A/N: Guys I'm so sorry this has taken a month. I went back to school, got bronchitis, got better, had exams, then rushed to hospital as my bronchitis came back all in the space of a month. And I've got my final higher examinations from the 15th to the 31st of May. Right okay, now let's see how Amelia manages to cope post her kidnapping shall we?
I do not own Criminal Minds; I only own Amelia and her crazy nature.
12th September 2011. Quantico, Virginia
SpencerPOV
We got off the plane and said goodbye to the others. Hotch had ordered Amelia to be off for at least three weeks after the ordeal, but had also managed to wrangle a week's leave for the rest of us from Strauss. Amelia clung to my arm tightly as walked to her desk to grab some of the things she had left there. The others in the BAU seemed to know that Amelia and I were now an item, because the numbers of knowing looks and winks that were mingled with the looks of sympathy were high in number. We grabbed what we needed from our desks, before we headed down to the parking lot.
"Give me your keys, I don't want you driving." I said to her, squeezing her arm gently to try and break the silent trance she had found herself in.
She jumped at my words, "Oh, um sure." She said, rummaging in her bag and handing me the keys. "Don't break her."
I rolled my eyes slightly, taking her hand and squeezing it. "I'll be careful."
A ghost of a smile graced her lips, but she remained silent.
This was to be expected; it was common in abduction victims like Amelia, the comedown after the relief of being found. What was smiley and happy yesterday and this morning was gone as she now came to terms with what happened. It was going to be a rough time, filled with clinginess, jumpiness and nightmares. She was going to need someone to be there for her, to hold her when she cried, to reassure her, to love her. The job was mine, no one else's, to help her through this, and I was ready to do it.
The twenty minute drive to her apartment was only filled with the noise of 90s Take That music filtering through the CD player. I knew it was one of Amelia's favourites; she played it every morning on her way to pick me up for work. I kept an eye on her as I drove. She had curled up in the chair, looking out the window at the Quantico streets as we passed. It was 3pm here, and the streets were full of people and life.
We reached Amelia's apartment and she unlocked the door. "Sorry about the mess, I'll get you the spare key." She said, dashing into her bedroom.
Size wise, her apartment was around the same size as mine. It was a two bedroom, one bathroom place with a kitchen and living room. Like me, she had one wall in her living room dedicated to shelf after shelf after shelf of books. There were hundreds, many in different languages that I hadn't read them in before. I looked forward to reading them whilst I lived here. She had a decent sized TV with a Blu Ray player and Wii along with a cabinet full of loads of DVDs of almost any genre. There was a mismatched armchair and loveseat as well as a bean bag sitting on the carpeted floor. In the corner, there was a CD player, next to a cabinet which I knew was full of CDs from top to bottom. All around the room there were pictures framed on the walls or on shelves. They were all of Amelia at various stages of her life: with her parents, getting awards, playing instruments, doing ballet, singing, acting, it seemed that Amelia was in to many different extra-curricular activities when she was younger. There were also pictures of extended family; cousins, grandparents, and some more recent photos of the pair of us and the rest of the team.
She came back through, pressing the key into my hand, "Don't lose it." She warned, "I won't cut you another one."
I hooked out my keyring and stuck it next to my own apartment key. "Honestly, don't you trust me at all?" I joked
"Of course I do, but I also know you, you do tend to go off on a tangent quite quickly." She added, smiling slightly before it left her face quickly.
"I want to talk about what happened." She added, her face darkening.
My eyebrows shot up, "Are you sure? We don't have to do this yet if you're not ready."
She nodded, her mouth set in a grim line as she lead me towards the loveseat. "The sooner we talk and get all the feelings out into the open air, the sooner we can tackle them and heal. If I hold onto it I'll never get over it. That's what happened after 9/11, I bottled it all up until it got too much, I don't want to make the same mistake again."
Her logic was faultless, as usual, I sat down, Amelia sitting next to me and curling up into my side.
"Well, the easiest place to start is the beginning; you went to get your gun?"
AmeliaPOV
Two hours later, I felt emotionally drained. I had recounted everything to Spence, not scrimping on all the gory details, and Spence too revealed his thoughts and feelings over the past days of hell. There had been tears (on both sides, though mainly me) and snot and sobs, we were both such ugly criers.
Though, as I sat here, curled up next to Spence, my head on his chest with his hand tracing patterns up my arm, I felt lighter, a bit more relaxed, better. I know that I'm a long way away from being recovered, being back to normal, but I felt like that getting there would be a lot easier. I was still jumpy, still paranoid, still scared and I knew that there would be nightmares tonight. But it made it easier to know that I didn't have to do it all alone.
