AN: This is my first foray into Criminal Minds, so I apologize as I start getting a feel for the characters… But this little ditty just wouldn't leave me alone, no matter how hard I tried to focus on schoolwork. Isn't that usually how it works? Fortunately summer is upon us and my schedule is opening up considerably, so hopefully I will be able to continue posting. :D

Now, without trying to make this author's note longer than the story, let me provide a little disclaimer/observation. I enjoyed Austin as a character, and I wanted to see how the two of them would approach a relationship. In this story I will be taking some liberties in "creating" Austin (since all we know about her is that she's a bartender that needed rescuing by the FBI). So if my "version" of Austin conflicts with your own, I'm sorry.

Also, if anybody could help me out with what you feel her last name should be (or is—I looked everywhere and found nothing), I would be eternally grateful.

Okay, enough babbling. On to the story!

--

Chapter One – A Long Visit

Impulsiveness.

It was a gift and a curse simultaneously for Austin. On one hand, it gave her some of the greatest times of her life. That weekend trip to Nashville, when the car broke down and they hitched a ride with a Poison tribute band, came to mind. It would not have happened had she been born cautious and fastidious. But on the other hand, it led to some bad decisions. Ninety percent of her boyfriends fell under the category of bad decisions. And then that whole near-death experience with the serial killer, having to be rescued by federal agents. Had she not made the impulse to knock over that drink, things might have changed. But for the moment, she tried to focus on the positive. Her relationship with Spencer Reid might not have gone in this direction had she not saved that woman.

She wanted Reid to be different. He was someone she did not wish to regret.

So she insisted on taking it slow. Friends first, then wherever it ended up, it ended up. Emails between shifts, the occasional phone call. He even wrote her letters. Long handwritten letters in his carefully-scrawled writing, describing his escapades in big and generally unpronounceable words. She always kept a dictionary nearby when she reads them, just in case.

Slowly, his words became the highlight of her day. She would check her email hourly. Her heart would flutter every time she saw a mail truck. In short, she had become addicted to his words and his thoughts, constantly searching for ways to get a fix.

Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her rapidly-increasing heart rate, she tried to focus on the task at hand.

A trip to New Mexico had been planned to visit her sister, who very possibly had the right idea of staying close to home. Sometimes she would lay awake and wonder how different her life might have been had she not moved to Georgia on a whim and a prayer. She would not have been in the bar that night, she would not have been captured and held by a psychotic killer and stared death straight in the face.

Then again, she might not have met Reid. The only bright spot in the dark abyss that her life was.

Her wandering mind not included, she was in the middle of folding her last pair of shorts when her computer beeped happily. She knew that sound well, and once again her heart raced at the sound. That beeping noise meant a new email, which probably meant a new email from Spencer.

Smiling smugly when her thoughts were confirmed, she clicked on the new email.

To: Austin

Sent at 4:21 pm

Subject: This weekend

Hello.

She couldn't help but contain her laughter. He always started every email so formally. A Hello was about as casual as she would be getting. Of course a genius wouldn't use words like "Hey" or "what's up".

You're probably packing up for your vacation. On a side note, did you know it's estimated that there were more than a million new cases of nonmelonoma skin cancer in the US in 2008, and 1000 resulted in death? All the more reason to pack the sunscreen.

Anyways, I just wanted to let you know I'll be on a case in Albuquerque this weekend. And while I'm not sure if I will have time to see you, or if you'll even be in the same vicinity as I am, I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to get drinks or something should the time permit?

Dr. Spencer Reid

Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit

How two paragraphs had such a profound effect on her blood pressure, she'll never be certain of. All she knew was that there was the slightest chance she would be seeing Reid over the weekend. It felt like high school all over again, the intense anxiety over boys. It was exhilarating in a sense, as well as nerve-wracking.

The past two months his face had appeared in countless dreams and several nightmares as well. Time had taken away the clarity of his features, but his comforting presence was unmistakable.

