CHAPTER THIRTEEN: GUESS WHO'S IN TOWN !

8x19

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      AFTER DEBRIEFING OVER THE LATEST CASE OF A TIME CAPSULE GONE WRONG, SPENCER REID HAD NOTICED HIS GIRLFRIEND WASN'T IN THE ROOM. But rather rummaging through and cleaning her desk. Spencer furrowed his brows and rushed over to his girlfriend to see what was up.

      "Casey? What's going on?" He asked in curiousness. She'd almost knocked her crutches over from where they were propped. (She was sitting on her chair). "Cleaning... my... desk. Ow, my back." Casey sits up again, holding her back in pain, this time.

       "But... you don't clean."

       "I know I don't!"

        Casey groaned and looked over at her boyfriend, who looked like he probably shouldn't say another word and Casey sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'm just freaking out. I do this every time."

       "Why?" Spencer asked, furrowing his brows.

      "My grandmother's coming to visit," Casey spoke and Spencer nodded. "My dad's mother. I haven't seen her in over six years. She's coming down here to see me because I never go up there to see her." Casey explained.

      "What's 'up there'?" Spencer asked.

      "California," Casey stated. "I never have time. I call her occasionally, but... yeah. She's also coming down here because she heard about what happened to me, she knows I'm in a relationship and she's coming to help me because she thinks I'm hopeless, right now." Casey sighs. "She always tried to control my life as a kid. That's partly the reason why I decided to live with my uncle. Even my dad knows she was controlling."

        "Also, I'm sorry, I was gonna tell you about her coming but it was last minute and Hotch suggested that I use my time to heal wisely, so..." Casey told and Spencer shook his head in assurance. "No, you're okay. We have a case anyways."

        "I should've told you. You know, she is so infuriating, I just want to wring her—" Casey made a motion with her hands.

        "Casey." Spencer gave the girl a look and the girl sighed, realizing that she was talking smack about someone and was trying to refrain herself from doing that any longer. Instead, Casey took a deep breath and exhaled, "She is my grandmother and I have to be thankful for her."

        "Good," Spencer nodded. "You sure you gonna be okay? With her being here and everything?"

        "It's Edith freaking Howard," Casey stated. "I gotta handle it sometime."

        "Casey!" The girl turned around to her sixty-something grandmother, who was still dressed like she was classy forty-year old. Edith Howard-Willows was eccentric, to say the least. She always liked causing a scene, gaining in the attention. She waved at the young woman in front of her with a bright smile on her face.

       Casey stood up, Spencer helping her with her crutches and she hobbled over to her grandmother. "Hi, Grams!" Casey put on an act and smiled. She managed to hug her grandmother, nearly tossing a crutch over.

       Her grandmother pulled away from the hug. "Oh, my goodness. How's your leg?" She asked. Casey shrugged, "Still in pain. But healing, I guess."

       Edith looked at her granddaughter in gratitude. "Oh, don't worry, darling. As long as I'm here, we'll get that taken care of." Edith looks around. "Now where is this boyfriend you told me about?"

       Casey turns her head over to her boyfriend. "Right over here." Edith makes her way over to Spencer, who has a tight-lipped smile on his face. "Edith Howard, this is Dr. Spencer Reid, aka my... boyfriend."

       Spencer looked at the woman and he gave a slight wave. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He said.
Edith smirked, "Likewise, good sir." She put a hand out to him to shake but Spencer didn't shake the hand, making Casey cringe just a little bit. She forgot to tell Edith about the germ thing.

      Edith took her hand away and looked closely at Casey. "You were right about him being cute." She muttered, but it was loud enough for Spencer to hear and Casey smiles.

      "Anyways, Grams, we should get going." Casey tells, to avoid any more awkwardness. "Of course. It was nice meeting you." Edith tells. "You, too." Spencer waves a bit.

      Casey hobbles a bit towards her boyfriend and kisses him on the lips. "Alright, let me know when you'll be home and when the case is done. Be careful. Bye, I love you." She pecks him on the lips. "Love you too." Spencer tells and the girl and her grandmother leave and Spencer hopes it goes well for the two.

