"I'm sorry I didn't call last night," Reid sighed.

"It's okay," I smiled to myself as I pushed open the front door of the building. The second I stepped over the threshold I flashed my credentials to the officer in front of me, giving him a head nod before making my way down the hall. "How is everything?"

He sighed again. The sound of voices chattered on his side of the call, pulling him out of the conversation almost immediately. Not long after I heard him whisper something to someone, followed by a groan before the phone shuffled loudly. "I'm gonna have to call you back," he responded.

I frowned as I wandered into Cooper's office. "Okay, be safe."

"I will, love you."

"Love you too." I hung up and sighed, glancing over at Cooper who stared back wide eyed. 

"What?"

"I never took you for a casual I love you kind of caller," he responded. In front of him sat a messy pile of papers, along with a half eaten sandwich and a ringing cell phone. He grumbled angrily and ignored the call, pressing the silencer before turning back to me and leaning back in his chair. "What are you doing here Riff-Raff? Thought Hotchner told you to rest."

"Last I checked Hotch wasn't my boss." I smirked.

He crossed his arms over his chest, cocking his brow curiously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I groaned and dropped my hands to my sides. "It means I'm bored, Dick. I've been off the clock for two weeks and now that my boyfriend is gone I wanna come back."

"Boyfriend?" A grin creeped across his lips.

I closed my eyes and quietly swore under my breath as I brought my hands to my face. Running my hands through my hair, I heard him stand from his chair and walk over. He placed his hands on my arms, giving my biceps a tight squeeze. "Spill it, kid."

I dropped my hands down again, whining loudly as I opened my eyes and gave him a grumpy look. "Why?"

"Because unless you tell me, the paperwork for you to come back isn't getting signed," he threatened, "now," he loosened his grip on my shoulders, moving one of his hands to the small of my back to push me forward. "Sit down and tell Uncle Dick what's going on."

"Only if you never refer to yourself as Uncle Dick again." I scrunched up my face in disgust and wandered over to the chair he was sitting in. Reluctantly I sat down, feeling his eyes watch me as I did.

Quickly, he ran out of the room, returning with a stool from the examination office next door. He smiled wide in my direction, placing it directly in front of me before he sat on it and spun around. "Alright," he smacked his hands together and rubbed them aggressively. "Go ahead."

I licked my bottom lip and shook my head, staring at the floor uncomfortably. I couldn't believe I let it slip. How could I be so stupid?

"Chop, chop kid. We got bodies to look at."

I glared in his direction and took a deep breath. "Spencer and I are dating. Happy?"

He scoffed and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. "It's gonna take a lot more juicy details than that to get you back in this office," he responded.

"Why do you even want to know?"

"It's my job to know. The business of my employees is important to me."

"Including their love live's?"

"Especially their love live's." He smirked.

"I'm beginning to agree with everyone upstairs. You're crazy."

He laughed, holding out his arms as he nodded his head in agreement. "I don't get to do a whole lot of socializing in the work place so..."

"Fair enough," I chuckled.

"Now, keep going. How'd it happen?" I looked at him uncomfortably, wondering if I could just lie? I could say we just talked and worked things out rather than telling him the truth; which was that he and I had sex in a hospital bed. "C'mon, I don't got all day."

I spun back and forth in my chair, staring at his feet as I mumbled my response.

"What was that?" He cupped his hand around his ear.

"We had sex in the hospital after I got saved," I responded quietly.

The look on his face was absolutely priceless. As he leaned back in surprise he nearly fell off his seat. He laughed hysterically, clutching the edge of the stool as twirled around excitedly. "No fucking way, oh, my god!"

"Shut up," I mumbled.

"You and him? Jesus, I thought the kid was some kind of virgin."

"I told you we had sex already!" I whispered loudly.

"Honestly I didn't believe you." His laughing fit slowly dies down, replacing it was his voice. For a while he rattled on about him and his wife and how they used to have a lot of kinky sex in public places. The entire time I held my stomach, praying at one point he'd get sick of his own voice or that he'd realize how very uninterested I was in this particular conversation. When he eventually did stop, I felt sick. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. As I sat there, I felt my stomach churn. Awkwardly, I let out a small groan, pressing my hand against the edge of hip where I felt a shooting pain.

"You alright, kid?"

