Spencer was not outside. In fact, he was so sure that he wasn't outside that, when the sun hit his eyes, it took him a moment to realize that it wasn't in his mind
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Now, there are a lot of questions that Reid probably needs answered. While Tabitha could answer a lot of these questions, that's not what she's interested in doing right now. She quite literally squees when she sees the man, makes a beeline for him, and gives him a big hug.
This probably shouldn't be her reaction, but well.
He was going to say something when he saw the girl approaching him, he really was but then she hugs him and well, words. He's stopped being sure what exactly he ought to do with words and instead just stands there, hoping that if he doesn't move, she might let him go.
The problem with this? That's not how the world usually works and, barring his most recent experiences, he has a pretty good idea of how it goes.
"Uhm, excuse me? Hi there, do you know you're hugging me and I uh...I don't actually know who you are?"
"Yes," Tabitha says, pulling back and running her fingers through her hair. Now, how does she explain this. "I'm Tabitha Claypool."
She reaches out, as if to shake his hand. Because she didn't already hug him. Socially apt, Tabitha is not. "Um. This is Chicago, by the way."
Yeahhhh. This is going well.
Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out her handkerchief, wiping her nose. "This is going to possibly be really creepy if I'm right, but you're Dr. Spencer Reid, right?"
His mind has stopped trying to take in everything because well, it's just not working. Instead he is breaking down the information he knows for sure.
1) He is outside in what appears to be some kind of a pier that may or may not be in Chicago. He was nowhere near any of this five minutes ago. 2) A young woman has just run up, hugged him and seems to know who he is. The last part wouldn't be so odd if not for extenuating circumstances. 3) If her body temperature is any indicator, the girl is running a fever.
So, now that he has laid out the fact he has come to a conclusion: none of this is actually telling him anything.
The best way, it seems, is going to be to talk to Tabitha and see what she knows and, for that matter, why she knows him.
"Creepy?" he says, his voice curious. "Why would it be creepy?" He can think of a number of reasons why it could be but he wants to see what she says.
Also at Navy Pier is Alfred Pennyworth. Despite the time of year and the temperature that accompanies the season, he is dressed in a full suit, and it is impeccable.
He's not terribly surprised to see someone appear out of thin air, quite honestly. He's been in Chicago nearly a year, after all. It's something one comes to expect.
He approaches slowly and cautiously, the expression on his face one of concern. The young man's hands appear to be shaking, he notices.
"Do you need help, Sir?" Alfred will help however he can. Of course.
He looks up when spoken to, his eyes locking on the man approaching. Steadying his hands, he tries to smile.
"Actually<" he starts. "Help would be great. I'm not sure if you were looking in my direction but I wasn't here a moment ago." He pauses, considering the wording of that statement and then tries again.
"I'm lost, do you think you could maybe tell me where exactly I am?"
Alfred notes the attempt at a smile, and returns the effort.
"You're in Chicago, Sir, at Navy Pier." There's a brief pause before he continues. "Also, you're quite right. You were not here a moment ago. This city has a rift. It pulls people through time and space to here. It's an entirely different world, quite likely."
Alfred takes a deep breath. He's not quite sure what the man's reaction will be. "I'm terribly sorry." There's simply no way to make this truth something easier or simpler. It is what it is.
Jane is at the Navy Pier. She has finished wiping her hands of the latest kill, blood cleaned from her palms, mask in the trash. Her head is clear and quiet again as she likes it.
She happens to see the wanderer fall from the sky. It's hard to miss it. A good killer is almost always aware of her surroundings after all, and she is good. It's always interesting to speak to wanderers, isn't it? It's the only reason that she follows after him, and she does have a friendly face.
The friendliness is even sincere. It's only when she doesn't like someone that she wants to hurt them, and there's never any way of telling if she'll like a stranger or not. It's half the fun.
"I hate stating the obvious, but... you look confused," Jane comments with a small smile.
