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#minimal loss
marril96 · 1 year
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Criminal Minds 4.03 | Minimal Loss
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Watching on the News
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Season Two Episode Three
Dr. Spencer Reid x Reader (Aaron Hotchner’s Sister)
Words: 4226 
Series Masterlist
Summary: Spencer and Emily go undercover in a situation that quickly turns dangerous. The reader is forced to watch events unfold from back home. 
Notes: I’m going to be going back and forth between moments from the actual episode and from the reader’s experience, so hopefully it won’t feel too jumpy. Also, I think I’ve decided to make the reader a criminal psychologist (or whoever does research and interviews into past crimes to help study new ones. They’ve done it on the show)  but I don’t know everything about the job, so please don’t come after me for inaccuracies. 
Warnings: Violence, depiction of a cult, mentions of SA (episode context), mild sexual content (just at the beginning) 
-
For your last day in London, the two of you read A Study in Scarlet in St. James Park, thus beginning a new series for the two of you to continue back home. It would give you something to hang onto from the trip, as Spencer had said. 
You couldn’t help the feeling of dread filling your chest as Spencer looked over the flight details at the desk. Your bags were packed and your tickets sat in front of Spence. It was over. 
Time to go back to the wonderful world of hunting killers, interviewing psychopaths, and blood on your hands. 
“Our flight is in the afternoon, so we should have plenty of time to get through security and everything,” Spencer said, eyes glued to the papers in his hand. He was all set and ready to get back, it almost made you angry. 
You were not letting go of the escape so easily. 
“Hey Spence.” You slipped your nightgown over your head. 
“I know we had some issues last time, but this time we should be all good to go.” 
You drew back the comforter, leaving only the very thin sheet covering you. “Spence.” 
“We should be back in D.C. at approximately-”
“Spencer.” Your seductive tone mixed with aggressive frustration. 
“What?” He turned his chair around and froze. His wide eyes started on your starkly covered body before quickly flicking up to your face. 
You raised a brow. “Put the papers down, honey.” 
“O-okay,” he squeaked and practically threw them aside, scrambling to join you.
-
This plane ride felt different from the others. Maybe it was because it was his first one back in the BAU jet, but he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of melancholy. Just two days ago, he was tangled up with you in London and now he was going to investigate a statutory rape allegation in a cult in Colorado. 
Welcome back, Reid. 
“You look like you’re a thousand miles away,” Prentiss teased from her seat across from him. 
He gave her a small smile. “I guess my head is still on vacation a little.”
“I don’t blame you,” she laughed. “A romantic getaway, a bottle of good wine, good books, great hotel… I don’t know if I’d be able to tear myself away.” 
“There was certainly some last minute celebrating,” he said, smirking. 
She raised a brow. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” 
The two agents laughed for a moment before letting themselves focus on the case at hand. 
You, safe and sound on the ground, were trying to busy yourself with catching up on files. After everything that happened, you were afraid your application for licensure would be held up, but your boss, Sonia, said that everything should be on track. 
She was still skeptical of sending you out for studies and interviews and had put your specific study on hold. 
Sonia thought filicide was a little too close of a topic for you, especially now. So you were stuck on expert witness duty. Since your research institute was federally funded, you also worked as a federal prosecutor’s lackey for when they wanted a defendant assessed. It wasn’t that you minded the work, but you hated court rooms. You always had. Taking the stand against your mother didn’t exactly give you a good start with the court system. 
Your eyes- tired from the countless documents you’d read all morning- were saved by your buzzing phone. 
“Hey, Aaron.” 
Your brother laughed at your sleepy tone. “Still a little jetlagged, huh?” 
“That and I’ve got court duty for the foreseeable future,” you huffed. You glowered at the sound of his relieved sigh. “You don’t have to sound so happy about it.” 
“Being an expert witness is a very important job,” he said defensively. “And it also means I won’t have to think about you being in locked rooms with murderers, alone, any time soon, so I’m sorry if I’m a little glad.” He chuckled. 
