To L, she was an unknown piece in the giant game of chess he was playing with Kira. Or rather, she was the wildcard third person that had enough influence to disrupt his carefully laid out plays, and that demanded that he solve the enigma known as (...
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"(Y/n)!" Penelope Garcia's voice filtered through the phone, instantly making (Y/n) smile at the her friend's cheerful tone. "What is up, chica? You haven't called in forever!"
"Hi, Garcia," she greeted, nodding even though the other woman couldn't see. "I've been busy lately. Also, the time difference is killer. How have you been?"
Garcia laughed. "I'm fine as ever, honey. Say hi to Reid!"
"Hello, (Y/n)," Spencer's calm voice took over, sharply contrasting Penelope's enthusiasm and confidence with his awkward quiet.
"Hi, Spence." She smiled. "How's the team?"
There was some shuffling and the familiar sound of their office's squeaky desk chairs complaining under any and all weight. "Uh, good. Good. Hotch is getting kind of antsy about your long absence, knowing of your involvement with that case. I hope you're doing better now?"
"Well, my therapist says so, so I must be," she replied, knowing what he was getting at. "I hardly even get nightmares anymore," (Y/n) added. "As soon as this case wraps up, I'm hauling my ass back to work, so you can tell Hotch to relax."
Garcia piped up, "Just maybe not in those explicit terms." She waited while (Y/n) snorted and then continued in a more somber tone, "You do sound tired though."
(Y/n) shifted, adjusting the pillows behind her to support her back better. "I am," she agreed. "Sayu told me a weird story and it just gave me food for thought and, obviously, my thoughts do not need any food. They're wild enough as it is. So I didn't get good sleep even when I finally got time to take a nap."
It was a lie, really. Sure, her nightmares had reduced to an extreme infrequency, but she wasn't getting any sleep because she didn't know how to proceed anymore. (Y/n) wasn't normally one to panic about not knowing what course of action to take, but when the stakes are as high as they were, it's hard to remain unflappable.
Her friend's familiar laughter fills her ears, Spencer's exasperated comment getting drowned out in the mix. "That sounds like you. What did she tell you? Maybe voicing your thoughts will help?"
