˗ˏˋ ✰𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄༄ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 ✰ 'ˎ˗
≪ 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 4 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 7 ≫
༻✧𓆩🩰📔☁️𓆪✧༺
❝ 𝐦𝐫. 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞❞

BRIAR THOUGHT IT WOULD HAVE taken her a while to get adjusted to her new job as an FBI agent, however, she heavily underestimated the way her team was welcoming her. It was as if she were working there for years, even though it's only been several weeks.

Sure, her best friend was certainly a plus to adjusting to her new job, but her new teammates made it already feel like a second home.

What made the job better was that Briar's desk back at the academy was right next to Spencer so when they had their free time, they would catch up on their lives.

The team was currently boarding the plane, this new case being one of Briar's first cases that involved flying the plane. Nobody except Spencer knew that she had a small fear of flying.

As they walked the steps of the plane, Spencer noticed the light hesitance of Briar entering the staircase of the plane. A teasing smile slowly inched its way up his face and Briar already knew what the doctor was going to say.

"Still afraid of flying in planes I see?"

Years ago when Spencer brought Briar to Las Vegas for the first time to meet his mom, she kept her hands intertwined with Spencer's the whole plane ride on the armrest, her entire body rigid from her aerophobia. He wasn't complaining, of course, but it was a cherished core memory in the back of Spencer's head.

Briar scoffed. "Yeah, okay, mister "I'm still scared of the dark.""

Spencer's mouth opened and closed like a fish, his mind swimming for a comeback.

"Shut up," was all Spencer could muster, Briar chuckling at her best friend. She patted his shoulder before walking into the plane, him trailing behind her.

Spencer and Briar took their seats on the couch while everyone else took the chairs. For the next thirty minutes, everyone seemed to be engulfed in their own conversations. As for Briar, she would be talking to her best friend, except he was placidly sleeping on her lap, something he used to always do.

Perhaps it was a muscle memory habit when Spencer used to do this all the time in the past, but Briar didn't mind one bit. He looked so peaceful and his soft snores were music to her ears. Looking up from the sleeping doctor, Briar was met with the eyes of JJ.

"I've never seen Spencer so close and comfortable with someone before. You mean a lot to him. When I first saw the picture of the two of you on his desk, I knew you were important to him."

"Wait what picture?"

It was heartwarming for Briar to hear that Spencer had a picture of the two of them at his desk, even after a decade of not seeing each other.

"It was a picture of you and Spencer sleeping in the middle of the floor with boxes of cereal scattered on the ground. Reid was sprawled out like a starfish and you were using his back as a pillow."

Briar burst out laughing, reminiscing at the vivid memory. She held in her emotions, careful not to wake Spencer who was still resting his head on her lap.

That was a day when Spencer and Briar both finished their exhausting finals. At least it was exhausting for Briar. Spencer offered to help her study and they did for a while until they decided to take a break, which led to a marathon of The Godfather movies.

"I remember that day vividly. It was a good day."

Silence filled the air for a while until Briar spoke up again.

"When are you due?" Briar asked, pointing to JJ's swelling belly.

Smiling at the mention of her unborn child, JJ chuckled and stroked her stomach with contentment.

"In three weeks. How about you, any boyfriends or girlfriends we can tease you about?"  JJ asked with a knowing smirk. Briar laughed nervously and shook her head.

"Nope, I have the worse luck with relationships. Unless they're fictional characters from romance books, I'm very single."

Nodding her head, JJ looked at Briar who was weaving her hands through Spencer's hair, internally smirking at the pair.

"We should go over the case." Hotch pivoted his head toward Spencer. "Reid," Hotch called, the sleeping doctor not waking from his slumber. Briar looked down at him, lightly shaking his shoulder with still no reaction.

"Spence," Briar called once again. She patted his cheek with still no reaction. "Spencer Walter Reid!"

Suddenly, Spencer jolted up from Briar's lap, nearly colliding his forehead with hers. Rubbing out the drowsiness in his eyes, Spencer regained his blurry vision with his teammates staring at him.

