The Ghost of Princeton ||Spencer Reid||

morning

SPENCER

Maybe I should have slept last night, should have taken Cressida's offer to share the bed as a last resort in our argument before she agreed to take my bed. Everything was just happening so fast...

"Good morning." I said as she walked out of my bedroom, still in her pyjamas with her hair tied into a messy bun.

"Morning..." Her voice was gravelly, a hand running over her pulled back hair.

"Slept well?" I asked, she surprisingly shook her head.

"What happened?"

"Well, it was the most I've slept in years but... it was fractured, at best. I felt safe for the first time in years as well, so I do feel rested but, I don't know-"

"It makes sense. It might take a while for you to feel comfortable enough anywhere to sleep through the night. Your ability to sleep deeply has probably also been affected, because you needed to be able to wake up at any sign of danger." She rolled her eyes. That was something she already knew, as she should since she had a psychiatry PhD.

"I um... last night I came up with an idea, to get this all over with sooner rather than later." She changed the subject, I nodded as she walked over to the couch and sat next to me.

"What would that be?" I asked, she furrowed her brow.

"Death has an ego. All of them do, but we can use it against them." She said, picking up one of the square pillows and holding it on her lap.

"Okay, what's the idea though because I don't like the look on your face."

"We call them. Organise a time for me to meet with them and then lock them in." That was why I didn't like the look on her face, because this would be dangerous.

"Cressida-"

"No, we don't know when they're going to strike Fort Detrick, we need to get to them before it's too late. This is the best way to do that." I hated that she was right, that it was the best shot we had to stop them in the coming days instead of weeks.

We could make it work, but it would have to take careful planning. There was no possible way that we would let her go in without a well thought through plan, without a way to be sure that she wouldn't end up shot.

"No." The word fell from my mouth before I could even think about what was happening. Before I even realised I had said it.

"What?"

Right, now what was I meant to say? That I only just got her and didn't want to lose her? That I couldn't just let her walk into some unknown situation where the likelihood of her dying was higher than I would like it to be.

"It's too dangerous." She took a deep breath, her body shaking.

"Dangerous? What about what's going to happen if we don't stop them?" I didn't like that she was making reasonable arguments right now either. Okay, she was angry, which seemed reasonable when considering the circumstances.

"Cress, please-"

"Cress?" She questioned, which made me realise what else had just slipped out of my mouth without thought.

"Please, just... don't do this." I had to ignore her question, because giving her an answer wasn't something I was prepared to do yet.

"I'm going to talk to Hotch when we go in today. He's going to agree with me, and you already know that. Telling you was just a courtesy, Spence." She stood up from the couch and looked down to me. I nodded, realising it was probably best to just agree, whether I truly thought this was right or not. She made another valid point though; Hotch would agree to this.

"Okay." I said quietly, and I heard a sigh leave her lips.

"I'll be okay, you want to know how I know that?" She asked, I looked into her pale blue eyes and nodded. "You'll be there, along with the rest of the team."

"And what about cameras? What if they have sensors and-"

"That's what Garcia and I are for, we'll work it out. I just need you to trust me."

"I trust you, there's just three other Horsemen that we know nothing about that I don't." I replied, she bit her bottom lip as she thought over her next words.

"Then all you have to do is make sure I don't die."

She walked away after she finished speaking, as if the words meant nothing. As if it wasn't her life that she had just placed into my hands.