Waiting in the oncology ward of the hospital didn't help Spencer's nerves. As he glanced around the waiting room, he looked at the couples and the people waiting. Most of them were older, a few there with their significant other or by themselves. Spencer jumped slightly when he felt both his hands were squeezed. Remembering that he was sitting between them, he smiled. "Thanks," he mumbled, looking to both of them.
It seemed like hours had gone by when his name was finally called. The three of them stood up and followed the nurse back. There was another waiting room Emily and Derek were shown to as the nurse took Spencer to get his vitals done.
"How do you think he's doing?" Emily asked as they waited.
"He's trying to remain as calm as possible. I think he's compartmentalizing until later," Derek admitted. "He said he was close to a panic attack when we were in the parking lot. I'm expecting one tonight."
Emily frowned. "It's not fair, none of this is. It seems like everything happens to him."
Derek sighed. "Believe me, I wish there was something I could do to take his place. You'd think he'd been through enough."
Emily nodded and the two grew silent as they waited for Spencer.
"Did Hotch give you the day off?" Derek asked, looking over at her.
Emily smiled and shook her head. "No, I told him what I was planning, and he said it was fine as long as I came to work after."
"And tell everyone else how it went," Derek finished, smiling slightly.
"Exactly."
A few minutes later, Spencer joined them in the room, taking the seat next to Derek. There was an IV catheter in his left elbow, secured using a tegaderm dressing. In his hand was a yellow sheet of paper and he looked exhausted.
"We're supposed to wait here until my name is called and they'll bring us to a treatment room. Doctor Barnes is going to talk to us there," Spencer explained as he rested his head on Derek's shoulder.
Derek rubbed his back and kissed him on the top of his head. "Why do you look so tired?"
Spencer looked up to him and made a slight face. "Nerves on top of past experiences really doesn't help when they're trying to stick a needle into my elbow."
Both Emily and Derek winced as they quickly understood. Hopefully Derek could talk to the nurse or someone about an alternative.
A male nurse entered the small waiting room, calling out his name. "Spencer Reid?" He smiled as the three of them stood up and made their way over to him.
"My name is Michael," he greeted, holding out his hand. Spencer waved slightly as Emily and Derek shook his hand. "If you follow me, we'll get you set up in a room where one of the head nurses and Doctor Barnes will be able to explain everything to you." They nodded and followed Michael down a hallway, passing a few examination rooms before reaching the treatment rooms. Michael stopped at one near the nurse's station and held the door open for them, giving the group a small smile.
The room was small, but comfortably so. In one corner there was a large recliner that sat next to an IV stand and a cupboard of different medical supplies. Close enough to the recliner were two chairs, most likely for visitors. Derek guided Spencer to the recliner as he and Emily took the two chairs.
Michael smiled at the group as he took the yellow paper from Spencer and stuck it in a rack near the doorway along with a folder. "Doctor Barnes and a nurse should be right along. If I don't see you again today, I hope everything goes well."
"Thank you," Emily told him, smiling as the man left.
Spencer sighed as he sat forward in the chair, moving his legs so one was touching Derek's, needing the reassurance that this was happening but Derek was there with him. "I'm getting sick of the waiting game," he mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair.
Derek rested a hand on Spencer's knee, rubbing it a little. "Hopefully we're not waiting too long."
Before Spencer could respond, there was a knock and the three of them looked to see Doctor Barnes standing at the door, a short woman standing next to him.
"Good morning Dr. Reid," he said as he walked in, nodding towards Spencer. "You too, Agent Morgan." He paused when he turned to Emily.
"Agent Emily Prentiss," she quickly supplied, holding out her hand.
"Ah, yes. I knew I recognized your face, but didn't have a name," he said as he shook her hand. "How are you this morning, Dr. Reid?"
Spencer looked up at him and shrugged. "I honestly don't really know," he admitted.
"That's to be expected," Barnes told him, "especially in a new situation such as this." He turned to the nurse behind him and gestured for her to step forward. "This is Molly Callen, she's one of the head nurses in the ward."
Molly nodded at them, stepping forward to shake their hands. "I'll be the nurse you probably see the most, Doctor Reid. I like to stay with patients so they don't have to adapt to a new person every time. Now, do you prefer Dr. Reid, or would you like to me to call you something else?"
