Aitana should've expected visits from the team but it was hard to remember when she was very much chalked up on morphine. Seaver had come with her in the ambulance and even then, Aitana failed to remember her on occasion.

"Tell me we caught him," she said to Rossi pleadingly and slightly loopy. "I didn't want to mess anything up—"

The older man rested a hand on her shoulder, careful not to put any weight on it. "You didn't mess anything up. We have him. Actually...he's in the same hospital."

"Hotch had to fire," Morgan explained briefly.

"I wonder why…" Aitana said, gesturing to her side.

"How are you?" Rossi asked her earnestly.

"Umm…" Aitana swallowed hard, "My mouth is dry."

Rossi's eyebrows raised with the unusual answer. He soon glanced at Seaver for a better explanation.

"She's on a couple meds," she explained first, not that the other two agents wouldn't make that connection on their own, "But the doctors said the knife didn't hit anything important. She'll just have to stay a night for observation and then she's clear to go home."

"That's good because Penelope Garcia is already waiting for you in D.C. with ecstatic arms," Morgan playfully warned Aitana. "Get ready for a whole lot of loving."

Aitana's eyebrows knitted together as she seemingly tried to figure something out. "Colorful," she said eventually, puzzling the trio for a second until she added: "The loud one."

Morgan snorted while Rossi and Seaver smiled and shook their heads. "Oh Spicy Sprinkles, you don't ever want to say that to her."

Aitana shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I hope she brings me donuts. I love the donuts that she brings in a cute little pink box." She picked her hands off her lap to gesture the squared box she was talking about.

"Uh, that's you," Rossi patted her shoulder, earning chuckle from her.

"Right!"

"We'll give Hotch a call to let him know her status," Morgan said to Seaver, "He and Reid are wrapping things up at the precinct."

Aitana gasped lightly, making them briefly panic thinking she was in pain again. Her big eyes landed on Morgan. "Hotch has to give me my evaluation."

"I think that can wait for a while," he said. "He just wants you to get better first."

She nodded her head. "Where's Spencer?"

"He's helping Hotch, remember?"

Something flickered across Aitana's face and since it seemed to be tugging her lips down into a pout, it couldn't be good. Even her gaze fell down. "No, of course he wouldn't come. He's mad at me."

She was lucid enough to remember that.

"No, he's not," Seaver tried to comfort her, "There was just a lot of processing to do at the precinct so somebody needed to stay with Hotch."

Aitana shook her head at that. "No, he was mad at me. He wasn't going to come anyways."

Seaver didn't try again. Instead, she looked at the others. Morgan decided to take a shot even if it was going to be a small one. "Hey now, Spicy Sprinkles, when you get home we're all going to visit you, alright? Even the Pretty Boy, okay?"

Aitana's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Who's pretty?"

Morgan chortled. "You." There was no way she was going to retain any of this conversation.

His answer brought out her smile. "You're so sweet—I see why Penelope likes you." She wagged a finger at him and started rambling on about the other reasons Penelope liked him.

~ 0 ~

A few days later would have Aitana much more like herself though she was still locked in at home. It was an order that she take some time to heal before coming back to work. She didn't fight it considering she couldn't even stand up straight without feeling a jab of pain on the side.

Plus, she had to explain to her family how she got injured in the first place. Talking with her parents was a blast. Her mother, naturally, freaked out and for a moment she suggested Aitana switch jobs again. Aitana decided not to mention the fact Hotch had already offered that option before getting hurt. Her father was a little less anxious but Aitana suspected it was only because he saw that she was walking and talking. Mateo was the only one who understood given his own job at the precinct. Angel was just...Angel, with a few more precautions. All in all, Aitana still had their general support in the end. Her mother had even come to stay at home to help Aitana out, especially since Angel was still working during the day. Even Elia came by when Pamela couldn't stay the whole day. Aitana had never felt so coddled. She made that known to anyone who asked about it.

