-MAD WOMAN-
nineteen!

the saying that "life is just one
damn thing after another" is a
gross understatement. the damn
things overlap.

now - 6x21-24!

Spencer Reid was having a bad day.

He had had bad days before. And Wren had experienced a few of them, but none of them could compare to today. They were honestly lucky that the team hadn't been called in for a case today because if they had, the team and anyone in his way would've been in for a very destructive and hurtful Reid. And while Wren couldn't pinpoint where in the day he had gotten to his breaking point, she knew they were well past any point that she could pretend he wasn't acting the way he was.

They were supposed to be able to talk to each other about these things. About the grief that they were both facing, but he didn't want to talk today and she wasn't going to force him to. But she also wasn't just going to sit back and let him regress either. Because regressing for Spencer meant something he'd never forgive himself for. And Wren didn't want him to go through that again.

So there they were, Wren sat in front of the bathroom door and Spencer pacing in front of her, attempting to keep himself from saying something that he'd regret.

No matter what the morning had entailed, Wren didn't yell at Spencer or make him feel like he was crazy for wanting to relapse. It actually made sense to her why he would and she admitted that to him, but while he made arguments that it would only be just once, Wren was persistent that it wasn't going to happen at all. He wasn't going to go back on all of the progress he had made over the past three years, not while she was around.

That was when he threatened to go back to his own apartment and Wren told him he was free to go. However, she'd just be right behind him. If she had to be a constant shadow until the urge went away, Wren was happy to fill that role. And if Spencer hated her for it, well at least he wasn't taking Dilaudid again. 

He had called her multiple names that he never would've if he were in the right state of mind, but it didn't bother Wren. She had dealt with her fair share of recovering addicts in the past. Whatever Spencer could think of to call her wasn't much to compare to the words of those who raised her. And when Spencer was feeling better and would start to apologize, Wren would be quick to reassure him that his words didn't hurt her. 

The day ended with Spencer crying into Wren's shoulder as she did her best to console him. He missed Emily and didn't want to feel the pain anymore. It was all understandable to Wren. If she had a way to get rid of the constant heartache, she definitely would. But she also knew that keeping him from relapsing was her only option because if she had just stood by while it happened, one; she would've never been able to forgive herself if something bad happened to him, and two; she wasn't sure what she would've done if it became a problem while working.

Two days later, the pair were back at work. A paperwork day for the agents of the BAU so they could catch up on all the files they needed to fill after their most recent case. After that, Wren and Spencer were invited to see a horror movie with Garcia, who also managed to convince Ashley and Derek to join them. Wren was never a fan of horror movies, but she went along with the group so she could feel some form of normalcy. Plus, she had missed spending time with the team outside of cases.

Her arm linked with Ashley's as the group exited the theater for the night, Wren had a slight smile on her lips as she listened to Garcia rant about the film. "It was unnecessary. There's too much blood and gore and eww."

"Garcia, it's a slasher film. How do you do a slasher film without violence?" Reid asked her.

"You imply it."

"Baby, the movie is called 'Slice 6,' what were you expecting?" Morgan questioned from the other side of the blonde.

"A refreshing beverage with a twist of comedy," she explained, getting small chuckles out of the rest of the group. "I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks."

"Penny, might I remind you that you invited us to see this? You could've picked a different movie," Wren stated as the woman scoffed.

"Excuse you, I picked something most of the group would enjoy," she tried to counter, though the group all gave rebuttals stating they would've been okay with anything else as well. She mocked offense and made her rebuttal. "Wow, everyone's teaming up against the planner. Next time you guys can pick."

"With everything that we do and see on a daily basis, 'Slice 6' is what got to you?" Ashley asked Penelope.

"Listen, newb, you may be all Sigourney Weaver ass-kicking tough, which is awesome, but the mystical mavens of innocence like myself jump at things that go bump in the night," she told her as Wren laughed lightly.

"Why are you worried? I'm sure that Morgan will protect you," Spencer said.

"Yeah, as long as he isn't jumping out of his chair like a toddler who can't sit still," Wren added, to which Derek immediately got defensive.

