Coffee & Pasta || S.R. [DISCONTINUED]

Thirteen

"Alright so, I have a description and a few other good notes from talking to Ms. Hanse." 

Spencer blinked in mild surprise, watching Natalia immediately command attention as she walked into the office they were given to use and grabbed a marker, beginning to write on the white board.

"She said she was sleepy, but hadnt been before the encounter; when I asked she said that she had been grabbed from behind, and something was placed over her mouth. She said she lost feeling pretty quickly, so I assume he used trichloromethane. Her memories were disoriented but she managed to remember that he was tall, and she knew his hair and eye color; blonde hair and blue eyes. He was scruffy looking, so facial hair. She also said he wore a dark blue coat with a hood, so was can assume his hair was long enough to be seen under the hood." Natalia rambled off, making a bullet point list as she went. She moved over a foot or so, and started a new list.

"Miss Hanse clarified that he raped her first, followed by stabbing her; he tried to finish her off with strangulation, but Miss Hanse's dog managed to escape the house and attack him. Both the victim and her dog got away because of this. Based on the compiled information we can start looking into men of his description aged 20-35, with history of domestic violence or harassment charges. He would probably have an unassuming job, maybe a janitor or a store clerk. He's smart enough to use trichloromethane, but not smart enough to hide his face during the attacks." Natalia finished, capping the marker again and turning to the group; only to pause when they all stared at her. "Did I say something wrong..?"

Morgan whistled lowly, shaking his head. "No, Im just not sure you're in the right unit pipsqueak. Thats impressive from somebody who isnt actually part of this team."

Hotch nodded in agreement and turned to Natalia. "I only have one question. Why do you claim the unsub not hiding his face is idiocy, and not ego?"

Natalia blinked a moment and looked around at the others, before answering. "Uh...well, the unsub is impulsive and controlling, which does point to ego, but its outweighed by the fact that he used trichloromethane. He doubts his ability to physically subdue these woman, and turns to chemicals; meaning he may be insecure. This also lead me to believe he has a mundane job, something that would make him feel even more underappreciated."

Rossi shared a look with Hotch, and then nodded. "I'll have Garcia start looking. Good job piccolo."

With that, the team broke off, Morgan and Emily going to give the profile, while Rossi called Garcia and JJ called a press conference. Natalia looked at Hotch and swallowed, stepping a bit closer. 

"I uhm...Im sorry I was so forward. I get kind of ahead of myself sometimes, I should have gone over this with you first."

Hotch rose a brow at her, and then shook his head. "Dont be sorry for getting us a good profile of this guy. You're right; with all of the combined information we have, your profile fits perfectly. Im just now wondering what stopped you from joining this team. You obviously know what you're talking about, you have your degree in Criminology...what made you go to Foreign Policies instead?"

"I...I knew Rossi was on the team, and I didnt want people to think I got in on special circumstance. I want everything I achieve in life to be because of my own hard work."

"I see." Hotch nodded. He looked at the young woman with a small sense of understanding; but he still knew she was better suited to the BAU than to FP. "Let me know if you ever change your mind." 

As he walked out, Natalia turned to Spencer, who was still sitting there, reading over her bullet points. "...Is everything okay?"

Spencer frowned softly, and turned to her. "Everything is fine, I just...I knew you'd be okay at this at least...I didnt expect you to be this good at profiling. Hotch is right; but I would never ask you to do anything you didnt want to." he said, standing and walking to her. "If Im honest, I feel a little threatened now." he joked, smiling at her as he discreetly reached over to hold her hand. "You might even be better at profiling than I am."

Natalia blushed and laced her finger through his. "I wouldnt say better at it...but I do understand more about the emotional side of people tan you do. That gives me a slight advantage."

"That just means if you did it enough, you could probably surpass even Rossi."

"Rossi maybe, but never Gideon. He was the best of the best."

Spencer's face softened as he looked at her. "I forgot that you knew Gideon."

"You never forget anything; it slipped your mind."

"I suppose thats true." he laughed softly. They settled into a slight silence, and after a few moments, moved away from each other. It was a little awkward. He wanted to kiss her and tell her she did amazing; but couldnt. For the first time, he realized that if she wanted to, Natalia could easily become his coworker officially...he almost didnt want her to. 

He watched her walk out to continue helping the team, and turned to his geographic profile on the table. He didnt want her to because that might change their relationship. She was gifted, though, and the team could definitely benefit from her being there..she was smart, and thought about things that Morgan wouldnt; understood emotions and human thought patterns better than he did. She was good with the victims, she was fit enough to easily work in the field. She was personally experienced in dealing with unsubs...nothing was stopping her from joining the BAU. 

"Maybe Im stopping her."

Spencer flinched at the invasive thought; but before he could stop it, it spiraled. If he wasnt dating her, it would make things way less complicated. She could save a lot of people. She could easily run the whole unit someday..

He turned to look at her through the window, his face falling. She was brilliant. She was gorgeous, intelligent, understanding, quirky, funny, easy to get along with...she was way out of his league. The more he thought about it, the more aware he became of it; and the less he understood why she was with him in the first place. 

Even if he wasnt what held her back from joining the team, she was still way too-

"Hey Reid, you ready? Garcia has some leads for us to follow."

Spencer looked at Morgan and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'll be right there. Give me just a second to finish this up."

"Alright man."

With a sigh, Spencer pinned one last thing on his map.

She was still way too good for him.