The rain had thankfully died down by the time they left the Engles house. News reporters tried to pump them both for information on the way to the car. It was amazing how people came out of the woodwork when tragedies arouse. Mrs. Engles had even admitted her interest in the Undertaker when he was just a local, infamous criminal. She had been one of those fanatics just a day ago, now she was a victim and the Undertaker had shattered her world.
"Maria was a smart girl," Emily voiced as they made it onto the highway. The station wasn't too far, and the traffic had thinned by this point. "According to her mother, she was hardly ever alone. Why suddenly would she change her pattern?"
"Kids lie." Reid said. "About everything, they say they're being safe when they're not or they're studying when they're partying or they spent their money on food and laundry when they spent it on liquor."
"Do you lie to your mother?" she asked.
"My mother's a paranoid schizophrenic, Emily. What do you think?" He absentmindedly adjusted himself in his seat as he thought. "But let's consider she was telling the truth until we know otherwise."
"Which brings us back to my question. Why suddenly change her pattern?"
The metaphorical light bulb blazed over Reid's head. "Maybe she didn't."
"Come again?"
"Think about it. You went to college, at the typical age. Maria goes to a party, meets someone new. They like each other, they decide to go somewhere else for some food or just be alone…" he glanced at her, indicating the rest is obvious.
"So whoever she was walking with could have been the Undertaker."
It seemed thin. "Maybe," he answered. At the very least, his mind had found something else to concentrate on… briefly.
…
And brief it was. All too soon, Emily and Reid had made it downtown, just minutes from the police station. The rain was holding off for now, and with the wipers off, there was a disturbing silence in the car. Reid took a few deep breaths to settle himself, suddenly aware his hands were shaking.
He glanced over, noticing Emily watching him cautiously, attempting and failing to be nonchalant about it. "I'm fine," he voiced aloud.
"I didn't say anything," she assured.
"I just… want it on the record."
They parked down the street from the station. At first thought, Reid considered telling Emily to go ahead, giving him a few moments alone to gather himself. But he could sit out there for hours, it wouldn't make a difference. Facing the ex-girlfriend you're still in love with wasn't a skill he'd trained himself in.
Inside was busy, but not as hectic as expected. J.J. spotted them from across the room and came to meet with them.
"How'd it go at the Engles'?" she asked, wasting no time.
"Worse than you'd expect." Emily stated. "Mrs. Engles lives alone, her husband died last year. She has three sons, one is in prison, the other two severed contact with the entire family. Maria was all she had left. She's already given up hope of finding her."
"Did you guys find out anything?" Reid asked.
"We met the two detectives in charge of the case, Novak and Levinson. They briefed us on all the victims and the five crime scenes. The others are tracking down some leads right now; I'll let you guys in on what you missed."
The conference room was empty. He walked in, anticipating on finding Riley in there. Half relieved and half disappointed, he stepped over to the messy bulletin board, examining what evidence they had managed to collect.
"Is there any coffee?" Emily asked.
J.J. nodded. "I'll show you where it is. Reid?"
"Hmm," he said, barely indicating her.
"Do you want some coffee?" She inquired, trying to pull his attention.
"Sure," he muttered. "Whatever."
He heard them leave; unaware of the knowing look they shared over their distracted friend. Reid was alone.
Ten minutes passed, but how long he actually remained alone, he didn't know. After some time, he heard a familiar voice exclaim. "Hey, Braniac."
Startled, he turned slowly and saw the intruder. Her pink lips curled in an elegant smile over her slightly crooked white teeth, the smile that had driven him crazy for over a year. Her arms were crossed over her chest, clutching a few files to her, leaning against the door frame, over looking the man before her.
"Hi," he said, surprised he smiled as well. He had been nervous and anxious to see her since that morning, but it wasn't until this very moment did he realize just how happy he was to see her.
Reid wasn't exactly sure what to do; what the exact protocol was in this situation. Luckily, Riley took the intuitive. She set the files down on the nearby table, rushing forward and pulling him into a hug. "God, it is so good to see you." She said, holding him close to her.
Seven months. He hadn't held her in seven months, and every night for seven months, he longed to again. Finally, without warning, she was in his arms. He wrapped himself around her, enveloping her. It was like she'd never left. He inhaled her scent, his fingers entwining themselves gently in the tips of her curls.
All too soon, she pulled away, though she remained clinging to his neck. For a moment, he thought she was planning to kiss him. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too." He said, feeling her finally slip out of his grasp. "You look… great."
"Thanks," she said, pushing a few pieces of loose hair off her face. Her brown eyes sparkled; just like they always did, with the illusion of diamond dust. "So do you."
"I take it you like Seattle." It was Reid's subtle, passive aggressive way of wondering why she never called.
"Yeah, I do," she replied. "It's really starting to feel like home." She brushed her arm, like she was wiping away some lint, but Reid suspected she was avoiding his eyes. Careful not to smile, Reid knew she wasn't being entirely truthful.
But trying to get her back was not apart of the plan. He came here to work with his team, solve the case while simultaneously proving to both Riley and himself that he could move on. No matter how much he loved her… and always would. Riley wanted to be here. If she didn't, she would have come back by now.
