Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Alas my top secret mission to steal the rights to Criminal Minds failed. At the last minute my repel line broke and I was arrested for trespassing on ABC ground. If you would like to help me with bail money…

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Chapter Eleven:

Gwen pushed her door open as she pulled her camera bag off her shoulder. Greg was lying on his stomach feeding a small tortoise a large strawberry. Gwen tilted her head to the side as it slowly dawned on her. The woman's eyes widened and her mouth dropped ever so slightly. If that was the tortoise, then that meant that shewas in Gwen's condo.

"Mom!" Gwen shouted slowly as she put her camera down on the kitchen bar. Gwen gritted her teeth and crossed her arms. This was not the time to have her mother drop by.

Mary Thompson walked out of the hall holding up some of Gwen's clothes from her closet. "You really should try a new look," she told her daughter. The older woman shook her head at the jeans and a t-shirt.

Mary was tall and slim. Her long dark grey hair fell around her shoulder. She stood an inch shorter than her daughter, but a decent pair of heels would add a couple inches.

"I don't need a new look," Gwen sighed as she walked over to Greg and the tortoise.

A visit from her mother was always welcome, but Gwen preferred to know when she would show up. It gave Gwen a chance to prepare for the antics of the infamous mystery writer Mary Thompson. Mary was always an experience. First, she would survey the living space. Any change in furniture, decoration, or atmosphere was immediately brought up. Everything was under careful scrutiny. After that, Gwen's mother would bring up something in the most recent article her daughter had published. It was never mean of course, but sometimes it really sucked to have a mother who asked about your usage of "nevertheless" instead of "however".

Gwen grabbed a strawberry from a small bowl on the coffee table and held it out to the small tortoise. "Is there any reason you brought Tank with you?" she asked.

"I'm taking your father with me to Seattle for my book signing, so I need you to take care of Tank while we're gone," Mary responded simply. She let out a small sigh. "Just don't try to feed him your meatloaf. You know he won't eat any meatloaf but my own."

"It's the same recipe!" Gwen exclaimed. "How does Tank know the difference of who makes it?" She narrowed her eyes at the small shelled creature. "You're a strange strange little tortoise, Tank."

"Greg says you're going out to dinner with a boy," Mary said casually as she walked over to the couch. She carefully folded Gwen's clothes and set them on the cushion next to her. She carefully folded her hands over her lap "What's this boy's name?"

Gwen sat on the floor and her lip curled back at the word 'boy'. She started to scratch the back end of Tank's protective shell. The Tortoise started to shake his back end back and forth as Gwen smiled. "His name is Spencer, Mom. He works at the BAU."

"You're dating an FBI agent?" Mary asked curiously. She always had seen Gwen date fellow writers, one mathematician, and the two violinists from the D.C orchestra. She didn't date people in any form of law enforcement. She always suspected her daughter avoided such people because of her father's former status as police chief.

"It's just dinner, Mom," Gwen groaned. She couldn't avoid her mom's questions. Gwen could never keep her mother's curiosity satiated. "And what's wrong with him being an FBI agent?"

"Nothing," Mary said, throwing her hands up in defense. She looked down at Tank who was still shaking his back end back and forth. Gwen's fingers danced across his shell. "For God's sake! Gwenevere, stop playing with Tank and pay attention to me."

"I am paying attention, Mom," Gwen sighed. "You know Tank likes to be scratched."

"What are you going to wear?" Mary asked.

"We're going to an Indian restaurant that's open twenty-four hours. I don't think it really matters what I wear. So, I guess I'll wear jeans and a t-shirt," Gwen replied; she smirked knowing it would bother her ever so prim and proper mother.

Mary rolled her eyes. "Gwenevere, why don't you wear something nice?" she stated. "You want to impress this Spencer guy don't you?"

"Mom," Gwen groaned as she pushed herself off the floor. "I don't need to impress Spencer. It's just dinner." She walked to the kitchen to wash her hands.

"What's he like?" Mary asked.

"Please stop asking questions," Gwen sighed. "You make it sound like I'm in high school again. What next? Is Daddy going to come over with his gun?" she joked as she shook the water off her hands.

