Threshold

by CM-Reider

SEQUEL. This is part two to my story 'The Pact'. 14 year old Spencer and his best friend 17 year old Riley are starting a new life after years in foster care. Have they finally left their abusive homes behind them? How can they heal, move past all they've suffered and learn to trust their new family? WARNINGS:: M rating. Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. No slash!

1. Chapter 1

WARNINGS:: Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. Mild swearing throughout. No slash!

(I do not own CBS, Criminal Minds or their characters. I just obsess and write tragic fanfiction about them.)

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THRESHOLD

Chapter 1: A New Home

Spencer woke up to a hand gently shaking his shoulder. He looked to Riley with wide eyes. Fully alert and ready to run if the situation called for it. But when he saw Riley's expression, he felt less stressed. He was smiling. It was a careful smile. One without high expectations but with a glimmer of hope. Spencer then took in his surroundings to see what was causing Riley's expression.

They were sitting in the back of an SUV, with Agent Morgan in the driver's seat and JJ in the front passenger seat. They had just passed through a gate and were now pulling up to an average size house with a large porch and a two car garage. The property was surrounded by high hedges and trees could be seen beyond the house. As the gate closed behind them, there was a feeling of finality.

The car pulled forward next to another black SUV and stopped just in front of the garage doors. Agent Morgan stopped the car and both he and JJ looked back at the boys. Spencer immediately shied away and protectively crossed his arms in front of him. He looked out his window and pretended not to notice the other's silent exchange.

"Well, we're here." Morgan announced. "I think we'd better go take a look inside, don't you?"

Car doors slammed after two familiar figures got out of the other SUV. Agents Matthews and Hotchner walked to the front of the car. Riley unbuckled his seat belt and made to get out of the car. Spencer followed suit and removed his seat belt but when he reached for the door handle he froze.

Riley immediately noticed his hesitation and decided on gently grabbing the other boy's hand. Morgan gave Riley a small smile and he and JJ got out of the car and stood at the front with the others. Once they were alone, Spencer looked at his friend, his brother, and drew strength from his confidence. He took a deep breath and nodded just before they simultaneously opened their doors, releasing their hands in the process.

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TWO WEEKS EARLIER

Matthews stood in the doorway of Spencer's hospital room with a light smile. "We have some things to talk about."

Garcia smiled and Riley suddenly looked very nervous.

"Hello Mr. Matthews." He said.

"How about we just stick to Matthews eh? None of that Mr. stuff." He laughed. Riley just nodded.

Matthews looked to the boy in the slightly raised hospital bed next to where Riley stood. Spencer was staring off into nothing, seemingly unaware of his arrival. "Hello Spencer. How are you feeling?" Matthews asked, taking a few slow steps toward the bed. Being careful not to get too close.

Spencer looked to Matthews with glassy eyes. He looked as if he'd melted onto the bed out of exhaustion and it was clear that his fever was still lingering. The boy let out a shaky sigh and nodded once, to which Matthews smiled.

"Well, if you boys are up for a chat, I'd like to run a few things by you and see what you think."

Riley looked to Spencer and moved to sit on the side of the bed with him. They both looked to Matthews and waited for him to continue. "I know you've spent years having no control over what happens to you. I want you to understand, that we aren't going to be making decisions FOR you. We won't be forcing you to go anywhere you don't want to or following through with any plans that you don't agree with. It's your life and you have a say now. Do you understand?"

Riley nodded his head in agreement. Spencer just stared. He'd heard similar speeches before and he would clearly need more convincing.

Matthews went on. "Agent Hotchner and I have worked things out with the state, so we have temporary custody of both of you until things have settled down. However…" He sent a glance Garcia's way and looked back to the boys. "…we would like to make our custody permanent. If you're willing."

Riley's lips parted in surprise. "Are you… saying you want to adopt us sir?" he asked cautiously.

Spencer's eyes were now wider and more focused.

Matthews chuckled at the 'sir'. "If you agree, yes."

