The Doctor and the Redhead, part 10-The City of Lovers and Erin Go Bragh
0900 Hours
Hotel Raphael
30 Avenue Kleber
Paris
Spencer and Fiona find themselves awakening to the tolling of the bells from the Notre Dame on the second leg of their European holiday. The next three days has them in Paris, and as they prepare for the day, Fiona speaks to her husband.
"So, when you were sleeping on the plane, I called my girlfriend Sabine, who lives here. Anyway, she's having a dinner party tomorrow night, mostly current and former CIA, and we're invited, if you want to go." He nods.
"Sure."
"Ok, I'll call her and let her know. I've also discovered that my French is a little rusty."
"It's OK; I am fluent. I'll help you." She grins, and takes her cell phone from the bedside table and dials. A few moments later, Spencer can hear her trilling down the phone.
"Bonjour, Sabine. Mon mari et moi aimerions venir….six P.M. ? L'ok… vous voient demain soir. Au bientot." *
She turns to Spencer and smiles.
"Ok, Six pm tomorrow night; 47 Rue de Malte." He nods.
"Great. Let's head over to the Musee de Orsay today, then. We'll do the tourist bit, and then tomorrow is that lecture at the Sorbonne you wanted to sit in on."
She nods, and they finish dressing and head out on the town. They grab some tea and croissants at a roadside café and then head for the center of the town, where the museums and Eiffel tower tours are located. They loaf around art museums until late in the afternoon, commenting on the art, and daydreaming about life and romance in earlier times, and the lives they would have led. Fee casts herself in the role of oppressed Irish housemaid, and Spencer as her artist knight in shining armor, and they laugh and kiss and amble throughout the town.
They decide on a simple dinner in the heart of Paris; Fiona claimed that since they were in one of the best gastronomical cities of the world, they'd better enjoy it while they could. So they found themselves a cute little Bistro and settled in for a meal of traditional French goodness. They drink some wine, and watch the sunset behind the Arc d'Triomphe and then head back to the hotel for the night. They spend some time catching up with work friends and family, and then turn in.
The next morning, Spencer is all smiles as he watches his wife dress for the lecture she was scheduled to attend. He was glad he'd been able to arrange their honeymoon to include the lecture, which was a four-hour workshop on translation techniques from a former Interpol agent, and a discussion on French international relations. Spencer was going to spend that time indulging in some reading at a nearby park, and then they were to meet for lunch before a quick shop and then the dinner party.
He chuckles to himself as she selects on of her usual outfits-black jeans, a purple-and-black flannel shirt, and t-shirt white t-shirt with a screen print of Prince on the front. She slides into some sneakers and pulls her hair back into a ponytail. He loves her best when she is wearing her street clothes, and he notes with triumph that she forgoes her contacts and makeup and opts for her glasses. He watches as she bustles around, sticking a notebook and pen into her laptop bag, and making sure she has her phone on. He realizes that she can feel him watching her, because she raises her head and smiles at him.
"You're staring at me."
"I am. I love it when you wear your old clothes." She grins, but turns into the bathroom and shoves some chap stick and Kleenex into her bag. Finally, she locates her wallet, and her umbrella, just in case, and turns to Spencer.
"Are you sure you're going to be OK?" He nods.
"Yes, dear. You forget that I have been to Paris before, as well."
"Right. Ok, so we will meet at the Café du la Monde on Rue du Chapeau at 1, right?" He nods.
"Yes."
"Ok, I'll see you then." She leans in to kiss him, and then heads out for the day.
Several hours later has the couple sitting in the café, chatting, sipping white wine and munching on a light meal.
"How was it?" Spencer asks Fee.
"Amazing. You might have found it interesting, also. It was more like a layman's guide to translating documents, geared for professionals like lawyers, but fascinating. The woman running the thing really knew her stuff. Then the panel discussion after-it was great. I felt like I was home, kind of, surrounded by other intellectuals. Paris is so much more than a tourist city; it's a hotbed of intellect and I think people forget that." Spencer grins, and nods, happy that his wife had a good time.
"I know what you mean. Tell me more about this Sabine woman."
"Ahh. She used to be a spy, but I can't really tell you more than that, because it's classified. Or at least, not here. Anyway, I met her originally when I started at the CIA. She was my trainer, you know that I originally wanted to be a spy." He nods, as she continues.
