The older man stood frozen, unsure how to react. It was true, people who hit you don't love you. He needed Spencer to understand that. He stayed in his room for a while longer, trying to think of a way to explain it to his poor confused child.

Eventually he heard the front door open and Fran came to his room carrying a bag. "I got some sandwiches and dessert!" She looked around, and her brows furrowed. "Where's Spencer?"

"I'm not sure. I think we just had our first fight?" He said questioningly.

Fran hummed knowingly. "Yeah, those are never easy. Does he not want me here? Because I think it would be best to let Spencer choose, even if that means me having to leave."

Morgan shook his head. "No, it wasn't that. He asked if you would hit him, and I said that you already loved him so you wouldn't hurt him." He sighed. "But Spencer insisted that someone could love someone and still hurt them. He said his mom used to hit him but that she loved him. I tried to explain that that wasn't actually love, but he ran away."

His mom narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you telling me you told that poor little baby that his mother didn't love him? After he insisted that she did?!"

"Ma, she didn't! People don't hit the people they love!" He insisted.

"No, they don't. But you don't know her and Spencer's relationship. You don't know the whole story. You cannot go and say that she didn't love him without that. Especially if he insisted that she did. Maybe there was a misunderstanding somewhere, and now you just said that possibly the only person to actually love him before you, didn't."

Morgan sat down in his bed and rested his head in his hands. "Okay, okay. What should I do now?"

Fran sat down next to her son. "Find out the backstory. Call that Penelope girl from your office. I believe you once told me that she could find out the color of someone's underwear if you asked her."

Morgan chuckled. "Yeah, she could find anything. But I should probably check on Spencer before I talk to her."

"No," Fran started, standing up, "He's mad at you right now. I'll check on him."

"Right. Right, okay. You check on Spencer, I'll call Garcia."

Fran nodded once, before making her way out of the room and to Spencer's room. She found him hiding under his blanket crying quietly. As she approached, he must have heard her because he quickly stopped crying.

"Spencer," she said gently, "It's grandma."

Spencer peaked out from under the blanket, eyes red and tear tracks on his face. Her heart hurt seeing the fear on his face. "Is daddy mad? 'Cause I yelled?" He whispered.

She carefully sat down on the bed next to him. "No sweetie. He's not mad. He's just worried about you."

"I didn't mean to yell. I was just angry. My mommy loved me! She didn't mean to hit me!" He cried desperately, trying to get her to understand.

She shushed him gently. "Shhh, shhh. It's okay baby, I believe you. Calm down. How about you read one of your new books to make you feel better?" She said, holding up the book she brought in with her.

Spencer sniffled and wiped his runny nose with the back of his sleeve. "C-can you read it to me?" He asked quietly.

She smiled warmly at him. "Of course."

She moved to sit next to the boy with her back to the headboard of the bed. Spencer cautiously snuggled up against her, head resting on her chest. Fran opened up the book and began reading. "For a long time I used to go to bed early. Sometimes, when I had put out my candle, my eyes would close so quickly that I had not even time to say 'I'm going to sleep.'..."

As she read, Spencer found himself fighting to keep his eyes open. Right before he slipped under the pull of sleep, he mumbled, "you sound like my mommy..."

"Fairy godmother of knowledge at your service!" Garcia sang when Morgan called her.

He chuckled. "Hey baby girl."

"Ah my chocolate thunder! How's our little cutie pie?"

"He's actually why I was calling. Could you find me everything you can about his mother?"

"Of course!" Her nails clacking on her keyboard came through the phone. "Can I ask why the sudden curiosity?"

"Spencer mentioned that his mom used to hit him, and I tried to explain to him that if she hit him, she didn't actually love him. He got really upset and my ma told me I should get the whole story before jumping to conclusions."

"That poor baby really can't catch a break can he? Oh! And your mom! Did you like the surprise?!"

Morgan sighed. "Baby girl, I appreciate what you were trying to do, but next time please talk to me about big things like that. I wanted to talk to my ma about Spencer before she came. He got scared of her."

"Oh no! I'm so sorry Derek! I didn't mean to have that happen! Is Spencer okay?"

"I know you didn't mean to. Spencer's fine, he actually warmed up to her pretty quickly. It was just a surprise for him."

"Okay, well I'm sorry my hunky adonis. I'm glad those two are getting along though."

"Yeah, it's actually really nice to see."

"Well, I will send you all of the info I find as soon as I'm done."

"Thanks baby girl."

With that, he hung up the phone. He made his way to Spencer's room, peeking his head in to see his son sleeping against his mom. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the sight.

