Safely ensconced at Quantico, Ellie Spicer was finally able to truly relax and sleep for the first time in weeks. When she finally woke up, she was slightly confused to see a blonde teenage girl sitting next to her. Ellie opened her mouth to ask who the girl was, but the girl noticed she was awake and handed her a note before Ellie could say anything.
"Hi. My name is Jessica. I'm a friend of Derek and Penelope. I don't know if you remember, but I'm also the girl who sent you that Knight-Light after your dad died. I offered to keep you company here so Penelope can help catch the bad guy and Derek can come home sooner. And you should know, I'm deaf and non-speaking, but if you face me and talk slowly, then I can read your lips."
"Jessica…" Ellie frowned. "Wait, are you the girl Derek mentioned who once got kidnapped by a bad guy too?"
Jessica grimaced and nodded. Then she took back her paper to continue writing. "Not only that, but I also had a bad experience in the foster care system after my parents died. Honestly, if I'd had anywhere to run TO, I might have done the same thing you did."
Ellie swallowed. "But…you're not in foster care any more? Someone adopted you?"
"CPS found my cousin Spencer," Jessica explained. "Our mothers had a big fight when he was a baby and we each had no idea the other existed until CPS introduced us."
Ellie swallowed again. "CPS said they were looking for my mother. But they couldn't find her. And besides…she knows I exist. She just left me. She probably doesn't want me anyway."
Jessica scowled. "Sounds like Spencer's dad. He left Spencer too. So far as I'm concerned, that man is not and never has been my uncle."
Ellie sniffled. "Why do parents do that? Why do they even have kids if they don't want them?"
"I don't know," Jessica admitted. "But I do know that it's not your fault. You deserve to be loved. Your dad saw that. Derek sees that. And he's going to do everything in his power to find a place for you to live where everyone will see that."
"Can't I just live with him?" Ellie asked pleadingly.
This gave Jessica pause. "I don't know. That's a question you'd have to ask him. He might feel you're too young to be left behind when he goes on cases. I was three years older than you are now when Spencer adopted me, and even then he was worried at first."
"I made it all the way across the country by myself!" Ellie protested.
"And you're very lucky you made it here in one piece. If you try something like that again, your luck may run out." Jessica tore a new sheet of paper out of her notebook before continuing. "You're a kid. The adults are supposed to look out for you, so that's what Derek's doing."
"Didn't you say you would have run away too?" Ellie grumbled mutinously.
"I didn't say it would have been a smart idea. CPS may have basically shoved me into a corner and tried to ignore me, but at least they gave me food and a roof over my head." Jessica paused again. "Well, they gave me food if I showed up to meals. No one ever bothered to tell me when it was time to eat, so I had to keep checking the dining room or else I'd go hungry. Apparently there was some bell or announcement or something like that, but they refused to do anything about the fact that I couldn't hear it."
Ellie sniffled. "The older kids kept stealing food off my plate and the foster parents never stopped them."
Jessica eyed her with concern. "Have you been getting enough food here?"
Ellie nodded. "I'm getting kinda hungry again, though."
"Okay then, enough depressing talk. Time for food." Jessica reached back and pulled a stack of take-out menus off of Garcia's desk. She handed them to Ellie and picked up her pencil again.
Meanwhile, Garcia looked over her shoulder. "Did I just hear you tell Jessica that you're hungry? Better watch out, before you know it she'll have you surrounded by more food than you can possibly eat."
Jessica shot Garcia an indignant look. "You do realize I don't have access to a fully-stocked kitchen here?"
"And the fact that that is your only objection to that statement just proves my point," Garcia retorted.
"You bake too!" Jessica argued. "After Georgia, you gave us so many cookies I had to take some to school!"
"…point taken," Garcia conceded. She turned back to Ellie, who was looking a little lost. "You should probably hurry up and order before we end up ordering the entire menu for you."
"Um…okay," Ellie agreed.
The following day, once Garcia had been directed to find the unsub's mother and the rest of the team hung up, Morgan had Prentiss call Garcia again. "Hey, it's me, can anyone hear us?"
"If by 'anyone', you mean a nine-year-old girl who I'm pretty sure is currently learning to count cards…"
"What?!" Morgan exclaimed.
"They denied it when I asked, but that was what it sounded like to me! I can't be sure though, hard to tell when I can only eavesdrop on one side of the conversation."
