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1 (Post-Peace, Goodwill Towards Men, Pre-Iris)
The first time Spencer Reid meets Claire Novak, he has no idea who she is.
They’re investigating a series of kidnappings, and Spencer is trying to gather information from locals in a nearby bar. He spots a young, blonde-haired girl sitting in a booth by herself in the corner. She looks to be in her 20s, and she is dressed in a dark leather jacket with heavy makeup. Her posture and the way she acts show that she is doing her best to blend in, but her alternative way of dressing makes her stand out regardless. Maybe she’s used to drinking at different types of bars.
“Hi there.” Spencer begins, approaching her cautiously. “I’m Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the kidnappings that have been happening around here lately."
The girl puts down what she is drinking and stares at him for a moment. “Oh my god.” She says as if she were just realizing something. “You’re the kid FBI agent they adopted?” She asks rhetorically and bursts out laughing.
Stunned and bewildered, Spencer lowers his badge, watches as she slaps some money on the table, and continues laughing all the way out the door.
2 (Post-Iris, Pre-Meet the Family)
Spencer is left confused about the whole interaction until he runs into her again.
“Hello again.” He says, walking up to where she sits alone at a table in the restaurant.
She glances up at him and huffs out a laugh. “Hi."
“You mind if I sit?” He asks, and she motions for him to take a seat. “I’d introduce myself, but you seem to know who I am already. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with who you are."
“Chill.” She says with a particular brand of bluntness that he’s come to recognize. “I’m not gonna bite you. I’m Claire. Claire Novak. Cas is kinda like my dad.” She explains.
That goes along with the conclusion he came to after their last meeting. “Nice to meet you.” Spencer pauses as if trying to pick his words carefully. “So, you’re part angel, then?"
Claire laughs again. “No, but I’m not explaining any more than that."
“Fair.” Spencer agrees. He probably doesn’t need to know the inner workings of the Winchester’s family dynamics anyway.
“You getting anything?” She asks, gesturing loosely with a fry.
“No, I’m actually picking up dinner for my team.”
“Well, certainly don’t let me keep you.” She says dismissively.
“Right,” he says awkwardly, standing to his feet. “See you around?"
“Sure, I travel a lot. Don’t die in the meantime.” She says in such a way that reminds him of Dean.
He mock solutes. “Yes, ma’am."
She rolls her eyes but grins a little. By the time he ordered and the food was ready, the table she was at was empty.
3 (Post-Iris, Pre-Meet the Family)
Iris finds her the next time.
He’s taking a walk to clear his head when Iris suddenly scrambles off his shoulders and darts over to a beat-up, old car. Spencer chases after her and is surprised to find not a threat but Claire.
“Yeah, yeah.” She says to Iris, squatting down to pet her. “I need to take care of myself better.”
“You can understand her?” Spencer asks, somewhat surprised.
Claire glances over at him, standing to her feet as Iris continues to rub against her leg. “Nah, I just know Cas well enough to know what this little lady is thinking. Nice to finally meet her, though.” She says, reaching down to pet her once more, like she just can’t help it.
“I didn’t realize she was such a celebrity."
Claire laughs. “Cas just mentioned her when I asked about you.”
“You asked about me?” Spencer asks, feeling surprised once more.
Claire shrugs dismissively. “Hadn’t seen you in a while. Had to make sure you didn’t need your ass saved. Cas says you know about the supernatural, but you don’t seem like you’ve done any real research into it."
“It’s not exactly a priority,” Spencer admits.
Claire snorts. “Make it one. The last thing I need is to have to kill you because you’re possessed."
Spencer doesn’t even really know what to think about that.
“Next time, I’ll quiz ya.” She half-threatens. “And I’ll see if I have any anti-possession jewelry around so you don’t have to get tattooed; how about that?"
“Sounds great.” He agrees.
“Now get outta here. I gotta ghost to hunt and you don’t need to be around for the grave desecration part of that.”
Spencer cringes a little and takes a step back. “Yeah, the less you tell me, the better.”
She grins and gets in her car. It speeds away, leaving Spencer and Iris just standing there.
