Reckless

Chapter 23

Hotch's thumb brushed across the screen of his smartphone as he scrolled through his endless list of emails. His eyes flicked towards the other side of the BAU jet, lingering for a moment on Toni before he returned to wading through the contents of his inbox. She was lying on her side, facing the interior wall of the jet. Her body was covered in a fleece blanket, leaving only the wild tumble of her dark hair and her feet visible. Alvez passed her by as he approached, stopping to tug the blanket down over her mismatched socks. He grasped the corner of the blanket and tucked it under her feet.

The close watch Hotch kept over his team was part of what made him such a successful leader. Even subtle changes in their behavior caught his notice. But the recent changes he'd seen in the person who was arguably the team's most valuable member were anything but subtle. In the last two weeks, Spencer's entire body language had changed. He was smiling for no reason. His formally stiff posture was suddenly more relaxed and open, especially when he was in close proximity to their newest team member. Even now, as he was sitting across the table from Hotch, his body was angled towards Toni's sleeping form.

When Alvez approached her sleeping form, Spencer's eyes stopped rapidly scanning over the pages of his book. His brows furrowed when Luke leaned down and touched Toni's blanket, revealing a twinge of possessiveness that Spencer seemed to be doing his best to hide. He clearly didn't like seeing another man touching her. Hotch lifted his hand, scratching at the stubble growing in along his jawline to hide the grin on his face.

When Luke lowered himself into the seat next to Hotch, he powered off the screen of his phone and gave the man his full attention. Luke flicked his eyes toward Toni, keeping his voice low in case she wasn't sleeping as deeply as she appeared to be. "She's going to try to drive herself home," Luke warned. "She'll grab her bag and dip before anyone realizes she's gone."

Hotch glanced over, shaking his head slightly. The warning Luke offered didn't come as a surprise to him. Hotch could tell that Toni was headstrong to a fault the moment he met her. She refused the pain medication they offered her at the hospital, opting instead for only a low dose muscle relaxer. But that didn't mean she ought to drive herself home. His team took care of each other like family, and that family now included Toni.

"That's not happening," Hotch replied. Luke grinned, his body shaking with a silent chuckle as he glanced back at her once more. "I'll have the offer written up for you by the end of the day Monday," Hotch added, giving Luke a tick of his chin before the man rose up and returned to his original seat.

Hotch glanced across, meeting Spencer's eyes to gauge the man's reaction to what he just heard. The value that Luke brought to the BAU was obvious. Even without both eyes, he was a physical force. And like Toni, he had a special knack for finding people that didn't want to be found. But Hotch was treading carefully, concerned for what Spencer's reaction to his presence might be.

Hotch was surprised to see a slight smile on Spencer's face when their eyes met. Spencer set his book down as he reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. When he pulled his hand out, Hotch realized the source of his unexpected amusement. Toni's car keys were dangling from Spencer's finger. Hotch recognized the slim silver keychain that featured a silhouette of a woman kicking her leg out and the words 'touch me and your first karate lesson is free'.

Hotch returned to his inbox, this time not bothering to hide the smirk on his face. Spencer had his hands full, that was for sure. But if Toni was the one filling them up, she was worth the trouble, at least in his opinion. He could tell she wasn't the kind of woman that would walk away if things got tough. And in the end that's what everyone was really looking for, someone that had their backs no matter what. Hotch wouldn't have pictured his team's most highly educated agent with a karate sparring champion. But their outward differences didn't seem to be of any concern to either of them.

"I've got it," Hotch said, putting the full weight of his authority into his tone as he slung the strap of Toni's bag over his shoulder. He ushered her towards his waiting vehicle with his hand resting between her shoulder blades. She allowed this, climbing into the passenger seat of his SUV with only a slight groan of protest. Hotch guessed that she wasn't completely awake, which seemed to be working in his favor.
Toni's left arm was fastened to her side with an uncomfortable looking velcro strapped sling. She adjusted the straps slightly before she fastened her seat belt. Her eyes focused on her car as Hotch put his vehicle in reverse.

"I need my car," Toni lamented. "My son has karate tomorrow. And I've got to go grocery shopping…"

Hotch offered Toni a sympathetic glance once he finished backing out of his parking space, following it up with a soft smile. "Reid said he'd bring it to you in the morning," Hotch promised. He tried to keep his eyes on the road as Toni rifled through her purse. After sorting through the few items that were inside the well worn leather bag, it didn't take long before she realized that her car keys were missing.

"I can take care of myself," she grumbled. Toni closed her purse with a huff. "I'm gonna kick his ass."

