Several weeks later

"Michelle what are you doing?" Spencer said, as she backed him up against a wall.

"What do you think I'm doing Spencer?" Michelle asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It should be obvious."

"That's not what I meant," Spencer sputtered blushing deeply. "I just meant that there is no way we can ever be together in that way."

"And why the hell not?" Michelle asked with a raised eyebrow. "I want you. I've been wanting you ever since we met that day for just a few seconds. In fact, I fell in love with you the instance I set eyes on you for the first time."

"Well, for one thing your father would never approve," Spencer tried, even as he tried to squirm on out of Michelle's rather tight grip. "Besides, falling in love so fast never happens in real life."

Spencer didn't sound sure about that. Really, it was as if he was just trying to come up with some reasons to ignore what Michelle had said.

"If that's what you really think that you're being an idiot, Spence," Michelle bluntly laughing. "I thought you knew how to read people, but it's obvious that you didn't realize that dad has been subtly encouraging us to get together. Why do you think that he always sits us beside each other whenever we share a meal? Why do you think that he gave us room for our project right in this house? Why do you think he offered to let you use the pool? Nobody uses the pool except family Spencer or those we consider family."

"Why in the world would your father encouraged me to get together with his daughter?" Spencer asked astonishment coloring his words and also disbelief. "I mean I'm not anybody important and I'm sure your father wants you to marry, someone who is also wealthy, who has a place in society."

"You really don't know my father at all do you, Dr.?" Michelle said shaking her head at Spencer's misconceptions. "That's not the way dad thinks at all. He wants me to marry someone that will make me happy. That will love me just as much as I love them. That will never cheat on me with another woman. That will be faithful to me just like I will be to them. Someone that knows how to work hard to get what they want, someone honest and ethical. You happen to fit that bill. Dad, doesn't really have any control over my actions, you know," Michelle added. "I live here because I love him and my brothers, but I have money of my own as I've invested in some of dad's companies. Dad never tries to control what I do but he's always there if need him."

"But...but...but...," Spencer tried to formulate a reply, but couldn't help staring into Michelle's eyes that were practically the same color as his own.

"Come on Spencer! Spit it out!" Michelle demanded.

"I'm not worthy of you," Spencer finally said. "You need someone with better social skills then I have. You need someone that has confidence in themselves. Someone who can protect you."

"Spencer! I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself from any unwanted attention. I know how to fight dirty. Dad made sure of that," Michelle told him firmly, even as she kissed him for the first time. The kiss was sweet and tender and spoke of things to come, things that Spencer could have if he'd only let himself be happy.

"As for the other two things you mentioned those can be improved upon with a little practice," Michelle added once she finally released him.

Spencer said nothing for a long time as he simply didn't seem capable of speech at present. Spencer kept trying to come up with everything he could think of to deny what Michelle had said, but he couldn't because everything she had said had a ring of truth to it.

"We can't do this," Spencer said his voice strangled with his emotions. "I'm simply not the one for you no matter what you think Michelle. I have too many faults, too many quirks for anybody to really love me. You'll learn soon enough that I'm not who you think I am."

Spencer gently removed Michelle's hands from his shoulders, so he could talk away from her.

"Spencer you're not thinking. Why do you believe I won't accept your faults as everybody has them? No person on the face of this planet is perfect, because if we were we would likely not be able to stand ourselves. Of course, you have faults, Spencer. It's what makes you human, able to feel, able to give and receive love, able to care, able to perform acts of generosity, kindness, tenderness and compassion," said Michelle, even as she approached him again. "You have feelings for me, I know you do. I recognize the signs, no matter how much you try to conceal them. You're simply letting your brain make your decisions for you instead of your heart. I know very well that you usually think with your brain and not the other part of you, but didn't you tell me that your mother would scold you for that?"

"Yeah, she would," Spencer admitted sounding rather shy now.

"Well, there you go, you should listen to your mother," Michelle said. "I know from what you've told me about your father, that he hurt you greatly with his uncalled for and untrue comments and I know that you're eidetic memory doesn't help. However, you'll only make yourself miserable if you stop yourself from at least exploring a possible relationship. Do you really think your feelings will just go away if we never see each other again?"

"It's just an infatuation..." Spencer began, but her look of anger, mingled with hurt and sorrow on her face stopped him cold from finishing his sentence. "Look, I'm sorry," Spencer said awkwardly after a minute. The look on Michelle's face was enough to nearly bring him to his knees begging her to forgive him. "I told you my social skills weren't very good. I don't date much, as I'm sure you know. I didn't mean to make you sad or angry. I just have trouble understanding what you can possibly see in me that is worth all this."

"You just don't see yourself as I do Spence," Michelle said quietly, but sincerely. "You see yourself through rose colored glasses, not as who you really are. Who gives a damn if you're a socially awkward? I certainly don't and neither does my father. James and Tristan don't care either. They liked you when they met you and if they hadn't believe me, they would have let you know it. You have to know that people with your intelligence are often awkward in a social setting and are usually arrogant on top of being a genius. Luckily, you don't suffer from that particular fault. You are actually the kindest, nicest man I have ever known Spencer, except perhaps for my father."

Spencer was silent as he had no idea what to say to Michelle's impassioned speech.

