Part 2

"Lynnette? Are you okay?" Spencer asked her looking on his baby sister in concern. His sister was 30, but at the moment she looked as if she was at least 60. Lynnette had shown up at his apartment door without having called in advance, which wasn't like her. The minute Spencer had seen her he had are should her inside and ordered her to sit on the couch. Lynnette looked completely exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in weeks maybe months. Her blonde hair was limp and shapeless, her brown eyes tired.

"I've just been having trouble sleeping," Lynnette explained.

"Have you been to a Dr.?" Spencer asked frowning in concern.

"Yes, I have, but the pills to help me sleep aren't working," Lynnette said. "I sleep fine for two or three hours and then I start to have dreams again. I've also tried some over-the-counter meds and nothing seems to work."

"That's not normal," Spencer said. "The medicine the doctor gave you should be efficient. Maybe you should ask for something stronger."

"I've tried that already, Spence," Lynnette said. "Nothing seems to work. I just seem to be particularly resistant to sleep aids."

Spencer's frown deepened. "Maybe you should see a psychologist."

"I don't want to do that unless I absolutely have to," Lynnette said.

"I would say you need to. Just look at yourself, Lynnette," Spencer said. "You have bags under your eyes deep enough to hide a whole forest in.

Lynnette shook her head stubbornly and Spencer sighed. "At least tell me some about the dreams, maybe that will help."

"The dream is so strange but also terrifying," Lynnette said. "I'm somewhere in this primitive hut, that's only one room, but it's clear I live there, as there are pots and pans hanging above the fireplace. There are also herbs hung from the ceiling. One side of the room there is a rolled up bed, that's really no more than a mattress, stuffed with straw. I seem to be a different person, but I look basically the same as I do now, except my eyes are green instead of brown. I move around the room, but at the same time it's not really me. It's as if I'm just a passenger. It looks like I'm preparing dinner over the fireplace, a simple stew with plenty of vegetables and a little meat. Suddenly, I hear a knock on the door and I leave the fireplace to answer it. On the other side is a man with black hair and brown eyes darker than my own and also a beard of the same color. The feeling I get from my look-alike is that he's very welcome. This woman that is me is very glad to see him and invites him, then, offers to share her dinner with him. The two of us share a bowl of the stew while we talk quietly and it is clear that the two of them are together romantically, though I get the impression it's only the start of their relationship.

"Suddenly it's the middle of the night and I wake from a deep sleep. Somebody is holding a knife to my throat and orders me to get up. They then tell me to sit in the chair that's over at the small kitchen table where several other men are standing, supposedly as backup. After I am seated, one of them ties me up and I finally ask them what the hell they're doing. I had been to stunned up till then to get any words out. They claimed I was a witch and they were going to get rid of my evil before it affected the rest of the village. I had been living there for years, so it wasn't exactly an attack I expected. I somehow knew I wasn't well liked, so I kept mostly to myself. Once I was secured the men, who had already poured oil around my home set it on fire and it immediately went up in flames. I was overcome with the smoke within a few minutes, though I didn't die for at least an hour."

Spencer thought about what his sister had said been frowned in thought.

"It sounds like reincarnation to me," Spencer finally said somewhat reluctant to speak out because he didn't believe in such a thing. It was hardly scientific. "If you were this woman if you were feeling her emotions...Then I can come to no other conclusion that you have to be her reincarnation though why I have no clue."

"I don't believe in reincarnation," Lynnette protested, even as she leaned her head back onto the cushions of the couch looking totally exhausted.

"Normally, I don't either Lynnette, as it's so unscientific, but what you describe to me was to vivid to be just a dream. For one thing, you remember too many details for it to be a regular dream. Dreams fade when you wake up. You might remember it or at least part of it, for a few hours before it fades away completely, but not so much detail. Even having them night after night wouldn't make you remember it so vividly. If they weren't really dreams however, but memories, that are just now resurfacing, that's different," Spencer told his sister.

"So why do you think I keep having these dreams?" Lynnette asked quietly.

"I can think of a couple of possibilities," Spencer said, as he thought about it.

"Like what?" Lynnette asked her brother when he didn't say anything for a couple minutes.

"One, is that you are remembering your past life for a purpose," Spencer said, even as he sat across from her in his favorite chair. "Two something triggered the memory, though what that is I don't know. It is clear however, that your death was very painful, due to some of the men in whatever village or town you were living in.