He laughs, smiling a little himself and looking almost relieved at the same time. "I am," he admits. "I just....I wasn't here a minute ago. In fact, I was nowhere near here. I was walking down a hallway in Virginia."
he gestures around them. "This is nothing like where I had been."
When he realizes that he neither asked a question nor sounded like a rational human being, he laughs again, looking away for a moment. "I'm sorry, I'm just really not sure what happened to me."
Jane smiles at him, and it's gentle even. Her hands are clean of the blood that she's spilled, and she is as calm as she's ever been.
"I'm sorry to say that you've fallen through a Rift. It's a break in time and space," she tells him. There is another pause. The smile fades as she continues to talk. "You're in Chicago. 2010."
She wonders at how many times she's done this. It's been a few, maybe a handful.
he listens to her carefully, studying both the woman and his surroundings. Everything around them says that she's telling the truth, that somehow he had found a Rift in the office and now he's here.
With no way back.
But he knows the likelihood, or can give a fairly accurate guess and he can't believe it. Dreams, that's the best possible explanation. Abnormal dreams.
"That's...unfortunate," he says carefully. "I'm not really sure what I should do." He's being completely honest, even though he's humoring her (himself?) by going along with all this.
Rachel likes taking walks down to the Pier every now and then. She can't do it as often as she'd like. She's always on the go, go, go. Workaholic to the extreme, there's rarely a moment she gets to herself, especially now that she needs the distractions. Work keeps her busy, it keeps her useful, it keeps her going.
Going where, she isn't sure lately.
Even so. She does take the time. Not always. Just sometimes.
She spots Reid, shaky hands and unspoken questions, and stops in her tracks.
A kind, unsure smile pulls across her face. "You all right there?"
he looks to her when he's spoke to, a laugh escaping him unintentionally. "Well," he says. "I'm not actually sure. I...think I might be lost."
He smiles at her, not really sure how much else to say. He could explain that he was nowhere near here a moment ago but somehow, he was pretty sure that isn't the best way to make an impression. NO, it seems that keeping his mouth shut about just appearing here would be the best move.
"I see," Rachel says, her smile turning slightly bittersweet. His confusion is familiar. It's so familiar at this point, not just with herself but many others.
She studies him thoughtfully, taking one small step back in case he needs his distance. "Lost in terms of directions or lost in terms of, you don't know you're in Chicago?"
It's not a far fetched question. That's practically code now for Are you a Wanderer?
So yeah, that probably tell Rachel everything she needs to know.
"I--Are you sure?" it's the first thing that comes to his mind but a careful look around tells him that she's right. "I wasn't in Chicago.
This, he decides, was probably obvious.
He wants to ask what happened to him, why he was just transported to Chicago of all places and how but instead he stands there, slightly dumbfounded and more than his fair share of confused.
Comments 84
This probably shouldn't be her reaction, but well.
She loves him.
Reply
He was going to say something when he saw the girl approaching him, he really was but then she hugs him and well, words. He's stopped being sure what exactly he ought to do with words and instead just stands there, hoping that if he doesn't move, she might let him go.
The problem with this? That's not how the world usually works and, barring his most recent experiences, he has a pretty good idea of how it goes.
"Uhm, excuse me? Hi there, do you know you're hugging me and I uh...I don't actually know who you are?"
Reply
She reaches out, as if to shake his hand. Because she didn't already hug him. Socially apt, Tabitha is not. "Um. This is Chicago, by the way."
Yeahhhh. This is going well.
Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out her handkerchief, wiping her nose. "This is going to possibly be really creepy if I'm right, but you're Dr. Spencer Reid, right?"
Reply
1) He is outside in what appears to be some kind of a pier that may or may not be in Chicago. He was nowhere near any of this five minutes ago.
2) A young woman has just run up, hugged him and seems to know who he is. The last part wouldn't be so odd if not for extenuating circumstances.
