A/N: Hello again, everyone!
I hope you like this chapter...because a special someone returns.
My apologies if I had made any mistakes but do enjoy the chapter!
"Spencer, wake up." Élise woke up, stretching out her arms and legs.
Spencer was still trying to sleep, "Give me…five more minutes."
"Spencer," Élise said in a gentle but firm tone. "You have your seminar to get to. It's time to get up now."
"Just give me five more minutes, please." Spencer snuggles against his pillow.
Pursing her lips, Élise pulls the comforters away from Reid, who immediately pulls the comforters over him again. Now having her hands on her hips,
"Spencer." Élise starts shaking him, spanking his backside, "Spencer. You need to wake up. Right now! Come on! Get on up! Wake up!"
Dreamily smiling and gruntingly giggling, "That didn't even hurt. Five more minutes."
Mischievous smiling and raised one of her eyebrows, she bent down and kissed his soft lips.
"Not tempting enough. Five more minutes."
Crossing her arms and pressing her lips but still having that mischievous smile on her face, Élise left the room for a quick minute, only to come back with a little surprise for him. "You have one last chance to wake up."
Reid responded with him snuggling against the pillow and his comforters.
SPLASH!
"Oh…shh…ahh…" Reid immediately woke up, trying to gasp for air and spitting out some water. "Wha…?" He widely stares at a naughty Élise, who had just placed the empty pitcher on his nightstand. Using his sleeve to wipe the water from his face,
"Now...did that tempt you?" She naughty asked him. She had to admit, Spencer looks cute with his hair all wet.
Pursing his own lips, "Élise Bastien…I'm going to…" Elsie immediately dashed out of the room once Reid jumped out of the bed and starts chasing after her around the apartment. "I'm going to get you! Come back here, you...!"
"Oh. Oh!" Élise ran into the closet in the living room, despite almost tripping. Thinking Reid went into the bathroom, she looked both ways before leaving the closet.
"Gotcha!" Reid comes up from behind Élise and wraps her around his arms. Élise starts giggling and laughing,
"No! Let me go! Let me go, you…!"
"Make me! Huh?" Reid said as he started to leave big and sloppy smooches and kisses on her neck and face. "Huh? You can't make me!" They burst out into laughter once they landed on the couch.
"Oh, my…" Élise, trying to cool herself, taps Reid on his shoulders. "Hey."
Anastasia was standing in front of them with her weighted teddy bear.
"Good morning, princess." Reid greets his daughter with a kiss on her head while in the meanwhile, Élise makes some coffee. "Did you sleep well?"
Anastasia nods her head.
"Good," He gives her another kiss but on the forehead before picking her up and placing her in her seat. "And while Élise fixes up some breakfast for you, I have to go and get to get ready." Whispering to her, "But first…"
Élise was looking through the freezer trying to find the waffles when,
"Oh!"
Reid plasters Élise with whipped cream before dashing out of the kitchen and to his room. Waving her spatula as she playfully pursed her lips,
"You're lucky." Turning to Anastasia as she was in her sitting chair. "Your daddy's lucky."
"Oh, my…" Élise just had to crash on the couch; she was just finished cooking up some dinner since she knew Reid would have a long day at the criminal profiling seminar. It felt like a long day for her as well. Right after Reid left—after they…gave each other a little peck on the lips—Élise spent half the morning dusting and sweeping and half the other morning playing and watching movies and television with Anastasia. While Anastasia was taking her afternoon nap, she cleaned all three bathrooms and mopped the floors.
She felt like reading would help relax her; it does for Reid. Walking over to his bookshelf, she always remembered he had far more books than her. Science, Philosophy, Engineering. From Mathematics to Chemistry; from Psychology and to Sociology. Her book choices felt more different from Reid's choices. Southern Gothic, African-American, Eighteenth/Nineteenth Century-era, Shakespearean; books about famous people, children's stories, even fairy tales.
Still looking over the bookshelf, she found one book that caught her eye.
The Narrative of John Smith by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
This is interesting, she said in her head. Just as she opens, a small picture falls out from the book. It was a woman; and a beautiful woman. She had wavy brown hair, clear blue eyes, pretty pink lips, a wonderful smile. Before she could put it back, something was written in thin black marker,
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone—We find it with another
—Thomas Merton.
Just when she closed the book,
"Hey."
Élise turns around only to see Reid who has just walked in the front door.
"Hey, you." She pastors an automatic grin on her face. "How was your day?"
"It was great," He starts to ramble about his day, putting his bag in his room, "I actually think being about to take thirty-days off from the hundred days I'm out from the field might be a good thing. I was apprehensive at first but now I feel more comfortable as ever than before. How was your day?"
