Chapter Six

'If envy were a fever, all the world would be ill.' ~Danish Proverb

The next day had spun round too quickly for Lauren's liking. She had concentrated her efforts on finding more about the wedding hotspots: who had booked them, if they knew Tina Mayson etc. But she hadn't come up with much that they didn't already know. It was depressing. Lauren ran her slender fingers through her hair, which she had let down to try and relieve some of the pressure from the head ache she was trying to ignore.

"I haven't come up with much either." Morgan said from her left. She glanced at him and smiled weakly. "But the unsub will slip up." His tone was reassuring and Lauren desperately wanted to believe him. "Tell you what," He suddenly said, rising from his slumped position. "I haven't seen much of New York, how 'bout showing me a proper New York night out?" Morgan smiled. She knew she should probably stay and work on the case, but the sun was already setting and a break sounded too good to pass up. Lauren nodded.

"There's a good bar not too far from here." Lauren commented, retrieving her purse, instantly feeling the pressure in her head lessen at the though of a break.

"Hey guys," Morgan shouted. "We're going out, anyone wanna join us? First round's on Lauren."

"What?" Lauren spluttered, Morgan nudged her jokingly, throwing her a brilliant smile and she grinned at him. She saw most of the team look to Hotch who waved his hand as if to give them permission, and with that the team, with exception of Rossi and Hotch were hurtling out the door, excited at (with) the prospect of alcohol and freedom.

'Togou Haunt' the illuminated lights of the bar Lauren had picked revealed and shone brightly over the shadowed side street. The bar was already becoming crowded with the evening's patrons. Large groups stood huddled together, chattering as loud as they could over the music blasting from the small speakers dotted about the room. Lauren always liked this place, it had a sepia kind of tone to it and felt cosy.

The room was small, with a bar lining the back wall but everyone did their best to cram in as much as possible. It was another regular hang out of hers, usually after a hard case. Morgan was quick to find the bar, ordering everyone a drink. Everybody instantly seemed more relaxed, smiles hitting their faces as they entered. The only one who looked slightly out of place was Spencer.

"This is supposed to be fun." Lauren shouted, tapping him on the arm to gain his attention. He looked down at her, frowning.

"It is." He replied. Though he was obviously quite tense, clutching the strap of the satchel he carried, she gave a small laugh at him and his frown disappeared.

"Relax, you might actually enjoy yourself." Lauren knew she was going to have a bad throat in the morning with having to shout at everyone just to be heard. But the case had almost completely been forgotten and her headache had all but disappeared.

Lauren hadn't had so much fun in…well, she couldn't remember. Everyone on the team was great. In a relaxed atmosphere they all showed their true natures and each was as interesting as the next.

"That's not true!" JJ shouted at Morgan as he retold one of the many tales the team had of their time together. Lauren smiled widely and secretly wished she had people as close to her as they were to each other. After emigrating from England she had had little time to socialise, and the officers at the precinct disliked her for travelling up the hierarchy so quickly. But the BAU team were like family to each other, even Lauren could see that.

"What's wrong?" Morgan said, leaning towards her, speaking softly into her ear. It was easier to hear him that way but his breath travelled down her neck making her shiver involuntarily.

"Nothing." She responded with a smile. "You're just all so close. It's really nice to see." Morgan smiled at her words and settled his hand on the back of her stool, his arm almost around her, making it easier for him to lean closer.

"You don't go out with the people at your place?" He asked.

"Not really, we don't…get on so well." She admitted with a small laugh.

"I can't see why not." He said with a smile. "Who couldn't get along with someone like you?" The compliment was unexpected and Lauren blushed, lowering her gaze a little.

Spencer sipped at his drink and stared at Morgan's arm. He hadn't ordered his isial drink and the liquidhe had now had a bitter taste but Spencer did his best to keep it down without grimacing. It wasn't so loud that Morgan needed to be that close to Lauren Spencer judged.

"…Spence?" The sound of someone calling his name brought his gaze up from the pair and towards JJ. He tensed as JJ glanced at where his eyes had just been set. JJ looked up at him and he knew she knew, it was embarrassing and he was thankful when the knowing look was interrupted.

"Here's to the hopefully successful undercover operation." Morgan said raising his glass in the air towards the rest of them. "And to Lauren's help. We couldn't have got this far without her."

Spencer noticed at how Morgan glanced to Lauren for just a few moments longer than was necessary and he frowned but put his glass up with the rest of his team to finish the toast.

The chatting continued between the team, getting louder and more energetic with every drink and Spencer would have normally done his best to join in but his attention was distracted. Morgan and Lauren had been talking for the entire time they had been in the bar. He thought it was a bit selfish of Morgan to hold her attention for so long, surely there were others who wanted to speak to her too?

"You know Morgan, Spence." JJ suddenly said to Spencer above the raucous. "He can't help himself, it's just the way he is, he doesn't mean anything by it." She smiled. "And she can handle it." Spencer glanced from Lauren and Morgan to JJ.

