Seeing Garcia was exactly what you needed. The two of you would alternate between peacefully painting until one of you would say something and you'd devolve into crying laughter.

You wrapped up around ten, and despite begging Garcia to sleep at your apartment instead of on her couch, you headed home alone afterwards after a hug and a promise from her that everything would be okay.

On your way into the office, you run into Will stepping out of the elevator, holding Henry.

"Hey." you smile at him. "Whacha doing here?"

"JJ had car trouble this morning, so me and the little guy drove her here and then we went up to say hello."

"Well, hello." you say, shaking Henry's tiny baby hand.

"I heard the good news. Congratulations."

"Thank you." you tell him earnestly. "She'll be a little under a year apart from Henry."

"Let's hope they get along." he jokes.

"Have a good day, you two." you tell them, getting onto the elevator. Will convinces Henry to wave to you and you give him a big wave back as the doors slide shut.

The atmosphere is frosty when you step off the elevator. You set your bag by your desk and head straight for Morgan's desk, where most of the team is clustered.

"Hey, guys." you greet.

Emily leans in towards you. "We've got a case. Apparently Hotch has a history with it."

Garcia and JJ are dishing out everything they know to the team. Garcia mentions finding a newspaper article for Hotch that he said had something to do with the Boston Reaper, but he wouldn't talk about it further. JJ says Hotch asked her to look for odd homicides in Boston.

Her voice lowers as she says "We haven't been invited, but he's already decided we're going."

Rossi strolls through the door. Looking up from his phone, he tells the group "Just got a text from Hotch. Conference room in ten.". He doesn't stop for questions, he just swaggers on to his office.

The last person to arrive is Reid. He too joins the group, standing directly next to you. After a moment. His hand comes to rest on the middle of your back. You allow yourself a moment to check out of the conversation and to enjoy the gesture of support.

"Alright, we need to be up there in two." Morgan breaks up the discussion.

You stop by your desk to dig through your bag and get a notepad and your cell. Prentiss is close behind you, heading to her own desk.

"Ever had a cat?" she asks you while rummaging through her drawers.

"You're thinking about getting a cat?"

"I'm thinking about fostering one."

On the walk up to the conference room, she shows you a photo of a tiny black kitten, which you both coo over.

Then you're back to the frosty feeling. Hotch is already standing up by the projector while you filter in. His arms are crossed and he looks more tired than usual.

Hotch explains the passing of the lead detective on the case and the deal he struck with the unsub. Hotch is clearly furious about the lack of integrity from the detective and the fact that he never got to build a true profile for the case.

"Wheels up in ten." he says on his way out.

The day is fast paced and miserable. You and Morgan head straight to the medical examiner before you get stuck at the station fielding calls from the media and trying to dig out the old reaper files. JJ is by your side for the day, but you're too swamped to talk about anything other than the case.

Hotch clears you to go to the hotel around 9pm. You know you need the sleep but knowing that there's an unsub that has a personal vendetta against Hotch is keeping you up. You send Reid a text asking him to let you know when he gets back.

Your phone pings with his response just as you get out of the shower and into your pajamas.

You haul the heavy hotel room door open.

"Hey." he greets you softly.

"Come on in." you let him past you.

You make a little bit of chit chat about how you're feeling, even though nothing has changed during the day. You need the normalcy of small talk. When the conversation winds down, you blurt it out.

"Would you stay with me tonight?" Really, that's why you asked him here in the first place. This case felt way too personal to sleep alone, even if your team was just across the hall.

"I was gonna ask the same thing." he gives you a small smile. "Go ahead and lie down. I'll get in after I shower."

You pick a side and grab half of the pillows for yourself. Reid clicks off all of the lights but one before he grabs your room key and slips out.

You haven't actually managed to fall asleep by the time he returns, but he seems to think you have. He clicks off the final light and climbs into the bed.

One of his arms settles over your rib cage, just above your bump. His other arm must be tucked up near his pillow, because you can feel his hand smoothing over your hair. Satisfied that you aren't alone, you finally drift off.

Two simultaneous chirping sounds snap you awake again. You struggle for a moment against the arms wrapped around you and settled on your back. Shoving your arms out, you realize they've been resting on Spencer's chest, where you've been cuddled up for god knows how long.

Your squirming wakes him up too, and you're finally released from his arms. Blindly feeling around on your night stand, you find your cell.

The time blinks at you first, reading 5:09. Below is a missed call from Hotch and a text reading that two more bodies have been found.

"Get up." you mumble, mouth thick with sleep. "There's more victims."

a/n: me? dragging things out while introducing a major unsub? its more likely than u think!

next ch is written and will be up after I finish uploading this one lol

ty for 8.8k omfg thats insane

"Good things never last. Bad things never die" The Mountain Goats