Spencer stared at the cream colored envelope that had been delivered by special messenger. Why anyone would go to such an expense was beyond his understanding. Really, he was a nobody. He was a genius certainly, but he didn't have any of the sort of connections that would require someone to send him an invitation by special messenger. The handwriting on the envelope was obviously very elegant. There was none of the sloppy handwriting that was so prevalent today. The invitation did have his address as he had checked before he had let the messenger go.

Spencer had been sure that the messenger had the wrong address when his doorbell had rang, because who did he know amongst the wealthy that would send him such an invitation? Absolutely no one. While he made a good living he was so far below the wealthy set that it might as well be in another universe. He made plenty for his needs, which were fairly simple. He had enough to buy all the books he wanted, enough for food and clothes and some place to lay his head and that was really all he required. Really, he was simple guy with simple taste. He had a fairly nice apartment with plenty of room for books and lived well within his means.

He lived pretty quietly with people who he would consider actual friends.

Spencer finally opened the envelope with the letter opener from his desk and carefully withdrew the invitation that was on cream-colored card stock. The envelope as well as the invitation obviously went together and had probably come as a set. It was the kind of thing that those of the wealthy used to officially issue invitations for a party of some kind.

Spencer rapidly scanned the invitation And it said simply:

Dr. Spencer Reid

You are cordially invited to my home for dinner on the of 12th October 2249. 7 o'clock. Don't be late. All will be explained.

Below that was an address that was in the wealthier section of the city. It was actually where the ultrawealthy dwelled. Under the address was a phone number and Spencer stared at it. Was he supposed to call to confirm? Is that why there was a phone number? Were they expecting him to call? For what purpose? He had no idea why he had received such a weird invitation and he had every intention of telling them no thanks.

While he doubted they had any sinister intentions it still made him nervous. He was a nobody to people like this David and Michelle Rossi. People like that didn't even notice somebody like him or if they did the wealthy tended to look down on you. He was nowhere near the Rossis social strata. Spencer tried to remember what he had read about David and Michelle Rossi immediately came up in his mind. His eidetic memory came in handy occasionally.

Let's see, David Rossi was in his 50s. He had three children with Michelle being the middle child. There was also two boys, Michelle's brothers James and Tristan. James was the oldest, while Tristan was the youngest.

The fact that this invitation not only had the elder Rossi's name on it along with his daughter's made him think that the two sons probably wouldn't be present. If Spencer didn't know any better he would believe that this David Rossi was interested in getting him and his daughter together.

That just couldn't be the case though, because he was nowhere close to their social position, which is why he had thought earlier that to people like the Rossis he was a nobody.

Perhaps the elder Rossi had some kind a business proposition for him? Spencer thought, even as he reread the invitation again to make sure he had understood it.

He did know that you didn't invite someone like him into your home, especially since they didn't know each other even casually. They had never been formally introduced actually. The wealthy were definitely different from ordinary people like him.

On the other hand, he had heard that David Rossi didn't exactly follow conventions, that he did what he damn well pleased, not giving a damn about what his peers thought about him. That showed him that Rossi was someone with confidence in himself, someone who didn't care what anyone thought about his actions and since his actions were often done in the spotlight and not behind the scenes...

Spencer finally picked up his communicator and called the number at the bottom of the invitation.

Someone answered after only the second ring. "Yes, may I help you?"

"Yes, this is Spencer Reid. I received an invitation to dinner from David Rossi," Spencer said.

"Ah! Yes, Dr. Reid we 've been expecting your call. So I take it you accept in the invitation?" a woman's voice asked cheerfully over the communicator.

"Actually no, I called to tell Mr. Rossi that I'm not interested, but thank you for the invitation," Spencer said politely.

"Oh dear, Mr. Rossi isn't going to like that," said the lady on the other end and it was clear she was nervous now.

"While I'm very sorry about that ma'am I have no idea why I was sent this invitation. Mr. Rossi and I have never formally met and while it would be a simple matter to find me in this high tech society with the resources that Mr. Rossi has at his disposal I don't understand why he bothered or even how he knew my name, as I'm not exactly of his social status. Why invite someone you've never met into your home? If it was some kind a job offer I would think he'd do that at his office or at least a public restaurant."

Those were all good points the lady on the other end of the line knew.

