#also these are more vibes-based than anything. don't worry about it kittens

[goddisposez]

the terror + customer service slip-ups

rip franklin expedition. you all would have fared just as badly in a customer-facing job during the holiday season

[puddygeeks]

𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝑶𝒇 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 - 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒊𝒅 𝒙 𝑶𝑪 - 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 7: 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔

Masterlist

Rating: Mature

Summary: 𝐴𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛��𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝐴𝑈 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦, 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡.

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x OC

Status: Ongoing

LONG TERM ONGOING PROJECT :)

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 & 𝑠𝑒𝑥𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝐴𝑈'𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. 𝐼𝑡 ��𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.

Eᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ: Pʀᴇ Sᴇᴀsᴏɴ 1

Chapter Seven

It was a struggle to even drag myself out of bed the next morning, as the exertion of the past few days left me feeling thoroughly run down. Despite multiple washes and even attempting some treatments, I was convinced that I could still smell smoke in my long locks, and I resorted to tying it up in a high ponytail to at least keep it out of my face.

At this point, I was running low on office appropriate clothing as I hadn’t expected to be away for this long. I dressed in my last suitable outfit of a black shirt, plain white A-line skirt that sat just below my knees and a pair of black kitten heels. Tying a black bow around my ponytail, I quickly applied a natural looking amount of makeup to compensate for the soot covered appearance that the team last saw of me and then finished packing my things to leave.

I made my way down to the reception to check out, hoping that I would have time to grab a cup of tea before I had to meet the team, but at the very first moment that I had completed the relevant paperwork, I was distracted by a familiar sight. Reid seemed as if he had only just noticed me as he jumped to his feet from where he'd been sitting in the foyer and I approached him with a surprised smile.

“Dr. Reid. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked warmly, secretly pleased to have the opportunity to see him again.

He was dressed in a shirt and smart trousers, with a heavy cardigan over the top that gave him cute hipster vibes that I was sure he was oblivious to. He seemed troubled, his posture fidgety as he reached me and I worried that something bad might have happened to prompt this visit.

“You-you really don’t have to address me like that, Alice.” He muttered quietly, rubbing the back of his neck in an obvious display of discomfort. “Gideon always makes sure to introduce me as doctor, but it’s not something that I’m worried about.” He clarified, seeming bothered that he’d been presented in a pretentious light and I widened my eyes in surprise.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” I replied, grimacing slightly as I spoke and he shook his head vigorously, as if I hadn’t done anything wrong. “What would you prefer?” I offered, wanting to ensure that I addressed him in a manner that he was confident with in future and he seemed taken aback by the question.

“Well, you asked me to call you by your first name, so it’s fine if you want to do the same. Or, Reid is fine too.” He answered quietly, forcing himself to meet my eyes for a fond smile and I returned it eagerly.

It seemed foolish, but I was strangely excited by the fact that he felt secure enough to correct me and I noticed a little flutter of butterflies in my stomach that I tried to deny. It would be awfully inconvenient for me to be attracted to him and so I ensured to quickly push any thoughts that were along those lines aside.

“Hotch has the car ready outside for you. He asked me to see if you were ready to go. Morgan’s helping Garcia to get everything packed up at the base, so they’ll meet us at the jet.” He explained, before taking one of my two cases to assist me and I chuckled at his well established manners.

“Thanks, Spencer. That was a struggle getting those downstairs on my own.” I admitted, feeling an extra strong flutter as I said his name and I was sure that I caught a slight flush in his cheeks too.

--⥈--

"What do you think, Sugar? Feel like a high class diva yet?" Penelope chanted as she settled herself in the seat opposite me in an overly dramatic posture and I giggled at her performance.

Admittedly, I'd never travelled on anything as luxurious as a jet before and honestly felt more out of place on board than I had at any previous time in my life. Fortunately, the company was excellent and the down to earth attitude of the team made the entire experience pleasant.

"I feel like the economy class flight home is going to seem especially torturous after this." I commented with a chuckle and Penelope nodded in agreement.

