Spencer

From: Lilith
"Hey, do you wanna go on a date?"

Spencer stared at his phone screen, confused. Lilith had left in the middle of their hang out for an emergency, and now she was sending him this. He frowned, not knowing what to answer. He could feel his face burning.

The phone buzzed again.

From: Lilith
"With my friend, Jeanine, I mean."

Oh. That makes more sense, he thought. Okay. He didn't really know what to answer, now. The year following the death of Maeve, he had been too hurt to pursue a romantic relationship. After some time, he was ready again. But these last months he felt so truly happy, he hadn't really reflected on things like dating. Spencer thought about it for a bit. What was to lose? Maybe his teammates would stop making fun of him and Lilith, and see he was actually capable of dating. He felt a little uncomfortable being set up by Lilith, for some reason unbeknownst to him. The doctor simply swallowed his pride and began typing.

Ok.

That sounded too dry. He didn't want to send that to Lilith.

Absolutely!

Too much enthusiasm. He didn't want Lilith to think he was craving affection or something.

Sure

That sounded good. Why did he care so much for what Lilith thought, anyway? He shook his head and pressed send.

Lilith

Lilith took out her vibrating phone from her pocket and glanced at its screen.

From: Spencer
"Sure"

"So, he answered?" Ezra asked, entering the kitchen.

Lilith bit her lip. She didn't know if she wanted to say it. But Jeanine was her friend, she could trust her.

"He said yes."

"Oh my god! This is so awesome!" Ezra shrieked.

Lilith was happy for Jeanine, but there was a weird feeling in her chest as she said the words. Trying to forget it, she asked Ezra,

"So, did you talk to Jeanine? Did she also agree?"

"Well, she's willing to give it a try. So clearly, we won!" The woman high-fived Lilith.

"Okay, so where should they go? Do you know a nice place around?" Ezra asked excitedly.

All the nice places she knew were places that she and Spencer would hang out at together. And she wanted to keep them a secret between him and her.

"Um no, not really." Lilith shrugged.

"Well, then that's okay. I know a small diner not far from here, I think they'd really like it."

"Yeah, sounds good!" She smiled.

Spencer

Looking down at his book, Spencer couldn't really focus. It had been a long time since his last date. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, and loosened his scarf. The doctor was really nervous.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Spencer looked up. The woman was standing in front of him. She awkwardly smiled. Her square face was framed by long, dirty blonde hair and a pair of glasses. She was quite pale, but not as much as Lilith. Unlike her, Jeanine had more green and yellow in her skin tone, and her voice was much deeper.

"I'm Jeanine, but you can call me Jay. Nice to meet you." She took out her hand.

"Oh, um. I don't do handshakes." Spencer shuffled awkwardly. "You know, germs. But I'm Spencer."

Jeanine gave a smile, a little weirded out as she put back her hand in her coat pocket. "Um, okay. Cool scarf, by the way. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, I made it myself. It's actually from Doctor Who, the fourth one."

"Doctor what?"

"British TV series?"

"Probably heard Lilith talk about it. She's into that kind of nerdy stuff."

"Oh, yeah. Okay. Well...uh, let's go in."

"Sure."

He opened the door and signalled her to go in.

"You're gallant." She laughed awkwardly.

"No, just well mannered." He replied, confused. He had never really understood the concept of gallantry.

"It's- don't worry about it." She sighed, and forced a smile.

They took a seat and were handed the menu. The two of them skimmed it for a bit.

"What are you taking?" Jeanine asked.

"I felt like having something different. Maybe have the chef's choice."

"What's in it?"

"I don't know." Spencer smiled.

"You don't want to look?"

"I'd rather be surprised. You know, change things up a bit."

"Seems too risky to me. I'll have waffles."

Lilith wouldn't have been so doubtful. She would have encouraged him to try new things. Maybe she'd even have done the same thing, in sign of solidarity. He remembered the first time they'd eaten together. She had made him pick a menu at random, and it ended up being amazing.

"Spencer?"

"Yeah?" The doctor snapped out of his thoughts.

"Did you hear me? I was asking what your job was."

"Oh. Well, I work for the FBI."

"Oh, that's like the secret agent work right?"

