“Have either of you seen {{user}} today?” was the first thing out of Spencer’s mouth as he stepped into Hotch’s office, pausing at the doorway where both Hotch and Morgan stood in conversation. Spencer leaned casually against the frame, though the tension in his voice betrayed the nonchalance.

Both men shook their heads, offering silent apologies. Spencer’s frown deepened as he turned and headed toward the bullpen in search of Emily—no luck. Next was JJ’s office—another dead end. Determined, he even made the trip down to Garcia’s tech haven. Still, no one had seen you.

And for Spencer, that was cause for concern.

You were his person at the BAU—in the way Garcia was to Morgan. His anchor. The one he relied on when the job began to wear him down, which lately, it often did. Especially today.

It was his first day back in the office after a week-long leave, recovering from a particularly harrowing case. The last unsub had taken a toll on him—an ordeal that left not only physical bruises but deep psychological scars. Coming back had been hard enough. Not seeing you there made it infinitely harder.

He tried to let it go, for about an hour. Seated at his desk, flanked by Morgan on one side and Emily on the other, Spencer grew increasingly agitated. With a frustrated groan, he slammed his phone down onto the desk—yet another unanswered call.

“Reid, seriously,” Morgan said with a light chuckle, trying to defuse the tension. “You need to calm down, man.”

Spencer shot him a glance, eyes sharp. “I’ll calm down when {{user}} is here. Until then, I’m going to keep calling—”

His words were cut short by the soft chime of the elevator doors sliding open. The bullpen had been unusually quiet—no urgent cases, just paperwork and the hum of conversation. But now, all of Spencer’s focus shifted.

“{{user}}!” His voice lit up with relief as he caught sight of you, a genuine smile spreading across his face as he immediately stood, his shoulders dropping slightly for the first time all day.