I opened one eye, still cringing as I gave him a small head nod. I felt my lower back slowly cramp up, signalling me to stand up and stretch. As I reached my hands to the roof I let out a deep breath, feeling the pain subside for about a second before it returned. "I'm good. Just cramps, I think."

"Better be," he chuckled, "wouldn't want another uterus goblin screwing up my sched."

I snorted, giving my side one last press before I let out a heavy breath. I knew right away I was just getting my period. Cramps for me were pretty painful, so feeling this way wasn't much of a surprise.

"Need a painkiller?"

"Nah, I'm good." I shrugged like it was nothing, even though on the inside I genuinely felt like I was dying.

"Okay." He gave me an unconvinced look and stood from the stool, kicking it behind him carelessly. Out of the corner of my eye I watched it roll backwards, eventually slowly down until it eventually stopped near the doorway. "If you're really that bored I'll let you come back, but you have to promise me something."

"What?"

He walked in front of me, planting his hands on my arms again. He gave me a genuine look of concern, his eyes narrowing slightly as he scanned my nervous face. "I need you to tell me when you're feeling down. I don't need details or reasons or any of that shit. Just tell me if you need to step back, alright?"

I nodded my head, pressing my lips together as I gave him a small smile. That was part of the reason why I think I liked him so much. He knew when and when not to pry.

"Now," he gave my arms a good smack and turned on his heel, "go home. Get one more day of rest and be back here tomorrow morning."

I gave him a fake salute. "Roger that, sir."

He rolled his eyes and ushered me out the door. When I was in the hall he said a quick goodbye and closed it, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I let out a heavy sigh, feeling suddenly lonely again. After Luke left me to get some work done yesterday I just laid on the couch for hours scrolling through my phone. It was boring to say the least, but also made me realize how reliant I was on the comfort of other people. I didn't like being alone. It made me feel things I didn't want to.

I walked down the hall, clutching my stomach as I made my way to the elevator. Despite the rest of the team being out on the road I knew for a fact Garcia was still upstairs. I hopped into the lift and pressed the button. As I leaned my back against the wall a body ran towards the doors, calling out for me to hold it. I thought about ignoring them, but my better judgment took over so I reached out to stop it.

"Thank-you." He let out a couple of heavy breaths and bent over.

"No problem," I responded, "what floor?"

He looked up at the buttons and then back at me as he straighten himself upward and adjusted his tie. "Same one as you."

"Oh cool." I wasn't sure what to say so I just sort of stared at him, scanning his overly flamboyant attire curiously. He was wearing a very obnoxious floral dress shirt, along with a pair of khaki pants and a dark tie. In his hand was a laptop, which he clutched tightly against his side.

We rode up the elevator silently, staring forward as we watched the doors open. When they did he motioned me to go first. I nodded my head and started walking. As I made my way to Garcia's office though, I realized he was following so I stopped abruptly and turned to face him. "Are you a friend of Garcia's?" I asked.

"Uh, yes," he nodded, "wait, are you?"

"Yeah." I looked at him curiously.

Before we could continue the conversation though, Garcia squealed excitedly behind us. Her curly hair bounced as she ran to greet us, pulling us both into a pair of tight side hugs as she nuzzled our faces into the crook of her neck. I glanced up at her confused, watching as she looked down and gave me an apologetic look. "Oh god, sorry, I got excited. I haven't seen you since the hospital."

"Hospital?" The guy next to her looked over at me confused. "Oh, you're Isla!"

"Uh, yup, and you are?"

He offered me his hand. "Kevin."

I opened my mouth, immediately realizing who he was. I glanced over at Garcia, giving her a look of approval as I looked back at him and took his hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Garcia talks a lot about you," he responded with a small smile.

"She does?" I raised my brow.

"Yeah about how you and Reid sh-"

Before he could finish his sentence I saw Garcia elbow him in the side and smile sweetly in my direction. "So, what did I do to deserve the pleasure of your presence?" She linked her arm through mine and dragged me into her office. Kevin followed slowly behind, still clutching his side as he let out a soft groan. She sat me down in one of the chairs before moving to her own and sliding next to me.

"I was just meeting Cooper downstairs. Thought I'd see how my favourite techie was doing."

"Oh, such a sweetheart." She pouted happily in my direction and turned to Kevin. "See? Didn't I tell you how sweet she is?"

