Hello everyone! First off, I wanted to thank all of you who added my story to their favorites or put the story on their alerts. I completely appreciate it and am honored. I also want to thank my lone reviewer.

SSAFunbar – Thank you for the review! I have to start off by saying that I wish there was an FBI agent named SSA Funbar, and I wish I worked with them. I'd get nothing done and get fired, but it would so be worth it. Funbar is just, well, a fun name. I appreciate you taking the time to review!

I also assure all of you all that I am working on the third chapter for Dolls of the Night. This chapter is taking me a little longer for a few reasons. I didn't feel like I was writing Reid to the best of my ability, or as true to the character as I felt I could get, so I took some time to work on this side project as a way to work out all the kinks in the way I write Reid. I think it will benefit Dolls of the Night.

Also, it was my birthday this week, and that sounds like a much more lame excuse than it did in my head. I've been run ragged with activities and my health is definitely not happy about that. It's going to take me a little bit longer to get the chapter where I like it, but the story has not been forgotten or traded out for this one. This story was merely a self-exercise.

Chapter 2

The Monsters Under Her Bed

It was nearly three hours before Taylor returned to the apartment. She ate first, walked the streets second, and then returned with a takeaway bag when she was good and ready. She had to knock on the door, as she had not received a key on her way out. If she would have known what had gone on in the house since she left, she would have rethought this seemingly poor decision.

While Taylor was out, Reid never did get around to eating. What he did do was clean the living room, lifting up every little thing and dusting in the places where Emily hadn't had a chance due to her grueling job. He seemed to be meticulous, maybe even OCD about the whole thing. He even took a ridiculous amount of time picking out nicer, softer sheets for the pull out couch, and getting it ready for the nightfall that was coming quickly.

It was at this point that Emily decided to take some action. Nothing Reid was doing was conscious. It was just happening, which led her to believe that, although he thought he wouldn't know what to do when it came to putting the moves on a woman, unconsciously it was possible he very well could. She hadn't wanted to think of her sister and Reid as two random sociological statistics, but was being shown otherwise. Although she knew Taylor wouldn't cave, she didn't think Reid needed any more sexual confusion or rejection than he had already received in his life.

With this in mind, she decided to leave the house to drive to the nearest store and pick up a blow up mattress. She had a spare bedroom that she used as an office. It was tiny, so much so that the smallest of blow up mattresses would hardly fit in there, but in no way would it fit in her room at all, so she was working with what she had. She felt it best.

Taylor knocked on the door loud and hard, unhappy when it wasn't opened immediately. She had a short fuse and did not even want to go back in there. If it was just she and her sister, she would want nothing but to be in there. But it wasn't and she had to deal with Reid. She found herself feeling horribly for how harsh she was toward him, and although she doubted that would change, she promised to keep her guard up while trying to make an effort to not eat his head off again, even if he did deserve it.

Finally, the door was opened, but not by who she had expected. "Oh, it's you. Here, I brought you something." She shoved the takeaway bag into Reid's hands, and then pushed her way past him like it was nothing, not even a sweet gesture.

"Uh, thank you. What is it?" After her earlier attitude, he wasn't sure how safe it was to open it, or if he was misjudging her immensely and unnecessarily.

"It's pasta. I got at the Italian place around the corner. It was the only one I saw, so I assumed it was the same place you went to." Reid opened the box, walking toward the kitchen for some silverware. It wouldn't have mattered if it was or not at this point, because he had forgotten just how hungry he was until he smelled the food.

"It is, thank you. I can tell by the way it smells. Italian pasta has a more...you don't care about that. What do I owe you?" Afraid she might bite again, he figured he wouldn't push it and ask her why she had done it. She didn't seem to want to be forthcoming with anything she did, and while she was gone, he had accepted he wasn't going to understand her and made a conscience effort to bend to her liking. It wasn't his strong suit, though, and he was sure he'd slip up.

"What do you mean?" She turned from rooting through her things, looking for some pajamas she could wear to bed and call it a day, to glare at him so he knew he was playing with fire.

"How much did you pay for the pasta? I'd like to pay you back." Before he could eat, he knew it would be proper to hand her some cash. He started to get up to go for his wallet in his bag on the other side of the room when he was shut down.

"I don't want you to." Taylor struck out, offended. Even when trying to do something nice, he still condescended her. She decided to just ignore it and go talk to her sister, but she didn't see her downstairs, or hear her walking upstairs. "Hey, where's my sister?"