Spencer gave her a half smile. "Spencer's fine," he responded, shrugging.
Molly smiled in return and nodded. "Then Spencer it is."
"I'm going to grab your meds and the literature while Dr. Barnes talks to you," Molly announced and made her way out of the room.
Doctor Barnes grabbed the chair on wheels and sat down, turning towards Spencer. "Now, you actually won't be here for that long," he began. "The treatment itself will only run for about an hour, and with the pre-medications, you'll be there for only about an hour and a half really."
"Pre-medications?" Derek asked.
"Just an anti-nausea medicine, given intravenously. It only runs for a half hour. Two of the immediate side effects that are known to occur right after treatment are nausea and vomiting, so we'd like to hopefully ward them off for as long as we can," Barnes explained.
"So, I probably shouldn't go into work today or tomorrow?" Spencer asked.
Barnes nodded. "I would definitely advise against it. At least until you know how you feel after treatment."
Doctor Barnes went on to explain the different side effects that could be expected, ones Derek and Spencer were already aware of. He also explained how they would be checking his blood counts weekly between treatments and with Spencer's history, if they feel it's needed, they would do pulmonary function tests to see how his lungs are reacting to the treatment.
As he was explaining everything, Derek asking the questions that Spencer couldn't find himself to voice. Molly had come back in and started up the IV, getting the anti-nausea medicine running.
Spencer tuned himself back into the conversation as Molly left the room.
"To start," Dr. Barnes said as he turned to face Spencer. "You're going to be given 150 mg over the course of two days. You'll receive 75 mg today and 75 mg tomorrow, then you'll come back in 6 weeks for the next round."
Spencer nodded to indicate he understood.
"Molly will give you a list of symptoms that we want you to watch out for following treatment. Now, if you're not experiencing side effects, you're welcome to return to work on Wednesday, and we'll schedule your next blood test for Monday?"
Spencer looked over to Derek who nodded. "And we can reschedule if we're out on a case?"
"Of course," Dr. Barnes replied, giving them a small smile. "Now if there aren't anymore questions, I'll see you tomorrow?"
Spencer shook his head and gave the man a smile. "Thank you, Doctor."
Doctor Barnes nodded and stood, making his way out of the room.
The fusion pump began to ding as the last of the anti-nausea medicine made its way through Spencer's IV. "At least it's almost done," Spencer mumbled as he sat back in the recliner and pulled his knees to his chest.
They remained silent as Molly re-entered the room, carrying a slightly bigger bag than the one the previous medicine had been in. "Feeling alright?" she asked Spencer, giving him a smile as she pressed some buttons on the fusion pump, clamping it closed so she could change his IV.
"So far," Spencer quietly replied, giving her a small smile.
They watched as she changed out for the smaller bag with the bigger bag and unclamped the IV, pushing a few more buttons on the pump and starting it again.
"You should be done within the hour," she told them as she reached into the front pocket of her scrubs and pulled out some pamphlets and folded papers, handing them to Spencer.
"The pamphlets are for support groups around the area, within the hospital and all that," she explained as she took the seat Dr. Barnes had been in earlier. "The rest are things that you're going to need to know over the course of your treatment. Everything is there and we don't need to go over everything now. I can give you time to look over them and we talk before we leave or we can even talk about any questions you may have tomorrow."
"Tomorrow would probably be best," Derek told her after getting a nod from Spencer.
Molly nodded and stood up. "Call me if you need anything," she said and made her way out of the room.
"Feeling okay?" Emily asked, looking over at Spencer. He had pulled his knees closer to his chest and had wrapped his right arm around, his left lying on the arm of the recliner so he wouldn't aggravate the needle.
He licked his lips before nodding. "It would be an extremely rare case if I started to experience side effects this early, but still, I'm fine."
The three of them fell silent. Spencer looked over at Emily and Derek and could tell the two of them felt off. They looked like they wanted to say something, but didn't know what. They looked like they wanted to do something but they didn't know what.
The all jumped as a phone started to ring and they all turned to Derek when they realized it was his. He pulled it out of his pocket, smiling slightly and shaking his head. "I'll be right back," he said as he stood and left the room.
