A mini-story in Sadie's point of view.

Chapter 7.5

Hugs

It was Thursday afternoon, in the middle of his paper-sorting that Spencer's phone rang. All eyes in the room turned to him curiously. Spencer's phone rarely rang in the middle of the day. It also never rang as loudly as it did. Spencer frowned, coloured and answered the phone.
"Hello" he said.
"Hey, Spencer" Sadie's voice came through the ear-piece, "Are you busy tonight?" she asked.
"Not particularly" he answered, wondering what was so interesting about his face as the rest of the team were all staring, as if unable to peel their eyes off him.
"I just found a whole DVD collection of Doctor Who in the storage, do you want to come over and watch a few?" she asked.
"Why Doctor Who?" Spencer asked, frowning, "And why are you probing through your storage?"
"I was looking for a book I think I may have lost" Sadie admitted, "Still can't find it, though. So, what do you think? You up for it?" she asked, her voice filled with laughter.
"A Doctor Who marathon sounds fun" he admitted, "But I have seen all the episodes, so I might spoil the end for you" he warned. Sadie laughed.
"No biggie, it's Doctor Who, anything's interesting" she claimed, "So, what do you say?" she asked again.
"Sure, I'll be there" he agreed, frowning at JJ, who looked at him with a strange expression, one he'd never seen on her before.
"Great! I'll make pasta Alfredo! I'm an excellent pasta chef" Sadie claimed.
"I'm looking forward to it" Spencer agreed, "I'll bring coke" he offered.
"Cheers, mate!" Sadie agreed, "See you soon" she added, then hung up.
"Bye" Spencer mumbled, wondering why JJ was crossing the room to close the distance between them. Then, she hugged him tightly. Spencer stood still. In fact, he was so still, he was like a warm-blooded statue. Then, Morgan, Blake and Rossi came in for a group hug and Spencer wondered why his team-mates were being so strange and awkward all of a sudden.
"What was that all about?" Spencer asked, once they pulled away.
"Well, you see, Reid" Rossi started, his cheeks rising as he spoke, "It seems to us that you have finally grown up" he informed. Spencer frowned.
"I grew up a long time ago" Spencer said, "I grew from the time of my birth until I was 21. First of course, was the two years of mental development, followed by the years of actual growth, the first growth spurt in the body after birth, then again at the start of puberty when the sex hormones, mainly androgen and epiandrogens are secreted by the now developed testes, which act as anabolic steroids and help built bone, muscle bulk and help lose fat in the males. Puberty in the aversge male starts at around 14 years and ends by 21-22 years. I believe I had stopped growing when I joined the Academy" he explained in detail. JJ smiled.
"Or, not" she said, making the others burst into laughter.

Sadie wondered why Spencer was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV, but not really watching it, or enjoying it. Sadie stood, leaving her notepad, her book and the remote on the laZboy, where she'd been sitting, and crossed the floor to the couch, where Spencer sat, staring absently in the general direction of the television. She bent down to his eye level, putting her hands on his shoulder, making him look at her, suddenly, abruptly, making him jerk swiftly to face her, his eyes wide in shock at the sudden loss of his daydream. Sadie was frowning at him, her eyes narrowed, almost menacingly.
"What happened?" Spencer asked, frowning at her.
"You're asking me that?" she asked, looking at him pointedly, "You're sitting there like a frigid corpse since you got here, and you're honestly asking me that?" she asked.
Spencer looked at her apologetically and opened his mouth.
"No, don't apologize" she said, cutting him off, "What's wrong? Is something troubling you?"
The fact that she sounded worried, rather than cross, must've made Spencer relax, for he smiled, putting his hands on hers', which were still holding his shoulders firmly.
"It's something insignificant" Spencer admitted. Sadie smiled a little, letting go of his shoulders to sit beside him, close enough that their thighs were touching and bumped his shoulder with hers'.
"It's something about you, and therefore more significant than you give it credit for" she said, honestly, smiling encouragingly. Spencer felt his heart skip a beat when she said that, and she especially liked the way her hair, that was pulled back in the middle of her head to keep it off her eyes, fell on her shoulders, down her back, some even touching the couch she was now sitting on. Spencer smiled and told her about the team and their strange hug after her phone call earlier that day. When he was done, he watched as Sadie bit the corner of her lower lip.
"Is that what happened? When I called you?" she asked. Spencer nodded.
"Weird, huh?" he offered. Sadie coloured red in the cheeks, her heart racing.
"Good Lord! I'm never calling you at work again!" she exclaimed, "Your team is possibly the biggest hurdle to cross! I'm not going there! Nope! Never!" she exclaimed, shaking her head as if she were five and throwing a tantrum about lunch.
"What are you talking about?" Spencer asked, frowning now. Sadie scowled, then, shook her head.
"They were teasing you, you know" she said, "that you've gotten yourself a girlfriend" she informed, colouring red in her cheeks, a redness that went all the way down to the base of her neck. Sadie felt her heart race as Spencer worked it out in his large, genius mind. She waited as he thought, and thought and thought and Sadie wondered if he was honestly going to make her wait so long. Just as Sadie had given up on his coming to a conclusion of his own, Spencer spoke.
"That seems as serious as it sounds" Spencer concluded, nodding to himself. Sadie turned to him, smiling, her embarrassment ebbing away. She even let out a giggle of relief.
"It's not really" she informed, "Just, I don't want to disappoint them, you know?" she admitted, shrugging, "They've known you longer and you trust them. I want them to not disapprove of me, rather, I'd really like it if they liked me" she rambled, a bit uselessly, it seemed, because Spencer was smiling.
"I think they'll see the person I see" he admitted, "And see all the things I like"
Sadie turned red again.
"You are... impossible" she claimed, then turned to him and hugged him, her arms wrapping around his torso and pushing her face into his neck. Spencer froze, momentarily, then, when he smelled the scent of Sadie's hair, as it tickled his neck and face, her heat conducting to him through the contact and the spark of electricity he was certain had passed through them when she'd hugged him, he felt his arms circle around her and pull her close. Sadie laughed into his neck, her lips touching his bare throat, making Spencer's heart race frantically.
"Hugs are nice" Sadie whispered at last, her breath tickling Spencer's neck. Spencer smiled and pushed his nose into her shoulder, smelling her fruity scent mixed with the smell of mac and cheese, and the faint fragrance of the periwinkle that sat on the windowsill of her study. It became a scent he came to like a lot.
"Yes, indeed" he agreed, speaking into her shoulder, which came out muffled.
Sadie, whose heart was racing like she was running a marathon, not that she'd ever run a marathon, or thought of it, in fact, felt Spencer's breath on her shoulder and for a moment, her heat stopped. It did, indeed, skip a beat, then, raced faster than before. She liked the smell of Spencer around her, like the time she'd hugged him in the coffee-shop. He hadn't returned her hug like this, and Sadie decided she could get used to this sort of thing. Hugs were nice, they both agreed, whole-heartedly.

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