Perfectly Flawed - Chapter 9

Perfectly Flawed - Chapter 9

word count - 2.2k

warnings - cursing

Summary: Lina makes plans with Spencer, vetoes another nickname from Derek, and picks an outfit for Friday night.

"And how was your lunch, my lovely?" Penny says as I walk in. 

I grin and say to her, "Pretty good, how about yours?" 

She smiles at me and says, "Oh, not so bad. You ready to knock a few more of these out?" I sit down and get situated, giving her a nod.

After a few more hours of writing reports, it's finally time to go home for the day. Heaving a sigh, Penny hoists her purse onto her shoulder and tells me, "Hopefully, we can have one more day like today, and then have our night out tomorrow."

Holding a hand up and crossing the first two fingers on my hand, I grin and say, "Here's hoping!" We walk to the elevators, talking and laughing as the doors open and we step in. 

As we step out of the elevator and stand to the side, Penny asks, "So, what are you planning for tonight?"

"Oh, I plan on going through my clothes and having my roommate help me pick out an outfit for tomorrow. It's been a while since I've gone out, gotta look cute!" I say with a grin. 

"Aww, that shouldn't be too difficult for you, Dewdrop!" comes Derek's voice from the elevator, as he and Spencer walk out.

"I...'Dewdrop'?!" I splutter out, snorting and laughing. 

Derek sighs, saying, "OK, not 'Dewdrop'...", then looks over at Spencer, who grins, shakes his head, and claps Derek on the shoulder while saying, "Nope, not 'Dewdrop'," then strolling towards the door.

Still laughing, I start walking over to Spencer, while behind me I hear Penny say to Derek, "Sorry, Hot Chocolate. Guess you're gonna have to keep trying." 

I take a deep breath to stop laughing, turn to Derek and Penny and say, "See you guys tomorrow!", then look over at Spencer and ask, "Ready to go, Doc?"

Flushing slightly while still grinning, he nods, and we start to head to the station. "So, what do you do when you don't have work, Doc?" I ask Spencer as we make our way down the sidewalk.

"O-oh, um, the usual, I suppose. Catch up on housework, read, try to relax..." he says, hands in his pockets. "W-why, what do you do on your days off, Lina?" he asks cautiously. 

"The same, I guess. Honestly, I'm wondering because the only person I've really hung out with for the past 3 years has been my roommate Val, and I'm starting to think she's getting sick of me." I say jokingly with a chuckle.

He just looks at me as if trying to calculate a response, so I say, "You know, maybe we could hang out sometime? Outside of work? For fun?" 

He's silent for a few moments, then asks, "What would we do?"

I take a breath and blow it out, saying, "I dunno, go to the library or a book store, or to a coffee shop, just...hang out, talk, whatever...you know?" 

He looks at me for a few seconds, then back down and quietly says, "Yeah, I'd-I'd like that."

I look over at him and smile, then say, "Really? Awesome. Maybe if we don't get a case, did you wanna, I dunno, get some coffee or something on Saturday?" 

He looks at me with a small half-smile and says, "Y-yeah, sounds good."

As we stroll into the station, I notice we still have a few minutes until the Metro is supposed to come in, so I motion to Spencer for us to sit down on a nearby bench. I let my hair out of its ponytail and massage my head while asking Spencer, "Did you want me to get us coffee again tomorrow for the ride in?"

"Y-you don't have to do that, you know." he starts. 

I shrug and say, "I know. But it made the day go a little smoother, right? The work went by a little faster?" 

He gives me a small smirk, then says, "Alright. But I can get it this time, and I'll pay, OK?" I open my mouth to protest but he cuts me off, saying, "You can get Saturday if you really want."

I sigh and remark, "I'm not gonna win this one, huh, Doc?" Spencer laughs lightly and shakes his head. I give a short chuckle and say, "Fine. You drive a hard bargain there, Spence." He gives me a large grin while the Metro pulls up, and we head on and find seats.

I send a quick text to Val, asking for her help in picking out an outfit for tomorrow night, then put my phone away and look over at Spencer. "So, what do you like to do, Doc? Other than read, play chess, and drink coffee?" I say with a small half-smile.

"Oh, well, I enjoy playing cards, especially poker; learning different languages, trying out new magic tricks..." he starts. 

"Oh my God, no way, you can do magic?!" I say excitedly. 

He stops for a moment, then smiles and says, "I-yeah, I can do magic. You like magic?"

Big smile on my face, I say, "Well, yeah! Who wouldn't? Magic tricks are fun! Do you think you could show me what you know sometime?" 

Still smiling, he nods and quietly says, "Yeah."

Grinning, I say, "Also, poker, huh? Is that the Vegas in you?" 

Spencer laughs and replies, "Ah, maybe. I'm...kind of banned from a few casinos back in Nevada, though." 

I raise my eyebrows and say, "Oh, you're that good, hmm?" 

He laughs again and says, "Something like that."

"Maybe next time, I could join in, I have a fair bit of luck in that and blackjack," I say with a sly smile. 

Spencer raises his eyebrows at me and says, "Oh, really? Yeah, next time we play, I'll let you know."

I laugh lightly and nod as I signal for my stop. I turn and say, "I'll see you tomorrow, Spence." 

He raises his hand in a wave and replies, "See you tomorrow, Lina." Still grinning, I step off the Metro and start on my way home.   *************

As I enter my apartment, I call out, "Val? You home?" 

I faintly hear her voice from my room. "I started looking for clothes for you!" Her voice gets louder. "Get in here and try these on!" Grinning, I drop my bag on the floor and hang up my coat, kicking my shoes off.

Walking into my room, I see her rooting around in my closet, muttering to herself, with several different clothes on hangers strewn about my bed. "Ah, you are gonna help me put these back, right?" I ask her.

She pops her head out of the closet and says, "What?! Oh, yeah, yeah, just...try those jeans I pulled out, will ya?" while pointing at a pair of dark blue flares on my bed. 