Her boss had to suspect that Dr. Reid might call and say no to the invitation. She was sure that Mr. Rossi was half expecting Dr. Reid's answer. Apparently, Dr. Reid wasn't one of those types that would just go to make a connection with someone who was extremely wealthy. A connection that might come in useful in the future. She wasn't entirely sure how her boss was going to convince him to go, but that wasn't her problem or her responsibility. She would just call David Rossi and tell him Dr. Reid's answer and then her job would be done.

"You sure I can't convince you to say yes, Dr. Reid?"

"No, I don't believe you can," Spencer said firmly.

"Just so you are aware, Mr. Rossi conducts a lot of business in his home, as it's more private and no one can overhear the conversation and this includes people like you who he's never met formally."

"That's what a private room at a restaurant is for," Spencer said.

"People can be overheard there, even if it's just by a waitperson," The lady on the other end pointed out.

"There are ways around that," Spencer said simply. "I can think of at least three ways right off the top my head."

"Very well, I will tell Mr. Rossi your answer. I would suspect he'll try to change your mind."

"Maybe," was all Spencer was willing to say before he said goodbye and hung up.

Spencer considered the matter now closed and headed into the kitchen to fix himself a sandwich for lunch.

~~~Spencer and Michelle~~~

"He said no to the dinner invitation," Michelle said and it was obvious she was trying to stay calm.

"I suspected he would," Dave said leaning back in his office chair.

"How could you know he would say no?" Michelle asked with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"I didn't know for sure, just suspected," Dave corrected his daughter.

"My question still applies, dad," Michelle said tapping her foot impatiently.

Dave sighed and after a few moments answered his daughter. "Dr. Spencer Reid isn't the type to make a connection with our type Mellie. We're rich and powerful, very well connected politically and he's exact opposite and while he's not poor he's middle-class. He lives his life quietly and from what I understand he's very self-contained emotionally. He doesn't see himself as valuable or handsome. He does his work well and quietly and never makes waves. Basically, he lacks self confidence in himself and his abilities. He lives a very self-contained life.

"He basically only goes to work and comes home. He has his groceries delivered and never goes into an actual food store and he also orders takeout a lot. While there is nothing wrong with the way he's living I know he could make more money then he's making now if he wanted to. However, someone like Spencer would consider himself not in your class and I'm sure he believes that there's no way that you could be interested in him. He doesn't know anything about immortals and mates remember?"

"That's true," Michelle said reflectively. "He probably thinks the people like us as spoiled rich kids that he doesn't want anything to do with."

"Or at least thinks that you won't want anything to do with someone like him other than as an employee, as he's not wealthy or powerful and definitely doesn't have a pedigree. What he told Andrea, who answered his call, was he knew of no reason that he had received such an invitation and that he was going to have to say no. He was very polite doing the whole conversation and when he finally hung up Andrea came straight to me and told me what had been said," Dave told his daughter.

"You have to admit, a lot of rich people, particularly the children are spoiled rotten, so Spencer likely thinks we are just like the stereotype," Michelle said.

"Well, it is a stereotype for a reason," Dave pointed out. "I doubt very much that he's ever met someone truly wealthy before or if he has he didn't know it."

"He doesn't hang out with friends?" Michelle asked quietly, her impatience pushed back for the moment.

"He has very few actual friends from what I can find other then his siblings. Other than that, he has work colleagues who respect him, but he's not close to them and never goes out for a drink with any of them. The only place I know he does go is the bookstore, as he apparently likes to look in person and not just online."

"Yeah, I know, but he also loves art, so that's were we met, at the biggest museum in the city," Michelle said in a quiet tone. "We talked for a minute like you do and that's about it. Basically, we just said hello."

"And yet, after less than a minute of conversation you know he's 'the one'," Dave said with an emphasis on the last two words.

"You know that's the way it works dad, even if you've never met your mate," Michelle reminded her father.

"I did actually a very long time ago," Dave admitted with a deep sadness in his eyes.

"So what happened? Why don't you together?" Michelle asked with astonishment in her expression. "And how come you never said anything?"

"She was killed a very long time ago," Dave said sadly. "It was a very violent time in history when we met and even immortals can be killed, you know this Mellie. I couldn't protect her and believe me I tried."

"I'm so sorry dad," Michelle said with genuine sympathy in her voice.

"It was centuries ago and while I miss her we never really had a chance to have a relationship," Dave said his tone rather melancholy. "We just happened to meet at a very bad time."

