“Y/N, can you come here for a second?”, Spencer called out for his wife, softly catching her hand and tugging her closer to him, finally stopping her pacing. He took her other hand into his own and gently squeezed her hands. She looked up at him in confusion. “What is it? Did I forget something?” Spencer just smiled down at his beautiful wife. He knew she just wanted to be prepared for this new person who would join their little family any minute, but he also knew she’d run herself crazy trying to make everything right. 

“Y/N, everything is perfectly prepared for whoever will step through that door in the next hour. We are ready for them, we’ve got their room ready, your chilli is on the stove, we’ve put toiletries, extra clothes and towels out and got them more snacks than even I could devour in a week”, he listed and Y/N slowly but surely relaxed a little. “And most importantly my love, we are ready to support whoever will be joining us. You have so much love to give, anyone would be lucky to be on the receiving end of it. Whoever this kid is that will join us, they will feel that love and comfort just like I do whenever you’re with me.” 

Y/N had tears in her eyes now. “I just want them to feel welcome, who knows what they have been through”, she got out and Spencer pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back. “I know my love. But all we can do now is take it one step at a time, okay? We’re prepared and it will be fine.” Y/N nodded into his embrace. 

She knew he was right, they were prepared. After having a lengthy talk, the two of them had decided that fostering was the right decision for them to expand their family. They both felt deeply that bringing a new life into this world when there were so many kids without homes, seemed like the wrong way to go for them. They both felt that family was so much more than genetics and biological relations, they knew that love made family and that they had so much love to give. 

The decision to welcome older kids into their home wasn’t as easy to make. Spencer had some apprehensions, finally telling Y/N that he felt like older kids and teens might not respond well to him and his quirks. It took him a while to see that his own experiences with teenagers from when he was a kid were entirely different from how they would respond to him now. Y/N had acknowledged and listened to his fears and after seeing the statistics on how many older kids never found a safe home and tended to age out of the system, Spencer felt entirely wrong for not giving these kids a chance of a safe haven with them. Given their work schedule, they even decided that they wouldn’t be able to take smaller kids and so now they were awaiting their first placement. The social worker had called half an hour ago and only told them that they had a 14-year-old in need of a new placement and that they were going to be there within the next two hours. They didn’t even know their pronouns nor their background but they already felt for the teen. 

The two of them only parted from their embrace when there was a knock on the door. Y/N’s eyes went wide as she stared up at Spencer. “Oh my god, they are here! Spencer, they are here!!!” “Let’s go meet them”, he smiled calmly although inside he was anything but calm. 

They opened the door together to find a middle-aged woman and, standing next to her, clutching a plastic bag, a girl with deep-green eyes, long unruly brown curls and a scared look on her face. Y/N quickly caught herself and stopped what she was sure was staring, at the girl. 

“Hi! Come in, come in, it’s so cold outside!”, she ushered the two to step into their home. “Thank you Mr and Mrs Reid for taking such a last-minute placement! Maggie is really happy to be here, aren’t you Maggie?”, the social worker gushed and Spencer could see the girl anxiously tightening her grip on her bag before she nodded. “Well why don’t we go to the kitchen and we’ll talk a little more!”, Y/N tried to ease the tension, but the social worker had other plans. 

“I’m really sorry, but I actually have to go run by another case of mine. Maggie should be fine with you for now, I will check back in tomorrow or one of these days if there are any more questions and send you an E-Mail with any information you might need, it’s the weekend so the school won’t be an issue until Monday!”, she rattled off leaving Spencer and Y/N to stare at her for a second before Spencer was the one to find his voice first. 

“Let me walk you to the door, I do have a couple of questions”, he said, stunned and led the woman to the door, leaving Y/N with the teenage girl in their kitchen. She watched her husband leave the room, stunned as well, before snapping out of it and taking a good look at the girl that was just dropped off at their house like it was nothing. 

“I’m sorry Maggie, let me do this again: I’m Y/N and that dorky guy with me is my husband Spencer. We’re really happy to have you here with us. Do you want something to drink? I’ve also got chilli on the stove if you’re hungry”, the woman explained but the girl just stared at her for a second before looking back at where Spencer and the case worker had disappeared to. “I know this is all but ideal right now, you deserve a better start than this, I’m sorry honey”, Y/N said softly and before the girl could react to her words they could hear the door shut and Spencer stepping back into the kitchen. 

