Saturday was cold and snowy. The flakes were fat and wet, sticking to the streets and sidewalks all over town. It looked almost like a holiday card. Not many people would brave the Winter Wonderland, leaving the warmth of their own homes, but Spencer was going crazy locked up in his apartment. He had to walk and clear his head. Sunday would be there soon enough.

His first hit was the library, but there wasn't much to draw his attention there. As fast as he read, it was difficult to concentrate in the silence. So, checking a few pointless books out, he headed out into freezing conditions to some undetermined location.

There weren't many people on the streets, and Reid began thinking of the week before. The streets were all theirs: his and Riley's, and they had shared the first season's snow together. He should have kissed her… he shouldn't have tried to kiss her. His mind was now pulling him in two different directions over the right and wrong. His only solace was that there was no possibility of Riley, Dr. Parker, reciprocating his emotions whatsoever.

Somehow, he found his way to a small coffee shop downtown. It wasn't too far from where he and Riley had been six days ago for lunch, but that astonishingly didn't cross his mind. The café didn't look busy, but not as frighteningly quiet as the library had been. Deciding his choices were either here or home, he walked inside, letting the smell of warm coffee and recent trends escape out the door.

"Just a medium coffee, please. Two sugars," Reid said to the "barista" at the counter, who quickly went to work on his order. She had streaks of pink in her hair and heavy lidded eyes. Reid never had the chance to become the rebel teen. By the time he reached his teenager years of mutiny, he already had a B.A. and two Masters. He paid for his insane overpriced coffee and went to search for a seat. His eyes found her almost immediately.

How someone could wear a skirt in this weather was beyond belief, but her usual outfit did not falter from pattern. There she was at the end of the bar. She had a brown low cut sweat on, which fit her curves nicely he noticed, and she was reading a book. It looked too small for a text book, but Reid was unable to tell.

Slowly, Reid took a seat at the farthest from her, trying to avoid being seen right away. At that point, he wasn't exactly sure he wanted her to know he was there. Reid took everything in about Riley, reaching with her delicate fingers to sip whatever liquid was in her cup.

He envied that book in her hands, it held her full attention. She seemed to absorb the words on the page like a Bounty paper towel soaking up spilled milk. Reid estimated she read at least 400 words per minute, she was abnormally fast. No where near his standards, but above the average English reader. But it was her face, more than anything. Her brown eyes glowed with intensity as her pupils danced from word to word. He had never seen someone so intense, so in love with a book. Riley was just as beautiful here as she had been, beaming up at the snow last week. Once again, Reid could sit there and stare at her forever.

How long he stared, he couldn't be sure. His coffee had turned cold and he hadn't even taken a sip. He could just slip out the door, go home, and see her tomorrow as planned. She'd never know he'd been there, watching her like she was a famous painting in the Louvre. But she was like a drug, and Reid knew what it was like to be addicted. He had to have another fix; he had to talk to her, if only for a moment.

Leaving his cold coffee behind, he walked along the bar slowly, as not to draw attention to himself. Getting closer, he saw the title of the book on the spine: The Shining.

"I bet you never look at hedge animals the same again." He said, causing Riley to jump. He smiled slightly as he sat down closer, leaving a seat between them. Her long brown winter coat resting on the middle chair.

"Good lord!" Riley exclaimed, clutching her chest. "Don't sneak up on a girl when she's reading Stephen King!"

Laughing, both from nerves of fear, she dog-eared her page and set her book aside. "Hi," she said through heavy breaths. "What brings you here?"

"Didn't want to spend another Saturday alone, so I went for a walk."

"A walk?" she asked. "In… this?"

"You're right. Maybe I'm not as smart as everyone thinks I am." He said, making her laugh again. "I just… saw you here and thought I'd say hello."

"Oh," she replied.

"So… hello!"

"Hello," Was it just him, or did she seem nervous, too? No, that was wishful thinking, most definitely.

"Out for the afternoon, too?" he asked.

"Well…" she began, grabbing the same brown envelopes he almost always saw her with. "I came out to try and do some work. You know, to concentrate. It's so hard to do that in my apartment. It's too quiet there. The quiet can be very distracting."

Reid stared at her, hoping his face wouldn't give away to the fact he was studying – and adoring – her every move. "So, I came here. I'd never been here before, but I've past by it many times. I tried focusing on the case, but… I don't know. Maybe I know it too much."

"Well…" Reid began, reaching for the file. "Maybe some fresh eyes would help."

"No," Riley said, pulling it back. "No, you're a patient; you're not supposed to see other patients' files."

"I'm also a profiler who deals with murders and psychopaths every day of his life. I also read 20,000 words a minute, have an eidetic memory-"

"Alright, Brianiac, we know you're special!" She slung the file at him playfully, like she wanted to be annoyed, but just couldn't. He opened it up and began reading, though he remembered every word.

