Spencer had just said goodbye to J.J. and was heading into his bedroom, when he heard pounding on his door. He walked over and swung the door open to see a panicked Lizzie.

"Lizzie, what's wrong?"

The young girl frantically tried to sign, but her hands were shaking. So, she grabbed Spencer's hand and dragged him toward her apartment. He could hear a woman wailing in what turned out to be one of the bedrooms. He ran in to find Ms. Walker trying to climb out the window as Jade hung on to her for dear life.

The floor was littered with glass and knick-knacks strewn everywhere. Spencer ran over and grabbed Ms. Walker by the arms and tugged her back inside, with Jade still wrapped around her waist.

"Does she have medicine?" Spencer called out as he helped wrestle the screaming woman toward the bed.

"She threw it somewhere in the bathroom," Jade said.

"Go look for it. I've got her," he ordered as he held the surprisingly strong woman down.

Within moments, Jade reappeared and injected Ms. Walker in the arm. It took only seconds for her to start to calm down. Her body going limp under Spencer. He adjusted the woman more comfortably on the bed and reached for the nearest afghan. He covered her before stepping back to catch his breath.

As he took in the scene around him, he noticed drops of blood on the wood floor. He looked to Jade who held her palm against her temple.

"Your hurt," he said as he moved toward her.

"It's nothing," she replied.

Spencer reached out and pulled her hand away.

"It's not nothing. You have yourself a decent sized gash. Come here," he said pulling her toward the bathroom.

Once inside he grabbed the nearest rag, ran it under cold water and began dabbing gently at the wound.

"Shouldn't need stitches," he said. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Moments later he appeared with a first aid kit. She went to protest, but he shushed her and immediately patched up her wound with a bit of gauze and tape.

"Ok, look at me for a sec," he ordered.

She reluctantly obeyed as he surveyed both eyes and asked a few injury related questions.

"You aren't showing any signs of a concussion. Do you have ibuprofen?"

Jade pointed to the medicine cabinet over her shoulder. Spencer reached into the cabinet and seconds later, handed her two pills to take.

"That should help ease the pain. Why don't you go sit down? I'll clean up the mess," he offered.

"No, Spencer … I'm fine. It's ok," she insisted. "You've done enough … wait, where's Lizzie?"

The two of them both went on alert as they hurried from the bedroom. The living room was empty. Jade rushed toward a closed door and pushed it open. Spencer followed close behind to find an empty bedroom that was clearly Lizzie's.

It was then Spencer heard a noise coming from the closet. He walked over and opened the door to find Lizzie huddled in the darkness, curled in a ball. Her face pressed into her knees.

"Oh, Lizzie," Jade sighed as she dropped to her knees in front of the little girl.

She gently touched her, which caused Lizzie to let out a shriek. When she realized it was only Jade, she dove into her arms crying.

"It's ok, sweet girl. Everything is ok," she whispered.

Though he knew Lizzie couldn't hear that, he had a feeling that she understood just the same.

(xxxxx)

Spencer had just swept up the remainder of the glass and was disposing of it, when Jade appeared.

"She's asleep," she sighed.

"Good. It's been a tough morning for her," he said.

"Yeah," Jade said. "Tell me about it."

"You should get some rest too."

"I'm not sure I could if I tried," she said as tears welled up in her eyes.

Spencer put the broom and dustpan down and walked over to the couch where Jade was sitting.

"Oh, God this is just so fucked up," she said with a humorless laugh. "I'm trying so hard to give her a good life and I keep making the wrong decisions. I don't know what the hell I'm doing and in the process I'm ruining that child's life."

"Hey, don't say that," Spencer said. "Lizzie is going to be just fine."

"Did you not see her? Cowering in the closet? I'm doing a horrible job caring for her!"

"Listen to me, do you love her?"

Jade looked almost offended by the question.

"Of course, I do!"

"Do you feed her? Do you take care of her when she is sick? Do you play with her?"

"Yes, I know, but –"

"No buts. Jade, you are giving her love and support. You are trying to give her the best and believe me, she will know that."

Jade looked at him as if to say how.

"My mom … she did the best she could raising me. It wasn't easy for her. My dad walked out on us when I was ten and mom … she was very sick. She suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia. I spent most of my life taking care of her instead of the other way around."

He felt Jade shift in the spot next to him. She had angled her body toward him as she intently listened to what he was saying.

"The thing is no matter how bad things got, I know my mom loved me and I know she was doing everything she could to take care of me. And Lizzie, she will know that too."

It was silent for a moment as his words sunk in around them.

"A trauma doctor and a therapist. Do you accept Monopoly money as currency?"

They both laughed softly, easing the mood.

