Author's Note

I'm baaaaaack :) No, I have not died. I have no idea where this idea came to me but it just did one day and I started looking for a story with the Reid/Haley pairing but I couldn't find any *tear* So I decided to write one of my own. It feel kind of weird being the first to write this pairing, like I'm not sure if it could work out or not since nobody has done it before.

This (obviously) takes place before Haley is killed but after she divorced Hotch. Also, this is my first attempt at something in the "romance" genre so be warned that it could turn out totally corny or terrible. Reid is probably a little out of character since, after all, a romance is involved and I've never written a romance before.

I don't own Criminal Minds nor the characters. All mistakes are my own.

Spencer Reid lazily sprawled out on his couch and sipped his Sprite, flipping on the television to a documentary on how the Earth was made. He felt his eye lids slowly drift close as sleep slowly came to him. He was jarred awake by the sound of his phone ringing.

"If this is a case…" he grumbled to himself and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He dug his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID and frowned in confusion.

Haley Hotchner.

"Hello?" he answered uncertainly.

"Dr. Reid?" came the female voice of Hotch's ex-wife.

"Ms. Hotchner, is everything alright?" Reid's FBI side immediately kicked in, automatically assuming something was wrong for her to call him. He stood up from his worn, brown sofa and began pulling on his Converse while balancing his phone between his ear and shoulder.

"I'm fine, everything's fine," she quickly assured him.

Reid stopped rushing around and his brow furrowed, "Then what's wrong?"

"Just… could you maybe come over?" she asked uncertainly.

"Excuse me?" Reid said in disbelief.

"Could you come over?" she repeated, more confidently this time.

"I-I… sure, I guess," he stuttered out.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

Half an hour later, Reid found himself standing in front of Haley Hotchner's front door. It has been three months since she and Hotch divorced and Reid couldn't help but feel extremely awkward standing at his boss' ex-wife's house in the middle of the night.

He sighed; he didn't even know why he was here. Maybe she needed help with Jack or something? Reid shook his head, why would she call him for something like that? He didn't really know her that well, only meeting her a few times in the past in the occasional visit to the BAU or barbeque with the whole BAU team.

He was about to turn and just leave when the door opened and Reid saw Ms. Hotchner standing in the doorway. Her blonde hair hung just at her shoulders, slightly disheveled. She was wearing a knee-length, snow white, sleeveless sleeping gown and fuzzy, white slippers. She wasn't wearing any make-up to cover up her tired and worn expression. Her face broke out into a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Do… do you want to come in?" she asked shyly.

"Sure…" he said and stepped inside the home.

The house smelt slightly of peppermint and something at a cross between chocolate and cookies. Reid turned when he heard the front door close quietly. Ms. Hotchner met his eyes and smiled shyly again.

Reid cleared his throat awkwardly, "Hi."

"Hi," she replied. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, studying each other. Reid couldn't help but profile her. She was shifting her weight foot to foot and biting her lower lip as if thinking about some type of decision.

"Did you need something?" Reid finally broke the silence.

She smiled bashfully, "I was actually hoping for someone to talk to. My sister is out of the state for work and I don't have many other friends and you always seemed so…. Easy to talk to."

Reid felt a blush creep up his cheeks, "Well, I, uh… t-thank you."

"Do you want something to drink? Coffee, maybe?" she asked and began walking in the direction of the kitchen.

"Coffee is fine, thank you," he said, thankful for something to take away the awkwardness of the situation.

He watched her small frame prepare the coffee machine and Reid though about something casual to say.

"How's Jack doing, Ms. Hotchner?" he asked and leaned nonchalantly against the wall like it was completely normal to be hanging out with Hotch's ex-wife.

"Oh, please call me Haley," she said as she poured the coffee beans into the machine.

"Haley," Reid tested the name on his tongue. Okay, so now they were on a first-name basis. Nothing weird about that… right? He couldn't help but feel guilty about this whole thing, almost like he was cheating with Haley. Stop, he immediately told himself, you're just here to talk, nothing more.

He was brought out of his inner conversation by Haley's voice.

"Jack's been better," she said and sighed sadly as she turned back around to meet Reid's gaze, "I don't think he fully understands what's going on."

