Just before noon, Reid and Inspector Eden left the morgue, heading back to the unit. Reid gave a yawn as he settled into the passenger seat, the lack of sleep catching up on him again.
"What time is it back home?" Eden wondered, taking a glance at him as she started the engine.
Was she actually trying to start a conversation with him? "It's 7 am in DC. Normally, I should just be getting up for work."
"It must be quite a shock to your body, changing your sleep patterns like this." She mentioned as they joined the flow of traffic.
"Actually I'm used to traveling. I travel all over America with my team, and I when my team and I work cases, we don't get much sleep. This isn't particularly the same, but it's only a minor adjustment." He replied.
It was a surprise that her attitude had softened towards him a bit. She gave him a small smile. "I apologize, Dr. Reid, for being so... short with you earlier."
"I understand." Reid replied. "Every city I go to, the local police aren't thrilled with our involvement, even if they requested it."
"Well... I've dealt with law enforcement from America before... NYPD, a few from Los Angeles and Seattle, I've even dealt with a few FBI members, although those were here for lectures.. and they were very condescending and narcissistic... as if to say they can do our jobs better because they're Americans." She glanced at him again. "I expected you to be like that, but you're not... and I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize." He assured. "But I accept it, thank you."
She was silent for a bit and Reid sensed she was considering something. His suspicions were confirmed as she said, "May I inquire something?"
Reid was curious about something himself. "Tell you what, I'll give you a question for a question."
"Alright," she agreed. "Your question first, you are the guest."
"Bradbury said something about you having a... medical background," He began, "I was just... curious as to what that was."
She had the same demeanor when he revealed her divorce earlier. Eden was quiet for several minutes, and Reid wondered if she were debating to answer or not. But it seemed her question was too much to ignore, and so gave in. "I used to be a doctor."
"Used to?" Reid pressed.
"Now I get two questions." She smirked, but it faded as she continued. "I was a doctor, that's how I know the coroner, Dr. Hillman. We went to school together... I was in my second year of residency... I wasn't even a resident yet and... I... did the one thing every doctor does and needs to comes to terms with... and I couldn't."
"You killed someone." Reid clarified.
"It was a mathematical error. I meant to order a certain amount of medication over four hours... and I ordered the amount for every hour for four hours." She cleared her throat. "I resigned and gave up my license before it was even brought to the board. It devastated my marriage which went through several years of reconstructing until finally he gave up... and I decided I wanted a career that I could... redeem myself."
"That must have been difficult, I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to embarrass you before-"
"No, it's alright," She gave him a half smile. "It was unexpected, but there was no one in that room besides your wife who didn't know about my divorce or what I did. Which brings me to my two questions."
"One," Reid indicated.
"Why in the world would you forfeit your honeymoon to work on a murder case, in a country you have no jurisdiction in, no less?" Eden wondered.
Reid let out a light laugh. "I wish I knew the answer to that question... Riley and I have been through so much... there was a time I thought I'd never see her again, let alone be her husband... and then this murder case appeared and I couldn't let it go. I feel horrible I can't give her the honeymoon she deserves, but... I had to do this."
Letting out an amused chortle, "She must really love you if she's so understanding."
"She must," He smiled stupidly. "And two?"
Her next inquisition was more about the case. "How are you certain that this... what did you call it, unsub, how do you know he's after alpha males? Won't he choose any target that's an easy access?"
"Believe me, if murder were that simple, it would be a lot easier to catch these people." Reid replied. "Most serial killers are obsessed with one particular kind of victim - looks, race, gender, age, height, likes, dislikes - something that sets him off. And by killing him, it's a surrogate to the person he truly wants to kill - or love, or avenge, there are various reasons why different people kill, but usually only one for each particular person. He may also feel sympathetic for the type of woman he's with... which are usually they're the same. Young, beautiful, lower intelligence, high maintence. Possibly he's a weaker male who was in love with a woman like that... and she chose the alpha, as they often do."
"May ask a third question?" She wondered. "One that may be a bit... sensitive."
"Okay..." he answered, nervous, unsure if he'd even answer.
"Not that I mean to offend," She turned onto another street. Reid recognized the area; they were almost back to the Yard. "But... you don't particularly seem like an alpha male, and... Mrs. Reid..."
