A/N: WOAH! (blinks several times) It always feels surreal to finish a story. This story's been an amazing ride!

BUT, before wrapping this one up… Thank you so much for all those reviews! (HUGS) As I've said, I LOVE hearing from you guys. So THANK YOU! It's been a huge joy writing to you guys, ya know? (hugs again)

Awkay, because I don't think any of you came here for my ramble-notes… Let's rock on! I TRULY hope you'll enjoy this last bit. (gulps)

Epilogue

In the end Reid spent three weeks in the hospital, more out of psychiatric reasons than anything else. He was smart enough to lead all doctors trying to assess his state of mind astray. But his team knew him well enough to be able to keep Dr. Prue Thompson posted on his real condition.

The first ten days were a confusing haze to him, and later even Reid's eidetic memory couldn't grasp on pretty much a thing of that time. The next eight days, however, were the worst part. Nightmares sneaked in as soon as shock faded, trying to fill his mind even when he was awake. Panic-attacks and intense episodes of nausea struck so often that in the end Reid didn't even have the energy to be embarrassed when Morgan rubbed his back wordlessly as he threw up. By the end of day fourteen Reid had stopped talking almost completely. Throughout that time the team kept a close eye on him, barely dearing to leave him alone for even a second. And then, inevitably, started the process of recovery. Reid started talking once more, and the team was pleased to discover that he didn't shudder every time someone walked into the room anymore. He started eating, only a little but still, and gradually the bruises on his body healed. He still wouldn't talk a word about what'd happened or cried, but they were all too sure that the time for those would come later. Exactly fifteen hours before Reid was discharged happened something unexpected.

One of the nurses turned down Morgan's eager advances with a far from flattering glare and roll of eyes. And for the first time in ages Reid smiled freely – only a little bit, but still.

Hope was restored. Perhaps they hadn't lost their young genius, after all.

Sitting in Morgan's car that early morning of late autumn, Reid realized that every single muscle in his body was utterly stiff as the older man pulled off before the building in which he lived.

It wasn't until then he realized that he'd never really prepared himself for the thought of actually going home. He wondered quite seriously if he'd even get himself hauled out of the vehicle.

Morgan, easily spotting his humiliatingly apparent discomfort, gave him a look. "'You alright, kid?"

He nodded, but it came out stiffly. "I'm just… I'm trying to convince my body the same."

It was Morgan's turn to nod. Reid was relived the man kept his silence.

They sat there for almost ten minutes until Reid took a deep breath, feeling his stubborn muscles giving in. Around then he realized that he'd been so tense his body hurt. His mouth moved almost mechanically as he climbed slowly out of the car. "2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29…"

He didn't know he was talking out loud until Morgan glanced towards him. "What are those numbers about?"

Reid looked away, mildly embarrassed. "Prime numbers. They… help me calm down." He then looked towards the building like it'd been an obstacle to conquer. "We… can go inside, now."

Morgan nodded, appearing a bit more serious than Reid would've liked. Slowly yet steadily they began to make their way towards the building's doors. In the hallway Reid spotted two elderly women, his neighbors, who were all but staring at him with expressions that revealed they knew too much. Reid forced himself to nod at them before looking away, the situation becoming nearly overwhelming.

(If he'd glanced towards Morgan, he would've seen the death-glares the larger man gave the women.)

And then, before Reid could ever prepare himself for it properly, they were stood behind the door of his apartment. His heart was racing and he was fairly sure his blood pressure wasn't even close to what any doctor would've been happy with.

"Look, Reid… You don't have to do this yet." Morgan's tone was almost gentle, although it gave out the swirling in the other man's mind. Even after the time passed the dark-skinned man was still angry. "You can spend the night at my place. You don't have to face this now."

To even his own surprise Reid shook his head. For he knew, with a depressing amount of certainty, that if he wouldn't do this now he'd never walk into the apartment again.

