Chapter 15

AN Enjoy.

"You're what?!" Derek barks, spinning around in his seat to stare at me incredulously.

"Um, 19?" I answer, now unsure whether or not it was smart to reveal that particular fun fact.

"So we've apparently had a fucking teenager working with us the last few months" Derek mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Does my age negate the work that I do? The things I know? The things I can do? The things i've been through?" I ask, getting defensive once more.

"That's not what anyones saying, what we're saying is that you are a kid, a fucking kid. The things that you've seen on this job, the things that we all go through on this job-" I interupt him

"Are all things that i've seen, and been through before, I mean, did you all forget the kidnapping and torture? How about the 17 kidnappings before that one? Or did you already forget that i've been a vigilante since I was a kid? Nothing that's happened sine i've been working with you is something that I haven't seen before. The absolutely fucked up people that we chase, and lock up, have nothing on the people that I used to go up against as Robin, and Red Robin. The Joker is so fucked in the head that no one has ever even been able to give a real profile on him, no shrink, or doctor, or profiler, or Batman, has ever been able to figure out why he does what he does, what makes him tick, what makes him torture, what makes him laugh. He's so crazy, all the other crazy people are afraid of him, i'm talking murderers, rapists, serial killers, terrorists, assassins. Everyone that the world is scared of, is scared of The Joker. So no, Hotch, this job is not what's gonna be the thing to break me, it's not what broke me the first time, but it is what put me together, I need this job." I tell them, sucking my bottom lip into my mouth to chew on while I wait for one of them to say something, anything.

"I-" Reid is interrupted when the hogtied man in the backseat with us starts to wake up, immediately starting to struggle against his bindings.

Hotch simply lets out a sigh of frustration before starting the car up, scowling at me in the rearview mirror before he pulls out and continues on the way back to town.

It only takes a few minutes for us to get to the police station, me and Derek once again picking up the hogtied man and carrying him in, once we do get there though we are forced to untie him and instead handcuff him, handing him over to the deputies there to book him and get him transferred to a more secure prison than the one available to them in the small town.

An hour later finds the entire team crowded into my small hotel room, me waiting for them to start speaking, entirely unsure on where this conversation is going.

"We have discussed it, and decided that you will be allowed to stay on this team, we didn't come to that conclusion at first, but we realised that with the training that you got from Batman, and the skills that you have already shown us, it wouldn't be difficult for you to simply erase yourself and move onto another team, because you obviously aren't ready to return to Gotham. This does not mean that we are at all okay with you lying to us, it doesn't mean that everyone here forgives you, it doesn't mean that i'm okay with the fact that you're still a teenager, it just means that you will be allowed to stay on as a part of this team until you feel ready to go back home." Hotch tells me, and I feel something clench in my chest, disappointed that I made real friends, only to ruin it with lies.

"I'm sorry" I say, looking down at the ground.

I stay that way, head bowed, until the team files out of the room, everyone except Reid that is.

"I know, that i've been the first one to get angry at you when we find out that you lied to us about something, but getting the whole story, knowing why you were doing what you were doing, i'm not all that mad at you Tim. I've always wanted something like what you have with your family, loyal to a fault, and I think I have it, with this team. I would lie to people too, to keep them safe, I know that I would, and I don't hate you for what you did, I actually get it." he says, causing me to pick my head up to look at him, the ball of tension in my chest loosening at his words.

"Neither does Garcia, just, you know, I thought you might want to know, we aren't mad at you, hurt that you lied, yes, but not mad." he says awkwardly, standing there for a moment before he too turns to leave the room.

"Thank you Spencer" I tell him just before he shuts the door, and the hesitation before it clicks shut lets me know that he heard me.

I think over his words, one thing becoming abundantly clear, i'm an interloper.

It's the way that Reid worded his statement, "I would lie to people too, to keep them safe" them, they are his team, his people, and while he doesn't hate me for lying to them, i'm still not one of them, i'll always be one of the Bat's, no matter how much I wanted to belong to this team, they aren't my team, and i'm not theirs.

1 year later

Even though I had realised that I wasn't really one of them, I still needed them, I still needed these cases, this team, to get better. Because they were right about something, I still wasn't ready to return to Gotham, but now I am.

The Joker is gone, dead.

Batman saw it, confirmed it, he was chasing him down and ended up on a rooftop fighting the Joker and a bunch of his hired men, he had Damian with him, but he was occupied with a bunch of the lackeys when it all went down. Apparently one of the Joker's men brought a gun to a crowbar fight, and in his excitement to be the one to take down Batman, he missed, shooting the Joker in the head.

Batman and the Gotham City coroner confirmed that it was indeed the Joker, and that he was indeed dead.

I've been working with the BAU for almost 2 years, I haven't had a flashback in about 1 and my overall mental health has improved immensely.

The team never really did get over me lying to them, except for Reid and Garcia, but that was okay, instead of accepting me into the tight knit unit they had, I was their co-worker. It's been alright, ever since that case in the desert, where Hotch figured me out, they didn't bring it up again, just put distance between me and them.

But now, it's time to leave, to go back to my team.

I handed in my 2 week notice 13 days ago, and i'm supposed to be leaving tomorrow, but I don't think anyone will mind if I leave a little early.

Tonight i'm here to pack up my desk, we just got back from a long case and i'm the only one still in the office. I don't mind though, I left a letter on everyone's desks, wanting them to know that even though they didn't forgive me for lying to them, that I still really appreciated what they did for me, it was really just a goodbye, although I wouldn't be surprised if the only ones to read them were Reid and Garcia, I still wanted to try.

I collect the last item out of my desk, a picture of me and the team a few months into the job, and I put in my bag, standing up from my desk and pushing the chair in.

I look around the bullpen for the last time, wondering if this would have ended differently had they not figured me out, or if I hadn't lied to them.

They did though, and there's nothing I can do to change that. So I make sure that the letters are still on everyone's desks, and then I make my way to the elevator.

I had my apartment packed up before I left on the last case, and all of my things shipped back to my old apartment in Gotham, all that's left is me.

When i'm settled in my car I give the nondescript building one more look before I pull out, leaving this chapter of my life behind, but knowing that i'll have good memories to look back on.

This isn't exactly a sad ending, but it also isn't a happy one. Either way, i'm keeping my promise, i'm going back to Gotham, Red Robin, and my family.

AN The End. Thank you to everyone who followed, Favorited, and left Reviews, I hope you enjoyed this fic! Thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh? Lemme know what you think. :)

"Qualified in 8 different types of martial arts, qualified to speak 7 different languages, qualified with a B.A in psychology, sociology, computer sciences, engineering and a business degree, qualified to read 10,000 words per minute and to beat your scores for the physical, as well as at the shooting range. So yes, Agent Morgan, I do believe he is qualified for this job" Hotch says, letting the apparent gravity of my resume sink in.

this is a small bonus scene that I couldn't seem to fit into this fic, but I thought you guys might enjoy this little foray into Tim's resume/qualifications. :) BYEEEEE!