Crossing Boundaries

Chapter 17: Chocolate

"Spence?" My voice is thick with sleep. I open my eyes to see Spencer looking down at me with his soft chocolate ones. He flashes me a smile, white teeth glinting in the office light.

"Hey, sleepyhead," he chuckles.

A wave of comfort and security wash over me as he laughs. "Where is every one?" I finally ask.

Spencer's face clouds, as though he does not want to tell me the truth.

"Spence…they went to find him, didn't they?" I ask quietly.

He nods in response, face still clouded and guarded.

Instead of pressing him for more, I abruptly change the subject to something more trivial. "Coffee?" I ask brightly, trying to dispel the dark mood which has possessed Spencer.

"…Sure…" he answers in a distracted tone. He idly rubs his thumb over the pages of his book, causing the edges to curl.

I stand, giving him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. On my way to the break room, I nearly knock over Garcia. "Oh! Garcia, hello. I wasn't paying attention…"

She peers at me through her bright red glasses. "Anika Paranosz, I presume?"

"…Yes…"

Garcia breaks into a huge smile. "Wonderful to meet you." Her voice then dips down to a more serious tone. "Terribly sorry to hear about your friend Nadya."

From outside the break room in the bullpen, I can hear Hotch ask, "Reid, where's Anika?"

"She went to get coffee."

Inside the break room, I can hear a scuffle break out in the bullpen. I dare not poke my head around the door frame. But I cannot help myself. When I peer around the frame, I see the team, followed by the service men leading the man who has made my life a complete misery in recent times.

I catch Garcia looking at me critically. She then offers me an arm. "Walk with me? I've got some brownies that'll fix everything."

I sigh heavily in disbelief. I cast my gaze back towards the bullpen.

"Anika, listen to me. These guys aren't going to let this creep get away with anything." She loops my arm through hers. "You need some girl time," she says matter-of-factly.

"Alright," I concede. I allow Garcia to lead me away to her computer room, or inner sanctum as she calls it.

Once we are inside with the door firmly closed behind us, she shoves a plate of brownies at me and bombards me with questions.

"So, my fair Croatian princess, what do you think of our dear Dr. Spencer Reid?"

I blink at her. "What?"

She smiles smugly at me. "I have it on good authority that the dear doctor is head over heels for you."

Thoughtfully, I munch on one of the brownies. "These are amazing!"

"Thank you, but answer the question."

Damn, she did not take the bait of topic. I sigh in resignation and ponder the best way to answer the question. What she told me, if it was true, was quite intriguing. "Well…he's a sweet man. I've never met anyone like him before. Intelligent men are hard to come by wilds of Croatia." This elicits a snort from Garcia.

"Honey, intelligent men are hard to come by anywhere. What do you think I work in the FBI?"

I smile a little before continuing. "I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I don't have the best history with men. My five brothers were abusive and cruel towards me; since I was the youngest and the only female. Then, I am raped on my voyage to America and then again four months later…"

The door opens and I trail off. On the other side is JJ, looking weary.

"You mind if I hang for a bit? The boys and Elle are having a smack-down with the suspect." From out of no where, she plunks a case of beer on the table.

Garcia grins. "You little rebel. Grab a chair and a brownie. Get comfy." She then turns back to me. "But, here's the heart of the matter. Would you consider it, if things had been different?"

I cannot help the blush that creeps into my cheeks. Even though she does not say it in front of JJ, I know what she is on about. "Yes," I quietly mutter.

"What's going on?" JJ inquires between bites of brownie and sips of beer.

Garcia gestures towards me with a hand holding a beer. "Anika here, has just admitted that, if things were different, she would date our Spencer!"

JJ actually giggles. "That's amazing! He and I went out once, but it just didn't work out." She looks at me over the mouth of her beer bottle. "You on the other hand, you have potential. Both of you are sweet and kind, but in different ways. You are complements of each other, despite the cultural boundaries that so blatantly exist."

Much of the remaining night is passed in this manner. I am told by both JJ and Garcia numerous times that I am perfect for Spencer. After a while, I begin to see the truth of what they say. My heart lifts slightly at this hope, but it is too soon to see a clear answer. Eventually, JJ and I turn on Garcia. We easily get her to admit that her unrequited love for Morgan. She blames her loose tongue on the chocolate and beer, but JJ and I know better.

By nearly two o'clock in the morning, the brownies and beer are only a vague distant memory. But it was exactly the sort of night that I needed to put my jumbled thoughts in order. I have reached a conclusion; the team will not like it, but it is what must be done. Croatian tradition dictates that it must be so