Hello! So, after some severe frustration over this chapter getting completely deleted when my computer decided to update, I'm finally back with what I'm hoping will be the last chapter of this fic! Enjoy!
Derek glanced at the clock hung above the psychology classroom's doorway for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last forty-five minutes. He was bouncing his leg, chewing on his bottom lip, and not at all paying attention to Gideon teaching at the front of the room all due to the empty seat next to him.
Derek hadn't seen or spoken to Spencer since he had hastily left the game Friday night in tears. He hadn't even received a text message from the boy, though he himself had probably sent over twenty messages to the genius over the course of the weekend. Usually, Spencer immediately got back to him as long as he had his phone on him, so his lack of response had already sent many warning bells off for Derek. Though he tried to tell himself he was overreacting, and the boy may have simply had his phone taken away or he had broken it or something that wasn't one of the many horrifying scenarios running through Derek's mind, but his heart told him otherwise. Yet, he had no reason behind the anxiety, and he also didn't want to seem overbearing.
Spencer and he had only shared one kiss! It wasn't like they were dating or anything. He hadn't even gotten as far as asking Spencer before he had rushed out in a panic. He didn't want to scare Spencer off by seeming too overprotective and make him feel like he was being suffocated. Derek's intuition on the whole situation could be completely wrong and he could end up making everything worse.
Yet, the way he had rushed out of the game added to the radio silence all weekend and then his mysterious absence from school on Monday were the reasons he was nervous in the first place. The pure fear and dread he had seen in Spencer's eyes, not to mention the quivers of fear he had seen going through his body, did nothing to help his worry. If Spencer was so scared of going home that a simple text would have him reduced to tears, Derek didn't even want to imagine what his life was like there. He tried to make a habit of listening to his gut, and this time his gut was telling him that something wasn't right, and that Spencer could quite possibly be in danger.
Derek stood and left the classroom like he was in a trance when the bell finally rung to signify the end of the period. He barely even noticed his friends all crowding around him until he felt the sharp poke of a professionally done acrylic in his arm.
"What's got your head in the clouds? Are you daydreaming about 187 again?" Penelope demanded.
Derek snapped his head around to look at her, his face coloring with a blush that would have given Spencer a run for his money. He opened his mouth to speak but was promptly cut off by the eccentric blonde.
"Ooh, was it something dirty? Were you-"
This time, it was Penelope who was cut off by Emily's hand over her mouth. She gave her a glare. "I love you Penny, but do not finish that statement. I don't need to visualize that."
Penelope gave her a sly grin from underneath her hand but did keep her mouth shut. Rossi took this as his opening.
"Where is boy wonder anyhow? Wouldn't have thought him the type to miss school even he was sick."
All the worry and turmoil that had been spinning around his head earlier immediately came crashing back on to him. All the thoughts of what could be wrong with Spencer began to make themselves known once again and it nearly caused him to stop dead right in the middle of the hallway.
"Uh, he's not here. Probably sick or something," Derek mumbled. Definitely or something he thought ruefully.
Penelope pouted. "Poor baby! Someone should check on him!"
"I'm gonna go to his house after school. Make sure he's okay," Derek answered. He wasn't stupid though. He wasn't going to go alone, especially since he had absolutely no idea what he was walking into. Spencer could be seriously hurt, or he could be absolutely fine and just have the flu or something. Heck, Spencer's dad could try to shoot his head off as soon as he walked up to the front door for all he knew, so he was definitely enlisting his dad as backup.
One good thing, and about the only good thing, that had come out of Spencer's absence the past weekend was it gave Derek a chance to talk to his dad about his suspicions on Spencer's home life. He had started out claiming that he had a friend who he thought was in a bad situation, but after relentless teasing from his sisters upon seeing the blush that graced his face whenever he spoke about Spencer, he had admitted to kissing the boy at the game and having a massive crush on him. His mom had given him a knowing smirk while his sisters had wolf whistled and giggled. His father, for his part, had remained impassive and listened to everything Derek had to say about the things he had witnessed, and the way Spencer acted in general.
