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"Alright everyone, time to cook!" Yells David as he stands in the doorframe of the house. Everyone heads inside and you walk and talk with Emily. While you conversate about traveling, you notice JJ calling Spencer. You walk inside but peek through the window and watch them talk. JJ looks concerned and has her arms are crossed. Spencer is speaking and he looks slightly angry and annoyed. You can't hear them, but you wonder what they're talking about. Once Spencer turns away and walks towards the house you quickly walk towards the counter and gather with everyone else. A few seconds later you feel Spencer's hands on your waist. You look up at him and smile.

"Now Penne Alla Vodka is an easy and delicious dish." Says David. Everyone's attention is towards him as he stands with a rag over his shoulder. "But if you don't do it right you're what the Italians call Spagato e stupido."

Everyone laughs. You don't know exactly what it means, but the word stupido doesn't sound like a compliment. David walks over to one of the pans that has a the sauce in it. He picks it up and lets everyone gaze over it, and you notice that he used tomato paste and heavy whipping cream as the base.

"Now the hardest part of the sauce is getting the texture right. You have to make sure it is perfectly creamy." He says. "But it's tricky because a lot of the ingredients are thick. Does anyone know how we thin it out?"

Penelope raises her hand and shakes it frantically. David's eyes slowly scan over the crowd jokingly until his eyes land on her.

"Ah, Penelope. Would you like to take a guess?" He says. A few laughs go around the room.

"Water, right?" She says.

"What kind of water?" Asks Rossi. Penelope looks around nervously.

"Tap?" She says finally. David makes a loud buzzer sound, signaling that she's wrong.

"Hey, you know better than anyone that I'm not a cook! You could not have expected me to get that right!" She says.

"Can I take a guess David?" You ask. He looks at you and nods.

"You have to add the pasta water. It adds flavor." You say. David smiles and does a little dance as he walks around the counter, and it makes everyone laugh. He reaches his hand out to you and you let go of Spencer. David leads you to the other side of the counter and continues to hold your hand.

"This my friends, is why I wish you guys would pick up another hobby besides looking at dead people all day." He says. Everyone laughs and you notice Spencer looking at you. He mouths 'I love you' and you give a small smile back. You notice JJ looking at him and you slowly start to go back to a neutral expression.

"Y/n will be my assistant this time since she obviously knows what she's doing." Says David. "Now, will you please mince two cloves of garlic?"

You grab two cloves and start to peel off the skin. Once you're done, you find a sharp knife and start to mince. You cut very quickly and efficiently.

"Watch out Spencer, it looks like she knows her way around a knife." Says Derek. He's grabbing Penelope as she leans against him and sips her wine.

"Trust me, I know." Says Spencer. You smile as you finish cutting the last clove. You use the knife to gather all of the tiny pieces and scoot them closer to David.

"Perfetto!" Says David. He picks up the cutting board and brushes the garlic into the sauce pan.
"Now, I need you to do the same to this shallot."

You take the shallot he gives you and start to peel again. You try and work quickly as you let the skin fall onto the cutting board below you. Once all of the onion scales are off, you start to cut again. Once it's perfectly minced you brush the shallot into the pan and admire the smell of basil and crushed red pepper in the sauce.

"Come on David, I thought you were supposed to be using more difficult recipes." You say jokingly.

"How about you pour in the vodka and help yourself to the rest of the bottle?" Says David.

"How is giving her a hangover going to help?" Asks Spencer.

"It will get her off my ass." Says David, and everyone laughs.

"Yeah but she's a psychologist, which means I get to hear about the 'psychological effects of alcohol poisoning' while she throws up all over my shoes." Says Spencer.

"Come on, you know you love it." You say as you measure the vodka.

"Yeah Reid, that sounds like something you would do." Says Emily. She's definitely tipsy now. "Except you would name every single one of the effects and the different studies that explain why they happen."

That gets another laugh from everyone including you.

"Well she's right, I do love taking care of her." Says Spencer. Everyone gives a little 'awe' and looks at you.

"Oh, shut up." You say. Small chuckles go around the room and you look at Spencer who's smiling at you. You take a quick glance at JJ and notice her taking a big gulp of scotch. That's not going to end well.

"Ok. Now that we have the sauce, we check on the pasta." Says David. He walks over to the pot and takes out a noodle. He hands the spoon to you.

"Would you like to do the honors?" He asks. You smile and take the spoon from him. You walk over to the sink and let cool water run over it.

"Huh. All this time I just put it in my mouth and chewed it like a fire breathing dragon." Says Penelope. She's tipsy too, but you laugh. You put the noodle in your mouth and look up. As you chew you focus on it's texture.

"Perfectly al dente." You say. David smiles and grabs your hand. You laugh as he gives it a kiss and rubs the back of it.

"Bring her around more often." He says to Spencer.

"I definitely will." He responds. You smile and notice JJ giving you a glare. You don't acknowledge it, but you're aware of it. David places a big bowl in the sink, and then places a colander in it. He drains the pasta and you watch the hot water fill in the bowl below. You pick up the colander and David stirs around the pasta. You place it to the right part of the sink and David grabs a measuring cup.

"Alright cara, you do the honors of adding the pasta water." Says David. It makes you happy when you hear him give you that nickname. You take the measuring cup from him and add some water to the sauce. You mix it around and watch it get thinner and thinner. Once you add enough to the point where it looks perfect, you take a taste.

"It's ready." You say. David takes the sauce and puts it back on the stove. Krystall grabs enough plates for everyone and helps David scoop penne pasta and sauce onto them. You go back to Spencer and he gives you a quick kiss.

"You look really good when you cook." He says. You smile up at him.

"Oh yeah? In what way?" You ask.

"You do that thing when you're focused where you furrow your eyebrows and bite your lip." He says. You like how observant he is.

"You know you do the same thing except you lick your lips." You say. "It drives me crazy."

"I'll make sure to take note of that." He says. You give a playful scoff and hit him on the shoulder. He laughs and leads you to the dinner table.

"Hey pretty girl, I saved you a spot." Says Derek. You sit in the chair in between him and Hotch, across from Spencer. Hotch pours you some wine and you take a sip. You can tell it's expensive- it tastes amazing.

"Before we eat, I'd like to make a toast." Says David. Everyone looks up at him and grabs their wine glasses. "As we all know, this team has been together through thick and thin. We've been there for each other for almost ten years and counting, not once blinking an eye when a teammate is in need. Even though some of us feel more than others..." He says and looks at Penelope. She gasps and places her glass down.

"I can't help it! You guys are my precious babes and I can't take knowing when you're in trouble." She says.

"I'm not shaming you Garcia, I just want to emphasize your extra thoughtfulness." Continues David. She smiles. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but together we're better. And now that more people are being added to the family it's the best it's been since Reid had his boy band haircut."

Everyone laughs and turns to Spencer who has a wide smile. He's blushing, but you can tell he enjoys the attention. You love seeing him like this.

"To prevent a long and sappy speech I'll get right to the point. Even though things are changing in our personal lives, nothing can break the bond we all share. And that's what I love about us." He raises his glass a little higher. "To family."

"To family!" Says everyone as you all clink your glasses. Everyone takes a sip and you scan the room. The energy is everything. All you feel is pure love, laughter, and joy. You haven't felt this at home with a big group of people since you were in high school. You take a second to take it all in and savor it. Once you're done, you get lost in conversation with Spencer's team mates.

Your new family.

•••••
Catch me crying again ✌️

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