Hotch had just told them they were taking off to Franklin, Alaska in thirty minutes. Emily wasn't one to complain, but sleeping on the jet was probably one of her least favorite aspects of the job that didn't have anything to do with the unsubs or victims.

She stood up from the round table in the conference room and hustled over to her desk for her go bag. If she was supposed to attempt to sleep on the plane then she needed to change out of her skirt before takeoff. She had never been to Alaska, but from the look that Rossi gave the team, she hoped that she had warm, comfortable clothes packed in her bag.

She didn't want to be teased about the only clean pair of pajamas that she had packed in her go bag, so she decided to wear a warm gray sweater and pants that she found untouched at the bottom of her bag. She would just have to sleep in that into the night and wear it the next day. It was hard to believe that some people thought this job was glamorous in any way.

Emily was the last one in line to board the jet, much to her displeasure. Morgan had already sprawled his legs out in front of him, taking two seats with his headphones on at the table, and Garcia did the same opposite him. Hotch and Rossi were huddled at the other end of the plane discussing something and JJ wasn't far from them curled in the corner. Reid was tossing his go bag in the compartment above him where his usual spot was on the couch.

She didn't really have many options, so she just tossed her bag beside the couch next to Reid and sat at the edge of it. She reached into her go bag and found the book JJ had given her at Christmas and placed it on her lap. She felt Reid sit back down next to her.

"You don't mind, do you?" Emily asked. "There's not many options left besides the floor."

He loosened his tie from around his neck. "Don't be ridiculous, Emily. This spot doesn't belong to me."

She realized that she didn't feel the same sense of discomfort around him like she had the last time they were on the jet. She felt calm and breathed a sign of relief. That was how she should feel around Reid. She supposed she was right about her theory from earlier in the night. She didn't like Reid, she just liked the kind of man that he was. She could go back to business as usual and not be so focused on accidentally being inappropriate.

"You can still lay down like you normally do," she said. "I have years of training from childhood at sleeping uncomfortably on planes."

She flashed him a brief smile and flipped her book open to the page she left off on. It wasn't the kind of book that she normally would read, but JJ insisted it was worth the effort. She wasn't far enough into it yet to know if that was true, but it did have elements of time-traveling in it that she found interesting. She had a sneaking suspicion that the real reason JJ gifted it to her was because it was mostly a romance novel.

"What are you reading?" Reid asked. He leaned forward and peeked at the front cover. "I don't recognize it."

Emily felt embarrassed but didn't know why. Many woman read books like these and it was on the Best-Sellers List, so it's not like she was the only one. She probably just didn't want to explain to him what the novel was about since the only novels he probably read were high literature.

She just lifted the book up higher and angled the front cover towards him so he could read it.

"The Time-Traveler's Wife," he muttered to himself. "Huh. Never heard of it."

She already knew he had never heard of it. That was obvious. She thought back to when JJ had told her that there were some parts that were particularly passionate and her face flushed. She really hoped Reid didn't ask her to see it.

"That's because it was written this century, Reid."

He chuckled. "Well, is it any good?"

"I wouldn't know yet," she replied. "JJ said it was."

He reached his arm towards her and opened his hand towards the book, indicating her to give it to him.

"Well, let me see it. I'll give it back in like..." he said, examining the book. "Eight minutes and tell you how it is."

Emily pulled the book close to her chest and squirmed away from him. "I thought you were going to sleep?"

"The concept of time-travel is an extensively observed phenomenon and since it's essentially the theory of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or person, it's hypothetically understood within the framework of special relativity and general relativity."

Emily stared at him blankly and blinked. "Okay…?"

"My point is," he said, and swiped for the book. "I like to see if author's using time-travel in their writings might have a plausible scientific theory behind it."

"Reid," she whined, "Give it back. I don't think you're going to find any science in there."

