At long last, the time had come for Jessica to take the driving test and get her license. She still didn't exactly like driving, but it no longer terrified her the way it once had. And it would be nice to be able to drive wherever she wanted to go.

Slight problem: Spencer got called out on a case the day before Jessica was supposed to take the test. And the case ended up being a long one. A very long one. So long, in fact, that it was a little over two weeks before Spencer finally came back home.

"Are you going to get me another gerbil?" Jessica joked.

Spencer stared blankly at her. "I don't think that would be a very good idea with Bianca around."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding. I was just remembering how that was the original deal—if you're gone for more than a week, you get me a gerbil."

Spencer sat down on the couch. "Interesting you should bring that up. We were actually called back for a new lead on that same case—only this time, we finally caught the guy."

Now it was Jessica's turn to stare. "…okay, I think I'm owed several gerbils."

"No, the deal was only for if I'm actually away," Spencer retorted. "Do you want me to go away for four years?"

Jessica pouted. "I was still kidding!"

Spencer smiled. "I know. So was I."

"Not funny," Jessica complained. "That was even worse than your existentialist lightbulb joke."

"It's a good joke!" Spencer defended.

Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Has anyone ever actually laughed at it?"

"…only a man who turned out to be an unsub," Spencer admitted.

"I rest my case."

Jessica was finally able to get her driver's license the same day that Beth got her permit. Claire seemed slightly put out that she could no longer boast about being the only one of the three who could drive, but she got over it once Beth landed a part-time job at the same library where Claire worked. Jessica would have applied too, but JJ and Will had been busy enough that she was getting plenty of babysitting hours.

On Jessica's first day of eleventh grade, the team was called out again. When Jessica checked her phone at lunch, Beth and Claire noticed her expression. "Where are they going this time?" Claire asked curiously.

"Canada, apparently," Jessica replied.

"…don't they work for our government?" Beth signed, confused.

"Spencer didn't say why they're going to Canada, only that they are." Jessica typed out and sent a reply asking him about it. "Let's see if he answers."

Beth grimaced. "Let's hope it's not another classified case that mysteriously lands him in the hospital."

"Or another redneck nutjob," Claire added.

"Do they even have rednecks in Canada?" Jessica asked curiously.

"I don't know," Claire admitted. "But if Spencer's team has been sent there, then clearly they have nutjobs."

At that moment, Jessica's phone lit up with Spencer's response. "Apparently, the nutjob has been killing people from our side of the border, but he made it Canada's problem…somehow."

"…well, at least the case isn't classified," Beth decided.

A few nights later, Jessica woke up to her phone vibrating in her pillow. The message was from Garcia. "I need to go join the team in Canada. You'll have to stay with a friend."

Jessica's eyes widened in alarm. "Did something happen? Is Spencer all right?"

"I don't know. Hotch said he wouldn't tell me over the phone."

Jessica was even more alarmed by this. The last time Garcia had been called out mid-case had been the Hankel case…and the last case that had been classified was the one where Spencer had been poisoned. This really, really did not bode well.

And then, finally, Jessica realized she could just try asking Spencer if he was all right. "Penelope just told me she's been called out to join you guys. Are you all okay?"

"At the moment, yes," came Spencer's reply. "The case just took a very unusual and unexpected turn, that's all."

"Please be careful," Jessica begged.

"I will."

Jessica finally rolled over to go back to sleep, only slightly reassured.

Late the following afternoon, Spencer informed Jessica that the case was closed and the team would soon be home, so she went home and didn't bother staying with Beth or Claire. She waited up a bit later than usual, but ultimately gave up and went to sleep before Spencer arrived back at the apartment.

In the morning, Jessica was just about ready to leave for school when Spencer stumbled out of his room, looking tousled and exhausted. Jessica frowned at him. "What time did you get home last night?"

"3:08," Spencer replied. He entered the kitchen and started the coffee maker.

"And Hotch expects you back at work already?" Jessica signed in disbelief.

"Not Hotch. JJ. New case. Local." Spencer walked over toward the cabinet with the mugs and tripped over Bianca, eliciting an annoyed hiss.

Jessica shook her head. "You need a break. Knowing your luck, working on half a night's sleep will land you back in the hospital somehow."

"Working on four hours of sleep is not ideal, but I've learned to function this way when I need to," Spencer insisted.

"And that includes tripping over cats?" Jessica asked, raising her eyebrows. "You do know that the expression 'break a leg' isn't meant to be taken literally?"

