The first time Aitana saw Emily Prentiss well and alive, she turned went into ugly-crying mode in about a minute. She had tried to keep herself calm and use her words to express what she felt seeing a friend she thought died...but it all went south the moment she saw Emily in the conference room. She may as well have been her nephew Logan when he went into a tantrum. Incoherent words and sobs is how she greeted Emily. And hugs. Many, many hugs were given. Emily was kind enough to let her go through the different phases of her emotions but by the end of things, Aitana was still embarrassed she'd come undone like that.

The team was just happy that it seemed like everyone was coming back like before. Aitana had a long and serious talk with Hotch on her first day back at the BAU regarding her future. While the team had been suspended, Aitana had taken care of filing through the cases that had been sent to the BAU. She organized them as much as she could being on her own and now that everyone was back, they were going through them. Aitana was doing it "officially" as a profiler only. That was what she was being paid for until she graduated.

Hotch reminded her that she didn't have the obligation to perform any liaison duties until then, but Aitana insisted that it was what she wanted to do. She was determined to keep both sides of the job. But in the meantime that happened, all corresponding liaison files would be coming in through Penelope first — officially. Aitana thought it was fine, Penelope wouldn't mind sharing the duties outside of the official terms anyways. She'd already made it clear how much she missed her liaison partner. Everything seemed to be falling into place...until it wasn't. Nobody said anything whether or not it affected them directly, but they all saw and noticed. It was little things, sure, but nonetheless things they saw.

"So you finished the course?" Emily asked JJ DJ their way to the conference room.

JJ was ecstatic as the upcoming case would be her first as an official profiler on the team, finally shedding the probationary period. "Mm-hmm. And completed my case rotation!"

"Hotch says he's never seen a rookie profiler analyze and write up cases as well as you."

JJ blinked in surprise. "He said that?"

Emily chuckled. "Yeah. Well, after all the cases you presented over the years, I'm not surprised."

"Morning!" Aitana waited for the pair by the bullpen entrance. "Garcia is waiting for us in the conference room."

"Great," Emily said.

The elevator doors dinged open and Spencer came out in a hurry. He was already late but seeing who was blocking the way made him want to run right past them.

"Hey, where have you been?" JJ called when they noticed him coming. "I wanted to do brunch this weekend."

Spencer didn't afford her any look as he skimmed through a book in his hands. "I had to deal with some stuff with my mom."

"Morning," Aitana greeted him, "Have you—"

"I'm sorry, I need to find Garcia." Spencer went right past her without so much of a glance in her direction.

"Okay…" Aitana bit on her bottom lip as she watched him practically zoom through the bullpen to head on up the steps for the conference room.

"He hates me," JJ's remark pulled Aitana back to her and Emily.

Emily didn't want to admit anything and it was hard to act like there was nothing when there clearly was.

Aitana, however, sighed in acknowledgment. Everyone had noticed how quickly and easily Spencer avoided JJ and when he did have to talk to her, he was brief and quick about it. "He's just hurt. You're his best friend, after all."

"Was," JJ corrected. "He doesn't talk to me. Least you guys get a greeting."

"Do I?" Aitana made a face at the claim. "JJ, you know I don't like the way things are between you and Spencer — of course I want you guys to fix your friendship but…we can understand...why he would be...upset with you...right?" JJ knew where Aitana was going and assured her that she understood what she was trying to say. "But I didn't know anything," Aitana went on, "I was the last one to find out that Emily was alive, so...why is he mad at me? What did I do?"

That was the burning question that no one could answer. It was no secret why Spencer had put distance between him and JJ. JJ and Hotch had arranged for Emily's secret transfer out of the country while making everyone else think she was dead. JJ wasn't happy with what was happening but, like Aitana had said, she could understand why Spencer was upset with her.

But it was an outright mystery why he was seemingly upset with Aitana.

Aitana was forlorn each time Spencer brushed her off or made some excuse to basically be anywhere she wasn't. Even their study sessions had come to an unexpected end. She didn't expect him to help her each time, obviously, but why end them just like that? What had she done?

Maybe I finally bored him, she continuously (and bitterly) thought to herself. As awful as it felt, she could see it happening. She was nowhere near smart as he was so...maybe...he just finally saw that. Maybe he just didn't want to waste his time. He didn't want to be bored.

~ 0 ~

"All right, mes amis," Penelope addressed the team, clicker ready in hand, "You are jetting to Durant, Oklahoma, because in the last 3 days, two women have been found dead after being sexually tortured and then blinded with a sulfuric acid solution." She pulled up the photograph of a young blonde girl on the screen. "Abby Elcott is our first victim. 19-year-old art student. She was headed to campus for an advanced drawing class. She'd been missing for two days. Same goes for our second victim, Beth Westerly, 17." A second blonde girl's photograph popped up on the screen. "She had just finished her coffee shop shift and was on her way to a bar method class. Both low-risk victims."

"And physically similar," Morgan remarked. They could easily pass off as sisters. "How close are the two abduction sites?"

"Five miles apart at bus stops. Abby's cell was found near one, Beth's scarf near the other."

"And where are the dump sites?" asked Aitana.

"One in an alley, the other in a field."

"Sooo he stapled their eyes open, then he blinded them," Emily said, her nose crinkled as she perused through the morgue photographs in their hard copies. "It's about power and control. Maybe he didn't want them to watch while he hurt them."

