Untouchable

The Fisher King: Part 1 (S1E22)

"Have you read any of the Sherlock Holmes stories?" Reid inquired, as he walked past Lydia's temporary desk.

They'd just gotten back from a case and Lydia was hard at work to finish up any reports she had to give that night. She had recently set herself to a standard that she wouldn't bring any work things to her apartment so that she could focus on her studies there.

"When I was in middle school," she answered, not looking up from her file. "Why do you ask?"

"Your job on our team is very Sherlock Holmes-esque." He continued standing to the side of her desk, patiently hoping she'd engage more with him.

And she did after he said that. "Out of the two of us, you think I'm Sherlock Holmes?" she laughed.

"Well, I'm not exactly comparing us to Holmes and Watson, I just..." He paused as he reached into his book bag and Lydia swiveled her chair to face him directly. "I found this collection of some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories in my apartment and I thought you might like them, if you hadn't read them before." He waved the brick-sized book up for her to see. "Do you want them?"

Lydia was surprised, to say the least. She stared at him for a moment, with widened eyes. "You saw a Sherlock Holmes collection and... you thought of- thought of me?" It felt so stupid, but she wasn't sure what else there was to say. It felt like a joke, but Lydia could see no reason for Reid to be playing her.

"Of course," he chuckled. "You're brilliant. You're younger than me and we're on the same team. Doesn't that mean something to you?"

She shook her head wildly, the ends of her hair smacking her across the face. "I'm some lowly intern, Spencer. You were a supervisory special agent at the age of 23."

"You could be, too," he suggested. "You've got two more years to accomplish that."

She stopped herself from shaking her head again and smiled down at her lap. "I don't think I'm cut out to be an agent. I'll stick to blood splatters and fingerprints."

When she looked back up at him, she realized that he was still holding the book.

"Oh! I'd love to read some stories though," she informed him. "If you're sure you want to part with the book for a few weeks."

"It's not a problem," he responded cheekily, setting it down on her desk. "You'll have to call me and tell me what you think of the ones you read."

She agreed and was watching him wander away when something struck her. "Oh, Spencer!"

He flipped on his heel, looking at her curiously. "Yeah?"

"You're headed back to Vegas over your break, yeah? So I won't be able to meet up with you at the cafe that week?"

He nodded.

She couldn't help but glance at the gift he'd just given her. To borrow, of course, but it made her heart swell. "I'll miss you."

"You'll be fine. You barely ask me for help on your courses anymore anyway. I think you've got it all figured out."

A panic hit her as he left. Did he think she didn't need him anymore? Was he going to leave her to get her PhD by herself now?

It wasn't his job, but she'd figured he would be there to help her for every step of the way, as he had the past six months. But he was a genius, so if he said she could do it, shouldn't she trust him?

Ehh... he was intellectual, but college relied on emotional and mental factors, too. If something unexpected happened, she might need him again. Why did it feel relieving to know that something might cause her to be incapable of doing this alone??