Later that week, Garcia came home looking shell-shocked. She slowly sat by Jessica and hugged her, as if in a daze. Jessica worriedly returned the hug, then pulled away. "Did something happen?"
"I couldn't save her," Garcia replied, a hollow look in her eyes.
"Couldn't save who?" Jessica demanded.
"The woman. The victim. We all watched the unsub strangle her. I wasn't fast enough. I couldn't track him. I couldn't save her…"
"What do you mean, you all watched?" Jessica's eyes widened as it hit her. "You mean…on camera? Like with Hankel?"
Garcia nodded. "Yes. Like Hankel…"
"Oh god." Jessica drew her knees up to her chest, shuddering. "What is wrong with people?"
"I don't know. Not my job. I don't ever want that to be my job. I'm supposed to find the unsubs, not understand them. But tonight, I couldn't even find him. I watched her die, just like Reid, only nobody came to do CPR this time."
Jessica swallowed, then picked up her laptop. "Okay, time to watch kitten videos until we can focus again."
"I hope you have a lot of kitten videos," Garcia replied.
A week later, it was time for the end-of-year school trip again. This year, the junior class went to St. Louis. On the third night of the trip, Jessica had just reached her hotel room when Spencer texted her. "How is St. Louis? Everything going okay?"
"City Museum has just become my favorite place in the whole world," Jessica replied. "It's like a grown-up sized playground."
"That sounds fun. Is the power working okay?"
Jessica frowned in confusion. "Uh…yes?"
"Good. Don't forget to lock your hotel room."
"Bad case?" Jessica guessed.
"Our unsub keeps leaving kids in closets," Spencer admitted. "He leaves them alive, at least…but really, that just strengthens the reminder of Frank."
Jessica shuddered. "Sorry I asked. Good luck."
"Thank you. Good night."
In the morning, Garcia had just gotten the news of Billy Flynn's death when she received a text from Jessica. "Do you have the addresses of the kids who were left in closets?"
Garcia frowned. "Yes, but I'm really not supposed to give them out. Why do you ask?"
"Because I know what it's like to be left in a closet, and I wanted to get them each something."
Garcia winced in sympathy. "Well, I suppose I could send packages for you."
"Thanks. How many kids were there?"
Garcia hesitated. "Going just by the murders in LA from the past few days? A ten-year-old boy and then a baby, from separate nights. The unsub also kidnapped the eight-year-old daughter of a local cop last night, but he let her go this morning."
"…and if we include crimes from other cities, the number goes up?" Jessica asked, worried.
"Sweetie, you don't want to know how high that number goes. I don't think you've got enough pocket money to cover that. Just call it three kids."
"Okay." Jessica put her phone back in her pocket and swallowed, returning her attention to the gift shop she'd been browsing. There were plenty of Gateway Arch themed souvenirs, but those didn't seem quite right for the occasion. Then she spotted some novelty night lights in a back corner. Including some that were aptly marketed as "Knight-Lights". Jessica grabbed three and got in line at the register.
Soon after school let out for the summer, Jessica's school sent out an email to all incoming juniors and seniors. Gallaudet University was hosting a summer camp program in nearby Cabin John for Deaf kids, and the university was offering to hire Deaf high school upperclassmen as junior counselors. Jessica immediately obtained Spencer's permission and signed up. The high-school-aged counselors went through a week of training during the last week in June, and the camp started up the following week.
Unfortunately for Spencer, the camp was a sleepaway camp. Jessica hadn't been gone this long since his struggle to get clean, and the reminder did not sit well with him. He did okay for the first few days, but after returning from a case in Kentucky, the solitude really started to get to him.
Spencer looked through the kitchen, debating whether to make himself dinner or buy take-out. Cooking seemed pointless when there was no one else to cook for, so he ordered Indian take-out. Eating at the table seemed pointless when there was no one to eat with, so he turned on the TV and ate on the couch. And shared more of his dinner with Bianca than was strictly healthy for her.
When Spencer finally headed to his room for the night, he paused by Jessica's open door. The sight of her empty room made him think of the day he'd found her note taped to the door. Normally, that memory served as further incentive to stay clean, but now…staying clean wouldn't bring Jessica home any sooner. She wouldn't be there to bear the brunt of his mood swings if he fell off the wagon. And the Dilaudid would make the time pass so much more sweetly…
Spencer shook himself out of it. If he let himself off the wagon, it would be that much harder to get back on once Jessica came home. He couldn't do that. He shouldn't do that.
