**A/N: I know, I'm a horrible person for not updating. But I have a few chapters that are pretty good and I'm hoping will make up for my terrible writer's block :) Please comment and things.**

Chapter Eighteen

'The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be

continually fearing you will make one.' -Elbert Hubbard

"I can't believe you're here to stay!" Morgan exclaimed for the fifth time barely keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'm just grateful to Hotch." Lauren said honestly. "I never would have gotten a position like this without him." She frowned at what Rossi had said previously. Would it really have been that hard to get her into the BAU?

"I'm sure it was easy with someone of your achievements." Lauren rolled her eyes at Morgan's badly hidden flirt. He smiled his usual flashy grin. "No, really, I'm sure they would have been more than willing to take you on."

"I'm not exactly FBI Agent material." Lauren said looking at the road as Morgan drove. Traffic was scarce and actually being able to drive without stopping in traffic every two minutes was a huge novelty for Lauren after New York.

"You'll be fine." He said and rested a hand on her arm for a long moment.

There was silence for quite some time then. Lauren tried her best to focus on the scenery zooming past the window, but kept looking into the rear view mirror to see Reid studying the laptop he balanced on his knees.

"So, uh, Dr Reid, how have you been?" Lauren asked trying to make it sound like a casual enquiry but failing.

"Fine, thank you." Spencer replied. Lauren winced at his shortness of reply. Maybe she had been imagining what she thought was between them in New York. She gazed out of the window again.

"It's been pretty quiet at the BAU." Morgan put into the conversation. "This is the first case we've had since getting back."

"Oh." Lauren said surprised. "With the team's reputation I would have thought you would be constantly on cases."

"Sometimes." Spencer said from the back.

"Yeah, but it's nice to have some down time once in a while." Morgan said. "You need time to sort out your head in a job like this."

"I know what you mean." Lauren replied truthfully. But luckily before anyone could ask what she meant the car pulled to a stop. Lauren quickly jumped out of the black SUV.

The day was beautiful and Lauren didn't feel like investigating murders on such a glorious day. The sun beat down heavily and warmed every inch of her. A few bubbly white clouds tracked across the blue sky but there was no breeze. And the air felt clean. It was one of the first things Lauren noticed when she had arrived this morning. In New York it felt like the pollution stuck to everything and pulled you down. But here it was refreshing to be outside.

"Enjoying the day?" Morgan asked as he walked up beside her.

"It's so different here." Lauren said.

"In a good way?" Morgan asked. Lauren watched as Spencer walked past her without even a glance.

"I'm not sure yet." Lauren replied not so much about the weather.

The house they pulled up at was surrounded by yellow police tape with a few policemen guarding the outside. It was a normal suburban house of white washed wood and even a white picket fence. There were a few children's toys strewn across the front yard.

"It's sad." Lauren's voice pulled Spencer from his inspection.

"What?" Spencer asked slightly confused by her meaning and slightly dazed as she looked up at him. She looked back to the front yard and gestured to the toys.

"A family ruined by the simple act of someone else." She actually sounded saddened at her words and it made him catch his breath to know how caring she was even for those she didn't know. Spencer had long ago learned to cut himself off from the victims as it only seemed to hinder him. Yet part of the reason he seemed so drawn to Lauren was her ability to care without her work being affected. It was a quality he had never really seen.

But again he had been swept up in his thoughts surrounding Detective Lewis that he hadn't noticed Morgan already entering the scene.

"We better help out." Lauren gave him a smile and she seemed to look at him a little longer than normal. Spencer felt a physical pull towards her but snapped out of it as she moved away.

"Uh, yes." He replied finally, shook his head to clear his thoughts and made his way into the house after them.

Inside, the place looked relatively normal and untouched. It was a typical family home with comfortable looking furniture and children's paraphernalia tucked into every corner and then lying in heaps over the floor. They continued on past the living room and up the stairs.

Spencer quickly saw where the murder had taken place. Blood seeped into the cream carpet just outside of the bedroom door. As he moved towards it he noticed Lauren hesitate. He studied her carefully, her eyes were wide and her skin paled. But she seemed to regain herself quite quickly before entering the room.