"Oh," Élise still had the book behind her back. "Great. I gave the place a daily-to-weekly clean."
"Well, that explains why it still smells a bit like lemon." Reid noticed Élise was holding something. "What you got there?"
"Oh, it's a book with a photo inside." She shows it to him. He takes the book from her and he immediately recognizes it. He felt this huge lump developing in his throat, he could feel the tear ducts coming.
"Are you okay?" Élise asked with concern.
"Yeah…uh," Shaking his head. "I'm not hungry."
"Are you sure? Because I made…"
"I'm fine." Reid made a quick stop at Anastasia's room, who was playing—or organizing—her blocks by color. Reid gave her a quick kiss before he went into his own room, "Really. I'm fine."
Bye, love you.
Would you do that?
Yes!
Would you kill yourself for her?
Yes!
Who's Thomas Merton? Who is he?
He's the one thing you can never take from us.
No.
Wait!
"Reid?" A gentle voice said to him. "Reid."
Finally looking up, Reid sees Élise standing over him. He was too distracted by his overwhelming head rush about…
"I uh…got you some leftover dinner. I even tucked in Anastasia again. I stayed with her until she fell asleep. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied.
"No, you're not." She pulls the book from behind her. "Unassuming on the outside, but a treasure within." She opens the book and there was still the picture inside over the quote. Reid takes the book and stared intently at the photo. Allowing a tear to fall from his eye,
"You uh…want to get in bed?"
Élise got into his bed and tucked herself under his comforters. Reid turned around to face Élise, who gave him a comforting smile.
"You don't have to tell me everything but if you do…I'm listening. What's her name?"
Taking a hefty sigh, "Her name was Dr. Maeve Donovan."
"Was?"
Reid really did feel the lump in his throat, but finally, "She was my girlfriend."
"You had a girlfriend?" Élise had no judgment in her voice tone.
"The first one I've ever had." Reid had a crack in his voice. "She...had a stalker. Her name was…Diane Turner." Reid really wanted to call her 'the Bitch.' "She stalked Maeve for ten months. And her ex-fiancé. She stalked her because she had rejected Diane's Ph.D. thesis about spontaneous cellular death in suicide patients; she even included her own parents' suicide. The team profiled her as a possessive celebrity stalker, but I compared her to Mark David Chapman."
"The guy who shot John Lennon in New York City."
"Yeah. Basically, she had severe narcissistic and psychopathic traits; she became obsessed with everything Maeve had and wanted to take everything from Maeve for herself, including me."
"You?"
Shrugging his shoulders, "Yeah; she even shot in my left arm when I didn't...kiss her with enough passion. Believe me, we did everything that we could. But in the end…" Reid allowed another tear to fall, swallowing the lump, "She killed herself…and Maeve. And I watched her do it. It's been six years and twenty-one days."
Élise could feel something in her throat, covered her mouth in shock, "Oh, Reid." She placed her hand on his shoulder. And he didn't mind.
"I spent two weeks alone in my apartment. When it was three months and fifteen days since her passing, I had a dream and we danced…because she wanted to hold me once before she became a ghost of a memory. She asked me to dance before but I'd always wake up. Before, I couldn't really sleep…because I felt like there are two types of people in the world. The ones that get over their grief and move on, and the ones that descent into some sort of endless misery. Rossi told me it takes time to move on, but honestly…I've still not moved on."
"Understandable. Perfectly understandable."
"Adopting Anastasia has helped me get through because I've always wanted to have children."
Sadly smiling, "You must really miss her, huh?"
"I do and honestly…sometimes I still think about Maeve."
"You want to me more about her?" Élise curiously asked. "How did you two meet each other?"
"About… two years before we met, she…viewed my MRI scans of my brain when I was starting to have headaches and migraines. She was a geneticist. We got in touch and…we talk weekly. But I just had to talk to her while I was on a case. We'd sent letters to each other using pseudonyms. I uh…was aware that she was being stalked, but…she didn't want help because she was afraid her stalker would come after me. Until the night she died, I'd never seen her face, but it didn't matter to me because…she was already the most beautiful girl in the world to me."
Taking another moment to stop, took a deep breath, "I was afraid she wouldn't like me because I slouched, my tie was crooked, my hair's too long; you can ask my mother and Aunt Ethel. And honestly…I didn't want something as trivial as looks to ruin something so special. Alex Blake, an old colleague of mine said that seeing her with only make the relationship better and encouraged me to go."
"Wise woman," Élise commented.
