Chapter 1: Coin Flip

"If a coin comes down heads that means that the possibility of its coming down tails has collapsed. Until that moment the two possibilities were equal. But on another world, it does come down tails. And when that happens, the two worlds split apart." – Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass)

It was my mother who always told me that life was a string of choices, each moment a decision that leads into another decision that leads into eternity. Not even death makes it end. A person's death is simply an opportunity for another person to make a choice. At least that's what she believed. I always wanted to believe it as well. Always wanted to think that she was right… And I did believe it, I do believe it. But I don't believe that people make the choices that benefit society or even their loved ones. My faith in humanity was shattered the day I brought Charlie home from school. Dad was supposed to pick him up. I was supposed to be in a lecture on Shakespearean literature at college. I just figured he was hungover, he hadn't been doing well ever since our mom died a few months before in the September eleventh terrorist attacks. Coming home to find your father shot through the head in a pool of his own blood with your teenage brother standing behind you is a sight that is impossible to forget. The whole world mourned the thousands of deaths of that horrible day. A few weeks later my family mourned one more that didn't have to happen.

But that was nearly thirteen years ago now. Since then a lot has changed. I joined the FBI for starters, following in my mom's footsteps as a government agent. Although Quantico certainly isn't the Pentagon but I like it here. I like living with my brother Marcus and his husband Randy, someone's got to be the breadwinner am I right? Ever since Randy's accident left him paralyzed from the waist down I'd moved in to help. Seeing as most of my work in catching sex offenders was digital it wasn't that hard to run home to help if he needed me. But after Marcus' teaching job steadied out and Randy got more independent and especially after they adopted Alec and Chloe, it became more of a family environment again. My best friend had adjusted to life in a wheel chair, my brother had his dream job and life with his husband and two kids, and I got to come home every day to my wonderful niece and nephew who long ago had begged me to let them call me mom. After a long discussion with Marcus and Randy or 'Pops' and 'Dad' on that one, I agreed. I always wanted children of my own but for now, this was perfect.

Well, other than the panic…

"They're gonna hate me, I just know it! I'm totally gonna flake on the interview! Did you know one of their guys has six degrees?! Six?! How do I compete with that?! Yeah I speak a lot of languages and I'm slightly above average at math and I'm good at catching sex offenders but this is serial killers! And I only just passed my physical exam! What if they know that it was just a fluke that I passed the physical exam and deny my application? I mean we both remember high school! I could never run faster than a ten minute mile! How I managed to get it down to seven in time for the exam I don't even know! OH! What am I gonna do Randy?!" I slam my hands down on the arm-rests of my best friend and brother-in-law's wheelchair, looking up with puppy dog eyes at his completely not amused face.

"Maria…" He never calls me Maria. "You need to take a deep breath…" Oh no, he agrees with me doesn't he?! "And stop scaring your cat." What? I turn around and sure enough my old as hell fifteen year old cat has moved from his nap on my bed and fled into my open closet. I chuckle sheepishly, shoving myself back up as I adjust my blazer and take Randy's advice. Deep breaths… Deep… Breaths…

"It's not working."

"Try harder."

"What kind of advice is that?"

"Good advice."

"I hate you."

"I love you too."

I glare at the smirking man before me suddenly wishing I was wearing heels, why did I choose dress shoes again? Oh yeah, because I hate heels. But right now I want to be more than a few inches taller than Randy. So much for that growth spurt back in college. If you can even call a half inch a growth spurt. I mean I like being short, it gives me an excuse to climb on stuff and people don't complain when I sit on them and I can take a nap in a chair without feeling squished but when it comes to intimidation tactics, it leaves any glare I shoot feeling extremely lackluster.

"Bye dad! Bye… mom? What are you still doing home?" Chloe looks at me in confusion and I stare back at my thirteen-year-old niece with an echoed expression of emotion. What is she talking about? Wait. Junior High starts at eight. She's heading out now. Alec has already gone to the High School. My interview is at eight…

"OH SHIZ!" I quickly grab my purse and hug Randy goodbye, kissing Chloe on the head before racing out the door to my car. "Be good at school! Don't talk to strangers! Look both way before you cross the streets! I'm talking to you Randy!" With a slam of my car door, I'm off. A powder blue jeep may not seem fitting to an FBI agent but it's that or the freaking violet mini-van with the handicap ramp attachment. Yeah, I'm never switching cars with Marcus. NEVER. AGAIN.

Despite my best efforts I barely make it in time. The tick-tick of my watch is nearly spinning me into a panic attack as if my spiraling thoughts aren't enough. Straightening my blazer I, as calmly as possible, press the button for the sixth floor. Just as the door is about to ding shut a brown bag is stuck between it, severing the invisible beam of the motion sensor and reopening the doors. My hand has at this point flown to my chest in an attempt to calm my heart which I swear has stopped pumping oxygen and decided adrenaline was the current priority. A casual apology and greeting from the startling door stopper has me drawn back into the world of reality.

"Um, m-morning, which floor?" I manage to spurt out, gesturing vaguely at the panel of buttons as I'm suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of de-ja-vu. Slightly messy mop of brown hair, approximately five years my senior, gorgeous hazel eyes with an intelligent gleam, and the presence of a man with limited social skills. I swear I've seen him somewhere before. Not wanting to seem like a whack-job, I turn my gaze to the wall as he responds.

"Uh, sixth, pl—hmm, you too." There is an almost curious silence as the doors ding shut and I can practically feel his gaze boring a hole into my skull as the gears in his head turn. Apparently I'm not the only one wondering where we've met before. "Watson." I turn to look at him and arch an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You said you connected more with Watson than with Sherlock."

"What?"

