They caught them. When the team had entered the house, Linda Collins was holding a gun to Erika Taylor's head, Jeff sitting off to the side looking on. When Jeff attempted to talk to his mom, she aimed her gun at him. Before she had the chance to shoot, Rossi had hit her with two shots to the chest. They were able to wrap everything up that night and flew home the next morning.

Spencer had gotten a few hours of sleep and was sitting in the living room, reading, when Garcia found him the next morning.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" She asked as she sat down next to him, handing him a mug of tea.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he took it from her. He took a long sip before responding. "About 4 or 5, a lot better than yesterday."

"Indeed. How are you feeling this morning?"

"A lot better," Spencer replied honestly. "The fever is gone. The headache is still there, but it's hardly noticeable."

Garcia leaned over, placing her hand on his forehead. As she pulled away, she saw the look he was giving her and shrugged. "Just had to check for myself."

They both sat in a comfortable silence as they were still trying to wake up.

"So," Garcia began a few moments later. "Do you think Hotch has a girlfriend?"

Spencer looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "What makes you think he has a girlfriend?"

"I don't know," she responded as she placed her now empty mug down on the coffee table. "Ever since he's been training for his marathon, he just seems a lot happier. It's been a while since we saw him this happy."

"And if he does have a girlfriend?" Spencer asked, amused.

"Then bossman got his mojo back," Garcia replied with a giggle. "Oh, that reminds me. I don't know why, but it reminded me."

Spencer watched as she pulled out one of her phones and dialed a number. "Reminded you of what?" he asked, confused.

"Ssh!" Garcia replied as she put the phone on speaker.

"Good morning, Garcia," JJ's tired voice greeted.

"You have me and boy wonder," Garcia announced.

"Hey, Spence. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, but beyond that, everything has seemed to have gone away," Spencer replied.

"Is he lying, baby girl?" Derek's voice suddenly asked.

"Seems like we're not the only ones on speaker," Spencer muttered.

Garcia giggled again. "He's being honest, my dove. Now the reason I was calling, can tonight happen?"

The only response was a small groan from JJ. "Still no sitter?" they heard Emily ask.

"My sitter is not available. Apparently, I have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting a sitter on a Saturday night," JJ replied.

"What's going on tonight?" Spencer asked, looking over at Garcia.

"It was ladies' night but-" Emily trailed off.

"I forgot to book a sitter," JJ finished for her.

"I'll do it," Spencer offered, ignoring the snort and bit of laughter from Garcia and Emily.

"Spence," JJ said, sounding skeptical.

"What? I've seen an episode of Mr. Belvedere," Spencer said in his defense.

"You've never babysat by yourself before," JJ pointed out.

"You know, uh… he could do a couple of hours," Emily said. "And he wouldn't have to be alone."

"What do you mean?" Garcia asked.

"Derek can be there with him," JJ replied, catching on to Emily's idea.

"What do you say Morgan?" Emily asked.

"I'm game," Derek replied.

Spencer smiled. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Derek entered the house quietly a few hours later. Garcia had called him on his way back home to let him know that Spencer was finally getting some sleep. As he entered the living room, he smiled as he saw Garcia knitting with Clooney sitting next to her on the couch.

"Hey baby girl," he said as he sat down next to her.

Garcia grinned and put down her knitting before leaning over to his embrace. "Welcome home, peaches."

"Good to be home," Derek commented with a smile. He then looked around the living room before glancing down the hallway towards the bedroom.

Garcia smirked. "I don't know if he's actually asleep, but he's been laying down since we made the plans earlier."

"And how's he feeling?" Derek asked, finally looking away and back to her.

"Well," she began with a sigh. "His fever's gone, that broke last night, which made his headaches a little less intense. He's been managing it with Tylenol, but only if he felt like he truly needs it."

"Sounds like him," Derek noted. "Now, I feel like there's something else you're not telling me."

"Damn profilers," Garcia mumbled. She bit her lip as she thought it over. Spencer had never actually told her not to tell Derek about what they talked about the other night, but in the same thought, she didn't want to feel like she was breaking Spencer's trust.

"Penelope?"

She sighed. "Yesterday morning after you called about the other girl that had been found, our baby genius sort of, broke down."

Derek raised an do eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

"I think this was what we've all been waiting to happen. He was exhausted, stressed, and he sort of just let everything out," Garcia explained. She continued to tell him about Spencer freaking out over the statistics and how he felt he hadn't thanked Derek enough.

