A/N: Slash – an established Morgan/Reid relationship. There are possible trigger topics such as mental illness. Very slight spoilers for 'To Hell... And Back.'

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

Of Greetings and Goodbyes

It was going on midnight when Derek finally made it back to the apartment that he and Spencer shared. They had gotten back to Quantico about four hours ago from a rough case that took them to Detroit, Michigan and the borders of Canada, and Spencer had, as always, finished his paper work early and left for the night with promises to see Derek when he got home.

Spencer knew that sometimes, on cases that turned out as badly as this one had, that Derek liked to have some time to himself. It never lasted as long as Derek had hoped for, however, and tonight, Derek needed Spencer. He always needed Spencer.

Derek slipped his key into the apartment's door knob and turned it to the left and opened the door once he heard it unlock. He walked inside, closing the door behind him, and tossed his go-bag onto the floor as he took in his surroundings. A knot immediately formed in his gut. Something was wrong.

"Spencer?" Derek called quietly. He looked around the kitchen and the hallway that connected the entrance to the living room. All of the cabinets were opened as well as the refrigerator; the chairs from the kitchen table were askew, and the coffee pot and other small appliances were unplugged and rearranged. Derek needed to find Spencer, something wasn't right.

Derek crossed the kitchen in three short strides and closed the refrigerator and made his way down the hallway. Once he entered the living room, he found all of Spencer's books strewn about on the floor and all over the couch and recliner; DVDs and magazines were all over the place, pages bent and folded messily. The pillows and blankets were unfolded and balled back up on their given surfaces, and everything was just in complete disarray.

Immediately, Derek went into 'special agent mode' and reached for his holstered gun. He turned the corner from the living room and made his way through the empty bathroom, and on to Spencer's office, finding it more of a mess than it normally was. Maps and papers were torn down from their magnets on his white boards; papers and case files and books were thrown about the small room and over the black futon, and his laptop was teetering dangerously on the edge of the disorganized desk. But Spencer was still nowhere to be found.

Derek made his way back down the hallway and towards their bedroom, the only room left unsearched. He turned the corner and entered the doorway, gun held high as he entered, and spotted Spencer standing in front of the closet.

"Spencer!" Derek let out an exasperated sigh. "What the hell is goin' on, man..." Derek's voice trailed off as his eyes took in their bedroom. Lowering his gun, he stepped further into the room and placed it in the holster. The linens from the bed were torn off and the pillows were on the floor; clothes were ripped from their hangers and were on the floor as well, and dresser and nightstand drawers were hanging from their wooden tracks...

"Spence...?" Derek finally looked at Spencer who was standing with his back towards Derek, arms wrapped around himself, and intently looking at something on the floor. Derek slowly walked over to where he was standing, and stood in front of him, ducking his head to try to look Spencer in the eye. Spencer's long and curly hair was hanging in his face, and his eyes were huge, giving Spencer away and making him look absolutely terrified.

"What's going on, Spencer?" Something flashed behind Spencer's eyes and he lifted his head slightly to look at Derek, attempting to wrap his arms even tighter around himself.

"Talk to me, kid." Derek added, sounding more worried and agitated than he had previously.

"I keep hearing this... beeping... like an alarm..." Spencer answered quietly, his breath hitching in his throat, resulting in a sound that sounded almost like a sob.

Derek didn't say anything, he knew what this meant, and this was breaking his heart.

"There's no alarm, Spencer."

"I know... I..."

Derek could feel his own calmness fading as he watched Spencer - his lifeline. Spencer's voice betrayed him and he choked back a sob, lowering himself to the floor once he decided his legs could no longer support him. Derek sat down with him and watched as Spencer's eyes flickered rapidly around the room, showing his panic, and it was all Derek could do to suppress his own cries.

"I was walking back from the office..." Spencer drew his legs up to his chest and placed his chin on his knee. "I started hearing this beeping... it kept getting louder... I could hear it in the walls and... in my books..."

Derek tried his best to swallow and he looked into Spencer's eyes as he finished talking. He knew his eyes were mirroring the fear in Spencer's, and he had no idea what to do, he had absolutely no idea.

"Do you heart it now?"

Spencer started chewing on his bottom lip, his heart racing and pounding in his chest, and slowly shook his head. "It stopped when you called my name..."

Spencer couldn't contain it anymore, his face fell and he began to quietly cry and rocked forward to lay his head in Derek's lap. He curled himself up among the clothes he had thrown throughout the room and allowed Derek to smooth down his hair, and rub his back and arms. Derek closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to gather his own thoughts. He knew he couldn't break down now; he had to be strong for Spencer.

"We'll get through this." Derek whispered, continuously running his hands through Spencer's hair that he loved so much. "I'll take you to the doctor in the morning, and we'll stop and pick up some coffee and your Italian food, and we'll come back and watch Star Trek -"

Spencer frantically shook his head in Derek's lap and gave a shuddering breath. "I can't. I don't want this..." The beeping had returned now, quiet and soft, almost as if it were taunting Spencer, and was now accompanied by a ticking emanating from the floor.

Spencer sat himself up, snapping his head in every direction and examining the floor, running his hands along the carpet as he tried to find the source of the ticking that he could feel pulsing in his skin...

Derek grabbed Spencer's face and held his head still, running his thumbs over Spencer's cheeks to sooth his nerves and his mind.

"Spencer. Look at me." Derek said sternly, trying his best to keep Spencer calm. "You need to settle down; you need to stay calm..." Spencer looked at him with the widest, most terrified eyes.

"Come on, babe. Let's get you to the couch so you can rest, okay?" Before Spencer even spoke, Derek stood up and scooped Spencer up in his arms and carried him into the living room, ignoring the voice in the back of his mind that said on any other day, Spence would never let you do this. He gently laid Spencer down on the couch and sat on the edge.

"You're gonna be okay, Spence." Derek gathered a blanket and covered him up and kissed his forehead. "Get some rest, baby." Spencer gave a deep frown and turned over on his side so that he was facing the back of the couch. Derek sighed and ran a hand over Spencer's back and arms, unsure of what else to do. He felt so helpless and scared; he had no idea what to do for Spencer...

Derek stood up and walked to the kitchen, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket on the way.

"Sorry to wake you, Hotch." Derek began when he heard the groggy voice of his boss. "But I needed to talk to you." He sighed and sat down at the small kitchen table when as he heard Hotch wake himself up and become more alert.

"Spence and I are going to have to take a couple days off. I need to take him to the doctor in the morning."

"What's going on, Morgan?"

"He's..." Derek shook his head and cleared his throat, blinking back tears. "He's not good, Hotch. I came home tonight to the place completely ransacked, and he said... He's hearing things, having hallucinations..." He closed his eyes and thought back to the previous days. Nothing had seemed unusual to Derek, nothing in Spencer's demeanor that would suggest that something was going on other than his exhaustion.

He thought back to that innocent smile that Spencer seemed to have reserved only for Derek, the way his thin but strong arms wrapped themselves around Derek's chest the previous night at the hotel, the way they always seemed to comfort each other...

Everything would be okay. Everything had to be okay.