"Look, why don't we date for awhile," Spencer suggested. "Let's see how things go before we make any irreversible decisions."

"Sounds good," Michelle said, as she tried not to dance in joy up-and-down the hallway where they were standing.

"You suggest a place and I'll make a reservation," Spencer said.

Spencer didn't say what he was thinking and that was keep the price down as he didn't have bucketloads of money.

Michelle named a place that wasn't too expensive that she ate at sometimes. She might be able to eat in really expensive places but she didn't necessarily do so. Okay, occasionally, she did, but not as often Spencer probably thought.

"I'll look up the number and make that call," Spencer agreed. "I think that we are done with work for the day. I hope you're right, about your father not disapproving of you dating someone like me."

Michelle simply rolled her eyes. "He's going to be thrilled," Michelle told Spencer simply. "He's probably going to start planning a celebration to welcome you to the family and I'll have to tell him not to get ahead of himself."

Spencer still looked rather uncertain, but he simply nodded, not bothering to argue further.

~~~Spencer and Michelle~~~

"You actually got Spencer to agree to go out on a date?" Dave asked in amazement.

"Yes, I did and it wasn't easy," Michelle said.

"I figured it would take you at least the next couple of months to get him to agree," Dave said, "if not longer. How did you do it?"

"I simply used my female charm on him," Michelle giggled. "I simply backed him against the wall in the corridor near the place where we work. I had a tight enough grip that he couldn't get free without possibly hurting me, so we argued and I finally got him to see things my way. He kept telling me that we couldn't date because you would disapprove.

"He doesn't know me very well does he?" Dave chuckled.

"That will change eventually," Michelle said. "I told him that you had been subtly trying to get us together."

"Which also happens to be the truth," Dave said chuckling again.

"He kept trying to tell me that no one could possibly love him because of all his faults and it was clear that it was really his father talking. I pointed out that everybody on the face of the earth had faults and it wasn't just him and also, that most geniuses were also arrogant in the extreme. I know he loves me, but either he hasn't realized it yet or he doesn't believe that he's worthy of me."

"I would say it's likely a combination of both," Dave said and Michelle nodded. "He has very little self-confidence in himself."

"And he also tends to think with his brain instead of his heart," Michelle added. "That is part of the problem you know."

"Well, take him out on that date let him pay, as even Spencer has his pride and make him enjoy himself," Dave said. "Don't even suggest that you pay or you'll hurt his feelings and his pride if you do. Once you get to know each other better than you can do that occasionally."

"Good advice," Michelle said. "I chose a place that isn't too expensive for that reason. It's a place that I've been to where the food is good and the prices aren't too steep. Just because I'm rich doesn't mean I often eat in those high class places."

"Well, it looks like you're ahead of the game," Dave said approvingly. "Hopefully, this will be the start of him accepting immortality, so you'll always be together."

"Let's not rush things. After all, I finally had to ambush him just to get him to agree to go on a date. He avoids me as much as possible when we are working together. He works on one side of the room while I work on the other," Michelle promised. "I think he did it because he didn't want me to supposedly accidentally brush up against him or touch him in anyway."

"Which is why you finally had to ambush him," Dave said amused.

"Which is why," Michelle agreed. "I think he didn't want me to see him react every time I deliberately brushed up against him. I had been trying for weeks to get his attention to discuss something other than the project and while we had some nice conversations that's as far as it went. Every time I tried to bring up casually the subject about us going out to lunch or dinner he would cut me off before I could finish my sentence."

"So you had to change tactics," Dave snorted in amusement.

"What was I supposed to do dad? I was getting rather desperate and the dreams aren't helping," Michelle cried in an exasperated tone.

"No, I see you had to ambush him since he wasn't listening," Dave said shaking his head at Spencer's stubbornness.

"He tried to convince me that he wasn't the right man for me and then came up with all these excuses as to why," Michelle said her amusement now clear.

"I'm assuming you corrected his misconceptions?" Dave asked already knowing the answer.

"Of course I did, though I don't think I convinced him completely. The idea that he isn't worthy of any woman is buried so deeply in his psyche it's no wonder I'm having so much trouble convincing him that he is worthy of love."

"We both know who's responsible for that," Dave said quietly.

"Or at least strongly suspect," Michelle agreed.

"You might not be certain if he is guilty, but I am," Dave said.

"I am too, but I'm trying to be fair," Michelle said.

"Just think about what Spencer has told us about William Reid. I would bet my entire fortune that he is the main reason that Spencer is like he is. I mean you don't say the kind of things he said to a child, especially not one as young and intelligent as Spencer was at the time. The Senior Reid probably has no idea the kind of damage he caused."

"Alright, you're right," Michelle said. "I won't keep coming up with excuses for Spencer's father. I shouldn't have anyway I just..."

"He's your mate's dad so you were trying to see him in a less negative light," Dave supplied.

"Yeah, that's about right," Michelle sighed. "I know what men like him are like it's just that he shares Spencer's DNA, even if he was never much of a father, so I started making excuses for his behavior. Really, when you think about it, you're more of a father to him, even if he doesn't see you that way yet, then his biological father ever was."

"It's a roll I'll happily fulfill," Dave said. "I already see him as a son, though I know we have a long way to go before he really is my son or at least my son-in-law."

~~~Spencer and Michelle~~~