3) If her body temperature is any indicator, the girl is running a fever.
So, now that he has laid out the fact he has come to a conclusion: none of this is actually telling him anything.
The best way, it seems, is going to be to talk to Tabitha and see what she knows and, for that matter, why she knows him.
"Creepy?" he says, his voice curious. "Why would it be creepy?" He can think of a number of reasons why it could be but he wants to see what she says.
Reply
He's not terribly surprised to see someone appear out of thin air, quite honestly. He's been in Chicago nearly a year, after all. It's something one comes to expect.
He approaches slowly and cautiously, the expression on his face one of concern. The young man's hands appear to be shaking, he notices.
"Do you need help, Sir?" Alfred will help however he can. Of course.
Reply
"Actually<" he starts. "Help would be great. I'm not sure if you were looking in my direction but I wasn't here a moment ago." He pauses, considering the wording of that statement and then tries again.
"I'm lost, do you think you could maybe tell me where exactly I am?"
Reply
"You're in Chicago, Sir, at Navy Pier." There's a brief pause before he continues. "Also, you're quite right. You were not here a moment ago. This city has a rift. It pulls people through time and space to here. It's an entirely different world, quite likely."
Alfred takes a deep breath. He's not quite sure what the man's reaction will be. "I'm terribly sorry." There's simply no way to make this truth something easier or simpler. It is what it is.
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Excuse me?" He's not really sure what else to say because well, what do you say to something like that?
Silently, he's estimating the possibility that he's picked someone with mental illness, despite his surroundings telling him otherwise.
Mental illness? Much easier to deal with than some kind of dimension hopping. At least right now.
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She happens to see the wanderer fall from the sky. It's hard to miss it. A good killer is almost always aware of her surroundings after all, and she is good. It's always interesting to speak to wanderers, isn't it? It's the only reason that she follows after him, and she does have a friendly face.
The friendliness is even sincere. It's only when she doesn't like someone that she wants to hurt them, and there's never any way of telling if she'll like a stranger or not. It's half the fun.
"I hate stating the obvious, but... you look confused," Jane comments with a small smile.
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he gestures around them. "This is nothing like where I had been."
When he realizes that he neither asked a question nor sounded like a rational human being, he laughs again, looking away for a moment. "I'm sorry, I'm just really not sure what happened to me."
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"I'm sorry to say that you've fallen through a Rift. It's a break in time and space," she tells him. There is another pause. The smile fades as she continues to talk. "You're in Chicago. 2010."
She wonders at how many times she's done this. It's been a few, maybe a handful.
"There's no way back."
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With no way back.
But he knows the likelihood, or can give a fairly accurate guess and he can't believe it. Dreams, that's the best possible explanation. Abnormal dreams.
"That's...unfortunate," he says carefully. "I'm not really sure what I should do." He's being completely honest, even though he's humoring her (himself?) by going along with all this.
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Going where, she isn't sure lately.
Even so. She does take the time. Not always. Just sometimes.
She spots Reid, shaky hands and unspoken questions, and stops in her tracks.
A kind, unsure smile pulls across her face. "You all right there?"
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He smiles at her, not really sure how much else to say. He could explain that he was nowhere near here a moment ago but somehow, he was pretty sure that isn't the best way to make an impression. NO, it seems that keeping his mouth shut about just appearing here would be the best move.
Reply
She studies him thoughtfully, taking one small step back in case he needs his distance. "Lost in terms of directions or lost in terms of, you don't know you're in Chicago?"
It's not a far fetched question. That's practically code now for Are you a Wanderer?
Reply
So yeah, that probably tell Rachel everything she needs to know.
"I--Are you sure?" it's the first thing that comes to his mind but a careful look around tells him that she's right. "I wasn't in Chicago.
This, he decides, was probably obvious.
He wants to ask what happened to him, why he was just transported to Chicago of all places and how but instead he stands there, slightly dumbfounded and more than his fair share of confused.
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