Thankfully, Jessica's school allowed her to make up the exams she missed, and she passed all her classes. She also had to convince her classmates that missing an exam because she'd gotten a personal delivery from a delusional serial killer was not worth the trade-off. Once upon a time, Jessica might have thought the same way, but living with Spencer had wisened her up.

The team had been given a few extra vacation days to make up for what happened, but Jessica asked to cancel the trip to Boston. She wanted to be with Elle throughout the woman's recovery. She visited Elle every day at the hospital, and when Elle was released, Jessica made a glittery banner to welcome her home. Sadly, the banner didn't seem to improve Elle's dour mood.

Meanwhile, Spencer booked an appointment with his eye doctor. His contact lenses had been irritating him ever since the explosion. It turned out that he'd gotten a lot of ash in his eyes without realizing it, and the doctor recommended at least six months of glasses. Jessica had to stop herself from laughing at how incredibly nerdy his glasses looked.

"I told you dinner would be ready at six," Jessica signed, raising her eyebrows at Spencer.

"Sorry, I didn't see your message," Spencer apologized.

Jessica shot him an amused look. "What does Lila think of your glasses?"

Spencer gawked at her. "How did you know she was in town? Are you and Garcia spying on me?!"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "If you don't want me to know Lila's in town, don't take her to the coffee shop that's on the way to the library and then sit by the window."

Spencer awkwardly cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Right."

"You haven't answered my question," Jessica pressed.

Spencer sighed. "She asked when I'd started wearing glasses, I told her about Randall Garner, and she said I was very brave."

"For five hours?" Jessica teased.

Spencer turned faintly pink. "This conversation is over." He grabbed a plate of cold salmon and started to walk away, then put it down and turned back to her. "And not a word to any of the team, especially Garcia!" With that, he took the plate and hurried into his room.

Jessica laughed and resumed washing the baking pan. She hadn't said anything to the team, but she'd texted Beth and Claire and the three of them had spent the afternoon watching several taped episodes of Lila's show. None of them were particularly interested in volleyball, but they were very interested in Spencer's celebrity sort-of-girlfriend.

The team's vacation came to an end, but Elle remained on medical leave. Jessica asked to stay with Elle during cases, and everyone agreed. Unexpectedly, Patches seemed to cheer Elle up better than any human's efforts.

One day near the end of June, Jessica and Elle went for a walk in a local park. Elle was tense, jumping at every little noise (either that, or she was just jittery; Jessica wasn't sure). Then, suddenly, she froze, staring at a man on the other side of the playground. A few seconds later, she snapped out of it and marched over to the man, gesticulating wildly and giving him a harsh shove for good measure. The man looked thoroughly bewildered.

Jessica ran over to them. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"He was leering at you," Elle replied, shooting the man a death glare.

"I was not," the man objected. "I was merely trying to figure out if I actually recognized one of my star students or not."

Elle stared. "What?"

"This is my science teacher, Mr. H-A-M-I-L-T-O-N," Jessica introduced. "His name sign is Mr. Hamilton, and he is a very nice man who does not leer at his students. Mr. Hamilton, this is my friend E-L-L-E. Her name sign is Elle. She works at the FBI with my cousin."

Elle took a step backwards, embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I used to work in Sex Crimes, so I guess I'm a little paranoid."

"It's all right," Mr. Hamilton replied, though he looked a bit shaken. "Good to know Jessica has someone like you looking out for her. If you'll excuse me, I'd better be going." He hurried toward the parking lot.

Jessica frowned at Elle. "You scared him away."

"I said I was sorry," Elle signed defensively. "Besides, it's always better to be on the safe side."

Jessica sighed worriedly. Randall Garner had really done a number on Elle's psyche; she could only hope that the Bureau therapist was helping.

Hotch tried to host another Fourth of July barbecue that year, but most of the team declined the invitation. Elle and Gideon weren't in the mood, JJ had a date, Morgan wanted to stay with his very sick dog, and one of Jessica's friends had invited her to come see fireworks. That left Reid and Garcia. Garcia spent half the evening playing with Jack and the other half talking geek-speak with Reid which went completely over Hotch and Haley's heads. Garcia and Reid had enjoyed themselves, but Hotch decided never again to host his most eccentric team members together without someone more 'normal' to balance them out.

A few days later, Morgan entered the office looking incredibly downcast. "Everything okay?" Reid asked worriedly.

"Clooney had to be put down," Morgan said wearily. "Gastric something-or-other." Reid opened his mouth, but Morgan cut him off. "Don't start throwing out guesses, please, I really don't care what the exact scientific term is."