"The only reason I jumped is 'cause you guys woke me up."

"How could you sleep during that?" Penelope asked him.

"Easy. You drag me out after a twelve-hour workday for what? You're telling me that girl didn't know that the unsub was waiting for her upstairs? Come on now," he retorted.

"Villain," Spencer spoke up.

"What?"

"In movies, unsubs are called villains," he explained and Wren couldn't help but smile at the unnecessary correction.

"My bad."

By the next morning, Wren was trailing behind Spencer and Rossi as the former explained the plot of the movie they had seen to the latter. As the group entered the bullpen to see Hotch talking to Strauss, Wren knew that something was up. The section chief had been basically up the BAU's ass as of late and it wasn't something any of them enjoyed.

Once the whole team was gathered in the BAU room, Garcia presented the case. Three college students were all killed in their off-campus apartments in San Diego in the last five days. The connections between the students were that they all looked alike, were in their early 20s, and were majoring in education or child development. Since the unsub had killed three women in under a week, the team was sure that he was hunting for his next victim as they spoke, so they were quick to head to San Diego.

The case went by rather quickly, the only distraction being Strauss calling both Hotch and Wren asking them to see her when they got back, but other than that, it went well. Wren coached Ashley on how to talk to their unsub and the brunette was incredibly impressed by how well she did. The team had finished another case and were able to go back home, proud to say they stopped another serial killer.

Wren just didn't know it would be her last one with the team for a few months.

When they arrived back at Quantico, Hotch and Wren made their way to Strauss's office. Hotch knew that he was asked to see the section chief because he hadn't had an assessment performed after Prentiss's death. Wren had no idea why she was there.

"You wanted to see us?" Hotch said as he announced the duo's presence with a few knocks. Strauss looked up at both of them, file in her hand.

"Good job in San Diego," she told them both as she took off her reading glasses.

"Thank you," the unit chief replied softly.

"Despite a challenging year, your team seems to be functioning surprisingly well," the woman continued.

"But?" Wren prompted, feeling as though there was something Strauss was leaving out.

"There isn't a but," she admitted. "I agree with Agent Hotchner's assessment of the BAU. As does the director."

"Why - uh - Why the interest in the wellbeing of my team?" Hotch asked as Strauss walked from her desk to another table.

"The director has some concerns," Strauss explained. "With losing a team member and Agent Morgan's primary reaction to the news that Agent Spader had kept secrets, the director wanted to make sure that no one else on the team was feeling betrayed by you. At least, no betrayal to the point where they would feel the need to act against you."

"Concerns for my protection?" Wren asked in disbelief. "From the team? Please, they might've been upset but the worst of my concern was getting my badge taken away. Morgan wouldn't go further than that because I kept secrets."

"We know that now, thanks to the assessments," the woman returned. "Besides, the concerns weren't only about your protection."

"What other concerns are we talking about?" Hotch questioned and the section chief sighed.

"There's a chance that I might need your help," she admitted to the pair. "And I want you both to be in a position to assist."

"What's going on?" Wren was the first to speak after that confession.

"I'm just dealing with a few things right now," Strauss stated.

"What is it?" Hotch asked.

"I might be away for a few months," she pushed forward before looking toward Wren. "I know you've found a home in the BAU but I was wondering if you would take my place while I'm gone."

Wren's mouth sat agape at the request. "You want me to be acting section chief?"

"You'll have Agent Hotchner's aid, of course, and I will always be a phone call away, but you performed as my second hand remarkably well for almost three years before you transferred to the BAU."

"Has the director approved this?" The brunette continued to question.

"He has, but if you don't feel comfortable, I understand," Strauss informed her.

"No, I'll do it, I'm just shocked to be the person you want for the job."

Strauss gave Wren a small nod and smile before looking to Hotch. "You'll be okay with losing an agent for a few months?"

"She's performed double duty before, I'm sure she can be of help to us over the phone," he told her with a teasing smile forming on his lips and Wren rolled her eyes.

"What, now I'm going to be an interrogations specialist, profiler, media liaison, and acting section chief? I can't catch a break," she joked. She was more than happy to take on the extra load as long as she got to make Hotch feel guilty about it. 

