~SPENCER POV~

I walked slowly along the ocean and felt like the biggest idiot ever. I couldn't believe out of all of us in the B.A.U. they asked me to be bait for our killer. There was no way I could have concealed a gun in the pale blue button down shirt and khaki pants. I knew the team was nearby but I couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness. I didn't have my gun on me or even a pair of handcuffs.

I heard someone walking behind me and felt my breathing pick up a little more. I remembered what I'd read about the woman. Her family had been claimed by the ocean and in this she had decided to try and understand the ways of the ocean. She had read a book that contained mythology and in this book, it was said that the ocean craved blood and so she had left her victims in the ocean so that the blood from their open throats would flood into the ocean.

I wanted to try and reason with her but I knew that it probably wouldn't come to that. She'd lost her ability to separate reality from fiction and with this loss, could not be reasoned. I slowed my steps until I stopped completely and I crossed my arms as I looked out at the ocean.

I felt hands slide up on my shoulders and she began massaging them lightly. I kept my breathing even and listened carefully. I felt one of her hands leave my body and looked down at my watch to see the moonlight had hit the knife and reflected onto my watch.

I quickly turned around and grabbed her arm. She began struggling immediately and I quickly grabbed her wrist and she dropped the knife.

I watched as a pair of cuffs were slapped over her wrists and she attempted to kick at me and the person I could now see was Hotch, that put the handcuffs on her. "Layla Tor, you're under arrest for the murder of two civilians."

"The ocean will wither away without their blood. I have to help! You don't realize what you are doing!" She began screaming, her short blonde hair was now covering her green eyes and her small figure fell to the ground in defeat. I watched as tears hit the ground and onto her knees. "I'll never see them again now."

Morgan walked over as Hotch escorted her to the police cruiser and I ran a hand through my hair, exhausted now. The three days of no sleep had finally caught up to me and I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. Well… there was one thing I could think of that I wanted to do.

"Case is done and over. Time to go home and see our girls." He grinned at me and I shook my head.

I laughed and returned the teasing. "She's not mine."

He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled. "Not yet, pretty boy. Give it some time. Try a magic trick."

I blushed and looked away from him. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number. I placed the phone next to my ear and waited for her to pick up but was disappointed to get her voicemail.

"Hey, Bex. It's Spencer; I'll be home in a little while and wanted to see if you were still awake. If not I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." I hung up the phone and put it back in my pocket.

JJ walked over not long after that and smiled at me. "Ready to go home."

I nodded and laughed as I watched Morgan smile adoringly as he talked to Savannah over the phone. "I miss you too, baby." he said into the phone.

I walked away from him along with JJ and towards Hotch and Rossi. Hotch was finishing up with the local P.D. and Rossi walked away from him and over to us.

"Ready to go home?" He asked and I nodded. JJ pulled her phone from her pocket and called Will.

"You have no idea." I said and walked into the direction of the car.

A few hours later I was at my apartment complex and was happy to be back in Quantico and away from anything even remotely similar to the beach. I walked up the stairs to my apartment and as I walked by Bexley's door, I felt something slightly off. I unlocked and opened my door throwing my stuff in there but quietly closed the door, locking it again.

I put a hand on Bexley's door and when I turned the knob, I was surprised to find the door unlocked. I walked in and knew I was facing the possibility of her rightfully getting pissed at me again but something in the back of my mind told me something was wrong. Her door was never unlocked to start with. I looked in the living room and saw her asleep in the corner with the copy of Romeo and Juliet beside her.

I was about to walk out when I saw her grab a handful of carpet and her expression turned into one of fear. I quickly walked over to her and tried to gently shake her awake.

"No! Get off of me!" she screamed and began kicking her feet, struggling to get out of my grip.

I tried shaking her again and said "Bexley. Bexley, it's okay. Bexley you're dreaming. Wake up."

Her foot connected with my hip but that must have been what it was going to take to wake her up because her eyes fluttered open a minute later.

"Hey." I said and she looked at me for a moment and her golden eyes lost all of the light in them. I expected her to start screaming at me for walking into her apartment without her knowing again. I expected her to be angry at me for waking her up and not letting her resolve whatever she'd dreamed about herself.

I was ready for any reaction… except the actual reaction. Her eyes closed and her hands tangled into my hair, pulling me closer to her. The second our lips met, I lost all train of thought and lightly pushed her down onto the carpet. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I couldn't help but notice the way she kissed me tonight.

It was desperate and afraid, I wanted to ask her what was wrong but I knew that now was most definitely not a time to do that. I also wouldn't take advantage of her though, so as hard as it was I moved away from her.

