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Chapter 4

"Good morning Hollie." Olivia's voice sweetly addressed Doctor Howards as she came to work the next day. Her day off had been a bit of a blue between catching up on sleep and getting some food shopping done, as well as binge watching some Netflix. "How are my patients?"

"All are well apart from Mister Goodwin complaining of more chest pains, Doctor Reid has been discharged," the resident responded

Olivia couldn't help but feel a wave of disappointment. She had been looking forward to seeing the genius doctor again. Shaking off her thoughts she cursed herself. It was inappropriate for her to feel such ways for a patient.

"He left this for you, by the way." The brunette smiled at Olivia as she handed her a piece of paper that has been folded in half. She opened it up, revealing a small guide to play chess handwritten by Spencer.

'Save me a game, Spencer.' It read at the bottom of it. Her lips stretched into a wide smile. Her face dropped suddenly as her pager beeped, the message on it reading '911, ER'.

x-x

The elevator doors opened and Spencer eagerly walked towards Penelope's office. He was intent on getting up to speed with the case.

"Morning." He announced as he sped through the door and Penelope's eyes widened in shock behind her bright purple glasses.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked him as she watching him sit down on the spare seat beside her.

"I am working the case." Spencer replied matter-of-factly, his face showing little emotion. He leant forward and picked up the case files, his eyes quickly scanning each word.

"What? No." Penelope snatched the file from him and looked at him with serious eyes. "I know you're our baby genius but you should be resting."

"I have rested and now I am discharged and good to go."

"There is nothing for you to do. They are on their way to arrest the unsub now." Penelope put the file down, eagerly awaiting a call of Derek to say the unsub had been caught. She suddenly looked at him apologetically. "Don't think I don't want to see you though! I always want to see you and continue seeing you for all ages."

Spencer's lips curved into a smile at his colleague, one of the only people who managed to ramble more than him.

Her telephone began to ring and she accepted the call, her pen pushing the button to put the call through to her headset.

"Hello my chocolate thunder." She greeted Derek, her lips smiling widely.

"Good work, babygirl. We found him." He responded.

"Oh, those aren't the only good news I bring you today," Penelope started as she looked towards Spencer. "Reid's been discharged. So I say when you get your cute butts back here we celebrate!"

"Wh-What? No!" Spencer declined dramatically, not a fan of being the centre of attention.

"You have no choice in the matter." Penelope narrowed her eyes at him playfully. With that Spencer was quiet, knowing she wouldn't back down.

"Actually, there is this amazing charity fundraiser thingy going on, a masquerade which I thought would be fun." Penelope continued speaking into her headset, her eyes looking at the screen in front of her as she waited for a reply.

Her grin widened visibly as she excitedly clapped her hands. "Okay, brilliant. I will pick up the masks for everyone. See you in a tiddle!" She bounced out of her chair and extended her arm towards Spencer. "Up you get! We are going shopping."

x-x

Olivia sighed heavily as she sat in the attendings lounge, her hands squeezing her scrub cap in an attempt to relieve some stress. Angrily she then flung it across the room as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She quickly wiped them away as the door opened, averting her gaze from whoever entered.

"Hey…" Enzo entered after a moment of hesitation. He slowly walked towards the couch she was sitting on and sat by her side.

Olivia looked at him and forced a small smile, though her green eyes were still puffy from crying. "Hey," she replied weakly.

"I heard about your patient…" Enzo followed up, before his lips pressed into a straight line.

"Eight years old. He was only eight." Olivia said between gentle sobs as her eyes welled up with tears again. Death was seen every day within hospitals, but when a child died it hit different.

"Sh, sh, sh." Enzo hushed her gently as he pulled her into his side. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried a little. After a while she pulled away and wiped the remaining tears. "Thank you" she said as she stood up from her seat, shaking off the negative thoughts.

"So when should I pick you up for the masquerade?" Enzo asked to change subject.

"That is tonight?" Olivia rolled her eyes, knowing it would be a long night. "I don't really feel like going."

"You know the Chief will kill us if we don't show up." Enzo reasoned with a chuckle, pushing back his black hair.

A small laugh escaped Olivia. "That's true. Is seven o'clock good for you?"

x-x

It was only 7:15 PM and Spencer had already had enough of this ball. Of course, everyone looked amazing in their gowns and suits and it was for a good cause but he would have much preferred staying in with a good book or two.

"Spence, aren't those some of the doctors who operated on you?" JJ's voice brought him out of his thoughts, her eyes pointing to a group of people across the room. The mask didn't fool Spencer – he recognised Olivia's frame straight away. It was the familiar smile he became accustomed to seeing whenever she'd check up on him.