"Since when does Jessica know how to count cards?" Prentiss said incredulously.
"I don't know, but given who she lives with, I suppose it was inevitable," Morgan sighed.
Garcia glanced over her shoulder. Ellie and Jessica still appeared to be focused on the cards, but that didn't necessarily mean Ellie wasn't listening and trying to be sneaky about it. "You know what, I'm just gonna take you off speaker."
Ellie slumped slightly in disappointment, and Jessica gave her a questioning look. Ellie grabbed the pencil and paper. "Penelope is on the phone with Derek and another agent. She still thinks you're teaching me to count cards."
Jessica snorted with laughter. "I suppose she's forgotten that Spencer is ALSO a skilled magician who knows a number of card tricks." Jessica had in fact been teaching Ellie a few of the simpler ones.
"Do you really know how to count cards?" Ellie asked, curious.
"Spencer was actually more willing to teach me to count cards than to teach me card tricks. He takes the whole 'a magician never reveals his secrets' thing very seriously."
"But you don't," Ellie noted.
"I say every magician needs an apprentice," Jessica replied. "And you, my young Padawan, have been chosen for the job."
Ellie smiled.
After Ellie was reunited with her mother, she came to say good-bye to Jessica. She gave Jessica a hug, then pulled back and spoke. "I was wrong about my mother. She didn't leave because she didn't want me. She left because she thought I didn't want her."
"And now you do?" Jessica asked curiously, Garcia interpreting.
"I…I'm not sure. But I want to give her a chance. Maybe Spencer should give his dad a chance too."
Morgan and Garcia both winced at that, glad that Reid wasn't present for this conversation. Fortunately, Jessica took the comment in stride. "I'm pretty sure his story was different from yours. But I'm glad you found your mother. I'd give anything to have my mother back too."
"Maybe your parents are with my dad in heaven, and they're all talking about how much they miss us," Ellie suggested.
Jessica managed a small smile. "I hope so. It was nice meeting you, Ellie. Good luck with everything."
"You too." Ellie hugged Jessica one more time.
When Spencer returned from the Kaman Scott case, he didn't seem to be quite as enthused about Halloween as he usually was. After trying and failing to get him to put on a costume, Jessica finally grew fed up. "Okay, what gives?" she demanded.
"I just don't want to dress up," Spencer insisted.
"You always dress up," Jessica argued. "Even when you were on crutches, you dressed up."
"This year I'm not."
Jessica gave him a contemplative look. "No one wanted to go to the phantasmagoria with you?"
Spencer briefly stared at her in surprise, then sighed. "No, no one."
"If it really matters that much to you, I'll go with you," Jessica offered.
"I told you, it'll be too dark for me to sign the dialogue for you."
"It'll still look cool, won't it?" Jessica argued.
"It—" Spencer broke off and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He took a quick look at the message he'd just received, then looked up at Jessica again. "JJ wants to bring Henry over."
"JJ?" Jessica repeated in surprise. So apparently JJ hadn't completely dropped off the face of the earth. "That sounds like a great idea. Maybe Henry will want to go to the phantasmagoria with you. You know he adores you."
"I don't think the phantasmagoria is appropriate for a 23-month-old."
Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Is a mopey, underdressed godfather appropriate for a 23-month-old?"
"Well…" Spencer saw the look on Jessica's face and realized she was teasing him. "Okay, okay, I'll put on the Jedi robe."
Half an hour later, JJ and Will arrived with Henry. Henry was dressed up in a little white cat costume. "Happy Halloween, everybody!" JJ announced. "Henry is very insistent that he show Bianca his costume."
"Kitty!" Henry exclaimed happily.
"I'll find Bianca," Jessica replied. She headed down the hallway. A minute later, she returned with Bianca in her arms. She set Bianca down by Henry, and Bianca curiously sniffed the toddler.
"Hi kitty," Henry said. "I kitty too now."
Bianca meowed. Henry meowed back at her. Bianca cocked her head and meowed again. Henry nodded and meowed back again.
"…are they meowing at each other?" Jessica asked uncertainly.
"Yes, and apparently having quite the conversation," Will confirmed, laughing.
Jessica pouted. "I've spent my entire life studying animals, and he figures out how to communicate with cats before I do?"
"You're the one in a Starfleet uniform, why not use your universal translator?" Spencer suggested.
