It still bugged him a great deal. So much so that he'd been sitting there in his armchair for a whole hour and he'd still not finished the book that he'd picked up when he first got in. He kept glancing at the white Yankee candle that he'd placed on the side table when he'd arrived home. Why had she left it with him?

The sound of the wind and rain battering his windows was getting louder and louder as the evening drew on. Even in the dim light of his living room, he could see the streaks of water running down the glass pane, but it was the dim light that alerted him first. The light dipped then returned, followed almost immediately by a low rumble of thunder which seemed to vibrate the entire room. The forecasters on the morning news had predicted rain but storms weren't uncommon for the time of year. Spencer tried to settle back to his book, being momentarily distracted from the candle by the weather but a sudden flash, which at first illuminated the room, plunged him into darkness as all of the lights went out.

"Damn it." He exclaimed aloud before sighing heavily. At this rate he'd not even finish the book in a day, let alone the half hour he'd intended, but it was then that Anwyn's quote returned to him. 'Better to light a candle than curse the darkness.'

Did she know this was going to happen and that he'd need the candle? She had alluded to being into Wiccan and witchcraft, had she seen this by some form of divination? Spencer slowly rose to his feet, shaking his head at the thought as he started to fumble around in the darkness in search of matches. Several objects made harsh contact with his shins as his hands searched with very little effectiveness.

"Ouch, damn it." He said as his foot hit the leg of his sofa, causing him to almost topple over. If only there was some light coming from the windows, maybe from the street, but luck was not on his side.

He'd managed to make it to the side table near the door when a sudden loud knocking made him all but cry out. He paused in silence, waiting to see if it happened again. Thud, thud, thud came the sound from his door again.

"Anyone home!?" Came a woman's voice from beyond the door as he stumbled toward it.

"Just a second!" He called back, stepping carefully around the corner of the side table and unbolting the door.

"Oh, thank you." The voice started as he turned the handle and started to open the door. "I just moved in downstairs and I… holy crap." With the door open, the two strangers finally saw each other. In the dim light of the candle in the woman's hand they stared at each other in utter bewilderment.

"Anwyn?" Spencer's jaw had dropped but both their eyes trailed down to the candle that he was holding in his hand.

"Clearly the universe knew that I needed to give you that. Here." She offered her lit candle to light his unlit one, which he speechlessly accepted.

"This is…" Spencer started to speak but couldn't find the words.

"Weird? Difficult to comprehend?" She smiled. "This is my kind of science." At that moment, there was another white out of bright light followed swiftly by an almighty clash of thunder, causing Anwyn to almost jump into Spencer. Her eyes darted around like a frightened child, not really sure what to look for but terrified all the same.

"Are you ok? Would you like to come in and sit down?" Spencer led her inward, now that there was light he could see where he was going as he ushered her to the sofa. Placing his candle down on the coffee table, he gestured for her to sit. "My name is Spencer, by the way." He smiled to her. "Would you like some tea?" All of the confidence that she had exuded had been jolted out of her.

"That would be… wonderful, thank you… Spencer." She nodded, regaining some composure. "Say, you said you study behaviour?"

"Mhmm, for the FBI." Spencer responded, moving away toward the kitchen.

"Oh, wow, that's… quite impressive." She watched him walk away before glancing around at all of the books and papers piled everywhere. "So… tell me. How can I be fascinated by storms, yet be so terrified of them?" Spencer had found two mugs and had started to boil a kettle of water, smiling at her question.

"You know, it's not that uncommon. One in three people have some form of 'Astraphobia', just that most cases aren't all that severe. Coupled with your Wiccan appreciation for nature and the unknown, I'd say the fascination stems from the sheer magnificence of a powerful natural phenomenon. Which, by the way, can be explained entirely by science." He smirked at his little dig but she didn't take offence. Instead she chuckled lightly, knowing that it was only intended to lighten her mood.

"So what exactly does the FBI do with 'Behavioural Researchers'?"

"Not Researchers, Analysts. We analyse behavioural patterns in crimes to help create a profile which will lead law enforcement to the correct suspect." Spencer picked up the two hot mugs and wandered back through to her, setting hers down beside her candle on the coffee table.

"That sounds kinda interesting. Oh, thank you." She happily picked up the mug and blew gently across the surface of the steaming liquid. Spencer sat back on the sofa next to her, holding his mug close to his chest.