Her fingers clacked against the keyboard in a hurry as she typed a response. The email sent, she snapped her laptop shut, and continued packing.

–

He was a nervous wreck sending the e-mail. Would it come off as forward asking her for drinks, especially when he was uncertain he'd have the time to partake? Was this advancing their relationship to a pace far more rapid than anticipated?

But he realized his life was filled with missed chances, so this was one risk he had to take.

His shaky hands hit send, not sure when his misery would be ended by a response.

Writing to Austin was not quite the chore it was with his mother. He wanted to write, and he loved the letters he received back. He could clearly hear her distinct voice in the written words, and it comforted him wherever he was. On the plane. In his apartment. Wherever he was, he could carry a piece of her with him everywhere. Not that he would ever admit that. It would appear to be borderline stalker. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away.

He finished throwing some recently-laundered clothes into a bag, preparing for wheels-up in two hours. Unfortunately, a series of child abductions in Albuquerque was waiting for the team there.

Five minutes passed. It felt seriously disturbed keeping watch of the inbox, waiting for a response. As if Austin was just waiting by her computer, waiting for an email she was not expecting. She probably wouldn't even receive the message until a week from now, and once again Spencer Reid screwed everything up. But he tried his hardest to remain positive and upbeat.

When his menu showed one new email, a reply from Austin, his relief quickly shifted to mortification. Of course she would be saying no. Why wouldn't she say no? His hands shaking, he clicked on the new message, and prepared himself for the worst.

To: Spencer

Sent at 4:28 pm

Subject: RE: This Weekend

Cool. Call me when you get a chance.

He took a deep breath, and felt the inflation of his hopes swell in his heart.

–

Flying had never been a real problem with her. It wasn't like a little turbulence sent her into a panic attack—she had real-life memories that had that ability. Flying was no different to her than driving or sitting in her apartment.

But her flight today was an entirely different experience. She was excited. Even though it was a long shot that he would have the time away from his job, she kept her hopes up. There was a chance, as small as it was, that she would be seeing Reid …

She turned up her headphones, her favorite song playing optimistically as the plane flew through the white clouds...

–

He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and get what little rest he could. This case was looking tougher than originally anticipated, and he would probably spend several sleepless nights helping the team find that missing girl. But he was just too wired up to even sleep.

Time permitting, he was going to see Austin. The first time since their online courtship began.

Of course, he wouldn't call email and phone call exchanges as courtship. They had never even officially been on a date before, so why would interchanges across state lines count as a courtship? It made his head spin a little thinking about the socially-acceptable boundaries on relationships. Especially considering he had never really been in a real relationship...

In desperate need of winding down, he shifted himself into a more comfortable position in the chair, and slipped in his headphones. The first song that came on instantly made him think of Austin. It had been on a playlist she had sent him at some point, songs that he had to download. This had been the first, and the one she claimed was her absolute favorite. I could not imagine a more optimistic song than this one.

His eyelids fluttered shut as he listened to the upbeat melody. And in that brief moment of sleep, he dreamed of her beautiful face.

–

It was astonishing that she managed to sleep as much as she had. Normally her little nephew would jump on her mattress or cry until sleep was impossible. But somehow she made it until nine that morning. Jet lag usually debilitated her, but now that she actually got some uninterrupted sleep, it was manageable.

Her sister's newly renovated house smelled like paint, drywall, and the polyester in the new carpet. Marrying a wealthy doctor had benefitted her greatly in the financial aspect. This was probably the third renovation in the new house.

Austin found her sister sitting on a stool, crouched over the paper at the table. "I thought you'd want to sleep in, so I sent Jake to stay with a friend." Her eyes never left the paper. She just read and sipped. "I got to tell you, the quiet is nice."

"Thanks." Austin yawned and made her way towards the coffee that smelled too tantalizing to refuse. Even if she did not desperately need the caffeine, she needed the ritual that morning coffee provided.

Her sister shifted, finally setting her paper down. "So how are you holding up?" Both knew what topic was being discussed.