"You would really change your lives for us?" Riley asked skeptically.

Garcia smiled. "Yes. We both would. You two deserve a fresh start and I know we would all be good for each other."

"It wont be easy," Matthews added. "but we want to help you, so that's what we plan on doing."

"Why?" All eyes looked to Spencer, surprised by the whispered question. His face was flat and expressionless, but under the surface genuine confusion showed in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Garcia spoke. "You boys have lost so much… You've seen… and been through, so many bad things, and you hurt so much and I just want to make it all go away." She was talking fast, rushing past the emotion she felt.

Spencer sighed and shook his head in disbelief, looking away from the agents. He took in a rattled breath and in a low voice said, "M-my first foster parents… said they w-wanted to help me, but they didn't…. They were nice…. at first."

This is the most Spencer had spoken to them. Whether his willingness to speak was due to the drugs or the fever didn't matter. They were pleased that Spencer was taking part in the discussion, but the meaning behind his words did not go unnoticed. Simply put, both of the boys were afraid that after being put into someone's care, their dark sides would be reviled and pain would be enviable. As it always seemed to be.

"I hate to say it, but there's not much you can say to make us feel safe." Riley started. "I do believe you when you say you want to help us, but… things change. How do we know you won't back out when things get rough?"

Again there was quiet.

This time Matthews rushed in to take on the silence. "We've both been in similar positions as the two of you. Eventually someone stepped up and changed everything for the better. We would never throw that away. In fact, we want to share it. The feeling of being loved, and wanted… it saved both our lives and it can save yours too. It's time for someone to give you what you've always deserved to have. As for things getting rough, it's nothing we aren't used to. And we have plenty of support."

Garcia added, "We understand that you don't trust us yet. But you'll be safe and we can make you happy. Please, please let us show you."

Riley's eyes were welled with tears, and Spencer was looking down at his lap, his face hidden behind chestnut hair.

The others waited for a response until an unidentifiable sound came from his direction, and his shoulders started to tremble. At first the adults in the room worried that something was seriously wrong. But a few moments later, their concern turned to relief.

Spencer looked back up. He was crying, but a small smile pulled at his features. It was clear that he was afraid to hope and yet he still just barely nodded his head. The boy's eyes met and Riley let out a quiet laugh, nodding his head as well. After he let a few relived tears slip past his eyelids, Riley looked to the adults and said, "Okay. We're in."

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PRESENT

Riley and Spencer walked up to the front of the house where the adults stood waiting for them.

"Hello boys." Hotch greeted from the porch. Matthews was standing between Morgan and JJ with a smile on his face. "Ready to check it out?", he asked.

Riley nodded in agreement and Spencer followed closely behind him. Together they all walked up the stairs past where Hotch was standing and entered into the house.

They stepped onto polished hardwood floors and were shown around the first level of the house. It was more spacious than they anticipated, but the open concept made it seem comfortable. A pleasant smell hit them as they entered the kitchen to see Garcia pulling cookies out of the oven. Rossi stood at the counter on the other side of her, pressing home made pasta noodles.

"Ah! There are our guests of honor." Rossi said. "Welcome!"

Garcia turned to see them and excitedly rushed over. "You're here!" She barely stopped herself from hugging them. "We're preparing a meal fit for kings. Oh! Here you go…" She had a bright smile on her face when she handed them each a cookie wrapped in a napkin. "Careful, they're still hot." They each accepted the treat and quietly thanked her.

"Hey! Don't go spoiling my dinner by giving out desert first." Rossi grumbled.

"Oh hush. It's just a cookie.", she bit back.

Morgan boldly reached over and snatched a cookie for himself.

Hotch stepped in saying, "Why don't you go check out the rest of the house okay?"

He and Morgan stayed in the kitchen while JJ and Matthews lead the boys back toward the entrance of the house. They walked up the wide staircase leading up to the second floor and JJ showed them the master bedroom, the bathroom and a spacious office. Spencer looked with wide eyes at the many books in the room.

