CHAPTER SEVENTY: SWEET, SWEET DREAMS !

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CASEY WILLOWS OFTEN LIKED HAVING ROM-COM MOVIES NIGHTS WITH HER SISTER. And now that she was practically raising a teenage daughter, she liked having that bonding time with both Leah and Lennox. Especially since she had a lot of the time now what with Spencer being gone.

The three were currently in PJs at Casey's place, Christopher asleep in the other room, watching Titanic. And since Lennox had never seen it, Casey and Leah obviously had to introduce her to a classic.

"You know, to this day, I still don't understand why she didn't just share the board with Jack." Leah stated as she tossed a handful of popcorn in her mouth. "Because he loved her and he was willing to sacrifice his body warmth because he loved her." Casey told as she took a chug of her soda.

"Still, there was room on that board. She could've moved over at least a little bit." Lennox told, she was sitting on the ground on a beanbag chair while Casey and Leah sat on the couch. "See, it's her first time watching it and she gets it." Leah told as Lennox chuckled.

Leah's phone buzzed on the table next to the couch for what seemed to be the millionth time it had. Casey looked over as Leah checked her phone and smiled. She'd been doing that all night and both Lennox and Casey both seemed to notice as the night went on.

"Okay, that is the three-hundredth time your phone has buzzed. Who are you talking to, missy?" Casey inquired, raising a brow as she turned her attention to the girl next to her. "Someone." Leah shrugged, teasingly as she put her phone down.

"Someone?" Lennox asked next, now interested in the topic. "It's just this guy I've been talking to." Leah shook her head, not seeing what a big deal it was. "Just a guy you've been talking to? There's a guy?" Casey asked, wanting Leah to delve in deeper as she scooted closer.

       "Look, we just started talking. He came into the diner a month ago, stuck up for me while I was dealing with a shitty customer and he's been coming in for a few weeks and we finally exchanged numbers and here we are." Leah told. "Oh, so you guys had a meet cute?" Lennox asked next and Leah just chuckled at the attention she was now getting. "Been there, done that." Casey commented as she took the popcorn from Leah's bowl. "What's his name?" She asked next.

      "Wes," Leah told and both Casey and Lennox raised eyebrows to one another. "And I'm not giving you his last name, you're just gonna have Penelope look him up." It was times like this that Casey wished Leah didn't learn fast about her team. "You can't blame a girl for being snoopy." Casey told.

      "We're supposed to go on a date in a few days here." Leah told. "Ooh! Date!" Lennox cheered as she made kissy faces towards Leah, which Casey also followed to do. Leah playfully throws popcorn at Lennox. "Shut up and pay attention to the movie, rugrat." She laughed.

        Casey's cell phone rings next to her on the other table next to her side of the couch and she checks the caller ID.

       Doc💜 is calling...

      Casey knew this was an important one. "Oh, I gotta take this. You guys can keep watching." The woman stood up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen.

      "Is it Spencer?" Lennox asks. "Do you even have to ask? Who else would she be blowing movie night off for?" Leah asks.

      "Shush," Casey laughed and answered the phone, holding it to her ear. "Hey."

       "Hey," The first thing Casey noticed was how tired Spencer's voice sounded. "Just calling and checking in." She heard his voice crack a bit and he sniffled. Almost like he had been crying. Or maybe still was crying.

       "What's that in your voice?" Casey didn't even hesitate to ask once she heard it. "What's... what in my voice?" That time, Casey did hear it and it was followed by another sniffle.

       "You sound off. Why do you sound off?" Casey's tone changed from normal to soft. As Lennox and Leah had been watching the movie and trying to catch popcorn with their mouths as they threw it up, Casey heard Spencer's voice as he explained away why he was sounding sad.

       "Uh, huh..." Casey's heart dropped as soon as he told her. "What?" Casey took a deep breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Leah had looked over as she watched the conversation go down and Casey's body shuffling. "Baby, I am so sorry." It was then that Spencer pulled himself together and told Casey that he was currently at his mother's facility and would call once he made it back to his hotel. "Okay. Uh, call me when you get back to the hotel, okay? I love you."

       Once he said it back, Casey hung up the phone and turned back towards Leah and Lennox, who were still preoccupied with catching popcorn. Casey took a deep breath and held it together for the sake of the youngest person in the room.