"Uh, yeah, just lemme freshen up first, 'kay?" I say, walking into the bathroom.

After I'm done, I head back in to step out of my work pants and put the jeans on. "OK, now what?" I ask, walking towards the closet. 

"Here, try this on with it." Val's muffled voice says from within the closet, her hand thrusting a red tank top in my direction.

"Ehhh, I dunno, I know it'll be hot in there, but I don't think a tank top..." I start with a whine. 

"Just...try the damned thing on first!" Val retorts, walking out to see how it looks on me. Putting it on it looks nice, a little bow in the middle, the top part of the bust ruched.

"Kinda short, though..." I grumble, trying to pull it down over my stomach. Val sighs, motioning with her hand to give it to her. I take off the top and hand it to her, and she puts it on a hanger and puts it back in the closet.

While she digs around in my closet some more, I head out to where my bag is and put away the books Spencer read today on my bookcase. "Where the hell did you go?!" Val calls out. 

I meander back in, saying, "What? I was putting something away while you were searching."

She sniffs and hands me a hanger with a white peasant top on it. "Oh, this is cute..." I start, as I put it on over my head. I quickly realized that this one is not only too short in the torso but also has a large slit that goes halfway down the shirt, with ribbons that can be tied in the middle.

"Whoa, uh, no. Little too much cleavage there, Val." I say, quickly taking the shirt back off. 

She hums and agrees. "Yeah, but it'll be great if you ever need to breastfeed..." she snarks with a smirk, putting it back on the hanger and burying it in the back of my closet.

While she hunts for another shirt for me to try on, I feel my phone vibrate. A small, dopey grin spreads on my face when I see it's from Spencer.

Hello, Lina. I figured I'd ask you now, what coffee do you want for the morning?

Still grinning, I type my reply:

Heya, Spence. Just a medium hot mocha, nothing fancy. Thank you, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Hitting 'send' and putting my phone away, I'm met with a black shirt shoved under my nose. I look up, and I see Val with a smug smile on her face. "Found something, I think you'll really like it," she says in a sing-song voice.

Taking the hanger from her, I take a look at the shirt. It's another peasant top, only in black. It has a ruffle collar, but it goes straight across. As I pull it down over me, I can see the bottom of it is well past my stomach. And with an edge that's longer in the back, it falls nicely over my hips.

"Oh, nice..." I say quietly, turning around to look at the back in the mirror. 

"Wait, you've got some tags there, lemme get that for ya..." Val says, quickly grabbing a pair of scissors to cut the tags off. 

"Thanks, Vallie..." I say, still examining myself in the mirror.

"Well? Whaddya think?" she says, leaning back on her arms as she sits on the bed. 

I turn to her and say, "I like it! This is mine?!" She nods and stands up, adjusting the collar so it's more off my shoulders.

"There, that should do it..." she says, smoothing out the fabric. 

I turn to look in the mirror, then turn back and ask, "Um, isn't that a little...low? Shouldn't I have it up more?" 

She shakes her head, explaining, "Nah, it lies flat easier this way. As for the cleavage, sorry, girlie, but you could have that in a turtleneck."

"As long as a nip doesn't slip out, you should be golden." she finishes and she starts rummaging in my dresser. 

"Ah, whatcha lookin' for?" I ask. 

I hear a quiet, "Aha!", and Val puts a bra in my hands. "G'head, put that on, see how it looks," she says.

"I-OK..." I say quietly, turning around and taking the shirt and my bra off. 

As I fumble with the bra she handed me, Val snorts and comments, "Y'know, it's not like I haven't seen a pair of 'em before..." 

After adjusting myself into the bra, I put the shirt back on and retort, "Yeah, well, habit, I guess..." I turn around, and Val fusses with the straps of the bra. 

"See, these are clear and matte, so you can have your support without the straps being seen...well, unless someone is all up on you, I guess."

"And, that should hold you in place decently. Go look in the mirror, Lina." she finishes. I look at myself one last time, and the straps work well, I can barely see them. All in all, it's a damn cute outfit.

Smiling, I hug Val and say, "Thank you, Vallie! I better get out of these and prep them for tomorrow, Penelope is gonna drive us and we'll get ready here before heading out. Are you still heading out with Joe for the weekend?"

Val nods, taking the clothes from me and putting them back on hangers, then hanging them over my bedroom door. Putting a tank top on, and slipping into pajama pants and an old t-shirt, I go and grab some Febreeze.

"What are you..." she starts, as I start lightly spraying the clothes. 

"Well, for one, I know I was a little sweaty, so I wanna get rid of that. Also, God only knows how long that's been in my closet." She shrugs and nods.

"Now that that's all settled," I say as I turn to her and set the bottle down on a nearby table. "What're we getting for dinner?" I finish with a smirk.

Previous chapter

Next chapter

Story Masterlist

So ya know how anti-choice trashcans say "what if the cure for cancer lives in the mind of a fetus that gets aborted?"

But since fetuses already knowing advanced medical sciences aren’t a thing, I figured I’d provide some more valid alternatives:

What if the cure for cancer lives in the mind of someone who has a “black sounding” name and gets their school application thrown out?

What if the cure for cancer lives in the mind of someone who accidentally becomes pregnant where abortion is illegal or very difficult to access and they are forced to quit the sciences to raise the child?

What if the cure for cancer lives in the mind of a fat person whose credibility in the medical field is destroyed because they are assumed to be “unhealthy” and a hypocrite?

What if the cure for cancer lives in the mind of a person who starves to death?

What if the cure for cancer lives in the mind of someone who is murdered by drones or police?

What if the cure for cancer lives in the mind of someone who is raped and cannot continue their research due to trauma?

What if the cure for cancer lives in the mind of someone who is killed in a shooting because some below average teen boy couldn’t get laid?