When she finished, Derek wiped a hand over his face and he tried to piece his thoughts together. "This is the biggest meltdown he's had since the diagnosis," Derek mentioned as he shook his head and looked over at Garcia. "What do I do?"

"I think you two need to talk. It was obviously hard for him to open up to me, but he needs you more than anyone," Garfia replied, giving a sad smile.

Derek sighed. "When?"

"Tonight. After Henry goes to sleep."

"Do you think he'll actually talk to me?"

"You may have to force him a little bit, but I'm sure you have a special way," Garcia replied, teasingly lightly.

"A special way of doing what?" A tired voice came from the hallway, causing both of them to jump.

"Hey kid," Derek greeted with a smile as he turned and saw Spencer standing there. Spencer smiled back in return and Derek felt sort of relieved, but then again nervous, just hoping he could get Spencer to open up to him tonight.

"And now I must take my leave," Garcia said as she stood, shoving her knitting into her bag.

"Thank you for everything," Spencer said in a quiet voice as she approached him and pulled him into a gentle hug.

"Anything and anytime for you, peaches," she replied, kissing him on the cheek. "Same goes for you, my adonis."

"Thank you again, baby girl," Derek said as he walked her to the door.

"I'm just glad I was able to help," she told him as she pulled out the handle on her go bag. "Now go spend the rest of the day with your boy, and I'll see you when I pick up JJ tonight."

Derek smiled and held the door for her, watching until she was pulling out of the driveway. He closed the door and made his way back to the living room. As he entered, he grinned at what he saw. Spencer had taken a seat on the couch at one end and Clooney had decided to take up the rest, with his head in Spencer's lap.

"Someone seems comfy," Derek said as he stepped into the room.

Spencer looked at him and then down at Clooney, smirking. "He's the one who broke The Reid Effect, so he can be as comfy as he wants."

"Well, he's had you enough, it's my turn," Derek said as he approached the couch and signaled for Clooney to move. The dog quickly complied and Derek sat down in his place, pulling Spencer against him.

Spencer smiled and wrapped his arms around Derek, resting his head on his shoulder and closing his eyes. "I am so glad you're home," Spencer mumbled.

"Me too, baby boy," Derek responded as he kissed the top of Spencer's head. "Me too."

Derek smiled from archway to the living room where he was watching Spencer. Spencer was sitting on the couch, tickling Henry. It had been a while since he saw his godson, and he was thankful that he felt well enough to babysit tonight, despite it being Derek's first night home. Derek was just happy that Spencer seemed happy.

"Have you even been listening to me?" He heard JJ ask from behind him, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Sorry," he said as he turned around, stealing one more glance at the duo on the couch. JJ followed his glance and smiled.

"He's always been so good with Henry," she commented before looking back to Derek.

"Where's Will?" Derek asked suddenly.

JJ sighed. "That's what actually caused all this stress getting about a sitter," she began. "Detective Oswald went into labor earlier than predicted, and Will had agreed to pick up her shifts."

Derek nodded in understanding and smiled when the doorbell rang. "Now, I'm sure all of what you were saying to me about his doctor's number, and your number and Will's number-"

"And the name of where we're going for the salsa lessons," JJ finished.

"Are all in Spencer's head already. And as you said, it's only for a couple of hours, we'll see you guys when you get back," Derek said as he pushed JJ towards the door. After the bell rung again she pulled it open to reveal Garcia.

"Hello my sweetness," Garcia greeted as she wrapped her arms around Derek. "Where's boy genius?"

"In the other room with your godson," JJ responded. Both she and Derek laughed when she quickly made her way to the living room and followed. They wore a matching grin when they saw that she had pulled both Henry and Spencer into a hug.

"Baby girl, you need to let them breathe," Derek said, laughing as Spencer shot him a thankful glance over Garcia's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited to see both of them," she said as she took Henry from Spencer and planted kisses all over the child's face.

"You just saw me this morning," Spencer argued.

"Irrelevant," Garcia quickly retorted. "I'm always excited to see you," she then handed Henry back to Spencer. They all smiled as the young boy slipped his thumb into his mouth and rested his head on Spencer's shoulder.

"Someone's getting tired," JJ commented as she walked over to the group and kissed the top of Henry's head, rubbing his back.

"Ready to go, blondie?" Garcia asked. "I'm sure these guys have everything under control."

"It's not my first time babysitting, I had to watch Desi a bunch of times," Derek commented as she sat down on the
couch.

JJ took one more glance at Henry before nodding. "We'll be back soon. Call me if you need anything."

"We'll be fine. You have no reason to worry," Spencer whispered as he followed them to the door.