      "Uh, why don't we call it a night?" Casey asks and this gets the attention of Lennox and Leah. "The movie's almost over." Lennox stated. "Yeah, but it's already late..." Casey checks her watch and soon enough, it's almost 11:30. "And you have school tomorrow, missy. Last day before spring break. And you have tests."

        Lennox groans and looks towards Casey with pleading eyes but she had seen Spencer's puppy dog eyes and Christopher's puppy dog eyes way too much to fall for it. "We can finish the movie tomorrow. I promise." Casey incentivizes and Lennox sighs as she stands up. "Okay. Goodnight, Lee." The girl fist-bumps Leah. "Goodnight, rugrat." Leah tells.
 
        As soon as Lennox goes into her room, Casey finally takes a breather and turns towards the kitchenette and leans towards the counter, head in her hands. Leah stands up and notices the stressful look on her face. "That phone call looked intense," Leah points out. "You okay?"

       Casey realizes that maybe she needs to put on a pole face more often... but this was her sister. She could tell her anything she needed to. So, she decided that maybe she should tell her, so Casey wouldn't go so crazy. "Um, about a few weeks ago, when Spencer got to his mom's facility, she didn't even know who he was. Literally. She forgot who he was."

      "So, with some bribing with the doctors and incentives and begging, he wanted to run some tests on her to see what he suspected. And he finally did... and he found out she's in the early stage of Alzheimer's." Casey explained and Leah's heart was crushed. "Oh, that's terrible." She said, leaning towards the counter now with Casey.

      "He, uh, broke down in tears just now on the phone with me. He spent so long... being worried he was gonna get schizophrenia. And once he reached the age where schizophrenic breaks occur, he could finally have a breather. But now this is just another thing he has to worry about. He told me he doesn't even want to get tested." Casey's eyes filled with tears as she spoke about it.

       It was ironic to her, a man with an eidetic memory — a genius, with a mother in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Spencer refused to get tested. He didn't want to live in a world where he couldn't remember his wife, his kids, the things he loves, his own mother. And Casey didn't want to live in a world where Spencer Reid, her husband, couldn't remember her. It hurt to even think about.

      "He's slowly losing her," Casey told. "And I don't know what that's gonna look like when he comes home. I didn't want Lennox to know. So..." She nipped at her fingertips.

      "Well, if anything happens, he knows he has you." Leah told, placing a hand on top of Casey's. "And Lennox and Christopher. And us. He knows that."

       "I know," Casey sighs. "I just—" Casey's cell phone buzzes and she finds a text from Garcia, telling her that she was needed at the BAU ASAP for a new case. "Is that him?" Leah asks.

       "No, it's, uh, Garcia," Casey told, wiping her eyes a bit. "We have a case in Maryland. Um, I hate to ask this, can you watch the kids?"

       Leah nods almost immediately. "Yeah, yeah, I can. I work from noon to five, but I can have Isaac watch over until my shift is done." Casey nods, "That'd be great, thank you."

       Going back to her room, she changes into her work attire, which consisted in one of Spencer's button-up shirts that were often too big for her and some comfortable blue jeans. She grabbed a cup of coffee from the machine when she walked in and plastered a fake smile on her face, as if nothing was wrong.

       With that, Casey headed up to the conference room with everyone else. Garcia yawned as she introduced the case to the team. She hadn't even bothered changing out of her pajamas, due to the fact that she was still sleeping at the BAU until she was safe.

       "Here is news from sunny Maryland, James Kepler, 35 — Wendy Toliver, 24 and Destiny Harper, 18 have all been found in the comfort of their own homes but not in a comforting way. They were all found what appeared to look like sleeping in their beds but getting a closer look, they were found dead." Garcia explained the case.

      "Completely different victimology." Rossi pointed out. "What did the victims do for a living?" Morgan asks. "James Kepler was a divorced real estate broker, Wendy Toliver was a married sales associate and Destiny Harper recently just moved out of her parents' place, she worked at the local mall." Garcia informed.

      "He aged down progressively," Tara stated. "A 35 year old, a 24 year old and an 18 year old." Vivian adds on as she skims through the file. "With no connections whatsoever? And same cause of unusual death?"

       "How did they die?" Casey asks. "That's the thing," Garcia told. "No one can pinpoint what it is that killed them."

       Casey's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Were there any marks on them?" Morgan asks. "Says here their bodies are all untouched. No fingerprints, no bruises, no ligatures... all untouched." Vivian told.

