A/N: Some one asked this in a review so: Alsie's name is pronounced like L.C or AL.C (it is a nickname from the name she gave when she and Spencer met as children. (Adrienne Leigh Crawford)).
My Life Had Stood
Chapter 25:
Spencer darted to the far end of the cafe. His brown eyes searching for Alsie - just little over an hour ago he'd received a voicemail from her, requesting to meet at this cafe. It was a different one than they'd met at before, but it'd been close enough that he decided to meet her.
He rounded the back corner of the cafe, entering into a quiet alcove. Bookshelves lined the walls that didn't house tables. Once or twice he'd visited this cafe, drawn to it by its quiet atmosphere. Even during the busy morning hours, this place was known for its library type quiet.
This cafe catered to customers who preferred to drink their coffee quietly, without the distractions of technology or conversation. It'd been enjoyable, the times he'd visited, but the distance between this cafe and the metro line he took to work prevented him from getting his morning coffee from here.
Spencer's brow furrowed when he noticed that none of the occupied seats held Alsie. Nor was Shelly around. Alsie had mentioned she'd be here until two pm, which was still a few hours away. He wondered if perhaps she was using the restroom.
Deciding that that was likely, Spencer picked a seat next to two bookshelves. He sat, taking one of the books from the closer shelf, and started reading. It was while he read that he heard a door nearby open, and someone mumbling about going on break.
The sound of the voice drew his attention despite the pattern of speech being different.
"Oh, hey." Alsie slipped into the seating area, a door marked employees only closing behind her. She noticed Spencer the same moment he noticed her.
"You work here?" Spencer asked, standing up. His surprise morphed into concern when Alsie simply looked at him quietly. "Alsie?"
He blinked when she grabbed hold of his arm. The gesture sudden and without prompting. Though it was generally an innocuous action, despite his preference against physical contact with people, the action itself didn't seem like Alsie.
"Al..." Before he could voice his concern or protest against the gesture, Alsie kissed him. Standing on tiptoe to comfortably reach his lips, Alsie pressed herself snugly against him.
She continued the embrace, even as Spencer backed a step after the initial surprise.
"Alsie...I..." Spencer stammered once he broke away from the petite woman's lips. Within seconds his protest was cut off by another kiss, this one lasting 2.7 seconds longer than the first.
Spencer shook his head and gently, but firmly pushed Alsie away from kissing him again. His own cheeks were slightly pink. He cleared his throat before addressing Alsie again.
"You said you wanted to talk." Spencer mumbled, his thoughts brimming with a mix of confusion and intrigue. "Alsie..."
"Ana, not Alsie." The petite brunette chuckled. Spencer's eyes widened, surprised. He suddenly understood the reason behind this drastic change in Alsie's demeanor. "Alsie isn't here."
Spencer started to respond, then stopped. His eyes once more studied her, his observations meshing with what Shelly had told him about Alsie. Her dissociative identity disorder...
He breathed in deeply as he considered how to respond. Alsie, or rather Ana, continued trying to get physically closer. Her eyes caught his: their hue and shape were unchanged but the expression was seductive and flirty rather than demure.
"Um, no. We should sit." Spencer mumbled after Alsie-Ana tried kissing him again. He gently pushed her onto a chair while he took a seat across from her. His brain was jumbled with thought, the most prominent of which was that he'd just been kissed by the alter of the woman he was dating. And he had started reciprocating the kiss before remembering they were in a cafe.
"Come on. She won't find out." Alsie-Ana crooned and leaned across the table. She smiled seductively and trailed a finger over Spencer's hand.
"Uh, um." Spencer tittered and pulled his arms off of the table. He met Alsie-Ana's eye. "I...I probably should go. Um..."
"Oh? But Alsie's gonna be so disappointed if you're not here when she comes back." Alsie-Ana leaned further forward, trailing her tongue over her lip. She grabbed for Spencer's shirt but he pulled himself just out of reach.
"Sorry, Al...Ana, I, um...I should go..." Spencer stood up and headed toward the exit: while he knew what sort of things to say to handle the situation and perhaps help Ana switch back to Alsie, he was confused emotionally. Actually, he was conflicted by the thought of using the same techniques he used with unsubs with Alsie.
Alsie-Ana watched silently as Spencer left, her flirty smile turning into a pout. It took only a few seconds longer for her to decide to follow after him.
