The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

40. Welcome home

Haley's funeral was beautiful. Everyone believed so. Hotch gave a speech that left no dry eye at the burial. Cassidy held Jack's hand the entire time. She didn't let go. While Hotch gave his speech, trying not to cry every 30 seconds, Cassidy held Jack's hand, while her other hand was being held by Spencer, who wasn't afraid to let his tears show. A few slipped during the service, but by the time nightfall had arrived, Spencer had sat down at one of the tables, Jack sitting next to him as he kept Jack distracted, not quite knowing hard it must have been to lose a parent at such a young age.

But, as expected, the BAU's break from solving cases was over. That very night, while they all comforted Hotch, Cassidy and Jack, they were called away on a case. Hotch and Cassidy stayed behind, having been told by Strauss to take some time off.

For the first time since she joined the BAU, Cassidy had never been so ready for personal leave. Every time previous that she had been forced to stay away from work, she hated it. She loved her job and it was the one thing she looked forward to every day - besides working and being with Spencer, of course.

Yet now, Cassidy was more than happy to escape her job. It had started off as a place of joy and happiness from successfully taking down serial criminals and saving victims. But after George Foyet and other certain serial killers, it became a place of anxiety, stress, nightmares and now, grief. Haley's death took a major toll on Hotch and Cassidy, which is why they happily accepted Strauss' order for 6 months worth of personal leave.

Of course, Spencer was upset, knowing that he wouldn't see his girlfriend - the love of his life - for 6 months, but when she promised to call and text him, his sadness turned into acceptance. He knew that it was going to be a while, but he was happy to wait, if it meant that she could come back to the job she once loved.

———
(6 Months Later)

Hotch hadn't told anyone they were coming home. Cassidy may have told Spencer, but she only told him that she would be coming home soon. She didn't specify how soon.

So, when she and Hotch stood in the elevator, watching as the doors opened, no one expected to see them. Penelope was the first. All anyone could hear was an audible gasp before heels clicking on the floor as she ran to Hotch and Cassidy, embracing them both. Hotch rarely let anyone hug him, but he smiled, giving Penelope a loving hug back.

Morgan was next to notice that Hotch and Cassidy were back. He walked over to the pair, wrapping Cassidy in a hug before shaking Hotch's hand, knowing that Hotch wasn't much of a hugger.

Emily and JJ came next. They lovingly embraced Cassidy and hugged Hotch. Emily pulled away first, noticing a certain someone at their desk that hadn't noticed Cassidy or Hotch.

Cassidy headed toward Spencer's desk, seeing him elbow deep in paperwork. He hadn't even noticed all the commotion, which made Cassidy smile even more. Covering his eyes, she bent down.

"Guess who." She smiled, Spencer immediately standing up to meet her gaze. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her in for a loving kiss.

"I didn't know you were coming home so soon." Spencer chuckled.

"Well, I wanted to surprise you a little." Cassidy explained.

"Okay, okay. Enough pleasantries. Tonight, we're having a welcome home dinner for Hotch, Cassidy and Jack. Be at my place at 7:45 PM. Just a warning that any and all phones that are brought will not only be switched off, but put away for the evening." Rossi smiled before Spencer turned back to Cassidy.

"You ready to go home?" Spencer asked as they walked towards the elevator, ignoring the looks and the comments from their team.

"I have missed home so much." She admitted as they pressed the button for the ground level of the building.

The drive to the apartment was silent. Cassidy spent most of it just gazing out the window, while Spencer happily drove. When the pulled up and got out of the car, Spencer handed Cassidy her key to the apartment, letting her unlock the door.

The moments after pushing open the front door were relaxing for Cassidy. Even though she had spent 6 months just trying to relax, the idea of being able to sleep in her own bed with Spencer's arm wrapped around her torso, that was the real thing keeping her from going mad. For the next couple of hours, Cassidy and Spencer took their time finding good outfits.

"I missed this." Cassidy smiled to herself as she laid out the last item for her outfit.

"So did I. It was so lonely here without you." Spencer smiled, placing a kiss on her lips.

Both Cassidy and Spencer had agreed to leave by 7:25 PM. With a few hours to kill, Spencer and Cassidy took their time. They had nowhere to be for a while and it had been months since they could do anything. The amount of times that Spencer had wanted to pleasure himself to the thought of Cassidy but restrained was ridiculous. Cassidy had also wanted to pleasure herself to the thought of Spencer many times, but she had to restrain herself, mainly because both times she wasn't working, she was surrounded by other people.

But, by 7:25, as agreed, Spencer and Cassidy were dressed and ready to head to Rossi's. They got into Spencer's car, feeling excited for the dinner that Rossi would surely take pride in making.

Getting to Rossi's was easy. Spencer and Cassidy talked all the way there, as their time back at their apartment was spent being physical, and not verbal. When the walked up to Rossi's front door, they knocked, hearing light music.

"Well, well. The lovebirds finally decided to make it." Rossi smirked as he opened his front door, gesturing to the team, most of whom were already there.

"It's 7:42, Rossi. Calm down." Cassidy smiled.

"Eric Jerome Dickey once said that to be early is on time, to be on time is late and late is unacceptable!" Rossi laughed as he held out his hands, expecting Spencer and Cassidy to hand him their phones, which - out of respect - they did.

They evening was lovely. It was full of drinking, laughter and lots of questions. The questions started out simple enough, even diving into Spencer and Cassidy's relationship. But, eventually, the questions landed back on Cassidy and Hotch's time away.

"How was the cabin? It's been a few years since you've been there." Rossi asked as Hotch sipped his drink.

"It was peaceful." Hotch shrugged his shoulders.

"That's nice. Anything interesting happen?" Morgan asked, intrigued.

"Actually, yeah. Hotch, remember the day that Jack came down with a cough?" Cassidy looked at Hotch, who nodded.

"Yes. He had been coughing all day, so badly that his throat was hurting. He had also developed a headache. I felt so bad for him, that once I gave him some medicine, I sat outside for a few minutes and just looked up to the sky and imagined Haley looking down over us. An hour later, Jack came running outside. His throat was still a little sore, but his headache was gone. It was the clearest sign from Haley I had ever seen." Hotch smiled, trying not to cry.

"Where do you prefer being? Up at the cabin, with no work, no WIFI. Or, back at your apartment, with WIFI, plenty of BAU cases and your boy genius?" Emily asked, a smile on her face.

"As much as I loved being up at the cabin, I much prefer the apartment. The WIFI is good, I love my job and having such a handsome face to wake up to is a pretty good bonus." Cassidy laughed, kissing Spencer's cheek.

"To be honest, from seeing photos of Hotch's cabin via the photos on Cassidy's phone, I wouldn't mind renting or buying a cabin as like a getaway or vacation home." Spencer shrugged his shoulders as Cassidy let everyone see the cabin that her, Hotch and Jack had been staying at for the past 6 months.

"Why can I immediately imagine Spencer sitting down by a fire reading a book?" Penelope asked, confused.

"That's your mind, Garcia. You can't blame anyone but yourself." JJ shook her head, chuckling.