one thing out of place today in the bullpen and since that thing was a person who always had things in place, it was fairly easy to spot the unnatural phenomenon.

"What are we doing?" Penelope asked calmly despite her sneaky appearance but it was still enough to make the culprit flinch. She immediately retracted from the desk and assessed the situation. "Dr. Spencer Reid is never startled. I'd love to take credit for being the first but I don't think I can. What are we looking at?"

Spencer could try to hide the journal under his desk or something else but Penelope was already snatching it from his hands by the time he came up with the idea. She eyed the worn brown journal with distaste.

"Of all the things..." she turned it over to the cover and frowned even deeper.

"Garcia, I really need that back—" Spencer was promptly shushed. He pursed his lips together and anxiously watched Penelope study the cover. He wasn't supposed to have it and he already had a conversation with Emily about it on the day she too caught him with it. Besides, Penelope was turning it over like a piece of paper when it in fact was something prized.

"Tania Oranears," Penelope read the name on the cover. She tilted her head. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

Spencer looked away and possibly considered the odds of her never remembering the reason. Being Penelope meant the chances were not good. It was confirmed when she gasped deeply.

"Ooh! That's the name I looked up for that girl in Witness Protection!" she exclaimed and turned back to Spencer who was already trying to shush her. "How did you get this? Why do you have this!?"

"Shhhh!" Spencer jumped out of his chair to get the journal back and since Penelope was too surprised, it was easy that time around. "No one knows I have it!"

"Oooh, which means you're not supposed to have it!"

"Shh!"

"What is going on? I thought that girl was gone."

"She is. I don't know where but she's somewhere not here."

"What, and she left her journal with you?"

"No, no she...look, Emily and I went to say goodbye to her but she was already gone when we got to her hotel room. She left this there and I didn't think it should stay there where anyone could see it."

Penelope watched him shift with the journal tightly in his hands. Her eyes narrowed. "So you kept it? Did you read it?"

Spencer's eyes widened. "No! That's a complete violation of her privacy. I just...I don't know what to do with it."

Two months he had the journal in his possession and he hadn't been able to decide what to do with it. It was too late to come clean with Hotch about it and he couldn't very well try the U.S Marshals either. The chances of the journal ever falling back into Delilah's hands — Dulce's — were very slim. But throwing the journal away didn't feel like the right thing to do either. For once, Spencer was at a complete loss of what to do.

Penelope looked around for anyone who might be watching them. "I want the full story now."

"What story?" Spencer cluelessly blinked.

"About this girl!" Penelope was fierce when she grabbed his arm and pulled him away from his desk. Spencer clutched the journal between their bodies to hide it from others. "What was her name? Delilah?"

"Dulce," his correction made her stop outside the bullpen. "What?"

"What is going on with you?"

"Nothing! Is it so hard to believe that I don't want a journal that was really important to someone be thrown away like it's trash?"

Penelope let go of him but he was still under her suspicious eyes. "You swear it's nothing more?"

"Well, yeah, what else is there?"

"Oh," she patted his face, "That's sweet."

"Garcia—" he swatted her hand away from him.

"Tell you what, I will try to see if we can find her family to hand the journal to."

"Oh no, we can't do that."

"Yes I can, do you know me or what!?"

"No, I meant, we can't go looking for her real identity because it'd put her family in danger."

"Over a journal? I don't think so, especially if we're careful," Penelope decided the plan with a simple shrug. Somehow, Spencer still wasn't convinced. "C'mon, let me work my magic and we'll see what happens." She wiggled her fingers then plucked the journal right out of his hands.

"Garcia—"

"I'm working some magic!" she turned on her heels and made a stride for her room.

Spencer remained where he was, awkwardly shifting in his spot. His hand meant to reach out as if he would actually catch Penelope but she was too far away. "Gar...Garcia...Penelope!" He dashed after her but before he could actually catch up, she slammed the door on him with lock.

"I get the feeling that if I let you in, you'll be taking the journal!" He heard from the other side.

Maybe she was right.

