Stress Release, Part Two
Criminal Minds
Know-It-All-2008
Teen to Mature


Ashley woke up well before her alarm went off; it gave her time to shower before anyone came knocking on her door. She relished the hot water on her skin as she remembered the night before; she never would have guessed that Spencer Reid would have been that through of a lover, but he had proven her wrong many times last night. As she stepped out of the shower she heard her alarm go off, as well as an alarm on the other side of the wall, she assumed it was Spencer's doing since she didn't remember setting her alarm for six but she had be thoroughly wore out. Dressing in her suit she dried her hair before pulling it into a French twist, hoping to keep it out of her face for the day before applying a small amount of make-up to her face, just something to bring out her eyes, she didn't feel like sweating off a full face of make-up within an hour.

Just as she put a final sweep of lip gloss over her baby pink lips a rap at her door surprised her. Pulling her gun from the nightstand draw where she kept it she checked the peep hole to see Derek Morgan and none other than Spencer Reid on the other side of her door. She took a deep breath before opening the door motioning them inside as she reached for her gun holster.

"Morning boys." She said as she began the process of pulling her holster over her shoulders before placing her FBI issued gun in one pocket and her personal gun in the second.

"Since when do ladies carry two guns?" Derrick asked, his eyebrow raised, most of the female FBI agents only carried one, if they carried two they had a damn good reason for carrying two. When she put a knife up her sleeve pocket, his eyebrow disappeared into his hairline.

"Since their fathers where serial killers; one of the victims' families figured out my relation to him, I still have the scar on my back, I'd prefer to never go through that again."

Derek quickly realized he had crossed a line, he knew you didn't ask about the amount of weapons someone in law enforcement carried or why they changed their holster but something about her made him break his own rule.

"We figured you might want to grab a cup of coffee before we headed down to the station, care to join us?" Spencer asked, thankfully interrupting the hard look Ashley had directed at one Derek Morgan.

"Sounds good." The smile she usually had on her face returned, flashing it to both Derek and Spencer as they began walking towards the SUV they would use that morning.

"It sounded like you had an interesting night." Derek said, shooting Ashley a look in the rearview mirror pleased to see that she didn't turn pink like he expected her to, although Spencer did have an interesting shade of red on his neck.

"Your point?" the question was sharp and she meant for it to sting if it kept him out of her personal life as she dug into a small clutch she had with her, passing Reid a small stick of concealer and foundation, tapping him on the shoulder with the product, smiling at him when he took it.

"Ouch. You have some fire to you, though I figured that out quick enough last night by the screams you were giving off." By this point he had a full blown grin on his face, not far from the one she saw on Spencer's face last night as they came down from their own personal highs. The look Spencer and Ashley both gave him, however, had him silent for the rest of the ride to the café they had spotted on their way into town the other night as Spencer began the tedious process of trying to cover the hickey that was prominently showing on his neck.

The waiter who looked to be in his late to mid-twenties seemed to focus his attention more on Ashley, who deflected it very well, ordering three coffees and three of the breakfast plates before all but dismissing the poor young man.

They made small talk about the case as they ate, Ashley's appetite finally having returned allowing her to finish her full meal before either man came to close to finishing theirs. As she sipped on her coffee she wondered if she would have to worry about Morgan being a gossip, she sure hoped not, their job didn't allow much room for gossipers.

Morgan either caught her train of thought or she had stated her worry out loud but one glance at Spencer told her she hadn't been thinking out loud when the older man began to speak.

"You're both grown; I really don't care what you do. Just didn't realize Reid here had it in him was all, we've never seen, or should I say, heard him with a woman before, I was just picking on him earlier." Just as Derek said this she saw rest of the team clamor in, allowing a change of subject back to the case at hand as coffee was doled out for the rest of the team.

The case lasted for a few days and once they were finally home all Ashley could think about was a hot shower and a good night's sleep, thankfully Hotch told them to go home and get some rest and that they were to finish up their reports by three the next day and email them to him and that he would see them Monday morning.

Ashley dallied just long enough to grab the report she had started on the plane from her desk before making her way downstairs towards her car when her phone buzzed with a text message. Flipping open her phone she quickly read the text off the screen: 'You hungry: Chinese?' – Reid. It was short and simple but she could read between the lines, he was offering her somewhere to stay for the night, it was the first really bad case she had been on, and they hadn't had time for each other since that first night expect for a glance here or there and the fact he used his personal cell instead of his work phone made it all the more obvious. 'Sounds good' she shot off before stepping into her car and cranking it, fiddling long enough with the radio for him to respond. 'Follow the brown car'

They had stayed long enough that the rest of the team, minus Hotch who was still up in his office working on his share of the reports, had already left for the night so when a lone brown car pulled up behind her with enough space for her to pull out and follow, she didn't even have to look to know it was him, she just pulled right behind his car, following the windy road to his apartment.

When she pulled her car in next to his at his apartment complex, he was already standing outside his car holding the key in one hand, reaching to open her door with the other.

