On Monday morning, Derek turned to Penelope. "So, this 'Finals Spencer' everyone's speaking of…"

"Don't even try talking to him," she warned. "The last few days, you have seen extremely pleasant 'calm before the storm Spencer'. Now that it's officially Finals Week, keep your distance."

"Come on, he can't be that bad."

She wiped down her counter. "I'm telling you this because I love you. Stay away from him unless he comes to you, otherwise you're in for a big mess."

"...Seriously?"

She nodded. "Last appearance of 'Finals Spencer'? He blew up at JJ for offering him a ride to school. Finals Spencer doesn't sleep, he doesn't eat, and he barely functions. It doesn't matter that he has a super brain and is going to ace all of his finals. He is a wreck and I beg of you to listen to me and stay away from him."

He raised his eyebrows. "...Wow."

"'Wow' doesn't even begin to cover it." She looked toward the door. "He's coming in. Be careful. And if he bites your head off, I'll try to sew it back on."

"...Thank you?"

She nodded slightly, preoccupying herself by filling the baked goods.

As Spencer approached the counter, Derek picked up a cup, starting to make his drink. "Don't even need to say it."

"Much appreciated."

He looked at him, curious. "You seem to be pleasant. I take it the finals haven't kicked in yet?"

Spencer shook his head. "Every day starting tomorrow."

"I don't know if it helps, but if you need anything at all this week, just give me a call and I'll be there."

"I appreciate it." He tapped his credit card on the counter, chewing on his cheek. "Throw in a bagel too."

"Toasted?" Penelope asked.

"Yes, please."

She picked one up, walking over to the toaster. "This is still normal Spencer," she whispered in Derek's ear as she passed, "enjoy him while he lasts."

He smiled to himself, picking up Spencer's card and swiping it, handing it back along with the receipt.

Spencer signed the receipt, picking up the drink and taking a sip. "I feel I should warn you that 'Finals Spencer' is a very tired person and doesn't really keep track of time. If I text you at 3 in the morning, I sincerely apologize."

"Thanks for the warning."

He smiled slightly, picking up the bag with his bagel. "Since I gave you advanced warning, can I also give out an advanced apology for anything I will probably say to you that I absolutely don't mean?"

Derek thought it over before nodding. "Absolutely. Apology accepted."

"And don't take anything I say too personally?"

"I promise."

Spencer opened his bag, checking his bagel. "...I didn't order a cake pop."

"You need it," Penelope insisted. "A little sugar to get you through."

"...Thank you?" He waved to her and turned to Derek. "I'll be in touch."

"I'll be waiting."

He turned around, walking out of the shop, and Penelope shook her head. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

He shook his head. "Definitely not."

Over the next couple of days, Derek only saw Spencer for two reasons: for coffee or food. It seemed like Spencer was living off of things from the coffeehouse, and Derek guessed it was because it took no effort on his part to make. When he'd come up to the counter, there was little to no interaction between the two of them. Derek would just make his drink, hand it to him, and Penelope would fetch whatever food he wanted. She'd hand it to him and with a small wave, then he'd walk out and close the door to the shop behind him.

Derek raised his eyebrows. "You know, I was told and I was warned, but I really don't think there was any way to prepare myself for this."

"Getting tired of the freeze out?" she asked. "Or is it possibly the snippy snappy Spencer you have an issue with?"

"It's the whole package. You warned me, he told me, and it's still way worse than I expected."

She smirked, patting his back. "You fell for Spencer Reid. Now you need to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly that comes with him. I wish you all of the luck in the world surviving this week."

"...Thanks."

"You need it."

Spencer came in a couple of hours later, slamming his textbook onto the counter and looking up at them. Derek exhaled, picking up a cup and starting his order.

"Would it be crossing any lines asking what's wrong?"

"That professor had me stressing over this final, and for what? Open textbook and open notes?! I didn't spend the entire semester learning everything to get the same grade as my classmates who procrastinated all semester and lucked out on the final. It's bull! I earned my perfect score for the entire semester, and now there's going to be even more students with A's because of this ridiculousness and it makes no sense."

Derek slid the cup over to him. "And he didn't warn you about this beforehand?"

