A/N: I had trouble figuring out where to place the next chapter break...so congratulations, you all get a long chapter of mostly-unconnected scenes.
Early in the new year, Morgan burst into Garcia's office. "Baby girl, did you do this?"
"Do what?" she asked innocently.
Morgan held up a framed photograph, identical to one that was currently sitting on Garcia's desk. "You know perfectly well what."
"Did I show everyone my double dose of Chocolate Thunder from this weekend? Of course I did, why wouldn't I?"
"You distributed a photo of me shirtless with a gerbil on my chest!"
Garcia stood up and lovingly cupped his cheek. "Because you look good wearing nothing but a gerbil, sexy. I thought you'd want the world to know."
Morgan sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Garcia, please, can we keep the shirtless photos out of the workplace?"
Garcia pouted. "Fine. Spoil all my fun, why don't you."
"Thanks." Morgan shook his head and turned to leave.
"Oh, and tell Reid he just needs to replace his gun with a satsuma and he'll be a human Ten."
Morgan gaped at her. "What does that even mean?!"
Garcia sat back down and turned to her screens. "Geek speak. He'll know."
A week later, while the team was on its way back from Delaware, Garcia entered her apartment and signed to Jessica. "You're coming with me to Quantico. Right now. No arguments. It's a short flight, they'll probably land by the time we arrive."
"Something wrong?" Jessica asked worriedly.
"We just saved a girl who was about your age, and trust me, Reid and Gideon in particular were very much aware of the similarity."
"I'm coming." Jessica grabbed her bag and stood up.
Garcia and Jessica beat the team to the BAU by approximately two minutes. The moment Reid spotted his cousin, he ran forward and crushed her in a hug. No sooner had he finally released her than Gideon immediately did the same.
"Don't go helping strange men find lost dogs," Reid signed.
"Not if it takes you where people can't see you, anyway," Elle added. Her signing had been improving.
"But what if the dog is really cute…" Jessica began.
"Just don't," Gideon interrupted.
"I was joking," Jessica protested.
"I know," Gideon replied. "It wasn't funny."
"Sorry."
Reid hugged her one more time, then picked up her bag and slung the strap over his shoulder. "Let's go home. I'm exhausted."
The next week, Jessica's birthday fell on Friday. She excitedly made plans for a sleepover with Beth and Claire, but there was just one problem: it was currently Wednesday, and the team had just flown out to New Jersey. If the case wasn't over by Friday, then not only would Spencer miss Jessica's birthday, but her plans would be ruined. Beth's mother had offered to host, but the woman could be rather strict and Jessica desperately hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Thankfully, the team got home on Thursday night. Jessica woke up the next morning to the smell of cinnamon rolls. She wandered into the kitchen to find Spencer doling out hearty helpings of icing for each roll. He quickly finished the last one before signing to her. "Happy birthday. Cinnamon rolls seemed like a good birthday tradition to adopt."
"Thank you," Jessica replied, smiling. "They smell great." She reached out to take one, then drew back sharply and gave Spencer a stern look. "You are not allowed to get any cases today."
"It's not exactly up to me," Spencer pointed out. "But I'll try not to."
"I'll text JJ, then," Jessica suggested.
"What for?" Spencer signed, giving her a blank look. "JJ can't make the serial killers take the day off."
Jessica pouted at him. "Must you always be so literal?"
Spencer frowned. "Was that a joke?"
Jessica sighed. "Forget it." She picked up a cinnamon roll and took a bite. It was delicious.
When Spencer got home that afternoon, he was carrying several wrapped gifts. He set them down in the living room before explaining. "Gideon, Garcia and Elle all bought you presents, but they didn't want to intrude on a gathering of adolescent deaf girls. The whole team sends you birthday wishes."
"That's nice of them," Jessica replied, smiling. Then she frowned. "There are four presents."
Spencer looked bemused. "Did you think the cinnamon rolls were your present from me?"
Jessica stood frozen for a moment, staring blankly at him. She'd been so worried about whether or not Spencer would be home in time for her birthday that the prospect of a present from Spencer had completely slipped her mind. "No, I guess not."
At that moment, the doorbell-light flashed. Spencer glanced at his watch. "Pizza should be here in fifteen minutes. I'll be in my room if you need me."
"You're not eating with us?" Jessica signed, surprised.
"I have been reliably informed that teenage girls do not want adult males at their parties."
Jessica took a moment to relish the fact that she was now a teenager before replying. "Beth and Claire love you! At least stay for pizza?"
"All right," Spencer relented. He didn't really mind; he liked Jessica's friends. They actually seemed interested whenever he went off on one of his long-winded informative rambles.
Garcia couldn't believe her ears. "You…you want me to come with you? To death row? In Florida?"
