A/N: Yup, folks, I'm back with a new chapter. (grins) And considering the cliffie I left you on not a day too soon… (winces)

But, before letting you off the hook! THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for all those reviews and listings! You guys can't even imagine how happy you've made me. (BEAMS, and glomps) You're amazing. So thank you!

Awkay, because I don't think you have a lot of patience for my ramblings let's go. I really hope that you'll enjoy the ride!

One Nightmare's End

/ When he got shot Spencer made a promise to himself and his daughter. He swore that if he'd make it through alive he'd make sure that no matter what'd happen to him in the future Lucia would never, ever be left into Anton's hands. That she wouldn't have to live a life of blood, pain, death and chaos.

Recovering enough to be able to make that promise come true took much longer than Spencer would've liked. The fact that Anton seemed to be keeping an eye on him and agent LeAnna Pavlov breathing down his neck with her own demands didn't make things any easier. But he pushed through, for his daughter's sake. For the sake of that wonderful life a part of him still wanted to believe in, waiting somewhere in the horizon. He finally put the wheels into motion in the middle of one dark, rainy night.

Visiting a doctor without Anton noticing and getting the man to prescribe sleeping pills was a struggle. Slipping the medication to the killer, however, was the truly hard part. But a determined mind finds a way.

During his recovery Spencer made a habit out of delivering Anton a mug of tea every single night. If he was already asleep by the time the man came back from 'an assignment' he made sure that the tea stayed warm until the return. When the rightfully suspicious man questioned his new act of kindness, especially after the nearly fatal shot, he blamed it on hormones. During those odd, chilling days and weeks they were almost domestic.

And then it was time to move. That night Spencer lay naked right beside Anton, listening to the man's steady, even breathing that was already becoming deeper. Anton's arm was heavy where it lay uncomfortably close to his barely scarred wound. "You're very warm", the barely awake man murmured.

Spencer shrugged, swallowing although his mouth felt dry. "It's only natural, considering what we just did", he offered. "I haven't had any fever in weeks."

"Hmm." Anton sighed, or perhaps yawned. Only minutes, now… He'd given enough pills to seal the deal. "Did you know… that I've never fallen asleep with anyone else before, pretty boy?" The last words were barely comprehensible. The pause stretched. "Betray that trust… and it's the end of you."

Spencer stared at the ceiling, feeling like a rope had been wrapped around his throat. Was this how animals that'd been captured for long felt like when they were set free once more? Excited, elated and scared to death at the same time. "I know."

Anton fell asleep, right there beside him. Spencer waited for another five minutes before he dared to move. His feet were swift when he got dressed, then made his way to Lucia and took her protectively into his arms. "It's time to go, sweetie", he whispered to the confused baby. The air outside was cold and he tightened his hold on her. The wind made his bruises ache. "It's time to go home."

Already then, as he stepped into a bus and headed towards a uncertain future, Spencer knew that the day would come when he'd have to pay for his decision. When it would be all over. Winter's air whispered into his ear as that day dawned. When he paid the price.

Anton had left him to die with the bomb long since by the time Spencer finally got his cut, bloodied and aching wrists free from the restraints. Gathering all the strength he still had left he stood – and crashed right back down. The agony that shot through him made him scream out loud, a couple of tears spilling. His leg, the same that'd been shot… There was no way he'd be able to walk.

This had been Anton's plan all along, it seemed. The man must've calculated that he'd be able to get himself free. Spencer wondered how much satisfaction the killer had felt, knowing that he was trapped.

But Spencer had too much to lose to just lay there waiting for death. So he crawled – hissing, crying out and whimpering – sheer determination and flashes of his beloved flashing through his head. Crawled endlessly, until he'd in some miraculous way made it to the door. He inhaled sharply, gathering himself as much as he possibly could, then forced himself to stand up on his good leg. When the surges of pain came he screamed like a wounded wild animal, for a while sure that he'd collapse. He didn't – his desire to see his daughter again and to save the innocent life still growing inside of him was much stronger.

