Aitana knew when she was being kept out of a loop. Being the youngest and with 2 brothers gave her a lot of experience. Growing up, Mateo and Angel always had little secret games that she wasn't included in for whatever stupid reason they had. But, she supposed that now it gave her an upper hand for these types of situations. She knew the signs perfectly.
Penelope was extra dodgy in the coming weeks. Lunches were cancelled suddenly and with a stammering ramble of an excuse. For Penelope's own sake, Aitana didn't push very much. Penelope didn't tend to keep secrets for fun. It was usually more out of need and because it wasn't her own.
Penelope Garcia was the worst at keeping secrets so whoever had trusted her with the secret in the first place had to know that no matter what, she wouldn't tell which meant that person had to be extremely close to her. They had to know her completely. That left Aitana with a very small list of suspects. She truly doubted Hotch and Rossi would entrust her with something big and personal knowing that she would eventually crack. That left Morgan, Spencer and JJ. Morgan was a little harder to be around with so she paid extra close attention to both Spencer and JJ whenever she came over to JJ's house for a study session. Neither really acted out of the ordinary.
"Hey, if you guys don't get a case, maybe we can do a little get together on Sunday?" She oh-so-casually suggested one evening after another successful tutoring session.
JJ was coming back to the table with a fresh round of coffee for the trio. "That sounds great. What are we thinking? Morning, evening?"
"How about lunch?" Aitana offered. That was right in the middle of the day. If they had Sunday off, they would be able to come unless they had some secret things to do. "We can have lunch at Angel's restaurant. Big discount for sure."
JJ agreed with a hum. "I like it! Spence?"
"Sounds good to me too," Spencer nodded. "A little reunion."
Aitana took notice of how easily the pair gave into the offer. She was very close to letting her suspicions go but she would need to wait until Sunday to be really sure. "Great, tell the others please. I would love to see them."
The plans were set that very night. Come Sunday, Aitana showed up at the restaurant near noon. Angel had already reserved them a large table to accommodate the entire team. Little by little, they started showing up.
Penelope was front and center, making herself known by complimenting practically every part of the restaurant. "It's just so lively and colorful!" she giggled.
Aitana chuckled. It was hard to believe that this was the woman who was holding a big secret. "I don't like to brag but I did help decorate."
"Right," Penelope said, her smile faltering slightly, "You and your—"
"Hey, hey," Morgan was the second to arrive, all smiles and full of hugs. "Been a while, Sprinkles."
"Yeah, I know," Aitana agreed. "You guys haven't fallen apart right?"
"Oh you know, not yet," Morgan said, pulling out seats for both her and Penelope. "But we are a little short-handed at the BAU. JJ still has to leave every once in a while for her classes."
"She's almost done though, that's what I heard," Aitana remarked. "I talk to her a little more."
Before Morgan could no doubt act dramatically offended, JJ herself and Spencer walked into the restaurant. They easily found the table and came to give hugs and greetings, including Spencer.
"I love this place," JJ said, still gazing about when she took a seat next to Morgan.
"Is that a mural?" Spencer noted the old style mural painted on the wall to their right. It had several people drawn in a ranch-like landscape, both men and women wearing traditional Mexican clothing.
Aitana nodded. "Yeah, Angel found professionals to do it. Thought it would give it a homey effect. I told him I would gladly draw a couple figures myself but apparently I wasn't talented enough with my stick figures."
"You know, Mexican muralism is a big predecessor of today's common art. The idea that anybody could create art on a simple wall of a public place helped liberate art from elitism and the art market's clutches. The murals were free to be seen by anyone!"
"Glad to have you around, Spencer," Aitana chuckled, patting his shoulder. She wanted to be funny and it went right over his head. At least she learned something new out of it. "It's good to have you guys all around again. Missed you all. It's hard staying in contact when you're all over the map."
"And because you're studying your little head off!" Penelope bopped the top of Aitana's head. "JJ's told me all the study sessions you've been having at her place."