Spencer glared at him. "Of course he didn't warn me beforehand. If he had, I wouldn't have bothered stressing over studying for this final at all. I believed that it was based off of classroom exercises and tests and quizzes and everything we did this semester, but oh no, everything was easily found in the textbook's index. It's like he was personally insulting me. It's his last bit of revenge for me correcting him the fourth week of class. Joke's on him when he gets his evaluation scores." He picked up the drink, sipping it and throwing his card down on the counter. "Breakfast sandwich?"

"What kind?"

"It doesn't matter. Something to pick at while I sit here and study for the next two hours for my next final."

Derek turned to Penelope, who put her hands up. "On it."

He sighed, swiping the card and handing it to him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Spencer tucked the card into the wallet. "Leave me alone."

He raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I get it, you're committed and you care and you think that you have my best interest at heart, but all I want you to do is leave me alone for the next 72 hours. Are we clear?"

Derek's eyes widened before nodding, handing him his receipt. "Crystal. Sorry I asked."

Penelope handed Spencer the bag with his sandwich inside, and as he made himself comfortable at a table, she squeezed Derek's arm. "I promise he doesn't mean it."

He patted her hand. "Thanks, sweetness."

That night after work, Derek decided to get some takeout and stay in with Clooney, choosing to eat, walk him, and then go to bed early. Since he had the following day off, he was going to enjoy getting as much sleep as he could. He sat on his couch, poking his fork around in his food, watching Doctor Who on his TV. When his phone started ringing, he set his tray on the floor for Clooney to snack on and grabbing his phone, answering it.

"Hello?"

"...Derek?"

He raised an eyebrow. "...Hey, Spencer. Is everything okay?" he asked cautiously, unsure if he should talk to him considering his earlier warning.

Spencer sighed. "I um, I'm really sorry. I'm so sorry for bothering you. I know you have your own life and things to do and I'm really, truly sorry."

He reached over for his remote, pausing the TV and leaning back. "There's nothing to apologize for. What's up?"

Spencer exhaled, swallowing. "I-I'm really stressing over this Art History final," he admitted. "It's obviously not my subject of choice and it's an elective I needed to take. I don't know if I can handle taking this final, considering it's not exactly in my comfort zone." He sniffed. "I can't do this."

Derek walked to his room, grabbing a backpack out of his closet. "Spencer, calm down. Deep breaths. Come on."

Spencer took a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," he repeated. "I just, I don't handle anxiety well and this is a definite source of anxiety."

He stuffed some clothes into the backpack, zipping it up. "It's fine, I've been there, I've done that, you'll be fine," he assured him, putting the backpack strap over his shoulder and going to the kitchen, grabbing Clooney's dog food. "Are you at home right now?"

"Um, yeah, I'm in my living room. Why?"

Derek grabbed his keys and Clooney's leash, hooking him onto it. "I'll be there in twenty minutes." Before Spencer could reply, he hung up, dropping Clooney off at his neighbor's house before getting into the car and driving.

On the way there, he picked up some fast food and coffees, knowing that Spencer had barely eaten anything all week. He got out of the car, grabbed his things, and walked to the front door, knocking.

"Come on, Spencer. It's me," he said, knocking again. "I'm here to help."

Spencer walked over, opening the door and sighing. "You didn't have to come. I've been rotten to you the last few days. You shouldn't have wanted to come."

Derek shrugged. "Well, I'm here. Are you going to let me in?"

Spencer stepped back, holding the door open. "Thank you."

Derek walked to the living room, setting down the coffees and fast food bags. "I know you've been living off of coffee house food for the last few days, so I figured a burger, or what a fast food place passes as a burger, would help."

Spencer smiled slightly, closing the door and walking over, taking the seat beside him. "You have better places to be," he said softly, "you don't need to be here."

Derek took off his jacket, setting his backpack down. "I don't have work in the morning, and have nothing to do, so no, I don't have a better place to be than right here calming you down."

Spencer reached out, picking up his coffee and taking a sip. "What did I do in a past life to be worthy of this?"

"I don't know, but you're welcome." He reached into the bag, taking out a burger and fries, setting them in front of him. "Eat, then I'm going to help you study."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," Derek assured him, grabbing his own coffee and drinking it. "Like I said, I'm off tomorrow, and I have nothing else to do."

Spencer smiled appreciatively, picking up the burger. "You're kind of amazing."

"So I've heard."

After Spencer finished eating, Derek cleaned up the mess. "So, what is currently the bane of your existence?"