      "Could they have come down with some sort of flu or virus?" JJ inquired next. "James Kepler's daughter said that James was fine the day before, Wendy Toliver's husband said that she sounded fine when he talked to her on the phone the night before she died and Destiny's BFF said that they were partying the night before and her behavior was normal." Garcia told.

       "Three different victims, different ages and no unusual behavior to lead to their deathbeds?" Tara asks. "Why are we looking into this?" Casey asks.

       "Because all three victims vomited a glowy substance all before dying." Hotch told as Garcia showed the photos of the radioactive neon green throw-up next to them. "Yuck," Casey commented. "Forget I asked."

       "Everything points to this being unusual as it gets." Rossi tells. "And we'll find out the truth," Hotch tells. "Wheels up in 20."

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       Hotch had separated the team into groups. Rossi and Morgan would be going to the ME to see the bodies, Tara and JJ would be investigating the latest crime scene, Destiny Harper's house and Casey, Vivian and Hotch would be going to the PD to talk to the victim's families.

      "Sheriff Reynolds?" Hotch asked as soon as he walked in with the two and a man turned over to them. "Agent Hotchner, we spoke on the phone. This is Agent Hudson and Agent Willows, the rest of our team will be coming in shortly

     "Thank you all for coming in. Right this way," Sheriff Reynolds began to walk them over to their conference room. "I gathered this was in unusual circumstances considering that the victims were throwing up before they died. In the matter of which they died, this bastard seems to know how to hide his tracks."

      "Hopefully our agents over at the ME can discover the problem soon enough." Vivian told.

      As they walked in, they discovered a Korean woman standing in front of the board with a file in her hand. She turned over to the agents with a polite smile on her face. "Detective Cho," Casey's eyes snapped up as she heard the name. "Agents Hotchner, Hudson and—"

      Casey didn't even give Reynolds the chance to finish the sentence. "Scarlett Cho, is that you?" Casey questioned with a small smile forming on her face.

      The woman, Casey knew as Scarlett Cho, stared up at Casey and her smile turned from polite to proud. "Casey Willows." She smirked. "As I live and breathe." Scarlett placed the file down as she had gone over to hug Casey.

      "I have got to stop meeting people like this." Casey chuckles.

       "A-Agent Scarlett Cho, lead here on this case. From Victor Franklin's unit." Reynolds stated as he scratched the back of his neck. "We go all the way back to the academy." Casey informs to her boss and Hudson.

       Scarlett holds a hand out to both Vivian and Hotch, one at a time. "Detective Hudson and Agent Hotchner, I've looked into your honorable work. It's a privilege to work with both of you."

       "It's Agent Hudson, now." Vivian chuckled as she corrected. "Right. Sorry. You were just an inspiration to me for why I went into detective work." Scarlett stated. "I see you've made it your life's mission." Casey told as she looked at the already made board.

       "Of course," Scarlett said. "And it's our job to look for the sick son of a bitch responsible for this one."

        Time passed and JJ and Tara had come back after resetting the vomit found on Destiny Harper's floor. They'd also discovered that all of the bodies were placed in their beds. They had this revelation when James Kepler's vomit was found halfway across the room from his bed.

        JJ and Vivian had come back into the room, getting coffee for themselves, Scarlett and Casey to deliver the news they'd just found out. "So, Morgan and Rossi called Hotch, said there were six needle marks found James Kepler's body, two on Wendy Toliver and none on Destiny Harper." Vivian informed.

      "That's strange, why would he range from pointing them with needles to slowly decreasing the usage of them?" Scarlett questioned. "Were they drugged?" Casey asks.

      "Autopsy report came in," Tara answered as she came in and held a file. "They were found with ketamine and ipecac in their systems."

      "Ketamine and ipecac?" JJ asked.

       "Ketamine's a dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects. It distorts the perception of sight and sound and makes the user feel disconnected and not in control. Whereas Ipecac is used to induce vomiting. There's a chance he mixed the drugs." Casey explained away, remembering the effect that ketamine had on her when she was taken by Adam Brody.

        "Careful, Willows. You're starting to sound like your husband there." As soon as Vivian made the joke, Scarlett's head snapped over to Casey, almost in shock and she then noticed the ring on her finger.

       "Yeah, well, when you've been drugged with ketamine before, you know and remember the feeling. Ipecac on the other hand... I learned that one from Reid." Casey told.

       "I'll call Garcia, see if she could look more into chemists or biologists that could have access to these drugs." JJ said and Tara and Vivian followed her out, leaving only Scarlett and Casey in the room now.