Emily turned to Reid who was mirroring her confused look. Spencer looked at her in return and shrugged.
"Emily, I really want to thank you for being here," Spencer told her, his voice quiet.
Emily felt the smile grow on her face as she looked at her friend. "I'll be wherever you need me to be, handsome."
Spencer grinned at the nickname. "Not just for me, but for Derek too. He's been so strong throughout and I don't know how he does it."
"He loves you, that's why."
Spencer snorted. "Still," he continued. "Thank you."
Derek walked a few feet from the door and answered. "Morning, baby girl," he greeted.
"And a good morning to you, my chocolate adonis," Garcia flirted back.
"What can I do for you?"
"How is he?" Garcia's voice had quickly filled with worry. "I wanted to be there, but there was a stupid tech meeting, but at the same time I didn't want to make him nervous and-"
"Hey! Hey!" Derek tried to say over her. "You're fine. Emily's here and he's fine. He's not really reacting to anything right now."
"And that's good, right?" Garcia asked, taking a deep breath. "That's good?"
"For now, yes," Derek replied, sighing. "I'm hoping that he'll talk to me tonight. He doesn't need a panic attack on top of everything else right now."
"If there is anything that either of you need, you know my number."
Derek smiled. "And we definitely appreciate it, sweetness."
"Now, get back to your boy and I'll talk to you later," and Garcia hung up. Derek kept the smile on his face as he shoved his phone back in his pocket and made it back towards Spencer's room.
When he walked back into the room, he noticed Emily had moved into the corner to talk on the phone and Spencer was finishing up a book. "What you got there?" Derek asked as he walked up to him.
Spencer smiled and held it out to him. "Calms my nerves somewhat," he said as Derek took the book from him.
"The Magic Mathematics of Quantum Physics," Derek read the title aloud and looked over at Spencer, who had a small smile on his face. "Oh, nope. I'm good. I'll wait for the movie," and he handed the book back to him.
Spencer rolled his eyes and stuck the book into his satchel as Emily came back over to the two of them and sat down. "Looks like you're almost done," she commented, gesturing up the towards the near empty IV bag.
"Thank god," Spencer mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair.
"How are you feeling?" Derek asked as he too sat back down.
Spencer wrapped his arms around his stomach and shrugged. "Alright for right now. Not looking forward to the nausea that's supposed to follow though."
Before either of them could say something else, the infusion pump began to ding, signaling the end of the treatment.
Molly quickly reentered the room, silencing the pump and clamping the IV pump. "Looks like you're done for today," she said, smiling. "Now would you like to keep the IV overnight, makes it so you don't need to be poked again in the morning."
Spencer thought it over for a moment before nodding, figuring it would be better to avoid the initial needle panic again.
Molly smiled as she clamped his IV and detached the line from the cannula, before placing a piece a gauze over it, securing it into place with a techiderm. "You're all set," she told him as she pulled a slip of paper out of his scrubs pocket. "This is a prescription for Zofran: it's an anti-nausea medicine. If any other side-effects occur, please call us immediately."
"Thank you," Derek said as he stood up and held out his hand, Spencer doing the same. She smiled at the pair and shook their hands, sending a small smile towards Emily. "You all have a good rest of the day, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Ready to go?" Derek asked as he turned to look at Spencer. Spencer nodded and Derek wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close.
"I can walk, Derek," Spencer muttered, but didn't try to pull away.
"This is nothing to do with you walking," Derek said, pulling him a little closer. "I just wanna make sure you're okay."
"Aren't you guys sweet?" Emily teased lightly, smirking at them.
"Lets just go home," Spencer said and forced Derek to start walking.
"Pushy," he teased causing Emily to snort.
Spencer rolled his eyes and smiled when Derek started to guide him to the parking lot. "Thank you for coming Emily," he said after they arrived at Derek's car.
"Really, thank you," Derek said, pulling her into a hug.
"It's really no problem," she said, smiling as she pulled away from Derek and pulled Spencer into a small hug. "Call me if you need anything."
They watched as she made it to her car before they got into Derek's. Spencer leaned back in his seat, sighing and closed his eyes.