Reid nodded sadly in understanding, "My father left us when I was at a very young age… it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to go through. But it does eventually get easier." He attempted to comfort the woman.

She frowned, "I'm sorry about your dad."

"It was a long time ago," he shrugged off her sympathy.

They elapsed into yet another awkward silence.

"Where's Jack now?" Reid asked and then immediately scolded himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Upstairs sleeping," she said and jerked her chin towards the stair case to Reid's left.

"Ah," he nodded.

Reid shifted his weight and rolled his shoulders back as things got awkward again. Haley ran her hand through her blonde hair and smiled at Reid.

"You look… different," she commented.

Reid felt his cheeks warm again, "Is that good or bad?"

"Oh, good. Very good…" Haley's eyes roamed over Reid's body and he felt the urge to squirm under her gaze.

Haley's eyes met Reid's yet again and an embarrassed blush colored her cheeks. She opened her mouth to apologize but the coffee machine behind her beeped, signaling the coffee was done. She turned around to tend to the coffee, "You like yours sweet, right?"

"How'd you know?" he asked in surprise.

Haley laughed slightly, "Aaron used to talk about how you use up almost a whole bag of sugar in a week for your coffee."

From behind, Reid could tell her whole demeanor changed at the mention of her ex-husband. Her shoulders sagged slightly and she slouched down slightly. Reid frowned and knew he should do something to comfort her but he didn't know what to do.

He hesitantly walked over to her and placed a hand on her should, hopefully in a comforting way but Reid felt as if it came off as awkward. She stiffened at first to his touch but then, startling Reid, she turned around and threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly.

He froze, completely unsure as to how to respond. After a few moments of shock, he slowly wrapped his arms around the shaking woman. He felt her tears on his shoulder as she wept.

"I-I miss him so much," she whispered into his chest through her tears.

He began to rub small, circles into her back with his fingers in attempt to sooth her.

"Shh, it'll all be okay," he whispered and continued to rub her back.

"I just… I'm so lonely all the time a-and n-nobody cares!" she all but yelled.

"I care," he whispered and held her slightly tighter to his chest without even thinking about it.

Haley pulled away from him just enough to look him in the eyes. That was when all time stopped. Reid knew he should say something, pull away, run screaming, anything, but he couldn't bring himself to move from the embrace. Eyes locked, Haley slowly stood up on her toes and leaned in to kiss him.

As soon as their lips connected, Reid felt a jolt of electricity run front his lips down his spine. The kiss was sloppy- tongue filled with teeth clashing.

No, no, no, NO! He screamed at himself, STOP!

But he couldn't. Haley kissed him furiously, as if she would die the moment they stopped. And Reid kissed her back with the same intensity. He could taste the slight tang of saltiness from her tears on her lips. Her hands moved away from his neck and trailed down his chest. Reid jumped slightly when her cool fingers met the bare skin of his chest as she slipped her hand under his shirt. Goosebumps rose on his flesh and he moaned when she dug her nails gently down on the tender skin.

But as soon as her hand touched the belt on his pants, he yanked himself away from her. He stumbled backwards and rammed his back into the wall hard enough to leave a bruise.

"W-we can't… I… no," he stuttered. His face was flushed from the kiss and he felt his shirt hanging slightly out of his pants. Haley's eyes were slightly glazed over, her hair more disheveled than before, when she wrapped her arms around herself protectively.

"I'm sorry," she said in a voice just above a whisper and stared down at the slippers on her feet.

Reid swallowed audibly and stared at the emotionally broken woman standing just a few feet in front of him. Logically, the only reason she was acting this way is because she's in a fragile state of mind and she's craving the attention and touch was the automatic response his mind told him.

"I'm… I have to leave now," he said weakly and stumbled over to the door out.

"Wait!" she said almost hysterically and reached out to grab his arm.

He barely dodges her touch and practically ran out of the room and out the door. He barely noticed the cool gust of wind ruffle his hair and clothes as he jogged out to his car. He yanked open the door and practically dove inside.

He ran his hand across his face as he started up the car, what the hell was he suppose to do now?

Yeeeeaaah, not too sure I like how this turned out :/ But then again, the beginning of the stories are always (to me) the hardest to write.

Reviews are welcomed with open arms!