âGarcia weâve been at this for hoursâ whined Spencer as Garcia carefully inspected the intricate decorations. She had called Spencer that morning, knowing he wasnât going home for Christmas, to see if he would help her with some last minute shopping at the Christmas market near where she lived.
âThe Christmas tree is the centre piece for an entire celebration. It should be decorated with care and then the rest of the room should matchâ Garcia told him matter of factly as she pulled out her measuring tape.
âThen why did you leave it so late?â asked Spencer âItâs less than a week until Christmas, you always decorate way earlier than thisâ
âWork has been super busy! I know you guys think I just sit in my lair all day waiting for your calls but I run searches, write programs, compile databases, fill out reports, help Anderson when he comes to me crying over another IT problem. The guy is a dinosaur, I swear heâs worse than youâ Garcia sighed and leaned over to inspect some glass turtle doves.
âWe donât think thatâ frowned Spencer. Garcia scoffed and shuffled round the stall.
Garcia rolled her eyes before moving to the next box of baubles and then the one after. None of them were suitable. She sighed and when she straightened up she caught Spencer looking at her, an odd expression on his face.
âDo you really feel that way?â he asked âThat we think youâre just the tech girl and thatâs it?â Garcia shifted, the gravel underneath her feet crunching.
âLook itâs no big deal Reidâ
âIt is! If thatâs-Luke?â
Late, typical Newbie, thought Garcia, as Luke came jogging over with Roxy at his heels.
âHey, what are you doing here?â Luke as as he cam to a halt. Garcia, sunk down to pet Roxy and shower her with compliments. Spencer just looked bemused.
âGarcia needed help with some last minute Christmas shopping and I wasnât busy so here I am. Why are you here?â
âOkay none of this is suitable but we still have a bunch of stalls to go to and if we can stick to the schedule then there is mulled wine at the end of it allâ Garcia cut in and before either Luke or Spencer could protest she was weaving through the crowd.
âIs something going on?â asked Luke âBecause she asked for my help with shopping too.â Spencer shrugged. They had been there four hours already and he was too shopped out to argue.
It was actually kind of fun, though Spencer was loathe to admit it. Luke, it turned out had an eye for colour that was fairly in line with Garciaâs tastes and more importantly he was willing to carry everything. Garciaâs comment from earlier was still swirling around his head though and he couldnât shake the guilt that had overcome him. After a few more hours shopping Garcia declared that it was time for a break and they headed towards the food stalls.
âHey Emily what are you doing here?â Luke asked. The unit chief had grabbed a table near the mulled wine stall and was nursing a mug.
âPenelope called and-â
âDrinks are on me!â declared Garcia âI need an extra pair of hands to help me carry it though.â Spencer obliged and the four of them spent the next few hours laughing and swapping stories and inspecting Garciaâs purchases.
âCould I get a hand taking these back to my place?â Garcia asked the other three when they had finished their second mugs. They agreed without hesitation thanks to the mulled wine and the carried on the festivities as they caught the bus across town, earning them some concerned looks from their fellow travellers.
Garciaâs new apartment was much bigger than her old one, for starters the kitchen was huge and led to an equally large dining room complete with a big tableâŚset for four people.
âYouâre having company for Christmas?â asked Emily. Garcia shrugged.
âMaybe? If you want to. Thereâs also plenty of bedrooms if we double up or if someone wants to take the pullout couch!â Without waiting for a reply Garcia grabbed the bags of Christmas ornaments and headed for the living room, which already looked like a Christmas grotto. The other three stood in stunned silence.
âSo Iâm guessing you guys let slip to her you were spending Christmas alone too?â said Emily and the others nodded.
âYeah she overheard Matt trying to invite me to his house. I didnât want to crash his family celebration thoughâ said Luke âAnd Tara is having her Dad and brother over and after everything they went through last year it didnât feel right to crash that you know?â
âJJ offered everyone a spare room but their house is kind of small for all of us andâŚâ Spencer trailed off. Much like Luke he didnât like the idea of encroaching on someone elseâs celebration no matter how much he loved them.
âShe knew Iâd be too proud if she asked outrightâ murmured Emily. After a moments silence, Spencer spoke in a tiny voice.
âShe thinks we donât appreciate her. You know if we didnât have her we wouldnât catch half the UnSubs we do.â
âWe donât tell her enough how important she isâ nodded Emily âWe just take for granted that sheâll always be there, like now.â
Spencer turned and strode into the living room where Garcia was struggling to find a place to hang the little glitzy narwhal bauble that she had picked out.
âI need your heightâ said Garcia as he entered âIt needs to be up there, about an inch to the left of the crochet snowman.â
âThis whole thing was a ruseâ he said softly as he placed the decoration where Garcia wanted âThe shopping and then having us come back here to help.â
âPlying us with mulled wine to make us more suggestibleâ added Emily as she and Luke appeared in the doorway. Garcia looked guilty and gave a small shrug.
âNo one should be alone at Christmas anyway but you three are probably the people in the world who need a celebration mostâ said Garcia.
âWhy?â asked Luke âBecause we arenât seeing our families or because we donât have kids or partners to celebrate with?â Garcia rolled her eyes.
âIt was think more to so with the fact that Reid spent three months in prison and even though everyone seems to have made a conscious effort to act like it didnât happen everyone can see he hasnât been sleeping and he still checks the doors of every room he goes into to make sure he isnât locked in. Or how about the fact that Luke was denied justice for his partner being tortured and then he was denied again when that psycho Scratch fell of a building when he should be rotting in jail. Heâs been with the team five minutes and heâs running into burning buildings and threatening gang members for us. Emily donât even get me started on you, you left your dream job in London where you were safe and happy and recovering from all the Doyle stuff and you get hit with this avalanche of bullshit and pain and a heap of paperwork that we donât see and then to top it all off you get kidnapped and tortured and forced to relive the worst experience of your lifeâŚâ
It was Spencer who moved first, awkwardly enveloping Garcia in his long arms and then being joined by Emily and finally Luke. They stood there for a while, until Garcia stopped shaking and the others had bitten back the tears threatening to spill.
âYou donât have to stayâ mumbled Garcia âBut there is enough food here to feed a small army.â
âWe can help you cook itâ grinned Luke.
âSpencer and I will help you cook itâ corrected Emily, âLuke can cheer us on from the sidelinesâ
âYouâre really notâ laughed Spencer âBut you do have good taste in wine so you can pick what we drink with the food.â
âOf course the newbie is a wine snobâ said Garcia with a dramatic eye roll.
âI have a sensitive paletteâ said Luke. The three of them continued to argue playfully as Garcia watched them head towards the kitchen, arms folded across her chest and a small smile on her face.
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