Ok guys, here it is!

"I can't believe she's gone back to California. I just got used to having her around again… I'm gonna miss her." Dani sighed as she clicked her seatbelt securely around her.

Reid attempted a smile at her as he started the ignition in the SUV he had borrowed from Morgan to drive Dani and Sophie to the airport. It had been two weeks since the kidnapping, two weeks since Dani's attack and two weeks since the death of Jared Foster. Once the girls were released from the hospital the next day, Dani was able to convince Sophie to stay with her in Virginia for this long, but Sophie had announced she needed to get back to school before she got too far behind. Her professors had obviously given her approval of leave due to the circumstances, but it was time she went back.

Dani had held on to her sister extra long in their embrace at the airport, wishing that she could go with her sister to protect her from anything that came her way. But Dani knew she couldn't, her sister was an adult and was perfectly able to take care of herself. The thought was partially selfish, Dani felt she now had a closer bond with her sister than she ever had before, and it was all because they had both shared the horrific nightmare together.

"I'm sure she'll miss you too. And she's only a plane ride away." Reid grinned at Dani from the driver's seat as he stopped at a red light.

Dani smiled back softly, then turned her eyes to her hands that lay in her lap. The bandages had just come off her wrists and ankles the other day and the harsh puncture wounds stared up at her, making Dani's stomach lurch just at the sight. The doctor had told her there would most likely be scarring and gave her some ointment to try and reduce it, but she knew the marks would always be there. There would always be a reminder of the hellish ordeal she had been through.

"Spence, I don't think I ever thanked you." Dani said suddenly as she pulled her gaze from the wounds and looked up at him.

"Thanked me for what?" Reid frowned and averted his gaze from the traffic in front of them to look at her quickly.

"If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't be alive right now." She pointed out with a shrug and looked forward to lazily study the old, rusty truck in front of them.

"What? That's not true." Reid's frown deepened in disbelief at her statement and slowed the vehicle to stop at another red light.

"Of course it is! Spence, if it wasn't for you, I would never have known what to do in… In that type of situation. I never would have known to make myself look like a real person instead of an object, how to pull attention away from my sister, how to drop subtle hints about where I was or what had happened…" Dani counted out on her fingers as her argument trailed off meekly.

Reid paused to think about her words for a moment. The whole team had been impressed with how she managed the ordeal she had been through and how she hinted the reality on the phone call. Reid had been most impressed, without the knowledge Dani had given them over the phone the team may not have made it in time. They may not have made it at all.

Reid's heart hammered in his chest just at the thought of what the alternate outcome could have been and he suddenly flicked on his turn signal and with a quick shoulder check, he suddenly pulled over on the side of the road.

"Spencer, what are you doing?" Dani cried out in confusion as he slammed the vehicle into park. Dani looked at him with a shocked expression as the traffic whizzed by them on the busy road. Spencer wasn't one to be spontaneous.

He stared at his hands on the steering wheel for a good moment before they slid off and laid restlessly in his lap. He fiddled with the keychain hanging from the ignition for a moment before finally turning to Dani.

"Dani, there's something I've been wanting to tell you…" He murmured a little nervously and Dani shifted in her seat to face him with a slight frown on her face at his sudden unexpected actions. His face had fallen serious quickly and Dani found her heart beating wildly in her chest all of a sudden, making her mentally kick herself for the silly reaction.

"W-what is it?" She asked curiously and suddenly the cars flying by outside the window behind Spencer was a distant thought.

"Um…" Reid stammered and cleared his throat while he studied the buttons on the dashboard. "I… When we found out you were… Missing… I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. I didn't know what to think, and when we found out you were kidnapped by him, I thought I was going to pass out. I couldn't believe what happened right under my nose! I was so mad at myself, but then I realized I was just mad because I was ignoring everything else I was feeling." He paused for a moment to quickly glance at the girl staring intently at him. Her green eyes were studying him so intensely he swallowed hard and had to look away. "I wished if anything in the world that I could have switched positions with you. I was kicking myself the entire time and didn't know what I would do if something happened to you… I didn't know what was going on with me, then when we broke into the basement and I saw Jared Foster standing there I did the one thing I've wanted to do for over a year and I shot him."

Dani gave a half smile as she studied his face. He was avoiding her eyes and everything about his body language told her that he was uncomfortable.

"And that's what I needed to thank you for…" Dani added with a soft laugh, receiving a twitchy smile out of the nervous boy in front of her.

Reid licked his lips as he tried to control the clambering of his heart and ignored the sudden nauseous feeling flowing through him.

"I… I had to do it, and then when I saw you the first thing I thought was that you were…" Reid frowned suddenly as he stared at the console between them. "My heart dropped. I thought I lost you. I… I really care about you, Dani. And I think it's in a way… Like more than friends."

Reid's cheeks blushed wildly at the statement and Dani's heart tugged at the sight. She felt like she was melting at the words and couldn't hide the smile that had crept its way to her lips.

"You know, it was only until the end did I start to think that I wouldn't make it out of there alive." Dani explained, grabbing Reid's attention at the change of subject he welcomed gratefully and brought his eyes up to her as she spoke. "And the only thing I could think of at the time was the possibility that I would never see you again. I think that was the one thing that made me keep fighting…"

Reid's blush deepened and he smiled through it as his eyes averted back down to the console.

"What… Are you thinking of doing now?" He asked, trying to make the curious question sound nonchalant.

Dani's smile widened, she knew what he was getting at and she leaned back in the leather seat as she studied his faltering expression.

"I don't know… I'm kind of liking Virginia… Seems to be a lot of perks here…" She hinted directly without trying to hide the teasing smile on her face.

Reid looked away as the happy grin stretched across his reddened face, "Well, I mean I have lots of room… You know, if you want to crash with me for a bit longer, I don't mind…"

Reid turned back to the steering wheel as a corn honked angrily from behind them, and he kicked the vehicle back into gear as he merged into the flowing traffic distractedly.

"You know, I might just take you up on that…" Dani replied as she slid her hand from her lap to place over Reid's that was set on the console between them. She gave a small squeeze and he turned to give her one of his lopsided smiles before turning his attention back to the road in front of them. Dani's eyes trailed to their clasped hands and the angry dots staring up at her from her wrist.

Suddenly the scars didn't seem so bad.

La Fin. Thank you to those who have been dedicated readers throughout this whole thing. Please check my profile and take a minute to vote on the poll I have posted! I really enjoyed writing this little series and would love it if you could drop a review to let me know how you liked the ending. Thanks again for reading!