"Nothing is really different though," Lynnette said. "I've done nothing different from what I normally do. Eat a meal, read a book, go to to a vid or work on a new song. Occasionally, I hang out with some girlfriends. You know just normal everyday activities."

His sister was a very talented musician and often wrote her own music as well as played the guitar.

Spencer frowned at that seeming to be thinking.

"There is only one difference," Lynnette said finally, as if something had finally occurred to her.

"What's the difference," Spencer almost immediately seemed to realize what exactly his sister meant, as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

"Your 30th birthday," Spencer said, while at the same time Lynnette said "My 30th birthday."

Lynnette added, "Though why that would make a difference is beyond me."

"What age did you look in your dreams?" Spencer asked.

Lynnette frowned at her brother's question seeming to be thinking. "I think I was around 30 or at least that's what it looked like to me. I sense I had been living there for years though, at least a decade and if that's the case, if that women was me, I had to be at least in her thirties if not older. I sure didn't look it though, as I didn't seem to have any white or gray in my blonde hair, or any wrinkles around my eyes or mouth. My skin still seemed youthful and smooth and it wasn't like there were any products so long ago to keep it that way." Lynnette winkled her nose in an effect of memory. "I seem to remember my hands looking young as well, no wrinkles or spots and they didn't seem crippled with age either."

"So were you born in that village or did you move there from elsewhere?" Spencer asked.

Lynnette frowned again trying to remember. It was so easy to forget details, as she didn't have her brother's eidetic memory. "I think I moved from elsewhere as that's the impression I'm getting from the woman in the dream. What the reason was for it, I don't know. It's not like I dream of this woman's whole history."

"One question why wasn't the door locked?" Spencer asked his sister.

"Why do you ask that?" Lynnette asked confused.

"Because if it had been locked you likely would've heard them kick the door in and so would some of the other people who lived close to you, which likely would've woken those closest to your double and they would have come to see what was that was happening out of curiosity at least," Spencer explained. "That might even be a few people who had an attack of conscious and tried to put out the fire and rescue this woman. Besides, I doubt the man that attacked this lone woman would want to be discovered. At the very least they'd be thrown out of the village after the decision had been made by whatever type of law enforcement the village had, even if it was just a jury of their peers. There also could've been some type of council, that made decisions like that. There's always some crime wherever humans choose to settle down, even if it's mostly minor things like vandalism, theft or pickpocketing."

"That's a rather good point," Lynnette admitted. It wasn't something that had occurred to her. Lynnette's brows wrinkled in thought, trying to remember every single detail of her dream. That wasn't as hard as you might think, as she'd been having them for months, but she was also very tired from her lack of sleep over the last three months, so it was no wonder she was having trouble thinking about the smallest details right now.

"I think that the latch was just a piece of rope attached a nail on the inside of the door. I don't believe it was an actual lock. I think it was more to keep the door closed during high wind or bad storms then to keep anybody else out," Lynnette said finally. "Don't take that is absolute fact I'm not positive, but that seems right."

"That explains why this woman that was you never heard the door crash open," Spencer said.

"How so?" Lynnette asked her brother curiously.

"With that kind latch there is usually a crack between the door and the frame, because it doesn't really fit tightly. Otherwise, you wouldn't have to worry about the door crashing open, unless the wind was very hard. However, I think the latch was more to keep the wild animals out, things out like wolves or bears. It would be easy for whoever murdered you to stick something slim but sharp into that crack and cut the latch quietly or even just lift the piece of rope off the nail so that it loosens and falls free. It would be easy and relatively quiet and whatever little noise was made would likely be covered by the sounds of owls, crickets and other nightlife. You already said that the dream you was sleeping pretty deeply and she would've been used to the sounds of the nightlife where she lived, so they wouldn't have kept her awake. She wasn't expecting the attack so she would've felt no fear about going to bed for the night."

"You're probably right," Lynnette decided thoughtfully. "I don't think locks were used much in small villages like the one the other me had settled in, except maybe for businesses or food supplies."

"There probably weren't more than a few hundred people if it really was just a village and not a town," Spencer said. "Even a town though wouldn't have been that much larger, not population wise anyway."

"So you really think I'm reincarnated," Lynnette questioned her brother her tired brown eyes focused on his face.

"If there is another plausible explanation I don't know what it is," Spencer replied quietly. "It's either that or you are going crazy, so you can guess which explanation I prefer."

Lynnette giggled tiredly, as Spencer was absolutely right.

"Do you think you can get some sleep now?" Spencer asked.

