So sorry I didn't have this up yesterday, I completely forgot haha my bad...

You have had to all in the BAU three times this year. Three! And it wasn't because their youngest analyst was scary hot. Thought that may have been good enough reason to call them over. Unfortunately, it was because three different serial killers thought your little down in nowhere Pennsylvania was a perfect place to hunt.

You were sitting at your desk in your Sheriff's office, your head in your hands when you heard hushed voices and the sound of people rushing about. You didn't look up as you heard the now familiar sounds of the BAU enter your facility. Dread filled your gut as you realized it was time to face the truth of the situation and work another several days on little sleep and gallons of coffee.

There was a knock on your door followed by the creaking of its opening. You slowly looked up, blinking lazily.

"I'll be there in just a moment."

"Are you alright, Sheriff?"

You opened your eyes to see Spencer Reid peeking his head in, his eyebrows pinched in worry. You blinked, shaking your head slightly as you stood.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good."

You joined him by the door and out into the hall but still apart from the others. Spencer started walking toward them just you just stood there, staring at nothing. You shot your arm out, stopping him from leaving just yet. Not looking at him you quietly asked him something that felt so unfair to you.

"What are the odds of a town even twice this size be terrorized by two serial killers?"

Spencer turned to you, glancing back at the others before turning to look at you fully. You looked up at him, the urge to fold up into his chest suddenly coming out of nowhere. So you stuck to focusing on his beautiful face, feeling safe under his kind gaze.

"The average civilian has less than a .01% chance of being victimized. Our homicide rates have stayed pretty level at 3-5% of the world's crimes in the past four years. But the odds of three being found in the same area," Spencer shook his head then gave you a shrugging look, "nearly impossible. This has never happened before."

"That doesn't help," you whispered as your shoulders sagged. "The people are terrified.  Friends who have lived here forever are turning on each other. Even families are finding it hard to stay together. No one trusts anyone anymore." You shook your head and let out a sigh. "I just want to keep this town safe and these people happy."

Spencer looked around then took your hand before gently bringing you back into your office, closing the blinds. Satisfied that the both of you were fully alone, you watched him walk up to you, your heart fluttering. He placed his hands on your shoulders, leaning in close making you hold your breath in anticipation.

"(Y/n) (L/n), you are one of the youngest Sheriffs to ever be appointed. You have the trust of the people and the other officers believe in you. I believe in  you."

You let out your breath and moved your head to the side to look away, shaking it slightly but he followed your gaze.

"I do. Do you remember what I told you about the second killer, the trapper."

You smiled slightly, nodding. "You called me lucky, that no other officer could ever call me weak." You laughed at the memory of another officer laughing at you and your skills and Spencer stepping in. "Since then I prided myself in keeping things together. But now," you shrugged, "I fell like I'm about to fall apart. When does stress become too much?"

Without missing a beat, Spencer answered, "Romeo Vitelli said, 'According to stress pioneer Hans Selye, feelings of stress occur when our sense of homeostasis is disrupted and our body needs to draw on inner resources to restore the balance. Which is fine until the stress builds up to the point that our inner resources are exhausted and we lose the ability to cope. That is when we reach that physiological and psychological breaking point more commonly known as stress overload. It is also when we become particularly vulnerable to a wide range of physical and mental problems linked to too much stress.' But you," Spencer let his hands move from your shoulders to your neck, holding your head gingerly, "you are so strong. You have lasted this long after having to endure two other killers who took a total of seven of your people. Yet you kept the town in check and the casualties to a minimum."

He smiled slightly as his thumb stroked your cheek where you could feel a tear had slipped. You never believed in love at 'first sight', but 'third sight' just might be plausible.

He continued, "I am amazed at how well you are holding things together. You haven't broken and your town hasn't lost hope in you yet. You succeeded twice now. A third time will only attest to your rightful place as leader of security for this poorly unlucky people."

You both chuckled lightly at that, the stress of the situation slightly elevated. You turned your gaze back up to him, your distance between him suddenly diminished. You let your eyes flick to his lips before you focused on his eyes again.

"Besides, you don't look like you're about to fall apart. You actually look amazing," he tucked a swath hair behind your ear, "as always.

You smiled shyly. "Spencer Reid, that sounds like you are flirting with me."

Spencer let out a little breath of a laugh, the distance between you closing slowly. "I know."

You held your breath as you found yourself moving closer to him as well, but you couldn't bring your self to press your lips to his. Instead, the two of you hovered, irritatingly close before you looked up at his eyes and he cleared his throat.

