Front Lines| Spencer Reid + Anne Grey

ten

"Oh shit."

Reid senses the concern in Anne's voice, questioning, "What is it?"

"Excuse me?" the voice repeats, sounding a bit closer to them.

Grey keeps her head tilted down slightly, mumbling, "Keep walking."

Spencer didn't think twice as he continued to pace down the street, trying to steal glances at Anne to see what was going on in her head. To put it in short, she looked as if she was rapidly fading through the five stages of grief.

Eventually, the incessant caller sounds to be directly behind them. "Sorry, hello?"

In that moment, Grey reaches the figurative stage of acceptance, sighing and turning around. "Yes?"

Following her lead, Spencer pivots on his heel, looking back. The woman who had been calling them was slightly shorter than Grey, with medium length dreadlocks and a curious expression.

She looks him up and down first, though her face only contains recognition when she finally looks at Grey. "Anne?"

"Deja," she confirms, holding a bland expression and providing no other form of greeting, as she wasn't very sure how to go about such.

Reid doesn't say anything, though he's mentally trying his hardest to figure out who the woman in front of him was. He certainly didn't know her, but Grey somehow did.

"What are you...sorry, but why are you here?" Deja inquires, undeniably baffled.

Still seeming quite distanced from the discussion, Anne replies with, "A, uh... crime scene, down that way. Just checking it out." She gestures toward the tape with her right hand.

Giving a small smile, Deja corrects, "I meant in Providence."

"Uh, just helping with an investigation right now. Can't exactly reveal any details." Grey probably could have at least said that it was an abduction, but she didn't care much for giving the specifics.

"Oh. Makes sense, I guess." She looks back at a few of the houses on the street, saying, "That's what...well, I was just coming to see what all the fuss was about. Some of the neighbors have been worried, and I didn't even realize it was you."

Grey nods slightly, unsure of how to respond to that. The whole conversation had an uncomfortable overtone, and it wasn't enjoyable. "Well, I can't really explain what's going on. Just don't worry about it."

"Hm. You haven't gotten any less unbothered, have you?"

She gives a faltering smile, trying to come off as entertained, but failing. "Yeah, I guess not." Looking towards Spencer, she adds, "Uh, this is my colleague, Dr. Reid."

The woman grins at him, waving slightly as a form of salutation. He gave no acknowledgement, though, waiting on Grey to explain more.

She delivers, providing, "And this is Deja. We, uh... dated for a while, back when I still lived here." She then gives him a look that seems to approve of the woman, as if she was making sure Reid knew that she wasn't bad company.

He takes the hint, looking at the woman and saying, "Nice to meet you." His voice sounded sincere, yet tentative.

"You too." She continues to speak with Anne, asking, "So, you got that job you wanted, then?"

"Yeah, I did."

Deja nods, giving a weak smile. "Sorry, I uh... I never called or anything."

"No, don't be," Grey assures, waving it off. "That's more of an error on my end." She quickly tries to wrap up the conversation, looking to the crime tape, then back at the woman in front of her. "I should really-"