"Dr Reid?" Somebody called, I turned around to see a petite young woman with bright red hair and sparkling green eyes.
"Sorry do I..?" I trailed off as I came to the sudden conclusion that she was actually rather pretty.
"Oh... Sorry. You must save people's lives so often in your line of work that they all run together. I'm Sally. Sally Matthews" She rambled.
"No.. I remember you. You changed your hair colour" I explained. She smiled a little and I realised she must be at Quantico for a reason.
"Why are you here?" I asked her as soon as the thought occurred.
"I'm in training. I came to get a psych eval before I can finish my FBI training" She replied, smiling even more when she talked about her training.
"Who's doing your eval?" I inquired.
"Aaron Hotchner, he's actually late" She said, angry at being kept waiting. I see Hotch walking towards us with a look of determination etched across his face.
"Miss Matthews. Sorry for my tardiness. If you'd like to follow me I'll take you to my office" He greeted her quickly and efficiently. He began to walk towards the bullpen expecting us to follow him. We did, striding purposefully behind him and up to the bullpen, we arrived there in moments. JJ walked toward us and smiled, shaking Sally's hand.
"Sally, it's been a while" She said happily.
"Yeah, a year? I should thank you for talking to me back then, you helped me a lot" She mumbled, a little embarrassed.
"It was nothing, so Hotch is doing you psych eval?"
"Yeah, I guess they thought it was fitting" she laughed a little before the ghost of what she'd been through passed across her face.
"Miss Matthews if you'd like to come up to my office. Reid? Could you get her something to drink?" He asked.
"Sure" I nodded before turning to look at Sally.
"Tea please. Really strong with no sugar" She smiled and walked behind Hotch and up to his office. He closed the door behind them. I went to the kitchen to make Sally's tea and I got Hotch some coffee. He'd only just got in and was likely to need it. I walked up to Hotch's office and knocked on the door before entering. I handed Sally her tea, she took a sip and smiled brightly.
"Thankyou" She smiled again before staring down at her tea cup as if she was embarrassed. I walked around Hotch's desk and set his coffee down, he looked up and nodded at me thankfully. I went to leave the room but decided to risk another look at Sally before I left. Our eyes met across the room and we stared at each other for the longest of moments before she broke away. I left and I closed the door behind me. I walked down the stairs and sat at my desk, glancing at the Manila folder in front of me.
"So Pretty Boy, who's the girl?" Morgan asked from his desk. "Sally Matthews, we worked her case two years ago" I replied quickly.
"Ah, yeah I remember. Blind unsub abducting and killing women" He remembered.
"She looks different don't you think?" I pondered.
"Since when do you notice how a girl looks? But yeah she does, new hair, tattoos and she's lost a lot of weight" Morgan said.
"Being held captive by a madman is enough to make you reinvent yourself" I explain. I turn back to my desk and get back to my paper work.
Sally POV
"You can call me Sally you know Agent Hotchner, I'd actually prefer it" I said calmly, trying to diffuse the tension.
"So Sally, what made you want to join the FBI?" He asked, I got the feeling that he was always very straight the the point.
"You're rather straight to the point aren't you? Sorry we're talking about me aren't we. Well... It was you. All of you I mean for starters you saved my life and then last year I saw a news report where Agent Morgan admitted being a victim of a serial offender and I was in awe. Before I knew it I'd sent in my application and was asking JJ to write me a recommendation.
I was struggling before I saw that report, I was too thin, I was sad and I had no purpose after leaving college but I was inspired. I don't want other people to feel the way I was feeling. I want to save them" I explained, I realised that for the first time in a long time I had bared my true emotions to somebody. He took some notes and looked at me again.
"Do you suffer from nightmares about your ordeal?" He inquires.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. What I went through was horrific and it would have broken me had I not been so worried about my mom. Of course I relive it sometimes in my dreams that's natural right? It helps me process it more thoroughly"
"How do you feel on a daily basis?" He asks. The question confused me, it was more generic but it felt good to get past my issues.
