Chapter 8

[Spencer POV]

"Alright, everyone ready?" Emily asked. We had all gathered at her house and had just loaded up the van.

"Okay, be careful kids! Don't do anything dumb and if anything happens, call," Emily's mom said sternly.

"Yes ma'am," we replied.

"Ok then everybody in!" Hotch was taking the first driving shift with Morgan in the front with him. The rest of us got in the back, Garcia and Emily in the second row and JJ and I in the third. We thanked Emily's parents once again for lending us the van and waved goodbye.

"This is gonna be so great!" Garcia called out and we all laughed at her excitement. Nothing was dull when Penelope Garcia was around.

It was a long drive and after 3 hours Hotch switched with Morgan and Garcia took the front seat. Emily then took her turn after that. After 8 hours of driving we finally arrived.

We stopped at the rental store and got out of the car bundled up like a group of burritos. Stepping into the store I felt super nervous. I had never been skiing before and everyone else seemed quite confident. Morgan and JJ rented snowboards while Garcia, Emily, Hotch and I got skis. When I picked them up the first time I was a mess and the skis started going everywhere. I hit Morgan with a ski and nearly knocked down a display. The store employee had to come rushing over to show me how to hold them properly. It was embarrassing and I couldn't help but feel like this was only one of the many times I would be embarrassed this trip. I didn't have time to sulk though as immediately we were back in the van and on our way to the hotel.

Entering the hotel lobby I was finally surrounded by warmth. I took of my coat and so did everyone else. Hotch checked in while the rest of us looked around. This hotel was not too expensive but had quite a few facilities. An indoor pool, sauna, gym, and our room was quite decent as well. Once everything was settled we took our boots and gear to the big shed outside where everyone's skis were stored. Then we lugged our stuff to our room.

Entering the room there was a small space with a bathroom directly in front of the entrance, two bedrooms on the right and a living room on the left. There was also a double bedroom connected to the living room. It was quickly decided that the three girls would share the double bedroom, with a mattress dragged from another room. Morgan and I will take one bedroom with two single beds, and Hotch will be alone in the third room. The living room had a small kitchen area with a sink, kettle and other small appliances. There were also a few couches that fit all of us. So upon putting our bags in our respective rooms, we all came back to the living room and dumped out bodies onto the couch.

"Ugh I'm so tired can we just go to bed now?" Garcia whined, reflecting probably all our feelings.

"It's only like 4pm," JJ said and we all groaned.

After an hour of napping and doing nothing, JJ volunteered to go and get dinner while everyone else just stayed in.

"Spence, wanna come?" she asked me. Of course I said yes.

"Sure," I grabbed our coats and handed JJ hers at the door. She thanked me and we ventured outside to find some food.

There wasn't much around that was easy to take back and eat, so in the end we settled on pizza. We all loved pizza and it was worth the wait outside as it was too crowded inside. I could see JJ shivering even in her thick coat so I stepped up to her and put my arm around her. She snuggled into me and we shared each other's warmth. What gave me the courage? I have no idea but we had gotten closer over the few weeks and it just felt like the right thing to do. I realized that I was no longer a shy, crumbling mess around her and that made me so happy.

A/N its a bit lame I apologise but there needs to be this 'filler' chapter. More action to come in the very near future ;)