The door wasn't locked. Spencer almost burst into tears of relief as the realization washed through him, like balm on open wounds. Not bothering to think about anything for a moment he stumbled through, only to fall right into the snow that'd appeared from nowhere. He fell down, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get back up again. With tears falling and freezing on his cheeks he crawled on but he'd used too much of his strength already. He didn't get far enough. When the blast would come…

It was in that desperate moment he realized that according to his count he had a minute and a half left. The cell phone… It was making a call. Once again free of all thoughts he fumbled it out of his pocket and waited, hoping with absolutely all he had.

"Spencer?"

He couldn't keep the sob from coming. Aaron… He was still alive. There was still hope that… "I… I don't have a lot of time. So… Listen to me, please. Listen."

He heard how Aaron swallowed thickly. There was a pregnant pause. "Are you alright?"

"Just… listen, please." Spencer squeezed his eyes tightly shut, fought furiously through the pain taking over once more. It took several seconds before he was actually able to speak. "Lucia… Make sure that she's safe, alright? Promise me. Make sure that she's safe. Make sure that he'll never find her."

He was almost sure that Aaron was crying when the man spoke although he hoped with all his heart that he was wrong. "I promise."

The guilt washed through in a tidal wave and once again it was hard to find the words. He could tell that he had only seconds left. "I'm sorry." He could only pray that Aaron heard, that the man understood. "I… I'm so sorry." He'd failed Jack, Lucia, Aaron and their unborn child. He hoped, with his all, that one day they'd be able to forgive him.

Because time… He was out of it. The timer hit zero.

The blast washed over Spencer, sending him out of breath. All of a sudden the burning sensation was everywhere, taking over his all. If he'd had any air in his lungs he would've screamed. The cell phone slipped from his fingers while the world began to fade away, while his body became numb to absolutely everything.

The last thing that came to him was a flash of Aaron's face. That, and a distant voice that probably came from another world. "REID!" /

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

The addressed man frowned and groaned, his whole body full of sheer agony, but didn't manage to open his eyes. It felt like he'd been torn to pieces. What…?

"You just came out of a emergency surgery. Do you understand me? I know that it hurts right now but we're going to try and make you feel better. The pain medication should be affecting any moment now."

Those words didn't calm down the patient at all. If anything he began to trash harder, the tiny motions jerky and weak. Something… There was something he was supposed to remember. Something he should've been worried about. What was it?

"Let's take him to the ICU. Ask Dr. Grey if we can give him some more pain medication. It looks like he's in pain."

"Sure." The cool hand brushing him made the patient shiver, even in his current, barely conscious condition. "Don't worry, the pain will go away soon. Just rest and hang in there, alright? There's quite a group of people waiting for you. Everything's going to be alright."

A jolt of pain that had nothing to do with anything physical crossed his whole being and he groaned, as loudly as he possibly could.

"Everything's going to be alright."

He would've screamed. Would've if it wasn't for the tube stuffed into his throat.

"Everything's going to be alright."

Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Get that pain medication, now!"

"Everything's going to be alright."

No. Nothing was going to be alright.

The dark that swept him under was a blessing.

The next time he became at least somewhat aware there was someone beside him. His companion's presence was familiar but as hard as he tried he couldn't put a finger on it. He shifted, emitting a unwanted moan when pain somewhere around his abdominal area gave him a irritated stab. Bad idea.

His companion heard him. A chair was moved before a very familiar voice spoke. "Aaron? Are you awake?"

It took a lot of willpower but eventually Aaron managed to pry his eyes halfway open. The blurry figure before him didn't really look like David Rossi but… "…d?" he rasped with a lot of difficulty. What the hell was going on?

His vision refused to clear but he could've sworn that he saw the other's shoulders slump with relief. "Well, hello there. You do realize that you just made me go gray beyond my years, don't you?"

Aaron frowned, tried to focus. His vision wasn't improving even nearly as fast as he would've wanted it to. Something was wrong… "What…?"

