Author's Note: I own nothing!

The Eiffel Tower right outside of your hotel room window should be any woman's dream, as should waking up in Paris every morning, having breakfast at a nice little bistro, and even wearing a beret, just for kicks. Emily Prentiss had a steady job and she was glad that she was even alive, considering the trauma that her body had gone through after the Ian Doyle incident. The only problem was, right now, she wasn't Emily Prentiss. Instead, she'd played a wonderful game of 'pick an identity' from the few that had been given to her by JJ, and now, she was known as Madeline Laurent. With the new identity, she left behind everything from her old life: her job at the BAU, her team, her friends, her apartment with the great view of D.C., Sergio, and the one person she'd ever truly loved her entire life.

The fact that she was in Paris, one of the most romantic cities in the world, only made it sting more. Every day, when she wasn't working, she'd sit outside of a café reading, or sit outside on her balcony, and everywhere around her were couples. There was hand holding, hugging, baby talking, and kissing, oh was there kissing. It almost felt like every single one of them was mocking her, showing her exactly what she'd had before she had to leave D.C. for her own safety. She'd been in love, she had a lasting relationship, she had everything she'd ever wanted… and she had to give it up. She could only imagine what it was like for him. She'd had to fake her own death, and she couldn't help but wonder what he thought and how he'd reacted.

She could remember the start of their relationship perfectly. The day of the Doctor Barton case, everyone was tired, and everyone was worried about Hotch as they hadn't heard from him since they'd landed back in D.C. She was at Doctor Barton's with Spencer, the two of them helping him review past cases to try to find someone who would be after his son. Curiosity had finally gotten the better of her and she'd told Spencer she would go check on Hotch and come back with him. He stayed focused on his work and brushed it off, throwing himself into it twice as hard in her absence. After she'd found out what happened to Hotch, she called him, apologizing profusely for leaving him, and letting him know she'd be with him at the hospital. Once she'd found out what 'L.C.' had meant on Hotch's charts, she called Spencer to tell him. She was on the phone with him when she heard a gunshot, and her heart sunk. He wasn't responding to anything she was saying and she was panicking. She would never forgive herself if something had happened to him and she hadn't been there to help.

Immediately, she called an ambulance and police cars to go to the address and check on him, then sat in the chair in Hotch's room, burying her head in her hands. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew that if something did, she'd blame herself. When her phone rang a few minutes later, she immediately answered it, hoping for some answers. JJ told her that Spencer had been shot in the leg and was on the way to the hospital in an ambulance, going to surgery as soon as he got there. Relieved, she hung up and tried to put all of her focus on Hotch, but it was useless. All her mind was doing was going back to Spencer, and she wouldn't be fully relaxed until she saw with her own two eyes that he was okay.

To try to get her mind off of everything, she took to staring out a window and watching Haley and Jack be taken away by a U.S. Marshal who would take care of protecting them. JJ walked up and stood between her and Derek, informing them that he made it through surgery and would be on crutches for some time, but he knew that kicking down doors was Derek's job. She smiled to herself before requesting his room number, so she could see him for herself. Walking into the room, she saw him still hooked up to a few monitors, probably as a precaution, but it still made her worry. It only took her three steps to sink into the seat beside his bed, taking his hand and squeezing it. Ever since the incident at the religious sect, she questioned what she'd really felt for Spencer. Afterward she'd hugged him, never wanting to let go, because she'd been worried she'd lost him. That feeling of emptiness always haunted her, and she never wanted to feel it again. She licked her lips, squeezing his hand tightly, to assure him that somebody was there for him.

Spencer's eyes opened a few minutes later and he blinked a few times, registering his surroundings. She knew he had to be in a lot of pain, because of his refusal to take any narcotics and usually that meant any medicine at all. He looked around, taking in the giant brace on his knee, and finally, looking over at Emily. Before he could even get out a 'hi', she sprang out of her chair, wrapping her arms around him. He raised an eyebrow, patting her back.

"It's nice to see you, too?" he said softly.

"I'm so sorry, Spencer," she mumbled against his neck. "I'm so, so sorry that this happened."

