CHAPTER ONE: APART !

13x02

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          IT WAS CASEY WILLOWS' FIRST DAY BACK AT WORK SINCE THE HIATUS. She spent the time getting acquainted with her new residence since she'd left Spencer Reid, her now ex. She couldn't quite yet call him 'ex-husband' since they were still married.

           When Casey arrived at work, she was grateful that she was had been the first one in so no one could raise questions about her and Spencer not showing up together. They'd both came to the mutual decision to not tell the team quite yet about their separation.

             It'd also given her time to clear her side up, going through the photos on her desk, removing any trace of Spencer around. She'd taken their marriage photo and put it in one of her cabinets, along with a couple more photos. There was only two she'd decided to keep up. A photo of her, Spencer and Chris on Chris's 1st birthday and a photo-booth photo half she'd kept from their second date together. On second thought, she'd take that one home.

            The rest of the team arrived shortly after she did and all headed to the conference room, Spencer being the last one in the room since he was reevaluated for his reinstatement to the Bureau since his time in prison.

            Emily, Matt and Tara came into the room finally on the expense of the new case they'd received. Of course, first day back on the job and they were already on a case. "It's so great to see all of your faces again," Emily smiled. "I have a couple of announcements. Please hold your applause until I'm done. As you have obviously heard, Dr. Spencer Reid has been fully reinstated. Welcome back, Spence."

         Spencer smiled at the eyes around him but the only person he wanted to look at was his wife and have her hold his hand. But that wasn't gonna happen. "Whoo-hoo! Yes." Garcia cheered but then paused. "Oh. That's not the end, is it?"

        "I would also like to thank the newest member of our team, Matt Simmons, for holding down the fort when we were on the sidelines. IRT's loss is our gain. So welcome aboard, Matt." Casey smiled at the newest member of the team. She was happy the newest member was somebody she'd known. Matt smiled, "Thank you. It is great to be here, guys."

         "Is that the end?" Garcia asks.
         "That is the end."
          Everyone smiles and claps as Garcia cheers. "Whoo-hoo! Yes!"

        "Okay, let's get things started." Emily orders as everyone sits at their seats at the roundtable. Casey takes the seat next to JJ, Spencer takes the seat next to the blonde woman on her left, leaving there to be space in between them but not causing so much of a difference to the team.

        Garcia sighs, "Ah, allow me to provide the unhappy transition to the sad part of our day job. Okay, yesterday afternoon in Naples, Florida, two bicyclists stumbled upon 26-year-old Ann Baker. She had been put in a suitcase and left by the side of the road." She explains.

       "Disarticulated?" JJ asks.
       "I hate that I know what that word means," Garcia comments. "No, she was in one piece. Police found this in Ann Baker's apartment." She tells as a picture of the woman's kitchen is shown onscreen.

       "She was getting ready for dinner," Spencer points out. "Food was chopped and pans were ready." Luke adds, "A special dinner. It looks like wine, candles, flowers, the works." Matt nods, "Table for two." "Maybe her dining partner suddenly acquired an appetite for something else." Rossi tells.

      "Police report says no sign or forced entry or struggle." Tara told. "She could've been expecting company." Casey jumps to conclusions. "Yes, however, some of the victim's blood was found in the apartment, so that means she was probably killed there and then moved." Emily stated.

       "Well if the unsub simply wanted her dead, why not just leave her there?" Casey questioned. "The obvious answer is it wasn't that simple." Rossi comments.

        "It's not easy to fold somebody up like a road map. Our unsub is strong." Luke tells. "He's had practice." Emily tells and Garcia nods exasperatedly. "Two weeks ago, police found this. She has not been identified yet besides the fact that she is a she."

      "Similar suitcases." Rossi points out. "And they look old, almost vintage." JJ tells.

      "We have suitcases of our own to pack," Emily tells. "Wheels up in 30."

      Casey exchanges a look with Spencer before immediately looking away, grabbing her file and heading out the door to get ready.

       The team made their way to the jet, taking their designated seats. Casey had taken a seat next to Tara as Spencer and Emily sat in front of them.