"Hey, wait up." She called as she caught sight of Spencer. He had slowed down, already regretting leaving so quickly. Not because he wanted to be subjected to Alsie-Ana's flirtation, though it wasn't unenjoyable, but rather because of Alsie's alter saying Alsie would be disappointed.
Spencer sighed, turning around to meet Alsie-Ana. The sensation of her lips on his still lingered, as did the feeling of her body pressed against his. It confused him. And, each second he noted that Alsie was still Ana, he felt guilty. It may have physically been Alsie kissing him, but it wasn't Alsie mentally.
"Hi. Ana." Spencer mumbled, still debating whether to hurry off or to stick around. His emotions were jumbled, leaving little room for rational thought.
The one thing he did know was that he wasn't about to let Ana kiss him again. Not that he didn't like Alsie, it was just awkward thinking of her alter personality Ana kissing him. His cheeks reddened again, thinking about it.
"Hey. You're really cute." Alsie-Ana crooned, closing the physical space between them. Spencer smiled nervously, and wordlessly moved his messenger bag so that it was between the two of them. He knew it was a trifle action that wouldn't actually do much in inhibiting Alsie's alter, but it made him feel slightly less uncomfortable.
"Uh, Ana, would it be possible to talk with Alsie?" Spencer asked, at the same time leading the way toward a bench on the outer edge of a small park. "She left me a voicemail, and it seemed really urgent. She needed to talk to me about something."
Alsie-Ana pouted, once again getting rebuffed when she attempted to move closer to Spencer. She turned away from him, pouting cutely. The next moment she turned back toward him, smiling coyly.
Spencer fidgeted with his messenger bag, feeling confused. His confusion stemmed from the conflicting sensations of being comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. Ana's flirting made him uncomfortable, but other than that he felt fine.
"I'd really like to speak with Alsie, Ana." Spencer spoke softly. "She sounded really upset in her voicemail."
"That's because of that magazine article." Alsie-Ana leaned back on the bench, her body still turned toward Spencer. The way he fidgeted each time she attempted to flirt or get closer to him was adorable. She grinned, and reached out to caress Spencer's cheek.
"Ah, no. Um..." Spencer avoided the caress by grabbing Alsie-Ana's hand and holding it at bay. He blinked, realizing that he'd just done what he'd consistently avoided doing if possible. Grabbing someone's bare hand. He grimaced, thinking about the amount of germs that would spread, had likely already spread, just from holding Alsie-Ana's hand.
It was the trade-off however, to prevent Alsie-Ana from touching his cheek. Taking in a breath, Spencer kept his hand around Alsie's, finding it less objectionable than her caressing his cheek. Perhaps if Alsie was Alsie and not Ana...
"Um, what magazine article?" Spencer asked, looking at Alsie-Ana in order to take his focus off his discomfort. The petite woman didn't respond, but simply stared down at his hand holding hers. "Um, Ana...?"
Spencer's eyes widened as he felt the hand he held tremble, and they widened further as he noticed the tears falling down Alsie's cheeks.
"Al..."
"...James." Alsie whispered, her gentle tone indicating that her alter wasn't in control anymore. Realizing the next moment who was next to her, Alsie gasped and stared at Spencer. Her surprise and confusion spoke volumes.
"Alsie, hello." Spencer greeted, relieved that Ana was gone, but concerned at the tears running down Alsie's cheeks. He gave a small smile, squeezing Alsie's hand slightly in a comforting gesture. The amount of time he'd already spent holding Alsie's hand, coupled with his concern over her emotional shift, allowed him to continue holding her hand.
"Hello. Um, I..." Alsie smiled demurely. Noticing that Spencer's hand was holding hers, she pulled away slightly. Not enough to break the grip, but enough that Spencer reacted in similar fashion. The result being that the hand-hold broke. "You got my voicemail."
"...Yes." Spencer replied, this time reaching his hand toward Alsie's cheek. He wanted to wipe away her tears, unable to endure seeing her upset.
Alsie, however, turned away and took out an embroidered cloth handkerchief. It was made of very soft material and she used it to wipe her cheeks. Spencer smiled sadly, but didn't fuss. Instead he glanced across the small park.
"...you're probably wondering why I left a voicemail. And how I must've sounded..." Alsie sighed, wringing the handkerchief she held nervously.
