Disclaimer- I do not own CBS or Criminal Minds.

A/N- Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed this story. You guys are great. I hope you like this latest installment.

Several months passed with Reid working cases with the BAU and seeing Lyssa whenever time and location permitted and as the time passed the young profiler found himself growing ever closer to the young woman who had befriended him at Virginia Tech. The more Reid learned about Lyssa the more he grew to like, if not love, her and the less guarded around her he became.

BAU HEADQUARTERS

FRIDAY OCTOBER 7

The work day had proven to be uneventful for the members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit and the team members all chatted casually as they prepared to depart.

"Hey boy genius," Morgan called out from his desk as Reid packed a couple of folders into his messenger bag. "Some of us are getting together after work. You in?"

Reid shook his head as he closed his bag and slung the strap across his shoulder. "Sorry but I already have plans."

"O-ho," Morgan said, a wide grin quickly spreading across his face. "And what exactly do you and your girl have planned for tonight?"

Reid shrugged. Somehow Morgan always equated him having plans with Lyssa. "I'm supposed to meet her at her house later this evening."

"My man!" Morgan exclaimed upon hearing this news. "Looks like our boy is finally going to get some action."

Reid blushed profusely, holding up his hands as though the motion could somehow shield him from what Morgan was saying. "It's nothing like that. Lyssa said that she wanted to make dinner for the two of us since we always go out."

Morgan grinned. "If you say so."

Reid sighed as he turned to leave.

"Have fun boy genius," Morgan called out as Reid walked across the bullpen, toward the elevators. "Make me proud."

Reid waved at his colleague from over his shoulder, continuing in the direction of the elevator. The smile on Morgan's face widened due to this gesture, which told him that the kid was refusing to play into the game. He was finally learning.

Once in the elevator Reid headed, not for the exit but for the office inhabited by the BAU's digital intelligence officer, Penelope Garcia. When he arrived at her door he raised his hand and then hesitated for the briefest of moments before knocking lightly.

"Enter o seeker of knowledge," a voice called out imperiously from within.

Reid opened the door and then stepped inside the office. Garcia spun her chair around and smiled up at the young profiler. "You came seeking knowledge, grasshopper. Ask and ye shall receive."

Reid twitched a smile and nervously cleared his throat. "I need some advice Garcia."

"Ask away junior G-man."

"I-I want to get Lyssa a gift," Reid said, feeling his face warm up in embarrassment. "And I was wondering if you had any suggestions."

"Depends on what you want to say," Garcia said, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Although flowers are usually a good choice, roses being on the top of the list."

"Roses," Reid repeated.

Garcia nodded. "And if you want to keep your message low key then I suggest you go with yellow roses, not red."

"Red is typically perceived as meaning love," Reid said in his lilting, matter-of-fact way, relaxing a small degree as the topic shifted to statistics which were his forte. "While yellow is friendship. Thanks Garcia."

"Don't mention it sweetie," Garcia called out as Reid quickly left the office. "Always glad to help."

Morgan was sitting at his desk, lost in thought, when he heard a voice call out to him from across the room. "What's that look for?"

Morgan glanced up and watched as Garcia walked across the bullpen and came to stand in front of him. "Our boy genius has another date tonight."

"So?" Garcia said. "What's the significance of that? I thought you'd lost interest when you found out who she was and that she didn't pose a threat to Reid."

"The significance is that they're meeting at the girl's house," Morgan told her. "She wants to make him dinner and after that. . ."

Garcia shook her head, knowing where Morgan was going with this line of thought. "That doesn't necessarily mean what you think it means. After all there's one thing that you have to remember."

"What's that?" Morgan wanted to know.

"Reid isn't you," Garcia said simply.

"Oh," Morgan said, faking a little gasp and clutching his chest. "That was harsh girl."

"Hey," Garcia said. "Sometimes the truth hurts."

"Why do you have to be so cruel to me?" Morgan asked, his bottom lip stuck out in a small pout.

"Poor thing," Garcia said. "I'll have to see what I can do to make it up to you."

"I can think of a few things," Morgan told her, a roguish grin appearing on his face.

