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A/n Adele was inspired by a late season storm that roared through here yesterday. This will be more of a friendship/possible pairing story for Reid and Emily. There will be one, possibly two more chapters to come.

Stranded

Emily placed the last of the towels into the cupboard and shut the door. The bathroom looked lived in now with the matching dark blue shower curtain and rug on the white tile floor. She and JJ had been lucky to convince the new owner of this house that he had to have matching colors. If they had left it up to him, he would have decorated it in something truly hideous, like brown and orange.

She picked up the last empty box and carried it out of the bathroom down the hall to the kitchen. "Where do you want this?" She said entering the good-sized kitchen. Why he needed a big kitchen was a mystery as he claimed not to know how to cook.

His head whipped up at her voice and he dropped a drinking glass on the floor where it shattered with a spectacular crash. "What?" He squeaked.

"Are you okay?" She rushed to his side as he bent down to pick up the glass. "Be careful!"

"Why are you still here?" He demanded ungratefully as he carefully picked up the largest pieces.

"That's gratitude for you." She snapped back.

He turned his beautiful puppy eyes on her. "It's snowing outside."

"Really… Last time I looked, it was raining."

"It's snowing…" He pulled a tall kitchen wastebasket out from under the sink and dropped in most of the glass.

"Are you kicking me out Reid?"

"The weather man on the radio said it was going to get really bad out there."

"Where did you put the broom and dustpan?" Emily straightened from her crouch.

"It's in the utility closet in the mudroom."

"I'm a big girl Reid. You don't have to worry about me." She called over her shoulder as she went to the mudroom.

"I know…" He squeaked again. "Everyone else is gone. I thought you went with them."

"I wanted to finish with the bathroom. I didn't think you'd break something your first night here." She smirked at him while she swept up the rest of the glass.

"I didn't intend to break anything. You sc- um... You startled me!"

"Sorry!"

She took the dustpan to the trashcan, emptied it and returned it, with the broom, to the mudroom. Reid stood in the middle of the kitchen staring in her direction as though his life depended on it.

"Relax Reid… I'm getting my coat now."

He didn't relax. Instead, he frowned as she pulled on her coat and gloves. "Um… Be careful," He squeaked.

"I'll be okay."

She gave him a long last look and he attempted to smile back at her. She sighed in exasperation and grabbed her purse from the table. "See you on Monday Reid."

"Um yeah…. Thanks for helping me move."

"No problem… The guys did all the heavy lifting."

"Yeah, so um thanks again."

"You're welcome."

She left the house, gasping at the temperature, which had fallen dramatically since that morning. Snow fell in tiny little flakes, which swirled around in the porch light. It had already piled up about an inch and it crunched a bit under the running shoes she wore. She hadn't expected show that day as it was the middle of March. She should've known better.

She hurried through the falling snow to her car. She unlocked the drivers side and slipped inside leaving the door open. She turned the key and nothing happened.

"What the hell!"

She turned the key again and nothing happened, no whines, no clicking noises, and no nothing. Just dead silence! "Damn it!"

She climbed out of the car and hurried back up the walk to Reid's front door. He opened it, looking very confused as she brushed past him into the house.

"Emily I don't -"

"Damn car won't start," She snapped.

"Oh… Um…"

"I'm going to call the auto club. I didn't want to sit outside."

"Oh sure… W-would you like s-some coffee." He stammered.

"I need a tow truck, not caffeine!"

"Sorry!"

Why did he have to look so beat down at that very moment?

"Look Reid, I'm going to call. They'll be here soon and you can get back to finishing unpacking."

"I'm not worried about that."

She ignored him for the phone call, which did not go well at all. The auto club was overwhelmed. It would be at least three hours before she could get help. The rep advised that if she was in a warm place to stay there until the next day. The police were telling everyone not to travel if they could avoid it. Apparently there were accidents all over the place as though everyone had forgot how to drive in the snow.