"Or it could be about shame," JJ offered, and before she could add on, Spencer cut in.

"Perhaps the unsub is disfigured himself. Blinding the victims leaves them helpless, lost, totally dependent. It may be a manifestation of how he sees himself in this world."

"It is a form of enucleation, just without the scalpel," Rossi said, "His face is the last they see before darkness."

Hotch agreed with the others. "Garcia, come up with a list of jobs that would give the unsub access to sulfuric acid. The rest of us, wheels up in 30 minutes."

~0~

Once the jet had taken off, the team went over the cases in more detail to know what they were going to be looking at as soon as they landed.

"Victimology is very similar," Hotch remarked at the two pictures of the victims. "Blond-haired, blue-eyed teenage girls. We believe they were each abducted near public transportation stops."

Morgan found a picture of the second victim that seemed to have been taken without her knowledge. She didn't appear to be under any duress. "When was this photo taken?" He turned the picture around for the others to see.

"So Beth was caught on a bank surveillance camera 3 hours before she disappeared," Aitana explained. She'd gone over early details with Penelope before presenting the case to Hotch. "That's a recent photo of Abby," she said as Morgan went onto another picture of the first victim that also seemed to be taken in a moment of casualty.

"So she wasn't found in the same clothes she was abducted in," Morgan noted, because the pictures of the corpses had completely different clothing.

"Maybe he changed them because hers were burned by the sulfuric acid," JJ offered the idea.

"Sulfuric acid can turn human flesh into soap," Spencer remarked slightly quickly, enough to make JJ feel like she'd been brushed off again. "Garcia, any recent similar cases in the surrounding area?"

"Actually, yes," Penelope said. "Two months ago a prostitute and a runaway were both found raped and killed and they had stab wounds to their eyes."

"So maybe he practiced on high-risk victims first," Emily resolved. "And then advanced to chemical enucleation. Isn't that a rare paraphilia?"

"Well, the chemical part is," Spencer nodded, "It would exacerbate the pain."

"Like Ed Kemper, he's probably practicing on surrogates before going after the real object of his rage," said Rossi.

"Serrano, Dave, you and I will talk to the parents," Hotch said, though his gaze lingered on Aitana. He tended to do that more often now that she was meant to be profiling "officially". He wanted to be sure if she really wanted to stay behind in the precincts to do the liaison duties.

Aitana deeply appreciated it. When she nodded that it was what she wanted, he moved on to assign the rest of the team.

~0~

Later in the day, Spencer and JJ made their way down the blocks where their second victim was last seen. Once again, it was very clear that he would much rather be anywhere but there.

He walked fast down the street, forcing JJ to half sprint just to stay at his pace. "So Beth got off the bus here and headed northwest toward class."

"It's amazing no one witnessed her abduction," JJ said as she took note of the busy street. Cars were driving by almost every minute and there were several people waiting for the bus, not to mention waiting to cross the street.

"Emily was buried 6 feet under and wound up in Paris, so I guess anything's possible, right?" Spencer said curtly.

JJ's double take was done on automatic. It was very rare for Spencer to be so quick with a snap. It wasn't like him at all. "So that is what this is about." She wasn't at all surprised except for the fact that he'd finally admitted it out loud. At least now they could work on it.

"Maybe our unsub's a little bit like Bundy," Spencer kept going like she hadn't said anything, "He feigns injury in order to get her to help him."

JJ had to run to get in front of him and stop him from walking. "Look, Spence, if you want to talk about this—"

Of course Spencer then moved right past her and continued with his theory. The last thing he wanted was to give her the time of the day. "Maybe he tried other tactics, like, 'Wow, you're really pretty. 'You should be a model. I can take your photo.'"

JJ was forced to follow him, putting a pause on the conversation that would definitely need to happen in the near future. "Either one would disarm her. Charm is quite the killer."

"So are tears," Spencer muttered and looked around the street. JJ frowned are him. "Whatever his ruse was, the unsub mostly likely used it to get her into his vehicle."

"Well, if Abby was last seen at a bus stop a few miles away, then he definitely has a means of transportation," she remarked, bracing herself for the next jab. "Hopefully the disposal site will tell us more."

~0~

The one thing Aitana actually liked about being away from the BAU were the lack of horrified faces her words elicited from people. Here she was delivering horrific details to a victim's parents about how their daughter was brutally tortured for hours — days. This was this worst part of the job when the victims were already dead. The crime had been done; the grief was ineivtable.

"He had her for two days?" Mrs. Elcott, Abby's mother was truly horrified and terrified of what she learned. "I can't even imagine what she went through."

Her husband, Mr. Elcott, was in the same state. "Why did he blind her?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Aitana didn't feel any better saying that to them. What came next certainly wasn't good either. It was the last thing on the parents' minds. "I know this is difficult, but I need you to look at the clothes that Abby was wearing when we found her." She reached for a plastic bag behind her with Abby's clothes. She held it between them, patiently waiting until one of the parents took the bag. "Do you recognize them? Do you find anything odd about the specific clothing?"

Mrs. Elcott shook her head suddenly, nose crinkling in a manner that didn't seem to pertain to her grief. Aitana knew that something was off.

"They're not Abby's," the mother finally said.

Aitana hummed. "Are you sure?" Her eyes raked over the bag's label. It had Abby's name because it was what she was wearing when they found her.

Mrs. Elcott nodded her head. Aitana noted how sure the woman looked. Not even the grief was making her rethink things.

