Emily jerked awake with a half-uttered cry. Oh my God Spencer's dead Harmon where's Harmon is he going to kill me he killed Spencer…

"Emily! It's okay, shhhh, it's all right." She felt hands on her, touching her shoulders and forehead, and Spencer's voice.

I dreamed he was alive. Wait…was it a dream? I'm afraid to find out.

She opened her eyes and looked up. She was in an ambulance. Spencer was leaning over her. "You were dreaming," he said, his voice low and soothing.

"Spencer," she sobbed, pulling herself up and into his arms. She clutched him to her, he was solid and real and alive beneath her hands. Her defenses were demolished coming out of the nightmare, the tears flowed before she could stop them.

"It's okay," he murmured in her ear. "Don't try and be stoic right now."

She couldn't have if she wanted to. She buried her face in his shoulder, the warmth of his skin and the smell of his hair surrounding her, sensations that her brain had come to associate with him in a kind of primate mate-recognition that helped calm her half-waking panic. She sighed, her sobs tapering off. "You smell good," she whispered, her voice clogged.

He chuckled. "I doubt that, I've been up for two days and tramping around in the woods."

She relaxed against his chest. "Sorry. I freaked out a little."

"Don't apologize. I've been sitting here quietly freaking out while you were sleeping. Haven't I, Jill?" he said, addressing the EMT, sitting calmly across from them, tactfully looking away.

"Oh yeah. Total freak-out. I thought I might have to sedate him."

Emily smiled. "You big liar."

He drew back and put his hand on her cheek. "I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner," he said.

"It's over now," she said. Her eyelids were drooping again.

"Lie back down, go back to sleep. We'll be in Dallas in an hour." He eased her back down onto the gurney.

She looked up at him, everything spinny and woozy. "Will you be here when I wake up?" she heard herself ask.

He nodded. "Always."

Dallas, Texas
Monday, 3:30 am


Despite the hour, it was a bit of a mob scene at the precinct as the hours rolled on towards dawn.

The reporters who'd been circling the story for days now had word that a man who'd killed not only Elle but seven young men all over Texas, then kidnapped an FBI agent, had been arrested and his hostage rescued. They were clamoring for comments and statements, recording B-roll and stand-ups in front of the precinct for the morning news, and JJ's phone wouldn't stop ringing. Police were swarming everywhere, on the phone to other jurisdictions, arguing with DAs, collecting evidence.

JJ corralled the reporters and told them there'd be a press conference soon. She kept it intentionally vague. Garcia and Gideon were holed up in the conference room, the doors shut. "Where is everyone?" Gideon asked as she entered.

"They went straight to the hospital."

"Is Emily okay?" Garcia asked, turning from her screens.

"Looks that way. She took a turn for the worse in the car on the way to the airfield, so they transferred her to the ambulance for the trip while everyone else flew back on the jet. She's in a room now. They're going to keep her for a little while. Hotch and Morgan dropped me and Rossi off."

"Where's Rossi?"

"He's calling the local field office. If the Bureau's taking this case they ought to be in charge. Our job is done. I think Hotch is eager to get us all back to DC. He was talking about leaving tomorrow…or, I guess, later today."

"Computer forensics is set up down at Harmon's hideout. They've patched me in to his server."

"Anything new?"

"Nope. We already knew about the videos and still photos of his kills. No evidence he's killed anyone else." She shook her head. "Not that he hasn't done enough. Poor Elle."

JJ sat down next to her. "I feel like she's been a bit lost in the shuffle."

"We had to concentrate on finding Emily."

"I know, I know. At least Elle will get justice."

"When can I go to the hospital?" Garcia asked.

"I'd like to go, too," Gideon said.

"Let me call Reid." She got out her phone and dialed.

"Dr. Reid."

"Spence, it's JJ. Everything okay?"

"She's all admitted. They gave her a private room. She's still sleeping but she looks better."

