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taxonomites2011-03-09 11:03 pm
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12% [location: Spencer's and Kate's apartment] [closed to Kate and Alexis]
Spencer drained the spaghetti as Kate was putting the finishing touches on the sauce. He glanced back at their small table, now hastily set for three. They would need a bigger table if Alexis was going to stay permanently. The apartment was cozy with two, but a bit small with three, even though Alexis had been staying in the spare bedroom.
He placed the bowl of spaghetti on the table and gave Alexis a smile. From the few days that he'd known her, she seemed like a very bright, considerate and driven girl, and he was eager to get to know her a bit better. Spencer sat down next to her and placed his napkin in his lap as Kate brought the sauce over.
"That looks good."
Unconsciously, he placed his hand on Kate's thigh as she sat down, rubbing her gently. Having Alexis around would take some getting used to. He hoped that this dinner would be the first of many "family" dinners they would have. Spencer served Kate some spaghetti before offering it to Alexis.
He placed the bowl of spaghetti on the table and gave Alexis a smile. From the few days that he'd known her, she seemed like a very bright, considerate and driven girl, and he was eager to get to know her a bit better. Spencer sat down next to her and placed his napkin in his lap as Kate brought the sauce over.
"That looks good."
Unconsciously, he placed his hand on Kate's thigh as she sat down, rubbing her gently. Having Alexis around would take some getting used to. He hoped that this dinner would be the first of many "family" dinners they would have. Spencer served Kate some spaghetti before offering it to Alexis.
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"I honestly don't think you're ready to be on your own yet, Alexis. If you'd like, we can set you up a study space at the apartment across the hallway as a way of giving your a space of your own, but I feel like you should still sleep here, at least for a little while."
She looked down.
"I promised your father I would take care of you...if something were to happen. Of course, this is not what either of us had in mind, but I intend to keep that promise."
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"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that I didn't want to stay," she said, the words tripping over each other as she rushed through them. Her cheeks were bright red as she looked up and
flailedgestured with a hand at the little apartment. "I just didn't want to be a bother, and I know you're not really ready to have three people here. I mean, I think you'd want priva--"Alexis didn't know if underground alien cities experienced earthquakes but she wished there would be one right that second.
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"I-It's a small apartment... yes... but Kate and I both care about your safety..."
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She took a deep breath, then looked at Alexis.
"We weren't exactly ready to have another person living here with us, but we're fine for now. We'll deal with the rest as it comes. I just...I want to take care of you."
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She looked from one adult to the other, then busied herself poking at her spaghetti, swirling up a forkful, as she tried to find the words past the rising lump in her throat. The pain of her absent dad flared. "I'd... I'd like that." She couldn't say outright that she wanted to be taken care of, because as much as she did she wasn't quite ready to take that particular responsibility away from her dad and transfer it to someone else. "But would it be okay to study across the hall? So you can have some space too?"
That was a much
less embarrassingbetter way of putting things, Alexis.no subject
"I think that you'd be safe across the hall. And it's normal for teenagers to want their own space. It's a part of starting to become an independent adult."
He took a sip of his water. He could tell that this was still very traumatic for her, and to simply expect her to go along with what they wished was a silly idea. If she were 10, it would be a different story. A 17-year-old - and a very smart one at that - was going to make her own decisions.
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But Kate knew Alexis was smart and self-sufficient. She just couldn't bear the thought of Alexis not being close to them, so she and Spencer could protect her.
"I would feel better if you slept here, at least for now. We can set the apartment up however you want, and you can move over there eventually, but please, sleep here for now."
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It helped a little, to think that her dad would approve (at least about the staying with Kate part). "I'll stay," she promised. "I'll only study next door so I don't take over the kitchen table." Alexis swallowed again, and a sad little smile played over her lips. "Dad would want me to trust your judgment."
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"Your dad is my partner, and I'd do anything for him. And you're the most important thing in the world to him. I can't let anything happen to you."
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"Thank you, Detec-- Kate," she stumbled a little over the name. She offered Dr. Reid a watery smile. She wasn't on first name basis there yet, but she'd get there, someday. "You too, Dr. Reid."
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"Y-You don't have to call me Dr. Reid. Just 'Reid' is fine..."
Her calling him "Dr" made this whole living arrangement seem incredibly formal.
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"So Alexis, if you need any help studying for your APs, Spencer here is a wiz. Three PhDs, did he tell you that? It's like you have your own private tutor in just about any subject you can come up with."
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"Most subjects, n-not everything..."
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"No, he didn't, he just said he was a doctor. And worked for the FBI," she answered sounding a little bit more like herself, eager and if not yet cheerful, at least very interested. Alexis made a mental note to ask about what subjects Reid had doctorates in. For the moment she didn't want him to think she was just interested in tutoring. That would have been rude, and Alexis was pretty sure she'd exhausted her quota of
awkwardnessrudeness for a week.She took a bite of spaghetti and chewed thoughtfully as she looked from Kate to Reid and back. "Is there police here? Or some alien FBI that you both work for?"
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"There's not much in the way of crime here, at least not in the traditional sense," just zombies and vampires, Kate thought to herself. "Spencer works in the library and I own a shoe store with a friend of mine here."
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"We've been trying to put some sort of team together. There are actually quite a few law enforcement agents in this place."
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"I met a couple of them, I think, over the tablet," she ventured. "A few deputies and things. I thought it just meant there was a police station here or something."
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He laughed softly.
"We've been kind of using the library as a meeting place."