      "You're married?" Scarlett questioned and Casey took a sip from her coffee and she looks at her ring and nods, "Yeah." Scarlett placed her coffee down. "When?" She questions. "Recently," Casey answers. "We've been engaged for nearly two years, just a month and a half back, we tied the knot."

      "Uh-uh, congrats." Scarlett tells, almost unsure of even congratulating the girl. Casey could tell by her voice. "Thanks." Casey smiled.

       Scarlett grabs her coffee cup again. "Anything else I missed from the spontaneous Casey Willows?" She asks. "Uh, also two kids." Casey tells, making Scarlett nearly spit out her coffee.

       "Kids? Now, I'm dreaming. You have kids?" Scarlett questions and Casey smiles, "Yeah," She grabs her cell phone out of her pocket and shows her a recent photo she took of Lennox and Christopher that she sent to Spencer while he was gone. "Uh, this is Christopher and this is Lennox, we recently adopted her."

        Scarlett looked at the woman next to her. And smiled politely as she could, one that Casey often recognized as her fake smile. "What?" Casey asks.

      "It just... feels like I'm in the Twilight Zone. I remember recalling that you were never gonna get married and you were never gonna have kids, that this job was more important and more of your dream that anything in the entire world. We practically made a pact." Scarlett explained.

       "We made a pact when we were in our early late teens, Scarlett." Casey reminded the woman. "And you're not married? You don't have kids?"

       "No," Scarlett shook her head. "And I'm happy that way." Casey looks down at her cup. "Well, I'm happy this way too. Things are different now. You sound like I'm not happy with the way things changed."

      Scarlett waves a hand away and shakes her head. "I didn't mean it like that. I just... can't believe it." Casey smiles to herself, "Trust me, I didn't believe it either. But the guy I married, Scarlett. He's a good one. I actually met him on the job."

    "He's also an agent?" Scarlett asks.

     "And a doctor with three PhDs."

      Scarlett holds her hands up in surrender. "No need to brag."

       After the conversation, Casey could tell something was off. As if Scarlett wasn't happy with how Casey's life turned out. And Scarlett reminding Casey of the pact they made years ago made her question what the true intentions were behind the mentioning.

        After the team delivered the profile of their unsub, Casey had spotted Reynolds and Scarlett talking and grew suspicious by how close they were.

        The next day, another body was found — another 18 year old, it seemed like he found his true victimology.

       After that, Casey and Scarlett were talking about the case as they waited at a caffeine truck for coffee. They thanked the person that gave them the coffee and paid and left as they walked throughout Maryland. They were close to the PD by a few blocks.

      "So how'd you land up in Maryland?" Casey questioned.
"Got an offer here. Told me it'd be better pay, better hours, better cases. So I didn't pass it up. You stayed in Virginia?" Scarlett asks.

      "Stayed in Virginia and resided in DC," Casey told. "Six months together with Spencer and we moved in together."
Scarlett furrowed her brow, kind of like a judgy sister. "Six months?" She questioned.

      "Six months," Casey repeated. "Practically convinced me." Scarlett raised her eyebrows to herself as she took another sip of her coffee. "Anyways, I've had other opportunities here and there but... I stayed."

      "What other offers did you get?" Scarlett wondered. "New York, in Syracuse." Casey told and Scarlett stopped the girl by grabbing her arm. "In New York? You passed on New York to stay in the same place you practically grew up in your entire life?"

     "Well, you know the BAU's always been my dream—"

     "Yeah, but New York — higher crime rate, higher criminals, maybe even better pay than the BAU could ever offer." Casey took a confused look as Scarlett explained away but she said something that made Casey stop in her tracks. "You may have thought it was a better option but your Uncle Gideon would've definitely wanted you to take other opportunities."

       With that, Scarlett kept walking, leaving Casey dumbfounded but she immediately caught up to her. "I'm sorry and how would you know, Scarlett, what he would want for me? He'd want me to follow my dreams and besides, he was the co-founder of the BAU, that legacy has to carry on." Casey stated, standing her ground.

      "What legacy?" Scarlett questioned, throwing her hands up. "A legacy you want your kids to carry on? I'm sorry but the old Casey always said that the reason she didn't want kids was because she never wanted them to live the same life she did. What changed? As a matter of fact, who have you changed into? Because I do not recognize the woman in front of me." Casey sighed as Scarlett continued. There was the button. That's what this about. Casey changed and wasn't the same woman Scarlett knew.