"Hey, sweets. Welcome back to earth," Briar grinned, her beaming energy instantly radiating a form of warmth on Spencer. He would've smiled back if it weren't for the exhaustive dream he had.

"Sorry, I was dreaming."

"Ha, no kidding."

"We found a 6-year-old boy who had been abused and stabbed. Your baby was at the crime scene. I was trying to get him out of there." Noticing the inquisitive stares, Spencer apologized.

"It's okay," JJ assured Spencer who still look startled by his vivid dream.

"​​You know, Reid, simple dream analysis...if there's a baby in your dreams, that baby's actually you," Derek added.

"I don't believe in dream analysis."

Hotch asked Spencer if he wanted to sit this case out, considering that his subconscious wanted him to sit this case out, but Spencer denied it, reassuring himself he was okay.

"Did you tell your mom that you're coming home?" Briar asked, looking up at Spencer, tilting her head in question.

Spencer looked at his best friend before darting his eyes toward the other agents.

"Why aren't we reviewing the case file?" He questioned, changing the subject completely.

"Maybe because someone fell asleep on the jet. Oh, and drooled a bit on my thigh." Rolling his eyes playfully at Briar, Spencer nudged her shoulder, earning a chuckle from the girl. The two best friends didn't notice the knowing smiles of the other agents around them.

༻✧𓆩♡𓆪✧༺

Briar, Derek, and Spencer sauntered their way through the door of the victim's home, Hotch signaling for them to be quiet as they walked into a phone call. The parents were talking to the unsub, but the trio caught the tail end of the call as he hung up.

Over the phone, Garcia said they have leads, a small but effective start to hunting the suspect. Finally noticing the agents and doctor that entered the home, JJ introduced them.

"These are agents, Morgan, Reid, and Onodera. They'll be here all night just in case he calls back."

The parents barely acknowledged them, but they couldn't blame them, considering the dire situation they were in. The mother asked to lie down, followed by the husband who trailed after his wife.

Once they were out of earshot, Hotch spoke.

"What'd you find out from the medical examiner?"

"We think that he was starving him," Briar stated.

"But that doesn't fit with the care he takes with the bodies."

"Starvation could be a form of torture. There's no sexual assault so the torture could be a substitute for the sex," Briar added, Derek and Spencer nodding their heads in agreement. Hotch stared straight ahead, drinking in all the information.

"I'll coordinate with Rossi and Prentiss, we'll call you if there's anything new."

The agents nodded their heads in agreement, their superior and liaison walking out the door, leaving the trio in the living room.

"I feel like this is important because it's very important. How are the sleeping arrangements going to work?" Briar asked with a serious tone.

Spencer suppressed his laugh, his lips curing into a grin. He remembered how much Briar loved to sleep, another reason why her name was extremely fitting for her. Spencer had even bought her own designated blanket for whenever she would visit his dorm, knowing how much the girl sleeps.

"Sleeping Beauty, if you wanted to be in the same bed as me, you could've just said so," Derek flirted, earning a snort from Briar. 

"Oh honey, you wish. I sleep better alone. I'm a kicker," Briar teased in the same tone of voice.

Spencer huffed in frustration at their obvious flirting, feeling uncomfortable at the image of Derek and Briar in the same bed together. The doctor rolled his eyes when Derek laughed at his annoyed expression.

He was having a field day messing with the doctor.

"Rose can take the sofa, I'll take the floor, and you can take the recliner on the other side of the room," Spencer directed, Derek, laughing even harder if possible. Briar laughed along with Derek, shaking her head at her best friend.

Nightfall came relatively quickly as the white crescent moon shone its silvery radiance against the sleeping agents' faces. Briar's sleep was filled with peace, her soft snores clashing with the quiet crickets outside of the house.

However, that peace was interrupted when Briar heard mumbling from beneath her. Pivoting her head, Spencer's breathing was turning ragged, alerting her senses that something was wrong.

"Get 'em—Rose, get 'em off me!" Briar rose to her feet in panic, crouching down next to Spencer and vigorously shaking him awake.

"Spence! Hey, Spence, wake up, wake up!" His eyes shot open, his eyes meeting Briar's frantic ones. Derek stood beside the new agent, his heart plummeting at the sudden wake-up call.