"Seriously, though. I can't thank you enough. I'm really sorry you got roped into all of our mess. I'm sure you have enough going on in your life that you don't need someone else's problems added to it," she said.

"It's been a nice distraction," he replied.

"Well, feel free to borrow my problems whenever you'd like," she teased.

"I'll keep that in mind," he chuckled as he got to his feet. "Get some rest. You need it."

Jade followed him quietly to the door.

"Thank you for everything," she said in a soft tone as he walked across the hall.

"You're welcome," he replied as they stood looking at one another.

Spencer noticed a small hint of pink in Jade's cheeks as she ducked her head and closed her door. A small smile tugged at his lips as he went back into his own apartment.

(xxxxx)

It was near dinner time when the lights in the living room started flashing, signaling someone was at the door. Lizzie got up from the couch and wandered over to open it. She was surprised to find Spencer smiling back at her, with a little blonde-haired boy standing next to him timidly.

"Lizzie, this is Henry. Henry, this is Lizzie," Spencer said as he spoke and signed slowly.

Henry watched Spencer closely then turned to Lizzie with a shy smile and waved.

(L) Hi Henry!

"We were wondering if you wanted to order some pizzas and play?"

By this time, Jade had appeared behind Lizzie, her eye's glistening with unshed tears. Lizzie turned to look at Jade who nodded her approval. Lizzie clapped excitedly, grabbed Henry's hand and pulled him toward her bedroom.

To his complete shock, Jade suddenly threw herself around him. Her arms holding him tightly. He didn't even have a chance to react when he felt her lips press against his. His hands shot between them pushing her away. The look of embarrassment and regret flooded her scarlet face.

"Spencer, I'm …"

"I should go … help Henry …"

"I'm sorry … I didn't …"

Spencer walked off towards Lizzie's room as Jade ran to her room to hide. She wasn't sure how long she stayed in there crying, but eventually she heard a light knock on her door.

"Just a second," she said in a masked voice.

She quickly wiped the tears from her face. Made herself look presentable and opened her bedroom door. Spencer stood on the other side looking back at her sheepishly.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey, um, you guys ready to order pizza?" she said as though nothing happened.

She brushed past Spencer but stopped when she felt his hand wrap around her wrist.

"Wait," he said.

"Spencer, please," she said trying to avoid eye contact. "It's been an emotional day. I just got a little caught up in the moment. It's not a big deal. Let's just pretend it never happened."

"Please, let me explain," he said as she tried to tug out of his grip.

"There's nothing to explain. What I did was uncalled for and I'm sorry –"

"Jade, you have nothing to be sorry for. It's not you –"

Jade started laughing.

"Oh my God, please don't use the it's not you it's me line. Please, don't make this worse," she said as tears filled her eyes.

"But it's the truth," he said as he tried to get her to stop pulling away from him. "Jade, I can't be with you like that and it's not because of anything you've done."

Jade's lip trembled as she prayed the floor would open up and swallow her immediately. Why had she kissed him? She promised herself she wouldn't get involved with anyone and now, the only friend she and Lizzie have, she goes and makes it fucking awkward.

"You don't have to explain. Please let's just forget this, please," she begged as the humiliation burned through her skin.

"Do you know why J.J. and Garcia kept bringing me baskets?"

Jade looked up at him finally, confused by the change in topic. His eyes were locked onto hers and she could see the pain tearing through them. She shook her head slowly. He broke eye contact with her, and she could see the increase in his breathing.

"Spencer?" she said softly.

"Jade, two months ago my girlfriend was killed in front of me," he said as he looked up at her, tears dripping down his cheeks.

It was as though someone took all the air out of the room. Jade stood silently before him. Her heart breaking.

"I'm not over her Jade and I don't know if I ever will be. I don't know if I can ever open myself up like that again. So, please don't take it personal, because it's not. You're beautiful and so funny and if we had met under different circumstances maybe, but I just can't."

Jade was nodding her understanding as tears now slid down her cheeks as well. She slowly moved toward him and hesitantly held open her arms. He leaned forward allowing her to embrace him and comfort him as he cried gently into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I am so sorry."

The two stood there holding one another for a good while, before Spencer finally broke the hug. He wiped at his eyes as Jade reached for a box of tissues. He took one and wiped at his eyes and blew his nose, while she did the same.

"I want you to know I'm here for you if you need me and I don't mean that in any other way than as a friend," Jade said as she got herself under control.

"I appreciate that," Spencer replied.

"Why don't I order a pizza and then we go see what those kids are up to?"

"Sounds good."

(xxxxx)

A/N: I had hoped it would come across that J.J. was worried for Spencer because she doesn't want him to be hurt. She is overly protective right now because of what he went through. She isn't jealous by any means. She's just a mama bear on high alert at the moment, protecting her Spencer cub.