Thomas James reflexively drew his gun as well, both men staring each other down. Until Kya put her hand on the barrel of Spencer's revolver, lowering it.

"Marshal." She looked at Thomas. "What's going on?"

"I came by to see how you were doing. Your door was unlocked." The man stood. "This exact thing happened in Chicago, Emmalee. You let your guard down and you lost everything for it." He turned his accusing gaze to Spencer. "You, sir, are not worth me losing this woman. I lost my family, my children, to make sure that she is safe. She's the closest thing to a daughter that I will ever have. I don't know you, but no one would be worth that."

Spencer was taken aback. "I mean no disrespect sir, but-"

"Thomas." Kya cut him off. "I made one mistake. I did. Spencer wasn't even here when I left. He's been through a lot the past few days and I certainly do not appreciate you coming into my house and disrespecting him." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, I'm asking you nicely to leave, because I have to dress these cuts." She pointed to Spencer's forehead, which was profusely bleeding now.

"Emmalee, I-"

"Please," Kya shook her head. "That name." She shuddered. "It's been used against me like a weapon ever since I left him. I don't want to hear it again." She steeled her resolve and pointed her finger at the man. "Now, please leave."

Thomas didn't say another word. He stepped around the two and left. Halfway down the hallway, he called back.

"Lock your door."

Kya massaged her temples as Spencer hobbled to sit in the chair that Thomas had vacated. Kya closed and locked the door, turning to face him. She sighed. "Take your shirt off."

"What?" Spencer looked panicked.

"There are tears in your shirt. Your were hit in the abdomen. I need to check for swelling." She spoke quickly, trying to ignore the way his face flushed.

"Oh." Spencer watched as she made her way into the bathroom. When she returned, she had a first aid kit and a medical bag in her hand. She stood over him and inspected his head again.

"I was wrong." She groaned. "Needs stitches."

"Can't you do it?" He knew that a standard medical bag came with supplies to put in stitches.

"Spencer… I don't have anything to numb it." She looked at his face.

"I don't want to go to the hospital." He insisted.

Kya sighed as she started to clean the gash with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab. Spencer flinched, but he sat still.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She whispered.

"No." He answered quickly, and Kya looked away from him. There were tears pooling into her eyes. The look on his face was the look that she so often saw on herself in the mirror. She had never wanted Spencer to know that kind of pain. Kya worked quickly and silently, cleaning all of his cuts and stitching the one on his head. He hissed sharply a few times, but for the most part, Spencer was quiet.

When she slipped her rubber gloves off, Spencer stood. "You can finish across the hall." He spoke quickly. He wanted to hold her. And he wanted to tell her how much she meant to him. She helped him into his apartment and when he shut the door, she looked slightly nervous.

"Take your shirt off." She repeated. Kya had no idea how she was going to make it through this without making a complete fool of herself.

Spencer unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off of his shoulders. Kya's heart broke at the sight of him standing there, his ribcage and chest spattered with bruises. She moved closer to him, running her fingertips gingerly across the sore skin. Spencer winced, but the pain shooting through his body was nothing compared to the feel of her fingers on his skin. Kya worked her way around his torso, asking him every now and then if he felt pain caused by the pressure she applied. She couldn't help but skim her hands over the bruises a few more times than necessary. She wanted to kiss him. Over and over until he forgot this pain. She stood upright finally, trailing her fingers over the bruises on his shoulders and his upper chest. Spencer kept his eyes on her face, which made it even harder for her to concentrate.

"None of your ribs are broken…" She tried to keep her voice even as she pulled her hands away from him. "And there seems to be no unusual swelling."

"Kya…" Spencer's voice trailed off as he reached his hand up to touch her face. He couldn't go another minute without having her. She had to know. He had to tell her.

She closed her eyes at his touch. She didn't care that his actions made no sense. She didn't care that pulling away would be the ethical thing to do. She didn't care that he was with Lila. She didn't care. All she could focus on was the way his fingertips felt on her cheek and the way he whispered her name.