"It can be very interesting." Their features looked exaggerated by the flickering light of the candles, casting shadows over the sharper edges. The room itself was dark and eerie as the ghostly shapes pranced back and forth with the tiny flames. The small smile that had spread across his lips had been caused by what he'd found today. Someone genuinely intriguing that was also intrigued by him.

"I mean, there's the obvious dangers to it but…"

"Dangers? You actually go out into the field?" Anwyn look almost shocked as she interjected.

"Well, yeah. My team and I fly out to wherever we're needed. We work with local law enforcement until the unsubs are caught or stopped." He explained but she looked even more confused.

"You call the suspects 'unsubs'?" Spencer smiled at the question he heard more than he cared to.

"Yes, it means 'unidentified subject'. See, suspect implies that they're suspected to have committed the crimes, whereas an unsub definitely did, we just don't know their identity yet."

"Oh, I see. So you'd call them that until you knew who they were?"

"Exac…" Spencer started but was cut off by a blinding flash of light, followed a second or so later by a heavy rumble of thunder. He looked to her immediately. "Are you ok?"

Anwyn had cowered into the corner of the sofa a little, her eyes darting around yet again but she managed to nod as she spread out once more. Leaning forward, she picked up the mug of tea, taking long gulps in an attempt to take in as much of the warm fluid as possible.

"I… I'll be alright." She said, finally smiling to him.

"If it's any consolation, that one was further away. I think its passing." Anwyn nodded but didn't seem to relax very much more. She took another long sip of her tea before placing the mug back on the coffee table. "What about you? What exactly is involved with your er… alternative science?" She chuckled at the question.

"I mostly practice earth magic. I like to think that in some way I am balancing out my effect on nature by connecting with it spiritually." The idea baffled him, which made him partly sceptical but also very much interested. "I have a group of friends who I meet with and we often go out to parks and woods to honour the earth."

"Like a coven?"

"Yes, very much so. I mean it's not all we do, sometimes we'll just get together for a few glasses of wine or go out together. We're just a group of friends with a common interest." She looked at the intrigue which rested on his features. "If you want to know more, there's a lot I can show you…. More, I guess, than you can show me of what you do."

Spencer was about to answer when he was yet again cut off by a flash of light, this time the gap between the lightning and the thunder was more than a few seconds, as well as being much weaker. Anwyn had still shifted in fear, this time toward Spencer, gripping his knee with her hand. After a long moment, she realised what she was doing and hopped away.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"It's fine, seriously. I know what it's like to be afraid of something." He smiled to her but she looked ashamed of herself.

"I imagine you do, and with much greater reason than I have of being scared of storms." She picked up her mug, drinking down the last of it.

"Not at all. For every fear there is a natural or psychological reason behind it. And the fear of storms would be way up there with natural fears." That made her relax a lot more. Not many people would have been able to talk her down so well. Was it because of his knowledge of psychology or was it just that he was a genuine person showing real compassion? Either way, she liked whatever it was he was doing.

There was another flash of lightning, but this time it was barely enough to be seen over the candle light. Anwyn looked to the window but she still felt calm, even when the low rumble of thunder came, knowing that it was far away. Spencer had seen her through what would have been a horrible experience in a new apartment, alone and in the dark. How did he do that?

"Was there something in that tea?" She joked. "Because… I don't even feel scared anymore."

"No," Spencer laughed. "Just tea and conversation. The rational part of your brain has finally caught up with you to tell you that you are, in fact, safe." He smiled to her. She smiled to him, wordlessly thanking him for his kindness. A thought crossed her mind that she could perhaps repay him for his kindness, keeping him in mind the next time she asked anything of the earth. Or even, more conventionally, she could ask him to go out some time.

"You know, Spencer." She smiled, leaning towards him. "I don't think I'd find it absolutely terrible if you and I were to maybe get another coffee together some time." Spencer nodded, smiling back to her.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that." As he spoke she stood up, brushing her hands on the tops of her thighs nervously as she walked with him to the door. Taking the handle firmly, she looked to him one last time.

"Good night, Spencer. I'll see you soon." She leaned to him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for helping me keep calm." Spencer blushed heavily, having to break eye contact.

"Not at all. Goodnight Anwyn." And with that, she left, leaving him to close the door slowly and somehow miss the company already.