❝The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.❞

BOB MARLEY

✩

2.2 : family

OR

season 7, episode 2 : proof (ctd.)

"MY FAVORITE CAR OF ALL TIME IS A '77 BRONCO." Fin is perched on the edge of Jason's bed, holding four Hot Wheels cars of various makes and models. "I've always wanted one. Especially a red and white one. What's yours?"

Jason shrugs his shoulders noncommittally. "Dunno. I like Ferraris a lot. And Lamborghinis."

"So you're a sports car guy, huh?" Fin glances at the door. The low hum of conversation drifts through the door, though no words are easily discernible. She's just trying to keep the youngest Bradstone entertained while Morgan and Emily interview Matt and Lyla about Matt's brother, Cy. Just as they thought, Cy's frontal lobe was damaged before his birth, and in 10th grade, Lyla rejected him after an awkward game of Seven Minutes in Heaven at a party. She was blonde, pretty, and sixteen-just like her daughter, Tammy, who's been missing since homecoming last night.

"Yeah, I guess," Jason replies, intently focused on the tiny blue sports car in his hand. "When I was little, Tammy used to help me build race tracks for my cars in the living room all the time."

"That was sweet of her," Fin says, gently replacing the Hot Wheels on Jason's nightstand.

"She doesn't do it anymore, though," Jason mutters. "She's too busy with softball and her boyfriend."

"That's a part of growing up." Fin slides off the edge of the bed and onto the floor, crossing her legs underneath her. "You'll go through it, too. Your mom and dad won't be cool anymore and you'll want to be an adult and do adult things. But that all goes away with time. Tammy's just figuring out who she is. She'll come back eventually."

"What if she doesn't come back?" This is uttered quietly, almost inaudibly, but it's the most personal thing Jason has said all day.

"She will." Fin reaches out and touches his hand gently. "I promise we'll bring Tammy home, okay?"

Jason nods, avoiding eye contact, his grip tightening around the blue sports car.

Faintly, Fin hears the screech of car tires on pavement from outside the house. That must be Spencer and Rossi. She stands up, adjusting her pants. "I'll be right back, Jason, okay? Just stay in here."

Morgan's just opening the front door when Fin enters the living room. Matt, Lyla, and Emily are sitting in a circle, looking pensive, and as Spencer and Rossi walk in, Morgan asks, "Any luck?"

"He hasn't been to either of the mechanics' shops in the past two months," Spencer replies, making eye contact with Fin and giving her a brief smile. It's enough to know he's doing better. She smiles back.

"But the one on 4th said a bunch of car batteries had gone missing," Rossi adds grimly.

The landline on the end table rings. Everyone's head whips toward it. Fin's heart rate rises steadily.

Lyla stands up, ready to answer it, but Emily holds up a finger. "Wait-"

Morgan's phone is ringing, too, and he pulls it out and answers. "Yeah." And just as quickly, he hangs up. "It's him."

Emily nods to Lyla. "Okay, go ahead. Just like we talked about."

Fin's hands are shaking. She reaches out for Spencer's hand and he moves toward her, taking her hand discreetly, intertwining their fingers.

Tentatively, Lyla walks toward the phone and answers it. "Hello?" There's a long pause, and then she sobs into the speaker-but there are no tears on her cheeks. "Matt got arrested. They think that he hurt Tammy... Oh, God, Cy." Her voice strengthens, growing louder, more resolved. "I need you. I just-I need you to come over here and I just- I need you to talk. I need you to hold me." Another short pause. "Yes, Cy. Hurry. I have no one else to turn to."

And then she yanks the phone away from her ear as if she's been burned. "He's coming."

Fin's heart rate spikes again. She tightens her grip on Spencer's hand, moving closer to him. No matter how many cases they work, this part never changes.

"You two and Prentiss stay with them," Rossi says, his hand already on the doorknob. "Morgan and I will get the front."

Within minutes, an old, beat-up truck careens around the corner and screeches to a stop in front of the house. The door opens and a man leaps out, clearly distraught.

Fin, Emily, and Spencer watch, guns at the ready, as Lyla, playing the part of heartbroken wife, walks down the steps and into Cy's arms. He holds her tightly, as if she is fragile; she holds her hands out behind him, as if afraid to touch him.

And then Morgan and Rossi hurry out from across the street, guns trained on Cy. Lyla backs away, and Cy drops onto his knees, eyes wide and confused. He yells at Lyla. He feels betrayed by her and Matt.

Fin walks back into Jason's room to find him pressed against his window, watching as Morgan and Rossi shove Cy into the back of the SUV. She assures him that they'll find Tammy, and tries not to let her emotions get the better of her as Jason tells her solemnly that he never really trusted his uncle, that he always thought Cy was a little weird.

Hotch and Rossi question Cy back at the police station. He rocks back and forth in his chair. Promises to tell them where Tammy is if they'll let him talk to Matt.

After a quick discussion, they decide to let him.

Cy is proud of the fact that he burned Tammy's hands with sulfuric acid.