"I'm okay," he assured her, rubbing her back. "Really, Emily, I'm fine. I'll be on crutches for a while and in the brace, as well as going through some physical therapy, but other than that I'm-"

Spencer was immediately silenced by Emily's lips against his. She reached up, running her fingers through his hair before pulling back, resting a hand on his cheek. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I didn't mean to-"

She put a finger to his lips. "Spencer Reid, I need you here."

"Emily-"

She cupped a hand over his mouth. "I have had far too many heart attacks in the past few hours. For once in my life, I need certainty and stability."

He moved her hand away, resting his hand on her cheek and looking her in the eyes. Hesitantly, he leaned in and kissed her softly. He then rested his forehead against hers. "I don't know if they gave me something, or if this is actually happening, but if it is? I approve."

She smirked. "It's actually happening."

After that day, she helped him get better. She would drive him to doctor's appointments and physical therapy, as well as help him around the apartment whenever he needed it. Their relationship hadn't escalated until several weeks later, before Spencer was going back to work.

"Hey, Emily?" Spencer asked, leaning against the back of his couch, his leg propped up on the table.

"What's up?" she responded, walking over and setting an ice pack on his knee. At physical therapy earlier in the day, he'd pushed himself further than he should've, and Emily saw it in his face.

He ran a hand through his hair, chewing on his cheek. "…What are we?"

She sat down beside him. "Excuse me?"

"Well, these last few weeks have been amazing. Other people on the team have taken care of me, but you've gone the extra mile, not to mention when I woke up in the hospital, you said that you needed me. I don't know if that was in reference to the team or you personally needing me, and I'd just enjoy some clarification before I go back to work tomorrow. I mean, you've taken some of your vacation time to stay with me while I'm healing, which I'm sure has been no picnic. Then, of course, there's the fact that we kiss, a lot."

She smirked. "Are you saying that you don't enjoy it?"

"Oh, believe me, I do. I just want to know where we stand."

She exhaled, kneading her hands. "Well, where do you think we stand?"

"I'm naïve on the concepts, considering past experiences, but I personally would like to think that this," he started, motioning between the two of them, "is an actual relationship. I mean, we watch movies together, we kiss, and I believe that means something."

She smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "So, Spencer Reid, does that mean you're my boyfriend?"

He blushed, biting down on his lip and smirking to himself. "If you'll have me."

So their relationship started. They confided in each other for everything in life. Spencer would talk to her about what was happening with his mother, while for the first time in her life, Emily opened up to him about anything and everything that was bothering her. It seemed like, for the first time in her life, Emily finally trusted somebody with every little secret. The one thing she'd told him, and hadn't told anybody else sans a few doctors, was about his headaches. This happened the day before she'd gone to Boston. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt like ages. He'd told her that several doctors said he was fine, and she knew he'd have it checked as much as he could. She'd promised him she wouldn't tell anybody, and she wouldn't, because she didn't want to lose his trust. Literally, she'd taken that secret to her grave, and on the off chance that she ever did see him again, she'd still keep it.

One of many things that hurt was the fact that he couldn't be in on the secret. Their relationship hadn't been public and nobody else on the team knew what was happening, so she could see why Hotch and JJ would keep it such a secret. In their minds, the more people that knew, the more dangerous the situation could be. If only they'd known about the two of them. They could know that she would put her life in Spencer's hands, given the chance, and that he could be trusted with any secrets. She learned shortly after she joined the BAU that secrets were always safe with him, because there was nobody he would tell them to. She often wondered about what he thought and how he felt about the situation. Though she tried to get an answer from JJ when she'd seen her in Paris, she wasn't budging on telling her how the team, specifically Spencer, were coping.

When it all became too hard to think about, she'd close the door to her balcony, turn off the lights, and turn on the radio, hoping for a bit of a distraction. It didn't matter that the songs only lasted minutes, or that there was an added challenge of translating: all that mattered to her was that she had something to keep her mind off of everything that happened. Lying back on her bed, she let her eyes slip shut and sighed, wishing she could clear her mind and think about anything else.