The girls were quiet and smiled as they closed the door and left. Spencer smiled and looked to his godson, smiling as he noticed he was ready to fall asleep.

"I'm just going to put him in bed," Spencer told Derek as he made his way towards the stairs.

Derek smiled and stood. "I'll come with you."

Spencer returned the smile and the three of them made their way upstairs. Derek stood back in the doorway and watched Spencer as he got Henry ready for bed with ease. He changed the boy into pajamas and tucked him in bed. After Spencer had kissed him on the forehead and went to leave, a tiny voice spoke up.

"Unca Pencer?" Henry asked.

"Yes, Henry?" Spencer replied as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Can I have a tory?"

Derek couldn't help but grin.

Spencer chuckled slightly. "What one would you like to hear?"

"You pick," was Henry's response.

Derek continue to watch on as Spencer recited Horton Hears A Who from memory. Henry had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle, but Spencer continued to the end. A smile still on his face, he bent over and kissed Henry's head before getting up and making his way out of the room. Derek moved so he could close the door. They both remained quiet as they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Derek grabbed two bottles of water for them from the refrigerator, handing one to Spencer, who was leaning against the counter.

"You're really good with him," Derek commented as he moved to stand next to Spencer.

Spencer smiled and shrugged. "I honestly don't know where it comes from. My past experiences with small children haven't been the best."

"Maybe the 'Reid Effect' has been broken," Derek said with a laugh, grinning as Spencer laughed as well. "Come on, Pretty Boy," he said as he wrapped an arm around Spencer's waist, pulling the younger man against him. Derek led the two of them to the couch, sitting down and pulling Spencer down with him, moving his arm to wrap around Spencer's shoulders, holding his body against his own. "I missed this," Derek said as he kissed the top of Spencer's head. "I really don't like being away from you."

"I don't like being away from you, either," Spencer said in a quiet voice as he rested his head on Derek's shoulder. "I would like to try to avoid it, but I know no one's luck is that good, especially mine."

Derek sighed. "I know. We'll work it out if this happens again."

"When," Spencer automatically corrected.

Derek rolled his eyes and pulled Spencer a little tighter. "There's something I wanted to talk about," Derek began.

Spencer furrowed his brow and turned slightly so he could properly look up at Derek. "What about?"

Derek sighed. "I need you to promise me first that you'll be open and honest."

Spencer bit his lip and blinked before nodding. "Derek, I promise. Now talk to me, you're starting to scare me a little," he admitted.

"When I got home this morning, Garcia told me about what happened the other night," Derek began.

Spencer looked away while he tried to recall what Derek was talking about. Derek watched as realization passed over Spencer's face and he paled slightly. Derek began rubbing his back, trying to put off any sort of oncoming panic attack.

"Pretty Boy, breathe. It's okay, I just want to talk," Derek soothed. He waited until Spencer looked back at him, the color slowly returning to his face.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice nothing but a harsh whisper.

Derek pulled him into a small kiss of reassurance. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for," Derek said as he pulled away. "If anything, I should be sorry because we've put off having that conversation."

"It's not as much as putting it off, we basically ignored it. It's something that neither of us should be thinking about. Therefore, you have nothing to be sorry for either," Spencer explained, his voice shaking.

Derek felt himself respond with a small smile. "You're the one with the eidetic memory though, baby boy. You can't ignore it and I shouldn't be either."

Spencer sighed and licked his lip. "I know it's because I was basically on my own, but there was something else that just wouldn't let myself stay away from the thought."

The two sat there in silence for a few moments before Derek kissed Spencer again. "You know you're not going to become a statistic."

"Derek we can't-"

"No, Spencer, please. Listen to me okay," Derek said as he slowly unwrapped himself from Spencer and manipulated themselves so they were sitting across from each other, looking at one another. "Listen to me," he said again, taking Spencer's hands in his own but breaking eye contact.

Spencer remained silent and nodded.

"You're going to fight this. This isn't going to win, and you're not going to let it. I'm not going to let it," Derek stressed as he lightly squeezed Spencer's hands. He took a deep breath when he saw tears beginning to pool in Spencer's eyes and bit his lip before continuing. "You've done so many amazing things and you have so much more to do. You're not going to be a statistic or a rare occurrence. You're going to be yourself and kick this thing in the ass."

Spencer could only nod as he felt the tears begin to slowly cascade down his face. He bit his lip and
continued to nod.

"Promise me," Derek said as his own tears began to escape. "Promise me, Spencer."

"I, I-," Spencer's throat was dry as he tried to respond. Quickly clearing it, he squeezed Derek's hands and nodded. "I promise."

