Chapter 36: Perfect ring

Spencer's POV

Two weeks later.

I spin around in my desk chair at work, flipping through engagement ring catalogs. I come across a model wearing one with a princess cut diamond. Should I get this one for Lina? I wonder to myself.

"Whaddya doing?" Lina sneaks up behind me, staring at the magazine.

"What? Nothing!" I quickly close my magazine and stash it in my desk drawer.

She narrows her eyes suspiciously. "Uhhh...." Not knowing what to say, I quickly distract her by pulling her in for a kiss.

Hotch clears his throat and we jump apart. "Yang, Reid, save that for when you two are alone." He nods his head at all the agents staring silently at Lina and I.

My face turns red in embarrassment. "Y-yes sir," I stutter and Lina nods as well.

"Good." With that, he walks away.

Lina looks at me then glances at my desk drawer. "You, uh.... You want to grab lunch together later?"

"Sure." I take her hand and gently kiss her fingers. She blushes and leaves.

"So... what kind of magazine are you hiding in your desk, kid?" Morgan rolls his chair to me.

"Nothing," I reply coolly.

"Was it...?" He raises his eyebrows suggestively and grins.

"Oh, God, no! Why—Morgan!" I fluster, nonsense coming out of my mouth.

He chuckles. "I'm just messing with you, Pretty Boy... or should I say—Playboy."

I roll my eyes. "You better keep your voice down," I say through gritted teeth.

"Then tell me, what was it that you were secretly looking at?"

"Okay, don't tell Lina—but I was..." I look around to make sure that Lina isn't near and lean closer to Morgan, lowering my voice. "I was looking at engagement rings."

Morgan's eyes widen and he smiles. "My man." He sticks his fists out and we fist bump. "When are you planning to propose?"

"I don't know yet, I want to make sure it's the perfect setting and mood." I rack my brain, trying to think of a good place to propose.

"Well, whenever it is, I know that she'll say yes." He pats me on the back and I smile.

During my lunch break, I sneak out to go to a jewelry shop. It's not very big inside, but I read reviews online saying they have some of the best quality rings.

"How can I help you today, sir?" the jeweler asks me. "My name is William."

"Hi, I'm Spencer." I glance around at all the shining jewels. "I'm looking for an engagement ring?"

"Ah, looks like you found your soulmate." William smiles at me.

I nod and grin. "Yeah. She's the best."

"Anything in particular that you're looking for?" He waves his hand over the display. "Princess cut? Oval? Marquise?"

"Umm... I'm not sure." I scratch my chin.

"What kind of personality does she have?" William questions.

I sigh with content just thinking about Lina. "She's sweet, kind, gentle, but also brave." I begin daydreaming about her.

William chuckles. "Maybe she would like something with a heart-shaped diamond?" He leads me to the corner of the display.

I scan through the rows of shimmering rings, but only one catches my eye. "That one."

He grins and pulls out the ring. "You have a good eye, sir."

"Thanks." I lean closer to inspect it. It has a beautiful diamond heart in the center, and around it are tiny silver "vines" that surround it.

"One of our best rings here." William admires the ring.

"I'll take this one," I state, sure of myself. This ring is perfect, it reminds me of Lina. The vines around the heart represent how Lina can be guarded with her feelings around other people, but once you get to know her, you'll realize that she has a beautiful heart that shines with love.

"Are you sure?" William looks at me with a surprised expression.

"Yes," I reply, pulling out my checkbook. "How much?"

He raises an eyebrow. "$27,425.25."

My eyes pop out of my sockets. "27—"

"It's a 2-carat diamond." William smirks at my shocked expression.

I sigh. "Is there any way I can get a deal?"

He looks thoughtful. "Sorry, sir, but this is one of the finest rings we have."

I start to hesitate, rethinking my choice. But the ring is just so perfect. Come on, it's Lina, you idiot—you would sell your soul for her! "Oh, alright. Just take my money." Thank God I only spend my money on necessities and rarely make expensive purchases, otherwise I would never be able to afford this ring.

"She's one lucky girl," William says as I write in my checkbook.

I smile and shake my head. "No, I'm the lucky one." I finish paying and filling out some paperwork. After that, I head back to the office. My heart is pounding with excitement to show Morgan the ring.

After that, I head back to the office. When I arrive, my heart is pounding with excitement to show Morgan the ring. But as I turn the corner to go into the bullpen, I bump into an angry-looking Lina, and I try turning the other way to avoid her.

"Spencer!" she calls after me.

Crap. I turn around, quickly shoving the ring in my back pocket. "Oh, hey, Lina!"

