A Beginning and an End
A CM fic
Spencer Reid/Max Brenner "Maxcer"
Reid, Max, JJ, Cat Adams
Shout out and thank you to Aut for once again swimming through the drafts and helping create a final version. Xoxo!
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"Celebrate endings-for they precede new beginnings."-Jonathan Lockwood Huie
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One story ends and another takes off. Cat Adams is scheduled for lethal injection. Max and Spencer seek a new level for their burgeoning relationship.
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"I was hoping I could ask your advice about something," Dr. Spencer Reid said in a quiet voice as he settled into the seat next to Agent Jennifer Jareau aboard the BAU jet. The team members had just completed a case, successfully profiling and catching a vicious spree killer in San Antonio, Texas. Weary, they were now on their way back to DC.
JJ smiled, "Absolutely, Spence. Always willing to help my best friend."
He looked past her for a moment as SSAs Matt Simmons and Luke Alvez made their way along the aisle to seats at the back of the plane. JJ recognised Reid's need for confidentiality and waited expectantly until the men were out of earshot for Reid to continue.
A quick glance over his shoulder told him that Unit Chief Emily Prentiss and Senior SSA David Rossi were at the front of the jet filling out reports and drinking Scotch respectively. Seated across from them, SSA Dr. Tara Lewis was engrossed in George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons. Satisfied, Reid turned back to JJ.
"Um. Well. Max and I. We've been going out together for over a month now, as you know. And despite Cat's efforts, we're still together. Fortunately." He heaved a relieved sigh. "And I have all of you to thank for that I suppose, too." He drummed his fingers nervously on his thighs and recognising his hesitation, JJ prodded encouragingly.
"Mmm hmm, go on, Spence."
His face brightened as he told her, "And. Well Max does consider me as her boyfriend now." He smiled as he imparted that piece of information.
"That's great, Spence. It's so good to see you happy. And smiling."
He nodded, growing more serious and remembering to keep his voice low. "We—we said we were going to take this slowly. Max explained when she let things move fast in the past she ended up disappointed. And obviously, I don't want that to happen with us."
JJ nodded her agreement.
"How do I know what's too fast for her? Or. Too slow?"
She smiled and patted his arm. "Spence, you'll know. You will. And if you're still unsure, you can just ask her. You know, something like 'Max, is this too much? Or too soon?' depending on what you're referring to."
His brow furrowed. "What I'm referring to?"
"Well. Too much. Like, too many calls or texts or whatever. You could ask if you're contacting her too often. Don't smother her, if that's what you meant."
"What else would I mean?" he asked pointedly.
"Wellllllll," she drew the word out, "She may have meant moving too quickly physically."
Reid blushed.
"Spence?"
"We've barely kissed, JJ. I don't know about getting physical—" he let the sentence die.
JJ bit her lip and forced herself not to laugh or even smile. Clearly, Spencer was somewhat out of his element here and somewhat uncomfortable about the situation.
"Oh, Spence. She wants you. Trust me. Trust yourself and your intuition. Wow, it feels weird to be telling you about this. Let's see. Next time you find the two of you, um…getting cozy. You kiss her. Let her react, see how she responds. Deepen the kiss. You'll know. Trust me, you'll know."
He was memorising her instructions, she could tell and she couldn't help but smile.
"And if you're still unsure, there's nothing wrong with asking. Like 'is this okay, Max?' or 'are you okay with this?' She won't think badly, Spence."
His eyes met hers and both smiled. JJ squeezed his arm affectionately.
"It'll be okay," she said reassuringly.
"Thank you." He settled back into his seat with a relieved sigh, "I'm so glad we're friends."
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"She what?" he fairly shouted, eyes flashing as Emily spoke.
Reid was seated alone at the conference room table, perusing a case file when Prentiss entered the room and sat down across from him.
"Cat Adams is scheduled for lethal injection on Friday. At noon. And she wants you there."
He drew a deep breath, held it for a long moment and then exhaled slowly.