"Yeah, and I will find a way to make up for that," Aitana promised JJ who merely waved a hand at it.
"Please, half the time it's Spencer doing all the talking," she said. "Actually, it's most of the time. Not surprising I'd be outdone by the genius."
Spencer smiled sheepishly, but a part of him wanted to wipe the curious glance off Morgan's face.
"So...you're doing the study sessions then, Pretty Boy?" He asked, gracing the group with what promised to be a wide teasing smirk.
"More like he's helping a hopeless case," Aitana stepped in without even knowing it. "I feel bad most of the time for wasting his time."
"Oh I'm sure he doesn't mind," Morgan remarked, barely holding it together when Spencer threw him a hard glare.
"Still," Aitana said, smiling lightly, "I'll feel better when I can manage on my own."
As much as Spencer didn't want to fuel more of Morgan's teasing, he couldn't let Aitana walk around with the idea that she was being a bother to him. He liked their study sessions, whether or not JJ was always present. The sole reason he was at JJ's in the first place was to cry his eyes out and Aitana, without even knowing it, had been helping him ease through his emotions of Emily's passing. He looked forward to meeting her sometimes, especially when it was unexpected.
"I'll always help if I can," he told Aitana, reassuring her with a friendly smile.
"Which means every time," JJ said, though whether it was to help solidify his intelligence or to simply aid Morgan in his teasing was unclear for Spencer.
"Oh, there's Rossi!" Aitana exclaimed when the older man walked in.
"Well hello," he greeted the group, "Fancy meeting you all here. Aitana." She received a special hug from him. "How are you?"
"Good, thanks for coming," she said, motioning him to the empty seats between JJ and Spencer. "Guessing Hotch is still out in Pakistan?"
"You would be right," Rossi pointed. "But of course he sends his hellos."
"So you guys really are shorthanded," Aitana said, truly realizing it at that moment. She was gone, Hotch was gone, Seaver was gone, Emily gone…
"Strauss is breathing down my neck thanks to Hotch's temporary leave," Rossi said, already perusing the menu in front of him. "What kind of wine do you guys have and which one is the strongest?"
Aitana snickered along with the others. "You know, Strauss kinda scares me. Last time we met she warned me my position was temporary. And she did get what she wanted in the end."
"She's kicking herself for it, I promise you," Rossi said, giving Aitana a meaningful look. "Don't think I won't talk you up if this keeps going."
Aitana flushed. "Well, nice to know I've been missed. So, what's been going on at the BAU then? When I say it's been hard to get in contact with some of you, I really mean it."
"We've just had some tough cases," Penelope was the first and by the far quickest to respond. Subtle was never her thing.
"Aren't they always tough?"
"Lately, every case...feels tough…" Morgan said, eyes focusing way too hard on the menu.
Aitana watched them as casually as possible. It was actually funny how hard they were trying to be casual. It was foolproof to anyone who wasn't a profiler and even though Aitana wasn't working as one, she still had the talent of one. "You guys are understaffed. Sorry about that."
"Nah, it's not your fault," Morgan flashed her a smile over the menu. "Just like Seaver, you felt like you had to do something important."
"Yeah, but, now you guys seem to be at your wits end with all the extra work. And if you say that the cases seem even worse than before than..."
"They're not," Spencer was quick to say. "We're just...taking some time to get used to our new dynamic."
Aitana silently looked between him and Morgan. The former was too casual and Morgan just seemed tensed the more the conversation progressed. "I mean...I can help," she started to say, "I'm not working so—"
"We're good, we're all good, sweets!" Penelope exclaimed. "You just focus on your schoolwork! We're all so proud of you for making the big decision!"
Aitana smiled at all the encouraging faces of her friends. "Thanks. It, um, hasn't been that easy, I'll be honest...though I guess some of you guys already know that. Sorry to JJ and Spencer."