"Hey," Emily said, walking in with JJ, each holding a cup of coffee, JJ holding an extra one for Reid. "Are we interrupting anything?"
"No," Riley answered quickly. "Just… getting reacquainted."
"We've missed you in Quantico, Riley," Emily said, taking a seat. In four months, Riley had gotten close with everyone on the team. Usually, she met up with them for drinks and often gave her professional opinion on difficult cases. "Any thoughts about coming back?"
Subtle, Emily Reid thought.
"Uh," she muttered, still avoiding Reid's eye. "well, I am pretty settled here… but you never know, maybe in the future."
"Guys," Hotch announced walking in. The interruption couldn't have come at a better time. He was desperate for a change of subject, and from the look on Riley's face, the feeling was mutual. "We've found Maria Engles' body."
"Already?" J.J. asked. "She just went missing last night."
"A neighbor noticed someone digging last night next door. She heard the news report on Maria being taken by the Undertaker and called the police on what she saw. A few officers are already there, they think it's Maria."
"She hasn't been dead that long," Reid said. "There might be more evidence than they got off the others."
"Okay, Prentiss. You go with Morgan to talk to the corner and check out the other bodies in the morgue. Try to find any similarities. Reid, you and Riley go check out the crime scene. JJ, I need you to contact the newspaper companies, keep them pressing the safety issues."
Staggered, Riley spoke up quickly. "Hotch… don't you think you ought to go with Reid?"
Reid as well as Hotch turned to Riley, bewildered. "What's the problem?" he asked. "You did agree to assist on this case, right?"
"There isn't a problem, I'm just…" she glanced at Reid, as if silently asking for support. "I'm not… familiar with working at crime scenes. I can look over it once it's in the file."
"Working on a team like this includes field work, Riley," he said. "And for our time here, you're apart of this team. If you can't do that, then maybe you shouldn't be on this case."
Riley cleared her throat, obviously torn slightly in the situation. However, she didn't respond. Hotch excused himself after a moment, sending the agents on their way.
"Does he always…" she couldn't seem to find the words.
"Act so serious?" JJ tried to finish.
"I was going to say 'have a stick up his ass', but that's a bit more elegant." Riley replied. She looked to Reid. "Are you ready? Do you think you can handle a rookie at this?"
"Sure," Reid answered hastily, rushing out the door. His attitude had changed so instantly, taking Riley by surprise. She took another glance at Morgan, JJ, and Emily, then went after him.
Morgan took a quick glance at his watch. "It starts. Not even five minutes and it starts."
"How do you think this is going to turn out?" Emily asked, gathering her things, ready to head back out.
"I don't know," Morgan replied, reopening the door for her. "But I do know that, whatever does… it's going to be fun to watch."
"You practically sadistic, Morgan," JJ said. "Reid and Riley are our friends, we should be helping them."
"Reid and Riley are the two most stubborn people on the planet." Morgan retorted. "Especially when it comes to how they feel about each other. If they weren't, do you really think she'd have taken this job? Do you really think he would have let her go? And even if they had, do you really think they'd have stayed apart for seven months? No matter what happens… it's completely up to them."
…
Riley finally caught up with Reid outside of the precinct. "Hey, could you wait up, please?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Reid said, stopping in his tracks and whipping around to face her. "I wasn't aware you actually wanted to go with me."
"Spencer, it wasn't personal. I'm not an agent; I've never worked in the field before."
"Really?" he asked, skeptical. "That's why you objected? You could have fooled me!"
"I would have objected to going with anyone!" She exclaimed. "There's a lot of pressure on this case. I've never done this before! I was working on something for Sex Crimes in a job that I still can't seem to get used to and suddenly I'm brought in on the most popular, most intense serial homicide case Seattle has seen in a hundreds years trying to perform a specific expertise I'm not even sure I have!" She paused again to catch her breath, sending a puff of air upward to brush some fly away bangs off her face. "Please understand."
Reid was being over dramatic. He was so concerned about how he felt about the situation, he didn't even consider her feelings. "I'm sorry," he said.
"It's okay," she said. "I'm just nervous… I didn't even consider how objecting might feel to you. I guess I just assumed you were over me and it really wouldn't bother you." She thought for a second. "You… you are over me, aren't you?"
"Of course!" Reid lied quickly. "Yeah… of course."
"Good," she said, smiling lightly. "Because I'm over you, too. And I'm glad… we've both moved on, but we can… still be friends… and all."
Reid nodded, looking her over. He had planned so many things to say to her; so many well chosen, perfect words to express should she ever stand before him like this. But he was silent, watching her shiver in the cold.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "You look like you want to say something."
He shook his head lightly. "Just that… you look cold."
She laughed lightly. "That's probably because I am cold. I forgot my coat, would you wait for me?"
"Sure," he said sincerely. He muttered under his breath, "Forever,"
"What?" she asked.
"Whatever, I said 'whatever'."
Smiling thankfully, Riley delicately brushed his arm and rushed back inside. Reid watched her, savoring her every move. He waited, his perfect chosen words running through his head, wondering if he'd ever get another chance to say them.
