As Spencer Reid entered the bullpen, he had a wide smile on his face. He was in a good mood that day, as of last night, his headache had eased up to the point he could tolerate lights again and he had meet someone too.
Noticing, Morgan said, "Why so happy, Pretty Boy."
"Just in a good mood." The genius responded.
"All right, who is she?"
"She is the most wonderful, beautiful woman ever. Her name is Kayla and she's just amazing."
"My man." Morgan smirked.
"It's nothing like that yet."
"I figured." Reid rolled his eyes.
"I need a cup of coffee, do you want any?"
"Sure, just some milk and a spoon full of sugar."
While on his way to the break room, Morgan could hear him whistling.
"Good morning." Reid had said as he had pasted Prentiss.
"Hi." She continued to her desk. "Reid seems in a good mood." She commented to Morgan.
"Our boy is in love."
"Do tell."
"All I know is her name is Kayla and amazingly beautiful." He filled her in.
"Hum, no last name?"
"If she has one, I don't know it."
"It's Dunbar." Reid said, returning and handing Morgan his coffee.
"Sorry, I had to know why you were in such a good mood this morning." Prentiss said.
"Oh, I don't mind." Reid answered. "I mean it wasn't anything bad, so..."
"Do you mind if we ask some other questions?" Morgan tried.
Reid shrugged. And so it began, "Where did you meet her?"
"I know it sounds like a cliché, but I just sort of bumped into her."
"Did you hurt her?" He asked.
"No," He paused, "she hurt me." He lifted the sleeve of his right arm to show a three inch scratch.
"Ow." Prentiss flinched. "So what happened after that?"
"Well, more cliché. She offered to mare it up by buying me a coffee. I said, 'how about you take me, but I'll pay. And now we're going to meet up again on Friday."
"So when are we going to meet her?" Morgan asked.
"We'll see how things go Friday. And I have to ask if she would be ready."
"So maybe on Monday, she could come with you."
"If she wants, I'm not going to rush her. I don't want to scare her away."
"Reid, you could never scare anyone away." Prentiss comforted him.
"Unless you talk too much about one subject." Morgan joked.
"Actually, she loves when I do."
"Wow, she sounds like the girl of your dreams."
"Again, I'll say, we'll see how it goes."
"Well, good for you Reid, I hope she makes you happy."
"She does." He smiled and began to pull out a file to work on.
Something about her gave him confidence. He didn't hesitate before knocking on her door or as he decided to lean on one of the supports of the porch.
He smiled when he heard her sequel in excitement and when she threw opens the door. "Spencer, I'm so glad to see you."
"Hi." He gave his usual wave, of habit. "I thought it'd be nice to just get something to eat."
"Cool, sticking with clichés, I like it." He nodded with a chuckle. "So where are we going?"
"Do you like Applebee's? That was the only place I could think of."
"Sounds perfect."
It was only a fifteen minute drive to the nearest one.
Upon entering the restaurant, Spencer and Kayla were greeted by a cheery hostess that reminded Reid of Garcia. "Table for two." He said.
"Right this way." she said, leading them to a booth near the bar area. "So, we've been extremely slow tonight and we let most people go home early and so I will also be your waitress for the evening. My name is Maxine. I'll give you a moment to decide on a drink."
"Do you know what you want?" he asked Kayla.
"Umm, I'll have a coffee."
When Maxine came back, he ordered the two coffees. As she went to get the coffee, the pair looked over the menus. Again, Reid asked, "Do you know what you'd like?"
"I'll have the three cheese chicken penne."
I figure we'll go with a two-for-twenty are you all right with mozzarella sticks?"
"That's fine with me." She responded. "I'll be right back though, I need to use the ladies' room."
Reid nodded. As Kayla rounded the end booth, Maxine returned to set the pair of mugs down. "Have you reached a decision?"
"Yes, we're going to go with the two-for-twenty. She'll be having the three cheese chicken penne, I'll have the seven ounce steak, medium rare, and the mozzarella sticks."
"I'll have that back to you in no time." As she left, Kayla returned to her seat, and after a few minutes later, Maxine was bring their food out.