"All good," JJ promised her. "I don't mind and I know Spencer doesn't mind helping either."
"I don't," agreed Spencer. "Besides, I spend a lot of time at JJ's place anyways. Might as well be more useful."
"You always are," chuckled Aitana. "Half the quizzes I've taken so far have been easy because of your help. I'm telling you that you need to have a service fee." She looked at the rest of the team with an incredulous face. "He does it all for free! He would make a fortune with a side hustle of tutoring."
Spencer couldn't help the flush on his face as she went on about him. It wasn't very often that someone complimented him without adding in a joke somewhere in-between. Sure most of the jokes weren't made with bad intentions but it was nice hearing one person be able to appreciate his talents without having to make fun of him for it.
He didn't mind at all helping Aitana out. She didn't realize it but she provided another means of distraction. He spent a lot of time at JJ's when they weren't working. He did whatever he could to help around and be as useful as possible. He wanted to feel happy again, not the kind of person who was in mourning all the time. JJ saw it and so she tended to treat him like a fragile thing. Aitana, bless her heart, wasn't anywhere near the BAU right now so she didn't know what was going on. She treated him like she normally would. She laughed with him, made him laugh too. Her schoolwork was the perfect distraction for him. He got the opportunity to teach and along the way spent time with someone really great.
~ 0 ~
It would be a couple more months until Aitana had concrete evidence that the team's secret actually existed. With the busy days between schoolwork and, surprisingly, dance classes she couldn't keep her eyes on the team as much as she would've wanted. After the dinner she had with them, she came to the conclusion that Penelope definitely knew something was going on and the only reason she hadn't told anyone was because the secret wasn't hers to tell. Morgan had to have told her at some point. It made absolute sense. Penelope would never tell a secret if it meant a lot to Morgan.
It was during one of her dance classes where Aitana discovered that she had a lot of missed calls from none other than Erin Strauss. She couldn't possibly answer or return any calls during class so that just made the remainder of the hour feel agonizingly long. She hadn't really spoken to Strauss since she quit the FBI and, truthfully, she was still wary of Strauss altogether.
"What's the matter, Aitana? You're usually focused." Her new partner, Diego, remarked after failing to make a synchronized turn. Aitana had come in too slowly.
"How would you know that?" she joked as they retook their positions. "You've only known me for 4 months."
Diego pushed his shaggy blonde hair from his forehead and smiled at Aitana. "I've heard loads of you from the others." They both glanced in their mutual friends' way. Layla, Franco, Valeria and Alex had gone through a lot of trouble setting them up for the class. "They swear you're the expert."
Aitana snorted. "I don't know about 'expert'..."
"Anything wrong?"
"I'm not sure, I have to wait for another twenty minutes," Aitana said after sparing a glance at the clock hanging on the wall.
She tried her best to focus on the dances and the teacher's advice but her mind kept wandering to Strauss and the BAU. What on earth could Strauss want her for? She was the one who gave her the ultimatum in the first place.
Maybe they're in trouble, Aitana thought for the next 20 minutes. She couldn't see the class ending any sooner. As soon as they were let go, she dashed to get changed and get the hell out of the studio.
She dialed Strauss back and to her surprise, the woman answered on the second ring. "Serrano?"
"Y-yes, this is her," Aitana made her way to her car parked outside the studio. "Is there something—"
"Report yourself to the BAU immediately if you still value the relationships you made with the team." Strauss gave no other clue as to what was happening before hanging up.
Aitana blinked at her phone, eyes wide in shock and possible fear. What the hell was that about?
She may have committed a few speeding violations after that, but she was in Quantico in record time. Dressed absolutely out of regulations, and with hair that couldn't possibly be more unruly, she entered the FBI building. She didn't even pay attention to the visitor's badge burning her chest, this time nothing mattered until she saw that everyone was okay.
Strauss was waiting in her office when Aitana arrived. "Close the door," she prompted the brunette.
