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Words and Wisdom

"You're awfully quiet Spencer."

Dianna arranged her letter tiles on her rack without looking at them. Instead, she kept her gaze on Spencer who sat across from her staring at the Scrabble board.

"Baby… What's going on in that head of yours," She gently pried.

"Sorry Mom… Just thinking."

She smiled at him. "You're always thinking. I remember how you used to get so involved in your schoolwork… You could ignore the rest of the world."

Reid shifted a couple of tiles around, and then lay down the word "marsupial" for a double triple word score worth 117 points.

Dianna glanced up as though waiting for something. She frowned and addressed her eerily quiet son. "You win a double triple word score that nets you enough points to close the gap on your dear old mother, and you don't even smile or crow about it. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry mom… It's work."

He gave her a small smile and gestured at her. "Let's just enjoy the game."

Dianna shrugged. "Okay… You know you can talk to me about anything." She said.

He gave her a bigger, more genuine smile. "Yeah mom… I know I can talk to you."

She rearranged her letters again and smiled broadly. "I think I have you beat." She added the word 'dariole' and scored a bingo.

Something flashed in Spencer's eyes. "Wait a minute."

"It's a valid word." She said calmly.

He turned one letter tile over and over in his hand. "I know it is mom…"

"You just don't know how your old mother beat you." She asked.

"No… It's just that… Alright mom," He sighed. "Something bad happened at work."

She sat back in her chair, running her hand through her short blond hair. "Baby, your job is much too stressful. I hate that you suffer so." She sat forward again and reached over to squeeze his hand.

He sighed. "I can't walk away from it. I have to help people. It's who I am."

"Of course it is," she nodded as he released her hand and began to clear up the game. "I'm so proud of you."

"Maybe you're right." He stopped in the act of reaching out for his rack and tiles. "If I did something else, then I wouldn't lose my friends."

"What happened?" Dianna asked again, her tone as soft as a down comforter.

"My friend Emily died." He furiously wiped at the tear running down his cheek.

"I'm sorry baby…"

She reached for his hand again and clenched it tight. She didn't speak for a long time, just held on to his hand until his tears stopped.

"Everyone goes away." He said hopelessly.

"I'm sorry…" She repeated.

Something in her words that tickled at his conscious.

"Mom, I didn't mean to say -"

"It's okay Spencer. You did the right thing, even if I have bad days and I rail at you for putting me here, always remember you did the right thing."

"How do I go on without her?" He asked.

She played with one of the tiles on the board. "Dr. Norman says you have to take things one day at a time, one hour at a time or even one minute at a time. You get through it and go on to the next minute, hour, or day."

She leaned in closer and took his face in her hands. "You're the strongest person I know because you know when to ask for help. You have a family at Quantico that cares about you. You should lean on them. I'm sure they're hurting just as much as you are, if not more. Reach out to them."

He nodded. "I will mom. Thanks for listening."

She smirked at him. "You're my son… What else would I do? Now… Why don't you clear the board? I want play with your whole head in the game."

He grinned at her. "Prepare for battle mom… You're going down."