"Don't be absurd. I don't need your father chasing off the only guy you've actually been interested in," Mary laughed jovially. "It's been two years since you dated Takuya from the orchestra."

0o0o0o0

Spencer walked towards EspressoShot! lost in his thoughts. He wondered what would happen tonight when he went out with Gwen. It was dinner with someone who was reasonably intelligent. That wasn't all too unusual, but Gwen wasn't a member of his team, which certainly was unusual.

He would be lying if he denied the existence of any feelings for Gwen. He just couldn't figure out what those feelings were. He was hoping to put those questions to rest tonight.

Reid felt his heart speed up when he saw Gwen standing in front of the coffee shop. She was wearing tan work books with khaki colored shorts and a white t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but there were a few loose strands from her bangs.

Gwen grinned when she saw Spencer. She took a deep breath to calm her heart down. She looked at the watch on her wrist. "Right on time, Spencer," she spoke. She stuck her hands in her back pockets. "So, how do we get to this Indian place?"

"Metro," Spencer answered with a sheepish smile. "It drops off right in front of the restaurant."

Gwen nodded as she clapped her hands together. She walked closer to Spencer as she tucked one of the loose strands of her slightly curly brown hair behind her ear. "You'll lead the way then?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Reid smiled as he nodded. The two of them started walking towards the subway entrance. "What's your favorite Indian dish?"

"Tandoori chicken. It's classic, but it's unbelievably delicious," Gwen moaned slightly at the thought of what she would be eating. She glanced at her dinner companion. "What about you?"

"Same actually," Reid said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "This place we're going to has the best Tandoori Chicken dish I've ever had."

"If you keep talking it up, I might actually start to drool like Pavlov's dog," Gwen laughed. "Just the thought of eating Tandoori chicken makes me feel so happy. How has the day been treating you?"

"Pretty good," Reid answered happily. The more time he had spent around Gwen the easier it was to talk to her. "I reread the complete works of Shakespeare. It was a very relaxing way to spend my day." And that was the truth. Reading was the one way Spencer could relax after a tough week.

"I'm doing a doctoral thesis on Shakespeare's comedies," Gwen said as she linked her fingers behind her back. "I've been in the program for a couple years. I got some writing experience under my belt before I applied for the Ph.D. program at Berkeley. I would have stayed in California to work on my thesis there, but I came here to help Jen open the shop instead. I travel to and from California to consult with my thesis advisor in person, but mostly I just talk to him through email."

"Shakespeare is your dissertation topic?" Reid asked excitedly. They were talking about their favorite playwright and he couldn't even begin to explain how excited this made him.

Gwen nodded. "It's not very original, but I didn't really want to do Anti-feminist Chaucer," she said as she frowned. "Gwenevere Thompson and Geoffrey Chaucer do not get along."

Reid suddenly thought about a question that had plagued him since meeting Gwen. He avoided asking it before because it seemed a little personal, but it seemed that now the question really wouldn't leave him alone. "How did your mom come up with the name Gwenevere?" Reid asked. It wasn't common, and he had heard Gwendolyn more than Gwenevere.

Gwen laughed as she and Reid walked down a large flight of stairs to the metro station. Her name was always the subject of many queries. It was something she had gotten used to explaining it. "My mom is a published author," she said. "She writes mostly in the mystery genre, but while she was pregnant with me, she was writing her own version of Arthurian legend. She fell in love with the characters, and decided that she would name her youngest child Gwenevere."

Spencer nodded as Gwen walked over to a ticket station. Gwen smiled at him. "How did you end up with Spencer as a name?"

"My mom was reading Edmund Spenser's TheFaerieQueene when she went into labor," Reid answered simply. There wasn't much more to the story. He didn't want to say anything more about his parents. At least not right now. That could come later if Gwen and he stayed close.

"Now that is a great poem," Gwen said as they moved towards the platform. "Your mother has great taste." Gwen took a seat on a bench and looked up at Reid. She gestured for Spencer to take the seat next to her.

"Seeing as it's an allegorical piece that praises Queen Elizabeth the first, there might be some bias involved in its popularity," Reid stated. "A part of me wonders if it would have been as popular if it did the exact opposite."