      "Till we get an ID on our Jane Doe, victimology is limited to Ann Baker, so what do we know?" Emily started the debriefing. "Uh, Florida native, worked as an RN for a local hospital, volunteered at a palliative care facility on the weekends. Well-liked by friends and co-workers." Matt explained.

      "What about her love life?" Rossi asks. "That plus one missing from that dinner bothers me." Casey nods, "Yeah, I still she was expecting company."

       "It says here she was single," Tara said, looking at the tablet in front of her. "Never married."

      "Boyfriends, Garcia?" Luke asks since Garcia was on-call. "None currently, although Ann did have an active social media presence. Including dating apps." Garcia informed.

       "Do we know where the luggage was purchased?" Spencer asks. "Not at any retail outlet in the greater Naples area, - I can tell you that much." Garcia answers.

      "Symbolism 101 will tell you he sends his victims packing. Hit the road, Jack, and don't come back." Rossi comments.

       "Or revenge, maybe, on a woman who once sent him packing." JJ suggests. "Jilted lover," Tara stated. "That's how Ted Bundy got started."

      "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no." Garcia groans. "You guys, another woman's body has been found in a suitcase by a bus stop. She's been identified as Laura Weston."

       "Okay, Alvez, when we land, go to this new bus stop crime scene. A place this public, there have got to be witnesses or surveillance cameras." Emily orders. "Dave, JJ, you'll go talk the ME. Matt, Tara, you'll go to Laura Weston's home. Reid, you, Casey and I will set up at the local PD."

        Casey's heart dropped to her stomach when she realized who she was paired up with. If she'd offer to go with Luke, they would've known something was up. And right now, she didn't want the confrontation on her back. Instead, she settled with a small hesitant tight-lipped smile to Spencer, who gave the same thing right back. It'd been a few weeks since they'd last spoke. Might as well make the best of it.

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          When they arrived at the PD, Emily had gone to check in with JJ and Rossi at the ME by calling them, leaving Casey and Spencer alone in the conference room they were put in. Luckily, Casey had came up with an excuse to talk to Emily and she was informed about the Jane Doe that was found. Casey came back in the room, setting photos up on the board.

        The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Casey could practically hear her heart beating out of her chest as she cleared her throat. "They're, uh, comparing dental records to our Jane Doe. Hopefully we'll get an ID soon."

        Casey turned around to Spencer, who's back was facing her. She sighed, finding it ridiculous at how she was acting when they could just act normal. If anything, she was the one acting weird. "Are you okay?" She asks and Spencer nods, continuing to look down at the files in front of him. "Mm-hmm."

         Casey knew that tone of Spencer's. She turns back to him and waits for his real answer. "No," he said. "Actually, no."

         Casey sees that he's turned his chair around to face her and she crosses her arms, leaning on the table. "What's going on?" She asks. She knew she wouldn't completely shut him out, especially with their shared job, she had to make the best of this.

         Spencer sighs and begins, "There was a condition to my reinstatement. For every 100 days that I spend in the field, I'm required to take 30 days off." He explains. Casey nods and takes a deep breath. "I know. They told me. So did Emily." She reveals.

       "Are you worried?" Spencer asks. "About what?" Casey furrows her brows in confusion as she sits down in a seat. "About me being in the field, that I might freak out, overreact?" Spencer clarifies.

       "Why would you even...?" Casey asks but Spencer doesn't even let her finish. "Because I wanted to kill Scratch." He tells. Casey was brought back to that night. The look on his face when he said it so naturally and determined. Casey knew he wasn't like that anymore since time had passed and frankly she agreed with him ever since being taken by Scratch herself, along with Emily. "Yeah, well, you're not the only one."

        "No, I mean it literally." Spencer leans forward towards Casey. "After what he did to you and Emily, if I had found him, I would have killed him. And... I would have slept well." When he found out Casey was also missing that night, a switch in Spencer flipped. He, of course, felt terrible about what he said to her during their argument and he also had a feeling in his stomach he was never going to be able to take his words back. He'd gone crazy, throwing books against the windows, trying to deduce the messages and trying to find out where Emily and his wife were.

