CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: AMBUSHED !

15x05

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THINGS WERE DOING REALLY GOOD SO FAR. Spencer had officially moved himself into the house with Casey and Christopher, leaving his apartment as an extra storage space. He still hadn't found the right time to propose to Casey and wondered when he was gonna ever gonna do it. Luke told him to find the right time to do it. And so, he was trying to but it just never seemed like he could find it.

It was another day at the office. Casey had gotten to go and get coffee downstairs and went to check on Spencer when she spotted Tara teasing Luke. He and Matt played a basketball game and Matt schooled him.

"So Alvez, I heard you got smoked." Tara started as Luke fake-chuckled. "I did not get smoked."
"Yeah, well, we've taken to calling Simmons the bus driver because he took you to school." Tara stated as JJ laughed beside her.

"He kind of did," Luke admits. "He's also been off for the past month. He's slept in. He's working out—" JJ interrupts him. "Whoa, he's got a newborn baby and 4 kids to corral. I don't think so, buddy."

"Seriously, you got more sleep last night than Matt's had in a month." Rossi points out.

Casey definitely had to give props to Matt for having five kids and maintaining a regular routine while balancing his love life with Kristy and his line of work.

"That's actually not an exaggeration," Spencer began, Casey already knowing he was about to give a fact. "Research studies have shown that in the first 12 months of a child's life, parents sleep less than 59% of the recommended 8 hours a night, hence losing the equivalent of on average, 50 nights of sleep." JJ points in his direction as she nods.

"Yup, that was definitely the case when Emma was born. I'm kinda glad we didn't have anymore kids after that." Erik said.
"Yeah, trust me. With a newborn baby, you hardly get any sleep. Remember when Chris was born?" Casey nudged Spencer, who sighed and winced. "Those were definitely the days." Casey told as she sipped her coffee.

"Do you have any stats that might be able to help me?" Luke asks Spencer, who thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "Nope." Everyone chuckles at the two.

Suddenly, Garcia walked in the room with a sad look on her face and she spoke — "It's happening again." Everyone furrowed their brows and followed Garcia as she indicated that they had a new case.

Emily and Garcia presented the case. "These was a double homicide this morning in Des Plaines, Illinois. It appears our victims, Marko Salazar and Benjamin Blake, were shot by a sniper while playing basketball on a neighborhood court." Emily explains.

"Des Plaines, Illinois?" Spencer asks.
"I know what's in your noggin, and what is in your noggin is correct to be in your noggin because two days ago a gentleman named Brian Nikolay was shot in a parking lot by a sniper." Garcia told.

"Just like the Phillip Dowd case we worked in Des Plaines 15 years ago." JJ points out. Casey remembered that case, it was one of the first few cases Gideon took when he got back from his six-month break. "It is," Spencer stated. "All single shots to the victims torsos, all in public places, and no one's seen the shooter. He's a ghost."

"There's no way it's the same long-distance serial killer because—" JJ was interrupted.
"Because I killed Phillip Dowd." Spencer told, causing Casey to look his way as everyone else had in silence.

Casey suddenly spoke to defuse the tension. "So you think it's a copycat LDSK?" She wonders to both JJ and Spencer, since they were on the team when they had taken that case, along with Garcia.

"Typically, LDSKs are skilled marksmen with a god complex." Tara told.
"And they pretty much revel in taking people's lives from above and afar." Luke adds. "But copycats are out to prove their superiority by making a bigger bang."

"Or to ride the wave of infamy created by the original killer." Emily tells. "But in this case, the original killer, Phillip Dowd, is a distant memory. There's not much of a wave to ride. I mean, this was fifteen years ago. Why would someone take to his kills now?" Erik wondered.

"Dowd's original MO was to shoot his victims, then race back to the emergency room where he worked cause he thrived on trying to save them." Spencer explained. "Yeah, typical hero homicides. But we're not seeing that here." Rossi tells.