"She went to the store to get a blow up mattress to put in her office. I think she's uncomfortable with us sharing the pull out couch. She should be back in a little while. The traffic lights around here are on an unusually long timer due to the amount of traffic they receive during the day, but at night when it lightens, the timers stay the same. Since the closest store is exactly 4.3 miles from here, and she has to go through seven traffic lights, I estimate, depending on the time it takes her to shop, she will most likely be gone another hour, give or take a few minutes." Reid, pleased with himself for no longer being condescending, yet helpful, sat down to enjoy his food. Eating was easy, but getting rid of his defenses and stopping himself from using his intellect to cover up his insecurities was not.

"Fascinating. My sister finally grows a conscious and decides to give me a space away from you, but in order to do that she leaves me with you. I hate my life." This was the worst thing that could have happened. And even worse yet, she'd take her stuff up to the office, wherever that was, if she didn't have the horrible feeling that something was going to go wrong with her sister's new plan just because it could.

"Your entire life, or just this part of it? Because if you hate your entire life that could explain why you're mentally imbalanced. Don't get me wrong, I no longer think you're crazy, but it's not natural for someone to have such a gloomy outlook on the world unless given a reason. Hating your whole life would be a reason." Reid legitimately thought he was being helpful again. The only helpful thing here would be if he could see inside the minds of others. Hell, he could do just about everything else.

"Fine, then I hate my whole life." More than that, she hated the last few years and this conversation in general. She wasn't here on a pleasure trip, and he surely wasn't helping to make it pleasurable.

"Are you sure?" Reid stopped eating, looking up to study her as she stood there as if she wanted to do something with herself, but she just wasn't sure what.

"If that's what it takes to get you to shut up, then yes, I'm sure." Reid was stumped, not knowing what to say. He knew what he wanted to say, but his brain, almost as if it knew better, shut down for a moment. That moment was long enough for Taylor to catch her window. "I'm going to get a shower. Locking the door makes me feel trapped, so don't walk in on me or anything, or else I'll think you're a pervert."

"I'm not a pervert, actually. To be a pervert I would have..." Taylor took off for the bathroom, slamming the door shut before she was forced to listen to him rant. She couldn't take it any longer. Meanwhile, Reid sat offended.

As soon as the door was shut and her thoughts surrounding her with no way out the closed door, Taylor broke down, shoving her little body between the bathtub / shower combo and the toilet. She laid her head between her legs to pad some of the noise, and she cried as silently as she could. The last thing she needed was Reid busting in on her at the sound of her sorrow to make sure she was okay. He seemed the type, and even she couldn't think his helpfulness was perverted, but it still wouldn't stop her from telling him it was just to get him to back off of her. She needed Emily right now, not some high horsed genius. She knew it wasn't his fault and he couldn't help himself, but she couldn't help that she just wanted to smack him open-palmed over the head when he started talking.

Taylor must have sat on that cold bathroom floor for upwards of ten minutes. Just when the tear flow started to stem, she decided she would get into the shower. Slowly, she got up, starting the water and adjusting the temperature. When she was satisfied, she stripped down reluctantly. She had to turn away from the mirror flanking the opposing wall, as not to have to look at herself. That was one thing she couldn't do now.

Another was that she couldn't get totally naked. It was hard enough for her to take the essentials off, but she felt vulnerable without her undergarments. She still couldn't handle feeling that way after all this time, so she decided to leave them on. They would get wet, but she didn't care; it didn't matter. Not only could she not lock the door because she felt afraid and trapped, but there was a boy outside of that door, and it was hard enough to feel vulnerable alone. She came to Emily to help her cure this, to feel safe, and now she felt more horrible about herself than she had in awhile because of on stupid, completely harmless boy. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but he was still a boy, so the knowing became null and void when memories of fear took over. Taking her outside the toxic environment that broke her did everything but help her overcome her insecurities and fears. It was circumstantial.

Once in the shower, Taylor grabbed for a washcloth off the inner rack. She took to the half used body wash, hoping it was her sister's, but wondering if it belonged to Reid since it was already in the shower. She didn't care, though. It came from a bottle, untouched and clean on her body. She used more than she should, nearly the rest of it, and spent as much time as she could before the small water heater poured cold water over her body. Then she stayed in another ten minutes, scrubbing harshly, almost rubbing her own skin raw. It was all she could do to feel clean.