Spencer sighed, motioning toward his Art History textbook and several notebooks. "It's too much. Too many methods, too many artists, too much terminology." He shook his head. "I can't do it."

"I think you can," Derek told him. "I have faith in you."

Spencer smiled slightly. "Well, that makes one of us."

Derek threw away the trash, washing his hands and walking out to the living room, picking up his notebooks and flipping through. "Is it a cumulative final, or just based on material since your last test?"

"Cumulative," Spencer told him. "Hence the stress."

"And you're positive they won't pull the 'open book' trick like your other professor did?"

He quickly shook his head. "I asked, all but demanded an answer, and it's entirely possible I threatened him."

Derek raised an eyebrow, looking at him. "You threatened your professor?"

"I told you. I don't like when people change their minds and inconvenience me." Spencer took the notebook from him. "What am I going to do?"

Derek opened up his bag, taking out a package of index cards and throwing them on the table. "Flash cards."

"Excuse me?"

He picked up the package, opening it. "You're hung up on names, dates, and terminology. Therefore, we're going to make flash cards. I read you the definition or description, you guess the person, place, or thing. It's a game of torture but it helps you remember what you need to know. We'll make them, drill you for a few hours, then you are getting some very much needed sleep."

"...I've never actually tried that method. Is it effective?"

Derek shrugged. "Was for me. I figure it's worth a try and makes it a tad less stressful."

Spencer reached into his endtable, taking out some pens and handing them to Derek. "Then let's get to work."

It had taken them nearly an hour, but they were able to put everything Spencer needed to study onto the flash cards. With Derek's help, Spencer had found pictures of the paintings he needed to remember online, printing them off so he could also quiz him on those.

"Now, with your super memory, if you didn't have all of this information before? I think this will definitely be what you need to remember."

"Let's hope so," Spencer told him, stacking them and handing them over. "You're going to give me a bedtime, aren't you?"

"It's entirely possible."

He sighed. "Will you at least be joining me?"

He smirked. "Somebody needs to keep you calmed down."

"And what about tomorrow morning?"

"I'll be sure you wake up, actually eat a meal, and take you to your final."

Spencer reached over, picking up his drink and taking a sip. "And why would you do all of that?"

"Because I love you."

"And how will I return the favor?"

He shrugged. "You'll think of something eventually." He motioned toward the pile in his hands. "A couple hours of quizzing, then you're going to bed."

"...Sounds fair."

The two of them went through the flashcards for over two hours, and to no surprise, Spencer had gotten every single answer right every time. He seemed to finally calm down after the first round through them, but he insisted that the two of them needed to keep going. Eventually, it had gotten to a point where Spencer was yawning after every response. Derek wrapped the flashcards up with a rubber band, tossing them onto the table and eyeing Spencer.

"Go to bed."

"Excuse me?"

He pointed to the bedroom. "Put your pajamas on and get in bed. Your final is at 11:00 a.m. That means you can go to bed, actually sleep, have breakfast, plenty of coffee, go to class, get more studying done, take the final, come out, and officially be done with finals stress."

Spencer eyed the flashcards, sighing. "Fine. Are you coming?"

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Now go."

He got up, walking to his bedroom and closing the door.

While Spencer was getting changed, Derek took it upon himself to close Spencer's textbooks and notebooks, putting them back into his bag and cleaning up the living room. He set his bag on his chair before picking up his own backpack, walking to the bathroom and changing into his pajamas.

He walked into the bedroom to find Spencer sitting up with an Art History book in hand. After plugging in his phone, he shook his head, taking the book from him and putting in a bookmark, setting it on his nightstand.

"But Derek! I was reading that for fun. It had nothing to do with the final."

Derek turned off the light on his nightstand before getting onto the opposite side of the bed. "You can go back to reading for fun when Finals Spencer isn't sitting under the surface," he told him, lying down and holding his arms out. "Now come on."

Spencer took a deep breath, sighing and moving over on the bed, looking up at him. "Thank you."

"Of course." He kissed his forehead. "You're going to do fine, Spencer. I know that finals are super stressful and they suck, but you're going to get your perfect score, finish your last final, and be done."

Spencer gave him a slight smile. "Thanks for having faith in me."

"Well someone has to. Obviously you don't have faith in yourself right now."

Spencer nudged him. "You remember finals. They're very stressful!"