But it was inevitable that some day in the increasingly-near future, Jessica would fly the nest and move out altogether. What would happen then? What would he tell himself to stay clean then? It was an unnerving thought.
Spencer closed Jessica's door and entered his own room, silently scolding himself. He did have other reasons to stay clean. Looking back on it now, he knew perfectly well that he hadn't been fit for duty during his Dilaudid days. Hotch and Gideon had simply been too busy feeling sorry for him to call him on it. It was a minor miracle that he hadn't screwed up in any way that caused lasting damage to anyone other than himself. The BAU was a job that demanded 100%, sober focus. He couldn't throw that away.
But right now, all that seemed to matter was that he couldn't sleep.
The following day, JJ noticed that Reid seemed somewhat out of it. "Whoa, Spence, are you all right?" she asked, concerned.
Reid looked up from his desk. "Huh? Fine."
"I think someone's got a bad case of Empty Nest Syndrome," Prentiss ribbed.
"Hard to believe you lived alone for five years, isn't it?" Morgan added.
"Actually, I spent most of my time at Caltech living in the dormitories with no one keeping an eye on me, so it was more like eleven years," Reid corrected flatly.
"I used to live alone too, but now I can't imagine not having Henry and Will to come home to," JJ sympathized.
"How is Henry?" Reid asked.
"He was asking where 'Jessie' is, actually," JJ replied. "Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? It'll cheer the both of you up."
Reid briefly considered the invitation. "All right."
"See you at six o'clock sharp," JJ said. Hopefully, she would be able to get Reid to open up with fewer people around.
Henry was very happy to see his Uncle Spence. He showed off his latest coloring book, insisted that Reid watch his favorite cartoon with him, and begged Reid to read him a random book he'd pulled off a shelf in JJ and Will's room. Reid quickly replaced the Metro Police guidebook and redirected Henry to a much more child-friendly picture book.
Once Henry had been put to bed, JJ pulled Reid aside. "All right, spill."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Reid said defensively.
"I know that look, Spence. I saw it in your eyes every day, back when Jessica was gone before."
"Well, what do you want me to say?" Reid asked wearily. "I'm on the wagon. I went to another meeting right before that last case."
"Good," JJ said. "But don't feel like that's your only support system. Jessica may be away, but that doesn't mean you have to be alone. Our spare bedroom is always open."
"I can't just move in with you, though," Reid protested.
"You won't have to. Jessica will be home before you know it," JJ said soothingly.
Reid swallowed. "And in one more year, she'll be off to college. And even if she chooses a local college, sooner or later she'll move out entirely. And Bianca loves Jessica more than me, so Jessica will take the cat, and then I'll be completely alone."
"Living alone isn't the same as being alone," JJ argued. "Jessica's not going to sever ties with you completely, and you'll still have the team. And none of us are about to go off to college. I can't speak for everyone else, but I promise you I have no intention of leaving any time soon."
Reid broke into a small smile. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. Now, do you want to stay the night, or do you want to go give that cat a treat from Henry?"
"I'll go home. Good night, JJ."
"Good night." JJ gave Reid a quick hug.
Thankfully, Spencer lasted the summer without any relapses. However, by the time Jessica came home, he felt like his head was pounding with stress and anticipation. He swept her up in a hug the moment she stepped through the door.
"Hello to you too," Jessica signed when he finally let go.
"You are never allowed to go away again," Spencer told her, only half joking.
"Now you know how I feel all the time," Jessica retorted.
"I only ever had the one six-week case!" Spencer protested.
"And I've only ever had this one six-week camp," Jessica pointed out.
Spencer sighed, conceding the point. "Did you have fun?"
Jessica smiled happily. "Yes. I got to help look after the horses as well as the kids. There was this one horse named Jewel who was the sweetest thing…"
Spencer smiled and nodded as Jessica continued rambling about the camp. However, his headache did not abate.
The morning of the first day of school, Jessica answered the doorbell to find Garcia waiting outside. "This is your last first day of school ever, I need photos to commemorate the occasion!" Garcia announced.
Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Won't I have first days of school in college?"
"…this is your last first day of grade school ever, I need photos to commemorate the occasion!"
Jessica stood aside to let her in. "I think you just want an excuse to take photos."
"Sweetie, I never need an excuse to take photos." Garcia looked around. "Where's Cousin Genius?"
"Haven't seen him yet this morning. He's taken to randomly sleeping in lately. Or he might be sleeping through his alarm; I don't know."
Garcia marched down the hallway and pounded on Reid's door. "Hey, Sleeping Doctor! You're needed for a photo op!"
A few moments later, Reid opened the door, looking tousled and annoyed. "There was no need to shout, I'm awake."
Garcia raised an eyebrow. "You sure look like I just woke you up."
"You didn't; I heard the doorbell. And I'm not exactly 'photo op' material just now." He closed the door in her face.
Garcia started to pound on the door again. "Reid, I swear to god…"
The door opened again. "Again, I can hear you just fine without the pounding. I'm not interested. Please go away." The door closed again—very gently.
"Hmph," Garcia grumbled. She returned to the kitchen, where Jessica was refilling Bianca's water bowl. "I guess we're taking photos without Reid."
"Was he still asleep?"
"No, just grumpy." Garcia critically eyed Jessica. "Where's your class pin? I know you have one."
"Give me a minute." Jessica went into her room, then returned with her 'Class of 2011' pin attached to one of the straps of her backpack.
Garcia grinned. "That's right, proud member of the graduating class of 2011! Own it, girl!" She finally took out her phone and snapped several photos.
A few weeks later, the team had a case in Atlantic Beach that they wrapped up in a matter of hours. However, they didn't fly back until after dark, so Jessica ate dinner by herself. Eventually, her phone went off. She opened it, expecting a message from Spencer telling her when he'd be home, but the message was from JJ.
"I don't know if Spence has told you yet, but I'm being transferred to the Department of State. I tried to fight it, but the orders came down from very high up the bureaucratic chain. Today was my last case with the BAU."
Jessica stared at the message for a while, not sure how to feel about this. "I still get to babysit Henry, right?" she asked at last.
"Of course. You and Spence are still welcome at our place any time."
"And there will be fewer people shooting at you in the Department of State, right?"
"I haven't gotten the details of my new job description yet, but I would assume so. I do know that it's considered a promotion."
"Then congratulations."
JJ smiled thinly as she read this message. "You know, you're not the first person to say that to me today, but I think you might be the first one who actually meant it and wasn't just putting a brave face on things."
"Hey, this isn't like it was with Elle and Gideon. You're not leaving because anything bad happened, and you've just confirmed that you're going to stay in town and still see us."
"I suppose that's true," JJ conceded.
When Spencer got home an hour later, he looked absolutely miserable. Jessica immediately gave him a brief hug. "Don't look so sad. It's not like anybody's dead." She paused. "Except for whoever was unfortunate enough to be involved in your case today, I suppose."
"Actually, the victim turned up alive, so nobody involved in the case is dead," Spencer signed. "I take it someone has already told you about JJ?"
"She did," Jessica replied. "You'll still see her, Spencer. She's not going to go all Gideon and ghost us."
"It's not the same," Spencer insisted. He paused to scratch Bianca's ears. "I won't see her nearly as much."
"…okay, true," Jessica admitted. "But it's not the end of the world." She paused. "Will it make you feel better to watch an episode of Doctor Who before bed?"
"…yes." Spencer followed her to the couch.
By the end of the Butcher case in Bristol, Prentiss was growing increasingly concerned about the amount of time Ellie Spicer spent talking to Morgan, and she told him as much.
"The girl's got PTSD," Morgan explained. "She's gotta vent to someone."
"A professional," Prentiss argued.
"Or someone who's been there," Morgan said seriously. He shifted his shoulder pack and left the room.
Prentiss gathered up her own things, pondering the issue. Then she thought of someone else to ask, and she pulled out her phone. "After the incident with Frank, Reid sent you to a therapist, didn't he?"
"Yes, why?" Jessica replied.
"And that helped, right?"
"Somewhat. But honestly, I think talking to Spencer helped more. He understands better than the therapist ever could."