When she finally got out, she reached for a clean towel, and then began to go through the bottom of the sink to look for some cream for her agitated skin. Finding none should have been bad enough, but then it occurred to her when she went to grab for her pajamas, that she hadn't brought any in with her in her haste to get away from Reid's rant. The whole situation proved more than she could take, and she lost it again, only this time it was worse.

"Emily! Emily! EMILY! EMILY! EMILY!" Taylor screamed, louder and faster each time she called her sister's name. But no one was answering back; not at first, and then a knock at the door came.

"Taylor, she's not back yet." Reid's voice was soft, gentle, as now he was confirming any suspicions he previously had that there was something mentally wrong with her. It just wasn't in the chronic way that he thought.

"Why not?" She screamed, hatred in her voice. Not for Reid, but for the situation.

"I...I don't know. I'm sorry. But I can call her if you want, and tell her to come back." It was all he could offer up. Now, suddenly, he found himself regretting the decision to stay with Emily, but only because he hadn't realized what he was getting himself into. With as well balanced as Emily was, he expected her sister to be the same.

"Don't you dare!" She growled at him again. He jumped back a little, but ultimately calmed his nerves and talked himself out of treating her like an unsub. She wasn't acting this way because she had malice in her heart, but because she was scared. She'd be more likely to jump away from him than start a fight.

"Oh...okay. I just...can I help you with anything?" With no other option he could think of, and no other reason why she'd be viscously calling out to her sister, he offered up the last thing he had. Oddly, this seemed to calm her.

"I...I need some clothes. I left mine out there in my bag. And some cream. Do you know if my sister has any cream anywhere?" Her voice grew as soft as the tone Reid had initially used when approaching her through the door. She still hadn't opened it, but considering how thin they both already knew the walls were, they were each easily heard.

"I don't, but I have some. Here, let me get it for you." Reid quietly walked away, feeling more badly for her in each passing moment. He went to his bags first, reaching for his cream for her to have, and then walked over to her bags. There were several, and there was no good way to find out which one had her clothes in it without rooting through them all or asking. He chose the less invasive latter. "Taylor, I'm sorry, but which bag would you like me to bring you?"

"It doesn't matter." She had packed in a hurry, throwing so much of her life into those bags that she wasn't even sure herself where she had thrown it. She'd just take whichever one he picked up and wish for the best. For Reid's own sake, he picked the largest one, as it seemed most likely to hold clothing.

"Taylor, I have the things you've requested. I'm just going to leave them at the door. I wouldn't want to be a pervert or anything." Reid knocked once and then left the things just outside of the door.

"I'm sorry." Taylor couldn't let him get away. His job wasn't done, and as she heard his footsteps start to fade away, she called after him quietly.

"Excuse me?" Reid turned, not sure if he had quite heard what he thought he had. It was so quiet that he thought he could possibly be imagining it.

"I'm sorry for insinuating you were a pervert. But...I'm not done...I need your help still. I need you to hand my things in to me." Reid thought this an odd request, but also thought the better of arguing with her over it.

He walked back to the door, not sure if he should pop it open or not, because that would, by her definition, officially make him a pervert. Although she had just apologized for that, she may suddenly find herself compelled to take it back if he did, in fact, open the door. He didn't have to wait long to figure out what to do, as just as his footsteps stopped, she turned the knob and popped the door open herself.

He heard her scurry backwards, and saw not a site of her in the bathroom, not even in the mirror; not that he was looking. It was then he knew she was hiding behind the door, making sure there was no possible way for him to see her or touch her. He knew then that she wasn't mentally bothered or afraid because something was wrong with her, but because someone had done this to her. Things were finally starting to make sense, although there were still many unanswered questions that he wasn't sure it was his place to ask.

Without a word, he placed the things far enough inside the door so that the door could easily swing shut, but was careful not to place his head as far in the door so she knew he wasn't trying to look. For good measure, he even closed his eyes. If she was watching him through an angle in the mirror, she'd be able to see he was being respectful. She'd know there was nothing about him that was perverted. He was even as careful as to shut the door behind him.

Taylor waited until his footsteps stopped, and then debated for a hot second locking the door. She decided she still wasn't strong enough to conquer her own fears and do so. She dug through her bag first, finding herself a pair of black pajamas, some slippers, and another unmatching set of undergarments. She dried herself off as much as she could without taking off her undergarments, and then quickly took off first her bra, replacing it instantly with the other, and then her underwear, doing the same. She didn't like to be naked, even when she was the only one in the room.

