Season 2: Episode 10
Spencer blinked his eyes open. For a moment, he was surprised. This was definitely not his bed. Where was he? And most importantly, who was the person gently shaking his shoulder?
"Reid..." a familiar voice said gently, coaxing him out of sleep. Spencer squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again, allowing his surrounding to clear up from their previous blurry state. He was lying on his stomach, his arms crossed over his head and his head resting on top of his tangle of arms. He was facing a white wall of fabric that he realized was the back of a couch. The couch on the jet to be exact.
Turning to face the other way, Spence realized that it was Emily, the newest addition to their team who was gently shaking him awake. Out the window past her shoulder he saw that they were no longer thousands of feet in the air. They were landed, the plane still and silent with no trace of Gideon who also used to be on the ride back to Virginia with them.
"Hmm?" he murmured unintelligibly, squinting against the bright natural light filtering in through the window. She chuckled and straightened from her position bending over the couch to wake him.
"We're here." she said, looking slightly amused by the way he was only half awake and aware. She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at him, waiting for him to get up.
"Oh, right." he said, pushing himself to sit up on the edge of the couch. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, taking a moment to stretch out and find motivation to even just stand. He was exhausted. It had been a long, frustrating, and nail-biting case. It wore them out just trying to get information out of the terrorists with information on the next bombing. They'd managed to stop the entire heist before anyone could get hurt, but the case still left them spent.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Emily asked, sitting on the space next to him. Spencer raised an eyebrow curiously and glanced over at her. He wasn't expecting this.
"Yeah, of course." he said, dropping his arms that had been stretching out, back to his sides. Emily looked down at the ground, seeming to think of what to say. Spencer watched her, profiling the best he could. Her demeanor said she was often unsure, and cautious around the team. It was if she feared she wouldn't be enough. He knew just by watching her and listening to the way she talked, she desperately wanted to fit in and would work extremely hard to do a good job for the team.
"Prentiss, you're doing great here." he said as she opened her mouth to speak, interrupting what she was about to say. He didn't need to hear though. He already knew. "You have no need to worry."
Emily smiled and looked at him in disbelief.
"Wow." she laughed, shaking her head. "You guys are good."
Spencer smiled too, chuckling a bit. "But, really. They seem intimidating at first but I promise, they like you." he assured her. Prentiss looked back at Reid with an expression that looked relieved and grateful for what he said. She nodded her head and tilted it to the side.
"Thank you." she said sincerely. "And you can call me Emily." she added, breaking into a smile. Spencer smiled too, her smile being contagious. A question had been clawing at his mind however, his consciousness begging for it to be answered.
"Why'd you come to me out of the whole team?" he asked. Emily shrugged and stood, waiting for him to join her. With a sigh, wishing he could just curl up and fall asleep again, Spencer pushed himself up onto his feet, joining Emily as they walked to the exit of the jet.
"You're sweet." she said plainly, making Spencer blush.
"And a genius." he added jokingly. Emily laughed and nodded.
"And a genius." she repeated. "Are you sure though? Gideon really seems to not like me." she said, smile faltering as they walked down the steps and out into the open air.
"He's not bad, trust me. He just doesn't like change." Spencer explained. "Old fashioned."
"Yeah I can tell. He's scary good at chess."
Spencer chuckled and rolled his eyes a bit. No matter what he did, he could never beat him. "Think outside the box", Gideon would say. Reid didn't know how. He was programmed to look at facts and strategies. He'd gotten frustrated enough to give up and take a nap on the plane today, just for an example.
"Yes. Yes he is."
Spencer didn't know Emily too well yet, but he believed what he said. She hadn't reason to worry. She'd fit in perfectly.