From her tone, Hotch could tell Toni's irritation was tempered by her warm feelings for the man that was currently annoying her. It was like that for Hotch in the beginning of his relationship with Haley. There was a time when he could do no wrong in her eyes. The sudden memory caused a pang of regret to bloom in the center of Hotch's chest. He'd like to think that if he knew what would become of her, he would have left the BAU when Haley asked him to. But the truth was, he wasn't sure if that was true. The guilt that knowledge carried hurt more than his regret.

"He has feelings for you," Hotch said. "Reid, I mean."

Toni let her head loll against the headrest as she turned it towards him. "I know who you mean," she replied. Hotch could tell she was trying her best not to reveal how she felt about him. But she was unable to stop the minute changes in her expression when he mentioned Spencer's name. As she reached up to tuck a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear, the little line between her eyebrows disappeared. The muscles in her jaw relaxed. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. "Now that you know, am I going to have to transfer to another unit?," she asked.

"If I said yes," Hotch replied, glancing at Toni out of the corner of his eye, "...would you break things off with him?'

"Absolutely not."

Toni answered with absolute confidence. Her certainty along with the speed with which she replied, surprised him. She didn't even take a moment to consider her options. Given that she'd been vying for a position in the BAU for years, that really said something about how invested she was in her relationship with Spencer. Hotch suspected this was more than a casual fling for her when he saw her intense panic outside the grain silo. But he didn't realize she'd be willing to give up her chance at catching Peter Lewis. The guilt and pain pounded harder in his chest, making him wonder if he really ever loved Haley. He might have given up his job for her if he knew it would lead to her death, but it wouldn't have been without an intense internal struggle.

For a moment, Hotch was at a loss for words. He swallowed the lump in his throat before he spoke.

"Reid isn't your supervisor," he said. "The two of you aren't breaking department policy. As long as your relationship doesn't affect your work performance, or his, it's not my concern as unit chief."

"I think we work well together," Toni offered, adding a soft smile to her words. "...And I think my muscle relaxer is kicking in."

Hotch smiled back. It was only another ten minutes to her apartment. But by the time they arrived outside the building, Toni's heavy eyes blinked shut and stayed that way. Hotch gently shook her awake before he pulled her bag from the backseat. She appeared to be in complete control of her body as she climbed from the vehicle. But he kept his arm around her while she climbed the stairs just in case.

Toni got to her door before she realized that Spencer had not only her car keys but the keys to her apartment as well. Hotch expected her to knock. But instead, she reached over and pressed a button located to the side of the door. Hotch was confused by this. It was unusual for an apartment to have a doorbell. And when Toni pressed the button, he didn't hear anything. He was about to ask her what was going on. But when the door opened, Hotch got his explanation. A petite brunette that looked to be in her early to mid twenties answered the door and Toni began speaking to her in sign language.

Hotch wasn't fluent in sign language, but he could tell that Toni was explaining the reason he was there. The young woman seemed very concerned about the sling on Toni's arm. And about his presence in the doorway. Her big dark eyes were darting between Toni's shoulder and him. He could tell that seeing him there was unsettling for her. So Hotch slipped Toni's bag off his shoulder and set it inside the doorway of her apartment, trying to show the young woman that he had no intention of coming inside. Hotch didn't get much closer to the girl when he set that bag down, but it was enough to send her darting off inside the apartment to hide.
"Sorry," Toni said. "That's my cousin Lucia. I told her you're my boss, and that you drove me home because my arm was hurt. She gets scared of men she doesn't know."

"There's no need to be sorry," Hotch promised. He rested his hand gently on Toni's good shoulder and gave her one last smile. "I'll see you on Monday."

Hotch headed down the hall, pausing at the top of the stairs and waiting until Toni was inside with the door shut behind her before he continued on his way. He climbed into his car, finally letting some of what he was feeling about Haley bubble to the surface. He was so consumed with his thoughts and memories that he almost didn't notice the car that passed him by going in the opposite direction. It looked an awful lot like Toni's car. Hotch watched in the rearview mirror as the car slowed down and parked in the closest available space. He didn't need to wait for the driver to step out to know that it was Spencer. Hotch drove away shaking his head.

Upstairs, Toni was discovering that speaking in sign language with one arm restrained in a sling was no easy task. If she moved her hand too much or the wrong way, it was causing pain to shoot up her arm into her already throbbing shoulder. She winced, forcing herself to let her left hand relax.

Toni reached for her phone. Lucia hated talking through their phones. But it would be a lot faster, and less painful, for Toni to just text her about what happened. Typing it all out with only one hand was still slow. But at least it didn't hurt. She was explaining that her shoulder was only dislocated and not broken when her phone began to vibrate in her hand. Toni smiled when she saw that Spencer was calling her. But she declined his call for the moment. She would call him right back after she got done assuring Lucia that she wasn't mortally injured. Toni managed to get her text typed out before her phone vibrated again. He followed up his call with several texts in quick succession.