His dad had taken a few moments to contemplate what Derek had told him. He then admitted that Derek had a decent amount of evidence for at least a minor investigation into the matter, despite William Reid being very prominent in the city. His dad had promised that he would talk to some of his friends at the station and see if they could look into a few things, off the record of course. That had satisfied Derek for the moment, knowing he would see Spencer at school on Monday where he would be able to gauge what had gone on between the genius and his father.
Until, of course, Spencer hadn't shown up.
Derek massaged the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on from all the thinking and worrying, though he didn't want to stop for a moment. It was stupid he knew, but somewhere in him said that as long as he was thinking about Spencer, he'd be okay, like he wasn't abandoning him or something.
He shook his then with a sigh of exasperation over his lovesick heart. Despite all of the emotions raging through his body, he turned his attention to the lesson and tried to focus on whatever it was the Spanish teacher was teaching. There was nothing he could do until after school anyhow.
0000
Derek strode up the walkway leading to the Reid's house with dread curling in his stomach. His dad, though against the whole idea of interfering before any sort of investigating had been done, had agreed to come along with his son once he saw Derek was going one way or another. Derek decided not to comment on it when he saw his dad slyly slip his gun into the waistband of his jeans.
Derek raised his fist to knock on the door but stopped just short. He had absolutely no idea what he would be meeting on the other side. He'd never met either of Spencer's parents, so he had absolutely no idea what to expect. He could find out that Spencer really was just sick, and he was playing the overprotective boyfriend (friend he corrected himself quickly, they were still only friends). Or, and he had no idea what he would do if the second one was the case, he could find Spencer seriously hurt after one of his parents had done something to him.
He glanced back at his father to see the man raising his eyebrows at him, the gesture making it clear that he was there for backup, but this had been Derek's idea, so he was going to follow through with it. Sucking in a deep breath and steeling his nerves, Derek knocked.
A few seconds of silence passed, and Derek began to wonder if anyone was home. He had just raised his hand to knock once more when the door flew open to reveal a middle-aged man on the other side. He was a few inches shorter than Derek with short, graying hair and cool brown eyes. Wrinkles that mimicked a scow line ran across his forehead and around his eyes. He gazed at Derek with crossed arms and a suspicious expression.
"What can I do for you?" he asked curtly. Normally, the question would have been a completely normal, polite greeting, but something about the way he said it made Derek want to take a step backwards. He suddenly felt like he was some sort of specimen under a microscope being analyzed under the man's, who he assumed was William Reid, hard expression.
"Uh, hi. Um, I'm looking for Spencer. I'm a…friend from school and I wanted to check up on him. He hasn't answered any texts and he wasn't in school today. I was just worried." As he speaks, the nerves in his stomach begin to settle as his worry for Spencer takes back over. For his part, William's face remains impassive the whole time Derek was talking, not looking like he was paying any particular attention.
"Uh huh," the man said after a moment. "Sorry to worry you son, but Spencer was feeling a bit under the weather this morning. I thought it best that he stay home for the day. Who'd you say you were? A friend? I didn't think Spencer had friends to be honest." William eyed him suspiciously, like he knew that there was something more than friendship going on between his son and Derek.
Derek furrowed his eyebrows at the friend comment but bit his tongue in favor of offering a fake smile. "Yup. He's got a whole group of us. We all missed him today."
William seemed more than a little confused by this information. "What's your name? I could let Spencer know you were here."
Derek bit his lip. "Derek and this is my dad," he said gesturing vaguely behind him. Derek couldn't see what the look on his father's face was, but William's features hardened significantly at the sight of him. The elder man then turned back to Derek and gave him a curt nod.
"Right then. I'll make sure to tell him you stopped by Derek." The lawyer then went to shut the front door, but Derek was quick to place his palm against it, quickly stopping its closure.
