Reid arrived at Riley's apartment building. He buzzed her door but there was no answer. She was probably still at work. Reid wasn't sure where she had to be that was so important, if there was any place at all. She could have just made that up to excuse herself quickly. Regardless, though, Reid thought he'd surprise her. What better to come home to than him sitting outside her door, ready to plead that he was wrong? This would work. She would take him back; this had to work.

Reid waited about an hour before somebody came down to the lobby. He knocked, getting the man's attention, flashing his badge to show that he wasn't a threat. The man quickly rushed over to let him in. "Is… there a problem in the building, Agent?" he asked.

"No, sir, there's nothing to worry about." He assured, entering the building. "I'm just here to see someone."

"An FBI agent doesn't show up to a residential building just to see someone." The man said as Reid headed over to the stairs. "Wouldn't your friend let you in themselves?"

Reid looked back to him, his hand on the door to the stairwell. "Not if you had to beg for her forgiveness." He said, heading up to the third floor.

"Oh," the man replied, understanding. "Yeah, we've all been there."

Reid made it to her door. Just in case she was inside, Reid knocked. No light seemed to glow under the crack of the door. For an instant, Reid thought about letting himself in. His hand trailed up to the top of the door frame, his fingers feeling for any jagged metal. To his surprise, he found nothing. That was odd. Riley almost always kept a spare key up there.

No matter, he shouldn't go in anyway. He took a seat on the floor, his back meeting the wood. It could be an hour, it could be three, but it didn't matter. He was going to wait here until she came back. His legs crossed under him, debating what to say when she arrived.

…

One hour turned into three, and three hours turned into five. The light through the hall window dimmed and finally dispersed completely. It was getting onto six o'clock, making it around nine in Quantico. The team had definitely arrived and gone home by now, provided they weren't out celebrating. Still, Reid wouldn't give up. Even if she didn't come back for days, he wasn't leaving. Though he was beginning to wish he did have a key. The need to use the restroom was creeping up on him.

Suddenly, his phone rang. No doubt Morgan or JJ or someone begging for details on what happened. Reid decided to let it go to voicemail. He didn't want to be distracted.

But the phone rang a second time. Reid left it alone. They would get the hint. Not long, there was silence in the hall once more.

A neighbor of Riley's passed by him, giving him a dirty look as to why some gangly man with long hair messy from the rain was sitting outside of an apartment. Reid gave her an acknowledging smile, but it didn't change her mind about him. Quickly, she rushed down the hall to her own home. Reid was alone again.

A third time his phone rang. Reid had to tell them to lay off. Quickly, he grabbed it. He didn't recognize the number. All the same, he flipped it open. "Hello," he said annoyed.

"Hi," a familiar voice said on the other end. It was tired and sounded just as annoyed as Reid.

"Hey," Reid replied, surprised. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said. "I got a new cell phone. Just a disposable one for now until I pick a new plan. And… a little birdie told me you did not return with your team."

"Would that little birdie be my boss, Aaron Hotchner?" Reid asked.

"Don't worry about who the little birdie is!" Riley snapped. "What are you doing? Why are you still in Seattle?"

He really did not want to do this over the phone. However, he suspected Riley was not going to return to her apartment until she knew the truth about everything. "Because… Riley, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have pushed you away. I did the same thing to you that you did to me… but I have come to my senses a lot sooner."

Her breathing was heavy on the other end, like she was about to cry. "Where are you?" she asked. To his surprise, she sounded angry.

"I'm sitting outside your apartment." His statement was definitive. "And I'm not leaving until you come here and we work this out."

"Spencer, no!" She yelled. "You have to go home! You can't stay there."

"But I am," Reid stated plainly. "If you want me to leave, you have to come here yourself and force me."

"No, Spencer, you don't understand! You cannot stay there, you cannot be sitting outside of my apartment!" She cried.

"Why not?" He demanded to know.

Riley took a deep breath, letting out a relenting sigh. "Because I'm sitting outside of your apartment in Quantico."

The words rang like a gun shot through the empty stillness of the hallway. Reid was shocked, trying to understand if he heard her right.

And then a laugh bubbled up through him and emitted out of his mouth. It was light at first, and he believed he had offended her. Listening, her crying had turned into her own giggles… before long, their laughter went out of control, both listening to the sound on the other end.

Once they calmed down, Riley explained herself. "When I woke up this morning… I thought about… going to say goodbye to all of you… to you. And I couldn't believe I was letting you go again. I wasn't even trying to fight for you. So I called the airport, found the first flight to D.C. this afternoon and… flew back not long before your team returned… I thought I'd surprise you."

