Title: Matters of the Universe: A Swing and a Miss (Part 1 of 15)
Author: Trista Groulx aka dustytiger
Rating: T (same as the show to be safe)
Disclaimer: I still do not own CM, it's a pitty really, it belongs to many people, writers, directors, actors, actresses, creators, network types none of whom are me. I also do not own the quotes at the beginning. They belong to the people who wrote and preform them, and likely SOCAN as well.
Summary: Reid and Prentiss meet in a bar one night before she joins the team, but things don't go how she plans. What happens when they have to work together?
Notes: (this is gonna be along one) First all the quotes at the start of the fics are song lyrics by Canadian artists. Most of the songs can be youtubed, I'll warn you if more obscure than that.

This fic actually started out as an idea I've been toying with, about how different authors can take one thing and make into something completely else, probably from doing challenge fics lately. I told my friend Fanatical Writer about this idea, and we began to plot. Basically we collaborated on an outline and then wrote our own fic. Please check her fic "Wing Man" out to see what she came up with. All of our chapter titles will be the same, and most of the chapters have the same basic start, and there are elements we both had use. This part is based on the original idea. Reid and Prentiss meet at a bar; she hits on him, but he's not interested (or pretends not to be).

Please note I will be posting every second day with this fic since it is a collaboration of sorts with another author and that works best for her. Enjoy!

"I could have known you, if I had only tried, but I know if I don't say hello I'll never have to say goodbye. I never should have let you go I saw it your eyes, you could have changed my life. But that's the way the story goes we didn't get it right before the moment's gone. Now I'm standing on the corner looking for your perfect smile." Jonas and the Massive Attraction (More than a Moment)

Spencer Reid felt out of place as he walked into the smoky music club. He had on the same clothes he had gone to work in, and his messenger bag was over his shoulder. He had made himself a promise to become more social, and do things other people his age enjoyed. He was about to turn around and walk out of the club when a woman caught his eye. He didn't believe in finding love at a bar, but she was beautiful. She was swinging her hips to the band that was playing, not caring she was one of only a handful of people on the dance floor and the only one moving to the beat.)

Reid pushed aside his need to profile this woman, and what it meant that she was dancing alone. He was glad to see that there was not a drink in her hand. He tried to look at the band as they performed but his gaze kept returning to the woman dancing wearing a soft pink dress the hung off of her every curve perfectly.

When one of the bartenders walked passed him he stopped her, to order a glass of water and a ginger ale. When the bartender returned with the two drinks he paid and tipped her then went over to the stranger on the dance floor, and gave her the glass of water. She flashed him a genuine smile and Reid could feel the tips of his ears already turning red. He scurried back to where he had been sitting and again tried to focus on the band that was playing.

When the set was over the woman who had been dancing came over to him. Reid smiled at her, and looked at his shoes. He had hoped that she would move along but she stood there. He slowly looked up at her, noticing how long her legs looked, and just how good she looked, and finally made eye contact with her. Reid couldn't help but notice her eyes.

"I wanted to say thank you," she explained.

"You're welcome," he offered.

Normally she wouldn't have gone over to a stranger, but she thought there was something different about him. He had been at the bar alone and hadn't been looking at every young woman in the place. The only person she saw him looking at was her when he wasn't watching the band. She knew she was taking her chances going over to a man who was clearly so much younger than her; there was just something about the man that attracted her. He was different from anyone else she had ever been interested in before.

As she had gotten closer all she noticed was his dark, deep brown eyes. His long straggly hair disappeared, and the fact that he dressed like an old man didn't matter anymore. She never believed in the saying that the eyes were the window to one's soul before but once she made eye contact with this man it made sense. All of her profiling instincts seemed to have stopped and all she wanted was to get to know the man standing in front of her; who was now fidgeting with the straw of his empty drink.

"Can I get your name?" she asked, still smiling warmly at him.

"Doctor Reid –everyone just calls me Reid," he stammered.

"You're adorable Doctor Reid, let me buy you a drink."