"No, we're not, but this unsub's victimology is remaining consistent enough to suggest that his next victims will most likely be three visitors to one of the local parks." JJ said.

Casey stands up. "I'll make sure Chief Weigart has his officers stake out the parks. Pen, will you let Matt know that it's all hands on deck?" Penelope nods as Casey finishes up, "We are wheels up in twenty."

Everyone headed up to the jet and Casey sat on the couch beside Spencer as they began to debrief on the case as Garcia had just announced — "Guys, there's been another shooting. This new LDSK is sticking to the victimology, but he's moving super fast. In the last three days, there's been three shooting incidents, six victims so far. That took Dowd over two weeks."

"So for some reason, this unsub feels the need to mimic the original crimes but at an accelerated pace." Tara said. "Our unsub must be out of control. Perhaps, he thrives on the need to kill." Casey says.

"Luckily, local PD was already on the way to the park. They administered CPR to the victims. They managed to save two of the three, but both of them are in surgery right now fighting for their lives." Garcia explains.

"The two surviving victims are Karen Wolf, an orthopedic surgeon, and her husband Craig. They were having coffee at an outdoor café in McCarty Memorial Park." Matt read off of his tablet. "The victim who died was Timothy Donovan. He was a groundskeeper." Luke added, reading off of his own.

"So, the ages and ethnicities of these current victims don't exactly match the past victims, but the genders and location types are the same." Emily told. "Also, same increasing number of victims in both cases." Rossi added.

"Except it seems like this unsub merged Phillip Dowd's park and café shooting into a single event." JJ said. "Which means, Casey must be right. He could be going out of control." Erik told.

"Guys, if that's true and this unsub continues to follow the overall victimology, the last person that Phillip Dowd shot in the original series was McCarty, a local cop that this park was named after." Spencer explained.

Casey immediately speaks up. "Garcia, I need you to notify Commander Rush at the HRT. We're gonna need their help setting up counter-sniper operations."

"Yeah, local cops are gonna need their own security details." Rossi commented. "Unlucky for them as well as unlucky for us. Dave, take Spence, Erik and Tara with you to the ME's office. I'm sure she's got her hands full. Matt, Luke, JJ, Em, we'll coordinate with Chief Weigart at the mobile command center that they just set up at the latest crime scene."

As soon as they landed, Casey, Matt, Luke, JJ and Emily had all headed down to latest crime scene to meet with Chief Weigart and his crew. Once Casey spotted him, she called his name and took her sunglasses off. "Chief Weigart, Unit Chief Willows. My second-in-command, Prentiss. You remember SSA Jareau. These are agents, Alvez and Simmons." She introduces. "I see you've already met HRT Commander Rush."

Weigart nods, "Yes. We greatly appreciate all the help we can get. As you can imagine, things around here are pretty tense. My officers are well aware that they're likely this guy's next target."

"That's why Emily and Casey here asked us to come back up your units."

"Scott was a dedicated officer, and I can't let this happen to any of my other people." Weigart said, motioning to the block where it said 'Scott McCarty Memorial Park'. "Chief, that wasn't your fault. Dowd targeted the investigation because he knew we were getting close." JJ stated.

"But we're in the same damn situation now, aren't we?" Weigart told.

"My uncle, Jason Gideon, was on this case fifteen years ago. He caught this guy last time and I fully intend doing the same. The difference is we're here to make sure that doesn't happen again." Casey explained.

"We know he's coming, and we're ready." Emily nodded in agreement. "HRT s counter-sniper operators will be backing you up all the way." Luke said. "That's right. We already deployed my Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie teams here and around town." Commander Rush agreed.

"Chief, your initial report of the shooting here, you mentioned witnesses." Matt said and Weigart nods, "Yeah, Diana Lipscombe and Peter Charles. Neither one of them saw the shooter. But Diane is right over there, ready to talk." He points ahead towards a bench where Diane is sitting.