~ 0 ~

It felt like ages before Spencer saw Penelope again. She guarded that journal almost as much as he had. He felt terrible that he allowed for the journal to land in someone else's hands—what would Dulce say? Maybe that was the problem. He kept thinking too much about her that way. He was a profiler, maybe it was time to start thinking like one again. To think logically would give him the best chances of finding the right solution for that damn journal.

"You okay?" he heard Emily's voice with a touch of genuine concern. When he looked up from his desk—because the sprawled papers on it was apparently the most interesting thing in the world—there was Emily waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, of course," he cleared his throat and leaned against his chair in a futile attempt of being casual. He should know better, being 'casual' never worked for him.

Emily saw right through it but she was kind enough not to blatantly point it out. "I just noticed that you've been a bit off since...San Diego." It was a month since that case which was ample time to move on, but he hadn't and it worried Emily.

For all his failed attempts, Spencer still endeavored to try and trick Emily. "Off?" he made a face and shook his head. "No, no, I'm good."

Emily looked around the bullpen to make sure no one overheard her next words. She inched closer to Spencer's desk and spoke quieter. "Do you still have Delilah's journal?"

Spencer barely held the 'Her name's Dulce' in his mouth. "Um, yeah…"

Emily had long ago made her stance on that journal and he knew it. "You should just give it to Hotch."

"I think it's too late for that."

Emily nodded. Yeah, maybe it was. "You shouldn't have that. It's not yours and we don't even know what's inside of it. It could contain Delilah's personal information."

"No because then Lewis wouldn't have left it behind," Spencer said on automatic and when he realized it he ducked his head.

"You thought about this," Emily concluded with a sigh. She didn't understand why he was so concerned about that journal. Anyone else would've already handed it over to Hotch or simply discarded it. It made no sense why Spencer was so keen on holding onto it.

"I can't just throw it away, Emily," Spencer said as if he's guessed what she was thinking about, and he had. "It's wrong."

"So then what are you going to do with it?"

"I've already started something," he announced, failing to mention the part where Penelope had practically forced it on him.

Emily seemed unconvinced. "Really?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah, it's going on right now."

Emily couldn't decide if he was being honest. Usually she could figure it out but this was entirely new territory. "What are you doing?"

"I think that's on a need-to-know basis…"

"Oh," Emily humorlessly laughed. "And why is that?"

"Because, as you said, the contents of the journal are confidential and while I have not read anything I don't think I should get anyone involved." It was just too late for Penelope but Emily didn't have to join the club.

Emily shook her head. "You're acting very weird with that thing, you know? Worries me. A lot."

"You don't need to," Spencer shrugged.

"I wouldn't if it wasn't you. You're always linear but right now you're all over the place."

"I'm good," he promised and not a second later did he get a ping of text from none other than Penelope. He fumbled up from his chair, pointing at his phone. "See, taking care of it right now!"

"What?" Emily watched him make a hasty walk out of the bullpen.

~0~

The moment that Spencer met Penelope in her room, he knew something was wrong. Her chair was facing away from the computers, towards him, with a big nervous smile and the journal on her lap.

"What's happened?" Spencer stalked over to take the journal off her lap.

"I swear that I didn't mean to—" she started explaining when Spencer cut her off.

"Garcia!"

The blonde winced. "The journal fell and I swear that it actually fell open on the ground and as I was going to pick it up I sort of started skimming a few lines and now I kind of know what's in the journal…"

Spencer's eyes widened. "What!? Penelope!"

"I—sorry!" she threw her hands in the air. "It really did fall open and—"

"It doesn't matter! You looked! This is why I didn't trust anyone with the journal! You know I haven't looked at one single page? Not even the front page that I'm sure is just a blank page!"

"I'm sorry!"

"I shouldn't have let you keep it," Spencer turned right around to leave the room.

"But I did find something weird!"

Spencer stopped by the doorway, turning only slightly to catch her eye. Penelope grabbed the chance without a second thought.

"It's the name on the cover. Tania Oranears? I ran the name—"

"You already did that before—"

"I know but this time I went deeper! I searched pen names, aliases, um...I even checked the definitions of the names. I thought maybe it was like an acronym or something."

"And?"

Penelope smiled. "There was no definition for the last name. I searched through every database I have and the word 'Oranears' doesn't exist. It's a made up word."