"Garcia and Gideon want to know if they can come to the hospital. I have to stay until this press conference is over."

"That's up to them. Computer forensics is taking over examining Harmon's computer."

"Rossi's getting ready to brief the local Bureau, they'll take over the case now. We're about done here."

"Then tell them they can come whenever they want. I don't know how Emily will feel when she wakes up, or when that'll be, but I could use the company."

"Okay. Are Hotch and Morgan there yet?"

"No, not…oh, wait, I see them. They're coming down the hall." She heard muffled conversation and then Hotch took over Reid's phone.

"JJ, tell Rossi that I want to be ready to leave whenever Emily's well enough to travel."

"He knows. Can Garcia pack it up here?"

"Yes. Have her coordinate with computer forensics and give them all her findings before she does."

"She and Gideon want to go to the hospital."

"That's up to them. And call personnel and tell them that both Prentiss and Reid are taking two weeks paid leave."

"Do Emily and Spence know that?"

"Not yet. Update Strauss too, if you have time before the press conference."

"Will do. See you soon." She hung up. "Garcia…"

"I'm already taking care of it, Jaje," she said. "Computer forensics will have all my files. I'm uploading the footage of Emily to my own laptop. Everyone will want to see what happened while you guys were en route."

"Good." She put a hand on Garcia's shoulder. "And we should talk about that party we're planning."

Garcia's wide smile lit her face like a Christmas tree. "You betcha, sugar."

Reid sat by Emily's bedside, just watching her sleeping face. Already she looked better. Even in the darkness and chaos of Harmon's hideout and later on the road, he'd been able to see that she had a sick, waxy pallor that worried him, but she had some color in her cheeks now. Morgan was sitting on the other side of the bed. Hotch was out in the hall on the phone.

Reid straightened up and turned his head, and a sudden wave of vertigo hit him. He put his hand on the arm of his chair and shut his eyes. "Whoa."

Morgan leaned forward. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just…" He shook his head. "It's nothing."

"You haven't slept in like two days, you've barely eaten anything. Emily's not the only one who needs rest. You oughta find someplace to lie down."

"I'm okay."

"You're not okay."

"Morgan," he said, a warning in his voice. "Quit handling me."

"Then don't make me come over there and handle you, cause I'll do it!"

"Who's handling my guy?" came a groggy voice.

Both of them turned to look down at Emily. "Well hey there, tough girl," Morgan said, grinning. Reid found that he couldn't speak. He leaned forward and looked down at her. She was bruised and matted and still pale, and she was so beautiful it made him ache. She smiled up at him and he felt tears prickle at at the corners of his eyes.

She tsked him, lifting one hand to his cheek. "No crying," she whispered.

"How do you feel?" he said, sucking it up.

She sighed and shifted a little in the bed. "Better. How long have I been asleep?"

"We got here about an hour ago. It's…" Reid checked his pocket watch, restored to him by the State Police from Harmon's hideout. "Ten after four in the morning. It'll be dawn soon."

"When can I get out of here?"

"Not so fast," he said. "They want to keep you for a little while longer."

"Spencer, I just want to go home," she said, her chin quivering a little.

"We will, once we're sure you're okay. You said you were okay back in the forest and you weren't, remember? I'm not taking any chances."

She nodded. "Okay," she sighed. She turned her head toward Morgan. "Why were you going to handle him?"

Morgan glanced at him, then cleared his throat. "It's nothing."

"Morgan," she said, a sharp edge coming into her voice.

"He just hasn't slept or eaten in like two days. I wanted him to lie down while you were sleeping."

"But she's not sleeping now," Reid said tightly, hoping that the shut up, Morgan was clear enough.

She turned back toward him, reproach in her eyes. "I'm just going to lie here,
honey. Go eat something and take a nap."

"No, I'm staying here."

"Don't make me sic Hotch on you."

"I fear no Hotch," Reid said.

"Beg pardon?" the man himself said, coming in to the room just in time to hear his name.

