CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED-ONE: ACCUSATIONS, ACCUSATIONS !

12x17

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SINCE LUKE HAD SHOWED UP AT THE HOUSE THE OTHER NIGHT, HE WAS MAKING CONSISTENT APPEARANCES MORE OFTEN. And every time, he brought Roxy. Over time, Chris seemed more distracted with Roxy and Casey was distracted with Luke. As a friend, of course. He was there for support, she knew that.

          Over the course of a week, Casey felt more lively with Luke around. He was helping her and Chris with all of this. And she was so appreciative of it. Now, here she was, joining the team for a case. She thought about it carefully but she was sure she wanted to come back for at least a case. She felt a bit useless just sitting around doing nothing. And although, the stress wasn't great for her body and for the child she was currently bearing but right now, it felt good coming to work and to not be worried about anything. And the team didn't know. Maybe that was for the best.

When Casey arrived at work, something didn't feel right. And she was brought back to the day she found out Spencer was arrested. The pit in her stomach grew and she felt like puking. At first, she assumed it was morning sickness but it felt weirder than that.

"Casey?" The woman looked up at Emily and her heart dropped. Emily nudged her head towards her office.

        The first thing Casey assumed walking up the steps was that Spencer was dead. He died in the middle of the night. She hated that her mind immediately went there. But could you blame her for thinking that way? She imagined the worst news yet.

         As soon as she entered Emily's office, she was met with an upset Garcia and Luke, who was comforting her. Casey immediately turned to Emily and her heart dropped again and she didn't want to ask this question but she knew she had to. "Oh, my God. Is he dead?" She questioned and Emily shook her head. "No, no, no. He's not." Casey take a sigh of relief.

Casey furrowed her brows and then wondered why she was in here then. And why the pit in her stomach hadn't gone away.

Emily sighed and looked towards Garcia. "Penelope went to visit Reid yesterday." Garcia then looked at Casey. "He was bruised up." She stated. Casey furrowed her brows. "Someone beat him up?" Casey questioned.

          She was relieved he wasn't dead, but the fact that he was hurt made her worry. "He's losing hope." Luke stated. "We have to get him into protective custody. I don't give a damn about what any judge says. He needs protection in there. I'll go down there myself and beg the warden if I have to." Casey stated.

         "See, there's a slight problem there," Emily told and Casey furrows her brows in confusion. "You can't see Reid anymore." Emily drops the ball and Casey raises her brows and is taken aback by Emily's words. "What?"

          "You were taken off his visitor's list as of this morning. You can still write letters but—" Casey interrupts Emily. "What? You can't just take me off his visitor's list, Emily. I'm his wife! You can't do that."

         There's a slight pause and Emily sighs. She wasn't the one responsible for taking her off the visitor's list. "Casey, Reid was the one that took you off the visitor's list." Emily reveals and Casey steps back, like someone had just pushed her. Her husband took his wife off the visitor's list?

        "What?" Casey questioned. "He wanted to protect you," Garcia told. "He hates the thought of you being in there. So he took you off the visitor's list." Casey scoffed and looked away from everyone, trying to avoid the tears coming out of her eyes. "How could he do this?" Here he was, still making decisions without talking to her about it.

          "He told me to tell you that he's just doing what's best and what's safer and that he loves you." Garcia said.

           "Yeah, well, if he really loved me, he wouldn't have taken me off that damn list." Casey excused herself out of the room and sat on the stairs, covering her head with her hands and she sobbed.

            Spencer was wrong for taking her off the visitor's list. One day of visiting and he decides to take her off. She knows he's only doing it to protect her but she hated it. She didn't deserve that. She deserved to be there for him any chance she got to be with him.

             Casey heard footsteps coming towards her and when she looks up, she sees it's Luke and he goes to sit right next to her. He puts an arm around her and Casey tries to bite back more tears and cries from coming out. "I told him we'd get through this together. Why did he do this?" Casey questioned. "He's only trying to protect you. You know he is. This is his way of doing that." Luke assures.

              "But someone needs to protect him." Casey told. "Which is why I'm paying a visit down there to get him protection." Luke follows. "And right now, all you need to worry about is the new case we just got. You let me worry about Reid. I got him right now. Okay?" Luke looks Casey in the eye and she wiped her tears and nods, sniffling back the snot in her nostrils.

             Casey leans her head on Luke's shoulder and feels his comfort. She was glad she had someone like him help her throughout all of this. He's a friend. He's helping out. That's all he's doing. Casey thought as she let out a couple more cries and Luke rubbed her shoulder soothingly as he rested his chin on top of her head.

             Neither one knew but JJ had watched as this happened and couldn't help but feel concerned, confused and suspicious all at once. The other night she'd called Leah's house to see how Casey was doing but was only met with Leah telling her that Casey had been over at Luke's with Chris. JJ didn't think much of it but she noticed how Casey involuntarily grabbed his hand as she cried. She pushed the thought behind for now and decided to keep an eye out just in case she noticed anything more.

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After returning from a case that involved a man who killed while he slept-walked, Casey was wiped. She almost forgotten the thrill of the case despite being told to stay behind so she would be a safety-hazard to the team. Casey understood why Emily put her there.

Luke had arrived later during the case since he and Spencer's lawyer had been trying to get him into protective custody. All Casey could do was try to keep hope alive that he'd be safe in there, all he had to do was keep his head down. She was still mad at him but she knew he had to do it. She'd do the same thing.

          Casey had been packing up for the night when Luke had approached her. "Hey." He greeted. "Hey." Casey smiled a bit to him. "We still on for pizza tomorrow night?" She asked. "Uh, yeah, as long as your not bringing pineapple on pizza, we're good." Luke stated. "No promises," Casey playfully pushed him on the shoulder. "You said you'd try it."