"Yup. She's a sweetheart," Kevin agreed flatly.

"How's the case going?"

She clenched her teeth together, giving me a not so nice facial expression as she turned to face her computer and started typing. As she did, a series of images flew onto the screen, followed by bank statements and criminal records. "It's not great, uh," she scanned the screen, eventually clicking a link that brought up a couple of pictures of a mangled body. I slid the wheels of my chair closer, narrowing my eyes. "Chicago PD found that he'd be bound and gagged before he was beaten to death."

"Sexual assault?"

Garcia nodded. "Post mortem."

"Yuck." I motioned to Garcia to move. Instantly she rolled back, eventually meeting Kevin's side as I clicked through the various pictures. "The guy who did this was definitely on something." I narrowed my eyes and zoomed in. There were bruises all over his body; the entirety of his skin bloated with shades of purple and green.

"What makes you say that?" Kevin asked.

"This guy was basically punched to death." I turned to face the two of them and motioned them to come closer. When they did I turned back to the computer, pointing to the more brutal bruises. "There's clear signs of ecchymosis around his stomach, which indicate bleeding underneath the tissue of the skin."

"Is that rare?" Kevin asked.

"It's happens," I responded, "it's more common in women though." I zoomed in on the picture again, this time focusing on the arms. As I scrolled through I noticed a familiar mark on the inner portion. I brought my hand my mouth, biting at my thumbnail as I examined it.

"Did you find something?"

"Maybe? Have you guys got the M.E. report yet?"

Garcia shook her head. "Reid and Morgan are on their way to examiner's office right now."

I leaned towards Garcia's phone, eyeing it curiously. "What's their speed dial?"

She reached around me and pressed the number three; the phone instantly ringing. I swallowed hard and looked back at the screen, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hey Garcia," Reid responded.

I smiled at the sound of his voice. "Hey pretty boy," I chuckled.

"Isla?"

"In the flesh," I cooed. At that moment I realized how fun it must've been to be Garcia. I turned on my chair, flashing her big smile, which she returned almost immediately.

"What are you doing in baby girl's office? Thought we got rid of you." Morgan joked.

"Ha-ha, funny," I rolled my eyes, "I came to visit and noticed something off about the body you guys found."

"Of course you did," Morgan sighed.

"Just because I got fired doesn't mean I don't still know my shit," I retorted.

"Okay, calm down."

"What'd you find?" Reid asked.

"I think this might've been gang related," I responded, "not only was this guy literally beat to death, but he's got a lot of scars along his inner arms from shooting up."

"How's that gang related?"

"It's not, but what is is the scar near his inner bicep. You guys see it?" I heard the sound of papers being shuffled, which I guessed was Reid flipping through the file. I smiled to myself. Whenever I would drive he'd always read the file out to me in hopes something with click. At first I thought it was annoying, but as time went on I slowly realized how helpful it actually was for helping me retain information.

"What is that?" Morgan asked.

"A brand. I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to symbolize, but I've definitely seen it before." I leaned forward in my chair, scanning the outer part of the scar with the mouse. Maybe by some miracle if I looked at it long enough the answer would just come to me.

"I'll run it through the system and see if I can find anything," Garcia piped up.

"Thanks baby girl," Morgan responded.

"You're welcome," I smirked.

"I guess thank-you to you too," Morgan chuckled.

I crossed my arms over my chest proudly, turning to face Garcia who immediately grinned and gave me a thumbs up. After that the boys hung up, leaving the rest of us to sit in silence and stare at the screen.

"Where have you seen that mark before?" Garcia moved her chair back to her original spot, sliding me lightly out of the way as she started researching.

"Back in school I took a summer internship out in Cicero. During one of my studies we were tasked with assisting local examiners and I remember seeing it there." I shrugged.

After that I sat around with Garcia and watched her work. Kevin stayed for a bit, chatting casually to the two of us before he realized how focused we were on finding answers. At that point he left, placing a quick kiss on Garcia's head before waving goodbye and leaving. Once he was gone I asked Garcia about him.

For a while she gushed, talking so fast I could barely focus long enough to respond to what she was saying. As she did, she continued to type, looking at lead after lead until she eventually found something and sent it over to the team. At that moment I realized how good she was at multitasking. It was like her eyes and hands and brain were all separate entities that she could control without getting her wires crossed. It was honestly pretty amazing.