Which was why Penelope was even more eager to visit her and add onto that coddle. She just needed to get one more person on board.

"Penelope, you need to let Aitana rest," Morgan warned the blonde that morning when she presented her idea for Aitana's visit.

"I am! I haven't gotten the chance to visit her!" Penelope huffed and made a purposeful stop in front of the BAU's bullpen doors.

Morgan reached over to pull them open for her. "She'll be back soon. I told her you were going to visit but I never said you were going to visit her so much."

"I haven't visited her once, Morgan! How awful is that!?" Penelope shook her head and walked into the bullpen. "Even JJ's gone and visited! What does that say about me?"

"We've had cases to deal with," Morgan reminded her.

Penelope wagged a finger to the side and started a beeline for somewhere. "After today, I am visiting and I am taking you!" She very much startled Spencer with her loud, and quite sudden, yell.

"What I do?" He blinked.

Morgan made a sarcastic hiss and shook his head. "You should not have asked."

Because as soon as the words left his lips, Penelope was at Spencer's side, leaning impossibly close to him with a rather sharp fingernail pointed at him. "You, mister, have not visited Aitana at all! Whatever my lack of visits speak of me can't possibly be worse than yours!" Spencer decided to look at his paperwork instead. It seemed less dangerous. "You are coming with me today, Wonder Boy, and that is not up for discussion!"

"Yeah, I don't know," he mumbled.

"C'mon, Reid, you have to go," Morgan said, gently pulling Penelope away from him. Spencer silently thanked him for that. "Aitana was asking about you in the hospital."

"She was on medication, she doesn't even remember…"

"Oh, she remembered you then and she remembers you now. You have to go talk to her."

"I know that…" Of course Spencer knew. He just had a problem working up the courage to face her after everything. He'd snapped, yelled and inadvertently revealed his deep pain of grief. What must she be thinking of him right now?

"She is not upset with you," Morgan said as if reading his thoughts.

"Upset?" Penelope scoffed. "With a stab wound I don't think she'd have time to be upset about anything else—" Morgan promptly elbowed her, effectively making her rethink her word choice. "I mean...she is not upset at all. I think she's just sad."

"And you don't make a pretty lady sad," Morgan wagged a finger at Spencer, actually getting a smile out of him. "Especially when she got a stab wound."

Who could disagree with that?

Spencer reluctantly met the pair's gazes. "What am I supposed to say to her?" He'd been thinking about that nonstop since the incident and so far he had come up with nothing. It was startling. He never ran out of things to say.

"I'm sure you can think of something," Morgan rolled his eyes, but Spencer shook his head.

"I actually haven't been able to…" He regretted making the admission as soon as he saw both Morgan's and Penelope's identical smiles.

"What? Somebody's managed to leave the great Dr. Reid speechless?" Morgan brought a hand to his chest while Penelope dramatically gasped.

"That is not what I said," Spencer pointed, at the pair. "I just...I can't think—"

"He can't think!" Penelope's hand flung to Morgan's arm. "Oh, oh, you hear that? She makes it hard for him to think!"

Spencer heavily rolled his eyes. "You are twisting my words!" He got up from his chair to leave, though Penelope still called after him.

"But you're coming with me, right?"

"Yes!" He gladly hurried out of the bullpen.

Penelope sighed with a content smile. "Don't you think they'd make the cutest babies? His curls, her freckles — gah!" Her hand came over her chest. "So adorable!"

Morgan wasn't even surprised with her anymore. "Baby steps, Mama," he gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Oh, I know! I was just saying!"

"Well I wouldn't say that around either of them, not unless you want to stick your nose into problems!" Morgan hopped her nose, barely holding in his laugh when she gasped.

"I never stick my nose into problems!" And in order to prove her point, she followed him around to list off the reasons why that would be very bad.

~0~

"Aitana, I'm going to have to go to the grocery store if you really want pasta." Pamela Serrano walked into the living room to see her daughter sitting on the couch. "What are you doing!?" she nearly freaked. "You should be laying down!"