"Better lately, happy even. Training makes me happy it means I'm working towards a future where I can help people" I explained, a smile passed across my face"
"What are your personal relationships like?"
"Good I guess, I fight with my Mom and my sisters sometimes but that's natural when you're similar. I don't see my brother much, haven't really since I was sixteen and I get on with my friends quite well, boys and girls. I broke up with my boyfriend a few months ago, we're still good friends. I generally get on well with people I meet I guess"
"Do you often take unnecessary risks?"
"No, not really. I tend to think before I act and I've always been careful"
"What is your sex life like?"
"Such a personal question Agent Hotchner... I'd say normal, I don't tend to have sex with people I'm not in a relationship with and I'm not in one right now. But I suppose you mean what do I like? What arouses me? Sexual deviance isn't really my thing. I like consensual, normal sex" I felt bad trying to make him awkward but I wanted to see the emotions I had seen in him two years ago. That mix of muted anger and relief when they found me, he'd become involved with my case. I saw the way he shifted slightly in his seat after hearing my answer, the way his pupils dilated a little and I had my reaction. I felt a little happier, more relaxed. I drank some of my tea and I noticed how cool it was getting so I drank it all.
"What scares you?"
"Not much anymore. I survived being abducted and tortured over a period of two months I think after that I can handle the dark, spiders and clowns" I giggle a little to mask the pain.
"You're trying to make light of the situation. Do you do that a lot?" He inquires, he looks concerned.
"I.. I guess so. It helps me cope with what happened to me. How would you react? Let me guess. You'd lock it up inside you and compartmentalise it to the extreme" I reply a little snarkily.
"How do you know this?" He asks, inquisitive.
"I know what you've been through and I can see it. Your posture is rigid, you hold yourself in check. You're a dad which means you have to be able to separate being a profiler and being a father you can compartmentalise well. You can see what you have to see on a daily basis and not be in a corner crying and screaming. Oh and I know you're a dad because I see that picture of your son reflected in the mirrored clock behind you. It's the only personal item in this whole office which makes me think he's the most important thing in your life and what could be more important to a person than their own child?"
"I think we're about done" he said. Resigned as if he'd come to a reasonable conclusion.
"Okay. Thankyou Agent Hotchner" I smiled at him, a little nervous and I was over analysing what his conclusion could have been.
"Call me Hotch. It was nice seeing you again Sally" He extended his hand and I shook it.
"You too. Thankyou again, for saving my life and requesting to do my psych eval" I smirked and turned to leave.
"How did you know?"
"Your behaviour Hotch" I smiled and picked up my cup and walked out the door. I walked to Dr Reid's desk.
"Can you show me to the kitchen? I'd like to wash my cup" He seemed startled.
"Okay..." He got up and he led the way to the kitchen.
"Did I scare you?" I asked.
"What? No" He sputtered
"Are you sure? You jumped when I spoke and you hesitated when you answered me as if you were still processing and absorbing what I'd said" I explained happily as I placed my cup in the sink and turned on the faucet. I washed my cup quickly and efficiently before turning off the water and drying my hands.
"You're profiling me Dr Reid I can see you watching my every move and calculating it - I looked into his eyes and for a moment I was trapped. It was like I could see the wheels turning in his mind , I looked away. - Will you walk me out?" I asked, daring to hope for a moment that he is as intrigued by me as I am by him.
"Of course I will" He agreed and began walking.
"Do you like what you do Dr Reid?" I asked.
"Yes, I do. I help people and I fit in, all my life I've never fitted in and when I'm here... I belong" he explained.
"I like you Dr Reid, your intelligent. Thankyou for walking me out" I stopped just before the door and I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Blushing, I went to leave. I turned to look back once more.
"Goodbye... Spencer" I smiled, despite the unfamiliarity of his name on my lips I liked it. I turned and I left.