Well, it has been a very long time since I've posted anything. To anyone who has read my previous stories, know that I have gotten older (hence two years of a layoff) and the way I write is probably slightly different. I do hope you all enjoy the story. I'm going to try and keep everyone in character. Naturally, I own the plot but do not own the characters except for any that I invent. This will be the last time I say it, but please, read and review. Oh, no flames. Constructive criticism only.
Doctor Spencer Reid stood quietly in the elevator as it rose to his office floor of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU for short. He held his cup of coffee in one hand and a book in another. His wore khakis with a red sweater vest and a gray button down shirt. The elevator stopped with a "ding" and the doors opened silently. His brown loafers squeaked across the lacquered floors as people milled around him. People's voices murmured around him. Reid could hear the sound of laughter, the beautiful melody of people savoring the crisp, clear spring day. A man opened the glass door that separated him from the bull pen where he and his colleagues resided more than they did in their own homes. His colleagues, his closest friends, were already hard at work filling out reports and completing other mundane parts of their job.
Reid sat down at his desk without drawing any attention to himself, but his coworker who worked across from him, the lovely Emily Prentiss, flashed him a smile and told him good morning. Derek Morgan, who was probably Spencer's closest friend, was hard at work with a phone call. Reid looked around the bull pen for some of his other coworkers. Their team liaison Jennifer "JJ" Jareau was not in her office, nor was their unit chief Aaron Hotchner. David Rossi, one of their senior supervisory agents, was not in yet. Reid took a deep breath of the familiar air then went to work on his reports.
About an hour into his work, he was interrupted by the most bizarre but life changing event of his life. "Excuse me, but will you direct me to Aaron Hotchner's office?" came the soft sound of a woman's voice. Reid looked up from his work in surprise, but he was tongue-tied by the woman who stood before him. She was tall with long hair. Her hair was interesting, very different, but not in the unusual way. It was a strawberry blonde color, but also brown depending how the light hit it. She had pale skin and dark blue eyes. She wore minimal makeup and had on a pair of dark-wash jeans and an emerald blouse. Her blue eyes twinkled behind her dark lashes.
"Um…pardon me?" Reid managed to stutter out. Her full lips etched into a smile. Reid was sure the room just brightened by fifty megawatts.
"Will you direct me to Aaron Hotchner's office?" She asked again. Reid stood up quickly. He cleared his throat before saying, "Right this way." He mentally kicked himself for how feminine his voice sounded to him.
"Thank you," the woman said politely. She was young, even younger than Reid's twenty-seven years.
"I'm Isabel. Isabel Williams." Her voice had a trill to it.
"I'm Reid. Well, Spencer Reid," he managed to get out as he walked up the short flight of stairs to Hotch's office. Never had this walk seemed so long. He could feel his face turning red as he walked next to her. He stopped in front of the door and said, "This is it," and pointed to the door. He dropped his head in embarrassment. Isabel smiled at him and said, "Thank you very much, Spencer Reid." She knocked on the door then entered at Aaron's command.
Reid felt like he was floating back to his desk. Never had he this dazzled by a woman. She definitely was beautiful but not in the usual way. To most men, she was probably merely pretty or cute. To Spencer, however, she was stunning not just because of her looks. It was the way she carried herself, the way how she walked happily unlike most visitors to the BAU. When she smiled at him, her smile was even in her eyes. She was unusual, and he was attracted to her. He was very, very attracted to her. He gazed curiously at Hotch's office window, but he had closed the blinds and she was obstructed from his view. Curiosity was eating away inside of him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get her out of his mind while she was in Hotch's office.
"Alright, that's it," Derek Morgan said throwing down his pen. "You have looked at Hotch's door at least twelve times in the past five minutes."
"No I haven't!" Reid denied ardently.
"Yes, you have," Derek chuckled. He leaned back in his chair with a wicked smile on his face. "And I think I know exactly what you're hoping to see."
"And what is that?"
"That girl who walked into Hotch's office six minutes ago."
Reid blushed and fixed himself back on his work. "Hey, Morgan, look at that blush on his face!" Emily said loudly. "I think you got it."
"Awh, looks like Boy Genius has a crush," Morgan teased.
"No I don't." Prentiss and Morgan exchanged looks. "Yes, you do," they said at the same time.
"Well, she is very pretty."
"That she is. And she did have a pretty smile."
"Yeah, that she did. Oh look, Em, he's turning bright red!"
Morgan and Prentiss burst into fits of laughter at Reid's expense.
"What's so funny?" David Rossi asked walking from the glass doors.
"Reid has a crush," said Prentiss in a sing-song voice.
"I do not have a crush on her! I don't even know her!" Reid protested.
"Alright, he finds her attractive," Prentiss amended.
"And who is this lady who has our Reid turning red?" Rossi asked. His dark eyes stood out against his tan, Italian skin. They twinkled with amusement at his friends' banter.
"Some girl who went into Hotch's office and never came out." Morgan answered. His smile was bright against his dark skin; his eyes tearing up from suppressing his laughter. He ran his hand over his face trying to remove any trace of tears.
"What did she look like?" Rossi asked suppressing his own laughter. Morgan and Prentiss quickly described her while Reid tried to look busy. A mysterious look crossed over his face as they described her to him. He nodded his head then told them to get back to work.
"I wonder what that was all about," Emily muttered as Rossi walked away. Her big brown eyes caught his brown eyes. He ran his hands through his medium length light brown hair. Rossi's reaction was unusual. Reid sighed and forced his mind to focus on finishing the report, but he promised himself that as soon as he was done, he would allow himself to glance back up at Hotch's covered window to hopefully see Isabel William's beautiful, sparkling eyes.