Telling the Truth (Spencer Reid)

chapter 19

Work is not a place most people call home. For most people, work is somewhere you dread going, somewhere you are forced to go. Chris had a different approach to work. The BAU was her home. 

Most of her time was spent there. Many hours were poured into meetings, cases, and paperwork. Sure, it was a stressful job that took a lot of effort but it was everything to her. The BAU was her home and the team was her family.

Now that she was finally home again with her family, after a two-week break due to a gunshot wound, she felt different. It was an unsettling feeling that she could not shake as she walked into the conference room seeing her team barely awake and trying to solve the case from what little knowledge they could gather. 

"You guys got anything new?" JJ inquired, looking at the notes Emily had written on the whiteboard.

"Nothing groundbreaking. We keep going over the facts, retracing the steps we have but nothing. Nothing seems to be connecting," Morgan vented. Chris picked up a case file that was strewn on the table. The pictures of Ross' body still sent chills down her spine.

"We need someone to go down to the police station. They've got questions that may lead us to answers," Rossi stated, standing up, "Now, I'm going home to get some sleep. Don't call me unless it's an emergency."

"I'm gonna head out too, Prentiss?"

"Yep, my brain is fried," Emily replied to Derek, "I'm gonna go check on Hotch, but if you guys need anything or figure something out please call."

"Will do," Spencer said with a smile. Chris put down the case file she was holding. The weight of the situation was pulling her down. 

"I'm gonna grab some coffee, gonna be a long day," Chris said. She hurried out of the conference room before Spencer or JJ could ask if she was okay. 

Her eyes caught sight of Ross' desk. How many times had she wished it was empty of his stuff? How many times had she wished he would be fired?

With every step her heart rate speed up along with her breathing. Christina hurried passed the kitchen and headed towards the bathroom. 

Once slamming the door shut, she was at the point of hyperventilating. 

What had she done? The man she wished would go away was dead. Many situations Chris had been in had seemed surreal but at this point, she was not even sure it was real life.

She splashed her face with cold water, trying to bring herself back to her senses. 

'We'll figure this out. We always do.' She told her self. When she looked up at the mirror it was a different girl looking back at her. Chris always had the answers but this time she had no clue of anything.

It was as if the answers had her. 

She shook her head, preparing to head back to the conference room and face reality again. 

As soon as she placed her hand on the doorknob a familiar sound rang through the building. Only it was not a sound that should be familiar to most people but it was to Christina. 

A gun had just been fired in the BAU.