Edith had driven Casey and herself to the supermarket near Casey and Spencer's apartment. Casey had asked Edith to help her with the ingredients of the family recipe of a salmon delight.

They were nearing the end of the list when Casey pointed one of the last few things on the list. "Then, we need... ooh." Edith looked. Casey pointed over on the shelf. "Found it." She grabbed the ingredient. "Here's the lemon pepper. What else is on the list?"

"That's it." Edith shrugged.

"That's it?" Casey questioned. "Seriously? Your famous salmon recipe only has two ingredients?"

Edith shook her head. "Not just two. I'm assuming you have the olive oil, at home." Casey nodded, "Yes, yes, I do." She places the lemon pepper in the cart.

"Why are you making this for him anyways? He's not gonna be home until after a couple of days." Edith stated.
Casey sighs, "I know. But when he gets back, I wanna do something special for him. We're just..." Casey couldn't find the words but she also didn't want to tell her grandmother about her relationship problems.

"Just what?" Edith asked. Casey looked at her grandmother and then shook her head. "I don't wanna talk about it." She told. "Nuh-uh, you can't just bring it up and then not say anything after. You've always done that. Ever since you were a little girl."

Casey looked at her grandmother and Edith raised her eyebrows. With one look, Casey had finally given in. "Okay." They walk through the aisle. (More like Casey's hobbling).

"I just feel like he's walking on eggshells around me," Casey told truthfully. It had been the first time in forever that she told somebody how she truly felt about everything. "Ever since I got hurt, everyone's been treating me with kid gloves. And it was fine for a while but now it's constant." Casey sighed, everyone treated her like a child and it really annoyed her. They all looked at her like she was gonna break.

"But with Spencer... I just want to keep the romance alive between us, that's all." Casey stated. Edith looks down. "With your one leg." Casey gave Edith a look. "You'd be surprised, Grams."

Edith chuckled and looked down. "You are exactly like your father, you know that?" Casey made a "bleh" sound. "Gross!" She exclaimed.

"Have you visited him recently?" Here it was, a perfect moment yet ruined by one Edith Howard. Typical her, to ruin a day as good as this one. Casey looked down, knowing she'd been down this road before.

Casey looked back at her grandmother and put on a polite act. She wouldn't argue, she didn't want to. "Grams, you know I haven't." She stated. "I have," Edith told. "He's doing well, really getting his life back together. I'm hoping that when he gets out I can get him a job. You know—"

Casey knew the game she was playing and frankly, she didn't feel like playing either. If being nice wasn't getting her anywhere, she could be mean. "Grams." Casey interrupted the woman. "This weekend is only supposed to be about you and me, not Dad. And I'd appreciate it if we didn't talk about him, okay?" She tried saying it in a more respectful way. Maybe that'd work.

Before Casey could crutch away from the convo, Edith spoke: "He's still your father, you know."

Casey muttered under her breath: "And you're my grandmother and I can't switch you out either."

"What was that, sweetheart?"

"Nothing," Casey played off. "Hey, let's check out."

They cross through the other aisle and realize they're in the baking ingredients aisle. Casey picks up a box. "Ooh, chocolate mix. I could do a chocolate cake with sprinkles for him when he gets back. Maybe donuts—"

Edith looks at her granddaughter. "Sweetheart, aren't you worried about the calories in a chocolate cake?"

Casey looked at the mix and then back at her grandmother. I guess the food complexes weren't over either. Her grandmother was a contributing cause of her bulimia as a kid. She wasn't one of the main reasons but still, it hurt Casey.

"Not until you said that." Casey tossed the box in the cart anyways.

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        Casey had gotten back to the apartment, where she had started cooking and Edith started refurbishing their apartment and fixing everything up. Casey cringed knowing Spencer would definitely not enjoy this.

With him on her thoughts, she decided to call him and lucky for her, he answered. "Hey." Spencer's voice chirped up. "Hey, what's going on there?" Casey sighed, "Swear to God, Spencer, when you get back, I am not letting you go until she leaves."

