Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.

Chapter 4 – The Old Boyfriend vs. The New Boyfriend

Reid walked up to Elle's room with a smile on his face that he was unable to wipe off and a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He knocked on her door as he waited excitedly for her to answer. But when the door opened his smile faded and he looked at the person staring back at him peculiarly.

"Can I help you?" Asked a tall, built, handsome, Hispanic man with curly, black hair.

"Umm…I must have made a mistake," Reid replied flustered.

He was about to walk away when he looked over the unknown male's shoulder and saw Elle step out of the bathroom. "Reid?" She walked towards the door and stepped in front of the male.

"Who's this babe?" The man asked curiously as he wrapped his muscular arms around Elle from behind and began to kiss the side of her neck.

Reid immediately noticed the look of discomfort on her face as the man slipped his hands under the front of her t-shirt. "Umm this is Dr. Spencer Reid; I work with him at the BAU."

He looked up at Reid and laughed, "What's with the flowers dude?"

Reid blushed uncontrollably as he glanced down at the flowers. "Oh they're from work." Surprisingly, he thought quickly on his feet. "They're 'get well' flowers and I volunteered to bring them over."

"Oh well that's nice man," he looked at Elle, "isn't that nice babe?"

Elle squirmed out of his grasp and turned around. "Danny I'm gonna talk to Reid for a sec."

"Yeah, okay," he slapped her on the butt, which caused her to jump, as she stepped over the threshold out into the hallway and pulled the door to.

She looked at Reid sadly as he stood in front of her but refused to meet her gaze. "Reid look at me," she said quietly as she placed her hand under his chin.

He tentatively raised his head. "Why didn't you tell me that you have a boyfriend?" His voice was barely a whisper and the sad look in his big, brown eyes almost made her cry.

"Because I didn't have a boyfriend then. We broke up before I went to Jamaica and he just got back from LA and he wants to get back together."

Reid looked away as he nodded and bit down on his bottom lip. "I see."

"We've been on and off for over a year," she pleaded for him to understand.

He looked back at her and locked their eyes. "Last night you told me that no another guy had ever told you that they respect you." She looked at him confused. "It may be because I'm a profiler or it may be because I'm jealous but it may be something else, something that says that there's something between us because I can look at him and tell that he doesn't treat you right." His speech became more passionate but his voice was still composed and low. "He looks at you and he sees lips and breasts and a good time and a woman who is way too good for him but is with him because she still dates the same kind of guys that she dated in high school. Guys who aren't concerned with your career, or your ambitions, or any of that stuff that you hold close to you because you haven't been close to your family since your mother remarried and your job is all you have." He paused and took a deep breath. "But I don't look at you that way and I don't know; maybe you're afraid of somebody who does actually respect you. You don't have to prove to anybody that you're smart or that you're attractive or that you're better than what you came from. You keep making the same mistakes and you're aware that you are but you're scared to change." He took another deep breath and passed her the flowers. "I'll let you get back to your evening. I hope that you feel better and I'll see you when you come back to the BAU."

He turned on his heel and began to walk down the hallway. "Reid wait," she called out but he did not acknowledge her and he simply continued to walk.

She sighed heavily as she watched him disappear around a corner. She took a moment to compose herself before she re-entered her room and closed the door behind her.

"Hey what was that about?" Danny asked curiously.

"Oh it was about work," she lied.

"What do you do again?" He asked stupidly.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a criminal investigative analyst."

He smirked as he walked towards her. "Right, I knew that."

She scoffed, "Yeah I'm sure."

She looked away from him as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Is something wrong?"

"I almost died, I'm perfectly peachy," she answered sarcastically.

He ran one hand down her backside until he grasped a butt cheek while he slipped the other under her t-shirt. "Do you want a smoke babe?"

"No," she shook her head. "I quit."

"Since when?" He asked laughing.

"When I got out of the hospital, I promised a friend that I'd quit," she replied as she thought of Reid. He leaned down to kiss her but she stopped him. "Danny I'm not feeling that great so I think that I'm just gonna go to bed." She used this purely as an excuse to get him out of her room, the truth was the only times she had slept through the night since she had been shot was when Reid stayed with her.

"Oh okay," he pulled her closer, "well I can stay here right?" He asked smirking.

She wriggled out of his clutches and walked to the opposite side of the room. "Danny I'm definitely not in the mood."

"Yeah, I noticed," he sneered, "you're a little on the bitchy side."

"Well excuse me," she replied angrily.

He laughed lightly as he ran his hand through his thick curls. "Well I'm going to leave and call me when you finish PMS-ing."

