Chapter 13

Sunrise House
Silver Springs MD

A case that afternoon kept him out of the city for four days. When Spencer returned his first stop was to see how his mother was doing on her new medication. "See for yourself." The doctor said.

One thing Diana had always had trouble with was executive function. She had trouble getting and staying organized in order to manage things like bathing and dressing and eating on a regular basis. This was one of the main reasons why she required hospitalization, she simply could not take care of herself. The staff made sure she ate, and showered on a fairly regular schedule, and they kept her hair short enough that it did not require much in the way of combing, and he made sure she had decent pajamas to wear under her robe. That was how he usually saw her, how he had for years, in her bathrobe. Sometimes she was oriented and clear enough to engage, but most of the time, not so much.

And now?

Diana was in the day room, sitting by the window. She was freshly bathed, neatly dressed with her hair nicely done. She appeared to be writing, not in the jerky way she used to write in her notebooks, frantically trying to get the words out of her head, but carefully and thoughtfully. And when she looked up her eyes were neither drugged nor crazed, but bright and clear. She recognized him right off and smiled. "Spencer."

"Mom." He came and collected his hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Much, much better. I've been able to sleep, you have no idea, and my head is finally clear. I can't hear anyone but me in there. It's been wonderful."

"I'm so glad." Okay, this might be a miracle. If this continued he might have his mother back. "What are you writing?"

"A letter to Bryn. She wrote to me while you were gone, just a note really." She pulled a printed e-mail out of the pile she had with her. "She's not the only survivor, thank god. They're living on Rigel now. Unpleasant place."

Spencer looked at his mother's writing. "Why are you writing to her in the Star Language?"

"The what?" The doctor asked.

"Star Language. It's this code Mom made up. We used to play with it when I was a kid. She'd put notes in my lunch bag, stories in my back pack. It was always really sweet."

Diana looked up at the doctor. "Give it a moment. The penny will drop."

After a moment it did. Spencer groaned a little as it hit him. "You were teaching me Quadranian, weren't you."

"Of course. No different from teaching you Hebrew, or Japanese kanji. I was a very sick parent, I admit it, but I did what I could. I just hope you remember it."

That was why the script on the documents looked familiar. He's only ever seen handwritten versions. Spencer looked at the letter again. Dearest Bryn, I am so glad to know that you're all still alive…. "Yeah, I do. I need to start practicing again." No. He did not.

"I was going to order some books. I'll see what looks good."

The doctor smiled. "You know, Dr. Reid, if Mrs. Reid continues like this we might be able to look at a lower level of care."

"Mrs. Garon." Diana said.

"Yes, I'm sorry." The doctor said. "If Mrs. Garon continues like this. We do have an assisted living facility on site. It might end up as the better placement for her"

Spencer was pleasantly shocked. "Sure. Absolutely." Moving from a skilled nursing facility to an assisted living one would give his mother much more privacy and independence. But there would still be someone there to monitor her and help her with more complex tasks. "We might want to consult with Dr. Linalter first, but if it works out that would be great." She'd be able to get out and do things in the city, even if she went with a group, he could take her out…

"We'll keep an eye on it, but it's definitely something to think about moving forward." One of the nurses signaled. "Excuse me." The doctor said as he took his leave.

Spencer waited until the doctor was out of earshot. "Mrs. Garon?" He asked.

"Yes." Diana said. "Oh, I don't think you should change your name, you have a lot to be proud of and all, but I just could not be associated with William any more. Not after what he did to Kati."

There was still a lot of pain there, even after all this time. "I understand."

"So, how was work?"


BAU Headquarters
Quantico, VA

"Oh Spence, that's great!" JJ said as they walked in to the office. "Is there any chance she'll move from there back in with you?"

Spencer was smiling. He still had a lot on his mind, but much of it was happy. It had been six weeks since Diana started on the new medication regime. They'd had to tweak it a couple of times but she had never lost progress. And now, over the week-end she had moved out of the locked psychiatric ward and into a the much less restrictive assisted living facility. He'd had the pleasure of taking his Mother out shopping and then helping her set up her new, small apartment. "Probably not. Dr. Linalter says that most women with this issue always require some level of care. After trying the whole caregiver thing, it's just not going to work at home. But it's okay, she understands that now, and I think this place strikes a good balance for her. For example, this morning she's joining a shopping trip to Target and then this afternoon she's joining the weekly poker game,

"Does she play cards like you do?" JJ asked. Spencer smiled. "God help them". She said.

"What was amazing is that while we were setting up her room a package came in. She'd ordered some things…."

"You know, now that she's properly medicated she'd probably a lot more capable, Spence."

"Oh yeah. I set her up with a Amazon account to get what she needs. But no, what was awesome is that she ordered them from another planet."

"Wait…". JJ 's eyes went wide. "Seriously?

"Yeah." Spencer nodded. "She has a banking account on another planet and she remembered her account and PIN numbers. She went through the embassy to order some things and had them shipped to her. From. Another. Planet. Like it was…from Amazon."

"Oh my god!"

"I know, right?"

"What did she get?"

"An e-reader in Quadrainian, loaded with books, and nine pairs of gloves."

"Gloves?"

"Apparently a polite Quadrainian does not leave the house without their gloves on. She bought four pairs for summer and four for winter and a pair for me."

"Are you going to wear them?"

"When I'm around her."

"Because that would be the perfect excuse to avoid shaking hands."

Spencer considered this. "Good point."

"I'm teasing, Spence. It would stand out too much in the field."

"Darn." He grinned. He was teasing too.


His mother's progress was a wonderful thing, but it was also weighing heavily on Spencer's mind. Eventually he had to seek some kind of council. "I'm having this problem." He said as he walked into the room.

"Personal or professional?" Penelope asked.

"Mmm, personal I think."

"Is there a girl involved?"

"Does my mom count?"

"Sadly, no. Boy involved?"

"Would her doctor count?"

"Is he single?"

"I don't believe so. He introduced his nurse as his companion."

"Nope. Doesn't count either. So what's going on with you?"

"I'm still having stomach problem. I lost another three pounds last month."

"Spencer! You do not have three pounds to lose!"

"I know! But I don't know what else to do."

"Want me to find another exclusion diet to try?" Penelope turned back to her keyboard.

"I was actually thinking of seeing a doctor."

"Okay, gastroenterologist. Did I spell that right?"

"I was thinking of going to see Mom's doctor."

"Oh." Penelope stopped typing. "This is a thing."

"Yeah it is. It means this is…real. I mean, really real. I've been trying to avoid it."

"I was not going to make any denial and Africa jokes."

Spencer frowned for a moment in confusion. "But after seeing what's been happening with Mom, how she was misdiagnosed, I just…this hasn't affected my job performance yet…"

"But you do have every physical waiver under the sun."

"True, and it's slowly getting worse. It…it would be irresponsible to not get this looked at."

"So, you're going to make an appointment?"

"Yeah." Spencer took a deep breath. "Yeah, I am."

"All right. You're not going alone."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You're family."