School had officially let out for the summer by the time Reid and Garcia found the time to go to the cinema and see the new Star Trek movie. Afterwards, Garcia started texting Jessica. "Spoiler: they go into space on the Enterprise."

"Nooooo! No spoilers!" Jessica complained.

"Spoiler: Kirk flirts with an alien woman."

"Stop."

"Spoiler: Scotty beams people up."

"Please stop."

"Spoiler: Spock uses logic."

Jessica decided to ask Spencer for help. "If you're still with Penelope, make her stop sending me 'spoilers'."

A minute later, Garcia sent another text. "Fine, I'll stop. But as soon as it comes out on DVD, we are having a movie night."

The next morning, Will showed up at the apartment with Henry in his carrier. "Hey, sorry to drop in, but could you take Henry for the day? It was supposed to be my day off, but I got called in to cover a shift."

"Sure," Jessica agreed.

"Appreciate it," Will replied. He handed Jessica the carrier and started searching through the large bag he'd been carrying on his shoulder. "I know his bottle's in here somewhere…ah, what am I thinking?" He handed Jessica the entire bag. "All of that is Henry's."

Jessica shifted her load to somewhat free her hands. "Got it. Stay safe."

"You too." Will leaned over Henry's carrier. "Can you say good-bye to Daddy?" He kissed Henry on the forehead, then left.

Jessica took Henry over to the couch and opened his bag. "Let's see if your dad brought your toys too." Underneath the diapers, she found a set of blocks.

At that moment, Bianca leaped onto the couch and started sniffing this new human. Jessica tensed and quickly put down the blocks, prepared to shut Bianca in Spencer's room if the cat so much as bared her teeth at Henry. However, for once Bianca seemed to decide that this latest visitor was too tiny to be a threat. She hopped onto the back of the couch and took up her favorite 'guard' stance, watching the front door like a hawk.

"Did you see that, Henry? Bianca just adopted you as family. You're the first visitor she has ever approved of. You must be one special boy."

Henry waved his arms, clearly begging to be released from his carrier. Jessica unbuckled him, and he immediately crawled over toward Bianca and attempted to climb up next to the cat. Jessica carefully set him next to Bianca, keeping one arm around him to make sure he didn't fall. She demonstrated how to properly scratch Bianca's ears. Henry copied her, looking awed as the cat purred.

A few hours later, JJ left a worried message on her home phone. Will's message regarding Henry's current location had gotten lost amidst the chaos of the anthrax threat.

"I, uh, I need you to record a message for my mom, in case anything happens to me," Reid said, swallowing.

"Oh, nothing's gonna happen to you," Garcia said soothingly. "You're gonna brilliantly find out who did this and we're gonna treat this strain."

Reid exhaled. "I hope you're right. But if you're not, I just—I really want to make sure that she hears my voice."

"What about Jessica?" Garcia demanded worriedly.

"I don't—I don't know," Reid replied, his voice rising slightly. "I can't—I don't even know how to take video on this thing—"

Garcia realized he was moments away from bursting into tears, and decided to cut him off before she could break down herself. "Okay, okay. Just, uh, give me a second."

By the time Reid left Nichols' house to get hosed down, he was finding it increasingly hard to think. "Go help Hotch," he told Morgan.

"Hotch has plenty of people helping him," Morgan replied.

"He needs you more than…wait. Jessica. Call Jessica!"

Morgan raised his eyebrows. "Call Jessica?"

"I mean, text Jessica!"

"And tell her what?" Morgan asked seriously, willing to comply but still mindful of the classified nature of their case.

"I don't know, just make up something. I need to—cough!—need to see her…"

Morgan thought about it. "How about I tell her you've been poisoned and they don't yet know what with?"

"Fine," Reid agreed. "Please…"

Morgan nodded and walked out of the tent, pulling out his phone.

Kimura held a silent debate with herself. She'd been trying to keep visitors out of the anthrax wing, but so long as there was a decent cover story…Agent Reid was a good man, good at his job, and might very well be dead within hours. Kimura couldn't bring herself to deny him what could possibly be his last request. She'd make sure the staff knew to let this 'Jessica' come up. "Does Jessica have a last name?" she asked.

"Warner," Reid replied, breaking off in another coughing fit.

Jessica had just settled Henry down for a nap when her phone vibrated with a message from Morgan. "You need to get to Walter Reed Hospital right away. Your cousin's been poisoned, and they're not yet sure they can cure him."