"Hotch, will you please order Dr. Reid to lie down and have a banana or something?" Emily said.

"No, I don't think I will," Hotch said. "I'd be in favor of it but I won't order him. I've been a husband at a bedside and I know I wouldn't have done it."

"Thank you," Reid said, surprised at this support from Hotch.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked Hotch, back to business.

"Local Bureau's going to take over Harmon's case, including the Harris murders and Elle's murder. They'll work with the Dallas PD and the DA, they don't need us anymore. As soon as JJ and Garcia have handed over all the files we're free to go as soon as Emily's doctors have cleared her to travel."

"They said they want to keep her awhile longer," Reid said.

Hotch nodded. "Garcia and Gideon are on their way over. I'd like everyone to try and get in a nap before we leave, we're all a little sleep-deprived." He put his hands on the footboard of Emily's hospital bed. "I've already spoken to Chief Strauss; you two are on two weeks' paid leave starting right now."

Reid glanced at Emily, wondering if she'd protest, but she just smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I think we could use it."

"We could drop you anywhere you want when we leave here. You could spend that time at Rossi's cabin."

Emily shook her head emphatically. "Right now I want to go home and sleep in my own bed."

Hotch nodded. "Then that's what we'll do." He looked at Morgan. "Morgan, you're not exempt from the napping orders. Head back to the station and pick up Rossi and JJ, and the three of you head to the hotel once everything's squared with the local office."

Morgan got up, nodding. "For once I won't argue." He leaned over and put his hand on Emily's shoulder. "You rest up, Prentiss," he said, smiling. "It is damn good to have you back safe."

She smiled back. "Thanks, Derek."

"As for you," he said, pointing at Reid. "You look after yourself, pretty boy."

"Get out of here," Reid said, smirking at him, but privately warmed by his teasing concern.

Morgan left with a few quick murmured words for Hotch that Reid didn't catch; he had turned back to Emily, who was fading in and out. "Sleepy," she said.

"Go back to sleep, Em."

"Promise you'll at least eat something?"

He sighed. "All right, I promise."

She smiled. "C'mere." He leaned closer and she lifted her head just enough to kiss his lips, then settled back against the pillows, her eyes closing already. Reid watched her for a moment, still reassuring himself that she was here and safe. This wouldn't go away in a day, or two days, or even the two weeks Hotch had just given them, but it would go away and he had to believe that they'd both be stronger for it.

The nurse came in. "I need to check her vitals and change her IV bag," she said, gently encouraging Reid and Hotch to give her some space. Reid got up and placed Emily's hand carefully on the bed so as not to wake her, then he and Hotch went into the hall.

Reid scrubbed his hands up and down his face. "I said I wouldn't order you," Hotch said, "but I have other means of encouragement."

"Yeah," Reid breathed. "I guess I could…" He paused, the sound of tapping heels faint and approaching. "Here's Garcia."

Hotch frowned. "How do you know?"

"I'd know that stride anywhere."

Garcia, Gideon and JJ rounded the corner and headed right for them. Garcia held out her arms and swept Reid up into a crushing hug before he could utter a word. "Oh, my boy wonder," she said into his shoulder, before pulling back, still hanging onto his upper arms. "How is she, is everything okay?"

"She's okay, she's sleeping. The nurse is checking her vitals right now," Reid said.

Hotch was frowning at JJ. "I thought you were staying at the station."

"I handed everything off to the DPD spokesman, so I was able to come along," she said, moving forward to hug Reid herself. "Are you all right?" she asked him, quietly.

He nodded. "Now I am."

Gideon came forward to shake his hand. "I'm more relieved than I can say," he murmured.

"Thanks for all your help," Reid said, feeling a bit awkward with him.

"You brought your laptop?" Reid asked, nodding at Garcia's bag.

"Sure did. Do you want to see what happened to Harmon and Emily before you guys got there?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Let's see it."