"I'm tired of it, Mamá," Aitana groaned.

"I don't care! It's for your own sake! You should count yourself lucky that I even allowed you to come downstairs!" Aitana made the mistake of rolling her eyes so clearly. "Excuse you!" The sharp scold of her mother made her wince.

"Sorry!" Aitana shifted closer to the edge of the couch. She would rather lay on the couch than her bed at this point.

Her mother tutted but, out of mercy for her daughter's situation, she let it slide. "So, what do you want for dinner then?" She barely got the question out before they heard the knock on the door.

Aitana beamed. Whoever it was, it was guests and she had to sit up for that! Pamela saw where Aitana's thoughts had gone off to and groaned. "You're like your father when it comes to resting! So fidgety and for what?" She grumbled on her way to the door.

Aitana snickered but it was cut short when she heard the indistinct voice of Penelope.

"...wow, you really look like her! It's uncanny!"

"Penelope?" Aitana called, soon hearing the woman's gasp. A few seconds later, Pamela was leading Penelope into the living room.

"Oh my goodness! Look at you!" Penelope left Pamela to go give Aitana a bear hug, though cautiously.

"It really just looks worse than it actually is," Aitana tried to assure but her mother was quick to say the opposite.

"A stab wound is nothing to be casual about."

Aitana shot her mother a mock-glare. "Thank you. She's—" she pointed at Penelope who was straightening up, "—a worrier like you."

"Oh, I am," Penelope would have to agree. "I can't help it. Everyone else always has to go out in the field while I stay nice and safe behind my desk."

"Then she's a smart one," Pamela said kindly, offering Penelope a matching smile. "Very nice to meet you, Penelope."

"Likewise," Penelope nodded.

"I'll go see about dinner," Pamela said then headed for the kitchen.

"I still want pasta!" Aitana exclaimed, smirking when her mother groaned.

"Something tells me you're a little more spoiled than I previously thought," Penelope said, placing her hands on her hips.

Aitana feigned offence, even bringing up a hand to her chest. "So you think I'm spoiled?" Penelope gestured to her mother currently in the kitchen no doubt trying to gather the ingredients for the pasta. Aitana dropped the charade and laughed, though not too hard for her injury. "Maybe a little bit. Only girl," she reminded.

Penelope, too, dropped the charades and went right to what she came for. "How are you, sweets?"

Aitana shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly? Bored. I can't do anything. I have to wait for Angel to come home just so he can help me go upstairs."

"Yeah, I was wondering why you're down here…" Penelope gestured to the couch as she sat down beside Aitana. "Shouldn't you be on bed rest?"

"No more, thanks! Just a couple more days and I'm good to come back to work. I've already told Hotch. How are things over there?"

Penelope hummed. "Well, we're super short on staff…"

"I know," Aitana said, letting the guilt drip from her tone.

"Not that it's your fault!" Penelope was quick to say. "Of course not! You didn't ask to get stabbed! So please take care! I'll bring you some soup tomorrow! Sort of an apology for not coming sooner."

"Don't worry about it," Aitana waved it off. "I know how the cases are. Plus, you called."

"But it's not the same!"

"Pen, really, don't worry. I haven't been alone at all. You know JJ even stopped by yesterday. Got to meet her son—Henry's so cute. And Will. He's incredibly nice."

"That's good," Penelope beamed. "Oh, I miss them!"

"And Elia's been here too. Mateo and my sister-in-law stayed the night two days ago. They loved the pasta that Rossi sent over too."

"Well between us," Penelope leaned over a bit, "You might have just turned into Rossi's favorite for being a pasta-lover."

Aitana chuckled. "The honors!"

"It is!" Penelope agreed with her.

"Everyone's been by…" Aitana trailed off until silence fell, "Well...almost."

"Nope!" Penelope raised a finger, smiling a bit too mischievously for Aitana's liking. "I've taken care of that!"

"Taken...what do you mean?" the brunette felt some dread starting up.

