Retribution, A Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 2. Bride

Ana picked up her bouquet and felt…everything. Too much. Much too much.

Somehow she’d known this day would come from the moment she met Spencer. But now that it was here, she was full of conflicts and contradictions. She wanted her wedding day to be over; all the fuss in the past, so they could have the memories, but be done with the planning and the emotional turmoil and everyone looking at them. At the same time, she wanted this day to last forever.

I’m happy. I’m so completely, unequivocally, insanely happy. And terrified. And I don’t know why. She felt a touch in her mind like a warm hug, and knew who it was.

Me, too. I’m scared and I hope I don’t do anything dumb to wreck the ceremony and I’m so, so happy. And I love you.

I love you so much. I can’t wait to see you, Spencer.

Same here. J.J. says you’re beautiful…like I didn’t already know that. She caught the smile in his thoughts.

Do you think it’s weird I wanted to do this outdoors…in the woods? I mean, after all the bad things that have happened in places like this?

His reply was strong and firm and allowed no doubts to intrude on their day. Absolutely not. This place is perfect. It’s us. Forests are part of our history. Who we are.

Ana had wanted her wedding to take place in the untouched wilderness surrounding her hometown of Needles, California. But it was in just such a location that her little sister Sarah had been buried alive by the serial killer who’d been the reason Reid and the rest of the BAU had come to town in the first place. Sarah had died in the local hospital, but her torment had begun in woods. Forested terrain had also figured prominently in Hotch’s near-death when she and Reid had been lab specimens in demented Dr. Carol Bescardi’s bid for fame in the field of psychic research.

She didn’t know why, but when marrying Spencer went from notion to imminent reality, the first thing Ana had envisioned was a ceremony among towering, old-growth trees with the heady scent of pine and the sounds of birdsong and wind surrounding them. When she’d voiced her doubts to her fiancé, he’d reminded her that there was also good in the woods. There was a strange, small community isolated in the wilds, where Hotch’s life had been saved twice and where the couple had discovered they weren’t alone. There were others like them. The town at the edge of the great northern, primeval forest, so removed from civilization, had sprung up around a hospital, a sanctuary for psychics.

It, and the people who ran it, outweighed the bad. As far as Reid was concerned, they rebalanced the scales on how forests should be judged.

Hotch is telling me it’s time. We’re going out now. You ready?

He felt her almost musical trill of amusement. How many times must I say it, Spencer? Where you go, I go, too.

See you soon, Ana.

Soon.

xxxxxxx

Ana’s maid of honor had been her childhood friend. One of the few.

When little Ana’s empathic talent appeared and grew, it isolated her. No one liked being around strange Ana Ashcroft, who knew too much about what you were feeling, who always seemed to be a little distracted in a world of her own.

Except for Cindy Mason.

One day Cindy had ridden her bike to a meadow where she could be alone and vent her seven-year-old sorrows privately. Her parents were separating. It hurt. Too young to be able to verbalize why, Cindy just let the inexplicable pain take her.

Miles away, Ana felt the stab of distress. Like a spike in the graph of emotions that she could always perceive emanating from the small population of her hometown, she knew this was different. Her kind heart couldn’t ignore it. So Ana went in search of the source. When she found her classmate Cindy, she didn’t ask why and she didn’t say anything standard like ‘don’t cry’ or ‘it’ll be okay’ or ‘what’s wrong.’ She propped her own bike next to Cindy’s, sat beside her in the tall, summer grass, and simply said the truth.

“I know what you’re feeling. I know how much it hurts. I know.”

Through her tears and sniffles, Cindy had looked at the outcast girl no one played with or invited to sleep-overs. There was no judgment or discomfort. There was only recognition and acceptance…and a compassion that overlooked all previous slights Cindy might have inflicted on Ana in the name of peer pressure, of group mentality.

Ana’s company was just what Cindy needed. The two girls split the day between companionable silences and sharing confidences. When light began to recede from the sky and Cindy’s quarreling parents were beginning to get worried, their daughter showed up with a new friend in tow. When they asked her where she’d been all day, she said, “With Ana. She’s my BFF.”

And they were.

When Ana asked her childhood friend who now lived in L.A. to come back to Needles and be her maid of honor, Cindy didn’t hesitate. She closed down the small vintage clothing boutique she owned and stepped into her role with genuine joy.

Now, Cindy looked at her friend and couldn’t stop smiling. No one ever thought weird-girl Ana would find someone to marry. But she had. And he was sweet and kind and brilliant and handsome in a boyish sort of way. Perfect.

Ana’s bridesmaids, on the other hand, were an odd trio.

One was an explosion of color and glitter and spangles. Putting on the lace-trimmed, beaded silver-celadon gown the color of rain was actually dressing down for her! But she had done a magnificent job with Ana’s makeup and hair.

Another was dark and predatory-looking. She was a slinky marvel in the bridesmaid’s gown, but the aura of danger and unpredictability that surrounded her made Cindy think she was an infiltrator, working undercover in the ceremony. Still, she was a good physical match for the best man’s dark, brooding quality. They would balance each other well in the wedding pictures and flanking the bride and groom while they exchanged vows.

The third was odd just because she was so normal compared to the other two. Almost too normal. Almost too competent. Blond and sweet-faced, she was a natural at defusing nervous situations like missing boutonnières or clashing nail polish colors, and she kept the communication going between the groomsmen and the bride’s party with effortless grace.

Then there was Ana. Cindy looked at her and was so proud of her friend. Her beautiful friend.

In an unbroken spill of candlelight satin, hair entwined with narrow ribbons and tiny, pale flowers, the bride stood still with a look in her eyes that said she wasn’t quite present. The bridesmaids seemed to understand when Ana fell into these spells of quiet. Cindy would see them exchange smiles and furtive glances. No explanation was offered, so the maid of honor didn’t push for one. But she did get a chill when Ana snapped out of it and addressed her bridal party with a beaming smile.

“Spencer’s going out. It’s time.”

How does she know that? She’d always thought of Ana as intuitive. Since the first day they’d met, she’d appreciated her friend’s availability when she needed someone to talk to, and her extraordinary compassion. But something else was going on here. J.J. caught her eye and gave a tiny headshake. Cindy responded with an equally subtle nod.

Doesn’t matter what’s going on. This is Ana’s day. And I’m glad for her. And I love her.

And it’s time.