"I was only going to say I'm sorry," Reid said quietly. Without another word, he took half of Morgan's pile of paperwork.

"You don't have to do that," Morgan objected. "I can handle it."

"I know," Reid said simply. He put his own pile of paperwork on top of what he'd taken from Morgan.

"…thanks," Morgan finally said, secretly relieved by the reduced workload.

The last Monday in August, JJ sat next to Reid on the jet home. "School starts today, doesn't it?" she asked conversationally.

"Yeah."

"Jessica is…eighth grade now, right?"

"Yes."

JJ gave him a thoughtful look. "How old were you when you started eighth grade? Or did you skip that one?"

"I skipped kindergarten, second grade, fourth grade, seventh grade, and tenth grade," Reid replied. "I was just shy of nine years old when I started eighth grade."

"Did your mom make a big deal out of the first day of school?"

Reid was silent for a long moment, staring at his lap. "Dad used to."

"Oh." JJ swallowed; although Reid had grown marginally more comfortable talking about his mother, she'd never heard him mention his father before. "Did…did something happen to him?"

"Wouldn't know if it had," Reid said bitterly. "He could be living on a Caribbean island for all I know."

"Oh." JJ swallowed again. "So…he and your mom split?"

"Well, apparently he signed the divorce papers and relinquished all property he hadn't taken with him, because I was able to sell the house once I became Mom's power of attorney. Until then, I hadn't known for sure."

JJ gave him a worried look. "…and how long had you been unsure?"

"Nearly eight years."

JJ quickly did the math. "So, he left you alone with a mentally incompetent mother when you were ten?!"

"That about sums it up."

JJ gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry, Spence."

"Thanks," he mumbled, returning the hug.

At the end of September, Elle returned to work. When Spencer got home from the latest case, Jessica was waiting for him. "How was Elle? Did she do okay?"

Spencer sighed and set his messenger bag on the kitchen counter. "Did you know her doctor said she wasn't supposed to come back to work until next week?"

Jessica frowned. "No, I didn't know that."

"Hotch did. He basically assigned me to babysit Elle and keep her on the sidelines." Spencer grimaced. "I didn't do a very good job of it."

"What happened?" Jessica demanded anxiously.

"She took off to join the team when they arrested a pedophile, then tried to tell Hotch it was my idea. Not that he believed her."

Jessica winced. "Is she okay physically, at least?"

"I think so."

Jessica sighed. "Well, at least that's something…"

When the team went to Jacksonville, Jessica stayed with Garcia for the first time in months. Garcia came back from the office and found Jessica filming Patches and Chocolate Thunder as they meandered through an obstacle course. It took a few minutes for Garcia to get Jessica's attention. "What are you doing?"

"Homework," Jessica replied absentmindedly.

"…for what class?"

"Filmography. It's a new elective this year."

Garcia blinked. "Okay, then."

Jessica offered the video camera. "Want to see?"

"Please," Garcia agreed, nodding emphatically. "I need something adorable to banish the horror I've been watching all day." She took the camera and watched the video. It was a pity there was no added sound; she could have done with something to banish the strains of 'Only the Good Die Young' from her brain too.

This year, Spencer's birthday fell on the second day of the Stripping Bandit case. Jessica texted him first thing in the morning. "Happy birthday! Great time to be in LA, think you'll get a birthday visit from Lila?"

Due to the time zone difference, it was several hours before Spencer responded. "Thanks. But I doubt I'll hear from Lila, we haven't talked in 26 days. She said she met someone local."

Jessica gasped in surprise on reading this. "You mean you broke up? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"We were never really a couple in the first place, we just talked on the phone and met up that one time when she was in DC."

Jessica sighed. "First you have to work a case on your birthday, and now you're single too. You're getting a hug as soon as you get home."

"I'll live, it won't be the first time I go without celebrating." A moment later, he sent a second text. "I have to go, there's been another robbery."

When the team got back that night, Garcia and Jessica were waiting at Reid's desk with a cake and a 'Happy Birthday!' banner. "You don't get away with not celebrating," Garcia said firmly. "Not as long as I'm around."

Jessica gave Reid a massive hug, then stepped back. "One hug, as promised."

"Wow. Thanks, guys," Reid responded, smiling.

Morgan clapped him on the back. "Twenty-five now, right? Quarter of a century."

"Yeah, how's that feel?" Elle added.

"Logically, I know I'm only a day older than I was yesterday, but I do feel…different," Reid mused.