Spencer chuckled, "It can't be that bad." Casey looked around to make sure her grandmother wasn't listening and subtly whispered. "Spence, it's bad. Three food complexes, five conversations about my dad and seven refurbishes on our apartment."

"How does this look, sweetheart?" Edith had rushed in and showed the living room to Casey and Casey didn't respond, she just went back to her phone call. "Make it eight," She sighed. "Please tell me you are on your way back home."

"Wish I could say that but we've got this case." Spencer told. Casey hopped over to a chair and sat down. "Lay it on me. I need something."

"Well, we've got a case with a head in a time capsule..." Spencer had begun to explain the case to the girl. Casey began to try and help him out with the case and tried to help him answer the questions in his head.

There was a small pause. "Hey, I gotta go." Spencer spoke. Casey groaned, "Miss you already. Come home soon."

"Miss you, too. And don't worry, I'll be back soon. You just gotta deal a little while longer." Casey sighed as Spencer paused, "Hey..." Spencer smiled a bit as he starts, "I love you."

Casey smiled, "I love you, too."

With that, the conversation ended and Casey hung up.

Casey grabbed her crutches and hopped over towards the living room. "Okay, Grams, maybe you should stop refurbishing my apartment for a few and come and eat."

          So, Casey and her grandmother sat in the kitchen, talking and having a few laughs. It was actually going really well... until Edith started opening her mouth again to talk. "You know, you actually cooked really well this time. Maybe you could consider this a hobby, if need be."

        Casey paused. Edith had been making comments like this all night. Stuff about new hobbies and new workplaces and closer locations in California for work. She even tried getting her a job at the grocery store when they were checking out. Casey used her profiling skills on her grandmother and was starting to sense that something was off with the picture.

       "Okay, what's up?" Casey gave a look to Edith and the woman made a confused expression on her face. "What?"
Casey began, "Grams, I'm a profiler for the FBI. I know when something's off. What's up?"

"I just... I—" Casey raised her brows and Edith had finally given in. "Okay, you caught me." Edith sat up more.
"I just... after I found out about your leg, I realized that maybe I didn't have enough time with you as I thought." Casey furrowed her brows. "So... I came down here, not only to help you... but to help you come to your senses."

"What are you saying?" Casey asked.

"I'm saying... or suggesting... that..." Edith took a deep breath. "Maybe you should quit your job."

Casey shook her head almost immediately and grabbed one of her crutches and her plate. "No." She responded.

"Casey—" Edith tried.
"Nope."
"If you would just let me talk..."
"Nope."
"Let me—"
"Nope. No chance."

Edith stood up and stood in the kitchen. "This job has taken over your life, Casey. It's taken your blood, your limbs. You hardly come to visit me anymore. You never make time for anybody but your boyfriend or coworkers. You have this whole new life because you left your old one behind and you threw it all away. You've left everything that you've known behind. I don't understand why. Is your family just not good enough for you anymore?"

This was then that Casey had finally snapped.

"Because it's better that way, Grams," Casey started. "Okay, it's better than being surrounded by your ego and your constant pushing for my relationship with Dad. I've learned that it's better to leave everything behind and to start over. And starting over means you can't control my life. Or my job. You can't just come here and tell me I threw my life away! Look around, Grams, this is a life!
It's something I'm making of myself. I'm sorry that you never had that option and I'm sorry I'm living out my dreams the way you didn't get to live yours! And I guess it's a good thing that I'm being punished for it! And if you want to leave because of that, then I don't want you in this house!"

Casey had taken a deep breath as she had finished her rant and she had looked away from her grandmother. There's a long pause as Edith begins to think. She looks down and Casey couldn't even look at her grandmother after all the things she said to her. Almost all of it needed to be said but that last part didn't.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll leave tomorrow morning." With that, Edith walked into the guest room and stayed in there. Casey looked over at the crutch and knocked it over on the ground and she sighed, realizing she had to pick it up. Casey had cleaned up a little bit before heading over to bed. No more words were said and no apologies were spoken. They went to bed and that was it.

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It had been a day and Casey and Edith still didn't speak to one another. That following morning, Edith had been sitting down and drinking some morning coffee. Casey had hobbled in with her crutches and Edith hadn't said a word.