"A modern day Casanova, nice," the teasing tone in her voice caused him to blush before he shook it off with a grin.

"My mother raised me to be a gentleman, she was a professor in 15th Century Literature." As he said this he offered her his arm before escorting her upstairs to his apartment, locking the reinforced door chained behind them. He chuckled at her lack of reaction to the shelves and shelves of books he had, noticing she gravitated towards them as if she wanted to browse.

"Feel free to look at the books, I'm going to go change real quick, the bathroom is through the hallway on the right if you want to change out of those heels, they look uncomfortable." It was his subtle way of saying to make herself comfortable which she caught on to quick enough, glad she had thought to bring her go bag upstairs with her.

She changed into a pair of FBI sweats and her second training shirt, the two things in her go bag that didn't need washing before slipping back into the living room before taking him up on his offer to browse his books. She wasn't too surprised to see that he had a few books in Latin and what she thought was Greek but the books written in kanji did surprise her, as she pulled one from the shelf to get a closer look, his voice startled her.

"It's Japanese, I took a slight interest in it when I was in college because of the fact they were such an isolated society. It was a pure language." His offering this information didn't surprise her in the least; he truly seemed to love learning. What surprised her however was when she turned around and he was standing there holding out a glass of red wine to her, she was surprised that he drank.

"I don't drink often, but I usually do tend to keep a bottle of red wine put up." He said as he sat down on his couch, watching as she relaxed into the other end of the couch, keeping a respectable distance between them as he picked up the phone to place their delivery order. As soon as the order was placed however he opened his left arm pulling her on top of him in one quick tug. When she collided with his chest he let out a laugh before stretching out underneath her on the couch, pulling her down for a quick kiss.

"I wanted to do that every day we were in the field." His voice had deepened and he began calculating how long it usually took for the delivery kid to show up with his order; if he hurried he had all the time he needed before he deepened the kiss, flipping her around so that she wound up underneath him, taking the breathe from her with every kiss he stole. When his hand slipped under her shirt as light as a feather she didn't even try to bother hiding the hiss that slipped out of her lips before she attacked his neck, forcing his shirt over his head in one quick movement, taking her time to run her hands up and down before licking a trail from his nipple to his bellybutton, earning a laugh when his hips collided into hers forcefully. She then repeated the same path, this time with light kisses, enjoying the fact he seemed to have to force himself to hold back.

"We don't have time…" he was cut off as she returned to his lips, biting, kissing, and sucking, all in one movement before she was the one forcing herself to pull back.

"I know, but it's fun to get you riled up." The throaty whisper with which she echoed this sentiment was broken by a forceful knock on his door, causing them to break apart and her to laugh when he scrambled for his shirt and his wallet in one movement, almost tripping over his own feet before finally pulling his shirt back on and going to pay the delivery guy, coming back with his arms loaded with food, setting all four containers down on his coffee table before offering her what she assumed was her shrimp lo mein and a container of fried rice.

He watched her as she pulled her blonde hair up into a ponytail before digging into her food like she hadn't eaten a decent meal in a week, which was almost the case, they usually ate cheap and fast on cases, something that took a while to adjust to. He put a movie on mainly for background noise as they ate and talked about his schooling or either the FBI Academy before his phone went off, when he placed a finger to his lips she knew it was someone they worked with.

"Please don't tell me it's another case Rossi?" he asked, hoping they wouldn't have to go back out in the field so quickly again. When he breathed a sigh of relief she knew he had guessed wrong. She couldn't hear what Rossi was saying on the other side of the line but when he smiled she assumed it was all good.

"Dinner sounds great," was his response even though is eyes told another story, "Have you called everyone else yet?" Ashley knew he was thinking about her but when he said ok and hung up she wasn't so sure.

"Looks like we're doing a team dinner at Rossi's tonight; you should be getting a call from JJ any minute now." As he said this he saw her phone go off, rather than hear it, the grin on her face told him he had, in fact, been correct as she answered her phone.

"I haven't made it home yet but I'm about fifteen minutes out," at this statement Reid raised his eyebrow, there weren't any apartment complex's within fifteen minutes of his, unless she was referring to a house, and with her being in the academy he doubted she was talking about a house. She caught his searching look when she pointed upwards and then raised two fingers, apparently she lived in the same complex he did if he understood her correctly. "That sounds great JJ, the name of the complex is Rolling Hills…oh I didn't realize Reid lived out here but I go in at such an ungodly hour it's not surprising….No I don't have his number why don't you call him and check to see if he's ok with that, but it would save me from getting lost…sounds good just text me and let me know."

When she hung up she couldn't help but laugh at the adorable look on his face.

"You live in this complex?" he asked, trying to make sure he understood correctly.

"Yep, fifth floor. Have for a few months now but I usually take the back entrance so that's probably why you haven't seen me, speaking of I need to run upstairs and change, when we get back tonight I'll give you the grand tour of casa de Ashley."