"I'll certainly try," Lynnette said. "It's a good thing I brought a few days worth of clothes, so at least I wasn't tired enough to forget the essentials."

"If you had we just would have bought you some new things, enough to last you until you went home," Spencer shrugged. "Try to get some sleep Lyn, you'll feel better even if it's just a short nap. You can use my bed and I'll take the couch, while you're here."

"Oh no! I couldn't kick you out of your bed Spence," Lynnette protested. "I'll just get a hotel room."

"It's fine, Lyn, I bought a long couch on purpose and made sure it was comfortable just in case I fell asleep on it," Spencer assured his sister with a warm smile. "It's so long my feet don't even hang off the end, which is a bonus."

That was a valid point as her brother was 6'3' and most couches weren't that long.

"Alright," Lynnette finally agreed knowing how stubborn her brother could be.

"Good," Spencer said. "The bedroom's, second door on the right and the bathroom's on the opposite wall from the bedroom. "Let me know if you need anything."

"I'll be fine," Lynnette said rising from the sofa and kissing her brother's cheek. "I just need to use the bathroom and dress in my nightclothes."

"I'll be right here for when you wake," Spencer promised softly, kissing her on the forehead before shooing her in the direction of the bathroom.

~~~Spencer and Michelle~~~

"Hello!" came David Rossi's voice over the communicator.

"This is Spencer. I won't be coming in today Mr. Rossi. Could you please tell Michelle for me?"

"Of course Spencer. Is there a problem? Anything I can help with?" Dave asked.

"It's not me, it's my sister, Lynnette. She showed up at my door unexpectedly looking totally exhausted. She's asleep in my bed at the moment. I want her to sleep as long as possible."

"So your sister hasn't been sleeping well," Dave said and Spencer confirmed that with his next words.

"Not for at least the last several months, though I'm not sure how long this has been going on. I'm just grateful that she got here without having an accident, as tired people tend to be more accident prone."

"So is she having nightmares?" Dave asked.

"They're not that precisely at least not in the beginning," Spencer replied. "I'm just going to need some time to see if I can help her, since she showed up on my doorstep."

"Of course Spencer take care of your sister," Dave said. "Take as much time as you need. The project can wait a few days or even a few weeks if necessary."

"Thanks, I'll call you and report if there's any progress," Spencer promised

"I'll let Michelle know that she probably won't be seeing you for awhile. She'll understand," Dave promised.

"Thanks," Spencer said before he hung up.

Spencer peaked into his bedroom to make sure Lynnette was sleeping peacefully, then fixed himself a cup of coffee and picked up book off one of the shelves scattered around his apartment, sat down in his favorite chair and started to read at normal speed. There was no point of reading as fast as he could since he needed to wait for his sister to awaken.

A while later, there was a knock on the door and Spencer rose. "View door," Spencer told the device that could be used for a lot of things like making phone calls or home security. His apartment might not be very large, but he still had a top-of-the-line security system that he'd had installed.

Once he saw Michelle on the other side of the door he went and opened it.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer questioned quietly.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Michelle said. "Or if you needed help looking after Lynnette."

"No, Lynnette's still sleeping and has been for a couple of hours now," Spencer replied quietly. "I don't want to disturb her, because she needs as much sleep as she can get. She looked absolutely wrecked when she showed up on my doorstep. That's not like my sister at all. She had dark shadows under her eyes deep enough to hide a whole forest in."

Spencer gestured for Michelle to come in and then he shut the door locking it securely.

"I've just been sitting here quietly reading checking every hour or so that my sister is still sleeping peacefully," Spencer said.

"So what do you think could've caused your sister not to sleep more than a few hours every night," Michelle questioned.

"I don't really know, as there could be numerous reasons," Spencer said. "She remembers her dreams more then she should be able to."

When Michelle raised the question eyebrow Spencer explained, but kept his voice down, so as not to wake Lynnette. "Most dream fade as soon as you wake up. You might remember a small portion of it, but even that fades in a few hours. She gave me details of what she has been dreaming about, so they can't be normal dreams. I really don't know what to think to be truthful."

"So is she having the same dream every night?" Michelle asked. "If so, then it has to mean something."

"It varies from night to night," Spencer said, "though at the end of it, it ends up the same. I really don't know what's going on, though I suggested reincarnation to Lynnette, even if normally I don't believe in something so unscientific."

"There are many strange wondrous things in the world Spence and a lot of them don't have a scientific explanation. Believing in science is all well and good, but that way you miss stuff that science can't explain," Michelle told him. "I've travelled the world and seen many wondrous things in my time, things that can't necessarily be explained in a logical manner."

