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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 ❞

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ㅤ𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐖 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 since they've arrived in Terlingua. Other than the fact that they've realized that the displaying of the heads were personal, specifically to the sheriff, nothing's been solid. A few more heads had turned up, they've found a safe house for immigrants and rescued a mother and son, but other than the profile, nothing.

It was the evening, and Finley was getting a bit restless as she sighed against her bed's headboard. She's been sharing a room with Emily and JJ, one with two queen sized beds. She would share a bed with Emily most of the time, and once, JJ had opted to share the bed with them. The three ladies were getting along very well, with the two seasoned FBI agents constantly teasing the younger girl over her 'infatuation' over Spencer.

"There's nothing going on," Finley denied, shaking her head at the two women who rolled their eyes at her. "I swear, there isn't! Doc's sweet, absolutely adorable," this earned her two pairs of raised brows, "but I'm not looking for a relationship."

"First off, the fact that you call him 'doc' is honestly so cute," JJ noted, sharing an amused look with Emily. "Second, you guys would be cute together, okay?"

"Morgan's already dubbed you two 'Pretty Boy and Pretty Girl'!" Emily added, laughing. "And come on, can't you feel the chemistry between the two of you? Spencer certainly does."

"What do you mean?" Finley asked, her smile turning into a frown. "He doesn't...he doesn't like me, does he?"

"Are you seriously blind, woman?! He's practically head over heels! Ever since you walked through the doors on your first day, he's been looking at you with heart-eyes. I would've thrown up if it wasn't so endearing."

"Not to mention," JJ cut in. "Your little habit of kissing his cheek. Don't think we didn't notice!"

"Guys, guys, seriously," Finley raised her hands in defense, trying her hardest to diffuse the situation. "I'm seriously not looking for someone right now. I'm just being friendly, okay? I've always been one for physical affection! I kiss both of you too!"

"Oh, come on--"

"Stop! Just stop, okay?! Seriously!" Her outburst made JJ and Emily jump. Neither woman expected her to blow up like that, thinking that teasing her would just be all fun and games. "I just...I'm not ready. Please, just don't."

The two women exchanged looks, unsure of how to handle the situation.

"I'm...I'm sorry," JJ almost stuttered. "We're sorry."

"Yeah, it was wrong for us to assume," Emily shook her head. "I guess profilers can be wrong sometimes." Her statement came out more like a question.

Finley just simply gave them a tight-lipped smile. "It's okay, you didn't know. I'm sorry too, I'm not one to open up." She sighed. "Well, um, that's solved, I guess. But...were my actions...I don't know, did they really seem like I was...?"

"To be completely honest, yes."

"...okay."

The next morning, both women were surprised when Finley was already gone when they woke up. They were both a little confused; she would often wake up before them, yes, but they usually all left together. They didn't know why until they met with the rest of the team for breakfast and saw Finley was seated as far away from Spencer as possible.

They felt guilty when they realized that their assumptions had probably costed them a wonderful friendship. The poor doctor could only frown while trying to catch the Finley's attention, not knowing why she was acting so distant.

Both women wanted nothing more than to force Finley to talk it out with Spencer, at least, who seemed so lost without his everyday kiss on the cheek from the brunette. They didn't get the opportunity to, because as soon as they finished eating, they drove over to the station, with Finley sitting next to Derek instead.

But as soon as they arrived, they immediately noticed the lack of police presence.

"Where are all the deputies?" Rossi asked, his question directed to no one in particular as he looked around. Everyone was questioning the same thing.

"Maybe they found another head," Spencer suggested, face scrunching as the sun blinded him.

"No, the sheriff would've contacted us," Hotch refuted, turning to JJ. "Have you heard from her this morning?"

Everyone had turned to the blonde as she answered, "No, sir, I wasn't expecting to, though."

"JJ, come with me." And the two walked inside, leaving the others.

Finley could only sigh as she leaned against the car, putting on a pair of black sunglasses to combat the rays of the sun. This time, she was wearing a black, off-shoulder top paired with a cream pair of high-waisted slacks that flared slightly at the end, along with her pair of black Chuck Taylors that she's been carrying around everywhere. She completed the look with her everyday makeup and accessories, but this time, she wore a white gold BVLGARI Serpenti Seduttori watch, one that had immediately caught Rossi's eye.