"Yes, they are, but you survive them." He reached over for his phone, setting several alarms for the following morning and motioning toward it. "We're definitely going to wake up tomorrow morning. With all of these alarms on full volume, it's impossible not to. Everything's going to be okay."

He nodded slightly, pulling up the blankets and moving closer, sighing. "I'm ready to be rid of finals."

"I remember that," Derek said, laughing to himself. He reached over, rubbing his back. "Get some sleep. Please?"

Spencer nodded slightly. "Though I can't promise I'll stay asleep."

"As long as you try, I don't care."

He rested his head on Derek's chest, slipping his eyes shut. Derek was sure he'd have to convince him to sleep, but was relieved when he slowly but surely felt him fall asleep against him.

The following morning, Derek woke up to his phone alarm going off. He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"Turn it off before I smash your phone into a million pieces," Spencer mumbled against his chest.

"There's 'Finals Spencer' again," Derek teased, picking up his phone.

"Turn. It. Off."

He turned off the alarm and disabled the others that he'd set. "Come on, Pretty Boy." He tapped his arm. "Coffee's brewing and I owe you breakfast."

Spencer sighed, sitting up and stretching, before getting out of bed and going straight to the kitchen.

"Waste no time, do you?" Derek asked.

"None," Spencer called back to him, picking up a mug and filling it, putting in his sugar and taking a sip.

Derek walked out to the kitchen, opening his fridge and cabinets. "Let's see. No eggs. No bread. No pancake mix." He turned to Spencer. "What have you been eating all week?"

"I've been picking at the food I get from the coffee house," Spencer told him, pouring another cup of coffee for himself, then pouring one for Derek. "The food you brought last night was essentially my first real meal all week."

Derek shook his head, raising his eyebrows. "Okay, once you're caffeinated, get dressed. I'm taking you out for breakfast."

"You don't need to do that," Spencer said, opening his cabinets. "I could just have some cereal."

"I told you I'd give you breakfast in the morning, and I'm a man of my word."

Spencer smiled slightly, finishing his coffee and walking to his bedroom.

Less than a half hour later, the two of them were at the diner, eating their breakfast.

"Have I mentioned I'm sorry for being a jerk over the last few days?"

Derek nodded, putting some salt onto his scrambled eggs. "You may have mentioned it once or twice."

"Then can I apologize again?"

He quickly shook his head. "I'm no longer accepting apologies. You've unfortunately reached your maximum."

Spencer mock laughed, taking a bite of his toast. "You're hilarious. You should be a comedian."

"I could try it out. How early do you want to get to school?"

"As soon as possible? I mean, I could go to class, get my desired seat, go over those flashcards again once or twice, calm myself down, take the final, and be done."

"Makes sense to me." Derek swallowed his food. "Is there a place for me to park and wait for you?"

"Well technically you can park in the visitor lot which isn't too far from the building, but honestly, you don't need to wait for me to finish," Spencer insisted. "I can just take it and call you when I'm done."

Derek shrugged. "I want to do it. I have nothing else to do with my day off."

Spencer looked at him, curious. "What about your house?"

"It's all fixed up. Just a few finishing touches and it's on the market for at least five times what I paid for it."

"...Can I see it?"

"Maybe later." Derek winked at him, pointing to his plate. "Finish your food."

"Yes, dear," Spencer said, pulling his plate toward him and picking up his fork.

Derek parked in the lot, turning to Spencer. "You going to be okay?"

He nodded slightly, exhaling. "I'll be fine. I've studied. I know the subject. I can do it."

Derek gave him a smile. "There you go. Just keep repeating that in your head and you've got it. No psyching yourself out."

Spencer picked up his bag, putting it over his shoulder. "I should be out in a little over an hour. Are you going to be okay out here?"

"I'll be okay," Derek assured him. "I've got a fully charged phone with games, and if that isn't enough? I'll get out of the car, go into the student center, and get some coffee."

"Do you know where it is?"

Derek pointed out the window. "I could follow the signs. Now go. You'll do great."

Spencer smiled, leaning over and kissing him. "Thank you."

"Of course." He nudged him. "Now go."

He nodded, getting out of the car and closing the door, walking toward the building.

Getting bored of waiting in the car, Derek decided to relocate to the student center, sitting in a chair. Looking around, there were students stressed out, much like Spencer had been, with several textbooks in front of them and mumbling terminology to themselves. He sipped his coffee, taking out his phone and seeing a text message from Penelope.

Sleepover again last night? Go you! Did Finals Spencer snap and bite your head off?

He laughed to himself, shaking his head, before tucking the phone back into his pocket. She never gave him every detail of her life, so he didn't find it fair that she needed to know every detail of his. For now, she could just keep guessing.

His phone went off 20 minutes later and he took it out, checking it.

Just got out. Where are you?

I'll be at the car in a minute.

He got up, throwing away his coffee cup and walking outside, toward the car.

He walked outside and saw Spencer waiting by the car. Upon seeing him, Spencer lit up, running over and wrapping his arms around his neck, kissing him.

Derek smiled, pulling back. "Somebody's in a good mood."

Spencer grinned, nodding. "Indeed. It's over, I passed with a perfect score, and I'm officially done with this semester."

"Should we celebrate?"

"I'm taking you to lunch."

"Are you sure?"

Spencer smiled. "Yes. I owe you one for last night."

"You don't owe me anything-"

Spencer sighed. "Please? Let me."

Derek took his car keys out of his pocket, twirling them around his finger before nodding. "Okay."

Spencer took his hand, walking to the car.

While they were eating, Derek noted that Spencer was much happier than he had been over the last few days, and this new Spencer was definitely one he could get used to.

"So," he started, cutting up his steak, "now that you're done with this semester and wiping your hands of it, what are you going to do?"

Spencer swallowed the food in his mouth, shrugging. "I'm taking a semester to myself. After being in school constantly since I was a young boy, I think I've more than earned some time away from the stress of academics and school and ridiculous professors."

"Really?" Derek asked, tearing off a piece of bread.

He nodded. "I mean, I know I'm not done forever. This is my third degree."

Derek raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry... third?!"

"Mhm. I've done Psychology, Sociology, and Mathematics, as well as started the coursework toward Engineering and Chemistry. I'd like to finish those and possibly even start one in History."

"And why would you do that?"

"I don't do well with boredom," Spencer put plainly. "I can't sit still for too long, so I know this semester off is going to try me, but my advisor actually suggested it. If I do go back to school for the others, it'll take a few semesters to do the major requirement coursework, and since I've been in school nonstop for years, I don't want to burn myself out."

"It makes sense. I mean, if you saddle yourself with too much, you'll reach a very unpleasant breaking point. Having seen 'Finals Spencer', I don't even want to imagine Run Down Spencer."

Spencer mock laughed, eating. "Hilarious."

"One of many things you love about me, I'm sure."

"Sometimes I wonder," Spencer teased, winking at him.

Derek smirked. "Back at you."

Spencer set his napkin on the table. "So, I've had a question for a while, and haven't quite known how to ask you?"

Derek looked at him, curious. "...Okay, go ahead?"

He cleared his throat, opening up the check and tucking his credit card into it, holding it out to the waitress. "Well, the holidays are coming up, and you invited me to your house for the holiday, along with everyone else from Thanksgiving to thank them."

"I'm with you so far?"

The waitress came back, setting the check down and Spencer sighed, looking at him. "I've never been in a relationship around the holidays, so I guess my question is are we celebrating together?"

"Excuse me?"

"...Well, more specifically, are we exchanging gifts?"

Derek wrung his hands, thinking to himself. It hadn't even crossed his mind that Spencer might not want to do it. He turned to him. "Well, I'll leave it up to you. Do you think we should?"

Spencer stretched slightly, writing the tip, before putting his card back into his wallet. "Maybe?"

"And by maybe you mean?"

"I don't know. I'm confused by the whole thing really."

Derek nodded. "Understandable. How about a compromise?"

"I'm listening…"

"Well, we could exchange gifts, but set a limit, so there's less pressure to spend more money?"

"...Sounds fair." Spencer got up, pulling on his jacket. "So, you finished your latest house project."

"I have," Derek said, putting his own jacket on and pushing in his chair. "Want to see it now that it's all done?"

He smiled, nodding. "I think I'd like that."

Derek took out his keys. "Then let's go."

Derek pulled into the driveway, parking. "Obviously, it needs to be furnished, but all of the repair work has been done to make the house presentable for sale."

Spencer nodded, unbuckling himself. "I'm sure it'll be great."