4 (Post-Meet the Family)
“I see you in a lot of shitty bars,” Spencer says upon finding Claire again.
She grins at him. “Can’t get enough of the atmosphere.” She gestures lazily with her drink, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Blend in well enough anyway. Besides, it’s the only place you can get the real hot town gossip."
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Spencer says, sitting across from her.
She snorts. “I don’t think it’d work well for you, nerd boy.”
“Hey,” Spencer protests on instinct, and she giggles.
“So, while we’re on the topic, you’ve been looking into the homework I told you to?"
“A little."
She rolls her eyes. “Pop quiz: How do you identify a demon?"
“They have black eyes and react to the word Christo, which is the Latin pronunciation of the word Christ.”
“Yeah, and how do you kill a vampire?”
“You stab it with a wooden stake.”
Claire shakes her head. “This isn’t Buffy the Vampire Slayer, nerd boy; it’s real life. You've gotta cut their heads off. And burn the bodies, preferably."
Spencer grimaces a little.
Claire grins. “It’s alright; you can leave that bit to the professionals. But here." She fiddles with a chain around her neck and pulls the necklace off, handing it over to Spencer.
“I’ve been keeping it on me in case I ran into you again. I don’t know if silver is your color, but it’ll have to do.” She comments snidely as he slips it on over his head. “Now, don’t take that shit off, you hear me? If I found out you removed it even for a second and got yourself possessed, Imma kick your ass.”
“Noted,” Spencer says.
“So, what are you in town for?” Claire asks after taking another swig of her drink. “More FBI business?”
“Yeah,” Spencer says, then glances around the room as if he’s just remembered something. “I was here with some of my team. I should probably go find them before they think I got lost."
He slides out of the booth and stands to his feet when someone bumps into him. He falls back into the booth seat, and the other person spills a bit of the drink they were carrying.
“Watch it, asshole.” The man growls, looking down at the spilled drink in annoyance. “This shit ain’t cheap."
“Sorry,” Spencer apologizes automatically.
“You’re the one who bumped into him, douchebag.” Claire points out, her voice sharp. “If anything, it’s your fault."
The man turns to look at her, angry. “So what, bitch? I ain’t apologizing to a pussy like him."
“You wanna try that again?” Claire asks, her voice as cold as ice.
“What?” The man smirks. "Are you trying to fight with me?"
“I’m trying to get you to apologize to my brother, and if that means beating your ass, then I will.”
“Claire,” Spencer tries to placate, but she’s already standing to her feet, cracking her knuckles. The man leers at her and shoves his drink roughly in Spencer’s direction for him to hold.
The fight is over rather quickly and borders on unimpressive. Unimpressive, once you get past the fact that Claire flips a man twice her size over her shoulder and slams him down on the ground. He lays there for a few moments, having the wind knocked out of him, and Claire smirks down at him smugly.
“Rethinking this?” She asks.
The man shoves himself into a sitting position, but is obviously embarrassed. “Just leave me alone.” He huffed out, trying to regain some of the confidence he had before.
“Gladly.” Claire agrees and takes a seat once more, leaving the man to scramble to his feet and out of the bar. She takes the drink out of Spencer’s hand and picks up a spare straw off the table, sticking it in the glass and taking a sip. She grimaces and immediately spits it back out. “Ugh,” she groans. “What a disgusting drink to lose a fight over.
“I guess fighting supernatural creatures for a living does have a payoff,” Spencer says without really meaning to, feeling stunned.
“It has its perks.”
“You called me your brother; don’t think I missed that.” Spencer accuses.
"Please." Claire rolls her eyes. “You’re an annoying younger brother at best.”
“Younger brother!” Spencer exclaims. “I’m older than you."
“And Cas adopted me first. I get seniority."
“Fine.” Spencer concedes.
“Now, like a good younger brother, go back to your friends and leave me to collect hot gossip in peace, you hear?"
“Yeah, yeah.” Spencer stands to his feet, sliding out of the booth carefully this time. “Take care of yourself.” He says a little more sincerely.
She just smiles at him. “Always do. Don’t take off that necklace, remember?"
“I won’t.” He promises before weaving his way through the crowded bar, shaking his head with a smile.
