𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄 ━━ 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴

⠀⠀𝟮𝟴. ❛ THE RED BLOOD ❜

     The analyst's face lit up. "I learn something from you every day," she gasped, coming to a sudden halt. "Okay, what about you? Spill it. What are you doing for Valentine's day?"

     Coming to a stop, he turned to her. "I was thinking about a little candlelit dinner at Le Donkle's overlooking the Potomac." He snorted when Penelope's eyes widened.

     "Oh, that is romantic," she gushed. "Look at us. We're all grown up. We're like... Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. And Savannah and Sam." As the pair neared closer to the lobby, an elevator bell could be heard dinging. "Oh, can Sam be Jennifer Garner?"

     Morgan's line of sight landed on a familiar face and he noted the coffee cups in the person's hands. "Valentine."

     "Valentine? Like as in our sweet angel Caralyn Valentine or Valentine's day?"

     "Valentine." Morgan nodded toward the elevators.

     Doing a one-eighty, her gaze landed on Cara Valentine right as she was exiting the elevator, two cups of coffee in hand. "Valentine, oh, Valentine, my love!" Penelope called.

     Swiveling her head to the left, Cara raised a brow at the sight of Morgan and Penelope staring at her. "Hi," she greeted plainly, making her way over.

     "Reid?" Morgan questioned, nodding to the to-go cups.

     Cara shrugged. "He had something to do this morning, so..." she trailed off, brows furrowing slightly as the two were smirking at her. She hated it when they did that. Either they were about to tease her for getting the resident genius coffee or they had a scheme that somehow involved her.

     "The lovely and sexy Derek Morgan here was just telling me about his Valentine's day plans for Savannah." Penelope beamed, watching as the woman in front of her blinked.

     "What do you have planned?" Cara asked after two seconds passed, getting the silent message that she was supposed to ask Morgan what his plans were.

     "A candlelit dinner at Le Donkle's overlooking the Potomac," he replied, rolling back his shoulders.

     A tiny smile tugged at Cara's lips. "That's nice," she commented, yet her voice was void of any emotion.

     Morgan tilted his head. "What about you?" he probed, tempted to chuckle as the woman grew confused.

     "I'll be here working on paperwork and then reading The Tale of Melibee by Chaucer when I get to my apartment," she replied, rolling her eyes when both agents' faces dropped. "It might sound lame to you two but I happen to like spending my nights reading. It's the only hobby I have other than trafficking drugs and I'm currently retired and contracted to the F.B.I., so that's not an option."

     The dark-skinned man next to her snorted, shaking his head. "Wow. You and Reid really are made for each other," he sighed. She glared at him but held her tongue.

     "So, you're telling us that you and Boy Genius aren't doing anything special?" Penelope checked, raising a brow. She and Morgan were going to have to talk with Spencer later.

     Groaning, Cara threw her head back. "No, because we're only friends and there's nothing romantic there. You keep digging for a treasure that doesn't exist, bubblegum," she pointed out.

     The colorful blonde gasped. "You finally called him your friend, that's the first step!"

     Using her right hand, which was wrapped around a coffee cup, Cara lifted her middle finger. A sarcastic smile appeared and Morgan laughed.