"Okay, she may have seen something that could be helpful to us." Emily said. "Matt, Luke, go talk to Diane and assess the scene. Casey, JJ and I will work with Commander Rush on logistics. We'll also bring in friends and family members of the victims for interviews." Casey nods in agreement, "Sounds good."

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After Tara, Spencer, Rossi and Erik came back from the ME's office and the rest of the team talked to the victim's families, they regathered to discover what they all knew. "According to our eyewitnesses, the shootings in McCarty Park were nearly simultaneous." Casey explained.

"Couple that with the ballistics, and we're looking at at least two shooters." Tara said.
"Close-range shooters, which would typically mean the unsubs have some sort of connection with the victims, but in this case, that doesn't seem to be true." Spencer explained.

"So who's the real target of the unsubs rage here?" Rossi wondered.
"Well, whoever it is, combining the last two shootings into one make it seem like they're in a big rush to get to their next target. One of Chief Weigart's men." JJ said.

"Why would they be rushing into it thought? What is their rush?" Erik wondered.

"Even with HRT backing them up, there's no guarantee we can protect them." Emily said. "Well, it's starting to feel like that was the point in copying Dowd's MO, to force local police to come out and make themselves vulnerable." Spencer told.

Suddenly, Weigart walked into the room and informed: "We got an anonymous tip from somebody who's claiming they saw the shooter leaving McCarty Park in a gray Sedan." Everyone looked at JJ as she commented, "Dowd used a gray Sedan."

Everyone exited the command center as Casey was the first out of there to talk to Weigart. "You think the call's legit?" She asked as everyone began to follow them. "We have to check it out. The caller said he followed a Sedan to an apartment complex near the intersection of Denton and Oakhurst Roads." Weigart explained.

"Dowd's old apartment is near there." Spencer commented and Erik shakes his head, "It seems too easy."

"We need to approach that location with caution." Rossi advises and Emily chimes in with, "I agree."

"Commander Rush, can you get your men out there and set up a secure perimeter?" Casey asks and the commander nods, "You got it."

Casey then looks towards her team. "Matt, Luke, Tara, Erik, I want you to keep a loose tail on Chief Weigart. I'm worried since he was part of the original case, he may be our unsub's ultimate target."

"Look, I'd rather take the bullet than any one of my officers." Weigart told. "We're here to make sure that doesn't happen." Emily said. Weigart nods at the woman, "Thanks. Ok. Let's roll." With that, everyone heads into their own vehicles, ready to get going.

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Casey didn't know what happened. One minute, everything was fine and Matt reported back to her and Emily, saying they were following Weigart. Then, all of a sudden, the replies stopped from each one of the members in that vehicle and all she could hear was static. Something was wrong. It had to have been. Her gut told her so.

So, Casey had gone down there with Spencer, JJ and Rossi to see what was up. The minute they arrived, they found a disoriented Tara, holding her gun up and bleeding from the side of her head.

JJ immediately approached her, holding her hands up. "Whoa, Tara! No, no, no, it's me. It's JJ." She assured to Tara quickly. Tara squinted in her direction and put her gun down. Tara leaned against the car in pain.

"Erik. Luke-Luke and Matt." Tara said. JJ began to prop her up as Rossi looked JJ's way. "Take care of Tara." Spencer nodded, "We'll check the SUV."

Casey, Rossi and Spencer did so and Rossi points out the obvious, "They took Erik, Luke and Matt." Spencer replies, "Why not take Tara?"

As they checked the vehicle, Rossi had spotted Matt's cell on the floor and answered it since he saw it was Garcia. He explained to her that they were gonna find them and when he hung up, Spencer said: "Whoever did this made sure we couldn't track them using GPS."

Casey sighed in the driver's seat as she shook her head and rested it against the wheel. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have paired them together." She said. "It's not your fault, you couldn't have known this was gonna happen." Spencer assured.

Rossi looks Casey's way. "We're gonna find them, Casey. You know we will." Casey sighed, trying to hope that they were right and that Matt, Luke and Erik were gonna be okay.