"Um, no. That would be the CIA. We just do investigative work. I'm a profiler, so I'm more in the psychology department."

"Oh, that's...great. Any cool murder stories to tell?" She joked, trying to break the ice.

Spencer was a little uncomfortable. Jeanine was a bit insensitive.

"Th- there's nothing really cool about murder. And I'm not really allowed to disclose the details of my cases."

Jeanine seemed a bit disappointed.

"Okay." She said. He felt as though he was just doing his job.

"Well, I can tell you more about my job, or tell you about some cases from the sixties and seventies."

"Um, okay I guess..." She replied, unsure.

"Maybe I'll tell you about Ted Bundy."

"Ted who?"

"Ted Bundy. One of the more well known serial killers." Spencer was really confused. He thought most people knew about him. Maybe not everyone was like his friends and colleagues. "He's actually a really interesting person, from a psychological viewpoint. He was a really charismatic man, and would use his social skills as well as exploit women's sympathy to-"

"Okay, um...Maybe let's just order our food?" She smiled.

"Oh, okay." He had been used to being interrupted during his rants. Lilith was one of the only people who didn't stop him from ranting. She would always listen and was always genuinely interested in the things he said. Oh well, he thought. Not everyone likes my rants, so just stop bringing her into everything.

"What would you like to order?" The waiter asked.

"The chef's choice." Spencer quickly replied.

"I'll have the waffles, with some cream and strawberries. Organic strawberries. Oh, and also, is this dish gluten-free?"

The waiter plastered a fake smile.

"No, but I'll ask if we can make it so."

"Thank you, you can go now."

As soon as the waiter left, Jeanine turned back to Spencer.

"Gosh, he was rude. You saw how he gave me such a dirty look? I don't think I'll come here anymore."

"Give the food a chance, Jeanine. So...uh, are you allergic to gluten?"

"Well no, not really. But I heard gluten makes you gain weight."

"Gluten is a protein, it doesn't make you gain weight... rather it's because of the foods that glu- you know what, never mind." The doctor sighed. "What's your job?" He changed the subject.

"Me? I'm an accountant for a bike manufacturing company. But I hate that job, so I think maybe I'll quit and find something else. All the people there just gossip so much. There's a girl there called Gabby and she's a nightmare. She's seriously evil, she really is..."

Jeanine continued to rant about her workplace for another nine minutes and sixteen seconds until the food came out.

"Thanks for listening to me, Spence. You're super sweet."

Spencer didn't know how to feel about her calling him "Spence". It was only his friends that would call him that, usually.

"No problem." he replied with a small smile. He looked down at his food. A lamb chop with some sweet potatoes and herbs. A good surprise. He smiled.

"Oh my god, that looks so good. Could I taste some after?" She asked after having taken a bite of her waffle.

Spencer didn't really feel like sharing, as he was quite weary of the germs.

"Sure, Jeanine." He replied reluctantly.

The two continued to talk for a bit, but their conversation was punctuated by many minutes of silence.

Spencer offered to pay for the both of them, and they left the restaurant.

"Thanks, Spence. It was a nice date. I'd like to do it again and get to know more about you."

The doctor didn't know if he felt the same way. His feelings toward her were quite neutral. They hadn't really clicked, but maybe he had to be more patient.

"Yeah, we can go on another date."

"Okay then, I'll call you sometime, Spence." Jeanine smiled and kissed him on the cheek before walking away.

The doctor sighed as he stepped in his apartment. He went to turn on the light, just before realising it was already on. Was he being robbed? He tiptoed to the living room and grabbed an umbrella.

"Who's here?" He said, as he clenched his 'weapon'.

"It's just me, Spencer." Answered a sleepy voice.

"Lilith? What are you doing here?"

"I didn't feel like staying in my apartment. And you gave me the keys to yours, so might just as well use them."

She was lying down on the couch, wearing joggings and a tank top. And yet, she felt so natural and charming at that moment.

Spencer started laughing.

"Okay, you can stay. I actually wanted to show you this DVD I found at target. The movie looks hilariously terrible." He said, opening a cupboard and getting excited.

"Bring it on, comrade! I'll make some tea!" Lilith stood up and trotted to the kitchen.

Spencer smiled as he watched her figure disappear into the next room. He truly was happy.