They sat around a coffee table in the waiting area and Garcia brought out the laptop, then queued up the footage. Reid watched, a knot in his stomach even though he knew the outcome, as Harmon gave Emily the gun and unlocked her shackle. Emily pointed the gun at him, but it wasn't loaded. Harmon hit her, then she whipped her shackle chain at him, cuffed him to the wall and then – Harmon lied to her again. "The last thing he said was your name," Harmon said to her. That was when Emily lost it, and started beating him.

Reid reached out and paused the playback. "That's weird. He could have maybe saved himself by telling her that I wasn't dead, but instead he goaded her into beating him."

"If he realized she wouldn't kill herself, maybe he wanted her to kill him," Hotch said. "And later she would know that you were alive, and that she'd murdered him. That was his way of trying to bring her down. A last ditch attempt."

"It might have worked if we'd been any later," Reid said, restarting the playback. He saw himself and the rest of the team enter the room.

Garcia clutched his hand as on the screen he and Emily embraced. "Oh, sweetie. I get so emotional seeing this. I can't imagine how that felt to her. You never know how bad something's going to feel until it happens, and then to have it undone – it must have been like waking up from your worst nightmare."

Reid nodded. "But you still remember the nightmare, don't you?"

The nurse emerged from Emily's room, shutting the door behind her. "Dr. Reid?"

"Yes?" he said.

"Your wife's vitals look good. The doctor had me give her a muscle relaxer; she was complaining of some stiffness and tightness, which isn't surprising. She's resting now but you can go back in if you like."

"I'd love to, but I promised her I'd eat something, so I better make good on it."

"That's a good idea," the nurse said, patting his arm as she headed back to her station.

"We'll sit with her," Garcia said, glancing at JJ, who nodded.

"Come on," Gideon said. "Let's go to the cafeteria and scare up something sugary for you, Spencer."

"If Emily wakes up, tell her we're handling him," Hotch said to JJ, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

JJ grinned back. "Will do."

Reid found himself being not-so-gently urged away from Emily's room with Gideon on one side of him and Hotch on the other. He followed along, not that he had much choice. Hotch and Gideon felt suspiciously like bodyguards as they flanked him down the hall and into the elevator.

Thankfully, this hospital had a round-the-clock cafeteria. Reid let himself be steered through the line, ignoring Hotch's disapproving look as he plucked a piece of pie off the bar. "It's been a long two days. I deserve pie," he muttered.

"At least eat this," Hotch said, putting an orange on his tray.

"Don't they have any bigger mugs?" Reid said, eyeing the coffee cups.

"How big do you want them?"

"If I could just jump in and drink my way out that'd be good."

They got a table by the window. Reid didn't think he'd have much of an appetite, but all at once he found himself devouring the pie. Gideon wordlessly got up and returned with another piece, which Reid ate without pausing.

The pie consumed, Reid picked up his coffee cup, casting a baleful eye at the empty plates. "I guess I was hungry," he said.

"You think so?" Hotch said, smiling a little. "You're coming down from a very high stress time, Reid. You ought to get some protein."

"You sound like my mother-in-law."

Hotch frowned. "She never seemed like the food pushing type."

"I'm too skinny for her tastes. She'd prefer her daughter's husband to be strapping and musclebound."

"After this, she may see the advantage of having her daughter's husband be smart."

Reid turned his coffee cup around in idle circles. "I don't know what to do next," he said, quietly.

"You go on," Gideon said, just as quietly. "You take her home. You take your two weeks' rest. You spend it talking, and sleeping, and taking long walks together where you don't say a word. You let her have her time alone when she needs it, and she will need it. You listen when she needs to talk but you're also honest about what you're feeling yourself. You've both been through something. You can help each other."

Reid was silent for a few moments. "When are you off, then?" he said, not looking at Gideon.

Gideon folded his hands on the table. "Now. Soon. When you finish your coffee."

Hotch looked at him with what would have appeared to a casual observer to be a neutral expression, but Reid could see the surprise and irritation there. "That soon?"

