After she saw the hauntingly familiar face on the TV, Zoe had some trouble sleeping. She was huddled up next to a bundle of pillows, her face pressed into the fluff. She missed her bed, the familiar smell of coconut oil candles in her bedroom.

Next to her, illuminated by the moonlight streaming in from the window, in the opposite bed, was Spencer. She sat up, glancing at the illuminated red letters of the clock. She smiled at his sleeping visage. She was so thankful for his help, she wasn't sure how she was going to repay him. She was so taken by his quiet awkwardness, the intelligent spark in his big brown eyes. God, if this was any other situation, maybe she'd have a chance with him.

Maybe she did.

She closed her eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like to be with him. Often her imagination ran quickly, and fantasies got out of hand before she realized. Before she knew it, she was trying to imagine the perfect wedding dress, how handsome Spencer would look in a suit and tie.

She shook her head, pushing away her daydream. She hardly knew him!

But she did know he memorized poetry, and his mother had schizophrenia. That he'd once been kidnapped and tortured, and worked for the FBI. That he'd graduated high school at 12 and was a genius and doctor. She also knew how his face looked when he was sleeping, and how his neck smelled. Or how his eyes looked when he was scared, and that he used extra fabric softener in his work shirts. She knew that he couldn't used chopsticks, because he'd been eating with a fork, and that he was bad at matching socks. It was more than she learned on any first date.

She was so physically exhausted, and yet, she felt more wide awake than she'd ever been. Her skin ached, and she closed her eyes again.

Suddenly, she heard Spencer get up. "Zoe?" he said in a haggard voice. "Can you sleep?"

"No," she muttered. "not really."

"Let me help you," he said, reaching for his gun and cocking it. He stood above her, with the barrel pointed at her face. "1...2...3" he whispered, and the bang echoed across the room. She awoke with a scream, her breath coming and going maniacally.

Spencer's hand covered her mouth, and he put his finger to his lips. His gun was in his hand. Zoe's eyes widened. It had been a dream, but the gunshot had been very real.

He moved to the door of the hotel room as Zoe shrunk in bed. They both jumped as there was a knock at the door. Spencer looked out the peephole, and his body relaxed.

"Hey, some drunk guy just knocked over this huge vase of flowers, don't worry, it's fine." Agent Tanner said through the door.

"Right, okay, thanks." Spencer called back. He set his gun down on the TV stand and ran his hands through his hair. "Quite a way to start a morning, I guess." he said. She glanced at the clock. It was 4:43AM.

"I don't think there's a chance I'm falling back asleep after that." Zoe admitted. She reached for her glasses on the nightstand and slipped them on. "I think I might take a shower, is that okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah, that's fine. I'm going to go get some coffee from the lobby, there was a 24 hour place. Do you want something?"

"Yeah, actually, a latte sounds good, but with an extra shot of espresso. Lord knows I'm going to need it today."

When Spencer returned with the coffees, Zoe was still in the shower. She was singing something, quietly, but it was still audible over the shower. He smiled to himself, setting her coffee next to the bed and opening the curtains of the window. It was cloudy out, the dawn just barely lit the sky, but it didn't look like rain. He felt unusually relaxed, the walk up and down the hotel stairs had soothed his nerves. He was in a nice hotel room with a stunning woman, and he wasn't freaking out. Deep down he knew he could fall in love with her, but figured it was impossible. She was wonderfully intelligent, kind, funny, and beautiful. And he had to protect her.

Zoe walked back into the room, with her hair dripping as she dried it with the towel. She wore the same outfit she'd been wearing the day before, jeans and the navy blue tank top.

"I don't know what I'm going to do." she said. "What if you never catch this guy? What if I have to stay in hiding forever?"

"We're going to catch him." Spencer assured her. "or die trying."

"I hope nobody dies trying." she sighed. "Especially not you." she sat on the edge of the bed, wiggling her bare toes. "My house is gone." she said.

"And the insurance is going to take care of it."

"I know, it's just, surreal. I'm going to have to start looking for a new place soon or else I'll be stuck in this hotel room with you forever." she looked at him and smiled. "not that that would be the worst thing in the world. Is that mine?" she indicated the cup.

"Yeah." he said. "And it's not bad, for hotel coffee."

"I should call my insurance people today, try and start putting in some claims. Seems like a lot of work to me."

"You'll probably end up with more money than the house is really worth. Typically housing insurance claims from fires almost double the house's original worth, because of all the property inside."

"Maybe I'll end up actually paying off those college loans."

With Reid on his bed and Zoe sitting on the floor, they talked and drank coffee for what seemed like hours. Zoe made Spencer laugh, and he wondered at the possibility of how she would be if she was truly and completely happy. And Zoe remained in awe of Spencer, at how words flew out of his mouth like water, each one captivating her completely. She couldn't imagine anything he ever said to be 'annoying', although he claimed most people thought it was.

Around 7, Zoe's stomach made a noise, and with a smile, Spencer suggested they get breakfast.

"Do you think it'll be alright? Safe, I mean?"

"You'll be with me. And we'll go out to a public place."

She grinned, looking excited. "It'd be nice to do something normal for a change."

They walked through the quiet streets of a local shopping area. It was frigid, so Zoe wore the extra sweater Reid had. They stopped at a little breakfast cafe and ordered croissants. As Zoe sat on one of the metal chairs outside, looking up at the sky, she couldn't remember a time when she'd been happier than that in the past few months.

She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She sat up suddenly, and Spencer looked at her in surprise.

"What?" he asked.

She scanned around, up and down the street, for whatever had just made her skin crawl. And then her eyes fell on his, just a glimpse, as he slipped into an alley.

"He's here, Spencer. He's right over there. Mike." She reached for his leg and grabbed his knee. Reid began to stand, his hand on his gun.

"No, no, the other guy might be here too. When you leave, he'll have a chance to-" she shuddered. "Let's just get inside." She reached for him when he stood, standing close and clutching onto his arm. "Just, don't go okay?"

Spencer pressed a button on his phone, and held it up to his ear. They settled on the couch in the back corner of the cafe.

"He's here, he found us." he said.

A/N: REVIEEEWW
seriously, thank you to all the new followers since my last chapter, fanart coming soon! Kisses :3 !