~Chapter Twelve~

"All of you, really?" Rachel asked.

It had only been half an hour since she had started talking to Penelope but she had found out a lot. She know knew the names of all three of the women - Penelope, Emily and Jennifer. And of course the man - who in fact was still dancing - was Derek Morgan. Penelope seemed to have a particular liking for him.

And she had just found out that not only did Derek work in the BAU, but so did the other three.

"Yeah, the four of us and then three others on the team" Penelope explained, taking another sip of the drink.

Rachel had a feeling that perhaps had Penelope not drank quite as much alcohol, she may not have divulged such information as easily, yet she was eagerly taking advantage of the situation. The team. That was what Spencer had said when they first met. She was curious to say the least. Were these the people he had been talking about?

"So why aren't the other three here?" she asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Thankfully, none of them seemed to notice how much she really wanted the answers to these questions. She really was trying her best to find out as much about them as possible without seeming too nosey or weird. Fortunately for her, working in a bar meant she was talking to all different kinds of people all the time, enabling her to ask the questions as casually as possible.

"Well Hotch always stays at the office really late, Rossi's tired and bars just aren't really Reid's thing" she shrugged.

Rachel nodded.

Reid. So this was the team he spoke of.

"You seem very interested" Emily said, half jokingly, half suspiciously.

Again, Rachel nodded.

"I am. The FBI is.. very fascinating" she replied slowly.

She wasn't lying. Before last week she had never met an FBI agent before - Now she had met three. And there was no denying it was downright amazing. An FBI agent. Wasn't that the dream? As a child that was probably one of the coolest jobs in the world. Something you'd watch on television.

"Well it's not all James Bond kinda stuff" Jennifer told her with a smile.

"But some of it is, right? I've always liked the idea of breaking down doors.. And the long chases after a killer and-" Rachel began to ramble but cut off when Penelope laughed.

"You're not far off honey. Morgan's certainly one for breaking down the doors" she took another glance at the agent dancing.

Rachel couldn't help but picture Spencer kicking down a door. Now that certainly would be a sight for sore eyes. She knew he probably wasn't the sort but she still couldn't stop her mind from wandering.

She spent the next half hour chatting to the women until it was time for her to go. This was now two Wednesday nights in a row she had spent almost her whole shift at the bar talking to people from the FBI.

"I better get going, my shift just ended" she told the women, half disappointed to be leaving. She really wanted to talk to Spencer before he went to bed though. To tell him about meeting his co-workers.

"We should meet up some time for brunch or something" Penelope suggested, sounding so incredibly cliché that Rachel couldn't help but smile as she pulled the small black apron off, ducking under the counter to walk out to the women.

"Sounds great" she replied honestly.

She really had gotten along well with them, despite the fact she had only started talking to them to see if they knew Spencer.

"Perfect! I'll give you a call sometime" Penelope grinned widely.

Rachel nodded, making to head out and then suddenly remembered something. Turning around, she faced the three women with a confused look.

"I didn't give you my number" she stated.

Both Emily and Jennifer started laughing at this.

"Trust me, you don't need to" Jennifer told her softly.

She just nodded, still feeling confused, but decided to shrug it off.

"Well okay then.. I guess I'll see you soon so" she said with a small wave before heading out of the bar, shuffling through her bag for her phone as she did.

Once she found it she saw a message from Spencer saying he would wait up for her call. She couldn't help but smile slightly at that. She always felt bad keeping up on the phone. Especially with the sort of work he did. But he always seemed more than willing to wait up until she was able to call him, which made her feel delighted and guilty at the same time.

She quickly dialled his number and lifted the phone to her ear. It rang once..twice.. and then -

"Rachel" his voice was unsurprised. She could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"Spencer" she replied, unable to contain the grin that broke out across her face.

"How was work?" he asked. Normally it was the other way around but she eagerly took the opportunity to tell him what had happened.

"Well I met some very interesting people today" she replied, her voice smug.

His voice was casual, yet curious when he replied.

"Oh really?"

And with that she launched into a full-on explanation of what had just happened at the bar. All about how she had met Penelope, Emily and Jennifer. About the chat they had had about the FBI. She also mentioned Derek.

"He is quite the dancer" she chuckled, nearing her apartment building.

She heard him laugh too.

"Yes, he is" he replied.

She sighed then, suddenly moving on.

"So this Jennifer. She's the one who calls you 'Spence'?" she asked.

She had remembered him saying that in the hospital. JJ - Jennifer Jareau. She hadn't found out Jennifer's last name. But really, how many Jennifers could be working with him?

"You actually remembered that?" he seemed a little surprised.

She rolled her eyes.

"Well I may not be a genius like some people, but I'm not stupid" she feigned offense.

He began to panic at that.

"Oh god Rach, that's not what I meant-" he began quickly, but Rachel cut him off with a laugh.

"Relax Spencer, I'm messing with you" she told him easily, amused by his reaction.

Then suddenly she realised something.

"You just called me Rach" she said softly.

She could hear him clear his throat awkwardly.

"Erm- Did I?" he asked after a second of silence.

She ignored his obvious embarrassment at her pointing it out.

"Yeah, you've never done that before" she reminded him softly.

He sighed.

"I'm sorry, if you'd prefer I'd call you Rachel-" he began rambling but she cut him off.

"No, I like Rach" she told him softly.

Again, he cleared his throat.

"Right, well um back to JJ. She is the one who calls me Spence" he told her, obviously eager to change the subject.

Rachel nodded to herself.

"She's very pretty, Jennifer" she said slowly, wanting to decipher the relationship as quickly as possible.

"She is" he replied, sounding very confused.

Rachel sighed quietly, knowing that this was not going to be easy.

"You guys work together, so you must be pretty close, huh?" she asked then, trying a different angle.

Again, he was oblivious.

"Yeah, I suppose. Why?" he asked back.

"Oh no reason, just wondering" she replied quickly.

Why was he making this so difficult.

"So you two. Have you ever.. you know.." she trailed off, hoping he'd catch on.

Of course, he didn't.

"Ever what?" he questioned.

She sighed loudly, deciding the only way to deal with him was to ask him outright.

"Gone out? If she's the only person who calls you Spence I assume you must be pretty close, so I guess I just thought that maybe.." again she trailed off, anxious for his answer.

Jennifer was beautiful. And she was obviously very smart if she was a profiler. She knew Jennifer would understand him better than she ever could. She understood exactly what it was like for him at the FBI, whereas really Rachel never could. If there was something between Jennifer and Spencer - she'd never have a chance.

However, his response took her by surprise.

"Rachel, JJ's married" he chuckled slightly.

She felt herself flood with relief and embarrassment at the same time.

"Oh right.. I just did wonder" she mumbled.

She was at her apartment door now, and she walked inside quietly, flinging her handbag on the couch.

"Well hey, since all of your co-workers at out at the bar anyways, why don't you come over? I'm starving so I think I might order some pizza or something. It'll be like a re-enactment of last week, hey?" she suggested.

He laughed.

"Okay, sounds good to me" he agreed.

She grinned.

"Right, see you soon.." she replied, happily.

"Bye Rach" he emphasised her name.

She rolled her eyes.

"Bye Spence" she countered.

He chuckled slightly.

"Touché"