"You know," the familiar voice of their fearless leader called out from the landing above. "If the two of you are absolutely determined to stay here, even though you've been given permission to go home, then I'm sure I can find something constructive for you to do."

"That won't be necessary Hotch," Morgan said, quickly jumping to his feet and grabbing Garcia by the hand. "Come on angel before he makes good on that threat."

Garcia nodded as she allowed Morgan to drag her toward the elevator.

Hotchner chuckled softly to himself as he watched the two of them flee.

"You'd better watch out," a voice called out from behind him. "Or you'll ruin your reputation."

"What are you talking about Jason?" Hotchner asked, not even bothering to turn around as the senior agent came to stand beside him.

"You wouldn't want people to find out that you're not as scary as they've been led to believe," Gideon told him. "That happens and you'll have to work twice as hard to instill fear in them."

"What are you talking about?" Hotchner asked, rolling his eyes which he hardly ever did. "I have yet to instill fear in any of them. If I had then Reid wouldn't be showing his colleagues 'physics magic' in the bullpen."

Gideon chuckled softly. "Did it again huh?"

Hotchner nodded. "Did you know he can launch those things all the way across the room now?"

Gideon shook his head. "I was not aware of that. I'll have a word with him if you like."

"That won't be necessary," Hotchner told him. "I spoke to him about it."

After leaving the BAU headquarters Reid made his way to a small flower shop, where he purchased a dozen yellow roses and then he continued on to his apartment, to bide his time until he could meet Lyssa. The young man was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought, when he was jarred from his thoughts by a sudden knock on the door.

"Who. . ."

Getting to his feet Reid made his way to the door of his apartment, which he opened to reveal someone he hadn't seen in months. "Charlie!"

"Hey Spencer," Charlie Eppes said, offering his friend a wide smile, and gesturing toward a young woman who stood at his side. "We were in the neighborhood and we thought we'd drop by."

"Come in," Reid said, stepping aside and allowing them to enter his apartment.

Charlie and Amita stepped inside the apartment and Reid closed the door behind them. Then he turned to face his two friends. "So what brings you guys to Virginia?"

"Mathematics conference at Georgetown," Charlie told his friend. "After which we couldn't resist the urge to come and pay you a visit."

"I'm glad you did," Reid said. "It's great to see you again."

Charlie nodded as his eyes scanned the apartment, coming to rest on the vase of flowers that Reid had placed on the coffee table. "Do you have plans tonight Spencer?"

Reid hesitated. He didn't want to tell them that he'd been planning to meet Lyssa for dinner since that information would most likely make them leave. An answer wasn't required however as Charlie picked up on Reid's hesitation and accurately read it.

"I'm sorry Spencer," Charlie said quickly. "Just tell us if you have plans and we'll leave."

"No," Reid said. "You don't have to do that. I'll call Lyssa and reschedule."

"Spencer," Amita said. "You don't have to. . ."

Reid held up his hands, at the same time picking his cell phone up from the coffee table. Flipping it open he quickly dialed a number and then held the phone up to his ear. "Lyssa, hey it's Spencer. Listen, some friends of mine came in from California so is there any way we could reschedule. . . Are you sure? Okay, I'll ask them."

Reid held the cell phone to his shoulder, to muffle the voices and said, "Would the two of you be interested in joining Lyssa and I for dinner?"

Charlie and Amita exchanged looks and then the couple turned back to Reid and nodded. "Sounds like fun." Charlie said with a grin.

Reid nodded and placed the phone back to his ear. "We'll be there. Yea, I'll see you then."

Reid flipped his phone closed and clipped it back to his belt. Then he turned back to Charlie and Amita and offered them a half smile.

"Bet that wasn't part of the evil plan," Charlie said with a smirk, his gaze focused intently on Reid. "Now Amita and I get to meet your girl."

"That's alright," Reid said in a quiet voice. "You guys can save me from the dog. Not to mention if things take a turn for the worse you can say that you have somewhere important that you have to be. Then, since I'll be the driver, I'll have no choice other than to leave with you guys."