He was already flipping open the book until it landed on the first chapter. Emily huffed. She wanted to be annoyed with him, but the sight of him holding a book like that in his hands, intrigued by the words, was damn near laughable. She slouched back against the seat and tapped her foot against the carpet. If he wanted to read her silly romance novel, then so be it. She was actually curious what he might have to say about it.

Eight minutes felt a lot longer than it should and somehow Emily felt under his scrutiny about her reading material. She heard pages flipping quickly in his hands and saw his eyebrow raise mysteriously on his face. His long hair fell from behind his ear and covered his eye, but he didn't seem to notice. She heard him chuckle to himself a few times.

When he finally closed the book, she felt slightly validated in her nervousness because his cheeks were flushed pink. He cleared his throat and handed the book back to her.

"Well?"

"There certainly wasn't any science in it," he laughed.

Her lips curled up into a smile. "I think I tried to tell you that."

"I admit I don't read much contemporary fiction, but the writing was decent and it's interesting enough if, er, love stories are the sort of reading material that you enjoy."

She gave him an exasperated look. "And what would you know about reading love stories, Reid?"

He gave her that sheepish grin he always had when he figured out a break in a case before everyone else.

"My mom was a 15th – Century literature professor, Emily. She read me everything from Chaucer to Jane Austin. It was very important to her that I be raised to be a gentleman considering what happened with my father." He gave her a serious stare. "My practical experience with love may be limited, but I assure you, I've read more romantic tales in my life than you have."

She felt her stomach flip uncomfortably as she looked around the jet for prying eyes. She doubted anyone was sleeping yet, but their eyes were either closed with headphones on or they were Hotch and Rossi, still engrossed in a conversation at the other end of the plane.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises Dr. Reid."

He smirked at her. "Life is full of surprises, right?"

Emily watched him bring his legs up on the couch and roll over to his side, curling up in a ball like he usually slept.

"'Night, Reid."

"Goodnight."

He closed his eyes and she decided to flip her book back open and find the page that she was on. His foot brushed her leg when she saw him roll onto his back and lift his head up.

"Oh, and Emily?" he said sleepily. "It's probably the kind of book you'd want to read outside of work."

He rolled back onto his side and she saw a stupid grin on his face. For the first time since she sat on the plane, she felt embarrassed again. She let the book flop closed in her hands and quietly slipped it back into her bag. Damn, Reid with his eidetic memory and weirdly fast reading ability. She pulled out the fluffiest piece of clothing she could find from her bag and tried to prop it behind herself. It really was going to be an uncomfortable kind of sleep.

The next night the team was gathered in the front room of the tavern with Sheriff Rhodes when she excused herself to the bathroom. Their first day in Alaska wasn't going well. Everyone in this town was connected in some way and it seemed like everyone grew up hunting. After a day of investigating the crime scenes and talking to some of the towns people, she felt they weren't any closer to catching the unsub than when they started. Her back and neck were sore from sleeping on the jet and she was exhausted. The only good thing she could grasp to right now was that they were finally indoors holed up at Carol's Tavern and out of the cold.

When she returned to the room, the Sheriff was gone and the team had disgruntled looks on their faces except for Garcia and Morgan who were grinning at each other.

"What did I miss?"

No one answered her for a few moments until she heard Hotch sigh and stand up.

"We're going to have to double up," he said, "There are only four rooms available."

Emily hung her head in defeat. It really wasn't a big deal but she was looking forward to finally getting a decent night of sleep.

"I don't mean to play rank, but I'll likely be up for several more hours and would prefer to room alone unless anyone else disagrees." He gave a stern stare and looked around the room. It wasn't like anyone was going to disagree with him. Emily still felt intimidated by him when he looked like that despite years working together.

Hotch picked up his go bag and began walking towards the stairs. "Early start tomorrow, guys. Sleep the best you can."

Hotch disappeared up the stairs and Emily assumed by Garcia's mischievous smile that she already called dibs on Morgan, not that she had a problem with that. She saw Reid staring at Rossi with a pleading look.

