The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

75. Proof

Cassidy had been quiet over the past 2 days. Everyone had noticed this and Spencer was the only person who knew why. He knew about the news that Cassidy had received, and he knew that Emily wouldn't be pleased when she found out not only about the news, but also about how Cassidy found out.

"Are you okay, Cassidy? You've been awfully quiet for the past couple of days. Is it the baby? Do you and Spencer need some time off?" Emily asked as she walked up to Cassidy's desk, seeing her silently finish off the paperwork on her desk.

"No. I'm alright. Don't worry about me. I'll tell you if something's wrong." Cassidy smiled, trying to prevent Emily from finding out that she disobeyed orders.

"Cassidy, spill." Emily sat down, exhaling. She knew exactly when Cassidy was lying, and she just did.

"Cassidy! I found proof!" Penelope explained as she entered the bullpen.

"Proof? What proof?" Emily questioned, confused.

Just as Penelope got closer and Emily kept questioning her, Cassidy looked down at her phone and saw that Joanne had messaged her, saying that she had proof.

"Damn it." Cassidy groaned, glancing at Emily.

"Penelope, can you and Spencer please meet me and Emily in Emily's office?" Cassidy requested, watching as Penelope nodded, walking off to find Spencer.

"Cassidy, what's going on? What proof is Penelope talking about?" Emily glared at Cassidy as she and Cassidy walked up to her office.

"It's best that we talk privately." Cassidy spoke.

Within 2 minutes, Spencer, Penelope, Emily and Cassidy sat in Emily's office, while the rest of the team worked on a new case in the conference room.

"Okay, can someone PLEASE explain to me what's going on? Why does Penelope have proof, and what is the proof?" Emily questioned, confused.

"Please don't be mad, Em." Cassidy begged, exhaling.

"What did you do?" She glared at Cassidy.

"You remember how you pleaded for me not to contact Stephanie?" Cassidy asked, her hands resting gently on her stomach.

"Why, Cassidy? Why? I pleaded for you NOT to contact Stephanie, and yet, you went against my orders and possibly put yourself and your baby in danger." Emily angrily exhaled.

"I know, and I'm sorry! But Spencer and I, we needed answers." Cassidy widened her eyes, not meaning to drag Spencer into the conversation.

"You allowed her to do this?!" Emily angrily glared at Spencer, not caring that she had yelled at him.

"Hey! Don't yell at him! It was MY idea, Emily, not Spencer's." Cassidy growled at Emily, who exhaled, trying to calm down. Spencer didn't deserve the anger that she had caused.

"So, what exactly did you do when you contacted Stephanie?" Emily asked.

"I met up with her and found out why Joanne Walten had hired her. Once I found out, I went to see Joanne myself. After a heated conversation, I asked her to cease Stephanie's investigation into me." Cassidy exhaled.

"What was the reason for her hiring Stephanie?" Emily asked, glancing between Cassidy, Penelope and Spencer.

"Uh, that topic is why I have proof. You see, Cassidy informed me that Joanne claimed to be her mother, so I was tasked with finding out everything about her, which included proof that she was Cassidy's mother." Penelope explained.

"She's- What?" Emily gasped.

"So- Uh- Cassidy, I found the proof that you might have been looking for." Penelope looked at Cassidy, handing her a piece of fancy paper.

"Is this...what I think it is?" Cassidy couldn't help but cry a bit.

"Yes. That, in your hand, is your birth certificate." Penelope nodded.

"This isn't forged or somehow edited?" Cassidy didn't want to believe what she was seeing. She didn't want to believe that she had finally met her mother after just under 28 years.

She stared down at the piece of paper, shocked in clear print, was the name JOANNE WALTEN under the word MOTHER. It didn't make the realisation any easier when seeing the name SEAN HOTCHNER under the word FATHER.

"Oh, did you answer the text that you got earlier?" Penelope asked, glancing down at Cassidy's phone.

"That's...the other proof that Joanne provided." Cassidy handed her phone to Spencer, who unlocked Cassidy's phone and opened the image, shocked.

"What does the photo show?" Emily asked, confused.

"There's Joanne, sitting on a hospital bed, looking much younger than she is now. She's holding a baby, while Cassidy's dad sits on a chair nearby." Spencer described the image that he was seeing. He looked up at Cassidy, who had pain in her eyes, and tears threatening to spill. She stood up and ran off, Penelope following her.

Cassidy ran to the closest female bathroom, feeling very sick. It didn't help that her pregnancy hormones were all over the place, making her more emotional than she normally would be.

After emptying her stomach contents, she cleaned up her face, watching as Spencer walked into the bathroom, not caring that it was a female bathroom.

"Why, with all the proof, do I not want to believe her. Why don't I want her to be my mother?" Cassidy sobbed, confused.

"I'm not exactly sure." Spencer shrugged her shoulders.

"Wow. The boy genius really doesn't know everything." Cassidy laughed, trying to lift her spirits.

"I think you're just overthinking and a bit emotional, which is totally valid. Having this massive reveal dropped on you, plus your pregnancy hormones...I'm not surprised that you're a bit overwhelmed." Spencer walked toward his wife, wrapping his arms around her. She was more than happy to embrace him, before realising that they stood in the female bathroom, and it was probably best if they went somewhere more private, which is what they did.

The moved their moment to the conference room, closing both the doors and the blinds, sealing them in a moment of silence and peace, ignoring any problems outside.

They stayed in their embrace for a solid 15 minutes before they both decided to focus on other things, instead of the complicated topic that was Joanne Walten.