Make It Personal (Spencer Reid Fanfiction) UNDER SERIOUS EDITING

Chapter 6

I walked around the car and opened the door helping Lia out of the car. I handed the keys to chauffeur and walked over to the entrance of the building hand and hand with Lia. We wandered around admiring paintings until I felt her grip on my hand tightened. I leaned down my nose brushing her ear accidentally, making my face heat up. I wrapped my arm around her waist whispering, "What's wrong Lia?" My hot breath fanned her face making her shiver slightly and blush. "Ben is here." She said before kissing my cheek pretending to be smiling.

Ben; the guy who used to bully Lia and I mercilessly. Lia would joke that being bullied by Ben was a cycle of violence. He would make Lia cry and I would try to fight him to protect her, which usually ended with me blooded and bruised on her washroom floor while she fixed me up. While patching me up I would tell Lia, 'You are beautiful. You are beautiful and you are so beautiful when you cry.' She would normally laugh or smile fondly before saying she had an 'ugly cry' and tell me to hold still while she used disinfectant. Ben being here could blow our cover, I just hope he doesn't- "Spencer? Spencer Reid." notice us. I turned to see Ben with a blonde women standing next to him. 

"Hey Ben." I said as Lia rubbed her thumb in a circular motion on my wrist to calm me. "Wow Spencer Reid finally got a girl?" Ben said smiling as he eyed Lia. "And what's your name hottie?" I felt my anger flare. "My name Ben is Thalia. Don't you remember me? I used to tutor you in Math?" What is she doing? This...this....thing used to hurt her and torment her in school! That's when it hit me, she was trying to save Ben's life. If her stalker was here, and discovered Lia was in any way hurt by Ben this person might kill Ben next. "Oh yeah! Wow you've changed a lot!"

She smiled kindly but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "But I like it. It suites you." He shifted uncomfortably before giving her an apologetic smile and reaching over giving her shoulder a squeeze. He was trying to say sorry without actually saying sorry, typical hyper masculine guy. Can't even say 'I'm sorry' to the girl he use to torment for some archaic reason.   

"I always thought you two would end up together...How long?" Ben asked. "2 years." I said giving Ben a genuine smile. "How did you two meet again? You know since you moved. " He asked through clenched teeth. He was jealous. I had to fight the urge to smirk as I wrapped my arms around Lia from behind. "Oh we were both out with friends at a bar and I bumped into him." Lia said leaning into my chest. I know we were undercover technically but it felt good to have her in my arms. "Great!" Ben practically spat. "See you later." He marched away with his date.

"Jealousy is not a good look on him." I nodded. "Some people always want what they can't have." Lia said tossing her hair dramatically. I chuckled and pulled her along to look at the rest of the art work.

"Excuse me!" We all turned to see the curator at the mic. "We will now have the masked dance. Please pick a mask and step onto the dance floor." Morgan and Elle had come to the gallery to make sure everything went smoothly while Hotch and JJ worked surveillance. Lia picked a green, beautiful feathery and gemmed mask that covered her eyes. I wore a black mask with white trimmings along the edge of it which only covered my eyes. I led her onto the dance floor.

As we gently swayed to the music I continued to look around the room to see if anyone was paying particular attention to us. Suddenly Lia's grip and posture changed. I glanced down at her as she spoke in a hushed tone, "He's here. I can feel it." I pulled her closer to me. "Don't worry Lia. I've got you." I mumbled rubbing a figure eight on her back to try and calm her.

Her eyes locked with mine once again and that strange feeling came over me. It was warm and I felt safe even though every fiber of my being was screaming at me: danger. Before I knew what was happening I was leaning in. She leaned forward and met me half way. Our lips molded together perfectly. We pulled apart and she smiled softly. "I've been wanting to do that for years." I whispered softly. "Me too." She whispered back.

That's when I saw him: sandy blonde hair, bright blue eye and a black suite with a white mask covering his face. His fists were clenched and his posture was rigid as he stared at us as we continued dancing. "Who do you know that has blonde hair, about five foot eight with blue eyes male?" I asked urgently. "Ian Rodriguez. Why?" Lia asked confusion in her eyes. "Because I think he's your stalker." "That's insane. Why would he-" I looked up just in time to see Ian pull out a gun. I spun Lia around reversing out positions as I heard a gun fire. Pain tore through my body and my vision became blurry. "Spencer!!" I heard Lia scream. She dropped to her knees and cradled my head trying to find the source of the bleeding. I don't remember hitting the ground or falling. 

The smell of blood rose to my nostrils and I could taste it in my mouth. People were screaming and running towards the exit and I spotted Morgan and Elle trying to shove through the crowd towards me. They were moving fast but they weren't fast enough as Lia was ripped away from me. I heard a husky male voice speaking, "C'mon baby we gotta go." Thalia screamed and I was starting to see black dots but I had to see her. Using what strength I had I tilted my head and arched my back craning to see Lia. Something fell to the ground, something green and hazel. Squinting I could just make out Lia's silluette, half conscious four metres away from me. Spence...." I could make out sirens in the distance and saw Lia lifted out of view hearing footsteps as someone walked away with her. "Reid!" I felt Morgan putting pressure on my wound as Elle knelt next to me talking to me. "Stay with us Reid medics are on the way-" I stopped listening trying to focus on the footsteps. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Black.

I woke up blinded by white florescent lights. Blinking a couple of times I tried to sit up unable to as pain singed my rib cage. Thalia. My head snapped up scanning the room searching for her. Where is she? "Thalia!" I called out weakly. A nurse walked in. "Mr. Reid you have a few visitors." She said kindly as she helped me sit up. Gideon, Morgan and Hotch walked in. "Where is she?" I asked desperately eyes flitting from one to another. "We don't know." I hung my head unable to even look at them. "We caught Ian Rodriugez after he loaded Thalia into a car. The car drove off but we got the license plate." Morgan said trying to comfort me. "We are going to find her." 

"We will find her Reid." Hotch said. "Before or after he kills her?" "You're underestimating her." I looked at Gideon, "She's smart enough to impress you, which means she is smart enough to survive long enough for us to find her." Morgan reached over and touched my shoulder. "Look kid she does mean something to us too." I nodded mutely unable to even look at anyone. She was with me, she was a foot away from me. This was my fault. 

Hotch and Morgan left the room as Gideon offered me something. "She had this in the glove compartment of the car. Considering the condition of the homemade wooden frame..." He lowered his head, "It meant a lot to her." I looked at the picture stroking the frame and smiling softly. "When was the pictured taken?" Gideon asked tilting his head to study the image. "We were in high school...well I was graduating she was a few years behind me. It was the summer her dad never came home. She and I had gone to our old tree fort for old time's sake and her brother came with us. The fort had been our place so I kept it clean and together for her because after she turned twelve she couldn't go as often. She had thanked me by jumping on my back and kissing my cheek. Her brother thought it was cute and so he took a photo." I brushed my thumb against the glass over her face. "That was the day I gave her the mocking bird necklace. I wasn't sure where I would be the next year and I didn't want her to forget me. She sang for me to thank me....she rarely sang but when she did..." I trailed off. "It's not your fault Spencer." 

"Please...find out why...why he did this to her....she's been through enough." I said refusing to look up from the picture as my eyes stung with tears. "We will Spencer trust me." He started to leave when I asked.

"What did Morgan mean when he said that she means something to all of you?" Gideon turned smiling. "She's a beacon of hope Spencer. Anyone can see that. One of the few people in the world we can claim is truly good." He offered a smile then left. The nurse came back in and gave me my medication. I wrapped my arms around the picture staring at the old image of a simpler time as my eyes closed.