“Sooo, why don’t we show Maggie her room, hm?”, he said encouragingly but Y/N could tell that he was angry. Clearly, the caseworker had not made the best impression on him. “Come on, Maggie, we’ll give you a house tour”, Y/N agreed and smiled at the girl encouragingly. The girl had yet to say a word but followed the couple up the set of stairs to the first story of their townhome. Spencer and Y/N let her look into each room up there, their bedroom, the bathroom in the hall which would be the teen’s and finally, they opened a door and let her step in first. 

Maggie found herself in a beautiful and warmly lit bedroom with a queen bed, a desk, a sideboard with a TV and a big basket filled with all sorts of stuff. The teen’s eyes grew wide as she took it all in while still clutching onto the trash bag in her hands. “This.. this is where I get to stay?”, she asked carefully with a slight stutter, looking back at the couple that was now standing in the doorway together watching her taking it all in. “Yes, of course! Help yourself to anything you want, there’s a couple of snacks and drinks and I have some stationery on the desk if you’d like to draw or write, oh and I have a couple of clothes in the closet too, I didn’t know what you liked of course so it’s just basics”, Y/N rambled along while Spencer watched the teen, clearly a little overwhelmed with it all. 

“I also got you this blanket”, Y/N ended her monologue, holding out a soft yellow blanket, still in its bow from buying it. She had heard that it meant a lot for foster kids to have new things that they could keep and Y/N thought there was nothing more comforting than a fuzzy blanket. Maggie just stared at the blanket for a second, still holding her bag with two hands, before she carefully let the bag down beside her and took the blanket that Y/N was holding out for her. “Thank you”, she breathed out quietly, feeling the soft fabric against her palm as she held the gift. A silence settled in between the three and it was Spencer who decided to give the teen a little room to process all of her emotions. He knew what it felt like to be overwhelmed like that and had also learned the circumstances of the girl’s emergency placement tonight. 

“I think we’ll leave you to settle in now. We will be right downstairs in the kitchen and you’re welcome to join us and have a bite to eat any time. You can go take a shower if you want to, there are towels in the bathroom, or you can just stay in here if you want to be alone, whatever you decide is fine, okay Maggie?”, he spoke softly and watched the girl pressing her lips together and nodding. “Yes sir”, she uttered and Y/N’s brows furrowed in worry at that. “Oh no need for the formalities, I’m just Spencer and this is just Y/N”, he continued with his soft voice and the girl nodded again. “Okay, Spencer. Thank you.”

—--

Downstairs Y/N immediately turned around to Spencer and rushed him to tell her what the social worker had said. “You seemed mad, what did she say? How is she just going to drop a kid off at night and just leave like that? We don’t even know what the circumstances are! And all her belongings are in a plastic bag, what the fuck Spencer!”, Y/N burst out and whisper shouted at her husband. Spencer eyed the stairs nervous that the girl could hear them. “I know, I told the social worker the same thing but it seemed like she was overworked too and had a call for another kid that was in trouble, it’s bad, I know, but at least now she’s safe with us.” “Did she tell you if the placement would be for longer? Where did Maggie even come from?” Spencer nodded carefully. 

“Police busted her prior foster family’s home for drug manufacturing just a couple of hours ago. They found her and another kid in one of the rooms while they had a makeshift drug lab in the basement.” Y/N’s jaw dropped. “WHAT?”, she whisper shouted once again not believing a word she was hearing. “How did those people get a foster licence to begin with? Was she exposed to these drugs?” Then another thought hit her. “Are you okay?”, she asked softly and Spencer nodded quickly. 

“I am, truly I’m just as shocked as you are. Apparently, they had the drugs and equipment in the basement while the upstairs was relatively clear of any signs of drugs and stuff, still a messed up home though. She needs a permanent place to stay, the case worker didn’t say much but her biological family seems to be out of the picture.“ “God I feel so bad for her, the way she called you Sir? I hope she’ll come down to eat something later.” Spencer nodded and pulled his wife into his arms, pressing a kiss on top of her head and rocking them both back and forth for a minute. “We’ll help her through this”, he assured.