"It was pretty brutal." Morgan said as he looked over the blood splattered room.

"I thought JJ said he'd been smothered? Why so much blood?" Lauren asked. She stepped carefully between the numbered cones left by the police investigation team.

"They were tortured before being smothered." Spencer said, remembering what JJ had said.

"The unsub definitely wanted them to feel pain before he killed them." Morgan walked over to the bed which was flat and neatly made. "Nothing seems to be out of place."

"It's odd seeing as there's so much blood." Lauren said crouching down to look over the biggest blood stain. She stood up again and furrowed her brow. "The victims were big guys. It would have taken a lot to take someone like that down, surely?"

"You'd think so." Morgan replied.

"Unless it was unexpected." Spencer added. He could see nothing to suspect a struggle had occurred. "It would seem the likeliest possibility seeing as nothing here indicates a struggle."

"Doesn't look like there's much evidence left." Lauren sighed.

"They always slip up somewhere." Morgan said though Spencer noticed how Lauren didn't seem to believe him. Spencer tried to focus on the room. Although there was a lot of blood Lauren had been right. With nothing being moved or knocked over it was unlikely the unsub left any piece of physical evidence.

"Hey guys," Lauren said. "Look at this." Spencer moved towards her as she looked down at the edge of the bed. He was tall enough to see over her and looked down to where she was gazing. There was a white piece of paper under the bed. Lauren leaned down and picked it up with a gloved hand. It wasn't a piece of paper but a leaflet.

Need a quick boost?

Tired of feeling exhausted after a work out?

Try EnerGo! our new Vitamin Supplement!

It'sspeciallyformulatedtoprovideyouwiththeextraenergy

you need to survive the day after your work out.

Call our Team today to arrange a personal

consult with a Representative near you!

"Extra energy after a work out?" Lauren scoffed. "It's either a work out or a normal day for me, not both." She laughed lightly making Spencer smile.

"Well if the victim had a personal consult, maybe we should see who he talked to."

"At least it's a start." Lauren replied to Morgan before moving to bag the evidence. "I'll see if anything similar came up at the other victim's crime scenes." Spencer watched her walk out of the room.

"You ok?" Morgan asked suddenly. Spencer looked at him confused.

"Yes, of course."

"You sure?" Morgan continued to look over the room whilst talking. "You seem a bit out of it." Spencer tensed a little. Frowning he began searching around the room not really paying attention.

"What do you mean?"

"Dunno, you just haven't seemed yourself for a while." Morgan didn't sound overly concerned but the care was obvious in his voice. Spencer didn't want to tell Morgan the truth. Not just because he felt a bit awkward about it, but also because of Lauren and him now being work partners. The whole situation could just get far too complicated and even more so if Morgan found out.

But luckily Lauren interrupted them before Spencer had to answer.

"Unfortunately it seems our victim was the only one with this leaflet. But," Lauren smiled seemingly proud of herself. "The others were all on the mailing list for this company." She pointed to the Booster Drugs Ltd logo emblazoned across the white paper.

"Good work." Morgan smiled. "Newbie." He laughed as Lauren made a mock frown. He slung an arm over her shoulders as they left the room making Spencer's shoulders tense.

As Lauren got outside Morgan let his arm slide from her shoulders. She turned back to look at the house. It was nestled between two sets of tall trees with neighbours either side and houses lining the road opposite.

"The trees may have blocked out any sounds made by the victim." She noticed. Trees always made good sound barriers.

"That's true." Spencer said looking to where she was. "Trees are often used as noise barriers to block exposed sites against traffic or building noise." There was a sudden bleeping sound and Morgan answered his cell phone and moved away.

Lauren was left with Spencer alone outside of the house. It was awkward. Lauren could feel an odd feeling between them and looked at the ground.

"So how-"

"I'm sorry for being so impolite earlier." Spencer said suddenly glancing to her out of the corner of his eye. "It was just a shock to see you here."