"Thank you." Reid said to her.
"You're welcome, dear."
Reid started to cut into steak when he noticed that Kayla hadn't even made to grasp her fork. "Are you feeling all right?" he asked.
"Huh, yeah, I just lost my appetite all of a sudden. Sorry. Feel free to take your time though." She said.
"Are you sure, you don't need to go to the hospital or anything?"
"No, just not hungry."
"Well, now I feel bad."
"Don't. Now eat." she demanded.
He was only able to eat a few bites before he had to stop again. "I can't eat like this. How about we head back to my place and we can just hang out and talk or whatever."
"Sounds good, let's go."
Just then, as if on cue, Maxine came over. "Everything all right over here?"
"Yes, just fine. Can I have the check, please?"
"Sure thing." She left and returned a moment later.
When he looked at the price, he was surprised to see that it was half of what it should have been. He placed a twenty and a ten in the pocket then stood, saying, "Ready?"
She nodded and followed him out. The twenty minute ride was filled with a comfortable silence and they passed the world by.
"We're here; home, sweet, home." Reid said as he cut the engine.
"It's a beautiful place." Reid smiled and led her into his apartment.
"So, what was your childhood like?" he asked her after having a few minutes' worth of conversation.
"I honestly don't remember one. What about you?"
"Since I feel I can be honest with you and I can feel I can trust you, I will tell you. My father left when I was little and half the time I was taking care of my schizophrenic mother, I was bullied throughout high school which I graduated at twelve. As horrible as it sounds, it made me who I am and I wouldn't change it."
"I'm sorry to hear it wasn't a very happy one."
He shrugged. "What can I do? I feel like I've seen you before." he admitted.
"By the sound of your job, you don't get out much. Where do you do your shopping?"
"Price Chopper."
"Hum, I go to Wal-Mart. Uh, I don't really go anywhere else. Do you frequent that coffee shop?"
"No, that was my first time going in there."
"Ever been to a drug-user anonymous meeting?"
"A few times."
"So have I, dilaudid."
"Same, over three year's clean." he said proudly.
"Same here, so what ones have you gone to?"
"They were all for police forces."
"I always snuck into those. I'd listen to everyone but never actually talk; you know since I wasn't supposed to be there. That must be where you recognize me from. Wow, what are the odds?"
Reid opened his mouth and closed it; he opened it again and said, "I don't know."
They talked with ease back and forth for almost three hours before either realized they could hardly see each other in the darkened room. "You probably want to be getting back home soon..." Reid trailed off, standing and turning a light on. Kayla made a noise, almost in protest, but stood up to stretch anyways. Reid had sat back down to put his shoes back on when she squealed in delight; he gave he a quizzical look.
"You ware miss-matched socks too." she pointed.
"Well, yeah, they're supposed to be-"
"Good luck." the ended together.
"Finally, someone who understands me." Reid said, finishing tying his converse.
He sighed and said, "Let's go."
When they were both buckled in and the engine started, Kayla asked, "Do you fear that you'll become schizophrenic like your mother?"
"Yes, every day. Before you ran into me, I had these extreme migraines, sensitivity to light, there were days where I almost had to take days at a time off from work. There were days when I should have but didn't. I've been to countless doctors; they all say it's nothing physical. I would yell at them because I truly believe that I don't... I won't become like my mother, where I'm imagining things that aren't. Yes, I am still very much fearful, but since that day, I have not had one, it all just vanished."
Kayla nodded sadly and quietly said, "I am so very sorry."
Moments later, Reid was pulling into her driveway. "I want you to meet my team." he blurted out."
"Okay, when?"
"Tomorrow? As soon as possible? Soon? When do you want to?"
"Tomorrow if fine. What time?"
"Noon, we'll be starting our lunch break, so come then."
"Sure, I'll see you, and your team, then."
A/N: I have this planned out for once, I plan on this being a four-shot, I know where this is going and how it ends, I have it written out on paper and it's a matter of typing it up, which I am very slow at, but I have almost half of the next chapter typed. One last thing before I type this, I do not own Criminal Minds or anything else you may recognize.