"You alright?" Derek asked, reaching over and rubbing Spencer's thigh.
Spencer opened his eyes and looked over at Derek, nodding. "Yeah, just tired I think."
"Feeling nauseous?"
"Thankfully, no."
"Well lets go get this prescription filled, and then we can spend the rest of the day in bed," Derek suggested.
Spencer grinned and looked over at him, putting his hand on top of Derek's. "That sounds perfect."
Emily wasn't too surprised to see Garcia sitting on JJ's desk, both waiting for her, then when Rossi came out of his office, followed by Hotch a few minutes later.
"Wish I had a greeting like this every morning," she joked as she took a seat at her desk.
"So?" JJ asked as she looked at Emily.
"So what?" Emily asked, feigning innocence. She saw Rossi trying to hide a laugh and Hotch had turned away from the group to hide the smirk on his face.
"Emily, c'mon this isn't fair," Garcia whined. "You got to see Boy Wonder through his first day of this crap and you need to tell us how he is."
Emily shared an amused look with Rossi before sighing. "He's fine."
"'Fine' as in fine or 'fine' as in-"
"Fine as in fine, at least from what I saw," Emily quickly responded before Garcia could continue.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it obviously didn't take that long. I thought I wasn't going to be back in until lunch-" Emily started.
"How long does it take?" JJ asked.
"We were there for a little over an hour, but not that long," Emily replied. "He was obviously nervous when I showed up at their house this morning and then he had to get blood work, so, you can figure that out for yourself. After it was hooked up and everything though, Morgan was sure he was compartmentalizing, but I think having someone besides Derek there helped."
"You think one of us should go with tomorrow?" Rossi asked.
Emily nodded. "It's not that long, and it kept him distracted."
"I'll do it," Hotch said, surprising the rest of them. No one said anything, but they nodded and smiled. "Now everyone get back to work," he ordered and made his way back to his office.
"You were pretty quick there," Rossi commented, leaning against Hotch's door frame.
As Hotch took a seat at his desk, he looked at the older agent and shrugged. "He's been through too much in the past 8 years. I just want to make sure for myself that he's alright."
Rossi smirked and nodded. "You're a good man, Aaron."
The ride home was silent, seeing as Spencer had fallen asleep in the car the moment they left the parking lot. Derek would momentarily glance over at Spencer, smiling when he was obviously peacefully sleeping. He was already anticipating how he might be when they got home. If he was going to breakdown from the stress, nerves, and fears he had been feeling over starting his first treatment, or if the immediate after-chemo side effects have already begun. After filling the prescription, they finally made it home. As Derek turned to Spencer, he was surprised to already see him awake. "You awake?" he asked quietly as he noticed Spencer was rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah," Spencer mumbled out. "Tired. Sort of nauseous too."
"Let's get inside then," Derek said quickly and climbed out of the car. He went around to Spencer and guided the thin man to the front door. After quickly unlocking it, Spencer quickly bolted into the house and down the hallway to the bathroom.
Derek winced as he heard the bathroom door slam. "Damn," he mumbled as he ran a hand over his face. Sighing, he dropped Spencer's bag on the couch and pulled the prescription from his pocket before making his way to the kitchen. Grabbing a glass of water, he made his way to the bathroom and then knocked on the door. "Spence?" he called. He remained silent as he listened for some sort of response from Spencer, whether it be verbal or not.
When a weak 'yeah' reached the door, Derek sighed and opened it, frowning at what he saw. Spencer was sitting on the ground in front of the toilet. In one hand he held a wad of tissues while the other was still firmly grasped around the bowl.
"Think you're done?" Derek asked quietly as he knelt down next to Spencer. Spencer shook his head in response before dry heaving again. Derek put the glass
of water on the counter and ran a hand up and down Spencer's back.
"Well-" Derek was cut off as his phone began to ring and he groaned. "I'll be back in a minute," he said as he squeezed Spencer's shoulder and stood up.
"Morgan," he answered as he stepped out of the bathroom.
"Morgan, it's Hotch," the Unit Chief greeted.
"Do not tell me we have a case," Derek pleaded as he ran a hand over his head, turning slightly back towards the bathroom as he heard Spencer flushing the toilet.