The coffee maker finished pouring into Spencer's mug. "I have my coffee now," he signed. "No more tripping over cats today. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that," Jessica signed sternly. She put on her backpack, gave Spencer a hug and left for school.

After school that day, Jessica had just walked through the door of Claire's house when she got a text from JJ. "Spence has been shot in the knee and he's being taken to Virginia Medical Center. It didn't look life-threatening, but I don't yet know how bad the damage to his leg is."

Claire saw that Jessica suddenly had a very odd expression. "Something wrong?"

"Do you believe in psychics?" Jessica asked.

"I think that people who make a living off of being psychic are definitely phonies. But I'm open to the idea that psychic powers are possible. Why?"

"I keep making uncannily accurate predictions without meaning to," Jessica replied, unnerved. "This morning, I told Spencer that working on half a night's sleep would probably land him back in the hospital somehow. I even specifically told him not to break a leg. Now JJ just told me he's been shot in the knee."

Claire stared. "…okay, you're psychic. Please don't say any sort of terrible doom is going to befall me."

"You're going to win a million dollars," Jessica signed flatly. "And I'm going to yet another hospital." She turned around and marched right back out the door.

Jessica parked at the hospital and entered, looking around for the rest of the team. She didn't see anyone she recognized. Thinking that perhaps she simply didn't know the correct waiting area, she typed out a message on her phone and went up to the receptionist. Unfortunately, the receptionist was engrossed in something on her computer and didn't seem to notice that anyone was waiting to talk to her.

Annoyed, Jessica finally decided to hit the counter, hard. The receptionist said something very rapid without looking up. Jessica amended her message, then hit the counter again. The receptionist glared at her and said something equally unintelligible, still not noticing Jessica's efforts to show the woman her phone. Frustrated, Jessica reached for a notepad sitting on the desk, but the receptionist swatted her hand away.

Giving up, Jessica stepped away from the desk and texted JJ instead. "Where are you guys? This receptionist is talking too fast and won't tell me anything!"

There was no response. After several minutes, Jessica sent the same message to Garcia.

Garcia took about a minute to reply. "Last I heard, they just picked up Haley and Jack. I'm about to head over to the hospital myself, I'll see you when I get there."

"Why is the team picking up Haley and Jack?" Jessica demanded, bewildered.

"Because it looks like Foyet is targeting them now. They're going into protective custody."

Jessica's eyes widened in shock. "Foyet?! You mean the Reaper is back?!"

"Yes, he was the one who attacked Hotch. Reid didn't tell you?"

"I had no idea anyone attacked Hotch! JJ told me Spencer was the one who was shot!"

"The baby genius was shot?! No one told me!"

"Okay, please figure out what's going on and get back to me?" Jessica begged anxiously.

Several minutes later, Garcia got back to her. "Okay, so Foyet attacked Hotch in his apartment last night and then dropped him off at an ER with Morgan's credentials as some kind of power play. This morning, the team was called in on an unrelated case where a guy was targeting an ER doctor. Reid was shot while protecting the doctor. The rest of the team went to deal with Hotch's case as soon as Reid was loaded into the ambulance. So, you're at a completely different hospital from Hotch right now. And since Hotch is the more pressing case and Reid himself told everyone to go help Hotch, I don't think anyone's going to be joining you soon."

"But then how do I get the staff here to tell me anything?!" Jessica demanded worriedly.

"Give me a minute. I'll call them."

Jessica watched a different receptionist pick up the phone. About a minute later, the receptionist hung up and returned to her computer. Moments later, Jessica's phone went off again. "He's still in surgery. If you go to the trauma surgery waiting area, they'll let you know when he's out."

Jessica looked around, hoping to see signs pointing her in the right direction. There weren't any. She sighed, typed out a different message and approached the other receptionist, hoping for better luck this time. "Could you please direct me to the trauma surgery waiting area? And please speak slowly; I'm deaf and need to read your lips."

The receptionist looked up at Jessica. "Sure, just go through those double doors and down to the end of the hallway."

"Thank you," Jessica replied, hoping her expression conveyed how heartfelt her gratitude was.

A few minutes after Jessica took a seat in the correct waiting area, someone sat next to her. Jessica looked up and saw a brown-haired teenage boy looking at her. "Hello," he said.

Jessica smiled politely and waved at him.

"The staff here are really good," the boy continued. "Whoever you're here for, I'm sure they'll be okay."

Jessica smiled again and nodded.