____

Upstairs, Maggie finally got a moment to sit down and process what the last couple of hours had looked like. She had gotten the fright of a lifetime when suddenly there were people shouting everywhere and her and Lila’s door was kicked in, revealing two policemen with their guns drawn at the two of them. Maggie had pulled Lila into her bed, pushing themselves into the corner and holding the younger child safely, whispering affirmations into her ears. After the policemen had lowered their guns they escorted them out of the house, putting them in a car and asking loads of questions while Maggie watched the house being torn apart and their foster parents being detained. 

It wasn’t like Maggie liked them or living there but at least they didn’t hit them, at least they had a bed to sleep there. Now where would they go? She had been worrying about what they were doing in the basement for ages, watching the sketchy people turn up all the time, really deep down she knew that one of these days it would have to turn bad. After it all calmed down a little they were given trash bags and asked to collect their belongings. 

Maggie helped Lila in packing everything that might be helpful and grabbed the few things she had that belonged to her in a way. Lila’s grip on her hand was tight and it only reminded Maggie that they were incredibly likely to be split up. They weren’t bio siblings, just both ended up at the same home. Lila was only 9, Maggie honestly didn’t know how she hadn’t gotten a better family than that so she had tried to make it a home for Lila for the past year and a half. There was no way that a family that would be interested in taking Lila would also want a teenager, she knew that. She was all too familiar with the system, the older she got the slimmer the chances for a safe, comfortable home. 

Maggie had given up all hope for adoption a long time ago, but for Lila, there was still a chance. So when Nadine came to take Lila, telling her she had found a nice family, Maggie had encouraged the crying child that refused to let go of her. 

“Lila, baby I’ll always always always be here for you okay? You have to be strong now okay? Nadine found really nice people, it won’t be like it was here, okay? You will have a really good time, Li, I promise I will try and visit okay?”, she had tried to make her voice sound steady but couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her own cheeks. “What about you?”, Lila asked desperately. “I will be fine, I can look out for myself and I’ll get a safe place to stay too”, the teen encouraged but didn’t believe a word she was saying. Lila did though and that was most important. Before Nadine could take the girl away she hugged  her tight again and then kissed the girl’s forehead. “I love you Lila, you remember my phone number right? I made you memorise it”, she said and the kid nodded vehemently. “I remember Mags, I can call you?”, she asked and Maggie nodded trying to hold back the tears. “Please call me when you need me, I will always answer, I promise Li. Love you.”, she said again before the girl was led away, turning around once more and calling back: “Love you too Mags!”

And here Maggie was, alone again. Something she was very used to, so she pulled herself together, wiped away the tears and put up her guard again. Whatever was going to happen in the next couple of hours would decide where her life was going or what it would look like. She was at an age now where a group home was honestly the most likely option and it scared the living crap out of her to be in a home with older teenagers. Maggie could fend for herself but she wasn’t as tough as others in the system. She was an easy target, she knew that and she had to prepare herself for that. She was taken back to the police station where she stayed for another hour before a middle-aged woman introduced herself to her as Tanya. Nadine was still busy so she was handed over Maggie’s case for now. Great, now she didn’t even know her case worker anymore. 

“I made a few calls and found a place for you to stay, come on we’re going there now”, Tanya had said and Maggie just followed her along. “Is it a group home?”, she finally asked after they had been in the car for a couple minutes without the woman saying more. Maggie missed Nadine, at least she had attempted to make her feel better. “No, it’s not, you’re lucky, there’s been a new couple in the area opening up for older kids like you. Mr and Mrs Reid are expecting us any minute now.” 

____

And that had been all the girl knew before these two strangers opened up their home to her. Here she was now sitting in a perfect room in a perfect townhouse. She looked down at the blanket in her lap. It felt soft against her palm and the softness in addition to the softness of the bed beneath her made her feel weird. Like it was all fake, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. This was all too soft. The blanket, the bed, the light, the warmth, their voices. It was all too soft. This wasn’t real. This wasn’t how life went for her. She didn’t trust the peace. 

