Strange Encounter - a Criminal Minds fic

Chapter 11

Spencer found Amelia on the bench that she and Derek had sat on the day before. He saw she had headphones in and was nodding her head absentmindedly to whatever music she was listening to. He took a seat next to her, leaning back and crossing his legs, waiting for her to say something. He would've gladly sat in silence all day if that's what she wanted.

After a few minutes she pulled her headphones out and shoved them in the pocked of her coat. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, twirling a long curl around her finger.

"Y'know, I didn't grow up in Philly but I was born here. My parents split when I was two so my mom and I moved to her hometown in the middle of the state. I let my mom's delusions become my own beliefs and wasted almost 10 years of my life not letting myself get too close to my dad, but I still visited him in the city every other court-sanctioned weekend." Amelia dropped the curl and started to twirl another. Spencer just sat, waiting for her to go on.

"I fell in love with this city, and moving here 11 years ago was the best decision I've made yet. It.. it literally saved my life. My grandparents, the ones my mom and I lived with, think it's just cause I grew up in central bumblefuck Pennsylvania and I just liked the change. Which like, fair, maybe that was it, but how could you not? The history, the culture, the food" she chuckled. "But now. She followed me here, chipping away at the appeal. Now with all of this.. I don't want to fall out of love with this place but damn it's gonna take a while to look at it the same way."

"This is your home. Whether you're here or not, anyone can tell how much you love this place. You're passionate about it. I envy that, I'm from Las Vegas and I like to visit but.. I'm not nearly as in love with it as you are with your home." He placed a hand on her leg, "And that other stuff? None of it is your fault. It's all extenuating circumstances." He looked over at her, trying to meet her eyes and convey that he meant what he said.

She looked at him, Spencer almost would've said she was studying him. "Las Vegas.. that's pretty cool." She looked back down at the ground. "Thank you. For finding me and knowing what to say. It feels like you've had to do that a lot for me the past few days," she glanced back up. "I guess we have to go back now, huh?"

Spencer nodded, "But I think we have time to grab an iced mocha from that place you like down the street." He felt his stomach flip as she looked over to him with a wide smile. "You know, I think you're he first civilian who drinks as much coffee as my team does" he chuckled, standing and reaching his arms over head to stretch. Amelia stood next to him, grabbing his hand as it fell back by his side.

"How one can survive without constant caffeine I will never understand" she said, tugging him down the street to the cafe. He looked down at her hand in his, realizing she wasn't letting go. And god, he didn't want her to.

__

Back at the precinct, Amelia settled into the couch next to JJ in an office she knew their boss had been using. She had heard Spencer mention a cognitive interview but had no idea what that meant. She started fidgeting with her ring, glancing up as JJ cleared her throat.

"So, do you know what a cognitive interview is?" Amelia shook her head. JJ smiled at her, "I'm not surprised, it's not widely used outside of federal investigations. What I'm going to do is have you close your eyes and walk you through those two Fridays that we have on video. We're gonna try to reinstate the context, paint a picture of the surroundings. You may be able to remember a small detail you didn't before."

Amelia liked JJ. She hasn't talked down to her, even the first day in her apartment when she's sure it must have been like talking to a wall. She always did her best to make her feel comfortable, which Amelia appreciated.