"Yeah. It was disconcerting. You wanted to...talk to me about something." Spencer replied, suddenly feeling uneasy as the name Alsie had whispered after returning to herself meshed with the other information he'd gleaned.
Mainly how Alsie had mentioned buying a copy of Rossi's book for someone while they were on their date, and now how Ana had mentioned a magazine article.
"Alsie. Um, did you read an article about what happened with David Rossi's son James?" Spencer asked tentatively, not knowing whether he wanted his deduction to be correct or not. The way Alsie gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes tearing again, answered for her.
Spencer swallowed, staggered at the revelation. He didn't know what he felt. His breath caught as he remembered what else Alsie had told him.
"...your daughter, her father was...James?"
"Yes." Alsie whispered, nodding while dabbing her cheeks gently with her handkerchief.
Spencer drew in a breath, his thoughts running rampant as he considered what to do. This was something he couldn't keep from Rossi, though he wondered how the older man would take it. It would've been much different if Alsie's and James' daughter was alive, since having a new grandchild would be a positive outcome for Rossi.
"Um, may I ask how you found out who James was? Did he tell you?" Spencer asked, brow furrowed.
Alsie shook her head. "James knew those who raised him weren't his parents, but he didn't know who his real parents were. I...I noticed the similar facial characteristics between him and David Rossi, while looking at one of Rossi's books. A little research revealed that James was born the same day as Rossi's son, so..." Alsie paused, swallowing as she searched through her recollection. "James didn't care about pursuing it, but I...I went to a book signing and snagged a bottle Rossi had drunk from."
"...and you tested the DNA against James." Spencer concluded and sighed.
"Yes." Alsie answered softly. She stared down at her hands, picking at the edges of her handkerchief. Her burnt umber eyes were reddened with tears. She swallowed, her brow furrowed as she thought about something. "Spencer...hm, back when we met as children. That chess match we had, you remember?"
"Of course, I have an eidetic memory. And as I recall, neither of us were winning. Actually we were close to a stalemate..." Spencer replied, slightly thrown off by Alsie suddenly changing the topic.
"Yeah. We were interrupted." Alsie replied, her conflicted expression hidden by her hair and their height difference even when sitting.
Spencer's eyes narrowed as he considered Alsie. He remembered that occasion clearly, ever since he discarded whatever emotional block that had prevented him from remembering Alsie as a child.
"I remember your mother suddenly showed up and pulled you away." Spencer said, twisting his cheek as he thought. "I still don't get why she did that. Or why she said what she did afterwards. She referred to me as 'that boy.'" He grimaced, just as perplexed now about Alsie's mother as he'd been as a child. He wondered if that woman had been like that with every one Alsie had met growing up. "Did she ever give a reason why she disliked me? Or did she just not like you having friends?"
Alsie took a few moments before answering. She fidgeted but otherwise remained composed, and as she replied she met Spencer's gaze. "She never said."
Spencer was about to respond, more questions forming in his thoughts, when Alsie stood up abruptly. She mumbled something about work and needing to head back.
When Spencer started to protest and insist they still needed to speak to Rossi about Alsie's connection to James, Alsie paused. She glanced back at Spencer, her lips trembling.
"What good would it do?" She whispered, her eyes searching Spencer's.
"I..." Spencer hesitated. He thought himself about how Rossi would react to Alsie and finding out that he could've had a grand-daughter. "I don't know. But I think Rossi has a right to know. And since I now know about this, I don't think I can keep it secret." Spencer paused, leaning forward on the bench so he was gazing up at Alsie. "I understand if you can't tell him yourself, but he should know."
Alsie drew in a breath, her lip trembling. She closed her eyes, unable to answer despite knowing that Spencer was right. It wasn't until Spencer grabbed her hand, and cradled it gently in his, that she managed to answer.
"All right. But give me a few days, please?" Alsie's voice was quieter than Spencer ever heard it. She seemed so fragile that Spencer quickly agreed, and allowed her to slip her hand away. He watched wordlessly as she headed back toward the cafe.
Chapter End:
A/N: Reviews are highly appreciated (^v^)
I plan to have the next chapter up by the end of the week.
(As long as I don't start rewriting the next few chapters again...I had up to chapter thirty completed, but then couldn't figure out how to proceed, so I ended up rewriting ch 26 and on, so now I only have up to ch 27 written.)