Derek got out of the car, locking it and taking Spencer's hand. He walked up to the front door, unlocking it and walking inside.

Spencer stopped in his tracks, looking around at the house, smiling. "Wow."

"Not too bad, huh?"

He shook his head slightly. "Not at all… you did all of this in the four months I've known you?"

"Mhm." Derek leaned against the kitchen counter. "Two bedroom, one and a half bath, and cleaned up the backyard. Perfect place for a starting family or roommates."

Spencer walked around, looking in each room, before walking up to Derek, kissing him and pulling back. "Just one question."

"I'm listening."

He looked at him, crossing his arms. "When does work start on the next one?"

"Why, do you want in?"

He nodded, smiling. "I definitely think you could use my help."

Derek laughed to himself. "I'll let you know."

The two of them were sitting at the kitchen table, Derek telling Spencer about all of the different things he had done to the house since buying it.

"Is it hard?" Spencer asked.

"Is what hard?" Derek responded, confused.

"You put your heart and soul into each of these houses. You put your time and money into them to make them pristine and perfect and great for the next person to enjoy it as much as possible. Is it hard to let all of your hard work go and move on?"

"It was," Derek admitted. "That's why I still hold onto my first place. It's like kids leaving home, in an odd way. But… it's about knowing you can't keep them forever, and that other people need to like them as much as I did, if not more. It's loving something and realizing you need to let it go."

Spencer nodded slightly, swallowing. "Okay. That makes sense."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

He cleared his throat, nodding. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. I think the exhaustion of the week is just getting to me. Do you mind taking me home?"

"Not at all." Derek stood up, grabbing his keys and following Spencer out of the house, locking it up.

Penelope walked over to a table in the coffee shop, setting down her drink and another, sitting across from JJ.

"I swear, a half hour break is not enough. I love my shoes and my collection of them is fascinating, but they do not make for a good thing to wear on an eight hour shift of standing." She kicked off her heels, wiggling her toes and exhaling. "Wow that feels good."

JJ wrinkled her nose and smiled. "You could wear flats."

"I could also put normal colors into my hair as highlights and wear colors that aren't neon. What's the fun in life if I act normal?"

JJ laughed to herself. "Should've seen that answer coming."

Penelope sipped her coffee. "How have the lovebirds been?"

JJ raised an eyebrow. "You talk to Derek nearly every day. I fail to see why I need to tell you."

"Because he doesn't tell me anything anymore because he's always holding Sam over my head. If I get information from him, he needs to know more things about Sam. Come on, anything?"

JJ shrugged. "There was another sleepover last night, just like I told you?" she offered. "Spence was really panicking about finals, called Derek, and he came right over with food, coffee, and flash cards to help him out. I have to say, I really like him with Spence, because he seems to bring him down to earth and realize that he's great."

Penelope nodded. "Definitely. And Derek teaches him to be, for lack of a better word, normal."

"Hope it lasts," JJ mumbled, taking another sip and raising her eyebrows.

"...And what does that cryptic message mean?"

JJ sighed. "Not a single word to Derek about this, you have to promise me."

"...I promise."

She gripped her cup. "Well, Spence's advisor told him to take a semester off, and he thinks Spence should complete his 2 BAs, then go to grad school to make them all PhDs."

"I fail to see the problem?"

"Most of the grad school programs he needs are out of state," JJ explained. "None of the schools around here have them and his advisor told him about the out of state option, and he's on the fence. He wants to do it, but he won't."

"Why not?"

JJ gave him a look. "Because of Derek."

Penelope raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. He really likes him and doesn't want to jeopardize his relationship and his happiness just to get more degrees."

"And he's talked to you about this?"

"...Pretty extensively. I've tried talking him into it and he won't."

"Well, it's pretty far in the future? I mean, he has two to finish-"

"Which after his semester off will turn into a couple of semesters before he goes out of state." She turned to Penelope. "I know you're close to Derek, but keep it a secret, please? Spence is hung up on this decision and thinks Derek's going to be around for a long time, and he doesn't want to crush him."

Penelope took a deep breath, sighing. "Fine, you have my silence for now."

"That's all I ask. Just until Spence is comfortable enough to say something to him."

She bit her lip, nodding. "So, all of those degrees, what the hell is he planning on doing?"

JJ laughed, finishing her coffee. "Your guess is as good as mine."