        Casey sighs and looks at the man in front of her. "The review board asked me to weigh in before they made their decision considering, you know, and I told them that you are rock solid. Please tell me I was right."

        Considering she was still Spencer's wife and also an agent, the review board came to her personally to ask if Spencer was really ready to return. Having not seen him for weeks, she concluded that he was rock solid and that he was ready to come back. She'd just hoped she'd been right, she knew this whole situation with her couldn't have been easy on him.

       Spencer nods, "Thank you for putting yourself out on a limb for me." Casey nodded. "I know you, Spence." She knew that the man who was her husband that night had been recovering and she knew that what happened to Spencer didn't define him. She knew him to be that gentle, kind, caring man she'd always known. But she also knew that since everything had gone wrong, she couldn't stand for the blind optimism, the lies, the hurtful words each of them had said to one another over the year, grudges held. She was tired of living like that.

      Spencer looks at his wife, lovingly and dotingly and grabs her hand in front of him. "I miss you." He tells. Casey begins to pull back slightly, seeing as if maybe she'd given him the wrong message. "Spence..." She sighs as she looked down.

       "Casey, I-I miss you and I think that maybe..." He scooted his chair closer to Casey. "No..." Casey said, beginning to pull back a bit.

       "Maybe we should give this another—"
       "No." Casey said as she shook her head at him.
       "Casey, please." He gently grabs both of her hands now.

        Casey had enough. She pulls away from him. "No!" She shouts in his face, looking him the eye and then stands up as she scoffs. "No." She shakes her head at the behavior of Spencer as he pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head at his own actions.

       "It's been four weeks, get a hold of yourself." Casey told, looking down at him. "We tried counseling, it didn't work. We tried talking through our problems, we ended up arguing. We have tried everything and none of it works. We don't work anymore." Casey stated, so certainly. It was true. All of it was true. Spencer looks down, not bearing to look at his wife.

       "I need a break and I thought you'd respect that. I'm stupid for thinking it." Casey scoffs and walks towards the door. "Casey." Spencer calls but Casey doesn't listen, she walks out and then runs into Emily.

        "Hey." Emily speaks. "Hey," Casey said, her voice strained a bit. "Anything new?" She asks. "Uh, Luke just got back the latest crime scene. Found nothing." She told. "That sucks." Casey stated.

         Emily noticed just how distracted Casey was. "Hey, are you okay?" She decides to ask. Casey nods, "Yeah, yeah, I am." She told, already lying by looks of her biting her fingernails.

        Emily turns back to a visibly upset Spencer back in the room. "Look, I didn't want to ask this in front of the team but is there something going on between you and Reid?" Emily questions.

      Casey furrows her brows, drawing out a laugh. "Why do you ask?"

      "Well, you've barely said one word to him in that room and when you did, you walked out immediately afterwards, you refused to sit next to him on the plane and you keep taking off your wedding ring and putting it back on." Emily told and Casey mentally curses at herself for the wedding ring part. "What's up?"

       Casey sighs, "Okay, I was gonna wait to tell the rest of the team but... Reid and I... um, we're getting a divorce." Casey told and Emily's eyes widen. "What?" She questions as shock lingers in her voice. Never in a million years would she have expected those words to come out of Casey's mouth. "When did this happen?"

      "Before our hiatus," Casey answers, running a hand through her hair. "We had a big fight and it got ugly. I mean, we never fight like we did. And I slipped and told him that maybe I didn't want to be with him anymore. So, we broke up and I think it's for the best that we do... but I think Reid thinks it's temporary."

      Emily nods and then asks the big question, "Does Chris know?" She asks.

      "He knows that Mommy moved out," Casey stated. "He's been questioning why he needs to go to two different houses now. But, um, I guess he knows." Emily gives a sympathetic look at Casey. "I'm sorry." She tells.

     "And I just want you to know that this is not gonna affect our fieldwork, I promise you. We have our issue but... we're gonna get through it. I know we will." Casey explained. She honestly didn't know how she was gonna get through this with him but it was enough for Emily to hear.

