GOLDEN || S. REID

𝟸𝟷: 𝚀𝚞𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚘, 𝚅𝙰

Six Months Later

    If there was one thing Eliza missed about San Francisco, it was the total quiet that she got away from all the city's traffic. In Quantico, she had to deal with the occasional car horn that blared a little too loudly, making her jump in fright. Other than that, she heard nothing. She'd learned how to deal with it, utilizing text-to-speech apps as well as brushing up on her sign language. As it turns out, she still had a lot to learn.

    But today was a cool May morning, and unlike all the other mornings, Eliza felt strangely active. She was itching to do something beyond just sitting in her apartment and feeling bad about herself. The hearing aids she'd been provided sat on her bedside table, unused. She didn't wear them most of the time, seeing as she rarely left the apartment. It also helped with the loud noises and keeping the flashbacks at bay.

    She was still hesitant about calling this place home, often just referring to it as her apartment or as the place she slept, to her therapist. Eliza found herself admitting that sometimes she caught herself feeling like a stranger in her own place, to which her therapist suggested hanging photos that reminded her that it was, in fact, her space.

So Eliza put up photos. They were photos of when she was younger, of her and her siblings and the last times they were happy. They were meant to remind her that there were people out there that still cared but seeing as she hadn't heard from any of her siblings in nearly three months, they were pretty much useless. She just hadn't found the heart to take them down, so they stayed.

    They all used to be so close, was her observation, but Eliza felt like she knew why they drifted apart. She had no one but herself to blame, she would admit. After therapy and everything that had gone down with Julia, she decided that she needed to distance herself from her entire life for no good reason. Since then, her therapist had been urging her to reconnect with her family.

    She wasn't as keen about it, hesitating on the reaching out part. Since her abduction, James had gone back to Romania and the twins had gone their separate ways. Noah had gone back to California to finish her degree and Riley left for Canada to film for the Twilight reboot, finding success in the character Mike Newton.

    The Hamilton family was once again spread across the world. The next time they would all be in the same area would be around Christmas time and even then, Eliza wasn't sure they'd want anything to do with her. By then, Noah would be halfway through her first semester at MIT and Riley would most likely be following her there. James would be in Maine for a lighthouse photoshoot and Eliza would still be here.

    But, as she said, it was a nice May morning and as one did on mornings such as these, Eliza packed a small meal before leaving her apartment for the day. She ventured out to the park across the street, taking solace at one of the chess tables that had been placed under the trees. She watched in content as people walked by, taking her sandwich from her bag and unwrapping it. She took small bites, reveling in the way the breeze moved her hair around her face.

    That was another thing. Eliza could no longer hear the wind moving through the leaves, the normally calming sound falling deaf on her ears. She didn't mind, enjoying the silence. Normally, she would have brought a book along but lately, she'd been interested in learning the game of chess.

    The table was already set up in front of her, most likely from a match abandoned early on. It was a surprise to her that none of the pieces had gone missing, though she had enough faith in people to think that they wouldn't steal a singular chess piece. If they were going to steal, she would hope that they would just take the whole set.

    As she took another bite of sandwich, she ran through a few movements on her own, enjoying the way the pieces moved through each other. It was like an intricate dance and even if she lost to herself, which she often did but she was still learning.

    She played a bit longer, ignoring the people that passed her by. She was sure that she looked like a loon, muttering to herself as she went even if she couldn't hear what she was saying. She kept ignoring everyone until someone approached her, sitting in the seat across from her with his hands settled in front of him.

    His hands were familiar, the way they twisted together with nerves as he waited for her to address him. Finally, when Eliza decided that she actually wanted to be social, she lifted her head. Sat in front of her was Dr. Spencer Reid, eyes meeting her own as she took in the situation. She couldn't help but notice that he was wearing purple, the color bringing a small smile to her face. Eliza would admit that after all this time, he still looked good in it.

    It had been seven months since they'd last talked, since the abduction, and her fight or flight taking over. Her hands clenched around her sandwich as her entire body tensed, every nerve in her body telling her to run.

    But she didn't. Instead, she surprised herself and stayed. She didn't run from the problem or try to ignore it, she stood her ground and faced it head on. Eliza could count that as a mini victory for herself.

    "Hi." It was simple and didn't give too much away. She watched as Spencer analyzed her, as a profiler would do, before meeting her eyes once more. People would say that the eyes were windows to the soul and Eliza could agree. In Spencer's she could see the trust that still lingered, the questions hidden by the relief of seeing her again. In hers, he could probably see the love she radiated and the admiration she still held for him.

    Hello, Spencer signed, unsure of how to proceed. Been a while.

    "It has," Eliza hesitated. She set her sandwich down on the napkin, reaching out to reset the chess table. "Care for a round?"

    She handed him the white king, smiling as he took it. He set it next to his queen, turning the piece slightly to ensure that the cross atop it was set parallel to the lines on the board. He watched as she did the same with her's, patiently waiting for her to finish before making his first move.

The End