Prentiss sighed. Point one for 'someone who's been there', then. "Did you know there's a little girl from a case a few months back who still talks to Morgan every day?"
"I'm not surprised. I just wish Spencer had been able to talk to someone who truly understood after Hankel."
"Yeah, I think we all wish that."
That weekend, Jessica tried to text JJ to arrange some sort of birthday celebration for Spencer. However, JJ did not respond. Jessica tried again a few hours later. Still nothing. Jessica tried again at dinnertime. No dice. Concerned now, she texted Will instead. "Is JJ okay?"
"Yes. She's been working long hours."
"Do you know when she'll next be free? It's Spencer's birthday on Tuesday and I'm trying to make plans."
"I don't think she'll be available. Sorry. But I can swing by with Henry."
"Well, it's better than nothing, I suppose." Jessica scowled as she set down her phone. So much for JJ sticking around and not ghosting them. Jessica had babysat several times since JJ left the BAU, but Will had always been the one who greeted her and the one who came home to relieve her.
Fortunately for Reid, he'd been too preoccupied with work to notice JJ dropping off the face of the earth. Also fortunately for Reid, there was no case on his birthday and the team was able to take him and Jessica out to dinner (Jessica's idea, though she wasn't footing the bill). At the end of the night, Garcia followed Reid and Jessica to their car so she could bring up something that had been on her mind. "So, how would you guys feel about me taking over for JJ as the new communications liaison?"
"You're taking over for JJ?" Reid repeated, surprised.
"I'm considering it. I wanted to discuss it with you two before I brought it up to Hotch, because it would mean I fly out with the team for every case and Jessica gets left all alone." Garcia gave Jessica a brief one-armed hug before continuing. "I know, I'm the backup guardian and all, but she's nearly an adult anyway. And Wonder Kid, I know you spent nights alone at a much younger age than that and you managed okay. And you've got that double deadbolt and I can always send police if I get a distress call…"
Jessica winced sheepishly. "Is now a bad time to mention I already stayed alone the last two times you went with the team?"
Reid's eyes widened and he rounded on her. "You did what?!"
"For exactly the reasons Penelope just listed! Everything was fine."
"You should have told me!"
"I didn't want you to worry!"
Reid glared sternly at her. "We've had this conversation before. And we had it before the Alaska case."
"This was different, nothing actually happened!" Jessica argued. "And you never asked where I was staying, anyway."
Reid started to respond, then realized he wasn't sure what to say to that. It wasn't as if he'd thought he knew exactly where she was; he had assumed she stayed with either Beth or Claire, but hadn't been particularly concerned about which. "If I had asked, you'd have told me the truth?" he finally signed.
"Yes."
"You still should have consulted me."
Garcia cleared her throat and gave a little wave. "Does this mean you are or aren't okay with me taking over for JJ?"
Reid gave Jessica a considering look. "Everything went okay when you stayed alone? No problems whatsoever?"
"Everything was fine."
"All right," Reid relented. "But I want you regularly checking in with me. And you're grounded for a week for not telling me sooner."
Jessica sighed. "Deal."
"I'll talk to Hotch tomorrow," Garcia signed.
After returning from Ohio, Garcia accompanied Reid home to once again discuss the situation with both cousins. "So, change of plans," she informed Jessica. "I'm only taking on part of JJ's job and I'll still be working from Quantico. I don't know if you want to resume staying with me or just continue staying alone."
Jessica had to think about that. "It's not that I want to be staying alone, exactly. I like hanging out with you. I'm just getting tired of constantly switching back and forth between two homes. And taking care of Bianca is so much easier when I don't have to get up fifteen minutes early so I can make a detour on the way to school."
"What if we permanently alter the arrangement to have Garcia stay here when I'm gone?" Reid suggested.
"You're sure you don't mind?" Garcia asked anxiously.
"You're welcome any time," Reid signed seriously. Bianca promptly undermined the sentiment by hissing at Garcia.
"Bad cat. Be nice," Jessica scolded. She turned back to Garcia. "I think that arrangement makes more sense anyway. Whenever you're working a case, I spend far more time at home than you do."
"That works for me, then," Garcia agreed. She looked at Bianca. "And one day you will realize you love me!"
Bianca sat primly in front of Jessica and gave Garcia her best death glare.