Authors Note: This story is the sequel to "In a different light". It is set somewhere in season 5, and is slightly AU as Garcia and Kevin is broken up in this storyline. This sequel can stand alone but makes more sense when you have read "In a different light".
Chapter 1:
"Baby Doll, I need some intel on a black SUV. I'm going to give you a partial sequence of a license plate. Can you run it for me?" "Yes, I need it in the speed of light. I'm sure that's doable, my tech queen?" "Ouch, you're making me blush. Yeah, it's possible, believe it nor not. Haha….Love you too, Baby Doll!"
Morgan had a wry smile on his face as he hung up on Garcia. It seemed to Reid, that Garcia always had that effect on Morgan. Now he came to think of it, he never knew a time when the two of them hadn't flirted with or teased each other in a friendly matter. From his first day at the BAU he had experienced it, and had gotten used to it. Sometimes Garcia had teased him, and he thought he once and awhile had caught her flirt with him. Just like she did with Morgan, in a friendly matter. She never seemed to do it much with Hotch or Rossi. Probably because she was their subordinate and she felt it would be out of place.
But lately her friendly flirtation with Reid had stopped. At first he hadn't really noticed. And he really didn't care. At first. It really wasn't something he gave much thought. The thought just sometimes popped into his mind, why she had stopped. There had to be some kind of explanation behind it, he had reasoned. It was only every once awhile, he came to think of it. Morgan's last conversation with Garcia made his mind walk that trail of thoughts again.
And there was another odd thing, something totally out of place. Lately Reid felt it was somewhat weird every time Morgan said "I love you" to Garcia. And another feeling he couldn't quite figure out, when Garcia said it to Morgan. That confused him. He'd never given that a second thought before. Basically he just didn't understand why they had to say it to each other all the time.
In the last months Garcia and Reid had become good friends. It was something new to him, having a close friend like that. The whole BAU team was his family, but Garcia was his friend. Maybe that was why he had given it all so much thought lately. Friends are supposed to watch each others backs after all. When a friend changes, you make sure she's alright. That was the somewhat odd thing about it all. Garcia seemed okay, and everything was as it used to be. Except that she no longer flirted with him in that friendly way she used to. She had closed that part of herself off to him. He couldn't explain why, but he felt somewhat left out. That made him sad, because he enjoyed spending time with her. Since that weekend after Kevin and her broke up, they had spent time outside the BAU at least a couple of times every month. It wasn't always easy with their somewhat crazy schedule, but they both made an effort trying to find the time. Gradually he'd begun to feel more comfortable and relaxed around her, as they spend more and more time together. Their mutual affection for coffee often led their walks to a café or a coffee shop after work. The movies were another of their mutual interests, and therefore they somewhat often went there. At the BAU Reid found that he more often than before would step by Garcia's tech cave and talk to her while she typed on at her screens. He'd noticed early that the chain ring with the small teddy bear he'd won her at the Fun Fair had a central place in the midst of her colorful trinkets at her table, like it had a special importance to her. The thought gave him a funny feeling in his abdomen, which he couldn't quite place.
Now he came to think of it, those "funny feelings" as he named them in lack of a more appropriate term, happened more and more often, always when he was around Garcia or thought of her. Mostly he'd just ignored them, and concentrated on the task at hand. There were always one more unsub to catch, and he needed to be one step ahead of the bad guy every time.
He never gave himself time to think it all through. It would come to him in bits and pieces, tugging at the edge of his thoughts. But he couldn't let go of that last phone call Morgan had with Garcia. It was the whole "I love you" – thing that annoyed him again. Since when had it begun to annoy him? He couldn't figure out precisely what he felt about it. There was annoyance, sadness and a bunch of other feelings mixed up inside him.
Basically he' just…he felt…he was…he was jealous?
And then all the pieces came together in a perfect fit. The realization shook him like a thunderbolt. It shook him so hard, that he only discovered he had spoken the words out loud after they had left his mouth.
"I'm in love with Garcia?"