"I'm here for you, for better or worse, that's what boyfriends and best friends do right?"
I went through Spence's words again in my head, smiling to myself; it was strange, how did I do all this before I met him? Going back to the way things were before Spencer now would be like losing electricity; I needed him to get through every day.
I was pulled out of my musings with the thought of food, "Are you hungry? We could get some Chinese from that place round the corner." I asked, looking up at Spence.
He nodded, "Sure, you want me to pick it up or get it delivered?" he asked
"Get it delivered. I don't want to go out again. Give me your go bag, I'll wash some of your clothes." I said, grabbing my own. My building didn't have a communal laundry area like most complexes; mine had individual washers and dryers in each apartment.
Spence handed me his go bag before he went to order the food. I put on a wash, mixing our clothes together in the wash. It was strange doing domestic tasks after the last few days. It almost felt like the past few days were something out of a film; something that was familiar but hadn't actually really happened.
After I put the wash on, I went to my room to change into my pyjamas. I emerged a few minutes later in my cookie monster shorts and tshirt pj set. I walked across the living room and wrapped my arms around Spence's middle, resting my head on his shoulder.
"What's this for?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist
I looked up at him, going onto my tiptoes to kiss him, "Thank you, for everything."
He rolled his eyes, "don't thank me, there's no need. Should I take my stuff into the guest room?" he asked; that was where he usually stayed when he accidently slept over.
I blushed, looking to the floor, "well, I was kind of hoping you could sleep with me in my room. It's okay if that makes you uncomfortable and you don't want to. It just makes me feel safer when you're there, because you make me feel safe and-"
He cut me off with a finger to my lips, "It's not very often I get to tell someone to stop rambling. Relax its fine. If that's where you want me to sleep, then that's where I'll sleep."
I smiled, tugging his hand, "come on, I'll help you find a place for your stuff." I said, pulling him towards my room.
SpencerPOV
Amelia's room was odd, but it fit her. The walls were grey with a feature wall of white wallpaper with an embossed cityscape on it. She had a Casio full sized keyboard set up in the corner next to a shelf overflowing with sheet music. She had a good sized double bed with a red duvet set to match her red blind. Overall the room was very very her. I liked it.
She cleared a drawer in her chest of drawer and a space in her wardrobe for my clothes. I chuckled as I put away the clothes in the drawer and closet, I was feeling quite at home.
I was interrupted from unpacking by a knock at the door, the food was here.
I walked through to see Amelia paying for the food, "grab me a glass of wine sweetie, there's an open bottle of white in the fridge. Help yourself." She said as she shut the door and began unpacking the cartons on the coffee table.
I grabbed the bottle, two glasses and two forks and sat next to her on the loveseat. "I'll pay you back for the food."
She rolled her eyes, "Don't be an eejit, I won't accept it."
I paused, a noodle halfway to my mouth, "eejit?"
She giggled, eating her own noodles, "a Scottish word, meaning idiot or stupid."
I laughed "Ah, that makes sense"
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"So what film?" I asked her
"Ooh I want to watch Love Actually!" she exclaimed, tossing me the cover.
I frowned, "Isn't this set at Christmas?"
She laughed, adjusting her glasses; she had removed her contacts shortly after eating, "Yes, my flat my rules. Put it on pretty boy."
I rolled my eyes, sticking it in the DVD player.
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Amelia had fallen asleep halfway through the film, I picked her up gently, making sure she stayed asleep. I carried her to 'our' room, setting her in the bed, climbing into next to her. "Goodnight Amelia, I love you, I hope the nightmares stay away." I whispered, before I too fell asleep.
My wish didn't come true.
Four times that night, the night terrors raged. At one point, it took me 10 minutes to wake her up. As she cried into my shirt for the fourth time that night, I wondered how long it would be until I got a full night's sleep again. But, then I looked at how scared she was, how vulnerable, how needy, and I knew that I would give up every second of sleep to see her better again.
Because that's what you do for the ones you love, sacrifice everything to make them feel better.
Amelia Botecelli would heal, even if it took every ounce out of me.
A/N: wow this is about 2000 words, I hope this makes up for the wait. I will try and get a chapter out soon, but I can't guarantee it. If I don't it may not be until after my exams finish on the 31st. remember to leave a review. Each one of you guys is so special to me and I thank you for reading my ramblings.