      "The woman who had her head screwed on right, who compartmentalized better than most people, who would've never gotten married to her coworker and had kids?"

      "The woman you're describing was a girl who didn't know what she wanted," Casey corrected Scarlett. It was true, when she first met Scarlett, she was eighteen and thought she knew everything about the world. But over the years as she grew, she was leaning every single day. "That Casey had dreams, yes, but it's a whole lot bigger than that now, Scarlett. The old Casey, maybe she would've liked how things turned out for her in the end. Maybe she'd be happy for me."

      "Or maybe she'd be confused," Scarlett told. "Because sometimes, your family has to come before your job and sometimes, your job has to come before your family. Tell me how the hell you can manage both?" It was clear to Casey that Scarlett didn't know what the hell she was talking about. The jealousy stunk from a mile away and Casey saw right through it.

       "Scarlett, you are just jealous," Scarlett scoffed as Casey started. "Jealous that I made it work. Jealous that you don't have a family and kids of your own. Now I get it, this job has basically been what you wanted from the start, just like me, but you have been more about it since birth. You've never seen me as a friend, you've seen me as competition."

        Before Casey could walk away, Scarlett tries to follow behind her. "Competition?" Scarlett questioned. "You think I see you as competition? Where is this coming from?"

       "You may not even be saying it, but I can read it from a mile away," Casey told as she began to walk away farther but before she can, she turns back around. "Oh, and by the way, when New York was offered to me, I wasn't even married yet. Hell, I was just fooling around with an Italian guy back then! But don't tell me I should've chosen New York when you know damn well I would've never been happy there."

      "And you're happy now?" Scarlett questioned and Casey scoffed at the woman as she walked away and realized she didn't answer her.

      "The girl you were seven years ago would've abided by that! She would've thought your choices were incredibly stupid!" Scarlett yelled as Casey walked farther.

      "The girl I was seven years ago didn't know what the hell she was doing!" Casey yelled back. "She didn't know that eventually she would have a husband, have children. You are just too damn selfish and you always have been, Scarlett!"

       With that, Casey had stomped her way through the blocks to get back to PD. When she got back, Casey isolated herself, trying to figure how everything connected to the cases. Why eighteen year olds? Why did he stick to that victimology? Casey stayed in that room, holed up for hours on end. What would Spencer do? She wondered as she looked through the files.

        A couple hours later, Casey had received a visitor, who didn't even bother to knock. Scarlett closed the door behind her, shut the blinds and stood tall with her hands on her hips.

       "You tell me how you can give 100% to your family and 100% to your job." Scarlett told and Casey groaned. "It's categorically impossible..."

      "Because you keep screwing with my research." Casey answered metaphorically speaking. "Oh, God, Case. Did you ever think maybe your research is failing all on its own?" Scarlett told, referring to Casey lighting the candle at both ends.

      "Right, because I'm a terrible profiler. We've established that." Casey snapped. "No, I never said that." Scarlett said, her tone changing from irritation to confusion. "You may not have said it, but you thought it!" Casey told. "Let's face it, you know more about this shit than I do. You have said that."

      "I never said that!" Scarlett told. "But you said I was a terrible person... over and over... because I don't agree with you and your choices. You also said that with that married range shooter at the academy." Casey rolls her eyes as she faces towards Scarlett, who mentioned her untimely affair she had with a married man back at the academy. "You were nineteen and he was married, Scarlett! You made a mistake back then."

      "But the point is — you have said I was terrible person. Because I'm committed to my work. Because I don't want a baby or a family. When did I become such a monster to you?" Scarlett questioned.

       There's a long pause as the two women calm down and Casey speaks next, as calmly as she can. "I can compete as a mother and as an FBI agent. You just don't think I can compete against you."

      "You can't," Scarlett told. "Because, Casey, from what you can gather, this is all I do. This is all I want to do. So don't whine to me because you made a decision you regret now." Casey stood up from her seat now. "You think I regret my family?!" She questioned.

      "I think you feel left behind. And that sucks for you, but no one forced you out of the game." Scarlett told. "I am not out of the game! I just won't sabotage my friends to win it!"

      "Oh," Scarlett couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, is that what I do?" Casey nods, "That's what sharks do. You called it our first day at the academy." "Well, as I recall, I was talking about you." Scarlett told.