"You'll have to forgive me but I was just so excited that I practically forced him to find parking on his own!"

"What?" Aitana didn't know whether to laugh by this point. "What are you talking about? Did you pull Morgan into something?"

Penelope wagged her finger at her. "Don't pretend like you don't know who I'm talking about. Hang on." She got up from the couch and made a hasty way to the door.

Aitana wanted to follow but it was an incredible struggle to get up on her own. In the end, she had to resign herself to the couch and simply wait for Penelope to come back.

"Oh, thank you!" She heard Penelope a few minutes later. She was laughing. "I forgot about it!"

Aitana heard the noise of a bag? She thought very little of it once she saw Penelope and Spencer coming in. Now she really wished she hadn't tried getting up because her appearance couldn't be that good.

"Hi…" It was the only thing that came to mind for the moment.

Spencer's expression scrunched slightly. He had no idea what to say to her, where to even begin. Penelope had kept her promise and dragged him here without giving him enough time to come up with a decent strategy. Apparently, "you don't need a strategy to talk to a friend!'. Penelope was adamant about it.

Penelope had a heart, though, so she decided to help break the tension. She cleared her throat and waved a pretty yellow gift bag in her hand, easily taking Aitana's attention for a moment.

"Oh no, you didn't have to—"

Penelope wouldn't let her finish that. "Nonsense! Boy Wonder helped me pick it out!"

Spencer sent her a look for that blatant lie. "I did not…" The words fell from his lips before he even blinked. Penelope glared at him—she was trying to help him and this is how he went along with it!?

Aitana, however, chuckled at the pair. That was a good sign, wasn't it? Spencer couldn't decide for sure.

Penelope sighed with heavy annoyance now that her helpful lie was out the window. "I picked it out. I hope it helps you feel better!" She presented the bag to Aitana.

Aitana had no choice but to accept the gift and once she saw what was inside, she forgot all about being humble. "Oh my goodness!" She pulled out a bright blue stuffed animal with floppy ears and two sets of arms.

Spencer could not figure out what was so nice about the thing but it appeared to make Aitana very happy so he kept quiet about it.

"It's Stitch!" She laughed, discarding the bag to the side to hold her new stuffed animal.

"Yeah!" Penelope laughed with her. "You said you loved Lilo and Stitch so I thought—"

"I love it, thank you!" Aitana snuggled the animal to her face. "And it's so soft! This is the best, thank you Penelope!"

Penelope couldn't be more happy. "Anytime, sprinkles!" She then glanced at Spencer, nodding her head at the distracted woman on the couch. It was his turn now.

He deliberated.

Penelope wasn't even surprised. "Can I use your bathroom?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Aitana lowered her stuffed animal to her lap. "Oh, um, yeah of course. There's one downstairs. In the hallway, second door on the right."

"Thanks!" Penelope smiled at her but as soon as she turned away, it dropped to shoot Spencer a warning glare. 'Talk now' she mouthed.

Well with that type of encouragement, who wouldn't want to talk? Spencer stepped to the side so she could walk away, and perhaps for his own safety. He turned back to Aitana soon enough and found her already looking at him.

"You didn't have to come if you didn't want to," she said quietly. She would much rather not have him around if it was against his will. "I know Penelope can be, uh, pushy, bless her heart."

"She didn't force me…" It wasn't technically a lie. He did want to come, he just had no idea what to do if he actually came. And now that he was here, he still wasn't sure what to do.

"You don't exactly look very willing right now," Aitana said.

"It's not what you think. I'm…" How were the words failing him? No words, thoughts, no strategies, since when does this happen?

"You're nervous," Aitana unknowingly helped him. "Why?"

Now that he could answer. "Really?" His head tilted. "You don't know why?"

Aitana's lips tugged into a smile. "I'm a profiler, not a mind reader. Although, that would be cool."

Spencer found a moment to smile. She was trying to make things casual, breezy even, just the way she was. For some reason, it helped a bit. "I wanted to come but...I wasn't sure how to talk to you. I still don't, actually."

