Chapter 19: Wishdoughnut

Lina's POV

I can't stop thinking about the kiss that just happened with Spencer in the car. It was magical and I craved his scent, his touch, his embrace now. I glance at him where he is sitting on the other side of the table.

"Yang!" A voice interrupts me from my thoughts, it's Hotch's.

"Yes, sir?" I reply, trying to act like I wasn't just daydreaming.

"I said, did you and Reid find anything interesting at the crime scene?" Hotch narrows his eyes at me.

"N-no, sir," I stammer. "The MO and signature is the same, but Reid came up with the theory that the UnSub may be wearing the victims' skin because he has scarring or some other insecurity."

"And it's likely he chooses men that have a similar physical appearance as him," Spencer adds.

Prentiss shrugs her shoulders. "There wouldn't really be any other reason for him to be wearing their skin."

Just then, Morgan's cell phone rings and he picks up, putting it on speaker. "Talk to me, Baby Girl." I immediately know that it's Garcia.

"Ooh, you know I love it when you call me that, Chocolate Thunder." Garcia giggles.

"Behave now, you're on speaker," Morgan warns playfully.

"Mmm, fine. Anyways, I did some digging and found out that all the victims were at a bookstore prior to their death."

Hotch frowns. "That must've been where the UnSub met them."

"Can you pull a list of employees that work there?" asks Morgan.

Garcia sighs. "I tried but it looks like they have it on a paper file."

"Hm, alright. Thanks, Garcia." Morgan hangs up.

"He might not even work there." Spencer furrows his brows. "He could just be a customer."

"So, so far our UnSub is possibly a white male in his forties with some sort of skin scarring or insecurity, and works at a bookstore," Rossi concludes.

Prentiss rubs her chin thoughtfully. "What kind of scarring or insecurities could it be then?"

"Birthmarks, surgery scars, burn scars, acne..." Spencer says, ticking each suggestion off his fingers.

"Wait, that's it." I look at everyone. "Burn scars."

JJ tilts her head. "Why's that?"

"That would explain why our UnSub needs to use a wheelbarrow to dump the bodies. If his burns are bad enough—especially around the joints—it will make it hard for him to move around," I explain.

"Morgan, I need you to call Garcia again," Hotch states and Morgan dials his cell phone. Almost immediately, Garcia picks up.

"Wow, that was quick," Garcia answers. "Need my incredible skills again?"

"That's right, Mama." Morgan grins.

"Garcia, I need you to look up male burn victims in the past 40 years or so in this area," Hotch demands.

"Yes, sir." Garcia types rapidly.. "Okay, I have like 300 names."

"Search for victims that have third-degree burns, specifically covering nearly their whole body," suggests JJ.

Garcia clicks her tongue. "Oh, I got four names. Can you be more specific."

"Does any of them have the same physical description as Reid?" Morgan questions.

"Uh, if you're talking about tall, skinny, brown-haired guys—then yes," Garcia replies, the sound of her rapid typing sounds over the phone. "I have a Thomas Adams. When he was 12, he and his family were trapped in their burning house. Firefighters only managed to rescue him. He has third-degree burns all over his body, except his face."

"Explains why he only skins from the neck down." Rossi leans back in his chair.

"It also says here that he also attempted suicide before because of bullying at school. And guess what, it looks like he frequently purchases books at the same bookstore as the previous victims. Specifically books on how to skin animals."

"We have our guy." Hotch nods. "Garcia, send us the address."

"Got it, annnd sent." She types on her keyboard.

Suddenly, Solomon bursts into the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but another man has just been reported missing by his wife. Jerry Markowitz, 33."

"We don't have time to waste," Hotch states. "Reid and Yang, stay here. You guys still need to recover from your injuries. The rest, come with me." I watch as the rest of the team hurries out of the room, strapping on bullet proof vests.

"If you guys need us, just give us a call," I say to Hotch and he nods. After everyone else leaves, I walk over to Spencer.

"Want some coffee?" I put my arms around his neck.

"Sure." He places his hands on my waist. I go on my tippy toes to give him a quick kiss.

"C'mon." I take him by the hand. "I think I also saw some doughnuts in the break room earlier." He laughs and follows me. We walk into the empty break room and I see a box with one doughnut left in it. "Let's share it." I grab a napkin.

Spencer chuckles and looks around. "Are you sure that's even for us?"

"We just helped solve a gruesome case," I say, "I think the officers here won't be mad if we have their last doughnut."

He smiles at me and grabs a napkin. "Alright, then." We both grab an end of the doughnut.

"Make a wish."

"What?" He looks at me curiously.

"Make a wish, and whoever gets the bigger half will have their wish granted."

"That is actually a Thanksgiving tradition," Spencer states. "Two people pull apart the wishbone—technically known as the furcula of a bird—while making a wish at the same time. The person that get s the bigger piece of the bone will have their wish granted. It actually dates back to an ancient Italian civilization called the Etruscans, apparently they believed that birds possessed powers. And—" Before Spencer can go on about the history of wishbones, I stop him.

"Spence." I start. "You know how much I love listening to you ramble, but I'm starving. And this doughnut is looking really good right now." I smile at him.

"Alright then, let's break the wishdoughnut," Spencer jokes and I laugh.

As I pull I say, "Make your wish...." I wish that Spencer and I will have a wonderful relationship. We break the doughnut and I gleam when I get the bigger half. "Looks like my wish is coming true." I take a bite out of my piece.

"What did you wish for?" Spencer asks, grinning.

"If I tell you, my wish won't come true," I say and he playfully rolls his eyes at me. We finish our doughnuts and dust our hands off.