"You sound much older than you're 30 years, you know," Spencer said finally. "You sound as if you've lived at least a century, and why that's not impossible nowadays, you don't look any older than I do."

"I've traveled the world, Spence with my dad and without him," Michelle shrugged redirecting Spencer's attention before he had time to dwell on her comments. "I learned a lot by doing so and had experiences that most people don't get. I suppose, because of that I just have a different perspective from most people."

What Michelle said was true enough, but it didn't even cover the surface of her experiences, as she was centuries old and had learned a lot in that time.

"Besides, you often sound older and wiser than your years would indicate to, you know," Michelle added.

This was true, so Spencer simply nodded.

Spencer said nothing else, but he knew that he loved Michelle Rossi. Ever since she had held him against that wall out in the hallway near the place where they worked. He had been making excuses as to why they couldn't be together, as he had been afraid and nervous all at the same time. He had never been as attracted to any female, as he was too Mellie as she liked to be called.

He had been astonished when David Rossi had given his approval for them to date, as he had been so sure that there was no way Michelle's father would want someone like him with his daughter, as he was nowhere near their class for one thing.

Dave had told him that his daughter could make her own decisions as she was an adult and had her own money. Even if she didn't he would still approve, because he, Spencer Reid, was everything he could possibly want for his daughter. He was intelligent, diligent, had a good work ethic, was honest, ethical and had morals. As for money, that didn't really matter, as he could easily make a fortune if he really wanted to. He could already be wealthy, if that was what he had wanted for himself. Having a ton of money was not evil, Dave had said. It was how you used it that mattered.

Everything Spencer had thought he had known about David Rossi was blown out of the water after that. The Rossis were totally different than what he had expected. David Rossi was a very intelligent man, but he also wasn't at all arrogant like so many people with wealth were. His three children who were adopted, were also well-adjusted and didn't throw their weight around just because he didn't have a lot of money. That the Senior Rossi had adopted three children had surprised Spencer at first. Spencer would have thought that Dave would have married one of the woman from society and had a few children of his own, but Spencer supposed that Dave knew he'd be miserable if he married just to have children, so he had decided to adopt instead. He didn't seem to believe in just marrying someone of his class just to have children or to have someone he could go to social functions with. Someone who was gorgeous but didn't have much depth to their personalities. Someone like that, probably wouldn't interest someone like Dave, at least not enough to marry them.

Suddenly Spencer heard a sound from the bedroom and he rose. "Stay here, I'll be right back," Spencer told Michelle.

Spencer peaked his head into the bedroom to see Lynnette sitting up. "Are you okay, Lyn?" Spencer asked his sister.

"Yeah, I'm okay Spencer," Lynnette told her brother yawning hugely. "I just need to go to the bathroom."

"Just so you know we have company, in case you want to put on a robe or something," Spencer told his sister.

"Oh? Who?" Lynnette questioned even as she got to her feet still looking sleepy.

"Michelle, my girlfriend," Spencer said blushing when Lynnette shot him a look.

"I've got to meet her I've been hearing about her mostly from Roxie for months now," Lynnette said. "I haven't been in this area so I've never had the chance to be formally introduced."

"She's been wanting to meet you, Rocky and Roxie as well," Spencer admitted. "Just come into the living area when you're done in the bathroom. Perhaps we can go somewhere for dinner as it is around that time."

"So how long did I sleep?" Lynnette asked looking at the alarm clock on the bedside table.

"About five hours," Spencer said.

"That's really good considering I've barely getting 2 to 3 hours every night for months," Lynnette said amazed, even as he yawned again.

"You go to the bathroom and then come and meet Michelle," Spencer said smiling goofily.

"Oh, I don't believe it my brother is actually in love. My logical, unemotional brother," Lynnette teased Spencer.

"I am not unemotional," Spencer told Lynnette with a hurt expression. "I just don't wear my heart on my sleeve like you do."

Lynnette snorted her disbelief as obvious as the nose on your face. "You protect your heart so fiercely I'm surprised you ever allowed yourself to fall in love in the first place. You have put so many barriers between it and your emotions, it's amazing you're as normal as you are. Maybe this Michelle, will finally be able to take down those barriers."

Spencer said nothing, because his sister was absolutely correct. "I'll let you get ready," Spencer said finally, in an unemotional voice to hide the hurt he felt at his sister's observation.

