A/N: I think this is the longest I've ever gone without updating, and I'm sorry! Worked the last four days, and I've been exhausted. Anyway, hope you like this one! -RA.
Her body burned like a fire, and I knew I couldn't take anymore from her.
I'm burn, burn, burnin'. Yeah, my stomach's turning.
My heart's giving into my eyes.
- Anarbor
A cold shiver ran up Natalie's back, causing her to wake. Pulling up the comforter to cover her shoulders, she turned to her left to see Spencer sleeping soundly on his stomach with his face in her direction. She smiled to herself, brushing the strands of hair off his forehead. He didn't even stir from the touch; last night was pretty long for him. Slowly, she sat up in his bed, holding the blanket to her chest as she swung her legs over the end. She found Spencer's shirt, which had been thrown carelessly on the floor, and pulled it over her head before standing up. At that moment, she began to feel sick; her stomach turned and she could feel vomit rising into her throat. She ran down the stairs of the loft quickly and down the hall to the bathroom.
Falling to her knees, Natalie hovered her head over the porcelain bowl and emptied her stomach. Her throat pulled and she could feel the tears stinging her eyes; heaving her stomach out of her mouth wasn't exactly something she enjoyed doing. When she was finished, she flushed the toilet and lifted herself from the floor. She rubbed her face and rinsed her mouth out before beginning to brush her teeth with the toothbrush she had left there.
Her stomach still didn't feel right when she dragged herself to back up to the loft. He was still sleeping when she came in, but when she climbed back in bed, he slowly woke up. Spencer sighed lightly and smiled when he saw her.
"Mmm, morning," he said, his voice a little groggy. "What time is it?" He rubbed his eyes and pulled his phone out from under his pillow. "Ugh, it's 8?" Spencer closed his phone and tossed it on the nightstand. "What are you doing up this early?" He placed his hand on her cheek.
"I had to use the bathroom," Natalie told him. She didn't feel like grossing him out by telling him she threw up a few minutes previously.
"The morning ritual," he chuckled lightly, gently bringing her face closer to his. "Have I told you how beautiful you are lately?" he asked, resting his forehead against hers. She smiled and shook her head. "Good, because I'd be lying. You're absolutely gorgeous."
Spencer closed the gap between them and kissed her gently. "Well good morning to you, too," Natalie whispered before kissing him again.
Spencer smiled. Waking up to Natalie was one of his favorite things in the entire world, and being able to do it again brought a new joy to him. She'd been back in Quantico for three months, and they'd resumed living together after one. "My shirt's never looked so good," he told her as he rubbed the small of her back underneath it. Spencer laughed suddenly and ran his hand over her butt. "No panties."
"Hey!" Natalie playfully hit his chest; he laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Same old Spencer. Shy in public, and so... not, in the bedroom." Natalie and Spencer each giggled at her statement.
"Right. So, we have work in an hour," Spencer said, his hand now resting just above her knee. He groaned right before Natalie did.
She giggled. "Yeah. I need to shower."
Spencer furrowed his brow. "No. Lay with me longer."
"No!" Natalie whined, dragging out the 'o'. "I'm gross."
"Hmph. Since I have no say, then alright," he told her.
She rolled her eyes. When she was in the shower, she could feel herself getting sick again, but she blew off the feeling. She continued feeling fine until after she brushed her hair and was putting toothpaste on her toothbrush. She quickly stopped what she was doing and went to the toilet; for the second time that day, she threw up.
"Natalie? What's wrong with you?" Natalie heard Spencer ask while her head was inside the toilet. "Are you okay?" He held her hair back for her while he rubbed her back.
"I don't know," Natalie said. "I feel horrible."
"You getting sick or something? It is flu season," he informed her.
"I threw up earlier this morning, too. Maybe it could be food poisoning or something. I did try those peanuts at the bar last night."
"Oh, yeah. Not a good choice. But... I don't think peanuts would make you puke up bile," Spencer said with a disgusted look as he flushed the toilet for her.
"Well I haven't really eaten anything substantial since yesterday afternoon. Actually, just the thought of food is making me feel sick again." Natalie clutched her stomach as she sat against the wall.
"Really? Do you want me to call Morgan and tell him you're not feeling well? You know he'd let you take off if there isn't a case." Spencer started to get his cell phone out of his pocket while Natalie rinsed out her mouth.
"No. I'll be fine." She stood up and walked back up to the loft. She then plopped herself on the bed and slowly pulled on her work pants.
"Alright," Spencer finally said. He shifted his weight onto his left leg, then sniffed quickly. "You know what? I'm going to go to the store really quick to pick up a few things for you. I'll be back in fifteen minutes. You going to be ready by then?" he wondered. He didn't wait for an answer before hurrying out of the room.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. There wasn't a new case, and Natalie hadn't felt sick again, thankfully. She even managed to eat without feeling nauseous. When she got home, however, she received a text message from Andy. It was the first contact he'd made with her since she'd left. He wondered if he could come see her, to make sure that she was happy, like she should be.
"So... what do you think?" Natalie questioned Spencer, nervously twisting a bunch of her straightened dark hair.
He thought about it. Seeing Andy would definitely not make him happy, but he knew it would mean a lot to Natalie. She just wanted to show Andy that everything was alright, and that Spencer was truly making her happier than she had previously been. "Alright."
"Really?" Natalie said, half excitedly and half nervously.
"Really." Spencer wrapped her in a tight hug as she squealed. "We can just make it into a house warming party, I guess. We never had one."
Natalie smiled and nodded into his chest. "That sounds perfect."
Two weeks later, everything was set. "When is everybody coming down?" Natalie asked, referring to the little house-warming party they had planned with JJ's help.
Spencer furrowed his eyebrows, making his way over to her. "Five-ish," he answered, greeting her by wrapping his arms around her waist. She nodded and let her head fall to his chest. "You seem upset," Spencer noted. Natalie pulled away to look in his eyes.
"I'm just tired," she admitted, yawning. Spencer sighed. Natalie always seemed to be tired lately, even though they usually got at least 8 hours of sleep.
"If you want to post-pone the party, it's okay, Nat," he replied, holding her closer as a strong gust of cold wind passed by.
"No," she replied. "It's okay."
In an hour or so, they could expect to see the entire BAU team at the loft for the first time. She could also expect Andy. He told them he'd be dropping by around midnight with a surprise.
Natalie was scared to see Andy. She hadn't seen him since that night he took her out to celebrate the record deal. The day she had chosen Spencer over him; the day she had broken Andy's heart once again. Even though she was told that Andy was doing much better and that he had bounced back quickly, she was still worried to see him. Nathaniel had promised her that Andy was doing fine, but the thought of seeing him and catching a glimpse of sadness scared her. Although she was happy with her choice, she still hated hurting people.
Spencer nodded. "I'm so glad you came back to me," he mumbled, swaying their bodies together. Natalie smiled, feeling her heart squeeze.
"Me too," she agreed. She pulled away and gently pressed her lips to Spencer's and totally forgot about Andy.
A/N: In the next one some interesting stuff happens. And by interesting, I mean confrontational. You'll love it :) -RA.