Matthews took over from there. "Your rooms are right across the hall from each other so you'll always be close. We made sure to get both of you large enough beds so that if you ever want to sleep together there's enough room." They turned into the bedroom on their left. "Riley, this one is yours."

The walls were a deep evergreen an the rest of the room was made up of browns, oranges and yellows. There was a full size bed with a dark wooden frame toward the middle of the room. Next to it was a matching night stand and a bedside lamp. On the next wall there was a large round window where you could see the front of the property. In front of the window was a wooden desk that matched a bookshelf and the rest of the furniture in the room. Opposite the bed was a large closet with shelves. Riley noticed that the closet was full of a variety of clothes and shoes in his size. "I don't remember ever having this much clothes."

Matthews smiled. "The girls all went shopping for both of you. I hope everything fits alright." Then he noticed Spencer staring out the window, seeming detached from what was going on. "Spencer?" he called. The boy looked at him for a second before averting his eyes. Riley closed the closet door and turned to face him as well. "Would you like to see your room now?" Matthews asked.

Spencer nodded his head and JJ lead them across the hall to Spencer's room. The first thing he noticed was the nice lady. Alex Blake. She stood in the doorway of his closet with a small bundle of hangers in her hand. "Hello." She greeted with a smile. "You all have perfect timing, I just finished in here. What do you boys think of your rooms?"

Spencer had a hard time taking his eyes off of the woman. But at last he looked around what was to be his bedroom while Riley answered Alex. The furniture was set up similar to Riley's room. The color scheme however, was very different. The walls were painted a deep blue color, while all of his furniture was a sandy off white. The window in his room was wide and square. It overlooks the backyard and a mother in law they hadn't yet seen.

Alex spoke again. "What about you Spencer?" he turned to see that she was standing almost right next to him. He looked her right in the eyes and smiled. She smiled too and made the sign for 'Wonderful'.

"What's the house in the back for?" Riley asked while he looked out the window.

"Well, that's for the Blake's." JJ answered.

That got Spencer's attention. He looked to Alex hopefully. 'You're going to live here too?' he signed. "I will soon." She signed as she spoke. "Our job is… demanding. My husband and I will be here when the team is called away on cases." "But I thought you worked with them." Riley questioned. "I do. But, with my husbands help I've decided to go back to teaching. I'll be retiring fro, the Bureau next month."

'You're a teacher?' Spencer signed. "Alex nodded. "My husband too." Spencer felt torn. He liked Alex from the first time he saw her. She read to him, from one of his mother's favorite books. She signed. She smiled. She was a teacher. Like mom… but she had a husband. And the husbands were always the worst.

Before Spencer could think too deeply on the subject, Alex spoke again. "Well I don't know about you guys but I'm hungry. Let's go eat huh?"

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During dinner everyone talked. Clearly it would be a long process when it came to making the boys feel like part of the family. But answering questions was a good way to put their minds at ease. "Did you live in this house before?" Riley asked Matthews.

"No I actually just stayed wherever work took me. This is one of Morgan's renovated homes." Matthews answered. "You built this house?" Riley asked impressed. Morgan's response was, "Well it was a rusty old house that wasn't livable. So I decided to buy it as a project and fix it up a bit." "A bit? Sounds like more than just a fix to me." Riley said.

"Renovating is the act of improving, repairing or completing a structure. Like fixing a park bench that's already there. Of course renovating a house would be much more complicated than fixing a few hinges on a bench. It's different than building but it still takes a great deal of work and skill." Spencer hadn't even looked up. He went to continue eating as if he hadn't said a word, but he froze at the silence around the table and he could feel the others looking at him. He gently placed his fork down instead of taking another bite. His head bowed down and his eyes closed. His breathing picked up and after a moment he mumbled a very quiet, "I'm sorry."

