"Reid? Reid?" A voice says somewhere in the distance. Though he hadn't been shot, her words hurt worse than a bullet. Looking down at himself, his eyes take in the blood that is splattered everywhere.
Blood never effected Spencer Reid in his entire life, but knowing the owner of this blood caused Ethan's death, had some dizzying effect. The door he is leaning on is jerked open and he barely manages to catch his balance.
"Spence?" Nathalie says, tears in her eyes, observing the scene in front of her. Emily, positions herself in front of Nathalie to block the view of Shelby Scott's body. The bullet pierced her heart and killed her instantly.
"Spence?" Nathalie cries out again. Looking down at himself again, he snaps out of it.
"I'm right here." He says. He doesn't reach out to Nathalie no matter how bad he wanted to because of the blood.
If it was anyone else, they would have cringed away from Spencer as soon as they saw the blood. But Nathalie isn't anyone but herself, so she surprised them all by hugging Spencer, not concerning herself with the thought that her brother's murderer's blood is on her now.
"I thought you were going to die." She says. Her arms, placed tightly around Spencer's neck, practically cut off his air supplies, but he sure wasn't going to complain.
"I'm always going to be here." Spencer says, comforting Emily along with Nathalie.
The elevators open to Hotch, Morgan, and two SWAT members.
They see the blood and Shelby's body. They lower their weapons and Morgan sends a SWAT member down to tell the others.
Nathalie releases Spencer and steps away, her eyes on Hotch.
He is pretty intimidating.
Spencer comments to himself.
In Nathalie's head, she is contemplating what to do. What she really wanted to do was hold on tight to Spencer and never let go. That way, he could never leave her. But she sees Agent Hotchner and Agent Morgan and realize that would embarrass Spencer.
"Reid, are you alright?" Hotch asks, looking genuinely concerned. He mistook the look of relief for confusion.
Giving a small laugh, Reid grabs Nathalie's hand, needing to know she wasn't going anywhere.
"I'm fine. I will be out in a minute." Spencer leads Nathalie in her room. As soon as the door clicks shut behind them, the pressure of what just happened crashes down on the booth of them.
Ethan's murderer no longer walks on this earth.
Turning into Spencer's arms, sobs erupt from Nathalie. From the outside, Spencer knows they must look crazy. Two people covered in blood, mourning the loss of a friend, yet celebrating the justice in his death.
"Thanks for driving me home." Nathalie says, her big blue eyes looking up at Spencer. He nods, his interior nervous, though his exterior showed no clues. Something only a true profiler can accomplish.
"What time is your flight?" She asks, needing something to fill the silence.
"It was about an hour ago." Spencer says, a small smile coming to his face. Nathalie's surprise amuses him to no end.
"I left last time without fixing them." He explains. "I learned my mistake the first time. I won't hurt you like that ever again. The team can miss me for a week."
Nathalie couldn't help herself, she feels tears fill her eyes. She had been preparing herself for his departure for the past 24 hours.
She hurries out of the car to help him bring his things inside.
Once his things are in his room, they sit on the sofa together, holding hands. Spencer has never felt more at peace and Nathalie's heart has never felt lighter.
"I have a nice place back in Quantico. You can come with me when I go back." Spencer says quietly. A sigh of happiness escapes Nathalie's lips as she leans against Spencer.
"I want things to work." She whispers.
"They will." He promises. One way or the other, they always do.