"Great…" She slapped the phone shut hard. "It looks like you're stuck with me Reid."

The color drained from his face. "But where are you going to sleep." He blurted out!

She stopped in the middle of heading back out to her car. "I suppose I'll have to stay on the couch." She said. "Unless you want company in that huge bed." She waggled her eyebrows at him.

His eyes bulged like a fish out of water. Scarlet blood rushed to his cheeks as she tried not to laugh despite the fact that she was stuck here with him for the night.

"I'm kidding Reid. If I don't make a joke I'm going to go break more of your dishes."

His face slowly returned to its normal color. "You can sleep in my room," He began.

"Spencer Reid… You're pretty hot but I don't think that'd be a very good idea."

"I -just m-meant that I'd s-sleep on the c-couch. It's a pullout, but not very comfortable." He stammered going scarlet again.

"I'd like to take you up on that Reid, but I'm not kicking you out of your bed."

"But -"

"No! I'm sleeping over there." She pointed at the dark green corduroy couch against the far wall. "Don't argue with me."

"Okay… Um, I have sheets and stuff around somewhere. I'll just go find them."

He practically ran out of the room. She pulled up the collar on her coat and braced herself for another run out to her car in the snow. The cold wind bit her cheeks and pushed snow into her eyes. It was getting so bad she was grateful for the light from his porch and the house. It looked like a blizzard might be cranking up as she walked as fast and as carefully as she could to her car.

Luckily, the snow was dry instead of wet so her old shoes didn't slip. Still, her feet sank into it. Her shoes and the first half inch of her jeans were wet by the time she made it to the car, retrieved the go bag she always had packed, and made it back to the house.

She stamped the snow off her feet and heaved in a breath. The cold had almost frozen the air in her lungs. At the same time Reid was re-entering the room with some sheets and a blanket.

"Sorry for the mess on your carpet."

"It's okay… You should take off your wet shoes and clothes."

"Trying to get me naked Reid?" She asked.

"NO! I was just thinking about you catching a cold or something. Did you know that it's not the cold that makes people sick in the winter time?" He began to desperately babble at her as she pulled off her shoes and wet socks. "The reason there's more sickness is that we spend more time indoors close to each other. Of course, if you were to get caught outside you can die of exposure if the temperature is -"

"Reid! I don't need a lecture on the dangers of exposure."

He shut his mouth with a snap and left the room without another word. She looked around at the living room as she put her bag down next to and end table.

"I found the extra sheets," Reid said from behind her.

"Thanks Reid," She looked over her shoulder to smile at him. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just can't believe this. I just got that car serviced two weeks ago. I'm going to have serious words with my mechanic!"

She helped him pull out the bed from the sofa and add the sheets and blanket. He'd found a couple of pillows that looked comfortable.

"You have your bag?" Reid suddenly enquired.

"Yeah… I keep an extra one in the car in case I'm out and about and we get called in." She sat on the edge of the pull out and studied him in the low light. "It's kind of sad that we have to keep a go bag around at all times."

He stood next to the end table a good distance away from her and something shadowed his eyes for a moment. The low light of the lamp backlit his head and the wavy hair he'd just trimmed a bit. It glowed around his face so that it resembled an angel from a Renaissance painting. She blinked and he moved at the same time which broke the spell.

"Emily?"

"Come sit down and talk to me." She motioned him over.

"You should take off your wet clothes."

"Fine… I'll put on my pajamas if it makes you happy."

He smiled and something stirred like nervous butterflies in her stomach. He reached up to rub one hand under his chin and the butterflies increased. Those beautiful fingers didn't know the power they held over her mind and heart.

"Do you mind?" She said, dragging her eyes away from his fingers.

"Oh yeah… Um, sorry!"

He hurried out of the room as fast as he could with a slight limp remaining from his shooting. She unzipped her old faded blue jeans as she remembered. Oh God… What a terrible day that had been, Reid getting shot and Hotch nearly killed by Foyet.

