As soon as she heard the voicemail, she called back. She knew she wouldn't always be able to drop everything she was doing for her friend, but for now, she was going to try to be there, especially after he told her about his mom. He didn't call back till two hours later he finally picked up.

"You okay, why weren't you picking up?"

"Yeah, I turned it off… um… one sec." she heard some rustling as he was moving.

"Hey, umm… is it okay if I come over tonight?" He whispered over the line.

"Hey what you whispering about out there?" A voice in the background yelled over the line.

"Yeah, you can come over, if you want you can crash here, I have a couch I can crash on, you can use my bed."

"Thanks, but I should be fine, just need a break I think. I'll be over in 2 hours, I need to finish some work." So, she waited, she went about her apartment, pacing. She made and remade her bed. Put blankets and pillows on the couch. She made hot chocolate and had to microwave it three times because it kept getting cold. She put in the tiny marshmallows in one. She knew he liked them. And paced more.

"It's just a friend, he just wants to talk, he may end up crashing here. He probably just does not want to be alone at night. This has nothing to do with you so why are you so stressed?" Probably because she never really had a close friend. Being a child prodigy and moving jobs constantly will do that. She put on some jazz, but mixed in the wood and tobacco smell was sandalwood for the first time that gave her no peace of mind. She put on some rock, it started to help her escape, until she started smelling notes of sandalwood.
"What the fuck? Rock is always sugar, sweat and hints of smoke! Eurgh!" Flopping fce first on the couch. She laid there for a minute. Then got up and paced more. Maybe classical music would help? Sweet notes of Vanilla, honeysuckle, and white tea floated in the air. She started to relax finally. Then a knock came, Elizabeth jumped, her heart going into her throat. Catching her breath, she turned off the music and went to the door and opened it, letting him come in.

"Hey Spencer, come on in! If you need to sleepover, I can sleep on the couch, it fits me, I think you'll be too tall and…" Elizabeth nervously talked with her hands as she expected another voice to replace her rambling. When she turned around though, she saw he was still standing, halfway in her apartment half way out, She stopped. He looked way worse then what he sounded, staring off into space with dark shadows under his eyes. She knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong, what happened?" Rushing over she stopped short of touching him. She knew he didn't like physical touch but, to hell with what he wanted, he needed someone. She pulled him into a hug. They stood there for a second, Elizabeth conscious of Spencer aversion to touching others. Pulling back she looked up.

"You up for some hot chocolate? I got the tiny marshmallows you like." She offered a weak smile. That seemed to bring him down to earth a bit, as he actually seemed to realize where he was. He offered her a nod.

"come on, sit down on the sofa, I'll go get the coco." She guided him to the sofa and walked quickly to get her three times microwave hot chocolate.

"Here we go." Giving the chocolate to him seemed to start snapping him out of his stupor.

"What do you want to talk about?"

He breathed in deep and took a sip. Staring at his coco he started speaking;

"I have been swamped with paperwork, I can't wait to get out of the office, did you know that there are about 30 serial killers active in the USA? Have I told you about the difference between an organized killer and disorganized well-. "

"Spencer!" His face shot up. Eyes wide, Elizabeth almost sensed… fear. He was afraid she was going to throw him out. She was just afraid he might breakdown from lack of sleep and too much caffeine. She needed him to calm down and letting him talk about serial killers and their psychosis probably wasn't going to help. Maybe a short distraction would help him relax?

"So, what have you been eating." She knew it was entirely left field, but she couldn't think of anything else. He looked at her incredulously.

"What have I been eating? Umm, I had eggs for breakfast, coffee, a hot dog and I had a cinnamon roll."

"Just that for all of today?"

"For yesterday and today."

"Well, gambling man, we are going to have a proper- "She turned to look at the clock "10'o' clock dinner." Standing up she pulled Spencer's hand. "Come on, gambling man, you know how to cook right, or is that 187 IQ a lie?" That challenge seemed to really get him going.

"Of course I know how to cook."

"Well let's make a bet gambling man, if you can make a dinner better than me, we can watch star trek, if I make a better dinner, we have a Disney marathon, deal?" Spencer smiled, and brought up his hand.

"Shake on it?" Elizabeth stared at his him for a second, surprised at him due to his hatred for handshaking. In the seconds that she didn't respond, she saw Spencer start to drop his hand. Reacting on instinct, she quickly reached out and caught his hand. Smiling they shook on it.

"It's no fair, you didn't tell me your father was a cook." Elizabeth merrily shrugged as she ate her delicious grilled salmon and mushroom with baked zucchini and cucumbers. Spencer stared at his slightly burnt macaroni and cheese.

"Well, your macaroni and cheese is a close second."

"Can't I at least have some of your salmon, I'm really hungry." Elizabeth paused, putting her fork to her lips.

"hmm… I don't know, you didn't even say please…"

"Please Elizabeth, may I have some food."

"Geez, when you put it that way it's like I'm the one starving you and not yourself." She paused, considering the words she was going to say. "you promise to eat better?" Spencer replied by nodding vigorously. "Here." Cutting a sizable portion, she loaded a plate with some fish and vegetables. They eat in silence, probably because Spencer couldn't talk while he was hungrily eating. When he finished, she moved to clear the pans, and he went to throw out his burnt mac and cheese. "Now, what Disney movie should we start with?"

"Uhh, The little mermaid? The book was good, I never saw the movie." Elizabeth's mouth dropped.

"You never seen the little mermaid, what other Disney classic haven't you seen?"

"I don't know, how many are there? I've seen snow white, and peter pan."

"We are watching everything!" Elizabeth grabbed Spencer, dragging him to the sofa.

"Let's start with the classic Little mermaid and then Alice in wonderland." Spencer continued eating, as Elizabeth set everything up.

"Okay, let's go!" As she threw herself on the other end of the sofa, sticking her legs under the blanket, she dramatically pressed the play button. They planned on watching five movies, then barely got through the first two before both were out, sleeping peacefully, on the opposite ends of the sofa.

Next chapter will be a lot longer and may featuring someone else's point of view... hmm... wonder who could it be? Should be going up tonight!