"Good point, Dr. Reid," Gwen nodded as she kicked her feet out in front of her. "It's still a great poem."

"Yeah, it is," Spencer grinned. He recalled the many times he had read the epic poem himself. His mom had also read it to him a few times as a child.

0o0o0o0

Reid and Gwen sat in the busy dining hall of Tandoori Palace. It was loud and colorful. The casual atmosphere oozed comfort as Bollywood music played in the background.

"So, why did you switch from Investigative pieces to Political Satire?" Spencer asked as he took a bite of chicken.

Gwen took a sip of sweetened tea to swallow down her food. "Lizzie and Greg. I would prefer to be the aunt who has time for them instead of the aunt who is always chasing a lead. Investigative journalism is time consuming when done right. I won't put a piece out there if I haven't checked the facts six times. Political Satire is fun and opens my schedule just a bit more."

Reid nodded. He could understand that. He watched as Gwen leaned her head into an open hand.

"Why did you join the BAU?" Gwen questioned. "You have three Ph.D.'s and can have your pick of any number of research based jobs and yet you chose to work as a government agent."

Reid looked down at his dish. He remained silent as he thought about his dad leaving and Riley Jenkins. He was curious to know if that had been some deep psychological reason for later joining the BAU. He had always been interested in the brain, so maybe that was it.

"I've just always been interested in studying criminal behavior," Reid explained. "The BAU actually conducts all sorts of research, and I get to be a part of it. So, I don't think I'm missing anything by working at the BAU."

"That's true," Gwen shrugged as she stabbed a piece of meat.

"Your brother is a cop, and you're a PI. Did your sister also work in or around any sort of justice system?" Spencer asked wanting to know more about Gwen.

"I wouldn't say being a private investigator is like working around the justice system," Gwen stated nonchalantly. "But, Elise was a 911 operator for D.C Metro. She used to tell me about some of the calls she would get."

"Were they bad?" Spencer shifted in his seat and leaned forward. He was suddenly interested by the way Gwen looked down as she smiled.

"No, some of them were just plain funny," Gwen laughed as she remembered her sister's wild sense of humor.

Reid felt his heart pitter patter as she laughed. He smiled as he listened to the story of a grandmother who would call weekly asking the police to take her grandkids away because they were too rowdy. Elise would calmly talk to the elderly woman and suggested that she feed the rambunctious children.

"One time, Elise dragged Scott and I to an open lecture the BAU was having," Gwen suddenly stated as the thought of her sister took her to a different event in her life. "Jason Gideon was giving a profiling 101 lecture to the D.C police. Elise caught wind of it and she convinced me and Scott to come with."

"When was this?" Reid asked as he leaned forward some more at the mention of his mentor and former teammate.

"I was twenty-one, so eight years ago," Gwen answered as she did the mental math. "It's where I came up with the UnSub Vibe."

Reid had gone to every single lecture Gideon gave up until the time when Adrian Bale had killed six agents in Boston. He wondered if he had been to the one that Gwen and her siblings had attended. It would have been his first year at the BAU. He thought about how close they could have been at one point in time.

"What's the UnSub Vibe?" Reid asked.

Gwen looked down in embarrassment. She didn't use the term around anyone but family. "It's that feeling you get in the back of your mind when someone doesn't feel right. You can't put your finger on why, but if you were to find out they did something horrible, you're not at all surprised. Your instincts in relation to danger," Gwen explained. She studied Reid's face before finding the best way of explaining. "It's like the Gaydar but for bad guys."

"Does it work?" Reid asked.

"Hasn't failed me yet," Gwen shrugged. She looked around the restaurant. "It's silly isn't it?"

Reid smiled slightly. "A little bit," he admitted. "But you've just assigned some name and description to a part of your autonomic nervous system that triggers a response to a perceived danger."

"UnSub Vibe sounds better," Gwen stated stubbornly.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Spencer shifted and knocked his fork off the table. Gwen watched as he braced his hand at the edge of the table to bend down and pick up the dropped piece of silverware. All of a sudden the doctor's hand slipped and he topples out of his seat onto the tiled floor.