"I'm not exactly posing any obstacles here. Say what you want to say," she encouraged, setting her stuffed animal on the side. She was giving him her full attention. "However you want to say it."

"I ramble…" Spencer warned playfully, to which she reminded that she wasn't exactly going anywhere.

"I'm stuck on the couch," she shrugged.

"Back with the case, um, I...I didn't treat you fairly. I let my grief for Emily cloud my judgement and my overall thoughts. Of course you have every right to transfer if that's what you want."

"You don't like change," Aitana said, smirking at his surprise. "Morgan talks."

He groaned. Was there anything that these people kept to themselves!?

"It's a fair sentiment," Aitana assured him. "I'm not mad about that. Besides, I sort of realized that you were dealing with Emily's death in your own way."

Spencer thought back to the moment of her accident. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that," he said quickly, and full of guilt. "What happened to you had nothing to do with Emily. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's what you were feeling. Never bottle that up," Aitana said, "In a way, it was sort of a callback to Emily's wound. Luckily, mine wasn't serious. I'm sorry you felt that way, though."

"No, you don't apologize," Spencer said quickly. That was not what he came for. He had messed things up from the start. "This is my fault. Even with the profile, I…" Aitana watched the way his hands fiddled with each other. "That one was really all my fault."

"You said it didn't have to do with our problems…" She remembered the explicit snap in which he told her that.

"It didn't," he reiterated. "See, my Mom...um…" His mouth opened and closed several times, all in the meanwhile his hands prodded each other.

Aitana couldn't remember a moment similar to this. "Hey, if you don't want to say anything, don't," she said softly. "I don't need an explanation."

"You'll find out anyways," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. It would inevitably cross her ears and he'd rather say it himself before anyone else did it as a passing comment. "My mother has schizophrenia and the profile—the way we described it made it look like…"

"Every person who has schizophrenia is a killer," Aitana finished for him. Now she felt more awful for completely missing that. "I am...so sorry about that. Of course we don't believe that—"

"I know," Spencer nodded, his shoulders sagged a little. "In that moment, things were more complicated. They seemed that way. I shouldn't have—"

"Spencer, stop," Aitana softly requested, "Don't go any further. I get it. You don't need to explain anything else."

He finally met her gaze and found her warm eyes truly letting him stop. He felt like a heavy layer finally lifted from his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's okay," she promised him. She raised her hand, puzzling him for a second until she wiggled her fingers. "High five?"

He almost laughed on the spot. She always remembered his quirks touch. He came over in a few steps and gently pressed his palm against hers. It startled her to the point she had wide blinking eyes. He didn't know why it was so much easier now but he was grateful for it. His fingers slipped between hers and for the first time, he held her hand.

"I feel very special right now." Aitana laughed out of sheer embarrassment for having said that in the first place.

Spencer soon found himself laughing with her. That was not the reaction he expected from something like this. She just made everything easier, didn't she? Spencer couldn't remember anyone else having that talent around him. And he prided himself with his perfect memory.

"I hear laughing!" Penelope walked in with a giddiness only she could own. Her eyebrows raised at the sight of their interlocked hands. "Things went well, didn't they!?"

"How'd that convenient trip to the bathroom work out?" Aitana raised an eyebrow at the woman, trying to act as if she hadn't just battled with a heat rush to her cheeks. The only thing that helped her slightly was Spencer letting her hand go.

"Huh? Convenient?" Penelope dramatically looked around. "Me?"

"It's not exactly a battle you can win," Spencer gestured to himself and Aitana. "Profilers."

"I hate the both of you!" Penelope promptly said, though she flashed them a big grin afterwards. "But I love that you've made up!" She of course would give each a hug but a cautious one with Aitana.

"You have your fishes," Spencer noticed the familiar large fish tank positioned against the wall. In all his nerves, he hadn't seen it. It was the same one that Elia once kept at her old apartment. He was glad to see it was finally back with Aitana.