With that said they parted ways, Reid responding in the positive when JJ called to ask if he could give Seaver a ride, thankfully they hadn't started on a second glass of wine. When she rang to ask what she should wear he responded with dressy but casual as that was how all of Rossi's dinner affairs went.

As soon as they entered the door, Rossi offered to take her jacket, earning him a smile before giving her a kiss on the check as he did with JJ when she entered right behind him. Apparently his spaghetti was to die for from the rumors she had heard, she was honestly surprised she was invited after all she was just their trainee agent, but the more time she spent around this team the more she realized they operated more like a family than any other team she had worked with.

When she finally spotted JJ, she was glad she had chosen to wear her sundress as it matched the style JJ was wearing, something they had figured out on the phone together.

"I didn't realize you and Reid lived in the same apartment complex." JJ said before pulling Ashley in for a hug.

"I didn't either but I'm usually out the door before five am most mornings so it's not surprising we haven't run into each other." Ashley said, repeating what she had told Spencer not forty minutes earlier. She smiled and thanked Aaron when he pressed a glass of red wine into her hand. Apparently tonight was a wine drinking event.

JJ laughed at Ashley's sour look at being up at five am.

"I remember those days, they weren't all fun and games but we all made it through. Minus Spencer here, he got a physical wavier and if Hotch hadn't of taken a special interest in him I don't think pretty boy would have ever learned how to use a gun."

Reid of course jumped to his own defense but his reply was drowned out by the teams' laughter at his expense, which Ashley noticed, he took it all in stride.

"You're a pretty good shot from what I've heard." Derek said, surprising Ashley with a hug from behind that earned him a pointed look from Reid.

"Practice makes perfect. I put 110% into what I do at the academy, my instructor is stricter on me than most because of my father, but I'm fine with that it makes me better at what I do." She tried to downplay their praise but they wouldn't have any of that.

"Your scores are some of the top the academy has seen academically since Reid went through, don't sell yourself short." Aaron said, smiling at her as did the rest of the team "Which is why we're here tonight, I talked to Strauss and your instructor, you will be able to finish your training with the team if you chose and as soon as you finish the academy they have stated they would like to take the profiling classes, a position on the team is yours if you want it."

The room had gone silent at Aaron's announcement, most hadn't known about the offer that was to be extended to her as all eyes turned to her, smiles on their faces.

"I'm honored that one would even be extended, they hinted when I first joined that I would be stuck in white collar crime for the majority of my career and I accepted it as fact. I would like to become a profiler if the offer still stands when I finish the academy." The smile that radiated off her was contagious as they, one by one hugged her in turn before turning to the meal at hand.

Conversation turned to Henry and Jack with whom Ashley hadn't had the chance to meet, which prompted a get together with the boys on their next free day when suddenly Ashley's phone rang she glanced at the number that displayed across the front, not many people had this particular cell phone number, it was her work phone.

She went to step away from the table but JJ pulled her by the arm back down, they knew it was her work number and were curious who would be calling her at eleven at night.

"Seaver." She said as she flipped the phone open, earning a laugh from nearly half the table, that was a trait she had picked up from them and they knew it.

"Yes sir. No sir we just got back about two hours ago….it went fine…yes sir" a glance at her watch had her eyes opening just the smallest amount before she schooled her features again. "yes sir. Five am it is. See you then sir."

The groan she let out had them laughing before they began to pepper her for information.

"Who was that?" Aaron was the first to get the pressing question out of his mouth.

"That was my academy instructor; apparently I'm running the gauntlet tomorrow morning by myself since I missed out on the last gauntlet run." Normally the gauntlet wouldn't bother her but she hadn't had much sleep in the past week and she was sure her instructor knew that and she had never run the gauntlet by herself before.

"If you have to be at the academy at five you're going to be up at four." Aaron said more a statement than a question. "He has you running the gauntlet on only five…four hours sleep by the time you get home?" this was an actual question and was directed at Ashley.

"Yes he does, and he can do it. I changed my last name not to be recognized because of my father but that doesn't mean my instructor doesn't have access to that information." She sighed, tomorrow was going to be a long day, she was sure it would be nine or ten that morning before he let her go so she was looking at four or five hours of pure physical torture.

"If that's the case I need to get you home; tomorrow's going to be tough enough on you without adding sleep deprivation to it as well." Reid said, effectively excusing Ashley and he from the rest of the evening, not missing the look Hotch shot the rest of the team, while Ashley did miss it.

They made it back to their apartment complex forty minutes after ten, Reid allowing himself into her apartment, smiling when she made a bee line for her bed, not caring that he was there as she changed back into her pajamas and crawling under the covers, laughing at his perplexed look.

"You joining me or not, Spencer? I did promise you we'd continue what we started." As she said this she pushed the covers back as if for him to join her.

"Not tonight Ashley, you need your sleep, I'll be waiting for you after you finish the gauntlet tomorrow morning though. Stop by my apartment when you get in, I have a bed you can crash in and don't worry about getting your report in until tomorrow night, Aaron will understand."

With that he gave her a kiss on the head before letting himself out of her apartment and leaving her to what little sleep she would get.