For a Genius, You're Pretty Dumb

It was late when we finally got the call. I was sitting with Spencer and Elle at a desk. Spencer was playing with a rubrics cube and Elle was complaining about waiting so long. I, on the other hand, liked waiting. It gave me time to think.

I started off thinking about the case. But, of course, my mind wandered to other things. I thought about life before the BAU. My first foster home. My last foster home. I thought about my parents. God, I miss them. It's been almost twenty years.

I was torn from my thoughts when I heard Spencer ask, "Do you think that's why I can't get a date?"

I looked at him and Elle said, "Did you ever ask anyone out?"

He thought for a minute and said,"No."

"That's why you can't get a date," Elle said.

That's when the phone started ringing.

Elle put the phone on speaker and we all listened in on the call.

"You stupid, incompetent, sons of bitches! I don't make mistakes! I am Death! You hear me?! I. Am. Death! You'll see tomorrow! Mark my words. You. Will. See. And while I'm taking her, I'm going to be thinking of you."

Click. Well, damn.

He hung up.

"Anything?" JJ asked Garcia.

JJ hung up.

"She said she has nothing."

Damn it! What the hell is with these fucking psychopaths!

I groaned and put my head in my hands.

The station gave an undercover car for each of us. I went with Spencer and Derek. We were in a cute little red car. Derek made me sit in the back. Something about men being superior. I decided not to argue for once and sat in the back.

Derek sighed.

"It's ten thirty already."

"All he said was tomorrow. He didn't specify morning," Spencer said.

"Reid, this guys gotta spend a lot of time in that house. A lot. He needs it to be morning," Derek replied.

I sat in the back, quiet as a mouse. I don't know how long I was asleep. All I remember is Derek yelling and me and Spencer shaking me. I think Derek even slapped me.

"What," I asked, "Did we catch him?... Derek, did you ... Did you slap me? That was uncalled for."

Derek looked at me like I was crazy.

"You fell asleep and started yelling and crying!"

Shit.

"Oh, I must have had a nightmare," I said trying to laugh it off.

Derek sighed and turned around.

Spencer kept looking at me.

"What is it? Do I have something on my shirt?" I looked down. Nothing.

"Is it my hair? Did I muss it up in my sleep?"

"No, I was just wondering how long you've been having nightmares," Spencer answered.

I sighed.

"Spencer, we need to pay attention. We have a sicko to catch," I said looking out the window.

He turned back around.

"We're lookin for a needle in a haystack here," Derek said while they were talking about how far away the other victims lived.

"Actually, it's more like we're looking for a needle in a pile of needles."

Me and Derek looked at Spencer.

"What?" Derek asked.

"A needle would stand out in a haystack," Spencer replied.

Derek laughed while I sat in the back laughing my ass off.

"Hahahahaha! Ahahaha ...... haha haha ... Ah, I love you, Spencer ... Ahahahaha!"

Spencer's too cute.

"We're not lookin for someone who stands out," Derek said.

"We're looking for a particular needle in a pile of needles," Spencer said picking up his binoculars.

I picked up my binoculars and looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary. But, nothing would be out of the ordinary, anyway.

I messed with the strap around my neck for the binoculars then put them back down.

This is boring.

Derek's cell phone started ringing.

"Morgan ... Yeah.... Kay," Derek hung up the phone.

"What?" I asked.

"They know who he is," Derek said starting the car.

"Who?" I asked.

"Phone line technician," He said driving. Driving fast. Very fast.

"A phone line technician?"

"Yep."

We got to the building in less than fifteen minutes. Good time.

We walked into the building and Derek stopped at the reception desk.

"FBI," Derek said as we pulled out our credentials, "I need to know where one of your technicians is."

"FBI?" He asked.

"Where are your technicians?" Spencer asked.

"They're all out on the field."

"Listen!" Derek yelled slamming his hands on the desk, "I need Franklin Grainy right now!"

The man at the desk looked at us and stuttered.

"Hey! Stop dickin' around! You have to tell us where he is! NOW!" I yelled, "Hop to it!"

He brought something up on his computer.

"Hurry it up! I said HURRY!" I yelled even louder.

He gave us an address.

We were in the car, speeding, of course.

"Damn, girl! I've never heard you yell so loud!" Derek appraised me while he drove.

"Yeah, well, you gotta do what you gotta do."

He chuckled.

He drove for a good five minutes before he slammed the breaks.

"He's around here. Orange and Chandler."

We got out of the car and spread out. I walked down a street looking for a house with an open window or something to indicate that the unsub was there.

I was looking around for five minutes when my phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I answered.

"We caught him," Derek said.

"Oh, that's great. Where are you?"

"By the car."

"Okay, I'm on my way," I said and hung up.

I walked the few blocks back to the car and met up with Gideon.

"Who got him?" I asked.

"I did," Gideon said.

"Another one saved," I said.

"But a lot more left to save," He replied.

I nodded.

It's true that we do save a lot of people, but there are also so many that we can't save. I'm just glad I don't have JJ's job. I wouldn't be able to choose cases. Trying to choose what you think is the most important case and hoping you chose right. It's just too much for me.

My thoughts were disrupted when Derek came up to me.

"Hey," He said. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's blow this Popsicle stand," I said opening the car door and getting inside.

Derek chuckled and got in the driver's seat while Spencer got in the passenger seat.

"So ... Did you really slap me?" I asked looking at Derek's eyes in the rear view mirror.

He chuckled and said, "Yeah, I did. I was trying to wake you up."

"If I have a bruise, your ass is grass."

We drove back to the station to fill out some papers and all that boring stuff. Hotch said that we were staying at the hotel another night instead of going straight home.

I was helping myself to the alcohol in the mini bar when someone knocked on my door. I sighed and set my little barbie doll sized bottle of Skyy vodka down and walked to the door. I looked in the little peephole. Spencer?

I looked at the clock on my phone. 12:38. Whats he want this late? I opened the door and smiled at him.

"Hey, there. Come on in," I said opening the door further. "Mi casa, su casa."

He walked in and sat at the foot of my bed. I sat next to him.

"So, what brings you to my room?" I asked looking at him.

He smiled at me then sighed.

"Allie, I wanted to ask you about your nightmares.

I frowned.

"Spence, it's fine. I only have them like once a month. Everyone has bad dreams," I said trying to get him to leave me alone about them.

"Will you tell me what they're about?"

I looked in his brown eyes. I didn't want to tell him. But I also really wanted to tell someone to get it off my chest. I was going to do something that I didn't want to do. Something that I would feel guilty for doing. Something I was used to doing.

I was going to lie to Spencer.

I sighed. My mind was made up.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you about them. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially Derek."

"I promise," He said instantly.

I laid down on the bed.

"You can lay down, too, if you want," I said patting the other half of the bed.

He laid down and we faced each other, our faces inches apart.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" I asked him.

"How long?"

"Twenty years. Next."

He sat up.

"Twenty years? Twenty? Like, everyday?" He asked surprised.

"Yes, twenty years every single day. Lay back down," I directed.

He laid back down.

"What triggered these nightmares?"

This was where I was gonna lie.

I closed my eyes. When a person looks to their right, in theory, they're creating. As in creating a lie. When a person looks to their left, they're remembering. In theory, of course. I wasn't sure if Spencer was aware of this little piece of information, but he IS a genius, after all. I wasn't taking ANY chances.

"I was nine years old and it was Valentine's day. My parents were having a candle lit dinner at home and took me to a friends house. After they ate, they went to the bedroom for some after dinner activities. They forgot to put out the candle before they went upstairs. My cat, Madeline, jumped up on the table and knocked the candle down. The whole house eventually went up in flames. My parents couldn't get out. My friends mom woke me up crying and told me about their deaths. Ever since then, I've had nightmares involving fire."

I opened my eyes and looked at Spencer.

"I'm sorry about your parents," He said softly.

I closed my eyes and put my arm around him.

"Yeah, me too."

I felt bad about lying to Spencer, but I wasn't ready to tell anyone about what happened.

"What happened to you after they died?"

"I went into foster care. No one could contact anyone in my family but my grandma and she didn't want me," I said. This part isn't a lie. It's the truth.

"I'm sorry about that," He said.

"Mmm,"

He was quiet for a while after that.

I could heard his light breathing.

"Spence?" I asked.

He stayed silent.

"You awake?"

Still quiet.

"Spencer," I said tapping his shoulder.

I got off my bed and left him to sleep as I went back to the mini bar to finish my vodka.

I was drinking for a half hour when I heard him wake up and get out of bed.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," I said smirking.

He smiled and walked into the dining area and sat in a chair. I brought over a few mini bottles over to him and grabbed another shot glass. I poured us both a shot and pushed the shot glass over to him. I counted to three and we both took the shots. We did this quite a few times. We were at eleven shots when he stood up.

"Leaving already?" I asked standing up and throwing away the little bottles.

"Yeah, it's getting late and we have to be on the jet early tomorrow," He said as we walked to the door.

"Okay, goodnight," I said opening the door for him.

"Goodnight," He said then paused. "If you ... If you have a nightmare tonight, just knock on my door and you can talk to me about it."

"Yeah, sure thing," I breathed.

He smiled and closed the door.

I sighed and walked over to my bed. Getting in, I knew I would fall asleep and wake up screaming. I thought about actually going to Spencer's room and talking to him after I wake up crying. I laid down and pulled the covers up to my chin and fell asleep.

I could see the house clearly. It was a beautiful night. The sky was clear and lit by all the stars. The moon was so big. I ran up the walkway that led to my front door and put my hand on the knob. I sucked in a breath as I turned the knob and walked in the house. The walls were smeared with blood. I ran upstairs and saw my mom being slaughtered. The man turned to me and came at me with the knife. I screamed as loud as I could. Fat tears rolled down my cheeks as collapsed on the ground. The man got on top of me and smiled.

That was when I woke up.

I got out of my bed and walked out of the hotel room.

Spencer's in room .... 301? I quietly tiptoed over to the door of his hotel room and knocked on the door.

He answered about thirty seconds after I knocked.

"Hey, Allie," He said opening the door for me to come it.

I walked in and sat on his bed.

"You had a nightmare?" He asked.

I nodded my head and laid down on his bed.

"Can I sleep here?" I asked pulling the blankets over myself.

"Sure," He said getting a pillow and putting it on the couch.

"Wait, what are you doing?" I asked him.

He turned around with a confused look on his face.

"Uh, I'm uh getting my bed set up," He said.

"No, your not."

"I'm not?" He asked picking his pillow back up. Then putting it back down.

"Hmm mmm." I mumbled shaking my head.

"Oh, did you want to talk about you're nightmare first?"

He walked over to the bed and sat next to me. I got out of bed and took his pillow from the couch and put it next to my spot on the bed.

"I need someone to hold on to after my nightmare," I said laying down and motioning for him to lay down.

He laid down and I put my arm around him and snuggled into him.

He snaked his arm around my waist. We stayed that way for about a half hour until I said,"Spencer? If I tell you something do you promise not to be mad at me?"

"Hmm?" He asked.

"You have to promise." I said nestling closer to him.

"Okay, I promise not to be mad,"He said.

"I lied to you earlier," I confessed.

Please, Spencer, please just don't get mad.

"Lied? Lied about what?"

"When you asked me what triggered the nightmares. My parents didn't die in a fire," I said looking up at his face.

His expression was surprised, but he didn't look mad. Maybe a little hurt.

"I'm so sorry and I feel really bad about lying to you," I said grabbing his hands. "Please don't be upset with me."

"I'm not upset, I promise. It's just, well, why did you lie to me?"

I sighed and said, "Because I'm not ready to tell anyone what happened."

"You can tell me," He said calmly.

"I will. Someday."

"Promise?" He asked.

"I promise. Now lets get some sleep."

I nuzzled into his neck and put my arms around him. He put his arms around me. That was how we fell asleep.

It was weird. I forgot what it was like to dream. To have a full nights sleep. I don't know if it was because there were arms around me and I felt protected, but it was amazing.

Its was the first night I didn't have a nightmare in twenty years.