Derek moved his hands to Spencer's elbows and pulled him against him. Spencer shoved his head into Derek's neck, wrapping his arms around the older man and crying. Derek's arms quickly responded and he held Spencer as tight as he could. He let him cry, letting his own silent tears fall. They both needed this. They've both been handling things silently for so long, keeping things back, but this was their first chance, despite not being in their own home, and they took it.

"It'll be okay," Derek whispered into Spencer's ear as they both began to calm down.

"I know," Spencer said, his voice muffled by Derek's shirt. "I know. You're here."

Eventually Spencer pulled away, Derek only loosely letting his grip go after what seemed like hours.

"We better clean ourselves up," Spencer announced suddenly. "I don't want to have to answer to the girls when they get back."

Derek nodded and he stood up, making his way to the kitchen. He came back with two wet paper towels and handed one to Spencer.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he took it and wiped his face. He looked to the clock and his eyes grew with shock. "It's 4:00 a.m.," Spencer said.

Derek's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he too looked towards the clock. "I didn't think it had gotten that late," he mumbled as he sat down on the couch.

"The girls aren't back yet," Spencer mentioned as he leaned against Derek.

"Where the hell could they be? We need to be at the park at 7:00 for Hotch's race," Derek said as he wrapped an arm around him.

"They'll be here soon, I'm sure," Spencer assured him as he closed his eyes.

"I hope so."

Derek and Spencer didn't know they had fallen asleep until they heard the front door opening. Derek was the first one fully awake as he looked to the clock and then to the door.

"Spence, get up," he said as he nudged Spencer's shoulder.

"I don't wanna," Spencer grumbled as he attempted to snuggle more into Derek's choice.

"Baby boy, we're not at home. You gotta get up," Derek said as he helped Spencer sit up, biting back the laugh when he saw Spencer's glare.

"What do you mean we're not home," then Spencer took a look around and groaned. "Are they still not back? They said a couple hours!"

"Oh, they're back," Derek replied as they heard the front door shut and a few groans from the entrance hall.
"Welcome home. ladies," Derek called out, a small smirk on his face.

"No, no noises. No nothing!" he heard Emily order.

"Do you guys even know what time it is?" Spencer growled out as he stood up from the couch and made his way out to meet the women.

"Spence, ssh," JJ mumbled as she held a hand against to forehead. "You can go home now, we'll see you at Hotch's race."

Derek had followed Spencer and both of them were now taking in the state of the three women standing in front of them. They all looked exhausted, wearing loose clothing and sunglasses.

"You know we need to be at the park in 45 minutes?"

"There is no way it's after 6:00," Garcia muttered.

"You guys have been gone all night!" Spencer shook his head and took deep breaths. He knew he was mostly likely being irrational, but he was tired and wanted to spend a night with Derek.

Derek stepped forward. "Why don't I go heat up the coffee pot while Spencer goes and grabs Henry so that we can get to the marathon on time?"

"Fine," the girls collectively groaned out, and Spencer nodded in agreement. Before anyone could do anything, the front door opened and an exhausted looking Will walked through the door.

"Shouldn't y'all be heading to Hotch's marathon?" he asked.

"The three of them," Spencer answered, gesturing towards JJ, Emily and Garcia, "just got home."

"I thought you were going to salsa lessons," Will said, raising an eyebrow in JJ's direction. "Did you also go to the Rocket Bar?"

Spencer and Derek looked over at Will questioningly, then noted the guilty looks on the women's faces.

"What's the Rocket Bar?" Derek asked.

Will sighed. "It's these three's favorite little bar down on 7th Street that has a monthly Ladies' Night, where drinks are half off," he replied and shook his head.

Spencer groaned and Derek crossed his arms, a look of disbelief on his face. "I'm guessing they've done this before?" Derek asked.

Will nodded. "If I had known you two were the
one she got to babysit, I would've warned ya."

Derek shrugged. "Not your fault."

"We've got less time now to get to the marathon on time," Spencer commented suddenly.

"I'll stay here with Henry," Will said. "You guys head to the marathon and I'll come pick them up when you guys are done?"

Derek shook his head. "No, you need your sleep-"

"So do we," Emily mumbled.

"We'll drive them home," Derek finished, ignoring Emily's comment. "Spence, why don't you take the three of them to the car, and I'll meet you out there with coffee?"

Spencer didn't say anything but nodded, leading the small, grumbling group to the car. Will watched them out and shook his head before turning to Derek. "You don't have to do this," he said as they both made their way to the kitchen. "I'm sure you and Spencer want to get home right after."

