TWENTY ONE ; IN A FLASH.

The knock on the door had come precisely at seven o'clock. Quinn laughed to herself, knowing that Spencer had probably been in the hallway for minutes, rocking back and forth on his heels, checking his watch and awaiting for the exact time to let her know that he was here. She grabbed her bag and checked her hair in the mirror before approaching the door.

She swung the door open, grinning as she saw Spencer standing with his hands in his coat pockets. He gave her a wide smile, cheeks turning pink as he looked her in the eye. "H-Hi," he said, a small smile appearing on his lips.

"Hi," she replied. She rubbed her left arm with her right hand as the two stood in silence for a moment, both of them looking toward the floor. When they finally did meet eyes, they shared a laugh, brushing off the sudden awkwardness they both felt. "Should we go?"

The genius nodded, stepping back from the doorway. "Let's."

And so they went. They walked side by side down the hall and into the elevator, stepping out of the box and into the lobby. The silence they shared was comfortable.

She saw Spencer's car as soon as she was blasted with the crisp March air. She involuntarily shivered, laughing softly to herself as she watch Spencer race in front of her to open the passenger door. Quinn smiled at him, nodding her head in thanks as she slid into her seat, hearing the door close next to her.

When he was situated in his own seat, the engine started and they took off, heading down the street. Quinn turned to him. "Will you tell me where you're taking me?"

The doctor laughed, glancing toward her for a moment before focusing on the road again. "We're going to dinner."

"Yes, I understand that," she quipped, watching Spencer's smile grow. "But what restaurant? I want to know what to expect."

"It's some place you've never been to before," he replied, flicking his eyes to hers once more. "That's all I'm going to tell you."

Quinn furrowed her brow as she wasn't able to detect a lie in his words. "I really don't like you," she said, crossing her arms over her chest childishly.

Spencer only chuckled. "Now we both know that's not exactly true," he responded. He felt her gaze on the side of his face and saw from the corner of his eye that she was grinning.

The drive continued, the genius ignoring his friend's whines about not knowing. If there was one thing that he knew about Quinn Carson, it was that she hated being clueless about a situation. It was quite amusing to watch, actually.

When the car finally stopped, Quinn face contorted into confusion. "This is an apartment building," she said, turning to him. Spencer stared at her, waiting for her to catch on. Once it clicked in her mind, she gasped. "Shut up." He laughed at her, opening his door to exit the car. "The Fortress of Solitude that is Spencer Reid's apartment?"

Spencer chuckled to himself as he rounded the car. The team had been chatting on the jet one night after a case, talking about how they had to take Quinn and Kate to Rossi's house. Somehow, the conversation's topic had veered to Spencer's apartment and how only a select few had been inside of it. The genius had claimed that it was in fact, nothing special and that they weren't missing out on much.

Quinn however, had called his bluff.

She had been pestering him for weeks about her being able to see where he lived, but he had not budged. Quinn had whined relentlessly, but Spencer stayed stoic. And now, he had finally given in.

They entered the building and up the elevator, doing the reverse of what they had already done at Quinn's building. Quinn hit him repeatedly on the arm in excitement as they came to the door, Spencer laughing as she did so. "I'm terrified that this is going to be a disappointment," he joked, though Quinn detected a hint of seriousness in his voice.

"You have yet to disappoint me," she replied. "Now, open the door." Spencer let out a breath then unlocked the door, grinning as Quinn gaped at him. Her eyes scanned over his home, immediately finding the hundreds of books on the shelves and scattered around. "Holy books," she whispered, eyes wide. Spencer's gaze met hers as his smile grew fonder. "I-I-"

"What?" he asked as he cocked his head to the side.

"It's just... Books," she said in wonderment. "I've never seen so many in one house. I want them all."

The genius snickered while closing the door behind them. "Unfortunately, I can't give you them all."

"Fine," she said, walking over to the shelves and running her fingers along the spines. "I'll steal them. I'm no stranger to theft."

The man laughed again. "If you steal my books, I will end this friendship."

"Who needs friendship when you have books?" she countered, finally looking at him. Their smiles were now both radiant, both giggling as if their conversation were the the funniest thing that had happened all day.

They were silent for a few moments before Spencer changed the topic. "Should we eat?"

"Please," Quinn replied, walking toward the kitchen. "Did you cook? I'm starving."

Spencer almost laughed. He shook his head. "No," he stated. "If there's one thing that you should know about me for the future, it's that I cannot cook to save my life." The both of them seemed to notice the doctor's use of the word 'future' but ignored it. "But I did get take out from this Italian place down the street. It's honestly the best."

