CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: A FATHER'S DAUGHTER !

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          AS FAR AS CASEY WILLOWS WAS CONCERNED, LIFE WAS GOING REALLY GOOD. Almost too good, she suspected. She had no idea why, she just felt like things were almost just too good to be true.

It was a normal day at the office, no case so it was just a paperwork day for everyone. Casey had been doing more paperwork than probably anyone, which was normal for the unit chief, when she suddenly heard a knock on her door.

Casey looked up and saw her fiancé standing at her doorway, with a tight-lipped smile and holding a bag of Chinese takeout. "Hello, my husband-to-be." Casey greeted with a small smile on her face.

"Hello, wife-to-be," Spencer greeted back with a smile forming on his face. "I brought us takeout. You available?" He asks and Casey nods, "For you, yes."

So, Spencer walked in the office and sat in the seat in front of Casey's desk. He opens up the carton for Casey as she begins to talk to him. "So, I've been doing a little wedding planning, let's talk budget."

"Rossi said he doesn't mind paying for the thing," Spencer told. "Even though we've tried to tell him multiple times he doesn't have to, he offers anyways." Casey shrugged, "Yeah, well, my dad wants to. He at least wants to chip in for catering."

Spencer furrows his brows. "Since when does he have a job?" He questions. Casey takes a pause, she actually didn't even think about it until now. Usually, she took care of his rent and chipped in on the electric bill. "I actually don't know," She says. "I haven't talked to him in a little while one on one. But he does wanna help. And I think a father should at least chip in to his daughter's wedding as well as walking her down the aisle."

Casey then nods over at Spencer. "And since your mother's doing better, I'm think you two should have a mother-son dance while I have my father-daughter dance." Spencer smiles as he thinks about the idea. "I think that's a good idea."

            Casey smiles as she looks at her food and begins to eat. "Morgan, Hotch and Vivian already RSVP'd, even Kate did. I felt like I haven't seen her in forever." Spencer looks at his fiancée carefully. "You know, the wedding's not for another few months. Rossi and Garcia said that they'd take care of everything for us so you don't have to stress while you're working."

            Since Casey had been busy with "unit chief" stuff most of the time and also with being a mom, Rossi and Garcia offered to take care of everything regarding the wedding for the couple so they wouldn't have to stress about it as much.

            Casey gives a look to Spencer. "Um, Spencer, did you hear yourself? The wedding's in a few months. We have to plan accordingly and to accommodate with our schedules. We're FBI agents, we never have time to plan anything. I just wanna get ahead." She explains her reasoning for why she's planning ahead. Spencer chuckles as he shakes his head at his fiancée, "Typical you."

            Casey raises a brow at Spencer as she points a threatening finger towards Spencer. "Hey, mister. Need I remind you, you were counting Christopher's breaths when he was in my stomach. And you wouldn't let me have a slurpee because you were worried it was gonna freeze his head."

           "Ice use can also increase the risk of placental abruption, which not only deprives the baby of oxygen and nutrients but can also lead to heavy bleeding in the mother. Women who use ice during pregnancy are also at greater risk of mortality," Spencer explained and Casey narrowed her eyes at the man. "But I will admit, I did go a little overboard back then. But he was our first kid. Every dad reacts like that. Just look it up with statistics."

Casey smiles and shakes her head when suddenly there's a knock on the door and the couple look up to see that Garcia is standing there with her tablet in hand. "Hey, lovebirds. Sorry to bother you guys but we do have a case."

The woman sighs as she stands up from her desk. "Alrighty, we'll be there in a sec." With that, both Spencer and Casey stand up and begin to head out when suddenly, Casey's cell phone rings in her pocket and she decides to take the call quickly before entering the roundtable room.

          "Hello?" Casey asks and the person on the other line begins to speak to her. "Yes, this is she." Casey's face is quick to drop and her eyes widen. "Oh, my God. Wh-What? When-when-when was this?"

          Spencer stops in his tracks as he sees Casey's face drop and he worries for a moment, thinking it's about Chris. "What's wrong?" He asks but Casey doesn't answer him. She instead answers the person on the other line. "Okay, I will-I will be there." She hangs up the phone and clasps a hand over her mouth as if she's in shock.

