After they parked in front of the apartment, Morgan looked over at Spencer.

"What's up?"

"What if I scare Parker?" he asked softly.

"How could you?"

"Because I look like this?" he asked, pointing to his face.

"She really can't tell yet, Pretty Boy. She's just going to be happy to see and hear you again. Now come on."

Spencer sighed, grabbing his satchel and putting it over his shoulder as Morgan grabbed his go-bag. As they walked up to the apartment, Morgan turned back to him.

"And oh, one more thing? I have a surprise for you."

Spencer raised his eyebrow. "Am I going to like this surprise?"

Morgan smiled, opening the apartment door. "I think so."

Spencer walked in and was immediately greeted with a hug from Fran.

"Spencer! How are you feeling?"

He smiled, setting down his bag and hugging her. "Fine, thank you."

She pulled back, looking at his eye. "Derek, go get him some ice."

"It's fine, really, it doesn't hurt. What brings you here?"

"Well, Derek usually comes for my birthday, but considering he can't this year? I came for a visit."

"He could go to visit you, I wouldn't have minded."

"This way, I get to see my granddaughter. It's a win-win situation."

"How long are you in town for?"

"Until Thursday, if you'll have me that long."

"You're welcome any time," he said, biting his lip, "is Parker awake?"

She smiled, motioning toward the swing behind him. "You tell me."

He turned around to see Parker looking up at him. Once she saw his face, she smiled. He sat down beside the swing, crossing his legs underneath him, and picked her up, kissing her forehead.

"Hey, Parker. Daddy missed you a whole lot while he was gone, and he's really happy to be home with you again." He reached up, wiping his eyes, and held her closer to his chest. "I love you so much, Princess."

"So I guess Garcia's nickname is sticking to everyone?"

"The way she's treated? She is a princess."

Fran looked over. "Spencer, why don't you take care of her feeding and put her down? I'm sure the both of you could use it."

He nodded, handing Parker to Morgan while he got up, then walking to the kitchen to make a bottle. He walked back a minute later, sitting on the couch. Morgan set Parker in his arms.

"Sure you don't want something for that?"

"Maybe later," he said, feeding her. "Hey, Fran, I was wondering if I could ask a favor?"

"Sure, anything."

"I um. I have a date set up for Derek and I on Wednesday night. It's a work night and I can't find a sitter…"

"I'd love to."

"We don't have to do that if you don't want to," Morgan suggested.

"I want to."

"You sure?"

Spencer nodded, keeping his eyes on Parker.

"You know, we can talk about it."

Spencer bit his lip. "Later?"

"Of course."

After he fed Parker, he put her into her pajamas and put her to bed, turning the crank on her mobile to play the music. He also turned on her baby monitors and turned on her nightlight. He walked back to the living room, looking at Fran.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I'm going to shower and get to bed. Do you want our room and we'll take the couch?"

"Don't be silly, I'll be fine out here. You two have had a stressful day; I'll take care of Parker tonight."

"You sure?"

"I'm positive." She walked over, kissing Spencer's forehead. "Go get some sleep."

"Thank you."

She nodded, patting his back as he walked to the bathroom. She then looked over at Morgan.

"Are you taking good care of him?"

"Of course."

"How have you two been?"

"Great, actually. We've been dating and talking about our relationship, and it's been going somewhere."

"Somewhere good?"

He nodded. "I think so."

When Spencer got out of the shower, he walked to the bedroom, sitting in bed beside Morgan.

Morgan glanced over at him. "You okay?"

Spencer sighed, chewing on his lip. "Can we talk? I know Hotch is going to make me do a psych evaluation and I want to be able to get it all out before then."

Morgan sat up, putting a pillow behind his back. "Go for it."

He bit his lip, looking down at his hands. "JJ sent me out of the police station because I was stressed about solving this in time and being able to come home. I didn't want to be upset, but I didn't want to take too long. So I went outside and called you. Talking to you was what I needed to get my head back in the game, but I did what you never told me to do. I kept my back turned while I was talking to you and that's how he got me. He… he threw my phone down and he choked me. I could feel a belt around my throat and I froze and I couldn't fight back. I blacked out and the next thing I knew, I was in the cabin."

Morgan looked over at him, and saw him pulling the collar of his pajama shirt over his neck, which had some purple marks. He leaned over rubbing his back. "You don't have to tell me the rest."

He shook his head, wiping his eyes. "I um. I had flashbacks to when I was in the shed with Hankel. That's when I thought he put Dilaudid into my system, because I saw the band around my arm. I thought I was going to have to go through withdrawals again and I couldn't do that. It took way too much the first time. I worked way too hard for this to let someone take it from me."

He looked over and saw Spencer spinning a coin in his hands. He reached out and took it, realizing it was a coin he received from NA for being clean of Dilaudid.