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During the case, Casey and Spencer rarely talked. Emily told Casey that if she was uncomfortable at any point, she could join anyone else on the team but Casey stuck through it, only talking to Spencer when she needed to. After delivering their profile and finding out their unsub switched from younger women to an older woman this time, they were trying to conclude what they were up against.

Garcia had found some interesting information. One of their victims' last catering gig was funeral memorial service for a woman named Edith Lynch. She has a grandson, Billy Lynch. His father wasn't around and his mother had drug problems and left her son when he was six. His grandfather ran off with another woman shortly after he married Edith, leaving Edith to raise their daughter, Ruth alone. There had been so many connections to the victims with Billy.

Tara and Matt stopped by his workplace and discovered that he and one of the workers there were going on a date.

Walking into the room with Rossi, they both discovered Spencer scowling down at the file in front of him. "Oh, there's got to be a story behind that scowl." Rossi tells. "There always usually is." Casey comments.

"Ruth Lynch, Billy's missing mother." Spencer told. "The one who bailed twenty years ago." Rossi added. "Here's the thing. The more you look into it, the less she seems like the type to abandon her child." Spencer stated.

"I thought she had drug issues." Rossi comments. "Well, just because she had drug issues doesn't mean she'd abandon her child," Casey spoke and then looked at Spencer. "Spence, where you going with this?"

"She did have drug issues, but she'd been going to rehab, and on paper, she was a good mother, responsible. She kept her child's vaccinations up to date. She even spent what little extra money she had to send Billy to summer camp." Spencer listed.

"Was a missing persons report filed at the time?" Rossi questions as they walk into the conference room. "Yes, filed by a friend named Susan Aldrete." Spencer answered. "Do we know where this Susan Aldrete is now?" Casey asks. "She's in Fort Myers. I just called her, but she didn't want to talk." Spencer told.

Rossi sighs, "Well, that's not too long a drive. Why don't I go up there and give it a try myself? I've got a face that middle-aged women can't say no to." He jokes and Casey makes a face as the older man chuckles.

When Rossi left, the only people left from the team at the station had been Casey and Spencer, to their own dumb luck. They spent their time, not speaking to one another, just working. Spencer glances Casey's way a couple of times before stopping himself completely. His cell phone rings and this gathers Casey's attention, knowing it's one of their team members.

"Reid, it's me and JJ." Luke spoke. "You got Casey and I. What's going on?" Spencer asks as Casey leans in to hear the conversation. "Billy Lynch isn't at work or his apartment." JJ stated. "Yeah, but Garcia said there's also his grandmother's house. After she died, the city said it wasn't up to code, so I don't think - anyone's living there." Luke explained.

"Hey, Spence, Case, you guys are closer than the rest of us. Do you think you can check it out?" JJ asks and Casey looks up and nods. "On our way." Spencer tells. "All right. We're 10 minutes behind you." Luke told.

Spencer hangs up the phone and Casey looks at Spencer, reminding herself what she told Emily. That this was not going to affect their job. And she wouldn't let it. She'd stick up her chin and just get it over with.

So, Casey and Spencer put on FBI vests and headed towards one of the SUVs. Casey thought she would've been the one driving and offered to, but Spencer decided he would and Casey let him just so she didn't have to strike long conversation with him longer.

On the street, Rossi had called Casey's phone. Casey had answered and spoke, "Hey, Rossi. You got me and Spencer. What's up?" She asks.

"I just had a talk with Susan Aldrete. Apparently, she and Ruth planned to share an apartment here in Fort Myers when Ruth disappeared." Rossi explained. "What happened? Did Ruth get cold feet?" Spencer asks.

"I don't think so," Rossi answers. "She was shipping some of her stuff up to Susan ahead of time."
"Like what?" Casey asks.
"Mostly clothes, but Ruth sent something else. Susan said she's been holding on to it all these years as something to remember Ruth and Billy by." Rossi told.
"What is it?" Spencer asks.
"A toy, a little, red tow truck." Rossi answered.

Casey furrowed her brows and exchange a look with Spencer and he put his foot on the gas pedal to get to their destination faster.