"Emily, I," he paused, swore under his breath, "I don't want to go. Not if she wants that. It's like letting her win."
"Well I can't make you go. But I did kinda think you'd want that closure, Spencer."
He rose from his chair. "I told Cat the only date I would be at was the one where they put the needle in her arm."
"I remember."
He sighed and tossed the pencil he was holding down onto the desk. "I really don't want to give her the satisfaction."
"It's your call, Spencer."
He turned to leave. Emily pulled her phone out of her pocket and made a call.
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"Thank you for meeting me, Max. Emily called to let me know and I thought I should probably talk to you," JJ indicated a small table in the coffee shop and the two women took their seats.
"So what's this about, JJ. Did something happen with Spencer?"
"Oh no. No, he's not injured, Max. He's fine," JJ assured her and then got right to the point. "It's about Cat Adams."
She paused as Max made a face, reacting to the mention of the convict's name.
"I realise she's, um, anything but your favourite person but she's being executed on Friday."
Max sniffed derisively and met JJ's gaze. "Good for her. What I wouldn't give to be there."
"Really?" JJ sat upright at the prospect of the opening Max had just given her.
Max's eyes narrowed. "I know it sounds bad. But after what she put my family through. And after everything she did to Spence," Max shook her head angrily, "I could inject her myself."
A moment of silence passed between the two women. Max sipped at her coffee and set the cup down rather forcefully. "I'm sorry if that sounds—callous—"
"Deserved, Max. It's more than deserved."
Max nodded acknowledgement of JJ's approval.
"Thing is, she wants Spence to be there."
Max's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"And he's reluctant to go," JJ began, "But I think you can change his mind."
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Spencer smiled as Max led them through the ground floor of the West Building of the National Art Gallery. Her enthusiasm for the various paintings on display was infectious. He listened attentively as she described the various paintings and their artists in the exhibition.
"Open Air Paintings in Europe," she announced at the beginning of their tour, and went on to point out several landscapes. He was especially interested in one that depicted Mount Vesuvius.
"Painted in 1821, oils on paper by French artist Louis Léopold Robert," she told him.
They spent several happy hours at the Gallery and Max was in her element, sharing her knowledge. Afterwards, Spencer suggested lunch at a bistro by the National Mall. They sat at a table outside, lunching on salads and flatbread sandwiches. As they finished eating, Max reached across their little table and put her hand on top of Spencer's.
"Can we go for a walk? I really want to talk to you about something."
He turned his hand over so he could hold hers and nodded.
After signaling the waiter, Reid paid their tab and rose. He held Max's chair as she got up and helped her into her jacket, then took her hand firmly in his and led the way to the park. They walked among the cherry trees which weren't quite in blossom yet and Reid made a mental note to bring Max back to this spot when the trees were in their full colourful glory.
"Thank you so much for lunch and for being such a good sport about the art gallery."
"It's about spending time with you, Max, and make no mistake, the gallery was interesting. I enjoyed it. Thank you for making it fun and informative."
He squeezed her hand and then asked, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Okay, so I spoke to Emily and JJ," she began.
His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Emily and JJ?"
"Actually, it's about Cat Adams."
As Max expected, Spencer stopped in his tracks. "What about Cat Adams?"
"She's getting the death penalty on Friday."
He nodded and whispered, "I know. Emily and JJ think I should go. I actually told Cat that the only date I would be there for was when they put the needle in her arm."
"For what it's worth, I think you should go, too."
"But it's what she wants, Max. I don't want her to win. I know I said I'd be there, but—" he stopped.
"I want to be there."
"What?" He was stunned.
"I want to be there, Spencer. I want her to see she didn't win. She didn't break us up. The score is three and o for you."
"I don't want to give her the satisfaction of me being there."
"Wouldn't it be the ultimate karma to let her see us together at her end?"