"I love the way you say that. We'd just call it coach." She remarked, flashing me a doting smile and I rolled my eyes at her continued fascination with my accent. “I don't get to come on the jet often, so it's still a novelty to me. I feel like one of those golden era movie stars, you know?” She described, gesturing as if she was fanning herself with some imaginary large feathered fan and I almost snorted in laughter at her.

“You look like one too, baby girl." Morgan crooned as he passed, tapping her on the shoulder fondly and she practically melted under his touch.

It was endlessly comical to me the way that she fawned over him, but I also appreciated the way that Morgan doted on her in return and was pleased that she had someone who treated her with the admiration that she absolutely deserved.

"Flattery will absolutely get you everywhere, you beautiful man." She drawled back, her voice husky and low as she examined him like a tiger stalking its prey and I shook my head in disbelief at her boldness. "You gonna be okay alone?" She asked, glancing back at Morgan immediately, like it hurt her to keep her eyes off him for too long.

"Go ahead. I have plenty to keep me busy." I announced as I pulled out my ereader from my flight bag and Penelope was out of her seat before I had even finished putting my glasses on.

The rest of the team chatted happily in the background as I lost myself in my story, enjoying some downtime for once. I couldn't remember the last time that I’d felt this relaxed and there was a strange sense of belonging that was present for me when in this team's company. Everything felt easier with them at my back, even facing down a burning building and it was unfamiliar to know that if I needed to turn back for help, then they would absolutely be there.

"I wouldn't have profiled you as an ereader kind of girl." Reid's voice remarked, pulling me from the pages and I glanced up to find him studying me with interest as he stood by my seat.

“Ah, you caught me.” I admitted, before slipping open my satchel to reveal a well worn copy of Pride and Prejudice. "I always keep old reliable nearby. Don't tell the others." I whispered, winking at him cheekily and a knowing smile filled his handsome face. "Honestly, nothing will ever replace real books for me. Something about the feeling of paper and the smell of the pages. It's unbeatable. But this allows me to take more of my library with me and I love to have a good selection.”

"Did you know that there is actually a term for that?” Reid began, gesturing with his hands as he fell into a flow. “It's called Bibliosmia, which is a combination of the Greek words for book and smell. The scent of books is caused by the chemical breakdown of compounds within the paper, which explains why older books smell better, as they contain a number of additional chemicals. Most importantly, many older books use Vanillin, which as the name implies gives a sweet scent." Reid lost himself in a ramble of facts, his passion clearly getting the better of him and though he seemed somewhat self conscious about the fact that he had done this, I had to admit that I found his knowledge fascinating.

"Really?" I breathed enthusiastically, hoping to encourage him to feel able to speak freely around me and he looked back up at me in uncertainty. "Well, now that I have a word for it, I can stop feeling like a lunatic, at least." I added, meeting his eyes with a gentle expression and he carefully sunk into the seat opposite me.

"It's actually a lot more common than people realise. You see, it's an extension of the connection between smell and memory. The particular scent of the book triggers a feeling of familiarity that allows you to relive parts of the experience from your first contact with it, instead of simply reading the story again." He explained, his demeanour seemed more relaxed now and I nodded in interest, encouraging him to continue. "A survey actually found that 71% of respondents don’t use eBooks at all and 76% preferred the traditional book. So, your love of the classic paperback is not something to feel weird about at all."

"That's good to know. I can carry my old school love of reading with pride now." I conceded, giving him an appreciative smile and he seemed shocked by my interest in what he had to say.

"What are you reading?" He enquired curiously and it was my turn to be shocked by his consideration.

In my experience, most people struggled to even pretend to care about my habits for an initial question, let alone to actually hold a conversation about it. I’d grown used to feeling like an outsider amongst people my own age and Spencer was a refreshing change of company.