You both separated, taking a step back. You cleared your throat too, pulling down at your uniform. You looked at him, a smile on your face.

"Thank you, for helping me not fall apart before we even got started."

Spencer tucked his hands into his pockets, your mind wandering to where they were placed on your face as he spoke.

"It's nice to have someone on your side when things got hard."

You nodded smiling. "Then I guess it's time to take this guy down." YOu walked up to the door, opening it but turned back to Spencer. "Third times the charm, right?"

SPencer smiled. "Let's hope it's the easiest."

YOu laughed. "We won't know until we start."

With that, SPencer watched you strut out of your office and over to the others, your head held high as your shoulders squared. Your voice reached his ears as he followed a few paces behind you before reaching the others.

"Two women missing their arms, a missing car, three days lost, and a sleazy killer. We are pros at this point ladies, let's give the BAU what they need to catch this son of a gun."

Spencer smiled, leaning against a pillar as he watched you delegate and lead. You amazed him the first time he saw you. The second time he found his first impression of you only strengthed after seeing you save the last victim. And now...now he found himself in danger of losing something to you that he hoped you will reciprocate.

~

You lowered your gun as you checked around you, the smoke of your team's smoke grenades floating off and away from the crime scene. The killer was dead and you were shaking. Spencer stood next to you, his arm around your waist as he tried to tug you away as the mass of forensic teams and medics invaded the area.

You let out a shaky breath and leaned into Spencer as he took you away from them to nowhere in specific. You quickly pulled away from him as Hotchner came over to speak to you.

"Seems like we were able to take care of this one in half the time we planned."

You laughed humorlessly as you put away your gun. "It helps when your team know the town like the back of their hands. Sadly."

Hotch smiled tightly. "You did well. All things considered." He nodded to Spencer before leaving. "Make sure to get her back to the precinct, the rest of us will meet you there shortly." Then he left, leaving the two of you with warm faces at his implication.

You pulled at your civilian clothes as you walked beside Spencer, his arm brushing against yours. You looked up at him and smirked.

"You know I could have easily hit you with your stupid bravery move?"

Spencer looked at you, smiling. "I know."

You reached up to touch his arm, making him pause for a moment. "Why did you do that? YOu didn't know I had a gun."

Spencer looked at you, his eyes dancing over your face as he reached a hand up to cover your hand on his arm. "I banked on the chance that you did, knowing you. Last time you had that knife in your boot, saving that little girl. why wouldn't you have something up your sleeve this time?"

You smiled shyly, pulling your arm through his and started walking again. The two of you caught each other up like old friends since the last time he was here. It felt so natural being next to him just walking and talking. You guys arrived at the building, but it was surprisingly quiet. No one was around at the precinct, everyone either at the crime scene or at home unbeknownst to them of the threat that was now eliminated.

Spencer walked with you back to your office where his feelings all started. You paused at your office door, your hand on the handle. You turned to Spencer, his eyes already on you.

"Spenc..."

Spencer shook his head, taking a step to you, taking your hand off the handle and holding it between both of his. "I know. You don't have to be strong anymore. It's just me."

At that, your chin quivered and your eyes started to water. A sob erupted in your chest as Spencer pulled out to his chest like you wanted to just three days before. You didn't cry as hard as you thought you would but it felt good to let it out. Spencer was patient, rubbing your back and placing his head atop yours.

Gently you pulled away, looking up at him as you wiped your tear tracks and smiled. "Thanks. I was planning on doing this when I was home alone but I guess this works."

Spencer looked down at you, his eyes holding yours with so much concentration you felt your chest get tight with anticipation. He reached up, cupping your face with his fingers in your hair, just like before. His other hand laid on your waist, pulling you slowly closer to him. Spencer's eyes flicked to your lips again, making you smirk. He took a breath and stroked your cheek with his thumb.

"(Y/n), we don't know each other long but I think-"

You stopped him by reaching up to take hold of his shirt and pulled him close.

"I know," you whispered.

Your lips fit perfectly once they met, making your toes curl as he held you gingerly but securely. His lips were gentle and sweet, a feeling you knew you weren't going to forget anytime soon. Spencer pulled back, kissing you lightly a few times before kissing your forehead then pulling you to his chest in a warm hug.

"Thanksgiving at my place?"

You smiled then mumbled into his chest, "And Christmas?"

Spencer kissed the top of your head. "And Christmas. I'll come get you."

You looked up at him and smiled. "I know."

The day turned to dusk as you close your eyes and melted into arms the man you could no longer see your life without. You knew each other well and shared a heart that you were excited to explore.