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A/n this is set this year and follows cannon only up through "Fate." Please enjoy

Unexpected Visitor

Emily pulled off her boots as soon as she reset her alarm. She blew out a breath and let her shoulders drop. She yawned and removed her coat. The dim yellow light of the lamp near her door illuminated her entryway table, the tile of her floor and a large ceramic vase in the corner opposite the door. The copper colored container held blood red and purple silk flowers.

A small shape left the doorway to her kitchen and ran to her. She picked up her new black cat, Aphrodite. This time the feline was female and she had green eyes instead of black, but otherwise, she reminded Emily strongly of Sergio.

"Hey, Aph…How's it going?"

The cat batted at her chin and meowed.

"I'll take that as, "I'm fine, Emily, how're you?"

The cat jumped down from her arms and ran back into the kitchen. She followed the cat and gave her supper. The cat fell on it as though she hadn't eaten in years.

"You are such a drama queen."

The cat ignored Emily, so she decided to see if there was anything interesting for dinner. Unfortunately, her fridge didn't yield anything except for eggs, cheese and other makings for an omelet.

After making up her dinner, including a glass of wine, she went to her living room. The light dimmer worked the ambient and Christmas tree lights. She turned it and went to the sofa to watch the lights and have her little meal.

Aphrodite leaped up on the sofa and tried to sniff at Emily's plate. "No, you've had your food."

The cat tried again, so Emily held it out of her reach. "I said no, now get down."

Instead of getting down, the cat lay down on the sofa and curled her tail around her hindquarters.

"You know what?" Emily asked the cat. "I'm beat and I'm sick of chasing the bad guys, Aph. I need a break. Do you think I should take off for a couple of days?"

The cat closed her eyes and went to sleep. "A lot of help you are," she informed the sleeping feline.

She cleaned up from her little meal and went back to the living room. Aphrodite was nowhere to be found, so she stretched out on the couch and reached for a copy of a magazine that promised the best prices on Christmas gifts. "Why do I still have this when it's December 23rd? It's too late to order anything now."

Still, she opened it and a sheet of paper fell out and fluttered down to her feet. Right, she'd forgotten about the letter she'd received nearly a week ago. She'd meant to call him, but work had once again pushed her old friend out of her mind.

She picked it up and read it again. The sadness she read between the lines brought tears to her eyes. She wiped at them impatiently as they rolled down her cheeks. Half an hour passed as she sat staring at the lights on her tree and thinking.

Aphrodite suddenly jumped into her lap and swished her tail. "Geez, you scared me," Emily complained, but the cat made her smile, nonetheless. "I hope you'll forgive me, but there's something I have to do."

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He opened the door to his apartment at 1 pm on Christmas Eve. They'd made it back from a case in time to enjoy the holiday. They had the next three and a half days off, and he meant to spend some of that time sleeping.

He dropped his messenger bag on the floor near the couch and lay down. He rubbed at his neck. It still hurt when he was tired, and right now, he was exhausted. He glanced over at the little tree sitting on his desk. Garcia had brought it over to him and had decorated it with some lights and ornaments she'd found at the supermarket. Sunshine filled the apartment so he didn't turn on the lights. Oddly, in the full light of day, the tree looked garish to him, as if it was trying too hard to be festive. He shook his head. That was ridiculous. The tree couldn't try too hard; it didn't have consciousness or a soul.

He reached for his messenger bag and pulled out "The Narrative of John Smith." He opened the front cover and touched the words on the first page. They were burned in his mind, but - he slapped the book closed. He drew in a deep breath and tried to hear her voice in his head, but it was gone, as it had been for months. Kate said that one day he'd stop counting. When Alex had left, he'd thought he take her example and start over. He thought that it was time, but taking that first step was so much more difficult then he'd imagined.

He was about to get up and put the book on the bookshelf as a show of making a new start when someone knocked on his door. He sat up and stared at his door. He wasn't expecting anyone. Everyone on his team had plans for Christmas. JJ had invited him over, but he'd said no. The knock sounded again and he cursed under his breath. Maybe if he ignored them, whoever it was would go away.

"Reid!"

He jolted and leaped to his feet. He had to be hearing things because she simply couldn't be on his doorstep. She had a life, after all. Why here and now? She should be with her family.

He opened the door, and she stood there looking beautiful and exhausted. She wore a black wool coat with a festive red scarf, black pants and boots. Her nose was a little pink from the cold and her dark hair curled around her shoulders in loose waves. Her dark eyes pierced him to the core and she wasn't smiling.

"I thought you might be on a case," she said.

"We just got back," he said stupidly.

"May I come in?"

"Yeah," he pulled open the door. "Come in."

She stepped in and pulled her scarf from around her neck. "I'm sorry I didn't call, but…"

He held out a hand. "You can take off your coat if you want."

She gave him the coat and went around to the little kitchen. "Do you have any water? My flight was horrid and I'm thirsty."

"Sure, in the fridge."

She pulled out two bottles and handed one to him. "I know you like coffee, but how about some water for a change."

"Why are you here?" He asked bluntly after she downed half the bottle in one gulp.

"No small talk, huh?"

"No."

Emily sighed and went to the couch. "Would you believe me if I told you I just had to get out London for a few days? Heading up Interpol isn't all it's cut out to be, especially this time of year."

"Is that all?"

She smiled, but it didn't touch her eyes. "I forgot with whom I'm dealing," she said.

"What is it?"