Spencer gazed down at the cover. The name always struck him odd but he was no one to say there was a weird name in the world. "Everything always has a meaning," he whispered.

"Mhm," Penelope nodded. "And then on the page that I accidentally read she talked about a-a place in D.C. A theater. She went to watch a movie or something. It wasn't styled like an entry that you would find in a diary. It sounded more like she was telling a story but with that name, Tania. Every entry has Tania included. It's like a story. Was she writing one?"

Something was turning in Spencer's mind. No meaning but the entry had one. A memory. Snap. Spencer flashed for Penelope's desk, dumping the journal over it to grab a paper and pen.

"What-what's going on?" Penelope knew he figured something out and she was eager to see what it was.

"There's no definition because it's a made up word!" He said, more to himself than anything but Penelope still nodded along. "When I first saw the name, I thought it was a little weird. Usually it comes to me but I was too focused on the case to realize it. It's a made-up word because the name is made up. Delilah — Dulce — made it up! She said she loved puzzles and she created a big one in her journal."

Penelope watched in fascination as Spencer scribbled down the fake name on the paper then proceeded to make odd combinations of new words using the letters from the name. He had a few combinations but apparently they were no good since he kept drawing a line through them.

"It's an anagram," he explained. "She rearranged the letters of a word to make Tania Oranears."

"Why?" asked Penelope.

"Because it was the only way she could write about herself. The entry you read wasn't a story, it was a memory. One of her memories from her real life." In a way, Spencer supposed he should thank Penelope for peeking into the journal and finding that out. It could make delivering the journal somewhere a lot easier now. "Assuming that all the other entries are memories from before she was in Witness, than the name 'Tania Oranears' is an anagram of her own name, so…"

Penelope felt dizzy watching Spencer go from the board to the journal at least a dozen times, but he ultimately stopped. "What?" she looked from the paper in front of him. "What!?"

Spencer was staring at the bottom of the page. "I know her real name." Penelope waited for him to move his arm so she could see but he didn't. Spencer grabbed the page off the desk and looked at the name over and over. Something funny went on in his chest each time he said the name in his head.

Aitana Serrano.

Penelope couldn't take the suspense any longer so she snatched the paper from Spencer to see for herself. Her eyes skipped all the way to the bottom for the lucky name. "Aitana." Even hearing the name was incredibly strange for Spencer. "Aitana's her name? Her real name?" Penelope hmphed. "I had a neighbor with that name who always complained that no one ever pronounced it right. People see 'ai' so they say it with the long 'a' sound when in reality the name starts like Aileen, silent 'a' and long I sound. I-tana."

"Garcia," Spencer said before taking the paper back.

"Sorry," Penelope turned her chair back towards her computers. "So then, now that we have a real name, I can find her family."

"What—no!" Spencer scrambled to stop her fierce typing fingers from ever reaching the keyboard.

Penelope made a face. "No?"

"No!"

"But then how are we going to find the right person to give the journal to?"

That was a good question that Spencer had no answer to. He didn't like it. Penelope tilted her head at him, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. He was acting strange again. "What is with you?"

"I don't know," he huffed.

"Okay," Penelope said as she slowly reached for her keyboard once again, her eyes glued on Spencer in case he would try to peel her hands away. "I can pull her record up in .2 seconds and I'm being sarcastic here." Because in a maximum of 10 seconds she had already searched for the name and had results. Penelope noticed the immense effort that Spencer put into not looking at the screens. Penelope waved a hand at him. "All of this? This is weird. Why are you acting weird?"

"I always act weird," he said carelessly.

"No, you act Spencer, not weird," Penelope wagged a finger at him. "This is weird."

"Garcia—"

"Alright," Penelope raised her hands in defeat. "But what do you want to do now?"

"I'm not sure." And that's what troubled Spencer the most. He always knew what to do but for some reason this wasn't the case today.

"Well, while you think about that, maybe there's a solution in one of these pages…" Penelope had reached for the journal before Spencer could act. Her chair spun in the opposite direction when Spencer tried taking the journal back. He wasn't going to try and fight her for it, especially when it required too much closeness.

