Chapter 2: Fire

"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean." -Maya Angelou

Spencer woke up that morning feeling really good; it was the first day of his two-week vacation. He got up out of bed and stretched his lanky form, his fingertips nearly touching the ceiling. He walked over to his window and pulled open the blinds, letting in a golden chorus of sunlight. He smiled, leaning into the warmth the light brought. He had a strange feeling that today was going to be a great day.

A few hours earlier, Lily was awaked by chaos. At first she didn't even realize what was going on, it all seemed like a dream. There was smoke everywhere it clouded her vision. It felt hot, really hot. Then it hit her. Fire. She stumbled blindly towards her door and when she opened it she was faced with an even thicker blanket of smoke. She crouched down on her hands and knees and crawled to the emergency stairwell, which she had come accustomed to using because of her fear of elevators. She pushed the door with all her might and escaped into the stairwell.

She began to crawl as fast as she could down the stairs; her apartment was on the third floor so there wasn't too many. The smoke was getting thicker, constricting, she couldn't breathe. She began to cough, her lungs attempting to clear themselves of the soot that had taken root there. For a moment she thought she was going to die. The statistics ran through her mind, over 3,320 people die as a result of fire, 16,705 civilians sustain fire related injuries; fire has killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined. She couldn't think of that now, statistics wouldn't save her. No matter how much her body wanted to just collapse she willed herself to keep going.

When she finally made it to the bottom of the stairs she pushed through yet another door and made it into the lobby. As she approached the glass double doors she saw it was still dark out but the calm night was penetrated by the sound of sirens. She got up and ran for the door, using every bit of strength she had left. She stumbled out the door and into a world of flashing lights and blaring noises. She turned back to look at her apartment building, only to find a pit of fiery death in it's place. She had made it, she had made it through hell.

A firefighter approached her as he screamed to the EMTs "We got another one!".

They approached her and asked her name, "Dr. Lily Trinity…" She mumbled before passing out.

She awoke in a sterile, white place. 'Is this heaven?' she wondered, observing her surroundings. Then the memories came flooding back, smoke, fire, and chaos. Had she survived? A man in a white coat stepped in and began to speak.

"Ah, Dr. Trinity you're awake." The man said. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused?" She replied sitting up.

"That's perfectly normal." He said.

"What… What happened?" She asked.

"It was an accident, your building caught fire but you're alright just some smoke inhalation. You should be cleared to leave." He said. "All of your clothes were burned but we managed to find some clothes relatively your size."

"Thank you." She said weakly.

"Do you have somewhere to go, any friends you can stay with?" He asked.

"There might be someone…" She stuttered.

"Alright I'll leave you." The man said walking out the door.

Lily felt numb; she got up and pulled on the clothes haphazardly. Then simply walked out of the hospital, she had no home, no possessions and absolutely nowhere to go. She was still fairly new to the city and had no other friends in the area besides the team but they were all gone. They were all gone except… No! She couldn't stay with him, but it was her only option. She still remembered where Dr. Reid lived from when the team had gone there for a dinner party. Enforced by Garcia of course. So she began to walk, her apartment wasn't very far; she could just go and pick up her car. Then drive over to Reid's place and let the torment begin.

Spencer had just gotten out of the shower and was towel drying his hair vigorously. He stepped over to his dresser and began to pick out his outfit of the day. He searched through his drawers and closet until he settled upon a simple purple button down shirt, tie and black sweater vest with black pants. Then he strolled into his small kitchen and started the coffee maker, while he waited for his coffee he sat down and his little table and started to read. He'd barely picked up his book when he heard a knock on the door. 'Who would be here at this hour?' he thought to himself. He got up and walked to the door, opening it a little warily. Then he found himself face to face with his worst enemy.

"Trinity?" He said shocked.

"Look Reid, I don't like you and you don't like me but I have no where else to go." She said stepping in to his apartment.

"Sure, come in why don't you." He said sarcastically closing the door.

"I'm going to tell you this straight, I'm broke, homeless and extremely agitated." She said angrily.

"What?" He asked confused.

Then Trinity proceeded to explain how her building caught fire and she didn't know anyone in the city besides the team.

"So you're asking if you can stay with me?" He said trying to understand the situation.

"That's exactly what I'm asking." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm really your only option?" He questioned.

"Do you really think if I had any other options I would be here?" She said bitterly.

"Fine, you can stay here. Just don't annoy me." He said.

"I'll try my best." She replied maliciously.

X X X

"Interesting living arrangements? What is brewing in my mind, you'll have to wait and see. PS: The fire statistics are real, they are taken from the US Fire Association."