A/N: Well as they say all good things must come to an end. This is going to be the last chapter of A Tangled Web, but never fear. I have lots more written for this story. I'm just going to do a time jump for the next section of stories so I thought that it would be best to separate them. Be on the lookout for a story called A Tangled Web 2: Reclaiming a Lost Childhood. It should be up in a few days, if not sooner. I've enjoyed writing this first story and I hope it only gets better from here. Reina13 and Whatif-ifonly: Thank you for riding this roller coaster with me. Whatif, I promise I am getting to the ideas you graciously allowed me to borrow, we just have to get through a few more obstacles first. Doctor's Other Companion: Yeah I want to hug "lil Spencer" as well. I.C.2014: I've heard lawyers argue dumber things so I just went with it. I needed something for a good climax. VGiselleH: I am so glad you can hear Gideon and Rossi's voices in what I write. Keeping the characters true is sometimes hard for me and I worry that I haven't done them justice. Charmony: I could not have done any of this without your wonderful assistance. Thank you for being my friend and my sister. I've enjoyed bouncing ideas off you and I can't wait to start the next section of the story. BTW, if any of you haven't read her stories jump over to her profile and start reading cause she has got some amazing stuff going.

Chapter 10-Facing the Demons

Trish looked up as her nephew burst through the door. She raised an eyebrow at his brusque entrance before she caught the look his dark eyes. "Jason, what is it? What's wrong?"

"The decision has been made. Spencer has to go to court." Gideon's voice was as harsh as his eyes.

Trish gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. "The judge is really going to make him testify?"

"I don't know. Nicole called me at work a couple hours ago and I was in a meeting and had to call her back. I've got to take him out there for a preliminary hearing with the prosecutor, the defense attorney and the judge. It's supposed to be held in the judge's chambers, not in open court so that's a relief, but the thought of that lawyer being in the same room as my son..." his voice trailed off wearily as he dropped into a chair at the kitchen table and buried his face in his hands. "Trish, I'm afraid that this interview is going to undo all the progress we've made with Spencer over the last four months."

"Jason?" They both looked over to see Spencer standing in the doorway, sleepily rubbing his eyes. "Why are you home early?"

Gideon took a deep breath and spun around in his chair to face the little boy. "Miss Stanton called me today. We're going to fly to Las Vegas at the end of the week."

Spencer moved closer. "Do I have to go testify?" he asked timidly.

His guardian nodded. "I'm afraid so, kiddo." As his foster son's face fell, he held out his arms, allowing Spencer to scramble into his lap.

"It's not fair. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I don't want to remember him," the little boy whispered. He curled in as close to Gideon's side as he could. "Is Trish coming too?"

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away Spencer," Trish answered gently. She reached out and gripped the child's hand firmly. "I'll be with you as long as you need me to be."

Four days later, Spencer held tightly to Gideon's hand as he walked into the courthouse in Las Vegas. He was biting his lip as his hazel eyes darted around the lobby. He wasn't speaking, but the tension radiating from his small frame spoke volumes. Trish spotted Nicole waiting for them near the elevators and pointed her nephews in that direction. The social worker smiled gently as the trio drew close to her.

"Hello guys. How was your flight?" she asked shaking Gideon's hand.

"Long," the agent said shortly.

"Jason," murmured Trish. "It's not her fault. Don't take your frustrations out on her; she's just doing her job."

Gideon sighed, the weariness of traveling and dealing with his foster son's fear, evident in both his posture and voice. "I'm sorry. It's been a rough week."

Nicole nodded. "I'm sure, and again I am so sorry that you have to do this. Once again, I've been overruled by the judge. The good news is that I will be in the room the entire time."

She turned to face Spencer. "I'm sorry sweetheart. The judge won't let Jason and Trish come inside with us." She knelt down to look him in the eyes. "But I promise you, I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Spencer sighed but nodded hesitantly. He took the hand that his social worker held out to him and carefully followed her into the elevator with Gideon and Trish following close behind.

Three floors up, they emerged to see the prosecuting attorney waiting outside a closed door. The man smiled at the little group. His sharp eyes took in the fear radiating from the little boy and his heart went out to Spencer. He thought briefly of his grandson and how he would feel if it were his child in this position. "Miss Stanton," he greeted the social worker.

"Evan," she answered easily.

"Hi Spencer," he crouched down and held out his hand, and was momentarily surprised when the little boy took it. "How are you doing kiddo?"

"I don't want to be here and I don't want to talk about him anymore." Spencer's voice was flat and almost defiant as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the door behind the attorney. For a brief second, all of the adults half expected him to stomp his foot. But just as quickly as the flash of temper came, it morphed into fear and he spun in place, lifting his arms toward his guardian. Gideon obliged, easily cradling the child to his chest. He walked a short distance down the hall and stood there for a few minutes talking softly in Spencer's ear. The boy nodded finally and Gideon gave him a hug before rejoining the others.

"I'm ready," the little boy said tearfully as he was set on his feet. He took a deep breath, trying to be brave just as he had promised Gideon.