"Um actually I was hoping I could see him. I have some homework to drop off for him. I know how much Spencer would hate to miss out on homework. It'll only take a few minutes." It was a total lie, everyone knew Spencer had the homework for the rest of the semester done and no doubt a perfect on each assignment, but Derek was willing to say anything as long as it meant he could see Spencer.
Somehow, William's stare hardened even more. He gazed at Derek like he couldn't believe the teen had the audacity to speak up to him.
"Really, I don't think that's a good idea. He's got the whole package: fever, chills, nausea. It's real nasty. Wouldn't want you to get sick too, son. Leave whatever work you have for him in the mailbox, and I'll make sure it gets done."
William once again went to close the door and Derek turned to silently plead his dad for help. He was out of ideas. He tried telling himself that William was just overprotective and worried for his son's sake, but it wasn't working. It hadn't been working for a long time.
Thump
Derek's head whipped back around at the sound. He felt his dad step up beside him protectively, his hand no doubt unconsciously reaching for the Glock in under his coat. William stiffened almost imperceptibly and hastily tried to shut the door again. This time, however, it was his dad who stopped the doors movement.
"What was that?" Hank demanded.
William's eyes flicked briefly inside the house. "Ah, that would be the cat. That thing can't sit still for the life of it. Now, please, I have work to do." With that, the man shut the door with a firm click.
Derek glanced at his father. "He was lying about the noise. Spencer's allergic to cats"
Hank sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Derek, it was probably nothing. There's plenty of people who have animals even when someone's allergic. You grow an immunity eventually. Come on, it doesn't seem like there's anything weird going on here." His dad turned to leave, but Derek did not. He was determined to see Spencer one way or another, even if he had to break into the house later on tonight.
He knocked on the door again, this time with more persistence than before.
"Derek…" his dad hissed as a warning. Usually, that tone coming from his dad would have had him walking away with his tail between his legs, but not right then.
The door flew back open with a much angrier William Reid on the other side. Derek's dad gripped his arm, no doubt prepared to yank the teen back at a moment's notice when the confrontation inevitably took a turn for the worse.
"Look I'm really trying to be patient here, but you guys really need to go before I sue you for harassment. You do know who I am right?"
Derek didn't even flinch at the threat. "Please just let me see Spencer. I need to see for myself that he's okay. I'm only worried."
At his proclamation, William's eyes widened, and his features took on a disgusted, horrified look. "I don't think so. I don't need my son being corrupted with the likes of…you."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Derek's dad asked, stepping forward menacingly.
William sneered at him. "It means that I don't need my son being with someone like him. Don't tell me you're okay with your son being with another boy romantically." He choked out the last word like it made him sick to even think about.
"I don't give a damn who my son dates as long as he's happy. And if you were any bit of a good father, you wouldn't care either," Hank declared firmly. Despite the situation, Derek felt a swell of happiness seep into his heart.
William scoffed. "I don't even know you people. You have no right to insult my parenting. Do you even know who you're talking to?"
"Yeah, a self-righteous idiot who cares more about his self-image than his son's happiness. Now, where is your son?" Hank growled and Derek silently cheered his dad on. He knew his dad was one of the most patient men he had ever met, but when it came to people like William, all that patience went right out the window.
"I don't like what you're insinuating Mr…" William trailed off, raising his eyebrows.
"Officer. Officer Morgan," Hank said proudly.
William stiffened. "Well, officer, seeing as you're off duty, that has no relevance to our current conversation. And as for seeing my son, I happen to be a lawyer and I know my rights. You can't come into my house without a warrant. You do, and I'll have you marked with breaking and entering."
A small humming noise cut through the tense air between them. It sounded like someone was talking, but it was severely muffled by something.
"What the hell was that?" Derek demanded.
William's mouth bobbed open, but Derek's dad was already shoving past him, consequences be damned. They both barged into the house, ignoring the litany of curses and threats spewing from the lawyer's mouth.
"Spencer!" Derek called desperately. His eyes raked over the foyer they were standing in but saw no sign of the other teen.
