Photographs and memories.

Chapter 9.

Reid had half a mind to run after her, but she was already gone. He thought of going out to find her, but he realized he didn't know where she was staying. He wanted to call her, but she never gave him her phone number. He thought over what happened and tried to figure out where things went wrong. When he couldn't get to a conclusion, he turned his thoughts to their last conversation. The last time he saw her. Her eighteenth birthday.

Reid had just heard that he got the job at the BAU. He hung up his phone and dialed another number. Jessie's. the phone rang several times until she picked up.

"Hey." He started. "I got good news…. I got the job…. Yeah, thank you…" He checked his wall-clock. "Uhm… I'll be there in 30 minutes… I got to take a shower. Uh-huh, I'll see you then."

Jessie's party was on the top balcony of one of the most luxurious Hotels in Vegas. Her father, a retired army captain, had bought the Hotel from a friend several years ago. It took him three weeks to earn back what the place had cost him. And now he was swimming in money. Money that he divided between charities and organizations. And of course a living.

Reid walked onto the balcony. He looked polished and handsome to die for. He scanned the groups of people and found Jessie easily. He could pick her out of a crowd of millions. She was wearing Jeans and a shiny black top – and sported a plastic birthday girl grown on her head.

Jessie was talking to friends her own age and didn't notice Reid watching her. After he grabbed a drink, he headed over to her. As he approached her, she noticed him, excused herself from the conversation and met him halfway. As she got closer, she tripped and he caught her before she could fall.

"Honestly Jessie! Who trips on wood floors? In sneakers?" he said with a laugh. Jessie laughed too.

"Thanks," she said, "I have a gift for you. Come here." Jessie led him to a table and got the small box out of her purse.

"For me? It's your birthday." Reid half complained as he followed behind her.

"It's something small. Because you got the job."

Reid opened the box and found a fancy watch. Not too fancy that he wouldn't wear it. A real "Reid-type" watch.

"Wow. Thank you. Your gift is over there," he pointed to the gift pile and she literally hops to it. When Jessie started picking up gifts and shaking them, Reid stepped in. "you have to wait!" he simply said.

"This one?" Jessie completely ignored him.

"Jessie! You should really wait."

"No. I can wait for the others." She said as she waved at them. Then she found it. "This one!" Reid pursed his lips but nodded. Jessie tore the paper off and jerked when she got a minor paper cut. She sucked her finger and continued opening the present.

It was a silver necklace with her name written in cursive. Jessie was ecstatic!

"Oh my Gosh! Thank you Spencer!" she took it out of the box and marveled over it for a few seconds. "I want to wear it. Will you…" she gestured to him to help.

"Sure." Reid said as he reached for it and put it around her neck. Jessie twirled around and hugged him thank you. After she pulled away, their faces where intimately close. She slipped her hands around his neck and they shared a silent comfortable moment. Reid wasn't nervous about this intimacy they shared. In fact it had felt good. Normal.

"Kiss me…" Jessie whispered and Reid felt tempted for a second but then he started pulling away.

"Jessie…." He searched for words.

"What?" Jessie felt the awkwardness flood between them. Her heart raced as she started preparing for the worst.

"I should… we shouldn't." Reid stepped away leaving a huge gap between him and Jessie. Pain hovered in that gap and Jessie tried to close it. "Jessie, no." He said when she got too close.

"Yes!" Jessie snapped after a moment. She banged her foot down hard and drew attention to them. People nearby stared for several moments as Jessie tried to calm herself down.

"Let's talk about this later." Reid ended the conversation with a restraining hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it affectionately and stepped away. Jessie stared at him for a while. She doesn't seem to breathe. Then she threw her left arm across her chest, turns and storms off the balcony. Reid grudgingly stares after her until he decides to follow her. At the elevator door, Jessie waits with both her arms around her chest. When she saw Reid come within reach, she started pushing the buttons quicker.

"Jessie…" He didn't really know what he wanted to say. He just didn't like seeing her so upset.

"You knew this was coming." She said. More than sad, she was angry. That had talked about this once before. He told her he would kiss her the day she turns eighteen. In fact, he promised.

"I don't want to ruin our friendship." He answered mindlessly.

"You just did!" she said as the elevator arrived. Jessie got on and pushed the buttons hastily, urging the door to close. Reid kept the doors open with his hand and took a deep breath.

"Jessie, it's your party. You shouldn't leave."

"Suddenly I don't feel very celebratory." She snapped and pushed the buttons again. Reid let go of the door and stepped in. It was silent for several seconds. The doors remained closed but the elevator didn't move. Jessie grunted and pushed the Lobby button. The elevator started moving.

"I'm going to Virginia Next week." Reid said. When Jessie didn't respond, he continued. "And you're due back in Seattle soon."

"you don't get it, Spencer." She whispered. "I love you. Doesn't that count for anything?"

Reid was taken by that comment. He loved her too but he couldn't get himself to elaborate. He had so much on his mind that those three words just flushed his brain out. He drew a complete blank.

When Reid didn't say anything, Jessie pressed her back against the elevator wall.

"I'm sorry," was all he could manage when he saw the pain in her eyes.

"You don't love me…" she turned her eyes away from him and stared at the floor. "Okay… Now I know…I can't do this…" she started mumbling and even if Reid had tried to say something, she didn't listen. "There's no point… If you don't love me back… Yes… I am going to Seattle… and you… Virginia… I'm never going to see you again." She made it sound like a choice. As if she suddenly chose a life without him. The elevator doors opened and they were on the Lobby floor. "We could have made it work, I could have transferred or something but why try, huh?"

Jessie walked out the doors mechanically.

"Jessie, where are you going?" Reid asked her as he held the door open again.

"Home," she simply said.

"You live here." He pointed out.

"Right! Good point. You leave." She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. For a second there it looked as if she was going to kiss him, come hell or high water, but she simply turned him around and pushed him out the elevator.

"Jessie, wait!" Spencer tried. "It's not that…" he tried to hold the door one last time.

"Have a nice life Spencer." She said and started pushing buttons again.

"You mean you don't want to see me again because I don't want to complicate things?"

"It's not complicated. It's real simple." She tried to remove his hand off the door. "You love me, you kiss me…"

"I don't kiss you, I don't get to see you again." he finished her thought.

"Simple." She agreed.

Reid led go of the door and stepped back. Jessie's heart shattered into pieces and the last image Reid had of her was that of her pain breaking though her carefully built facade. Jessie fell against the back wall, slid down to the floor and stayed there until one of her friends found her. Reid stared at the fancy elevator doors until they opened again several minutes later with random Hotel guests inside.