"I'm Jeffrey, what's your name?"

Jessica gestured for him to wait a moment, then pulled out her phone to reply. "My name is Jessica. I'm deaf, by the way."

"Oh," Jeffrey said, looking awkward. "Uh, sorry. Can you read lips? Oh, wait, obviously you just understood me. Um…"

"Just talk slowly," Jessica continued. "I don't bite."

Jeffrey laughed nervously. "Okay. So, uh, what brings you here today?"

"My cousin is an FBI agent and he was shot on the job. They said it wasn't life-threatening, though, just a bullet to the knee."

Jeffrey's eyes lit up. "Are you Agent Reid's cousin?"

Jessica's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes. How do you know Spencer?"

"My dad was the guy he took the bullet for!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Your cousin is awesome! Dad decided to come here because he didn't get a chance to thank your cousin properly before." Jeffrey looked across the room at a middle-aged man who was presumably his father.

Jessica wasn't quite sure how to respond to this. She'd never actually met anyone her cousin had helped save before, or their relatives. "You're welcome, I guess?"

"Yeah." Jeffrey sobered. "My mom died of cancer five years ago. Dad's all I've got left now. I don't know what I'd do without him."

Jessica winced in sympathy. "My parents died four years ago. Spencer's pretty much the only family I have now."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"And this is the third time he's been in the hospital since he became my guardian," Jessica added, scowling. "At least this time he's not dying."

"Wow. I'm really sorry."

Jessica shook herself out of it. "So, not to be dismissive, but why were the FBI called over a threat to your dad?"

Jeffrey grimaced. "The guy sent my dad a letter saying he was planning to kill me, and every day that Dad kept me out of school and out of sight, the guy would kill someone else. And he did. He actually killed two people just because my dad kept me home for two days. So I snuck out to school today, but instead of coming after me, the guy went to our house to try to kill Dad."

Jessica stared at him. "You went to school even though you knew a guy might try to kill you?"

Jeffrey looked slightly embarrassed. "I couldn't let anyone else die because of me."

Jessica swallowed uncomfortably, remembering how she'd wanted Spencer to quit after the whole poisoning fiasco. She hadn't cared about all the nameless, faceless people who might be hurt or killed if Spencer didn't save them. But now, here was one of those people, no longer nameless or faceless. If Spencer had quit back in June, would another team member have saved Jeffrey's father? Or would Jeffrey now be an orphan too, all because Jessica didn't want to share her cousin with the world?

"That was a very noble thing to do," Jessica typed at last. "I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to do that."

"I was terrified," Jeffrey admitted.

"But you did it anyway. You were as much of a hero as Spencer today."

"Thanks." Jeffrey glanced at the door. "They just called your cousin's name."

Jessica followed his gaze to see a woman in scrubs holding a chart and talking to Jeffrey's dad. Jessica stood up and walked over to join them, accompanied by Jeffrey. She started to type a message for the surgeon, but Jeffrey spoke instead.

"Hey, this is Agent Reid's cousin," Jeffrey announced. "She's deaf, so could you repeat all that for her and speak slowly so she can read your lips?" Jessica shot him a look of mild annoyance, irritated that he would simply presume to speak for her, but she was too worried about Spencer to bother kicking up a fuss.

"Ah, yes," the surgeon said, turning to Jessica. "It was a clean through-and-through. Unfortunately, the bullet shattered the kneecap and tore several ligaments, so it's going to take several months of physical therapy before he can walk unassisted. However, I expect that he'll make a full recovery in time."

Jessica heaved a sigh of relief. "Can I see him?"

The surgeon nodded. "He should be coming around any minute now. Follow me."

Spencer was awake and arguing with the nurse. "Look, it says in your chart that the doctor prescribed you morphine," the nurse was saying.

"And I have the right as a patient to refuse medications," Spencer retorted.

"Sir, you have a gunshot wound. I really don't think you want to suffer through that without some form of pain relief."

"Get the doctor to prescribe me something else, then! Anything non-narcotic!"

The nurse gave him a suspicious look. "Sir, do you…"

"I'm not obligated to provide a reason for refusing medication."

The nurse sighed. "All right, I'll speak to the doctor." He left the room, passing Jessica in the doorway.

Jessica approached the bed. "When I said you needed a break, you weren't supposed to actually end up in the hospital!"

"…at least I didn't trip over any more cats?" Spencer signed wryly.