"I was feeling sorry for myself last night. I came home thinking that I needed a couple of days off. So I took my cat to her sitter and told my second in command that I was gone for at least the weekend. I might stay longer."

"You decided to vacation in DC?"

"Don't sound so skeptical, Reid. I like the city at Christmas time."

She took a pull of her water and tried to look him in the eyes as he sat there watching her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Are you sure that's all?"

"What else could there be. I'm tired, Spencer. I needed a few days."

"I can relate to that," he said.

They were quiet for a long time; unfortunately, it wasn't the comfortable kind between friends. Emily took another pull on her water bottle and sighed.

"Alright, I came here because of your letter."

He furrowed his brow at her and a bit of pink color came into his cheeks. "Oh, I'd hoped it would get lost in the mail."

"Why?"

"I wrote it, and mailed it before I had time to really consider the impact. I was having a bad week and feeling sorry for myself. Even the guys at the BCC weren't helping me. I wanted to talk to you, but not on the phone. Since you weren't here, I sent a letter."

She reached out and linked hands with him. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. His expression reminded her of his migraine days. The shadows under his lovely orbs were deep as a gently flowing river.

"I wanted to call you, but work's been so crazy. I walked in from work last night and I was watching the tree lights. I found the letter where I left it, marking a page in a catalog and I suddenly realized what I wanted to do. I wanted to come home, at least for the holidays."

"I'm glad you're here."

She squeezed his hand, tight. "Come on; tell me what's bothering you."

He frowned and looked down at his feet. "You remember what I told you in the letter."

"Yeah, you told me about that case you had a few weeks ago with the Cinderella Killer. "

"I hate that name," he burst out angrily. "Why can't the fourth estate show some respect for the victims."

"And the killer," Emily interpreted.

"Normally, I'd say no, but she was so lost, Emily. Then Hotch tells me to take the shoe and pretend to be Prince Charming. How can I pretend to be Prince Charming?"

"You said she went for it. You disarmed her, saved a man's life and best of all, you didn't get hurt."

"I know all that," he pulled his hand from hers and stood up.

She watched him go to his chess set and pick up the White Queen. He looked at the piece, set it down, and then knocked it over on its side.

"Spencer!"

He began to laugh, but it was such a bitter laugh, she had to bite the inside of her lip to keep tears back. "Me," he began, "Prince Charming, what a laugh that is. The only woman that ever accepted me for who I am and loved me unconditionally died in front of me and there was nothing I could do."

"Spencer -"

"Don't say it," he snapped. "She was willing to endanger her life, extend her torment so that nothing happened to me! That's crazy, right. I'm no one special."

"You were special to her."

"I got her killed."

Emily went to him and tried to put her arms around him but he pushed her away. "Please don't -"

"You did what you had to do."

Understanding that they were back to Cinderella and Prince Charming, he said softly. "Yeah, I did what I had to do to stop a killer. She was mentally unstable and there was nothing else to do, but play into her fantasy. I should retire and become an actor. I could win an Oscar, don't you think?"

"I know," she began "that Maeve wasn't thinking that you'd come in on the white horse and present her with a glass slipper."

"No, she just expected me to save her from a psycho."

"You loved her and she loved you, but there was no way out. Dianne was determined to kill herself."

"Yes, I was determined to save Maeve, but my will wasn't enough. Dianne was stronger than me."

"That's not true! You know better than that. Tell me what's really bothering you?"

He turned on her. "I just told you."

"You told me about Maeve, and while I know that was the worst pain of your life, I also know from talking to you over the last year, that you've let go of blaming yourself. Why are you going backward?"

"Do you think I want to go backward?"

"Don't attack me, Spencer. You're the one that sent me that letter. I saw between the lines, that's why I'm here. Talk to me."

He wiped a lone tear from his cheek. "I feel like it's just one thing after the other lately. I get shot, again. Alex leaves and we have to break in a new member of the team. Don't get me wrong, I like Kate a lot. She's really great and funny, too. Then there's the Prince Charming role I had to play. It feels like it's never ending.

I hate this time of year. Everyone's so happy and full of the Spirit of Christmas and all I can think is how much I want it to be over. I want my mother here, healthy and happy. I want Maeve back and kids of my own. I want people to stop hurting each other."

"I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing you can say." He rubbed at his eyes, "I'm really tired."

She didn't smile, but patted his shoulder. "Me too, I think it's time for me to go."

He gestured to the window. "You need a ride?"

"I have a rental car."

"I'm sorry I dumped all over you, Emily."

"It's okay, I only wish there was an easier answer."

He hugged her tight when she put her arms around him. "Me too."

"See you tomorrow?"

"What about your parents?"

"They're in Africa on a winter Safari with Senator Kelly and her family. Maybe we could go out to Denny's or IHOP in the morning. What do you say?"

He nodded. "Alright, sounds better than what I'd have for breakfast here."

"Definitely better than hotel coffee shop food, or room service," Emily quipped.

He finally smiled a smile that reached his eyes. "Having spent the last three days out of town, I can understand you're reluctance."

"I'll pick you up at eight."

"Why so early, I was thinking about brunch?" He complained.

"Alright, 9 A.M. and that's my final offer. I have other plans for us tomorrow."

"You do?"

"Yeah, we might as well have a little fun, don't you think."

He nodded. "Thanks for coming all the way back across the pond for me."

She grinned at him. "I didn't do it just for you. I told you, I need a break.

"I'm still glad."

"Me too… See you tomorrow."