"Three years clean. I was terrified of a relapse. When he came back to put the needle in my arm, I had to fight back. I didn't want him to win. I couldn't do anything with my hands bound together, so I did the one thing I could: I headbutted him. He was so pissed off about the pain that he forgot about the needle and headbutted me, then he just started hitting me. Luckily he stopped when he realized I made him bleed, and as he was taking off, I kicked at him as much as I could before I passed out."

"You did the right thing."

He sighed, biting his lip and wiping his eyes. "He had the hour glass in the corner that was counting down the time I had. Watching it go down and knowing the end of it meant I wasn't going to see you or Parker again was the single most terrifying thing I've ever experienced. Worse than getting shot, drugged, or held hostage. I couldn't deal with dying in that cabin. I went to a dark place, and thought of better ways to go than whatever he had planned."

"But you didn't have to."

"I still thought about it. Right before JJ busted open the door, I had it all planned out. The easiest way I found was to-"

"You don't have to tell me. You're here, that's what matters."

Spencer swallowed, looking back at his hands. "I hate that I went there. I hate myself for thinking about ending my life because of his sick, twisted game. What if I'd done it and JJ and Hotch had found me?"

"You wouldn't have, because you had faith in your team."

"When I was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, I was really out of it, in and out of consciousness. I was talking to JJ, and I kept telling her that I was sorry. She doesn't know why, and I'm probably never going to tell her. I don't want her to know what I was considering, because she'd be disappointed in me."

"Anyone in that position would've done the same thing, Spencer. This doesn't make you weak."

He chewed on his lip. "It doesn't?"

"Of course not."

Spencer sniffed, resting his head on Morgan's shoulder.

Morgan bent his head down, kissing his forehead and rubbing his temple. "I can't even imagine everything you've gone through over the years. But because of everything? You are so much stronger. I think that's what made me fall for you – seeing how well you handle the pressure of the situations and how you come out a better person in the end."

Spencer smiled slightly. "Do you really mean that?"

Morgan nodded. "I do."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

Spencer chewed on his lip nervously, speaking in a soft tone. "Can you not look at me the next few days? There's a lot of bruising and I really don't want you to see me like that. I barely want to look at myself."

Morgan could feel his heart breaking for Spencer, into a bunch of tiny pieces. "Pretty Boy…"

"And can you stop that for a few days?"

Morgan sat up. "I'm not going to stop calling you Pretty Boy, because you're never going to stop being Pretty Boy."

"But-"

"But nothing. I'm not going to stop looking at you just because some bastard felt the need to take you and hurt you. A few bruises here and there aren't going to change how I think and feel about you. I've waited seven years for this to finally happen, I'm not going to turn my back because of a few marks. I love you, no matter what."

Spencer sat up, looking at him with tears in his eyes. "Derek…"

Morgan reached up, wiping his eyes carefully. He then leaned over, kissing him. Spencer couldn't keep himself from crying, just because he was so happy to finally be home with his family again.

When Morgan pulled back, Spencer bit his lip, looking down.

Morgan put his finger under his chin, lifting it up. "Keep your chin up, Pretty Boy."

Spencer smiled slightly. "Do you mean it?"

"I always have, and I always will."

Spencer sniffed, sighing. "Thank you."

"And Spencer?"

Spencer looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"Welcome home. We missed you."

That night, Spencer fell asleep after spending a good amount of time crying on Morgan's chest. In the middle of the night, Morgan decided to go grab a pillow to elevate his knee. While looking through the hall closet, he heard Spencer whimpering in his sleep. Shaking it off, he grabbed the pillow from the shelf.

"MORGAN. Morgan, make him stop! Morgan!"

He ran back to the bedroom, sitting beside him, shaking his arm. "Spencer…"

"Don't let him! Morgan!"

"SPENCER," Morgan snapped.

Spencer's eyes shot open, looking up at him and panting.

Morgan sat him up, wrapping his arms around him and rubbing his back. "You're okay, Pretty Boy. You're safe."

Spencer sniffed, resting his head on Morgan's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It happens."

"He got to me. He came back and he put a needle in my arm."

"No, he didn't. You're still here and you're still clean." Morgan reached over, grabbing his three year coin and handing it to him. "See?"

He sniffed, looking down at the coin in his hand. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"We all have our demons. Just remember I'm here to help."

"Did I wake Parker? Or your mom?"

"Both of them are still fast asleep. You're fine. Get back to sleep."

"You won't leave, will you?"

"Of course not," Morgan said, laying them back. He pulled up the blankets and wrapped his arms around Spencer. "I'll be right here, I promise."

He exhaled, curling up and resting his head on Morgan's chest. After he was calmed down, he fell asleep, holding onto Morgan.