          "Fruit on pizza's not my forte." Luke shakes his head. "Well, it will be after tomorrow night." Casey said and then Luke checked his watch. "Hey, I gotta go. I have to go give Garcia something." He holds up a plastic animal to give to her. "Figured she'd like it." He tells. "She'll like it. She loves anything animal." Casey jokes.

          Before Luke can walk away, Casey pulls him back by his bicep. "Luke?" The man turns back to her. "Thank you. For... being there for me. I appreciate it. A lot. So does Chris." She tells. "It's no problem. I'd do anything for Reid." Luke stated and Casey nods and looks at the ground. "Reid... right."

          "Have a good night." Luke tells her as he begins to walk off. "You, too." Casey smiled. She packed the rest of her things after she'd watch him walk away.

          Casey looked up and had seen JJ approach her with a frown on her face. "What was that?" JJ questions, causing Casey to furrow her brows in confusion. "What was what?" Casey asks.

         JJ sighs, "Okay, I noticed it for a while but I didn't say anything. And I'm not gonna beat around the bush with you anymore. What's going with you and Luke?" She questions.

        Casey pauses and is taken aback by this accusation given to her by her friend. "What?" She nearly bursts out laughing.

       "You guys have been... close lately." JJ points out. "Yeah, because he's been helping me out. With Chris, with everything. Spencer told him to." Casey told.

       "Yeah, well, it seems like he's doing more than that." JJ comments as she brushes past Casey, causing her to be confused and turn back to her. "I'm sorry, but what are you insinuating here, Jennifer? Seriously. Are you... accusing me of cheating on my husband?" Casey questions.

         JJ crossed her arms. "That's what it seems like."

         "What?" Casey can't believe the words coming out of JJ's mouth.

         "Look, I know you're really going through it right now with Spencer being gone and everything with Christopher, but you are way out of line here. And I'm sorry but when I see my friend become emotionally intimate with another friend and hurting her husband and my best friend in the process... it raises questions." JJ explained.

         Casey felt the fear radiating in her body. Was this why she was feeling a little odd when Luke was around? Was this why she felt like she had butterflies in her stomach whenever she'd talk to him? Or the fact that she felt comfortable telling secrets to Luke that she'd never told Spencer about before? She hated the fact that she felt so much happier with Luke in the course of a week than she had with Spencer in the past year and a half. But she figured it was normal. This wasn't a relationship between her and Luke. It was a bond friends shared. But what else would've explained the secretiveness she felt around Luke? Feeling as if she was sneaking around with him when she really wasn't? But Luke was her coworker, she didn't feel that way about him. But since Spencer was gone, he understood her. Throughout everything, he just got her. He'd let her talk and vent and tell him about the issues in her relationship and why she was so mad at Spencer. But that was how a friend treated another friend, right?

       "I'm not emotionally intimate with... Luke," Casey told. "What you're suggesting here is ridiculous, JJ. I would never do that to Spencer. And for you to think that—"

       "Because you're already doing it, Casey." JJ told. "You're becoming more reliant on Luke, turning to him at every corner and I even decided to ask Leah where you were the other night and she said you were with him. Now, I don't want it to escalate any further because I care about Spencer but I also care about you." Casey scoffed. How dare JJ think this way about her? "What you're doing, it's not right. You may not be doing any physically with Luke and he may not be initiating it but you are digging a hole for yourself. And it's not fair to Spencer, it sure as hell isn't fair to Christopher and it isn't fair to anyone here."

         Casey harshly grabbed the rest of her things and immediately snapped at her friend. "Spencer is MY husband, not yours." She reminded. "And you're Henry and Michael's mother, you're not mine. Worry about your own damn family."

          The women grabbed her keys and before she could walk out, she turned back to JJ. "And even if I was doing something with Luke, it would be none of your damn business. Just like it wasn't when Spencer and I got together and just like it wasn't when you and Will got together."

           With that final jab, Casey turns back to walk towards the elevator. She began to think to herself. Nothing happened with Luke. She'd never let it get that far. And he was so oblivious to her even if she did try to initiate something.

            After a while of Spencer being in prison, it felt good to be emotionally connected to someone while he was gone. And Casey very honestly didn't look at it in that until JJ said something about it. She'd get a thought here and there sure, but she'd call it an intrusive thought. She'd never sabotage her marriage and family for another man. She knew that. But she worried more as she thought about it.

            Was she subconsciously trying to get with Luke while her husband was in prison? And if JJ hadn't said anything, would she have done something about it? Casey shook the thoughts out of her head and reached for the chain under her shirt. Her husband's wedding band twirled in her hand and she took a deep breath, remembering her husband loved her and was waiting for her.

            How could she have been so stupid to think that way about another man? Much less someone she worked with. Someone her husband trusted to look after his wife and child while he was gone. If he were to ever find out about this, he'd be devastated. Casey looked down at Spencer's ring on the chain and blinked back the tears threatening to escape.

             I love Spencer Reid. I love Spencer Reid. I love Spencer Reid. She thought to herself. The weight of her thoughts became a dumbbell in her mind. Sure, yes, she loved Spencer Reid... but did she love him anymore?

this one is so short damn-

anywayssss i'm sorry i'm making casey a bad guy for a minute here😭 butttt she's human, she has flaws, she's gonna make mistakes

the story just gets more angsty by the minute💀

casey's excuse for all of this:

y'all:

me if y'all wanna fight me after this chapter:

anywaysssss
y'all are gonna hate me for the next chapter
warning ahead- it's gonna be worse than this
i still love you guys i'm sorry :(
-mya </3