Hotch's Niece | Criminal Minds

Talk

JJ stares at me for a second, apparently trying to figure out how to go about giving me "the talk". Morgan is sitting beside her, trying not to laugh. 

"Ok, Avery, it's like this. I really like you so far, and I think we'll be great friends. You're Hotch's family, so that makes you my family. But that freakishly tall genius is my best friend, and I will kick your tiny five two ass if you hurt him." JJ gives me one of her most terrifying stares and I shrink back in my seat. That woman is one of the nicest people I have ever met, but when it comes to her family and the people she loves, there isn't anything she wouldn't do. I know this, noticed it for the first time when I first talked to her about Henry. I noticed the protective fire she gets in her eye, and while Emily does the same thing, it's stronger in JJ. Personally, I attribute this to her status as a mother, but I don't know, could just be the way she is. 

When I realize that JJ and Morgan are waiting for me to react, I immediately nod. 

Morgan smiles. "Avery, I would add on to what she just said, but even I'm aware that she's more intimidating than me, so I'll just say that if you do hurt him, I won't report what she does to you. There will be no witnesses, and you will be gone, just like that." 

I nod fearfully again, and they both smirk. Both JJ and Morgan seem content with the level of fear in my eyes, and we all fall silent as I attempt to tune into the conversation happening behind them.

I can't see anything, but I can identify my Uncle's voice almost immediately. "Listen closely, Spencer. I like you. Really, I've known you a long time and consider you almost like a son to me. But that girl sitting behind you? She is my family. She and Jack? They're all I have left now. And her parents are dead." I flinch at that, and JJ, who has apparently also been listening, reaches across to grip my hand with one of hers. "She's been hurt enough, I think we all can agree. So if you even so much as think about hurting her, I will destroy you. I will take you down, and I won't just kill you, I will take my time and enjoy myself while I do it. If you hurt her, you'll never see me coming. You'll be in a lot of pain, and then you'll be gone, and no one will even think to look for you. I can promise you, if you hurt her, I will make you wish you'd never been-" (italics here just indicate that someone who Avery cannot see is speaking, not that she's thinking this)

Emily cuts him off at this point. "Aaron, that's enough, Spencer gets the point." I smile when I can almost sense my uncle relax, and can imagine that she's got her hand on his arm. 

"Yessir, I really do get the point, and believe me, hurting her will never be my intention. I deeply care for her." Spencer tells Hotch, and both JJ and I smile. To be honest, I see the look of a proud mother in JJ's eyes, and I know that they are best friends but she's watched him grow up, he was just a kid when he joined the team, and it doesn't surprise me that she almost thinks of him like a child. 

"Alright, Avery, how does dinner sound?" JJ says after looking at her phone. 

"Pardon?" I ask, unsure what she means. 

"Will, that's my husband, he just texted me and wanted to know if the team wants to have dinner at our house tonight. What do you think?" JJ asks. 

"Um, yeah, sure, that sounds fantastic! Does that mean I'll get to meet little Henry?" I ask, shifting in the overly plush jet seat. 

"Of course. We do these things sometimes, especially when we get or lose team members. It's nice to spend time together as a family outside of work, leaving all the death and the misery behind. We love each other, but sometimes it's hard to maintain healthy relationships when the only time you see someone is over a dead body." JJ jokes. Morgan grins.

"Your man grilling steak again? That was some pretty good meat." Morgan asks the blonde agent, and JJ smiles. 

"Nah, I think it's burgers, but I can put in a request for you if you like, Will is at the grocery store now." JJ tells him. 

Spencer stands behind the two older agents and comes to join me once again. He looks like he's just seen a ghost, and both JJ and Morgan smile at his spooked face. "Hey, Spence, we're doing dinner tonight at my house. You in?" JJ asks.

"Um, only if Avery and I get dibs on babysitting Henry next time the position's up for grabs." Spencer barters. The blonde nods.

"All yours." She leans around to where Hotch, Emily, and now Rossi are sitting. "Yo, Boss, Emily, Rossi. Dinner, tonight, my place. Good?" I hear three murmurs of small yeses, and JJ turns around, looking triumphant. 

Her phone dings, and she turns to Morgan, shaking him to get his attention. "Derek, today is your lucky day. Apparently my dear husband was also in the mood for steak, because he's agreed to change the menu to fit your expensive, if not picky, tastes."

"Yes!" Morgan says, pumping a fist in the air. 

Rossi leans around the chairs. "So long as Emily isn't cooking, I'm excited." JJ laughs at the remark, while I can hear the aforementioned brunette gasps in offense. 

"True that. Without Hotch cooking her dinner all the time, the girl'd have to live off of nothing but takeout, cereal, and ramen noodles." JJ remarks, as she wriggles her eyebrows suggestively. 

I smile. Clearly, the whole team knows that there is something going on between them, even if Emily and Hotch haven't quite realized it themselves. I love it here already, and can't help smiling as I look around at the people seated around me. JJ is poking Morgan while he attempts to braid part of her hair, and Spencer is playing with the fingers on my right hand. I can hear Emily, my uncle and Rossi laughing behind us, and I feel so at home. It's good here. I am safe, and I am happy.