Jessica uttered a soft shriek, waking the baby. She scarcely noticed as she texted her reply. "What do you mean, he's been poisoned?!"

"I can't tell you the whole story; our case is classified. Just get to the hospital."

Jessica started to text Morgan about Henry, then realized there was nothing he could do about it. She sent her message to JJ instead. "Derek just told me Spencer's in the hospital, but I still have Henry! I can't take him with me, can I? What do I do?!"

JJ nearly dropped her phone in shock. "You have Henry? Since when?"

"Since about 9:30 this morning. Will got called into work. Can you come get Henry or are you too busy?"

"I'll call Will."

"Babe, can they spare you from work? At all?"

"I can ask, but I'm already covering a call-out. Is it an emergency?"

"Yes," JJ said anxiously. "I need you to pick up Jessica and Henry and go to Walter Reed Hospital. Something's happened to Spence."

Will's eyes widened. "I'll talk to the chief."

Twenty minutes later, Will arrived back at the apartment and found his son in the arms of a clearly distraught teenager. He immediately pulled out his wallet and offered her three twenties.

Jessica stared. "That's too much."

"You deserve something extra for looking after Henry instead of dropping everything the moment you got the news. Now come on, get in the car."

Henry had settled back to sleep by the time Will pulled up to the hospital. "Will you be all right from here, or do you want me to go in with you?" he asked.

Jessica swallowed. "Can you come in, please? The last time I was alone in a hospital, all the staff ignored me."

"All the…" Will gave up trying to follow the rest of Jessica's sentence; he'd understood enough to know she wanted him to come in. "Give me a minute." He carefully unbuckled Henry, successfully getting the seven-month-old out of the car without waking him. "Come on."

Jessica trailed Will inside to the front desk. "'Scuse me," he said to the receptionist. "Here to see Agent Spencer Reid?"

"What ward is he in?" the receptionist asked.

Will looked at Jessica, who shrugged helplessly. "ICU?" she guessed.

"ICU, maybe?" Will repeated to the receptionist.

"ICU, ICU," the receptionist said, looking something up. "I'm not seeing him…oh, here. It looks like a 'Jessica Warner' is the only approved visitor, sorry."

"That'd be this little lady here," Will said, clapping Jessica on the shoulder.

"Can I see some ID?"

Jessica pulled out her learner's permit and handed it to the receptionist.

"All right," the receptionist said, handing back the ID. "Fourth floor, north side. Room 424."

Henry woke up and started to cry. Will gently patted him. "Shh, shh." He looked up at Jessica. "Tell your cousin I hope he gets well soon."

Jessica swallowed nervously. "Thank you."

Kimura was surprised to see a teenage girl enter the anthrax ward. "Excuse me, miss. Excuse me!"

The girl ignored Kimura, looking up at the room numbers.

Kimura hurried over to the girl and blocked her path. "Excuse me, this is a restricted ward."

The girl pulled out her phone and typed out a quick message. "I was told that Spencer Reid is in room 424?"

"Oh. You're Jessica Warner?" Kimura realized. For some reason, she had assumed that 'Jessica' was Agent Reid's girlfriend.

"Yes," Jessica confirmed, looking highly anxious. "Are you his doctor? Is there any news?"

"We're still running some tests, I'm afraid," Kimura said grimly. "And he's been refusing morphine, so he's far less comfortable than I would like. Ah, I'm sorry, may I ask…"

"I'm deaf. I can read lips, but if you say anything overly medical, I might need you to write it down. And Spencer is my cousin and legal guardian."

"Ah." Well, that explained why this girl was the one person Reid wanted to see right now. Kimura shook herself out of it. "Sorry. I do feel I should warn you, he's in a very bad way."

Jessica grimaced. "I once saw him clinically DEAD. I don't think he could be any worse than THAT. Please, just show me to his room?"

"All right," Kimura agreed, mildly curious but deciding not to ask. She led Jessica to Reid's room without further ado. "Doctor Reid. Someone here to see you."

Reid weakly lifted his head. His eyes lit up when he saw Jessica, then he immediately broke into a coughing fit, muffled by his oxygen mask. Jessica was almost instantly at his side, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. He eventually managed to catch his breath, giving her a grateful look. Kimura left them to return to the lab.

Jessica pulled a chair up to the bed. Then she took Spencer's hand, not quite sure what to do in this situation. The last time she'd been with him in a hospital, he'd already been out of immediate danger. Now, he might actually die, and she had no idea what to do with that knowledge. Did she assure him he would be all right? But what if he wasn't? Did she just try to act like everything was normal? But everything wasn't normal, was it? Did she say good-bye? But that would practically amount to giving up on him…

Spencer suddenly squeezed her hand tight and shut his eyes, a wave of pain apparently passing through him. When he opened his eyes again, Jessica decided to just start signing, hoping to take his mind off things. "Will brought Henry by this morning. Bianca actually liked him, can you believe it? Took a few good sniffs, then decided he's her kitten and nothing's getting to him on her watch. And Henry liked her, too. I had to stop him pulling her tail a few times, but he seems to have decided she's his new best friend. Didn't even care about his toys. I think we should get him a stuffed white cat. Then he can have a Bianca he can take home with him and play with to his heart's content…"

Spencer managed a small smile. His contacts had long since been taken out and he didn't have a clue what Jessica was going on about, but she was a welcome distraction all the same. And a reminder of why he was still refusing morphine. If he lived, he couldn't make her deal with him getting clean again. And if he didn't…he couldn't be on drugs again the last time he ever saw her. She deserved better than that. He just wished she'd showed up before the aphasia had set in so he could have told her how proud he was of her…

With Brown arrested and his samples taken safely into custody, Morgan headed to the hospital. He found Reid lying completely motionless with his eyes closed, Jessica gripping his hand again. Only the heart monitor told Morgan that his friend was still alive. "Any news?"

Jessica shook her head. Morgan could see that she'd been crying.

Morgan pulled up a chair next to her. "Look, I know I said I can't tell you the whole story, but I think I can tell you that your cousin did something pretty heroic today. You should know that."

"I don't care!" Jessica snapped. "He's dying!"

"So long as that monitor keeps going, I'm not giving up hope," Morgan insisted.

Jessica glanced at the monitor. "Is that all his life is now? Just jagged lines on a monitor?"

Morgan winced at the realization that she couldn't even hear the monitor's reassuring beeps. "For the moment, yes. But that can still change."

"It's not fair. None of this is fair."

"You're right," Morgan agreed sadly. "I wish there was something I could do about that, but there isn't." He put an arm around Jessica. She leaned into him, breaking into sobs again. He gently stroked her hair, wishing there was something more he could do. For both cousins.

As night fell, the various other team members stopped by. Kimura informed them that preliminary tests on the inhaler looked hopeful, and sternly told them not to overcrowd the room. By the time the sun completely set, Jessica and Morgan were the only ones still hanging around.

Eventually, after what felt like forever, Kimura walked in with another IV bag. "We've confirmed this is the cure. I don't know how long it will take to for it to take effect, but he finally has a fighting chance."

Jessica turned to Morgan, eyes wide with hope. "Did she say that's the cure?"

Morgan nodded. "I told you not to give up yet."

Not long after this, Prentiss and Garcia came back. "Any change?" Garcia asked hopefully.

"Kimura says his vitals have been improving, but he's still unconscious," Morgan answered. "That's not why I called you here, though." He jerked his head toward Jessica, now asleep on his shoulder. "I don't wanna leave Pretty Boy alone, but I think someone should get this girl into a proper bed for the night."

"I think we can do that," Prentiss agreed, carefully picking up Jessica. Jessica made a slight noise of protest, then snuggled against Prentiss's neck without waking.

"What about the cat?" Garcia demanded, eyes wide. "Did anybody feed their cat?"

"Do either of you have a spare key to their place?" Prentiss asked.

"Jessica probably has hers on her somewhere," Morgan suggested. "Check her purse?"

Garcia checked Jessica's purse. "Nothing…must be in her pocket?"

Morgan scooted away. "One of you can take that search."

"Got it," Prentiss said. "Let's go."

Garcia leaned over Reid and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll bring her back first thing in the morning, sweetie, don't worry."

Reid felt as if he were slowly rising out of a dense, choking fog. He struggled to remember where he was and how he got here—an unnerving situation for someone whose memory was normally as good as his. He remembered Nichols' house—refusing narcotics—aphasia in the ambulance—Jessica coming to see him—or had he imagined that? He thought he remembered a hand holding his, but all he felt now was a needle that he hoped belonged to a narcotic-free IV. He had to resist the urge to pick at it.

Then it occurred to Reid that he might get more answers if he opened his eyes. Sunlight spilled through the window. Morgan was sitting on one side of his bed, reading a magazine and eating something red. Jessica was sitting on the other side, reading a book. "Is that a Star Trek novel?" Reid asked hoarsely.

Jessica noticed movement in the corner of her eye and looked up to see that Spencer's eyes were open. She immediately smiled widely and carefully hugged him. He awkwardly put the IV-free arm around her. A few moments later, she felt his chest move, and she assumed he was speaking to someone. She pulled away to look, seeing that Dr. Kimura had entered the room.

"…so fast," Kimura was saying.

"What happened?" Reid asked.

"You're gonna be all right, kid," Morgan assured. He paused, looking pointedly at Jessica. "Uh…"

Jessica held up her book, blocking her view of the room. Then, not liking to take her eyes off Spencer, she grabbed his hand again.

"We got Brown," Morgan continued. "It's over."

Kimura shot a concerned look at Jessica. "Should we be talking about that right now?"

"She can't hear us," Morgan reminded Kimura. "Let her be clingy today."

"How's Abby?" Reid asked.

"She's on the mend," Kimura replied, still looking slightly uncertain about Jessica's presence. "So are the three others. You were right about where to look for his cure."

Reid smiled slightly, then frowned. "Why was Dr. Nichols making anthrax in the first place?"

Morgan sighed. "He was a brain scientist downgraded to workin' on the flu. Brown comes along asking for help on his thesis…"

"…would have been more than happy to share his knowledge," Reid concluded.

"There was no indication that Nichols had any idea what Brown was planning," Morgan added.

"His strain and its cure are getting locked up in containment at Fort Detrick, with all the other bio-agents people don't know about," Kimura informed them.

"Hm, really," Morgan said thoughtfully. "What else do they have locked up in there?"

Kimura smiled wryly. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Maybe not," Morgan admitted. Kimura left the room again.

Jessica felt a light squeeze on her hand. She cautiously lowered her book and saw Spencer looking at her. He let go of her and signed. "How long have you been here?"

"Two hours," Jessica replied. "I'd have stayed all night, but someone thought I needed to go home." She glared at Morgan.

Spencer looked to Morgan. "…I don't have my contacts in?"

Morgan half chuckled, half sighed and interpreted.

Spencer looked back at Jessica. "So you were here before?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

Jessica frowned. "Thank you?"

"For being here. I had so much I wanted to say, but I couldn't…"

Jessica cut him off with another brief hug. "Don't. Just don't die. Just don't."

"I'll try very hard not to."

Morgan went home a few hours after Reid first woke up, but he and other team members repeatedly returned for further visits. Jessica, meanwhile, hovered constantly; she only left at night when Garcia came (at Reid's request) to drag her home. He appreciated everyone's concern, but they were making it rather difficult for him to stop thinking about how close he'd come to dying.

Ultimately, Spencer spent another two days in the hospital before he was finally released. Back at the apartment, Jessica made sure he was constantly supplied with food and blankets and books and just about anything else he might need, but other than that, she avoided him. At first, Spencer was grateful for the space. Then, he had a nightmare in which she had never come to the hospital, and he started to wish she wasn't being quite so elusive. However, it wasn't until dinnertime on Friday that she finally looked at him long enough for him to ask her about it. "Jessica, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, why do you ask?" Jessica signed stiffly.

"You've gone from hovering to avoiding." Spencer frowned. "Are you trying to distance yourself from the possibility of losing me? Is that it?"

"Well how can I?" Jessica snapped. "You're supposed to be my guardian, but instead you go off getting yourself kidnapped and drugged and poisoned while out saving other people! And I just sit around waiting to find out if you're going to survive or not!"

Spencer pushed himself further upright. "If you want me to quit the BAU, just come right out and say so."

Jessica scowled. "Would you actually do it if I asked?"

Spencer raised his eyebrows. "Do you remember when I first adopted you, I talked to Hotch about consulting from Quantico rather than working out in the field? You hadn't even asked, and I was prepared to do that for you. Then Gideon offered to look after you during cases so I could return to the field, but I didn't accept the offer until you agreed to it too. And then when you caught pneumonia, I took an entire week off of work to look after you. Yes, I'm dedicated to my job and I would prefer to continue doing it, but you have always been my top priority."

Jessica didn't quite know what to say to that. At last, she sat down next to Spencer. "When I was in that group home, they told me they were looking for relatives, but, well…considering how little effort they put into giving me reasonable accommodations, I didn't entirely believe them. I definitely didn't think anyone would actually come for me and want me, especially not someone who was fluent in ASL. Meeting you…it was like something out of a fairy tale. Almost too good to be true. You're more than family, Spencer. You were my savior long before Frank kidnapped me. And I…I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm sorry I scared you," Spencer signed sincerely. Then he sighed. "If you really, truly want me to, then I'll transfer. But I need you to understand what it's like for me. When I was growing up, I never got any fairy tale savior. Joining the BAU was the first time I ever felt accepted anywhere. The first time I felt that anyone other than my mother truly cared about me. The first time I felt that my skills were useful for something more than just pure academia. All throughout my childhood, I was bullied for my intelligence—and every time I save a life, I feel like that suffering had a purpose. That something good came out of it. If I'm not out there helping people, I don't know that I could live with myself…or the memories."

"Even if it kills you," Jessica signed flatly.

"Believe me, I'd rather it didn't," Spencer signed drily. "That last case was an experience I very much hope never to repeat. But if I had died, then at least I'd have died for a good cause. And besides…even if I were to quit the FBI today, I still might end up having a schizophrenic break." He grimaced. "The drugs didn't exactly help my chances in that regard. My whole life, I've lived with that potential time bomb, knowing I might have less than thirty years to make something of myself." He paused, reflecting. "…I suppose it's made me a little reckless."

Jessica flinched. "I'd rather visit you in a mental institution than visit your grave."

"Noted." Spencer broke into a brief coughing fit. Jessica handed him a glass of water from his nightstand, which he accepted. Once he'd caught his breath, he handed the glass back to her. "Just please, think about what I said. If you still want me to quit once I've been cleared for work, I will."

Jessica sighed. "Deal." She gave Spencer a hug, which he readily returned.

The next day, JJ brought Henry by to lift both cousins' spirits. She took Henry into Spencer's room and set him on the bed. "Say hi to your Uncle Spence, Henry!"

Henry grabbed at Spencer's hand, searching for coins.

"Sorry Henry, not today," Spencer apologized. "Your Uncle Spence has been a bit sick and all his magic coins are hiding from him."

Henry frowned and started searching Spencer's covers, trying to find the magic coins. Then Bianca leaped onto the bed and hissed at JJ.

"Bianca, no," Spencer scolded. "Down."

Bianca ignored him and wove around Henry, still glaring and hissing at JJ. Spencer was about to rescue Henry when he realized that Henry was happily scratching Bianca's ears, and Bianca didn't seem to mind.

Jessica laughed from the doorway. "Sorry, JJ, I think Bianca got it into her head that Henry is my baby instead of yours."

JJ looked like she wasn't quite sure whether to be upset or amused. "So now a cat is trying to keep me away from my own son?"

"Wait, when has Bianca met Henry before?" Spencer demanded, confused.

Jessica winced. "On Monday. You don't remember me telling you?"

"…no."

JJ cleared her throat, sensing that the conversation had just entered uncomfortable waters. "Any suggestions how I convince the cat to let me near my son?"

"By now, I've run out of ideas on how to convince Bianca that not all visitors are hostile intruders," Spencer said apologetically.

"Time for the old fallback," Jessica decided. She picked up a protesting Bianca and snuggled her. Henry protested too, reaching his arms out toward the cat.

Spencer stroked Henry's hair. "Hey, don't cry, you've still got your Uncle Spence."

Henry lifted up his arms. Spencer pulled Henry into his lap, and Henry reached up to try to scratch behind Spencer's ears.

"…no, I am not a cat," Spencer scolded.

"Well, you couldn't be his dogfather, so I guess you'll have to be his catfather," JJ responded, laughing.

That night, Jessica dreamed that Frank took Henry from his crib and tied him up. Jessica begged Spencer to help Henry, but he coolly informed her that he couldn't because she had told him not to. Frank injected Henry with something that made the baby start seizing, then locked him in the closet. Jessica frantically tried to break down the closet door, but Spencer pulled her away. "We don't help people," he signed sternly. "You decided that's not what we do."

Jessica jolted awake, shivering. After a few moments, she checked her closet just to reassure herself that there was no dying baby inside.

Jessica continued to have some variant of this nightmare every night for the next few nights. By the time Spencer was medically cleared for duty, she knew in her heart what the dream meant. "Go back to work," she told him. "There are people out there who need you."

"You're sure?" Spencer asked, slightly anxiously.

"You wouldn't be you if you weren't helping people."

"Thank you for understanding that." Spencer gave her a hug.