Love—the most beautiful phenomenon in the soul-filled creation, the omnipotent magnet in the spiritual world, the source of devotion and of the most sublime virtue.

-Friedrich von Schiller

The Cabin

Chapter1

"Wow! This is a totally beautiful place!" enthused Aaron, leaping out of Spencer's Volvo.

"Hmmm" said Spencer miserably.

"Come on!" Aaron opened the car door for Spencer. "This is going to be wonderful! No cells, no people, just you and me and sweet nature!" He looked around him, a huge grin on the usually impassive face. "Fishing, swimming in the lake," He swung his arms around to encompass the mountains. "Walking!"

Spencer eyed him warily, and said nothing. He got out of the car and opened the boot.

Aaron retrieved his hold all. Spencer tried to drag his case out of the boot and failed. He put it down, took a breath and grabbed the handle again. This time he managed to get it half out. He gave it a final tug, and leapt back so that it wouldn't land on his feet.

Aaron looked from his bag to Spencer's but kept his opinions to himself.

It will be interesting, he thought, to see what Spencer has brought with him!

It had been Erin Strauss's idea for them to take a break together. Since Reid had found, then lost, his brother, he had seemed distant, unhappy. It was true that on the outside, he hadn't seemed to change much, but to those who knew him, especially to Hotch, there was a deep melancholia that shadowed his whole life.

Not that that was surprising. A weaker man would have broken. But there was an inner strength to Reid, which belied his appearance. Whether it was because of what he had to cope with as a child, or something that he developed working at the BAU, Aaron couldn't decide. Reid was a very private man.

Aaron hoped that this break would help him to open up, to share his feelings with a friend.

It had taken them both months to get back to work after they had been held by Cross. Then Spencer had had that awful experience when he was kidnapped by Dowd. The visible wounds were healed, but the inner ones were still raw and bleeding.

Aaron smiled at Spencer struggling to drag his case to the cabin door. He swung his hold-all onto his back and followed.

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Spencer looked round the room.

"Something's not right, Aaron. Things have been moved."

"I expect Gideon's been back up here." said Aaron. "Don't worry about it."

Spencer thought it possible, except he didn't think Gideon would have left dirty diches in the sink.

Maybe he was in a hurry. It was his cabin, after all.

But Spencer wasn't convinced. It hurt a bit to think Gideon might have come back and not come to see him. He was puzzled, but tried to push the thought away.

Aaron entered and dropped his bag on the couch. Spencer heaved his case into the middle of the room and left it there, throwing himself down on the couch next to Aaron's bag.

"Come on Spence! I can't stand this!" Aaron grinned down at him. "What's in the case?"

"Emm….Just a few bit I thought I might need."

"You going to unpack?"

"Ahhh…..I don't think so." said Spencer. He suddenly felt embarrassed. He had never been on holiday before. How on earth would he know what to bring?

Aaron tilted his head forward and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh ok!"

Spencer lay his case down and opened it. Aaron burst out laughing.

"Well I haven't read them yet!" said Spencer, trying not to get annoyed. "We've been so busy since comic-con." He closed the case quickly.

"I thought while you were fishing or whatever, I could stay in and read."

"Not a chance, Spence. You're coming with me."

Spencer pressed his lips together in resignation and sighed.

So this was what holidays were about. He'd always thought he'd missed out on something. But maybe not.

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Aaron went outside to find some logs. Spencer went to the car and got the supplies they had brought with them.

Coffee, sugar, milk. That'd do for now. Just needed the fire lit so they could boil a kettle.

He looked up as Aaron came back in, arms laden with logs. He took them to the fire place, knelt down and started to light the fire.

It was strange to see Aaron not in a suit.

Spencer thought he looked good in the khaki shorts and sleeveless tee shirt.

He opened his case again. He didn't have any shorts, but he did have two pairs of identical cords.

He got some scissors out of the kitchen draw and cut the legs off.

Aaron looked up, puzzled. "What on earth are you doing, Spence?"

"I'm…erm…I'm making some shorts."

Aaron turned back to the fire so that Spencer wouldn't see he was laughing.

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Soon the fire was raging, coffee was made, and Spencer had his shorts on. Actually, Spencer wasn't overly pleased with the effect. While Aaron's legs were tanned and muscular, his were skinny and white. He felt very uncomfortable, a bit exposed. He had a comic on his lap, covering his knees. He wasn't reading it, just covering his modesty with it.

Aaron had bought a book on fishing.

He had finally admitted to Spence that he'd never fished before. When he finished the first chapter, he stood and announced, "Tomorrow, we go fishing!"

"If it's all right with you, I'll watch from the shore." said Spencer. "Last year, there were 3159 boating accidents in the top ten states, resulting in 420 injuries requiring hospitalization, and 333 fatalities!"

"We go together." said Aaron. There was no room for argument.

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Aaron decided that Spence was to have the bed, and Aaron was to sleep on the couch. Spencer thought he should argue about it, insist that Aaron took the bed, but the thought of a little privacy was good, and if he argued, he might end up on the couch.

He wished Aaron a good night, and dragged his case over to the bed. He had not thought to bring ant night clothes, because he didn't have any, but the thought of sleepwalking around the cabin in the middle of the night with nothing on brought on an image more terrifying than his worst nightmare.

So he got into bed in his new shorts and Aarons fishing book. When he had finished it, he lay down and went to sleep.

That night he dreamed of a giant man eating fish, pirates and boating accidents.