I mean if you wanna talk about real life actual things that prevent scientific advancement look no further than capitalism, misogyny, ableism, racism, violence, oppression. But I guess that doesn’t allow you to control people’s bodies and push your gross agenda.

Perfectly Flawed - Chapter 12

word count - 1.9k

warnings - discussion of alcohol

Summary: Lina and Penelope get ready for their night out!

Walking in and grabbing another folder, I sit down and spin to face Penny while saying, "Heya, Pen! How're you doing?" 

Giving me a grin, Penelope spins to face me and says, "I'm doing well. So, uh, what happened at lunch to make you extra cheerful there, Lina?"

I flush and say, "I-I dunno. Just...talking with Spencer, and hammering out details about tomorrow," trailing off with a small smile growing on my face, while adding, "He also showed me a few magic tricks." 

"Ah, Spencer's sleight of hand work, huh? Yeah, the Good Doctor likes to show off new tricks he's learned every once in a while. I'm guessing he'll have a more captivated audience now..." she teases.

"I-wh-what, magic tricks are fun, I don't know about you, but I've enjoyed them since I was a kid." I sputter out. 

Penny just raises her eyebrows and hums out an "Mmm-hmm, sure..." She adds, "It probably doesn't hurt that you find the magician so dashing, huh?"

I start waving my hands and shushing her to not say that so loud, looking at the door, but it's devoid of anyone. After seeing that no one else is there to hear, I fidget with my hands and quietly say, "Well, yeah. There's that, too..."

Giving me a smirk and laughing lightly, she turns around and gets back to typing. Face beet red, I spin around and prepare to start on my work, starting my music and beginning to type. We work diligently for the next few hours, swapping old folders for new ones when necessary.

Finally, it's quarter til 5, and Penny and I are finishing up the files we're currently working on. Placing my finished folder into the box, Penny looks up with a sigh, a smile on her face. She closes up her folder and places it in the box with mine, standing up and stretching.

"Alright, Lina, you ready to go? I'm gonna swing by my place so I can pick up what I need to change into." Penny says to me, picking up her purse. 

Gathering up my things and putting them into my bag, I nod and say, "OK, sounds good. I can show you what I was thinking of wearing when we get to my place!"

Walking to the elevator, she smiles and raises her eyebrows, saying, "Oh, you're not looking forward to this at all, are you?" 

With as straight a face as I can muster, I say, "Nope!" then break out laughing. As we wait for the doors to open, Spencer and Derek walk towards us.

"Are you ready to bust loose tonight, my lovelies?" Penny says to them, wiggling her eyebrows. 

"Oh, you know it, Mama. How about you two?" Derek says smoothly. 

I grin and say, "Eh, I doubt I'll get too wild, but it'll be fun. How about you, Doc?" 

"Oh, um, yeah, I-I guess?" Spencer says.

Stepping into the elevator, Penny starts suggesting the kind of shoes that would be best for our time out. Spencer looks over at me and asks, "How are you going to have time to get ready? The Metro isn't that fast..." 

"Oh, Penny said she was going drive us to my place to get ready," I explain.

"Oh..." Spencer says softly. 

I laugh lightly and say, "C'mon, Spence, a girl needs time to get pretty." Spencer flushes, then looks down at his feet and mumbles something. 

Derek smirks and lightly taps Spencer's arm with the back of his hand and says, "Alright, you're comin' with me, Reid."

Getting off the elevator, we part and Penny leads me to her car, unlocking it so we can get in. Sliding in and buckling up, Penny turns on the car, then the radio. "I hope you're ok with some tunes on the way there," she says, adjusting her mirrors before pulling out of the spot. 

I grin and say, "As long as you're ok with me singing along if they put on something good."

She nods and smiles, saying, "Well, isn't that the point? Ya gotta sing along!" The previous song ends and then the first notes of 'Dirty Little Secret' start playing. I bop my head along to the beat, then start singing along. 

When it gets to the chorus, Penny joins in, and we sing along for the rest of the song. When it ends, she laughs and says, "'Make an idiot of yourself'. Right!" 

I grin and shrug, saying, "Eh, it got him to come, didn't it?'"

"That remains to be seen. OOH! You gotta sing something with me!" Penny says, pulling in front of her apartment building. 

As she gets out of the car, I say, "Yeah, absolutely!" She hustles into her place and comes back out in about 5 minutes. 

"OK, good to go!" she tells me as she straps herself back in. She puts the car back into motion, and we make our way to my apartment.

After a short drive, she parks her car and we exit, heading into my place. Unlocking my door, I let Penny go first, closing the door behind me. "You want anything to drink?" I ask, heading to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water. 

"Yes, water's good, thank you," she says, taking the bottle I hand her and sitting down on the couch.

After taking a drink, I walk over to the clothes laid out on my bed. "I was thinking of these jeans," I say, placing them and the peasant shirt against me. "And this top. What do you think?" 

Penelope hums and taps her chin, narrowing her eyes and saying, "The pants are great, but how does the top look on you?" 

I bite my lip and shrug, saying, "Um, I think it looked ok when I tried it on, but I'm not sure, it...shows off more than I usually like to..."

Penny raises her eyebrows and smiles while saying, "Well, go ahead then. Let's see it!" I grin nervously and grab the top and the bra I'd need with it, walking into the bathroom to freshen up before putting them on.

I walk out, adjusting the top and looking down, trying to keep the bustline from dipping too low. Penelope stands up and walks over to me, raising her hand and asking, "If I could?" I nod, and she proceeds to adjust the sleeves so they're off my shoulders, and doing so makes the bustline lie flat.

"Um, it's-it's not too much, is it?" I stammer out, glad that I don't have to fight with it anymore. 

She gives a half-shrug, saying, "You are literally buttoned-up at work, I think that'll be ok. Besides, I thought you were trying to get a certain someone's attention?" 

I flush and start, "Well, yeah, but..." 