"I saw her that morning. She had on a brown and pink sweater."

Aitana nodded. She didn't press any further. She thought the parents deserved some rest.

~0~

Morgan and Emily returned shortly after the interviews with the victims' parents had finished, both rather dejected with the little they'd gotten from the second crime scene. Aitana had busied herself in the borrowed conference room in the precinct. She'd already started the evidence board for both victims and was eager to add anything new to get them to their Unsub.

"Hotch and Rossi went to the morgue," she told the pair, "They'll be back later."

"Reid and JJ?" asked Morgan.

"Local thrift store. Since the unsub seems to have a fixation with 80s clothes, we figured that's where he'd most likely find these types of clothes."

"So we're on waiting duty 'til then?" Emily presumed.

Aitana nodded and moved around her. "So I've been thinking," she started, busying herself with some papers on the table, "About why Spencer could be upset with me…"

"Oh, don't even worry about that," Morgan said, though he like everyone else would love to know what reason Spencer had to be mad at her.

"But I will, and I am," Aitana said, planting her hands on the table, "I've been thinking about this, really thinking, and I can only see that maybe I crossed his boundaries? I-I think about the study sessions and maybe he got fed up with me." Both Morgan and Emily exchanged glances, both clearly doubting this was the reason. "I focus a lot on my studies, okay? And I scooted too close to him or something various times. Maybe that's it."

"Okay," Emily decided to cut in before Aitana went into a full ramble, "I really don't think that's it. You shouldn't think about that."

"It's the only thing I can think of," Aitana insisted. "I annoyed him until he snapped."

"Sprinkles, calm down," Morgan gestured for her to bring it down. She'd been rising in volume. "I'm with Emily. I highly doubt being too close to him was the problem. If you haven't noticed, he's very comfortable around you."

"But I'm still the new girl," Aitana chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm not Emily, I'm not Penelope and I'm definitely not JJ. You've all known him for years. I've known him for about one."

"It's not that, I can almost swear it," Morgan said.

"Okay, then maybe I bored him? Maybe I literally bored him to death!"

"'Bored him'?" Morgan couldn't stop the chuckle that slipped from him. Emily whacked him on the arm and walked over to Aitana to reassure her that was not the case.

"I'm just — I don't get it!" Aitana exclaimed in the end, frustrated. "I wasn't even part of the team when all this shit happened! If it's not to do with that, then it has to be from our studying sessions! You guys gotta help me because I really don't want to end up like JJ...as bad as that sounds."

"Hey, hey, it'll be okay," Emily said, giving her a hug. Morgan came to rest a hand on Aitana's shoulder with the most reassuring smile he could produce for her, but it was difficult to believe them at that moment.

~0~

Later that same day, another dead victim was discovered in an alley. Being the closest to the site, Spencer and JJ met with the detective on the case, Mosely.

"Again he's disposing in an area frequented by homeless people." Moseley gestured to the street behind them. It wasn't frequented by many people. "It's equidistant to the last two dump sites."

JJ stood closer to the corpse, bending down to note the chemical reaction on the victim's mouth. The skin was angry red with multiple large bumps, and that was just on the outside. "He burned her tongue with the chemical this time. He removed her ability to taste."

"Why would he do that?" Mosely asked.

"Historically this kind of torture was used to prevent someone from revealing a secret," Spencer explained. He didn't get too close to the victim like JJ had.

"Maybe she offended him," JJ theorized at the top of her head only to get another sour remark from Spencer.

"I wonder what that's like," he said in his usual quick-paced tone. "Her lips are extremely chapped. She was probably forced to repeatedly participate in some sort of kissing fantasy. And when things go awry, he takes the offending sense away." He observed the odd 80s clothes the victim wore; they were in the same style as the other two victims. "He tortured her in these clothes, which means the eighties are essential to his delusion."

"Maybe that's when this rejection occurred and he held on to the clothes all these years," JJ said, pausing to hear whether or not Spencer would agree. He pointedly ignored her. JJ straightened up on her feet, pushing past her growing irritation to keep it professional. "And now he's attacking girls who remind him of women from that time. He's fixated on her type and remakes them fit his fantasy."

"But why start now?" asked Mosley, still looking between the two agents.

JJ felt like she had the perfect answer. "Something probably triggered it, and instead of dealing with it, he's acting out."

Spencer still very much ignored her, her words and her sharp look.

~0~

Knowing what they knew now, the team felt like it was highly time to deliver the profile. They had no doubt the unsub was going to strike again on the same day so time was of the essence.

"We believe the unsub or unknown subject that we're looking for is a white male in his 40s," Hotch began, "This is someone who's reacting to rejection by a woman when he was a teenager in the 1980s."

"He's punishing his victims for their reactions to him by taking away their senses with sulfuric acid," Spencer said. They'd been able to identify the specific acid very quickly but without much luck of where it was specifically coming from.

"We believe our unsub could possibly work part-time as a janitor or a mechanic, which would give him access to this chemical," said Rossi.

"And after studying the disposal sites, we think it's likely that he is homeless," Morgan said. "Now, how do we typically react toward the homeless? We judge them by their looks and smells. It's that same negative reaction we believe that a woman had toward the unsub at some point in the eighties."