Although she was dressed, another wave of panic quickly hit Taylor. Now that she had a wet pair of undergarments, what would she do with them with a man in the house? She did the only thing she could, and wrapped them tightly inside of her towel. Then, making sure she was completely covered, she tossed open the door. From where she was standing she couldn't see Reid, and not knowing where he was frightened her, so she called out to him. She didn't like surprises.

"Reid? Reid, where are you?" She paused for a moment, but when there was still no response, she began to panic like she had earlier when her sister didn't answer back, fearing she had been left alone. "REID!"

"I'm here. I'm right here, Taylor. I was just throwing out the box to my food and didn't hear you. I'm sorry. Is there something I can help you with?" She heard his voice before she saw his face peak around the corner of the kitchen.

"No. I just need to know where the washing machine is." She bit a little, glad he had answered back, but not happy about anything right now, especially not knowing where he was. She didn't feels safe this way.

"Umm...I really don't know. I haven't had to use it. Why?" Seeing as he was most likely in better shape than her socially, he began to drop his guard a little, making a full attempt to be more sociable and not use his intellect as a shield. She needed shielded more than he did from an evil he was unaware of.

"It's none of your business." Her voice stayed steady, not getting louder or quieter. There was no reason to yell. She was simply too tired.

"Taylor, I'd like to help you, but you have to stop snapping at me. It's not going to get you anywhere, and I'm not going to hurt you." Immediately, Reid knew he had taken the wrong approach with her and this was going to blow up in his face. He may be a profiler, but he was human, too. Just like everyone else.

"Says you!" This time her voice did raise, and she felt herself on the verge of tears again. She hadn't only wanted to be away from Reid because she was uncomfortable with an unknown male presence, but because she needed that alone time to allow her tears to run and eventually dry out.

"And I'm sure your sister has told you I'm harmless as well. If she's told you anything about me like you insinuate that she has, then you would know that. If you don't trust me, trust her." For the first time, even for just an instant, Taylor really looked at Reid, and directly into his eyes. He knew that he had her, and that she couldn't argue what he had just said.

"I just need to know where the washing machine is." This time her voice went soft, her eyes diverting away from Reid.

"I'll find out for you. Let me just open some doors and see if there's one in the unit." She nodded, unsure if Reid had seen her or not. It wouldn't have mattered if he had. He was already on the search. He felt bad snooping through someone else's house, but it didn't take him long to find something. "Taylor, do you need an actual washing machine, or just a place to store your dirty clothing?"

"Just a place to store my clothing." She was at the mercy of Reid if she was unwilling to leave her undergarments unattended in the bathroom and she knew it. It made her sheepish.

"There's a clothes hamper in the linen cupboard over here. Will that do?" She swallowed hard, feeling relieved.

"That will be fine." She turned to gather her things, making sure to pick up Reid's bottle of cream first.

"Would you like me to put the clothes in there for you?" To most people, it would have made sense that for a woman to not want a strange man handling her clothing. To Reid, it was just being nice.

"NO!" She snapped again, feeling no longer at Reid's mercy, only now she did feel a little guilty for taking things out on him. "Please go away now."

Reid obeyed. He didn't know that it wasn't that Taylor wanted him gone, but that she didn't want him to see what she had in her hands. She was hurting him; the object of his unconscious sexual affection treating him like nothing but a chew toy, something she could beat up and not care if she put it back together again. He knew, though, that it wasn't him that truly needed put back together again.

Taylor exited the bathroom, taking her undergarments wrapped in the towel, as well as the rest of her dirty clothing, and tossing it into the clothes hamper through the door that Reid had left open. Once she was sure everything was properly covered, that Reid couldn't see what she wore closest to her body, she walked over to where he was standing near the kitchen counter, unsure what else to do with himself, and carefully handed him his cream. "Thank you."

"Oh, you're welcome. I'm just going to set it back in the bathroom in case you need it again. You can feel free to use it." He hadn't quite expected that from her. She was hot and cold, and even as a profiler he couldn't predict her next move or mood.

"Thank you." Reid nodded, heading toward the bathroom she had just exited. "You must think I'm a bitch."