He sunk into the other open chair and brought a hand to his forehead. He needed to be very careful how he proceeded from this point on. Never did he intend on learning who Delilah was. Aitana. That was her real name. He used to go by her middle name but that wasn't needed anymore. She had a real name, a unique name actually. He certainly never heard anyone with it, no matter what Penelope said.

"Ooh," he suddenly heard Penelope herself. She neck deep into the journal.

He shook his head at her. "Penelope, you really shouldn't be reading any of that."

Penelope turned her chair back in his direction, revealing her facial features had formed an 'o' shape. "But if these are her real memories then she's someone I want to be friends with. She's so cool! She lived in Mexico for a while when she was younger but then moved back to D.C. She was in the criminal system but she doesn't really say what position."

"Penelope," Spencer sounded like he was begging her at that point to just stop. The more he heard honest snippets of Aitana's life, the more (shamefully) curious he was to hear more. Delilah Carrerro had only said two things about her that was true: she loved puzzles and she was tired of the way she lived. Aitana was someone completely different.

"Oh," Penelope laughed. She'd gone back to reading. "She talks a lot about puzzles. She actually names all the ones she misses from home. How...nerdy and yet sweet. She says her home was full of them." She flipped through a couple more pages, spilling new details about Aitana from each of them despite Spencer's insistence that she stop. "How else are we going to learn where to hand her journal to?" was Penelope's excuse.

"I don't want to snoop through her stuff!"

"That's literally what you do for a living."

"Garcia!"

Penelope made a gesture asking him what was so wrong. He didn't answer, instead choosing to leave her be.

~ 0 ~

Months Later.

It was a long, long day when the team was able to leave for home. Almost everyone was already off so Penelope took her chance to catch Spencer in the bullpen.

"Um, Reid, I, uh…"

Spencer had no idea what to do with that type of greeting. Penelope seemed even more nervous despite no one saying anything.

"Garcia, I'm actually really tired—"

Penelope decided to come out with it before she passed out from loss of air. "I think I may have found Aitana's old apartment."

Spencer froze in his spot, one hand still hovering over his messenger bag's strap he was adjusting. "What?"

Penelope nodded quickly. "I did! I, um, so I sort of looked more through the journal." She watched Spencer heavily sigh at her. She knew it was a terrible deed and no amount of apologies would ever make up for it but it was done and she might as well get something useful out of it. "And then I moved into my wonderful digital world—" she wiggled her fingers in the air, "—and I did my thing. Everything about her is inactive, obviously, except for an apartment that was still being rented with her name on it."

That detail was actually a bit concerning for Spencer. "What?"

Penelope nodded again. "It's a co-renting agreement. There's another woman's name on the contract." She brought her hands together as she anxiously waited for Spencer to say something.

"Where?" Spencer found himself asking.

"It's in the neighborhood, um, if...if you wanted to stop by."

The shake Spencer gave with his head was almost an instinct. "I couldn't!" He frantically finished fixing his bag to get leaving.

"Spencer, stop!" Penelope was hot on his trail. "C'mon, it's what you wanted!"

"No, what I wanted was to find a spot to leave the journal in—"

"Exactly!" Penelope followed him all the way to the elevator. He was forced to wait for it to re-open. "I found the spot! Her apartment!"

"Penelope, I don't think you understand why I can't show my face at that place!"

"To be fair, I haven't understood why you even kept the journal in the first place but now that you have and I know about it, I'm just as invested as you to find a good home for that journal!"

"Hey," Emily surprised them both with her presence. She came to stand between them and immediately noticed, and felt, the terse air. "Did I just walk into something?"

"No—" Spencer was saying when Penelope said the exact opposite.

"Yes!"

Spencer almost glared at her. Penelope upheld his look with her own. What was wrong with him?

Emily had no idea who to ask for an explanation but she had to ask someone if she wanted to help them. "I've noticed you guys have been having those, uh, altercations lately…" They weren't that bad of altercations — it was just slightly more edgy talkings and secret mumblings that often led to these similar glares — but seeing as it was Spencer and Penelope, it was reason for worry.

"I know about the journal," Penelope said, making Spencer groan. Why did she just keep going!?