✦✧✦

Now, she would never tell Hotch or Strauss this, but Wren was seriously regretting agreeing to be acting section chief. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she got more than three hours of sleep a night. She wasn't going on cases with the BAU anymore, but that didn't mean she was off the hook. Wren honestly hadn't realized how many long hours Strauss took on just to get information from units. The director of the bureau was on her ass almost constantly and there were things that she knew that she couldn't always tell the BAU. 

After everything that happened with Emily and Doyle, Wren had extreme guilt whenever she had to keep secrets from the team. Of course, she didn't tell them everything about her personal life, but when she knew something that could help the team and she wasn't cleared to relay that information, she felt guilty. Most of it was just about budget cuts and minuscule things that they don't care about, but Wren still couldn't help but feel some sort of shame.

A month and a half of being the acting section chief left Wren exhausted in more ways than one, but she was pushing through until Strauss came back. She tried to give as much of her time to the BAU as she could. She was able to give Rossi some pointers on how to interrogate a pervert suspected of kidnapping two girls and murdering one of them. A week later, she was in Garcia's office filtering out phone calls while the team tried to track an unsub through his victims in Miami. Aside from her work in the BAU, she was in constant meetings, on the phone more often than not, and always checking in on different units. Wren was in endless movement.

But if she were going to be completely honest, even though the new position left her with lots of downsides, Wren couldn't help but feel grateful for the new role. It didn't give her time for breaks which meant she didn't have the time to spiral. She didn't have the time to think about how her sister was in protective custody, likely moving from place to place instead of having some sort of consistency for Oakley. 

Her first real break from her new position came in the form of dinner with Reid, Morgan, and Garcia after one of their cases. She was more tired than she would've admitted, but Wren powered through the dinner. She laughed at the jokes made and involved herself in conversations.

"Have you two had any leads on Doyle yet?" Spencer pointed the question toward Wren and Derek after they ordered their food.

"You told him?" Morgan asked Wren once the waitress left and the brunette sighed.

"I live with him, there's not much he doesn't know," she explained before looking over at the genius, a playful glare painted on her features. "No, we haven't. We're still looking for his son, but we're close. I can feel it."

"Not close enough, though," Derek muttered to himself as Penelope placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Well, if there's anyone who can find Doyle, it's you two," Spencer said reassuringly, which got a small smile out of Wren.

"Once you have a lead, you're going to bring the whole team in, right?" Penelope asked.

Wren nodded as she spoke. "That's the plan. We just need a lead that's tangible enough so that we aren't wasting resources or time. We have some information, just not a lot that we can act on."

"Okay, let's change the conversation before we reveal too much information, huh, Birdie?" Derek requested and she nodded, taking a sip of her drink. "How's your new position treating you?"

"Like shit," she told him, getting chuckles from the whole group. "No, seriously, I never knew how much Strauss actually did until now and I was her shadow for two years. It's exhausting trying to be four places at once."

"Isn't Hotch supposed to be helping you?" Spencer asked her.

"Yeah, but he's busy trying to keep all of your asses in line," Wren retorted, to which Derek threw a crumpled-up napkin at her. "There's only so much Hotch can do while he's also in the field and filling out all of the paperwork that needs to be done for his unit."

"When does Strauss get back?" Penelope questioned.

"God knows when," the brunette admitted. "I'm more than happy to do the job, I just wish I had more training for it."

"You're the most qualified person for the job and you think you're undertrained?" Morgan spoke in disbelief. "Birdie, you've got to have more confidence in yourself."

"Oh, I have plenty of confidence in my abilities," she insisted. "My abilities just have a limit."

"Are you resting enough?" The other woman at the table asked Wren with concern laced in her tone. 

"I sleep when I can just like all of us do," Wren replied. "Has my sleep schedule been seriously fucked by the new workload? Yes. But, I'm managing just fine. It's mostly mental exhaustion instead of physical."

Penelope continued to protest Wren's lack of self-care while Spencer brought up statistics about overworking one's self. All the brunette could do was roll her eyes with endearment at the two. She knew they meant well and were only looking out for her, but there was very little either of them could do besides hold her down that would get her to actually willingly take a break.

