The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

9. Feelings

When Cassidy's alarm went off at 7:15 AM she stretched, feeling glad that she was the self-appointed designated driver last night. As she checked her phone, she felt someone's hand lightly grip her torso, pulling her in. She was confused at first, but remembering the events from last night, she smiled, a feeling of familiarity and safeness washing over her as she let Spencer's arm keep her close. She could feel his head close to hers as he slept.

She didn't want to move. To her, waking up in Spencer's arms is something that made her feel safe, like she wanted to wake up like this every day. But, as always, her senses kicked in, meaning she immediately reminded herself of the risks involved with dating a co-worker. At the time, taking the risks seemed normal, like something she wanted, but she knew that down the track, she'd resent herself and Spencer if something was to go wrong.

As much as she didn't want to, she nudged Spencer slightly, watching as he rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"Morning already? Let me sleep!" Spencer groaned as he threw her blanket over his body, angry that she had opened the curtains, letting the light seep into the room.

"How are you doing Spencer? Last night was a lot, wasn't it?" Cassidy laughed as she ripped the blanket of Spencer's naked body, not caring.

"JEEZ!" Spencer grabbed the blanket from her, covering his lower half.

"Hey, it's not like I haven't seen it before." She laughed, Spencer sitting down.

"To answer your question, I feel like shit. My head hurts, my eyes hurt and I'm pretty sure that I may have said some stupid things last night." Spencer rolled his eyes as Cassidy threw his clothes at him.

"C'mon, hurry up. We're going to be late for work." Cassidy clapped her hands, impatiently waiting for Spencer to change. Cassidy changed, making some coffee while she waited for Spencer.

"Morgan is going to have a field day with me." Spencer groaned as he got dressed, following her out of the apartment.

The drive to work was hilarious for Cassidy, watching as Spencer tried his best to adjust to the light. He would rub his eyes and blink a few times while he rested his head, still feeling a bit hungover. She was genuinely surprised when Spencer hadn't vomited.

As the pair walked into the office, everyone glanced at them, Morgan seeming like he had a bunch of questions right off the bat. Cassidy could feel something off about Hotch. Seeing as they're related, and for some time they were close, Cassidy picked up on a few things that signalled to her that Hotch wasn't okay.

"If you're a witness to something, you need to stay put. I'll come to you." Cassidy heard Hotch speak to someone on the phone, sounding serious.

"Hotch? Is everything okay?" Cassidy questioned as she and Hotch walked down to the bullpen, everyone gazing at them.

"We're going to Manhattan. Wheels up in 20." Hotch didn't even give the team any info on the case before sending them to the jet.

"Hotch, what's wrong?" Cassidy pulled Hotch aside, watching as he exhaled.

"You'll find out when we get there." Hotch shook his head before he pushed past her, making his way to the jet.

"What's wrong with Hotch?" Spencer whispered as he and Cassidy made their way onto the jet.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out." Cassidy shrugged her shoulders. Something definitely felt off, and she couldn't wait to find out why Hotch was being so secretive.

———

"And the M.E. reports showed 3 other victims bleeding out over the last week." Hotch spoke as he held a tablet in his hands.

"Yeah. One in Harlem, two in the Village, all 5 of them categorized as Ecstasy overdoses." Penelope spoke over the call.

"And one of the victims may have been drugged without her knowledge." Hotch explained, confusing Cassidy. Something about this case is personal to Hotch, which is why he seemed so secretive.

"Ecstasy is frequently used as a date rape drug, but I've never seen it cause bleeding like this." Rossi questioned, confused.

"Could it be a bad batch?" Spencer asked, looking down at the bodies.

"Well, uh, according to the M.E., the victims had so much MDMA in their systems that it caused their internal body temperature to go out of control. They boiled from the inside out." JJ clearly tried to remain composed.

"That's not typical of overdose victims either. We could be looking at product tampering, similar to the Tylenol cyanide poisoning in '82." Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"And the working theory in that case was that the unsub targeted a specific victim but dosed mass quantities to cover his tracks." Derek shook his head.

"But this is more than product tampering. This is mass murder." Derek leaned back, shocked.

"Overdosing certainly seems like a hard sell now." Rossi raised an eyebrow.

"How is he taking out experienced partiers and non-drug users at the same time?" Emily questioned, confused.

"He has to be dosing his victims without their knowledge somehow." JJ guessed.

"Ecstasy can be made in pill, powder, and liquid form. It wouldn't be that hard to slip something into someone's drink or to convince them the pill they're taking is safe." Spencer rambled, clearly trying to ignore the pounding in his head from all the drinking he did the night before.

"So even regular users might not know they're being dosed until it's too late." Cassidy spoke, Hotch exhaling.

"Why kill in such a graphic manner?" Rossi asked, swiping through the images.

"Well, he gets off on the spectacle. It's not just about the victims with this guy. It's about the witnesses. He incites fear." Emily shook her head.

"Which means the unsub is desperate for attention, and he wants all eyes on his work because he craves recognition." Derek looked around at everyone.

"He'll be paying close attention to the media, then. It allows him to relive his crimes." Hotch looked down at the images.

"You know, the medium of his kill is interesting. He's picking a drug that's known for its euphoric effect. It's like he wants to take that happiness away." Spencer seemed a little intrigued by the case.

"Well, it can't be a coincidence that the majority is victims are known drug users. He's taking the law into his own hands." Derek shrugged his shoulders.

"But what about the two who were clean? Linda Heying and Erik Sullivan's families insist they never touched the stuff." Emily questioned, curious.

"Either the victims are good at hiding the truth or the unsub's killing for another reason. We should take a closer look and see how they're connected." Hotch instructed before the team went on with their own things, shutting down the images on their tablets and closing the file in Spencer's case.