Jessica pressed the badge on her chest, then signed at Bianca. The cat didn't spare her a second glance. "It's not working," she complained.
"All right, Spence, your turn," JJ said. "Use the Force."
"That's not what the Force is for," Spencer objected.
"Then what was Anakin doing with that horned creature in the arena in Attack of the Clones?" Jessica argued.
"Forming an animal bond."
"So form an animal bond with Bianca," Jessica told him.
"How about I just use the Force to distribute candy instead?" Spencer countered.
"How are you going to do that?" Will asked.
"I already did. Check your pockets."
Will and JJ both checked their pockets and found that Spencer had indeed managed to slip them each a small candy bar without their noticing. Jessica's costume didn't have pockets, so he'd been unable to give her any.
Henry was finally distracted from Bianca. "Candy?" he asked.
Spencer looked to JJ and Will, who nodded permission. Spencer walked over and crouched by Henry. "One magic candy for Bianca's new kitten." He pulled a peanut butter cup from behind Henry's ear.
"Yay magic candy!" Henry squealed. He tore off the wrapper and stuffed it into his mouth.
Jessica laughed. "Who needs a phantasmagoria when you have magic candy?"
"Who needs a…what?" Will said, unfamiliar with the term.
"A phantasmagoria," Spencer repeated. "It's a form of horror theater that uses magic lanterns to project frightening images onto smoke, walls or semi-transparent screens. There was a show I wanted to go to, but I couldn't get anyone else interested."
"Actually, it sounds pretty interesting to me," JJ commented.
"Yeah, me too," Will agreed.
Jessica glanced at the clock. "I think you guys still have time to make it. I could watch Henry."
"I only have the one extra ticket," Spencer said worriedly.
JJ looked thoughtful. "How long is this show?"
"About one hour."
"And do they sell tickets at the theater?" JJ prompted.
"Yes."
Will and JJ shared a look, then turned back to Spencer. "Okay, sounds like a plan. Let's go," JJ said. She turned to Jessica. "Don't let Henry have too much sugar."
"I won't," Jessica promised. "Have fun!"
Upon returning from Indiana, Spencer found a picture of a pygmy marmoset on his bed. It was captioned "Take a tablet. Save my home." Spencer picked up the photo and went to Jessica's room.
"You do realize that a single tree can typically produce at least 10,000 sheets of paper, possibly twice that depending on the size of the tree?" Spencer demanded. "Even if I keep using paper files until I'm older than Rossi, I'll barely make a dent in the world's forests."
"And if everyone else takes the same attitude, it'll all add up and before you know it there won't be any forests. Or paper." Jessica folded her arms and glared stubbornly at him.
"Computers slow me down, you know that!"
"But it won't slow you down to have to look over someone's shoulder every time Penelope sends new information to their tablets while you're in the field?" Jessica challenged.
"Not much, no," Spencer insisted.
"Well if it won't slow you down to look at their tablets, why would it slow you down for you to have one of your own?"
"I said it won't slow me down much," Spencer argued. "It'll slow me down some."
"And you'll still process information exponentially faster than anyone else on the team, so quit complaining," Jessica countered.
"…my work habits are none of your business!" Spencer finally snapped. He slammed her door, instantly wincing at the loud sound. Bianca meowed reproachfully at him, then pawed at Jessica's door. Spencer sighed and opened the door again. "Look, I'm sorry for snapping. It's just a personal preference, okay?"
"Fine," Jessica relented, frowning at him. "But if I find any homeless marmosets, I'm telling them it's your fault."
"Deal." Spencer returned to his own room and shut the blinds. The room was still uncomfortably bright. He groaned and collapsed onto the bed, burying his head under his pillow.
A few hours later, Jessica knocked on Spencer's door to let him know that dinner was ready. He did not emerge. Jessica knocked again. Still no response. She cautiously opened the door and saw Spencer still lying with his head under the pillow.
Increasingly concerned, Jessica approached Spencer. Both his sleeve cuffs were still fully buttoned, which she took as a good sign. She searched his bag and his room. No sign of drug paraphernalia. Jessica heaved a sigh of relief…and yet, at the same time, she felt even more worried. Spencer had been chronically irritable and reclusive for months now. If he really hadn't relapsed, then what was going on?