Riley looked worriedly at his friend and reached under the table to grab his hand. The adults weren't sure if they should be more surprised by Spencer's lengthy definition, or the sudden fear that had taken him over. "No need to be sorry Spencer." Matthews said softly. "That was very well put.", he complemented with a smile. Spencer kept his head down and shook his head back and forth.

Alex was sitting across the table from Spencer. "Hey." She cooed. "What's wrong Spencer?" When there was no response Alex looked to Riley. Before she could even ask a question he started to explain. "Sometimes people think Spencer's being a smart ass. One of the families he lived with would even punish him if he said anything at all. That was before high school. He's hardly spoken since. Except to me and… Brooklyn."

There were quiet sighs and glances around the table. And of course, Garcia looked fit to cry. Alex stood up and walked around the table to crouch beside him. "Look at me honey." Spencer shook his head again, so Alex sent a glance Riley's way for help. "It's okay Hush, I promise it okay." Riley said.

Slowly, Spencer opened his eyes and looked to his left where Alex was. The tears in his eyes were enough to make her heart ache. "There you go. You're safe now okay? No one is going to hurt you. You're not scared of me are you?" she asked. He thought for a moment, and shook his head 'no'. "That's good. I'm happy to know that. We're all here to help you two and nothing bad is going to happen to you with us around. I promise." Spencer stared in awe. He believed her. And for once he actually felt like things might be okay.

He looked down and took a deep breath to gather his nerves. Then he timidly reached out his arms to hug her. She accepted it immediately and squeezed him tight. When they finally pulled away Alex wiped a tear from his cheek and kissed his forehead as she stood to go back to her seat.

"You have some of the most experienced profilers in the world as your shield. And Morgan? He's a big slab of bulletproof meat and hell will freeze over before he let's anyone hurt you boys." Rossi said.

"Bulletproof meat…" Morgan mumbled before he took a big bite of pasta. Matthews stifled a laugh. "Keep it up kid." He pointed with a grin. Matthews cleared his throat and took a drink of water. "Rossi's right though. I'm a pretty strong guy and I wouldn't let anyone hurt you." Morgan said with confidence.

Both of the boys nodded and Riley thanked everyone for their support. Spencer finally went back to eating like everyone else had.

Riley asked Matthews another question. "So you actually bought a house for us to live in?" "Actually Rossi did." JJ answered before Matthews had a chance. "He's rich." She whispered loudly. "Ha ha ha." Rossi replied. "Sometimes I feel like I have more money than I know what to do with and I figure helping out the family is the best way to spend it."

"By family do you mean us?" Riley asked. Rossi nodded his head. "I sure do. The whole team. And that includes you kids."

"Rossi buying this house is good for all of us really." Matthews explained. "Morgan gets paid for his property, Garcia and I have a place to look out for you boys and Alex and her husband get to live in the back house." "And we all get to feel good about something." Hotch added. "We see a lot of bad things in out line of work. Most of the time there's nothing we can do to make things better. This time, we're able to make a difference."

"Do you have a family Agent Hotchner?" Riley asked.

Hotch stilled for a moment. "My wife passed away. But our son Jack is 8 years old now." "I… I'm sorry." "That's okay. Everyone deserves to have a family. I hope you know, that now you have one."

JJ chimed in and told the boys about her husband and her young son Henry. They talked until their plates were clean, and every cookie was devoured. Once everyone had gone home, the boys changed into brand new pajamas and climbed into Riley's bed. They decided to sleep together until they both felt comfortable in their new surroundings. They both fell asleep within minutes of laying down. Knowing that this was the first night of their new life in a new home.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:Well! It's been quite a while but I'm back at it my friends. This is the sequel to my story 'The Pact'. You'll definitely want to give that one a read before you take on this story. (And if you've read it already you may need to reload it for the sake of some changes I made) I suffered some serious writers block when it came to where I wanted this story to go. I hope you enjoy what I've come up with! I'll make sure to update as frequently as possible. Please, please, please review! I really appreciate the feedback.