Wren's enjoyment of the meal was cut short as her phone started ringing in her pocket. Opening the device to see the director's assistant's contact on her screen, she sighed and stepped away from the table to take the call. 

A few words exchanged over the phone gave Wren the information that the director of the bureau had called a late meeting and that her presence was requested. She didn't have much time to bid her friends farewell before she had to head back to Quantico.

The people in the meeting included almost all section chiefs stationed at Quantico, Hotch, Wren, and the director. Why the director felt the need to call a meeting about budget cuts at 9:00 at night was beyond Wren, but she didn't verbally question it to anyone aside from Hotch, who told her to quiet down. 

After the meeting, Wren and Hotch went back to his office and went over the potential routes they could take to keep the entire team together once the budget cuts were enforced. It was difficult for the brunette to see Hotch so distressed about keeping his team together. The majority of them had been together for almost four years and they worked the best when they were together. The news that other offices were showing interest in Morgan, Reid, and Garica - all of which would be better-paying jobs than they have now - was something they had to grapple with. And no matter how many times Wren told her boss that those three were as loyal to the BAU as they could be, he was still adamant about the fact that their leaving was something they had to keep on the table. After all, JJ leaving wasn't something the team actually thought could happen and it did anyway. Who was to say that someone else wouldn't leave too?

She didn't even get the chance to go home and sleep that night. Instead, she got a total of forty minutes of shut-eye on the couch in Rossi's office and had to use the clothes she keeps in her go-bag as her outfit for the next day at work. Plus, with Hotch calling a meeting with BAU at five in the morning, the amount of rest Wren was getting was starting to hit an all-time low. 

With her tea in hand, Wren walked into an empty roundtable room and sat, hoping that maybe she could rest her eyes while she waited for the rest of the team. But not to her surprise, Reid showed up thirty minutes early and returned her tight-lipped smile with a small wave.

"You never came home last night," he mentioned as he placed his bag on the back of his chair and sat down. "Did you sleep here?"

"I would've been home for an hour before I had to come back by the time Hotch and I were talking," Wren admitted, her brain skipping over the fact that Spencer had called her apartment 'home.' "I'm sorry, I should've texted you."

"No, it's okay. I figured you were here," he dismissed her apology. "Why are we meeting this early anyway?"

She sighed before speaking. "It's better if I let Hotch explain." Spencer nodded, though he didn't understand what could be so important that she couldn't tell him on her own. "How was the rest of dinner?"

A light blush coated Spencer's cheeks at the question, but Wren didn't pay too much attention to it. She was too tired to be a profiler and for that, Spencer was grateful. If she had more energy and was willing to pick up on the fact that he was being evasive, Wren would've realized that they spent the rest of dinner talking about her.

"So, pretty boy. How's living with Birdie going?" Derek had asked a few minutes after she had left.

"It's good," Spencer acknowledged. "She's really good about setting up boundaries and making sure that I'm comfortable."

"Do you have to share a bed?" Penelope joked and Spencer's eyes widened, shocked at the question.

"What?" His voice squeaked a bit. "No. Her apartment is a two-bedroom. Why would you assume that?"

"Relax, kid, she was kidding," Derek reassured him, though he was starting to have suspicions of his own. "Why'd your voice squeak at the thought of having to share a bed with Wren?"

"It didn't squeak."

"It definitely squeaked," Penelope retorted quickly.

"It did not!"

"Reid, do you have a crush on Spader?"

"No!" Spencer's voice squeaked again and a large smirk appeared on Derek's face. "I do not have a crush on her."

"Okay, fine, do you have feelings for Wren?" Penelope continued to question him, finding amusement in how red his face was becoming.

"No," he repeated, though it wasn't believable whatsoever. "No, I do not have feelings for Wren. That's crazy."

"Sounds like he's trying to convince himself more than us," Penelope told Derek, who nodded as a small laugh escaped him.

"There's nothing to convince me of!" Spencer exclaimed.

"Reid, relax," Derek attempted to calm the genius down. "There's nothing wrong with having feelings for her."