Before she knew what she was doing, she was pacing. Trying to make sense of what it was that was happening here. She didn’t want to cry, not again, it would only make it worse, she would only miss Lila worse and the people downstairs could hear her. There wasn’t even anything to cry over. This placement was the best place she had probably ever been put in, but that made it feel so wrong, like there was a bomb waiting to go off any minute. That bomb seemed to be her though, she felt like she was going to combust from the pressure that was building up inside of her, threatening to spill over. She had to let it all out somehow. 

Her eyes fell on the blanket and before she knew what she was doing she grabbed the soft piece of fabric that was supposed to bring her comfort and threw it across the room. It landed against the closet door with a small *thump* sound and then just plummeted to the ground. Maggie’s teeth were clenched together as she watched it do nothing with how she was feeling and quickly she grabbed another pillow off the bed, launching it through the room similarly. Others followed until finally one of the pillows landed against a framed picture on the wall, causing it to come off the hook and fall to the ground with a loud clatter. It was only then that the girl seemed to come to her senses. 

Wide-eyed she looked around herself, seeing the damage she had done, pillows and blankets were scattered all around the room, the frame was broken and the glass littered the floor between her and the door to the room. Before the girl could do anything to tidy it all up she could hear hurried steps on the stairs and a knock on the door. Shit. “Maggie, we heard a noise, is it okay for us to come in?”, she could hear the woman’s, worried voice. Had she already messed up this chance of a home? She couldn’t get a word out, just stood there and stared. “Maggie, I’m sorry but if you don’t answer me I will have to come in, okay?”, she heard the woman say and it made her snap out of it. “No!”, she shrieked out but it was too late, the door had already been opened and Y/N carefully peered in, stopping when she saw the damage on the floor and then quickly looking up at Maggie. The teen's lip began to quiver immediately. “I …. I … I didn’t mean to”, she panickedly got out. “I’m SO sorry, I promise I will clean it up, I’m sorry I just … I …”, she couldn’t find words for what was happening. 

The whole reason for her even beginning to throw stuff around, not wanting to cry, was now senseless because as soon as she realised what she had done, the tears came streaming down her face. She didn’t want to leave again already. This couldn’t be happening, how did she already blow it up? 

She didn’t notice Y/N ushering Spencer to go and get something to clean the glass off the floor, nor that the woman was carefully stepping around the shards trying to get close to her. “Maggie, Maggie, it’s okay. It’s all good, it’s just a cheap decoration from Target, it’s okay!”, she tried to calm the girl down. Her voice was steady and soft. Maggie was violently shaking her head and backing away into the other corner of the room, now clutching her mouth with her hands as she stared at the broken frame. 

“I didn’t mean to, please I’m so sorry”, she kept saying when she hit the wall behind her. Y/N stopped her attempt to get closer. Clearly, she was scaring the girl, backing her in. So instead the agent kept her distance, holding up her hands to show her she wasn’t a threat. “I know you didn’t mean to, Maggie, I know and it’s okay, you’re not in trouble, it’s all okay", she said softly. “Can you look up at me please?” Maggie had her eyes shut since she had backed against the wall. She now forced herself to cast her eyes up at the woman standing across from her, she didn’t look like she was mad, maybe she was saying the truth. 

“Are you hurt? Did you get glass somewhere?”, she asked softly and the teen looked down on herself before shaking her head. “Okay, that’s good. Spencer is bringing up a broom and the vacuum and it will be all good”, Y/N smiled at the teen encouragingly just as Spencer appeared again. “I can do it”, Maggie protested, stepping forward a little. “We don’t want you to hurt yourself, it’s okay, I’ve got it!”, Spencer said with a soft smile on his face as he began to clean away the mess. 

Y/N looked back from her husband to the teen that was now standing beside the bed, cheeks still damp from tears and arms crossed in front of herself. Y/N chose to sit down on the bed. She softly tapped the bed beside her. “Why don’t you sit with me for a minute, huh?”, she asked and to her surprise, Maggie immediately followed the request. “I want you to know that you are safe here with us and that we understand that you have a lot of feelings going on for you right now. Today must have been a lot and this is all new to you so we get that you might be feeling sad or angry or confused”, Y/N said with a steady and soft voice, smiling at the girl and giving her room to take it in. 