Reid stopped dead in his tracks, turning slowly to face her. She was full of surprises. "No. But I am curious as to why you only seem to wear black. I'm not expert in woman's clothing, but I do shop in stores that sell clothing of both sexes. It couldn't have been easy to find black pajamas. Usually women's pajamas are full of color and whimsy. It's...just an observation."

This was his underhanded way of trying to find out what was going on with her. No one wore all black unless they were going to a funeral, which she certainly was not doing. He knew lest he ask plain out, he would not be greeted warmly with an answer. He feared that he may have gone too far...again.

"It slims me." Instead of yelling, which he had half expected, she chose to become sarcastic again. He found he'd prefer that to her bite.

"But you're not fat. You don't need slimming." She was but a small girl, an observation he noticed early on. In order to hide his confusion over why she would have said that, he popped in the bathroom, setting the cream down, and then came back toward her, surprised she had still said nothing.

Instead of finding the words, she reached to him as he got nearer to her. He jerked back a little, not sure why she would want to touch him, but then convinced himself that he already knew she wasn't dangerous. Not that he really wanted to be randomly touched by someone he didn't know, but maybe it would help her.

He didn't know what he had expected from her, but it wasn't what she did. She reached up slowly, tussling his hair, a smile so faint crossing her face that he wasn't even sure he had seen it. It was gone just as quickly as her hand was, and he wasn't sure what to make out of it. He didn't have time to think it out, though, before she went to being gruff.

"So, FBI big shot, do you carry a gun?" Her tenderness changed in an instant, almost as if she had two personalities, although she didn't profile as someone who would be susceptible to that.

"At work." He was taken aback by her for what seemed like the millionth time tonight. Why would she ask that?

"So you don't have it with you now?" She seemed angry about this, no longer questioning him, but more like accusing him of being stupid for not keeping it with him.

"No. I don't bring the morbidity of work home with me. It's just a personal preference." Reid found work hard enough, and his nightmares even harder. The last thing he needed was to be staring down the barrel of a gun in his own home.

"Does my sister keep a gun in the house?" Surely Emily was smarter than him, she thought. She had to be. Who would become an FBI agent just to leave their gun at work? Just to not be able to readily protect themselves?

"I don't know. Maybe. Probably. She could." Come to think of it, he'd never seen her leave her gun in the desk drawer. They were permitted to carry their firearms home, as long as they brought them back for each shift.

"Are you a good shooter?" If anything would happen, if her worst fears would come true, she was now left knowing that her only hope might be this goon. Actually, that wasn't fair. He probably wasn't a goon. It still didn't stop her from thinking it.

"I wouldn't exactly say that, but I can hit the target if I have to, though it may take a couple of tries." It was never a secret that Reid's shot left a lot to be desired. No matter how much Hotch had worked with him, it still wasn't his strong suit. "I don't really like guns." He wasn't sure why he had said that. It just felt better to hide his own forthcoming by lying, but he didn't know why. He never felt the need to do it before.

"Great. Because that makes sense. I think you're missing the entire point of being an FBI agent." It was a little known fact that the reason Emily got into FBI wasn't only because she felt like it was her legacy, but because she felt she needed to protect herself and others from the monsters under the bed.

"Maybe, but I got into it to save people's lives, and I think I'm doing a pretty fair job of that." Reid was groomed for this job. With his intelligence, there was never another option for him. He got into it to help people because he felt like he had to, and that was the only reason for him. Sometimes one reason is all it takes.

"Whatever blows your skirt up. So, where does my sister keep her board games?" Taylor just needed something to keep her mind off of how much she felt as if she could cry, and how much she just wanted to be alone. Anything to put her into her own little world.

"I don't wear a skirt, and I don't know. As I said before, I haven't been here very long. I haven't had a reason to go rooting through her closets." Reid couldn't figure out why he was suddenly the expert on things in Emily's house. However, her having to ask let him know that this was her first trip to Emily's apartment. Why now?

"I'm sure they're somewhere. She and I played board games all the time when we were kids. Plus, my sister likes to throw dinner parties, and board games are great icebreakers." She didn't know if her sister still threw dinner parties, not with her schedule, but she knew what her sister used to like. The past five years had been a lot of phone calls and no visits. For some reason, there was never time.

Without a second thought, Taylor started rooting through her sister's closets and cupboards. It would make more sense for the board games to be downstairs where they were easily accessible if she had company over. For all she knew, maybe there were no board games, but she knew who her sister used to be and hoped. A little persistence paid off, as she found them in the bottom cupboard on the backside of the kitchen island, facing the living room. She pushed a few aside until she found one she liked, standing up with it.