"Yes," Hotch confirmed, his tone brooking no argument. "I realize this will cause issues with Jessica, so Reid, if you need to stay behind…"
"We've got less than 48 hours until the execution anyway, we shouldn't be gone more than two nights," Reid reasoned. "I'll see if Jessica can stay with a friend and then get back to you. It'll be good to have a general backup plan, anyway."
Luckily for Reid, Beth's mother agreed to let Jessica stay over, though Jessica didn't find this so lucky. In Beth's house, all homework was to be completed before recreation of any kind was allowed (even if the homework wasn't due til next week), meals and even snacks were on a strict schedule, television was only allowed on weekends, bedtime was ten o'clock sharp and everyone was expected to be up at six on the dot. Jessica didn't know how Beth stood it.
On the plane ride back from Florida, Garcia sat next to Reid. "I can't believe her son will never know what she did for him," Garcia said sadly, shaking her head. "Fifteen years on death row, just to protect him from Jacob's reputation. That is both the saddest and the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."
"Yeah," Reid agreed distantly, staring out the window.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Garcia asked, concerned.
Reid turned and gave her a brief smile. "Fine."
"Are you wondering if you would ever do something like that for Jessica?"
Reid winced. "I get why Sarah Jean did it. I do. But I don't agree. Riley—Byron—has a right to know. When a parent loves you that much…even if they're not perfect, even if there are things you don't want anyone to know about them, that doesn't mean you can't be proud of where you come from. I know I…" He trailed off and swallowed, not quite comfortable discussing his mother.
"Hey, you are a good parent," Garcia consoled, misunderstanding. "Or guardian, whatever. Maybe you're not perfect, but I highly doubt Jessica is in any way ashamed of you."
"I didn't say she was." Reid returned to staring out the window at the countryside below, thinking back to the conversation he'd had with Jessica after the Ted Bryar case. Why was he so reluctant to talk about his mother? Was he ashamed? No, that wasn't it; even after he no longer had to fear Child Protective Services, he'd simply encountered too many people who didn't understand and didn't care to. And that was exactly what Sarah Jean had feared for her son.
The following Sunday, Jessica slept in later than usual. When she finally did emerge for breakfast, she was disheveled and clutching Patches. Spencer, knowing the date and suspecting the problem, shut his book and went to give her a hug. She leaned into his embrace, still clinging to the gerbil.
Eventually, Jessica pulled away and set Patches on the floor. "I've hardly thought about my parents for months. Is that wrong?"
"You haven't forgotten them completely, have you?" Spencer replied.
"No, of course not." Jessica fingered the locket with her parents' photos that Spencer had given her for Christmas; she'd worn it every day since.
"Then I highly doubt they'd be upset that you've moved on and found a way to be happy without them. They were your parents, Jessica, and from what you've told me about them, I think that their greatest wish in life—or in death—would be for you to be happy."
Jessica swallowed. "It's so weird. It feels like Boston was another life."
"I know the feeling," Spencer agreed. "Honestly, I've never been a fan of change, but it doesn't have to be all bad. Adopting you wasn't all bad. A bit hectic, maybe, but not really bad at all."
Jessica managed a small smile. "Thanks."
Spencer gave her a contemplative look. "What was something fun you used to do with your parents?"
Jessica thought about it for a few moments. "Dad would rent a James Bond movie and we'd all watch it together."
"So how about we honor them by watching a James Bond movie today?" Spencer suggested. He had no idea what James Bond even was, but right now he didn't care so long as it cheered Jessica up.
"Okay," Jessica agreed.
When Reid walked into the conference room on February 14th, Hotch did a double take. "What happened to you?"
"Be glad yours is a boy," Reid grumbled, taking his seat.
"Taking 'Pretty Boy' to a whole new level, I see," Morgan smirked.
JJ tried to help. "Here, let me…wow, that stuff's really not coming off, is it."
"Did you think I hadn't tried?"
Garcia bustled into the room. "Hello, my pets; I come bearing…whoa." She gawked at Reid. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Garcia, please do not 'glitterize' my agents," Hotch said, somehow keeping a straight face.
"No, I meant for me! Why didn't I think to cover my hair in pink glitter?"
"By all means, ask Jessica," Reid said, almost pleadingly. "Maybe she'll let you take the rest of the glitter away."
"I will." Garcia took her seat. "Anyway, I have here a rather disturbing video…"
At the end of the day, Reid and Hotch headed to the elevators at the same time. Reid reached the doors just in time to hear the end of Hotch's phone conversation. "Yes, I know…I'm sorry, honey, I was looking forward to it too…I'll see you soon." With that, Hotch hung up.
"Everything okay?" Reid asked tentatively, not quite sure if that was an overly personal question for his boss.
"Fine," Hotch said tersely. Then he sighed; Reid had let the whole team see him with pink glittery hair, so Hotch might as well open up to him in return. "Well, no, actually. Haley and I were going to go out for Valentine's Day, but our sitter canceled on us at the last minute."