"I know." Lauren said a sudden surge of hope coursing through her sending excitement fluttering in her stomach. "But it was a good shock, right?" She added a small laugh trying to make the atmosphere less tense.

"Yes, of course." Spencer stumbled and Lauren smiled. It was nice to see him back to his old cute, uncomfortable self. He smiled down at her and she kept his gaze. Lauren's skin erupted into goosebumps even though it seemed warmer than before.

"I, uh, missed you…your insights I mean." Lauren said, though she looked away now.

"Same." Spencer added more calm than she had ever heard him. There was a moment when she thought she felt his fingers brush against hers but it was gone before she could fully feel it.

"Hotch wants us back." Morgan's voice boomed across the yard as he came back. Spencer said nothing and walked towards the SUV. Lauren did the same.

Back at the office the rest of the team were already there. Lauren had told them of her findings with the drugs company and everyone seemed pretty impressed by her first day. But when Hotch had told them to go home for the night Lauren was relieved. She was exhausted from the day not to mention she had gotten little sleep lately.

As she gathered up her bag the team said goodbye and again said how happy they were she was there. The one person who lingered was the one Lauren was happy to stay.

"It's been a hectic day." Lauren said to Spencer as she put out her stationary onto her newly assigned desk. It was one across and opposite from Spencer's giving her clear view of him. "I'm kinda glad it's over."

"You did well." He said packing up things into his satchel. "Everyone is really happy you're here." He seemed to be saying what he thought was the 'right' thing to say. But in all honesty, Lauren just wanted him to say what she wanted to hear. And it involved nothing to do with the job.

"Yeah I'm glad everyone wanted me after New York." She laughed a little to once again try to settle the odd tension between them. She watched him swing his satchel on his shoulder and move towards her. She swirled round in her office chair to look up at him.

"It's nice to see you again, Detective Lewis." Spencer said and Lauren felt he was being truly honest.

"I think Lauren is fine." She said suddenly nervous and having to fiddle with the pencil on her desk to distract herself. He leaned down slowly and Lauren's eyes widened. She almost broke the pencil as her grip tightened in anticipation. He continued to get closer and the room began to spin as Lauren's breath quickened.

"You should really have your keyboard closer." He said adjusting it so as it was nearer the edge of the desk. "It is better for your posture and will give you less pain if you sit at it for long periods of time." He smiled widely at her as he stood back up. "Goodbye," He hesitated. "Lauren."

And with that he left. Lauren's eyes were still wide and she stared at the space where Spencer had been stood. Finally the pencil slipped out of her hand and she let out the breath she had been holding. She almost laughed at herself for thinking he would really… She did laugh at the thought now.

"Something funny?" Hotch's stern voice echoed around the empty room. It was silent then except for the buzz of monitors.

"No, but you should really try to implement some kind of energy saving regime. Monitors left on overnight can really suck up energy."

"I will think about that." He said and moved to stand over her as she continued fiddling about on her desk, avoiding touching the keyboard. "Have you got a place rented out yet?"

"Uh, no." Lauren said running her fingers through her hair. "I know I said I had somewhere." She smiled sheepishly up at him. "But it kinda didn't go through." He frowned so she smiled. "But I have found a hotel not too far away."

"I'm glad you said that." He replied unexpectedly and sat on the edge of the desk. "You're coming to stay with me." Lauren flicked her gaze up to him in shock.

"What? No way, I couldn't-"

"It wasn't a request." Hotch said firmly with a look that said he definitely wasn't taking no for an answer. The expression softened and he sighed. "I would prefer you were somewhere close by during the settling in period at least. And Jack is excited to see you."

"Really?" Lauren grinned. "I bet he's big now." She recalled the last time she had seen Hotch's son. He was covered in an unidentifiable goop which he smeared all over her jeans as he hugged her. It was gross at the time, but now she remembered it fondly.

"Of course he is." Hotch gave a small smile. "Though he is staying with his Aunt tonight."

"Ok." Lauren agreed after a while. "My stuff is in my car, I didn't have time to make the hotel after the airport this morning anyway."