He was almost sure that he saw a frown. Some of the relief disappeared. "I'm… not sure how far you remember. But… You went to face Silas alone, before any of us had the chance to get there. He wounded you badly. You've been out of it for almost three days."

"… remember …"

His phone… It rang, back then. Didn't it? He heard…

/ "I… I'm so sorry." /

And all of a sudden the whole world was spinning and falling apart around him. This time it was moisture blurring his eyes while he trashed and struggled, desperate to escape from the agony that was swallowing him up in whole. The rising pain and rage were so hard and heavy that he feared he'd lose his reason. They were tearing him to pieces and in his current condition he was defenseless against them.

"Aaron? Aaron, what is it? Do you need a doctor?"

No! He didn't need a fucking doctor or even more medication! All he needed, all he wanted… The only thing that would've helped…

"Aaron, you're hurting yourself, do you hear me? Stop that! What…?"

David was saying something but Aaron was too far on his way back under to catch it. He fell asleep, tears he was blissfully unaware of drying to his cheeks. Finally free of the unbearable, burning ache.

His dreams were full of Spencer.

When Aaron woke up again, this time with a much clearer vision, the person sitting with him had changed. JJ appeared pale, exhausted and like she'd been crying recently but there was a slight smile on her face. She was wearing a hospital gown. "Stop giving me that look", she ordered him instantly. "I'm fine. I'll be discharged in a couple of days. The others are doing fine, too, although Garcia's got a broken wrist to mend."

Aaron exhaled deeply, looking away from her. Sure enough, hearing that they were fine was a huge relief – after the explosion a lot of things had been left into the air. But the weight sitting on his chest refused to disappear.

"You've been mostly unconscious for almost a week, now. The doctors…" She gulped laboriously. "They say that it's a small miracle that you're still alive. But… According to them you're not healing the way you're supposed to anymore. They can't explain why, unless there's an infection they haven't gotten their hands on." He felt her frown without looking. "What's going on? What are you doing? Because Jack, Lucia and Spence… They all need you to get better."

Those words finally got Aaron's full attention. His eyes were slightly widened when he looked at her, trying to determine if she was serious. Of course she wouldn't have joked over something like this but… "You mean…?" he breathed out, barely daring to say it out loud in fear of being proven wrong. "He's alive?"

JJ blinked twice, appearing throughoutly lost. And then it dawned on her. "Oh…!" She took his hand, held on softly. The smile from before widened ever so slightly. "Garcia… Before the explosion she was able to trace one of Silas' less used cell phones. Morgan insisted on going there with a CIA-team although he was in no condition for field work. They… They found him just in time. He was brought into the hospital just in time." The smile faltered slightly. "For a few days we were sure that we'd lose you both. You have no idea of how good it feels to see you awake. Morgan hasn't moved from Spence's side since."

Aaron wasn't paying a lot of attention. All his focus was on moving. Spencer… He was alive, after all. Alive, somewhere in the hospital. He had to…

"Hey, what are you doing?" It was frustrating and annoying how easily JJ managed to push him back down. "You're in no condition for running around and Spence is resting."

Aaron's eyes narrowed. "So I'm supposed to just lie down and wait, while he's somewhere in this building and needs me?" How the hell was he supposed to just stay still?

JJ seemed to restrain a smirk. "I know that you want to see him but right now you need to wait. He's in good hands, alright? He'll be fine. Right now you need you, too. So rest. I promise that you'll see each other as soon as it's possible."

Aaron wanted to stay awake for a little bit longer. To ask how Spencer was. Hell, to ask if he'd succeeded in killing Anton Silas. But his body had other plans. Before he realized what was happening he'd slipped under yet again.

This time he had no dreams.

During the first three times Aaron woke up since then he got a slightly clearer picture of what was going on.

