Verecund (Criminal Minds)

Chapter 14

Ash was woken by the sunlight with only a couple hours of sleep. The bright yellow rays were beginning to seep through the edges of the blinds, lighting up the room. The young girl sat up slowly, stretching out her back.

The cold floor made her feet tingle as she pressed her toes to the wood. Her bare feet stretched and wiggled on the floor before she slowly made silent steps towards the door. She found her new pair of Converse shoes and slipped them on over a pair of white ankle socks before leaving the bedroom silently.

Ash peered around the hallway, searching around the apartment for any signs of life. Her eye caught to movement in the small kitchen of the book-ridden apartment. She looked up to see the thin boy-band-hair man walking around. He was eating from a bowl of cereal as he looked through pages of a newspaper. Spencer looked up to see Ash.

"Hey, Ash," he said softly in a friendly voice, almost as if speaking to a child. "How'd you sleep?"

The short brunette gave a small shrug. She stood at the small bar between her and Spencer, looking at one of the newspapers on the counter of the bar.

"You want some breakfast? I only really have cereal, if that's okay." The doctor already began pulling out another ceramic bowl and a box of cereal.

Ash gave a small shake of her head. I don't eat breakfast, she signed.

"You do now. Breakfast really is important, even though its cliché to say it's the most important meal of the day. Eating beakfast is linked to good health, including better memory and concentration, lower levels of bad LDL cholesterol, and lower chances of getting diabetes or heart disease."

Ash gave a small smile and shook her head again in slight defeat. Spencer sent back a gentle grin before sliding her a bowl of cereal. Ash accepted it finally with a small wave of her hand in a thank you gesture. Spencer gave a small nod.

Ash noticed three different newspapers laying across the counters, and she skimmed over them upside down. Headlines like Beloved CEO Passed and Splitting Immigrants' Families and The Science Behind Psychotic Psychologies were decorating the page, but was blurry from Ash's current lack of glasses.

Ash's looking over the newspapers was interrupted by ringing. Spencer pulled a Blackberry phone from his pocket to look at a text. He blinked a few times before sliding his phone back into his pocket.

Work?

"Yeah," Spencer admitted as he left his bowl in the sink, rinsing it out. "I have to do some paperwork, Agent Hotchner was asking me to have it done by tomorrow."

Are you going over today, Ash signed out. Should I stay here? Or go with you?

"Yes, I should go over there today," Spencer leaned his hands on the bar, pursing his lips slightly as he stared down. "You can stay here, I'll only be gone a few hours. You'll most likely need to be there tomorrow so we can meet about your consultant status."

Ash nodded, flipping the spoon in her hand absentmindedly. The young doctor cleaned off his dishes, then padded across the apartment in his red Converse. He came back with his messenger bag and his jacket. "Will you be okay on your own, Ash?"

The young girl nodded with a mouthful of cereal. Spencer gave her a small smile and a nod as he fit his arms into his jacket. "Okay, help yourself to anything in the refrigerator, and read some books if you want. You have my number if you need it, right?"

Ash nodded again, repeating the phone number with her hands. Spencer retied one of his shoes before picking up his keys. "Good. I'll be back soon, just let me know as soon as you need my help with anything, or if something goes wrong."