February Night

Chapter 30

It happened that Lucy spent most nights at Spencer's apartment now whenever he was home and didn't have a case that brought him out of town. She then prepared breakfast every morning when he was here and he appreciated it more than Lucy had thought. One morning, Spencer had wrapped his arms around Lucy's waist and pulled her into his lap, kissing her bare shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?" She smirked, stroking his cheek.

"For the breakfast every morning. Without you, all I have in the mornings are maybe a donut and some coffee."

"Well, you deserve more than just a donut and a coffee", Lucy said before she leaned down and kissed him.

~

Lucy got pulled out of her dreams abruptly when Spencer's phone suddenly started to ring. "What the hell?", she groaned and turned on her stomach, grabbing the pillow and burying her face in it. "Spencer, please make it stop", she begged, in desperate need of more sleep. It was in the middle of the night and Lucy hadn't expected Spencer getting a call. The young agent rolled over and grabbed his phone to answer.

"Don't tell me there's a case", he murmured into the phone and then let out the loudest groan ever. "Okay, I'll be there."

"No", Lucy whined when she heard it. Of course, it was a case and Spencer had to leave.

"I'm so sorry", he sighed as he rolled on the other side and pulled Lucy closer. First, he kissed her cheek and then her warm lips.

"It's okay", Lucy murmured and kissed him again as soon as he had pulled away. "Where do you have to go?"

"Jacksonville", Spencer replied while he got up and hurried to get dressed. Lucy watched him hustling around in the bedroom, not knowing what more to say. She wouldn't admit it, but sometimes she hated when he had to leave so abruptly. Of course, she was aware of the importance of his job, but she already missed him. And she could never know if he would get back to her, same with Luke. Lucy swallowed and snuggled back into the pillows, hiding her face in them.

"Hey, you alright?" Spencer had come back to the bed and now sat on the edge of it.

Lucy nodded. "Sure. I'm just tired", Lucy said with a little smile.

"Okay. I'll send you a message when we're there." Spencer leaned down and pressed another gentle kiss on Lucy's lips. "Get some more sleep now." He smiled, then got up and left. Sighing, Lucy turned off the light and pulled the duvet up under her chin before she closed her eyes. But she had a hard time finding sleep again.

Although Lucy had thought she was used to letting beloved persons go making dangerous jobs, she had realized that she really wasn't used to it. She loved Spencer with all her heart and imagining him not coming back from a case was too much to bear at some times. She had always feared for her brother, and now she had to worry about Spencer too.

She had told both, Spencer and Luke, about her worries, but they had assured her that she didn't need to worry and nothing would happen to them. Lucy had gotten angry because she knew, they were lying whenever they said words like these. They couldn't know if something would happen to them or not. They couldn't know if they would make it out of a case alive. A groan escaped Lucy's mouth when she thought about it. It was something that might bother her forever. But she also knew, she had to learn to live with it. It was Luke's and Spencer's job to catch and arrest psychopaths and serial killers. They would always put their lives in danger if they had to.

The sun was already about to rise when Lucy finally fell into a slumber for another three or four hours. When she woke up the next time, she could hear rain pounding against the window. For a moment, she thought about just staying in bed all day since it was Sunday anyway. But then she changed her mind. It wouldn't do her any good if she'd stay in here. She'd think too much. So, she got up and took a shower. Then she left Spencer's apartment and made her way to the bookshop. On her way there, she read the message Spencer had sent her earlier this morning:

Good morning, babe. I hope you got some more sleep after I've left. We arrived in Jacksonville and will hopefully solve this case quickly. I already miss you. Love, Spencer.

Lucy smiled at the words and quickly texted back before she opened the door to her own little paradise. The bookshop was the place Lucy went to whenever she felt like getting distracted. All the books she could get lost into and all the work she had to do there were a great distraction to her. And although it was Sunday and she didn't open the store at those days, she had wanted to come here for a peaceful day.

After making a cup of her beloved Nespresso caramel coffee, she started to put the new books she had just received two days ago into the bookshelves. She had to rearrange some shelves so everything would fit perfectly again. While she strolled through the store, an idea struck her. Although the bookstore was already a cozy place, she wanted to make it even cozier. Lucy started to imagine how it would be if there would be some more comfortable armchairs and what an impact it would make to put some little tables in here as well. There was still quite a lot of space for such things. Maybe, customers would spend more time in here and might even bring their coffees with them to spend an afternoon or a morning with books. Lucy smiled at the thought. She could already imagine everything and now couldn't wait to start working on changing the bookstore a bit.

The thoughts about her work distracted her from the worries about Spencer and Luke and it was only when she got back home in the evening, when her thoughts drifted away to her boyfriend and brother again. Lucy grabbed her phone and sent Spencer a text, asking if they were on a successful way to catch the unsub. Much to her surprise, he almost immediately replied. They were just about to leave the police station in Jacksonville; they had been successful indeed and had caught the unsub fast. Lucy smiled at her phone. At least, a case that hadn't taken more than a few hours. This rarely happened. She sent another text, telling Spencer that she was at her own apartment and if he wanted, he could come over. He told her he'd totally do that. And once again, Lucy smiled. Since they were a couple, they tried to spend as much time as possible together which ended in one of them staying over night at each other's apartments.

Determined to not fall asleep until Spencer would be back, Lucy got up from the couch, took a shower and then cooked herself some pasta. Munching her dinner, she watched an episode of The Vampire Diaries that she had found during channel-hopping. She loved this TV show and could watch it literally every day. But the time didn't pass quick enough for Lucy. She fell asleep on the couch as soon the episode was over.

She only woke up when warm lips kissed her cheek. She slowly shifted and opened her eyes. "Hey." Spencer was sitting on the arm rest of the couch, smiling down at Lucy.

"Oh no, I fell asleep", she murmured as she sat up and tried to restrain her messy hair. Spencer chuckled.

"Don't worry, it's late. I haven't expected you to stay awake. By the way...", Spencer held up the key to Lucy's apartment, "putting a key under the doormat isn't the most genius idea. Everyone could grab it and come inside."

Now it was Lucy's turn to chuckle. "Well, I'm not a genius, so..." She leaned in and kissed Spencer. "I'm glad you're back and you're alright", she murmured against his lips. He smiled into the kiss.

"I'm glad too. Now, let's go to bed. I'm tired." He got up and grabbed Lucy's hand to drag her with him. And she followed him willingly, happy to have him back, even though he had been away for only one day.