"I didn't mean 'take a bullet' instead!" Jessica sighed and sat down. "But you saved someone's life, so I suppose I shouldn't complain."

"I'm glad you're seeing my side of things."

"You're also not dying, so that's a plus."

"Yes, not dying is definitely a plus," Spencer agreed. He winced in pain. "Not walking is less of a plus."

"Does that at least mean no one else will be shooting at you for a while?" Jessica asked, looking a little more hopeful than she'd intended.

"Yes," Spencer confirmed. "Not sure how much they'll let me do while I'm on crutches, but they definitely won't be letting me anywhere near the unsubs."

At that moment, the nurse came back. "All right, I've talked the doctor down to Tylenol for you. But I'm warning you, it won't be as strong as the morphine."

"I can live with that," Spencer replied, his voice slightly strained in spite of himself.

The nurse hooked up the IV and left. Almost as soon as he was gone, Doctor Barton came to the doorway, Jeffrey just behind him. "How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days," Reid admitted.

Doctor Barton nodded. "I don't think 'thank you' really quite covers it. If there's ever anything I can do…"

"I was just doing my job," Reid insisted.

"All the same, it's not every day a man takes a bullet for you," Doctor Barton continued. He put an arm around Jeffrey. "Because of you, my son still has his father. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for that."

Reid glanced at his cousin. "I've been sole guardian to my cousin Jessica here ever since her parents died in 2005. I think I have some idea how you feel."

"Spencer would have done the same for anyone," Jessica added. "That's just who he is. You're very lucky he was assigned to your case." Reid turned faintly pink as he interpreted for her.

"Yes, I was lucky," Doctor Barton agreed. He turned back to Reid. "Again, thank you, from the bottom of my heart." He smiled, then left.

Jeffrey lingered. "I wanted to say thank you, too. Not only did you take that bullet for Dad, he told me you were pretty much the one who solved the case. I hope someday I can be as amazing as you."

"Really, I was just doing my job," Reid repeated. "You put your life in danger to protect others, even though that wasn't your job and no one would have asked you to. I think you're already someone amazing."

"You are," Jessica agreed, Reid interpreting again.

"Thanks," Jeffrey said, turning to Jessica. "You're pretty cool too." He swallowed, then… "Can I have your number?"

Jessica's jaw dropped. "I…" She glanced at Spencer. "I don't…are you asking me out?" Spencer had to hold himself back from laughing as he interpreted.

"I, er…maybe? I mean, I don't know…do you want to go out?" Jeffrey realized he was asking this in front of her surrogate parent, and he paled slightly. "I mean, if that's okay with you, sir?"

"If you want to be friends, sure, but I don't want to…go out with you," Jessica signed. "I mean, you're nice, I just don't really want a boyfriend."

"Sure, friends is fine," Jeffrey replied. He was a little disappointed, but he felt it would be very bad form to back down completely in front of her guardian. Besides, even if she didn't want to go out with him, his talk with Jessica earlier had given him the impression that they had a lot more in common than he did with any of his school friends.

Spencer looked to Jessica, who nodded. Spencer gave her number to Jeffrey, who in turn gave Jessica his.

"So…yeah. Nice meeting you," Jeffrey said, somewhat awkwardly. "And thanks again, Agent Reid."

"You're welcome," Spencer replied. Jeffrey finally left and followed his father. Spencer waited for him to pass out of sight before turning back to Jessica and laughing. "Morgan will probably freak out when he learns I helped you give a guy your number instead of chasing him off."

"Let's not tell Derek," Jessica suggested. "He'd just chase the guy off himself."

"Good point," Spencer agreed. He shifted and immediately winced in pain. Watching Jessica and Jeffrey had distracted him enough that he'd actually forgotten his wounded knee for a minute. "Not like I can do much chasing right now."

"I suppose that's my cue to bring a bunch of guys into my room," Jessica joked.

"I can still call Morgan for chasing duties," Spencer threatened, also joking.

Jessica mock-sighed. "Even when you can't walk, you ruin my fun."

"That's me, the fun-killing guardian." Spencer sobered. "Did anyone tell you about Hotch?"

Jessica nodded. "Yes, Garcia told me all about it."

"Can you hand me my phone from that bag? I want to ask for an update."

Jessica retrieved Spencer's phone for him. He called JJ and held a brief conversation with her, then hung up and looked back at Jessica. "Haley and Jack have gone into protective custody. Hotch will be fine. Physically, at least."

"Some day this has been," Jessica signed ruefully.