"Nice watch," he commented, catching Finley off-guard, who looked down at her wrist and began fiddling with it.

"Thanks," she gave him a small smile.

"Bulgari, isn't it?" Rossi raised his eyebrows, knowing just how much the watch costed.

"Yeah."

He hummed to himself in thought, wondering just how much money the woman had in her savings to buy a watch that was nearly forty-five thousand dollars. He eyed her curiously, noting her sudden avoidance to eye contact.

"Was it a gift?" He couldn't help but ask. At this point, everyone had their eyes focused on Finley's watch that was literally glittering under the sun. Spencer could clearly see the diamonds that surrounded the watch face and frowned.

"Actually, yeah," she cleared her throat, fidgeting slightly at the attention. "One of my...best friends bought it for me for my birthday two years ago. He's actually more like an older brother. He's got a flair for the dramatics." She rolled her eyes fondly. "I tried to give it back but he wouldn't take no for an answer. He's, well, super rich."

"Well, he's got taste, I can tell that much," Rossi tilted his head in appreciation, eyeing the watch. "I'd like to meet him."

Finley giggled, pulling away from the side of the car so she can stand straight, meeting his curious gaze. "I'll see what I can do." She grinned. "You know what? Now that I think about it, I think you guys will get along great."

"What's his name?"

"Anthony."

"Ah, I like him already."

"Yikes," Finley muttered under her breath as soon as Rossi confirmed that the body was in fact Sheriff Ruiz. She continued on searching through the sheriff's car, trying her hardest not to look at Spencer, whose eyes were trained on her. She hated how—despite his eyes being hidden behind a pair of sunglasses like the rest of the team—she could still see the hurt in them.

She cleared her throat when they made eye contact and swiftly turned away, avoiding Emily and JJ's pleading looks. She could see the blonde open her mouth, but was thankfully cut off when Hotch turned to them.

"Is there anything in the car?" He asked.

"Nothing that would indicate where she was headed last night," Finley immediately answered, using that an as excuse the escape the awkward situation and stand next to him as she removed her gloves. "There's no notebooks, no log."

"Her body is mutilated in exactly the way that Omar Morales, the drug trafficker, said he would mutilate a body," Hotch explained.

"We did proflle the unsub would be someone close to the investigation," Spencer said, glancing at Finley who had crossed her arms.

"But only Ruiz and I heard him say it."

"So Omar looks good for this?" Rossi asked.

"Except, why would he kill the one person in town who didn't think he was the unsub?" Hotch wondered.

JJ then walked towards them. "Garcia says there's no activity on the sheriff's cell past 9PM."

"Does anybody remember who was at the station last night when we arrived?" Hotch asked them after acknowledging JJ's words.

"The station?"

"The sheriff's body was mutilated exactly the way the drug trafficker said he would do it," Emily filled her in.

"Oh no, all of it? The tongue too?"

Hotch frowned. "You heard that?"

"Yeah, I was at the window when you were talking to him. There was a speaker on the wall."

"Was anybody else there?" Spencer asked her.

"Yeah, Deputy Boyd," JJ realized.

They all immediately went into action, strapping FBI vests on, as well as grabbing guns. And for the first time, Finley had taken out her Bureau-issued Glock 17 that she would normally hide in her go-bag. She continued to ignore Spencer's lingering looks as she took the gun's safety off, walking into Omar Morales' compound along with her teammates, gun raised at the ready.

There was already a dead body at the entrance, and two more inside. One was Deputy Gentry, and the other was Omar Morales. Finley sighed and turned the safety back on, holstering her gun.

"Does this look legit to you?" Derek asked Rossi. Both of them were carrying MP-5's.

"Omar took shotgun hits, Gentry only has a pistol," Rossi noted. "There's no powder residue on Omar's hands either."

Emily had looked down and spotted a phone that was smashed. "Oh my God, what if he heard me?"

"Gannon, where would Boyd go?" Hotch asked, turning to the deputy with them.

