I do not own Criminal Minds. And my thanks to Dragonsmaiden for being my beta reader and my sister, Skye for being my sounding board. Now I am sorry to say that there is going to be a long wait before chapter 12 which I am sorry. Please read and review.

Chapter #11

"Never again, Darcy, never again," Ashley said as she entered her house. Bailey followed her with her best friend behind them. Ashley unhooked his leash, where upon Bailey went to the living room and jumped on the couch.

"I am not singing ever again. If they get arrested again, too bad, so sad," she continued to ramble as she hung up Bailey's leash on a hook on the wall. She still had her brown jacket and dark sunglasses on as she paced back and forth in front of the slender man in his early thirties. He had smooth raven black hair with bits of grey showing, combed back; he was dressed in one of those expensive suits. He didn't answer her; he just closed the door, locking it. He stood there, waiting patiently.

She turned around to face him, "Done," he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, thanks." He walked up to her, reaching for her sunglasses where she automatically stepped back away from him.

"Let me see," he said, as he gently pulled them down off of her face, revealing her black eye. "Ah," he said, cringing.

"It is looks bad ok, but I am fine. It can be covered with makeup when I teach classes." She took her glasses from him and took off her jacket. "This is nothing, remember seeing me at the hospital."

Darcy shook his head, "Don't remind me. I heard of what happened last night, I tried calling you," he said as he sat down at her dinning table.

She closed her eyes, remembering, pressing the bridge of her nose with her fingers, "I turned my cell phone off last night."

"And forgot to turn it back on, again."

She walked behind him, toward the counter, "And I left it on the kitchen counter, shit," she said, picking up her cell, showing it to him. She didn't turned it on, she set it back down on the counter beside several vanilla scented candles on a mirrored plate. Ashley grabbed the matchbook beside the candles.

"Are you going to turn it back on?"

She shook her head no as she went to the fridge. She held out a bottle of water for him, which he took. She took one for herself. Darcy opened the bottle and handed it back to her. She knew he knew about her problems with opening water and pill bottles. Darcy then took another bottle.

"Thank you," she said. She sat down at the head of the table, turning her chair to face him; she set the matchbook down on the table. She wasn't sure of why she picked it up.

"It involves Fozzie," she said, looking at him.

"Fozzie," he said, raising his eyebrows up.

"FBI."

"Oh, you mean the Fuzz."

She shrugged her shoulders, "Whatever. Are you sure that you want to know."

"Of course, why?" She raised her right index finger up and pressed her nose to one side.

"Broken nose?"

"Oh for Pete's sake. The mob," she whispered, although she had no idea of why she was whispering that word, they were in her own house.

"Ashley, this is," Darcy said, pressing his nose to one side, "For breaking noses."

"Then what's the mob?"

"I don't think that there is one. Ashley, what's wrong." She took a deep drink from her bottle and set it down on the table, not answering him. She wasn't sure of how to answer him. Even though Darcy was her best friend and she could talk to him about anything. Well anything that didn't relate her menstrual cycle, he always cringed at that, but with his association to the mafia and her boyfriend's job at the FBI, she wasn't sure if she should. She picked up the matchbook and started flipping between her fingers.

"Sweetheart, remember when you first started dating Dr. Reid, I promised you that I was never going to put in you a position where you were going to be force to choose. I heard of what happen last night, are you alright," he asked as he reached across, taking the matchbook from her.

She shook her head no. "Well this morning, I went to the police station to press charges, I have been told that if I do, then I will be charge for assault as well."

"What?" Darcy asked, with his mouth open in shock. "What?" he asked again.

"I was the one that started it. I was the one that slapped him on stage, it's consider assault."

"Oh, you're kidding me."

She shook her head no, then pointed her finger at him, "Now do you not get involve in this mess. Harry told me that he already fired them," she said.

Darcy looked at her hard, "But," he started to say.

"But what? It is not worth it, ok. You cannot be fighting my battles for me. Promise me," she said, looking straight into his deep blue eyes.

He let out a sigh, "Fine." He took a sip of water and screwed the cap back on again. She leaned forward, setting one of her elbows on the table and held her head in her hands.

"But something else happen, didn't it. That is why you haven't turn on your cell phone? Dr. Reid?" She turned her head, looking at him.

"Yeah. Spencer was at the concert. He came with his team so he could introduce me to his friends… his family. I didn't know he was coming or else I would have told him not to. Goth music is definitely not his cup of tea. Besides, I was dressed as one of those dark Goth chicks, someone that you do not bring home to your mother. Anyway, he spent the night with me. No, not like that," she said, straightening herself up, waving her hand up in the air, silently telling him it wasn't sex.

"I finally told him about Charlie and the Scorpions. I got to the part of where they sold me when Bailey interrupted us. He wanted to be let back in."

Darcy quietly snorted, looking over at the living room where Bailey was lying down on the couch, "That mutt always has the perfect timing," he commented. She nodded her head, taking another drink of water.

"Anyway, after I let him in, Spencer just held me in his arms and told me that I didn't have to finish the rest of the story. He laid down with me, holding me in his arms where he finally told me about his deepest darkest secret. Afterward, I held him. He promised me that in the morning, we would take Bailey out for a walk and have breakfast, but he got the call on a new case early that morning so he got up, got dress and left. He promised me that we would have breakfast and the walk when he gets back."

"Sweetie, he stayed with you, he didn't sleep on the couch, he stayed with you in your bed and held you, even telling you, his secret. I have a feeling that the man does not share his feelings very much. Gee whiz, I remember when I first saw you hugging him, how he stiffen up like a board. I think the poor man was in shock when it happened," Darcy said as he straightened himself up, showing Ashley what Reid had looked like at the time.

"Ashley, he didn't leave. Hell, he's probably called and left you a message on your voicemail." Ashley looked at the counter, where her phone was sitting. She got up, and took the matchbook from him. She lit the candles, and retrieved it her cell phone.

She sat back down, setting the phone down on the table, in between them, "And what if he didn't. And don't give me that there are "plenty of fish in the sea" crap. Spencer is the first guy who is ok with this whole no sex thing. But what happens when I tell him about Julian?" Ashley said, as she straightened herself up, pointing her finger at him, and close to tears at that point.

Darcy didn't say anything; he slid his chair closer to her. He pulled her to him and she laid her head on his shoulder, sliding her arms underneath him.

"Why the hell do relationships have to be so fucking—"

"Hey," Darcy said, not liking when she swore.

"Freaking complicated," she finished as she pulled away from him. "I like you, you like me. We are best friends. You hate when I swear like a sailor. I hate the fact that you have to be with bodyguards. You like my salmon with lemon and dill, and I like your mushroom stuffed ravioli. See, simple," she said, waving her hands in front of her. He leaned forward, laying his elbows on his knees, holding his hands together.

"Because this is the first real relationship you have been in since Ryan. And while I don't have a degree in psychology like Dr. Reid, I do know you and I know that you still have fear of the Scorpions. You are not the girl that the Scorpions used to own, you don't have to be afraid anymore."

Ashley rolled her green eyes at him, "Ah, Julian," she pointed out.

He straightened himself up, "We will cross that bridge when we get there, alright. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to use your bathroom." Darcy stood up and headed toward her bathroom.

Ashley stood up, unsure of what to think. She turned around when she heard a loud bang and was suddenly flying across the room. She landed on her bad hip on something hard.

"Ashley," she heard Darcy calling out and Bailey barking before she was swallowed by darkness.