Spencer opened his mouth, but a sound stopped him. His hand jerked from Kya's face, and she opened her eyes as Lila stepped into the living room. The blonde stopped, assessing the scene in front of her. Spencer gulped. He had found himself in quite the precarious situation. He was shirtless in front of the woman his girlfriend knew he loved. And his girlfriend had just walked in the door. What had he been thinking? He would have to talk to Lila, to end it before he went off spouting his feelings to Kya.

Kya took a step back. When she spoke, the evenness of her voice surprised her.

"None of your ribs are broken, and there seems to be no unusual swelling." She nodded, trying to keep her face expressionless.

Lila moved across the room, worry on her face.

"What happened, Spencer?" Lila stepped between him and Kya to look closely at his forehead.

"Case gone wrong." He shrugged his shirt back on and rolled his sleeves up before starting on the buttons. "Kya has some medical expertise, and she was willing to look me over so I didn't have to go to the hospital."

"Is he ok?" Lila turned her gaze to Kya, who nodded in reply.

"He had to have four stitches in his head. They'll need to be covered when he showers, and his ankle has some swelling, but it's not sprained." She spoke quickly. She wanted out of this room.

Spencer seemed to understand this. He held his hand out for her to shake in thanks. Kya took it, grateful for the ability to escape. She dropped her eyes to their joined hands, and her grip suddenly tightened. Spencer was curious as to why she had frozen. He followed her steely gaze… Right to the crook of his arm. He instantly jerked his hand back, keeping his eyes from hers.

"Spencer…?" Kya's face was full of shock, worry, pain.

"I need you to leave." He spoke loudly, grabbing her wrist and tugging her to the door that Lila had left open.

"Spencer, there's no need to be rude…" Lila looked at him in shock. She had obviously not been as perceptive as Kya.

Kya didn't speak until he had pulled her out into the hallway.

"Spencer, what the hell-"

"Stay out of it!" He hissed, cutting her off in a whisper. "I just… I need you to stay out of it. I need…" He shook his head. "Stay out of it." He subconsciously jerked his sleeve down.

"Spencer, you need to have those looked at." She spoke seriously. "You need detox, the needle could have been unsafe…."

"Stay out of it." He repeated, closing the door in her face.

Omg. Spencer. Don't be an ass. D:

Spencer felt his eyes roll back into his head as the dilaudid entered his body. He knew that he should stop. He knew that what he was doing was wrong on so many levels. But, as the adrenaline of the drug kicking in spread throughout his limbs, he knew that he wouldn't be able to. He put his needle away, storing it and the vials in his messenger bag. He then glanced to his watch, cursing under his breath. He was late. He opened the door of the men's room and made his way across the bullpen, a mug of coffee in his hand. He strolled casually into the conference room, hearing the tension in the room screaming in his head as he felt every eye on him. He made sure to keep his gaze away from the crime scene photos on the board. They were too much for him. Spencer sat down as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place, and, thankfully, JJ continued the debriefing.

He didn't pay much attention to the others as they sat on the plane. He tried, but it was hard to focus when he was so tired. Spencer couldn't remember the last time he had slept without a nightmare shaking him. He needed to be alone. He needed to think, and he had no doubt that his teammates could tell that something was up with him. He injected himself into the conversation.

"I'll map out the area and see if I can find any places the victims would have visited in the neighborhood." He ignored the way the others were looking at him. Geographical profiling was his specialty, and it was also a helpful tool to be able to work alone.

"Good. Maybe we can find a connection between them. I'll help you with that." Emily spoke up, scribbling on her notepad.

"I can handle it." Spencer spoke without thinking.

"I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't." Emily looked stung.

"Isn't that what 'I'll help you with it' means?" He knew that he should probably not act so harshly toward Emily. She hadn't done anything wrong, but he needed to think, and he wouldn't be able to do that with her looming over him.

"Reid." He turned to see the others staring at him. Hotch was the one who had spoken up. "Prentiss will help you with the geographical profiling and the victimology."

It was an order, and Spencer hated him for it. He rolled his eyes. "Fine."

The rest of the conversation during the flight took place in the background of Spencer's mind.