"Well," I sighed and stood up, feeling the pain in my back pinch uncomfortably as I moved. I let out a low groan and wiggled it, wondering if maybe I wasn't getting my period after all and that instead something was just out of place. "I'm going to go home and sleep since I actually have to work tomorrow."

"You're working again?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"You and Reid are exactly the same," she shook her head, "can't stay away from work to save your lives."

I bit my lip. If only she knew.

Before I left I gave her a big hug and told her I'd come up and have lunch with her tomorrow. That seemed to be good enough for her, because immediately she released me from her grasp and shooed me away. I smiled as I left, blowing her an over exaggerated kiss as I wandered into the elevator.

As I pressed the button my phone rang. I rummaged through my bag, eventually getting ahold of the device as the doors started to close. I checked the screen, smiling wide when once I realized it was Reid. "Hey you."

"Hey." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"How'd it go?"

"Good thanks to you," he sighed, "we got a lead. Apparently there's a local drug cartel that associate with that brand so we're looking into it."

"I'm glad to hear I could be helpful." As the elevator doors opened I stepped out. Tiredly I walked out the front door. The second I pushed it open I shivered. It was almost eight o'clock now, which meant it was already dark out. I let out a heavy sigh and walked through the lot.

"I miss working with you."

I felt my stomach drop. As much as I didn't mind looking at dead bodies I definitely agreed with him. Working as a profiler was still my dream job and while I was happier now without it I definitely still missed the excitement. "I miss working with you, too."

"Hotch told me to thank-you by the way," he responded, "and to stop bothering Garcia at work."

"I was helping!" I scoffed.

Reid laughed.

"You profilers are all jerks."

"You're one to talk. You're the meanest of us all."

"Just to you, because you deserve it." I smirked.

We chatted a bit longer as I walked. Once I got out onto the main road I thankfully spotted a cab. As it drove closer I waved it down; feeling a sense of relief when it actually stopped. I hopped in the back and covered the mouthpiece of my phone to tell the driver my address before adjusting myself comfortably and turning my attention back to Reid. "So, how was your day?" He asked.

"Good. I start work again tomorrow." Even though I couldn't see him I knew he was rolling his eyes based on the sigh he gave me. "Don't roll your eyes," I warned.

"What? Ho-"

"Whenever you sigh like that you roll your eyes."

"I do not."

I laughed. "Yes you do. It's like the only tell you have."

"I don't have a tell," he argued.

This time I rolled my eyes. As I did I felt my head spin. Suddenly I felt really nauseous. I swallowed hard and pressed my lips together as I shuffled to the side of the car. I looked out the window, narrowing my eyes as a set of streetlights shot past my vision. At that point I knew I was going to throw up so I hung up the phone and asked the driver to pull over. When he did I opened the door and leaned out. The second my face hit the cold air I threw up on the sidewalk.

"You okay?" The cab driver turned back to face me. I waved my hand around awkwardly as I emptied out my stomach, hoping he'd get the message to just leave me alone for a second. When he did I gagged again, this time nothing came out.

After that I just sat there, head out the car while everything spun around me. At that point my phone started ringing. I silenced it immediately and wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve as I moved back inside. I swallowed hard and closed the door, telling the driver to go ahead again. Reluctantly he did, glancing out at the traffic before merging back onto the road. As we moved forward I rolled down the windows and leaned my head against the edge, taking deep breaths as I felt body try and basically kill itself.

The whole way home I could feel my phone vibrating in my hand. By the third set of vibrations I groaned and answered, pressing the phone lazily against my ear.

"Are you okay? Why'd you hang up on me?"

"I threw up," I stated, "sorry."

"You threw up? Why did you throw up?" I could tell he was worried, even though he definitely shouldn't be. I probably just ate some bad eggs this morning or something.

"I don't know. Can I call you tomorrow? I'm really tired." I closed my eyes, feeling the car turn left.

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you want me to send Garcia to check up on you?"

"No, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna drink some tea and go to bed."

He argued that I should go to the doctor, but I ignored his protests, eventually calming him down to the point where he let me go. We said our usual I love you's and I hung up, raising my head to see that we were a block away from the house. When we got there I felt relieved. I paid the cab driver, giving him a hefty tip for dealing with me, and then wandered into the house to go to sleep.