And then, with a deep breath that suggested he was preparing for a dive, he turned the key and pushed the door open. In an instant the sight – all those familiar things, his and Lucas' things – and the scent of Lucas hit him right at his face. Memories flowed through his head like some sickening movie.

"Reid." There was a hint of urgency in Morgan's voice as the man laid a hand to his shoulder. "Kid, breathe. Focus on breathing."

Reid blinked twice. Odd. He hadn't even noticed he'd stopped breathing at some point.

"That's better", Morgan stated in a strange tone Reid couldn't remember hearing ever before. The man pulled his hand away from his shoulder, most likely deciding that any longer physical contact would've been pushing it. "It's already pretty late. Maybe we should just go to bed."

Reid's eyebrow arched. "'We'?"

Morgan gave him a loudly speaking look. "I'm not going to leave you here alone on your first night, okay?" The man then attempted to grin. "Don't worry – you won't even know I'm around."

Reid didn't find it from him to protest. And if he was honest with himself, he wasn't all that excited about the idea of being alone in the apartment. "You can have the bed", he stated after a moment, his voice stiff. He couldn't bring himself to look towards the bedroom. "I'm taking the couch."

Morgan nodded, clearly understanding.

That night was pure hell. Reid kept having intense nightmares and woke up five times, screaming so loudly that he probably woke up several of his neighbors. They barely got even three hours of sleep. But they made it through. And in the morning they rewarded themselves with a gallon of sickeningly strong coffee.

Although he'd been bullied mercilessly Reid had never been terrified of going to school. He hadn't enjoyed it, of course, but he'd never been afraid. That's why it was almost amusing that he was almost scared as he sat in his car outside the building where he'd been working for years.

He'd been away for almost four months, and would've been even longer if he hadn't managed to talk those in charge over the matter until the point of exhaustion. How much had things changed? How much had he changed – too much for this to feel natural?

He jumped a bit and almost squeaked when there was a knock on the window of his car. His eyes darting swiftly to side he found Garcia, who was looking at him with a small grin.

Giving a tiny wave of acknowledgement he opened the car's door. "Hey."

"You're not gonna sit there all day, are you?" she inquired, shivering in February's breeze. "It's freezing out here."

His expression falling Reid found himself looking towards the building. Its doors had never seemed so far off.

His body jolted slightly when Garcia's hand was suddenly held out for him. "C'mon." There was no pity in her eyes – only warmth and unconditional caring that made him feel warm all over. "I'll lead the way. I'm not leaving you to freeze to death."

Reid spent longer than he'd expected debuting accepting her offer. But in the end he reached out his hand and took hers. Her grin from before widening she pulled him up and out of the vehicle.

Once they were inside, in the very familiar environment, Reid was stunned to discover how very little had changed in the end.

It was… almost like coming back home. It seemed like the whole team was out somewhere, but every single desk and the piles of files on them were still in place. Like no time had passed.

He found himself tensing slightly when JJ suddenly emerged from her office and saw him. For a couple of moments she looked at him as though not really believing he was there, then smiled warmly. Reid found himself returning the gesture.

"Hey – look who's back!" Morgan's voice startled him a little. Looking to side he found the man stood by the doorway of the conference room. "What are you waiting for? We've got a new case to start working on."

Feeling even warmer than before Reid nodded and took a step forward.

And for the first time since the whole nightmare began Reid found himself believing that perhaps things getting back to normal was possible.

Almost a full year passed, and slowly yet surely life became at least relatively normal – apart from certain details. As far as the members of his team knew Reid still wouldn't sleep in the bedroom of his apartment. And the haunted look that kept appearing to the genius' eyes when he thought no one was looking was almost enough to break their hearts. In silence the rest of the team wondered what'd happen the inevitably approaching day when Reid would once again hear Lucas Reichton's name.

That rainy afternoon of autumn they found out. Because five past two Reid's cell-phone started ringing.

