A/N: This story follows 'No Romantic: A Valentine Story', and takes a further look at the developing relationship between Spencer and Emily. This was written a little while ago, while the arc with Prentiss was still ongoing. It falls somewhere between the episodes "Sense Memory" and "Coda".

It's part of a three-story arc, with the third part yet to come.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Criminal Minds. I'm just playing a little :)

The soft whirring of several computers was the only sound that disturbed the silence surrounding Emily Prentiss, and it was nowhere near loud enough to distract her from the jumble of thoughts occupying her brain. Alone in Garcia's lair, at her friend's main desk, she stared at the only lighted screen in the room. She owed Garcia big for finding the information for her, and even bigger for not asking the questions Emily knew weighed heavily on her friend's mind.

Prentiss had given Garcia all the information she possessed on Ian Doyle, and asked her to find any files she could, anywhere in the world – but especially in either Russia or Belgium. She had also begged Garcia not to ask, and promised that she would explain when she could. Emily knew she was taking a risk, because Garcia was too good a hacker not to also find the things Emily might wish to remain hidden. It was an acceptable risk, however, because after her recent confrontation with Doyle, she needed whatever ammunition she could find. Also, she trusted Garcia not to say a word if she promised she wouldn't.

Unfortunately, the information on the screen might just has well have been ancient hieroglyphics, for all the sense it made to her at the moment. There were ledgers in multiple folders, each of which contained rows and rows of either scheduling information – dates and times – or financial information. That would have been wonderful, if not for the fact that interspersed arbitrarily throughout all of the documents were rows of strange strings of data which looked like nothing more than random gobbledygook.

Emily bowed her head over the keyboard and groaned in frustration. This was getting her nowhere, fast. She knew without a doubt that the random nonsense in the files was anything but random. Instead, she was certain it was some form of encryption. Doyle had used such methods before. Try as she might though, she could not detect any pattern or logic to the words and numbers in front of her. All the data in front of her amounted to nothing more than another dead end.

As if that wasn't enough, as Emily laid her head on her arms for a moment's respite from her fruitless task, her mind went to Spencer Reid. It invariably did … every spare moment lately. Just two weeks had gone by since their amazing, unexpected Valentine's date. The chances to spend time alone together since then had been few and far between, but they had made the most of every single one.

It was intoxicating and strange all at the same time how even the thought of Spencer's kiss could make Emily weak with need. They hadn't crossed that final line yet, but Emily just knew it was only a matter of time. Oddly, that conviction she had that it was going to happen made the waiting easier, despite her mounting anticipation.

Her current concern however, was that she knew something was bothering Reid, and he wasn't talking about it. Normally, there was nothing strange about that … Reid was the absolute master at keeping any worry a secret, but she had thought that over the last couple of weeks, he'd gotten comfortable enough to talk to her. It bothered Emily more than she was willing to admit that it might not be the case.

He would never be able to deny it … not even if someone were holding a gun to his head. He, Spencer Reid, was beginning to care a great deal about what happened to his friend, colleague, and very likely soon-to-be lover, Emily Prentiss.

Something was going on with her. She wouldn't tell him what it was and he was trying hard not to push her. He was trying hard just to be there for her. It was difficult though. Spencer knew he wasn't the type to demand answers, and in any case, he trusted his instinct when it came to Emily. If he pushed, she would only shut down, and he would be no closer to the answers he wanted. Instead, he decided to just remind her of his presence, and hope that it would also remind her that he was there if she needed him.

His decision made, Reid unfolded his body from the swivel chair and slowly made his way to Garcia's little office. He had seen Emily head that way earlier, and she hadn't yet returned to the BAU. He did note however that Garcia had left more than an hour ago. Knocking softly, Reid didn't wait for an answer, but instead turned the handle and entered the room quietly.

At the sound of the knock, Emily raised her head from her arms, and had turned around by the time Reid entered the room.

"Hey," she said quietly, the smile in her voice matching the involuntary one on her lips. "PG's not here. She's left for the day already."

"I know." Reid answered just as quietly as he moved fully into the room and shut the door behind him. "I was looking for you actually."

"Oh." For some inexplicable reason, Emily found herself blushing as she looked up into Spencer's serious face as came to stand over her.

Reminding himself why he was there, Reid said, still in the same quiet tone, "I know there's something wrong Emily. Won't you tell me what it is? Maybe I could help."

In the instant that Emily understood the exact cause of Reid's reticent behavior over the last couple of days, she also noticed his eyes flick to the screen behind her. With a barely audible gasp, she turned around and quickly pressed the button to turn the monitor off.

Emily turned back to find Reid watching her implacably, no indication on his face to give away his feelings about what she had just done. Instead of questioning her, he merely reached out and took her hand in his, tugging her gently up out of the chair and into his arms.

As Spencer's long arms wrapped around her and drew her in close to the warmth of his body, Emily experienced a moment of stunning epiphany. She was a heartbeat away from falling in love with the young genius. His quiet, often studied cluelessness masked a remarkable sensitivity to the needs of others. It was a side he almost never exposed, yet he had chosen to share it with her. Emily hugged him back fiercely, her emotions threatening to overtake her.

After a long moment, Emily drew back slightly in the circle of Spencer's arms. His soft gaze captured her own and an almost indulgent smile played about his lips. All at once, Emily felt guilty for keeping her secret from him, yet she couldn't bring herself to tell him, her desire to protect him overriding everything else.

Still, she tried to give him something. Meeting his eyes, she started, "When this is all over …"

She was interrupted by the press of one long, slender finger against her lips.