"Baker's Books on fifth last week."

The gears in my head turn and the confusion is blatant on my face before my mind snaps back to the week before and my trip the bookstore to escape even just briefly from my anxiety over the upcoming job opportunity that I was now headed to.

~ WE INTERRUPT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED STORY TO BRING YOU THIS IMPORTANT FLASHBACK ~

"Just a… little… more…." I whispered to myself under my breath, my fingertips only just skimming the very edge of the book's spine despite having crawled onto the second shelf and extended my arm as far as it would go. I was about to give up and storm into the back, ranting at Sebastian and Nicole for putting up such high bookshelves in their cute little store when a masculine voice appeared beside me.

"Um, excuse me, but would you like some help?" I turned to the man who had suddenly appeared to my right, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over me at the position he'd found me in. I swallowed the nervous laughter threatening to rise up in my throat and nodded, carefully stepping down from the shelf I'd perched on. "Sherlock Holmes?" He reached up towards the top shelf and quickly shook my head once more, still trying to assure myself that if I opened my mouth nothing stupid would come out. With an ease that my 5' 2" frame could never supply, he plucked the book off the shelf and handed it to me.

"T-Thanks," I murmured, grinning brightly at the hard-cover book now held like a precious treasure against my chest. The stranger opened his mouth to say something only to be interrupted by a middle-aged woman barging through, grabbing a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey, and then shoving back between us to go towards the front of the store. Stormy blue met hazel as we glanced first after the woman then at each other before bursting into laughter. "D-Did that really j-just happen?" A nod on his behalf had the two of us on the floor against the bookshelf in a renewed fit of amusement.

That was how we stayed for, what? Three hours? It was at least that sitting, on the floor side by side, our backs against the bookshelf as we laughed over the woman and discussed Sherlock Holmes and even had a tangent or two about Doctor Who and the many works of Charles Dickens and Shakespeare respectively. He spouted facts like a fountain and I eagerly drank up every one. Whether they were truly factual or not, I didn't know, but regardless it was food for thought; and what intellectually stimulating thoughts they were. I'd met a lot of intelligent people before, heck my ex-boyfriend had been a borderline genius, but that failed for the same reasons conversations like this usually did for me: I couldn't measure up. I was smart, yes, an IQ of 137 is nothing to sneeze at, but meeting someone who wouldn't talk down to me for not being at their level of intelligence was like a breath of fresh air after a long snowstorm. The friendly connection of my admiration of his intelligence and his respect of my, admittedly much less brilliant, contributions to our conversation had my brain drawing parallels between the two of us and Sherlock and Watson. This drew a seemingly random laugh from me and a look of confusion from my new friend.

"I was just thinking that you'd make a great detective, like Sherlock Holmes, which I suppose in this situation makes me Watson."

"You wouldn't want to be Sherlock?"

"Nah, I find I connect more with Watson than I do with Sherlock."

"Really? Why is th-?" He was cut off mid-sentence by the ring of his phone, scanning the message before I could so much as blink. "I have to go, work." He reached out a hand to help me up and I gratefully accepted. As he turned and started to leave, I called after him.

"Hey, maybe I'll see you again!" He shot me a brief smile before swiftly heading out the door, leaving me much happier than I'd been when I'd entered a worried mess. Only to then realize something… "Hey wait! I didn't catch your…" Even now outside he was already long gone. "…name…"

~ AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED STORY ~

A smile sneaks its way onto my lips as the memory resurfaces. "Nice to see you again too, Sherlock. Sorry it took me a moment to recollect, I'm so nervous my memory is practically shorting out." Lightly giggling at the effect my nerves are having I take a deep breath as the elevator doors ding open.

"Don't worry about it," he responds with that same small smile from our previous meeting, holding open the glass door to the B.A.U.

"Ah, thank you kind sir," I bow slightly with a wide grin in my face, already feeling better. The nervous butterflies have flown the coop and left nothing but this morning's breakfast behind. Eww... What is with that metaphor?

"Agent Hotchner's office is the first one at the top of the stairs," he says gesturing at a small staircase against the wall. "Good luck."

"Thanks, I appreciate it…" I turn back to face him. "Maria Taylor by the way, I just realized we still don't know each others names."

"Spencer Reid." Wait. What? Reid. As in Agent Reid? As in Dr. Spencer Reid the B.A.U.'s one and only resident genius with six degrees? Well at least that's one of my recurring thoughts handled. The B.A.U.'s prodigy and I get along just fine, that's a decent start.

I flash a smile, "… Dr. Reid. Thank you, Dr. Reid." Then I turn and head straight to Agent Hotchner's office door, knocking lightly. Upon hearing the faint 'come in', I enter, much more confident than I was when I woke up this morning about what the future holds and the possibility that the B.A.U. will be a part of it.

"Pearls don't lie on the seashore. If you want one, you must dive for it." – Chinese Proverb

This is my first Criminal Minds fan-fiction so I do apologize if Reid seems out of character. I am a huge fan of the series and will strive to improve my representation of the characters I've come to love so much over ten, and soon to be eleven, seasons. Any and all feedback is appreciated! And for those who may ask, yes the assumption here is that you were chosen instead of Kate Callaghan for the open position in the B.A.U. This story will follow the same general situations (at least case wise) as Season 10 but will only focus on new recruit Maria Taylor and our beloved genius Dr. Spencer Reid with the others acting more as support and at times background characters. Expect this to be a slow build to romance and for it to start out as friendship. I also do not have a Beta Reader so any grammatical mistakes are my fault (I reread it three times but I may have missed some) and will be corrected as found. Thank you so much for reading and I would love to hear from you!

~ Warp Out