#but also she opened up space for emily prentiss so i cannot complain too much

[litres-of-cocaine]

elle was a fascinating character and if she had stayed longer the run of criminal minds would have been so much richer change my mind.

also it’s insane that the way she exits the show compliments her arc in a way that no other cast member leaving did even if it ends up ending the storyline completely. like from the very start her impatience and history as a sexual offences agent is established, and then putting the unsub of 2x05 in the context of her trauma being a violating experience has cataclysmic implications. it completely accounts for her actions. especially following gideon’s advice - ‘i want you to think about this job, what you’ve been through, and what you’re capable of’ and the trigger of lee’s words ‘you’ve made a lot of women very happy’. props to glaudini’s acting here because you can see elle’s faith in her own morals die right when he says that. ‘what you’re capable of’ is tied to ‘what you’ve been through’; she’s capable of revenge because she’s been through it. this becomes a justification for murder rather than an encouragement to abide by the ideals of law enforcement that she feels have failed her and others.

she’s impatient and loud and devastated by the cases she’s worked on and then forced to live through the same thing via being shot.

i think something interesting that wasn’t necessarily intentional (though there’s a good chance it was) as well that i’ve kind of alluded too was the way that that experience of being violated for elle (by the fisher king putting his hand in her gunshot wound) was sexual in nature even if that wasn’t randall garner’s goal. it underlines the theme of elle’s - and the rest of the team’s - vulnerability existing in complete contrast to the confines of her profession, especially considering the her role before in convicting those charges with sexual offences.

obviously lola glaudini leaving was a personal choice so it wasn’t like elle was written out as a creative additive - but tbh if they had lengthened this plotline so we got to see more of elle and had this ending it would have an incredibly interesting period in the show.

and just to add, her leaving at this point in the series also could have had a much more monumental impact on the plot if mandy patinkin hadn’t decided to quit also, as gideon’s desire for peace competes with elle’s (somewhat ironic) craving for justice, but alas, it was not meant to be.

[ablogofthecriminalmindsvariety]

poly bau fic poly bau fic poly bau fic poly bau fic poly bau fic poly bau fic (reid centric?)

I love Spencer being babied and taken care of ❤️🥺 esp w the addiction because we never got to see that onscreen

You are totally right! We didn’t get to see anyone really being there for him during his addiction struggle other than a passing comment or two from Hotch. We just got to see him be all irritable and grumpy, which, yeah, understandable, makes sense, but there was room for them to do other stuff with that. And I am more than happy to provide what the writers did not. I hope that this doesn’t come across leaning too hard one way or another away from the prompt.

This is plotless fluff, by the way. I haven’t taken the time to figure out any sorts of logistics on this like I normally would as far as like… living situations and all of that. Full disclosure.

--

It was absolute hell. His head was pounding. He felt about ready to toss his cookies. He was constantly teetering right on the edge of feeling like snapping at anyone and everyone that came near him, and wanting to crawl under the covers and never come back out from under them to face the world.

’That’ll happen when you’re going through heroin withdrawals.’ His brain pointed out, rather unhelpfully.

“I know that.” He muttered to himself, flipping over and deciding he’d rather burrow into the blankets.

“Who you talking to there, sunshine?” ’Penelope’ his slightly more helpful mind supplied.

“Nobody.”

“If you say so.” He felt the bed dip, indicating she had sat down next to him. “You feel up to eating some soup? Aaron made some last night, there’s still some left over.”

He popped his head out from under the pillow. Who knew. Maybe it would help calm his stomach. It was a coin toss, but he was willing to take that risk. Especially if Hotch had made it. He made chicken soup for them when they were sick, it was a comfort, even though he didn’t cook all the time. “Guess so.”

She smiled and reached down to brush the damp hair off of his forehead. “Alright, sugar. I’ll go warm some up for you.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “And I’ll get you some water too, you need to stay hydrated.”

She left the room, only to return a few minutes later, a glass of water clutched in one hand, and a bowl of soup balanced on the other. “I come bearing soup. And company.” Morgan’s head popped around the corner at her second statement. 

“Hey there, pretty boy.”

“Hey.” He offered up a smile, though it was faint, it was there. Even though he felt like death and his brain was chanting ‘I want, I need, I want, I need’ continuously, spending time with some of his favorite people definitely helped him to feel a bit better.

“Thought you could use some extra love.”

“Always.” Derek sat down on his right, and Penelope on his left. He sipped at his soup, and did actually manage to keep some of it down, though he didn’t much feel like pushing his luck.

“JJ and Emily went to the store, but they said they’d be back in a little while. And Aaron and Rossi had to go in to get some work done, Strauss is breathing down Hotch’s neck, they wanted to get her off his back before the weekend, so we might actually manage to get a day off for once. Together.”

“That’ll be nice.”

“How are you feeling, though?”

“Same old same old.”

“So horrible?”

“Yeah, pretty terrible.”

“Oh, my poor baby.” Penelope leaned over to press a kiss to his sweaty forehead. “You’re burning up.”

“Am I? I could have sworn I would have been freezing.”

