CHAPTER TEN: CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS !

8x13

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        IT HAD BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE WHAT HAPPENED TO CASEY. The girl had recovered but was resorted to a wheelchair and pair of crutches because of the injuries to her thigh. She could barely walk as of right now. She had been in tons of pain, to say the least.

        Currently, JJ was visiting the girl before heading into work. JJ had made the girl some coffee since Casey couldn't do it herself. Casey had been seated on the couch in front of the TV, with her leg rested up on the coffee table with a pillow under her leg for comfortability. Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door and then the next guest entered the apartment.

"Anyone home?" Casey sighed in relief as she heard Penelope enter the apartment. "In here, Garcia!" JJ announced and the woman smiles as sees Casey. "Hey." Casey smiled back.

"Hey," Garcia smiled sympathetically to Casey. "Glad to see you're doing better, fair maiden." Casey shrugged, "Trying to, at least."

Casey then took notice of the newest gift basket that was in Garcia's hands. "More gift baskets?" Garcia's eyes landed on Casey's kitchen where all of her other gift baskets were perched on the counter, most of them untouched. Casey mostly opened the ones that had chocolate in them. "Pen, I thought we talked about this, no more. You're gonna fill my entire apartment up."

Garcia sheepishly smiled and realized that she was going a bit overboard. "I know but I can't help it, I'm a loving person."

"That's what I love about you." Casey smiled, appreciatively. "It's what we all love about her." JJ smiled.

"How's the cast?" Garcia asked, placing the gift basket with all of the others. "Itches like a bitch, but it's nothing I haven't been through." Casey says.

"Nothing you haven't been through?" JJ asks. "Yeah, I've been kidnapped before — twice. I've been shot in the stomach, shot in the arm, now in the thigh. What haven't I gone through physically?" Casey listed her trauma.

Garcia shook her head of the thoughts and what Casey had gone through. "I'm just glad you're doing better." Garcia says. "Yeah, me too." Casey says and she sits up a bit.

"Uh, have you guys heard from Spence at all?" Casey questioned. Garcia and JJ exchange a look. No one had heard from Spencer in over two weeks since everything had happened. No one even knew if he was okay.

"I went by his apartment yesterday morning. All of my gift baskets have remained untouched." Garcia told and Casey sighed in worrisome. "He's just... going through a lot right now." JJ reasoned.

"He is?" Casey asked, motioning to her thigh.

"He almost lost you," JJ reasoned with Casey. "And he was almost too late."

"Key word's almost," Casey told. She felt as if Spencer thought the move she made with getting Diane's gun down was stupid. But it wasn't, it saved her life. She saved herself. Sure, she got hurt but it was better than dying. "I could've died if I didn't make that move. You guys know that, right?"

"We know." JJ nods.

"I just want him to be okay. I know what he went through was hell." Casey told and Garcia spoke up next and sat next to Casey. "Have you spoken to him at all?"

Casey shook her head. "Not since the day he brought me back home," She said. "He won't return any of my calls." It was strange to all three women. "Why?" JJ furrowed her brows.

"That's the thing," Casey told. "I don't know." Garcia and JJ exchange another look and Casey spoke again. "Did I do something?"

"It's just Spence," JJ said. "He's still recovering from that night. We all are."

Suddenly, Garcia's cell phone goes off and she checks and it's a text message from Hotch. "Oh, we have a case." She informs JJ.

JJ sighed and Casey straightened herself up a bit. "Well... don't let me keep you guys away from work. Go ahead. Save some people." Casey tells.

"We'll see you when we see you." JJ said. Garcia hugs Casey tightly and then stands. "We love you." Garcia tells the girl and Casey smiles, "Love you guys, too."

      Once JJ and Garcia left, Casey was stuck in her apartment once more, sticking a pencil in her cast to take care of the itches she couldn't reach, watching reruns of Friends and eating whatever Garcia had in those gift baskets. For a couple of hours, she stuck to the routine.

       The girl felt so lonely in her apartment and she felt unsafe again. Every time she looked at her new coffee table, she had constant reminders of being thrown into her old coffee table.