Weigart ended up pulling up as soon as Tara left in the ambulance with JJ. "These unsubs are sophisticated. They deployed lachrymatory agents, as well as phenacyl chloride, a type of flash grenade filled with CN gas and pepper spray." Spencer explained.

"That anonymous call we got was just a ploy. When we got out there, there was no Sedan, nothing." Weigart said. "Yeah, it was all part of the plan." Rossi said. "A plan that we originally thought was to target you." Spencer said. "But now it looks like they wanted to take a shot at the FBI." Casey added.

"Except they didn t actually take any shots. I mean, this is a total contradiction of their initial MO." Spencer told. "They've gone from shooters to abductors. It doesn't make sense." Rossi said.

"And why only take Matt, Luke and Erik? And leave Tara? This is bigger than we anticipated." Casey's cell begins to ring and she quickly picks up and puts it on speaker.

"Casey, what happened?" Emily asked. "Em, the boys are gone. Tara's pretty banged up and on her way to the hospital. We underestimated these guys."
"Commander Rush and I are gonna make our way to you right now. That crime scene is our new ground zero." Emily said.

"I'm telling you, Emily, I think all these copy cat killings are ruse." Rossi comments. "To target the FBI, the BAU?" Emily wonders. "Looks that way. Maybe even to target the boys." Rossi nods.

"Think about it. They copied a case we worked on before, accelerated the time line, and made sure we were all out in the open." Spencer explained. Emily then decides, "You're right."

"And as relieved as I am they didn't kill Matt and Luke on the spot, it means they've got even worse plans for them. And I'm afraid of what they entail." Casey told.

          After that, the team had joined back at the command center to discuss with Garcia what Tara said she had seen during a cognitive with JJ on the way to the hospital. "Garcia, we sent you a photo. It's a sketch of a tattoo, and it's rough, so we're gonna need you to identify exactly what it is, and then run it through the tattoo recognition database." Emily informed. "Also, crosscheck it with cases Luke, Erik and Matt have worked together." Casey added.

         "Running the sketch as is. I can't find any cases since Erik, Matt and Luke have joined the BAU where it pops up. I mean, actually, there are no cases of them putting away any nefarious people that have even escaped or been paroled or anything like that." Garcia explained.

         "Luke used to work on the fugitive task force, Erik was a US Marshal, Matt was IRT. We should expand the search to before either one of them joined the BAU." Spencer stated.

        "Ok, I am O-N-I-T.  I will get back to you ASAP." With that, Garcia hangs up.

         Weigart walks into the room. "Ok, with HRT's help, we have a lockdown on all the roads within a 4-mile radius of the abduction site. And we have an APB out on a black van and guys in black leather on motorcycles." He informs.

         "I'm not sure what that'll get us." Rossi tells. "Since we didn t pick them up on any traffic cams, they must have gone to ground as fast as they could." JJ nods.

         "Well, I'm ready to go door to door with my team." Weigart tells and Emily nods at the man, "Thank you. Right now that's basically all we've got." The man walks out of the command center.

          Casey then adds in the reality of the situation, "But I'm not sure our guys have that kind of time." With that, she walks out of the room to clear her head and everyone looks at one another and Spencer offers to go and talk to her for a moment.

           When he finds her, Casey is pacing on the gravel, head in her hands out of stress. "You okay?" He wonders and Casey takes a breath, folding her hands over her neck as she exhaled.

          "I've known Erik since high school, I was at his wedding, I was there when his daughter was born. Luke's one of my best friends, he was there for me when I needed him. And Matt—Matt just had a kid. He has five kids and they need him. And if they die—"

           "Casey, you can't think like that—" Spencer tries and Casey looks his way. "I can't? Spencer, I'm the unit chief, if they die, I'm responsible for it. And they can't die, they can't. I don't think I'd—" Casey stops herself and Spencer decides to pull Casey in for a hug.