Jessica finally shook Spencer to wake him up. It took several tries before he removed the pillow and looked blearily at her. "What?"
"Dinner's ready," Jessica informed him.
"I'm not hungry." Spencer put the pillow back over his head.
Jessica removed it. "Spencer, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, why do you ask?"
"Because you're not acting fine."
"Long day. I'm tired. I'll eat later." Spencer buried his head under the pillow yet again. Jessica gave up and left him to it.
A few days later, Jessica received a message from Morgan. "Hey, did you know about Garcia's play?"
"Her play? What do you mean?" Jessica replied, confused.
"She's starring in a play called Conflictus at the Tolgate Theater."
Jessica stared. "How did I not know about this?"
"Don't ask me. You half live with her, I thought for sure you would have known."
"Apparently she's better at keeping secrets than I've been giving her credit for."
"So, what's this Derek tells me about you being a Broadway star?" Jessica texted Garcia.
"I'm not starring on Broadway, just the Tolgate Theater. And Hotch was SUPPOSED to keep quiet about that."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I have a life outside of you guys, you know!" Garcia complained.
"Will there be closed captioned DVDs?"
"I don't know. I don't think so, but I'll ask."
Garcia found out that the theater would not be releasing DVDs of the show, so she offered to give Jessica a private ASL performance. Reid was conscripted into memorizing and performing the role of the serial killer, somewhat to his chagrin. Nonetheless, he turned out to be a better actor than either Jessica or Garcia had anticipated—so much so, that Jessica and Garcia collectively agreed that he should never play a bad guy again. Reid actually seemed a bit disappointed by that.
When Spencer got home from his next case, he went straight to Jessica's room. "You are not allowed to hike the Appalachian Trail."
"…is there an unsub still active there or are you just unnerved by the case?" Jessica asked warily.
"A pedophile who takes ten-year-old boys for 'company'," Spencer explained. "We rescued the latest boy and we know who the unsub is, but he vanished back into the woods."
"…last I checked, I'm not a ten-year-old boy," Jessica pointed out.
"I don't care," Spencer retorted.
"Also, I'll be a legal adult in two months and then you can't ban me from hiking wherever I want," Jessica added. Seeing Spencer's look of alarm, she hastily signed again. "Don't worry, I have no plans to go deep into the woods alone. But I've always wanted to see the Appalachian Trail."
"Well, maybe if you take Jeffrey…" Spencer relented.
"If this guy likes boys, wouldn't I be better off going with female friends?" Jessica suggested.
"…just don't go alone!" Spencer insisted.
"I won't," Jessica promised.
As was becoming tradition, Will invited Spencer and Jessica over for Thanksgiving at the LaMontagne house. However, JJ was not present, apparently 'working overtime'. Judging by Will's resigned annoyance and Henry's total lack of reaction to the situation, this appeared to be a common occurrence. Henry cheerfully asked Spencer to read random books to him while Jessica took over the kitchen and refused any offers of help. It was an enjoyable holiday…or at least, as enjoyable as it could be with JJ absent.
That weekend, there was a Doctor Who marathon on TV. Jessica tried to persuade Spencer to watch it with her, but he was resolutely uninterested. Jessica gave up and settled in to watch it alone.
Several hours later, Jessica emerged from the bathroom to find Spencer now on the couch, squinting at the TV. "Nice of you to join us," Jessica commented, sitting back down next to a dozing Bianca.
"Couldn't focus on my book," Spencer replied, looking mildly annoyed.
Jessica considered teasing him for that, but then the commercial break ended and the show resumed. Nearly half an hour later, Bianca woke up and decided to go greet Spencer. Along the way, she stepped on the remote and accidentally hit the volume control…revealing that it had been turned all the way down to zero.
"You've been watching without sound this whole time?" Jessica asked, surprised.
"…I have a headache," Spencer admitted.
"Then why are you watching TV?!"
"I couldn't sleep and I couldn't read. I thought maybe TV would take my mind off it."
"Is it working?"
Spencer sighed. "Not really. And before you ask, yes, I took some ibuprofen."
Jessica suddenly narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Have you been getting a lot of headaches lately?"
"…yes."
"Don't you think maybe you should see a doctor about that?"
"I already called for an appointment," Spencer signed tiredly. "There wasn't anything available until the end of December."
"Ouch." Jessica gave him a hug. "Feel better soon."
"Thanks."