“I thought you might’ve needed help there for a minute,” Morgan says when Spencer approaches the group. “But it looks like she had everything under control.” They both look back to where Claire sits.
“Yeah,” Spencer agrees. “She did.”
5 (Post-Meet the Family)
The next time Spencer sees Claire, she’s sitting in a small booth with another girl, candles flickering on the table, sharing what appears to be a chocolate cake. She seems soft and smiles genuinely, laughing at something the other girl says.
Spencer leaves them be.
+1 (Post-Meet the Family)
Something about this case is odd, so when Spencer sees Claire’s old, beaten-up car around, he isn’t surprised. At least it's more subtle than a classic Chevy Impala.
“Hey, Claire,” Spencer says, spotting her outside a small convenience store. “I have some questions that might be in your area."
She glances around and motions for him to follow her into the alleyway beside the building. “What’s up?”
“We’re working on this murder case, right? And all the victims match the same MO except for this one guy who turned up just a few days ago. Are you in town for anything I should know about?”
"Nah, I just finished up a hunt. Nothing I know of is causing any harm."
Spencer frowns.
“What’s the new guy’s name? And how did he die?”
“Joe Carlson. He didn’t die wierd; it just looks like he was stabbed, but that doesn’t line up with the killer we’re tracking."
Claire fidgets with the bags in her hand, shifting how she stands uncomfortably.
Spencer stares at her, evaluating. “Did you kill him?"
"Yeah. So?"
“So? Claire, this is serious."
“What? I thought you were studying up and willing to help us hunters out.”
“I am,” Spencer reassures. “Was Joe Carlson a supernatural being?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the guy was possessed by a demon or something.”
“Claire."
She huffs, obviously upset. “You listen to the story his wife tells. See what you think then."
Spencer tries to say something, but she cuts him off.
“I hunt monsters, Spencer. If you get all the facts and still think I’m wrong, then we can talk. Otherwise, get off my ass. I’m supposed to be meeting up at Jody’s soon anyway, so I need to leave.” She says, and storms off. Spencer watches her go.
He doesn’t think that Claire would kill anything without good reason, but he can’t help but feel torn.
“How is it going with Mrs. Carlson?” Spencer asks Hotch when he regroups with the rest of the team.
“Her story checks out,” Hotch explains. “She was out at a local bar until 9 p.m. last night. Her husband was killed about an hour before then. The husband doesn’t fit in with any other victims for our current investigation, though.”
“Why’s that?"
“Besides the fact that he was stabbed, which doesn’t fit in with our killer’s style, Mr. Carlson was far from innocent."
“What do you mean?” Spencer asks, the fight with Claire still fresh in his mind.
“Well,” Hotch sighs, like he hates what he’s about to say. “Mrs. Carlson was a victim of domestic violence,” he explains, and Spencer feels like the ground is crumbling from underneath his feet. “She says that she abruptly left the house that night to get away from him and has been having trouble working up the courage to get a divorce. She was trying to make it work since they have a young child, but Mr. Carlson had started threatening to hurt their child if she made any moves on finalizing the divorce. She met up with some friends to talk about it, and when she got home, he was dead.” He shakes his head a little. “Once she got over the shock, she said, well, she said it was like a gift from god."
Claire had said that she was hunting monsters, hadn’t she? Spencer sighs. He doesn’t approve of her methods, but he can’t find it in him to tell her it's wrong. He’ll have to call her later and apologize.
“What do you think?” Hotch asks, obviously mistaking Spencer’s lost-in-thought look to be evaluating the situation at hand.
“Well, it definitely doesn’t fit with anything we have on the profile for our killer.” He agrees.
“Any idea what this could be?” Hotch continues.
Spencer shakes his head. “I’m afraid not. I guess it’ll be a mystery for the local police to solve.” He shrugs in such a way that he hopes comes across naturally and nonchalantly. “It doesn’t seem like our area to investigate."
Hotch nods, though a bit reluctantly. “You’re right. We have bigger things to focus on."
Spencer nods, and Hotch walks off to find the others. Spencer sighs, looking out the window.
“A gift from god, indeed."