"No, nothing like that," Hotch answered, quickly causing Derek to let out a sigh of relief. "Strauss has requested you meet with her tomorrow morning."
Derek's eyebrows shot up. "Hotch, I can't-"
"I tried to talk to her out of it, Morgan, believe me. Tomorrow morning is the only time she had free and she'd rather get this meeting done as soon as possible," Hotch explained. "You're lucky it wasn't today."
"Yeah," Derek sighed. "What about Spencer? There is no way I can leave him alone."
"I'll take him," Hotch answered without hesitation, surprising Derek.
"Are you sure? I can-"
"I actually cleared that with Strauss already," Hotch said as he cut him off. "I explained to her that it would be the only definite way to get you into the meeting."
Derek remained quiet as he thought everything over and nodded. "Alright. I really appreciate this and I'm positive Spencer will as well."
"I'm more than happy to help. How is he?"
Derek sighed and walked over to the bathroom doorway, leaning against the frame. Spencer was still sitting on the ground, his head resting against wall next to the toilet. "As good as he can right now."
"I'll let you go so you can get to him. What time should I be there tomorrow morning?"
"Is 8 alright?"
"I've got to drop Jack off at school around 7:30, so unless traffic is bad, I should be there by then."
"Sounds good, see you then, Hotch," Derek heard him respond with a farewell and hung up his phone, shoving it back into his pocket.
"I think I'm done now," Spencer whispered as he looked up at Derek. "Help me up?"
Derek held his hands out to Spencer and pulled him up and close to him, wrapping his arms around Spencer's thin body. He smiled as he felt Spencer's arms wrapped around him in return.
"This sucks," Spencer muttered as he rested his head on Derek's shoulder.
"I know," Derek responded, slowly rubbing a hand up and down Spencer's arm. "What do you want to do now?"
"Can we just lay down for a while?" Spencer asked as he leaned away slightly to look at Derek.
"Anything you want." Derek then moved to grab the glass of water he had left on the counter and handed it to Spencer, before taking the Zofran out of his pocket. "Just need to take this first."
Spencer didn't say anything as Derek handed him the pills and he took them before finishing off the glass. "I really hope this doesn't happen every time," he muttered as Derek wrapped an arm around his waist, walking both of them to the couch.
"If it does, we'll be prepared," Derek said as he sat down on one of the couches and pulled Spencer to sit down next to him. Maneuvering both of them so that they were laying the length of the couch, Derek smiled as Spencer wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled his head into Derek's neck.
"Who was on the phone?" Spencer asked a few moments later.
Derek sighed. "It was Hotch."
"We don't have a case, do we?" Spencer asked, lifting his head to look at Derek.
"We don't, but Strauss wants to see me tomorrow morning," Derek explained. He felt Spencer's body stiffen.
"What does that mean?" Spencer asked. Derek looked down at him and could already see the tears starting to pool in the hazel eyes. He immediately sat the two of them up when he felt Spencer's head begin to shake.
"Pretty Boy, look at me," Derek softly ordered as he took Spencer's head in hands, making sure the two of them were making eye contact. "Nothing's wrong, nothing's going to happen. If it were anything bad, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have postponed it to tomorrow morning."
Spencer bit his lip and shook his head. "You don't know that," he whispered and tried to look away from Derek. He could already feel the nausea coming back and he shook his head as much as he could.
"Kid, you need to take a deep breath. Please," Derek pleaded as he moved his hands and grabbed Spencer's, lightly squeezing them. "Everything's under control. Hotch is going to take you tomorrow and everything will be fine."
Spencer looked at him again and began to take a few deep breaths, hoping to fight off the panic attack. "You promise?"
Derek's response was to pull Spencer into his arms, wrapping his arms around his body, holding his lover as close to him as possible.
"I would never lie to you, I promise," he whispered as he moved one hand and began running his fingers through Spencer's hair.
"I trust you," Spencer whispered as he closed his eyes and relaxed into Derek's hold. "Always will."
Derek smiled, not stopping the rhythmic motion was he was making through Spencer's hair. His smile grew as he heard Spencer's breathing even out and he knew the younger man had fallen asleep. He followed him a few minutes later.