"No offense, but not gonna happen, kid," Rossi said. "Unless you want to sleep on the floor, I'd look elsewhere."

Emily shook her head. Men. She worked with great, intelligent men, but they were so predictable sometimes. She could see a hurt look on Reid's face despite him trying to hide it. She didn't know why everyone always picked on him all the time.

When she looked around the room, she noticed JJ staring at her lap with her mouth closed tight. JJ looked up when she felt Emily's eyes on her. She knew that look. Will probably wouldn't like the idea of JJ and Reid bunking together because of the one awkward date they had years ago. It was all so ridiculous. They were grown adults with a job to do.

She felt her legs walking her towards the couch where Reid sat with a frown on his face. She put her hand on his shoulder and saw his head move to look at it.

"Don't worry, Reid," she said. "I'll room with you."

"You sure?"

She nodded her head and smiled. The tension from his shoulders seemed to evaporate and she let her arm fall back to her side. She looked back at JJ and saw her mouth a quick 'thank you' to her. She rolled her eyes and tried not too feel too annoyed by the whole situation.

Rossi clapped his hands together. "Alright. All settled then," he said. "Jennifer, I expect no funny business from you and I hope that you don't snore."

She heard JJ groan. "Oh, please. You'll be lucky if you don't end up on the floor."

Emily felt herself laugh, but quickly stopped when she thought about everyone joking about sleeping on the floor. Did none of these rooms have separate beds? Everyone began standing up and grabbing their bags. Everything would be fine, she assured herself. She and Reid would share a room and that wasn't a big deal, even with only one bed. It really wasn't a big deal. She had shared beds with friends before. As she walked up the stairs behind Reid, she ignored the reason why she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Reid walked into the room first and flipped on the light switch, Emily close behind him. She tried her best not to grimace when she saw the room. One queen sized bed with matching side tables. A small dresser with an old TV on top of it was opposite the bed, and tucked into the corner was a small table with two chairs that had seen better years. Next to the bed was a closed door which she assumed was the bathroom. She scanned the room again and only saw an old heater in the corner plugged into the wall and the room felt nearly as cold as outside.

"Cozy," she said. She couldn't hide the sarcasm from her voice and immediately felt bad about it. She supposed the place had its charm about it, for Alaska at least.

He laughed and dropped himself into one of the chairs, tucking his hair behind his ear. She wondered if he liked it long or if he just didn't like getting haircuts. She thought it suited him nicely even if it was often messy.

"Thanks for rooming with me," he said. He gave her a small, lop-sided grin that was gone almost as soon as it came.

"It's no problem. I heard a rumor that Rossi is the one who actually snores."

It was a lie, but she wanted to make him feel better. She followed his eyes and saw him staring at the bed with a blank stare on his face. Her lips went dry and she was suddenly aware of the pounding in her chest. It's just Reid, she reminded herself. There is absolutely no reason to be nervous right now. Her thoughts didn't seem to calm the feeling in her stomach. She just needed to push past her awkwardness.

"You don't mind if I shower first, right?"

He shook his head 'no' and she found herself walking as quickly as she could to the bathroom before shutting the door closed with a soft click.

She made sure to shower as quickly as possible so he would still have some hot water left. Her face was scrubbed of makeup and her body was clean. She felt better than before. It was just one night, well, hopefully only one night, and then they would be on their way back home. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was dripping wet still and it was in its natural form. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small hair tie and began effortlessly braiding her hair.

She tried not to feel embarrassed about her pajamas. They never had to room with each other before when they were on a case, so she never thought twice about how silly they were. The bottoms were black and had small, yellow stars across them. She guessed being around Garcia rubbed off on her more than she thought, because they brought her comfort when they were working a case. And now Reid would see them.

She groaned internally at herself and began brushing her teeth with more force than necessary. So what if Reid saw them? They were just pajamas to sleep in. He probably had silly Star Wars pajamas or somehow found some that had math equations on it. The thought gave her a new sense of confidence when she walked out the door.