The parents of the kidnapped child descended down the stairs, looking at the disheveled agents.

"What the hell is going on?" Craig asked, looking at Briar who was attempting to comfort Spencer.

Derek went to talk to the parents as Briar put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, making eye contact with him.

"You're okay, Sunshine," Briar assured, Spencer's heart doing backflips at the nickname she gave him as a kid. He nodded silently and ran his hands through his growing hair, patting Briar's thigh lightly before standing up to his feet.

"You wake us up screaming, you think everything's ok? You're the F.B.I," Craig scolded. Briar was about to speak up, but Spencer beat her to it.

"You're right, I'm really sorry," Spencer apologized. The parents both went back to bed after a moment of hesitance and annoyance. The air was filled with thick tension and Briar sat down next to Spencer, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

Derek sat in front of Spencer as Briar stood up, sleepily walking away from the pair.

"Where are you going?" Spencer asked a little too quickly. Briar pointed to the bathroom, muttering  "Gotta pee."

He nodded his head and kept his eyes on Briar until she closed the door of the bathroom behind her. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, her tousled blouse rising up, revealing the long scars of the deep traumatizing lacerations on her abdomen. Tracing her fingers above the jagged scar, she huffed at how insecure she felt about them.

Quickly using the bathroom and splashing her face with cold water, Briar walked out to reveal an already sleeping Derek on the recliner and a wide awake Spencer laying on the floor.

Briar plopped her body on the sofa, leaning on her side Briar looked down at Spencer who was already staring up at her.

"Hey, Rosie," Spencer said softly.

"Hi, Spence."

"I can't sleep," he murmured in defeat.

Without thinking, Briar sat up and moved her way onto the carpeted floor, Spencer staring at her with wide eyes and confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Remember back then when I would always have trouble sleeping and you would let me use you as a literal human blanket?" Spencer nodded his head, remembering those memories vividly. "I knew it also helped you sleep so shush and let's go back to bed."

Before Spencer could protest, Briar was literally knocked out, her soft breathing hitting Spencer's heart. He chuckled at her as she snuggled up to his side, Spencer's arm subconsciously wrapping around her smaller figure.

For the first time in a while, Spencer slept in peace without worry.

Briar also didn't kick him in her sleep either.

༻✧𓆩♡𓆪✧༺

"What if she hates me?"

Briar and Spencer walked side by side with one another, slowly striding their way into the facility where Diana Reid was staying. When Briar fell out of Spencer's life all those years ago, several months later, Spencer had to make the difficult decision of putting his mom in a mental institution.

It was a hard year for him.

"My mom loves you. On the contrary, I think she'll love to see another face other than me," Spencer partially joked, knowing it was likely the truth.

"I know, but when I left, I'm sure she had a lot of interesting things to say about me," Briar muttered to herself.

"Trust me she doesn't hate you."

Spencer knew this because when Briar did leave, he never once talked badly about her when Diana would ask about her. All Spencer said was that she didn't have time to come anymore and moved away.

An older man walked up to Spencer and Briar, greeting them with a soft smile.

"Doctor Reid, your mom didn't tell me you were in town." The man diverted his attention from Spencer and onto Briar. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Doctor Norman."

"Pleasure to meet you, doctor. I'm Aurora Onodera."

"We're actually here for a case. And I thought you might be able to help us." Spencer started to explain the abductions and the murder to the doctor, while Briar stared at the blonde woman who was sitting in a chair.

She knew it was Diana and her heart started to thump out of her chest. Despite the circumstances of her being in a mental hospital, it was nice for Briar to see the woman who treated her as if she were her own daughter. Growing up without a stable maternal figure in her life, certainly impacted Briar's childhood.

Before she knew it, Spencer gently tugged on Briar's elbow, twisting her body so she could look him in the eyes.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Concern laced his expression.

"Yes, come on, let's talk to your mom." Spencer and Briar sauntered toward his mother, Diana expressing surprise at the sight of her son.

"Spencer, what are you doing here?" Diana redirected her gaze to Briar and her eyes widened.

