Don't come at me with answers/That can only come from me. Don't tell me how my grief will pass/That I will soon be free/My life is filled with selfishness/My pain is all I see/But I need you, and I need your love/Unconditionally.

- J. Hendel

Spencer opened his eyes and stared up at his ceiling. He barely noticed the time displayed on his watch or the clock on his bedside table—he had had his dream again, and didn't want to get up and face the long day that awaited him. Slowly, he showered and put on his clothes, feeling like the strap on his messenger bag was a noose that would eventually betray him and claim him as its own. He walked down the many flights of stairs and out the front doors to his car. He sat down behind the wheel and kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the key in the ignition. His eyes stared to fill with tears and he couldn't move. He didn't remember doing it, but he ending up with his phone to ear, crying uncontrollably, with Garcia on the other end trying to calm him down.

Several moments later, a white sedan pulled up behind his car and a colourfully dressed woman stepped out, a bag in her hand and a concerned look on her face. She opened the driver's door and helped lift Spencer out of the seat. He was still crying and could only cling to his friend, sobbing loudly and violently into her shoulder. Garcia managed to take his keys and lock his car, drag him up to his apartment, put him in a chair, and make him some tea, the whole time his crying shaking her soul. He eventually fell asleep and Garcia watched her friend breathe laboriously. She was uncomfortable seeing her genius like this—he was supposed to be the one smiling after telling one of his goofy jokes and spouting useless facts.

The tech analyst took off her shoes and sat on the couch adjacent to the chair in which her friend slept. She turned on the TV and the screen lit up with Spencer's Netflix watch list—both the original and classic Doctor Who, probably watched all the way through multiple times. Garcia clicked on the first one that popped up and sat back, trying to take her mind off the situation in which she now found herself.

She was into her fifth episode and third cup of tea when Spencer awoke screaming. He almost fell off the chair and Garcia had to grab his shoulders in order for him to calm down. His eyes searched her face until he was able to recognise her and he once again started crying, falling into Garcia's arms. The two of them sat on the floor in a strained silence. Garcia held Reid as tightly as she could, shocked by the lack of weight she felt from this man nearly four inches taller herself. She guessed he probably hadn't been eating and if she had to suffer the same dreams he did, she would do the same. She wanted to cry and scream and make his pain go away, but she knew that the only thing she could now was hold him and let him know she wasn't going to leave him.

"Spencer, I love you. I love you so much. I will never leave you, or hurt you, and we all love you. Please calm down and talk to me. I know that Emily is gone and I know that that hurts. I know that you feel alone and that you will never be happy again. But I know that you will be happy. You always greet me with a smile and a nice little comment every morning, and you will be happy again. And, Spencer, listen to me, I promise you will never be alone. I will never leave you alone, the team will never leave you alone. You never have been and you never will be alone. Emily didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sure that she never wanted this to happen and if she were here, I know it would kill her to see you like this. Please, Spencer, listen to me. Have some tea and talk to me. Oh my god, please, Spencer talk to me, because I'm going crazy seeing you like this. You have no idea how much I want to take away your pain and fear, but I can't and that makes me feel so useless. Please, I'm begging you to talk to me."

Garcia heard Spencer's breathing slowly return to normal and could feel him relaxing. The two stayed on their spot on the floor, and the only noise was Garcia's words which hung unheard in the air. Eventually, Spencer pulled away from his friend, and sat up against the chair behind him. He looked at his friend and she returned it with a smile. She stood and offered him her hand, which he took, and allowed her to put him on the couch next to her. She made more tea and resumed the television. Spencer and Garcia sat on the couch and watched the show silently until he grabbed her hand and she paused the TV once more.

"In my dream, I see myself stabbing her. I feel the life go out of her body. I see the look in her eyes, the look of terror and utter fear, and I laugh. I laugh at her, Penelope. I laugh as I kill my friend."

"Oh my god, Spencer. You told me your dreams were bad, but you never mentioned that they were this bad."

"I didn't want anyone to worry. I was doing so much better and I thought I could handle it all on my own."

"Don't ever think you need to handle something alone. That was what I thought after I lost my parents and it got me in so much trouble. I regret everyday that I didn't ask someone for help. And we'll worry about you anyhow. You deserve friends who will support you, and we can't until you tell us what's wrong. I'm so sorry you have to see that. I'm so sorry. I wish I could make it stop."

"Penelope, thank you for coming here. Thank you for helping me and loving me. This means more to me than you will ever know."

"I will always love you, Spencer Reid. You are not a bother to me, you are not a burden. You are my friend, and I love you."

The friends once again embraced, this time in something that felt familiar. They sat back and watched their show and enjoyed the silence of shared love and caring. When Garcia got up to leave, Spencer opened the door for her, and they journeyed down the stairs to her car. She unlocked the door and put her stuff in and then turned back to her friend.

"Thank you for talking to me."

"Thank you for being my friend. You know, you really make me feel like I belong. We can talk about things like who was the superior Doctor or companion or if Carlos and Cecil are really going to get to the bottom of Strex Corp. I'm the genius, the socially awkward skinny 'kid' of the team, and when I talk with you, you make me feel normal. Thank you for accepting me. I owe you a lot."

Garcia hugged her friend one more time and kissed his cheek.

"You don't owe me anything, my dearest. And we both know that, yes, Carlos and Cecil will prevail, and that Clara and Eleven were the best, hands down. Get some sleep, Spencer. I'll see you tomorrow."

Spencer watched his friend drive away, and stood on the sidewalk watching the red taillights get smaller and smaller until they eventually disappeared.