I pecked her lips again and noted the fact that she was still afraid of whatever she'd dreamed of. One of her hands remained in my hair but the other had dropped to her collarbone. I noticed the scars there again and saw even more than her usual t-shirt would allow. From where I'd pulled her shirt up below her ribcage, I could see several faded scars on her flat stomach and even one or two on her sides.

I decided to take a risk and leaned down to kiss the scars on her collarbone. I heard her gasp softly and the hand that was on her collarbone moved to my chest. I thought she would push me away for a moment and nearly moved further away from her but then I saw what she was doing. Her hand was placed over my heart and she was feeling the rhythm of my unsteady heartbeat.

~BEXLEY POV~

I felt a wave of calm come over me as I felt his heart beat against my hand and I continued to look up into his warm brown eyes. Slowly, the dream began to fade away as I looked at him. His cheeks were slightly flushed, his hair a mess, and a look of concern on his face. He looked alive and like his usual self. I felt the vision of his dead body fade to the back of my mind and felt more at ease as I felt each beat of his heart.

I thought of just a moment ago when he'd kissed my scars and though I felt embarrassed by the action, it hadn't seemed to faze him at all. My father had told me time and time again that I was ugly and that my scars were just one more thing to make me undesirable. He'd told me that I looked too much like my mother to ever be considered beautiful and hadn't bothered hiding the fact that this was one of the things that had saved me from rape.

I had no idea what Spencer saw in me and what good could possibly come of this but as I looked into his brown eyes, the world almost felt a little less horrible. I felt his breathing begin to even out as well as my own and I let my leg drop from around his waist. I noticed the outfit he was wearing, as well as what was noticeably the smell of salt on his clothes.

"Did you just get back from a case?" I asked and he laughed as he rolled onto his side. He propped up on his elbow and I laid on my arms to look at him.

He looked down at his clothes and nodded. "I hate when we have a case on the beach. I smell like it for days."

I smiled and images of the beach I'd seen at my grandmother's came to mind. I'd never seen the beach with my own eyes but it was something I would like to see someday. The image of the sun setting over the ocean was one of my grandmother's favorite things to talk about.

I was brought back to the present by the feeling of Spencer's hand on my side and tracing over one of the scars from my father's boots. I fought the instinct to jerk his hand away from me but I knew that he could feel my discomfort. This was one of the many draw backs of profilers.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" he asked and his hand strayed from my side to my stomach, tracing more scars.

I sighed and did grab his hand this time. I laced my fingers with his and waited until his eyes met mine. "I don't want you to look at me with more sympathy than you already do. Everyone has their scars and everyone has a past. I'm trying to move past mine." I leaned forward and kissed him again.

It was wrong in several ways to say that. It made it seem like I had a future here with him or one at all. I wouldn't have a future until my father was dead and this wasn't happening anytime soon. I knew he'd kill anyone that tried to keep me away from him; he'd proven this once already. I couldn't let this happen to Spencer or to Eleanor.

I couldn't live with someone's death being my fault again. I'd give Spencer everything I had while I was here but I would have to break his heart eventually and in doing so, my own.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" I asked and he looked up at me, surprise filled his features and I smiled at the response.

"Are you sure?" he asked and I nodded before standing up. I walked over and locked my door before taking a deep breath and turning back around to look at him.

I smiled and walked back over to him, extending a hand to help him up from the floor. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure."

He smiled before taking my hand and I helped him up from the floor as he had done for me a few nights ago. I looked up into his eyes and had decided that they were one of my favorite things about him. They held warmth and assurance, something I'd never seen much of in my life and something that I would love to be able to get used to seeing.

He wrapped his arms around my waist again and leaned down to kiss me. I tangled my hands into his hair and gently parted my lips, allowing the kiss to deepen but only for a moment.

I leaned down and picked up the book I'd fallen asleep reading before grabbing his hand and leading him in the direction of my bedroom. He followed quietly and I laughed as he smiled at the sight of the queen sized air mattress Eleanor had given to me in the middle of the room that was covered in mismatched sheets and pillowcases. I picked up the blanket and threw it on the bed before lying down and making room for him.

I watched as he removed his shoes and saw one sock with purple and blue stripes and another that green with orange dots all over it. I smiled seeing this though and made a mental note to ask him about his mismatched socks later.

He gently eased into bed with me and I felt better knowing that I wouldn't be alone tonight while I slept. As he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close, I prayed for a night of blissful sleep. I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep as I listened to the calming sound of his breathing.

*** Well, there's another chapter along with the promise of many more. I hope you all are still enjoying the story still. Be sure to R&R and thank you for reading.