The girl grinned and nodded, sitting at the table that Spencer had set up. He had remembered her favorite meal, setting down next to her as he rounded the table to his side.

And then they began to talk, as if what they were doing was a regular occurrence. It was as if they had forgotten that this was a date, that they had forgotten that it had started out awkward between them. It was natural. It was as if they had been doing this for years.

Spencer felt his chest tighten as he realized that his 'test' had been proven correct. His subconscious was right. He gulped and his face went red.

He was developing feelings for Quinn Carson.

-----

"What the hell are you two doing here this late?" Ralph Flores asked as Quinn and Spencer entered Brewed Awakenings. He grinned at them, wiping down the counter before him. There were five other people in the shop, one group of three business men laughing jovially, the other two people obviously on a date. Quinn tried not to grimace as she watched the couple stick their tongues down each other's throats. Ralph followed her stare and rolled his eyes. "They've been at it for about a half an hour now," he muttered, taking out two cups for Spencer and Quinn's usual orders.

"It's just so..." she trailed off, glancing at Ralph, then Spencer, "... aggressive." She scrunched up her nose. "I feel like they're going to hurt each other."

"Between you and I, I hope they do," Ralph said, shaking his head. "I can't watch that anymore. I've internally vomited three times just talking to you guys."

Both Spencer and Quinn chuckled, smiling as Ralph slid them their cups. Spencer gave the man a bill, before smirking down at a scowling Quinn. They often fought about who would pay, and Spencer had won this battle without even consulting her. Quinn begrudgingly took her cup off the counter before turning to sit at their usual spot by the window. The doctor smiled at Ralph, rolling his eyes at the man's obvious wink and thumbs up, realizing that the two were on a date.

They both turned to look at the couple who were still kissing. The two had finally broken apart and began confessing their undenying love to each other.

"I love you," the man told the woman, cupping her face in his hands. The woman smiled, shaking her head as she kissed his once more.

"And I you," she replied, going back to eating the man's face off.

Quinn looked at Spencer who was wearing the same expression that she was. "And I you," Quinn mocked, whispering softly, making Spencer laugh to himself.

"I'm only slightly uncomfortable," he said, his constant glancing back to the couple giving away how he truly felt.

"Do you want to get out of here?" she asked. Spencer nodded, sliding to get out of his chair.

But not before both of their phones went off.

The message had come from Hotch and Quinn and Spencer both began laughing. "That honestly couldn't have been better timing," Quinn noted, waving to Ralph as the two left the shop. The cold air met the two and they both shivered, their coats not enough to shield them from the brisk wind.

Nervously, Spencer offer the girl his arm. Quinn glanced up at him, exchanging a small smile with the genius before folding her arm in his, clinging to his side to attempt to warm up as they walked down the sidewalk toward Spencer's car.

-----

When the two entered the bullpen of the BAU, tension was in the air. The doctor and the lie detector glanced at each other as they walked toward the round table room, both of them wondering what was making everyone so on edge.

The first team member they saw was Morgan. There was no teasing, no eyebrow raising as he saw them together. This is when Quinn realized there was something seriously wrong. Morgan knew about their 'date'. There had to be a reason that he wasn't poking fun at them.

The second team member they came into contact with was Hotch. He called Quinn into his office, Spencer following not to far behind her. Both Rossi and Hotch seemed upset.

"What's wrong?" Spencer asked, looking around the room to both men.

Sympathy was held in the eyes of both of the older men as they looked at Quinn. She shifted uncomfortably, crossing her arms over his chest. "You guys are scaring me, what happened? Why does it have to do with me?"

"It's about-" Rossi began, attempting to phrase his sentence correctly, "It's about our case. Where it is specifically."

Quinn felt her stomach drop. "Just tell me," she whispered, shutting her eyes for a moment.

Hotch exchanged a glance with his teammate to the side of him. "We've been called to the maximum-security prison in Texas where there have been multiple murders of the prison guards."

All of the air Quinn had in her body escaped. She felt Spencer's hand on her back as she shifted backwards. "Please don't tell me that what I think it means."

Aaron Hotchner grimaced as he stared at Quinn Carson. "Carson, I'm sorry," he said, frown deepening. "We have to investigate."

"He's going to know I'm there," she whispered. "What if something happens-"

"We're not going to let anything happen to you," Hotch stated, tone defiant. "Lucas Nelson will not hurt you. He will be chained up and not let anywhere near you." He looked her in the eye. "I will personally make sure of it."

-----

fucking nelson man remember him ?? whatta dick

i was itching to update this story, sorry it's so short, but i love writing it so much and i love you guys

thank you for almost 15k that is the most insane thing I've heard all day i may actually cry

love you all tons!
-mags