Are you okay?

I'm really worried.

I'm outside, can I come up?

Toni giggled before she could stop herself. She glanced up to see Lucia staring at her with one of her dark eyebrows raised.

"Is that your boss?," Lucia asked, her hands moving rapidly in front of her. Toni knew her expression must have revealed more than she realized. Because Lucia followed her question by placing her open palm against her chin and moving her hand quickly away as she flipped it forward. It was the same sign Lucia used on Romeo when he wasn't listening to her, the one that meant naughty.

Toni shook her head and tried not to laugh more when Lucia gave her another questioning glance and made the sign for boyfriend, following it by drawing a question mark in the air. Toni smiled as she shrugged her one good shoulder and typed another message, explaining that Spencer was waiting outside because he was worried about her. As Toni was sending the message, she heard a soft knock on her apartment door. Her chest shook with a rumble of silent laughter. Spencer couldn't even give her a moment to return his call. Normally, pushy behavior like that would annoy her. But instead, it was making her laugh.

Toni glanced between Lucia and the door. "I won't let him in if you don't want me to," Toni signed, wincing as she moved her hand the wrong way.

"Is he nice?," Lucia asked.

Toni nodded her head and smiled. Spencer was more than nice. He was a kind and gentle person. Toni would have preferred to give Lucia a little more notice before Spencer came for a visit, but she didn't think her cousin would be scared of him.

Lucia backed slightly away from the door and nodded, indicating she was ready for Toni to open it. But Toni still glanced back one more time before she opened the door.

"I was just about to call you back," she explained as Spencer gently gathered her into his arms.

"I'm sorry, I was worried, I know I should have just gone home," he gushed. "If you don't want me here, I can go."

Toni hummed as she melted into his chest. He stroked his hands over her hair. As he moved them up and down her back, she could already feel the pain in her shoulder dissipating. The last thing she wanted was for him to leave.

Toni stayed there a moment, sighing as the oxytocin washed over her body. They hadn't been able to steal a moment alone since she was carted away in an ambulance. She didn't realize how much she just wanted to be held. Toni took another deep breath, letting it out slowly before she moved back and clicked her apartment door shut. Lucia was still standing in the living room, which Toni hoped was a good sign. She was also smiling slightly, which Toni knew was a good sign.

"Boyfriend," Lucia signed again, this time with a bigger smile and no question mark. Her eyes widened when Spencer was the one that responded to her instead of Toni. He moved his hands so much when he talked anyway, Toni supposed she shouldn't be surprised to find that he was fluent in sign language. She watched the very rapid and animated conversation that he and Lucia were having with growing amusement. Lucia was afraid of people she didn't know, but Toni guessed that didn't stop her from craving human interaction.

When Lucia was done asking Spencer about the events of the case that led to Toni's arm being put in a sling, she turned to Toni. Lucia gestured towards Spencer, shaking her head before she made the sign for boyfriend again. She pointed at Toni before she lowered her arms and moved them like two flat feet waddling. It was sign language for penguin, or more specifically 'your penguin'. Toni laughed. Lucia was fond of mentioning that penguins mated for life. She said she would find her penguin someday. Calling Spencer a penguin was Lucia's way of saying she liked him. But Toni shook her head. She made her finger into a hook and brushed the back of it across her nose twice, making the sign for eagle. Lucia laughed and called them both love birds before she shuffled off to her room, shutting the door behind her.

"I know the eagle joke," Spencer said, pulling Toni back into his arms now that they were out from under her cousin's curious gaze. "...but why was she calling me a penguin?"

"Penguins mate for life," Toni explained, laughing when Spencer nearly exploded with factual information about penguins and their mating habits. Apparently, most of them didn't actually mate for life. That was a common misconception. "How the hell do you know all that?," Toni asked, trying unsuccessfully to stifle off her laughter. "And why do you know it?" She could have lived her entire life and been perfectly happy without knowing what a penguin's dick looked like.

"I read it in a book when I was nine."

Given that Toni wasn't actually expecting an answer to her question, Spencer's extremely literal answer made her start laughing all over again. Her giggles cut off with a sharp inhale of pain. The movement of her chest was starting to shake her arm and in turn, her shoulder.

Spencer's eyes widened, his expression changing immediately to one of intense concern. "Are you okay?," he asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Toni nodded. She still smelled like hospital disinfectant. And using the hot spray of her shower to help her muscles relax sounded like heaven. "I want to take a shower. Will you help me get undressed and put my hair up?" Toni's eyes darkened as she glanced up at him. The only thing that would be better than a hot shower was not taking it alone. "And I might need help washing…," she added.