"Spencer!" he tried again. This time, however, his calling was answered with the same humming noise that had brought them into the house in the first place. Derek followed the sound with his dad on his heels, not even allowing himself the time to look around at Spencer's house as they passed through each room. Derek could hear William tearing after them, still yelling and screaming in his fury. There was brief scuffle behind Derek and then William fell silent. He didn't even look back to see what had happened.
Finally, the sound led him to a plain wood door in the kitchen. It was probably a utility closet of some sort. Derek ripped the door open without another moment's thought, and what greeted him on the other side was positively terrifying.
Spencer was curled up on the cold cement floor, his long legs forced to fold against his body in the tiny prison. His thin wrists were chained to a pipe on the wall with a pair of police-issued cuffs (Derek didn't even want to know how William got those), creating two raw, angry rings of flesh where Spencer had struggled against his confines, rivulets of blood rolling down his wrists and staining the cuffs of his navy-blue sweater. His legs were tied in a similar fashion, though they were bound with a thick rope, so he had absolutely no mobility. His soft brown curls were matted to his head with blood, the same blood that was dripping from a large gash on his forehead. Around his head was a dirty white rag that had been haphazardly stuffed into Spencer's mouth so that he could do little more than hum weakly behind the gag. So that was what the noise had been.
"Oh my god, Spencer!" Derek cried in horror.
Tears leaked down Spencer's ashy cheeks. He strained against his restraints like he was trying to get closer to Derek but fell back weakly when what little strength he had left was used up.
Derek heard a slam behind him like flesh meeting a hard surface and the tell-tale sign of handcuffs clicking before his father was kneeling beside him. He pulled a pocketknife out and began to do the task Derek was too frozen to even think about. All he could see was Spencer shivering and whimpering in front of him after being bound and gagged by his father for only God knew how long.
"Derek!"
His father's cry brought him out of his shock. The man had already unlocked the cuffs around Spencer's wrists and was now sawing away at the ropes binding his legs. Derek quickly untied the rag from around Spencer's head and gripped the boy's cheeks in his hands, brushing his thumbs over the tear tracks that had painted themselves on to Spencer's delicate skin.
"D-Derek," Spencer croaked, his throat dry from thirst and lack of use.
"Yeah, it's m-me…it's me, Spence," Derek whispered, tears of his own flowing down to mirror Spencer's.
After a moment, his dad spoke up. "Hey Spencer. I'm Derek's dad, Hank. We're gonna get you out of here, 'kay? I've already got police and an ambulance on the way. You're gonna be fine."
Spencer nodded weakly as Hank patted Derek's shoulder firmly and got up to watch over William (who, much to Derek's amusement, was handcuffed to the leg of the dining room table. Karma was a bitch.)
Derek reached out and gently pulled Spencer into his arms shushing him when he cried out in pain. He slowly began to massage Spencer's stiff legs to try and get the blood flowing through the appendages once again. The whole time he worked, Spencer whimpered into Derek's neck in an attempt to hide from the rest of the world. Derek just held him impossibly tighter, whispering reassurances the whole time.
In a few moments, things would be crazy. There would be people everywhere and it would all be quite overwhelming. Spencer would need to be checked over in the ambulance and William would be locked into the back of a cruiser. Derek and his father would both have to give a statement. They would probably take Spencer to the hospital and CPS would be contacted since Spencer was still three months shy of his eighteenth birthday.
Eventually, they would have to talk. Spencer would have to finally come clean and tell Derek about all he had suffered in his life. He would have to talk about the things his father had done to him and tell Derek about his mother who was stuck in a sanatorium in Vegas. He would probably cry. They probably both would. But right then, Derek held Spencer and kissed his brow. Nothing else mattered to him beside the fact that his pretty boy was finally safe. It would take a while, and some scars would never heal, but eventually everything would be okay.
Oh my gosh I finally finished this! Now I can move on to other things. I hope you all enjoyed!