"I don't know," the deputy replied.

"This is no time to be covering up," Derek announced rather harshly. "He killed your boss and Gentry."

"I'm not covering. I don't know the guy that well, no one does. He's a loner."

Hotch had already whipped out his phone, giving orders to Penelope as the entire team stepped outside to try and figure out where the unsub was headed.

Finley had been forced to stand next to Spencer this time, having no choice, especially when Rossi and Derek also noticed the tension between them. It was awkward as they waited for Hotch and the deputy to join them.

"What..." Spencer's voice cracked a little as he nervously looked towards Finley who seemed to be glaring at the ground with her arms crossed. "What's wrong? Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something wrong?"

She could only clench her jaw as she felt the others' gaze on her. She glanced at Emily and JJ before finally looking at Spencer, pushing her sunglasses up to her hair. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why...?"

"Let's not talk about it right now, Reid." The way she referred to him with his last name unexpectedly sent a pang to his chest.

"O-Okay."

The other four's eyes were dead-set on the two younger members of the team. The women, of course, knew where the sudden animosity came from, and wanted desperately to fix it, while the men, though they didn't know the specifics, were aware that something wasn't right. Before they could dwell on it further, Hotch and the deputy came up to them, and they began brainstorming to figure out where Deputy Boyd was headed.

"We profiled him as a hunter," Emily began.

"Well, now he's the hunted," Rossi commented.

"He'll go some place he feels safe," Derek said with a frown.

Spencer spoke up next. "Some place he knows he can control."

"Home?" Rossi asked.

"No, I think a preplanned location," Hotch rebutted.

Penelope, who was on the speaker phone, spoke up. "Sir, I-I've got him, he's heading northbound."

"Interstate?" Finley asked her.

"No, he's not on a road at all. He's driving through the desert."

"Keep tracking him, Garcia," Hotch ordered their technical analyst.

"He's running," JJ pointed out.

"Not home, for sure," the deputy said. "He lives in a trailer out west of town."

"So where's he running to?" Rossi asked rhetorically.

The team was now back on the jet. After apprehending Deputy Boyd—more like killing him, Finley thought to herself—and finding his other victims buried right outside his smelly trailer, they were on their way back to Quantico. The only thing Finley was thankful for was the fact that she didn't have to enter his trailer, nor go to his weird barn-thing in the middle of the desert.

She sighed as she realized that Spencer was patiently waiting for her at the back of the jet, sitting right across from the chair she sat on the flight bound to Terlingua. She pinched the bridge of her nose a little, before settling down across from him.

She looked at him apprehensively before speaking. "Hey, uh, sorry. For giving you the cold shoulder earlier. It's just... Spencer, be honest with me," her command made him sit up, his usual slouched figure suddenly resembling a flag pole. "Do you...do you have a crush on me?"

Never had Dr Spencer Reid been openly asked about his crushes quite like this, and it was obvious when he turned a crimson red; his entire face practically glowed. Finley found it endearing, but a lingering darkness in the back of her mind made her bitter.

"You do, don't you?" It wasn't even a question anymore as she looked into his eyes.

"Well...is it a bad thing?" Spencer asked, his voice meek and he seemed so heartbroken so suddenly. "I just...I'm genuinely attracted to you. Not just physically but...you're honestly so brilliant all on your own." He was shocked as the words came tumbling out of his mouth. "But I don't want to ruin our friendship!" He quickly defended, earning the attention of the others. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "I couldn't help it."

"Spencer..." Finley trailed off, and Spencer knew that it wasn't good, so he closed his eyes and braced for impact-- "It's okay. It's fine honestly. But I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"You barely know me, Spencer," she smiled, but it didn't give him the usual effect. Instead, it broke his heart. "Actually, you don't even know me--"

"I want to get to know you," he admitted, cutting her off. "I really do."

"I'm sorry," was all Finley could say, and she could only say it in a whisper. She placed her hand on top of his as it rested on the table between them. "I value our friendship, okay? It's better for us."

Spencer pulled his hand away. "You don't know what's better for me, Finley."

author's note: aNgsT