Spencer Reid turned his key in the door of his apartment and swung it open. He was about to flick the light switch on, but saw that the room was already lit with dozens of candles. That familiar beaming smile greeted him. "You're back!" she said.
An uncontrolled grin spread across his face. "What's all this?" he asked with joy saturating his voice. He went to Maeve and wrapped his arms around her waist. A deafening boom of thunder roared outside, lightening struck like muzzle flashes, but they paid no attention. She returned his embrace.
"Well, the power went out, and I couldn't find any flashlights. And then I figured…this might be a nice thing to come home to."
"It is," he murmured. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. All those nights of coming home to a dark empty apartment… Now he had someone to rush home to.
She broke their kiss and smiled at him. "You haven't seen the best part." His brow furrowed inquisitively. She took his hand and led him to a corner of the room where the record player was kept. She crouched down, looking for something. "I did some digging, and…" she held up a record sleeve "…look what I found." He took it from her, examining the familiar album artwork. "Remember that?"
"How could I forget?" They chuckled to each other. 'Sleepwalk' the cover read, 'by Santo and Johnny'. He took the disk out of its sleeve. "Let's put it on." He slid it into place, and the needle glided over the even grooves of the record. The sweet and slow, almost melancholy melody breezed through the speaker like a gentle fog.
Maeve held her hand out to Spencer. "Dance with me." He smiled.
He was no longer apprehensive when she asked him to dance. He knew she would always be there, waiting for him. Another thunderous boom crashed. He took her hand as she led him to the center of the room. They held each other and swayed to the old familiar rhythm. Maeve leaned her cheek into his shoulder and Spencer pressed his lips to her collar bone.
"What happened?" Maeve asked, tracing her finger along the scar on his neck.
He hesitated before answering. "I got shot."
She raised her head and looked at him with concern. "I know you try to be the hero, but you need to be careful. The world needs you more than I do. Don't be reckless just because you want to stay with me."
"I was trying to protect Alex. She was directly in the line of fire, and I didn't want her to get shot."
"This is exactly what I mean. I admire your altruism, but you need to be more careful."
He sighed. "Sometimes I don't want to be careful. Not if it means spending more time with you."
"I know." She gave him a small smile. "But you're needed out there. You need to be saving people. And if you would get more sleep"—she shoved him playfully—"you could spend more time with me."
He smirked. "I'm working on it."
"Just promise me you'll try. I don't want you to die because of me."
He touched his forehead to hers. "I promise," he whispered.
"Thank you," she murmured. She reached up and kissed him gently. He let go of her waist to cup her face in his hands. He moved his thumb back and forth along her cheek bone.
It was always bittersweet kissing her. Though this was a dream, it felt always felt so real. She was tangible against his skin. Her presence was indubitable; there was no doubting she was right next to him, under his hands, between his lips.
Another crack of thunder split the sky. Lightening illuminated the entire room. Maeve's lips grudgingly retreated. "It's time to go," she breathed.
Spencer gave her a look of melancholy longing. "Just a little bit longer?" he pleaded.
"They miss you. You wouldn't want to worry them by not making an appearance."
Spencer sighed. He wasn't fond of returning, but knew he had to go back. He gave her one more parting kiss. "I love you."
She smiled. "I love you, too."
Thunder cracked, and a bright surge of lightening washed out his surroundings, vanishing. It slowly faded to black, before turning into the blinding florescent light above his hospital bed.
"You know that place between sleep and awake, the place where you can still remember dreaming? That's where I'll always love you. That's where I'll be waiting." – J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
A/N: Here's my rant about "Demons": I was kind of hoping that if Reid almost died in the finale, that he would at least dream about Maeve, kind of like Hotch did with Haley in "Route 66" earlier in the season. Still, we got some very nice Reid moments. I thought the episode was suspenseful, rife with cliffhangers and lots of character development, all of which made me cry. I'm so sad that Blake is leaving. :(
Reviews are much appreciated!