"Yeah. We were supposed to meet for the very first time face-to-face at a restaurant, but…I stupidly thought her ex-fiancé, Bobby Putman, was her stalker, so… I warned her not to come in. But she left me the book with the Thomas Merton quote." Softly gushing, "She was so easy to talk to. And she was so intelligent. Warm and sweet, too. I'd talk to her and it felt like time went by for like a minute. We spent 2,412 hours talking through phone calls and letters. I still remember every single word we had ever said to each other."
"Extraordinary."
"Yeah. Thank you for listening to me."
"You're welcome."
"You can stay in my bed tonight."
She moves closer to him now before, "Oh, thank you. I really do feel too lazy to get up." She and Reid broke out into giggles. Looking into each other's eyes,
"At least she's looking out over you."
"Yeah. I know."
Again, the tension. Oh, that damn tension. They both had those feelings again. Leaning in closer and closer to each other, they closed their eyes…
And…for some reason, they couldn't kiss. Instead, they just slowly pulled away from each other.
"Well," Élise said before licking her lips, "Good night." She turns the other way.
"Good night to you, too."
"Wha…?" Élise looked down and saw how her navy with white cricket-trim sleep set was replaced with a fine off-white satin gown with a sheer layer cover, a wrap-around top, and an embroidered trim belt around her gown waist. Her matching robe was also swapped with a long brown coat. She lifted the hem of her long skirt and noticed she was wearing these stunning silver satin slippers with small hang-molded plexiglass hells and richly embroidered with silver thread, small pearls, and beads. Her hair was decorated in small teardrop-shaped pearls and her ears accessorized with small pearls, gently flowing in the breeze.
"Wow."
Élise's eyes went wide as she was turning around and realized where she was now.
She recognized this place from the Pride and Prejudice movies, both from the 1995 and 2005 adaptations of the book itself. The Stanage Edge in the Peak District in Derbyshire was the location. She soon became to realize she was now standing on the precipice cliffs of a gritstone edge. She stopped for a moment and worldly surveys over the countryside. From the Dark Peak moorlands to the Hope Valley. The light blue skies and the white clouds with a little touch of gray were exactly like the 2005 adaptation. It was just stunning, absolutely breathtaking. But at the same time, it gave her a sense of peace and calm but also gave her a free-thinking nature and independence she had deep down inside her.
Now she knew how Elizabeth Bennet felt like at this moment.
On top of the world.
All that was missing was the music from the scene.
"It really is a stunning view, huh?"
Élise turned around and it was…
"Maeve?"
Maeve was causally standing away from the cliffs, smiling. Élise recognized her from the photo in Spencer's book.
"You're Maeve."
"Yes. Yes, I am."
Élise took a stunned gasp, "Wow. I mean…damn! You are…so much prettier in person. And I mean it."
Blushing, "Wow. Thank you."
"Seriously, you are."
"Well, you are, too."
Élise shyly blushed. Élise didn't think she was pretty with her short and relaxed neck-length hair. Her medium-to-dark brown skin tone can get greasy and oily on her face throughout the day. She would even occasionally have adult acne and still had some of the scars. She almost never wears makeup and whenever she looked in the mirror, she felt she would still see the acne scars. Sometimes she even felt fat for someone her height. Despite people telling her she looked younger than she did, she sometimes felt like looked old for someone her age. With or without her designer optical eyeglasses, she felt the ugliest person in the world. So, for someone like Maeve to tell her, she's pretty actually meant a lot to her.
"Well, thanks." Shrugging her shoulders. "So…what are you doing here?"
"I want to talk to you about Dr. Spencer Reid."
Élise's eyes went wide again when she mentioned Reid. "You do?"
"Yes, I do."
"Well, he has told me so much about you."
"He did?" Maeve asked.
"Yeah," Élise answered. "He told me how you were the most beautiful in the world to him, even though he has never seen your face. He said you two used to write letters to each other under pseudonyms. I'm guessing by the great and prolific Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?"
Maeve sat down near a stump; Élise soon joined her. "Yeah. I called him Dr. Joseph Bell, an inspiration for Sherlock Holmes."
"I take it he's your favorite author."
"Yes, he is."
"Well, you should also be thanking the equally great and equally prolific American writer Edgar Allan Poe because I believe it was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself who said, 'Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?'" Élise tried imitating a Scottish accent.
Maeve seemed impressed. "Wow. You must be a fan of Poe."
"Yes, I am."
"You know, Spencer still loves you. And…he even said how he still thinks about you. Every word you two ever said to each other. How he…wishes he could have saved you. And how you didn't want his help because you were afraid that Diane would hurt him as well." Élise admits to herself that she felt a bit jealous.
"I did."
"And…what I learned from him about stalkers, they can be absolutely terrifying. And relentlessly cruel."