I hate angry Spencer, guys.

"What the hell was that in there?" Emily was looking angrily at him, pointing backwards toward a homeless shelter he had just exited.

"What?" Spencer looked to her with an oblivious look on his face.

"He may even be in this room as we speak?" Prentiss spoke his words verbatim. "We have nothing to support that."

"We're investigating a serial homicide. Should I have pretended there's no danger?" He was getting angry now. What right did she have to tell him what to say and what not to say?

"We just left that woman potentially afraid of every man that walks into this shelter." Emily stuck her finger at the door to make her point.

Spencer shrugged. "Again, until we find this unsub, how is that a bad thing?" He was pissed, but he was trying to keep his cool. The way she was looking at him, though, as if he had no idea what he was talking about… It made him want to scream at her.

"What is the matter with you?" Spencer felt his brows raise at the question.

"What… What do you mean 'what's the matter with me'?" He tried to keep his voice even.

"I've never seen you act like this." That was it. All of Spencer's control left his body.

"Oh really? In the…" He paused briefly for dramatic effect. "Months that you've known me, you've never seen me act this way? Hey, no offense, Emily, but you don't really know what you're talking about, do you?" He assessed the look on her face.

Hurt. Pain. Betrayal. Shock. Spencer walked away. Good. She should feel hurt. She had been badgering him all day, and she deserved it, right?

OMGOMGOMG

Spencer walked into his apartment. At night, there was usually some pain in his ankle, but tonight was different. He was in a somewhat pleasant mood, even after going off on Emily again today. It hadn't been nearly as brutal as the case in Texas, but it had been severe. Actually, going off on her seemed to be the thing that had lightened his mood. All of the frustration, all of the anger had seemingly disappeared after yelling at his colleague. And, while it wasn't something he wanted to ever repeat, he didn't regret it. Spencer opened the door to his apartment. He had found out something rather important today. He loved his job. More than his addiction. He needed to quit. And he would. But, as for right now, he needed another hit. He knew that it would take him no time to go to the restroom, shoot himself up with the dilaudid, and make it back to tell Lila he had made it home safely, who was probably asleep in the guest bedroom. He glanced to the table and froze.

There was a vial of dilaudid in the middle of the wooden surface, a piece of paper underneath it. He picked up the narcotic, rolling the glass bottle between his fingers before reading the note that was written out in Lila's tidy handwriting.

"I can't do this, Spencer. It's hard enough to love you while you want her.

It hurts to be second, but I can deal with that. I cannot be third. I refuse to be third.

I love you, but this is it for me. I'm done.

-Lila"

Spencer felt sick. He clenched his fist around the vial in his hands. He needed it. He needed to feel the release it gave him, the complete loss of emotion. It would lessen the pain of being alone. It would lessen the guilt of hurting her. He reached his hand up to scratch at his neck. He was so damn itchy.

Spencer closed his eyes. He needed it. He shook his head, trying to deny himself. He needed to stop. He needed help. But who was here? The one person he had learned to count on had walked away from him. He could call Gideon. Spencer had no doubt in his mind that his entire team knew what was going on. They all knew that he was addicted. They all knew that he was stuck in a situation that he couldn't get out of himself. And yet… Not a single one of his so-called family members had offered him help. Not a single one had extended even a small flicker of light in this dark oblivion that he was residing in. He couldn't call Gideon. Or any of the others. They obviously didn't care.

Kya. Did she care? She had stitched up his head. She had bandaged his hands. Would it be asking too much if he knocked on her door at 2 am, wanting her to hide his drugs from him? Spencer opened his eyes. He was done thinking. He already knew that he wouldn't be able to step away from his job, and the dilaudid made it that much harder for him to work. He needed to stop. He wasn't exactly sure how he got there, but Spencer found himself in front of Kya's door. He knocked without a conscious though to do so. This was the right thing. This is what he needed.

WOOOO. Spencer and Kya forever, guys.

Also, if you were to leave me a review, I would love you forever.

You know, I'll probably love you forever anyway... Just for reading.

You guys rock. Okay.

xXx