"Fine, I guess. Some days are better than others."

Her sister merely nodded. "You know if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

"I know." She put on a smile. As much as she loved her sister, this was just not something that they could discuss openly. The nightmares, the fear, it was all too deep to discuss.

Charlotte returned to her paper and her turquoise mug of coffee. "So are you ever going to tell me his name?"

"Whose name?" Austin had been so diligent in not letting her feelings for Reid show in her intuitive sister's presence.

"The guy you're thinking about. I know that look in your eye that you get when you're swooning over some guy. Is this another wanna-be rock star, or future inmate?"

"It's not like that." In essence she was admitting there was a guy. "His name is Spencer. He's..." as if she was embarrassed. "He's a genius."

"Yeah, I've heard that one before."

"Honestly, he is a legal genius. He has an IQ of like 180, and he has an eidetic memory." Her sister raises one perfectly-tweezed eyebrow. "Yeah, I had to Google that one."

"Sounds like a real catch." There is a subtle and unintentional undertone of sarcasm on that. She amended quickly, "The question is, is he cute?"

At that, Austin smirked and nodded, beginning the girliest of girl talks over coffee in a long time.

–

Overnight, the case had become one of their roughest in a while. What had, on paper, seemed like the average child abduction had quickly become a tangled web of deceit, betrayal, and envy. Every new discovery on the case made things infinitely more complicated. And with time running out for Ian Matthews, every waking minute was spent on this case.

And as awful as it was, a little piece of him was distracted. Not enough to cloud his judgment and miss important case details; just enough to make him noticeably pensive. Austin was only to be in town for three more days. He longed for the win-win situation of solving the case with satisfactory results for the Matthews' family, and the opportunity to be close to her.

"Something on your mind, kid?"

Derek Morgan noted this distraction, and Reid inwardly regretted letting his emotions physically manifest like that. If he wasn't careful, his tightly-held secret would unravel before everyone.

"I'm fine." The lie didn't even sound convincing to him.

"I know that look in your eyes, something is making that brain of yours race. What is it?"

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about the case."

"Right." Morgan still didn't believe him. Normally a skeptical Morgan remained inquisitive, but he refocused himself on the case. "What was this street again?"

"Bowe Street." He smirked to himself. Even though the name was not the correct spelling, he couldn't help but remember Austin's obsession with the 70s glam rocker.

"I caught that smirk, Reid. And as soon as this case is over, you will be spilling everything."

Despite Morgan's insistence on getting that information, Reid had experience in avoiding the sharing of personal information. He would prattle off some useless statistic, instantly annoying whoever was instigating, and he'd escape while they were reeling. It wasn't often he needed to employ this strategy, but it was comforting to have in his arsenal.

And the two pulled onto the street, unaware that they were only two houses down from Austin.

–

"How long do you plan on staring at your phone?"

In all honesty, Austin hadn't realized she'd been checking her calls habitually. It was done mostly out of habit, waiting for Reid to call. But the two were at the park, watching Jake sift his little fingers through the sand.

Two days. He hadn't called or emailed in the last two days, no matter how many times she checked. And while she knew it was due to his occupation, it did not quell her own anxiety. She wanted desperately to see him, and couldn't stop thinking about what might have been preventing him from seeing Spencer Reid. She was extremely worried, mostly about him and his safety. Still, her vacation would soon be over. Her main concern was that the hourglass would drop every last grain of sand before she got to hear from Spencer.

Time was literally running out for the two of them.

--

Should I continue posting this? Will our couple finally get to see each other? Will I stop asking absurd questions and imagining a soap-opera organ playing music in the background? :D Seriously, though. Please review. I'd appreciate the feedback.

Also, there will be a lot of musical references in this story, and soon I will have the playlist up on my profile. The story title (and all chapter titles) are coming from Blood Bank and For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver. If you haven't heard them, listen to both. ;) On my profile I will also be listing all the links for statistics Reid mentions. Because I am by no means that intelligent to pull them out of my hat. :)

Please review!