"Oh. I'm sorry." The elevator doors opened, and Reid and Hotch walked in. "I'd offer, but I don't have any experience with babies."
"That's all right." Hotch was silent for a few moments. "A lot of teenage girls babysit, don't they? Has Jessica ever babysat?"
Reid pulled out his phone. "I'll ask." He shot off a text.
A minute later, Jessica replied. "She had a friend in Boston with a baby brother. She's never actually babysat, but she knows how to burp them and change diapers."
Hotch pondered this as they exited the building. "I'll talk to Haley. Just don't let her cover Jack in glitter."
Reid grimaced. "I definitely won't."
An hour later, Reid leaned against the doorway and watched Jessica show Jack the signs for various objects in the living room. Jack babbled and made random hand movements, thinking it was a game. Jessica laughed and gave him a little bounce every time. The two seemed quite happy with each other's company, despite Jack's lack of cognitive development. Reid smiled; he still didn't find babies particularly cute in general, but Jack was growing on him.
A couple weeks later, the Keystone Killer resurfaced, and the team was called in at night. Reid was reluctant to leave Jessica alone at that hour, so he brought her along to the office to meet Garcia there.
"This is not how I imagined spending my Saturday night," Morgan grumbled as the elevator doors closed.
Elle contemplated him. "Let me guess…clubbing?"
Morgan frowned at her. "There's more to me than partying."
"So, what were you doing?" Reid asked, raising an eyebrow.
"…clubbing, but that's not the point!" Morgan huffed and straightened. "What were you doing that was so cool?"
"We were watching a documentary on wildlife in the Amazon rainforest," Jessica replied.
"Watching a…what?" Elle repeated, lost. Reid interpreted for her.
Morgan shook his head. "Kid, don't you let this girl have fun on weekends?"
"Hey, the documentary was her idea!" Reid defended. Jessica nodded agreement.
Morgan stared at Jessica. "From glitter to documentary…you are one crazy girl."
"Thank you?" Jessica signed, not quite sure if that was a compliment or an insult.
A few days after the team's return, Spencer got home from work and found a banner hung up in the living room that said "Happy anniversary!". He could smell a chocolate cake in the oven. He was just looking around for Jessica when she tackled him from behind in a hug.
"We met one year ago today, do you remember?" Jessica signed once she'd let him go.
"I have an eidetic memory, of course I remember," Spencer replied.
"Well, I thought it deserved a celebration," Jessica stated.
"Anniversary dates are significant," Spencer agreed. "They're most often celebrated for birthdays and weddings, but also first meetings, first days at work, and death anniversaries are often remembered though not exactly celebrated—"
Jessica put a hand on his to stop him signing. "I said a celebration, not a lecture."
"Right. Sorry."
"So…can we order pizza?" Jessica asked, giving him her best puppy-eyed look. "Please?"
"Sure," Spencer agreed readily.
Soon, the team took off again, this time to New Mexico. That night, Garcia entered her apartment and collapsed onto the couch next to Jessica with a dreamy sigh. "Hotch's brother came by the office today."
"…and?" Jessica prompted, certain it must have taken more than that to get such a reaction from Garcia.
"And he's dreamy," Garcia replied, smile widening.
"How so?" Jessica asked curiously.
"Let me see if I can find a picture." Garcia pulled out her laptop. After some basic (perfectly legal!) spelunking through social media, she pulled up a picture of Sean Hotchner.
Jessica looked at the photo, then back at Garcia. "That doesn't answer my question."
Garcia frowned at her. "What do you mean?"
"Is he nice? Is he funny? Does he like cuddling furry animals?"
Garcia shrugged. "I don't know. He was looking for Hotch, I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him."
"Then how do you know he's so amazing?"
Garcia stared incredulously at Jessica. "You're thirteen. I know you've hit puberty, because I've seen your used pads in my trash. You are plenty old enough to see the appeal in hot guys!"
"Hot guys can still be jerks."
Garcia stared for a moment longer, then shook her head. "You know what, you're right. Cautious is good. Hold on to that." She shut her laptop, stood up and headed to her room. "Though I still think there's something unnatural about a woman who's completely unaffected by the sight of that hunk," she added, knowing Jessica couldn't see her lips.
A couple weeks later, while the team was in New York, Jessica got a text from Morgan. "You do the cooking for yourself and Reid, right?"
"Yes, why?" Jessica replied.
"I'll give you twenty bucks for every time you cook something Asian and make him use chopsticks."
Jessica stared at her phone. "Is there a story behind this?"
"The genius can make a coin vanish into thin air, but apparently he can't use chopsticks to save his life."
Jessica grinned evilly. "Any idea where I would buy chopsticks and an Asian cookbook?"
"I'm sure Garcia can look that up for you."
