G-c: In hopes of taking on more well-received Criminal Minds fanfics, I have asked those on Livejournal, what they want to read. I was then given an idea by darkmagic_luvr. Here is the needed info:

Pair: Elle and Spencer

Rating: Mature for drug/alcohol abuse, self inflicted injury, romance, angst, and strong language and adult situations.

Summary: When Elle left the BAU abruptly, she didn't want to ever look back. But when Spencer pursues her, they start to bond. As their relationship progresses in the shadows, Spencer has a near death experience after being kidnapped by Tobias. This causes him to turn to drugs while Elle is still struggling with her drinking problem. Will these two save each other or even themselves for that matter? Or will they ignore their addictions and distance themselves from the kind of the help they truly need?

Setting: This takes place right after Elle leaves and right before Emily comes in.

Disclaimer: Not mine, the idea isn't mine either. Love love. 3

I Don't Have a Problem - Try

The case in Dayton, Ohio was a difficult one for everyone but most of the pressure was placed on Elle's shoulders when she was asked to be an undercover female target for catching the unsub. No one seemed to think Elle would be affected personally after being shot in her own home less than a month ago. After the Ohio case she shot the unsub and claimed self defense. Hotch wasn't so sure but she was innocent until proven guilty. Hotch couldn't let it go and ordered she be given a psychological evaluation. She skipped it and took off for a day or so. Hotch went after her while Reid in the others went onto another case. Now they were on their way back and Gideon was just getting off the phone with Hotch who was back in headquarters.

"I still think I should have said something to her." Spencer said.

"Hey, don't do that to yourself. What she did was not your fault." Derek said as Spencer just glanced off. He still felt bad. He was sure Elle shot the man without him trying to attack her but he knew how she got to snapping point. Couldn't anyone else see she wasn't in her right mind?

"Yeah." Reid just nodded. Back with Hotch, Elle had turned in her badge and gun and left. Hotch sighed and would wait for the team to return to tell them the news. The next morning was fairly easy. No cases came in and so Hotch sat the team down to tell them Elle had quit.

"Elle has decided to leave the BAU." Hotch said to his teammates. No one seemed all that surprised. Derek sighed and looked off. Everyone else shared a similar expression of sadness but not shock. Spencer bit the inside of his mouth; he was clearly the only one upset about it.

"Why didn't anyone try to help her?" He asked aloud. "I mean we all know what she did but…she wasn't in a good place. Instead of letting her walk away, why can't we—"

"Reid, we did try." Derek said.

"I scheduled a—" Hotch started to say.

"No, I mean that stuff doesn't help someone who went through a trauma." Reid said to them and everyone looked to him. "All we were doing was treating her like a criminal."

"She shot a person." Derek said.

"Forget it." Spencer sighed and got up and walked out. Garcia watched him go and bit her lip uncomfortably.

"He's upset because he talked to her right before she shot Lee." Derek just explained and got up after Reid who seemed to be tossing blame around for Elle's leave of absence. "Hey, Reid." He called and went over to where he was standing. "Let's talk." He said.

"No, why should that help?" He asked.

"I'm glad you're not blaming yourself for this but that doesn't mean you should blame others." He said.

"So just because Elle shot someone, you won't treat her like a friend anymore. All everyone seems to care about is that she shot someone when we have to do that every day on the job." He pointed out. "Would you turn on me if I had to shoot someone?"

"Reid, she didn't have to shoot the guy." Derek said.

"No one knows that for sure." He said.

"Reid…" Derek bit his lip; it seemed they weren't going to reach a medium. Spencer looked to his friend and sat down. Spencer wasn't one to be overly emotional so Derek didn't know how to reach out.

"Forget it." Spencer said as he just opened his e mail and started to write to Elle. He had her other e mail address and wanted to see if she was alright. Derek nodded and sat at his own desk by Spencer and kept quiet.

Meanwhile Elle was at home, just going through some old things that needed to be tossed away. She looked up and saw a new message. She walked over to her laptop which had a beer next to it. She opened the e mail and read it aloud, "Elle, I just heard from Hotch that you left. I'd really like to talk to you about it. Spencer." It was short and sweet. Elle bit her lip and sat down and sipped her beer and stared at the computer. She wanted to open up to Reid but something was holding her back. The woman glanced off and finished off her beer and got up to put it in her recycling. The taste still lingered in her mouth and it wasn't a very good one. Cheap beer always tasted like shit. Elle decided she might as well e mail the boy genius and see what he was up to. She could always pretend to be happy; she knew how to trick people.

Over in Quantico, Reid was eating lunch at his desk, it was noon now and most people had gone out to eat since the office was a tad stuffy and uncomfortable. He heard a ping and looked to see an e mail from Elle. His heart lifted as he read it softly, "Reid, I don't really want to talk about it." It said. Sure he was disappointed at the lack of writing but he was glad she even bothered to reply. He was sure she was in a dark place. He sat back and bit his lip, maybe he could invite her out for a drink tonight. He didn't think she was already drinking at lunch time.

( Genkai: That's all I will give thus far, ideas doesn't belong to me. Pictures used do, but Criminal Minds characters, show, etc are not mine. Tell me what you think, this is only the beginning. More action to come. )