"Ah, Go, that's a good game. Do you want me to help you set it up, and then we can get started?" Since virtually all board games were two players, Reid had only assumed her suggesting a board game was her way of telling him they would be playing one. He hadn't gotten much of a choice with her so far, so why start now?

"You're not going to play with me." She said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She wanted out of her head, not sitting face to face with the man she was still unsure of.

"You can't just play Go by yourself. That defeats the entire purpose of the game!" To Reid, this was ludicrous. She was nuts.

"Yes, I can. Watch me." She passed Reid with the game, never flinching, and then set it down in the middle of the open couch bed, and began to ready it for play.

"Excuse me, but if you're going to play a game all by yourself in front of the television, what am I supposed to do? I promised Emily I would stay on the lower level, and in case you haven't noticed, it's not that large of a space. I can't think of anything else that I could really do with myself." It wasn't that Reid was a fan of television, but there was really nothing else for him to do. He'd read a book, but he had failed to bring one in the haste to remove himself from his house, and Emily's either didn't interest him, or he had already read them.

"Take a shower." She didn't care if he did it or not. It was the only thing she could think to suggest.

"Why? Do I smell? Because I've already done that. But if I smell I can do it again." Suddenly Reid found himself subconscious again. He had taken a shower for a reason, even using just a little bit of cologne that Morgan had given him for his last birthday to "try and attract the ladies." He thought he smelled fine, but if he didn't, he would get clean again.

"Not my problem. Now shut up. I need to concentrate." She didn't bother to answer him. The suggestion was nothing if rhetorical. That's when she caught Reid out of the corner of her eye doing the exact opposite of showering, and lashed out. "What are you doing?"

"I'm putting your bags away. I already told you, I need something to do. And besides that, I don't really handle clutter well. It's nothing against you, but your bags are disturbing me by just sitting here." Taylor rolled her eyes as she made her first move. Only he would be bothered by a few bags in someone else's house.

"You've got problems." One of them was not shutting up when asked. The only way she would get him to would be to let him go and she knew this. At least then he'd be occupied.

"Oh, he knows. Don't worry." Both Taylor and Reid's heads shot up, surprised they hadn't heard the door being unlatched. With all attention on Emily, she saw this as her chance to do more than just pick on Reid. "I know I was gone forever. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I had to swing by the office."

"Why? We have the week off. There's not any work there." With Emily having been gone well over three hours, something was definitely suspicious. Even with the amount of red lights and shopping time included, it's likely she would have spent at least half of the alloted time at the office. She knew Taylor needed her, and without work to do, it simply made no sense.

"It's personal, Reid." She wasn't in the mood to get into it, so she cut him off his curiosity in its tracks, and then tried to change the subject. "What are you doing over there, Taylor?"

Emily smiled, happy that her sister was doing something to occupy her time, other than sulking or trying to hide from Reid. In a way, she was just surprised Taylor had come back so soon. She half expected her back late at night when she knew Reid would be in bed, and then she would sneak into Emily's room and wake her up for some girl talk.

"Playing Go." Although no one would shut up to let her, she wouldn't mouth off at her sister the way she would Reid. It was a simple question with a simple answer.

"Reid, why don't you play with her? You're good at Go." Emily set down her purchase on the kitchen counter, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm great at Go, but she doesn't want me to play with her." Reid expected a response back, but when she didn't immediately offer one up, he rebutted. "Why don't you let me help you set up that mattress. It looks like a two person job."

Emily was going to tell him it wasn't, but as soon as she looked into his face she could see what he was getting at. He wanted to talk. "Sure. We should probably do that now. It's getting late."

Taylor wasn't oblivious to what was going on. She knew they were going to talk about her, but eventually it had to happen. At least she could have the peace she craved for awhile so that she could play her game. Little miracles.

Reid and Emily left the room and went upstairs, Emily in the lead with her purchase in hand. As soon as they got up there and inside the office, Emily closed the door. Reid didn't waste a second.

"I know this really isn't any of my business, but I'm concerned about your sister. I take it she's not just here to visit. What happened to her?" Normally Reid wouldn't be so blunt, but considering the somewhat hostile situation he had been put into blindly when Emily's sister arrived, and ever since, he felt he was entitled to ask.