Maggie listened to the woman speak, not knowing what to say. Only after a couple of minutes did a few words slip out. “It was all too soft”, she finally heard herself speak and she knew in saying that that it didn’t make any sense whatsoever. But Y/N didn’t question it. “Okay”, she simply said. “What can we do to make it better for you?” Maggie was stunned at the question. What could they do? They already gave her a room and snacks and didn’t yell at her after trashing the room. “I… I don’t know”, she said and Y/N nodded. “That’s okay too. Do you think you got it out a little bit?” The teen nodded. “How would you like something to eat and a glass of water?” Again, Maggie nodded and Y/N felt a rush of relief that they had finally made a little progress. She looked back at Spencer who had since cleaned up the mess and stood there awkwardly. This had been an eventful first hour.

—--

Together, the three of them went downstairs. Y/N pulled out three bowls and scooped the chilli into them while Spencer got some spoons and glasses and put them out on the table. “You can sit in whatever spot you want”, Y/N explained to the teen who pulled out one of the chairs and sat down watching the two adults carefully. They worked around each other so seamlessly, like a well-oiled machine and somehow they both just radiated calmness and comfort. The girl was still a little shaken up about what she did up in the room, but mostly now she just felt tired and hungry, really hungry. 

It had been one of those days where they couldn’t find anything good to eat in the house and Maggie had given the last of the bread with a little butter and sugar to Lila when they got back from school. Now the room smelled like actually good, warm food and just then Y/N placed a full bowl in front of her while Spencer put a basket with bread on the table too. The two of them sat down too, Spencer filling up all of their glasses with water. 

“I hope you like chilli, I didn’t make it too spicy, Spencer is sensitive like that and I didn’t know how you’d like it”, Y/N explained, but Maggie could already feel her mouth watering just looking at the food in front of her. She quickly looked up at Y/N. “Thank you, this looks really delicious”, she said politely and as the two adults picked up their spoons she finally started shovelling the comforting, hearty food into her mouth too. She couldn’t remember the last time she had had such a good meal. Y/N and Spencer shared the same sombre look watching the girl eat so fast and hectic. It was abundantly clear that she hadn’t been getting proper meals for a while now and had arrived hungry. 

“Is there anything you don’t like eating or you’re allergic to Maggie? Just so I know when I do the food shop and meal prep. I thought I could take you with me for the food run tomorrow and you could pick out a few things you like”, Y/N started a conversation when Maggie had slowed down a little. The girl perked up at that, surprised by the sentiment. “I … I’m not allergic to anything I think.”, she said softly, just thankful to eat anything really. “Okay that’s good to know, and anything you don’t like?”, Y/N pushed further. “I for one hate anything with fish or seafood in general, Spencer doesn’t like mushrooms, he says they’re too slimy”, she chuckled and watched the teen’s lips curve into a small smile. 

“I don’t like mushrooms either, they feel funny, but I’ll eat them, I don’t want to be a bother!”, she quickly backtracked. “No way, you will never have to eat mushrooms here, I will personally make sure of it!”, Spencer now interjected and Maggie chuckled a little at the man’s childish antics. “Okay”, she said softly. “I also don’t really like green beans”, she added quietly and Y/N beamed at the teen speaking freely. “Oh don’t worry we’re not the biggest fans of those either”, she assured. “Do you want a second bowl? I think I’ll go for seconds”, Spencer now interjected seeing the girl’s empty bowl. She nodded. “Thank you, that would be nice”, turning to Y/N she added. “It tastes really good. You’re a good cook.” “Oh thank you, honey, I don’t get to cook that often, so I’ll take the compliment”, Y/N thanked the girl while Spencer placed their full bowö back in front of them. 

“So you probably have a lot of questions for us, I imagine it’s a bit scary suddenly living with two strangers, so how about we tell you a little about ourselves and then you can ask us anything?” Maggie looked between the two adults and then nodded before continuing to eat. “Okay, so Spencer and I have been married for a year now and we’ve been together for 2 before that. We met at our job. We are both working at the FBI, we’re both agents.” Maggie’s head snapped up at that, and with wide eyes, she looked at the two of them again. THEY were FBI agents? They looked so.. so soft. He was wearing a sweater vest with a funny pattern and she wore fuzzy socks and sweats. 