The others knew in an instant that something was wrong as they observed the expressions dancing on Reid's face – shock, rage, terror, grief and revulsion could all be seen in a short amount of time. In a few moments the phone slipped from Reid's hand, sliding surprisingly softly to the man's desk. And in a flash the brunet had bolted up and dashed away.

"I'll go after him", Morgan announced immediately, moving before the others could say a word.

Reid, as it turned out, was fast. But in the end Morgan found him from one of the furthest, most isolated corners of the building, leaning heavily against the thick window glass. The brunet's eyes were nearly glazed over as he stared at the rain raging outside, appearing ready to throw up any given moment.

Reid… looked ready to crack, right there and then.

Morgan frowned and approached cautiously, until he was stood only a few steps away. "Reid? What's up?" There was no response, not a single sign that Reid would've even known he was there. Morgan took a deep breath and tried again. "Reid, what the hell is going on?" What the heck was the phone call about?

Reid's eyes were wide and dangerously moist when the younger man looked straight at him. "He's… He's dead. Lucas is dead – another prisoner stabbed him." The brunet's breath wheezed a little as the man struggled to breathe, so hard it showed. "They… They said he had HIV."

For the longest time Morgan couldn't do anything but stare at Reid, those words crossing his level of understanding. But as they finally sunk in he felt so much that he feared he wouldn't be able to keep himself from exploding.

That son of a bitch…!

But then, in a blink, all his anger disappeared. Because as he looked at Reid he noticed that the man's whole body was quaking, and the tears that shimmered in the genius' eyes were sliding down the man's cheeks without any control. Realizing what was happening and trying to stop it Reid shook, time after time, trying to wipe his cheeks with a trembling hand. But nothing helped.

For the first time since the hell he'd been through Spencer Reid was crying.

For a while Morgan had no idea what to do – he'd never been exactly fluent in situations like this. In the end he chose the one thing that felt most against his nature.

Without saying a word he wrapped his arms around Reid and pulled the younger man slightly closer. At first Reid stiffened, but then the emotions took over once more and the brunet kept shaking against him.

Neither noticed that it stopped raining outside as they stood there for the longest time, waiting for a storm of other kind to pass.

Eight more months passed by, and for once things seemed to be moving on. After going through tests Reid discovered to his utter relief that Lucas hadn't managed to give him HIV. Although they didn't disappear the nightmares lessened and there were days when Reid didn't appear exhausted when coming to work. And little by little the shadows left Reid's eyes.

That rather quiet day the rest of the team discovered easily that there was something on Reid's mind. Had been for a couple of weeks, actually. But for the time being they decided not to press the matter. Because for the first time in ages they'd managed to coax Reid out with them, to a Chinese restaurant no less. They stiffled chuckles when he immediately asked for a fork. For the first time in ages the genius was rambling facts and statistics, his eyes were alive.

JJ's whole expression softened as she observed the sight before her, half-whispering to Hotch so that the rest of the team couldn't hear. "It feels so good to see that, doesn't it?"

Hotch nodded. "It seems familiar."

Looking towards the chief JJ found it hard to hold back a chuckle. "You're smiling, aren't you?"

Hotch didn't say anything to that, only took another sip of water. But the man's expression spoke loudly enough.

In the end most of the team had to leave. JJ got a call saying Henry had started throwing up, and Jack's babysitter also couldn't wait any longer. Prentiss, after immense pressuring, finally gave in and admitted that she had a date to go to, which was why she checked the time twenty times in five minutes. Rossi also left, and they teased him for being too old to be able to keep up with their pace. Garcia headed to the restroom.

It wasn't until he was alone with Reid Morgan chose to grab the bull by the horns. "So… What's up?" He discovered that the younger man seemed to be deeply interested in his cell phone. His eyebrow bounced up. "What's so captivating?"