         "What's up?" Spencer asks again, concern raising in his voice and Casey speaks softly, "My dad. He had a- he had a heart attack last night." She reveals and Spencer furrows his brows as he asks: "What? Is he okay?"

          Casey nods, nearly sighing in relief. "He is, he drove himself to the hospital and he got there in time. Apparently, he's been there for a day or so. They just got his name today. I gotta- I gotta get to the hospital." Casey almost rushes off but completely goes back to facing Spencer for a moment to peck him on the lips before going to get her stuff in her office. "Love you, be right back."

           With that, Casey marched into her office and grabbed whatever she needed from there and a lot of thoughts ran through her mind. Like she had stated before, she'd only talked to James just a few days ago. He was perfectly fine before all of it, perfectly healthy as far as she knew. She was very confused by the whole thing. And the fact that he was already in the hospital this whole time.

           A lot of thoughts ran through her head as she quickly escaped from the building and to the parking garage but she didn't know that someone was hot on her trail as she got to her car. "Casey. Hey, Casey!" The woman spun around to see that her fiancé had followed her out of the building into the parking garage.

           Casey sighed as she looks at the man in front of her. "Spence, I don't really have time—" Spencer interrupted the woman. "I want to come with." Casey raised her brows, thankful for the gesture but doesn't want to burden Spencer with her father. "What? No, the team needs you." She questions.

          "They can solve this case without me." Spencer argues and Casey sighs, knowing she doesn't have time to argue and all she wants to do is see her father. "Okay, fine, get in." She decides and the two climb into the car and drive to the hospital.

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Of course with Casey's reckless driving, the two got to the hospital and Casey walked right up to the receptionist desk and got the woman's attention at the desk. "Hi, I-I'm looking for James... James Willows?" Casey asked but before the receptionist could respond, a voice behind Casey and Spencer spoke.

"Cassandra Willows?" Casey and Spencer turned around and faced a man in a doctor's coat. "I'm Dr. Burke, your father's doctor. Is this your husband?" He motions to Spencer and she nods, "Uh, close, fiancé."

            "Is he okay?" Spencer asked Dr. Burke, talking about James. "He suffered from a heart attack. He stopped breathing but he drove himself here just in time for us to check him out. We don't know the cause yet but it could be anything." The doctor explained.

             "Can I see him?" Casey asks. Dr. Burke nods, "Right this way." With that, Casey and Spencer are led to a separate room where James is in a hospital gown and in a hospital bed, sitting up a bit. He looked okay, as far as Casey knew. But then again, what the hell did she know? Definitely not the fact that her father wasn't healthy enough to have a freaking heart attack.

           As soon as Casey saw her father on the bed, she immediately rushed over to him. "Casey." James said and Casey puts a hand on her father's shoulder. "Hey, Dad. You okay?" She wonders.

          "Yeah, yeah, they're calling it a minor heart attack. I'm fine." James nodded. "Dad, it was a heart attack nonetheless. It was serious." Casey told.

           James sighs, nodding to his daughter. "I'm fine, really." He looks over at his future son-in-law. "Spencer, will you tell her that I'm fine?"
          "Well, James, it was a heart attack," Spencer stated. "In men, the risk for heart attack increases significantly after the age of 45. Did you change your diet or anything like that?"

          James had a flicker in his eyes but shook his head almost immediately. "No, no, nothing like that."

          Dr. Burke spoke up at the doorway. "We managed to restore the blood flow to the part of the heart muscle damaged during your heart attack."

         James sighs and Casey looks at her father, who doesn't seem to be bothered with the fact that he just had a heart attack. "Dad. This was serious, you realize that, right?" James nods as he looks down at his lap. "I know. But I'm okay."

        "Miss Willows, Dr. Reid, do you mind stepping out of the room while I ask James here a few questions?" Dr. Burke asks and Casey nods, "Uh, sure."

        Before she leaves, she places a soft kiss to her dad's temple and leaves the room to join the waiting room with Spencer.

         They were probably there for about thirty minutes and Spencer stepped out to call Isaac and inform him of what was going on since apparently he had no idea what was going on. Casey had called Emily and apologized for needing to rush off early. Emily had assured that family emergencies came first and that she had no trouble taking over for their case in Vancouver. Emily told her to keep her posted with what was going on and Casey assured her she would.