"Anyway, Sabine is great. She's this tall, gorgeous brunette who comes from a poorer part of Marseilles, and is married to another former spy, Roger. Roger is her complete opposite. He's very proper, went to Oxford, and has a ton of money. Then there's the other Fee; Phoebe, who hails from West London, worked for Scotland Yard, once got suspended for telling her boss to piss off, and has slept with a ton of men. She is their roommate, and fantastic. Those are the hosts. I wonder who all is going to be there; Oh, I think you'll finally get to meet Frank."
Spencer made a face; Frank was Fiona's second and most recent boyfriend behind Spencer. He understood that the man worked for the CIA, doing basically the same job as Fee, but worked strictly special ops, and he and Fee never saw each other, and Fee confided that she felt that he'd been unfaithful. He mused for a moment about her poor history with men, and felt a surge of happiness and pride that he'd been the one to break that cycle for her. She giggled, and he looked at her, realizing that she'd spoken and he'd missed it.
"Spence? I asked if you were ready to head back to the hotel." He nods.
"Yes. Let's."
They pay their check and amble back to their hotel, where they nap for a bit before Spencer's alarm rings out. Then, they dress and clean up for the dinner party. As Fee is holed up in the bathroom, doing her hair, Spencer sits nervously at the side of the bed, and fiddles with his iPod. He knew Fee would kill him if she knew he was going to bring it, but he felt like he might need an escape, as he was scared that her friends wouldn't like him. Finally, she emerged from the bathroom, and he smiled.
She was wearing the same dress she'd worn when they'd left the wedding for their honeymoon, but this time she added a wide black patent belt, the chandelier earrings he'd bought her when he'd been in Chicago on a case, and her black flats. Her hair was straightened, and she wore her black headband. He noticed that she was still wearing her glasses, but had put on some makeup. He loved that she was going halfway tonight-parts of her old look with part of her new look. He grinned, and spoke.
"Wow, you look gorgeous." She smiled at him, and moved towards the dresser to grab her bag.
"Thanks. You look good yourself." Spencer was wearing a pair of black slacks, her favorite shirt of his- the white linen one she'd bought for him, and a black cardigan. He had combed his curls out, and his hair shone in the sunlight streaming through the small window in the bedroom. He smiles.
"Thanks. The cab is waiting downstairs; we need to hurry." She nods, slips her phone and wallet into a bag she was holding, and nods.
"Let's go." Spencer leads her into the hallway and the elevator, and downstairs. He notices her bag, and realizes he doesn't recognize it.
"Nice bag. When did you get that?"
"Oh, Garcia loaned it to me." He shrugs.
"That was nice of her. It matches your dress well." She nods.
"I know, that's why I asked." They dash into the waiting cab and make it across town in a relatively quick amount of time. As they ring the buzzer to Sabine's apartment, Fee speaks to Spencer.
"Don't be too worried; everyone will love you. But more important, I love you." He smiled and kissed her head as she announced them and they were buzzed in. As they trooped up a flight of stairs and were shown into a warm, glowing apartment, Spencer grinned. He liked the room; it was different than their house, very colorful, with art on the walls and old furniture everywhere. A fat calico cat snoozed on a window seat, seemingly unaware of the party starting around him. All of a sudden, a tall, brunette woman in a leopard print leotard and leggings appeared out of nowhere and scooped Fee into a large hug.
"Fiona. You're here." As the woman released Fee, she turned to Spencer. "You must be the husband. Nice to meet you." Spencer tried to introduce himself, but the woman had already turned her head, and was shouting in heavily-accented English to an invisible crowd of people in the next room. "Everyone, Fiona has come, with her gorgeous American husband." A chorus of laughter met her declaration, but she turned back to the couple, and spoke to Spencer again.
"Hello, I am Sabine. It's nice to meet you, finally." He smiles.
"I am Spencer Reid. It's nice to meet you." Sabine smiles warmly at Fee, and motions behind her.
"Go sit, and Rog will get you a cocktail. We have so much catching up to do, Fee." Fiona laughs as she takes Spencer's hand and leads him into a dining room, where several small tables are set up, Bistro style, along with one large table, and indicates a nearby table for them. But before they can sit, however, they are accosted by a short blonde girl, who embraces Fiona enthusiastically.
"Fiona! We've missed you so much. We heard about your marriage; come, sit at the big table. I'll make Henri-Luc move. We have to chat, and everyone wants to meet your husband." Fiona smiles, and pulls Spencer along with her, stopping at the large square table in the middle of the room. The woman speaks.
"Everyone, I found Fiona." Fiona smiles, and indicates Spencer.
"She did. Everyone, this is Spencer." Spencer is warmly greeted by the group, and he and Fee were seated at the big table, next to a man that introduced himself as Henri-Luc. The blond who had greeted them moments before sat on the opposite side of the man, and smiled.