"Yeah whatever asshole!" She grabbed her car keys and key card and stormed past him. "Don't forget to close the door on your way out!" She yelled over her shoulder as she left her hotel room.

-----------------------

Reid sat moping on his couch in a pair of beat around, corduroy pants, and a plain, black t-shirt. He was watching a 'Star Trek' marathon when he heard an urgent knock on his door. He reluctantly got up off of his comfortable sofa and answered the door. "Elle what are you doing?" He asked shocked as she stumbled into his apartment.

"I got caught in the rain." It was the beginning of June so she only wore a pair of blue jeans and a tight, plain, light blue, long sleeved t-shirt.

"Yeah I can see that," he replied as he looked her up and down. She was absolutely soaked from head to toe and she pushed her wet hair out of her face. "I meant what are you doing here?"

"I came to tell you that everything that you said was true."

"I know," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Yeah well I have such a friggin' thing for you and I don't know why." He simply stared at her in shock so she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down, and kissed him intensely.

When she pulled back he still stared at her in shock before he finally spoke breathlessly, "Are you finished with the boyfriend?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he's an ass."

He smiled at her before he pulled her close and kissed her passionately. He felt her shiver in his arms and he quickly pulled back. "Oh I'm sorry, you must be freezing."

She smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Yeah I'm a little cold."

He took her hand in his. "Come on I can give you something of mine to wear."

He led her away from the door and out of the large, spotless kitchen. They walked through the beautiful living room and down a long hallway. She noticed three closed doors as they reached the black, hardwood stairwell. He had a huge, gorgeous, loft apartment and it got even more incredible when they reached the top of the stairs and entered his bedroom. It was large with a king sized bed with black, silk sheets, a tall, oak wardrobe, two dressers, and a fireplace. There was an open door on the left wall and she assumed that it led to his private bathroom.

"Reid your apartment is incredible," she stated amazed.

He smiled as he walked over to the dresser under his window and pulled out one of the drawers. He removed his old, Stanford, hooded sweater and walked back towards her. "Here you go, it's pretty baggy and it's probably the warmest thing I have."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"You can change in my bathroom," he said as he tilted his head towards the open door.

She smiled at him again before she walked into his bathroom and closed the door behind her. His bathroom was almost as large as his bedroom and it was freakishly clean. There was a stand-up shower across from the bathroom vanity, and there was a large corner bathtub on the other side of the room. The possibility of Dr. Spencer Reid taking baths peaked her curiosity. She resisted the temptation to open his drawers and instead, quickly removed her wet clothes and put on Reid's sweater. She giggled as he was right, it was baggy, and it was just above her knees.

When she walked out of the bathroom, he could have sworn that his eyes had popped out of his head. Her legs seemed to go on forever. She smiled and laughed as she hugged herself. "I feel all warm now and it smells like you."

He stepped up to her and smiled. "And what do I smell like?"

"Its good," she replied quietly.

He tentatively placed his big hands on her sides. "So you like the apartment?" She nodded. "Enough to stay here?"

She raised a worried eyebrow. "Reid I dunno if…"

He cut her off, "I don't mean that we're now a couple…not that I'm saying that…so we should live together. I'm saying that you're a friend who's living in a hotel and just so happens to have a friend with a very nice guestroom."

"I dunno," she spoke hesitantly, "it might get a little awkward because first of all, I want to date you," she smiled brightly as she played with the collar of his dress shirt. "And I'm taking your advice about changing my ways which means that I want to take things really slow with you."

He returned her smile. "I'd like that but the guestroom is downstairs and there's a bathroom downstairs, we'd be a whole floor apart. And my office has a treadmill in it, and I have a really full kitchen, and a big screen TV, and a lot of books." He laughed lightly, "I'm giving a fairly decent sales pitch here."

She laughed, "Yes you are."

"So will you stay?" He asked, putting on his very best pout.

She nodded. "Okay, soo will I get my stuff tonight or tomorrow?"

"Umm wait until I get home from work tomorrow so that I can help you." She nodded and ran her small hands down his chest. "What's wrong?" He asked concerned.

"I realized today that since I was shot, I haven't slept through the night," she paused, "except for the nights that I slept with you. So can I sleep with you?" She asked quietly.

He nodded. "Yeah of course."

"What do you sleep in?" She asked curiously.

"Since we're taking it slow, pyjama pants and a t-shirt."

She smiled at him. "Sweet answer."

Reid went to the washroom to change his pants and when he returned he proceeded to turn down the covers of the bed. He crawled into bed and lay down on his back. She crawled in beside him and took a moment to bask in the comfort of the silk sheets before she snuggled into his body. He smiled to himself as she rested her head on his shoulder and placed her hand on his chest.