Chapter 26

Twin Farms
Outside Woodstock, VT
Day 10

"So you want to be rescued by a knight?" Dr. Walker asked.

After lunch Spencer had gone back to her temporary office for another round of therapy. They had discussed what had happened that morning (all positive) and what had happened the night before (nothing). Now they were trying to sort out his fantasy life, to see if that might prime the proverbial pump. But right now all the hard work of the morning was being undone by frustration. "No." Spencer replied. "God no. I am sick of being rescued."

"Do you get rescued often? At work, I suppose?"

"Yes, usually by Morgan. It's embarrassing, humiliating. It's the most annoying thing ever and it never ends."

"And you never rescued someone?"

"Ahhh, some."

"Let me guess, Lila, Austen and JJ are on that list. And you tried to save Maeve and Tobias."

"I would have, if I could have, yes. So you think I need to save someone to fall in love with them?"

"Not necessarily. But I'd bet becomes a strong component of any fantasies you end up having."

"But I'm having trouble having any fantasies."

"Have you ever heard of the term demisexual?"

Spencer had. "Demisexuals are characterized by a lack of sexual attraction toward any person unless they become deeply emotionally or romantically connected with a specific person or persons. The level of connection it takes for sexual desire to form is dependent on how close the relationship is rather than initial attraction. So I might need to get to know someone before I can fantasize about saving them. That...actually makes a lot of sense."

"Know anyone who could fit the bill here?"

"One. But he would be very upset if he knew. I couldn't upset him that much." Upset would not begin to describe how Morgan would take that. But there was something else.

"What's wrong?" Dr. Walker asked.

"Riley. I used to daydream about us being brothers, sharing a castle somewhere. When he went missing I dreamed about finding him, saving him." He was quiet a long moment. "That wasn't really about being brothers, was it?"

"No. But it was a child's level of understanding."

"I wasn't a normal child. I read too much. After they found him I knew what happened." Now why was he crying again? "And Mom was afraid I was turning into that and..."

"Here." Dr. Walker passed the tissues. "Let's talk about this. We have time."

They had time to talk through that a little, and for Spencer to get a bead on some other homework. He left her office with a shiny new journal and a little more hope.

It wasn't until he neared the lodge porch that he snapped back into reality. "Not interested." Eric said, sharply and clearly."

"Come on." Oh great, it was creepy old guy. "One drink. I won't tell your parents."

"You know, if I was eighteen what you are proposing is illegal."

"So you're what, nineteen?"

"I'm twenty-five and I'm an FBI agent!"

Creeper guy scoffed. "Yeah, right. Let's see your badge, G-man."

Eric was quiet a moment. "Leave me alone." A moment later he came around the corner of the building and nearly blundered into Spencer.

"You okay?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah." No, he wasn't. Eric was clearly rattled. "I left my ID back in the cottage."

"It's okay."

"I just can't seem to get rid of the guy. This is the only time we're around the other guests, and he's always here."

"So, we'll tell Mrs. Lancaster, she'll get him to back off."

"No, I don't want to do that. I know they're losing money on us, I don't want them to have to offend someone paying full price."

"Okay. Let's go eat somewhere else then."

A few minutes later they were back at the cottage, having collected a basket of goodies. Spencer put the kettle on while Eric checked out a box left on the coffee table. "It's for you." He said.

Spencer came over, read the note, and immediately felt himself turning bright red. "Ah. Right."

"What is it?" Eric asked.

"It's um...items to help with...visualization. Adult sort of...items."

He hadn't planned on going there, but Eric nearly immediately realized what he meant. "Okay, I have got to know." He set about cutting the tape on the shipping box. "You know this is a unit thing."

"A unit thing?"

"Yeah. I mean you guys came up with the theory, right? Every subject has his signature, some combination of items and practices and rituals that make what he's doing satisfying. Every signature is unique, and being able to identify it will help you identify who you're dealing with. We need it so we can identify who created a crime scene. Our guys travel a lot and we usually get there after the fact."

"But like all Unsubs they have a comfort zone, in this case a circuit they like to travel." Spencer nodded. "If you can define that circuit at some point you'll have an idea of where they're going next and you can get ahead of them."

"Yeah, exactly. The problem is that not ever brand of condom or lube or sex toy is available in every location, so it helps to be able to identify likely replacements. Which means knowing pretty much every variation out there. We try to keep one of everything on hand."

"You mean you have a closet of sex toys in your office?" Three floors down from the BAU.

"Not a closet. Dude, we have a storeroom." By now Eric had the box open and was rummaging through it. "It's kind of the unit initiation, taking a newbie through for the first time. By the time we're done we likely know more about their sex lives than they do. We call it..." Eric pulled out something flesh colored and long. "...Dick Day!"

Spencer couldn't help it. He cracked up laughing. Either at the story or at the sight of Eric standing there, grinning madly, with a large, anatomically correct object in his hand. For a brief moment he had the slightest hesitation, but then he threw it into the wind. "I am supposed to meet with the activities director this afternoon." He said. "But I would appreciate some expert advice on what's in there."

"And I am supposed to contemplate my naval or something." Eric replied. "I vote we go through this box instead."

Spencer picked up the phone to call the office and move his appointment. "Excellent idea."

.

Sorry publishing is so slow. I have a chronic illness which has decided to flare up just in time for my In-laws to visit. Hopefully I'll be back to normal by the middle of next week.