       Instead of pitying herself again like she always did, she picked up her cell phone off of the table and decided to try Spencer's cell again. Every day, she tried to call him but he never answered. She'd call him twice a day usually. She waiting for the voicemail box to pop up again.

        And it did. So she left a message.

      "This is Dr. Spencer Reid. Please leave a message."

      "Hey, it's me," Casey started. "This is my, uh, twentieth time calling you? If you don't wanna talk, just say that. I won't be mad. I want you to understand that what happened wasn't your fault. I made a conscious decision to do what I did. So, if that's why you're not calling me... just remember that. I don't want you carrying that burden." She didn't want Spencer to blame himself for almost being too late. She wanted him to be grateful that they were both still alive.

      "So, I, uh, I'll let you go. Call me when you get this." Casey found herself saying that a lot now. Spencer almost never called the girl back so it felt useless saying it but Casey hoped for the slightest chance that he would pick up and call her. But it never happened. "Bye." She hung up and maybe this one would be another message in his voice box.

       But little did she know, Spencer was listening to her on the other end, feeling terrible that he wasn't calling back but he was going through his own depressive state. His trauma response to what happened was to stay mute and cooped up in his apartment. He hated seeing Casey in her crutches - it reminded him that he was almost too late to save her. As much as he wanted to be with her and hold her close, he was afraid to lose her again.

       But after getting Casey's message and Morgan calling him to help him with the case they were on currently, Spencer did something he hadn't done in two weeks, he decided to hop off of his couch and leave his apartment.

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       Casey had been sitting on her couch, per usual and watching season four of Friends and suddenly paused when she heard a knock on the door. Casey watched the door and slowly stood up and grabbed her crutches to hobble over to the door.

       Casey's heart pounded in her chest, almost afraid to open her door because the last time she did, she was attacked. Curiously and to be safe, she looked through her peephole and sighed in relief when she saw it was someone she recognized and she opened the door.

       The Willows girl had come face-to-face with the Reid boy. He looked homeless, so to put it. He had messy hair and stubble on his face that Casey rarely saw. Spencer had seen Casey and she looked beautiful even with her own messy hair clipped up and only in her pajamas. It had been a couple of weeks since they saw each other.

        "Hey." Spencer managed to utter to the girl and Casey caught her breath before speaking as well. "Hey." They stood for a minute before Casey had realized that she hadn't invited him in yet. "Come in."

        Spencer took notice of her decent apartment. JJ had done some cleaning for Casey before she came back to her apartment from the hospital and it remained the same. "I, uh, I wasn't expecting you." Casey spoke as she made her way to the couch, not sitting down yet.

        "I just... thought I should see you." Spencer spoke.

       "What, after ignoring me for the past two weeks, you just decided to see me?" Casey joked but to Spencer, he knew she was irritated. "I heard your message." Spencer told.

        "Yeah, I left a few." Casey told. More like a hundred.

        Spencer stopped and saw the scowl on Casey's face. She had every right to be mad. He knew that. "I know you're mad—"

        "You're damn right I'm mad," Casey told. "And you know, make that pissed off. How could you leave me in the dark like that? Especially after what happened? I needed you. And you weren't there, Spencer."

        "I'm-I'm sorry..." Spencer looked down. He sniffles. He was trying not to cry once he was faced with Casey. But it was no use. He sat down at the couch. "Twenty seconds..." He spoke. "If I hadn't figured it out twenty seconds later... you would've—"

         Casey closed her eyes as she watched Spencer break down. "I almost lost you. I almost wasn't fast enough. I'm so sorry." Casey had hopped over next to him and couldn't help but feel bad. He didn't mean to ignore her like he did. She knew that. It wasn't intentional. He almost lost her and he would've lost himself if he did.

        "Shhh..." Casey comforted him and held onto him as he cried in her arms.

        He apologized for coming to her and crying when he knew she was the one going through the things she was going through. Casey didn't care. She was just happy to have him around again. They talked about it and then talked about the case the team was on and figured out some things that the team hadn't even figured out yet.

With a small talk and logistics, they decided to go to San Francisco to give the team their info with the case. It was struggling, getting on a jet with crutches which is why Casey also brought the wheelchair to wheel around in the city.