"The unsub's fixation on this woman is now all-consuming," Aitana went on, "It's caused him to develop obsessive love disorder. He most likely has tunnel vision and believes that she holds the key to his happiness." She almost shuddered thinking back to the unsub she still felt responsible for creating in her brother's precinct. "He will stalk her in an attempt to win her back…"

"He will do whatever it takes to be near his love interest," JJ said, unknowingly helping her colleague, "But her rejection will spiral him into a depression."

"Which would lead to rape and murder of the surrogates who represent her," Spencer said, "And it's only a matter of time before this rage and anger causes the unsub to go after her directly."

Hence, time was of the complete essence.

~ 0 ~

"Spence. Look, we gotta talk about this!" JJ trailed after Spencer into the conference room. She was done with the petty remarks from him and she genuinely feared that the more time she wasted being upset herself, it would be even harder to get Spencer to forgive her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Spencer kept making rounds at the table, gathering papers he had no idea about.

"I get it, ok? You're disappointed with the way we handled Emily!"

"Listen, I have a lot going on, all right?" Spencer finally stopped near the open doors when he saw the look on JJ's face. It was anger. How could she be angry? It was her fault. "What?" He demanded to know.

"You know what I think it is?" JJ could feel the stinging tears in her eyes. She was absolutely done handling his behavior when she had just done her job to help Emily. "You're mad that Hotch and I controlled our micro-expressions at the hospital and you weren't able to detect our deception."

Spencer scoffed in her face. "Seriously? You think it's about my profiling skills? Jennifer, listen, the only reason you were able to manage my perceptions is because I trusted you. I came to your house for 10 weeks in a row crying over losing a friend, and not once did you have the decency to tell me the truth."

"I couldn't!"

"You couldn't? Or you wouldn't?"

"No, I couldn't!" JJ said in exasperation, though she pulled herself together as much as she could when she saw somebody coming nearing the door.

"What if I started taking Dilaudid again—"

"Spencer—"

"Would you have let me!?" Spencer went on, louder to go over JJ's voice.

"Spencer, stop—"

Spencer shook his head at her and turned to leave, only to crash into a smaller figure. It was Aitana, wide eyed and stunned. Behind them, JJ sighed. She'd tried to cut Spencer off but he was just too angry to listen to her. It all connected fast for Spencer. Aitana had to have heard everything, at least the important stuff he would've never really talked about.

"I was not supposed to hear that!" Aitana exclaimed once she'd found her voice. She gripped the papers in her hands even tighter, enough to make her knuckles turn white.

"Aitana—"

"N-no, I'm going, don't worry!" Aitana spun away, eyes getting even wider once they were hidden. He'll be furious for sure, she thought to herself as she rushed off.

"Aitana, wait, Ai-Aitana!" Spencer tried to grab her arm but she was too fast for him. "Great!" He would've yelled had he not held onto the last shred of professionalism being in the precinct. He turned back to JJ, face red with newfound anger. "Absolutely great! That's great! This is absolutely what I wanted her to know about me!"

JJ grew incredulous at his insinuation. "This isn't my fault! Look, I get why you're mad at me but I don't know what the hell you got to be mad about with Aitana! And not talking about it is what got you into that" — she gestured in the direction Aitana went off in — "mess so don't blame that on me!"

"Oh please," Spencer scoffed. "Like you and everyone else don't know!"

"Know about what?" JJ said, confused. "If you, for a second, even think that she knew what Hotch and I did—"

"That's not it!" snapped Spencer. "Maybe mull it over with Morgan or something. You both love to think that I'm a-a girlfriend stealer!"

"A what!?" JJ had to have heard wrong. She had to. There was no way that's what he said to her.

"You and Morgan, even Garcia sometimes, you all love to tease me about Aitana even when I have repeatedly expressed my discomfort about it!"

"Spence, we didn't mean to—"

"Yes, yes you did mean it! You've all meant each and every one of your teases and I'm sick of it!"

"I'm...I'm sorry, I just...we all just think you would make a nice couple," JJ shrugged awkwardly. Maybe this one was her fault — hers and Morgan's apparently. "You guys clicked in the beginning—I thought things would for sure turn into something when she took my position."

"Nothing would happen!" Spencer snapped, growing even more angry the more he listened to her. Actually, 'anger' wouldn't even be the right description for how he felt. He was disgusted. That's exactly what he was. Because his friends didn't seem to know who he was. "When have I ever given you, or done something, to give you the idea that I would make a move on Aitana?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't think…" JJ was rather speechless on the matter. She honestly never considered that Spencer would react like this to something that seemed so innocent. She genuinely thought—and still thought today—that she was just helping to push two people who would be good together. She liked to think that she knew Spencer best so she was sure that Aitana would be a good fit...

Apparently, she'd been wrong.

"So I'm done giving you, Morgan and everyone else the ammunition to keep teasing me. I'm putting distance between us to stop the teasing," Spencer said, backtracking from JJ. "Because the last thing I want is for Aitana to think that I was only her friend to get her to go out with me!"

~ 0 ~

—

this at cm45 on google docs

Aitana made it her absolute mission to stay clear of Spencer for the rest of the case. It was ironic that she was now doing the avoiding, though it was definitely easy when Spencer didn't exactly try to talk to her. Aitana was smart enough to know that he eventually would, at least to clarify things and she didn't feel like she was apt for that conversation yet.

Of course, that didn't mean JJ wouldn't try to step in.

