Garcia was busily moving between her various computer screens when she heard a knock at her office door.
"Enter if you dare!" she issued her usual challenge.
Slowly and carefully the door opened, and then a head cautiously poked its way in. Garcia could see it was Agent Anderson standing in the hallway with – Emma? Was that Emma standing behind him?
"Girlfriend!" she bolted from her chair and charged towards her.
"Penelope!" Emma was juggling several take-out boxes as she was enveloped in a cloud of pink and purple fabric. "Good to see you too!"
"Dinner?" Garcia had stepped back and was hungrily eyeing the boxes.
"I just finished talking with Spencer," Emma explained with a shy smile. "And, he happened to mention that you are going to be here late tonight checking on things for the team. I thought you might appreciate a little sustenance."
"You have no idea!" Garcia was opening boxes. "Thai?"
"I seem to remember that's what you like," Emma replied. She turned to Anderson, who was still standing in the doorway. "Agent Anderson, can I convince you to join us?" she asked him. "There's plenty!"
Anderson returned her smile. "Not today," he responded. "Maybe some other time."
"That's a shame," Emma said after Anderson had left. "He seems really nice."
"You are a married woman!" Garcia scolded her. "Don't go breaking my favorite genius' heart! How are things going, by the way?"
"Well, I am staying at his place for a couple of days," Emma replied as she helped herself to some food and then settled into Garcia's guest chair. "It's better than a hotel, and his couch is fairly comfortable."
"His couch?" Garcia sputtered. "You are his wife and, admittedly, the circumstances are unusual, but even when he isn't there you are sleeping on the couch?"
"My choice," Emma quickly told her. "I don't want to invade his space, besides – "
"Besides what?" Garcia demanded.]
Emma took a deep breath. "It's what he has on his nightstand," she confessed. "There's a picture of Maeve there and it just makes me feel – spooked?"
"Oh, Sweetie!" Garcia gave her a hug. "I can understand that. It must be like having a ghost looking over your shoulder."
"I feel bad about it because I know I should be understanding, and I know Spencer needs to work through things at his own speed and all, but I am really starting to have trouble dealing with it." Emma paused for a moment before adding, "And, I think she's beginning to haunt me, too!"
"Haunt you?" Garcia questioned.
"Yes. I will swear I saw her when we left the apartment this morning," Emma explained. "She was standing there on the other side of the street, just staring at us. I didn't realize it at first, but when I thought about it and realized who it looked like, and then turned to take another look, she was gone."
"And," Emma continued. "When I was walking across campus this afternoon, I will swear I saw her again. But, there were a lot of people around me and by the time I broke free and started heading in her direction, she was gone again."
Garcia looked thoughtful.
"What?" Emma questioned. "I know that look!"
"I was just thinking," Garcia replied. "You know, I never checked into Maeve's family beyond looking for her parents. I know you aren't the fanciful type who imagines things. Maybe there is someone else."
"You mean like an unacknowledged evil twin?" Emma laughed shakily.
"No. But there very well might be someone." Garcia was busy with her computer. "Let me see what I can find out."
It took several minutes, but a picture soon appeared on Garcia's computer screen.
"That's her!" Emma gasped. "Penelope, that's Maeve!"
"No, it's not," Garcia corrected her. "That's Maeve's cousin on her father's side. Her name is Moira and, according to this, she is about 18 months older than Maeve. Let me check further."
Garcia pushed some more keys and several documents appeared on the screen.
"What is that?" Emma pointed. "It looks like Papers of Commitment."
"That's what they are," Garcia confirmed as she enlarged the picture. "It appears that Moira's parents had her committed to a mental institution when she was 13 years old. The admitting diagnosis was 'severe personality disorder' – Whatever that means. However, apparently that wasn't the only time she was admitted."
A police report appeared on the screen, followed by more paperwork from a hospital for the criminally insane.
"It appears that shortly after she was released from her first hospitalization, she viciously attacked her cousin, Maeve, causing severe physical injury," Garcia read off the screen. "And, at that time, her parents arranged for her to be committed to the Riverside Hospital for the Criminally Insane."
"She was there until she turned 21," Emma had taken over reading. "And, at that time, she was released into her parents' custody."
"And, apparently she has been going back periodically ever since," Emma continued reading. "It appears that she is now living in a group home. Penelope, can you pull up her picture from the first police report?"
The picture quickly appeared on the screen. "Good – Now can you pull up the most recent picture?"
Both women caught their breath. "OMG!" Garcia gasped.
"It is amazing what a change in hair color and style can do," Emma observed. "And, it looks like she has had her nose done, too. Now she looks even more like Maeve."
"Is it possible she is trying to actually become Maeve?" Garcia questioned. "That would account for the fact that she is apparently stalking you and Reid."
"Do we tell Spencer?" Emma worried.
"As long as she is keeping her distance and isn't contacting either one of you, it can probably wait until he gets back," was Garcia's advice. "After all, we aren't really sure it is her you are seeing. However, you should probably keep an eye out for her and keep track of where and when she appears."