Once they arrived, the two practically hop out of the car and get their guns settled on the door. Both Spencer and Casey exchange a look and they nod at one another and Casey decided to kick open the door and be the first to step in. They check around the small area below before heading upstairs and hear voices coming from the other side.

Casey slams the door open as her and Spencer step in the room and point their guns to their unsub. He's holding a knife to a woman's neck. "FBI." Casey announced.
"Drop the knife," Spencer ordered, loading his gun. "Do it."

"No," Billy shakes his head. "I have to make it right. This is none of your business!" He shouts.

"Billy, I know something, something about your mother, Ruth." Spencer stated. "Don't talk about her. You're not allowed to talk about her." Billy shouts.

"Can we talk about Susan Aldrete?" Casey asks, trying to make the man not harm the girl in front of him. "Who's that?" Billy questions. "Susan was your mother's best friend, and twenty years ago, your mother was going to go live with her, and she was taking you along. Do you remember this, Billy?" Billy shakes his head, "No, she wasn't." He looks off to the side towards the rocking chair and both Spencer and Casey notice this.

"Billy, when you were little, you had a toy truck. Do you remember? It was a tow truck. It had a hook with a piece of string on the back for towing other cars. You remember this?" Billy keeps looking over at the chair. "You do, don't you? Your mother shipped things ahead of time, your things, including that toy, and Susan held on to it all these years to remember you and to remember your mother. Your mother loved you, Billy. She was not going to leave you. I think something bad happened between her and your grandmother."

Billy looks deep in thought and a look of betrayal is dashed on his face. "Think back, Billy." Spencer tells. "Your grandmother was angry."

"So much yelling." Billy sobs.

"She was angry because she had been abandoned, too, once by your grandfather, and... she didn't want to be left alone again." Casey looks at Spencer as he talks and realizes she's letting him handle this himself.

Casey keeps her gun steady but lowers it. "It's over, Billy." She tells. Billy sits down on the ground in defeat and the woman next to him scooches away from him.

Billy looks at that chair and anger is filling his bones and on his face. He looks at the two agents that stopped him with a daring look and stands up. Both Spencer and Casey raise their guns again.

Billy twists around the knife in his hand. "Drop the knife, Billy. You don't wanna do this." Casey tells. "It's over, Billy. Drop the knife." Spencer added.

The man throws the knife towards the chair and yells as he lands on the ground, crying. Casey puts her gun in her holster and gets her handcuffs to wrap them around Billy's wrists. JJ and Luke had been on standby and Luke walked in and stood next to Casey as she lifted Billy to his feet.

"You okay?" JJ checks in on Spencer. "I'm good, thanks." Spencer answers, heading towards the scared woman to comfort her.

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On the jet ride home, the team had enjoyed their laughs and their talks and listened as Spencer laughed with JJ and Luke and hearing that he was getting over his fear of germs since the time he's been in prison.

Casey had been getting coffee on the jet as everyone pretty much settled down, all talking amongst themselves to sleep. As she was pouring a fresh pot, she was approached by someone she knew she had to talk to eventually.

Spencer had been getting a cup of coffee himself and wasn't expecting conversation with Casey, knowing that maybe she might not like it. Casey turned to him and said, "Hey." This surprised Spencer and he looked right at her when he spoke. "Hey." A shocked and surprised tone lingering in his voice.

"Luke was right, you did do good out there today." Casey told, referring to the conversation she overheard them talking about. Spencer smiles a bit and shrugs, "It's only because we're a good team," He admits. "Couple or not." He adds, sadly.

The time has come to have this conversation. About where this was going. And if things were changing. And it was evident they were.

        "Look—"
        "I—"
         They both interrupted each other and Casey looked down as she smiled, "You first." She offered.

        Spencer looks down before facing the woman in front of him. "I, um, wanted to say I'm sorry for not giving you the space you deserve. You're right. And I'm sorry for... well, everything I've done." Hearing him apologize made Casey content. "Spencer, you don't have to apologize," she assured. "It's not your fault. None of it is."

       Spencer looks into the eyes of the woman he loves and hopes that maybe she can look back at him in that way again but you know what they say:
       You can't always get what you want.