"Yeah," Aitana nodded. "Soon as I got back, Elia returned them. She took good care of them."

"That's a big tank and I don't really see a lot of fishes," Penelope noted the closer she drifted towards the tank.

"It's a long term project of mine," Aitana explained. She tried pulling herself up from the couch to show her but the stitches still hurt. Eventually, she gave up and had to ask Spencer if he was willing to give her another hand.

He was careful not to put any force against her bad side and at the same time not to overstep. It was funny how he could be so self conscious about something as simple as this. Knowing Aitana, she wasn't even paying attention. She just wanted to stand up.

"Careful," he still said when he let her go. Her steps were slow but sure; she was beside Penelope in no time. He came up on her other side.

"See, all my fishes I've picked out were done with the utmost research," Aitana began to explain. Her finger followed one particular silverfish that was on its way to the other end of the tank. "This guy's Mercury. He was my first little fish in the tank."

"Is that a Peacock Cichlid?" Spencer tapped his finger against the glass where a bright, almost neon blue, fish was floating.

Penelope shot him a disbelieving look. He knows random fishes, of course he knows random fishes.

Aitana, however, beamed. "Yeah! I call him Neptune though. He was a lucky find because you have to be very careful when it comes to the Cichlid species and other fishes."

"Why's that?" Penelope asked. The fish was actually very pretty. Its blue coat seemed to shine under the light.

"The Peacock Cichlid is one of the few of the Cichlid species not to be aggressive with other fishes," Spencer ended up saying before Aitana even opened her mouth. Still, she nodded in agreement.

"Yeah!" She leaned as much as she could to the tank to watch the fish glide away from sight. "These little guys are usually bottom dwellers. They don't really swim very high up in the tank."

"They typically hunt for their food very close to the ground," Spencer said, adding almost within the second, "And they're very active swimmers."

"Aha! Hence the spacious tank!" Aitana exclaimed.

Penelope hummed before a much more beautiful fish caught her eyes. She gasped in delight as the turquoise fish came into better sight. It's long flowy tail was absolutely gorgeous. "Oooh, now that is one pretty fish!"

Aitana chuckled. "It's a Siamese Fighting Fish. I think of him as Uranus because of its turquoise color."

Penelope's face dropped, her head flipping in Aitana's direction. "It fights!?" Her heart was sent out to those smaller fishes in the tank.

"It's a beta fish, Pen," Aitana said as if that exclaimed everything and it technically did if Penelope knew her fish facts. But, because she didn't, she stared blankly at Aitana.

"Beta fishes typically get territorial with other beta fishes," Spencer helped her out.

"Yeah, but I don't have any other beta fishes for the same reason," Aitana promised.

"It's said that they usually thrive with catfish, danios, corydoras, angelfish and tetras," Spencer added from the top of his head.

Aitana snapped her fingers at him. "And of course I have an angelfish! Look!" She tried peering over the tank to see if she could get the precise fish to come into view, but in doing so she felt a jab from her wound. "Ow!"

Both Penelope and Spencer reacted fast and took hold of each of her arms.

"Maybe you should go sit down," Penelope suggested.

"Aitana?" They heard Pamela call from the kitchen. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah!" Aitana answered fast before her mother got the idea to come and check on her. She looked back at the tank and was delighted to see the little fish she was searching for. "Look," she nodded at the tank. "There it is."

As much as Penelope wanted to bring Aitana back to the couch, her mouth went into an o-shape at the sight of a gliding translucent fish. She cocked her head, following the little fish. It was a realistic type of deep white which was probably responsible for it's almost see-through body. Even it's long tail and fins seemed to disappear through the water. It had spots of red on either side of its head, almost like a 'blush'—

"Hey, you've got a blushing angelfish," Spencer's proper name pulled Penelope's attention from the fish.

She deadpanned him. "How do you even know that?" She couldn't deal with him sometimes. He, in turn, shrugged.

