Lost In The Fire | Spencer Reid

8. The Morning After The Night Before

Trigger Warning: Descriptions of injuries/ violence, mild smut

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When Becca awoke the next morning, she found herself alone in Spencer's bed. She could hear the shower running in the next room as she sat up, her feet hitting the cool wooden floor. Wincing, she rubbed her temples gently. Wine headaches always hit her hard. In fact, wine in general always hit her hard!

She sighed deeply as she stood up, the muscles in her legs protesting silently as she made her way slowly across to the window and opening the blinds. The sky was grey, the rain still pouring, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to calm the anxiety fluttering in her stomach as she thought back to the previous night.

"Looks like the rain is settled in for the day," she heard Spencer say softly as he emerged from the bathroom. He turned to face him, smiling. His wet hair fell across his forehead, his joggers sitting low on his hips, his bare torso lean but toned.

"Yeah, it looks pretty grim out there," she said.

"A good reason to stay in here," he smiled back. "Coffee?"

"Yes please," she exhaled, following Spencer through to the kitchen.

As he busied himself making their drinks, she hopped up onto the worktop, watching him silently.

"How did you sleep?" Spencer said eventually, putting one cup of coffee beside her.

"Really good thanks. I must have been more tired than I thought." Spencer looked at her, a smirk crossing his lips. "Oh stop, that wasn't what I meant," she laughed, Spencer running a hand through his wet hair as he took a sip of his coffee. "Spence, I think we need to talk about last night," she said quietly.

"You're right," he nodded. "Can I say something first?" She nodded slowly, watching as he moved slowly towards her and stepped between her knees, his hands resting gently on her thighs.

"I don't regret what happened," he said softly, his fingertips moving gently against her skin.

"I don't either, but..."

"Becks, I'm coming into this with my eyes wide open," Spencer interrupted. "I understand that you're not going to be here forever, but can't we just enjoy the time we have? I don't know about you, but it's not every day that I meet someone I enjoy being around as much as I do with you," he said warmly. She smiled as she placed her hand tenderly on top of his.

"No, it definitely doesn't happen every day," she whispered softly. "I don't know Spence, I just don't want things to get messy. Your team looks out for you, I don't want them to treat me differently. And to be honest, I don't even know what the rules would be around us having anything more than a working relationship," she smiled hesitantly.

"Then this stays between us," he smiled, a cheeky glint in his eyes as he leant forward, his lips gently grazing hers. "It could be fun keeping secrets from profilers," he laughed softly, kissing her again, deeper this time, his tongue finding hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands slid around her waist, grabbing her ass and pulling her tight against his growing erection, a frustrated whimper tumbling from her lips as Spencer's cellphone rang loudly in the lounge.

"Hold that thought," he mumbled as he pulled away from her and made his way to his desk, where the phone lay. Becca sighed, climbing down from the worktop and picking up her coffee.

She watched him from a distance as he talked quietly on the phone, absorbing every inch of him. The lean lines of his body, the sharpness of his jaw, the soft chocolate curl of his hair. The soft, pink lips that had left her own feeling bruised and desolate in his absence.

She had begun the day certain that the previous night had been a one-off, but the touch of his hands and of his lips was enough to send her into a tailspin. Her brain told her she was making a stupid decision, one which could end with them both getting hurt. But her heart didn't seem to care. He seemed to light a fire inside of her that the sensible, level-headed part of her couldn't extinguish.

"Sure, I'll be there in an hour," he said into the phone before ending the call, smiling at her sadly. "That was Emily. They've found a body."

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"Hey guys," Emily smiled sadly as Becca and Spencer made their way up the gravel path towards her. "Thanks for picking Becca up on your way Reid."

"Not a problem, saves her having to mess with the trains in this weather," he said, giving Becca a sly smile as Emily turned away from them, leading them towards a small forensics tent which had been set up beneath a tall tree to protect the scene. When the three of them stepped into the shelter, Tara and Rossi were already there.

The victim was still where she'd been found. There had been no reason for medics to move her, it was clear there was nothing more that could be done for her. Her body was bare, her back leaning against the thick tree trunk. Her blonde hair was sopping wet, falling across her staring eyes, scarred with the fear she had felt in her final moments. The damage this unsub had done to this poor woman's body was overwhelming, the knife wounds jagged and deep. Even by BAU and Interpol standards, this was a new level of violence.

"Morning kiddos," Rossi nodded to them. "So much for a Sunday off, huh?"

"Who needs a whole weekend though, right?" Becca chuckled, raising her eyebrows sarcastically. "What do we have?"

"White female, looks to be in her late thirties, shoulder-length blonde hair, slightly built," Tara explained.

"Sounds like our guy," Becca sighed. "Any changes to the M.O.?"

"Nope, textbook," Rossi said. "Genitals have been mutilated, thirteen stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, finished off with slitting her throat and cutting out her tongue."

"The exposed positioning by the footpath is an escalation," Spencer said. "Although the disposal sites are always on public footpaths, they're usually in copses or behind undergrowth. He's not scared of being caught. And there's no blood here, so she was killed elsewhere and bought here to be put on display."

"In that respect, the scene backs up our profile," Tara said. "This treasure has got to be physically fit to transport her here without raising any suspicion. He's been killing for six years now, so my best guess is he's most likely in his mid to late twenties."

"A huge proportion of sexual sadists suffered some form of abuse in their childhood," Spencer said, his hands gesturing with each word. "A recent study estimated that 70% of sexual sadists were abused psychologically, but with this amount of genital mutilation I think it's safe to assume sexual abuse was also a factor."

"All the victims look very similar, so I think it's pretty obvious to say he's using these women as a substitute, likely for his abuser," Becca said. "My money's on a mother figure." The team nodded. "Tell me what you need me to do," Becca said, looking at Emily.

"Why don't you two head back to the BAU and link up with Garcia. Hopefully she can work her wizardry and get us some names. The rest of us will stay here, and Tara can follow the body to the morgue when she's ready to be moved."

"Ok. Call if you need anything," Becca said, gently touching Emily's arm before she pulled her hood up over her head and stepped out into the rain, followed closely by Spencer.

They moved quickly across the park, their feet splashing in the ever-growing puddles. Becca glanced up at Spencer as she hopped over one especially deep puddle. "What are you smiling about?" She asked him.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "It's just kind of hot watching you work," he added with a cheeky grin, causing her to let out a loud laugh.

"Imagine how I feel, it's kind of hot watching you do anything," she giggled, nudging him with her shoulder. "I tell you what I haven't seen you do. Run. Race you to the car," she laughed, breaking into a sprint, Spencer running close behind her.

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Authors Note: Had to sneak in a Spencer Reid run at some point, haha!