Chapter 5

Spencer's POV

Unfortunately the team had to leave for a case the day after Will's accident. It was always a difficult case with snipers, especially when they remind him of his first sniper case with Philip Dowd. He always got upset when thinking about how difficult it was to get the FBI to approve him handling a gun. At least now he could almost shoot straight. And Derek does not bug him about being a bad shot anymore. But the case also makes him think about Gideon and how much he misses him. Spencer shook his head, they caught the criminal before he could kill his final target. They saved the woman and now she was finally free after years of living in an abusive relationship. He never knew how cruel people could be to each other but each case he worked brought to light a new level of human nature and its darkest parts.

At least now he had time to unwind and clear his head of the past case. And JJ could go see Will; Spencer had Cat update him on Will's condition so he could keep JJ focused throughout the case. He was still stable and she hoped he would be waking up any day now. JJ was anxious the entire trip back to get to the hospital and see him. Spencer was mostly anxious to get back to the coffee shop. He hadn't talked to Cat in person since the accident and he wanted to see her again. As he walked through the front doors of the bookstore he could picture her smiling from her table as he walked up into the sitting area. But she wasn't there. Cat wasn't sitting at her usual table. It was empty. Disappointment began to fill him as he slowly turned to go over to his spot. Spencer didn't think his absence would affect their routine that had been constant the past few months, but maybe she was upset about him being gone and couldn't return after the routine had changed.

However, when he turned around he saw someone sitting at his table. Someone with long brown hair and a floral dress. And on the table in front of the empty chair was a chocolate muffin. Spencer quickly walked over and asked, "Mind if I join you?"

"Oh good, I thought I would have to eat two chocolate muffins again. Good to see you Spence," Cat looked up at him and smiled. "I hope you don't mind me crashing at your table."

"Not at all, I was worried you left after I hadn't been here. There was a pretty rough case we had to solve in Dallas so we had to fly out there and it took a lot longer than we expected. I'm always amazed at how difficult snipers are to catch but this one was almost impossible. Our Unsub was a former South African sniper and he could stay awake for nearly three days when scouting out his target…" Spencer knew he was starting to ramble but he had to explain before Cat decided she couldn't handle his job.

"Spence, it's okay. I understand. I'm used to BAU cases being long and far away," Cat cut him off before he finished.

"You are? Why?"

"Oh, um, I mean, I just…I know what it like is to have a job that takes you away from family and requires a lot of time." Cat struggled to form her sentence and looked down at the muffin in front of her. Spencer could tell she meant something else but didn't push her. They were starting out a friendship and he knew if he pushed she would pull away.

"Yes, I can imagine you get some difficult surgeries that require your time. Accidents happen all of the time here."

"That's what I meant. I once had a surgery that took nearly 24 hours, my parents thought something had happened to me because I missed our daily phone call." Cat laughed as she broke off a piece of her muffin. Relief showed in the way she dropped her shoulders subconsciously. She was hiding something.

"You call your parents every day?"

"Well, yes. They worry about me, things have happened to us in the past and it just reassures them knowing I'm at the hospital working with a patient or on my trial, or that I could get off work early and be home at a decent hour."

"I feel like a terrible son now. I try to write to my mother every day but I cannot get up the courage to call her."

"I'm sure she understands if you can't call her. She probably appreciates the letters just as much. They convey a much more intimate level with writing. The thought process and dedication that goes into letter writing is just as meaningful, if not more, than a phone call."

"I don't know. I can't explain it right now, my relationship with my mother is a little complicated," Cat was easy to talk to and they clearly had a connection, but Spencer did not trust her with all of the complicated parts of his family history. If she was keeping things from him at the moment, he could keep this from her. "You said you were working on a trial?"

"On Alzheimer's. I've been doing research and experiments to find the cause and ways to delay the effects of it. I started it after my residency at Mass Gen and brought the majority of it when I transferred down here. Hopefully I can find a cure at some point but I don't want to get too ahead of myself. My aunt always tells me I tend to let my genius go to my head," her laugh was beautiful. It was so smooth and genuine, a weird feeling took over Spencer whenever he heard it.

"My team tells me the same thing. But that is quite a trial, I would love to read your research sometime. I always hoped to find a cure for Schizophrenia when I was younger, but then I decided to join the FBI and they recruited me for the BAU. I never really started researching the disease, though I would still love to find something to stop it." Her eyes too. Spencer could stare into them forever. They were captivating and seemed to analyze everything they looked at.

"Schizophrenia is an unusual topic to be interested in for a profiler. Why do you want to research it?"

"That is a story for another time. But in short, it's in our family and I want to save others from having to go through what I have due to the disease."

"A very noble cause."

"Thank you. Now, why did you transfer from Mass Gen to Bethesda? It's an odd move for someone working on a successful trial." Spencer could see her shoulders tense up again. He hoped he wasn't as easy to read when she brought up his mother.

"I…I…well…" She was struggling to trust him. He knew their friendship wasn't strong yet, but he wanted her to trust him.

"You can tell me. Like you said, 'this is the start of a beautiful friendship.'" He tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"Hahaha, you're right. My au-my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer last year and was given six months to live. I moved down here to help my dad take care of her." She smile back while starting to eat her muffin again.

"I'm so sorry. How is she?"

"She's actually doing a lot better than they expected. They've given her another year. She's strong, a fighter. Mom was always my role model when I was younger and after watching her go through this I see a lot of why I looked up to her." Hearing her talk about her mom made Spencer think about his. Even though he used to get embarrassed about her, he still respected how she raised him while still being so sick. She stopped taking her medication while she was pregnant with him just to make sure he would turn out okay. She fought the disease to raise him properly and on her own. His mother was a fighter as well and he loved her for it. "Well, we should both be getting to work."

"What? Oh, wow, you're right. I didn't realize how late it was," Spencer jumped up from his seat and shoved the last of his muffin in his mouth.

"You were late Spence, but I guess I can forgive you. You did catch a criminal and saved a woman's life, so you had a good excuse. But I hope we can talk more tomorrow."

"Me too. I'll see you tomorrow, Cat." Spencer watched as she smiled and walked out of the store. He couldn't place the feeling in his stomach but he knew the last time he felt it was when Maeve said 'I love you.'