"At least you're young enough for it to be a good 'different'," Gideon commented. "Enjoy that while you can."

"All right, I'd love to stay for cake, but I'm in the doghouse as it is," Hotch cut in, emerging from his office with a stack of papers in hand. "Happy birthday, Reid." With that, he headed toward the elevators.

"What are we waiting for?" JJ said. "Light those candles!"

Garcia readily obliged. Reid prepared to blow them out, then took a step back and gave Garcia a suspicious look. "Are these trick candles again?"

"No, they're not," Garcia promised. "Cross my heart."

Reid narrowed his eyes, then blew out the candles. Apparently, Garcia had been telling the truth. Jessica handed him a knife with which to cut the cake. Cake was soon passed around, and the gathering quickly dissolved into friendly chatter.

The next week, Gideon walked into the break room at 8:30 pm and found it occupied. "Doesn't anybody ever go home?"

"You're here," Elle pointed out.

"Exactly," Gideon agreed. "Trust me, you don't want to model your social life around mine."

"If it makes you feel any better, Hotch and Morgan took off," JJ offered, approaching with a stack of folders.

"Hotch is married, Morgan's…you know…Morgan," Reid commented.

Elle frowned at him. "You have a kid too. What are you doing here?"

"Jessica has a sleepover," Reid explained. "The apartment feels weirdly empty without her."

"Oh, I know that feeling," Gideon grunted.

"It's strange," Reid continued. "She doesn't make a whole lot of noise in the first place, but when she's not there, it's noticeably quieter."

"It's lonelier," Elle corrected. "Which I'm guessing is why you decided to hang around with us."

Reid contemplated this. "Maybe. I guess."

JJ set down the folders. "Anyway, police in Dayton, Ohio need our help with a serial rapist."

The following night, Reid leaned against the dresser in Elle's hotel room. "I thought maybe…you might wanna talk."

Elle scoffed. "Don't go all 'profiler' on me."

"Elle, you got shot in your own home, and ever since, you've been on edge. Jessica told me what happened with her science teacher. If even a teenage girl can see you're struggling, that's not profiling. This is me, trying to be your friend."

Elle gave him a cool look and took a drink.

"Please?" Reid continued quietly. "I trusted you with my cousin-slash-adopted-daughter for four months, can't you trust me enough to talk to me?"

Elle sighed and shoved one of the drink bottles toward Reid. "After he shot me, he reached into my wound so that he could write on the wall in my blood."

When Spencer returned home, Jessica instantly noticed that something was bothering him. "What happened?"

"Elle shot the unsub," Spencer replied, grimacing.

"What's so bad about that?" Jessica asked, frowning. "Wait…do you mean…she shot him when she wasn't supposed to?"

Spencer sighed. "She said he drew a gun on her and she killed him in self-defense. I want to believe her. But she botched our sting operation by acting too quickly, and then she'd gone to 'stake out' the unsub when she shot him, and I couldn't help but think about that incident with your science teacher…and then I noticed it. Ever since Randall Garner, she has always carried two guns. After shooting this unsub, she only had one."

Jessica's eyes widened, and she swallowed. "Maybe they struggled and he grabbed it from her?"

"Then why wouldn't she just say so?" Spencer pointed out.

Jessica had no response for that.

The day after the team flew out to Texas, Jessica exited her school and found Elle waiting for her in the parking lot. "Hello," Jessica signed, wondering what Elle was doing there.

"Hello," Elle replied. She nodded at a nearby bench. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," Jessica agreed warily. She followed Elle over to the bench. "What's going on?"

Elle stared at her lap for nearly a minute. "I wanted to be part of the BAU. But when I needed the team, I was alone. Alone in the one place I have the right to feel safe." She looked up. "And then I woke up, and you were there. And you stayed. You've been like a little sister to me. But I can't…I can't stay here. I can't do this any more. I need to find a way to live without constantly watching my back, and I can't do that in the BAU."

"You're quitting," Jessica realized.

A tear glistened in the corner of Elle's eye. "I have to."

Jessica swallowed. "What will you do?"

"I don't know." Elle stared at her lap again. "I'm moving back to Brooklyn. But if you ever need me…I'm only a text away."

"I'll miss you," Jessica signed sadly.

"I'll miss you too." Elle gave Jessica a hug, then walked away. Jessica stayed where she was for a long time, wishing there was something more she could have done to help.

A/N: Yes, I killed Clooney. I figured there had to be a reason he's never mentioned after season 1.