"I know. It's good they're getting on so well." He said, trying to convince himself of it and sipped more of his drink to hide his dishonesty. She gave him a sympathetic look before she was drawn away by Emily.

Envy was a feeling Spencer felt rarely for others. He did his best not to want what others had but to be thankful for what he already possessed. Jealousy was an even more alien to him and it was alarming how the young Detective could provoke such strong emotions from him. He looked over to Morgan who had leant close to Lauren and her face lit up as she talked to him, Spencer knew he wanted to be the one doing that. He wanted to be the one making her laugh, to make her smile. But charm wasn't one of Spencer's most prominent qualities, yet an overwhelming urge to at least try made his feet move. Doing his best to muster all the courage that existed within him, he cleared his throat.

"So Lauren," He said loudly and almost hoped she wouldn't hear, unsure now of his plan. But she did hear and swung around on her seat to face him, a wide smile still enhanced her features and made her eyes sparkle, even in the dull light almost making him forget what he had planned to say. "Uh, so have you been in New York long from England?" He didn't know if the question made sense as he had barely had time to string the words together they had stuttered out so fast.

"About two years." Lauren replied, pouting her lips slightly whilst trying to remember. Spencer tried his best not to look at her lips, but he found it incredibly difficult to tear his eyes away, yet her voice pulled his attention back to her eyes. "I told my mother I was moving to New York almost two years ago, yes. America had always been a large part of my childhood, and I loved the idea of living here." She admitted. "I think I romanticised it a little too much though, it's no where near as crime free as I had expected." Her face fell a little at her words.

"Are you making her upset, Reid?" Morgan interrupted. "You've only been talking two minutes." Morgan smiled at Lauren again and rested his hand on hers utop the table. Spencer furrowed his brow at his friend's action.

"He was asking me about my move to America." Lauren voiced, her gaze fluttering between the two men.

"You don't want to focus on the past!" Morgan said, his words slightly slurred. "The future is what it's all about, right Reid?" Morgan asked, giving him a light punch on the arm. Spencer flinched at the movement.

"Actually the past can prove very definitive in our lives. If you dismiss it completely you are not—"

"Always with the facts, Reid." Morgan rolled his eyes, good naturedly. "Another round?" He asked loudly, gesturing at the empty glasses adorning the table top. His question was greeted by a collection of agreements from the team.

As Morgan left, Spencer looked at Lauren who was already gazing at him with unfocussed eyes.

"I like your facts." She said matter-of-factly. Spencer smiled widely and sat up a little straighter. "I think it's amazing how close your team is." She said, leaning forwards and placing a hand on Spencer's knees to balance herself. He tensed a little at her sudden touch and stuttered as she came closer.

"We, uh, we…We've all been working together for a while now." He said finally getting his words out, her company now making him relax. Though, being this close he could smell the alcohol lining her breath. "And with the cases we've gone through, I guess it makes sense we'd all be so close." He smiled at her. Lauren stared at him, her close inspection of him made his fingers tangle together in nervousness.

"You're really…" Lauren started, then paused, obviously searching for the correct word in her head ".. attractive, Dr Reid." She said slowly as if trying to think of how to word her sentence. Spencer's eyes widened. But he had no time to respond as Morgan's return was announced.

"Drinks!" He shouted, placing a number of different shaped glasses on the table with a variety of bright coloured liquids inside.

"Ugh." Lauren said and Spencer turned to her. "It's too much for me." She said, standing. She wobbled and fell into Morgan who caught her easily. Spencer stood, worried for her.

"Time for you to head home, young lady." Morgan commanded and put an arm round her waist to steady her. Spencer did his best not to stare daggers at Morgan but had a hard time not to. "I'm going to see her home." He announced loudly, and the team nodded in acknowledgment.

"I can do that; you can stay if you want?" Spencer said quickly, moving towards Lauren's slightly limp figure. "I got it, Reid." He said simply. "Come on you." Morgan looked at Lauren and started to lead her outside.

Spencer slumped back down onto his seat and watched the pair leave, his long fingers clenched at the edges of his shirt in blatant frustration.

"Come on, Spence." JJ said, trying to draw his attention. But he couldn't stop watching until Morgan and Lauren had climbed inside a cab and were completely out of sight. His thoughts quickly turned to what would happen between the pair once they got back to Lauren's apartment. Once the images had been placed in his head he couldn't get rid of them and he felt his stomach turn. He shook his head to try and expel them. A sweet smelling drink was suddenly wafted under his nose. "It will help." JJ said, smiling sympathetically. But Spencer was more than happy to try anything that could blur his mind of those thoughts. He picked up the glass and downed the drink in one, letting the amber liquid burn the back of his throat and provoking a shocked expression on JJ's and Emily's faces.

"Another?" He asked.