“I know we don’t look stereotypical FBI right now”, Y/N chuckled. “We’re profilers so really we analyse the minds of criminals in order to catch them”, she explained and Maggie nodded. “We usually travel a lot for our job but our boss was okay with one of us staying back with each case so that we can be here for you. We both don’t have a lot of family, but we see our colleagues at the BAU as our family and you will meet them too when you’re ready.” 

Maggie nodded along, taking it all in for now. Spencer continued after that. “We both love to read, we have left a few books in your room too, but you’re welcome to help yourself to any book in the house and if you see one you’d like when we’re out just tell one of us we’ll get it for you. Y/N also knits while watching her TV shows, I’m too clumsy for that and I also feel like if you’re gonna watch something you should watch it and not just listen.” That earned him a scoff from Y/N. “It’s called multitasking I've told you before Spencer!”, she defended herself and Maggie smirked at their interaction, they really did seem like nice people. “I can teach you how to knit! I’ve made Spencer a lot of scarves already!”, Y/N now excitedly addressed the girl who bit her lip nervously now that she had finished her food. 

Maggie shrugged nervously, unsure about what to say to that. “If I can stay here that might be nice”, she said softly and Spencer and Y/N’s faces dropped significantly. The girl had just arrived and was already thinking about having to move  on, it made sense, they knew how often that happened, but they weren’t gonna let that happen. 

“If we get any say in it you stay here as long as you want to, I promise you that, Maggie”, Y/N said. “Why?”, the teen asked bluntly. “Sorry, what do you mean why?”, Y/N asked, taken aback by the question. “Why do you want me to stay longer? You could easily foster one of the little ones, they’re really cute and aren’t problems like … like big kids and … and teens..“, she explained herself while stirring in the remnants of her chilli. She couldn’t see the cautious and dumbfounded looks Spencer and Y/N gave themselves. Instead, she continued on with her rant. 

“I just trashed your upstairs bedroom, was really impolite and also, supplies and food are more expensive for bigger kids, teens get into trouble at school a lot more often than little kids and most foster teens above the age of 12 will not find a foster family and live in group homes where they’re prepared to age out of the system and be self-sufficient and even then 20% of us end up homeless when we turn 18. Older foster kids don’t get a chance like this, people like you don’t take us, they take the cute ones without trouble, people like me go into group homes or into families that just want to cash their checks. So why would you want me to stay here?” Maggie finally finished her rant leaving Spencer and Y/N speechless. 

The girl seemed to be shocked by her own words now as her head snapped up suddenly, looking up at the two adults and turning red in embarrassment. She quickly looked down at the table again. not bearing to meet their eyes. They sat there in silence for a moment before Spencer spoke up.  “Believe me, Maggie, I know all the statistics and that is exactly why Y/N and I decided to open our home to older kids like you. You deserve a chance just like the younger kids do, there are safe homes for them but as you said there are significantly fewer for kids above the age of 12 which just isn’t fair to any of you. We knew that we didn’t like the idea of teens ending up in group homes and ageing out to become homeless. We want to provide a safe and loving home, especially to kids who didn’t get the chance before”, Spencer said calmly. 

“What Spencer is saying is true, Maggie. We wanted to expand our family and we knew we didn’t want to bring a new baby into this world when there are so many kids who need a safe and loving home. We love kids, don’t get us wrong, but you’re still a kid too and what you’re saying isn’t entirely right, little kids come with a lot of work too, that’s not me saying we wouldn’t put in all of the work to accommodate whatever anyone staying with us needs, but with little ones, there is a lot of guessing whereas you can talk to us, tell us what you need, what you feel like. It can be a lot of fun to have a teenager in the house, we can talk about books and shows and Spencer and I get to feel young again”, she joked to ease the tension. “And with one of us being on their own from time to time because of our jobs, we also felt like it just made sense to take in older kids and teens like you because you would understand why one of us had to go from time to time, you know?”