Aitana made herself scarce from the conference room when the team was there and since Spencer, Hotch and Rossi were currently in there...she was not. In fact, she'd been in the restroom for a good twenty minutes now. It was probably why JJ had come in.

"Don't say anything," Aitana warned when she saw the blonde through the sink mirror. "I don't...that was not my conversation to hear at all."

"I know," JJ said, unable to imagine how Aitana must feel at the moment. "But...you did hear it and you really only heard the worst of it."

"I wasn't supposed to hear anything," Aitana shook her head. "If he was mad at me before, he probably wishes I was dead now."

"You know, I don't really think Spencer could ever think like that about someone," JJ offered her a little smile.

"There's always a first," Aitana mumbled.

"Look, Aitana, Spencer was never mad at you. We talked about that—it was back and forth but we talked about—and it has nothing to do with you. It's sort of my fault too."

"C'mon JJ," Aitana sighed. "I did something bad and then I did something worse. Spencer is going to hate me, if he doesn't already."

"No, he's not. I think you and him are overdue for a conversation…"

Aitana cracked the first genuine smile the team had seen in a while. "That's rich from you, JJ."

JJ swayed her head. "I know but between you and me, he's going to come to you first. I see it."

Aitana turned away from the sinks, facing JJ with a saddened smile. "You're his best friend. He needs to come to you first. And, if by any chance he asks, tell him I'm not saying anything. The pieces that I heard — I'm not saying anything."

"I'm sure he knows that." JJ had no doubt about it. All Spencer could think about was the fact that Aitana now knew one of his worst past moments, and out of context too. Even if he was angry with JJ, she could still read him like a book. And the situation with Aitana was making him hurt.

~0~

With some help from the local group home in the neighborhood, the team was now tasked with interviewing 19 potential unsubs. Morgan and Emily were out scoping the area which left the team a bit shorthanded.

Aitana kept her attention solely on the men on her list. If she even for a second thought that Spencer might come near her, she bolted from the spot. She had no idea what to expect no matter what JJ said. She had a reputation for barging into conversations—her older brothers used to complain about it growing up—but this time seemed like the worst of all. She would have to set it aside after getting word of another potential victim gone missing.

Detective Moseley introduced the picture of the young girl to her in the bullpen. "She's been missing since last night."

Aitana nodded. "Okay, and the parents?"

"They're at the house. We're bringing her friends in for questioning."

"Good, yeah, um, I'll let the team know but you should get a start on the friends." Aitana took the rest of the information on the girl then turned fast for the conference room to relay the situation to them.

"Tammy Bradstone is similar to the previous 3 vics," Morgan said as Aitana pinned the blonde teenager's picture to their board.

"In appearance and age," JJ agreed.

"Apparently, she was at homecoming last night," Aitana stepped back from the board, "And said homecoming spot was right smack in the comfort zone."

"Morgan, Prentiss, you head over to the parents' home to start the interview," instructed Hotch. "We'll need to canvass the homecoming site too." His eyes flickered to the remaining profilers and internally sighed. Three out of the four were in awkward distances from each other. He nearly shook his head. "Reid, Rossi, head over now."

The relief was ever so palpable in the air. Unsurprisingly, Spencer was the first one to leave the room (and quickly). Rossi walked out a couple seconds later, expression bearing the 'I'm not dealing with this' on his face.

"I will fix it," JJ promised Hotch.

"Overwhelming him isn't going to do the trick," Hotch warned her. "Best to give him some time." His gaze soon drifted to Aitana who caught it in a second.

"I...heard something I shouldn't have," she explained in a quiet whisper. "And keeping true to my word—" she looked at JJ for that, "—I will not be repeating anything. I'm going to go see the friends' interviews." She couldn't possibly leave the room any quicker.

~ 0 ~

All other potential unsubs were dropped from the list once Morgan and Prentiss discovered that the victim's father had a brother who fit the profile perfectly. Cy Bradstone was their guy and now they needed to find him. And given that Cy had a deep obsession for the victim's mother, Lilah, it was fairly easy tricking him into coming to the house. As soon as he was there, he was arrested and brought back to the precinct.

"How's it going?" Morgan approached JJ at the interrogation window.

"Not well," JJ said, watching Hotch and Rossi practically yell at Cy in vain. "He's not giving anything up. Has Garcia found anything?"

Morgan shook his head. "No. Cy doesn't legally have any properties. If he has something, it's got to be old enough not to even register as property. Aitana's trying to help Garcia by going through Cy's history growing up, local places he may have visited."

"I think I should help," JJ said, deciding it had to be better than just watching the interrogation.

"Actually," Morgan said, blocking her way, "I sort of left her and Reid in the same room so, um, let's give it a minute...or ten."

JJ sighed. "Not going to work. You know that's also why he's upset with me, right? And you, for that matter."

Morgan made a face. "What did I do?"

"It's what we've been doing regarding, um…" JJ took a quick scan of the hallway to make sure there wasn't anybody nearby, "Our teasing about him and Aitana."

"What? We always do that. We do it every time there's a girl he might be interested in…"

"We struck a nerve with Aitana apparently," JJ shrugged. "I didn't mean to upset him…"

"Neither of us did," Morgan said, "But, frankly, I don't understand why we made him mad."

"I don't know either. I might be a little offended on behalf of Aitana, honestly, because she's been nothing but sweet."

"That's not like Reid," Morgan said confidently. There had to be something they were missing, something that no doubt was the reason Spencer was mad enough to put a heavy distance between himself and Aitana.