"Something tells me you know from personal experience."
"Yeah," Élise knew she didn't want to revisit this part of her life chapter, but felt like she could open up to Maeve, "Almost a year, I was being stalked for years, and I mean, from the time I was in college. By a bastard name…" Élise took a hard swallow. "Richard Griffin. He ambushed me in my apartment. He tied me up and tortured me before abducting me. He…kept me captive and hostage for six-seven months; Griffin continued to torture me throughout those months. Reid told me he spent as much as he could looking for me. As always, being the genius that he is, realized Griffin was having his end game at his late parents' Hampton estate. I briefly escaped him, he and Reid got into a massive fight, and then…Reid stabbed him…111 times."
"He did?"
"Yeah, he did."
"I'm sure you would do the same thing for Spencer."
"Actually, I did. A few months ago, Reid and Penelope Garcia were abducted by one of Benjamin David Merva's following bitches. Merva was the leader of the Believers, this religious killing cult and one of his following bitches was Mary Meadows, this corrupt VICAP agent, who forced Reid to release both Merva and Theo Holston, the Believers' next 'Messiah,' or she and her men would kill Garcia. I was…so pissed off because I sensed something was off about her and I didn't…I just wished I'd said something. Luke Alvez, another one of Spencer's colleagues, help me work through it." Taking a deep breath, "Garcia escaped them, thanks to Spencer distracting them. I…was scared shitless when I thought they killed Reid in the warehouse they were held captive, but they killed Theo. Eventually, we found Reid in Kentucky, where they had taken him. I had to wait by the ambulance when they were having this religious gathering or something, Merva had a knife to him and Prentiss killed him. When I saw Reid, I ran up and hugged him with all my might. As Meadows was being arrested, I...calmly went over to Meadows and…I sort of…bitch-slapped her a couple of times before almost knocking her out when I punched her in the face."
Maeve giggled a bit.
"Yeah. Meadows said he was lucky she didn't go after Spencer's mother or daughter."
"Well, she must have been lucky you didn't hit her any harder."
"Actually, Garcia almost did kill her when she ran over Meadows with a car. I told Spencer I would have done the same thing, only I kill her or beat the crap out of her."
Maeve noticed, "You're protective of Spencer."
"I am." Élise faced Maeve, "Spencer was right; you are easy to talk to despite being an intelligent geneticist. And a fascinating one. Maybe that's why your name is Maeve. It's Irish, meaning intoxicating. Also, the name of an Irish warrior Queen."
"See what I mean? You're intelligent in your own way."
"Well, I wasn't someone who could read or understand science or math lectures in school. I mostly spent my Fridays and Saturday nights by myself, whether it was either watching reruns or princess movies, playing girly video games or the Sims or reading fairy tales. I didn't go to any dances or even my Junior or Senior Proms. They just…were not my style. And I felt like the ugly duckling growing up."
"I spent my Fridays and Saturdays with a microscope, so I know the feeling," Maeve said. "But still, you are intelligent in your own way. And unique. And sweet. And caring. And wonderful." There was a moment of silence before,
"I can see why Spencer loves you."
Élise's heart stopped for a moment when she thought she heard Maeve said,
"You think Spencer loves me?" Élise was stunned.
"I know he does. And you love him."
Élise turned her head away in blushing embarrassment. "Yeah." Élise began to blurt out, "I love him. I really do. He's like…a real-life Prince Charming with character. He's even a real-life Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. But without the arrogance or pride." She smiles to herself before allowing it to fade away.
"Why don't you tell him?"
Élise blurts out the truth, "I'm afraid. Of everything. I just worry that…he won't feel the same way and…he'll always love you and he still thinks about you and…I don't know. Maybe I'm just scared that…"
"Don't be, Élise. And always remember this: Thomas Merton wrote, 'Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone—We find it with another.' Don't be afraid to tell him. Tell him."
Reid was sitting in a corner in the comfort of a large and private library. He was half-way done rereading James Joyce's Ulysses when,
"Interesting choice there, Spence."
Reid froze for a moment when he heard that familiar voice. Looking up after closing his book,
"Maeve?" He could feel the sting of the water ducts.
"Hey there, you." She sits down next to him. "Fancy meeting you here. What's going on in your life?"
"So much." Reid started. "I'm still an FBI Agent…who got falsely arrested and imprisoned for a few months by someone who I wish never to mention again. My mother's now a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic with Alzheimer's. I'm occasionally a professor. One of my coworkers is getting remarried to his third ex-wife; another one was killed last year; another one retired. I had to deal with a bureaucratic…witch for quite a while." He really wanted to say 'bitch.'
