Natalie

Chapter 7

Spencer Reid fiddled with the pen in his hand. He had never been so concerned for a kid's wellbeing before. Something about Natalie reminded Reid of himself. Maybe it was her loneliness or just complete lack of direction in life. He was just like her when he was a kid. Without a stable parent in his life, there was no telling what his future would be. He was afraid that she'd become average. 

Natalie Cindy deserved to be extraordinary. She was different and Spencer wanted her to accept that. He wondered what he could do to help. Would it be a bad idea to take her back to Quantico?

"Are you okay Spencer?" Emily asked, sitting in the chair next to him.

Spencer nodded, "I'm just concerned about Natalie. Did you hear from Garcia yet?"

"Yeah, that's why I came to talk to you. His name is Stephen Hills, and he matches the profile," Emily replied.

"How'd she figure out that he wasn't the starting quarterback? There's no way a database just says that somewhere,"

"Penelope made some calls to the school and eventually was able to contact the coach. Apparently Stephen is a year older than that kid he murdered," Emily said.

"He would've never gotten a scholarship," Spencer sighed.

"Well, now he won't even go to college," Emily laughed. 

Spencer smiled and continued fiddling with his pen. After a moment of awkward silence, he stopped himself. "What would you think of me finding a way to get Natalie back to Quantico?" he asked.

Emily didn't answer, she seemed a little to shocked. 

"I think everything in this town reminds her of her parents," Spencer began. "She's the only one who believes they're still alive and because of that people judge her. And she's so afraid of being judged that she pretends not to be smart. Natalie Cindy belongs in college, and the way she's going right now won't even get her into a good one when she graduates,"

"You want to guide her?" Emily asked.

"I want her to be extraordinary," 

----

Spencer approached the cafe Natalie and Flynn visited every week. He was hoping that they weren't skipping their visit this time around.

It had been a few days since the case was closed. Spencer had spoken to Hotch about what he wanted to do about the situation. So, Aaron agreed to let Spencer have a few days off while the team went home. It gave Spencer enough time to research early college programs in the Quantico area that he could show Natalie. There weren't any.

That was when Spencer decided fostering her might be the best idea. He spoke with Marissa, her current foster mother who thought it was a great idea. Spencer's final move was discussing it with Natalie. He didn't want to make any decisions for her. Natalie would have to leave Flynn with her life here. That was not Spencer's decision to make.

Spencer walked into the cafe and approached Natalie. She looked up at him, confused. "I thought you closed the case already," Natalie said.

"Yeah we did. You were right, Stephen Hills confessed to the murders," Spencer said.

"Then why are you here?" Natalie asked.

"I came to talk to you actually," Spencer sat down.

"About?"

"Would you like to come to Quantico with me? I made some calls to a local college and they offer online classes, I think you could bene-"

"Are you kidding me?" Natalie's demeanor changed, she was annoyed. "I have spent years trying to be normal and then you ask me to leave my home just to be a weird kid that takes college classes and practically lives alone because the person taking care of me is away working for days or weeks,"

Spencer took a moment before answering. Everything was off about her answer, "You don't want to go because of Flynn,"

"Of course it's because of him! He's my best friend," Natalie admitted. "My original idea was to fail the majority of my tests and he's the one who convinced me not to," 

Flynn and Natalie were practically inseparable. The second she found out about Spencer not being a teacher she told him. When her parents died, Flynn was the only person who stuck with her and kept listening to her theories. Natalie swore they were alive, and Flynn listened. He didn't have to believe her, but he made sure she was heard. Maybe going to Quantico with Spencer was a good idea for her, but it wasn't an option if it meant leaving Flynn behind. 

"I think you should go," said a small voice from behind. 

The voice belonged to Flynn who had just entered the cafe. He smiled when Natalie turned around. There was a slight change in his demeanor when he saw Natalie's reaction. Flynn laughed it off and sat down.

Natalie turned to him, frowning. "What do you mean I should go?" she asked.

"Dr. Reid is right, you would benefit from it. I think you should go," 

"No way," Natalie crossed her arms. She wasn't ready to let go of her best friend. She wasn't going to let go of her best friend.

"I'm practically a musical genius, Natalie. You should grow up to be in the spotlight just like me, but with science or whatever it is you're good at," Flynn laughed. "You could do that while I go to Juilliard or something. We're both special Natalie, you just refuse to show it. I think if you go with him, your special will show again,"

Natalie wiped away a tear and laughed. "I want my special to show again, but I don't wanna leave you,"

"I have two years left of high school, when I graduate come visit," Flynn said.

"You lost count," Natalie smiled.

"What?" 

"We made at bet at the beginning of the year that you would keep count of the school days. You just said you have two years left of high school and we're juniors,"

Flynn laughed, "I'm not paying you,"

Natalie shrugged, "I wasn't going to make you anyway, consider it a going away gift from me,"

Spencer raised an eyebrow, "I don't think that's how those work, but does that mean you're coming?"

"Yes,"

Flynn smiled and hugged Natalie. "Make sure you FaceTime me every single day,"

"I will don't worry," Natalie said.

"I know it's short notice but I got plane tickets for tomorrow night. There's still some more paperwork I have to fill out. So, I think you should start packing Natalie and maybe get Flynn to help you," Spencer said.

Natalie nodded, "No problem,"