Emily was surprised but not by the fact that she knew about it but more to the fact that Spencer had entrusted her with it. "Hey, I thought you weren't going to—"

"She caught me," Spencer explained before she started making false accusations. The elevator doors slid open and he didn't waste a moment to get inside. Penelope and Emily promptly followed him in and stood on either side of him.

"So is anyone going to fill me in on this?" Emily asked once the elevator descended down.

Spencer wouldn't even try to come up with a story. Penelope would take it from here. "I read through the journal and it led to Spencer, over here, discovering Delilah's real name."

"You found her real name?" Emily's eyes had widened and landed on Spencer. With pursed lips, he nodded. "What is it?"

He gave her an odd look. "You want to know?"

"Well, you guys are clearly finding out things about her, so...yeah?" Emily motioned him to give her the answer.

The elevator stopped and opened its doors for the trio. Spencer took the lead and had both women trailing after him like lost puppies.

"C'mon, what is it?" Emily asked again.

"Aitana."

"Hm, weird name…"

"But that's not all," Penelope said just as they left the building. "I found the apartment she used to live in."

"Woah," Emily stopped walking and thankfully so did Spencer and Penelope. "You did!?" Her eyes flickered to Spencer and despite his feelings towards the subject, he confirmed Penelope's words. "Well...where is it?"

"In D.C., near the banquet where the homicides happened, remember? I was telling Spencer that this could be his chance to return the journal."

"Yeah…" Emily slowly realized Penelope was right. "It is, actually."

"Thank you," Penelope gestured towards her as she spoke to Spencer, "See? That's what I'm trying to tell you!"

"You're not happy about it?" Emily asked him, wondering why that was.

"It's not that I'm not…" He shrugged. "I just...I don't know if visiting is the right idea. It's not allowed."

"Yeah but I think we crossed the 'not allowed' rule a long time ago."

Spencer said nothing even though she was absolutely right. "I...I just need some time to really think about it."

"You don't have that much time," Penelope said, confusing him for a moment. She sighed and began to explain the situation. "The apartment was put up for rent two months ago and it looks like there was a renter. Whoever lived in the apartment has to leave by the end of the month."

"Spencer," Emily called, her expression already indicating what she thought was best, "If this is true—"

"It is," Penelope made sure to leave clear.

"—then this is our only chance to give the journal back. It's far too dangerous to go looking into Del—Aitana's life. This is it. You understand that, right?"

Of course Spencer did. He wasn't an idiot. He gave a nod. "Yeah."

Emily stepped closer to him and touched his arm. "Hey, if you want, I'll come with."

Spencer raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?" She nodded. "Emily, you don't have to. I broke the rules by bringing that journal here. If they were to find out that I visited Aitana's old apartment—"

"They're not going to hear it from me," Emily raised a hand in her promise.

"Zip, zip!" Penelope made the zipper motion across her lips.

Spencer smiled lightly at the two.

~ 0 ~

The lucky apartment was in a street right in the center of traffic which meant people were coming in and out of buildings, whether apartments or businesses. It was considered a blessing for the visitors who were trying to keep a low profile. They blended in as they entered the building.

Floor number 3, door B was where Spencer and Emily knocked. After the first time, they heard footsteps on the other side and in the following seconds the door opened.

"Can I help you?" A tall woman with a messy bun of blonde hair answered. She was fitted in athletic clothes.

Spencer fumbled over his words in the beginning so Emily led for him in the meantime. "I'm Agent Emily Prentiss and this is Dr. Spencer Reid. We're from the FBI."

The woman took one look at the badges and immediately opened the door completely for them. The agents walked in to find the living room in a clutter of boxes. They were moving boxes.

Spencer straightaway noticed boxes that were labeled 'Aitana'. They were definitely in the right place.

"Has something happened to her?" the blonde woman's voice had shaken when she made the question. The way she looked at the two...she expected the worst news.

Before saying anything, Emily checked for Spencer. Was he ready to take the lead?

Spencer was staring at the blonde, however, taking note of her genuine fear for Aitana's fate. Whoever she was, she was close. He started to relax a bit. "Can I have your name please?"

"Elia Reynoso," the woman gave it up fast. "I'm-I'm Aitana's best friend. Did something happen to her?"

