This story is all about Spencer, but the whole team is in it. I greatly enjoyed writing it. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize belong to CBS. The others are mine.

So here we go...

Chapter 1

It was a random murder, not a BAU case. Dr. Spencer Reid just happened upon the crime scene at Georgetown University while on an FBI recruitment lecture with S.S.A. David Rossi. It had gone exceptionally well, in Reid's opinion, because this time one student had laughed at his existentialists-and-a-lightbulb joke. And, as if that weren't enough, Reid also met a woman.

Yes, a woman came up to him to say how much she enjoyed the lecture. And come to think of it, she was rather pretty, in an Emily Prentiss kind of way. She was tall –Reid had to look up at her– with long, wavy, brown hair. He really liked the way her dress wrapped around her body, showing off her figure, as she walked –correction, as she glided. She reminded him of a sculpture he had admired at a gallery opening last month, "Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra." He had been tempted to run his index finger along the long line of the statue's naked back and neck.

The woman's name was Doctor Alison Montgomery. Professor of what? Reid couldn't recall… No. It is inaccurate to say that he couldn't recall because the truth is he never heard it. He was sure the professor mentioned it. Her full lips, glossed with a warm, rosy shade, opened and spoke. But his ears never heard the words. Therefore, his brain never had the opportunity to process it… because he was so captivated by her eyes.

They were catlike eyes, bright jewels nearly hidden behind long, dark lashes. What color were they? Blue? Green? Grey? He couldn't say. His vast word bank was insufficient to properly name the exact hue of those unbelievable eyes. Huh. His words weren't enough. Well, that was a first! All he knew was that once he looked into them, he couldn't turn away. And when their conversation was over, Reid was left thinking how nice it would be to look into those eyes again.

Why? Well, for one, because he didn't know her academic specialty. She didn't look older than 22, when most students were completing their first Bachelor's Degree. So, if she already had a Ph.D. and was a professor, well, then that was worth exploring, right? How long had she been at Georgetown? Where was she from? There was so much to learn about her. Why had he let her leave without asking a few questions?

But in the back of his mind, Reid understood that the main reason for wanting to see her again was because he liked how he felt when he looked into those endless eyes. It was like falling down the rabbit hole. Down, down, down. And he knew that from this day forward, instead of seeing the haunting eyes that followed him in his nightmares, he would dream of her eyes. The thought comforted him and warmed his heart.

Such were the thoughts of the brilliant Dr. Spencer Reid as he wandered through campus with a goofy smile on his face. It was early October, and Reid always loved the fall semester most. It was a new beginning, filled with promise. Even now he could feel the same vibe in the alumni around him. A couple reading on a bench. Some jocks tossing a football. A co-ed study group under the cherry blossom, which, come springtime, would explode with color. They were all happy youths, fully unaware of the ugliness that lurked in the world just outside campus. Innocent kids, thought Reid. And a sudden wave of sadness overcame him. He was drawn out of his reverie by the siren of an ambulance followed by an ME's vehicle.

By instinct, Reid ran after them, hugging his messenger bag against his chest. As he approached the growing crowd of students, he noticed the blue uniforms setting up a perimeter with yellow crime scene tape. The crowd was excited with gossip and speculation.

"Professor Farley's dead! Murdered!"

"Really?"

"What? Boner Bill's dead?"

"Yeah, poor guy!"

"What do you mean? You hated the creep."

"Well, yeah, but I didn't want him to die, like murdered."

"You told him to drop dead!"

"Because he was groping me!"

Reid approached the nearest uniform and asked, "What happened?"

"Murdered professor on the second floor," he replied matter-of-factly. Rookie, thought Reid. Despite his sedate exterior, there was excitement in his eyes. Reid knew that the excitement would turn to horror when he finally took a look at the actual body.

"Let me see if they need any help." Reid showed his FBI credentials and was let through.

"Who's in charge?" he asked on the second floor.

"That would be me," replied a female detective. She was a slight little thing, but her eyes were fierce and her movements deliberate. "Detective Martinez. Who are you?"

"FBI Supervisory Special Agent, Dr. Spencer Reid," he said showing his badge.

"Quite a mouthful," she replied with contempt. "Was the BAU called in? Do you know something I don't?"

"No, I was on campus for a lecture, but I heard what happened. Mind if I take a look?"

She didn't like it one bit. Reid could practically see her neurons exploding thinking of a way to say no. But she sighed and said, "Just stay out of my way." And she returned to her duties in a huff.

Reid only wanted to take a look, but he was given a pair of gloves as he entered. It was the professor's office and there at the end was the corpse, face down on the floor, with the ME working above him. Reid didn't take another step. The smell of musty books was not what kept him glued to his spot.

It was another smell. A perfume. A delicate scent that reminded him of laundry day when he was a kid, when his mother washed the sheets and hung them up in the backyard. The wind would carry the smell of lavender through the whole house. It was a smell that he cherished because it transported him to domestic felicity, before his father abandoned them. And it wasn't the first time today that he had experienced this smell, or the memory. Because just one hour before he had smelled it as he searched the unfathomable depths of the eyes of Doctor Alison Montgomery.

From the author: Thank you for reading.