"I don't! Can we please just drop it?"

"It was good. Just a lot of talk about work," he told Wren as she took a sip of her tea and Rossi joined the pair. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Less than an hour of it, but yes, I did," she said as Rossi let out a light chuckle.

Small conversation was made as the room filled up. Once Garcia joined the group, Wren started to feel the nerves radiating from her teammates. She hadn't noticed it before but now that they were all together and waiting for their boss, she could feel how nervous they all were.

"Where's Hotch?" The technical analyst asked as she took a seat next to Wren.

"Any minute," Rossi replied as he and Seaver looked at something on their tablets.

"I didn't get a file sent to me," Penelope continued, looking to Wren for reassurance. "Did a case go directly to him?"

"No case," the brunette told her with a small smile. "He just wanted to talk to everybody."

"When's the last time he called a meeting this early?" Ashley questioned.

"Three years, eight months ago," Spencer informed her.

"And what happened?"

"Gideon left."

"Who's leaving?" Garcia immediately questioned. "It can't be you, Wren. Just because you're pulling double duty, doesn't mean that you don't belong here with us."

"I'm not leaving, Penny," Wren put a hand on top of the anxious blonde's. "Take a breath."

"But what else could he have called us in for?" She persisted. Her worried rambling filled the room until the footsteps of Hotch approaching the roundtable room made her stop talking and look toward the door.

"I appreciate everyone coming in early," Hotch said to the team as he joined them at the table. 

"What's going on?" Rossi asked him.

"The director called a meeting last night to discuss budgets," he explained before looking over at Wren. "Spader stepped in for Strauss at the meeting and I was there to assist her."

"The bureau is facing a lot of changes and it has been for a while," Wren continued. "This unit is no exception."

"Over the next few weeks, each of you is going to be asked if you'd like to stay with the unit."

"Why wouldn't we?" Reid questioned.

"There are other options for you out there. One's that will pay better," the woman explained.

"And while we want the unit to stay together, Spader and I both understand completely if you want to see what the alternatives are," Hotch added on after her. "Morgan, there's renewed interest in you from the New York Office."

"Nobody's called me."

"They will."

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna go."

Wren held back a smile at his words. She was right that they would be loyal to the unit and it made her happy to see what she had been arguing all night could be proven.

"Oh, we know," Wren replied.

"Are you staying here?" Ashley asked Hotch.

"It's my intention," he answered. "All I ask is if you are contacted by another division that you let me know. Or Spader, since she's technically the boss of all of us right now."

The brunette smirked as the others all chuckled at the reality of Wren being acting section chief. She had a lot of power over all of them, but unlike their actual section chief, Wren used her influence to aid the team instead of trying to hold them back.

Hotch's phone started ringing and before long, the BAU had another case. And since it was local, it meant that Wren could help out more actively.

But once this case was over, the whole team wouldn't really be together again for five months. And even then, it didn't feel like they were actually united.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

hey hi sorry for the filler chapter i just wanted to finish season 6 as fast as possible oopsies

i'll probably come back to this one and rewrite it when i feel like it but i just want to move on from this season so bad and it's my fic, who's going to stop me?

but yeah wren is such a slay queen i love her so much. she takes on all of these responsibilities without hesitation and does a damn good job at them too. she's really just like me fr

spencer and wren's story is something that i feel is a lot different to other stories in a way that their relationship is never the main focus but it's there, y'know? like they care about each other so deeply but they don't let it run their lives. season 7 will see a lot of angst for wren and maybe some moves being made to take their relationship past just friends (not sure, haven't decided when i want to do that yet) AND i haven't even introduced a character yet

chapter 20 will technically be the start of the second act even though i don't have this book split into acts oh well that's just how my mind looks at this

ALSO BIG NOTE (kinda) i changed wren's niece's name to oakley. it was sophia at first but i changed it for reason's that will be explained in raven's book (the sequel to this one)

AND AND AND thank you guys so much for almost 10k reads and 400 plus votes on this fic. i'm so glad you all like it! it means a lot to be to have you all reading wren's story and keeping up with it.

thank you guys for everything <333

with love, robin!