He looked up from the same chair he was sitting on before when she swung open the door. He had a mug in his hands and he was looking over the case files. His eyes darted up and down her body before he looked back down at the paper, but she noticed a small smile on his face.

"You really like stars, don't you?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly aware of her lack of bra. Was that inappropriate or not? She hadn't even thought about it. What woman on earth wears a bra to bed? She wondered if he would notice that kind of thing.

"I guess the evidence is against me here."

"Is it a fascination with luminous spheres of plasma floating around in our galaxies?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. He didn't look up from the case file. Did he ever just take things as they were?

"Not when you put it like that, Reid," she responded and dropped her go bag on the side table by the bed.

He looked up from his case file and closed the folder. "How should I put it? It's what they are."

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just the feeling you get when you look up into the night sky and feel like something is looking right back down at you. It's a comforting thought, I guess."

He took a long sip of tea and seemed to ponder her answer. He stood from his chair and let out a yawn before walking over to her. She saw him holding a second mug that she hadn't noticed and set it down on the table next to her.

"It makes sense now why you were so annoyed at me when you told me the story about the star puzzle."

"I just wanted to see if I could do it myself. It's not a big deal."

She glanced in the mug and saw that it looked like tea and smiled. She really wanted to get to bed because now she was thinking about the whole thing again and she felt uncomfortable about how close he was standing.

"Sorry anyway," he said.

She waved him off and sat down on the bed. He opened the door to the bathroom and disappeared behind it. A deep breath she didn't realize she was holding escaped from her lungs. Why did he make her feel so out of control of her body? She already decided she didn't like him as anything more than a friend, even if he was attractive. Morgan was attractive, but she never felt weird around him. She had learned a long time ago how to keep her composure around guys whether she thought they were attractive or not.

Just keep an appropriate amount of space away from him on the bed and go to sleep, she told herself. And for the love of all things good, go get yourself a date. A shiver passed through her body. She reached over to the mug of tea he left her and brought it to her lips. It warmed her up a bit even though it wasn't as hot as it should be. Setting the mug back down, she decided to climb under the covers and felt her body relax into the bed. Finally, she could lay down comfortably.

Reid appeared out of the bathroom and shifted his weight on his feet. Emily was disappointed to see that his pajamas were perfectly normal. His hair was damp and slightly frizzy despite it looking combed. He must have tried to towel dry it.

"Reid, can you turn off the light, please?" She asked. "I'm beat."

"You know you can call me Spencer more often."

"Huh?" She was too damn sleepy to care at the moment.

"You call me Reid or doctor or Dr. Reid more than you do Spencer, even in casual settings."

She grinned. "Okay, Dr. Spencer. Would you mind?"

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "I think I'll sleep on the floor. I know you didn't sleep well last night on the plane."

Emily felt more disappointed than she cared to admit. It must have shown on her face without her consent because he was giving her an odd look.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's cold, we all slept uncomfortably, and there's plenty of room," she said. "It's really not a big deal."

He still looked uncomfortable with the situation, but he walked over to the light switch and flicked it off without another word.

Emily felt safer with the blanket of darkness that washed over the room. She felt him lift the cover and he climbed in, settling himself as close to the edge of the bed as possible. She sighed in relief. It really wasn't as nerve-wrecking as she was making it all out to be in her head.

A few minutes passed and she still hadn't fallen asleep as quickly as she expected. She lay on her back staring up at the ceiling and was focused on the sound of his breathing. It was slow and calm, but if she had to guess, he wasn't asleep yet either. She felt cold under the covers. Why was Alaska so damn cold? Spencer must have turned on the space heater in the room when she was showering because she could hear the quiet hum of it. Maybe she could find an extra blanket…

She pulled the covers down and slipped out of the bed as quietly as she could and walked over to the dresser.

"Em?" His voice was a whisper.