"That's where you needed to be so urgently." Reid realized.

"That's where." She agreed. Reid thought she might have been smiling.

He gathered his things, standing up and rushing to get to the stairs. "Wait right there," he informed. "I'm on the next available flight."

"Don't worry." She replied. "I'll be here."

…

It took longer to get back to Quantico than Reid anticipated. There wasn't another flight to D.C. until late the next morning. Riley couldn't wait that long, and under consideration, Reid couldn't either. The closest next available flight was to Philadelphia.

Traveling through three time zones, Reid endured a five hour flight across the country. The FBI had spoiled him; traveling all over on the comfortable BAU jet had made a commercial flight fantastically cramped and horrible. Once he made it to Philadelphia, he rented a car and drove the journey three hours south. By the time he pulled up outside his apartment building, it was close to 3 am. The air was cold and frigid. Overhead, the stars were hidden in overcast. Reid had had his fill of rain for awhile.

He went inside; the lock on his building still broken. Reid took his time heading up the stairs, not wanting to seem too eager. The hallway was silent. Reid headed down the hall, having a horrible thought that perhaps she had changed her mind and left. As he turned the corner, he took in the pretty girl leaning against his door, her long stocking legs situated in front of her with her shoes removed. Her sparkling brown eyes lingering on the pages of a book… just like her old self. There had never been a more welcoming sight in front of his door.

"You've really been sitting there the whole time?" he muttered.

She jumped at his voice, gasping a small squeak. Her hand clutched at her heart. "I've told you never to sneak up a girl when she's reading Stephen King."

"Sorry," he said, "What are you reading?"

"Carrie," she said, showing the cover of the book. "I haven't felt like reading in a long time."

"How come?" Reid asked.

"It's difficult when every word you look at sends shooting pains through your head." She set her book aside. "Funny though, when I decided to leave Seattle this morning, my headache just… seemed to go away."

"Wonder why that is," Reid took a few steps closer to her. "So… as for my first question… have you been sitting here the whole time?"

"Almost," she said. "I ran down to the mini-mart on the next street… to grab coffee and use the ladies' room a couple of times."

"You know, if you didn't drink coffee, you wouldn't need to use the restroom so much." He said with a smile.

She gave a small smile, but seemed uncertain. For an instant, Reid feared she had changed her mind. "What is it?" he asked.

"Why did you stay in Seattle?" she voiced. "You seemed pretty certain in your decision a few days ago."

"I know," he answered. He offered his hands to her. She grasped them, pulling herself gingerly to her feet. She held onto them as Reid's eyes looked away from her, suddenly feeling shy. Even spending hours trying to find the right words, he still struggled with what to say. "And… it would be easier just to… move on from this point. But I love you… and I'm miserable without you. And yes, you leaving was so hard for me… and if happens again, it'll probably destroy me, but I don't care. I love you," His eyes closed, a few tears dripping down as he rested his brow against hers. "And if I only get four more months with you, I'll take it. If I only get four more days with you…"

He couldn't look at her. He felt her hands slip out of his and go up to his face. "Spencer," she muttered, bringing him to her gaze. She wouldn't speak again until he opened his eyes. "That's not going to happen; I'm not going to leave this time. I love you." She reached up and kissed him. It was sweet and tender, lasting barely five seconds.

He finally met her eyes, matching hers. She was crying with him. "I will never put you through that again. I promise." She sniffled.

"Listen to me, Riley," he said, looking into her eyes. "I am not going to wind up miserable. Because… no matter what happens in the future… our life together, even if the worse things happen, it could never be as bad as my life without you. You make me so happy… and I will spend every day of my life trying to make you feel the same way."

She giggled through her tears. "I can't believe I was so stupid." Riley's hand reached up and brushed away his tousled hair. "I can't believe I ever gave you up."

Reid's arms wrapped around her, holding her familiar body against him. "I can't believe I was going to let you go."

He leaned down and kissed her again. Everything that had been building up for seven months emerged in their kiss. Riley's arms slipped down and wrapped around his neck. Reid enveloped her in his grasp, their kiss intensifying.

As it ended, their lips parted, remaining in the embrace of each other.

"I love you, Riley," Reid said, smiling.

"I love you, too, Spencer," She replied, her own pleased grin spread over her face. "Now… there's just one more thing I need to know."

"What?" he asked, a little apprehensive.

The smirk on her face turned almost sinful; a seductive glint sparkled in her eyes. "How fast can you get that door open?"

Reid grinned in return and pulled Riley to him again, claiming her lips with his own once more. One hand slipped into his shoulder bag in a frantic search for his keys.

Outside, it was finally snowing.