~0~

It took one short conversation between Cy and his brother to get the location of Tammy. As soon as the team had it, they moved out. They secured the small cabin before going in. Sure enough, Tammy Bradstone was lying unconscious inside.

"Look at her hands." Aitana's eyes had widened with horror. Tammy's hands were red, bumpy and throbbing.

"She's got a pulse," Emily said quickly after checking. She pressed a finger over her ear comm. "We need a medic in here!"

"This is downright horrible," Aitana mumbled to Emily when the medics rushed in. "To think it was her uncle…" And yet it wasn't even the worst they had seen.

They rushed Tammy to the hospital and while they had to head back to the precinct to clear up their stuff, they kept a close ear on Tammy's condition. By the time they were heading home on the jet, they were relieved to hear Tammy's high chances of getting back her sense of touch in her hands. Emily decided to inform Spencer herself since everybody else has fallen asleep on the jet. She slipped into the chair opposite of him to tell him.

"That's good. We got there in time," Spencer said, briefly raising his eyes from the book he was reading.

"I...heard Mr. Bradstone wants to watch the tape," Emily said after a moment.

Spencer didn't look as surprised as the others had been. "People have an innate curiosity to see things in order to confirm them."

Emily's eyebrows raised. She should have figured that he would say something like that. "Well, that explains why I'm going to Rossi's tomorrow night. I want to see if he really can cook. You coming?"

"I don't know. I'm not so sure I can make it," Spencer flatout lied and he knew it just like Emily did.

"Look, Reid, I know you're mad at us because we didn't tell you what really happened, and I understand that. But I promise you, we had no choice. You mourned the loss of a friend. I mourned the loss of 7." Emily's gaze was hard and at the same time weak in front of Spencer. "This whole thing gave me an ulcer. Please don't give me another one."

Spencer had to wonder in that moment if his anger was really worth causing that kind of look. He was caught up in his whirlwind of feelings that he never considered what Emily had to go through from her end of the situation.

"Please, talk with JJ again," Emily pleaded, "It really wasn't her fault. The situation required absolute discretion."

"We'll see," Spencer mumbled, eyes landing back on the page of his book.

"By tomorrow…"

"Mhm…"

With a sigh, Emily left the conversation at that. For the rest of the trip, nothing else was said nor done.

~0~

If somebody had told Spencer that he would be the one to go find JJ to talk, he would've called them crazy. But...here he was, knocking on JJ's front door the next day. JJ's shocked face was definitely something that reaffirmed Spencer's feelings.

"You're not busy are you?" He asked, feeling awkward as JJ led him inside the house. It was quiet.

"No, no, Will took Henry out for a boys' day."

"Okay, um, good…" Spencer swallowed hard, "I, um, Emily and I spoke last night. I get that you had to do it, not say anything, but…" How could he say 'you couldn't have told me?' without sounding selfish? The answer was: there wasn't a way. The realization hit him hard. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "As much as I would've wanted you to tell me, you really couldn't have."

JJ's eyes were quick to tear up. "I couldn't," she affirmed. "And I'm really sorry about that. You had no idea how hard it was to have you here hurting and there wasn't anything I could do."

Spencer nodded. "Wasn't a picnic on my end either. I'm sorry…"

JJ hugged him and to her utter relief, he hugged her back. She had her best friend back.

"Are you coming to Rossi's tonight?" she asked him, drawing away from him. "You know he'll be on you if you don't."

Spencer managed a small smile. "I don't know."

"The way to get better is to try," JJ reminded him. "It'll be our first gathering together since everything with Emily happened."

"I know," Spencer said, only just now realizing it too. "Maybe."

"You know…" JJ started, tilting her head, "Aitana said she for sure wasn't going."

At that, Spencer wasn't the least bit surprised and he couldn't at least pretend to be. What she must be thinking about him genuinely scared him. It was ironic that he had spent so much time being cautious in order for her not to think lowly of him and now it had blown up in his face.

"Spence, I understand why you were mad at me because of the situation with Emily but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what is this disdain you have for Aitana. Morgan couldn't figure it out either."

"Please don't hurt my feelings." The fact Spencer had requested so earnestly left JJ even more confused.

"I don't understand, do you hate her?"

"No, of course not! I wouldn't have gone to such an extent to avoid her if I hated her."

"What?" JJ sighed. "Spence, you're going to have to walk me through this because I'm not getting it."

"You don't get it?" Spencer couldn't help the angry huff that came out of him. "JJ, what's not to get? I hate the idea that the people who know me best — my best friend," he gestured at her, "would think that I'm the type of guy who goes after a woman who already has a boyfriend!"

"What!?" JJ was absolutely sure that she had heard wrong. She had to. He couldn't think that she was trying to set him up with somebody who wasn't available. That would make her a terrible friend! Which is why he was irritated with you and Morgan...Now everything made perfect sense.

"C'mon!" Spencer turned away, taking a few irritated steps from her. "I take the teasing when it's harmless but you and Morgan took it to another level with Aitana. To constantly make jokes and try to push me to do something with her when she has a boyfriend speaks to what you think of me."

"You think Aitana has a boyfriend!?"

"She does! And it genuinely scared me thinking about what Aitana would say if she found out about this." It really did terrify Spencer. He loved spending time with her and the fact he had to stop them hurt more than he expected. "That's why I've done my best not to be so close to her now."

