Spencer Reid sat on the couch in the nearly dark room. His arms were wrapped tightly around his waste. He was clenching his teeth so tight they made a grinding noise. And his eyes were slammed shut so tight to keep tears from falling.

'Grow up, Spencer. Be a man. There is no reason to wake him up,' Spencer chided himself. 'You just had a bad dream as a result of a stressful day. Be an adult and comfort yourself.'

"I just want him to hold me," Spencer quietly sobbed.

'He's always holding onto you. What do you give in return? When JJ left he held onto you as you told him how much you were going to miss her and how everyone in your life just left. He told you he would resign before leaving you. When your migraines were so bad you felt as if your skull was going to split into pieces, he was there rubbing the stress out of your shoulders and reassuring you that you weren't showing any signs of schizophrenia. When Emily died you knew how bad he was hurting because he couldn't save her, but he held you as you sobbed about not getting to say goodbye.

'Now it's just rumors and whispers in the Bureau. Things could be changing, but nothing is set in stone. Why are you so worried about things that haven't been said out loud? Yes things might be changing within the BAU, but change is inevitable. Nothing would ever evolve if things always stayed the same.'

"I hate change," Spencer wept into the arm of the couch. He was shaking now, and the tears were freely falling.

Soon the sound of heavy bare feet entered the room. "Spencer, Baby, are you okay?"

Spencer sniffed and whispered, "I'm fine. I hope I didn't wake you."

"I woke up and you were gone. I couldn't hear you in the house, so I began to worry," Derek replied as he sat down on the couch next to Spencer. He put his arm around Spencer and continued, "Now come here and tell me what's wrong."

"No!" Spencer exclaimed as he pulled away. "You are always here to comfort me. I need to do this on my own. You comfort me and I never return the favor."

Silence filled the room as Derek thought of what to do. Finally he said, "I want to show you something, but first you have to come here and relax in my arms."

Spencer slowly moved toward Derek wrapping his arms around Derek's waist and placing his head on Derek's shoulder. Derek engulfed Spencer with his strong arms. After Spencer had stopped crying and fully relaxed against Derek he asked, "What were you going to show me?"\

"Pretty Boy look where your arms are. It's awful difficult for me to hold onto you without you holding onto me too. You do comfort me. When I was missing JJ you held on so tight that I knew you would never be taken from me like that. The same when you were having those migraines. I was so worried about you, but your arms kept me in the present and grateful that I had you. When we lost Emily, I just needed to feel your life after feeling her life leave my arms. And I don't know what's happening tonight, but I know I need to feel this normalcy between us because everything feels so up in the air at work. Don't sell yourself short, Spencer. You are the biggest comfort in my life."

"Thank you."

"You are more than welcome. I love you Spencer Reid."

"I love you too."