"It would make sense for some of the doctors to be here seeing as they are raising money for research and clinical trials" he responded after a moment, hoping JJ did not catch him staring.

"You should go and talk to her" JJ teased him as she nudged him, the moment of silence before his reply not going unnoticed.

"That would be totally inappropriate!" Spencer looked down at JJ, shaking his head lightly in an attempt to be quiet. He didn't want the others to overhear.

"Come on, Spence. You know you want to." JJ winked playfully at him before taking another sip of her champagne.

Spencer gulped hard, contemplating whether or not to approach her. He had thoroughly enjoyed the evening they spent playing chess. Determination filling his eyes he took off his mask and approached her, walking around the many dancing couples on the dance floor.

"Excuse me, Doctor Boswell?" His voice was soft as he gently tapped her shoulder. She spun around, her eyes widening when she saw him.

"Doctor Reid! Wow, look at you! You look so…well!" She exclaimed as her eyes looked him up and down. She had known him to be handsome, but the hospital gowns definitely did not do him justice.

He looked her over as well, noticing how her long red hair was curled to one side and how her emerald dress hugged her frame perfectly.

"Yes, yes. I imagine being out of hospital gowns does make a person look healthier." He attempted to joke and to his surprise she laughed. Humour had never been his strongest trait.

"Certainly." She agreed, her smile in turn making him smile. He looked around them as couples started swaying together to a slower song. He opened his mouth to ask her if she would like to dance, but words wouldn't come out. Instead he awkwardly smiled, ready to leave the situation.

"Wait, wait!" Olivia called after him, grabbing one of his hands to stop him. "Do you want to dance? I mean, I know you asked me to save a game of chess, but dancing is the best I can do right now." She rambled as a blush crept its way up her neck.

His whole face lit up as he smiled. "Of course." He nodded his head as he guided her to the dance floor. Placing his hand on her lower back gently they began dancing to the slow music. Silence engulfed them as they swayed, Spencer noticing the flowery scent of her hair and how soft her hands were. It surprised him considering the amount of times doctors had to wash and sanitize their hands on a daily basis. He also noticed how awfully quiet she was this evening.

"What happened?" He asked suddenly, her eyes catching his as his question caught her off-guard.

"What do you mean?" She asked back as her eyebrows furrowed in a frown.

"I could not help but notice you being quieter than usual, sorry." He averted his gaze quickly, feeling as though he might have overstepped his boundaries.

"No, no." She shook her head quickly. "I didn't mean to be rude. I just had a bad day at work. I didn't really want to come tonight." She explained, her eyes filling with sadness.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Spencer replied, his hazel eyes once again on Olivia's. "I've been watching your friends as well as mine as they seem to be occupied enough not to catch us slip away."

Olivia looked around to her colleagues and friends, as well as Spencer's before she nodded eagerly.

x-x

They walked slowly and silently by each other's side, simply enjoying the company. Spencer had offered to walk Olivia home. There was something about her that made him feel comfortable. Yes, he was still awkward at times, but for the most part he wasn't making a fool of himself.

Noticing her shiver, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her to keep her warm.

"Thank you." She smiled up at him, a warm feeling entering her. "You don't have to walk me all the way home."

"I am the one who dragged you out of there so I should at least make sure you get home safely." He reasoned with her.

"I mean even dragging me out of there was doing me a favour." She laughed lightly. "I was really not up for it."

"How come?" Concern was visible on his face.

"I lost a patient today. An eight year old boy, stab-wound to the chest, caused by his evil stepmother." She shook her head, not wanting to become too negative. "Who would have thought those evil stepmother tales could be so real?"

"I am sorry to hear that." He stated simply. Humans were so cruel at times. He dealt with those sort of gruesome stories every day at work and could relate.

Olivia abruptly stopped in front of a house, looking up at the agent with a smile. "Well, here we are" she mused, gesturing towards her porch.

"Oh." Spencer pressed his lips together and nodded, slightly disappointed that their time together had come to an end already.

"Would you like to come in?" she blurted out, feeling the same as him. "I make a mean hot cocoa."

He opened his mouth to reply before he stopped himself, trying his best to remain cool when in reality he felt a burst of excitement at the opportunity to spend more time with her.

"Unless, of course, you have a really early morning" she added just as quickly, her own cheeks turning red. Even when blushing, she was extraordinarily beautiful in his eyes. Not that he'd say it out loud.

"Hot cocoa sounds good." He said gently, gesturing for her to lead the way.