"Spencer!" Gwen yelped as she jumped up. She crouched down next to him as she broke into a fit of giggles.

"Are you okay?" Gwen asked as she tried to stop laughing. It was something that happened. Her mind was screaming at her to stop, but she couldn't. She didn't even think the situation was funny, yet she couldn't stop laughing.

Spencer turned over and frowned at her. "Why are you laughing?" he asked obviously hurt by her giggles.

"I'm trying not to," Gwen said as she took several sobering breaths. "My mom says that I've always giggled in inappropriate situations. I've been trying to find a way to stop myself from doing it, but I can't. I don't know why it happens, it just does. I can't stop laughing."

Reid couldn't make heads or tails of what Gwen was saying, but he could read her face. Despite the present grin and laughter, he could tell that Gwen didn't want to laugh at him. He sat up and rubbed his wrist and arm. "Maybe you should see a doctor," Reid suggested with a grin.

Gwen buried her face in her hands as she started to laugh. Spencer may have bruised his pride a bit, but things happened. He wasn't going to brood over the whole ordeal in front of Gwen. Perhaps he would mope a bit when he got home. Now was not the time to make a proper fool of himself in front of Gwen. Besides, Reid was certain that brooding would certainly attract the attention of Morgan's teasing spirit.

"Stop smiling Spencer! You're making me laugh again," Gwen spoke into her hands. "I don't want to laugh. You got hurt."

Reid lifted himself off the ground and looked at the people who were staring at the two of them. "Are you done eating?" he asked Gwen. Perhaps it was best if they left.

Gwen nodded with her face still buried in her hands. Spencer cleared his throat and found their waiter. "Check please," he said, raising his injured wrist slightly.

0o0

Spencer and Gwen stood outside Jen's coffee shop. Neither one of them really spoke on the train, but it was to be expected. Both were embarrassed by what happened at Tandoori Palace.

"Spencer," Gwen forced out as she balled her fists. "I'm sorry about laughing at the restaurant. It was inappropriate and rather uncouth. I don't know what else to say."

"Some people react to a situation differently," Reid said quietly. "Perhaps there's some psychological reason for why you laugh after you see someone get hurt."

"Last I checked I knew I was a little sadistic, but that's not uncommon. Everyone is at least a little sadistic," Gwen moaned. "I can't believe I laugh when someone gets hurt."

Reid smiled at Gwen's panicked expression. Yes, his wrist and arm hurt, but it was okay. He was okay. It wasn't like he hadn't suffered worse. "Don't worry about it."

Gwen's face turned red and looked at the ground. "I'm so embarrassed," she said. "I sure know how to make an impression don't I?"

"I wasn't much better."

"Can we have a re-do?" Gwen asked sheepishly. She had actually enjoyed the dinner and maybe, just maybe she felt something for the brainiac.

Reid nodded. He swallowed and tried to get his racing heart to calm down. He tried to come up with any number of biological reasons for it, but Morgan would just teasingly point out that a racing heart was a sign that he liked her.

"A do-over would be nice," Reid smiled.

Gwen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll call you?" she asked.

"Yeah."

The two of them stood in an awkward silence. Gwen bit her lip as she opened the door to EspressoShot!. She turned back to face him.

"Spencer," Gwen spoke softly. "I like you. A lot. And I'm really sorry for tonight."

Reid kicked the ground and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I like you too," he said.

Gwen blushed as she entered the coffee shop with a smile on her face. Reid turned and grinned his way to the metro station. The night hadn't been so bad. Minus the fall at Tandoori Palace.

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Author's Note: This took me longer than I thought it would, but it's a long chapter for you guys! I hope you liked it. I wanted to make it a really light hearted chapter and I had real life to inspire certain parts. It was really fun to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. School's wild, but I hope to keep updating regularly.

Quick Note: The nomination process for the annual Profiler's Choice Awards are going on until the fifteenth of October. This is an awards show to honor your favorite Criminal Minds fanfics and the authors who write them. You can find the nomination ballot on the Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum here on the site. Show your favorite stories some love by nominating them for one of the 47 awards available.

Anyway, I'll let you guys get to submitting a review because you know how much I enjoy hearing about them.

Ren