             Spencer embraces Casey around in his arms and just holds her. She nudged her face into his chest as she took a few breaths to calm down, she had a whiff of his aftershave and just felt at home. Spencer begins to speak to her.

            "Matt, Luke, Erik, they're strong. You know that. They're gonna be fine. You have to believe that." Spencer pulls away from her and grabs her hands as he traces her palm with his finger and says one more thing.

             He says: "Did you know bees love coffee?" It's then that Casey looks up at him and she smiles. She realizes she hasn't heard a coffee fact from him in a long time. "Really?" Casey raises a brow.

            Spencer nods, "Yeah, b-bees love coffee plants and are attracted to the caffeine in the coffee flower's nectar. It's not just coffee beans that contain caffeine, their flowers also contain caffeinated nectar. This nectar is very attractive for bees. Caffeine makes bees as alert as it does humans." Casey chuckles to herself, "I guess it's like that saying: busy as a bee." She says. "I missed those little facts." She finds herself muttering and Spencer nods in agreement, "I did, too."

             Casey remembers all of those times Spencer would give her a coffee fact when she was in need of one. She hasn't heard a coffee fact on the job since before Chris was born. Of course, Spencer would spew a few facts about coffee here and there but it wasn't as often like it used to be.

              As Spencer persuades Casey to go back to command center, Casey can't help but wonder when and what the next coffee fact is gonna be and hopes that that motivation helps her get through with trying to find Erik, Matt and Luke.

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           "I got an old case that connects Matt, Erik and Luke. The guy's name is Louie Chaycon, and he was the go-to enforcer for the Sarnicola family in Chicago. According to a file that Matt wrote about him, the guy is described as 'brilliant, lethal and criminally sophisticated'. He likened him to the serial killer — Israel Keyes." Garcia informed the team once she found something.

          "I remember Matt mentioning him," Spencer said. "Like Keyes, after each hit, he'd leave America until any heat on him cooled down. Keyes would usually hop on a cruise boat, Chaycon always went to Europe."

         "Yeah, Matt followed him there when he was a member of the IRT. Somehow this Chaycon dude gets himself back into the States. That's when our very own Luke Alvez apprehends him back in 2012." Garcia informed.

         "He was hiding out at his brother Bobby's house in Nettleton, Mississippi when Luke found him." Emily said.

         "Yes and Luke also had a few of the US Marshals go to track him down — and that clues in Erik, who was a part of the team that found Chaycon. Erik was also there for the trial for Chaycon. And there, he was sentenced to 30 years, and his brother Bobby was sentenced to 10 years for harboring a dangerous fugitive."

         "Well, if this Chaycon is behind bars, he can't be our guy." Rossi said. "Oh, that would be true if Chaycon wasn't extradited to Italy in 2017, where he also faced murder charges and where he escaped custody." JJ informed. "So, there is a connection between this guy and our boys. But that doesn't explain why this guy is going to all this trouble." Rossi remarked.

         "Yeah, we've got to figure out what his personal grudge is with them." Casey nodded. "Yeah, not to mention his connection to this particular city." JJ said.

         "I've got my crime shovel. I'll keep digging." Garcia informs. "Any luck with the tattoo, Pen?" Casey wonders. "Sort of," Garcia answers. "I managed to tease out the symbols using a healing algorithm, and I put that through the national biometric center, but there's nothing. Actually, there's nothing in any conventional databases. And it's a good thing for all of us that I'm fluent in unconventional ones, which I'm gonna go look at now. Good-bye."

          After Garcia did more digging, she ended up calling back rather quickly. "Okay, I just sent you some more intel I found about Chaycon's prison record before he was extradited to Italy. It turns out that he and his brother Bobby were on the very wrong side of a gang fight while they were still in prison."

           Looking over at the intel onscreen, JJ informs the rest of the team: "His brother, Bobby was beaten to death right in front of him."

         "Wait a minute. Los Reyes cut out the guy's tongue. That's definitely a statement." Rossi told. "They must have thought he was cooperating with law enforcement." Spencer said. "Brings 'watch your tongue' to a whole new level." Casey comments.

