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Walking down the path, Spencer Reid took his sweet time taking in his surroundings. He loved strolling in the park on his days off, especially in the autumn as now. The way the once green leaves now shone brightly in red and orange colors when the sun shone on them. He loved how the fresh, yet not cold breeze would ruffle his hair slightly while lonely leaves made their inevitable journey towards the ground.
He could spend hours in the park. Sometimes he would bring a couple of books to read while sitting on one of the many benches. Other times he would play chess; against an opponent or himself, it didn’t matter. Mostly though he just sat and looked at nature and the people passing by. He couldn’t help but let his mind wander at those times. Who were these people? He would imagine how they lived; the way they would come home to a loving spouse, maybe even kids, at the end of the day. He’d imagine, or at least try, how the mothers pushing their strollers loved their children unconditionally like his mother had always loved him. He would wonder what they read to their children; if they read to them at all. For him there was no doubt; should he ever be a father, he would read all books possible to his children.
Working with the BAU at the FBI, he got the chance to profile some of the darkest minds in the USA. He knew what would trigger a serial killer; he knew how to sweet-talk psychopaths and narcissists in order to stall them long enough for his colleagues to make the arrest. Now he tried to profile these people walking by and realized that they were harder to figure out. They were just too… too normal.
A loud bark ripped him out of his train of thoughts, and he very nearly knocked the Styrofoam cup out of his own hands, threatening to spill the now lukewarm coffee all over himself. He ‘awoke’ to see a German Shepard standing five feet from him barking loudly while wagging its tail happily. He was relieved to see it attached to a leash, the other end of which was in the hand of a young woman standing at about five foot four inches. Her green beanie contrasted with her hair, which was a warm mahogany red color. The same beanie brought out the color in her eyes making them look even greener than they already were.
An apologetic look crossed her face.
“I’m so sorry sir, he’s not aggressive in any way, he just doesn’t know that not all people want to play,” she said with a hint of a laugh in her voice.
“Oh, uh, no, it’s quite alright, really. You have just witnessed what my friends like to call the, uh, Reid-effect,” he nervously replied.
Talking to pretty girls were never his strongest suit, especially not when they looked to be around his age.
“Who is Reid and what’s the Reid-effect?” she giggled.
“Um, I’m Reid, actually, uh, Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid,” he rambled.
“Wow, that’s one heck of a title,” she smiled at him.
“Yeah, it’s, uh, it’s a bit of a mouthful, I guess,” he chuckled nervously.
Pausing for a moment, she gestured towards the bench.
“May I?”
“Of course! Uh, let me just-“ Spencer replied, hastily removing his bag that was taking up the space next to him.
She thanked him with a smile and sat down next to him before making the dog sit next to her leg and pulling a tennis ball out from her coat pocket and giving it to the canine for entertainment.
“I’m Ali, by the way, Alicia Mullins,” she introduced herself.
“Hi,” he mumbled nervously.
“So, tell me more about this Reid-effect,” she inquired, leaning forward slightly to scratch the dog behind its ear.
“It’s not actually a scientifically proven theory, in fact I believe it’s more of a loving form of teasing, they probably just called it the Reid-effect to make it sound scientific, since they’re convinced I know everything,” he rambled.
Seeing his companion try to fight back a grin, he realized he had done so, and decided to cut to the chase.
“Children and animals aren’t exactly fond of me unless I know them,” he stated.
Ali let out a short laugh.
“Well, don’t worry, I’ve met plenty of people who suffer from the Reid-effect,” she giggled.
Spencer felt the corners of his mouth curl upwards in some sort of a smile.
“In fact,” she continued, “please don’t be offended by this, but children and animals are often the quickest when it comes to spotting a dodgy personality. That’s why I got this big boy to start with,” she leaned down to scratch the dog’s head softly, “apparently I have a horrible taste in men,” she concluded with a small chuckle.
“Luckily it doesn’t apply to all animals and children,” Spencer explained, “I have a godson and he always seems happy to see me. He calls me Uncle ‘Pence, he’s five.”
“I can’t imagine how he could not like you,” Ali replied, causing a small tinge of red to spread across her cheeks.
“Uh, thanks,” he managed to squeak out, annoyed with himself as his voice ended up an octave above what he would have preferred.
“How about I properly introduce you to Kenai, then? Perhaps he could be the first dog to overcome the Reid-effect,” she chuckled before turning to the dog, gaining its attention.
“Kenai, can you say hello? Say hello,” she prompted the animal.
Kenai looked up at her before looking at Spencer and lifting one of his front paws, moving it through the air as if to wave.
“Go on, take his paw and say hello,” she smiled.
Doing as he was told, Spencer tentatively reached out and lightly caught the paw waving through the air, not quite sure how tight to hold.
“Uh, hello Kenai, I, um, I’m Spencer,” he said, feeling slightly silly for talking to a dog, but never the less pleased that the dog seemed to be enjoying himself.
“Well there you go,” Ali chuckled making Spencer smile.
The two, well three, fell into a comfortable silence for a moment before that silence was broken by a shrill ringing from a cell phone. Quickly excusing himself, Spencer fished his phone out of his coat pocket and answered it. It was Aaron Hotchner, needing him at the station ASAP. They had an urgent case.
“I, uh, I have to go now, duty calls… But it was good meeting both of you,” he managed to stutter out.
“That’s a shame,” Ali replied, and he didn’t doubt for a moment that she meant it.
“Yeah, I had a good time,” he told her.
“So did I,” she smiled, “Um… Would you mind meeting up again? You seem very fascinating. I would love to get to know you.”
“Uh, um, sure, I, um, I would like that,” he stuttered.
“Good,” her smile grew bigger, “do you have a pen?”
Reaching into his messenger bag, he fished out a ball point pen and handed it to her. Instantly she grabbed his hand with her free hand, holding the pen in the other before scribbling something on his hand. She put the cap back on the pen before handing it back to him.
“You should call me when you’re free. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee,” she grinned, gesturing to the remains of his cold coffee that he still held in his hand.
“Okay, I, uh, I’ll call you,” he replied.
“Alright. I’ll see you around, Spencer,” she smiled before calling Kenai’s attention and heading off down the path.
For a moment Spencer allowed his brain to process what had just happened. As it sunk in, a smile made its way onto his face, wider and wider until it couldn’t possibly get any bigger. Taking a deep breath, he made his way to the nearest metro station, ready to go back to work with a renewed energy – and Ali’s number written on the back of his hand.