As Casey struggled to get to the seat, Spencer made sure she didn't fall over or anything. "You got it?" Spencer asked as he took the crutches and she sat down. "Yeah." Casey said and once she saw Spencer put her crutches down, the girl laughed. Spencer looked back, he hadn't heard that in a while. Her laugh. It felt content to hear it again.

"What?" Spencer furrowed his brows.

"Just serious deja vu." Casey told, remembering when Spencer was in crutches himself and Casey had to help him around a lot.

The jet ride was quiet, but it was peaceful. They hadn't felt peace in a while. A lot of violence within the month so it was strange to feel this peaceful. It felt like something could go wrong at any moment so Casey was trying not to enjoy it as much... and Spencer was, too. They hated feeling that way but with each other by their side, somehow it felt better.

Spencer rested his hand on the table, to which Casey grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckle and smiled at him a bit. Casey had noticed a look on his face and couldn't help but ask. "What's wrong?"

Spencer shook his head, "Nothing. I'm just... thinking." He said. "And what are you thinking about now?" Casey asked. Spencer had then admitted: "Soulmates." Casey smiles at him again.

"You know, the soulmate experience has to do with analogous emotion, also known as the sharing of subjective experiences. Interest, novelty, trust, and ability to navigate challenges are all aspects of soulmate and other long-term relationships." Spencer explained.

"And why are you thinking about that?" Casey asked, looking at the boy with heart eyes.

"Because I'm navigating a challenge in my head that I'm debating on telling you but I don't want you to freak out." Spencer explained and Casey furrowed her brows. "What are you talking about?"

Spencer took a deep breath and looked at the girl and grabbed her hand. "Move in with me." He told and Casey almost looked at Spencer in disbelief. "What?"

"I, um, I want you to move in with me." Spencer told and Casey chuckled nervously. "Spence, don't you think that's moving too fast?"

"I know, it's a little early. And you have all the time in the world to decide, but I think you should move in with me." Casey heard his words as he spoke. Ever since she had gone back to her apartment, she had felt unsafe. It wasn't the same as it was before. It was a difference vibe now. Still, she wanted to have time to decide and she knew Spencer would respect that for as long as she needed.

"Can I think about it?" Casey asked and as expected, Spencer nodded in understanding.

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Successfully, the two had arrived to the PD and Casey had wheeled her way in and and the team was busy figuring out the case that they didn't even see Spencer or Casey come in.

       "What type of equipment would it take to do that?" Morgan asked as he looked towards Blake. "You can easily buy a centrifuge online these days for a couple hundred bucks." Blake told. "What other reasons would he have for separating the plasma from the blood?" Hotch asked to which, Spencer answered with: "It's a habit."

       The team were instantly drawn to Spencer and Casey and Casey waved at the team. "Hey." She spoke softly and JJ was the first to approach the two. "Case, Spence." JJ had hugged Reid, as expected since she hadn't seen him in a while.

      "I didn't expect you two back this soon. You sure you're ready?" Hotch asked. Spencer and Casey look at one another. "No, but I think we figured something out." Spencer answers.

      After Casey and Spencer explained their theories, they had come to their conclusion. "He's a hemophiliac."

     "That would explain his obsession with blood. He can't bleed without a fear of dying." Rossi told. "It's also why he would separate the plasma from the blood before painting with it." Blake stated.

      "It's an antiquated treatment, but some hemophiliacs can inject plasma into their wounds, kick-starting the clotting process that's ineffective in their own systems." Reid explained.

       Morgan had decided to call Garcia for more information. "Talk about it." Garcia spoke. "Hey, girlie, I need a list of hemophiliacs in San Francisco." Morgan told.

      "Vague," Garcia told. "So vague."

      "Garcia, for his obsession to be this profound, he most likely has the more severe version of the disease. It's type B Christmas disease." Spencer explained.

      "Reid, happy to hear you made it safe and sound. I'm assuming fair maiden's with you, too?" Garcia guessed and Casey chimed in: "Hey, babe, you guessed correctly."

      "Okay, Christmas disease. It does not sound very jolly."  Garcia stated and Casey shook her head. "No, it is not." Casey told. "It was named after the first known case, Stephen Christmas." Spencer informed.