For time number one Penelope was there and he was able to ask how badly the team was injured during the explosion. They'd been incredibly lucky, considering that six agents from other teams had been lost. David got away with a mild concussion, Derek and Emily with some bruises. JJ had to stay in the hospital for lacerations she'd gotten from a blown up door glass. Her wounds were, however, already healing nicely. Penelope's broken wrist, nasty blow to the head and a couple of burns were also on the mend. Finally Aaron was able to breathe at least a little more easily. (In a different condition he would've wondered why there were no news on Spencer.)

For time number two, which took place that same night, David was there again. Finally Aaron managed to inquire if he'd managed to kill Silas. He hadn't. According to the David the monster was somewhere in the hospital, in a coma with a severe damage to the brain. The doctors didn't think that the killer would wake up again. That information soothed Aaron to a easy sleep.

When he woke up for the third time Emily was reading a magazine by his bedside. He was terrified of finding out but asked of Spencer anyhow. The look on Emily's face wasn't promising.

"Morgan's been keeping an eye on him and driving the staff insane. He's… He's getting there, Hotch. He really wants to see you. You just need to give him some time."

That was all he found out. By then it'd been nine days and that was all the relief Aaron was going to get. Worry was starting to get to him, turning him into a extremely grumpy patient. His dreams were full of Spencer once more.

The fourth time he woke up to meet the eyes of Spencer.

Fully aware in a matter of seconds Aaron emitted a small gasp, moving far too hastily. He didn't even register the pain that followed. All he saw was the man sitting in a wheelchair right before his bed. Alive, right there with him.

"Spencer…?" How long had the younger man been there, waiting for him to wake up?

His ghost light whisper seemed to be what it took. He wasn't sure if the sound that came out of the genius was closer to a chuckle or a sob. The man's eyes didn't appear entirely dry. Overwhelming relief and a massive amount of guilt fought over control until the words were finally squeezed out. "I… I'm so sorry, Aaron. I never wanted…"

Aaron shook his head. They'd need to have a long talk, about all this. But that could wait until later. Right now he had much more important things in mind.

He frowned, examining Spencer with his gaze. Why was the man sitting in a wheelchair? How badly was he hurt? "Are you alright?" His voice was a lot stronger already. Good. He searched the genius' eyes but couldn't find any of the answers he was looking for.

Spencer nodded laboriously. "I'm… I'm sorry, that it took me this long to come and see you. It's… been difficult." The younger man's jawline twitched. "But… I'll be okay, now. I'll get better. Everything's going to work out."

Aaron frowned again. Somehow he found it hard to believe that it'd be quite so simple after everything Spencer had been through. After everything Silas had put all of them through, after they'd all nearly died. After all that'd been lost. But the despair in Spencer's eyes… "Okay", he murmured, his voice far more gentle than usual. "Everything's okay."

Those words, it seemed, were what finally broke the façade. Spencer's eyes welled up while the genius' hand – on which signs of a IV could still be seen – slipped to the unhealthily thin man's stomach. Spencer's whole breathing pattern changed, became such that truly worried Aaron. The man's whole body was shaking.

Panic flowing through Aaron took Spencer's free hand, held on tight like it'd been the only thing keeping the other from falling apart completely. "Spencer? What's going on?" What the hell was wrong?

Spencer was still gasping so hard that the doctor seemed to be barely able to breathe. The words were squeezed through trembling lips. "Aaron, I… I need to tell you something."

Outside a snowstorm was picking up.

TBC, for an epilogue

A/N: Oh dear… At least they're both safe now. But how long will the ride to recovery be? And will they hold on to one another?

PLEASE, do let me know your thoughts! Was that good, decent, total junk? Awww, do your good deed for the day. Pwease…? (batts eyelashes as cutely as possible – and fails)

Until next time! I really hope that you'll all join in for the last (SOBS) bit of the story.

Take care!

Guest: I'm such a sadist, aren't I? (groans at oneself) We'll see in the next chapter just how bad I'm going to be…

'Hope the next one cashes out your expectations!

Monumental thank yous for the review!