Both Spencer and Derek had woken up earlier than usual the next morning. Spencer had already had his morning coffee and taken a shower before Derek had come back from his early morning run. They were now both sitting in the kitchen, sitting in the silence together as they tried to fight off the nerves they were feeling over this upcoming morning.
Derek looked over at Spencer who had yet to touch any of the food on his plate and sighed. "Spence, you've got to eat something."
Spencer looked over at him before taking a sip of his coffee and shrugging. "Not like it's going to stay down," he mumbled.
Derek pushed the plate closer to him and glared slightly. "You still need to eat something. You can't have nothing in your stomach and then go get treatment."
Spencer looked at him and then back to the plate and sighed before grabbing a piece of toast.
"Thank you," Derek said as he smiled, before eating his own breakfast.
By the time they both had finished breakfast, they still had about 20 minutes before they were expecting Hotch to show up. They decided to wait on the couch. Derek had an arm around Spencer who was leaning into his side, his head resting on Derek's shoulder.
"Everything's going to be fine," Derek said as he held Spencer a little tighter.
"I know, it's just-" Spencer trailed off.
"It's just what?"
Spencer sighed and looked up at Derek. "This is the first time you're not going to be there," he admitted quietly. "Except for the first initial appointment with Dr. Barnes, you've been there. Each scan, each test, each meeting, everything. You not being there now is just-"
He was cut off when Derek cupped his chin, raising his head slightly so it would be easier to kiss him. The kiss was passionate, but not long or deep, enough to let Spencer know he was going to be okay.
Derek pulled away and left another chaste kiss on Spencer's forehead before looking at him. "We knew eventually that there was going to be a time I wasn't going to be able to be there. We just didn't expect it like this."
"I know," Spencer whispered as he swallowed slightly. "It doesn't make this any easier."
"I know," Derek echoed, giving him a small smile. "I doubt things such as this are going to get easier but you're going to be fine. Then you need to take a look like on the bright side."
Spencer lifted an eyebrow and looked at Derek confused. "How can you possibly find a bright side in any of this?"
Derek chuckled slightly. "Just think, what if it were Garcia taking you today instead of Hotch?"
Spencer blinked as he thought it over and made a slight face. "As much as I do love her and appreciate everything she has done for us, I definitely prefer Hotch in this situation."
"See, bright side," Derek said as he kissed the top of Spencer's head, his smile growing as he saw Spencer starting to smile a little.
The knock at the door caused them both to jump and Derek gave Spencer a small squeeze before they both stood.
"I left my bag in the kitchen," Spencer said as he stepped away from Derek. Derek sighed and watched Spencer disappear down the hallway as he made his way to the door.
"Hey, Hotch," he greeted as he opened the door and stepped aside so the other man could enter.
"Morning," he responded. "How is he this morning?"
Derek ran a hand over his head and shrugged. "He's nervous. He admitted he was scared since this will be the first time I'm not there with him for something."
"He knew it was going to happen eventually, right?" Hotch asked.
Derek nodded. "I told him that, and we agreed that we didn't expect it this early," he sighed as he looked towards the kitchen. "Did Strauss say anything about the meeting?"
Hotch gave him an apologetic look before he shook his head. "I honestly can't think of anything right away that it might be about."
Derek frowned and ran a hand over his head. "As long as it doesn't take all morning. I'd rather be home in time so Spencer's not here by himself."
"I can stay here with him after the treatment if you're running late, it's no problem."
"Are you sure?"
Hotch nodded. "We're off the immediate rotation until at least Monday of next week," he explained. "Leaving us confined to our desks with nothing but paperwork."
Derek smirked slightly. "Prentiss and JJ must be overloaded with Spencer not being there," he sighed. "I'm sure Emily told you how everything went?"
Hotch nodded. "She said you weren't there for that long and he seemed to be taking it fine. Anything else I should know?"
"There's a chance he might sleep through the entire thing. He was exhausted when he got home yesterday and spent most of the day sleeping."
"Has he shown any side effects? I know it's rare that any would appear right away but knowing Reid," Hotch trailed off.