"You're wondering how I ended up with someone like her?" He finished. He had never been more embarrassed or amused at the same time.
Eden blushed. "I'm sorry, that was rude-"
"Riley would not be suited for an alpha male." He stated plainly.
"You said those women were beautiful." He sensed she was teasing him. Perhaps payback for embarrassing her earlier.
"Yeah, she's beautiful." He agreed. "But one thing an alpha also wants is a docile woman, someone they can push around. You can't push Riley around. She is beautiful... and she's opinionated and intelligent and the most stubborn woman I've ever known... she does what she wants, she speaks her mind and she cares so much about people... she has the most incredible spirit I've ever seen and she doesn't even know it because people have been crushing it for so many years..."
Her expression was surprise, glancing at him in such awe. Eden had never heard anyone speak about another in such a way. Not even her husband at their best. "Wow... you really love her."
He gave a deep breath with a contented smile. "I'd die for her... and I have."
"How is that possible?" She wondered.
But Reid flashed her a smile. "You used up all your questions."
Emily tossed and turned all night. She tried to convince herself it was because she wasn't used to sleeping in her bed, or that she wasn't used to sleeping alone. But the truth was blazing in the back of her mind, waiting and wanting to be acknowledged. Emily was jealous.
Once she admitted it, she couldn't switch her brain to another subject. The imagine of Morgan with the slutty intern infected her brain. What was so special about that girl that Morgan would sacrifice a night with Emily? Maybe he was getting bored with her, maybe she had been romanticizing everything and this wasn't anything but a means to satisfy physical needs. Whatever the reason, it sent a dull, aching pain in her chest that no antacid could cure.
She had felt like this at fifteen, when she saw her whole life crashing around her. And after horrible cases, like the last one they had, she felt this horrible, heart breaking despair that only a few rounds of tequila could cure. But this was never the direct result of a man and his unrequited feelings. This was new territory, giving her no idea how she was supposed to fix this. All she wanted was to feel normal again.
Did she want to feel normal or did she want to feel happy? That was a good question. This past year had been the best of her life. Even when she did wake up alone, with no special or exciting plans for the day, she would have a smile on her face, just excited to start the day. Did he have that effect on all woman or just her? Emily tried to back track over the last year, wondering when exactly she'd become one of those women she'd always looked down on. Who let a man come into her life and warp her sense of reality. And now that he was beginning to drift away... she felt so lost and alone.
Emily gave up on sleep, rolling onto her back. Through the blinds, she could see the sun begin to peak into the city. Any minute now, her alarm was going to go off and she had to go to work. Emily let out a deep breath, feeling exhausted. She couldn't go through another night like this, she had to do something... but what?
Emily had two options. She had to pull Morgan aside and either tell him how she really felt - that she had broken their rule and cared too much about him. And now she wanted more. She wanted him to be hers and only hers - or she could end this.
And of the two, as much as she wanted the former, the latter seemed the better choice. They could stop this and go back to the way things were. When they were friends and partners. Before the sex, before the fighting, just innocent, platonic flirting... It wasn't as good as being together, but at least it was safe. And she wouldn't be constantly tormented. They would miss each other at first, but eventually those feelings would subside... and then everything would go back to normal.
Emily rolled over, resting against her pillow and trying not to cry. She would tell him this morning, as soon as possible. Maybe in another time, another place, another life this would have worked. They would have been happy. But not in this one... and she couldn't just torture herself by clinging to a man and wishing for that to come true.
Reid couldn't help but think about Mrs. McClaren as he stepped into the conference room. Riley stood before the map of the city, observing the points of all the crime scenes. She had her back to the door, not even noticing her husband had returned. Her hair was much crazier than the elegant 22-year-old Scottish woman, but their appearance was similar. Same complexion, heart shaped face... he wondered if her eyes were the same rich brown... and if they made her husband weak in the knees, too.
He knew they couldn't have a normal life, what with his job. But these two weeks were supposed to belong to them. He wanted to lavish her with love and attention, to make this the perfect vacation for her. Luckily there didn't seem to be anything more they could do for the police and Reid was grateful. He had eleven days to make this up to her and he wasn't going to waste a second, starting the minute they got back to their hotel room.
