Paige (One Week Later)
I wound my way through the crush of people in the newspaper office, carefully balancing four coffees. It was nearing the end of my first week of my journalism internship, and I had yet to do anything related to journalism. I was everyone's coffee-run person, copy maker, and errand runner. I made it to the desk of one of the editors and set the coffee down. Four expectant people turned to me, and I handed them out according to person. Black for the editor, extra cream and sugar for his secretary (which I suspected was the case in all aspects of her life), fat free cream and artificial sweetener for the fitness columnist and regular for a guy that I had no idea what his job was.
I walked away before they could ask me to do anything else, and made it back to my own personal desk, where the IT guy, Steve, was busy trying to make my computer function. I handed him a brownie I'd taken from the break room and plopped in my chair with a sigh.
"Any luck?" I asked him. He didn't even look up.
"It seems like you got the computer with all the viruses in the world," he said. "It barely has any memory, so it's running slowly due to the heavy amount of programs still left on it. Its system is old and it has no virus protection. I'd say it will take me about an hour to make this computer better than any of the others." He flashed me a smile and then looked back at the screen, navigating through a bunch of files with elegant ease.
"Mine will be better?" I asked. "If you can make the rest of the computers that good why aren't they all that way?"
"Because no one else brings me food and talks to me like a person," he said. "And plus you're the prettiest girl here besides the editor's secretary, and she's off-limits." He sent me a flirtatious smile and then looked back at the computer.
"Well thank you so much," I said. "You're a lifesaver! If there's anything I can do to return the favor please let me know."
"Actually, feel free to turn me down, but I got invited to a party tonight for a bunch of techies and we're supposed to bring dates. My girlfriend and I split up a couple weeks ago and I didn't remember about the party 'til today. If you don't have any plans tonight would you go with me?" He said all this about as fast as he was typing, which was very fast. I laughed at the suddenness and the delivery.
"Sure," I said. I'd been hoping to do something social. Spencer still hadn't called me, and I hadn't done anything or gone anywhere except the office since I'd seen him. I needed to get out and enjoy civilization. After all, I'd escaped the small town and I wanted to experience the city!
"Really?" his fingers were poised above the keyboard like a frozen cat with its claws out. I nodded.
"I'd love to go with you, but as friends right?" He smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah it would have to be. I haven't gotten over my girlfriend yet, I can't date anyone for a while. She…" He trailed off and set his fingers down on the keys. "She was something special." He looked so sad that I tried to change the subject.
"So when are you picking me up? And should I wear something slutty?" I surprised a laugh out of him.
"Yes you most definitely should," he teased. "I'm going to make all my techie buddies have a heart attack."
That night Steve picked me up at 7pm. I was wearing an off the shoulder black dress that went down to about mid-thigh. I'd left my hair loose and curled it so it bounced in spiral curls around my shoulders. I wore sparkly black and red earrings that were almost as long as my hair. I'd topped it off with red heels and bright red lipstick. Steve stopped dead when he saw me.
"Oh my god," he said, shocked. "You look amazing!"
"So do you," I said, and I meant it. He was wearing a dark suit without a tie and he'd combed his hair back. "We are going to make your ex so jealous," I said, linking my arm with his.
The party was cooler than I expected it to be. When he'd told me I was going to a techie party I thought I'd be surrounded by guys with thick glasses and pocket protectors, but the people here seemed normal, if not a little eccentric. Steve walked me around and introduced me to a bunch of people, all of whom seemed surprised to meet me. The most difficult part was trying to follow their conversations. They seemed to be speaking in their own language which was close to English but was more high tech.
We'd been at the party for almost an hour when Steve clutched my arm tightly.
"There she is," he said with an ounce of awe in his voice. "There's my Penny." I saw a pretty blonde woman with glasses enter the room. She wore a very colorful dress and just generally seemed like a happy person. She turned to talk to the person following her in, and she smiled.
"I can see why you like her," I said softly. "She's pretty and she looks…" Whatever else I was going to say was lost when the man that stepped into the room after her was Derek Morgan.
"That's her friend Morgan," said Steve. "She must have brought him as a date." I watched as she started to walk around the room, introducing Derek to all the guests. Steve was watching her with sad eyes. I turned and looked at him.
"Steve, do you still love her?" I asked. He nodded. "What made you guys split up?"