"We've noticed," JJ said, "She's definitely noticed."

"It's not my intention to make her feel bad," Spencer said, turning slightly to meet JJ's gaze. "It really wasn't. I just didn't know what else to do."

JJ rubbed her forehead. She might be getting a headache...or she might be wanting to laugh instead. The second choice might give Spencer the wrong idea, though, which was why she was resisting the urge. "Okay," she said after a moment in which she'd sucked in a deep breath, "This is one huge misunderstanding. Spencer, Aitana doesn't have any boyfriend. I don't know where you got that idea from."

"I didn't get the idea from anywhere—I know she has a boyfriend. It's fine, I don't care," Spencer said just a tad quick.

"No, she doesn't!" JJ exclaimed. "I would never push you to act if I knew that she had a boyfriend. That's not you, alright? I know that."

Spencer wanted to be relieved to hear that his best friend didn't think he was a girlfriend stealer, but things weren't making complete sense. "But...she does, JJ. I've seen him. We all have."

"Who the hell have you been seeing, then?" JJ asked, confused. "I speak to Aitana on a regular basis; I have since I talked her into joining the team. She doesn't have any boyfriend."

"Then what about Angel, then?" Spencer said, thinking that he'd challenged her. Now it was harder for JJ not to laugh, and this time she didn't make it. "It's not funny!" Spencer frowned.

"It kind of is—this whole thing is so horrendously funny!" JJ shook her head. "Spence, Angel isn't Aitana's boyfriend. He's her brother! Half brother but brother nonetheless! She's his little sister!"

Time slowed down for Spencer. JJ's words replayed in his head at least twice before he was able to form a coherent sentence. "He's...her...brother?"

JJ nodded slowly. "Yes! Aitana's father had a son with another woman before meeting Aitana's mother. Angel is the oldest brother out of three. It's him, Mateo, and then Aitana. Siblings."

Spencer brought a hand to his forehead and slowly pushed his hair back as he thought. Aitana's relationship with Angel always did seem to be on the playful side. He thought it was a nice atmosphere between the pair but it definitely made more sense knowing they were siblings. "This whole time...they've been brother and sister?"

"Yeah," JJ smiled softly at him, "Angel moved in with Aitana when she came out of WPP to help her out. He's been looking after her."

"I never considered…" Spencer released a breath, "I'm not...oh my God."

JJ patted his arm comfortingly, her smile still warm and kind. "Hey, it's a mistake anybody could've done."

"You didn't! Nobody else did!"

"Well...you've never been the best at social queues…" JJ said, offering him an apology afterwards. "If I had known that's what you thought, I would've set the record straight. Of course I know that you wouldn't go after somebody already in a relationship."

"I'm sorry," Spencer shook his head. "I'm an idiot." With all the degrees under his name, he didn't see this?

"A smart idiot," JJ amended. "But listen, we are good. I don't need an apology but I think that maybe you might want to go talk to Aitana."

"I don't know what to say to her," Spencer said quickly, the fear already rising at the idea of meeting with Aitana. "She heard me, JJ. I can't…"

"She heard a piece, not the story, and if you don't want to tell her that it's fine. You just need to clarify things," JJ said. "You can do that."

"What if she's scared?"

"She is because she doesn't have the story."

Spencer sighed. "Yeah..."

"C'mon, you fixed things with me. What's a little more talking going to do to you?"

"Bad things," Spencer didn't hesitate to answer. JJ laughed. "I have made a fool out of myself, JJ. She's going to be angry with me apart from already being afraid."

"Then you best get going. I'd like to see her at tonight's dinner. We want the whole team together."

Spencer knew it was the fair thing to do — the fair thing that Aitana deserved.

~ 0 ~

It would take a little bit of research to find out where Aitana was in the afternoon. On the rare off days that they had from the BAU, Spencer didn't really know what Aitana got up to.

He was a little surprised to hear that she had a class at a dance studio. Of course, he knew that his surprise wouldn't compare to the shock that Aitana probably felt when she came out of said studio and saw him waiting. This time, she didn't have anywhere to run to. The studio was closing and her duffel bag weighed down on her shoulder.

"How'd you know where to find me?" It was the first thing that came to her mind once she was able to think a little more clearly.

"I, uh, I went to your house first. Angel was there and he told me." Spencer offered her one of his awkward smiles. He didn't want to seem like he'd been going through her life again, not with that journal incident still hanging between them.

"Oh, right." Aitana never really considered the fact someone might go looking for her during her lessons and much less that her big-mouth-brother would say something.

Spencer's eyes flickered over her to see the studio. "You're taking classes?"

"Sort of," Aitana cleared her throat. Her hand began gripping the strap of her duffel bag. "When I quit the FBI, I had some more time on my hands and Elia convinced me to come here to take some folklore dance classes again. Of course this wasn't really a normal class. Now that I'm back at the BAU, I sort of have like individual classes to catch up on what I've missed."

"That sounds great," Spencer said, "I remember a picture that Elia showed me the first time we met. You, uh, you had a competition?"

Aitana smiled slightly. "Yeah, um, we did. I won second place. If this goes well…" she gestured back to the studio, "We might enter the competition they're hosting for the Day of the Dead this year. Months away, I know, but practice takes forever."

"Commendable considering everything else on your plate," Spencer remarked, earning a small hum of agreement.