        "If that's the case, Chaycon probably blames the boys for his brother's death." Rossi said. "We could be dealing with a classic case or aggression transference." Spencer informs.

        "Chaycon will want to do to them what the gang did to his brother. And right now, that's not looking good." Casey blinked as she stared at the screen. She just hoped they could find out what they could in time.

          Garcia called once more on Emily's cell when she had more information. "Go ahead, Garcia." Emily started as Garcia began, "Emily, my sweet, I have a confirmation from a tattoo artist in Chi-Town that that tattoo was specifically designed for a biker group that is loosely associated with an outlaw biker club known as the Rolling Devils."

        "The Devils operate throughout the Midwestern United States." JJ tells. "Garcia, within our search area, do you know of any specific location controlled by the Rolling Devils?" Spencer questions.

         "No, but we're not looking for the Devils as in the outlaw biker group. We are looking for a group of bikers that broke off with them because they were interested in devilier behavior, like slinging drugs as opposed to easy riding." Garcia informed.

         Emily says 'thanks' before hanging up on Garcia and Rossi then speaks up: "I know a guy in the gang task force. He's got people embedded in that world. Let me see if he can give me something." Casey nods, "Whatever is needed, Rossi. Go right ahead."

           When Rossi had something, he, Emily and Casey pulled up to a bar with Weigart and parked right outside and exited the vehicle, ready to interrogation. "My contact with the gang task force was right. It looks like some local bike enthusiasts hang out here." Rossi informed.

          "Chief, you and Prentiss will take the front. Rossi and I can cover the back." Casey ordered and everyone nodded at the right groupings.

           When Rossi and Casey heard the music go quiet, they automatically knew that once Emily and Weigart pulled up, someone had to have started to run and they couldn't have been more right about it when someone started heading towards the back.

            When Rossi got ahold of the man that came running towards them, Casey walked nonchalantly behind them as they headed towards the men's bathroom.

           Casey had never once noticed an agent disguised as a biker gang member but of course, no one would've expected her to go undercover as a freaking nanny.

           "Look, I don't mean to compromise any OP you've got going here. But I've got three members of my team that are being held by a group of Rolling Devils." Rossi informs.

         "The Rolling Devils aren't allowed anywhere near here," The man tells. "This is strictly righteous bandits territory." "I get it, we get it. But you hear things." Rossi persuades but the man isn't budging.

           The man takes a breath, "I'd like to help. But I've been undercover for three years. And I'm getting close to taking down the largest opiate distribution network in the Midwest, and I can't help you."

           "Look, man, I get it," Casey speaks. "I've been undercover myself, I know how important the job is. But we need your help. The three agents I have in there... they're family. We care about them." Casey tries.

           Rossi speaks up as well. "Listen to me, Luca. I've got three agents that are like my sons, and they're in trouble. You understand?"

          The man shakes his head, "I can't."
         "You give me something or I swear I will walk out that door right now and blow your cover." Rossi threatens and the man continues to contemplate and Rossi then nods over at Casey to do so as she heads towards the door, Luca finally budges. "Wait. Wait."

          Casey stops and both her and Rossi look at the man, waiting for an answer. "I've heard they're using an abandoned warehouse as their stash house. It's somewhere in the southeast district. I don't have the address."

           Rossi and Casey nod at one another as Casey goes to text Garcia what they found and rejoins Weigart and Emily towards the front when Rossi and Luca come out of the bathroom and Rossi shoved Luca out in front of everyone to put on a show so no one would suspect his cover was blown.

        "This loser doesn't know a damn thing. Let's get out of here." Rossi stated and with that, they rehashed what they knew and knew they had something to save Matt, Luke and Erik.

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          With that, the team headed towards the warehouse Garcia looked into. Casey, Spencer and JJ were in one vehicle while Emily and Rossi were in the other, ready to take action.