Gideon spread his hands, then folded them again. "You don't need my help anymore. You all have things to finish up. I'd just be in the way."

"It's okay, Hotch," Reid said. "He got what he came for."

Now it was Gideon's turn to frown. "I did?"

"You wanted to help, that much is true. But you also wanted to see how I'd done without you around." Gideon said nothing. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"You're not," Gideon said. "But it's more than that." He fixed Reid with that same old look, that analytic gaze that used to frustrate him so much when he saw it over the chessboard. "You remember what I said in the letter I left you?"

Reid pointed at his own temple. "Eidetic memory."

"Then tell me what I mean."

Reid sighed. "You said you'd lost your faith in happy endings. You were hoping to find it again."

Gideon smiled. "I'm glad it was you who let me rediscover that faith, Spencer."

Emily jerked awake with a vague sense of horror behind her eyes. The unease tore away like gauze as she realized where she was. Jesus, again? she thought. Can I wake up like a normal person, please?

Garcia was leaning over her, a brightly colored angel of sunshine. "It's okay, Emily," she said.

"Garcia," Emily sighed.

Penelope grinned broadly and gathered her up in a big hug that Emily returned as best she could. Her limbs felt sleepy and heavy, and her head was fuzzy. Muscle relaxer. Cool. "Ooh, I've been waiting to do this for hours," Garcia said, squeezing her tight against her generous bosom. She gently let Emily back down to her pillows. "If you're looking for your hunka hunka burnin' genius, he's down in the cafeteria with Hotch and Gideon."

"Oh. Good." She looked over at JJ, who was holding her hand. "It's nice just to see you guys."

Garcia had hold of her other hand, patting it and blinking back her tears. "I'm so happy you're safe," she said, lips trembling. "And to see you in person."

Emily sat up a little, JJ rising to help her and adjust her pillows. "Yeah, about that – can you guys explain to me about these cameras? You could see me?"

Garcia nodded. "Pretty soon after you were taken, I was able to get into Harmon's server. I just couldn't trace the signal to find out where you were. But we could see what he was seeing, the surveillance camera in your cell."

"So, all of you were watching me. The whole time." The concept was troubling in many ways and Emily was having trouble sorting them out. It made her irrationally angry that they had been able to see her, but not find her. And it made her just as irrationally ashamed that they'd seen her weeping and playing the role Harmon wanted her to play. And – oh, God. "Were you watching when – when he told me he'd killed Spencer?"

JJ took a deep breath. "Yes. We all were."

Emily let her head fall back to the bed. "Oh, my God."

"It was horrible." JJ looked a little haunted by the memory.

"I can't imagine what that was like for you," Garcia said.

"I can't talk about that," Emily said. She could hardly stand to think about it. The fact that she could hardly stand to think about it was yet another thing she could hardly stand to think about. She didn't like what was going on inside her head. It was surprising, and not in a good way.

"Of course."

Emily looked at her friends with as much forthrightness as she could muster. "Tell me everything."

They did. Emily sat and heard about Spencer recusing himself from the investigation, but getting pulled back in when the video feeds had been discovered. She saw the tears in both her friends' eyes as they talked about watching her cry over his murder. She heard about Nathan Harris and how Harmon had manipulated him, and she kept her cool while hearing all of it.

Until Garcia told her that when she'd been saying the numbers while Harmon beat her, Spencer had said them back, there in the conference room. She shut her eyes and put her hands to her face. "I don't know what made me say those numbers right then," she said. "I just needed something, anything, that would keep him with me. I heard myself saying them, like he could hear me."

"He did hear you," Garcia said, her hands on Emily's leg, petting her like you'd soothe a frightened puppy.

Emily looked at each of them in turn. "I hope you neither of you ever have to go through that," she said. "Thinking the person you love most in the world is gone and there's nothing you can do, nowhere to turn, nothing to say or bargain that'll undo it."