You sighed. He was right. Damnit. 
“Anyway, I’m better than Spence probably is right now. We’d barely even unpacked when you gave him the assignment. Where is it again? Colorado?”
“You know I can’t tell you that.”
“I know, but I’m nosy.” 
He laughed. “He’ll be back soon.” Something about the dead air between you changed and you could feel his seriousness even before he spoke. “How are you feeling? Now that you’re back.” 
“I’m fine, Aaron,” you said. “Really. I think getting away was exactly what we needed. Thank you for suggesting it and giving Spence the time off.” 
“I just want to make sure that you’re adjusting okay-”
“We were gone for a week, not a decade,” you scoffed. “Seriously, there’s no adjustment. I’m fine. How about you? How are you feeling?” Two could play the game of incessant worrying. After all, you weren’t next to a car that exploded. 
He sighed. “Y/N, I’m fine. I’ve been cleared to fly and the headaches have all but stopped.” 
“And I’m sure that’s all because of your taking things easy, right?” You snarked. Using work to avoid your problems was a trait the two of you had perfected. Suddenly, the files in front of you seemed like a happy distraction. “Actually, I have to go. I have so many cases to look through.” 
Aaron sighed. “Alright, I’ll let you go then. We should grab lunch sometime this week. You can tell me all about your trip.” 
You bit the cap of your pen. “Well… not all about the trip.”
“Y/N, please,” your brother groaned. 
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Happy to hang up on a lighter mood, you said your goodbyes and he got back to work. You answered another call coming in. Colorado number. “Hello?” 
“Hey, my phone died, but I wanted to let you know we got in okay,” the other voice said. “Oh, this is Spencer, by the way.” 
You laughed. “I know what your voice sounds like, Spence.” 
“What if someone was calling and imitating me to get you to trust them with your personal information?” He teased. Emily raised a brow at him and shook her head. 
“I will definitely keep that in mind, Dr. Reid. Next time you call, you’d better be ready with some convincing statistics so I know it’s you.” 
“Okay, um…” He thought for a moment. “American’s collectively receive around 2.4 billion spam calls a day. Which is why you should make sure it’s me.” 
“Right, because you definitely sound like a robot, I get it now.” 
“Hey,” he pouted. Nancy and Prentiss were both looking at him now. “Okay, I have to go. I’ll call when I can. I love you.” 
“Love you too, Spence. Bye.” 
Spencer handed the phone back to Nancy. “Thanks for letting me borrow it. I didn’t want her to worry.” She just smiled and nodded. He turned to Emily, who still shook her head. “What?” 
She snickered. “You two are such dorks.” 
-
The elevator couldn't move fast enough. The floor numbers ticked by, but you couldn’t hear anything over the sound over your heart. 
As you stormed into the bullpen, Morgan was the first to see you. His welcoming smile was quickly replaced by concern, reading your expression. 
“Turn on the TV,” you said. 
JJ appeared beside you, phone at her ear and remote in her hand. The compound came onto the screen and you knew by the looks on their faces that you were right. 
“Hotch!” Morgan yelled. 
Aaron rushed out of his office, brows drawing together when he saw you. “Y/N, what are you-”
“Tell me that’s not him,” you cried. “Tell me they aren’t in there.” 
His eyes shifted to the screen and his jaw tensed. “You can’t be here.” 
“What happened? Where are they?”
“Everyone get ready to leave,” he ordered, not even looking at you anymore. 
“Aaron!” You screamed. “Is Spencer okay? What is going on?” 
Fiery eyes snapped back to your face. “Go. Home. Y/N.” You knew that the urgency of his voice was out of panic, not of anger, but you couldn’t move. You were frozen in place, as if your blood had been replaced by frigid, stinging ice. 
You turned your head back to the TV. 
“Though no one knows for sure how many people are inside,” the newscaster said, “It is believed at least three of the child service members are still trapped within the compound.” 
You couldn’t hear anything after that. 
Emily and Spencer were trapped- assuming they were still alive. State police had already been killed. 
“Oh God,” you put a hand over your mouth to silence the cries threatening to escape. Just three days ago, he was reading Sherlock Holmes to you in the park and now he could be…
“Y/N,” JJ said softly. She put a hand on your shoulder to usher you towards the door. “Hotch is right. You need to go home so we can go figure all of this out.” 
“What if they’re-” you couldn’t say it. “I was supposed to get coffee with Emily this week. Spencer and I’s anniversary is in a few weeks. We were going to- God, I sound so stupid. They’re in a gunfight and I’m worried about coffee.” 
Derek joined the two of you, his go-bag in hand. “Maybe I should give you a ride home.”
You shook your head. “No, I’ll be fine. You guys need to get going.” 
“Y/N, you aren’t thinking straight-”
“I said I’m fine, Morgan,” you snapped. You’d never used his last name like that before. It made you sound like your brother. You turned your desperate gaze back to JJ. 
She gave you a helpless attempt of a reassuring nod. “I’ll update you as much as I can, okay?” But even you knew, there wasn’t much she could say to you. 
You’d never wished to be part of the team before but now, just the chance of having more information, made you yearn to be getting on that plane. 
You weren’t the only one in the dark. 
Reid and Prentiss stood in the tunnel amongst the women and children who didn’t understand that they’re entire way of life was coming to an end. Reid watched their faces while Prentiss kept her eyes on the men with the guns. 
Nancy was dead. She was shot by one of the state police during the gunfight. Spencer caught a glimpse of Cyrus’ men carrying her body into one of the other rooms. Emily put a hand on his arm. 
“We’re going to be okay.” 
He frowned. “I know. They’ll start negotiations soon.” One of the men eyed him and he tried to remain as calm as possible, but not too calm. Reid and Prentiss may not have known about the raid, but now they had to convince these people that they had nothing to do with it.
The only thing keeping him together was the thought of you watching on the news. The media must have gotten a hold of the situation by now and it wouldn’t take you long to connect the dots. He wished he could just have one phone call, one word to let you know that he and Emily were okay. As long as he could hold through to get back to you, everything would turn out okay. 
He didn’t want to think about what could happen if Cyrus found out who they really were. 
Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor. Exodus 20:16 
-
He shouldn’t have felt relieved. A woman who reached out for their help was dead. But a wave of reluctant relief washed over the whole team when Cryus said the name Nancy Lunde. 
Prentiss and Reid were alive- given that Cyrus was telling the truth. 
Hotch ran a hand down his face. Rossi prepared to take in food with bugs hidden so they could listen to the group’s activity. He also planned to check and see that the women, children, and their team members were okay. 
Morgan walked over. “Hotch, this is gonna be all over the news.” 
“I know.” 
“Y/N is going to be watching.”
The supervisory agent’s expression remained the same. “I know.” 
Morgan narrowed his eyes. “You don’t think it’s a good idea to tell her anything?”
“I can’t give out information to someone who has nothing to do with this operation.” 
“Nothing to do with it?” Morgan exclaimed. “You have to know this is killing her right now. Maybe we could just-”
“We cannot jeopardize this,” he said firmly. Hotch’s eyes softened as he pictured your face from this morning. “Even if it means Y/N has to wait.” 
He understood Morgan’s concerns. For the past few months, you’d been trying to get control of your life back and now this? But they couldn’t break protocol, lest the wrong information fall into the wrong hands. They couldn't risk it. 
Still, he couldn’t help but want to comfort that scared girl he knew was crying out somewhere inside of you. 
Back in D.C. you went into work to distract yourself, but you were glued to the television in the lounge, awaiting any sort of news regarding the stand off at the compound. Sonia brought you a cup of coffee and sat on the sofa across from you. 
“You look awful for someone who just came off vacation.” 
You checked your watch and sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. “I’m sorry. I haven’t done anything today. I just… I have to keep watching.” 
The newscaster returned, still standing over the compound like a dog finding buried bones. 
“Is that that Colorado thing?” Sonia asked. 
You gulped and nodded. You listened to the journalist and felt your heart stop. Sonia put a hand on yours. 
“What is it?” 
“Son of a bitch,” you exclaimed, running a hand down your face. 
“What?” 
“This idiot just told them that there’s an FBI agent inside with them.” Hot tears pooled in your eyes, the burden of not-knowing weighing heavily in your features. Sonia made the connection. 
She laid a hand on her chest. “Oh Lord.” 
You stood up, body shaking from the agonizing mix of grief and rage rushing through you. Your breathing turned shallow and stinging and your hand wrapped around your throat as if you could soothe the burning cries from the outside. 
If those people in the compound had access to the news, then Spencer and Emily were as good as dead. And there was nothing you could do about it. 
-
Spencer stared at his hands. Prentiss sat across from him as they both waited. Something was wrong. 
Cyrus stormed in, followed by another one of his men with a large gun. “Which one of you is it?” He asked. 
They both looked at him blankly. 
“Which one of you is the FBI agent?” 
Prentiss’ mouth fell open, her eyes darting over to Reid. 
“Why do you think one of us is an FBI agent?” Spence asked. He hoped the nerves in his tone would sound more like fear than panic. 
Cyrus’ glare honed in on the young agent’s face. “God will forgive me for what I must do.” He took the gun in his hand, cocked it, and aimed it right at Reid’s forehead. 
Spence kept his body calm while his heart raced beyond comprehension. “I don’t- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 
“One of you does,” Cyrus said. “Who is it?” 
Emily watched the thoughts behind Spencer’s eyes. Wondering what he would miss if he died now. What would happen to you? To his mom? If Cyrus killed him, what would he do to her? 
She thought of you and what this would do to you- if you survived it. With the fragile state everyone knew you were in, Emily wondered how much longer you could pretend to be fine. And if something happened to Reid… 
Most of all she thought of the sweet, brilliant agent staring down death in front of her. This man she’d grown to love over the years of working together. 
Her friend. 
She spoke without hesitation. “It’s me.” 
A tense silence fell over them. 
Cyrus lowered the gun. Spencer stared at her in fearful disbelief. 
The cult leader grabbed her by the hair and she cried out. Without a word, Spencer was forced to watch Cyrus drag Emily out, with only her reassuring glance to say their possible goodbyes. 
-
It was hours before he saw her again. Cyrus gathered everyone in the chapel. 
Her face was bloodied and bruised and the minute he laid eyes on her, he felt every blow as if it had been dealt to him. It made every lie he told, every sympathy he faked, cut his tongue like a knife. 
Emily felt his big, puppy dog eyes on her face and kept her voice level. 
“It’s not as bad as it looks.” 
“I’m so sorry,” his voice cracked. 
It should have been him. He should have said something, told Cyrus that he lied and she didn’t know anything. Maybe he would have just shot him. When he was staring down that gun, all he could think was how scared he was and if he would ever see you again and what would happen to his mom. 
He didn’t say anything and his friend got hurt. 
Both agents could sense something was coming. Cyrus was too calm. He negotiated a surrender at noon and told the others to make sure the press was there. 
This was his final stand. 
Outside, the other members of the team prepared for a raid. 
Aaron stood, watching the compound with a darkness hanging over him. He couldn’t help but feel the sinking claws of failure and guilt weighing into this shoulders. His team was in danger and he put them there. 
The sound of Prentiss’ breaking voice repeating the same phrase would haunt him. 
“I can take it.” 
She reminded him of you. Your willingness to take whatever punishment life dealt you and refusing to ask for help. Emily took every punch because she wouldn’t give up on the women and children still in there. 
Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron saw Dave approach him. 
“I know I can’t go in there,” he sighed. His attachment to the agents inside extended beyond their professional relationships and he couldn’t let that risk the rescue. 
Dave nodded. “I’m going.” 
“If something happens to Prentiss or Reid, I…” He turned to the other agent. “I don’t know.” 
“You’re not alone.”
Hotch held his phone in his hands, your contact pulled up. “I don’t know if I’d have the heart to tell her. She’s been through so much already and this would-”
“Well you don’t have to worry about that,” Dave assured him. “We’re going to go in there and get them back. The only phone call you’ll have to make is to tell her that Prentiss and Reid are okay.” 
Hotch put his phone back in his pocket. “I hope you’re right.” 
-
He was running out of time. Cyrus had the remote in hand. They had guns pointed at his friends outside. The women and children should be getting out now, but if he wanted any chance of surviving this, he had to try and talk the leader down. Spence did the only thing he could think of. 
Use their belief. 
“Jeremiah 29:11 ‘I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to bring you hope and a future,” he said. “Is blowing yourself up part of the prosperous future God wants?” 
Cyrus stormed across the chapel to him, holding his gun to Spencer’s chest. “You think you know the word better than I?” 
“No. I’m just demonstrating that you can use the Bible to manipulate anything.”
“Matthew 10:24,” Cyrus started. “‘Do not suppose that I have come to the Earth to bring peace. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.’”
He took the butt of his gun and swung it into Spencer’s stomach. 
“The devil knows how to read, too.” Charles’ words and Tobias’ voice echoed in his head while the pain shot up his torso. 
He doubled over. 
Cyrus stared down at him. “You cannot convert my brothers.”
He hit him again, the ache spreading until he couldn’t stay on his feet anymore. Spencer collapsed in front of Cyrus and looked up at the man holding the means of his death. Was this it? Either shot by a crazed leader or blown to bits in his final message to the world. 
He never got to introduce you to his mom. 
Cyrus held the remote- the means of their destruction- in his hand like it was the means of his redemption. 
“No one had to follow,” he mused. “God could have stopped me.” 
Two men burst through the chapel door, the first shooting Cyrus’ follower and Morgan firing into Cyrus’ chest. The man crumpled to the ground, dropping the remote beside him. 
Reid sat up. “He just did.” 
Across the country and two hours in the future, you waited. 
The television screen lit up the dark living room. You sat on the couch, knees to your chest, arms around your legs and eyes red and watering from staring at the TV light.
When the explosion overtook your vision, you’d cried all of the tears you had. You didn’t even have the energy to scream. Instead, a hoarse, choking cry tore through your aching throat. 
Who was still inside? Did anyone make it out? 
You sunk off the couch and onto the floor. 
They were in there. 
Everyone you loved up in flames. 
Spencer.
Emily.
Aaron. 
Derek.
Dave.
Six lost all over again. 
A shaking hand reached to turn off the TV, leaving you in darkness. 
-
The plane, though quiet, had Spencer’s head screaming. One question haunted him over and over again.
If he couldn’t protect Emily from Cyrus, how was he supposed to protect you from yourself? 
He pretended to bury himself in a book, but his mind wouldn’t let him process any of the words. He didn’t notice Prentiss sit across from him until she spoke. 
“Hey.”
He mouthed ‘Hi’ but nothing came out. He didn’t know what else to do, so he returned his gaze to the book, too pained to see the bruises on her face. 
Prentiss put her hands on his and lowered them, forcing him to look at her. “I need you to listen to me,” she spoke softly and firmly all at once, like a big sister comforting a little boy. “What Cyrus did to me was not your fault. It was my decision and I would do it again.” Her tone lightened. “Do you hear me?” 
He managed a small, confirming smile, even if he was still having a hard time convincing himself. 
Her thumb soothingly rubbed the back of his hand. “Thank you.” The two settled into their seats and he continued reading. Emily’s eyes widened with a concerning thought. “Have you called Y/N?” 
“Hmm?” 
“Reid, the raid and the explosion were all over the news,” she said. “Does Y/N even know we’re alive?” 
He scrambled for his cell. “Someone had to have called her… right?” Prentiss shrugged, anxiously awaiting the call. He dialed your number. 
It rang three times before you picked up. 
“You’re okay,” you said breathlessly. 
“I’m so sorry- I should have called sooner, but everything has been so crazy and they made me get checked out by the paramedics because I almost blew up- but you already knew that. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing and make sure that you were okay,” he rambled. 
You laughed, but he could tell there wasn’t any humor in your voice. “It’s okay, Spence. JJ called me and filled me in already. I figured you would call when you could.” 
He glanced up at Prentiss and mouthed ‘JJ told her.’ “Okay, I’m glad someone kept you updated. Everything has been… well, I’ll tell you when I get back I guess.” He exhaled, the memories of panic and fear of never seeing you again starting to be replaced by thoughts of holding you and falling asleep beside you. “I can’t wait to get home.”
A smile teased the corner of your lips. “I’ll be waiting for you.” 
“You should get some sleep,” he said. In D.C. it was almost the time you usually woke up for work, but he knew that you probably hadn’t slept at all since the story first hit the news. He always worried when you didn’t take care of yourself. 
“Only if you promise to get some rest on the plane,” you replied. 
“Okay, I will.” Just hearing your teasing tone made his heart feel lighter. You sounded like your usual self. Maybe he didn’t need to be so worried. You were always the stronger one. “I love you and I’ll see you soon.”
“I love you too, Spencer. Goodnight.” 
You set your phone down on the smooth wooden surface. You wrapped your fingers around your glass and poured the remaining bronze liquid down your throat. Your chest warmed. This was a familiar burn. A welcome relief. 
Emptying the glass, you set it back on the bar and ordered another drink.
-
The In-Betweens series: @amywright; shesoperfectt;  hereforsmutbcicantgetenough;  violetbossler;  hyper-half-blood;  i-bitch-you-bitch; xcastawayherosx; preciousbabypeter; @jori21; @sol-48;  @murdermornings ; @ staygoldsquatchling02
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scorpsik · 3 months
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Minimal Loss funko - preview...
I couldn't resist it. Here is a sneaky preview of the first of 5 'Best Of Prentiss' pops. "Minimal Loss". I think she's pretty cute and I hope you do too. xx
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laughinglikeakid · 7 months
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4x03: Minimal Loss — I can take it
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thetrashqueeeen · 10 months
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After minimal loss Spencer started leaving a single tootsie roll on Emily’s desk every evening after she went home because he knew they were her favourite. she did think it was him at first, but he denied it so vehemently that Emily decided it must be Penelope.
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potentially unpopular cm opinion:
300 should have been an Emily centric. it had been so long since we got an Emily centric while we had JUST had the Reid in prison storyline and Emily's role in minimal loss was more impactful and memorable than Reid's
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wren-was-here · 2 years
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no thoughts just morgan yelling for hotch in minimal loss
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hitchell-mope · 1 year
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LIZ DANES?!?!
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denimbex1986 · 1 year
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Criminal Minds, series 4 episode 3 "Minimal Loss."
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t4tmoreid · 2 years
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minimal loss episode of all time perhaps????
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Criminal minds season 4 >>>>>
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marril96 · 1 year
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Criminal Minds 4.03 | Minimal Loss
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the palpable found family this ep. gee i wonder why its one of my favs? 
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scorpsik · 3 months
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BEST OF PRENTISS : 1 of 5
MINIMAL LOSS Funko
Next week: Retaliation!
I had immense fun making these and I hope they give you a smile.
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laughinglikeakid · 7 months
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Minimal Loss: 4x03 — I have faith that you are a strong enough woman to do the right thing...
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gaelic-symphony · 1 year
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Gravitational Constant: Chapter 14
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Emily and JJ are not meant to be, but they orbit each other like satellites.  Over the years, they blur the lines between friendship and romance, always finding some reason not to take the plunge and be something more.  Their connection to each other blossoms through highs and lows, births and deaths, joys and heartbreaks.  Emily and JJ are not meant to be, but they can’t deny the force that keeps pulling them back together.
Chapter Summary: Emily and Spencer are held hostage when an investigation into possible child abuse on a religious compound turns into a three-day standoff with the FBI. Follows S4E3, “Minimal Loss.”
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