Chapter 34

warnings: none

Hotch flipped through a file while walking across the catwalk toward his office. He called out, "Morgan, my office for a moment."

The younger agent looked up at his boss and flipped the file that he had been working on closed. He took a seat in front of the large desk and waited.

"I just received the final paperwork from the Lattimer case. It turns out that Samuel was his bipolar twin who was institutionalized. He committed suicide two months before the killings began." Hotch pushed a picture of the brother across the desk.

"Oh my gosh."

Hotch watched the reaction. "They were adopted. Daniel and Samuel were from bi-racial parents. Samuel was teased a lot in school because he was so light and his hair had so much blond in it. His bipolar symptoms did not respond to drug treatments, and the added stress through high school pushed him over the edge. Committing him was actually the best thing for him. Unfortunately, Daniel started to show signs of also being bipolar. He visited his brother every week. After he turned twenty-five, his parents discussed committing him, too. While Samuel was stable in the facility, he couldn't handle seeing his brother's decline. Daniel lost it after Samuel's suicide."

Morgan ran a hand over his face. "I hate cases like this. Everyone did the best they could, and it still turned out crappy."

"I know."

Morgan stood up and left the office.

x-x

"I w'nt ta go home." Spencer kept pushing at Jessica's hands when she tried to calm him.

"Spencer, it will only be a couple of more hours before Morgan gets here. You need to rest."

"No." He managed to push her hands away and sit up, but he was so tired. "I want t-to talk to Derek." Spencer laid his head in his hands.

A few moments later, one of his hands was pried away and his phone was placed in it. "Thanks."

x-x

Morgan's phone vibrated on his belt. "What's up, Spencer?"

"I-I want to go home."

"What happened?"

"I h-had a seizure on the playground."

Morgan could hear the sniffles across the phone line. "Let me talk to Jessica." He began closing down his computer while he waited.

"What happened? Why does he want to go home?"

"Calm down. I think he is really embarrassed about having the seizure in public, and that's probably why he wants to go home." She whispered.

"How bad was it?" Morgan always hated this part.

"He has a few bruises and a split lip. It's really not that bad, but on the way back to the house . . . he couldn't make it. I had Jack get Sam Heddle, you remember the fire fighter on the corner?"

"Yeah."

"Spencer got sick on the way back to the house, and Sam had to carry him."

The chocolate skinned man rubbed his eyes. "I see. He doesn't even want me to have to carry him. I'll be there as soon as I can; let me talk to him again." He waited for the phone to change hands. "Spencer, I'm coming to get you. Now, I want you to lay down and rest until I get there, okay?"

"'Kay."

He hung up the phone and headed to Hotch's office to let him know where he was going. The only good that came from this was that he had called Derek and wanted to go home.

x-x

Morgan waited for Jessica to open the door.

"Derek, I'm so sorry we had to call you."

"It's not a problem. Spencer gets embarrassed when his seizures cause people to have to intervene." He shut the door behind him.

"This is his third one. Has his doctor said anything about the frequency?" She pushed the sleeves of her sweater up.

"He's not worried right now. Spencer is always going to have seizures and figures that they will calm back down once things return to normal-as in after he has moved back in with me and starts going back to work. Changing his medication will only make him more tired or more anxious, and all that will do is draw this whole process out." Derek sighed deeply.

She squeezed his arm and led him into the living room. Derek sat down on the edge of the couch. "Spencer, come on, wake up. It's Derek; I'm here to take you home." He watched the young man blink his eyes several times.

"Der'k?"

"Yeah, it's me kid."

Spencer sat up and wrapped his arms around Derek's neck. He returned the hug and smiled widely. A couple of bruises were definitely worth this reward.

Derek nearly ended up carrying the younger man to the car. The long legs were as wobbly as a newborn foal, and he coughed to cover the snicker that slipped through his lips when he thought of that image. On his best days, Spencer often looked that clumsy.

Once they were on their way, Derek glanced over to make sure the other man was still awake. "Hotch is bringing dinner tonight. You need to call him and tell him what you want."

x-x

May 9

"Hotch, I promise it will be fine." Spencer begged.

"But it's only been three days since your last seizure." Hotch countered.

"Exactly." Spencer waved his hands around in the air to make his point and almost poked Derek in the eye. "The bruises are almost gone. And-"

"They are not gone, they're hideously yellow." Hotch rubbed his face.

He really did not want to pull this card, but the older man was starting to treat him like a child. "You're not my guardian, Hotch, and neither is Derek. I don't need your permission." Spencer almost stamped his foot but quickly realized that would indeed make him look childish.

"Spencer, we just want what's best for you." Derek pleaded.

"I know, but I am old enough to know when I can stay by myself, and Jack needs you to spend the night at home."

Hotch pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, but promise you will call me if you have a nightmare or any other problems."

"I promise. Besides, do you really think Clooney would let anything happen to me?"

Both Hotch and Morgan couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped. Spencer knew they were recalling that morning when the big dog wouldn't let him out of bed to use the bathroom. He sent them the death glare, but they only laughed harder in return.

"Since you are doing so 'well'," Hotch made the air quotes sign, "when do you want to come back to work?"

"Tomorrow?" Spencer asked hopefully.

"Not hardly. I'll see about scheduling you a psych eval next week."

Spencer impulsively gave the other man a quick hug. "I really do appreciate everything you have done, Hotch. And contrary to my recent argument, I do value your opinion."

"Alright already. It's getting a little deep in here. You call me tomorrow at lunch just to let me know how you are doing."

The brunette smiled at Derek's antics behind his boss's back. He held up his hand to his ear with his thumb and his pinky extended to mimic a phone while mouthing the words "call me."

"Knock it off, Morgan." Hotch said without turning around. He squeezed Spencer's shoulder on his way out.

A/N: I am currently looking for case ideas. There are a couple of different stories that I am working on that need solid cases. Unfortunately, this is one of my weaknesses. Please reply or send me a PM with your case ideas. The more details the better.

Also, I am currently looking for a third beta. You need to be a grammar maven. If interested, please send me a PM.

There is only one more chapter to go. It will be posted on 3/19/11, the anniversary for this story.