Paranoia - s.reid

Swear Word

The case was fairly long, and the jet ride home was quiet as Emily ferociously worked at a puzzle, completely confused. "What is that?"

"It's called a star puzzle. It's basically impossible to figure out. You have to put all of the pieces back together to form a perfect star. But the origin of it is kind of a romantic tale." Emily explained. "There was this young prince who wanted to win the heart of the fairest maiden in the land, so he climbed to the top of the tallest tower in the kingdom, and he caught a falling star for her. Unfortunately, he was so excited, he dropped it, and it smashed into all of these pieces, so he frantically put it back together again to prove his undying love to her, and he succeeded, and they lived happily ever after."

Spencer narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't catch a falling star, it'd burn up into the atmosphere." He stated, making Liz giggle.

"Yeah, but it's not literal, Reid. It's a fable." Emily reasoned.

"But there's no moral. Fables have morals."

"Okay, so it's just a romantic little story. And the point is, it's basically impossible to do because you have to take all of those pieces and put them together exactly-" Emily's voice trailed off as Spencer finished putting together the star, holding it perfectly assembled in his hand. "There's a lot to hate about you, Dr. Reid."

He smiled nonchalantly, looking over to Liz who sat next to him before handing the star to her. She gracefully accepted it, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, muttering a "Thanks, babe."

"Play poker with him sometime." Rossi deadpanned.

"Try playing chess with him." Morgan grinned.

"Or Go." Garcia scowled.

"I can't relate, games with him are fairly easy. It's a 50/50 chance of winning." Liz shrugged, smiling. "You know what, Em, that's a good story."

"Yeah, you should tell it to Dee as a bedtime story."

"Will do."

-----

Having a 10 month old was fairly easier. The toys on the soft playmat had been pushed aside, creating a passageway. Spencer was once again on one end while Diana was on the other standing, being held by Liz. "In 3, I'm going to let go." She announced. "We've had a lot of practice, we should be fine. 

3.

2.

1!" Liz let go of Diana, allowing the baby to stand on her own. She was close to perfect, but she still swayed left and right, forwards and backwards like any other baby. "Okay sweetheart, come to me." Spencer held his hands out, making a grabbing motion with his hands.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

After almost a month of practicing, their hardwork had paid off.

Diana screeched in excitement, continuing her walk to her father until her picked her up, spinning her around and cheering. 

Nothing else could compare to the amount of happiness the couple felt in that moment. Their happiness was ruined 30 minutes later when their phones rang. They had a case and had instantly called Stevie.

-----

"What do we know about the past years' victims?" Rossi asked, passing a mug of coffee to Liz. She didn't mind the jet coffee- it was much better than the disgusting coffee in the office. "The tenderloin district is a high concentration of drug addicts and homeless people. All the victims have been transients. So this unsub's choosing easy targets that won't be missed."