"By the way, I am Phoebe. It's nice to meet you, Spencer." Spencer nods, and Fee smiles at him. She takes his hand in hers as some others speak to her. A cauliflower-eared man with dark features speaks to her.
"Fee, you look fantastic. Is that makeup?" Fee rolls her eyes.
"Yes, it is. Doesn't this dress rock your world? Oh, you haven't officially met Spencer. Marv, this is my husband, Dr. Spencer Reid. Spencer, this is Marv Matheson." Spencer nods to the man as he turns to the man next to him and speaks.
"Oooh, Fee. He's sexy." Fee rolls her eyes again, and turns to Spencer. "Marv is gay, so be ware. He likes to play footsie when he's had too much to drink. His boyfriend, Rolf, here, is the epitome of adorable." Spencer chuckles, and kisses her head.
"Sweetheart, I don't think that's polite." She shrugs.
"Sorry. But it's true." Marv speaks again.
" It is. So, Spencer. Tell us what you do."
"I work for the FBI. I am a profiler." The table fell silent for a moment, and Spencer looks around, confused, before Fee giggles. Then the girl called Sabine enters the room, another couple behind. She takes in the scene.
"What?" Phoebe speaks, giggly.
"Fee's husband works for the FBI. So I guess we can't harass him like we did the others." Spencer looks worriedly at Fee, who laughs and leans into him, whispering.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. They're kidding. They usually like to bullshit a lot, but they don't get to do that with someone else who knows our life. They're just a little disappointed." He nods, and smiles to the group as Sabine introduces the couple behind her.
"Well, you all know Frank, and this is Rosemary, his new lovely girlfriend. Let's scoot this bistro table at the end here; you don't mind sitting by Fee, do you, Frank? No, so here, sit down." Sabine speaks as she slides the nearby bistro table next to the large table, and Spencer makes a face at Fee. Fee smiles back, and places a hand lightly on his shoulder, and squeezes it as Phoebe speaks to the group.
"Nice to meet you, Rosemary. Fiona's husband was just telling us what he does for the FBI." Spencer proceeds to regale them with the information about his job, and cases he'd done, and even answered their questions about how they'd met, with Fee interjecting as she saw fit.
Later, they ate dinner and then someone started music in the front room, and they all gathered in the front room to dance and drink and chat. As Fee falls into a conversation with Phoebe, Spencer is cornered by Franks. From her perch on the couch, Fee watches the interaction between her ex-boyfriend and her husband, and sighs in relief when she sees that it is OK. She turns her attention back to Phoebe.
"Fee, you look really fantastic. He's good for you. Being in love, it looks well on you."
"Thank you. Spence really is fantastic. I am so lucky, and so grateful that he's mine."
"Mmm. I want to meet this Jennifer woman who set you up. Is she still with the agency?"
"Actually, she works with Spencer now. It's very odd. But you get plenty of men on your own, certainly you don't need a blind date."
"I find men who want a lover. I am ready for someone serious and consistent."
"Take Frank."
"Not hardly. I still don't get that whole thing. Agents shouldn't date other agents. Unless you're Sabine and Roger, who knew each other as kids, anyway."
"I know. I never really was in love with him, anyway. It was just more the idea of us. I was flattered that a man thought I was worthy of his time, and he liked me for my intelligence. Or so I thought."
"Yeah, what DID happen between you two?"
"It's classified."
"Bullshit. Let me guess-another woman?"
"That was part of it. Mostly it was after Greece. You know he was always hungry for promotion? I guess he thought that because I had a good relationship with our supervisor at the time, he could sleep with me, get in my good graces, and I'd be willing or forced, I guess, to put in a good word to Sheppard. He actually said that to me. I ended it right then." Phoebe looks thoughtful.
"Well, we always knew he was a jerk. But there WAS another woman?"
"Yeah, you remember Agent Morris's wife? Caroline or Carol Anne or whatever?"
"No. But she was so mousy, and unattractive."
"Men will put up with an ugly woman for great sex."
"FEE. You are so bad."
"It's true. Anyway, Pheebs. It was SO great to see you all. Next time, you all will have to come to DC to see me. Would you excuse me?"
"Of course." Fiona stands and heads for Spencer, who is now talking to Sabine and Roger, interrupting their conversation.
"Please, Sabine, Roger. Excuse me for a moment?" They nod, and she continues. "Spence, I am going to powder my nose, and then I think you should take me home." She turns to Sabine.