         "Commander Rush's people have secured the perimeter." JJ informed in the backseat. "Now, we just need to find them." Spencer told, looking Casey's way. The young woman nodded as she began to speak to Garcia on the phone.

          "Garcia, we need you to search the CCTV footage for men on motorcycles coming and going from a warehouse over the past few days." Casey orders the woman and she then follows with, "Okay, I've got a foreclosed warehouse complex that fits your description. It's in your area. I'm sending the coordinates now."

         "Thanks, Garcia." Emily tells. "JJ, Spence, Case, start searching from the west. We'll start from the east." Casey nods, "Copy that."

        "Let's hope we're not too late." Rossi tells. "We're not gonna be. Not if I can help it. Hold on!" With that, Casey steps down on the gas pedal heading down to the warehouse.

         As they drove, Emily and Rossi informed the three that they had found Matt, Luke and Erik and they were all pretty banged up. When Casey, Spencer and JJ arrived, the three men were sitting on the backs of ambulances, medics beside them, helping their wounds.

           The first person Casey approached was Erik and she gave him a giant hug, holding him tightly. "You scared me, you crazy man." Casey said through tears. "I'm sorry." The man said and Casey took notice of his bruise under his eye and the cut on his forehead. "It's just a flesh wound." He joked.

The next person Casey went over to was Matt, giving him a giant hug and then doing the same to Luke, telling them they were never allowed to get in vehicles with flash-bang grenades in them again.

But, of course, on this team, man, you never knew what you were gonna get. All that mattered was that all three of the men were safe and that they were all going to be going home tonight.

After the case, everyone ended back on the jet, ready to go home to rejoin their families. On the jet rides the family chatted, taking in all of their time together. Casey cuddled up beside Spencer in their seats as Rossi had spoke up to the group as he had come back from getting a glass of the 'good stuff'.

"Well, you four seem no worse for wear." Rossi commented, leaning towards the boys and Tara, who was healing from her own injuries.

"I'm so glad you guys are all right." Tara tells, putting one hand on Luke's shoulder and the other on Erik's. "I'm glad you're safe and sound." Matt stated, Tara removing her hand from Luke's shoulder to fist-bump Matt.

"We're all glad you're okay." Emily tells. "And you are all ordered to get better soon and to spend so much time with your families. I'm seriously contemplating on giving all of your guys a month off." Casey told.

The four exchange a glance and Erik raises a brow as he asks, "Really?" Casey looks at the man and shakes her head, "Don't push it, Erik." She joked.

"Here's to the whole family being back together again." Spencer holds his glass of water up. "I'll drink to that." Casey smiles as she holds her own glass of water up and everyone clinks their glasses together as they all say: "Cheers."

Casey looks at Spencer, his arm wrapped around her and she holds his hand and smiles at him. There's a thought rolling in his head and it's evident all over his face and Casey notices this and furrows her brows as she turns her head towards him. "You okay?" She wonders.

            Spencer quickly looks her way and he nods, "Yeah, I'm okay." Casey worried as she sat up a bit. "Are you sure? Looks like something running through your mind."

           In reality, Spencer was actually about how he was gonna do this proposal thing with Casey. He wanted it to be just perfect and he was trying to think of ways to do it at the right time. But, of course, didn't know that and of course she worried that it was something bad.

            "It's nothing," Spencer assured as he grabs Casey's hand and looks her in the eyes and says: "And I would tell you if there was something wrong. I promise." Casey decides not to dwell on it and knows that when he grabs her hand, he's being serious on not to worry about it.

              So, Casey leans her body against her boyfriend's and Spencer keeps on thinking about how he would soon label Casey as his wife once more.

ahhhh idk why this took so damn long to update
this episode was an interesting one
i just never remember it lmao

spencer looking scrum-dilly-uptious this entire episode🤭:

me asf:

i'd let that man SMASH
💳💥💳💥💳💥

anywaysssss
next episode/chapter is date night
this one is a big one bear with me
any theories for this next episode????

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