"The String of Pearls." I confessed, pushing my glasses up to try to cover my blush and he raised his brows at me. "After the way that you talked about it at the base, I downloaded it. I thought it would be interesting to know more of the origin of my favourite musical. I'm already kind of agreeing with you, though. Without the additional context of the loss of his family and the continued tyranny of Judge Turpin on the cities most vulnerable, it honestly lacks the impact that the story I know has. It's simply meaningless horror, with little cultural relevance." I blurted, finding myself also becoming lost in words and once I realised that I was babbling, I felt my blush grow stronger.

When I could finally bring myself to peek at Spencer for his reaction, he didn’t seem bored, or lost as I was used to. In stark contrast to regular reactions to my literary passions, he seemed thrilled by my outburst, as if it had made his day. The way that he studied me now was as if he were lost for words and I quickly returned my attention to my reading in embarrassment.

"Do you mind if I sit here to read? You're quieter than the others.” Spencer asked, pulling an old looking book with a Latin title from his bag and I hummed in response.

"Of course I don't mind." I breezed, sneaking a look at him as he fidgeted to get comfortable. "I'm not sure what you're going to do for the rest of the flight, though.” I added, causing him to frown with confusion and I chuckled slightly under my breath. “I'm teasing, hun. I’m sure it won't take you more than ten minutes to finish that.” I elaborated, pointing to the small book in his hand and he smiled coyly at me.

"I'd usually play chess with Gideon." He revealed, gesturing to an inbuilt board at another table and I raised my brows in surprise to find such a fancy feature on a government jet.

"I'm afraid that I’m completely too out of practice to stand a chance against you." I laughed, unwilling to admit that I had always struggled with the game, despite my mothers best efforts to teach me and I certainly wasn't keen to embarrass myself by playing against an actual genius.

"Well, maybe later I can help you to recover some of your skills.” He suggested with sincerity and I was surprised by how little judgement there was in his voice. As always, he caught me off guard with his kindness.

--⥈--

Penelope's office was familiarly warm and welcoming, but even that atmosphere couldn't help me to make any progress with my reports. I massaged my forehead in an effort to engage my brain, but the words escaped me and I was rapidly becoming frustrated with myself. It had already been explained to me that I simply had to recap the events that occurred, but even that seemed to be too difficult of a task for me.

Penelope wandered back into the room to place a cup of tea beside me and glanced down at the blinking cursor on my completely blank document with a grimace.

"Ouch. Still no luck with your paperwork demons?” She questioned, before settling back at her computer comfortably, turning her seat so that she could still smile at me.

“I’ve never written a field report before.” I groaned, reading through the guidance notes that Spencer had given me again, despite having them practically memorised by now. “I don't know how to explain myself. I'm supposed to remain factual, but it's not that simple. There were emotional factors to why I made the decision that I did."

"Well, that’s easy. Just put I recklessly ran into a burning building like a crazy person, even though my friend told me not to.” Penelope commented, sneaking a meaningful look in my direction and I sighed with exhaustion.

"I'm serious, Alice. I'm worried about you. It's clear that you're not sleeping, or taking care of yourself, and now you're taking these completely insane risks. I don’t want to see you get hurt. I mean, even Morgan was super pissed with you for doing that. If you hadn’t looked so sorry for yourself in the ambulance, he would’ve ripped you a new one, let me tell you. The only reason that he hasn’t done so since is because he respects my wishes.” She revealed, her face growing serious as she examined me and I fidgeted in my seat awkwardly. It was hard enough to defend myself in paperwork, but doing so in the face of one of my dearest friends was another level of challenge.

"Come on, Nels. There was a little girl’s life at stake. I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing." I excused, feeling too uncomfortable to meet her eyes and she only seemed more frustrated by my insufficient response.

"The stakes are always high! That's the nature of our jobs. But you can’t just throw your life away for anyone who needs help, Ally! You matter too.” She insisted, placing one of her hands over mine soothingly to confirm that she wasn’t angry with me and when I looked up at her, I could recognise the care in her eyes.