"Hi, Diana. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm—"

"Briar! You finally came home, I missed you so much all of these years." Diana's smile was wide with happiness Spencer hasn't seen in a long time. It warmed his heart immensely.

"It's great to see you, Diana." She would've hugged her under the circumstances.

"We're here for work. We're investigating the murder and abduction of two five-year-old boys."

"I don't like the idea of you working on things that are so sad." Briar smiled sadly at Diana's worry for Spencer. She wondered what it was like to have a mother figure in her life.

Briar stifled a laugh when Diana scolded Spencer for being too skinny. She always said this to him and Briar would always smile when he would turn to her with a rosy blush adorning his cheeks.

Spencer explained to his mother how he keeps seeing this little boy ever since he was a kid which led to some dead ends. Briar and Spencer were about to leave the institution when Diana mentioned she went off her medication when she was pregnant. At this statement, Briar and Spencer both stared at each other, wide-eyed from the new information, both of them sharing the same thoughts.

"That must be it," Briar started. "Our unsub must think she the five-year-old child is her newborn."

With that, Briar called Hotch, walking out with Spencer, one step closer to solving the case.

༻✧𓆩♡𓆪✧༺

With the information Briar and Spencer obtained, the team solved the case rather quickly.

"Hotch, do you think it would be possible if we could wait until tomorrow to return home?" Spencer asked, Hotch silently nodding his head. Hotch asked Derek if he could find something to do for the night, and the agent smiled devilishly.

"Okay, I'll go with the rest of them so you can spend some alone time with your mom. I'll see you in the morning." Briar went up to Spencer to give her one of her signature hugs that everyone on the team grew to love, he opened his arms and snaked them around her shoulders, while hers went around his waist.

They pulled apart a few inches but remained enclosed in each other's embrace.

"Can you actually come with me? I'd feel better if you were there." Briar saw the desperation in his eyes and without a second thought, she nodded, earning a dopey smile from the doctor.

When the pair arrived back at the mental institution, they were greeted by Doctor Norman and Diana.

"I'm proud of you, Spencer." Diana praised her son.

"For what?"

"Saving that boy."

"How'd you know?"

"Remember what she said, Sunshine? A mother knows," Briar reminded her best friend, Diana smiling at her in agreeance and awe.

"Dr. Norman gave me permission to sleep on the couch in your room tonight if it's all right with you."

Diana nodded her head slowly, looking from her son to Briar who was already beaming a bright smile in her direction.

"Is Briar staying too?"

"Oh, uh y-yes." Spencer fumbled with his words, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"It's settled then. I need to spend more time with my future daughter-in-law anyway," Diana said with such confidence, it took a couple of seconds for the pair to realize what she was saying.

Briar started to choke on air, coughs leaving her throat as Spencer sputtered on the words he attempted to say. Doctor Norman was secretly enjoying the agents' reactions while keeping a professional composure.

The impenetrable hazy cobalt skies gleamed against the window panes of Diana's room, the vivid glow accenting the bodies of the agents on the sofa. Surprisingly, the sofa was big enough to fit the two of them and after the familiar sounds of their bickering, Briar agreed to share the sofa with Spencer.

Briar fell asleep first while Spencer looked over the file Derek gave him. He turned his gaze to the side of the sofa to see a peacefully sleeping Briar, a strand of hair covering her eyes. Subconsciously, Spencer brushed away the stray hair and stroked her cheek with his finger.

It didn't take long for Spencer to fall asleep after seeing Briar in such a calm state. The case file still rested on his stomach and his body posture was directed towards Briar in a protective manner, while not physically touching one another.

Their sleep was uninterrupted, almost going through a night full of sleep. However, Briar jolted up from her position when she saw Spencer up cross-legged, rubbing his eyes incessantly with panic.

"Spence," Briar mumbled tiredly. "What is it?"

"I think my dad killed Riley Jenkins."

𝐌𝐑. 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄 | 𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭

i've been MIA and i'm sorry for that. but now that schools finally out, i'm hoping to be more active on here !

BUT HOW HAVE YOU ALL BEEN? I MISSED YOU ALL 💗