After the phone calls they both made, Spencer walked back over to Casey, who was seated in the uncomfortable hospital seat. "You okay?" Spencer asks as he hands her a coffee cup and Casey shrugs as she happily accepts the coffee cup. "Yeah, just tired of hospitals."

Spencer sits down next to Casey and holds his cell up to Casey. "Well, hopefully this will cheer you up." Casey looks at Spencer's screen and reveals a photo of their son, smiling up at the camera and Casey smiles a bit as she says, "It does." 

"Isaac sent it to me when he picked him up from school." Spencer stated as Casey stared down at Spencer's phone and shakes her head, "He's getting way too big." She said, the realization hitting her that Christopher was a smart six year-old and not the infant she was holding when she'd first given birth.

"It's just like yesterday he was taking his first steps." Spencer said with a small smile on his face. Casey smiles as she hands Spencer's phone back. "Did you remind Isaac that Chris needs to take his meds tonight?" Spencer nodded, "Yes, I did. And I told him that I have a feeling it's gonna be a while with the tests they're running."

           Casey sighs as she looks at the tiles of the floor. "Dad's perfectly healthy. He's in his fifties and in the greatest shape of his life. It doesn't make any sense." The woman tells and Spencer agrees, putting a comforting hand on his fiancée's knee. "No, it doesn't."

          "How did Isaac take the news about Dad?" Casey wonders and Spencer shrugged, "He's worried, but I assured him things were good and that we're here for him."

           Spencer could tell Casey had a lot on her mind and even though she'd never admit just how worried she actually was due to her always closing herself off to people and Spencer had to assure that she wasn't alone in this. So, he ushered Casey to lean on him and he grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles and looked over at his coffee cup and suddenly got an idea to cheer her up like he always did.

         "Did you know that Finland drinks the most coffee in the world?" Spencer asked, bringing out the coffee facts. Casey raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to look at Spencer. "Finland?"

         Spencer nodded, "Yes, Finland. According to the International Coffee Organization, the average adult Finn consumes 27.5 pounds of coffee per year. In comparison, the average weight of an American is only 11 pounds. In second place, you find Norway, third place Iceland and fourth place, Denmark."

          Casey shrugged in response and she smirked, "You and your little coffee facts."

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           It had been over a few hours now. Casey spent her time pacing and was confused at the wait for some tests. I mean, they already knew her dad had a heart attack, what was taking so damn long? Spencer looked at his fiancé, getting anxious just looking at her pacing.

"Hey, baby, maybe you should sit down." Spencer suggested but Casey shook her head as she bit her nails in anxiousness. "No, I'm okay. It's okay. I just don't know what's taking so long."

Suddenly, as if on cue, Dr. Burke had come out to the waiting room. "Uh, Agent Willows?" The woman looked up at the doctor and Spencer stood up and Dr. Burke looked at Casey and then at Spencer and suggests, "We should speak privately."

Casey shook her head, "Whatever you have to say you can say to the both of us." She grabs Spencer's hand and Dr. Burke nods, choosing not to argue with the woman. "Okay, uh, have a seat." He tells.

Spencer and Casey sit down in their spots and Dr. Burke sits diagonally from them as he begins to talk to them. "We ran your father's blood tests and... we found traces and evidence of drug usage in his veins."

           Blood rang in Casey's ears once Dr. Burke said that and she asks softly, "What?" Spencer listens as Burke speaks and he's just as lost as Casey. James? Drug usage?

         "There was also a lot of blood vessel damage and bradycardia." Burke explained.
         "Bradycardia— what's—? Spencer, what's—?" Casey looks at Spencer like a lost child and Spencer looks at the doctor as he regathers the info in his head.

         "Bradycardia or slowed heart rate, is a common symptom of chronic..." Spencer pauses and looks at Burke, realizing what he's about to say. Casey is still very confused. "Spencer." She asks him, wanting him to finish what he was saying.

         Spencer looks down, knowing Casey isn't going to like this answer. "It's a common symptom of chronic heroin use."

          Casey furrows her brows and she is just lost about the whole thing. And she doesn't want to accept these answers. She just doesn't.