Aitana did as told and walked further inside, albeit cautiously. "I don't understand why you would call me out of all people. Has something happened to the others?" Those left, anyways. "Are they alright?"
Strauss' face remained stoic, making it impossible for Aitana to deduce what the hell she could've been called for. Or maybe your profiling skills are out of practice right now, she chastised herself. No, it was the fact that it was about her friends that made it hard to keep focused. It was true what they said: never work a case that was too close to home.
"You could say they're in danger, alright," Strauss finally spoke but even then Aitana was holding her breath for fear of what was coming. "Not in physical danger, although that is part of the reason they are where they are now."
"I don't understand," Aitana said, "What...where are they now?"
"Hotchner and his entire team have been, until further notice, suspended."
Aitana's eyes widened slightly. "Hotch is back?" She was way behind on news. Then again, neither JJ nor Spencer mentioned anything of the sort.
Strauss, however, was studying the brunette, trying to decide whether or not Aitana was being honest. "Nobody mentioned anything?" she asked in the end, preferring to do it face to face.
"Mention what?"
"What they were doing for the past 6 months? Or what they did only a few days ago?"
"I...I don't understand, what did they do?" Aitana slowly slid into the open chair across Strauss.
Strauss' eyes looked Aitana over one more time, finally deciding. "You might not believe it, but you leaving the BAU was the best choice you could've made for yourself."
Aitana's eyebrows furrowed. That was a stark change in subjects. "Oh, well, kudos to me, I guess?"
Strauss smiled slightly. "Because I know for a fact that you are the only one out of the entire BAU team who wasn't an accomplice in the illegal manhunt for Ian Doyle, as well as his death."
Aitana's mouth could have hit the ground at that moment. "Excuse me?" Strauss gave a nod of her head, confirming that, yes, she really did just say that. "What do you...they...he's dead?"
"Very," Strauss said. "And your ex-team is responsible for it. They're currently facing possible expulsion from the FBI. I don't honestly know whether or not they'll make it out, clean free."
Aitana leaned against her chair, hand coming to rest over her chest. "I can't believe it. Nobody told me anything. I...I just saw them — well, I saw Spencer and JJ two days ago. They didn't tell me anything." For a moment, she felt a strike of anger. How could they not tell her something like this?
"Clearly," Strauss remarked. Aitana met the woman's eyes. "But, like I said, your timely departure from the BAU saved you. Because I have no doubt that you would've taken part in this fiasco."
Aitana chewed on the inside of her cheek. Yeah, she would've definitely helped to find Doyle. Which is why she was sure she was slightly angry with them for keeping it from her.
"Especially if Emily Prentiss was alive and practically helped lead the whole thing."
Aitana froze altogether. For a moment, she thought her ears had gone all weird on her. "Hold on — what!? Did you just say—?"
Strauss nodded. "Yes. Emily Prentiss is alive. She was put in an emergency specialized witness protection. She's alive and well, and also facing charges…"
Aitana had no idea what kind of noise she had let out but Strauss didn't make a comment about it. "She's...she's ali…" She couldn't string her words together. Even her mind was going too fast to think of anything coherently. All the tears, the funeral, the mourning —it wasn't real. "She's been alive this whole time..." she whispered. For some reason, her thoughts went to Spencer who seemed, in her opinion, to have taken Emily's death worse than everyone else. How had he felt when he learned the truth?
"Miss Serrano, given the circumstances, you can understand the BAU hasn't functioned in the past week. The cases are piling in what used to be your old office. For the time being, I myself am overseeing the team's upcoming hearing. I don't have the time, nor the skills as I learned in the past, to go through these cases."
Aitana nodded, so far she understood.
"Agent Rossi has spoken very highly of you these past months, and despite his terrible conduct in this manhunt, I do value his opinions on people. That, plus knowing that you are the only member who remained abstinent of the situation, makes it easier for me to offer you a position within the BAU."
