Chapter 1

Cat never thought you find someone. From that horrible day so many years ago she knew her life would be a lonely one. It was all about survival, constantly looking over her shoulder, fearing that he would find her and finish what he had started. That mindset became second nature to Cat. Rosie and Michael had taught her well and while she knew they would protect her, Cat still took care to learn how to fend for herself. But then the man from the bookstore came into her life.

Whenever she had a morning start at the hospital she always went to the bookstore by her work. They had a coffee in there so she got to look for a new book and get a decent coffee. The hospital's always tasted kind of funky. She sat at the same table, in the same chair so she could have a clear view of the entrance, just to watch and make sure no one suspicious walked in and gave her reason to worry. But in the past two weeks Cat started to notice a man sitting a few tables away watching her. He seemed fairly harmless; kind of cute in a dorky way. His mop of messy brown hair falling into his beautiful brown eyes. Cat started to secretly watch him too, the way he managed to fly through books unbelievably fast, almost as if he wasn't actually reading them at all. She had heard the man speak so you were sure it wasn't…him.

She was curious about the man in the bookstore. What did he do? Why was he always here when she was? Did he think she was cute too? Could he actually read books that fast? And most importantly, what was his name? However, she was careful not to develop a crush on him since nothing could ever happen between the two of them. It wasn't possible with the way her life revolved around being watchful and secretive. She had let herself exceed and stand out in high school and college. And even some of her work as a neurosurgeon had been published, what with that groundbreaking study and trial on Alzheimer's blowing other surgeons in her field away. But Michael had said her genius needed to be shared, he couldn't hold her back too much.

Cat was a child prodigy, graduating high school at age 14, going to Harvard Medical School and residency program, and then going to Mass Gen to complete her fellowship in Neurosurgery. She became the youngest Attending Neurosurgeon at 24. She would have stayed longer at Mass Gen if Rosie hadn't been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer last year, so instead she transferred to Bethesda General Hospital in Quantico to help Michael take care of her. Since then she had gotten a little better but the doctors still keep constant watch on her. It was good for Cat to be here for Rosie since she was the only family Cat had left, after that day so long ago. Their cries always haunted her. But with work and taking care of Rosie she never had any free time to really think about it too much.

But today she let herself take a risk and do something for her. So, rather than watching the dorky man two table away like she always did, Cat closed her book, grabbed her purse, and went to the counter to buy two chocolate chip muffins. When the barista gave them to her, she walked over to the man and put one on his table.

"Muffin?" Cat asked.

He look up at her with a bewildered expression. "What? Uh…oh…hi…what?"

"I thought we've watched each other enough, might as well introduce ourselves. My name's Cat. Would you like a muffin?" she answered with a big smile. He really was kind of cute.

"Oh, um, yes. Thank you. I, uh…I haven't been watching you." He moved the plate closer to him and broke off a piece. He glanced up at her with a small innocent smile.

"Oh yes you have. I've noticed how you always glance over and watch me read when I'm here. You look back down at your book with a blush whenever we make eye contact." She giggled as he started to blush again.

"Okay, you caught me. I guess I'm not as sneaky as I thought. I'll have to work on that since subtlety is part of my job. My name is Spencer. Spencer Reid. It's nice to actually meet you Cat." He motioned to the chair across from him and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too Spencer." Her smile grew as she sat down across from him.