Tears roll down Matt's cheeks.

Cy lets slip that he videotaped everything.

Matt lunges for Cy. Hotch and Rossi have to hold him back.

But they have a location.

Tammy is alive in a cabin, miles from the highway, and although her hands are badly burned, it's likely that she will regain feeling in time.

While Matt and Lyla sit by her bedside at the hospital, Fin hands Jason a brand new Hot Wheels Ferrari GTO and makes him promise to not bug Tammy too much about softball or her boyfriend for a while.

Morgan and JJ fall asleep almost immediately after the plane is in the air; Hotch scrolls through pictures of Jack on his phone; Rossi enjoys a glass of scotch in silence; and Spencer reads on the sofa, while Fin attempts to nap, curled up on the other end of the sofa with her legs resting across his lap. She's so exhausted.

After a little while, Fin is between waking and sleeping, that odd middle ground where you are unresponsive, but you can still hear everything around you, and there's slight movement through her eyelids, and then Emily says, "So the surgeon said he believes he can restore feeling to Tammy's hands."

"Good," Spencer replies softly. "We got there in time." There's a quiet rustling sound: Spencer's looking back at his book, turning the pages.

After a moment, Emily says, "I heard Mr. Bradstone wants to watch the tape."

"People have an innate curiosity to see things in order to confirm them," Spencer says.

"Oh, that explains why I'm going to Rossi's tomorrow night." The grin on Emily's face is evident in her voice. "I want to see if he really can cook." She chuckles softly. "You coming?"

"I don't know. I'm not so sure I can make it."

Fin's conscious brain is screaming at her to wake up fully, to interject, to tell Emily that Spencer is lying and that they will definitely be there, but something in her gut tells her that Spencer will find his way to that point eventually. And besides, sleep is far more comfortable than this damn argument again.

So the rest of Spencer's and Emily's words fade into the background as Fin lets the cool darkness of sleep overcome her fully.

✩

"Spencer, are you ready?" Fin adjusts the small golden studs in her ears, checking her reflection in the bathroom mirror one more time.

"Almost," Spencer says from the bedroom, sounding preoccupied.

Fin pokes her head out the doorway and smiles when she sees Spencer adjusting his blazer and t-shirt, looking slightly uncomfortable. He looks up at her and raises his eyebrows. "Does this-Do I look okay?"

"You know, I'm not the best person to ask," Fin says, walking over to him and fixing his blazer collar, smoothing it down to lay flat. Seeing him in jeans and a t-shirt is a departure from his norm, but she's not complaining. The jeans fit him very well. "I always think you look perfect."

Spencer blushes, covering her hands with his and kissing her fingertips softly. He looks her up and down, taking in her outfit: light-wash jeans, tight-fitting muted red tank-top, the necklace he gave her resting between her collarbones. "Wow.You look incredible."

"Thank you." Fin leans up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to his softly. "You ready to go?"

Spencer blows a breath out slowly, then nods. "I think so. As much as I can be, anyway."

"It's gonna be fine," Fin says, smiling up at him. "I promise."

Rossi's house-or "mansion", as he would correct her-is a twenty-minute drive from the safe house, and after Fin clears everything with the agents at the house, finally convincing them that she'll be around five other SSAs in a rural area, she and Spencer hop in the car and head away from Quantico and into the suburbs.

Spencer tunes the radio to Fin's favorite alternative station, and they're playing "Teddy Picker". Fin stiffens. No. She slams the mute button, and Spencer looks over at her, frowning. "What's wrong?"

"I...don't like that song," Fin says, forcing the memories away, back into their little box.

"Hazel." Spencer's tone is gentle, but firm. "Talk to me. You promised no more secrets."

In for four, out for four. Fin closes her eyes, focuses on the scent of his cologne, the feeling of his hand on her thigh. "That song was playing the night I left. The night I found Mrs. Wu."

Spencer's hand tightens on her thigh. He says nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"And," Fin says, a little louder this time, her voice growing stronger, "it brings back shitty memories. They play it too damn much."

"Well, I think we should do something about that." Spencer gives her a hopeful smile. "Make some better memories." He presses the mute button, and Alex Turner's voice fills the car again-except this time, it's mixed with Spencer's. He's horribly pitchy and doesn't know half the words, but he's trying his best.

Fin can't help but laugh, watching him belt out the line, "Don't be surprised when you get bent over," and when his eyes widen as he realizes what he just said, she laughs even harder.

And when the song finally finishes, with both Spencer and Fin out of breath, Fin realizes she hasn't thought about that night again. Her dad always said that laughter was the best medicine. He was right.

When Spencer pulls into Rossi's driveway, it's a quarter past eight, and Rossi said cooking lessons would start at eight o'clock. No doubt he'll chide them for being late. Rossi's a stickler for punctuality.

Spencer pauses on the front step, hand inches from the doorbell. "Hazel-"

"Too late." Fin places her hand on the small of his back, putting gentle pressure there. "It's gonna be fine."