"Hey ma, is he still mad?" He whispered so as to not wake him up.

She put down the book that she had been reading to the boy. "He wasn't actually mad. He was just upset and didn't know how to express his frustration that you didn't believe him. I think at this point he's more scared that you're mad at him because he yelled at you."

Morgan sighed and leaned up against the wall, his eyes on his peacefully sleeping child. "I'm obviously not mad. I just don't want him to think that it's okay for someone to hurt him."

"I know Derek. Did you get any information from Penelope?"

Just as she finished the question, Derek's phone chimed. "I believe that's her."

He took out his phone and started reading over the information from Garcia. "Oh… oh… She had paranoid schizophrenia." He read further. "And she ended up killing herself. She slit her wrists." He cringed.

Fran tightened her hold of the sleeping boy. "Did Spencer see?"

"No, she did it a week after Spencer disappeared."

"She took her life because she lost her son?" She asked, sadness evident in her voice.

Morgan ran a hand over his head. "I guess so. God, it makes me hate that bastard of a father even more."

Fran huffed, clearly agreeing with his hatred of the man. Before they could say anything else, though, Spencer began to rouse. Fran petted his hair and whispered, "Hi baby"

"Mommy?" He mumbled.

Both Fran and Morgan frowned. "No sweetheart. It's grandma."

Spencer's sleepy smile fell for a second before returning. "Hi grandma," he said, snuggling closer to her.

"Your daddy's here too."

That seemed to wake Spencer up fully. He quickly looked over to Derek before turning his attention down to his fidgeting hands. "I'm sorry I yelled..."

Morgan moved over to sit on the bed. "It's okay baby. I'm not mad. And I'm sorry for saying your mommy didn't love you."

"She did," the boy insisted. "She did love me."

Derek rubbed his knee reassuringly. "I understand that now." He paused. "Do you know what schizophrenia is?"

Spencer nodded. "Uh huh. Mommy had it. It made her not know who I was," he said sadly. "She thought I was a spy. She hit me then..."

"Did she ever hurt you when she did know who you were?"

Spencer took a moment to think. "No. She only hit on bad days."

Morgan nodded in understanding. "Okay baby, I need you to understand this. People who hit you don't love you."

Before he could continue, Spencer said "No! Mommy loved me!"

Derek nodded and shushed him gently. "I know baby. She only hit you because she was sick. She never hurt you when she knew who you were. So yes, she loved you."

Spencer nodded slowly. "I miss my mommy..." he said sadly.

"I know baby, I know." There was silence for a few moments, until Morgan broke it. "Spencer, when I first interviewed you, you said your mom was dead..."

"Uh huh. She bled too much..." He whispered sadly, rubbing his wrists.

"I'm so sorry baby. But… how did you know she bled too much? She, uh, she died after you went to Hobbs..."

"Old daddy showed me..." He said, looking close to tears. "He brought a picture on his first visit..."

Morgan had to close his eyes to control his reaction. Visits. Visits to rape his child who he sold to a pedophile serial killer.

Spencer took notice of his reaction and shrunk back into Fran, looking up at her with concern. "Did I say something bad? I made daddy mad again..."

Fran rubbed his back. "No, baby. He's not mad at you. He's mad at your father."

"Oh… why?" He asked, looking up with big, innocent eyes.

"Spencer," Morgan sighed. "You do understand that what your father and Hobbs did to you was very bad, right?"

"Um… yes?" Spencer responded, clearly not confident in his answer.

"They were very, very bad. You didn't deserve what happened to you. You need to understand that."

His son still looked confused, but nodded anyway. Morgan really wanted Spencer to understand, so he looked to his mother for help. She nodded to him, before lifting Spencer and placing him in her lap facing her.

"Sweetie, can you repeat after me?" After a hesitant nod, she continued. "I am a good boy."

Spencer's face scrunched up. "But I'm not-"

"No. I want you to repeat what I say." Fran said, interrupting him. "I am a good boy."

Spencer still looked unconvinced but said it anyway. "I am a good boy..."

"I deserve happiness."

"I deserve h-happiness..."

"I am loved."

"I am loved..."

Fran smiled at him warmly. "Good job baby. Now say it all together."

"I-I am a good boy… I deserve happiness… I am loved..." Spencer said, sounding unsure still.

"Good. All of that is true. I know you are having a hard time believing it, so we will work every day to make you understand, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Okay. Now, let's go get some food into your tummy." She joked, tickling his belly and eliciting a high pitch squeal from the boy.