Derek grinned. "Yeah. My walking, talking danger magnet," he said with a snort. "The biggest thing was the nausea and vomiting that follows immediately after the treatment's done. Then the exhaustion but there hasn't been signs of anything else."
"I'll let you know immediately if they do," Spencer's voice caused both of them to jump slightly and turned to see him entering the room. "Morning Hotch," he greeted, giving the man a small wave.
Hotch gave him a small smile in return. "Ready to go?"
Spencer gave a small nod before looking over toward Derek, who had stepped closer to him. Immediately catching on, Hotch turned his head. "I'll meet you in the car," he said before stepping out of the house.
Derek chuckled slightly as he pulled Spencer against him and kissed him on head. He grinned when Spencer wrapped his arms around him and burrowed his head into Derek shoulder.
"You okay?" he asked.
Spencer straightened up and nodded, then looked at Derek.
"Do you have a headache?" Derek asked.
Spencer raised an eyebrow, confused. "No, why?"
"You're squinting."
"Damn it," Spencer mumbled as he reached into his bag, moving things around.
"You forgot your glasses again," Derek teased slightly.
"Shut up," Spencer mumbled as he pulled out his glasses case and put them on. "I really wish Strauss could've saved this meeting for another day."
Derek sighed and hugged Spencer a little bit closer. "Me too, baby boy, but we can get this out of the way, and it will show how we are a part on things like this."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it."
The two stood there in each other's embrace for a few more moments. Derek kissed Spencer and sighed as he pulled away. "You shouldn't keep Hotch waiting."
"I'll see you when you get home?"
Derek nodded. "I love you, Pretty Boy," he said as he kissed Spencer once more.
"I love you too."
As Derek entered the elevator, he suddenly felt out of place. It was weird riding in the elevator alone, and it was strange not having Spencer there. The doors opened to the 6th floor and he stepped out, sighing.
The clicking of heels coming down the hallway is what caused him to stop before entering the bullpen.
"Well good morning, beautiful," Derek greeted with a grin as Garcia made her way toward him, hugging him.
"Good morning to you too, chocolate chip," she responded as she pulled away. "Now, not that I'm uberly happy to see you, I can't help but wonder why you're aren't with my little buttercream."
Derek raised an eyebrow and smirked at the nicknames. "Someone's on a sugar high," he teased as Garcia linked an arm with his and pulled him into the bullpen toward the break area.
"Irrelevant, while it might be true, but still. Why are you here and not with my baby genius?"
Derek grabbed himself a mug and poured some coffee before taking a seat at the table, Garcia taking the one across from him. "Strauss."
"Oh what does she want now?"
Derek shrugged and leaned back in the chair slightly. "I wish I knew. Hotch called me yesterday afternoon telling me about the meeting and there was nothing he could do to change it."
"Then Hotch is with Reid? I know he volunteered to go with you guys today."
"He volunteered?"
Garcia nodded and smiled. "Emily said she could see that her being there seemed to distract Reid from what was going on and we sort of just mutually decided that someone should be there each time. Hotch was the first one to volunteer yesterday."
Derek smiled as he took another sip of the coffee. He'd have to tell Spencer about that later because he knew it was true. "Spencer's gonna want to thank you guys."
"So it does help?" she asked.
Derek's grin grew as he nodded. "It definitely helped us both, baby girl. And if situations allow it, we'd both appreciate having someone else there."
Garcia returned the smile and seemed to have perked up after learning that information. "Then we'll definitely try to have someone there every time. Now, how was he when he got home?"
"He got sick, but that was one of the side effects that is said to happen in the few hours following the treatment," he explained. "Almost had a panic attack after I told him that I wouldn't be able to go with him this morning, but calmed him down in time. Otherwise, he's exhausted."
"This is really taking a lot out of both of you," Garcia pointed out. She reached forward and grabbed one of Derek's hand, squeezing it. Derek squeezed back. "We're here to help in anyway we can," she said as she pulled her hand away.
"Agent Morgan," Strauss said as she approached the two. She nodded toward Garcia who gave a small smile in return. "If you're ready?"
"Yes ma'am," Derek said as he stood. "I'll find you later," he said to Garcia before following Strauss to her office.