Aitana's eyes widened to the brim. "You're wha—"
"This time, however, the position would be as a profiler. You will dabble in the liaison duties until the team is either reinstated and Hotchner can take over, or until I find new candidates to make up a new team."
"New team!?" Aitana exclaimed incredulously. "What do you mean 'new team'? You can't make a 'new' team! They're—"
"If the team is indeed fired, I will need to search for new employees," Strauss said sternly. "I would like to have at least one familiar face on board."
"I won't want to work with a whole new team," Aitana said too quickly for Strauss' patience.
"Serrano, you won't always expect to work with the same people, especially in the FBI. You know that!"
"Yes, but what I meant to say is this team, if they're disbanded, it wouldn't be fair. What they did, whatever they did, it was no doubt to help Emily. If they're fired, it would be unjust. How could I agree to work knowing that?"
"Because this is exactly what you were going back to school for, wasn't it?" Strauss remarked. "Given what I know of the team, they wouldn't be happy knowing you gave up a position you wanted so badly that you quit to go back to school for it."
Aitana scrunched her face. "Okay, maybe—"
"Serrano, like me, I know they would want somebody who knows the place working it until they get back."
"If they get back," Aitana reminded her.
"Either way, I need someone to work now," Strauss tapped a finger on her desk. "Profiler. Liaison. You'll have a mighty time getting through the files."
"And when the directors make their decision?"
"We can work it out, then," Strauss said, "Though the profiling position is permanent, if you're interested. We are severely short on staff."
Aitana drew in a breath to calm her nerves. She was sure her blood pressure was off the charts right now. There was way too much new information to process and she could feel her emotions getting in the way. She was astonished with the way the team kept this whole thing under wraps, even from her. But she was also over the moon to find out that Emily wasn't gone. She was still here — somewhere — breathing. And, she admitted only to herself, she was very happy to know that Ian Doyle wasn't breathing anymore. May God forgive her but that man deserved it.
"Serrano? I'm waiting," Strauss said.
"I'm going to school," Aitana said, sounding like she was just remembering that detail. It had only been the biggest thing going on in her life right now. Her eyes met Strauss. "I'm not quitting school," she warned.
"Yes, I kn—"
"I'm not stopping, which means that I am going to need, on occasion, time off to complete assignments and attend my hybrid classes." Strauss nodded but she failed to see that Aitana was not done. "It's a two year program, crash course, and when I graduate, because I will graduate, I want to officially put my papers for the original job I had here."
Strauss lifted an eyebrow at her, fairly bemused. "You want the split position? Permanently? That's double the tasks."
"I know, but I want it. Before coming to the BAU, I didn't know where I was going to fit. I had the profiling classes to back me up but I never really got to work it, you know? Now I know that I was born to do both. And that's what I want. That's my condition to work here again."
Strauss levelled Aitana's look with her own, evaluating the brunette until somebody was to crack. It was not Aitana.
"Alright," Strauss said in the end, never knowing that Aitana released her breath, "For now, I can only officially grant you the profiler's position and salary. You can work the liaison until the team's future is situated but afterwards, you will not be paid for it therefore you don't need to work it. Is that clear?"
Aitana gave an affirmative nod. Her lips curled into a big smile. "Yes."
"Very well. Welcome back to the BAU, Agent Serrano."
~ 0 ~
For a few days, Aitana kept to herself. She didn't even tell her family she was working in the FBI again and she certainly didn't tell the team either. She was angry. Once she allowed herself to admit it freely, she felt more capable of seeing them again. She had received a few texts from JJ asking if she was coming over like she usually did to have study sessions with Spencer. Ironically enough, Spencer had not messaged her at all. Once Aitana visited JJ, she found out why.
"He's angry at you for lying to us," Aitana let out a breath at the kitchen table. "Well, I can't say I blame him."
JJ lowered her head in shame. "I know," she sighed. "But I really couldn't say anything to anyone. It was for Emily's safety."