Spencer licks his fingers. "You know I haven't had a doughnut in 12 years."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Really?" I wipe my mouth with a napkin. "Oh, there's a sprinkle on your lip." I go on my tippy toes and gently lick it off, his lips taste sugary. He surprises me by pulling me in by the waist and kisses me. We both pull back quickly when we hear someone clear their throat.

"Ahem," a deep voice grunts. "I was gonna get the last doughnut, but uh... glad you two enjoyed it." He quickly walks away in embarrassment. I chuckle and pull Spencer in for a hug. An hour later, Spencer and I are just chatting in the break room when my cell phone rings. I look and see that it's Hotch.

"Hi, Hotch. What's up?" I say.

"We got the UnSub," Hotch announces. "We're coming back now, you guys get ready to leave."

I nod, but then realize he can't see me. "Got it. See you—" He abruptly hangs up before I can finish my sentence. I look up at Spencer in confusion.

He chuckles. "Get used to it, Hotch almost never says goodbye."

I shrug my shoulders. "Well, they caught the UnSub and we should get ready to leave."

"Okay, cool," Spencer replies. Two hours later, the team and I are on the jet, flying back to Quantico. When we arrive, Spencer and I are still chatting when Hotch approaches us.s.

"Can you guys meet me in my office?" Hotch asks.

"Yeah, sure," I reply and Spencer nods. As we enter his office, I hold Spencer's hand, but quickly drop it when Hotch sees.

"Have a seat." Hotch gestures to the chairs in front of his desk. "I just want to talk to you guys about your relationship." I bite my lip, feeling nervous. "I'm very happy that you two are together, but it's important to remember that it won't interfere with your work or decision-making abilities out in the field." He looks at both of us and we nod.

"Yes, sir," Spencer says.

"We won't let that happen," I state.

"Good. Now go home and get some rest." Hotch dismisses us. Once we are out of the room, I reach for Spencer's hand.

"Want to come over to my place tonight?" I smile brightly.

"Yeah, sure." Spencer grins. "What do you want to do?"

"I was thinking we can bake something," I suggest.

"Bake?" Spencer sounds surprised. "I don't know how to bake."

"Me neither," I say and he chuckles. We quickly say goodbye to the rest of the team and head out. And soon enough, Spencer and I are at my apartment, kneading bread dough.

"Wait, I think it needs more water." Spencer looks at the crumbly mess in my hands.

"Okay, grab a cup and fill it with water." I nod my head at the sink. He does so and dumps it in the dough, making a huge mess.

"Sorry!" he exclaims and I laugh.

"It's fine," I say with a big smile. After a few more minutes of kneading, I put the dough in a bread pan and pop it in the oven. I don't even care if this will be the worst bread known to man, I'm just enjoying this moment with Spencer. As we wait for the bread to bake, we sit on the couch to take a break.

"Have you read any good books lately?" Spencer runs his fingers through my hair.

"Mmm... no. Haven't had much time to read." I look up at him and give him a kiss, making him smile. I get up from the couch and put my knees on both sides of Spencer, straddling him.

He giggles. "Lina, what are you doing?"

"Shhh...." I shush and gently kiss him. I put my hand on the back of his neck and pull him closer to me to deepen our kiss. I can feel him awkwardly trying to figure out where to put his hands on me, so I take them and put it around my back.

We go back to kissing and I feel his hands move down my back and rest on my waist. After that, our kiss grows more passionate and his breathing gets heavier. I trail my lips to his jawline and leave small kisses, then move down to his neck.

"You're tickling me." He laughs.

I smile and continue to kiss his neck. "Do you like it?" I ask and he nods. I gently nibble him and he giggles.

"Lina...." he whispers with pleasure. This time I bite a bit harder and suck, leaving a small hickey. "Lina!" he exclaims and I pull back.

"Sorry!" I apologize, feeling ashamed. "Did that hurt?"

"No, no, no, it felt really nice." Spencer cups my cheek. "I'm just worried it's going to leave a mark and people are going to see."

"Uhhh...." I stare at the red spot forming on his neck. He quickly runs to the bathroom to check in the mirror.

"Lina!" he shouts and I can't help but laugh.

"Sorry!" Tears of laughter fill my eyes. "Why are you so worried?"

"You know how our friends are." Spencer comes out of the bathroom.

I roll my eyes playfully. "Just wear a turtleneck."

"I don't wear turtlenecks," Spencer replies. Suddenly, his eyes light up mischievously. "Come here."

"What?" I walk over to him, wrapping my arms around him. He leans down to kiss me, then I feel his lips brush down my neck and he sucks harshly.

"Spencer!" I exclaim with pleasure and he laughs.

"There." He smirks. "Now we're even."

"Wow, Spence." I begin. "I never knew you were the type of guy to get even." He chuckles and rolls his eyes at me. I walk into the bathroom to check my neck and gasp. "Oh, my God!"

He runs in after me. "What's wrong?"

"This is huge!" I point to the mark on my neck and he laughs. I tackle him and for the next 20 minutes, we attack each other with bites and kisses. By the time the oven timer goes off, our necks and collarbones are covered with love bites. We lie on the floor, giggling with delight. I feel like a child again, playing without a care in the world. I look over at Spencer, who has a huge smile on his face. He's always the hard-working genius so it's fun seeing the bright, playful side of him.

Spencer grins and raises an eyebrow. "How bad is it?" I look at his neck, completely covered with red spots made by me.

I lay my head on his chest. "Let's just say we're gonna be wearing turtlenecks and scarves for the next while."