"I’m sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." I conceded, allowing any defensiveness to melt away in the face of her compassion. "I've just been in kind of a rut since I joined Interpol. It feels so strange to be here and able to rely on people, compared to how isolated I feel there. I mean, I've never been face to face with a situation like that before and I couldn't walk away. I guess I've just grown accustomed to having no one give a damn about me. I didn't even consider the consequences.” I admitted, my voice dropping to barely more than a whisper and I heard Penelope take a sharp intake of breath at this confession.

"Oh, baby doll. Why didn't you tell me that it was getting to you so much?" She questioned, her usually bright face overtaken with concern and I felt as if I had rained on her parade by bringing my problems to her.

"I don't know. I'm not sure that I fully realised until I had this team to compare it to. Part of me felt like I got myself into this situation, so it was down to me to survive it." I reflected, feeling shameful that I'd allowed things to reach such a dire point and she seemed heartbroken by my circumstances.

"I promise, when I get back to France, I'll start figuring out what I can do to make things better. I’ll even send you reports on my progress if you want." I clarified, causing her to force a smile, despite the obvious concern that remained in her eyes.

"Well, if you make sure that you deliver on that promise, then I can help you with your little reporting problem. Come on.” She announced, hopping to her feet and pulling me along behind her.

Wherever she was taking me, I was not about to object to any help with my documentation and so I followed her obediently. Most of the team were focused on their own paperwork, as they sat at their individual desks surrounded by stacks of cases and I certainly didn't envy them for this part of their field roles.

We came to a stop right outside of someone’s private office and Penelope proved that there was such a thing as a cheerful knock, as she waited for a response.

"Hey, Jayge! We missed you in California." She called as she entered the space and I stepped inside cautiously, feeling as if I was invading her privacy. "I'm surprised you'd pass up a chance to get that close to that beautiful beach.” Penelope crooned, smiling genuinely at JJ and I could tell that she’d managed to strike up a strong bond with her too.

“Thanks, Garcia. It’s good to know that I was wanted, but there's no need for a press liaison in a case that is strictly off limits to the press and I have plenty to keep me busy here." JJ answered with a warm smile, before turning her attention to me curiously, prompting Penelope to reveal a guilty smile.

"Well, as the paperwork queen of the BAU, I thought you might be able to help Alice with a little reporting problem." Penelope suggested, making her best effort to appear downright adorable in the face of her already overworked colleague and JJ sighed as she turned to address me.

"I heard about what happened at the base. Hotch making you write up your report alone?" JJ enquired and I nodded back bashfully. "Yikes. That's a very parental punishment.”

"I just don't want to get it wrong. I already messed up enough.” I mumbled, feeling even more embarrassed now that I was discussing this with another agent and JJ simply smiled sympathetically at me.

"Sit down. You'll have to take me through what happened one step at a time and I’ll tell you how to word it."

--⥈--

It was an incredible relief when Hotch had signed off my report and confirmed that I was free to leave whenever I was ready. I'd already decided that I would like to spend at least another night in the area before I returned to life at Interpol and JJ advised that she could mark me as required under retainer for another couple of days, ensuring that Shepard would be unable to bully me into coming home immediately. Already, I was incredibly fond of the gracious members of this team and could easily understand why Penelope felt so settled here.

The prospect of saying goodbye to them felt far more daunting this time around and I knew that I would have to concentrate on keeping my emotions in check. Even simply gathering my belongings from Penelope's office gave me a strange sense of sadness.

Just as I finished packing away my laptop, I noticed a polaroid from my last visit of the two of us, which was leaning against a very decorative edition of the Alice in Wonderland book and I turned to Penelope curiously.

"You setting up a little shrine for me here?" I asked teasingly, attempting to mask how touched I actually was by the gesture and she turned her attention to the display with a smile.

