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The team took their seats around the large round table that had been reserved for them in the quiet, Italian restaurant in a quaint corner of town off the high street. Hotchner shucked his coat over the back of his chair as they found their comfort zone. He summoned a waitress and ordered two bottles of house red to kick off their evening while they scoured the menus. It wasn't often they were together for good things these days so, following Elle's upsetting departure, wrapping up a particularly hard hitting and tiring case had not been missed as a chance to celebrate in a positive, if emotional, way.
Spencer and Derek whispered back and forth to one another as they looked over the menus, laughing amongst themselves as though they were alone. JJ and Penelope bartered over what was healthier, pasta or chicken, when on the five and two diet and approaching the cusp. Gideon worked his way through his glass of wine when it arrived, much to JJ's shock.
"Lick the glass clean?" She joked.
Jason smiled, "Maybe later." He winked and refilled his glass from the bottle in the centre of the table. JJ laughed lightly and shook her head.
"Well I'm definitely having the lasagne." Derek spoke up as conversations around him lulled. "Italians do mean lasagne." He chuckled. "I always thought it was an A at the end. Like las-an-ya."
Spencer leaned forward and wet his lips with his tongue before sparking off on a tidbit tale of information. "In fact, lasagne with an E is correct. And it is the type of pasta. The dish itself originated in the Emilia-Romagna region of north central Italy. The plural form if lasagna is correct, as there are multiple layers and sheets of pasta in the dish." He smiled, teeth hidden, and Morgan shook his head with a laugh.
Penelope clapped her hands. "This is why I'm always thankful for you, sugar plum."
"The wide, flat sheets of pasta were originally made by the Romans, who called them laganum. The word comes from lasanum, the Latin word for pot, or the vessel in which this dish was baked." Reid went on. "Lasagne later came to refer to the specific layered-type baked dish we know today, with the long flat, pasta sheets alternating with minced meat, cheese and tomatoes. The Romans lacked tomatoes, which originated in Peru and did not come to Italy until the Spanish Conquistadors brought them back from Mexico in the early 16th century." He nodded his head, ending his lecture and JJ chuckled sweetly.
"God bless you, Spencer Reid." JJ raised her wine glass.
As Spencer sat back, Derek wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Class A nerd." He whispered, leaning close, and touched his lips to his temple gently before breaking away as their waitress approached.
Gideon raised his glass as the waitress left with their orders and cleared his throat. "Well, it's safe to say the recent months have been filled with ups and downs. I'm proud to say this team has pulled together and I'm also proud to have been part of it. Nights like this seemed few and far between at times and that's what makes them important." He raised his glass. "To us."
"To us." The table chorused.
"I second that." Hotch latched to the end of Rossi's speech. "You all bring a lot to the table, and it's good to have nights like this to remember that and switch off the FBI brain for a while. I've know you a while now, and I've seen the past year or two hit you head on and also offer you some real happiness." He jerked his head to Spencer and Morgan and laughed loudly. "We're a solid team, and I'm sorry that Elle will no longer be beside us on this." He charged his glass.
"I hope she's okay." Garcia said softly.
"Okay, enough with the gushing." JJ mocked, tearing up. "I think it's high time we all shared an embarrassing story, as a bonding exercise."
Derek's eyes widened as JJ let out a cackling laugh. "No!" He pointed at her and she held her hands up in defense, still laughing. Penelope's lack of amusement and sudden frown, sitting opposite Derek, changed his expression quickly and he frowned back at her. "Garcia?"
"Spencer's, he....eh, he's having another..." She pointed across to him, tilting her head a little. All eyes fell on the younger doctor and Derek stiffened his jaw.
Reid stared blankly ahead, blinking in rhythmic succession. His mouth bobbed, as though he were chewing food, and a quiet hum hovered in his throat. After the longest twenty five seconds of Hotchner's life, Spencer gave a determined blink and exhaled a sigh. Nobody missed that it was the fourth since leaving work, as Spencer had dipped out of consciousness three times between their office and the car park of the restaurant - two destinations less that were a car ride of forty minutes apart.
"Spencer?" Gideon said his name and Spencer looked across to him. It took less than a moment for him to realise he was being fiercely watched. Derek's hand was on the small of his back and it dawned on him that he'd zoned out. His cheeks felt hot as he flushed.
He looked to his left at Derek and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry...um."
Morgan shook his head. "Shh, don't." He warned. "Don't apologise."
