10. We're Done
TEN WE'RE DONE
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"Where's Teddy?" was the first question to leave Wren's mouth once she saw down in the interrogation room with just Tensley in front of her. Teddy, Spencer, and Hotchner stood behind the one-way mirror, watching the woman's every move. They were all waiting for her to screw up. She had to. This whole case was settled on her.
"He's at home, Spencer didn't want him here for this, figured he'd want to get involved," Tensley lied smoothly, relaxing in her chair. Teddy knew it was false calmness, he knew Wren had to be setting her on edge right now. However, Wren didn't know Tensley the way that Teddy did. She didn't know that the girl always crossed her ankles when she was uncomfortable or that she tied her hair up when she was nervous so it didn't scratch against her skin. To Wren, Tensley was just a troubled little girl looking for a mother.
"Spencer?" Wren asked with a raised eyebrow, her manicured nails tapping rhythmically against the cool metal of the table. She had gotten her nails done since Teddy had last seen her. They had been bare the night Teddy came over -- the night James died. Now, a crimson color coated them. Seems the grieving wife had found time to get a manicure.
Tensley shifted in her chair, her chin shifting as if she were going to look in the mirror but stopped herself. "Dr. Reid. I call him Spencer. He's one of the people investigating the case with the FBI."
"Yes, I was surprised to hear the FBI got involved," Wren commented, nodding her head slowly. "Are you okay? I just want to make sure you're being taken care of during all of this, I can't imagine how stressful it must be for someone your age. Especially with no family --"
"Teddy's my family," the young girl interrupted with a stern voice, "You know this, Wren."
"Is he?" the woman questioned with a sympathetic look, half-shaking her head, "For all we know, he could be the one behind this, Tens. You need to be with someone far away from the case, not in the home of a potential murderer."
Teddy scoffed, crossing his arms. He had half a mind to go in there and scream at her how he really felt, but the careful look Spencer was giving him was the only reason he held back. He wrung out his fingers, taking solace in the way his bones cracked under the pressure.
"Deep breaths," Aaron Hotchner commented with a monotone voice, his eyes staring straight at Wren through the class.
"You put my niece in a room with a potential murderer, I'm not exactly going to be peachy keen on this," he huffed, crossing his arms once more.
"We sent her home with you," the man retorted and Teddy went silent, tuning back in on the conversation with Wren and Tensley.
"I'm perfectly fine where I am, Wren," Tensley forced out, her voice sounding like she knew she had to be careful how she said things. She was scared, Teddy could hear it. "I know... I know how you must be feeling right now, but I can't... I can't fill the hole that James left."
Wren was silent for a long moment, her eyes focused on the girl who was staring at the ground. After a moment, she said, "You know, you're very insightful for a young girl. I suppose you had to grow up quickly, hm, with an addict for a mother. I suppose you wouldn't know motherly love if it smacked you in the face. You think you have it so good with Teddy, Tens, but you don't. Just because someone doesn't hit you doesn't mean they love you."
"My mother was a good person. She never laid a hand on me. She needed help," Tensely swallowed. He could hear her voice breaking and he wanted nothing more than to go in there and pull her away from that wretched woman. "Don't you dare talk about my mother like you knew her. Don't talk about Teddy either, for that matter. You don't know shit about how he treats me. You'd think for someone who claimed to know him so well that you would know he's the nicest man you know. He used to go by Ted in high school, he told me. He didn't start going by Teddy until I called him Teddy Bear as a kid because he knew I liked it."
"So naive," Wren leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, "You need to be somewhere better, Tensley. Teddy is not your savior, he is not the father you thank for your success, he will be what holds you back."
Surprisingly, Tensley laughed, breaking the tense silence in the room. Teddy's nose was practically pressed against the glass, waiting for Wren to make the wrong move. Waiting for her to make this whole thing worth it.
"Wren, dude, do you know how ridiculous you sound? I don't know how you've twisted this narrative in your mind to make it make sense to you, but to the rest of us, you've put a target on your own back," the teenager scoffed, "You, you say you want a child so badly, but you killed your only chance of having one biologically and you're almost 37 so we already know the clock is ticking, Wren, and you're running out of options, huh? You're so desperate to be needed that you murdered the only person who actually gave a shit about you. How stupid does that sound once you say it out loud?"
"She needs to stop antagonizing Wren," Spencer commented, his expression forming into one of worry, "She's going off-script, what's she doing?"
Teddy was just as lost as Spencer was, "I've never heard her speak like this, Wren must have struck a chord without knowing it."
"I don't know what you're talking about, young lady," Wren exclaimed, "If I want a kid so bad, why would I kill my one chance at having one? Doesn't make sense, right? Please, you've been listening to Teddy so much he's been planting these insane ideas in your mind. Are you even hearing yourself right now? Tensley, you need to get out of there, okay? Clearly, it's not good for you."
"You don't know shit about what's good for me," Tensely shouted, standing up from her chair as she slammed her hands down on the table, "You are not and will never be my mother. Spencer, we're done, I'm done."
Spencer took his cue, opening the door into the hall to go into the interrogation room. Tensley ran out the moment the door was opened and Teddy met her in the hall, letting the girl run into him and pull him into a hug. As he wrapped his arms around the girl, Wren exited. Their eyes met as she walked past him, her gaze cold. Time seemed to slow down as the woman began to walk down the hall, being escorted out by one of the other agents.
"Is it enough to arrest her?" Teddy asked Spencer, keeping his arm around Tensley.
"She technically didn't admit to anything, but it's more than we had yesterday, that's all I can say," the man shrugged before squatting down so he was eye-to-eye with Tensley, "Hey, you okay? You did good in there, kid."
Tensley nodded, "I'm okay. Just promise me we'll get her. I know, I know she did it."
"We'll try our best."
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