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A/n the chapter takes place in the first season after "Plain Sight." This will be fifteen chapters long and adhere to canon which means JJ and Reid will not be together at the end.
Red Rose
Reid passed by Helena's Horticulture every day while walking to the train station. He always carried a cup of steaming coffee, and he never noticed the beautiful displays of flowers and plants in the windows on each side of the door. He had no reason to think about flowers, buying them, planting them, or window shopping them out of curiosity.
Today, he noticed the shop's white trim, brass door handle, and window displays. He stopped, stared at the offerings, and wondered if he should go inside and buy something for JJ.
Was it too romantic for a first date? Were flowers appropriate for a football game? Would JJ think he was trying to seduce her? His cheeks began to burn. He turned away from the window and began to walk down the street.
Five minutes later, Reid returned to the shop, entered, and cringed at the tinkling of a silver bell hung over the door. He felt his face flame – again. Jumping at the joyful sound was humiliating, and Reid nearly turned around to leave. A voice stopped him in his tracks. He should know there'd be some warning that he'd entered the shop.
"May I help you," said a friendly voice.
Reid jumped and wished the floor would open to swallow him whole. The woman behind the counter was short, plump, and had dark hair with streaks of gray. She had a welcoming smile that soothed his nerves. She wore gold-rimmed glasses, a red apron over a blue blouse, and matching slacks. Her eyes were a startling light blue, and her round face crinkled as she smiled at him.
"Um," Reid looked desperately around the shop while trying to think of something to say that wouldn't sound stupid.
His eyes fell on a large, crystal vase behind a glass door. It held gorgeous red roses. They were huge blossoms, and their petals looked like velvet. He'd never seen a red so vivid and dark at the same time. He went to the display for a closer look, pulled there as if by some invisible guidewire.
"You like the roses," said the woman at the counter as she approached him.
"Ah, yeah. They're beautiful."
"This is a new shipment from California we received yesterday."
"How much are they," Reid asked without stopping to consider the choice or ask about breeding, soil content, humidity, or a thousand other questions.
"We sell them by the dozen or individually."
She quoted him a price for both. The price for a dozen nearly made his jaw drop, but he managed not to squeak when he said. "Oh, um, I guess just one, if that's okay."
The woman smiled at him. "Of course. I'll wrap it for you with a sprig of baby's breath and a ribbon."
"Okay, thank you."
A few minutes later, Reid left the shop with a single red, long-stemmed rose in his hands. He hurried away as if he were escaping the culmination of an illicit drug deal with the arrival of the police imminent.
Tomorrow, he'd find out if JJ liked roses and if she thought it appropriate for a date to a football game. She'd laugh at him, or she'd thank him. He even risked dreaming that she might kiss him.
Reid felt his face redden, and instead of walking to the café for coffee, he turned around and almost ran the three blocks back to his apartment.
CMCMCMCMCMCMCM
Reid shut the door to his apartment, dropped his messenger bag, and slumped down on his sofa. He blinked his eyes rapidly to keep back useless tears. JJ didn't like him. She'd only said yes because she wanted to see the game and thought they were friends. She'd invited Garcia!
Anger surged in his chest, and he slammed a fist down on the couch. He'd bought a beautiful rose for nothing. She'd liked it, but she'd also looked at him with something he couldn't identify in her eyes.
Reid got up and went to the book he'd found on roses and the different meanings conveyed with color. He knew the shade of red meant love, but he'd been so hopeful- he should've known better. A beautiful woman like JJ would never love him.
How could he look her or Garcia in the face again? What was he going to tell Morgan when he asked about the game? JJ said everything about the day was top secret as far as she was concerned, and Reid decided he'd never tell anyone, ever!