SPENCER POV

A scream woke me up in the middle of the night and I jolted up in bed. I listened for a moment and realized that they were coming from the apartment next door. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my gun before walking out of my apartment and to Bexley's.

The screams were still coming loudly and there was nothing but pure fear in them. I got down on a knee and pulled the lock pick that I kept attached to my gun at night and began working on the lock to her door. This was one of the skills I wasn't very proud of but at this point, I couldn't thank the BAU enough for marking this as a required skill.

The door came open with ease and I quietly but quickly rushed to her room. I felt relieved to find that she was alone but that relief soon vanished as I realized that much more of this and she could hurt herself. She was thrashing on the bed and already looked like she couldn't breathe.

I quickly put my gun down and grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Bexley! Bexley, wake up! It's just a dream! Wake up!" I kept repeating this as I shook her until finally her golden eyes opened and only then did I realize that she was crying.

Her eyes were blood shot and I could feel her pulse racing as my hands moved from her shoulders to her hands, inspecting for any damage there. Her eyes scanned the room; fear and danger managed occupy them at the same moment.

After a minute of thorough scanning, she pulled her hands from mine and put her face in her hands. I listened as she fought to calm her breathing and to erase the horrendous nightmare she'd had out of her mind.

She looked up at me suddenly and her eyes widened not in fear but an emotion I'd seen often up until two weeks ago, at Henry's birthday party. Pure, unadulterated anger.

"What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?" she growled and I stood up then and kept my eyes perfectly honest.

"I thought you were being assaulted, so I picked the lock so I could help you if needed." she stood up and glared at me.

Her hands clenched into fist and I couldn't help but wonder if she would try to take a hit. "You picked my lock? This is my personal space. You can't just come in here when you feel like it. I don't need your help. I can take care of myself. I'm not a little girl anymore. I can protect myself now." she stopped then and put a hand over her mouth.

Whatever anger she'd felt dissolved then and was replaced with regret. I saw her eyes gloss over then and thought for a moment over what to say.

"I'm sorry. I was worried and I suppose my FBI training kicked in. I apologize for the intrusion." I gave her a nod and turned around to leave but felt unable to move any further.

I turned back around to her and saw that she had her arms crossed and was looking down at her feet. "I have no doubts you can take care of yourself but, statistically speaking, friends are supposed to look out for each other."

She looked up then and I could see that the smile she gave wasn't forced. It was a relieved smile. Her eyes held more of a teasing look now and I knew mine showed that I was relieved.

"Statistically speaking." She gave a laugh. "You are a walking, talking book of facts, you know that?"

I shrugged and grabbed my gun off of the nightstand I'd laid it on. She raised an eyebrow and I looked from her to the gun. "I told you. I thought you needed help."

She walked over to me then and was standing close enough that I could almost feel the warmth of her body.

Her eyes locked on mine and stayed there as she said "The only person I've ever relied on to protect me, is me. I've never trusted anyone to keep me safe. I'm still not sure I do."

I offered what I hoped was a reassuring look in my eyes and concentrated on my breathing as she stared into my eyes. I felt like she was looking for something, but didn't know what. That made two of us.

"You can trust me, if you decide to. I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt you." I said and felt the impossible urge to grab the words and dispose of them before they reached her ears. Impossible.

"It's your job to keep people safe, I guess." She said, her eyes dropping back down to her feet. I moved my free hand to remover some of the long red hair from her face and she looked back up at me.

"I'm not on the clock now." I told her and let my hand linger on her cheek, feeling the softness of it.

She smiled then and leaned her face into my palm. Her eyes closed, not in sleep but in deep thought but only for a moment. She opened her eyes again and then moved her face away from my hand and I lowered my arm to my side.

"Thank you, Spencer." She said and took a step back. "Just don't pick my lock unless you really think I'm in danger."

She gave me a teasing grin and I gave her one in return. "Only if you promise not to attempt to physically injury me the next time."

She laughed lightly and ran a hand through her hair. I turned to leave again and walked out of her apartment before stopping in my tracks.

I turned around and looked at her, remembering her words from earlier. "What did you mean?" I asked and her face turned confused.

"About?" she asked and crossed her arms again, her stance going defensive.

"When you said you could protect yourself now?" I asked and she stared me down. This time I returned her look of determination and tried to also keep a trusting look. I didn't want her to feel as if she was forced to tell me something but I knew the pain of trying to keep your fears hidden. That wasn't something I wanted for her.

"I think you know, Mr. Profiler." She tried to lighten the mood with the nickname but I could see that she felt more terrified than she was letting on. Her eyes appeared calm and collected but her stance was every bit as defensive as ever.

"There are several things I don't know about you that I think I should. I know you don't want the past to ruin your future but keeping everything locked away. It surfaces eventually and the pain that comes with it is no easier than it starts off. I hope that someday you'll trust me enough to let me know you."

I held her gaze for a moment longer and then turned around to walk out the door. She walked with me to the door and turned the lock on the doorknob and, after seeing it still worked, allowed me to pass through the door. A thoughtful expression remained on her face the whole time and she stood in the doorway.

I turned to walk down my apartment when she said "Blue." I stopped and turned back around to see that she had a smile on her face.

"I'm sorry?" I said and tried to think of what she could be talking about. She smiled then and crossed her arms, leaning against the doorway.

"My favorite color is blue. Midnight blue if you want specifics." She said and closed the door, the smile never leaving her face.

I felt a smile spread across my face and stared at her door for a moment longer. A laugh pulled me back to reality and I saw one of my neighbors standing outside her door. I gave her a polite nod before going back into my apartment, placing the gun back in its rightful place, and heading to bed.

***Thank you all so much for the reviews and I am so sorry about the length between chapters. I will be updating as soon as I'm able to and I hope you are all still enjoying the story as much as I am writing it. R&R and thanks again.