Who:Spencer Reid and Penelope Garcia What: Spencer arrives and finds Garcia When: Feb 1 (backdated) Where: Cafe Rating: low
Spencer understood what had happened to him after he found himself in a new place and then some people in a Welcome Committee showed up. It was hard to believe and he’d be lying to himself if he wasn’t slightly worried he was having a psychotic break. Knowing that Penelope was here though made things easier and despite being in a new and weird situation, he was looking forward to seeing his friend.
He followed her directions to the cafe she suggested they meet and he felt his shoulders relax when he saw Penelope sitting at a table. He approached with a smile. “Hey.”
–
It had been so long since anyone from home showed up in Madison Valley that Garcia almost didn’t believe it when she saw Spencer’s post on the network. As soon as she determined that it was him, she put on shoes and rushed out to meet him, leaving a quick note for Penny and Bobby so they wouldn’t worry.
She managed to get to the cafe before him and, as soon as approached, she was on her feet and pulling him into a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you,” she said.
*
It was all a little surreal especially since it was only a few days after Emily’s funeral.
“You look older.” He said it while returning the hug, then pulled back. “I guess for you it’s probably been a while… how long has it been, exactly?” He understood how the time differentiation worked so he wasn’t going to assume he knew how long Penelope had been here before he showed up. “It’s good to see you too.” While genuine, an afterthought to his more pressing thoughts.
–
“Spencer Reid, you should know better than to say something like that to a woman,” she chastised playfully. “I’ve been here for about three and a half years now. The weird thing is that people can end up here from different points in time. Morgan was here for a while from the future. That was weird. And did you ever meet Mick from the New Orleans team? He was here too.” Garcia didn’t mention that there had been previous versions of Spencer because that might be a little too much for him to process.
She signaled for the server to come back and take Spencer’s order. After that was taken care of, she smiled at him. “This place is going to challenge that big brain of yours.”
*
“I just meant - you still look really good.” Spencer amended. It’d be a little different without Morgan always keeping him in line with social cues, he realized.
“I remember Mick.” He nodded. The man had been very different than anyone from their team and it made him remember Emily briefly. Before he could manifest a frown, Spencer moved on in his thought process. “Do you know the statistical likelihood of ending up in a place like this? It’s technically incalculable because while people have hypothesized the existence of multiple dimensions, there’s been no way to quantifiably ascertain just how many there are or what they look like. Actually, most people agree with the theory that if multiple dimensions exist they’re like variations of our world which this place already debunks or at least puts into question.”
Thankfully the server came to interrupt Reid’s thoughts. He ordered and then looked at Garcia with a puzzled expression. “Challenge me how?”
–
Penelope barely understood what Reid was saying, but that didn’t wipe the smile from her face. He was still their boy wonder and hearing his rambling was like home. “Because nothing makes sense,” she explained. “The existence of this town defies all known scientific explanation.”
If she knew him, he would protest that statement and claim that it was just science they didn’t understand, so she continued. “There’s magic here. Werewolves. Vampires. The literal devil. Anything you can think of that you’ve read in a book or seen in a movie. It’s real somewhere and represented here.” Somehow Garcia didn’t think he would simply take her word for it, but it was at least a start.
*
Spencer did exactly what Garcia was expecting. His face scrunched up with disbelief when she said there was no known scientific explanation. That made no sense to him. Of course she followed it up with some pretty outlandish statements. The only problem was that Garcia clearly believed what she was saying and she had way more time and experience with this place. That led him to believe that, at the very least, no one Penelope had talked to could explain this stuff.
“Wait. The literal Devil? Which version?” He blinked, his mind processes at least a dozen things at once.
–
“Lucifer,” she said. Her embarrassment over what happened between her and the previous version of him when they got stuck in the 80s was long gone. “He’s actually quite handsome. Before coming here, he lived in LA and owned a nightclub.”
Probably not the answer Reid was expecting. “I know you probably think I’m crazy. You’ll see though. People come here from all different times and places. The past, the future, other planets. It’s… a lot, I admit.” And it would probably take him a few weeks to really believe what she was saying.
The server brought their drinks and Penelope took a sip before continuing. “I’m in a relationship with a very nice man named Bobby Finstock. He teaches and coaches lacrosse at the high school. And I have a young girl named Penny who lives with me. She was only 11 when she first arrived. Now she’s 14.”
