~BEXLEY POV~

I sat up in bed the next morning and rolled over to look at the time on the small alarm clock on my nightstand and brushed the hair out of my face. I listened closely for a minute and heard Spencer moving around in his apartment. I smiled and jumped out of bed before walking out of my apartment and going right to his door.

I'd thought about our last conversation a lot and had decided that even if I was leaving, if I was going to start a new life I was going to have stop being so afraid of people. I took a deep breath and knocked on his door and waited for him to answer.

"Good morning." he said when he opened the door and I laughed lightly at the enormous cup of coffee in his hands. His hair was everywhere and he was still in his blue striped pajama's. I was wearing a pair of my sweat pants and a tank top but was thankful that I'd put my hair up in a bun last night while it was still wet, so it looked halfway decent.

"Good morning. Are you off today by some chance?" I asked and put my hands behind my back. He nodded and took a sip of his coffee as I continued. "Great, because I've been doing a lot of thinking and I decided that maybe it wouldn't be so horrible to get to know you a little better."

He chuckled lightly at the news and I felt a little nervous as his eyes strayed to my collarbone. I knew exactly what he saw but I refused to acknowledge it because I knew that my memories would come flooding back to me, like they always did.

I cleared my throat and his brown eyes met my golden ones and I waited for him to answer. He took a moment before he placed his coffee on the table that was closest to the door. "What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"How about a walk around the town? I haven't really seen anything else exciting around here except for the bars and I'm not a huge fan of alcohol." I said and I hoped he wouldn't ask me to elaborate on that last statement.

He nodded and said "Sounds great. We can walk to one of the diner that's 6.3 miles from here and if we head out now, we'll get there around two. I'm buying." He said and I smiled at the fact that he knew exactly how far it was from our apartments and the time we'd arrive at the place.

"You've been way too nice to me. I'd feel bad letting you pay for my food too." I said and he shrugged it off.

"Isn't it traditional for the man to pay?" he asked and I could tell he was trying to act like it was nothing but the way his eyes lightened betrayed him.

I put crossed my arms over my chest and gave him what I hoped was a light teasing smile. "I've heard they do that on dates. Is that what this is? Because if I remember correctly, you still owe me one."

He blushed lightly and ran a hand through his hair. "Do you want it to be?"

I thought for a minute and despite the nervousness I felt, I decided to cover it up with a joke. "Well, I guess it's about time I had my first date. Why not? I'll be ready in about fifteen minutes."

I walked into my apartment before I heard his reply and let the smile drop from my face and my hand immediately reached up to cover the long scar on my collarbone. I could still feel the shattered glass from the beer bottle that was no longer there. I walked into my bathroom and looked into my mirror and saw the scar on my collarbone, the several tiny scars that were on my shoulder, and I knew that beneath my tank top were several ragged scars from his nails in my stomach.

I could find many more scars if I wanted to but I saw no need to look any further than what Spencer would see. I took the bit of foundation I had and began to put it on my scars. I never wore make up anywhere else but I would always cover my scars if I went outside of my apartment.

I grabbed my yellow t-shirt and slipped on a pair of white jeans before slipping into my boots. I grabbed my perfume and deodorant and applied them both before brushing my long hair out. I was so glad to see it falling at my waist. It was something that was truly mine. I'd kept it short for so many years because my father wasn't against using my hair against me and I had always wanted it long.

My grandmother had loved my long hair when I was a little girl and it had hurt her every time I cut it but she never said anything. She knew the reasons behind it and she was another reason I would never willingly have my hair cut again.

I walked out the door and met Spencer in the hallway. "The color brings out your eyes." he said as he pulled his apartment shut and locked the door. A blush colored my cheeks and I looked at what he was wearing and noticed that for the first time since I'd known him, he was wearing jeans, a sweater, and his usual converse.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so casual." He smiled at the comment and I turned around and locked my door. I turned back to face him and told the small voice in the back of my mind to quiet down.

~SPENCER POV~

A few hours later we were in one of the small parks in Quantico and I couldn't but watch Bexley as she took in the greatest detail of the smallest things. We'd been on our way to the diner when she saw the park and we'd agreed that it was too nice of a day to pass up. We were sitting on the park bench, drinking our coffee while a few kids played in the park with their parents. I couldn't help but notice how close she was or how she seemed completely at ease around me today.