"But could you...could you keep this to yourself for now? I-I don't really want the team knowing. It's something I'm not entirely sure I want to keep doing yet…"

"Of course, yeah," Spencer nodded. It was the least he could do for her after everything. "Um, Aitana, I need to talk to you."

Aitana expected as much. It just didn't mean she wasn't nervous about it. "You don't have to," she said weakly. She wasn't saying it entirely for his sake. She was afraid of what he would say to her.

"I do," Spencer insisted. "What you heard...about the...the um…" He struggled so much to say the damn word as if he didn't used to crave it all the time.

"You don't have to say anything about that, Spencer," Aitana whispered. She could see the conflict in his eyes and she didn't want to be the reason for it. "I'm no one to judge nor to demand stories."

"You're my friend," Spencer corrected. "And I have been a pretty lousy friend in return."

"Did I...did I do something to make you angry with me?" Aitana couldn't help herself from asking. It was the question that she kept thinking about every day for a while now. The possibilities were driving her crazy.

"No, no," Spencer said fast, "It was...I thought...you know what? It doesn't matter what I thought. I had some issues and I took them out on you." It was close enough to the truth.

"But what did you think?" Aitana pressed for a better answer. "I mean, it would be better to know so that I don't make you think that again."

"It's nothing to do with you, Aitana. It was something personal. And, like I said, it was very unfair of me to take it out on you. I'm really sorry."

"It's alright, as long as...well...as long as you're not mad at me anymore?" Aitana said nervously. "Because I have to say that I really miss you. And I'm not talking about study sessions. I miss my friend."

"Me too," Spencer smiled down at her. He missed being around her and having their study sessions. He didn't really think about how much it had helped him when he came to JJ's place to stay over. Aitana had the talent to lift anybody's mood no matter how down they were, and he had been very down for a while.

"And about...what I heard...you don't have to worry about that. It's not coming out of my mouth ever," Aitana promised him.

"I know you wouldn't but everybody already knows," Spencer said, biting down on his bottom lip. "It was...it was a long time ago. I didn't choose to take it the first time. This unsub, he had a dual personality, and he kidnapped me. One of his personalities injected me with Dilaudid so many times to help me get through those hard moments, his way of helping me. Of course it didn't really help me in the end...I became addicted."

"Oh Spencer, I'm so sorry," Aitana whispered. She couldn't really say anything else but that. Her own traumatic experiences were nothing like that.

"When I said...that to JJ, it just came out. I shouldn't have said that at all," Spencer continued. He had started and now he would finish it. "Addictions are not dependent on someone. It's just...when Emily's supposed death was just recent, I felt terrible."

"Did you go anywhere near it?" Aitana asked him.

"No," Spencer shook his head. "That's also why I kept coming to JJ's. I was afraid of what I could do during the nights if I was on my own. I needed help, I just didn't know how to ask for it."

"But you did, in your own way," Aitana pointed out, expressing her pride in hopes that he would feel the same for himself. "I think you should focus on that because it speaks to your determination to not fall again."

Spencer smiled softly at her. "Thank you," he said. There went her talent again. His mood was definitely being lifted. "Really, thanks." Aitana nodded. "If you're feeling up to it, you should come by Rossi's tonight. He's making dinner."

Aitana chuckled. "Yeah, I told them I couldn't make it. I had dance and, um…" She didn't want to outright say that she wasn't going because of him but Spencer figured that out long before.

"I'll go if you go," Spencer proposed.

"You're going?"

"Yeah, I mean...I've never really seen Rossi's house—mansion."

"Is it really a mansion?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm…" Aitana bit her bottom lip, feigning a pensive moment, "I mean...if you go...maybe I can too…"

"Great! I'll meet you there, then?"

"Yeah, okay!" Aitana finally agreed. It would be completely different if they were both going on good terms.

~ 0 ~

Everyone was nearly gathered in front of Rossi later that night. He had several bowls of ingredients and one whole pot of spaghetti noodles ready to go. Glasses of red wine were placed on the isle in front of the team but were not to be drunk before the food was ready. JJ found that out the hard way when she dared to take a sip. Aitana was second to last in arriving and even though it was a little late, she was still welcomed.

"I see things are almost done," she hummed. She eyed the several cups and plates with the yet to be added ingredients. "All this, Rossi?" she asked, causing a break of laugh from the others when Rossi deadpanned her.

"You all asked me to show you the right way to make spaghetti," he reminded, "Yes, you need all of these spices."

"Rossi," Aitana giggled, "I'm Mexican. I eat, sleep and breathe spices." The laughter increased by tenfold. "I'm serious! Even our candy has spice in it!"

While Aitana had a little back and forth with Rossi, Spencer arrived. He was a little startled with the room but since everyone else was laughing, including both Aitana and Rossi, he figured he'd missed a joke.

"You know what, Rossi? I am not questioning your clearly authentic spaghetti," Aitana said with her hands raised in front of her. "I was just saying—"

"Zit!" Rossi pointed at her with his wooden spoon.

The others snickered again while Aitana ducked her head much like a reprimanded child would. She felt a nudge on her side and glanced to her right to see Spencer. He was smiling but he was struggling not to outright laugh at her like everyone else.

"Shut up," she rolled her eyes and whipped her head away from him. That time, Spencer did laugh a little bit.

A/N:

I likes the angst :)). But they're also so cute when they're miss-communicating ;)

As always, I have AO3/Wattpad accounts under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow :)