A/N: Everyone seemed to like the double chapter, so here you go!
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds
"You're the best Derek. I didn't realize I had this much stuff."
"No problem Amelia. Is this box really all shoes?" Derek replied.
"I wouldn't ask that Derek," Jason butted in as he hefted another large box also labelled 'shoes,' "When I helped her move into this place I asked the same question and she ended up throwing a shoe at me."
"Not fair! I don't have that many shoes. I have just the right amount for all the different things I do," Amelia huffed back.
Derek grinned, "Such as?"
"Well, I have hiking shoes, canoeing shoes, fencing shoes, party shoes, school shoes, rock climbing shoes, regular shoes….you get the idea. See? There aren't that many when you think about it," Amelia defended herself. "Besides, if you think I have a lot, you should check out Melissa or Penelope's shoe collection. Or Spencer's sock collection…I don't know why anybody needs ten different purple socks. I don't even think any of them match!"
Jason and Derek chuckled as they made their way down the hallway towards the door. They passed Spencer on the stairs and laughed harder when Spencer gave them a questioning look. When Spencer reached the apartment and picked up another box he asked Amelia if he should know what the others were laughing over.
"Probably not Spence," Amelia giggled back. "I think you have the last box. Wow, I can't believe I'm leaving this place already. I'm excited about moving in with you though, I hope you know that."
Spencer grinned back, "I do. I'm really happy to have you move in with me too. Are you certain that you want to quit working at Poppy's though?"
"Yeah, it doesn't really make sense for me to work all the way out here and live in Washington. I don't really need to work, I've got my trust fund. I just wanted to limit how much I took from it over the years. Besides, by the time I'm physically able to waitress again I'll almost be finished the term and getting ready for my job at the Smithsonian," Amelia explained.
"Don't feel like you have to rush back into school or to your new job Amy. Take all the time you need, I'm certain Dr. Brahams wouldn't mind postponing your start date under the circumstances," Spencer replied concernedly.
"I mind Spence. Charlotte told me to get back to my old routine as much as I can, so I am. Moving on and doing new things is good. It helps to prove that I'm still alive and that that bastard didn't destroy my life."
Spencer leaned down and gave Amelia a kiss, "You are an amazing person. You almost frighten me with your determination and spirit."
At that moment Jason walked back into the apartment with Derek, they both casually leaned against the front door.
"Geez, I've been telling Amy that she frightens me ever since she was a kid. You should see her morning hair…it's the stuff of nightmares. Or when she's sick, I've seen zombies look better and have better attitudes," Jason drolly commented to Derek.
"Jase, you're an ass. I'm amazed Trudy puts up with you," Amelia huffed playfully, "Come on, let's head to Spencer's and get all this unpacked you barbarians."
Spencer looked around at what had been his apartment in bewilderment, now it resembled a storage unit with boxes piled everywhere. When they were moving Amelia's boxes it hadn't seemed like too much, but with everything packed into his place he wondered if it would all fit.
Amelia saw Spencer's face and wrapped her arms around him, "Don't worry, we probably have a lot of duplicates. We can sort through stuff and get rid of what we don't need."
Derek lounged back in an armchair with a beer and laughed, "What she really means is that you are going to have to get rid of more stuff kid."
"That's not what I meant at all," Amelia said as she stuck her tongue out at Derek. She turned back to Spencer, "If this doesn't work out, we can always find a bigger place. Ooh, maybe somewhere that will let us have a dog!"
"Now you're in for it kid, first it's a dog, then it's a ring and a house in the 'burbs," Derek teased.
Amelia arched an eyebrow at Derek and pointedly asked, "Don't you have something to do?"
"Nope, Jason and Melissa have gone to get the food, and all the boxes are in the apartment."
"Then why don't you busy yourself with putting on some music and leave Spencer alone?"
"For you Amelia? I'll do my best." Derek reached over to the sound system and found a station playing some decent music.
Amelia shook her head, grabbed Spencer's hand and made her way over to his kitchen, "Here, you pass me some stuff from the box and I'll start to put things away."
After dinner Amelia was able to direct everyone in the unpacking of her boxes; Melissa was by far the biggest help. Their years of living together had given Melissa good insight into how Amelia liked things to be. In a few short hours they had the majority of the boxes unpacked, the apartment looked a little cluttered but Amelia was certain she could get rid of enough things to make it all work out.
Late in the evening Spencer and Amelia said goodbye and closed the door with a sigh of relief.
"Alone at last," Spencer whispered silkily in Amelia's ear.
Amelia shivered, only this time it wasn't with desire. The enormity of her decision hit her and she realized that she was alone with Spencer and his words seemed to echo Michael Bellamy's. Amelia began to hyperventilate and backed away from Spencer. Spencer's brow furrowed and he analyzed her body language, instantly he guessed that she was having a flashback to her captivity.
"Shh, sweetheart. It's just us. Everything is fine. You're safe here. I love you," Spencer said calmly trying to create a safe atmosphere. He made no move towards Amelia and assumed an open stance in an effort to appear non-threatening.
Slowly, Amelia began to lose the frightened, glassy look in her eyes, "Spence, right...I'm at your...I mean, our place. I'm safe." She took a deep breath and cleared her mind of the haunting thoughts in her mind, "Sorry Spence. It was just that when you said we were alone at last it made me think of being trapped and alone with Bellamy..." Amelia closed her eyes and looked away, "I can't get him out of my mind for very long. He pops up when I least want him to."
A slightly sad shadow touched the corners of Spencer's smile, "It's okay sweetheart, I understand. As long as you keep fighting through those memories and come back to me everything will fine."
Amelia nodded and tried to think of a way to recapture the romantic moment, but it was gone like a leaf in the wind. Abruptly, she changed the subject, "So when are you going back to work? I can't imagine that Chief Strauss will give you much more time off. You've been gone for over 2 weeks."
"I've been in a few hours here and there. But I think I'll go back on Monday, if you think you are up to being on your own. I can always do some work from home if you need the company still," Spencer answered with a worried look.
"No, no. Go to work. I'll be fine. I think I'm actually going to head back to classes on Monday. If I don't go back I'll fall too far behind in my studies and I don't want to have to repeat the term. I'll have to do some serious work on my thesis to make up for lost time."
Spencer stepped out of the elevator and made his way to his desk. It felt good to be back at work, and for once he didn't even mind the towering stack of paperwork that sat on top of his desk, waiting for him to go through it. He dropped his bag under his desk, hung up his coat and went to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. By the time he returned to his desk and had opened a file from the top of his stack the bullpen was starting to fill up with people.
"Hey stranger! I'm glad to see you back. How's Amelia doing?"" Emily asked as she settled into her desk.
Disc
"She seems to be adjusting. We had a quiet weekend unpacking and sorting through out things. She's going back to school today as well."
"That's good. I'm really glad to hear that. Things have been unusually quiet around here so Hotch has been forcing us to catch up on paperwork. We've been making sure that you still get your fair share though," Emily smiled with a wink and placed a file from her stack on an empty space in front of her.
"I can tell," Spencer said as he stared dejectedly at the work to be completed. "Well, if it's slow and I'm doing paperwork, at least it means that I can stay home with Amelia…hopefully we don't get called away on a case too soon. I'd hate to leave her alone in that apartment," Spencer thought.
"SPENCER! My genius has come back home! How's Amelia doing?" Penelope gushed as she tottered up in shiny sky blue heels, "these shoes are so painful…I hate breaking in new shoes."
"Did you know that the earliest known record of a person wearing high heels dates back to the ninth century in Persia? There is a ceramic bowl that depicts a Persian rider wearing heeled shoes, they were thought to help him maintain his balance in the stirrups while using his weapons. The term 'well heeled' also originates in the medieval period when wealthy people would wear heeled shoes to appear more imposing to others," Spencer said as he watched Penelope rubbing her foot.
Emily's lips twitched with laughter, "Yeah, glad to have you back Reid."