Hotch's Niece | Criminal Minds

Family

My eyes flicker open at seven that morning. I definitely wasn't prepared to see Spencer asleep in the desk chair beside the bed, full pink lips open slightly and long eyelashes against his cheeks, eyes gently shut. His hair is fluffily flopped everywhere, and I blush when I realize he's holding my hand. 

After a minute of staring, I snap out of the trance I am in, and get up the surprising amount of courage it takes to wake Spencer. I lean over, pull my hand from his grasp, and shake his knee gently. His eyes flicker open, and when he realizes where he is, a deep blush curls up his neck to the apples of his cheeks. 

"What are you doing here, Spence?" I ask softly, and the blush on his cheeks deepens. He stares for a minute, and then changes the subject very obviously. 

"Good morning, Avery," his voice is so sleepy and raspy that for a second I nearly forget the information I am trying to draw from him. I blink a few times.

"Good morning to you too, Spence, but seriously, what are you doing here?"

He blushes even deeper, and in a very quiet voice, says, "Well, you see, last night, you fell asleep in the car, and so I carried you up here, and when I put you in bed and went to leave, you grabbed my arm and asked me to say. I, um," Spencer's voice is cracking so badly that he has clear his throat. "Well, you looked really adorable, and so I pulled up a chair, and held your hand while you fell back to sleep, and before I was ready to leave, I nodded off." Spencer squeaks out. 

I blush and smile at the same time. 

Looking over at the clock, I remember that our flight back to Virginia leaves in a little over an hour(we'd decided on 8:15am for the flight).

"Spence, our flight leaves in like an hour, you should probably go get ready to go." I tell him, and he nods, standing after another moment of peace. After he's left, I sit up and have a good stretch, then peel back the covers. I smile when I see that I am still in my clothes from last night but my boots are unzipped and placed neatly at the foot of my bed. Of COURSE Spencer took off my shoes for me. It's so painfully Spencer that I can't help laughing.

I figure out the coffee machine on the counter, and once it starts brewing, I get changed and brush my teeth. I've started liking those stupid business suit pants, the ones with way too many buttons and snaps, and today I'm wearing a black pair, a white button down with black buttons, and a dark purple blazer on top. I hate heels, but I'm kind of way too short to not wear them, so I throw on a pair of black pumps that are fairly small, only one and a half or two inches. Not much, compared to the heels that Emily wore last night. 

I leave my hair down in the same loose curls that they were in last night, brushing them only enough to get out the frizz and tangles. I pack quickly, most of my things being already in the bag. At 7:45, I am completely ready to go, coffee, purse and bag in hand, but when I swing the door open I feel as though I am forgetting something.  I scan the room for anything I may have left behind, when my eyes land on the little stuffed animal hill that I decided to give to Henry. I smile and rush over to them, quickly packing them into my bag. 

Now I'm ready to go. 

We end up taking off at exactly 8:15am. Go us!

I'm sitting next to Spencer and across from JJ, who is seated next to Morgan. 

Hotch, Emily and Rossi are behind us, talking loudly. When Rossi gets up and goes to make coffee, Hotch leans around from behind JJ. "Reid, can I talk to you a minute?" 

Reid stiffens beside me, just enough for me to notice, and I can't help but nearly smile. I know that Uncle Hotch is being overprotective about Spencer because my dad... isn't here anymore to threaten my boyfriends like he used to when I first started dating. God, it really hurts just to think of him.

Reluctantly, Spencer stands and goes to sit across from Hotch and Emily, and right as he goes by me I can see that Hotch whispers something in JJ's ear. I'm slightly frightened when she smiles an evil smile and leans over to Morgan to give him the message.

My fear increases when JJ stretches her arms out and cracks her knuckles, rolling her neck to loosen up the muscles. Morgan's smiling too, that same smile I remember from when he hid behind the door to scare JJ and Emily this morning in the lobby of the hotel. Uh oh.

JJ  fixes me with a sweet smile. "Well, Avery, looks like we've been asked to give you "the talk!" the gorgeous blonde agent does air quotes for the last two words Morgan looks excited, and JJ looks like she's halfway between excited and motherly. She and Spencer have an adorable relationship, I really like it. They're like a brother and sister, but they don't fight, so more of a sibling/best friend hybrid. Then again, JJ is a very motherly human, and I can imagine that with Spencer's lack of sufficient parents, JJ often mothers him. I can so see her making him birthday cakes and demanding that the team throw him birthday parties.

Morgan and Spencer have much more of a sibling-y relationship, that's for sure. They're constantly pranking and picking on each other, and they always compete, despite the fact that there really isn't anything that they are equally good at. Spencer has Morgan beat in all things intelligence(well, Spence beats pretty much everyone on the team in brain games, except for me), and Morgan beats Spencer at literally everything athletic. I mean, Morgan is the working class Superman, so that's also not really surprising. However, when push comes to shove, I do know that there isn't anything that Morgan wouldn't do for Spencer, and vice versa. They really are brothers. 

I truly think I can have really amazing relationships with everyone on the team. JJ seems like someone who will be really great at listening and will fight someone if I tell her they were bad to me. She and Emily, who seems like the type of person who tries to make you smile when you're sad, might end up being like big sisters to me. 

Garcia, who I haven't even met in person yet, seems like a huge fluffball.

Morgan seems like he gives really great hugs, and he's very protective of the people he loves. 

Rossi is sweet, and I have known him for a long time, and I still don't have a single bad thing to say about him. 

Spencer is, well, my boyfriend, and Uncle Hotch is family.

Funny, I walked into that building a few days ago thinking I had very little family left, and after all it may seem that I have found myself a whole new one without even trying. I think, after everything that has happened, that I may be alright. Yes, I'll be just fine.

I look JJ straight in the eyes and smile back. "Bring it on."