Chapter four:

The next morning Garcia woke up feeling relaxed. She'd had a sound and dreamless sleep, untroubled by any of the events from the evening before. She felt somehow, that a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. A burden she'd carried around for a long time. It wasn't until now, that she'd realized just how much the issues with Kevin had taken a toll on her.

Garcia stretched out on the bed allowing herself to fully take in the first impressions of the new day. The sun was streaming in through a crack in the dark curtains. A single beam of light came from the crack in the curtains and gently grazed her face with its warmth. The room was softly illuminated by the sunlight, so that the contours of the furniture in the room were just barely visible. The neighbors downstairs played quite loud music, but somehow she felt that nothing could get her upset or angry this morning.

Garcia smiled to herself as she got up from the bed and went to the window. When she drew the curtains, she noticed just how beautiful the autumn day was. The sun was shining with brightness from an almost cloudless sky. As Garcia opened the windows, she realized just how fresh the morning air was.

She stood there in a couple of moments allowing herself to take in the beauty of the morning before she picked up her bathrobe and went to the bathroom. But the minute she stepped outside her bedroom Garcia noticed the smell of pancakes and coffee gracing her nostrils.

Unable to restrain herself, she sneaked her way through the living room and towards the kitchen not wanting to miss anything that happened in there.

Reid was standing with his back at her, whisking in some pancake batter, apparently oblivious to her presence. He seemed lost in deep concentration, as he stood there in her small kitchen. Packages of flour, sugar and eggs along with containers of baking powder and vanilla sugar were placed on a flour-stained table next to the sink. Some flour had stained the back of Reid's brown velvet pants, resulting in a white, smeared spot just above his hip. Suddenly Garcia found it really difficult to stifle the giggles that were threatening to reveal her presence to the fabulous Dr. Reid.

As Garcia stood there watching Reid cook she found herself contemplating on the whole situation. Somehow having the resident BAU genius in her kitchen, making her pancakes, was the last thing she'd expected to happen that weekend. "But…" she thought, as she shortly recalled the evening before, "…I didn't expect that either". As she stood there watching him cook, she realized again just how much she enjoyed spending time with Reid outside of work. Away from the blood and gore that was their job.

Unable to keep her presence hidden anymore, Garcia finally broke the silence and revealed her presence.

"Reid! I didn't know you could cook?" she exclaimed in an impressed voice.

When eventually Reid turned around to face her, Garcia had to stifle a giggle once more. A fine trace of flour was the tell-tale hint to the fact that Reid had repeatedly tucked hair behind his left ear that morning.

"Good morning to you too, Garcia" he answered at first, still whisking in the pancake batter.

When she didn't tore her intense, questioningly gaze away from him, he eventually answered her question.

"Well, I've read some books about it…" he began, but then trailed off, as if he thought that answer was beginning to get a bit too used. "And I used to cook for my mom the most of the time" he continued in a low voice. "So I guess I have some experience within the field" he finished with a small blush forming on his cheeks.

"Who knew our resident genius had such qualities?" Garcia said thoughtfully to herself.

"I-I woke up early, and was a bit restless. So I checked your kitchen closets and your fridge to see what you've got." Reid said nervously, as if he was trying to explain his apparent intrusion.

"It's brilliant, Reid. Or should I say, my little house elf?" Garcia said teasingly.

Reid grinned at her, as he turned towards the stove again, flipping the almost done pancake. Her reaction confirmed his initially thought. This had been a good idea.

"Breakfast is ready in about 15 minutes." he said, as he poured a new portion of batter into the frying pan.

"Brilliant angel cake. Can I help you with anything?" Garcia asked.

"Not right now…" Reid answered slowly. "…but you could do the dishes and clean up the kitchen when we're done eating breakfast?" he asked teasingly, as he turned to face her again.

"That's a deal, my furry friend." she answered "I think I'll be able to fill the dish washer just fine" she continued with a smile on her lips.

Reid smiled at her as he shook his head in amusement. He turned again to face the frying pan.

"I'll just put on some clothes, be right back." Garcia said, as she turned to leave the room. "By the way" she said, stopping in her tracks "If you'll need to take a shower, just say the word. Then I'll find you some towels and stuff." Garcia offered, trying not to think too much about Reid naked in a bath.