"Oh, sweetie," Garcia said, getting up to sit on the edge of the bed and envelop her in a perfumed embrace. Emily cried, helpless to stop it. Had she ever cried in her life as much as she had these past few days? Had there ever been better reasons to cry?

Then why was she getting so mad at herself for it?

"What's going on?" she heard Spencer say as he entered the room, a note of alarm in his voice.

She pulled away from Garcia and reached for him as he sat on the bed on her other side, holding him as tightly as she could and feeling his arms go around her at once. "I can't believe you had to watch everything," she said.

"Shhh," he murmured. "We got off easy, you're the one who had to go through it." She saw him look up at Garcia. "What did you guys do to her?" he said, sounding a little annoyed.

"No, it's not their fault," she said, pulling back. "I wanted to know what happened while Harmon had me, they were telling me."

"There'll be plenty of time for that later," he said, putting a little emphasis on the last word with another glance at Garcia. "Right now you just need to rest and not get agitated."

"I'm okay. It's just…for a minute it brought everything back."

"We should go," JJ said, getting up. Garcia looked contrite and miserable.

"Thanks for sitting with me," Emily said, smiling so they'd know she wasn't irritated even if Spencer was.

"We'll see you later," Garcia said, bending to kiss her forehead. They left.

Spencer hitched up his knee on the bed and smoothed her hair back, leaning over her protectively. "You shouldn't think about all that right now."

"I can't help it. And if not now, when?"

"When you're not recovering from dehydration and a severe beating."

She kept a hold of his forearm. "Spencer…when Harmon acted like he would rape me…"

"No," he said, cutting her off. "We're not going to talk about that right now."

"I have to. I have to know. I was alone with him, I thought you were gone forever, I had to depend on myself. I know what I was thinking and feeling. I need to know how it was for you."

He lifted his head and met her eyes, and his were suddenly very keen. "I need to know something, too."

She swallowed. "Did I know it was a test?" He nodded, looking afraid of the answer. "I was pretty sure it was. I was about ninety percent that he wouldn't actually do it."

She couldn't tell if this answer was what he wanted to hear or not. He looked down at their clasped fingers, shaking his head. "If I'd let that happen to you…"

"No. Stop that. No one is responsible for what Harmon did to me except Harmon. And it seems like we've had this conversation before."

"This is nothing like Cyrus beating you."

"You're right. If he'd really done it…God, Spencer. It would have been bad. But it would have been worse if I knew you'd seen it."

"I wouldn't have." He looked up at her again. "That was the first moment when I felt like I couldn't handle it. I lost it a little bit. The others can tell you. When it looked like he was getting ready to do that to you, I…" He sighed. "I can't really remember what I said or did but I remember Rossi and Morgan holding me back, I remember grabbing Hotch, and I remember that I was out of my head. As long as I could see you, I couldn't bear to leave you alone. I couldn't not watch you. That's all I did was watch you. The others worked on the profile, on the hunt for Harmon's hideout. Me, I watched you. I hadn't left you alone before, I sure couldn't leave you alone if this horrible thing was going to happen to you."

"You said you wouldn't have seen it, though."

"Hotch told me I couldn't. Gideon said that you would need me not to have seen it."

She nodded. "He was right."

"Turning away from that monitor was one of the hardest things I ever did. Morgan had to help me. He and Rossi were practically holding me upright, but all I could think was that no matter how bad it was for me, it was a hundred, a thousand times worse for you, because you were alone, and you thought that even if you got away, you'd be alone again, with a dead husband." He was looking at her with an intensity that left her speechless. He slid his hands up her neck to cup her head in his hands. "I've had guns pointed at me and bombs blown up around me and killers threaten me, but I've never been as scared as when I thought that man would kill you."

She touched his face. "I know what you mean." They pulled each other close and kissed a few times, then Emily buried herself in his embrace and stayed there with her head pressed to his chest, hearing and feeling the steady thump of his heartbeat, until she drifted off to sleep again.