"We could have helped," Aitana said, unknowingly sounding like Morgan who had told JJ the same thing. "We would've done everything to keep her safe, even if it meant putting her on a plane to go a thousand miles from her."
"I know," JJ said again. "But we didn't do it. I can't change it and truthfully even if I wanted to, my bosses wouldn't have let it. They didn't even let Hotch do it and he's unit chief. Aitana, please, I'm sorry."
Aitana shook her head. "I'm still pissed," she muttered, "But I'm glad to know that Emily is alive. Strauss said that she's part of this whole manhunt thing too."
"She was, it's...it was complicated," JJ said. "We're all in the doghouse and I don't even technically work for the BAU again. Go figure."
"What'd you expect? A slap on the wrist?" Aitana raised an eyebrow at the woman. "This is serious. Strauss offered me a position again in the BAU because of how screwed you guys are. She's looking for replacements just in case you all do get fired."
JJ nodded. They had been warned about that on the day they were suspended. "We know."
"The cases are piling up," Aitana continued. "My office — your office — looks like an avalanche of files is about to come crashing down. You all need to make this right and come back. I told Strauss I wasn't going to stick around if the team didn't come back."
JJ half smiled at the gesture. She was sure it would make the others smile too. "You should work there if you want to, Aitana. Don't leave just because of our mistakes."
"But they weren't mistakes," Aitana sighed, "They weren't, no matter how screwed you guys are. Ian Doyle was a terrible man and if he was going to hurt others...then you guys did what you had to. I just don't appreciate having been kept out of it. I would have helped."
"I'm sorry," JJ reiterated.
Aitana thought the woman had suffered enough and assured her that it was going to be fine. "So," she looked back into the living room from her seat, "I take it Spencer hasn't been around anymore?"
"Mm..." JJ swayed her head, "He is currently not talking to me. In fact, he's currently hating my guts."
"He's angry," Aitana said with a light shrug of her shoulders, "He was having the worst time getting past it and now he finds out that—"
"His best friend was lying to his face," JJ let her head hang back. "I know. I'm horrible."
"You're not, JJ."
"He thinks that I am and that hurts. I've tried calling him, texting him, I even tried visiting him and he just shuts me out. I don't know what to do."
Aitana sympathized with JJ and for that reason she offered to try and talk to Spencer for her. At the end of the day, what JJ said was true. The choice had not been hers to keep Emily's secret. Her hands were tied.
"You don't have to do that, Aitana," JJ said, but Aitana was adamant to at least try.
So, the next day, Aitana did what she could and went over to Spencer's place. She knocked on the door several times but nobody answered.
"Spencer, it's me, open up!" she decided to call before knocking again. A few minutes passed by and she heard the shuffling of feet on the other side. She stepped back just as the door opened. "Hi!" She raised a pink box in her hand. "Breakfast?"
A short while later, she and Spencer were sitting on the couch together sharing a pink box of donuts.
"You did not have to come all the way over here, Aitana," Spencer said, barely side-glancing her. He couldn't really look at her at the moment and it was out of guilt and embarrassment.
"I had to," Aitana shrugged. "You canceled our study sessions."
"I'm so—"
"Chill, Spencer, it's a joke." Because Aitana knew that on a good day Spencer didn't understand sarcasm very well which meant that right now it was an even worse time to go for it. "I wanted to know how you were doing."
"You know," Spencer realized. He bowed his head.
"I got an interesting call from Strauss who, by the way, has offered me a position at the BAU again while the team is, um, suspended." Aitana flashed a him a smile. "Naturally, I had to find out from the source. I spoke to JJ."
At the mention of her name, Spencer took an even bigger bite of his donut. Aitana watched him try to chew his way through it.
"Spencer, you know it wasn't her fault, right?" she said gently. "Her hands were literally tied."
Spencer swallowed with a strain. "I'd rather not talk about her, if that's okay," he muttered. He wiped the corners of his mouth with one of the napkins from the box. "I think I owe you an apology instead."