Charlie gave his friend a slightly impressed look. "You sure came up with that plan fast Spencer." He paused a moment and then added, 'You haven't met the dog yet?"

Reid shook his head. "She's invited me to her house a couple of times but I've avoided it up until now."

"So what made you accept this time?" Amita wanted to know.

Reid shrugged. "I decided to take a chance."

LYSSA'S HOUSE

A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER

Reid couldn't shake the slightly nauseous feeling he had as he pulled up to the small, white house that belonged to Lyssa. He briefly debated a hasty retreat however that plan was made impossible as he saw Lyssa waving at him from the porch, a small white dog standing beside her.

"Well," Reid said quietly, more to himself than to his companions. "No turning back now."

Opening their doors they all stepped out of the car and in that instant the dog left his spot by Lyssa's side and ran toward them, barking loudly. "Shiro-chan!" Lyssa called out as the dog ran toward her guests. The dog ignored her and kept running.

Reid tensed. "Oh no."

Shiro-chan ran directly to Reid and sat down in front of him, gazing up intently.

Reid leaned forward and offered the dog his hand, which Shiro-chan proceeded to sniff. "Um, hello Shiro-chan."

The dog ceased his sniffing and cocked his head to one side, as though he were intrigued by Reid. Then he gave one yelp and licked Reid's hand. Reid looked slightly disgusted by the situation and Lyssa laughed as she left her spot on the porch and made her way out into the yard to join them. "See Spencer I told you so. Shiro-chan loves everyone."

"From the look on his face I'm thinking Spencer might have preferred it if the dog hadn't liked him," Charlie said, offering Lyssa his hand. "Charlie Eppes, pleased to meet you."

"Lyssa Knight," she said as she took his proffered hand. She gazed at him in an appraising manner. "So you're Charlie. Spencer's spoke of you often."

"Considering all the things I've said and done to irritate him in the rather short time that we've known one another, I shudder to think what he's said," Charlie said. Then he gestured toward Amita. "This is my friend and colleague Dr. Amita Romanajan."

Amita held out her hand, which Lyssa shook.

"Another doctor huh?" Lyssa said, offering Amita a friendly smile. "I feel like the dumb one at the party. I'm just a lowly grad student."

Lyssa's guests all laughed and then she motioned for them to follow her. "Well come on inside. Dinner's almost ready."

Everyone nodded and fell into step behind her, even the dog, however about halfway across the front yard Reid stopped short and smacked himself lightly on the forehead. "I'm such an idiot! Hold on for just a second." This said, the young profiler turned and dashed back over to his car. Opening the back driver's side door he leaned inside and when he stood back up he was holding a vase of yellow roses.

He quickly made his way back to the spot where the others were standing and he sheepishly offered the flowers to Lyssa. "I brought you a gift."

Lyssa took the flowers from him with one hand and then threw her other arm around his neck. "Oh Spencer, they're gorgeous! Thank you."

Reid twitched a nervous smile as she released her hold on him and the quintet continued on their way over to the house.

"Good job Spencer," Charlie mouthed to his friend behind Lyssa's back.

Reid nodded, making a mental note to thank Garcia for her advice the next time he saw her.

Lyssa led the group into her house which, although small, had a warm and inviting feel to it. She led them from the small entry way into the den, where she gestured toward a sofa and a couple of comfortable looking armchairs. "Make yourselves at home while I finish with dinner."

Reid, Charlie and Amita all nodded and Charlie and Amita took seats on the sofa while Reid sat down in an armchair that was positioned across from it. The little dog, Shiro-chan, curled up at Reid's feet and placed his head on top of the profiler's shoe.

Reid stared down at the dog, a completely baffled expression on his face. "I don't understand this. Dogs usually hate me."

"Did you take my advice?" Charlie inquired.

"Well I did skim through a couple of books about dogs while I was at the bookstore yesterday," Reid admitted. "But I'm not trying to profile the dog."

"Oh come on Spencer," Charlie said with a grin. "You read the books, because skimming for you means reading. Profile the dog already. It could be fun."

Reid shook his head in exasperation and Amita playfully slapped her boyfriend on the arm. "Leave him alone Charlie."