"So, what is your approach for the trail? What are you going to try?"

"I…don't… know. I mean, I know, but…" the worry and anxiety was evident on her face. Reid never realized before then, she had that aura when he first saw her. It didn't make her any less beautiful, of course, but it backed up her story. "I just don't think it'll work. He's convinced everyone he's a decent human, that he's healthy, but I know the truth. I just don't know how to make them see it."

"Well, here's something I don't understand," he pointed out the page of prescription history. "His medication history is unnatural." He pointed out the abnormal change in meds along with the drastic dosage adjustments. "There's no reason or explanation about it, anywhere. Are you missing something?"

Quickly, Riley pulled the file from his hands. After staring at this for five weeks straight, she'd never noticed anything strange about Fueller's medication. She hadn't paid much attention to it, though, it was more the observed records of the case she'd been familiarizing herself with.

Confused, she read over the documentations three times before she spoke. "I never changed his medications." She said. "There is no reason for this, this can't be right."

"Well, didn't he have another doctor before you took over?" Reid asked.

"That was almost a year ago. His doctor asked me personally if I would take the case since he was retiring." She didn't want to admit that for the past year, she regretted the decision every single day since. "No one should have messed with his medication but me. Something's wrong. Something's definitely wrong."

"What about an orderly or a nurse? Maybe someone tried poisoning him."

"That makes sense, except for one thing." She tossed the papers on the counter, making complete eye contact with him again. "Why change the log? If they wanted to poison him, why keep the proof of it." Her hand went to cover her mouth and she sat thinking for awhile.

"Because…" and Reid hated to say this, but it was the most logical choice at the moment. "whoever did it wasn't intending to actually hurt with Fueller… but you."

Riley opened her mouth to protest, but stopped before a word could escape. She sat back, letting the idea sink in. "That makes sense. If they killed Fueller, I'd have to go before the review board and would know nothing about these prescriptions. And if someone above me at the F.B.I. or Havensall saw it, I'd be fired. Still, it doesn't explain who did it."

"Do you have any enemies? Anyone you work with."

"No, not anyone who'd actually want to get me in trouble. There are a few doctors who think I'm too young, that I haven't paid my dues to be where I'm at, but I can't help it. I worked hard to get here. It's the curse of the Over-Achiever." She added as a quick joke. "Of course, I'm preaching to the choir, aren't I?"

Reid didn't answer, though she was completely right. Riley closed the file and set it aside. "I'm so tired of looking at that thing. I just want this to be over and Fueller to be away for good. If you ask me, he needs a needle in his arm… but you can't execute someone who's supposedly mentally incompetent."

"Excuse me," the barista with the pink streaks said. "You've both been sitting here for over at least two hours, you need to order something else or you need to leave."

"Have I mentioned how much I hate these trendy coffee shops?" Riley said, not bothering to wait for the young girl to be out of earshot.

"What made you decide to come here today?" Reid asked.

"I don't know. Maybe my subconscious knew you were going to be here and led me inside." She smiled and bit her lip in a teasing way. Reid loved it when she did that. He couldn't be sure, and he didn't want to ask, but…

"Are you flirting with me?"

Shocked, Riley's mouth dropped open and she blushed as she looked away. It took a moment for her to gather her bearings again, but Reid was grateful the entire time, she was smiling.

"I've met some up-front men before, Spencer," she said, her cheeks still rosy from loss of composure, "but you certainly take the cake. That's the first time I've ever heard anything like that without it being a pick-up line."

Now Reid was embarrassed. For a moment, he thought he'd grab his coat and books and head home. But he stayed rooted to his spot, waiting for her laughter to fade away.

"You know, you're probably right, I might be teasing you a little. I'm sorry."

Reid looked over and could see the remorse on her face. He liked that she acted that way with him, at least she was comfortable. And the more time they spent, even during sessions, the more comfortable he grew with her.

"I'm not angry," he said. "I just… don't want to get us into trouble."

"Reid, there's no rule that says we can't be sociable outside the office." Riley stated. "We didn't plan on this. We ran into each other here and I had a consult on a case of mine with an agent who specializes in serial killers. That's all."

"Agent Hotchner or the Federal Psychiatric Board might not completely agree with that."

"Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!" She cried, and Reid couldn't help but smile. "And I know we have a medical relationship, but… I guess I'm starting to think of you more as… a friend."

His heart was soaring and pounding at the same time and Reid wanted nothing more than to hold her and kiss her and tell her exactly what she, in turn, meant to him.

"Can I take you to dinner, Friend?" he asked.

"I'd like that. Friend."