"Some individuals often mix heroin with other substances and toxins that are not supposed to enter the bloodstream. These substances can block the veins, obstructing the flow of blood, which may lead to a heart attack—"

Casey immediately interrupts Burke as she shakes her head, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm sorry." She breaks out in a denial of a chuckle and shakes her head as she stares at the doctor in disbelief. "You... you must have the wrong person. My dad, see, he's been clean for over seven years now. He wouldn't... he wouldn't jeopardize that. Not in a million years, not— so... no. I don't accept that."

Casey stands up and Spencer grabs at her arm but she shakes him off. "Casey—" Spencer tries.
"You are a lousy doctor, so if you'll excuse me, I want a second opinion, so... we're leaving." With that, Casey immediately walks past the doctor to call for her father. "Dad."

Spencer stands up and so does Dr. Burke and he gives the man an apologetic look as he follows his fiancée.

"Dad..." Casey scoffs as she walks over to the room and pulls the curtain surrounding the bed. "Dad, you are not gonna believe this crap—" Casey takes a long pause and furrows her brows when she sees the sheets are shuffled around but there's no sign of James.

The bed was empty.

"Dad?" Casey questioned and Dr. Burke and Spencer furrows their brows when they find the bed empty as well. "Where'd he go?" Spencer asks and Dr. Burke pretty much tries to put the hospital on hold so they could find James.

But Casey had a feeling that they might not find him right away. And he was wherever now.

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After spending at least another hour on trying to find Casey's dad, they concluded he left against hospital admission and that Casey needed to file a missing persons' report in two days.

With that, Spencer and Casey had gone home and told Isaac about what happened. He was just as confused about the whole thing but he offered to take Chris for the night since it was just a long day and he knew that Spencer and Casey must've been exhausted.

As soon as they walked through the door of their place and set their sets of keys down, Spencer spoke up finally. "So you're not worried about him." He stated, matter of factly, considering how Casey reacted with the entire thing with her dad going missing and all.

He thought she'd be freaking out by now and going out of her way to find him like she's been with her other family members in the past. But Casey didn't even bat an eye when she saw that hospital bed empty. Emotionless, empty, numb. They were the only words Spencer could use to describe how Casey looked.

Casey sighed, really wanting to do anything but have this conversation right now. She takes off her coat and puts it on the coat hanger as she says: "I didn't say that, Spencer."

"You might as well be saying it. Your dad left miraculously in the middle of the night and you're not worried about it? He's your dad." Spencer argued and Casey had enough of this.

Casey Willows told herself that there were just a few things in life that Spencer Reid would never understand about her life. And this was one of them. Her relationship with her dad was always complicated and she had to have known something like this was gonna happen sooner or later. But deep in her heart, somewhere deep inside, she just hoped that she was wrong about her gut feeling this time. Just this one time, please.

Casey turns to face Spencer. "You're right, he is my dad but I know what he is, Spencer." She tells. "When I was seven years old, the exact same thing happened. He was in the hospital and he left after refusing medical care. I didn't see him for two weeks. And you know what he was doing the entire time? Using." She revealed. "So, I'm not worried because I've seen this before. When I saw that that hospital bed was empty, I had that exact same feeling I had when I was seven. I'm just hoping I'm not right."

Casey tried to take a deep breath but her breathing trembled and she shook her head. "But what if I am, Spencer? What then?" She sniffles and Spencer looks at the woman and approaches her, engulfing her into a hug, knowing this was what she needed right now.

           A part of Casey just hoped that she wasn't right about this, that he just left and just forgot to sign papers to leave. She just hoped that he wasn't out there being stupid and hoping that maybe by tomorrow, he'd call and explain the entire situation to her and Isaac. Some part of her hoped he'd show up at her place or even Isaac's place.

            Casey just hoped for this one time, she was wrong. And that's hard to hope for when this is the woman who's always right without even meaning to be right.

writing a chapter when you're feeling down about life >>>>
anywayssss
hey lovelies🫶

sooo yeaaa we'll find out more about what's going on with james in the next chapter hehehe
and hint: it's not good

casey:

anywayssss
thank you for reading
love you guys
byeeeee
-mya </333