He sighs through his nose. "Okay." And then he rings the doorbell.

The door opens and Morgan is standing there, grinning. "Hey, Pretty Boy, you made it!" He pats Spencer on the shoulder and pulls Fin in for a hug. "Hey, mama. Thanks for dragging him out here."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Fin laughs, following him into the hall and toward the kitchen. "David Rossi's cooking lessons are a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

The smell of delicious carbonara and the sounds of Dean Martin envelop them as they walk into the kitchen, and everyone turns to face them, all smiles.

"Sorry we're late," Fin says, resting her elbows on the bar, standing between JJ and Morgan. "I hope we didn't miss anything important."

"Yeah." Rossi shakes his head in mock disgust, stirring a pan of spaghetti vigorously. "And this is why I cook alone."

Spencer tentatively moves to stand next to JJ, giving her a shy, apologetic glance, which she returns. Immediately, both of their shoulders relax, and Spencer smiles brightly at Fin, cheesing so hard. Fin knows how much it means to him that things can go back to semi-normal with JJ, and she can't help but smile back.

"So, uh, when do we get to drink the wine?" Emily asks, gesturing to the glass of red wine in front of her.

"You missed Rossi almost bite JJ's head off for drinking too early," Morgan mutters in Fin's ear, and she snickers, covering her mouth so Rossi won't see.

"Almost there," Rossi says, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Okay. We start at the beginning. You eat what you cook, I'll supervise, but we're gonna do this all together just like... a family."

The way Rossi says it, so confident and casual, brings sudden tears to Fin's eyes, and she masks it by reaching across JJ for a glass. (Rossi somehow remembered that she and Spencer don't drink: There's a bottle of sparkling cider next to the red wine.)

JJ lifts her glass, raising her eyebrows questioningly. "Okay now?"

Rossi nods, smiling. "Now." He lifts his own glass, raising it toward theirs in toast. "Salud!"

"Salud," Fin choruses, clinking her glass with the others, immeasurable joy filling her heart as everyone smiles and laughs together. Family...

One by one, they enter the kitchen, Rossi hovering over every shoulder, giving advice on how often to stir their pasta, chastising Emily for burning her onions, praising Morgan for his crispy pancetta, and wagging a disgruntled finger when Penelope suggests tofu a second time. Fin revels in the cozy atmosphere, especially as she and Spencer stand at the counter together, bumping shoulders as they toss everything together in a bowl.

"After this, you'll have to lift the moratorium on my cooking," Spencer murmurs, so that only Fin can hear. "I'm doing very well so far."

"Oh, really?" Fin smirks. "Sorry, Spencer, it'll take more than one bowl of carbonara to get me to change my mind."

"I can think of a few other ways to convince you."

Fin's eyes widen and her cheeks suddenly feel hot. Spencer's voice changed just now: it went from innocent and joking to deep, gravelly, sexy. And to be fully honest? It did things to her.

"So what is this now?" Morgan walks back into the kitchen from the dining room, snagging his wine glass off the bar and raising his eyebrows at the two of them. "Friends with benefits? No strings attached?"

Spencer, who only five seconds ago was Mr. Sexy Talk, now chokes on air, turning bright red. Fin rolls her eyes at Morgan, following him back toward the dining room with her own food and drink. "Absolutely not."

"But you guys are back together, right?" Penelope asks anxiously, looking at Fin over the rim of her glass. "I mean, you come to work together every day-"

"Go home together-" Emily adds.

"Finish each other's sentences-" JJ grins.

"And don't think we don't see the hand-holding," Rossi says, gesturing between them with a smirk. "You two are terrible at hiding it."

Fin glances at Spencer, who gives a little shrug, hiding behind his glass of cider, as if to say, "What harm could it do?"

So she sighs and nods. "Yes, we're back together."

Penelope gasps excitedly. "How long?"

"Four months, twenty-nine days," Spencer replies, before Fin can even open her mouth.

Emily and JJ's jaws drop. "What?"

"My bet was off," Morgan says, clearly surprised. "I guessed about a month."

And once everyone does the math and realizes that they got together the week of Emily's "funeral", it gets quiet around the table.

Finally, Hotch breaks the silence. "So...Strauss won't be pleased about this, especially considering the fact that she's got the Senate Committee hounding her every move."

Fin opens her mouth to respond, but Hotch continues. "And that's why I won't be letting her know just yet. But you two have got to help me out on that one, keeping it between us for now."

"We can do that," Fin replies, slightly shocked, but grateful all the same. Hotch is a romantic at heart, no matter how much he tries to hide it. (He was a theatre kid, for goodness' sake.) "Thank you, Hotch."

As the conversation turns to other things, Spencer takes Fin's hand beneath the table, squeezing it gently. She squeezes back, giving him a soft smile. Dean Martin croons in the background as food and drink are shared, along with smiles and laughter and true joy, and old wounds are healed.

~

i think spencer and fin (and all of us) deserved a little fluff--especially considering everything that's coming...