“C’mere, kid.” Before he could have much of a say in the matter, not that he would have complained, he was wrapped up in a pair of strong arms.

“You going to join the party, Pen?”

“I’d never pass up an opportunity to snuggle with two of my favorite fellows.” She shuffled over closer, and they sort of all lumped together in a pile of limbs and sheets. And he was content to stay there like that with them and drift off into a, thankfully, dreamless sleep.

He was only woken again by the sound of keys jingling in the lock and the door swinging open. “Hello?” Called an unmistakably female voice. Emily and JJ must be home from the store, then. He could hear one of them heading towards the direction of the bedroom, and soon enough, a blonde head of hair popped around the corner. “Hey there, Spence. See you three were having a nice afternoon.”

“Guess we fell asleep.”

“Did we wake you up?”

“I think I probably would have anyways. And I think it’s for the best, my sleep schedule is screwed up enough as is.”

She laughed. “Fair enough. You hungry?”

“Not in the slightest, but thanks for asking.”

Another laugh. “Alright. Think you can detangle yourself from those two sleepyheads and come spend some time with your favorite ladies? Thinking we could go sit outside for a little while. The fresh air’ll be good for you. Clear your head, maybe make you feel a little better. Get your mind off of… things.”

“I think I can manage.” It was a bit of a precarious mission, and they almost woke up once or twice, but he did eventually manage escape the bed. He was still freezing cold and burning hot at the same time and felt like steaming hot garbage, but not as much as he had before.

After retrieving Emily from the kitchen, the trio went to sit on the porch, and admire the wonderful view that was the street in front of the house.

“How are you feeling, Spence?” If it hadn’t been coming from a place of love, he would have gotten sick of that question by now.

“Pretty godawful.”

“Anything you want? Need? Anything?”

’Yes, there is, but that is the one thing that under no uncertain terms I cannot have.’

“Just some company is good for now.”

“I think we can do that, don’t you, Em?”

“Think we can manage.”

He found himself sandwiched between the two of them, with JJ’s head on his shoulder, and his own resting on Emily’s. Emily’s fingers carded through his hair, her fingers occasionally scratching at his scalp in a soothing manner while JJ absently traced circles onto his lower back.

If ever there was a safe space, this would be one. With the people that he loved. He was a lucky man.

He wasn’t necessarily someone that always appreciated silence, but in moments like these, he found he did, that no talking was necessary, just the sounds of the neighbors and the sounds of the outdoors. It was nice.

That was how Dave and Aaron found them once they eventually got home, when the sun was beginning to set, and they hadn’t bothered to go inside yet.

“You been waiting for us out here?” Dave asked, a hint of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

“Yeah, sure, that’s it.” JJ rolled her eyes at them.

“No need to be so snarky with us right after we get home.” Aaron piped up, though he bent down to give each of them a ‘hello’ kiss on the forehead. “How are we feeling today, doctor?”

For as annoying as that question was becoming, he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips when he asked it. For as serious as he could be, he could be a bit of a dork sometimes too. “I’ve definitely seen better days.”

Dave pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. “You’ve got a fever. Have you eaten today?”

“Yes.”

“Drinking water?”

“Yes.”

“Sleeping?”

“Yes, Mother.” That earned him a swat on the back of the head.

“Watch it, you.”

“Lay off him.” Hotch spoke up. “Though you should probably take some Tylenol. And come back inside. And if you call me ‘dad’, that is a whole separate issue.”

He couldn’t help the way his cheeks burned at the comment, and he could hear the poorly stifled laughter of JJ and Emily behind him. “Okay. Tylenol. Inside. Okay.”

The five of them shuffled inside, only to find Derek and Penelope busying themselves in the kitchen by doing the leftover dishes from the day and apparently attempting to cook dinner. Dave went to go help them, while the remainder of them situated themselves on the couch, Reid sat on one end next to Hotch, and Prentiss beside him, sandwiched between him and JJ.

The other three, who had been heard having a time in the kitchen, came in a while later, all of them attempting to balance at least two plates on their arms before setting them down on the coffee table to eat. Rossi sat himself down on the other side of Spencer, while Penelope and Derek situated themselves on the other couch. Bit of a tight squeeze, but he was comfortable, he didn’t really care.

With much coaxing from multiple people, he did manage to stomach a few bites off of his face before firmly refusing.

Nobody pushed the issue, and they went about eating their dinner. Aaron offered to clean it up, but Spencer was going to be damned if his human pillow was going to move.

That had earned him a chuckle from Morgan who offered to clean up instead.

They all stayed clustered together in the living room after dinner, and somehow managed to agree on a movie to watch. Spencer even let Hotch and Rossi fuss over him to make sure he had enough space, and he was comfortable enough. He didn’t really always hate being fussed with.

They were all pretty smooshed together as it was, so it wasn’t much of a shift for him to slide onto Aaron’s lap and let his legs drape over Dave’s and off the edge of the couch. Neither of them seemed to have any complaints.

And though he did still feel like a steaming hot pile of garbage, at least he also felt loved. 

--

Wow, this turned out to be much, much longer than I expected, huh. Oh well!