"What do you know of Aitana since...the banquet?"

Elia's light, strained smile said it all. "She was nearly killed. She was put in Witness Protection almost a year ago. Did...did something happen to her? Did they find her?"

"Why don't we sit down?" Emily suggested, though she had a hard time finding an open spot in the living room. It was all pretty invaded by the boxes.

"No, I'm fine where I am. Please, I know you don't make house visits to the best friend of the victim, not when the family doesn't live that far from here. If something happened to her, can you just tell me already?"

"We don't know where she is, nor what her condition is, but we did meet her about 2 months ago and she was relatively alright," Spencer explained. He could see the semi-relief his words brought to Elia.

"She was living okay?"

"Yeah…"

"How did you meet her?"

"That's not really pertinent to why we're here."

Elia nodded her understanding. She didn't want to upset them and suddenly not get the news that they had about her best friend. "S-sit, we can sit," she looked around and pulled a few boxes from the long couch. She took the couch chair and anxiously waited for someone to tell her something.

"Elia, you were close to Aitana enough to rent an apartment together," Spencer remarked in hopes of sparking some conversation that would lead him to decide whether or not Elia was suitable to handle the journal.

"Yeah, we, uh...we've been best friends since middle school," Elia smiled. "Even when we went our separate ways for college we still stayed pretty close, hence the apartment." She looked down with a very clear feeling written on her face. Guilt.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked when Elia didn't speak anymore.

Elia nodded and wiped some loose tears from the corners of her eyes. "She found this apartment. When we both came back from college, we decided that we wanted to live together. More freedom, you know?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded with her.

"But I just can't handle the rent anymore," Elia bitterly looked around the living room. "Aitana and I—we were always in sync, and I've struggled a lot without her." Her eyes landed on the agents with a new sense of urgency. "Please tell me what's wrong. Did they kill her?"

Spencer may have struggled with his words but he immediately discarded that presumption for Elia's sake. She was utterly relieved but not quite content that she still didn't know where Aitana was.

"I know I should be grateful to know that she's alive somewhere but...it's really hard, you know," Elia sniffed, "It's just…"

"You don't need to explain," Emily said. She glanced at Spencer; he had to make the move already. Elia was still too sensitive about the situation. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"Of course," Elia stood up to show Emily where to go.

As Emily left her seat, she sent a sharp look in Spencer's direction. He needed to get on with it. She was being kind by letting him do it on his own to talk freely with Elia.

Elia lingered by the hallway until she heard the bathroom door close. She turned back towards Spencer but hesitated returning. "Are you sure it's her you met?" she suddenly asked him.

"I think so," Spencer nodded. Penelope hadn't showed him any pictures but the information she had certainly matched with what he already knew.

Elia didn't look so convinced, or rather she couldn't. Her eye gazed over a couple things until she plucked a portrait from a nearby shelf—one of the last ones to still have things on it—and walked over to Spencer. "This is her," she held the portrait out for him to see. "This is my best friend. Are we talking about the same person?"

Spencer's eyes fell over the frame in front of him. His hands seemed stuck on the straps of his messenger bag but Elia wasn't pulling the frame away from him until he answered her question.

It was definitely Aitana smiling at him, along with Elia. Aitana's arm was hanging around Elia's shoulders while her free hand presumably held the camera for them. They were both dressed in folkloric Mexican dresses, though Aitana was a bit more dressy as if she'd been part of a show. It was an off-the-shoulder ruffle top dress with shades of bright pink and green starting at her waist, though it was mostly cut off. Her hair was tied back in a sophisticated high-bun with green ribbons swirling through the braids.

"Is it her?" Elia asked, making Spencer realize he'd been staring far longer than he had to, than he should. He cleared his throat and nodded. He looked away just as Elia took the frame with her. "She and I entered one of those amateur dancing contests with some friends," she took her seat on the couch chair again, holding the frame tightly in her hands, "She's not really an amateur though, she just likes being modest — she liked being, anyways." She was finally able to meet Spencer's gaze. "I really miss her."