Penny cuts in, saying, "Trust me, this will grab his attention!" giving me a warm but amused smile. I give her a nervous smile back, taking a drink of water.

"Um, did-did we want to grab something to eat before heading out, or..." I start slowly, looking at Penny as I fidget with my water bottle. 

She hums and nods, saying, "Yeah, that might be a good idea. O'Keefe's doesn't have too much in the way of food."

She checks her phone, jolting slightly and saying, "Oh, we should finish getting ready, it's just about 6, and we were going to meet up by 7. OK if I steal your bathroom for a few minutes?" I nod, leading her there.

While she gets herself ready, I start searching for something to put my hair up. Finding a black velvet scrunchie, I stand in front of my vanity mirror, trying to put my hair into a decent ponytail and keep my hair off my neck.

Touching up my eyeliner and adding some dark red lipstick, I give myself a final once-over, just as Penny walks out of the bathroom. Turning around, I ask her, "Well, what do you think?" 

She gives a nod of her head and says, "Lookin' good, Lina."

I smile and tell her, "You look amazing too, Penny. But you probably already know that!" 

She gives me a small grin and says, "Doesn't hurt to hear it from others every once in a while, though." 

Going through my purse and inspecting what I have in there, I ask Penny, "So, what should we get? Oh, I remember that having greasy stuff is good for when you drink, right? Supposed to, like, make the alcohol absorb slower or something?"

She laughs lightly and says, "Yeah, something with fat and also carbs and protein helps." 

"So, we wanna get, what, some burgers and fries?" I ask her as I put on a pair of short black combat boots with chunky soles.

"Ooh, yeah, that sounds good! I know a great place with veggie burgers, too!" Penelope says as she checks over her hair and makeup in the mirror. 

Grinning, I make sure I have everything I need in my purse, then ask Penelope, "Anything you need me to grab before we head out?"

Switching into the shoes she brought, she shakes her head, saying, "Nope, I have it all here. Just gotta put my coat on and we can split." As she shrugs her coat back on and grabs her work things, I get my coat on as well, waiting for her by the door.

Heading out, I lock my door and follow her back down to her car. After buckling ourselves in, Penelope starts driving towards the nearest burger place, maneuvering into the drive-through. 

After placing our orders and getting our food, it's not long before we're back out on the road, off to our intended destination, O'Keefe's. As we sit in the parking lot and eat, Penny turns the radio back on, loud enough to hear but still carry a conversation.

As we eat, Penelope and I talk, mostly about the past week. "So, it isn't usually that calm?" I ask, wiping my hands on a napkin. 

She hums as she takes a drink from the soda she got, then says, "Well, it's probably like that about half the time. It just feels like it's hectic more often, though."

"Do you ever go with them?" I ask, taking a bite of my burger. 

Grabbing a fry, she shakes her head and says, "No, not usually. I think it's because half the time, the places they end up in have little to no internet access, and that's pretty vital for my end." I hum and nod in understanding.

As we finish eating, she starts gathering all the garbage in the plastic bag, motioning for me to hand her mine. "Gotta keep my Esther lookin' good." She says, patting the dashboard lovingly.  

"That said, you ready to rock?" Penelope says to me, checking her makeup one last time. 

I take a breath and say, "I'm ready when you are Pen." 

She gives me one last smile and says, "Let's go have some fun, then!"

Previous chapter

Next chapter

Story masterlist

Perfectly Flawed

Perfectly Flawed - Chapter 1

Starts in Season 1. Mostly canon compliant.

word count - 2k

warnings - cursing? not sure if there'd be anything else yet

Summary: Lina starts her internship and meets the BAU team.

"Come on, Lina! Get your ass in gear!" Val yells at me from the other side of the bathroom door.

"I'm trying, dammit! You know how long it takes me to get ready, why didn't you try getting up earlier this time?!" I yell back at her, trying not to burn myself on my freshly-straighted hair.

She snorts and opens the door while muttering, "I don't know why you even bother trying to straighten your hair, anyway. It's always at least wavy by the end of the day..."

I make a face at her and retort, "Yeah, well, we can't all have perfect hair, Vallie..."

Shit-eating grin on her face, she fluffs her hair with one hand while saying, "Not perfect, I just don't turn into a damned poodle the moment moisture hits the air." Rolling my eyes at her, I finish the last bit of hair and turn off my straightener, unplugging it and setting it somewhere it won't melt anything.

After checking to make sure my makeup didn't smudge while dealing with my hair, I start walking out while saying, "There, use the damned mirror already, Val..."

She laughs and says, "About time you moved your ass...isn't your meeting with the feds today?"

I sigh as I sit down to put my shoes on. "They're not...well, I'm going to be working alongside them, I don't know if I'd be cut out for all the physical shit they do...but no, I'm doing the tech side of it. I'll be working under a..." I quickly grabbed the folder with the documentation I needed for the internship. "A Ms. Penelope Garcia. Huh, hope she's nice..." I say, murmuring the last part to myself.

"Oh, you'll be fine, Lina. You're so bright and cheerful, the sun practically shines out your ass..." Val says from the bathroom, mouth open as she puts her mascara on.

"I'm not that damned perky, Valerie, and you know it..." I huffed out, checking to make sure I had everything I needed in my purse. "Shit, you know if we still have bandaids?" I ask her, rushing in to look under the sink for them.

"The hell do you need those for?! You plan on getting a ton of papercuts or something?" she yells at me as I lightly slap her legs to move out of the way.

"No, Val, but it's good to be prepared. You never know when weird shit'll happen..."

Finding the box in the little first-aid kit we have under the bathroom sink, I grab some and look up at her. She stops fixing her hair and gives me an amused, waiting glance, and says, "Like?"