"I broke up with her. I was intimidated by her job and her beauty. I was so scared that I broke up with her. I was so stupid." I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.
"Listen to me," I said. "Take it from me as a woman. Just go to her and tell her you love her and that you made a terrible mistake. If she loves you too, then she'll take you back." He nodded. "You ready?" I asked. He took a deep breath, fortifying himself, then nodded again. I turned and ran straight into a warm solid chest.
"Excuse me," I said, at the same time a deep, rich voice said the same. I looked up into Derek's handsome face.
"Paige?" he asked, baffled.
"Steve?" asked Penny. Derek looked more confused.
"Steve?" he asked gesturing between myself and Steve.
"Morgan?" asked Steve, gesturing between me and Derek. I just laughed. I reached across and shook Penny's hand.
"Hi," I said. "I'm Paige Stewart. I'm pleased to meet you."
"Penelope Garcia," she said, looking as confused as everyone else. I blinked.
"You're Garcia? Spencer has told me a lot about you."
"Spencer?" she asked.
"Garcia, she was involved in the Downeast Maine case," he said. "She and Reid have kept in touch. She's here for a journalism internship."
"Steve here completely transformed my computer from a crippled dinosaur from the Stone Age to the best machine in the office." I said. "I offered to do him a favor and he asked me to this party. Small world huh?" Derek smiled at me, but Penelope and Steve only had eyes for each other.
"Can I talk to you?" Steve asked Garcia. She nodded and they walked away together, their shoulders almost touching. I looked at Derek and saw he'd been watching me.
"Are you following me?" I joked, taking a sip from my drink. He chuckled.
"Actually to the casual observer it would look like you are following me," he said.
"I'm just trying to see the city," I said. "I haven't been out of the office since I got here." I smiled at him.
"Reid hasn't called you huh?" he asked. I was taken aback.
"No. No, he hasn't." I said. I looked down at my red heels. "Is it that obvious?" Derek picked up a drink.
"C'mon," he said. "Let's go out on the balcony." He took my hand and pulled me through the throng of people to the balcony. His hand felt warm and strong on mine. The balcony was empty, just a couple lawn chairs facing the city lights greeted us. He sat down in one chair and I took the other. I took a sip from my drink and I watched him as he decided what to say.
"How have you been?" he asked. "I mean, since your attack?" I looked out over the city and took a moment before I answered.
"I'm surviving," I said. "Sometimes I still wake up convinced I'm locked in that room. I transferred to a different college because everyone at my old one just knew me as the girl that was abducted. People would ask me questions about it. I just couldn't take it. So I transferred. I still have scars, but they've all healed up."
"Rossi says that scars show where we've been, but they don't have to show where we're going," said Derek. "It looks like you've put it behind you."
"I've tried," I said. "This internship is helping. Being in a new place, doing something I'm passionate about distracts me." I looked at him. "Not that I'm not grateful for your concern, but why do you ask?" He sighed.
"Reid feels guilty about your case," said Derek. "He didn't act completely according to protocol. He thinks that if he had just been more patient and waited for the SWAT team then maybe some of your suffering could have been prevented." I shook my head.
"If anything, I should be feeling guilty," I said. "All that happened was that he got hurt. The only suffering I was caused by his presence was the guilt. He was trying to save me and I was carving him up." This time Morgan shook his head.
"He doesn't blame you, he blames the unsub," he said. "As it should be. It wasn't your fault Paige."
"That's what I keep telling myself," I said. "It doesn't seem to stick though."
"I guess you and Reid are meant for each other," said Morgan. "Both of you know the truth about each other and you're both unwilling to accept it." I blushed.
" I do like him," I said. "He just doesn't like me in return," I said shrugging. I'd tried to accept it.
"He does like you," said Derek. "He just doesn't know how to talk to you. Just do yourself a favor and forget gender roles and call him. This whole week I've watched him staring at his phone, trying to get the nerve to call you. Give the guy a break," said Derek with a chuckle. My heart lifted. He wanted to call me? I looked over my shoulder into the party. I could see Garcia and Steve making out in a corner.
"It looks like Garcia gave Steve a break," I said with a smile.
"I guess we both lost our dates," said Derek. "Wanna get out of here? I can show you the sights."
"I'd like that," I said, and we got up to leave.