He considered that and took both her hands in his. "You really want to go to her execution?" Inwardly, he was conflicted. He didn't want to expose Max to such a dark event. But he knew Max well enough to know there would be no deterring her, and she would have solid reasoning for her decision.
"I want to support you. And whatever you choose. She tried to wreck your life, Spence. I just think that after everything she's done to you, you deserve to see justice served. You deserve this final closure. To know she's gone and will never hurt you—or us—again."
He weighed this over for a long moment, caressing her hands with his thumbs as he deliberated. She waited patiently as he processed his thoughts and was elated when he drew her fully into his arms.
Tucking her head in under his chin, he kissed her hair and sighed.
"Spence?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry to bring down the mood of the day with this." She tilted her head back so she could look up into his eyes.
He shook his head, "No, it's okay. It had to be talked about." He rolled his bottom lip and added, "I did say sometimes talking about work was going to be unavoidable."
"You did. But let's leave it for now." Their walk had brought them to Reid's apartment building. Max's car was parked out front along the street. As they approached it, Max bit her lip as she wondered how to frame a question.
"Um, did you want to come in for," Spencer began. "Um coffee. Or something." Oh good lord that sounds terrible he thought.
"I'd like that," Max responded. "Coffee. Or. Something."
His eyebrows rose and he opened the building's front door and ushered her inside. They climbed the stairs hand in hand, coming to a stop in front of Apartment 23.
He unlocked the door, showed her in and settled her into the sofa and then made his way to the kitchen. After filling the kettle, he turned it on and rummaged through the cupboards and drawers looking for mugs, spoons, coffee and sugar. Max followed him into the kitchen and he turned at the sound of footsteps.
"Coffee?" he asked.
"Something," she replied and closed the distance between them. She slid her arms around him and he responded by tossing the coffee can onto the countertop and gathering her up in his arms.
Their lips met in a gentle kiss at first, matching their first kiss in the elevator at the BAU. But as their passion deepened, Max pressed against him and Spencer parted her lips with his tongue, daring to intensify their connection. Max responded with a whimper and a moan of delight as he ventured further, moving one hand from her back down her spine to her bottom, cupping her against him.
Max's hands went up around his neck, twining through his hair and eliciting an excited groan of arousal from Spencer. They kissed hungrily for a long minute and then the kettle whistled, interrupting them. He stepped back from her embrace for a moment to shut it off and turned back to Max.
"Coffee?" he asked.
She shook her head and reached for him. "Something," she replied.
He checked his surprise.
"Are you sure?" he searched her face.
"Too soon?" she asked.
Remembering his conversation with JJ, Reid stifled a chuckle. He pulled her into his arms. "Not for me. You?"
She shook her head no. He picked her up, carrying her back into the living room. Max clung to his neck and whispered into his ear.
"Really?" he whispered back, both excited and anxious. Passing by the sofa, he made his way to the bedroom and laid her gently down on the bed.
Her hands went to his neck, undoing his tie and his shirt and peeling them from his body. He countered by pushing her sweater off her shoulders and dropping down to feather kisses along her jaw and throat.
"Is it too soon to tell you I love you?"
"No, because I love you too."
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She looked up at the attendants who were strapping her in place on the gurney. She felt a chill as the alcohol swab was wiped along her arm and winced as needles were inserted and taped in place. Her hair had been brushed back from her face and put into a ponytail. As they finished prepping her, she looked up at the witness box and saw that the group was beginning to be ushered in. Several men and women she didn't recognise took their seats in the front rows and Cat bit back a feeling of disappointment.
As the last few entered, the familiar tousled hair of Spencer Reid came into view. A look of triumph imprinted on her face as he stepped into the light and she recognised him. Cat tried to make eye contact but he was looking behind him. She noticed his left hand was trailing behind and a moment later realised why. He was holding her hand. Max's hand. She was holding Spencer's hand.
And Cat Adams' world came to a crashing end.
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"And suddenly you just know it's time to start something new and trust in the magic of beginnings."-Mandy Hale