1 | Undeniable Chemistry [S. Reid]

vi. carbon

WILLOW PACES BACK AND forth as she keeps glancing at the house and the paramedics that are putting on the Hazmat suits. She wants to do something so badly to help, no she needs to do something. She stops pacing as she notices Dr. Kimura walk towards her and Derek.

"Dr. Kimura, could I ask you a favour?" Willow asks as soon as the Doctor is close, catching Derek's attention in the process. Dr. Kimura nods, making Willow take a deep breath. "Do you have an extra Hazmat suit?"

"Yes, are you thinking of going in?" Dr. Kimura asks, and before Willow answers the question, Derek jumps in.

"No, she will not be going. Willow, what are you thinking?" Derek asks the Professor, making her huff as she frowns softly.

"I've been asked to come here and help. I'm no use standing here and waiting, I should be in there. That's my job." Willow answers, causing him to groan.

"I can't put you at risk." Derek says, making her raise an eyebrow.

"The moment I decided to join, I was already at risk. I'll be wearing a Hazmat suit. I'll be fine." Willow assures the FBI agent who sighs in defeat.

"Okay, but you get out of there if anything goes wrong." Derek says, making her nod, before following Dr. Kimura to the sterilisation zone. In a matter of minutes, Willow is in one of the orange Hazmat suits and walking into the house. She looks around, before her eyes drop on Spencer.

"Spencer?" She calls out to him, making him turn around to look at her. A slight look of worry settles on him, but he smiles warmly at the sight of her.

"You look nice." He says, making her giggle as a blush settles on her cheeks.

"I've never worn one of these. It's weird." She admits, making him chuckle just as Dr. Kimura joins her side.

"How are... how are the patients doing?" Spencer asks the Doctor, who shakes her head.

"Let's worry about you." Dr. Kimura says, making him shake his head this time.

"I actually... I feel fine." Spencer assures the two, noticing Willow worry as well.

"Okay, if you feel any pain, I could give you something." Dr. Kimura says, but Spencer stiffens at the question.

"No, I... I'd rather not take any pain medication." Spencer shakes his head, his curls following the motion.

"We can at least make you feel more comfortable." Dr. Kimura points out.

"I am comfortable and I don't want to take any narcotics." Spencer says defensively, and Willow could sense there was a deeper meaning to it.

"Okay. Tell me how I can help." Dr. Kimura says, making Spencer take a deep breath in relief, that she dropped the subject.

"I think the cure for this strain is in here somewhere." Spencer admits, making Willow take a look around at the laboratory set up.

"Well, shall I start here?" Dr. Kimura asks, as she points next to her.

"Dr. Nichols is a former military scientist, which means he's most likely secretive and most likely a little paranoid. He would have protected the cure and probably would have hidden it from his partners. So look for something innocuous, Something you would not suspect." Spencer explains to the Doctor, before looking at Willow.

"All right." Dr. Kimura breaths out, just as Spencer's phone rings.

"Hello." He answers, as he clears his throat.

"How's it going in there, kid?" Derek asks.

"I've seen better days." Spencer admits, making Willow look up at him in worry, as she notices the sweat on his forehead.

"Well, you got me and Garcia. I'm guessing Willow is with you." Derek says, making Spencer look down at her.

"Hey, Reid. Professor Crawford." A soft voice speaks up, making Willow guess that it's Garcia. Spencer coughs softly, trying to keep it in him, to not worry the three.

"Reid, stick with me. Listen, Prentiss and Rossi don't think the partner was a coworker. Can you tell us anything else about him?" Derek asks the boy genius.

"I...I've already been through everything." Spencer says, making Willow frown in thought.

"Come on, now, kid, I know you're not thinking straight, but the Reid I know wouldn't stop looking." Derek reminds Spencer, making him sigh as he nods in the direction of the desk, making Willow walk towards it.

"All right, all right." Spencer clears just throat as he looks through the things with Willow. "I see a, uh, a framed photograph of Dr. Nichols teaching. I see a... I see a binder with syllabi. Course assignments Going all the way back to the 1970s."

"All right. So he kept a scrapbook of himself as a professor. That tells us that he values himself as an educator."

"A teacher." Spencer breaths out, before rushing to the other side of the room, making Willow look at him in confusion as she slowly follows him. "I saw something earlier. I didn't... I didn't make a connection to it or to the partner, but he has a study on anthrax. He has an annotated bibliography, table of contents. It's formatted like a thesis and has writing in the margins in red ink, like the way a teacher grades a paper. Now, Nichols wouldn't have let just anyone in here, but he may have opened his lab for educational purposes, as a teacher."

"So the partner must have appealed to him as a student." Derek concludes, as Willow looks over the notes in interest.

"Nichols is helping him with his thesis." Willow muses, making Spencer nod in agreement.

"I... I can look up local PhD students." Garcia exclaims, the sound of furious typing can be faintly heard in the background.

"Check the sciences. Biochemistry, microbiology." Willow says, a frown forming on her features.

"Uh... Cross-checking with names of former employees or customers with grievances at the bookstore." The sound of beeping is heard after Garcia informs them what she's doing. "Nothing, my doves."

"Listen to this. This country is woefully unprepared. Every household should have a 2-month supply of cipro. Hospitals are in need of bio-safety level 4 decon wings." Spencer reads from a paper.

"That's verbatim to what we heard from Nichols. The partner's adopted Nichols' views as his own." Derek points out.

"The chapters are on setting up triage and mobile emergency rooms. I don't think this paper was written by a science student. It's about city preparedness and response." Spencer points out, as he hands the paper to Willow to look over.

"So, Garcia, check with students in the social studies... Public policy, urban planning." Derek says.

"Hot to trot. There's a Chad Brown, School of public policy at U. of. M. Matches a Chad Brown, former employee at the book front." Garcia explains to the three, making Willow hand the papers back to Spencer.

"That's gotta be him."

"Totally. He's been in the doctoral program on and off for 5 years. Nix on a steady job. Was slapped with a restraining order from his former girlfriend and has been arrested and released twice at protest rallies in D.C. I'll tell Hotch." Gracia says, before hanging up.

"Kid, you did real good. Now take Willow and get the hell out of there." Derek says, making Willow smile softly as the frown on Spencer's face softens.

"Bye." Spencer coughs, as he puts the papers down and the phone away, just as Dr. Kimura walks up to them.

"Dr. Reid. You said the cure would be hidden somewhere we wouldn't suspect. What about Nichols' inhaler?" She asks.