I'm glad you guys like this story so far. I was wondering if you guys liked it the way it is or want to see more drama or something else, just let me know! I really want you guys to love this story and your feedback is a tramendice help with writing it.

Thanks again for reading and the reviews!

I don't know if I'll post another chapter too soon, I should probably write far ahead before I do so not sure when the next chapter will be going up.

Words: 2,649

Spencer and Ryder continue to see each other when they can, between both their jobs. Spencer busy with cases and Ryder busy with her work, Photoshoots along with a few meetings and editing. The last few times Spencer has seen Ryder he opened up to her a bit more. He didn't go into detail with anything, he just told her he had gone through something bad a little while back and sometimes had trouble. Trouble dealing with things and when he saw that kid killed in front of him he wasn't in the best of places. Although he hadn't told her that's what happened, he just said a case had ended badly.

It was hard for him, but easier than he'd thought it would be to talk about it. And although he didn't get into detail, Spencer felt much better after talking to Ryder. And he was eternally grateful that she still accepted him.

He hadn't realized how long he had been talking one night and ended up there passed midnight and Ryder had offered to let him stay so he wouldn't have to travel home so late. He was hesitant at first, he didn't want to impose or make her uncomfortable but she had insisted with that smile of her's and he couldn't resist.

So he stayed the night, sleeping soundly with his arms wrapped around Ryder. He would be lying if he said it wasn't the best nights sleep he's had in a long time.

Waking the next morning, Ryder rubs her foggy eyes before looking up at Spencer's sleeping face. He was adorable when he was sleep, Ryder thinks as she carefully detangles herself from his arms without waking him up. Sneaking out of her bedroom, Ryder quietly makes her way down the hall and into the kitchen with the plan to make breakfast. Spencer had opened up to her last night and although he didn't use a lot of detail she was happy he was starting to trust her. It made her feel all warm inside.

She didn't have a coffee maker because she never drinks the stuff so she couldn't make him coffee but she knows she made killer pancakes. So collecting all the ingredients, Ryder starts mixing everything up, grabbing some fresh blueberries from the fridge to put in her own.

"Morning." A groggy voice says from behind Ryder as she stirs the pancake batter, causing her to turn to see Reid standing in front of the kitchen, hair tousled from sleep, his white undershirt wrinkled.

"Goodmorning." Ryder greets with a smile, setting the bowl down before walking up to him, trying to smooth down his wild hair.

"Why are you so cheery?" Spencer asks her as he rests his head on her shoulder, hands holding her waist. Don't get him wrong, he slept great last night, doesn't mean he wanted to get up just yet.

"Because I get to make my amazing pancakes for my amazing boyfriend." She tells him with a smile, her hands covering his to keep them on her waist as she leans back to look Spencer in the face.

"Pancakes?" Spencer asks, perking up a bit.

"Yup. I'm putting blueberries in mine." Ryder states while turning away to continue cooking.

"Of course you are." Spencer mumbles, coming to stand behind Ryder, his arms wrapping around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Oh shut up." Ryder shoots back playfully. "I'm sorry I don't have a coffee maker or anything, just juice."

"That's okay." Spencer says, kissing her cheek and moving away from her towards the fridge, opening it to grab the orange juice before setting it on the counter, going to the cabinet to grab two cups. Leaning his back against the counter behind Ryder, he watches her as she cooks, not able to keep the smile from his face. He was so happy right now as he watches her, he thinks she looks adorable. She had pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, still in her pajama shorts and a batman T-shirt.

"You're staring." Ryder tells him with a smirk, looking at him from over her shoulder.

"It's kind of hard not too." Spencer responds before pouring both of them a drink while Ryder brings two plates over, coming around the counter to sit on one of the barstools.

"Please, I'm still in my pajamas." Ryder says, looking down to hide the blush rising in her cheeks.

"You're beautiful." Spencer mumbles as he lifts her head with a hand under her chin, leaning down to kiss her. Pulling away, Ryder smiles and shakes her head. She would never get tired of hearing that.

Settling into a comfortable silence, the couple eats their breakfast until Ryder speaks up as she finishes her food. "You still going to a meeting tonight?"