Spencer stared in dismay at the place settings that featured chopsticks instead of silverware. "Okay, who have you been talking to?"
"Who says I've been talking to anyone?" Jessica signed innocently.
Spencer glared at her. "I'm a profiler, I can tell."
"Then you should be able to tell who I've been talking to," Jessica replied, unfazed.
"You're right," Spencer agreed. "I'm going to have to start planning revenge on Morgan."
Jessica dropped a tabloid in front of Spencer. "Why did I have to learn about this from Penelope?" she demanded, glaring at her cousin.
Spencer groaned. "Because I'm still trying to figure out if I want to stay in touch with Lila or not, and I wanted to figure that out without you getting excited about me being involved with a celebrity."
"But what about bragging rights?" Jessica protested.
"I'm not going to date Lila just for bragging rights!" Spencer objected. "She's a warm, kind, exciting, beautiful woman who deserves the best. I'm not sure if a perpetually busy FBI agent who lives on the other side of the country fits that bill."
Jessica shook her head. "No, no, no, what about bragging rights for me? Whether you call her or not, I can show this to everyone at school! My social standing will go through the roof!"
Spencer gawked at her. He wasn't particularly pleased by the idea of that tabloid being widely distributed, but on the other hand, he was very much in favor of anything that would ensure that Jessica's school experience was infinitely better than his. Besides, there was a good chance that many of her classmates would see that tabloid anyway; she might as well take credit for being related to him. "Fine. Just don't tell people my full name, someone would probably leak it."
"Thank you!" Jessica hugged him, picked up the tabloid and went into her room.
Sure enough, the news that Lila Archer's mysterious beau was Jessica's cousin spread around her school like wildfire. Some of the snottier 'popular' girls expressed skepticism, until Jessica took out her phone and showed them photos of herself with Spencer. Not the photo she'd taken on Valentine's Day, though, she wasn't cruel enough to show that one in public.
On the plane back from Mexico, Reid ended up sitting next to Elle. "You used to work in Sex Crimes, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Had you ever seen that before? Women taking revenge on their rapists?"
"A few times," Elle admitted. "Honestly, I can't say I blame them. So many rapists walk when the victims rely solely on the system for justice."
Reid gave her a suspicious look. "You aren't encouraging Jessica to do anything like that, are you?"
"What? No!" Elle exclaimed. "…well, not exactly. I may have told her not to be shy about injuring guys if it gets her out of the situation in one piece. And she definitely knows to go for the groin when she can. But no, I've never suggested that she go out of her way to track someone down for revenge."
Reid scrutinized her, then nodded, believing her. "I don't approve of what those women did. But I can't honestly say I'm sorry they weren't charged."
A week later, while Elle drove the Bureau SUV to the site of Mark Gregory's latest kill, Morgan continued to muse over his conversation with Elle from that morning. Eventually, he had an idea, and he pulled out his phone to text Jessica. "Hey, do you know if Elle has a boyfriend?"
"It's more fun not to answer that question," came the reply.
Morgan frowned in consternation. "You actually anticipated me asking Jessica if you have a boyfriend?" he asked Elle.
"Huh? No."
Morgan raised his eyebrows. "So you're telling me it's a coincidence that she just gave me the exact same response you did? 'It's more fun not to answer that question'?"
Elle laughed. "I have taught her well."
Reid had in fact known exactly while Elle was suddenly making phone calls, but chose to play along with her evasiveness. Jessica's school had been having issues with students sexually harassing each other, and the problem had recently escalated into cases of unwanted groping. The school had reached out to Reid for advice, knowing that he worked in law enforcement, and he had recommended Elle to give a talk at the school. Elle worked with both Reid and Jessica to ensure that her prepared speech was relatable and her signs were all correct.
The day after returning from the Mark Gregory case, Elle went to Jessica's school. To her surprise and slight consternation, the students seemed more interested in the fact that she was a federal agent who could sign than in her efforts to impress upon them the seriousness of sexual harassment.
After the students were dismissed, Jessica accompanied Elle back out of the school. "Is it really so impressive that I can sign?" Elle asked.
"Most hearing people can't," Jessica replied. "I even know a couple kids here with hearing parents who never bothered learning. That's why they have some hearing people working in the front office—to deal with people who can't sign."
Elle frowned. "It must get tiring, dealing with people who don't understand you."
Jessica grimaced. "Honestly, it's more tiring dealing with people who think that shouting at us will magically make us understand them. Or people who don't bother looking at us and expect us to read their lips with x-ray vision. We have our ways of communicating with hearing people, but it's always nice when they make the effort to learn our language and communicate with us."
Elle sighed. "I just hope they took what I said to heart. Sexual assault is not a joke."
"We'll see," Jessica replied. "At least Mike knows not to mess with me, not after I used that move you showed me."
Elle smiled. "That's my girl."