"There's a conference room just down the hall; you and Trish can wait for us there," Nicole said, pointing out the door. She placed a gentle hand on her charge's shoulder as they followed the lawyer inside.

Nicole was smoldering inside as she watched Michael's attorney lean towards Spencer. The little boy's eyes were wide with fear and he was shaking almost uncontrollably. The man had already been warned twice by the judge about how he was approaching the child and the message clearly wasn't registering. His voice was getting louder by the minute, until he was practically shouting.

"Tell me the truth, Spencer. Who really hurt you? It wasn't Gary, the man who was nice to you and played chess with you. It was your daddy wasn't it? It was really your daddy who touched you, and your mommy killed him to save you."

Spencer shook his head fiercely. "No, my daddy didn't hurt me. That man did. He came in my house and he killed Daddy and he hurt Mommy. He hurt me too."

"No, he didn't. He tried to help you!" Suddenly the lawyer slammed his fist down on the table and to everyone's horror grabbed the little boy by the shirt. Spencer let out a terrified shriek and immediately tried to pull away. Nicole was on her feet as Evan grabbed his opponent's wrist.

"Let him go!" the prosecutor shouted.

As soon as the grip was released, Spencer slid out of his chair and curled up into a pitiful little ball under the table. His social worker took one look at him and bolted out the door, heading for the conference room. She returned in short order with both Gideon and Trish on her heels.

Fury overwhelmed the agent at the sight before him and he reacted without thinking, landing a quick right hook on the defense attorney's jaw. He slammed the man against the wall, red clouding his vision. He wanted nothing more than to beat the daylights out of the arrogant jerk, but suddenly a soft voice invaded the haze around him.

"Jason, stop. Spencer needs you. You're the only one he's going to respond to right now." Trish was at his elbow, a hand on his arm. "Take care of your son Jason; this idiot isn't worth it," she added with a disgusted look at the attorney.

The firm order, soft though it was, broke through the rage enveloping him and he took several deep breaths to bring himself under control as he backed up. Finally calm, he dropped to his knees beside the table and peered underneath to see Spencer huddled in the tiniest ball he could form. The little boy's knees were pulled tight to his chest and his arms curled around his head in a defensive position. He had his eyes squeezed tightly shut and he was shaking violently. Harsh whimpers were coming from his terrified form. Gideon gently touched his shoulder, resulting in another scream. The profiler scrambled to his feet, barking at the men in the room as he demanded, "Help me move this table."

The judge, Evan, the bailiff; who had entered the room when the ruckus started; and even Trish hurried to move the heavy object. As soon as the offending wooden structure was out of the way, Gideon wrapped the frightened child in his arms, rocking him back and forth. He whispered softly, trying to calm Spencer and bring him out of the flashback. When the words didn't work, he switched to song, humming a simple tune. He closed his eyes, his cheek pressed against the top of his son's head and continued to sway, projecting as much peace as he could muster. After several long moments, Spencer finally stirred and opened his eyes. He looked around at all of the unfamiliar faces and instantly buried his face against his guardian's shoulder.

"Daddy, I want to go home," he whimpered tearfully.

Trish gasped audibly as she registered Spencer's words. Her hand flew to her mouth as she realized that outside of a nightmare, this was the first time the child had called her nephew anything but Jason

Gideon kissed the top of his son's head as Spencer started to sob from the stress of his recent ordeal and tucked the child into his arms as firmly as he could manage. As he stood, he spoke with a soft reassuring tone. "Don't worry kiddo. I'll deal with this and we'll be headed home shortly. I promise."

He continued trying to soothe Spencer as he turned to face the room full of people and demanded softly, "What exactly happened here?"

Nicole related the chain of events concisely, having not had time to convey more than that Spencer needed him when she'd burst so abruptly into the conference room just minutes before. He listened intently before turning to the judge.

"Your Honor, I understand the defense's need to question Spencer regarding what happened. But this goes too far and I won't stand for it."

"And neither will I. Mr. Lawson, I conceded that your request for a second evaluation of Spencer was a reasonable one to make. I also agreed to allow you to question the child over what had happened in order to build a proper defense for your client. I did not grant you permission to completely traumatize the child, and it is never permissible to grab the victim, regardless of whether you think he is lying." The judge paused for effect and his firm gaze hardened further.

"Therefore, you've lost the rest of your opportunity. You'll have to build your case with what you have. The first and second evaluations of Spencer Reid will stand as his testimony during the trial. I hereby declare that the minor, Spencer Reid, will not be required to appear during the trial of Gary Michaels, for any reason whatsoever."

He looked everyone over and nodded firmly. "Agent Gideon, please accept my most sincere apologies over the trauma dealt to your foster son this day. You are free to take him home now."

Gideon inclined his head as he immediately backed towards the door. "Thank you for your understanding, your Honor."

He turned to find Trish had the door open already and was waiting for him.

"Should we wait for Nicole or the lawyer?"

"I'm not really that inclined to wait for anyone right now. I just want to get my son home so that I can start rebuilding his sense of safety."

"Then home it is," Trish stated firmly, and as a unit they started down the hall towards the rest of their lives, free with the knowledge that this whole ordeal could finally be placed behind them.