"Thank you," Reid said, casting a grateful nod in Amita's direction.

It wasn't long after that when Lyssa reentered the den and smiled at her guests. "Dinner's ready."

Reid, Charlie and Amita all got to their feet and followed Lyssa into a small kitchen/dining room where a small table had been set for four.

"I hope you guys like pasta," Lyssa said as she gestured toward a large bowl filled with spaghetti and meatballs. There were two baskets full of breadsticks on either side of the spaghetti.

"It looks delicious," Amita said.

Charlie nodded his head in agreement. "And it smells even better than it looks. Thanks again for inviting us."

"Oh it's no problem," Lyssa said with a smile. "I really enjoy having guests."

"So Spencer tells us that you're a psychology major," Amita said once everyone had served themselves.

Lyssa nodded. "I'm getting my master's degree at the moment and I'm actually a guidance counselor at Pine Hills Junior High."

"Do you plan on changing careers once you have your master's?" Reid asked, kind of enjoying the fact that the conversation wasn't centered on him for a change.

"Well," Lyssa said, hesitating slightly. "I've actually been thinking that it might be kind of cool to be a profiler like Spencer."

Reid's eyes widened in surprise. That hadn't been the reply that he'd been expecting from her even though she had shown a tremendous interest in criminal profiling. "Really?"

Lyssa nodded. "I don't know why but it seems really interesting."

Reid saw the excitement in her blue eyes and he couldn't bare to tell her that his job actually gave him nightmares. He'd always avoided the darker aspects of his job when speaking to her and he knew that he should tell her the whole truth now so that she'd have an accurate picture of the job but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"And if that doesn't work out for me I've been taking classes in forensic science," Lyssa said with a smile. "Sorta like a back-up plan."

"Got all of the bases covered huh Lyssa?" Charlie said with a smile.

Lyssa nodded. "Something like that."

After dinner Lyssa led her guests back in to the den where they spent their time playing board games. They started out with a classic, Monopoly, and then, much to Charlie's dismay, they moved on to Scrabble.

"Ugh," Charlie groaned the moment he saw the Scrabble board in Lyssa's hands. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What's the problem?" Lyssa and Reid both asked at the same time.

"Oh," Amita said, laughing and shaking her head at the expression on her boyfriend's face. "Charlie didn't tell you about his problem?"

"What problem?" Reid asked, his interest piqued.

"Well," Charlie said, running a hand through his mass of curly hair. "I'm not exactly the best speller on the planet."

Amita laughed. "That's putting it mildly."

Charlie glanced over at his girlfriend but chose not to comment. He merely resigned himself to his fate. There would be no escaping the humiliation.

The group spent a couple of hours playing games together and then Reid decided that it was probably time to end the little party. He turned to Charlie and Amita. "Are you guys ready to go?"

Charlie and Amita both nodded.

Lyssa got to her feet with the others and walked them out to the front door. Charlie and Amita both made their way across the yard to the car, leaving Reid and Lyssa on the porch together.

"I had a really nice time tonight," Lyssa said quietly.

"So did I," Reid said. "Thanks for inviting my friends over Lyssa. That was really nice and it meant the world to me."

Lyssa waved off the thank you. "You don't have to thank me for that Spencer. I'm really glad that you brought them along. They were very interesting."

Reid nodded. "They are that."

Lyssa smiled. "You'll have to bring them back the next time they're in town."

Reid twitched a smile and then leaned forward and hesitantly touched Lyssa's lips with his own. Lyssa wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss with much more confidence than Reid had displayed.

"I-I'll call you later," Reid said when they finally broke apart. He was really thankful that it was dark so that she couldn't see the blush that he knew was coloring his face.

Lyssa nodded. "Drive safely Spencer."

Reid waved his hand over his shoulder as he made his way over to the spot where he'd parked the car. Opening the driver's side door Reid got inside the car and, glancing over at the passenger's side he saw that Charlie was wearing an annoying smirk. "Not ONE word."

Charlie held up his hands. "Hey I didn't say anything."

TBC. . .