"Sabine, dear. Thank you for such a wonderful evening. Roger, it was so nice seeing you and everyone again. Thank you both for pulling this together; it was so special seeing the old crew again. Please, excuse me." Fiona heads for the restroom, and as she emerges, she is cornered by Frank.
"You got married."
"Yes. Rosemary seems like a lovely girl. How is Caroline Morris?"
"I wouldn't know. She ended our relationship almost immediately after you ended ours. I am sorry, Fiona, I want you to know that. I did care about-"
"Stop. I don't want you to speak anymore if this is going to all be about you. I am happy now, the happiest I have ever been, and Spencer is great. You can either share our happiness, or you can step aside right now, and never, ever speak to me again. The choice is entirely yours." Just then, Spencer approached, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you ok, my dear?"
"Yes, Frank here was just wishing us well in our marriage, and sharing in our joy, right, Frank?"
"Of course. You're a very lucky man, Dr. Reid. Don't let this one go."
"Thanks. I don't intend to."
"It was lovely to see you again, Frank. And tell Rosemary it was nice to meet her." The man nods once, curtly, and turns away as Fee turns to Spencer.
"Sorry about that, dear. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, of course. Sabine is waiting by the door with your bag." They walk hand in hand to the front door, and Fee kisses Sabine's cheeks as they leave.
"Thanks again, Sabine. You and Roger must come visit us the next time you're in the States."
"We will, my dear. It was lovely to meet you, Spencer. We're so glad our Fee has met someone who's so wonderful, and treats her well. Thank you both for coming." Fee and Spencer troop downstairs, and out into the chilly night air. As Fiona hails a cab, Spencer places his sweater over her shoulders.
"You forgot a jacket, Fee."
"Thanks. I know."
"What was up with that Frank guy?"
"He's still upset about us, I think. But I am not. Ending it was the right decision, and I have no regrets."
"Good. So what exactly happened between you?" They slide into the cab, and Fee cuddles close to him.
"It was a few years after the professor; my second year with the Agency. I was doing special ops full-time back then, and he was on my team. It was so stupid-you should never sleep with another agent, particularly a team mate. But I did. Anyway, we were on this assignment, tracking an international art thief, and we wound up following him to Crete. I was there, with Phoebe, and we posed as two college friends, because the suspect was a well-known womanizer. Anyhow, he took the bait, and we ended up arresting him. Later, I was pulled into his office, and he told me wonderful things-that I was brilliant, and did fantastically, and basically all the things I needed to hear after the Professor had hurt me."
"Anyway, one thing led to another, and at a birthday for a co-worker, he kissed me, and it was all she wrote. It went on for awhile, and then one day, he came back from an assignment that I didn't go on, to Bahrain, and he sat me down, and basically told me straight out that he knew that I had pull at the Agency, which I did, because I was a model employee, and minded my own business, and that if I really loved him, I would arrange for him to get a promotion, and then he'd see to it that I earned one, myself. I was so disgusted that I ended it on the spot."
"Wow. Can I just say that you have a knack for choosing jerks? Until me, I mean." She laughs.
"I know. I think it stems from a deep-seeded self-esteem problem."
"I've noticed. We'll work on that. Wow. But good for you for breaking it off."
"Thanks. And thank you for being so spectacular tonight."
"Of course. Your friends are generally great. Roger and I got along well, I think."
"I noticed. So, did Marv hit on you?"
"Sadly, no."
"Oh. Well, that's actually a good thing, because I might have had to kill him." Spencer chuckles, and kisses her as they pull up at their hotel, climb out, and amble to their room. They make love before falling asleep, curled against each other, and smiling.
The next two days proceed similarly, taking in the sights and museums and shopping. This time, Spencer picks up a few things for his mother, and they eat at roadside cafes before spending their evenings in.
The next three days find them in Dublin, much to Fiona's delight, and they tour old castles, take in a rugby game at Croke Park, and drink massive amounts of Guinness and whiskey. They see a modern art showing at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and meet up with another American couple who are honeymooning also. They take in the sights of the
old churches of pre-reunification, and the pubs and shops of modern Ireland.
Finally, they find themselves in the airport, heading back home, with Spencer's promise to Fee that they'd see more of Europe in the upcoming years. Fiona laughs, and assures him that she's seen much of it anyway because of her former job at the Agency, and they head home happy, cultured, and still in love.
*This line translates, roughly, as "Hello, Sabine. My husband and I would love to come. 6 PM? Ok, we'll see you tomorrow night. Have a good evening." Like Fiona, my French is rusty, so pardon me if the tenses aren't correct.