Spencer started opening up his messenger bag, the decision had been made a while ago but now he felt like he could really go through with it. "Listen, Elia, this is something really important to Aitana. I...I broke a rule by keeping it but I didn't think it was right throwing it away knowing how important it was to her." Elia was puzzled when she saw him pull out the journal. "Aitana took to writing stories in this, memories I think, and when she had to leave she couldn't take it."

"She had to leave?" Elia was smart enough to know the implications of that sentence.

Spencer would only nod for an answer. "I really can't explain it. It would put her and you in danger. One of my friends found this apartment because Aitana's name was still on the contract. I wasn't sure whether or not to give this to you but now I'm sure that Aitana would want you to hold onto it."

"Her parents are only a couple blocks away," Elia said slowly.

"But would you want your parents to read your journal?"

Elia shook her head. "No, I'd die if my Mom read my diary."

Spencer stood up from his seat and walked up to Elia's chair. He held the journal out for her. Elia laid eyes on the cover and immediately made a face at the strange name on it.

"Tania Oranears?" she looked up at Spencer.

"It's an anagram from her name," he explained but she was having trouble understanding. "If you rearrange the letters you'd get her full name: Aitana Serrano."

"Oh," Elia playfully rolled her eyes and smiled at the journal. "She always loved playing puzzle games. She had two snoopy brothers so she had to hide some things from them."

"Well, I think you're the most indicated person to take this and hide it," Spencer motioned her to take the journal.

Elia was hesitant to touch it but knowing that it belonged to her best friend helped her push through it. She shuddered when she took it into her hands but immediately gripped it like her life depended on it. "It's so strange having something from her again. I mean…" she made a gesture to the apartment, "Everything here is going back to her parents." She rose from her chair and moved around the room. "I guess I get to keep two things now."

"Two?" Spencer watched her make her way up to a large fish tank next to the window facing the street.

Elia glanced back with a smile on her face. "Aitana's parents hate pets of any kind. Soon as we rented this place, Aitana bought a fish tank."

"Interesting choice of pets," Spencer remarked without thinking how Elia would take it.

She chuckled. "Aitana wanted something bright and fish are just easier to have as pets, you know."

"She made the right choice."

"Mhm, that one's her favorite," Elia pointed to a bright blue fish that was swimming near the corner. "She named it Neptune." She snorted. "She was a big space geek so she named the fishes after the planets."

Spencer smiled at the colorful fishes. If he was correct, Aitana must have named the rest of the fishes after the planets that matched their colors. "They're beautiful."

Emily returned from the bathroom and was relieved to see Elia holding Aitana's journal. She exchanged a look with Spencer, reminding him that now that they were done it was time to go. It wasn't good for them to stay any longer than they had to.

Spencer cleared his throat and went by Emily's side. "Elia, it's really important that you don't mention this visit. Agent Prentiss and I could get into a lot of trouble if somebody found out that we stopped by, much more that I had the journal."

"Of course," Elia quickly nodded. "No one will know about this. I swear."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you," Elia smiled at them but more specifically at Spencer. "Like I said in the beginning, I know that FBI agents don't make visits like these. You guys are different. I promise that I'll give this back to her if she ever comes back."

"Take care of yourself," Emily said as they started for the door.

Spencer was the last one to walk out but not before he glanced back at the apartment. There was an odd feeling in his stomach. Logically, he should be putting the whole case of Aitana to rest. He had given the journal to someone she would entrust it to and he didn't peek into her life, not like Penelope had. He was good. He did what he wanted to from the start.

So why wasn't he feeling accomplished?

Before leaving, he saw Elia turning back to the fish tank, clutching the journal to her chest. She must be wondering where Aitana was and if Spencer was honest with himself, he wondered the same thing. Where was Aitana right now? Was she doing okay? Had she managed to make some friends this time around?

"You did good, Spencer," Emily's voice brought him back to the present. They were coming down the staircase. "You can finally move on from the case."

"Yeah," he cleared his throat. "Yeah, I know."

Emily wouldn't point out that his face said the exact opposite. One could say that this wasn't exactly just a "case" anymore, but what it was she did not know either.

A/N:

So we finally get our girl's real name! Unfortunately, she wasn't in here but she'll be back next chapter! And not as Delilah ;)

P.S. As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"