Lynnette put on her robe and then headed for the bathroom that was across the hall. She knew that she shouldn't have said those things to her brother, but she was tired of seeing him unhappy. He might think he was content with what he had, but he was wasting his brains and his talents and all, because of a father who hadn't cared what damage he had done to his son, to all of them, except for her, really, but Spencer, as the oldest had gotten the worst of it. She had never even met the man that was her father as her mother had discovered she was pregnant after the man had left, so William Reid had no idea that she even existed. In her opinion that was just as well considering what kind of man he was. Her mother Diana had been wonderful and so were her three siblings and that was all she needed.

Now, if only she could find a man and have a family she would be very happy indeed. She had plenty of time to accomplish that though, so she wasn't too worried. The one thing she did wish for was for the dreams to just stop, or she was going to go insane if she didn't start sleeping more than a few hours every night. They had to mean something of that she was certain, but what she didn't know and even Spencer wasn't sure what they meant, which was rather unusual for her brother, as he knew a lot about almost everything. On the other hand, having dreams like she had been and to remember so many details afterwards reeked of the supernatural and it wasn't just her brother that didn't believe in that type of thing.

Lynnette went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. While she felt better she was still tired, which wasn't surprising considering how little sleep she'd had lately.

Finally, she was dressed and ready and so she emerged from Spencer's bedroom and headed down the short hallway to the living area. There were bookcases everywhere of course, as her brother had always been a bookworm and always would be she knew.

"And finally, here is my sister Lynnette," Spencer announced to Michelle. "Lynnette this is Michelle."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Lynnette," Michelle said as she rose gracefully from the couch and extended her hand to be shaken.

"Its very nice to meet you," Lynnette said shaking the other woman's hand. She had to consciously not allow her jaw to drop, as she hadn't expected this beautiful creature to date her brother. Michelle was gorgeous, with long wavy light blond hair and dark chocolate eyes. She was fit and trim without an ounce of fat on her frame.

"How in the world did my brother get someone like you?" Lynnette finally blurted out rather abruptly.

"Lynnette!" Spencer cried, already blushing in embarrassment.

"I'm really sorry, that was rude. I shouldn't have blurted that, out but I'm just used to seeing Spencer with those scientific types whenever he chooses to date," Lynnette explained blushing a little as she wasn't usually so bold or so rude.

"It's okay I understand exactly what you mean," Michelle said with a small smile on her lips. "I'll have to tell you the story sometime."

"Don't even think about it," Spencer told Michelle firmly.

"Oh, I won't just think about it I'll tell your sister later," Michelle told Spencer before giving Lynnette a wink.

Oh! However it had happened must be good, Lynnette thought smiling but all she said was. "I'll look forward to it.

"Where do you want to go for dinner?" Spencer asked the two women trying to change the subject.

Lynnette and Michelle shared a conspiratorial look knowing that Spencer was changing the subject for a reason, but gave him a stay of execution for the moment as they were both hungry.

"Anywhere is fine with me, as I'm sure you both know some good places," Lynnette shrugged. "You know I'll eat about anything Indian, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Pad Thai. You know I'm not picky."

"Well, this is New York and there's a lot of restaurants within reasonable driving distance," Spencer said glad that the subject had been changed. He didn't think for a moment however, that Michelle would forget about it, but at the moment, she was just being polite, to delay telling his sister about how they had gotten together, probably because she was hungry.

"So why don't we just take a drive and decide where we want to eat?" Michelle suggested.

"Sounds good," Spencer said and then looked to his sister who nodded in agreement.

"I'm agreeable," Lynnette said. "It seems reasonable to me. Even a diner or a cafe is good so long as I can get me a full meal and not just a sandwich or some soup."

The three of them discussed it quietly before they headed out to Michelle's car instead of Spencer's. Michelle had a nice four seater, that had plenty of leg room in the back. The brand name of the car was one of those high-end ones, that Lynnette would love to have for herself. Michelle's vehicle also had a flying feature while Spencer's did not. Hoover cars were really expensive, but still most people had one or at least had their old car converted to one. While Spencer could afford it, he just didn't want to spend that much money just so his car could join the other air traffic. Having a ground car was just fine with him. He didn't have to join the latest fad, though to be fair, hoover cars had been around for about 200 years more or less, as they had been invented in the late 21st century.

~~~Spencer and Michelle~~~