"Yeah." Answeres Spencer after taking a sip of his drink.

"You want to come over after?" She asks, knowing he shouldn't be alone. A head nod was the only answer she receives, so it was Ryder's turn to use her hand and turn Spencers head towards her and place a kiss on his lips. "You want to shower before you go into work?"

"Mhm." Spencer hums his answer, eyes still closed as Ryder gives him another quick kiss.

"Okay, there are clean towels in the bathroom, you go shower and I'll wash the dishes and change. Maybe I can drive you to work? We can stop for coffee on the way." She asks hopefully, smiling when Spencer agrees before going to take a shower, leaving Ryder to quickly wash the dishes and change.

"Call me tonight, I can pick you up if you want." Ryder tells Spencer as they say their goodbyes for the day.

"Okay, I might just take you up on that." Spencer says with a grin, his hand sliding around the back of her neck as they lean across the car to give each other a parting kiss.

"Okay, have a good day." Ryder mutters when they separated, giving Spencer a smile and wave as he exited the car.

With the way the day started, Spencer figured it would be hard to have a bad day at this point. Or at least he hoped he was right.

Having to call and tell Ryder he had a case was not how Spencer saw his night going, but he wasn't surprised either. Ryder had told him she understood like she had every other time he had to cancel for a case and she told him she'd be there when he got back. He feels guilty for canceling on her all the time, the way she always says she understood somehow making him feel even worse. He wasn't sure why, but it did.

He should have known when that morning started so good that he was going to have a bad next few days.

When he got to the office to start the case he had been late, resulting in teasing from his team members and then the case started and he saw so much of himself in the unsub. It got to him and he took out his anger on everyone around him. He was angry that everyone around this kid didn't do anything to help him when he so obviously needed it. It reminded him of when he was a kid in school, all the things that happened to him.

He realized he was being unprofessional but he couldn't help it and he found himself lashing out at others, even going to the extent to lie to Hotch and confront the dangerous unsub, risking his life and others in doing so.

It's later that night on the plane headed home as Spencer twirls his phone in his hands that Hotch came to talk to him, "You knowingly jeopardized your life and the lives of others, I should fire you. You're the smarted kid in the room, but you're not the only one in that room. You pull something like this again, you will be. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir." Spencer tells his boss with a nod of his head. "It won't happen again. Thank you."

"What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that that would have been the second time a kid died in front of me." Spencer says, looking down at his phone to avoid his boss's eyes.

"You're keeping score, just like Owen."

"It was my turn to save one."

"It doesn't work like that."

"It should." Spencer says to him, a humorless smile on his face.

"I know it's painful when the person you identify with is the bad guy."

"What's that make me?" Spencer asks, finally looking up to meet Hotch's gaze.

"Good at the job." Hotch tells him. Hotch wasn't one to show emotion much, but it definitely didn't mean he had none. "I know it's none of my business, but I think you should make that phone call." He nods his head towards Spencer's phone.

Nodding, Spencer looks back down at his phone. He had been thinking about calling Ryder since before he boarded the plane. He wasn't sure why he didn't just do it, but something was holding him back. He knew whatever it was had to do with this case and the feelings and memories it brought with it.

But he decided to ignore those feelings as thoughts of Ryder's voice floods through his head, telling him it didn't matter, that he could talk to her, that she was there for him. So picking up his phone, Spencer quickly calls her, looking over his shoulder at his sleeping team members.

"Spence?" Ryder's voice says, sounding through his ear as he closes his eyes, leaning back in his seat.

"Hey." He responds quietly.

"What's wrong?"

"Rough case." Spencer says, knowing he didn't have to say anything more.

"You almost back?"

"Soon."

"I'll be here." Ryder says, letting him know he could come to her if he wanted.

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." Ryder tells Spencer, feeling her heart clench in pain at the sound of his tired, defeated voice.

"Stay on the phone with me?" Spencer nearly pleads, never once opening his eyes.

"Of course."

And she does, Ryder stays on the phone with Spencer until he lands. Going between small talk and not talking at all until she has to hang up, offering to pick him up at the office to which he declines, saying he had a few things to take care of first.

