The last case had been…tough. They had caught the guy eventually-obviously, but that didn't make it any easier. It had been disturbing too. The killer had been through some trauma in his early childhood and as a result had dedicated the whole of his adult life to hunting down and seeking revenge on all of his classmates from 6th grade.

It had been tense, and as their flight had been delayed due to bad weather, the team decided that the bar down the road from their hotel was probable as good a place as any to unwind.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up, kid. You're telling me that you've never even stepped foot in a gym."

"Mmhmm. You know, the surprising thing about me, Morgan, is that I am very different to you. And this again may come as a surprise to you, but not every man has a strange desire to be composed entirely of pure muscle. I am one of those men."
"Yeah, but still, Reid-not working out in a gym is one thing. Not stepping foot in one is a different matter entirely. Besides, the ladies love muscle. Right, JJ?"

"Um…"
"Prentiss?"
"Sorry, Morgan-"

"Gimme a sec. I'll call Garcia."

Reid scoffed, "Oh please. Asking Garcia if she loves your arms doesn't count."

"Why not? She's a woman."

"Yes, but she's a woman who idolizes you. She'd love you even if you shaved your head and got the US flag tattooed on the top of it."
"Huh. I guess you're right. Maybe it's not the muscle that makes me so irresistible. Maybe it's just me."

He winked and sauntered off in the direction of the bar, muttering something about this being his round. As he walked, the team could see that he was walking with more confidence than usual.

"Great. He's going to be near impossible to deal with now."

They all laughed, grateful that they were able to put the case that seemed to have come straight from the jaws of hell behind them. It wasn't often that they were able to completely detach themselves from a case, but this one had been so disturbing, and so draining, that they had nothing left on which to fixate.

As Morgan came back, tray in hand, they all reached up to grab their respective drinks, but collectively they sighed when they saw that time had flown by. It was nearing one o'clock in the morning, which, usually, would not be a problem. However, the jet was due to leave at 5:30am, and with the exception of Reid, nobody had packed yet.

Twenty minutes later they had finished their drinks and decided that enough was enough. They stood up to leave, but as they filed through the door, a noise from behind them made them turn around. Reid had accidentally knocked a young girl to the floor. She couldn't have been older than twenty-six, twenty-seven, maximum, but she was so thin that even the weight of Reid's messenger bag was enough to send her flying. Reid bent down and offered her a hand up. She took it, thankful, but Reid couldn't stop the apologies from spewing out of his mouth.

"I'm so sorry. I just didn't see you. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Relax, I'm fine. Your bag weighs nothing."

She stuck her hand out for Reid to shake. Normally he would refuse, but he felt so bad that he had to oblige, hiding his discomfort behind a tight smile.

"I'm Cara."

"Uh-Reid. Spencer. Spencer Reid."

"Well. It was nice to bump into you Spencer Reid."

"Yeah. You too."

"I'll see you around."

He gave her a smile before letting go of her hand and waving, turning in the direction of the team.

They all looked shocked to see that he had a) shook somebody's hand, but that b) that somebody was a girl.

"She seems nice."
"Her name is Cara."
"Did you get her number, kid?"
"No. Why would I do that?"

Morgan chuckled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Your game is weak."

With that they all turned on their heels.

Reid thought nothing more of his encounter with Cara from Nevada until three months, two weeks and four days later, when He and Hotch were paired together to talk to the witnesses of the kidnapping of a young boy. This time, the case was local.

"Who are we talking to next?"

"Uh…a Miss Johnson."

Miss Johnson walked in the room, her hands in her pockets, a blue beanie covering her head. Reid's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the woman lifted her head to meet the gaze of the two agents.

"Cara?"