"So she was immortal, not human," Michelle questioned.

"Yeah, she was," Dave agreed with a sad smile.

"So what did she look like?" Michelle asked.

"She was the most gorgeous woman I had ever laid eyes on. No woman has compared since. Yes, I know I've dated quite a bit, but none of those women compared to my mate I met so long ago. They were just a way to not be alone for awhile," Dave said his expression rather dreamy his thoughts obviously very far away. "She was rather tall for a woman of the time, and was considered unladylike because of it, as how could a women possibly get to be the that tall, except through unnatural means? The people in the village considered it unnatural and took it as a sign that she was some kind of demon or magic user in disguise. The fact, that she didn't look like she was aging also played a part."

Michelle snorted at that one and was suddenly glad she hadn't been born so long go, as she was 6 feet, which was tall for a woman, but she certainly wasn't considered unladylike just because of her height. It had been a different time and the law, and rules of society had been very different as well. Women hadn't had many rights until the 20th Century.

"She was blonde, and was very slim and gorgeous, with high refined cheekbones and luscious lips, that were nice and plump. She also had the most beautiful green eyes, rather unusual at the time, but not impossible, as they just showed her Irish or possibly Icelandic heritage. She was admired for her green eyes alone, but some people thought that her green eyes indicated that she was a witch, which to the villagers were unusual, as no one else that lived in the town had them. Green eyes were just very unusual in that part of the world and it didn't help that people back then were very superstitious. Anything out of the ordinary was a cause for suspicion. They feared she would curse all of them, which is also why most men avoided her. Her home was burned to the ground with her inside."

"Why didn't she just escape?" Michelle asked puzzled.

"One of the villagers responsible knocked her out and tied up so she couldn't. I never understood why whoever did it didn't just slit her throat and then burn down her home," Dave explained. "She wasn't exactly expecting to be attacked after all, so whoever did it could have killed her easily and instead they made her suffer. That was cruel. Today it is what we would consider premeditated murder. Once the house was burned all I found was her body and just a fragment of the rope that had tied her. It was enough for me to figure out what had happened."

Michelle was sober, as she thought about her father's story. "I know if there's one thing that will kill us it's fire, especially if you have no way to escape," Michelle said finally.

"Exactly," Dave agreed soberly. "As I said earlier, it didn't help that she looked a lot younger than she was supposed to. Most of the town knew she had to be at least in her 40s, if not older and she really didn't look more than 30. She looked exactly the same as she had as when she'd first moved to town and she'd been there at least 15 years."

"She should've moved on before that happened," Michelle said.

"Yeah, she should have," Dave agreed. "Of course, we might never have met if she had but still... I think the main problem was she had gotten too comfortable. She likely forgot, at least temporarily, that she wasn't mortal like everybody else. We had just started a relationship at the time. Also, she had no husband to protect her, as most young women are married by the time they were 14 or 15 back then. She told people that she had been married but that her husband had passed away, so that would've made her a widow. Of course, they'd never been able to have children."

"So did anybody believe it?" Michelle asked.

"There was no way to prove that she wasn't being truthful as communications were rather slow. There were no telegraphs, no telephones, much less cell phones or links or communicators, and even sending a letter depended on how far away was hit and miss. Most of the of the villagers knew that she had traveled a long way, but that changed rather quickly," Dave explained. "Enough about the death of my mate, as it brings up many bad memories. I'm still hoping she'll be reincarnated and that we'll meet again."

"I hope so too for your sake dad, as I know you haven't been have a very happy," Michelle said.

"I'm content enough," Dave told his daughter. "I know I'm not as happy as I could be, but I have hope that we will meet again. Now, about Dr. Reid..."

Michelle nodded and she knew the discussion about her father's mate was closed at least for now. Michelle's only regret was that she hadn't asked for her father's mate name.

Michelle concentrated on what her dad was saying, as his suggestions were usually pretty good.

"So what can we do dad?" Michelle asked plaintively. "It's not like I can reveal immortality right away as he'd never believe it. We need time to get to know each other first, but since our invitation was turned down I'm at a loss. I have to admit I've never encountered this type of situation before. Usually when I ask a man out on a date or they ask me one of us says yes. I've never been turned down, not that I've dated much, but you know what I mean."

"Indeed I do," Dave agreed. "So here's what we are going to do..."