*
He opened his mouth to correct what he meant, but there were far more pressing concerns. Well, not concerns, really, but information that took precedence over other things - Garcia was in a relationship and had a kid? Not her own kid it seemed, but still. Reid couldn’t help but smile. “Really? That’s great.” For a moment the strangeness and ‘unexplainable’ aspects of this place were set aside for his friend. “I’m happy for you. I mean, I’m assuming you are happy, but considering you told me, I think it’s likely you are.” She was more likely to hide it if it wasn’t a good relationship after all .
“I’m guessing you don’t work for the FBI here - is there even an FBI in this world?” He of course hadn’t had any time to do any research or in depth comparisons yet.
–
The smile on her face probably answered his question better than any words. “I’m content with my life here,” Garcia said. “Sadly, there is no FBI presence in town and the authorities don’t allow those of us who are displaced to work with the police. I’m doing IT for the town hospital. Not quite as exciting as the BAU, but it pays the bills.” And required far less kitten pics.
“Oh, I also have Sergio!” she added. “He arrived here a few months after I did.”
*
He should have been excited at the thought of Sergio, but really all it did was remind him that they’d just buried Emily and his expression fell. Reid wasn’t particularly good at masking his feelings even if he was a behavioral analyst. “Oh.” He nodded. “That’s…” He paused and clearly switched thought processes. “It’s good you have him.” He nodded as if to reaffirm mostly to himself the statement.
–
Garcia’s own smile faltered as his expression, realizing that he hadn’t had nearly as much time to process the loss of Emily as she had. “Sorry, Reid,” she said. “It’s been almost four years for me. It still hurts, but not as acutely. I keep hoping she’ll show up here. With the whole time travel aspect, it’s possible she could come from an earlier point in time.” So far, no luck.
“You know who is here though,” she added, wanting to get back on a happier topic. “The Doctor. Actually, two of them. Ten and Thirteen. They both have their TARDIS.”
*
Spencer’s expression screwed up in a sad expression with a furrowed brow and pursed lips even though it wasn’t to its full extent and he nodded a few times as if to agree, but then nodding was the only way to really express the multitude of feelings he had at the whole situation and if he stopped nodding things would get worse. He knew, of course, that Penelope had longer to grieve and there was some comfort in the fact that time did make things better, but he’d admit he was a little jealous that he wasn’t so far along as she was.
Of course he knew she was trying to distract him, but in this instance he was okay with that. His expression slowly melted back to neutral and then had some modicum of interest as his eyebrows lifted up. “The Doctor’s here? Wait.” Now he looked confused, but Emily’s death was temporarily ‘forgotten’. “There’s a thirteenth Doctor? That shouldn’t be possible.”
–
“And she’s a woman,” Garcia added. “I’m sure one or both of them would be willing to give you a tour of the TARDIS. She handled my fangirling pretty well.” They hadn’t talked in a while, mostly because the idea of actually being friends with The Doctor was way too intimidating for Penelope, but also a little because she was busy with Penny and Bobby and her job.
As frustrating as this town was going to be, she also knew that it would be like Disneyland for Spencer with all the weird and inexplicable things.
*
“She’s a woman?” Reid sounded half excited and half surprised, mostly because while he knew logically the Doctor could be anyone when they regenerated, he always thought the executive writers wouldn’t branch out. “That’s amazing!” Reid most definitely wanted to meet the Doctors. He had so many questions. His mind went through a few dozen before he frowned. “Do they know their from a fictional television show?” How did that work?
–
That was a question she didn’t know how to answer. “Well, this place is kind of like a… multiversal nexus,” Garcia said, assuming those words would mean more to him than they ever did to her. “So the theory is that people and places who are fictional in some places are real in others. The Doctors are aware that people know who they are though.” It had been unavoidable with the way Garcia fangirled her.
She was so excited to have Spencer here that she couldn’t stop smiling. “You’ll get to meet everyone,” she said. “I’ll make sure of it.”
*
He took in that theory and gave a nod. “You know, there’s some merit to that theory considering -” Reid went on to explain a leading theory on the multiverse and how it pertained to the idea of ‘being fiction’. He only stopped when Garcia interrupted him and changed the subject, but at least his first few hours in a new world felt relatively normal for Sencer Reid.