I roll my eyes, putting the box back, stand up, and say, "Like...if I have garlic for lunch, I've got mints and gum." She scoffs and waits for me to continue. I walk over to put the newly acquired bandaids in my purse. I continue as I pull out the various things I have in there for 'just in case'. "Mini sewing kit for if a button pops off. Extra contact solution, contacts case, and my glasses in case my eyes decide to go all funky on me. Hand sanitizer in case I touch something gross and need something til I can wash my hands. And yes, bandaids, because you know my klutzy ass will get hurt!"

She chuckles and goes back to doing her hair. "Yeah, there is that. You are accident-prone..." I sigh as I finish putting everything away in my purse, setting it down as I grab my shoes.

"You're still giving me a ride in, right?" I ask nervously as I put my shoes on, looking up to see her in the mirror.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. You gonna be able to find your way to work the rest of the time?" she replies, swiping away any lipstick that strays from her lipline.

"I...yeah, I'll figure out how to get there, I just...really wanna make a good impression for my first day, get there nice and early, ya know?" I explain, buttoning up the blazer I chose for today while smoothing out the fabric. She steps out of the bathroom and puts her shoes on. I nod and put on my coat.

Grabbing her coat and keys, Val turns to me and asks, "Ready?"

I grab my purse and reply, "About as ready as I'll ever be..."

*************

"Thank you again for taking me to work, Vallie," I say as she pulls up outside the building, idling as I get out of the car.

"Yeah, well, you're a pain in the ass, but you're my pain in the ass..." she says taking a bite of her doughnut.

"And the fact that you can be easily bribed with food has no bearing on anything, huh?" I tease as I grab my purse and the two boxes of doughnuts.

"Of course not," she replies. "You need me to pick you up?"

I shake my head. "Nah, I figure I can get the Metro back. I'll have to use it most of the time anyway, right?" I explain. She nods, giving me a serious look for once.

"Be careful, Lina. I mean it. Even if you don't end up applying for the profiler position, I'm still gonna teach you how to shoot, ok? Can't be too careful with all the crazy assholes around..." she says. She waves her hand at me. "Alright, go on, shoo, do your thing, I gotta go."

I shut the door with my hip, then yelled, "Bye, Val! See you at home!" She holds her hand up, then slowly drives away. Hiking my purse up on my shoulder, I carefully clutch the two boxes in my arms and walk up the stairs.

As I get to the door, it's quickly opened for me, and I walk in, throwing a quick, "Thank you!" behind me. Heading toward the directory to figure out which floor I need to head to, I hear the sound of clicking high heels rapidly approaching.

"Miss Rosalina Aschebrooke?" a breathless voice asks. I turn around to see a blonde woman in a vibrant dress, with matching heels and glasses. I nod, and she breaks into a wide smile and continues toward me while saying, "Hi! I'm Penelope Garcia, I'm the Tech Analyst you'll be interning with."

"Oh! Hi! I hope I'm not late..." I start nervously, slowly walking with her to the elevators.

"Nah, you're right on time. Did you really bring doughnuts for your first day?! Smart, food bribes work well here. That and caffeine." she says chuckling and offering to take a box as we step in.

"I...don't really think of it as a bribe, more like...edible reinforcements in my quest to get along with coworkers." I quip with a small smile.

"Ah, and she's funny, too! You're gonna fit in well here," she says.

The elevator doors open, and we walk through the bullpen and into the kitchen to set down the boxes. After snagging one of the glazed, Penelope leads me back out, calling people over as we enter. "Everyone, this is Rosalina Aschebrooke, she's gonna be interning here in Tech with me. Ms. Aschebrooke, let me introduce you to the BAU team." She walks over to a tall and stern-looking dark-haired man in a suit and says, "This here is our Unit Chief, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner." He nods and shakes my hand.

She walks over to another tall man with dark hair, though he's dressed more casually and looks more approachable. "This is Senior Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon."

He leans over to shake my hand and says, "Nice to meet you, Miss Aschebrooke. Hopefully, this place agrees with you."

Penelope walks over in between two women, one brunette, and the other blonde, and says, "This is Supervisory Special Agent Elle Greenaway," I shake the brunette's hand. "And our Communications Liasion, Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau." I shake her hand and smile.

Finally, Penelope walks over to yet another tall man, though he's bald with a goatee. "And this," she continues while placing her hands on his shoulders, "Is my Chocolate Thunder, Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan."

As I shake his hand, he smiles and smoothly says, "Babygirl, you flatter me. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Aschebrooke."

Agent Hotchner looks between the two of them, sighing and saying, "Don't tell me I'm going to have to have another meeting from H.R. with you two..."

Penelope puts her hands up and innocently says, "No sir, Mr. Boss Man. I'll be good." and then flashes a smirk.

While everyone but Derek walks off to go back to what they're doing, Penelope yells out, "Oh! Also! There are doughnuts in the kitchen, courtesy of our new friend here!"

After she walks back to me, I quietly ask her, "Is everyone that works here ridiculously tall?"

"You'll have to see for yourself. There's still one more to meet. Hey, is Boy Genius here yet?" she asks.

"Come on, Reid, get over here!" Derek calls over to the cubicles.

Another tall man quickly makes his way over, tugging at his sweater sleeves and saying, "Oh, you finally decided to hear about the strategies there are for winning at poker? Well, one of them is...o-oh, h-hi."

Standing in front of me was a very slender and reserved man, light brown hair slicked back behind his ears. Penelope says, "Rosalina, this is Dr. Spencer Reid. Boy Wonder, this is Rosalina Aschebrooke. She's going to be here interning in Tech with me for a while."

Smiling and sticking my hand out, I say, "Nice to meet you, Dr. Reid. And you can call me Lina." I look over at Penelope and Derek, "Um, you all can call me Lina." I add quickly with a nervous laugh.

Looking from my hand back to my face, Spencer stammers out, "I-I don't shake hands, sorry. The number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering. It's actually safer to kiss."

Eyebrows shooting up at the last bit, I have to quickly shove away that thought as it pops into my head.