At last Riley sensed she wasn't alone and looked behind her. She smiled spotting Reid, "Hey, why are you just standing there?"
"Just... admiring my beautiful wife." He said with a smile, walking over. He pulled her into his arms placing a kiss on her cheek.
She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "How did you know this is what I needed?"
"I'm an excellent profiler." He replied, enclosing her in his warm embrace. "And I'm very in tuned with my wife's needs."
Riley admitted a giggled, standing up and meeting his eyes. She turned to face him, her arms going over his shoulders. "Listen... I'm sorry about last night."
"Why are you sorry?" He wondered. "I got us into this."
"I know, but I shouldn't have acted like that." Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling herself closer. "I was being childish because you didn't do anything wrong, you just wanted to help. We stumbled on this, I should have known you would want to get involved. I'm sorry for yelling at you and making you feel bad for just... doing your job."
"You had every right to be mad." Reid assured, his hands naturally falling on her hips. "I wanted to give you my full attention... I have this beautiful woman who loves me unconditionally and would do anything for me and I thought about everyone but her. You deserve better than that."
"Oh, Spencer," Her hand brushed his cheek. "You've always treated me better than I deserve, and after everything I put you through-"
"Hey... I put you through a lot, too." He admitted. "And I told you, I don't regret a second because we're together now and no one is going to pull us apart again."
She smiled. "I know... and I was wrong to say you never remember me. I feel awful for saying that, I was just upset. I love you so much and I wanted you all to myself."
"You deserve that." He explained. "You deserve the perfect honeymoon... and after today, I'm going to give it to you. I promise."
"Really?" She asked brightly, the diamond dust sparkling in her eyes with hope.
"Yes," He pulled her warmth closer. "We'll be done here in a few hours and we'll have dinner. Anything you want, what are you in the mood?"
With a seductive grin, she brushed her lips on his. "Room service."
She was the only person who could read his genius mind. He smiled, closing the remaining centimeters as he captured her in a kiss, pulling her against him. Whatever reasoning was left in his head was trying to figure out how much longer they had to stay here before he could rush her back to their suite and show her just how much he really loved her.
"Look at the newlyweds, like rabbits." Inspector Eden announced, stepping in with her partner. Reid and Riley pulled apart reluctantly. They met Eden's amused face at interrupting the couple. "We just finished looking over your notes, Dr. Reid."
"Oh, good." Reid muttered, wiping his mouth a bit like he had food on his face. "I hope they're helpful."
"Very insightful." Paul replied. "Mrs. Reid assisted us with analyzing the crime scene locations and reviewing the suspect list. Thanks to your evidence, I don't think our killer will elude us much longer."
"We'll definitely catch him before he strikes again." Eden agreed. She spread into a smug smirk, "Not that we wouldn't have caught him without you."
"I'm know you would have." Reid smiled, his hand slipping around the small of Riley's back. "I'm just glad we could help. Believe me, that's all we wanted."
"Well, thank you for it." Eden answered. Riley noticed how her attitude was softer now. That wasn't a surprise. It often happened to someone after spending some time with Spencer. He had that effect on people, including herself. "There's not much more we can justify for either of you to do."
Riley hid her joy at that. "Is that your way of asking us to leave?"
"Basically," agreed Paul. "And not to offend, but I hope we won't need your assistance again."
"The feeling is mutual." Riley smiled, leaning on Reid. "Please tell us how everything turns out."
Paul nodded, "We'll be sure to, enjoy the rest of your trip."
"And be sure to stop by before you leave." added Eden, offering her hand.
"We will." Reid concurred, shaking both their hands. "Good luck to both of you."
They stepped past the inspectors, both trying not to seem too eager to get back to the hotel. One day and the rest of the time was theirs. They had done a good deed and could move on. It was a small price for everything they were going to gain.
But their happiness was short lived. Just before they reached the door, their path was blocked. Bradbury stood in their way, his expression very solemn.
Without any build up or introduction, he announced. "We have two more victims. Another honeymooning couple found in their hotel room... they suspect killed this morning."
All thoughts of leaving were immediately gone. Reid and Riley let out quiet, disappointed sighs, not wanting the other to hear. They were back in the investigation once again.