9.) Overwhelmed

I was in a complete daze, sitting in a conference room alone, nervously rubbing my hands together. An hour ago, I literally met the man who I believe was my father, and the only response he had was multiple shocking blinks. Shortly after that, Rossi, JJ, and I came back to the station, and I haven't moved from this spot since. Pulling out my phone, I took a deep breath, calling my grandma. If anyone had all the answers, it was definitely her.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey grandma." I spoke, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Hey baby. How's the case going?"

"Still haven't found who we're looking for, but it's coming along."

"Oh lord. What is it?" She asked.

"What is what?" I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows.

"You sound upset, so go ahead and tell me what's wrong, so I can try and help." I took a deep breath, placing my hand on my forehead.

"Do you know someone by the name of Stanley Usher?" The line stood silent, which basically told me all I needed to know. "You do, don't you?"

"How do you know about him?" She asked.

"Apparently he's a local psychic here, who is helping with the case, giving me no room to actually do my job." I huffed.

"I remember Stanley. He and your mother met in a bar one night and became instantly inseparable. He was a good guy, or so I thought, until he found out that your mother was pregnant. That's when packed up and moved to Bastardsville with the rest of the no good men in this world!" I laughed a little, shaking my head.

"So...he's definitely my father then?"

"Yeah baby, he is. I figured you inherited your psychic genes from you father, but it was never confirmed until now." She said, making me groan. "How are you holding up?"

"I don't even know. I'm so exhausted and I can barely even wrap my head around all of this." I said.

"Baby, you have a lot on your plate already, and I can't tell you what to do or how to handle this situation."

"But it would be so much easier if you did."

"Don't I know it, but my advice is to at least talk to him and get his side of the story. Then, you can determine if you want him in your life or not." She said. She was right. There were two sides to every story and so far...I only knew one side. My mother's side. I opened my mouth to talk, only to be cut off by Rossi, who stepped into the room.

"Hey grandma, I gotta go. Love you." I said, hanging up the phone.

"Can we talk?" He asked.

"Sure."

"I owe you an apology for my behavior earlier. It wasn't fair to you and it was completely unprofessional of me."

"I just don't understand. Did you not like him because he was a psychic, or...what?" I asked him.

"I have no problems with psychics, which you know first hand, but I have had my fair share of fake psychics that only prey on grieving families for money. It's not that I don't like him, I just don't believe he's the real deal." He said. "Besides...I was also skeptical about you when we first met."

"But you gave me a chance and look what happened. Your best selling book has my story in it." He laughed, playfully nudging me. "But all jokes aside...he is the real deal. I could feel it when he touched my hand."

"And what did you see when he touched you?" He asked me.

"I saw the truth. He knew my mom, they had a relationship, and then...it was over. But Rossi...he seemed so shocked when I told him who I was. Does that mean he didn't know?" I asked him.

"I don't know, kiddo. I guess you'll never know, unless you ask him." I nodded my head, taking a deep breath, as the door came flying open.

"Hey Rossi, Hotch is looking for you." Reid said.

"Okay. We'll talk later." He said, patting my leg. I nodded as he got up and left the room, leaving me and Spencer alone.

"Hey...are you okay? JJ asked me to come check on you." He closed the door, taking a seat next to me. "What happened?"

"I think I met my father." I told him. "He has the same psychic ability as me, which explains where I got it from, and when he touched my hand...I saw him and my mom together." He looked through the window behind us, closing the blinds, before sitting back down and pulling me into his arms.

"I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now." He said, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused, lost, tired...I'm just...I'm all over the place."

"When was the last time you got a decent night's rest?"

"Between classes, training academy, and these cases...I don't even know what sleep is anymore." I said, honestly.

"I understand that, but you can't over exhaust yourself. In this line of work, you're going to always need a clear head, meaning you need to be rested." He said.

"You're right. Maybe I should take a step back from cases for a bit, and just focus on school and training."

"That sounds like a logical idea." I laughed a little, leaning up and kissing him. "You feeling better?"

"A little bit. Thanks Spencer." I smiled, as he leaned down and kissed me once more. The door opened, making us quickly break apart, but thankfully it was only Derek.

"We need you and that massive brain out here, pretty boy." He said.

"Okay, I'm coming." He said. "You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He nodded, kissing my forehead, before getting up and walking out of the room.

"Hey, you okay?" Derek asked me.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I said.

"Okay, well...there's someone here asking for you." I furrowed my eyebrows, getting up, and following Derek out of the room. I stopped dead in my tracks, seeing Stanley standing there, with his hands in his pockets. "Who's that guy?"

"I guess I'm bout to find out." I approached him, crossing my arms, and clearing my throat. "What are you doing here?"

"I was actually summoned by the detective, who asked for my help, but I knew you'd be here and I wanted to talk. And...apologize." He said.

"Apologize for what?" I questioned.

"The way I reacted earlier. I just didn't expect any of this, but I wanted you to hear this from me. I didn't know about you and if I had known about you...I would've been there for you."

"But...my mom said that you left her after finding out she was pregnant."

"She never told me anything."

"Then why would she lie about that?" I asked.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask her about that." He said.

"I wish I could, but I can't. She died when I was ten." I could physically see him tense up, his eyes widening.

"You...you found the body? That was...that was her?" He ran his hands down his face. "I saw you standing over a body, you know...when we touched hands, but...I didn't know it was your mother."

"Yep. She was murdered by a man who was after me." I sighed, feeling my eyes water.

"Listen Melanie..." He began, but was cut off by the detective.

"Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Usher. Right this way." He said.

"One second." He dug into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. "This is my number. You can call me anytime, but...I won't blame you if you don't." And with that, he walked away, leaving me standing there.

At the end of the day, we solved the case, finding the girl just in time before she was embalmed. We packed up shortly after, but not before getting the answers I needed. Stanley offered to help me learn more about my abilities, in exchange for getting to know me better, and I accepted his offer.

"Is anyone else hungry? I'm starving!" Emily said, as we all walked back into the BAU headquarters.

"I could eat." Derek said.

"Me too. Melanie, you in?" Reid asked me.

"Yeah, but I have to talk to Hotch first. I can meet you guys there though."

"No, don't be silly. We can wait." Emily said. I nodded and headed into Hotch's office, knocking on his door.

"Come in." He called out, his voice as stern as ever.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but do you have a minute?" I asked.

"Of course. What can I help you with?" I sat down across from him, rubbing my tired eyes. "When's the last time you've gotten any sleep?"

"Does the jet ride count?"

"Is that why you've been so irritable lately? You aren't getting any sleep?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned.

"That, amongst other things, but...I'd like to take a step back from helping you all with cases. Just until I finish training anyways." I said.

"I see. And what brought on this decision?"

"Aside from always being exhausted? I just feel like I'm in the way. I mean...I'm not allowed on the field, unless I'm with you, which is for good reasons and all but at the same time...I feel so useless sometimes."

"Melanie, you aren't useless. You've helped solve more cases faster then I have ever seen, and though you aren't allowed on the field...you still play a huge part in us solving these cases. You're important to this team and I want you to remember that." He said, making me smile a little.

"Thanks Hotch. I really appreciate it." I said.

"I'm just being honest. Take all the time you need and remember...you'll always have a place here. Whenever you're ready." I thanked him once again, feeling a whole lot better, as I left his office.