Taking a deep breath, I pull my hand away and reply, "OK, fair. It is cold and flu season, after all." I smile again and wave while saying, "How 'bout this? This should be ok, right?" A small smile grows on his face as he waves back.

"Y-yeah. Also, yo-you can call me Spencer," he says shyly.

"OK...Spencer." I say softly.

"Well, we'll leave you agents to it, I've got to start bringing Miss Lina up to speed, here," Penelope says, leading me to where she works.

I turn and say, "Nice meeting you all!" and then try to catch up with Penelope.

"So, what do you think of our team here, Lina?" she says as we walk down a hallway.

"Oh, everyone's really nice, Ms. Garcia. I think I'll like working here."

She looks at me with a smile and says, "While I'm happy to hear that, you don't have to call me 'Ms. Garcia'. You can call me Penelope or Penny, I don't mind."

I smile and say, "I can do that. I'm imagining you're going to teach me the systems you use here, right?"

"Well, that, and ask you a bunch of questions! Gotta get to know you! OH, if we don't get called in on a case, we should go out for drinks this weekend! Wait, how old are you Lina?" Penelope says.

"Oh, um, I'm 22, but I don't...I don't drink..." I start slowly. Penny waves her hand.

"That's fine, neither does Reid, when he actually decides to join us. It's more about getting to know you socially! Besides, there's dancing, and sometimes there's even karaoke!"

I grin and say, "Oh, I could be persuaded into going then, I love karaoke."

She squeals and says, "Perfect! Oh, this is going to be fun!"

Next Chapter

Story Masterlist

Perfectly Flawed - Chapter 4

word count - 3.4k

warnings - cursing, discussion of alcohol, a few spoilers for The Dresden Files series of books

Summary: Lina learns more about Spencer and tries to convince him to join the team for a night out.

"...And that's how you fill out the reports. Do you have any questions, Lina?" Penelope finishes.

I open my mouth, stop and close it, then start. "Erm, not about the work, no."

With a wry smile on her face, Penelope hands me a few of the folders and says, "Ask and ye shall receive, my dear."

I clear my throat and shyly ask, "Um, I-I get the feeling there's more to Doctor Reid than what can be seen on the surface. What's his story? He doesn't look much older than me, how..."

Penelope nods and says, "I know what you're asking. What all did you want to know about him?"

I chew my lip nervously and say, "I-I dunno, just, like, the basic stuff? Stuff you guys already know? I get the feeling he doesn't really like to talk about himself, so, like, that stuff? Like, am I allowed to ask, or..."

"Ah, our dear Doctor Reid. Well, he's 24, he graduated from Las Vegas High School at the age of 12, and he holds Ph. D.s in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering, and B.A.s in Psychology and Sociology."

My jaw drops open, and I sputter out, "He did all of that in 12 years?! How did he find time to sleep? Actually, now I can believe he can read as fast as he says because there's no way he could do all of that in 12 years otherwise..."

Penelope smiles at me and says, "Yep, our boy's a certified genius. And he's really sweet, and I'm sure if you're patient and gentle with him, you'll be able to get to know him well."

I smile back and say, "I hope so. I think we could get along really well."

As I go and sit down to start transcribing the folders she gave me into the database, I say, "Oh, also, it's ok that I have lunch with him, right? Like, there's no time issues? When he first told me how fast he reads, I didn't believe him and asked if I would be able to see if he could actually read as fast as he said he could. So, I offered to buy him lunch in exchange for seeing this feat of intellect."

She raises her eyebrows and says, "Yeah, that's doable, but you're probably going to be bored watching."

I laugh and say, "Y'know, that's what he said? But I'm also going to ask him questions about the plot of the books I brought, to see if he really does remember everything he reads. For science, I said."

She smiles and says, "Yeah, that sounds like something he'd agree to, then. That'll be fine, I'm sure we'll be able to knock a few of these cases out before then."

I hold up my hand and cross my fingers while saying, "Here's hoping. Hey, is it ok if I listen to some music while I do that? It helps me focus, and I have headphones. I promise not to have it too loud, as well..."

Penelope waves her hand at me and says, "Go for it, if I need you, I'll tap on your shoulder, ok?"

Smiling, I pull out my MP3 player and headphones and say, "Thanks, Penny. I should be able to do this a little faster, then."

Once I finished with the folders she had given me, I turned to Penelope to ask if there were any more for me to do. "You weren't kidding when you said it helps you. Here, take these 2, I'll let you know when you can take your lunch and conduct your 'experiments'." She says with a smile that I return. I'm halfway through the second one when I feel a tap on my shoulder. "Hey, go take your lunch. And stretch a little, you've been hunched over for hours. Gotta get rid of that 'shrimp' look." Penny says playfully.

"Huh? Oh, right, all curled up, I gotcha." I reply with a laugh. Saving what I have filled out, then turning off my music and placing it and my headphones on the desk, I stretch to work out the kink I've developed in my neck. Grabbing my purse, I see it's about 5 til 12, and I slowly make my way to Spencer's desk. "Hey, Doc- Spencer. Did you still want to go to lunch, or..." I say timidly. He turns and looks at me, grabbing his bag as he stands up.

"Y-yeah, if you still wanted to..." he stammers slightly as we start walking to the cafeteria.

I chirp out "Yup! Are the books in your bag?"

He nods and starts, "You know, y-you don't have to buy me lunch, Lina..."

"I don't mind. To be honest, I was kind of afraid I wouldn't be able to make any friends when I came here. I mean, I get along with a lot of people, but they don't really seem to like to spend any more time than they have to with me." I say.

Spencer furrows his eyebrows and asks, "Well, why not? You seem to be nice, you're friendly."

I shrug and say, "Yeah, but I don't really follow the same stuff other people do. I 'don't go out enough', I 'read too much' and I'm 'interested in too much nerd' um, stuff, as my roommate says."