Aitana laughed at the pair. "He's right. Shocker." She briefly nudged him. "I came across it a couple months ago."

"They're pretty hard to find sometimes," Spencer remarked. "I mean, you can typically find them in aquariums but I haven't really seen them in personal tanks."

Aitana proudly smiled at him. "But I found it! I wasn't even looking for one but there it was one day. I thought it was so beautiful. It blushes!"

"It's not technically 'blushing'. Its name actually stems from the lack of pigmentation on the gill cover," Spencer was explaining without noticing the growing confusion on Penelope's face.

Why was he talking about that? She looked at Aitana and, to her surprise, Aitana seemed to be agreeing with him. To agree with him, she had to understand him and Penelope had yet to meet someone who could do that.

"These fishes don't really have any markings on their body which is why the fins and the tails are hard to see…" Spencer was so focused on his rambles that the last thing he expected was for Aitana to cut him off with her own addition, or rather ending.

"And the only coloration is under the cheeks which is why they call it a Blushing Angelfish! Ha!" Aitana couldn't help her laugh with his reaction. "One more point for me!"

"Uh, yeah, that was it," he said, chuckling.

Aitana smirked at him. "I don't mean to brag but I know my stuff about fishes. I had to learn in order to keep this tank going."

"That's good. So, um, what's the fish represent?" That, he had yet to figure out.

"Umm…" Aitana's expression was suddenly reluctant. Her fingers came together to fiddle with one another. "It's, uh, well...it's...it's sort of my...star?" She had finished her confession with a sheepish smile.

"A star?"

"Mhm…"

"Which one?"

Aitana groaned. "Oh Dr. Reid, can't you just let me have this without me admitting that I chose that fish purely because it was aesthetically pleasing!?"

Penelope chuckled at her while Spencer truly considered apologizing. he knew Aitana was only joking which was why, in the end, he managed to smile.

"It's my star," Aitana shrugged. "You know how stars are all different colors? Well, I thought one could be represented by that fish. I'll eventually get more. I've got most of the planets already except for Venus and Mars. I want to get a couple of fishes that could be like comets or asteroids."

"Why so much about space, though?" Penelope asked her. It was a lovely idea she had going on but it was also random.

Aitana hummed. "I'm a space geek. Always have been."

"Ah, don't see it," Penelope gave her a quick look-over that soon had Aitana laughing. "I mean—most people you can just see what they are, you know? I didn't get that from you."

"Well I am, if I could show you my room you'd see all the things I have on my shelves. However, I am a little short on the new books. I haven't had the chance to go to the store anymore."

"I have some," Spencer found himself saying before the thought even finished materializing in his head. "I-I mean if you're interested…"

Aitana happily accepted. "Of course you would have something! Just make sure they're English—or Spanish. I can do Spanish too."

"Ah, and that's the one language our resident genius can't do," Penelope snickered. "Nor speak it for that matter."

"I'm going to award myself 10 points then," Aitana playfully warned him.

"Oh ha, ha," he rolled his eyes at the pair. "Just for that, I'll bring you something in, say, Japanese?"

"Shut up, you do not have Japanese books about space." Aitana's confidence fell as Spencer gained a pretty smug smile. "Oh—shut up!" she waved him off.

He laughed shortly. "I will see what I have in my, uh, stock."

"Thanks," she said politely.

"Any other fish around here, then?" He nodded to the tank again. Already he could see a deep orange fish swimming behind some leaves. He suspected it would have to be related to Jupiter.

"Oh, I've got a lot," Aitana promised him. "Look!" She grabbed his arm to tug him closer to the tank. She started off with the orange fish he'd seen.

Penelope's eyes flickered between the pair as Aitana kept bringing up new fishes and then Spencer would somehow relate it to some new fact about either the fish's species or space. Penelope had never felt her head spin so much. She had to wonder, though, if she left the room, would either of them notice?

A/N:

P.S. As always, I have an AO3/Wattpad account under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow!