Pieces Of Me

Chapter 29

In the same night Spencer called Hotch and the team met at the round table. Spencer had refused to drive Leah back home. He wanted her near him. He wanted her to be where he was so he could look after her. There was a killer somewhere out there in town.

Leah had protested first, but then she had realized that Spencer was right. What if that man had been following her at home and he knew now where she lived? And then he'd appear at the front door when she was home alone? Leah understood Spencer's fear; she was scared herself.

So, Leah was sitting on the couch in the lounge and sipped on her cup of tea. The baby girl in her stomach was moving and kicking into her kidneys sometimes and Leah couldn't wait for holding her baby in her arms soon. The pregnancy was getting harder and exhausted her more every day.

"Dear, how are you doing?" With a smile on her lips Penelope came in and sat next to Leah. "I'm doing okay, I guess", Leah replied and leaned against Penelope's shoulder. A sigh escaped her mouth. "I just wish I could go home."

Penelope nodded and patted Leah's baby bump. "I can imagine. But Spencer's just worried about your and the baby's safety", Penelope said. "I know", Leah sighed. "How is he doing, by the way?"

She hadn't seen him since almost two hours now, so she wanted to know what was going on and if he was alright. She knew that he was worried about her and that he tried to hide it from her.

"Oh, our genius boy is pretty nervous and impatient. He wants to catch Walter Owens as soon as possible. What means, he'd like to just run out of the office now and put on some handcuffs on that man's wrists right now."

Leah just nodded at Penelope's words. She didn't know what to say anymore. Fear compressed her chest and made it hard for Leah to breathe sometimes. "I wished they would catch him as soon as possible as well", she murmured.

"Lovely, they will catch him soon!", Penelope promised and now wrapped an arm around Leah's shoulders. "You should get some sleep. It's late", she then said, got up and left the room, just to get back after five minutes. She held a huge blanket in her arms and a pillow that looked comfortable. "Let's make a bed out of that couch and then you can sleep for a while." Penelope grinned at Leah's amazed face. She hadn't thought that she'd get any sleep tonight and if so, on a tiny couch.

~

"Leah? Honey, wake up." Soft lips touched Leah's cheek and she slowly opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep some hours ago on the couch that Penelope had converted into a bed. Now Spencer was standing next to it and looked down on his girlfriend.

"Hm? What's the matter?", Leah asked drowsily. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Why did Spencer have to wake her up now when she had been having a good sleep for once? Good sleeps were extremely rare now since she was heavily pregnant.

"We're done with profiling Walter Owens and since we still don't have an idea where he lives...we should go home now and get some sleep", Spencer explained and reached out a hand to help Leah getting up. She sighed and grabbed his hand. She was so tired; she just wanted to continue sleeping.

"Not even Penelope did find out where he lives?", Leah quietly asked as she followed Spencer out of the room. He shook his head. "Nope, unfortunately not. She's a genius on the computer and the internet but for some reason Walter Owens isn't registered anywhere."

Leah felt hope leaving her again. She had thought the team would catch him literally immediately. But it seemed like they still didn't have a clue how to catch him.

"So, there's no possibility to do something?", Leah continued asking. "Sure there is. But first we must think about what the best possibility is", he explained. They had reached their car in the meantime and Spencer opened the door for Leah. She sank on the seat and then waited for Spencer to join her and drive back home.

~

Later, when Leah and Spencer were lying in bed and Leah was about to fall asleep again, Spencer cleared his throat and quietly said: "I don't want you to go out alone until we arrested Owens."

Leah's eyes flew open and she looked at Spencer. "Spence...", she started but Spencer interrupted her: "Leah, please. Can't you do me that favor for once? I know you hate it but...I can't catch a clear thought when I have to worry about you and the baby as well."

"Okay...", Leah finally murmured and snuggled into Spencer's arms again. She knew there was no chance in discussing this with him. He was stubborn. And if she was honest to herself, she knew that Spencer was right. So, she decided to do what he asked her to so he could concentrate on catching and arresting Walter Owens.

"I love you, so much", Spencer whispered into Leah's ear when she was already drifting away into dreamland. A little smile formed on her lips when she heard his voice.

~

The next few days Leah kept her promise. Whenever she wanted to go outside – mostly when she felt trapped at home – she called a friend. Billie often was excited to spend time with her best friend. And Helen loved to be with her daughter.

As much as Leah enjoyed spending time with the ones she loved, she wished for the BAU team to catch Owen Walters anytime soon. She wanted to feel safe again; she wanted to be able to go outside alone again.

"Spence, we should finally finish the nursery", Leah said one afternoon, when Spencer just had sat down on the couch with a bowl full of popcorn. "The changing table and the dresser are already standing in the room", he slowly said. Leah nodded with a smirk. "Sure, but it's not built together yet", she explained. There was no way she could do it since her baby bump was getting in her way more and more often.

Spencer jumped from the couch all of a sudden. "Guess what? I'll call Morgan and Rossi, I'm sure they'll help me build it now." He had left the living room so fast; Leah couldn't even say or do anything. So she just let him do whatever he wanted to do while she grabbed the popcorn and started the movie they had planned to see together.

~

In the evening the nursery was finally ready. Leah only had to put the baby clothes into the dresser and then everything would be prepared for the baby's arrival. She stood in the room, a hand on her stomach, as she looked around. It was a beautiful room. The little girl would love it, Leah was sure about that.

"Hey." Spencer slowly stepped into the nursery as well and wrapped an arm around Leah's shoulder. "Hey", she said.

"What are you thinking about?", Spencer asked. "I'm thinking about how wonderful that nursery turned out to be and that our baby girl will love it", she replied and leaned against Spencer.

"And what else is going on in your beautiful head?", he kept asking. Leah bit her lips. Of course he wouldn't stop asking. He was a profiler; he exactly knew that there was something that was bothering her.

"I'm scared that Walter Owens will still be walking around in this town when our baby arrives. I just...I don't really feel safe as long as he isn't arrested and I don't want to give birth to my baby when it's not safe for us", she quietly explained.

Spencer squeezed her shoulders. "We will catch him before. Hotch has called some minutes ago. He asked us to come to the bureau. It seems like they have figured out a plan that could work."

"What?" Leah's head spun around and her eyes had widened. „And you're only telling me this now?! Come on, let's go!" Excitedly she grabbed Spencer's hand and dragged him out of the nursery and into the corridor. She didn't want to lose any more time. If the BAU had an idea how to catch Owens, then it wouldn't take long anymore, Leah thought as she slipped into her shoes and grabbed her coat.