He gives a tight-lipped smile and says, "Oh, I know how that is. Morgan and Garcia are constantly trying to get me to go with them when the team goes out for drinks. I'd rather just stay at home and read or watch movies."

I chuckle and say, "Yeah. And the times when I do head out, Val is constantly trying to get me to drink. 'How can you have any fun if you don't loosen up and drink?'" He gives me a momentary blank look before I explain, "My roommate's name is Val." Spencer hums in acknowledgment.

As we get our lunches, I ask, "What kind of movies do you like to watch?"

"Um, mostly foreign films, but I also like horror movies," he replies. I pay for our food, and we go sit down at an empty table. "What about you?" he asks, setting his bag down to get the books out and placing them on the table.

"I'll watch pretty much anything, really, but I seem to gravitate towards sci-fi, fantasy, and comedy. I haven't seen any of the newer horror movies, but I have seen all of the old Universal ones. You know, Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein." I say.

I gesture to the books and say, "You can go ahead and read, I'll stop talking now." His hand hovers over the first book and he looks at me, unsure. "Seriously. Besides, we can talk about the books after you're done, I've been dying to talk to someone about them." He gives me a small smile and opens the first book. I eat my lunch as I watch him read, his fingers running down the pages, turning them every few seconds. Holy shit, dude wasn't lying, I think to myself. I glance up at his face as he reads, an intense look on it. He even looks cute while reading. Hmm, can't say that's a thought that I would have had before today...

I'm a little over halfway through my lunch when he closes the first book, sets it aside, and starts eating his lunch. I clear my throat and ask him, "OK if I ask you a few questions before you start the next one?" He nods as slowly takes a bite from his sandwich. "What is the main character's full name?" I ask.

He smirks and says, "Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden."

Grinning, I continue. "What is the significance of the skull?"

"It houses a spirit of intellect that goes by the name of Bob."

"And who does Dresden help with the case?" I ask.

"Karrin Murphy, who is an officer for the Chicago Police Department. She works in a division called Special Investigations, or SI, which handles cases if something unexplainable or supernatural is involved." he finishes.

Giving him a big smile, I say, "Holy hell, you were right. That is seriously impressive!" He smiles back at me as he slides the first book back to me. As we finish eating, I put the first book into my purse and grab the one I'm on to start reading, as he starts reading the second.

After I read another 3 chapters, he closes the book he's reading and slides it back to me, waiting for more questions. I put my bookmark in place, put the books in my purse, and ask, "OK, what being or beings is this one mostly about?"

He chuckles and says, "Werewolves, but I mean, with a title like 'Fool Moon', what else would it be?"

I laugh and say, "OK, I'll give you that one. What types of werewolves are mentioned?"

"Classic werewolves, lycanthropes, loup-garou, and hexenwolves," he replies.

"OK, final question: Who or what is Mister?" I ask.

"That's his cat." he finishes.

"So, what did you think of them?" I ask.

"A little slow to start, but it picked up in the second. I like it so far." Spencer says.

Gathering our trays, I say to him, "You know what this means, right?"

Puzzled, Spencer says, "N-no, what?"

Giant grin on my face, I tell him, "That means I've got more books for you to read!"

He laughs at this, then says, "I'm up for it if you are."

"Oh, absolutely! I haven't been able to talk to people about books since I lived with my parents! Well, not in person, at least. The internet's great, but sometimes, you just can't beat an in-person conversation, you know?" I tell him.

"I-y-yeah, I can understand that..." he says softly. We walk back towards the offices slowly, talking about other hobbies and interests we have. I'm psyched to find out he also likes Halloween, and he's thrilled that I enjoy chess.

"Hey, I guess I'll catch you after work?" I say to Spencer as we walk back to his desk, and I look at the clock.

"Uh, y-yeah, I'll see you later," he replies. I smile at him and head back to Penelope's office.

"Hey, there she is! So, how was your lunch?" Penny says as I walk in.

I smile and say, "Pretty good. I have a book buddy now. Haven't had an irl one since I lived at home with my parents."

She smiles at me and says, "Good! I don't know if you've guessed, but Reid could use more people to talk to." I nod and sit back down, about to start back on my work, when I turn and ask Penelope for a few more folders. She nods, handing me 4, and says, "At this rate, I'll have to go grab more for us before the end of the day!" I just smile and put my headphones back on, getting to typing.

After finishing the one from before lunch and breezing through the four that Penelope gave me, I pause my music and take off my headphones to stand up and stretch for a moment. Penelope looks up at me and says, "You're done? Give me a minute and I can show you where we get them, ok?" I nod, still stretching my limbs to get the blood flow back to normal. Once I'm done, she stands up and motions for me to follow her. As we walk to the storage room, Penelope says, "So, I know it's been two days and slow, but what do you think of the BAU so far?"

"I like it! Everyone's nice, and the job is something I can easily do. I just hope I can keep up when there's a case." I tell her.

"Well, fingers crossed that we don't get one til next week, I'm excited about the get-together at O'Keefe's this weekend," she says, doing so with her right hand.

"Oh, right. Who all will be there?" I ask.

"Well, I know Hotch won't be there, because he and his wife had a baby not long ago. I've asked Gideon, Elle, and JJ, and we talked about it with Morgan and Reid. Out of everyone asked, the only one that I don't know if they're going for sure is Reid." she explains.

I nod, trying to keep my face neutral, but something must have shown, because the next thing Penelope said was, "Hey, don't worry, I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve."

Surprised, I start, "But I didn't..."

Penelope rushes in with, "Oh, I know, but I also know that look. Gonna have to practice your poker face a little better if you work around profilers all day!"

I give a small laugh and say, "I-yeah, I suppose so, huh?" After getting another box of case files, we head back to the office, setting the box on a rare spot on the table not covered by tech.