"Don't promise something you might not be able to give, Emily." His smile widened into a look she somehow knew few people had ever seen, tender and almost caressing, his lips in a sexy little pout, "You'll tell me if and when you can."

Again, Emily felt that tug in the pit of her stomach, and she did the only thing she could. Pursing her lips, she kissed the digit pressed against them. She had a single moment to register the tremor that shook his body, and then Spencer's mouth was pressed hard against her own, his tongue almost aggressively seeking hers. Those long, graceful fingers threaded their way through her hair as he deepened the kiss even further. His soft moan could only be described as needy, triggering a similar response from her.

Long minutes later, he eased them out of the lip-lock, continuing to press tiny kisses against her mouth as their racing heartbeats slowed.

"Have dinner with me?" He murmured, his eyes never leaving hers.

Smiling her second real smile of the day, she said yes.

Reid made a point of looking away as Emily turned the computer monitor back on and closed the file she had been reading before they left the room together, locking the door behind them.

He had only had a less than fifteen second glimpse of the screen, but he was who he was. It had been enough.

Four days later, Emily was seated at her desk, having arrived extra early to complete her case reports. A shadow fell over the pages in front of her, and she looked up to see Spencer standing next to her. He put something down on the desk in front of her and immediately thrust his hands into his pockets.

She picked it up, curious. It was a compact disc in a paper sleeve.

"What's this?"

"It's a key." He stared intently at her, but answered almost diffidently. "It's the key, actually."

"Key to what?" Emily sounded as confused as she looked. Leaning back in her chair, she absently pushed dark hair out of her face as she waited for further explanation. It was Reid, after all. There was bound to be more, if she was only patient.

Her patience was rewarded with a shocking admission. "It's the key to the encrypted file you were looking at in Garcia's office."

Emily's mouth dropped open in utter shock and she could only stutter inelegantly, "Where did … what … how did you know?"

Rocking back nervously on his heels, Spencer chose to answer the last of her questions first. "I saw the file on the screen and figured it was what had been troubling you. I wanted to help."

Glancing quickly at her, Spencer noticed that Emily still seemed to be stunned. Then she asked, "But where did you get this?"

"I wrote it."

"Wrote it? But … but how?" Emily hated that she was still stuttering foolishly, and made a visible effort to pull herself together. "You never even read the file. I know PG wouldn't have shown you."

"I wouldn't have asked her to." Reid answered quickly. "But I did see it when you were there."

"Yeah, sure," Emily scoffed, "for about ten seconds!"

"Closer to fifteen, actually." He corrected, still sounding very nervous. "It was more than enough."

When she raised one eyebrow curiously, Reid admitted, "Eidetic memory. And I like logic puzzles. It was enough."

Spencer waited anxiously for her response. It had been a calculated risk that he took, reasoning that even if Emily was angry with him for reading the file and finding out a part of her secret, she was smart enough to understand the value of the decryption program he had written for her and use it.

If she wanted to end this fledgling … thing … between them because of what he'd done, maybe knowing what was in that file would keep her safe, and that right there was even worth the risk of losing what he desperately hoped they were becoming.

He'd thought he was prepared for anything, but it turned out not to be true. Reid was stunned when Emily, his by-the-book, never-in-the-open Emily, flung her arms around him and hugged him hard.

"Thank you, Spencer." She whispered fiercely into his ear. "I just … I … thank you."

"You're welcome, Emily." He murmured back, looking around. They were in full view of … well, actually no-one, as the room was uncharacteristically empty, probably owing to the earliness of the hour. Still, when she pulled back from the embrace, he let her go willingly, leaning against her desk as she sat back down staring at the disc she still held.

Suddenly, she laughed huskily, the sound sending a shiver skittering up his spine.

"Trust a genius to figure everything out." She shook her head in amazement. He could tell she was pleased.

Watching her, Spencer knew he had to take another risk. The question was eating at him, and he had to know the answer … if there even was one.

"Em, can I ask you something?"

When she murmured her consent, he waited until she looked away from the disc and up at him.

"Why didn't you ask me for help?" Reid forced himself not to look away as Emily's eyes darkened slightly. "You know my skills, Emily. Don't you know I would have done it, and never asked a single question why?"

Again, he had managed to stun her. Again, she was looking at him with her mouth gaping gracelessly. Emily could see in the set of Reid's shoulders his anxiety about her answer. As she sought to make sense of her chaotic thoughts, a single ray of understanding pierced her brain, and immediately she knew the answer to Spencer's question. She blurted it out.

"I didn't want to use you."

It was her awestruck tone that made Reid realize that Emily had surprised herself with her answer.

"Use me?"

"We're in a relationship." Emily clarified. "I guess I didn't want you to think I was using you to get what I needed. I didn't do it on purpose."

The last sentence was said with a hint of a plea. Reid hardly noticed. His brain had latched on to one thing and refused to relinquish it.

"A relationship?" He queried, almost in a whisper.

Once again, as Spencer's eyes locked with hers, Emily blushed. This time it was a deep, rosy hue that suffused her cheeks as she answered in a sibilant whisper, suddenly shy, "Yes."

The earlier hug might have been able to be passed off as a friendly gesture, had anyone seen them. They were lucky however that there was still no one around, because what Reid did next could never have appeared innocent. Reaching out, he traced one finger from her temple, along her cheek then across her slightly parted lips in a gesture of profound tenderness and startling intimacy.

As Emily smiled up at him, the promise of things to come written in both their eyes, she realized something. Doyle had been wrong. Her life was not the thing she valued most, at least not in the way he thought. It was infinitely precious to her; now more than ever, she needed to be alive. She would fight harder than ever to gain the future she saw waiting for her in Spencer Reid's warm brown eyes.

FIN