"If I know Spencer as well as I do, he's already got some sort of revenge cooking in that head of his," Derek said with a small smirk as he started the coffee maker.

"How's he been feeling lately? Jayje mentioned on the phone that he didn't go on the case with y'all," Will asked as he reached into a cupboard and grabbed a few travel mugs.

"Depends on the day really," Derek replied. "He slowly felt better over the course of the case."

"Probably felt like hell being away from him," Will commented as the coffee maker went off.

Derek nodded in agreement. Will would know what it was like having your significant other away all the time. The two fell into a silence as Derek poured coffee for both him and Spencer.

"If there is anything you guys need, you know you just need to call," Will said as he and Derek walked to the door.

Derek gave the other man a smile. "We definitely appreciate it. I'll see you when I drop JJ off?"

Will nodded. "Henry will allow me a little nap and I thankfully have the next few days off. Don't let Spencer go soft on them."

Derek grinned. "Oh, he won't. See ya later, man!"

Derek was cheering along with the rest of the group as they waited for Hotch to cross the finish line. He grinned as he heard Spencer cheering as loud as he could while the women leaned on the barricade trying to ignore him. When they had met Rossi and Jack at the park, Derek quickly explained everything the night before and politely asked to be let out of any sort of revenge, the man knowing what kind of revenge Spencer was capable of. And that's what he was doing now. Yelling, cheering, screaming until his throat hurt.

"Why is he yelling?" Garcia grumbled to JJ.

"WOO!" Spencer yelled before turning to the three of them. "'A couple hours, a couple hours'," he hissed. "You didn't come home until sunrise."

None of what he was saying was seeming to actually process with the women. JJ let out a load groan. "Why are you yelling?"

"Make him stop," Emily pleaded.

"We figured you were going to be back around midnight, which would've been fine. In what language does a couple hours translate to all night?" Spencer continued, ignoring both of them.

"Spence, stop, please," JJ begged.

"Nope," Spencer said before he continued to cheer loudly.

Derek rolled his eyes and looked up to Jack, who was sitting on his shoulders. "Okay, hey, Jack?" he waited for the kid to look at him and gestured to covering his ears. "Earmuffs for a minute, okay? Earmuffs."

Once Jack covered his ears, he looked to the three women. "What did you guys drink last night?"

Garcia groaned and looked at him. "The green fairy," she sighed. "You're in the FBI, could you get the entire crowd to stop cheering?"

Derek smirked and shook his head. "Kind of would be hard to do."

"Can you get him to stop then?" she asked, gesturing her head towards Spencer.

Derek quickly shook his head. "Sorry, baby girl. I spent a night on the couch last night and am looking forward to sharing a bed with him tonight."

"Oh c'mon," Garcia groaned in response.

"By my estimates, Hotch should be finishing any minute," Spencer announced.

"Do you see him, Uncle Dave?" Jack asked.

"I think I do, kiddo," Rossi replied, pointing towards the other end of the path. "Right there! There he is!"

The team watched and cheered as Hotch came into view, then as he crossed the finish line. Derek had put Jack down so he could go over and greet his dad, showing him the sign that he had made.

"Hey you guys want to go get something to eat?" Spencer asked, looking around at the team.

"Yeah, something greasy, please," JJ instantly replied.

"Oh yeah, lets," Emily added.

As they went to leave, they heard Hotch's name being called and turned to see an attractive brunette waving at them.

"That must be Beth," Derek quietly commented as they watched Hotch and Jack walk over and talk to the woman. They watched as the three of them went off, Jack seemingly hitting it off with Beth right away.

Rossi came over and approached Derek as the girls tried to get Spencer to the car to drive them to a
diner. "Why don't you and the kid head home?"

"And leave you with three incredibly hungover FBI agents?" Derek asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Rossi snorted and smirked. "After three wives, Derek, I'm sure I can handle anything," he shook his head. "I'm handing you an out. Take it, huh?"

Derek grinned and clapped Rossi on the shoulder. "I owe you one, Rossi!" Derek then made his way
quickly over to Spencer. "Hey, Pretty Boy, we're out of here."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we're going to get food."

Derek shook his head as he took Spencer's head and started pulling him towards his car. "Rossi's taking the girls, we're heading home."

Spencer stared at Derek for a few moments as the statement registered in his head. Derek laughed as Spencer grinned and started moving to the car faster.

"Bye!" Spencer yelled to the girls who were glaring at the two of them leaving.

"See you all on Monday," Derek called before the two of them climbed into the car and made their way home.