Sitting back down, we get to work, inputting the information into the BAU's database. While I'm aided by music, we make it through half the box by the end of the day. Closing the last folder I've transcripted, I put it back in the box to be put back when we're done. I put my headphones and MP3 player back in my purse and start to stretch again as Penelope closes her folder and places it back in the box. "Ready to leave, hon?" she asks me, turning and grabbing her purse. I grab my own and nod.

Walking to the elevators, we're joined by Elle and JJ, who are in a conversation as they make their way to us. "Hey, Lina! Happy to be heading home?" JJ says with a smile.

I smile back and say, "A little. How about you?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Elle says with a laugh.

Penelope chimes in with, "I'll be really happy when we can go out this weekend!" All three of them laugh and agree, just as Derek and Spencer show up. "Isn't that right, Hot Stuff?" Penny says as she spots the men coming near us.

"What's that, Baby Girl?" Derek says, as the elevator doors open and we all enter.

Penelope smirks and says, "That going out this weekend will be really fun! Oh! And Lina, karaoke will be this weekend since you were wondering."

"Oh, cool, yeah, I'll be there, then. Um, I might need directions, though..." I start.

"Oh! I can give you a ride, did you want my number, and you can text me your address?" Penelope interjects.

"Oh, uh, yeah, here..." I say, handing her my phone.

As Penelope adds herself to my contacts list, JJ asks, "So, the usual time, right?"

Handing me back my phone, Penelope nods and says, "Yup! Does anyone else need a ride?"

JJ pipes up with, "No, Elle and I will head there together, and I think Gideon said he'll take his car."

"That just leaves you two. So?" Penelope says, looking between Derek and Spencer. As the elevator opens up, we exit and walk away slightly, keeping the path to the elevator clear for anyone else.

"Well, you know I'm up for it. How about you, Pretty Boy? You gonna come out with us for a change?" Derek says, turning to Spencer.

"I-I d-don't know..." Spencer starts, with JJ adding, "Aww, c'mon, Spence, it'll be fun!"

Turning to him, I smile and join in. "Yeah! It'll be fun!"

"Oooh, look out, Boy Genius! They're gangin' up on ya!" Penelope says with a laugh.

Spencer flushes and stammers out "M-maybe, I-I'll see you guys tomorrow..." and walks off.

I quickly text Penelope so she has my number and address, and then I check the clock and say, "Oh man, yeah, I gotta go, too. I'll text you as soon as I can, Penny! See you guys!" and I rush off in the same direction that Spencer went.

I make it about halfway to the station when I finally see Spencer, slowing from a run to a speed walk. As I catch up to him, he looks over at me, then back ahead and says, "I didn't take you for a runner, Lina."

Grinning, I say, "I'm not, really. I only started trying to get a little faster starting last year. It's helped increase my walking speed, too. Which comes in handy, since I have to take twice as many steps to keep up with 95% of the people I walk with, as I'm so short I might as well be labeled a Hobbit."

My last comment pulling a small smile to his face, I say to him, "Hey, um, I'm sorry about back there. I guess I couldn't resist the thought of having someone else on the 'non-drinking team' while out at a bar."

He goes silent for a minute, then says, "You really think it'd be fun?"

I nod and say, "I really do. Besides," I continue with a smile. "I'm someone who'll willingly go up onstage and make an idiot of themselves."

He looks at me and says, "I doubt you'd make an idiot of yourself."

"Hey, you don't know that for sure. I might sound like a...an asthmatic pterodactyl when I try to sing." I say jokingly, which gets a laugh from him. We walk into the station and sit on a bench, waiting for the train.

"What could that possibly even sound like, though? A...wheezing screech?" he says, still laughing.

I smile and say, "That'd be my bet. So come on, what do you say? Want to witness a ridiculous spectacle like that?"

He shakes his head a little and sighs, saying, "I-Alright, I'll-I'll come. I suppose I'll ask Morgan for a ride..." Quickly hiding that I'm grinning like an idiot, I dig in my purse for my fare.

As the Metro pulls in, I ask, "So, did you want me to bring the next two books in tomorrow?"

"I-yes, I would like that, if-if that's ok..." Spencer says, standing up and waiting for me so we can head onto the train.

"Awesome! Hopefully, I can remember to make a note of what page I left off on...though it probably doesn't matter, since it's a reread, after all..." I say, mostly to myself.

Standing up and following Spencer, we sit down and he asks, "So, have you read many of the classics, or do you mainly stick with contemporary books?"

"Um, I haven't read very many classics, I'm afraid. I haven't even read Frankenstein yet, which is a shame...um, that said I have read a few." I start counting them off on my fingers. "Let's see, there's Little Women, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, The Hobbit, Handmaid's Tale...there's a bunch I bought, but I just...haven't gotten around to reading them...I probably should, huh?"

Spencer gives a small smile and says, "'Should' isn't something that denotes enjoyment, I think. You 'should' only read what you want. However, depending on the themes you enjoy, and you want to read some of the classics that fall into those categories, I can suggest some...i-if you want..."

I give him a shy smile back, and say, "I'd like that, honestly. Knowing that there are so many that are considered 'classics' can be...kind of overwhelming. Well, I like science fiction and fantasy. And I know I like Edgar Allen Poe, even though I don't normally read any other poets."

"I can work with that. I can give you a list now if you want," he suggests.

I shake my head, telling him, "Ah, is there any way you can write it down? I, uh, it's...easier to have the info stick in my head if I can read it."

He nods and says, "I-I can do that, I'll have a list for you tomorrow."

I pull the signal for my stop and smile at him, saying, "Thank you, Spencer. I appreciate it. Well, see you tomorrow?" He nods and takes out a large book out of his bag. As the train slows down, I quip, "Ah, a bit of light reading for the rest of your ride?"

He chuckles and flushes slightly, then says, "Something like that. I'll see you tomorrow, Lina."

Still smiling, I disembark from the train and start walking home.

Previous chapter

Next chapter

Story Masterlist