"I knew you would eventually catch on, but I'm sorry to say that I can't tell you." Part of Emily wished that Reid would figure it out on his own, between his profiling skills and psychology knowledge, and then use his gentle demeanor to put her back together again, without her realizing he was even helping her. Apparently, that was just a pipe dream.

"Why not?" Reid was indignant. He felt he had the right to know, although he had admittedly faked humility when he said it wasn't any of his business. He had been placed right smack dab in the middle of this, and felt that because of that, it was.

"It's not my story to tell. If she wants you to know, she'll talk to you." Taylor was never one to really talk to anyone but Emily, and even at times she hid things from her. She needed a friend her own age, outside of the family, and with Reid's sweetheart personality, he seemed like a shoo-in. If she was going to warm up to anyone, it would be him.

"It's unlikely." That may have been the understatement of the year. Every time she warmed up to him, she shut him back down.

"Maybe, but I can't betray her confidence. I know she's probably giving you a hard time, and I'm sorry for that, but she's been through a lot. Please try to understand." Emily knew what she had done was wrong. She shouldn't have knowingly put Reid in this position.

She was doing what was right for her sister, thinking it would help Reid's social inabilities, because Taylor always knew how to bring out the best in people, but maybe she had made a mistake. Maybe she had set Reid up to get chewed up and spit back out again. Maybe her sister was no longer able to be the person she once was. Maybe what had happened to her had ruined everything beautiful about her.

"I am, but she's making it rather difficult." He was wrong. This was the understatement of the year. The prior was just the understatement of the month.

"I figured and I'm sorry. She can be a pistol sometimes." Taylor always had that straight-shooter attitude about her, but normally it just existed to cover up her sweet side, the side she thought would be taken advantage of if she showed it too much. Now, though, may have been different. "Look, why don't you go back downstairs and just sit with her, watch television, do whatever you want without interrupting her immediate space. She won't appreciate it, but it might help just knowing you're there. She may have acted like she was okay with the two of us leaving her alone, but she's not. I also know that she's not going to want to sleep alone, as much as she's threw a hissy fit about it. She's just bothered to have to share a bed with a boy, when she was hoping to share one with me."

"Then why did you go get her the blow up mattress if you knew she wasn't going to use it?" Reid was beginning to think these people were just crazy. Maybe not certifiable, but he'd probably never look at Emily the same way again. Her believing in the story of the fallen star was one thing, but this was a real life other.

"So that she knew she could be alone if she needed to, and have her own space. And because you're probably going to need it." Reid had slept in a lot of odd places on cases, and in a lot of weird positions, including curled up on the couch in his mom's room at the sanatorium, and in various places on the plane, but this was ridiculous. There was no way that thing was going to be comfortable, or he was going to fit on it without falling off, or lying in a position that could permanently deform his back. The thing was made for a girl, not a tall man.

"Why? You just said she wasn't going to want to be alone. The both of you can't fit into your bed. That just leaves me to stay with her. I can't be two places at once, and you're setting up the mattress up here, not in the living room." Reid couldn't wrap his mind around this kind of illogical logic. Who was this person he had worked with for the past several years?

"Not exactly. She's going to need me sooner or later tonight. I'll probably end up sleeping on the pull out couch with her, and you'll end up in here. No offense, but I really don't want you sleeping in my bed."

"Why not? Do I smell? I smell, don't I?" Then he lifted open his shirt, stuck his head in it, and smelled. Emily didn't get him either. Maybe they should really draw the line at inviting each other to stay at their houses. It was very awkward.

"I don't know, Reid. I'm not going to smell you." She was already close enough to him that she figured she'd smell a stench coming off of him, but all she smelled was cologne. Reid's idea of a reasonable amount of cologne and everyone else's was not the same. She'd have to have a talk with Morgan about teaching Reid how much cologne to properly put on if he was going to buy it for him.

"Your sister told me to get a shower, so she must think I smell. And then you go and say that. I already showered, but I'll do it again if I have to." Without waiting for an answer, Reid got up to go back downstairs and shower again. He had convinced himself of something and was now in his own world.

"Reid! Reid! Hey, Reid, stop where you are. You probably don't need to shower again. Most likely Taylor was just trying to get rid of you for awhile so you would stop talking, and I just don't like people sleeping in my bed. It's just a thing. It was nothing against you. I promise." His face changed and he seemed to calm down. Would now be a bad time to tell him he could take a wash cloth and get some of that cologne off? Probably. She would refrain. If it was as bad as she thought it was, Taylor would let him know.

