The Life We Once Knew

Penelope was hard at work. Hotch had her hacking into everything, looking up everything, to try and find out who killed those girls. So far, they had nothing. And Hotch wasn’t happy about it.

“Is there ANYTHING else you can do?”

Penelope sighed loudly, and spun around in her chair. “I’m sorry, Hotch. I’ve tracked everything. There are no leads. It all comes to a dead end.”

Hotch ran his hand through his hair, and sighed loudly. “Okay, I guess we start from the beginning. Again.”

He stormed out, and slammed the door. Penelope knew he wasn’t mad at her, he just had allot on his plate lately, and this case certainly wasn’t helping. She took her glasses off, and cleaned them. They weren’t dirty, but they gave her something to do. Just then, Derek walked in.

“Hey baby girl. There’s a phone call for you.” She nodded and answered the phone.

“Penelope Garcia speaking.”

“Penelope. I want Jessica home. Now.”

Penelope froze. Her heart started beating faster, and she felt weak. “No mother. I cannot do that.”

She heard a loud sigh from her mother. “Penelope. I kicked your father out, and they told me as long as he was gone, she could come back. She needs to be with her family.”

Penelope shook with anger. They were never a family. They were four people who resided in the same household. There was a difference.

“No, I’m not sending her back. She’s doing good here. I’m setting up home schooling, and she’s getting better. And what do you mean by family? I am her family. You never acknowledged her needs, or cared enough to try to help her. You spent all your days avoiding your family. You didn’t even see us as your family, you saw us as your problems. Problems you never wanted to face. So I’m sorry, but no.”

Penelope felt tears running down her cheek, and sighed. Her mother was quiet, but only for a moment.

“Fine then. I’ll see you in court.”

Penelope heard a click, and dropped the phone, feeling weak. She felt a hand rubbing her back, and turned, to see Derek holding a tissue.

“Di-did you hear all of that?”

He smiled sadly. “Yes, I did. Baby girl, it will be okay. They won’t let her go back.”

Penelope picked up the phone, still shaking, and put it back on the receiver.

“I-I need to go to Seattle. As soon as possible. Can you watch Jessica? Her schooling will begin in a few days, and it’s online, so she can do it whenever, there’s no time frame.”

Derek sighed. “Sweetie, you know I would in a heartbeat. But I really don’t have the room right now. I’m building on to my house. I know Reid has a spare bedroom. I can talk to him for you.”

Penelope nodded, wiping away tears. “I-I need to call the airline as soon as possible. And talk to Hotch.”

Derek pulled her up, and hugged her. She loved the way it felt being in his arms. She laid her head on his shoulder, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. She had spent years avoiding her family, her past. And now, it was all being rushed at her. Her past was going to haunt her, and she knew now, it probably would for the rest of her life. She felt Derek pull her away from him, and felt even more saddened.

“You need to go talk to Hotch, I will go talk to Reid.”

“Okay.”

Penelope walked to Hotch’s office quickly. She didn’t want anyone to stop her and ask what was wrong, because it was clearly visible that she was upset.

Surprisingly, Hotch’s door was wide open. She peered in and saw Hotch, slumped over his desk. He looked so tired and defeated. She wasn’t sure how to cheer him up, but she wished she could. She didn’t know how he would react to the news, which terrified her.

She tapped on the door. Once he saw her, he sat up, and Penelope noticed, he looked a little hopeful.

“Find anything else?”

Penelope coughed. “No Sir.”

She watched as Hotch slumped back in his chair. “Well, what’s wrong?”

Penelope bit her lip nervously. She wasn’t sure what he would say. They needed all the help they could get, and her leaving wasn’t an option, when it came to her work. But when it came to her sister, she had to. Jessica needed a fresh start, and Penelope was determined to see it happen.

“I need to go to Seattle. As soon as possible.”

Hotch sat up, suddenly very attentive. “What do you mean? Why do you need to go to Seattle?”

Penelope bit her bottom lip again. “It’s about Jessica.”

Hotch stood up. “You know, Penelope, ever since she arrived, it’s been nothing but drama. I know it’s only been a week, but it doesn’t seem like it will end.”

Penelope shook off his words, as best as possible, to keep her composure. She knew firsthand how much drama it was. With school and just the way Jessica was, and now her mother, she wasn’t sure if she could handle it herself. But she wanted to try.

“Sir. She is my family. I had barely any contact with her when I moved. I need to make it up to her. She deserves better. My mom just called, and said she was going to fight me in court to get her back. It seems so easy…just send her back. Not think about it. But it’s not! I can’t do that to her. She deserves the chance to live. To know what it’s liked to be loved and cared for. I can’t just give up on her.”

Hotch was quiet, thinking. He knew what it was like. His wife had given up on him. She couldn’t deal with him never being around. He felt so guilty about it. He devoted most of his time to his job, and not allot to his family. But he knew there wasn‘t a thing he could do to make her stay with him. God, and here he was. Getting upset with Penelope because she was putting her family over her job. He couldn’t do that.