Shit! I totally forgot about that. "Um, s-sorry. I had to meet up with a, uh... friend." I quickly scurry away before she can ask anymore questions. When I glance back, Lina is glaring at me. But thankfully, Morgan is at his desk so I walk over to him.

"Hey, man. What's up?" he greets me cheerfully.

I slip the ring box out of my pocket and open it subtly, making sure no one else is looking. "What do you think?" I whisper.

Morgan's eyebrows shoot up. "Whoo! That's one hell of a rock!"

I see Garcia coming towards us so I quickly shove the box into my pocket. No offense to her, but she's terrible at keeping secrets. "Don't tell anyone else yet," I say to Morgan.

He chuckles. "Don't worry, kid, your secret's safe with me."

Garcia clears her throat. "Hey, guys. We got another case," she says gloomily, "and it's a bad one."

I glance at her, then at Morgan. "Uh-oh."

Three minutes later, everyone is gathered in the conference room. I sit next to Lina but she gets up and switches seats. I frown. Is she still mad at me? But my thoughts are quickly pushed aside when Garcia turns on the presentation screen. My jaw drops open at the gruesome images that appear on it.

"Yesterday in Atlanta, Georgia, a hospital was attacked. All the workers there were..." Garcia trails off, cringing at the pictures. On the screen, there are photos of doctors, nurses, security guards, and other workers with their organs spilled out. And on a wall, the word "liar" is drawn over it with blood.

"'Liar'?" Prentiss cocks her head.

Rossi rubs his beard. "It looks like whoever did this literally slashed them open."

"That's not it." Garcia clicks her remote, flipping to a new screen. The new image shows close ups of some of the victims, which have their intestines tied around their throats.

"Uhhh, is that...?" Lina points at the images.

"Their guts? Yes." Garcia looks like she's going to faint.

"There has to be more than one UnSub," I say. "The amount of physical energy to pull all of this off is tremendous. I mean, they even took out the security guards."

"But look, only the doctors had their intestines tied around their throats," observes Hotch.

JJ takes a sip of coffee. "Maybe the UnSubs have something against doctors?"

"Then why kill the nurses and other staff?" Morgan questions, crossing his arms.

"Probably because of his rage towards the hospital," suggests Prentiss and everyone nods in agreement.

"But what does 'liar' mean in this case?" Rossi asks, sighing in frustration.

Hotch stands up from the table. "We'll know more when we get to the crime scene. Wheels up in 30."

With that, everyone gathers their things and leaves.

I take this chance to talk to Lina, but she walks away when she sees me. So I quicken my pace and catch up to her in just a few strides. "Lina, what's wrong? Can we talk?" When she ignores me I grab her arm and yank her into a corner.

"Spencer, leave me alone," she huffs, "right now is not a good time, we have to get going."

"Please, just tell me while you seem so upset," I beg.

She scowls. "You've been acting all secretive today. First the magazine, then 'forgetting', quote-unquote, about going out for lunch with me? I'm not stupid Spencer, I know you didn't just forget."

I look at her sincerely. "I just had a lot on my mind lately, alright?" It's true, I've been thinking a lot on how to propose to Lina.

Her expression softens. "Hmm, okay. I'm sorry for getting mad over nothing."

I smile. "No need to apologize." Making sure that no one is around, I gently push Lina against the wall and press my body against hers, putting my hands on her waist.

"Spence... what are you doing?" Lina grins mischievously at me.

Without saying another word, I brush my lips against hers and she smiles into the kiss. My heart skips a beat when she bites my bottom lip and tugs. We move apart and Lina smirks, putting her hands around my neck and presses her thumbs into both sides of my jaw.

I'm about to lean in for another kiss when I hear footsteps, so I lean back and pretend to be casually talking to Lina. An agent walks past, giving us a polite nod and I give him a tight-lipped smile.

"That was a close one." Lina giggles, pulling me closer by my tie.

"You want to do that again, hm?" I tease, attacking her neck with small kisses.

She squirms and laughs. "Spence, stop! That tickles!"

I wrap my arms tightly around her, holding her close. "Move in with me."

"What?"

"If y-y-you want," I stammer. "I mean we practically do already. For the most part, if I'm not at your place, you're at mine. Besides, we already have the keys to each other's apartment, so I figured we may as well just live together."

Lina beams. "I would love to move in with you, Spencer."

I kiss her forehead, feeling elated. "I can't wait."

After that, we grab our go-bags and head onto the jet. For the whole flight, all I can think of is Lina moving in with me.

Rossi comes to sit next to me. "You look happy."

I smile brightly at him. " I am, I really am." Lina's going to live with me and I'm going to propose to her. I couldn't be any happier.