       Casey looks at Spencer and sighs. "Um, I need to ask you a favor." She tells and Spencer's eyes light up as he faces his wife, completely forgetting his coffee cup and willing to do anything she asked. That was evident enough. His simple answer, "Anything." was enough.

"You can't keep pining over me anymore," Casey rips the bandaid in the nicest way possible. "I've made my decision and you know once I make a decision, I don't stray from it." Spencer looks down sadly as Casey tells him this. He knew this was going to go one of two ways. This was bound to happen, he reminded himself.

"I mean, who knows this might actually turn out to be a good thing for me in the long run. I might be able to live some semblance of a normal life. Not being married to another agent. It just... kinda complicated things." Casey tried to excuse. Of course, she still loved Spencer but this was true. She needed a break from everything. And she meant it.

Spencer has a sad expression written on his face. He felt like a fool. To think that maybe he still stood a chance. After all he put her through? He'd leave him, too.

"I get why you acted the way you have. The way you did the night you came home, but I do have to deal with it somehow." Casey told. "And I was putting a lot of you in front of myself and I need to put myself first. And I need this."

Spencer ran it down in his head. Separation can give both partners time to think about the relationship and whether they want to move forward. It can allow for the space to experience what life may be like without the other partner. It also gives both partners some freedom to identify issues in the relationship. He understood why this needed to happen. But still, he had the right to be upset about it. But he put on a brave face for the sake of himself and for Casey. He was no longer going to beg her to stay, right now, he needed to give her space. But still, deep down, he hoped she'd come back to him.

        He wants to beg her to make it work, that he's not the same person he was when he got out of prison. But then again, he wasn't that great even before prison. He wants her back, he wants to be their happy family they were before all of this but instead, Spencer sighs and nods, "You deserve some normalcy in your life, Casey." He tells. "I really do hope you find it."

         Casey nods at Spencer, content that he was respectful about this. "Thank you." She tells, grabbing her cup of coffee from the counter in front of her. "So..." She says. "Thirty days off for every case after your reinstatement." Spencer nods, "Yeah."

         Casey nodded and then thought to herself. "I was thinking... maybe you can spend some of those days with Chris. You know as often as you can, at least, with the seminars Emily gave ya."

         Spencer's eyes light up at the mention of his son. He hadn't seen him in over a week. They'd both decided that at the moment, it'd be best for Chris to stay with Casey until they decided what to do and when they would be having the conversation. "Really?" He asks, his eyes wide.

       The woman nods, "I'm not gonna stop him from seeing his father." She told. Even though Spencer practically put her through hell in the last year, Casey wasn't gonna deny Spencer the right to see and visit his son. Seeing as how she grew up without her dad around and how Spencer's dad up and abandoned him at a young age, he couldn't afford for his son to think that he just up and left him, too.

        "He needs you. And he's needed you for months, now. I'm not taking that away because that'd just be wrong of me to do so. What do you say?" Spencer nodded with a small smile on his face, "I'd like that."

          Things didn't turn out the way Spencer wanted but he was happy to know that Casey wasn't gonna deprive Chris of his father. That he could see his son and more often with the reinstatement. He decided he would use this time to grow as close as he could to his son, spend as much time as he could with him.

           Spencer and Casey were starting this chapter of a new beginning. It wasn't the beginning they would've hoped for but Spencer went by his word, he was going to give Casey the space she needed and deserved.

          And that's just the way it had to be.

AYOOOOO FIRST CHAPTER OF "DRIVERS LICENSE"
HOW WE FEELING????? 😀

me to y'all rn

listening to 'silver springs' by fleetwood mac definitely put me in a morbid mood to write the last half of this chapter😭

anywaysssss
plenty more angst in the beginning half of the season buttttt we're lowkey going to get back casey and reid moments from the first book on the bright side??????? that's what i'm planning at least

and i'm planning so much hehehehehehe

predictions for how this season is gonna go?????

i love you all
thank you for reading!!!!
crazy to think this is my last first chapter of the cardigan series ahhhhh
still can't fully process we're on the last book
buckle up y'all
it's gonna get crazy
-mya </3