Casey poured herself a cup of coffee and turned back. "Good morning, Grams." She spoke. Edith was still silent.
The awkward silence lingers. "Is this what we're doing today? Silent treatment?"

The silence continued. Casey sat over across from her grandmother and has a monotone voice as she speaks.
"I'm sorry. I'll never do it again." Edith doesn't respond.

"Come on." Casey groaned. The silence carries and Casey is just about done. "You're being real childish, Grams."

This get Edith to start talking. "Childish?" She asks. "I'm childish? You were the one yelling at me last night."

Casey tosses her arm towards her grandmother. "And she speaks." Edith shakes her head. "I don't understand why—"

"Grams..." Casey interrupts the woman. "The one thing I've always wanted was for you to understand. That's all I wanted. I want you to understand and respect my decisions because they're my decisions. That's all I want.  And you've made it clear that that's not the case and you don't respect it. I'm sorry, that's just how I feel. And if you don't respect it and you don't like it, then you can get the hell out of here. That's still an option."

Casey had begun to walk out but Edith stopped her. "It's not that I don't respect it. I'm just... scared for you." Edith stood up. "Your father... he lost his way. As did your mother. And I don't want you having any regrets in your life like your parents did with theirs. I mean, they got locked up on drugs. But a lot of bad things, come with good outcomes. You were one of them."

Edith approached the girl. "I'm just afraid that one day, I'm gonna get a call and it's someone telling you're gone. I never want to get that call." Edith cups Casey's cheeks with her hand on her face.

"You won't," Casey assures. "I'm pretty damn good at my job." She jokes. "I get what you're saying, though. I didn't see it before, but I see it now."

"As for everything else I've done, everything else I've said... I am so sorry if I ever made you feel small in your life." Edith apologized. "It was never my intention. And I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I promise that." Casey had always wanted to hear the apology and that was it. That was all she wanted.

"Thanks, Grams." Casey smiled.

With that, Edith kissed her granddaughter's head and looked at the girl. "I should go." Casey had then noticed Edith's suitcases and bag near the door. "You know, you don't actually have to leave." Casey told.

"No, no, I think I should. Besides, we need to start fresh between you and I. And let's avoid the awkwardness until next time, shall we?" Edith looked at Casey. "Come here." The two hugged and this time, it seemed genuine. "I love you, darling."

"I love you, too." Casey muffled into her grandmother's shirt. Edith had been getting everything and was about to head out the door when Casey asked: "You'll be around more, right?" "Oh, definitely." Edith smiled and with that, she had left.

Casey had watched from upstairs as Edith had gotten a taxi cab and she waved at her from the window and with that, she was gone. Casey sighed and had checked her cell and saw that Spencer had texted her that the case was over and he would be back soon.

Once Spencer got home, it had been around six-ish and it smelt different in his apartment. It also looked different due to the feng shui Edith put on his apartment. He furrowed his brows, wondering what had happened. "Casey?" He called and Casey had leaned over and noticed her boyfriend had come home. "Hey!" She greeted.

Spencer smiled as he placed his bag down on the couch and went to the kitchen and greeted his girlfriend with a kiss and a hug. "What's all this?" He noticed the flour on Casey's face. Casey motioned towards the fridge and in the fridge had been a small cake with rainbow sprinkles around it.

Spencer had been in awe of the cake and smiled. "I know you like chocolate and sprinkles and stuff... and after this case, I thought you could use a little something sweet." Casey told. "I'm not too good at baking but when I was babysitting, I used to do it, so... yeah."

         "You did this for me?" Spencer asked. "Yes." Casey smiled. The boy looks down at his girlfriend and kissed her. "It doesn't matter if you're good at it or not... I still like it." Casey smiles as Spencer looks around. "Where's Edith? I thought I'd get a chance to talk to her."

        "Oh, she left. We... had a discussion."

el oh el
this sucked
butttt we got to meet casey's grandma
and yes there will be a lot more redemption next time lol
ig this was kind of an OG but yea lol
thank you for reading!!! </3
-mya <3333