~~~Spencer and Michelle~~~

"Spencer are you crazy?" His sister Roxie yelled at him over the vid call. "Why didn't you accept the invitation? Are you losing your mind?"

"Of course not, I just didn't see any reason to accept the invitation," Spencer protested.

"No reason? Are you kidding me? Are you that blind? Have you suddenly lost your genius level intellect," Roxie sputtered, staring at her brother on the the large screen in Spencer's apartment in disbelief "Spencer William Reid you will call that lady back and tell her you accept the invitation and hope to hell it's not too late."

"Why would I do that?" Spencer protested staring at his sister.

"Because it might've been an invitation for a kind of interview for a job in one of Mr. Rossi's companies," Roxie explained to her brother in exasperation.

"I don't believe that for a moment Roxanna," Spencer said using his sister's full name. "You don't send out such an invitation on a nice cream colored cardstock, that is obviously very high quality. You don't ask them to come in for an interview in your home. You ask them to come into your office and you tell them it's going to be an interview," Spencer said listing the things he had noticed that were very odd about the sudden invitation. "Another thing is, I never applied for another job so there should be no interview."

"Ever heard of headhunting brother," Roxie told Spencer pointedly rolling her eyes in exasperation. "You didn't necessarily have to apply, as I'm sure that this David Rossi has heard about how brilliant you are by now. As for the invitation to his home for dinner, did you ever think he could just be trying to impress you? And also, that he might want privacy? More privacy than you can get in a restaurant?"

"The lady that took my call said the same thing, but I really don't think I'm so special," Spencer said. "Even if I was headhunted as you put it, it's hardly professional to ask someone into your home before even officially meeting them."

"That's just an excuse Spencer," Roxie told her brother firmly, while rolling her eyes at him again. "You know that the wealthy often do things differently and from what I've heard about this David Rossi he's quite different from his peers. I'm sure this Rossi looked into your background before inviting you to his home, to make sure you weren't some type of criminal. I'm sure you were recommended when Rossi started looking for someone for whatever project he has planned. I'm sure he was very impressed with all the degrees you have."

"I hadn't thought of that," Spencer admitted a little sheepishly.

"Of course not, you think too little of yourself big brother. I know very well what those bullies in high school did to your self confidence but get over it and start having confidence in yourself. You are one of the most intelligent young men of your generation. One that isn't all arrogant about his number of degrees and how quickly he gained them. You're probably one-of-a-kind, so I can understand why someone like David Ross is interested in you."

"But the invitation was from David Rossi as well as his daughter," Spencer protested. "That doesn't sound like some kind a job offer to me."

"The daughter could be learning the business Spencer and so her father allows her to sit in. She might already be an active part of the company for all you know," Roxie said. "It would depend on how old she is."

"I hadn't thought of that either," Spencer admitted blushing. "The daughter's name is Michelle and she's around my age, just a few years younger."

"So she's likely done with college if she's around your age," Roxie said in satisfaction. "That very likely means that her father has given her a position within his company or at least that's she's in training."

Spencer didn't say anything about the niggling feeling he had that Roxie's idea was not the right one. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt there was something more and then Michelle learning her father's business. He had this feeling that the reason Michelle was included in the invitation was so Mr. Rossi could see if they were all at compatible as possible marriage material.

"You will call back right, Spence," Roxie asked. "You won't put it off?"

"Alright, fine, I'll call," Spencer agreed finally, just to get Roxie off his back. "I still think my decision was the right one, but I'll go just so you won't pester me about it."

"And I've often told you have blinders on when it concerns yourself. You really don't see yourself as others do," Roxie told him for probably the 10,000 time in her life. "I only want what's best for you and this could be a great opportunity."

"I suppose we'll see," Spencer said sounding resigned even to himself.

"Make sure you call me and tell me how it went as soon as you can. Don't make me show up at your apartment," Roxie instructed him.

"I will," Spencer promised, before ending the call.

After Roxie was gone Spencer sat back and thought about his conversation with his sister. Was Roxie right? Did he not see himself as others did? Or was it all just her imagination? Spencer sat there for sometime deep in thought when finally he rose several hours later as he had a call to make.

~~~Spencer and Michelle~~~