"What can I say? This office feels empty without you now.” She stated solemnly, pulling at my already sensitive heart strings. "Originally, I just had the photo, but the book was actually a gift from our dearest Reid. He noticed that I was sad after you left and wanted to cheer me up. He's a good one, I’ll tell you." She divulged, causing my brows to shoot up in surprise and I couldn't contain a fond smile.

"That’s really sweet." I commented softly, glad that Penelope had this team to take care of her in my place. “Come on. Let's get this over with before I burst into tears." l advised, encouraging her out of the office where she rushed ahead of me to prepare the team for my departure.

Just as last time, they all moved from their desks to meet me in the lobby and I felt emotional even considering leaving their friendly faces. I'd even learned to interpret the vague differences in Hotch's similarly stern glares this time and knew that I would miss trying to tell the difference between them.

JJ reached me first, placing her hand on my arm affectionately.

"It's been great to have another chance to see you. Hopefully we can borrow you again soon.” She complimented, seeming genuine in her fondness of me and I smiled in return at her, appreciative for how attentive she always was. Before anyone else got a chance to speak, Penelope pushed past them all to grab me by the shoulders.

"Look, I promised myself that I wasn't gonna cry, but if I wait until last then I’m not going to be able to keep that, so I’m just gonna give you a squeeze.” She paused to pull me into a tight embrace, making me chuckle in surprise. "I’m going to say farewell, my love. And I’m gonna go back to my office to toughen myself up.” She blurted, leaning back to give me a watery smile, before she rushed out of sight. Morgan looked after her with concern, then forced himself to return his attention to me.

"Bring it in, Poppins.” He crooned, holding out his hand and when I took hold of it for a shake, he pulled me into a brief hug. "You did good work here. You know you're welcome back any time. We'll keep a seat free for you." He added, a wide welcoming grin plastered over his face and I felt myself tearing up at his kind words.

Him and JJ exchanged a knowing look, before joining forces to approach Penelope's office and I was glad to know that she had someone around to comfort her once I had gone. Hotch stepped forward to shake my hand in the gap, seizing a chance to speak before things got any more emotional.

“Thank you for your assistance on this case, Alice. We wouldn’t have been able to bring Amanda home safely without you.” He praised me as I accepted the handshake and I was sure that I could recognise a hint of a smile in his expression. "JJ says you're not heading home for another couple of days?"

“That's right, Sir. I have family in the area that I'm well overdue to visit." I reported, wanting to make it clear that I wasn't planning to just hang around the BAU office like a stalker.

"Well, just give me a call if there's anything that I can do to smooth out your return to Interpol." He offered, allowing his kind-hearted nature to show and I couldn't find the words to adequately express my gratitude for his support.

"Enjoy your time off." He added, before parting from me to leave me alone with Spencer, who was the last person still waiting to say goodbye. He stood with his hands in his pockets, smiling at me bashfully.

"It seems strange to say goodbye to you." He admitted, moving to tuck his hair behind his ear nervously. "You fit here.” He clarified and I hummed thoughtfully, glad that he felt this way. He paused with an uncertain expression, before clearing his throat to speak again.

"Actually. If you have a second, I have a parting gift." He muttered, seeming as if he had struggled to decide whether to mention this or not and I raised my brows at him.

“Something you said on the plane." He added as he rushed back to his desk to grab an item from his drawer and shuffled back to me, holding out a book. "It's a classic. If you're interested in brushing up your skills, you may as well learn from the best. I've already got it memorised, so you can keep it.”

I glanced down at the cover to find that he'd given me a pristine copy of Bobby Fischer's My 60 Most Memorable Games and I smiled at the gesture. It was charmingly thoughtful that he wanted to foster my enjoyment in something that he loved and I resolved to use the gift to develop my chess game ready for the next time that we saw each other.

"Thank you, Spencer. That's really kind of you.” I answered, a genuine smile filling my face and he seemed embarrassed by my gratitude. “Next time that I visit we'll have to play.” I added, causing his face to light up with a grin that made my stomach feel fizzy.

"I'd like that."