You were more worried about Reid that day remember?

Why did that voice have to remind her of inconvenient feelings that had been building since Colorado? She pulled off the jeans and opened her bag. She had a very old pair of dark blue sweat pants with holes in the knees. She put them on. She pulled out the dark red tee shirt with a hole in the shoulder seam and dragged it on after pulling off the dark green long sleeved blouse she'd worn to help.

She'd just folded her blouse and returned it to the bag when Reid said from out of sight in the hallway. "Um… Emily," She could hear him shuffling his feet.

"I'm decent!" She called out

"D-do you want something to eat. It's after seven, but I thought since you stayed to help and now you have to be here overnight…"

"You make it sound like I've been sentenced to life in prison." She tried to joke.

"No… Um, I mean I don't mind that you're here, but I can't cook."

The butterflies flew away at the look of resignation on Reid's face. She smiled a little. Reid never seemed to try to lie to himself about his limitations, which weren't many.

"Why don't we go have a look and see what's available?"

She followed him into the kitchen, which had an appetizing odor she hadn't recognized while helping Reid clean up the broken glass. "What's that great smell? I thought you said you can't cook?"

He gestured to the crock-pot plugged into the wall. "Garcia brought it. Its beef stew. I didn't know if you'd want that. There's some French bread too." He added nervously.

"Are you kidding? It smells divine."

"Yeah. Thanks to Garcia, you won't starve," He said going to the cabinet for some bowls.

She helped him set the table and dish out the stew. The mundane chores of dinner finished soothing her nerves. He seemed to relax too. The friendship they'd made before Cyrus and his cult seemed to come back out of wherever it had been hiding.

"So… What do you think of your new house?"

He looked up from his first spoonful of stew while she cut some of the bread with the bread knife he'd found packed away in a moving box he hand't got to yet.

"It's great… Morgan helped me find it. I know it's a bit large but it's a great investment. I got it pretty cheap too." He enthused.

"Are you going to become a real estate mogul like Morgan?"

He choked on the bread she gave him. "No, I don't need more than one house to worry about."

"Oh… I don't know I can see you making millions in the business despite the current market. You could become on of those guys on television with the mansion and expensive cars. You know the ones that have those infomercials on a 2 am in the morning. They have all those beautiful women flocking around them, and boats -"

"Come on Emily!" He focused his eyes on the vanishing bowl of stew in front of him.

"I'm just kidding! I can't see you doing anything but being a great profiler."

He gave her a shy little smile that brought back the butterflies back into her stomach. "I can't imagine leaving the BAU." He said as she spooned up more of the delicious stew.

"I hope you don't," She said before she could stop the words.

His spoon stopped halfway to his mouth and he stared open mouthed at her. "I just mean that we all care about you. We'd all miss you if you left."

"Oh…" He sounded disappointed and more butterflies joined their friends in her stomach.

Silence stretched out as she tried to finish the rest of her stew, but her stomach wouldn't cooperate. Reid cleared off the dishes and set the dishwasher in a silence that dragged out like a sermon at a summer camp revival meeting.

Say something!

She tried to make her mouth open and say. You mean everything to me Spencer. I never want you to leave the BAU because I think I'm falling in love with you.

Wait! Where had that come from? Love! No, not right then. This was such a bad idea, but what choice did she have. She helped him finish the clean up in more extremely uncomfortable silence.

"Reid…" She began to say.

He glanced over at her and the words died on her lips. She tried to smile, but the corners of her mouth wouldn't move up.

"If you don't mind Emily, I'm going to go to bed. I'm really tired from the move."

"Sure… I'm just sorry you have to spend your first night here with me."

"It's okay…" He gave her a sad smile. "It's not like I had anything planned. Just another night all alone."

They stared at each other for a long time, and then he just turned away and left her standing in the middle of the kitchen.