The table fell awkwardly silent and Reid wanted the ground to swallow him up. The waitresses arrival ten seconds later was welcomed by everyone and conversation began to hum again as though it was unwritten permission to do so.
"Oh great, that's mine." Penelope held a smile as the waitress placed her meal before her. "Looks amazing."
Spencer picked up his fork as his plate was placed before him and eyed his food, no longer feeling hungry. He stabbed at a shell of pasta and glanced around, thankful nobody was openly staring at him any longer. He reached for his glass of water and swallowed half the tumbler in two mouthfuls.
"Hey, Spence, if you want us to leave we could?" Derek leaned in and whispered.
Spencer frowned as he shook his head. "No, I want to stay." He pushed a smile to his face.
"Yeah, but you're tired - this week has been hard going and we've lasted today on an hour of sleep - and now with the reality of Greenaway leaving," Derek reasoned.
"If you mention my seizure threshold or emotional stress effects, I'll stab you with my fork." Spencer's eyes were fixed and serious.
Derek smirked and leaned closer, kissing his forehead. "Okay, pretty boy."
JJ and Garcia gave a loud laugh and Derek looked over, smiling in wonder as Hotch held his hands up in innocence. "I didn't say a word." He vowed with a cheeky smile and took a sip of his wine.
"Liar!" JJ continued to laugh. "Morgan, is it true you and Gideon got locked in a women's locker room on a case," She asked, trying to calm her giggles. "For over half of the day and nobody noticed?" She brought her hand up to cover her mouth as she struggled to hold in her amusement. "And where was I when this happened?!"
Gideon rolled his eyes and Derek looked across with amusement on his face. "Yes, its true." Jason replied with mock annoyance. "It was empty." He added quickly.
"More to the pity." Derek winked at Jason.
Spencer struck Derek's middle with his arm, "this is what jealous other halves do, right?" He checked and smiled. JJ laughed.
The tone of the dinner remained light as Gideon shared stories and offered more sincere tailored thank yous to his team.
JJ and Garcia excused themselves to the bathroom after the waitress cleared the dinner plates from the table and Hotch took the opportunity of the group being broken to order another bottle of wine and coffees. Reid leaned awkwardly in his chair so he was somewhat resting to the side and against Derek, both reclined casually in their seats. Spencer's head lay back just in the grove beneath Derek's chin so that his head rested on top of Spencer's, his arm around Spencer's back and hand on his hip.
"I want a polaroid of this." JJ's return was announced as she stood beside the table and pointed across at Morgan and Reid.
"Stop." Derek swatted her comment away good-naturedly.
JJ returned to her seat and shrugged, "With Elle gone, someone's gotta bust your balls." She smiled and for a moment everyone silenced. Oh yeah - Elle.
"It's sad that she wouldn't come tonight." Garcia said softly.
Reid nodded his head lethargically. "I tried to convince her." He insisted.
"She needs time." Gideon said firmly. "We'll give her that."
Derek tapped his hand lightly against Reid's boney hip, "Want to go home?"
"Can we? I'm beat." Spencer looked around at him
Derek nodded and stood. "Guys, we're gonna go." He waited with his arm out to steady him as Reid stood, tired, and yawned. "Thanks for dinner." Filing through his wallet, Derek pulled out forty dollars and dropped it to the table to cover his and Reid's share of dinner. "See you Monday."
Spencer weakly threw a wave at his colleagues and muttered a quiet goodbye as Derek edged away from the table and waited for him to follow. A two minute walk from the restaurant would lead them to a main street where they could hail a cab. Derek promised Garcia a phone call as he walked to the main door.
"How had I never noticed him having seizures before I knew about it?" JJ asked in a quiet voice. "He just dips out. How could I not see?"
"You wouldn't assume." Hotch said carefully. "The harder he works, the worse he seizes. He doesn't take care of himself well enough on long, hard going cases and he gets worn down. The less sleep he gets and more he works, the more likely he is to have seizures."
"I'm just glad it wasn't like before." JJ sighed and shuddered.
"I'm sure Spencer and Derek were wishing the same thing." Gideon said in a quiet tone.
Garcia scanned their faces and said nothing, she swallowed what remained of her wine and reached into her purse for her cellphone. It was getting late, and with her favourite boys having skipped the party she wondered if she should too. "Thanks for bringing me along." She said sweetly.
"Couldn't imagine the team without you - all of you." Hotchner said sincerely, bringing a bright smile to the blonde's face.