       "How long have you been screwing Sheriff Reynolds?" Casey questioned, making Scarlett stand in shock and she stared in dumbness. She couldn't even deny what Casey had inquired. Scarlett's jaw remained dropped and Casey read the question on Scarlett's face with her expressions.

        "He blushes at an exposed ankle. I can read his micro-expressions as much as I can read yours to detect deception." Casey explained. "Sociology major, remember? I study behavior."

       "That is none of your business!" Scarlett shouts.

       "You don't have to justify it to me. You're just hooking up with the main hero to get your own cases. It's what you did all throughout the academy and it's what you're doing now. Congratulations. You've stayed the same person you always have been." Casey stated.

       "And you became the thing we used to laugh at." Scarlett spat and Casey glared at the woman.

       Suddenly, there's a knock on the door and it opens, revealing Vivian behind it. "Uh... we got an address."

       Casey nods as she heads towards the door and Vivian walks. "After this..." Casey spoke, turning back to Scarlett. "I never wanna see you again." Scarlett crossed her arms, "Feeling's mutual."

       With that, Casey slammed the door behind her and headed with Vivian to one of the SUVs. They had their FBI vests on and were on their way to a Damien Vera's house. Garcia had dug into his life and discovered that the man had been killing his victims and shooting them up with ketamine and ipecac to see if they had the same effect as he did on those drugs. And younger people had more effect since their brains weren't fully developed. He wanted to see what their dreams looked like.

      Vivian noticed as Casey stared out the window of the car, not speaking and since it was just the two of them, Vivian thought that maybe she could get her to talk. "Seemed pretty intense in that room." Vivian pointed out.

      "Vivian, I really don't wanna talk about it... so can we not?" Casey asks and Vivian shrugs, "Okay." She turns back to the road and Casey turns back to Vivian, hating when she and the rest of the team did this. Sometimes, it felt like she had to tell them things and usually, she'd gotten good advice.

       Casey looked at Vivian, who she knew was all ears. Casey sighed and gave in. "Scarlett and I were the youngest at the academy," She started. "She was nineteen, I was eighteen. And we had just finished firearm practices. Scarlett stayed behind, telling me she'd meet me at lunch. I went back in because I forgot my headphones and... I saw her with our forty year-old firearm teacher, who was married."
      "Oh, God." Vivian's eyebrows raise.
      "I told her that it was stupid. That they could both get in trouble. She didn't listen to me though. She's always gotten ahead in her life as she much as she could and she's always been willing to do whatever it takes in order for to win."

      "She's wanted to be a detective ever since she could walk. She had to meet to requirements for physical tests before she could so we were at the academy. She's always been super competitive. But she was always cool with me. I talked to her about everything. And we made a pact and we swore that we'd stay single forever and ever so we wouldn't have to worry about kids and husbands and marriages and divorces because balancing all of that would be just... hectic. But..."

     Vivian finished off Casey's sentence. "But that plan turned out differently for you once you met Reid."

     Casey nods, "And I'm happy it did."

     "And Scarlett isn't happy with that, I assume?" Vivian asks and Casey closes her eyes and leans back into the seat.
"Ten years ago, I made that pact. Things change. I just wish she understood that."

      "She's gonna have her own thoughts about things," Vivian told. ""Her own opinions. And she's not gonna understand but only because she's not married and she doesn't have kids. Some people can balance it, some people can't. But what she's saying, it doesn't mean you can't balance it. Hell, I'm pretty sure you and Reid are the only successful parents/agents/couple that have been able to make it all work. Scarlett doesn't understand because she hasn't seen your relationship with Reid. She's happy with how her life is, be happy with how yours is."

       With that, Casey took that into mind. She knew that her life was completely different from her eighteen year old's self's life. She had support, people, she wasn't going through anything alone. Casey had kept that to herself.

        The team had met with Detective Cho and Sheriff Reynolds and had successfully gotten Damien Vera before he could kill another 18 year-old.

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        When the case was over, the team was packing up. Casey had been packing up in that room she was isolated in and was about ready to go when Scarlett walked into the room, arms crossed. "How dare you say I haven't changed?" Casey's head whipped up as Scarlett spoke. She really didn't want to fight with her anymore. "I don't have to justify my choices to you, not one. How dare you say I am the same person I was when I got here, before I knew you."

       "Your life looks different because it's filled with a life with a doting, loving husband and kids. But I've changed. I'm doing this alone. And that's... that's just as hard as what you're doing. But I thought I would at least have you." Scarlett explained away.