       "All right, I got fifteen people who have trouble clotting." Garcia stated. "He wouldn't stray too far from the art world." JJ told. "He most likely works in and around the art community, but not as an artist. And he's a loner, like you profiled." Casey said.

       "So look for people with jobs where they don't interact with the public." Hotch added. "Yeah. Yeah. I got three. Stock boy at a local supermarket, an art blogger, and a custodian." Garcia told.

      "The victims have different blood types. If he's taking the plasma out of the blood, he must be a universal recipient. Any of them with AB-positive blood?" Blake questioned.

      "Specificity," Garcia spoke. "I dig it. Okay, if I factor in those 'B' names I was working on... and bingo is his name-o. Actually, his name is Bryan Hughes. He is an AB-positive hemophiliac who works as a janitor at the Bay Area Museum of Art, and before you ask, yes, his address has been sent to your phones." Garcia figured out.

      "You're the best, baby girl." Morgan told before he hung up. "Dave, you and Blake take the museum. The rest of us will take the residence." Hotch ordered as the team made their way out, they said their goodbyes to Casey and Spencer. Spencer talked to Blake briefly before she left.

       Hotch approaches the girl and looked down at Casey. "I'm okay," Casey assured. "Don't let the chair fool you." Hotch looked at the girl. "You know, really don't need to be here if you're not ready. It's going to take time."

      Casey had dropped the joking act and started to become more serious. "How much time? Because I don't know how long I can stay in this chair." Casey told. "It's hard to say. But we're all here for you." Hotch assured. "Thank you."

       Before Hotch left, he stopped. "Casey?"

       The girl looked right back at him.

       "It's good to see you."

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       After catching the guy, the team had flown back on the jet. Casey and Spencer were seated next to each other while JJ sat in front of the two.

      "Well, I counted five baskets." JJ told, mentioning the baskets outside of Spencer's apartment that he still hadn't picked up. "Seven, but I think Ms. Cavanaugh next door may have taken a couple."

       "Wish my neighbors would've taken mine," Casey stated. "I counted and I have about nine." Spencer looked at the girl. "Nine?" Casey looked back at him. "Garcia got me one every time she came to visit."

      Casey grabbed Spencer's hand and he looked towards his team. "I'm really sorry if I've been kind of..." He began to apologize but they understood. "Spence. You don't..." Spencer nodded.

       "Kid," Morgan told. "I didn't mean for you to come all the way out there." Spencer nodded, "I know." Casey interjected in, "But we talked and we insisted."

       "Listen, if you two need anything at all, you just have to ask. Especially you, Casey, with your leg and all." Morgan explained.

       "Actually, if you guys don't mind, we could use some help with something." Casey spoke up. "Name it." Morgan stated and Spencer looked back at Casey in confusion. "What do we need help with?"

       "Well..." Casey started. "Since I'm injured, I can't really lift anything too heavy. Boxes of clothes, books, furniture." The girl listed and Spencer looked back at her. "You're moving in?" He asked.

        "I thought about it and... it's not such a bad idea. I actually prefer it." Casey told. "You're sure? You're... you're sure about this?" Spencer asked and Casey nodded, "Never been so sure about anything." Casey grabbed his hand and Morgan and JJ chuckle a bit. "We got you guys covered."

        In the end, the team helped Casey move into Spencer's apartment. They had put Casey's apartment out for rent so it was more like a storage apartment at this point. This had been a big step for the two and little did they know, it was one of the biggest steps they took in the entire time since they've been together. Especially as early as they did it. Now, Casey and Spencer were moved in. And even in this content, more would eventually happen, like life changes and something more sinister.

hey lovelies
sooo casey's kinda 👩‍🦽🩼
butttttt she's still that badass bitch bc why not lol
anywayssss
i hope spencer and casey moving in isn't too soon in their relationship lmaoooo i thought it fit the storyline lol
i mean casey is always over at spencer's most of the time anyways
ANYWAYSSSSSS
i'm like half asleep and i have school tomorrow so imma go to bed lol
goodnight and i love you guysssss
-mya </33333