“Penelope.”

She looked over at him, after spending a good five minutes studying the wall.

“Yes, Sir?”

“You have a commitment to the BAU team.”

“Yes, Sir, I know, but-”

Hotch put his hand up to silence her. “You also have a commitment to your family. Go to Seattle. But I expect you to come back, fully focused on the case.”

Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Sir. Thank you.”

She rushed out of Hotch’s office, feeling determined. On the way back, she ran into Reid.

“Hey Reid. Has Derek talked to you?”

Spencer nodded. “He did, and I would be glad to keep her.”

Penelope hugged him tightly, startling him. He stepped backwards and laughed.

Penelope let go and smiled big. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

Spencer watched as she quickly walked off. Derek had come to him, asking him about it. He knew it would be selfish for him to say no, when he had nothing else planned, and had the room. But he was scared. He didn’t know how he would be around Jessica…alone. He felt a connection to her, which sounded preposterous, but was true. If JJ hadn’t walked in on them in the bathroom, what would have happened?

Did he really think of Jessica romantically, or was it just an act of comfort? Spencer shook his head, confused. He was a genius, but when it came to girls, and all their complexity, he had no clue. His head was telling him not to think about her romantically. Not to notice her warm smile, her laugh, her curves…No. He shook his head again, trying to get her image out of his head. His heart was racing, just thinking about her. He had never felt this way toward any other girl, and it was weird to him. He had dated other girls, and had had sex before, but he never felt this strongly about them. Hmmm. An old saying suddenly popped into his head. Listen to your heart. Spencer sighed. His heart was telling him that he felt something for her. What that “something” was, he wasn’t quite sure of. He yearned to be around her, and that scared him. She made him feel different, like nothing he had ever felt before. Even though he barely knew her, he couldn’t help feeling the way he did, and that terrified him.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Jessica, smiling up at him.

“You okay?”

Spencer gulped, and nodded. “Y-yeah. I’m fine. Thinking, that’s all.”

Jessica smiled. “So Penelope just told me that I’ll be staying with you, while she’s in Seattle.”

Spencer ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I have a spare bedroom that you can stay in.”

Jessica nodded. “Spencer, can I tell you something?”

“Sure. Anything.”

Jessica smiled up at him weakly. “I’m so afraid. I don’t want to go back to Seattle. I can’t handle it mentally.”

Spencer nodded. “I know. Penelope is going to fight tooth and nail for you to stay here. I have no doubt in my mind that she will win.”

Jessica shrugged. “I know. But what happens if she doesn’t?”

Spencer hugged Jessica. “Then I will fight tooth and nail for you to stay here.”

Jessica smiled to herself. Spencer cared so much for her. It scared her. She barely knew him, and he barely knew her. He had no idea how bad her depression could get. She was so scared she would have another episode. Jessica didn’t want to let Spencer down. She wanted to get better, for him, and for her sister.

She pulled away, and smiled. “Again, thank you.”

Spencer nodded. “It was nothing. So, um, I need to get back to work.”

Jessica nodded. “Yeah. And I need to go talk to Penelope about the details.”

She awkwardly waved bye, then turned and quickly walked to Penelope’s office.

She found Penelope sitting in her office, staring at the phone.

“You okay?”

Penelope turned around and smiled. “Um, yeah. Just got off the phones with the airline. I leave for Seattle tomorrow night.”

Jessica nodded. “God. I don’t know why mom wants me home. She would always remind me of the burden I was. And now, she wants me back.”

Penelope stood up, and hugged her.

“She has allot of regret, whether she wants to admit it or not. She’s trying to make up for it. But, she doesn’t know how.”

Jessica nodded. “I’ll go back, and dad will come back. This won’t last for long. God, I am so afraid they are going to make me go back.”

Penelope shook her head. “I doubt they will. Besides, you will be 18 in a week! I’m just going to talk to mom, and try to get her to understand the whole situation. She told me she was going to take me to court, but I doubt she has done anything.”

Jessica sighed. “I know, but I just worry, because I can’t go back. God only knows what I’d do if I had to go back.”

Penelope rubbed Jessica’s back. “I know, and I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you here.”

Jessica smiled at her sister. “Yeah, I know you will.”

Penelope grabbed her purse, and headed for the door. “Time to get home. Time to pack.”

“How long do you plan on being in Seattle?”

Penelope smiled. “Only two days! I wouldn’t make you stay with Spencer for long, don’t worry. I love him to death, but sometimes his brain gets ahead of his mouth!”

Jessica laughed. “Stay in Seattle as long as you like, I’m fine with Spencer.”

People grinned. “Ohhhh, I think someone may have a bit of a crush on boy wonder!”

Jessica blushed. “I want to get to know him better, that’s all.”

Penelope laughed. “Mhm, I’m sure that’s all.”

Jessica playfully pushed Penelope out the door, and followed her to say goodnight to everyone. She couldn’t help but smile the whole time. She was looking forward to staying with Spencer, and getting to know him.