"Okay, thanks. I will." Reid answered over his shoulder, busy with his task. He was determined to make her a good, hearty breakfast. Yes, he'd woken up early and had been restless. But that wasn't the whole reason for him to do this. He still wasn't able just to leave her alone after what happened yesterday.

Breakfast with Reid turned out to be lots of fun. The two of them had eaten together before, but never like they did that morning. This was just two great friends, sharing a meal in a warm, sunlit kitchen. There was no team, no case and no bad guy to catch. Instead there was laughter, coffee and good food. Many smiles were shared across the table, as the two of them found themselves talking about everything and nothing during breakfast. None of them knew how long they sat there. It was as if they were in a bubble. Nothing else existed then and there besides the two of them and the sunlit kitchen. But eventually silence fell between them as their plates became empty and it logically became time to clean up after their meal. None of them said anything. It was as if they both thought that any talk then and there would make the moment stop. And none of them wanted that.

Garcia really didn't want for Reid to leave. She looked everywhere but at him, as if she thought the answer to her dilemma could be found there. Could she just ask him to stay? All she really wanted was to spend the day with him.

Eventually Reid broke the silence in a hoarse voice. "T-There is a funfair in town…" he began. Reid cleared his throat before he continued "They have a Merry-Go-Round and b-bumper cars..." he trailed off in a nervous voice. "We could go there today, if you feel up for it?" he asked nervously, looking her in the eye.

"Reid! That sounds perfect!" Garcia immediately exclaimed in a happy voice.

"I sure it will cheer you up." Reid said with a small smile.

"Angel cake, you being here are cheering me up. It's brilliant." she said without hesitation. Garcia had to fight a blush from forming on her cheeks in that moment. She knew how that could sound. And she really didn't want to freak out Reid.

Reid gave her a small smile, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. He looked down at the table, as he felt a blush forming on his cheeks at her words.

The funfair was awesome, Garcia thought. In some weird way this was the perfect activity for the two of them as they both embraced their inner child. After some persuasion, Garcia had even managed to get Reid to join her for a ride in the rollercoaster. Judging after his pale face afterwards, that had probably not been a good idea. As revenge Reid dragged Garcia into the haunted house, enjoying her squeals of horror very much.

Towards the end of their visit at the funfair Reid couldn't restrain himself any longer. He had to try his luck in a shooting booth just to check out how bad those rifles really were.

As it turned out, Reid actually succeeded. With a small blush he presented Garcia with his winnings: a key ring with a small toy bear attached to it. Garcia accepted it with a big smile and immediately attached it to her bundle of keys.

As the two of them were heading towards the parking lot, Garcia spoke. "So, now dinner is on me!"

"What – no…I-I" Reid tried to argue, but with no luck.

"No discussion, Angel Cake. You made me breakfast and won this fabulous prize for me. I'm buying dinner."

Reid felt it increasingly difficult to argue with Garcia. Partly because he liked seeing her this happy, partly because it sometimes just was difficult to argue with Garcia's logic. Reid sighed, "As long as it doesn't involve chop-sticks. I really don't understand the purpose of chop-sticks…" Reid said, trailing off.

"Is that so? I've heard you were doing quite well with those, my furry friend." Garcia said teasingly.

"I was…until I actually had to eat with them. A fork is just so much easier. Reid said, also in a teasing voice.

"Alright Reid, knife and fork it is!"

As the evening progressed Garcia noticed how she felt more and more relaxed in Reid's presence. And she noticed something else also. At first, she wasen't sure. But as the hours passed, she became increasingly sure. First there were the small signs. Gradually Reid ceased his unconscious fidgeting with his hands as he spoke to her. Generally Reid seemed much more relaxed around her. That made Garcia so happy, but she knew she couldn't comment on it. She was afraid he might turn back around and close himself to her. No she couldn't, wouldn't risk that. For now she was content with the fact that her Angel Cake, that Reid, was such a good friend to her.

Back at her tech cave after the weekend, Garcia gently placed her precious key ring at the center of all her treasured trinkets at her desk. She smiled down at it as she sat down, ready for a new day of tech miracles to happen.

Fin – for now. There will be a sequel!

A/N: Thank you so much for your interest in this story.