Derek walked into her office as she closed the doors behind them and gestured for him to take a seat. He sat quietly as Strauss took her own seat behind the desk.
"Now I'm sure you may be wondering what this meeting is about?"
Derek nodded, unsure of what to say.
"I've come to the understanding that you've been the one assisting Dr. Reid while he is treated for his recent diagnosis?"
Derek nodded again. "That is correct," he replied. "Ma'am, may I ask what is the point of this?"
Strauss sighed before she stood up and made her way around the desk, leaning against it as she stood in front of Derek. "Agent Morgan as you know there are no fraternization rules specified in the FBI code of conduct, more that it is discouraged. There are moreso rumors that Agent Rossi caused prior to his retirement," she snorted slightly before continuing. "With that being said, are you and Dr. Reid in a relationship?"
Derek froze for a second. They both knew there were no rules, they just never made it
public because it was one part of their life they wanted to keep private. They both agreed though if they were asked, they wouldn't deny it.
"Yes ma'am."
Strauss stared at him, crossing her arms across her chest. "How long?"
Derek sighed. "Almost 4 years."
An awkward silence fell upon them. Derek was trying to figure what could actually come from this meeting all the while was wondering how Spencer was doing.
"Is it safe to assume you'll be covering all of Dr. Reid's care as he goes through treatment?"
"As much as I can," Derek said. "Is there a problem here, ma'am, because I'm really unsure of what this whole meeting is about?"
Strauss sighed. "After the recent events with Agent Prentiss and Doyle, I'm just trying to make sure there's nothing out of place in case the committee tries to suspend this team again. It may be hard for you to believe, Agent Morgan, but I do not want to see this team separated."
Derek sat there, somewhat stunned. He nodded in understanding as he was speechless. "Doctor Reid has enough leave saved up along with the allotted 12 weeks under the Family and Medical Leave Act. If you wish, you will fall as primary care, so missing days can't be used against you."
Derek nodded. "Please."
She nodded in return and moved back to her desk, pulling out a file. "You'll just need to sign here," she instructed as she pushed the file towards him. He instantly signed."Now, how is Dr. Reid doing?" she asked as she closed the file. "He just started chemotherapy?"
"Yes, ma'am, yesterday. After today's session he gets a few weeks off. As far as how he's feeling, no huge side effects yet."
Strauss nodded. "If there's anything that the two of you need, just let us know and we'll find a way to help. You're dismissed."
Derek blinked and stood, nodding towards her and leaving her office, still slightly stunned over everything that just happened.
"Morgan? What are you doing here?" he heard Emily ask as he walked past the bullpen. He looked at Emily, seeing both her and JJ were talking at her desk.
"I had to a meeting with Strauss," he responded as he stepped up to them.
"Who's with Spence?" JJ asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hotch."
"Hey chocolate thunder, how did the meeting go?" he heard Garcia ask from behind him.
"It went," Derek said.
"What does that mean?"
Derek shrugged. "She asked if Spencer and I were in a relationship-"
"What? Why? She can't separate you two, can she?" Garcia asked, cutting Derek off.
"There are no fraternization rules, I'm just the center of all the rumors," came Rossi's amused tone from the catwalk.
Derek smirked and shook his the head. "She just wanted to make sure there was no way the committee could do anything to the team with me missing so many days of work with Spencer."
"That's it?" Emily asked, sounding shocked.
"That's it," Derek echoed and smiled.
"The ice queen does have a heart," Garcia said, causing the others to laugh.
"Who knew," Derek joked and grinned.
"So, how is Spence?" JJ asked as the group made their way to the break area.
"Tired, nauseous, and trying to keep everything in," Derek replied as he sat down at the table.
"Could be worse," Rossi commented as he handed Derek a mug of coffee.
"Do you think he'll come in to work tomorrow?" Emily asked.
Derek snorted. "Yeah, but I'm not letting him."
"He's too stubborn, there's no way you're going to keep him home," Emily argued.
Derek turned towards her, raising an eyebrow and smirked. "I've got my ways."
Rossi rolled his eyes as Emily blushed, JJ and Garcia trying to hide their giggles behind their hands.
"Now if you'd all excuse me, if I leave now I can meet Hotch and Spencer at home."