Probably not paying much mind to Morgan's words Reid shook his head, finally ripping his gaze from the phone. Several emotions from excitement and fright to embarrassment could be seen in the brunet's face. "Actually… I've been thinking about moving, for a while now. And… I just found out I got an apartment."

At first Morgan stared, as though not quite catching on. But then he found it hard to hold back a smile. "You know what?" Taking the opportunity he used his chopsticks to steal a slice of chicken from Reid's plate. "Moving out of that place sounds like a good idea, Pretty Boy." It wasn't until several moments later he caught his slip – that name had been strictly forbidden since those events. He looked towards Reid, searching for any signs indicating he'd done damage, and felt like smiling again. It looked like young genius hadn't even noticed.

In fact, Reid seemed to be grinning while stealing his food in return with his fork.

Eventually it was five years from the hell – from the punches, Lucas, everything. And gradually time worked its magic. It healed, to at least some extend.

It was a rather late evening when Morgan lifted his gaze and arched an eyebrow. Not all that far away Reid was working quite restlessly with his hair and pacing around. It was around then he observed that there was also something strange about the brunet's wardrobe. Black jeans, a red shirt the neckline of which revealed a hint of skin, a long black jacket – such pieces of garment Reid would've never picked on daily basis. That combined with how fidgety, close to scared, the younger man was… It was almost like…

"Kid?" he called out, his voice filled with curiosity, amusement and some alarm. "Are you… going out on a date?"

Reid appeared embarrassed when glancing towards him and fiddling with his clothing. "I'm… not sure about this outfit. I can't believe I let Garcia talk me into wearing these."

"Geez, Reid", Prentiss – who'd also been eyeing on the events – huffed. "Trust me, there's nothing wrong with your outfit." By then it was clear to everyone that they weren't talking just about clothing. 'Relax. It'll go fine', her eyes promised.

It wasn't until around then they realized that JJ had also showed up from seemingly out of nowhere. She frowned, taking a step closer. "Hold still." Reid tensed up but didn't flinch away when she worked on the collar of his shirt for a while, smoothening it gently. She then nodded, pleased. "Now it's perfect", she declared.

Reid's eyes softened. "Thanks." He then headed towards the door, giving them a wave. "See you tomorrow, guys."

Just before he was out Reid almost ran into Hotch. The man's expression was even more solemn than usual. "I'll have my phone on. Just in case", the man announced, so quietly that the others couldn't hear.

In some other situation Reid might've been uncomfortable with the fact that everyone seemed to know he was actually going out for the first time since then. But as it was he nodded, slightly more serious than before, then walked out. Hotch clearly worked his hardest to walk to the others without looking back.

Rossi looked at the others' worried faces with mild amusement, although he was also feeling a hint of restlessness. "He'll be fine, you know?"

"Yeah, we know." Morgan's voice was deviously calm as he took his jacket and began to pull it on. "And in case he won't be… Garcia managed to trace his date. I know exactly who I'd have to beat up." Anyone could tell he wasn't joking.

They were all equally stunned when Hotch was the one to nod, his facial muscles relaxing slightly. "Good."

Outside moon shone on the city that was slowly falling asleep. The night was calm.

"Survival is nothing more than recovery."

Dianne Feinstein

End.

A/N: (gawks) I seriously can't believe this story is already over. (pouts) I'll definitely miss this, despite the harsh elements!

PLEASE, do leave a comment on your thoughts about this epilogue and the story in whole! Especially now that this is finished I'd really, REALLY like to hear your thoughts on this lil' baby of mine. So… Pwease…? I've got some chocolate-chip cookies to coax you with…

THANK YOU, from the depths of my heart and soul, for reading, reviewing and listing this story! If it wasn't for you guys this story would've NEVER been finished. This is my second finished 'CM' story, and because of you guys I'm planning on posting several more. (grins) So thank you – you guys ROCK!

Once more, thank you! And all the very best!

Perhaps I'll see you guys around one day!