Eidetic - A Criminal Minds/Spencer Reid Story

Chapter Nineteen - Just a Game

"I have long understood that losing always comes with the territory when you wander into the gambling business, just as getting crippled for life is an acceptable risk in the linebacker business. They both are extremely violent sports, and pain is part of the bargain. Buy the ticket, take the ride." - Hunter S. Thompson

*Vivian Santos*

I woke up the next morning on a couch in one of the guest lounges. Hotch thought it was best if I stayed at Quantico, and I didn't disagree. Spencer tried to convince him to let me stay with him, but Hotch and I both told him that if I stayed with him, he would be putting himself in danger as well. He didn't like it, but I finally convinced him that it was for the best.

There was a knock on the door and I threw my blanket aside and threw it over the back of the couch. I walked over to the door and opened it to see Spencer standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee in his hands. "Well, you're here early," I said. He smiled and greeted me with a kiss. He handed me one the cups of coffee and then walked inside of the room.

"Well, I'm glad you made this small room feel a little bit homey," he said. I had a few of my favorite books on the small table next to the couch and some pictures of Daniel and Spencer on shelves. My clothes were in a suitcase in the corner of the room and I had camp stove on the desk on the other side of the room.

"I do the best that I can with what I've got," I replied.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked with real concern in his voice.

"I would much rather be in my own bed, but I slept alright. I'll probably ask Anderson if he just bring a fold-up mattress from my apartment at some point," I replied. I yawned and took a sip of the coffee. "Anyways, I'm going to go take a quick shower and try to look as presentable as I can at this point." I gave him the cup. "You can just leave this on my desk. I'll meet you down in the bullpen."

"Okay, are you sure you're alright?" Spencer asked. I walked up to him and put both of my hands on the sides of his face.

"I'm okay, Sweetie. Really." He nodded in reply and I gave him a kiss before sending him on his way. After I had managed a quick shower in the locker room, I put on a a white button-up, gray slacks, and black heels. I towel dried my hair and then pulled it back into a braided bun. After putting on some makeup, I went back into my makeshift bedroom, grabbed my workbag, and then made my way down into the bullpen. When I sat down at my desk, I noticed something was written on the coffee cup. I picked it up and saw that Spencer had written, "I love you. We'll get through this" and drawn a cute cartoon heart with a Sharpie. I looked over at him at his desk and made eye contact with him. I took a sip out of the cup and he smiled. Yes, he was cheesy, but he did cheer me up when I needed it.

After the rest of the team had arrived, Hotch walked out of his office. "Morgan, Reid, I need to speak to you," he said. Spencer and Morgan made their up to his office and Hotch closed the door behind them.

"I wonder what that's all about," JJ said. I shrugged and clicked through emails that I had missed from the previous day. For someone who just found she was being stalked by the man who killed her best friend, I was doing pretty well for the time being. But, part of me knew I was only doing this so that the rest of the team wouldn't worry about me as much. Only Spencer knew how scared I really was. Not just for my safety, but for everybody else. I had grown so close with this team in the few months that I had been here and I had learned to love them like my own family. If whoever is doing this was able to get to Cecilia, he would sure be able to get to me and everyone else.

About twenty minutes later, Morgan and Spencer walked out of Hotch's office and back down the stairs to the bullpen. Spencer walked up to me and grabbed my hand. "Hotch wants Morgan and I to check out a lead in California," he said. The look he had on his face was serious and his tone of voice bothered me.