She could tell that he was uncomfortable with what was going on. She assumed that it wasn't often a woman tried to pick him. She tried to be less forceful, but it was hard because she truly wanted to get to know this man better. She thought he was different and the way he was acting was proving it. He seem humbled and embarrassed by the fact she was taking and interest him.

"I work early tomorrow, I shouldn't drink anything more," he reasoned.

"It doesn't have to be anything fancy. I want to thank you," she assured him, gently brushing his hand with her fingertips.

Reid's eyes went wide when she touched him. He wanted to get to know her better, but in his experience he was not lucky when it came to this sort of thing. The most beautiful girl he had seen in a long time was talking to him; touching him, flirting with him. His over active logical profiler mind was not sending him a million red flags but still he was nervous; unsure what he should do. His friend and colleague, Derek Morgan, had taught him a lot; usually about what not to do if he wanted a serious relationship with a woman. Everything that was happening was falling into that category. Try as he might Spencer Reid could not turn off that logical side of his brain and get over their surroundings being the least ideal place to meet a person.

"You have," he assured her. "I could tell you needed some water and you didn't seem to be with anyone. There was nothing more to it than that, honestly. I wasn't looking for anything, really."

"What if I am?" she challenged.

His eyes went wide. "Then you may be looking at the wrong person. I'm sorry I- need to go."

Reid quickly picked up his coat and left the bar so quickly he didn't get a chance to know anything about the woman who had been watching the whole night. The woman, Emily Prentiss was still standing by the table he had been sitting at only moments before feeling like she had just made a huge mistake. It had been hard to miss the young man's gazes her way while she had been dancing. He had tried to cover his eyes with his unruly long hair, but he had failed to hide anything from her.

Prentiss had been sure that by bringing her the glass of water he had been interested. She wasn't the type of woman who often tried to talk to men at bars, but she thought there was something different about Doctor Reid. She sighed realising she was wrong about him. She hoped that it was just her nerves about starting a new job the next day that were getting the better of her. She looked at her watch and realised she should get home because she had an early morning.

The whole way home she tried to get the young man off of her mind, but she couldn't stop thinking about what had happened, replaying what had happened over and over again. She knew she hadn't come on too strong, and she knew had had only one beer that night. She couldn't understand why he would react like skittish cat toward her. She went into her condo and pondered getting a cat, but wasn't sure it was a good idea with her new job.

She went into her bathroom and washed her face. She stared at her reflection for a long moment not being able to silence her thoughts about why the man at the bar had turned her down. She couldn't help but that think that maybe there was more of an age difference between them than she'd thought. She never really cared about the age of anyone she dated before; all that mattered to her was the connection they shared. She knew that finding a date in a bar was far from the ideal place to find love but she really thought she had felt a connection with the kind man who had brought her a glass of water when she needed it most. She brushed her hair trying to clear her mind in hopes of getting a good night's sleep. She changed into a flowing black night gown and curled up in her bed.

Reid was in his own home at the same time getting ready for bed. He pulled off his sweater and shirt, then removed his pants and climbed into his bed. His thoughts kept going back to the woman he had met that night. She had looked hurt when he'd told her needed to go. He knew could have stayed a few minutes later, and at least ask her name. He was already regretting not trying to get to know her despite where they had met.

He replayed the night over and over in his head, thinking of many ways he could have explained himself. He wished he'd told her that he found her attractive. He wanted to explain that he had a job that made it difficult to date seriously, and that he wasn't looking for something for the short term. There were a million things he wished he'd told her, but now couldn't go back in time. But mostly he just didn't feel like he was the kind of person who could find something serious in a bar, and that's what he wanted. There was something about that woman that he didn't want to forget although he had missed his chance. Reid laid in bed wide awake for most of the night.

End Part 1

Notes: Don't forget to check out Fanatical Writer's fic too, see where we each took the idea! I am going to be using the same cast from when Prentiss joined the team through this fic… it's harder than I thought hehe… Let me know what you think so far.