The New Normal

A Criminal Minds fanfiction

Reid/Max

G

Episode tag for 15.04 "Saturday." A month after the chance meeting in the park, Spencer Reid revisits 'normal'.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

A giant thank you to my beta, Autumn, for her usual prompt and thorough going over. She makes the story writing normal for me. As usual, I own nothing- Reid, Max, the BAU, the coffee press and everything else belongs to Mark Gordon and company. I'm just borrowing them.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

"If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be." ― Maya Angelou

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

Normal. What the hell was normal anyway? Well, by definition, it meant conforming to the standard or common type, or serving to establish a standard. But as far back as Spencer Reid could remember his normal was vastly different from, well, the normal.

As a child, his normal meant caring for his mentally ill mother; foregoing a lot of the things most normal children his age had experienced. While other kids were out playing in the park and riding their bicycles, Reid's childhood—when not working on schoolwork—was spent doing laundry, cooking and cleaning. And making sure his mother remembered to eat her meals, take her medications and dress and wash herself. While the other teenagers were playing for the high school team, or going out on dates, Reid's normal was studying hard and earning degrees. Even as an adult in the workforce, his normal wasn't the same as anyone else's.

He filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove. The BAU team had a rare Monday off. They'd returned from their most recent out of town case in the early hours of Saturday morning and as a result, Unit Chief Emily Prentiss instructed them not to return to the office until Tuesday morning. Reid spooned coffee grounds into the French press, and chose a mug from the cupboard as he waited for the water to boil.

Fifteen years later, his normal was still in question. While all his coworkers seemed to have—what did Dr. Stein call it? Healthy outlets from the job, he remembered. Wincing, he recalled her reaction to his response to her question.

Who do you talk to?

JJ. Rossi. Luke.

Who do you talk to outside of work?

A long pause until he realised.

Nobody.

And thus, Dr. Stein had given him an assignment. Don't think about work. Not even a little bit. I want you to have one normal conversation with one normal person.

The kettle whistled and Spencer poured the boiling water into the coffee press. He added a measure of cream to the empty coffee mug and resumed his retrospection as he waited for the brewing process to complete.

How on Earth was he going to accomplish that?!

He'd decided to walk over to the park to think about this and there, a chance encounter turned his world upside down.

Pouring the brewed coffee into his mug, Reid stirred in some sugar and then picked it up and made his way over to the sofa and coffee table in his living room.

A smile drew across his face as he recalled the initial meeting with Sammy. The smile widened as he remembered how their misunderstanding had led to the intervening arrival of Sammy's Aunt Max. It widened further as he summoned up the memory of the entire experience and how he'd managed to change Max's perception of him. He'd seen the distress in Sammy when Max's car was towed. Reid wasn't sure if Sammy was on the spectrum, but the child's panicked discomfort reminded him of his own similar childhood reactions to stressful situations. His ensuing sleight of hand trick with the penny had calmed Sammy down, distracting the boy, as Reid had known it would. Grateful, Max had realised at that moment what a caring and decent man Spencer Reid was. Warmth spread through Reid as he reflected on the moment Max had shared those thoughts.

He sipped at his coffee as he continued his reminiscence. The incident with Max and Sammy had led to his opportunity to have a normal conversation with a normal person. And the dialogue had been wonderful, he noted silently.

For the first time, in as long as he could remember, he'd had an exchange of ideas with someone that didn't require behavioral analysis. Talking with Max about teaching and art was an unexpected treat. And not having to talk about work was refreshing. He smiled yet again, thinking about the four weeks since that meeting in which he had now had countless normal conversations with Max.

Normal had taken on a new meaning for him, and had set a new standard. Normal was talking to Max every night, be it on the phone if he was away on a case, or face-to-face if he was fortunate enough to be in town. Normal was spending Saturday in the park with Max, and sometimes with Sammy. Normal was having a conversation about the artistic merits of graffiti, without it becoming a sociological discussion of the criminal aspect. Normal was having a proper dinner with Max and not just wolfing down fast food while an open book sat on the table alongside it. Normal was making dinner and sharing it with Max.

Normal now brought a smile to Spencer's face. The nightly dream about the indistinctly faced axe murderer had stopped. Instead, Spencer's dreams at night were filled with Max and he woke up in the morning happy and ready to face the day.

He smiled as he recalled a conversation with Max about normal.

"Normal for you is exceptional, Spence. You're never going to be normal in the common interpretation of the word. Everyone makes their own normal".

"I'm weird," he'd replied.

"No, you're unique. Your normal is just different from others. And it's just as valid. And just as normal."

Glancing over at the wall clock, Spencer noted it was almost three p.m. School would be letting out soon, and that meant Max would be done work for the day. He gulped down the rest of his coffee. Grabbing his jacket, he headed out the door, intending to surprise her at the school.

Ten minutes and four stops later, he stepped happily along the sidewalk outside the subway platform. The school was another two blocks east of the transit stop and he had to force himself to slow his pace, such was his eagerness. As he approached the corner of intersection with the main street, he stopped at the floral stand. He chose a colourful bouquet of mixed flowers, paid for them and continued on his way. His heart soared as he arrived at the school just as the dismissal bell rang. Making his way through the staff parking lot, he found her red Volkswagen Beetle and waited next to it.

Max finished putting away the art supplies in her classroom and tidied the back countertop, then gathered her purse and coat from the small closet at the front of the room. Turning off the light, she left the room, shutting the classroom door firmly behind her.

She hurried down the stairs to the school's office to turn in the set of keys for the art supply room and exchanged small talk with the school secretary for a moment. As she laughed in reaction to something the older woman said, she happened to glance up and out the office window.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

"Are you all right, Maxine?"

"Yes," she nodded as emotion threatened to overwhelm her. "It's—" she paused to decide on a word, and the secretary followed her line of sight.

"Isn't that your car, Maxine? Who's that man?"

"That," Max paused for emphasis, "Is the kindest, most decent man I've ever known, Peggy."

"He's a keeper?"

"He sure is."

"Well, then, get out there and keep him!"

He turned and surveyed the schoolyard and checked his watch. Of course, he thought, she doesn't know I've come here and she may have after school engagements. He wondered for a moment if he should text her and as he was making that decision and digging through a pocket for his cell phone, Max arrived at his side.

"Spence!" she greeted him, reaching out with one hand to touch his arm. He stopped foraging for his phone and turned to her, moving his arm to take her hand.

"Um, these are for you," he explained, holding out the flowers with his other hand. She took them with her free hand and stepped closer to him. Their eyes met and he read the invitation there and leaned in to give her a light kiss.

Breathlessly, she indicated the flowers and whispered a quick thank you before moving closer to kiss him again. Letting go of her hand, he drew her into his embrace, deepening their connection and the kiss.

A long moment later, they broke apart and Max turned and unlocked the car doors. Spencer held her door open as she climbed in and then ran around to the passenger side to take his own seat. As they fastened their seat belts, Max turned to speak.

"This was a nice surprise, Spence."

"It's part of my new normal, Max."

"I love it," and she looked into his eyes and lowered her voice, "And I love you."

He blinked quickly several times and replied, "I love you too, Max."

"And I love the new normal."

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

"Normal is never one of a kind.

One of a kind is never normal." ―author Richie Norton