And what felt like forever later, a small knock sounds at her door, causing Ryder to jump up from the couch and open it, immediately wrapping her arms around Spencer's neck, his own going around her waist. "Do you want to talk about it?" She questions, her voice slightly muffled by Reid's shoulder. Tightening his hold on Ryder, Spencer shakes his head as he buries his face further into the crook of her neck. "That's okay, you don't have to." She reassures him, her left hand coming up to play with his long hair.

"I will," Spencer tells her, reluctantly pulling away from Ryder's warm embrace. "Just not right now, if that's okay."

"Of course that's okay." Ryder nods, stepping back into her apartment, allowing Spencer to do the same. "Are you hungry, or anything?" She asks him after he sets his bag down by the couch, coming back to stand in front of her.

"Not really." He mumbles, playing with her fingers and avoiding her eyes. "You have small fingers." Laughing at Spencer's random statement, Ryder moves her hand flat against his own, the size difference very obvious. "See, small." Spencer says as he takes both of Ryder's hands in his own, covering them both completely.

"How do you know my hands are small and your's aren't just big?" Ryder asks, confusing herself a little.

"What?" Spencer asks with a laugh.

"I don't even know." Ryder says, laughing as well. "But hey, I got you to laugh."

"Yeah, you did." Says Spencer, leaning down to place a kiss on Ryder's lips.

After they separate, Ryder leads Spencer over to the couch where she turns on the tv and cuddles into his side while they watch in silence for a while. Ryder knows Spencer has a lot on his mind when he doesn't say anything about the movie, never pointing out the mistakes or anything. He just sits there in silence, playing with her hair. She wasn't going to push him to talk, she didn't think that's what he needed right now, and she trusts he would talk when he was ready. And her thoughts were confirmed as Spencer's voice broke the silence between them.

"He reminded me of myself." Is all he says, his hand still brushing through her hair, his eyes never leaving the tv.

"Huh?" Ryder asks him softly, turning her head to look up at his face.

"The unsub." Spencer mumbles before realizing Ryder probably didn't know what that was and corrected himself. "The bad guy."

"Oh, Spence." Ryder sighs sadly, reaching up to turn his head towards her so she could look him in the eye, any words she had dying on her lips when she sees the emotions behind them.

"He was just like me, tormented in school, absent parent. Poor kid just needed help and no one around him did anything." Spencer leans into the hand Ryder places on his cheek but doesn't meet her eyes.

"Spencer look at me." Ryder says more sternly than before, causing his eyes to snap to hers. "You are not and never will be a bad guy. You went through some horrible stuff when you were growing up but you didn't let that define who you are. You are one of the greatest people I've ever met. And please don't ever think otherwise." Grabbing her wrist, Spencer pulls on her arm, bringing it around his neck as he pulls her closer, burying his face in her shoulder.

Allowing him to pull her closer, Ryder wraps her arms around hm and runs her fingers through his hair, laughing when she feels Spencer place a kiss on her neck. "Are you ticklish?" Spencer asks her, pulling away just enough to see her face.

"No, maybe, yes, a little." Ryder reluctantly says, knowing there wasn't any way to get around it.

"How about here?" Spencer asks before squeezing her sides, drawing a surprised squeak from Ryder.

"Spencer!" Unable to control her giggles, Ryder grabs Spencer's wrist in a poor attempt to stop him. "Spencer, stop." She says, laughing hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"But you're so cute when you laugh." Spencer tells her, stopping his movement but not removing his hands from her sides.

Catching her breath, Ryder wipes the tears from her eyes, attempting to glare at Spencer, only resulting in her laughing even more. "There are other ways to make me laugh that doesn't involve tickling me to death." She tells him, tapping him on the chest.

"How did I get so lucky?" Reid asks, looking down into Ryder's eyes, smiling fondly at her.

"No, I think I'm the lucky one." Ryder tells him, reaching up to push some hair out of his face.

"You'd lose that argument," Spencer responds before leaning down to place a kiss to her lips, Ryder responding immediately by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

Truth was, they were both lucky. Running into each other that morning was the best thing that ever happened to them, and their lives would never be the same because of it.

More bonding between these two, it was Spencer's turn to open up this time.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and leave feedback, it really helps me write.