"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival." -C.S. Lewis

Spencer Reid had been on his way to work when he had decided to stop for coffee. He was a bit early and, anyway, he felt that this day would certainly call for copious amounts of caffeine. (Not that every other day didn't.) For some reason, he felt a bit peppy as he stepped into the coffee shop, his messenger bag beating against his leg as he walked up to the counter to order his beverage.

After about five minutes, Spencer, coffee in hand, headed over to an empty table in the corner. He slid his messenger bag off his shoulder and placed in on the floor next to him. He was just about to take a sip of his coffee when he felt a light tapping on his shoulder and turned around, coming face to face with a very attractive dark haired woman.

"Spencer?" she asked, her face screwed up as she scanned his face. After about two seconds, her face lit up. "Oh my God. Spencer Reid. I thought that was you when you came in. Do you... uh... remember me?" She frowned, looking convinced that he wouldn't.

How could he ever forget her though? Even without his eidetic memory, Spencer was sure he would always remember her. "Of course I do." he said, smiling up at her as wide as he could. "Bethanie Harvey." He pulled out the chair to his left so she could sit down next to him. "How... how are you?" It had been years since he'd seen her. He had been twelve when he had graduated high school, after all.

Bethanie sat down next to him and shrugged. "I'm all right I guess." She sat her own coffee down on the table. "But... you can still call me Beth you know, Spence." She gave a chuckle. "Anyway, how are you?"

Spencer gave a quick nod of his head, sitting his coffee down next to Beth's. "I've... uh... I've been pretty good actually. Been really busy with work and everything but I... uh... I like it, you know?"

Beth also nodded her head. "Yeah, I bet you do." She gave a sly smile as she picked up her coffee and took a sip. "Heard you work for the FBI now. Behavioral Analysis Unit, huh? I always knew you'd do good things with that big brain, Dr. Reid." She smirked at him again and he turned a little pink.

"Erm... well... thank you." Reid said, rubbing his arm. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He kept trying to tell himself that it was ridiculous because he'd known Beth for years but he realized it had actually only been a little over a year. "So... what're... what're you up to then? Do you live in Virginia now or are you visiting? You still have family here, right? Some aunts and uncles and your grandparents lived here too if I'm not mistaken." He stopped talking before the inevitable happened and she shut him up.

Beth wrapped her hands around her cup of coffee. "Um... yeah. I moved back here after college. I'm a... I'm a psychologist now actually." She removed her hands from around the cup and placed them in her lap. "Got my um... doctorate in fact. Recently."

Spencer smiled at her. "That's great." He lifted his cup of coffee and Beth did the same. "To Dr. Beth Harvey, a wonderful psychologist, I'm sure." She always did have a way with people and had once professed a wish to help anyone she could. The two of them toasted and took another sip of coffee.

"So... um..." Beth began, biting her lip as she used to do when Spencer knew her. "How have you been, really? Feeling okay? Anything... um... out of the ordinary?" She knew all about his mother and she had always been slightly worried about not only her but Spencer as well.

"Well..." Spencer sighed. Did he tell her the truth or just tell her he was fine? Somehow he didn't think he could actually lie to her. She had known him far too well all those years ago. Besides, she had done so much for him and she deserved complete honesty. "I've uh... been having some headaches. The doctor just thinks they're psychosomatic."

"But no signs of schizophrenia?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"No." But he was afraid.

"Well, good." Beth said, smiling at him. "I've uh... been worried about you. I actually thought about trying to get a hold of you but I didn't know if you would've wanted me to or..." Beth trailed off, leading Spencer to think she thought she said too much.

"Ah, I wouldn't have minded." he assured her, fidgeting in his seat a bit. He actually would have found it to be a nice surprise from time to time. And he would have also called her whenever he got the chance.

"Well..." Beth said, checking the watch on her small wrist. "I've got to get to work." she said, standing up. Spencer also stood up, figuring it was time he headed off too. She leaned in to give him a hug and he awkwardly returned it just as he had all those years ago.

When they pulled apart, Beth looked him over again. "You haven't changed a bit, Spence. I'm glad." she laughed, shaking her head. "Let me give you my number so you can call me and we can do something sometime." After the phone number exchange, they both exited the coffee shop and went their separate ways.

Not an hour later at the BAU, Spencer successfully added Beth's number into his list of contacts and was just staring at her name, remembering. As he was doing this, Morgan crept up behind him and watched him for a few minutes. When it was apparent that Reid was just going to sit there and look at his phone until they had actual work to do, Morgan decided to satisfy his own curiosity.

"So Reid, are you going to tell me who Beth is or not?" He asked, sitting on the edge of Spencer's desk. Spencer actually hadn't been all too surprised to find out that Morgan had been behind him, spying. It was something he did quite often.

Reid slid his phone into his pocket and looked at Morgan. "She's uh... just some girl I used to know in high school. I just ran into her and we exchanged phone numbers." He shrugged. "No big deal really."

Morgan chuckled and shook his head. "Uh uh, Reid. You don't just stare at the name of a girl you just used to know in high school. There's gotta be more to this story and you just aren't telling me. No, this girl's important. Has to be."

"Are you profiling me?"

"Just tell me the story."

Spencer heaved a sigh and leant back in his chair. "Okay. If you really must know... Bethanie Harvey was my friend. My best friend I guess you could say. She moved to Las Vegas from Virginia when she was fifteen and I was almost twelve. Um... just across the street and four houses down to be exact." He remembered the day all too well...