       Even if Casey hated to admit it, some things that Scarlett was saying had been true to some extent. Casey often thought about what her life would be like if she didn't have Christopher or didn't marry Spencer. She thought about what her life would be now. And she honestly had one thought as she did think about it — she'd be alone. She wouldn't have the support system she did now.

        Casey crossed her arms and sighed as she stood in front of Scarlett. "I'm so jealous of you, I wanna set things on fire." Casey admitted, causing Scarlett's face to fall confused. "You did what I tried to do, and I couldn't because I fell in love. But I don't regret that."

       "I am a damn good agent. And I will not apologize for how I run my life and what I do. And yeah, you have nothing but time and focus. You're not who we were when we got here. You are who we both set out to be."

       "And you've become something... we never saw coming." Scarlett stated. "You are as good a mother as you are a profiler. And I'm happy for you. But we are growing apart."

       Casey nods as she breathes sharply. "I know. And I don't wanna compete with you, but I do, because we're supposed to push each other and make each other better. Since the day we met, right?" Scarlett nods, "Right."

       Casey thinks to herself. "But we are different now. That's also true." Scarlett nods softly, "And that's okay. That has to be okay."

       Walking up to the doorframe, Tara speaks, "Casey?" The girl turns her head over to Tara. "The jet's here." She informed. Casey nods to her, "Give me a sec." Tara nods back as Casey grabs her things from the table.

      Casey the faces Scarlett. "You have your dream. And I have mine. And we're both happy in our dreams. And I do not regret it." Scarlett nods, "I don't either."

      Casey holds a fist bump for Scarlett to fist-bump back. "Keep doing what you're doing." Casey tells and Scarlett smiles a bit, "You, too."

       With that, the woman leaves the PD and on the jet, can't even fall asleep. She spent hours tossing and turning on the couch but all she could do was think about her husband and what he was doing and how he was doing. She missed him.

       And she missed him like crazy.

━━━━━━

        Getting back to the apartment, Casey called Leah and told her she could go right on home since Casey was just around the corner. Casey placed her back on the ground and keys on the table and she looked around her apartment. She had seen Lennox's Algebra final on the refrigerator with a big C+ written in red marker. Casey smiled to herself at Lennox's accomplishment. Casey then turned towards the couch with the many, many children's books on it — noting to clean that all up later.

       She then headed towards Lennox's room and saw that she wasn't in her bed and neither was Christopher. She headed into hers and Spencer's room and saw that the two were asleep on their bed. 

       Casey smiled at the sight and approached the two, scooting in between them, trying not to wake them up. "Hi, Mommy." Christopher muttered sleepily as she resting his head on his mother's body. Lennox cuddled up next to Casey involuntarily and Casey held onto to both of her children.

       She checked her watch and had seen the clock was at 7:18 in the morning. Spencer will probably be up. Casey thinks to herself and grabs her phone from her desktop that she placed down when getting in the bed and sits up a bit with Christopher still sleeping in her arms.

       Casey waits as it rings and finally gets a voicemail. "Hello. This is Dr. Spencer Reid. Please leave a message." Casey notices as Lennox sits up and leans on her shoulder.

      "Hey, you," Casey speaks into the phone, whispering to the best of her ability. "I, uh, figured you might be busy... but... uh..." It was stupid but Casey found herself tearing up. "I'm starting to miss you like crazy. And the kids are, too." Casey had thought that maybe one of the reasons why they slept in hers and Spencer's bed was because maybe the kids missed Spencer more than she realized. They were mostly huddled to his side of the bed.

       "It takes Chris about seven books for him to sleep, Lennox aced her Algebra quiz, with a C+, but we're making progress. But, uh, we all miss you."

        Casey strokes Christopher's hair as she speaks. "So first thing tomorrow, we're heading down there to go and see you and Grandma Diana. And I can't wait to see you," She looks down at her kids. "We all can't wait to see you. I love you. Bye."

        At a time like this, Spencer needed his family and frankly, Casey wanted her missing puzzle piece back. This case took a lot out of her and all she wanted to do was see her husband and comfort him in his time of need.

i so based this on that one argument meredith and cristina had in grey's anatomy lmaooo
but scarlett is a HATERRRR AHHHDJSKAK

can y'all guess what episode i'm doing next?👀
hint: 🐱

anywaysssss
thank you for reading!!
i love you all!!!
-mya </3333