"Me?" Aitana chuckled. "Thanks but I don't think I need one. I would rather you go see JJ—"
"No," Spencer said adamantly. "I don't want to see her."
"Spencer—"
"I would rather help you out with your work because I know that I just dropped it without even a warning—"
"No, Spencer, wait—" Aitana failed to sit him back down on the couch.
"I actually found a book that you might like..." He had gone to his bedroom. "It was published in 1936 but I think it's still pretty relevant in today's world..."
Aitana stood up from the couch and dusted off the donut crumbs from her blouse. "That's very nice of you but I believe we were talking about you and—"
But Spencer had come back with a book in his hand and a genuine smile that didn't let Aitana finish. "Here," he offered the book to her.
Aitana made sure her hands were clean by wiping them on her jeans. She didn't want to leave any kind of donut fingerprint on it. "Alright, let's see it..."
'How to Win Friends & Influence People' was written on the cover.
"Mm..." Aitana raised an eyebrow at Spencer, "Are you trying to tell me something here?"
For the first time in days, Spencer chuckled. "No, no, I swear...I...it's a good book for communication."
"If you say so," Aitana opened the book for a quick skim of the pages. "Well, thank you for this. I promise I'll take care of it and return it in tip-top condition."
"It's yours," Spencer told her, something that she didn't quite accept at first.
"You used your money on this, I can't just take—"
"Take it," Spencer reiterated. "Look at it as an apology for blowing you off these days."
"Spencer, I'm not mad at you," Aitana said, lowering the book to the coffee table. "I get it. I get it because I was angry too in the beginning. But trust me, you do not need to buy me books — or anything else for that matter — to get on my good side."
It seemed like Spencer was going to say something but someone knocked on the door. It didn't look like Spencer had any intention of opening, much less see who it was, until they heard Morgan's voice on the other side. Even then, Spencer was reluctant to answer right-away.
"I can do it," Aitana offered, inadvertently pushing him to go to the door.
When he opened up, Morgan walked right in. "It's about time you answered. What, you w—" He stopped at the sight of Aitana in the middle of the living room. "Well, hello there, Sprinkles. Been a while."
Aitana sheepishly smiled at him. "Guess so. How's suspension treating you?"
Morgan raised a brow at her. "Oh, so you're informed." His eyes shifted towards Spencer.
"It was Strauss," Aitana said. "I know everything which is why I'm here, checking up on you guys."
"Oh, so you were going to make house visits today?" Morgan eyed the pink box on the couch and recognized it immediately. "Ah, are we all getting donuts today, then?"
Aitana rolled her eyes playfully. "Take one, Morgan. But it's not a treat," she warned as he happily went for the box. "You and everyone else are in deep trouble for all this shit."
"Well, if I get donuts, I'll be just fine." Morgan took the time to flash a specific smirk at Spencer. The latter flushed and thanked God that Aitana had gone to grab the book off the coffee table.
"Lay low, will you?" she said to both. She came by the couch to grab her purse. "Meanwhile, I will read this book and get it back to you, Spencer, soon. Promise."
"Take your time," he said, "And thanks for stopping by. I'm happy to help you study again too."
"Uuh, you know what? Why don't we leave that for when you're feeling 110% again, hm?"
"I'm fine, I sw—"
"Nope," Aitana wagged a finger at him. "Can't have you running around if you're not working at full capacity. I mean, I know that even on your 60%, you're still gonna be working better than me at my 100% but that's beside the point." She smiled at him. "Laugh, Dr. Reid, that was another joke." She chuckled to herself and headed for the door, bidding goodbye.
Morgan simply waited to finish his donut before he started commenting on what he thought he saw. Spencer would have rather he stayed away like the rest of the team.
A/N:
Listen I love writing soft Spencer & Aitana pre get-together okay. They're so fucking cute and soft.