"You know, that doesn't make me feel a whole lot better." Rarely was Reid outright complimented, so it was easier for him to take something as an insult, than to realize that it was just a personal preference for someone. Knowing this, Emily tried again.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. But do you know how many germs can be passed from one person to another just by sleeping in their bed?" She was winging it, but she had to figure that having one's body curled up inside of someone else's sheets couldn't be healthy for either party. It was bad enough when it was a romantic choice, but another when it was a co-worker. That was just a little creepy and too close for comfort for her.

"Actually..." Emily put her hand up, exhaustedly cutting him off. He hadn't stopped doing that since last night. He truly was a lot to handle, even in a social setting.

"Don't answer that. I forgot you would actually know that. Why don't you just go downstairs and do something...anything with yourself. I'm going to stay up here and finish up the bed, and then get myself ready for bed. If you need me, just yell." She hoped no one needed her, at least not Reid. Her sister was one thing, but he was a grown man who was unrelated to her. Somehow, she thought she'd be more likely to hear from him first. In fact, before he even got out of the room, he opened his mouth to say something, but Emily caught him. "Just go."

Reid headed back down the stairs, feeling uncomfortable. Since Emily told him he could watch television, and she was the owner of the house, that's what he was going to do. However, once he was halfway down the stairs, he could see that Taylor had entered a new state of mind. Instead of sitting there quizzically playing Go, she seemed angry. Maybe this wasn't such a change from what he had been getting out of her, but mostly she had just been acting hurt.

"Are you...all right?" Reid got closer to her, intending on sitting on a chair adjacent to where she was placed. He probably shouldn't have asked, but it just came out.

"No! I'm stuck! How stupid do you have to be to not be able to play a game of Go against yourself?" What Reid saw as anger was really frustration. He also saw she had at least a half dozen moves she could make, and in a clear state of mind, could imagine she probably would. It wasn't that she was stupid, or a bad player, but whatever was making her so bottled up was injuring her ability to concentrate on a game that was nothing but.

Reid was going to say something, but he didn't know what to say. She had told him before his genius was condescending, and he didn't want to act that way by telling her he could help her. Although he meant well, she could interpret it incorrectly, and he didn't want to come off as offensive. So there they sat, him in all his awkwardness, and her in complete frustration, trying to figure out why she was too stupid to be able to play a game against herself. What was wrong with her? Finally, unable to take it anymore and determined to finish something since her world went dark, she turned to Reid to break the silence.

"So, Genius, you said you were great at Go." She turned to him, looking him in the eyes for only the second time since they'd met. He took her smart ass comment as a scared little girl asking for help in the only way she knew how.

"I am. And I think if you take the black game piece and move it over to here, you should have plenty of space to continue the game." Not ready to admit defeat quite yet, although she already had, she snapped back.

"What if black doesn't go next." Reid was unfazed.

"It does. I can tell by your board." At first Taylor was taken back, but her brain caught up with her quickly, and she stared at him in disbelief.

"You are good." She snorted, finally seeing these alleged talents that her sister had told her about. He was border lining on being Rain Man.

"It comes with being a genius, I guess." He had always been good at certain things. Chess was something he had to learn to be better at, but once you've see the whole board in every way possible, every other game seemed simple.

"So, Genius, what other games are you good at?" He couldn't be good at everything. Emily said he was, but he would have to prove himself to Taylor. She wasn't as easy going as Emily.

"Chess, poker, mostly anything strategic." She nodded, smirking. She liked a challenge, and it sounded like he was giving her one. But because she was lacking any control in her life, she needed to do things her way.

"How about Monopoly?" It had been a long favorite of her sister's and herself for many years. Since the game was strategic as much as it was luck, and Reid was new to it, he was either going to be good at it, or she was going to pummel him. Being the reigning champ from Emily's and her last game that lasted nearly three days, she was fully prepared to take no prisoners.

"What's Monopoly?" She cackled out loud and not at all on purpose. She hadn't realize there was anyone left on this earth that didn't know what Monopoly was.

"Ahaha! Perfect! Go get it and I'll show you!" It was going to be a very long night, but for the first time in awhile, without even realizing it, Taylor's mind wasn't on what happened to her or why she was there. And Reid's wasn't on being uncomfortable or self conscious. Maybe Emily's plan was working just the way she hoped it would, and when everyone least expected it.