Chapter Text
“Hey Spence… No sorry, it’s actually not a great time. We just got on the jet… Yeah, text me when you’re next free and I’ll let you know if I’m available… Will do. Take care.”
JJ hung up the phone and walked back from the jet’s kitchenette to the main seating area. No one was under the illusion that there was anywhere on the plane private enough for their conversation not to be overheard - retreating to the kitchenette while on the phone was more out of courtesy to the other passengers than anything else.
“Spence wanted me to say hi to everyone,” JJ relayed to the group before anyone could ask.
“Aw that’s nice,” Rossi said. “Tell the kid we miss him when you talk to him next.”
JJ smiled. “I will.”
Prentiss asked, “You two have been talking more lately?” She knew Reid had dropped contact with everyone when he’d gone on assignment, but for the rare text here and there. It was nice to hear him back in touch with someone on a more regular basis.
JJ nodded. “Yeah, ever since Will. He texts me and the boys every day, and he calls me when he can. It’s hard to get our schedules to line up though.”
Lewis interjected. “Do we know yet where or what his special assignment is?”
JJ shook her head. “No, he can’t say. Sounds like it might be wrapping up soon though, from what he tells me.”
Alvez frowned. “I hope so. It’s been what, three years?”
JJ nodded. “Yeah. He sounds like he’s ready to come home though.”
Prentiss. “Well that’s good. He basically ran away after his mom died. It’ll be nice to have him home.”
JJ nodded. She had talked to Spence for hours about his mom, and though he wouldn’t say anything about his assignment outright, she strongly suspected the choice to be gone for so long was not his. They’d also spoken about his readiness to come home, and the possibility that he might not come back to the BAU when he did. But none of that was hers to share, so she kept it to herself as the team turned their attention to their latest case.
“...You too.”
Reid hung up the phone with JJ and sighed. He had really wanted to talk to her today, but he knew how it was when the team was on a case. His own schedule wasn’t exactly easy to work with either, so he couldn’t be one to complain.
What he’d wanted to tell her was good news. He had a date for the end of his assignment. He’d be back in D.C. in two weeks’ time.
That meant he had a big decision to make - he had a standing offer to rejoin the BAU, and he needed to decide if he was going back or not. He’d talked to JJ a lot about it, but hadn’t definitively decided.
On the one hand, the job allowed him to make a difference in people’s lives. Saving lives was incredibly gratifying. And he loved the people he worked with. They were family.
On the other hand, the job was demanding and dangerous. He’d never been able to live a normal life while working at the BAU, and his life would continue to be constantly in danger. And he’d already lived through several lifetimes worth of trauma, which this secret assignment had unfortunately only added to, not that he could talk to anyone about it.
Maybe it was better he hadn’t talked to JJ again until he made up his mind. She might say something to the team. He shook his head at the thought. No, she wouldn’t do that. He trusted her implicitly not to divulge what they talked about on their calls.
This time away from the BAU had been helpful in giving him some perspective, and he no longer felt like it was his obligation to be there. The team had been doing just fine in his absence. That gave him the space to be able to really consider his options. Whatever he chose, he certainly would not be picking up another taskforce assignment ever again.
When his mother passed away, a little over three years ago now, he had decided to pick up a short assignment to distract himself. He’d been personally requested for the taskforce by a high ranking official, and according to his initial briefing, he was only supposed to be gone a couple of months. Unfortunately, the assignment was much more involved than they had initially let on, and he’d been deemed essential to the operation and unable to extract himself from it. It was also highly classified, so he couldn’t talk about it with anyone. He’d been stuck in this job well after its usefulness in healing his grief had run its course, and he was grateful it was finally coming to an end.
Having a complicated schedule, and being unable to talk about his work and not willing to talk about his mother, had all contributed to him pulling away from his friends. And once he’d gotten out of the habit of talking to them regularly, he never got back in the habit. They sent texts every now and again, but that was about it.
That was, until Will’s passing eight weeks and two days ago. It had acted as a stark reminder that life doesn’t wait around for you. If he wanted to be in his friend’s lives, he needed to be in their lives now.
When Emily texted him to let him know about Will’s funeral, he had pulled as many favours as he’d needed to in order to get there. The idea of not being there for his best friend and his godsons at a time like this was unacceptable.
It took him three flights and 20 hours of travel, but he made it to the funeral. Unfortunately, the travel time was such that he’d not even been able to stay for the reception, needing to get back to his post. But it was worth it.
Since then, he had vowed to himself to be there for JJ, Henry, and Michael as best he could. He texted the three of them every day, and managed to talk to JJ on the phone once or twice a week.
He looked forward to the phone calls more than anything. He and JJ always ran out of time before they ran out of things to talk about.
It reminded him of the days when he lived for his phone calls with Maeve. Not that the calls with JJ were the same in nature. There was nothing romantic about them. He was just being a good friend.
And he’d long accepted that friendship was all they would ever have. She was mourning the loss of her husband. It wouldn’t be fair for him to even think about the possibility of there being more between them in the wake of that. So he didn’t.