Her bright gold eyes met mine before she quickly looked down and placed her coffee cup on the ground beside her foot. "So tell me something about you."

I raised an eyebrow at her before and took a drink of my coffee. "What do you want to know?" I asked and placed my coffee down on the ground.

"Whatever you feel comfortable telling me, I guess." She said and relaxed into the bench, crossing her legs and placing her hands in her lap.

I thought about something I could tell her and then remembered what she'd told me at one time. "My favorite color is orange. Sunset orange if you want specifics."

She laughed lightly and looked down at her hands in her lap. "I can't believe you remember that."

"How could I not? You were screaming and threatened to kick my ass if I broke into your apartment again only to tell me that I could do so under extreme circumstances and then told me your favorite color is midnight blue." I told her and let a smile spread across my face.

She smiled lightly but I could see a far off memory in her eyes. "I'm not someone that's worth remembering little details for."

Her eyes dropped to her feet and I slowly placed one of my hands on top of hers that rested on her knee. She looked back at me and studied my eyes but didn't move away. "That's up to me and you are definitely someone I wouldn't want to forget."

I hoped and prayed that I never would forget her. Despite the risk of Alzheimer's and the possibility that I may not remember anything, I hoped that I'd remember her if nothing else. Her unique combination of red hair and golden eyes, her smile, her laugh, and her love of Romeo and Juliet.

A drop of water caused us to break apart and I had failed to notice that gray clouds had formed. We picked up our coffee cups and threw them away before quickly making a dash for our apartments. As the rain began to fall, I noticed Bexley laughing and smiling the whole time. She seemed to be enjoying the rain and not being in the least bit of a hurry to get out of it. In fact, I'm 96% certain that if the probability of sickness wasn't there, she'd have talked me into staying in the park.

By the time we made it back to our apartment complex, the rain was pouring and covering the sidewalks. I pushed my hair out of my face and turned to see her shivering slightly but smiling all the same.

"Do you want to change and then come over and watch a movie? Your pick." I said and she smiled. Before she could answer, I heard my phone signal that a text message had been sent.

I looked down and felt the smile fall from my face. A message from JJ clearly read that we had a case. I turned the screen off of my phone and looked back up at her.

"I might take you up on that offer when you get back." she said and pulled out the keys to her apartment door. She unlocked the door and threw the keys in her apartment before turning back to me.

"Sounds perfect." I said and unlocked the door to my apartment and headed inside. I changed into my sweater vest, button down, suit pants, and converse before grabbing my keys and locking the door behind me.

I hadn't taken the keys out of the door when I felt a small hand being placed on my arm. I turned to Bexley's small profile, she was still soaked from the rain.

"What's wrong?" I asked and I could hear the concern in my voice before I'd thought twice about it. She had told me that she wasn't one for sympathy and it was obvious that she didn't know how to act around people who cared about her, but she seemed like she didn't notice this time.

She looked up at me and I could see fear written in her eyes but not the fear I saw so many times in my line of work. This was fear, nervousness, and uncertainty that she was letting me see. She hesitantly slid her hand from my arm to the hair at the base of my neck, while she placed her hand on my shoulder.

I could see that she was terrified and I felt my heartrate pick up a bit. I placed my hands on her waist, never once taking my eyes off of hers and leaned down to her height. I could feel her breath on my lips and could nearly taste the sweet coffee on her lips, and I waited for her to close the distance between us.

She closed her eyes tightly and dropped her hands from my hair and shoulder to my chest, pushing slightly to put more distance between us. I stood up straight again and she looked down in defeat, embarrassed at her own actions.

"Good luck on your case." She said and crossed her arms over her chest. Her voice didn't bother to hide the irritation she felt.

I placed my hands on either side of her shoulders and waited for her to look up at me. When she did I saw anger, hurt, frustration, and uncertainty much like the storm outside in her eyes. "I'm in no hurry." I told her and she forced a smile but I could see the frustration fade from her eyes, at least.

I leaned down and pressed my lips to her forehead, inhaling the smell of her hair before heading down the stairs to my car.

***Hey everyone! I just wanted to give a quick thank you to all the reviews, favorites, and follows. They are great and have constantly brightened my day. I hope you all are still enjoying the story and I plan to be updating more often soon. R&R and thanks again!