"I heard from a certain someone that you and another co-worker of yours got abducted by a cult and that certain someone was ready to kill them for you."
"Who told you?"
"Dr. Élise Bastien."
A surprised gasp escaped him. "You…spoke to Élise?"
"Yeah. I had an interesting chat with her. We even talked about you."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"I bet she told you she wanted to kill the man who had one of his followers abduct me and one of my friends."
"Yup. And she even told me how she gave the woman who kidnapped you a few hits."
"Oh, yes she did." They shared a laugh together before Reid turned his head the other way.
"What's wrong, Spence?" Maeve asked him.
He softly whispers, "Did you…tell you that we kissed?"
"No, but she didn't need to." She had her hand on his lap.
"We kissed the first time at Rossi's Christmas party, the second time was at her old apartment after we came back from dinner and a rock opera, Chess. The next time was last Christmas, New Year's Day when we…had our dance on our first date stargazing. And…two days ago."
"Oh. Well, …that's great. And I also heard from her that you did whatever you did when she went missing."
"Yeah, I did."
"You stabbed her stalker 111 times."
"If you knew his history, you'd understand why." Reid reasons with her.
"And I also understand that you have a daughter now."
Smiling as he shows him a picture, "Yeah. Her name is Anastasia."
"Wonderful name. And so beautiful. She has your eyes."
"Élise read how Anastasia means resurrection. The last Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia was named Anastasia; also meaning "breaker of chains" or "prison opener," according to Tsar Nicholas II."
"She must love to read."
"Almost as much as me." After inhaling and exhaling, "Did you know that uh…I took Élise to the same restaurant you and I…would have…had our first date?"
"Well, that's sweet."
"Yeah," Reid soon faces her. "I still miss you. And I still love you."
Maeve now had her hand on his face. "I know. Something tells me you'll always love me. But you love her, too."
"Maeve…"
"I see it, Spencer. I see it in your eyes. The beating of your heart. Your smile. You love her."
"I do." Reid finally admits.
"And she loves you."
Reid looked into her blue eyes with tears in his eyes, "She does?"
Smiling, "Yes. You can be together with her…"
"Maeve…"
"You two could get married…"
"I-I…"
"You two can have a family together…"
"I can't!" He cries out.
Maeve calmly responds. "Why not?"
"I'm afraid…for many things. I'm afraid I'll give one of my children schizophrenia or Alzheimer's. Or what if I put them in danger one day or something else happens or what…" He just had to stop at this part.
"Or what, Spencer?"
Shaking his head, hoping to change the subject. "Nothing."
"Spence…You can tell me."
"I'm afraid I'll forget about you." He allowed the tears to fall down from his face as he faced her. "Maeve Donovan, you will always be the first woman I've ever loved. And I'm sorry that I said that I didn't love you. Truly and sincerely sorry. I just…I just wanted to wait until…"
"I understand," She whispers to him, using her fingers to wipe the tears away. "And you never needed to tell me that you love me. I already knew. But Élise is the one for you." Shrugging her shoulders, "Why do you think I sent her to you?"
Reid gazes at Maeve, "You sent her to me?"
"Yes. I will never be too far away, Spencer. I'll always be with you, but I want you to be with her."
Smiling, "You know, Élise said that in "The Lion King," Mufasa tells Simba the stars are the Great Kings of the Past who ruled the Pride Lands are looking down at them; so, if Simba ever feels alone, the Great Pride Land Past Kings will always be there to guide him, and his father will guide him, too. Élise also said that to me, a twinkling star is someone who wants to talk to you from heaven; to let you know they're not far away if you ever do want to talk to them. I guess if I see a star, I can talk to you."
"As I said, she's the one for you, Spencer." Maeve gives him a peck on the cheek. "Thomas Merton wrote…
"…Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone—We find it with another."
"Spencer?"
"Élise?"
Spencer and Élise began to notice they had their arms wrapped around each other. Facing each other. Élise had her head on his chest and Spencer had his head on top of hers.
And they still had their sleepwear on.
"Good morning," Élise said with a small smile.
Greeting her with a small smile as well, "Good morning to you, too."
"Did you sleep well?" Élise asked.
Reid answered, "Yeah. I did. Do you?"
"Yeah."
Looking at each other's eyes,
"I have something I want to say," Reid spoke up.
"Same here."
"On the count of three."
"Okay."
"One…"
"Two…"
"Three." They said simultaneously…
"I love you."
Realizing what they said to each other, the expressions on their faces, what were the perfect words to describe the moment they were in? On the other side, were there any words? The passion in their eyes was more than enough.
They wrapped their arms tighter around each other and finally closed their eyes and allowed their lips to touch.