Sweeter Than Honey

Chapter 4: Almost Electric

After interviewing the parents:

Spencer's POV:

"Once again ma'am, I am so sorry about your daughter. Thank you ever so much for all your help," I sighed, smiling softly as Cassia squeezed the woman's hand, her eyes holding so much sympathy for the frail woman in front of her. We both slid into the car, my back resting against the headrest, running my hand over my face in exasperation. "I can't believe after talking to 6 very heartbroken parents, we're still nowhere closer to finding this son of a bitch," Cassia groaned, leaning against the window.

"Hey, we'll catch this guy, we always do," I smiled, trying to lift her spirits. "I guess you're right, I just- I didn't expect this job to be so..." "Heavy on your heart?" I finished off her sentence, watching as she nodded in response. Reaching over the console, I squeezed her hand. Even though I hated physical contact, the thought of holding Cassia didn't seem to bother me in the slightest. "It'll get easier, don't worry,". Feeling a shift in the atmosphere, I quickly spoke before even having a second to process what I was about to say.

"Did you know that the praying mantis can kill and eat a multitude of creatures the most interesting fact is that oftentimes the female mantis engages in sexual cannibalism, meaning she'll bite off the head of her mate once copulation is complete, sometimes even during intercourse actually!" Eyes wide, Cassia laughed in shock, staring at me as I blushed, cursing myself for saying such a stupid thing.

"Sorry, I tend to ramble and say stupid facts and statistics, people just learn to tune me out and I can never really learn to stop even though people-" "Spencer," she called out softly, interrupting my mess of thoughts. Looking up from my lap, I made contact with those stunning mocha eyes once more. She smiled, stroking our intertwined hands softly as she replied. "I love learning new things, so please, by all means, tell me all the facts stored in that gorgeous mind of yours. I for one, am not going to tune them out. Also, it's really cute when you ramble." she finished off, giggling when I smiled bashfully, my heart hammering in my chest. Cassia turned on the radio, letting the soft music float through the car before pulling out the case files as I started the car, driving back to Precinct, continuing to spout random facts and statistics throughout the drive.

After we parked, we both fell in step, walking through the glass doors of the police station. The smell of sweat, burnt coffee and stale takeout filled our noses. Cassia scowled at the sound of bustling officers yelling over one another. "There you two are, I was starting to think Spencer had bored you to death with his fun facts," Rossi teased, laughing lightly as I flushed red from his remark.

"Actually, I learnt quite a bit from Dr Reid over here. Apparently, the Greeks translated 'puppets' as 'neurospasta,' which literally means string-pulling. And throughout time they've been used as a method to tell kings a story so the subjects didn't have to speak directly to him; pretty cool huh?" Cassia giggled, smiling proudly at me as she walked over to the evidence board, leaving both Rossi and I speechless. "Kid, looks like you finally found your match," Rossi laughed, patting my shoulder before sitting down, with me following in tow.

We continued to discuss evidence, trying to draw up some conclusions. Cassia twiddled with her pencil, her brows furrowed as her soft hair flowed in the direction of the fan. I smiled softly, not being able to pry my eyes off of the site next to me. "Hey, pretty boy, you alright?" Morgan smirked, laughing as I shook my head, rolling my eyes at his smug face.

However, the peace was quickly broken by the sound of the phones all throughout the station blaring. All officers shot up, quickly picking up the phones, and shouting at each other to get into their cars and go. Looking over at Emily, I saw her face turn into one of confusion and fear. "We've got another one," Hotch sighed, leading all of us to the cars parked out front. "His cooling off period is decreasing, he's getting more impatient..." Cassia sighed out once we got into the car, JJ and Rossi agreeing.

"He's becoming more and more eager, almost as though he's got a deadline to meet," I thought out loud, smiling when I heard Cassia gasp. "You're right, the days in between killings are decreasing. First, it was 2 weeks, then a week, then 5 days, and now it's not even been 3 days since the last killing. He's speeding up," She observed, smiling when I nodded in agreement. "Which could mean he'll be more likely to make mistakes," JJ spoke.

Once we got to the crime scene, I could instantly feel the discomfort radiating off of Cassia. "You alright?" I murmured, stopping in front of her as the rest walked over to the body. "Yea, just um- I am not looking forward to seeing my first murdered child," she gulped, biting her lips so hard they could bleed. "Don't worry just- try not to focus on it..." I sighed, squeezing her hand tightly before making my way to the rest of the team.

Later that evening:

"OK everyone, let's all get some rest, we've been at this all night and could use the rest. We'll come back tomorrow with some fresh eyes, and hopefully, find something that can help us stop this." Hotch spoke, packing up his bag along with the rest of us. We soon all filed into the cars, making our way to the hotel. "I swear if they don't have hot water I may end up being our next unsub," Emily joked, causing us to all chuckle. Once we got to the hotel, we all waited at the lobby as Hotch got us our keys.

"OK guys, here are the 3 keys, each of us will pair up." Looking around, I realised we needed 4 rooms if we were to pair up. "I made sure to book ahead and get my own room. A man like me needs his beauty sleep after all." Rossi smiled, laughing as the others all groaned at his attitude as he took his key and made his way up to his room. "Ok, JJ and Emily you two will be in this room, I need to discuss some things with Morgan about the profile. Cassia I am sorry to do this but-" "No worries Hotch, I don't have an issue with sharing a room with Spence. That is if he doesn't mind of course!" Cassia quickly rushed out, her cheeks painted a bright pink as she looked at her hands. "No issues at all," I smiled, grabbing a key from Hotch before leading Cassia to the elevator.

Once we got to our room, I sighed in relief, dumping my satchel on the arm of the couch before lying on it. Cassia giggled, smiling as she leaned over me, her soft lips stretching into a kind grin. "You alright hun?" She mumbled, tilting her head softly as I smiled right back, pushing my slightly longer hair back. "I'm alright, just really tired. You can shower first if you want," I smiled, pushing myself further up the couch as Cassia nodded, smiling once more before grabbing her bag and making her way to the shower. I fell onto the couch, my mind reeling as my mind was fully consumed by thoughts of Cassia.

"Oh shit!" was what woke me up from my rest as I looked around my surroundings, blinking away the sleep from my eyes as I woke up. "Cassia? You ok?" I asked, slowly peeling myself off the couch as I walked over to the bathroom door. " I'm fine, don't worry just- I forgot to pack a shirt to sleep in and now I'm kind of soaking wet in my towel with nothing to wear," She admitted sheepishly. I thanked whatever god was up there that she couldn't see how red her comment had gotten me.

"D-Do you wanna borrow one of mine? I have a spare!" I blurted out, wincing at how desperate I sounded. Thankfully, I don't think Cassia picked up on it, or she didn't make any effort to mention it. "Oh thank you so much, Spence! You're a lifesaver!" She sighed in relief. I quickly ruffled through my bag and found the spare sleeping shirt. 'Of course, it had to be the Star Trek one!' I cursed, shaking my head as the door unlocked.

Walking into the steamy bathroom, I was met with a sight for sore eyes. With my eidetic memory, it would also be a memory ingrained into my brain. There Cassia stood, her brunette hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back. Her towel wrapped around her curves, dips and crevices of her body.

"S-Spence?" She whispered out, biting her lip softly. "Sorry! Um, he-here's the shirt!" I stuttered out, placing the shirt in her hands, trying not to shiver as her soft fingers glided against my own. "Thanks," she squeaked, her cheeks still crimson as she giggled, smiling as I quickly rushed out of the bathroom, my heart racing against my ribcage. As soon as Cassia was finished, I didn't take another look at her before running into the bathroom, eager to wash off the exhaustion from my body.