She pulled open the top drawer and was shocked to find a fluffy blanket folded neatly inside. It wasn't very big, but it was something at least. She shut the drawer and hopped back on the bed.

"What? Don't tell me you're not freezing your ass off, too."

He laughed as she climbed back into the bed and pulled the covers back up to her chin.

"I know," he groaned. "I can't sleep."

She flung the blanket open wide and pulled it down to the middle of the bed. It really wasn't very big at all. She felt her heart thump loudly in her chest as she slid herself towards the middle of the bed.

"You'll have to come closer," she said. "It's a little warmer."

She was thankful that it was so dark because she was sure that she was blushing. He didn't move for a few moments and she wondered if he felt as awkward as she did. Maybe he was nervous, too? It might make her feel better about herself if he was.

The weight of the bed adjusted underneath her as he inched himself closer to her. When he rolled over to his side and adjusted his pillow under his head, she felt his feet brush her leg.

"Damn, Reid, your feet are freezing!"

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Accident."

She felt him pull his legs away and curl himself up like he did on the plane. She could smell his body wash. The smell made her smile. It wasn't heavily scented or overly-masculine like she was used to men using. It was just so Spencer. The faint warmth of his body heat radiated towards her and it made her more aware of how cold she still was. She wondered how he would react if she just moved a bit closer…

She turned her head to the side just slightly and peeked over to him. His eyes were open and he was looking at her. She didn't understand how her body was still so cold when her face felt like it was on fire. Damn, Spencer Reid. Why did he make her feel like she was 15 years old again? She's known him for nearly five years and felt nothing more than friendship until that star puzzle. These kinds of uncomfortable feelings don't just come out of nowhere.

She closed her eyes. Before she could think about it, she reached out her arm towards him until she felt her hand bump his hand. She placed her hand on top of his and slid her fingers into his palm. His hand was cold in hers. She figured the gesture was innocent enough, well, if they hadn't been laying in a bed together.

She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand and felt him give her fingers a small squeeze in return. She didn't think she expected anything or even wanted anything more, but she felt comforted by his hand in hers and him acknowledging it.

Emily lifted her hip and gently moved her body towards him until her shoulder touched his chest. Her head fell down on the edge of his pillow and she placed his arm across her stomach. He felt warm and she could feel the heat of his breath by her ear. It wasn't quite cuddling, but it was close enough for her to know that she probably shouldn't have done it. She realized she didn't care much about being appropriate in the moment. She was cold and they were in a bed together and it was more comfortable that way.

His head lifted from the pillow and he leaned his weight on his arm. She felt her stomach drop in panic. He must have not been okay with the close proximity. She began thinking of apologies to say when she thought she heard his voice.

"Hmm?"

She could see the darkened shadows underneath his cheek bones from the faint light peeking in behind the curtains. He was looking at her.

"Lift your head," he repeated.

She did as she was told and he reached around her head and pulled the pillow over a few inches. She let her head fall back down and it was much more comfortable for her neck. He bent back down on his side and tucked one arm under his head and the other back over her stomach.

She settled the arm that was trapped between them on her stomach and brought her free hand back to rest against the top of his. She began rubbing her thumb over his soft skin again. She felt relaxed and nervous at the same time. How was that possible?

"S'okay?" he mumbled.

He was looking at the side of her face. She could feel his stare. She wanted to ignore him, but she could feel his presence all around her body. She turned her head and met his gaze. He had an inquisitive stare. She couldn't understand what he was thinking because it was too dark in the room to see his eyes, but his eyebrows furrowed together just slightly.

She longed to reach out and touch his face, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had crossed enough boundaries tonight and she wasn't sure she wanted to cross anymore. The only thing she knew for sure was that it felt good to lay next to him.

"It's okay, Spence." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Let's get some sleep."

She closed her eyes and tried her best to ignore how it was the first time in a long time that she hadn't felt quite as lonely before she drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading and thank you for the reviews! I appreciate them. Have a beautiful day wherever you are in the world, and stay safe.