Small City ~ Spencer Reid

Part 2.2

Chapter 2:

      As the day of their flight crept closer, Madeline packed in anticipation for her trip with Reid. She could finally get to know him without this inhibitors of a gruesome case. She folded her sweaters with precision, and tucked them neatly into her plastic suit case. I can finally get to know him. She found herself beaming at the thought, but tried to ground herself. Come on, Madeline! He's your partner, nothing can happen! As she tried to rip herself away from the thought of him, she heard a screech outside her window, beep beep! As she pulled back her shades she smiled, he miraculously found her house, she giggled as he scrambled out of the car and up to her front door. She raced down the stairs as Spencer methodically pushed the door bell; ding dong! Ding dong! Dragging her suitcase and bag pack behind her, she shuffled on her shoes, and her heart raced in anticipation. As she flung the door open she felt the cool crisp air of the Virginia winter whisper on her face. As their eyes met, Madeline felt the warmth from Spencer's hazel eyes warm her heart and her stomach fluttered with joy. "Madeline!" Spencer exclaimed. His smile brightened as she quickly scuffled out of the door way and onto her snow ridden porch.

"Hey Doc," she smirked, "Miss me?"

Reid's eyebrows raised, "Well I don't think that it would be logically reasonable for me to miss you as I just saw you yesterday at work but-" he paused. "I guess I did miss you. As any work colleague would."

As Reid began to shuffle Madeline's bag to the car, she caught herself with her eyes glued to Reid. Snap out of it! Come on! You made this promise to yourself, chill out. Madeline felt her cheeks begin to glow a rosy red, burning with anticipation- maybe for something more than she was letting herself believe. On the way to the airport, the pair passed houses strung with wintry decorations, lighting almost as blinding as the sun, and jolly blow up characters hoping to spread holiday spirit. Madeline giggled at the extreme amounts of decor, and smiled at the sight of a neighborhood littered with lively scenes. Happy families, loving friends- loving homes. Her heart sank a little at the thought of her own familial situation. Madeline remembered about her family back in Washington, how she had to leave them. She felt her hands shake at the thought of ever losing them like so many of the victims she tries to help everyday. The thoughts bubbled up and she began to let out a single burning tear. All of a sudden, the car lurched and Madeline felt her seat belt tug at her chest. "DOC! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" she screeched in fear. But as she whipped her head around, her eyes met Spencer's, simply focused on her with eagle like vision. He slowly shifted his eyes to the road and began their journey again without a word. "Doc? Are you okay?" Madeline felt concern bubble up in her throat, what the hell is he doing? she thought as millions of ideas raced through her mind all at once. Through a slow breath, Madeline turned to see Reid tense his jaw and felt the tension seep into her mind. After what felt like a million years, Reid quickly inhaled, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." as his eyes stayed glued to the road he explained, "Well, because you know... crying is a sign of something wrong. You know, the ancient Romans actually believed-" she began to felt a rush of laughter overtake her, crippling her sides as she began to tear up again, but with joy. And from that moment on, Madeline knew- she was in trouble.
      As they pulled into the long term parking lot, Madeline felt fascinated with Reid. How nonchalant but over dramatic he felt at the same time. She felt her lips part into a cheesy grin as Reid pulled their suitcases out of the trunk as if they were only full of air. The Ronald Reagan Washington National airport was bustling with holiday travelers, coming and going, maybe home or to a beach resort, but the excitement in the air was palpable to say the least. As the pair rushed towards check in, BAM! Reid had crashed into oncoming human traffic, taking an unfortunate civilian with him. In a matter of seconds, Reid was pulled out from under the mysterious lady by two buff burly men clad in black with sharp sunglasses to match. By now, a crowd had swarmed to question the collision that warranted such a extreme response. As the woman began to stand up, the two guards had pushed Reid around, restraining him with so much force it looked like his eyes were on the verge of popping out of his head. The woman stood up flipping her beautiful blonde hair as the crowd began to murmur. As Reid locked eyes with the lady a smile came across his face, "Lila!" he exclaimed.