Dearest, Darling (S.R)

Chapter Nine

I was still smiling when I collapsed onto my bed after Spencer had dropped me off. My fingers tracing over my lips at the memory of where Spencer's mouth had just been. I heard my phone buzz on the table next to me and I ignored it, presuming it was either my mum or brother trying to speak to me again, I wasn't planning on letting either of them ruin my good mood. My phone buzzed again and it wasn't until I realised it could be Spencer texting me that I decided to check it. I was throughly disappointed to see I had two messages: one from my mum and one from Garcia.

I unlocked my phone, my mum's message was her asking me to ring her. I didn't think anything of it until I saw Garcia's message.

Call your mom. NOW!

My stomach was in knots as the line rang, the one time I actually wanted to speak to my mum she wasn't answering.

"Hey, Mads," Kit said as he picked up the phone.

"Hey, what's going on? Where's mum?" I replied.

"She's with Dad and George."

"Okay? Why is Garcia texting me, demanding that I ring mum right this second?" I was getting impatient with him. "Kit, stop being a prick and tell me what's going on!"

"It's dad..."

~ SPENCER ~

He had kissed her. Spencer had kissed her and she had kissed him back. He couldn't believe it. Spencer felt giddy as he crawled into bed that night, finally able to have a full nights sleep for the first time in months. Though his mood drastically changed when he woke up that morning to a text from Maddie.

Hey, don't need a lift in morning, will talk soon. X

He just presumed that she was driving herself because she had a meeting or needed to go into work early, it still hurt that she hadn't just asked him to go with her. Maybe she was avoiding him. He tried not to overthink it as he made his usual drive to work, the car feeling extremely lonely and quiet without Maddie singing along badly to the radio next to him.

"Good morning," he said to his colleagues as he sat down at his desk, who all offered him a small smile or a wave in return. He was about to start on his usual pile of paperwork until Hotch called the team into the conference room with another case.

"Where's Maddie?" Spencer asked, noticing her lack of absence in the conference room. Maybe she wasn't coming into work at all.

"She had to fly back home, said it was a family emergency so she won't be here for a few weeks," Hotch explained, clearly trying to be as vague as possible for Maddie's sake.

"Why? What happened?" He asked, brows furrowing as he wondered why she hadn't told him she'd gone home to England. Let alone that she had a family emergency.

"She didn't tell you? Her dad's sick, like only has a few weeks left to live sick," Garcia said, a sad look passing over her face. 

"She told you that?" His stomach dropped. He hadn't realised she and Garcia had been that close, a pang of jealously cursing through him which he did his best to ignore.

"No, Kit told me, he knows the only way he can get Maddie to speak to any of them is if I make her ring." She offered up a small smile which made Spencer feel slightly better, he still didn't know why Maddie hadn't told him.

"Reid, sit down. I know you two are close and she probably needs a friend more than anything right now, but we need you more on this case," Hotch stated, noting the hesitation on Spencer's face.