Coffee, Tea // Spencer Reid

Chapter 10 - Camus et Éluard

Spencer

"Merde."

She said, as she saw the train timetables. The last one to her place had left an hour before, and walking to her place at this time of the night would be too long and dangerous.

Spencer, standing next to her, looked thoughtful.

"Maybe you can stay at my place."

He realised what his proposition sounded like, and he quickly added,

"I have a couch, you can sleep on there. Or I could sleep on the couch and you can take my bed."

He hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way. The years he spent at the BAU rendered him paranoid, and he couldn't have a case that he could have prevented. She had helped him so much.

Thankfully, she replied,

"Yeah, I'll take the couch. It's late, and I need to get sleep for tomorrow. We should get walking."

Lilith

As they took a street corner, Lilith initiated conversation.

"How did you know where I lived, anyways?"

"Simple." The doctor said, "I remembered the train station you left from, which gave me a radius of one and a half kilometre. I also deduced that since you seemed young, a house or any other property didn't seem likely. That left me with about twelve buildings that still had their "to let" sign. You've never been on my train before, so I assumed that you had just moved here, and were renting an apartment."

"You went to twelve different buildings to find me?"

"Well actually, using a few more clues and my instincts, I cut it down to a selection of three buildings."

"So you...geoprofiled me?"

"Well, not exactly, I mean, the notion of geoprofiling is complicated..." the young man tripped over his words.

"You know you could have found my phone number by typing my name on Google, right?" Lilith laughed.

A shiver went down his spine, as a look of disgust crossed his face at the mention of internet.

"Oh, I get it." She giggled.

In an attempt to change the subject, the man asked,

"And you? How did you know about my PhD's ? I don't recall mentioning them."

"Oh." She grinned. "You might not remember, but a few years ago, you were a guest lecturer at my university. Criminology, I think."

"I do remember. And yes, it was criminology. Lilith Park. Second row, twelfth seat from my left, brilliant student. I didn't think it was worth mentioning since I thought you didn't remember it."

Lilith was startled, and a silence lingered between them.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I scared you. I have an eidetic memory, so I rarely forget things. Especially if they stand out more than others." He said, as he gave her a shy smile.

The young woman was touched. Even though he had an eidetic memory, the very fact that he remembered her amongst the sea of faces was meaningful to her. She never thought she could stand out in a crowd.

"Thank you." Lilith said, as the doctor halted in front of an old, yet charming building.

"This is my place."

How fitting, she thought.

The pair went up the stairs, and entered his apartment.

"I'll sleep on the couch. I'm the one who woke you up after all."

"No, no, I'm the guest here."

"You have insomnia, right? So take my bed."

Lilith paused, defeated, and accepted his proposition by nodding her head.

"Wait a minute." He told her, as he left to another room.

She took a seat on his sofa, and observed her surroundings. The whole flat was packed with books, and yet so cosy. It reminded her of her parents' house, back in France. All the diplomas covering the walls, and the small artefacts scattered around the living room. She stood up, and paced toward the bookshelves. Lilith was in awe. The eclecticism of his library was baffling; books were in all languages, on any kind of subject. His collection made her jaw drop.

She was so focused, she hadn't seen Doctor Reid appear behind her.

"Do you like books?"

She jumped, and turned around.

"Y-yeah. Your collection is just...impressive. Russian, huh? I've rarely met people who've tried to make any effort to read in the original language. It removes part of its charm, I guess. When Russian books are translated, they lose all their meaning."

"So you speak Russian?" He asked, hopeful.

"I do."

The young doctor seemed overjoyed to have met another polyglot.

"What other languages do you speak?" He asked, eagerly.

"Well, Japanese, Korean, French, and obviously English. I'm currently studying Esperanto."

"I've always wanted to learn french." The man said, a gleam in his eyes.

"It's a beautiful language. I advise you to read some Albert Camus or poems by Paul Éluard."

"Duly noted." He smiled, and peered at his watch. "Well, if it wasn't so late, I'd probably guide you around my library and give you complete summaries of each of my favorites."

Lilith was sad at the missed opportunity of discussing about books, but she recognised her need for sleep.

"I set up my room, come with me."

He guided her through the corridor, and opened the door to an impeccable room.

"Well, you can make yourself at home."

"Thank you so much."

"Oh well, it's no worries really. I'm the one who dragged you into this."

"No, I mean- for everything. This was fun. I haven't had such a good time in a while. Thank you."

The doctor seemed at a lack for words.

"Oh, no problem." They smiled at each other. "Well, good night Doctor Park."

As he was about to leave the room, Lilith said,

"Doctor Reid?"

He turned around.

"Yeah?"

She grinned, as she added,

"You can call me Lilith. Goodnight, Doc."