Spencer had been injured. I didn't know how badly, but when Penelope called me later that night after they'd rescued him, she said that Spencer was with a doctor, but would hopefully be released in the morning and cleared for travel.
It was hard, once again, not to book myself a ticket and fly down to Atlanta to support him, but I did make damn sure I was waiting by the doors of the BAU the second he arrived home. I was perched on his desk, nervously biting my nails as I stared at the elevator doors almost scared to blink in case I missed him.
Never in my life had I felt this way about a man. Never had I let someone I was seeing get so under my skin that I would spend an entire three days doing absolutely nothing, but stress because there was something (albeit it a pretty massive something) going on in their life. I was in way over my head, but the thought of losing Spencer had really made it clear to me just how much he meant to me. I was definitely moving on from smitten and edging my way towards a word beginning with 'L' and that scared the crap out of me.
As soon as the elevator doors cracked open, I lept off the desk and bolted towards it. Spencer had barely taken one step out before I wrapped my arms around him. He felt skinny and frail, but he smelt like my Spencer as I buried my face in his chest.
"Careful, Mickey!" Peneleope giggled. "He just survived being kidnapped, we don't need you squeezing him to death now."
I turned my head to face the crowd around us as Spencer pulled me close, resting his chin on the top of my head.
"I have spent the last three days wondering if I would ever see him again," I reminded everyone. "I'm allowed as much squeezing as I please."
"We were always going to bring him home," Gideon assured me, clapping a hand on Spencer's shoulder as he walked past.
"How'd you get in here anyway?" Derek asked, an amused look on his face.
"I can answer that," Penelope volunteered sheepishly. "I printed her an ID card. It just says visitor, but most people don't look closely enough for it to even matter what it says. I just didn't want her to get arrested if she kept waltzing past security!"
The look on Hotch's face at Penelope's confession was priceless.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," He informed us before shaking his head and following Gideon in the direction of their offices as I unwrapped myself from Spencer.
"Are you alright?" I asked him, tucking his hair behind his ears so I could get a good look at him.
He had a few scratches and bruises and the way he was standing with most of his weight on one leg led me to believe the other was injured, but he seemed a lot better off that I'd imagined and certainly much better off than he had in my dream.
"I'm fine," He smiled softly, his voice making my heart fill with relief. "Happy to be home. I've missed you."
"I missed you too, you have no idea," I sighed before stretching up to gently place a kiss on his lips.
There was a teasing chorus of 'awwwe' from the team and I pulled away to stick my tongue out in their direction.
"I was all set to take pretty boy here home, but is it safe to assume you can handle it?" Derek asked, smirking as I nodded enthusiastically.
"That's why I'm here," I explained. "If you don't mind of course, Spencer?"
"Of course not," He smiled, squeezing my hand.
"Perfect," Penelope chimed in. "But could I talk to you for a sec, Mickey?"
I nodded and reluctantly let go of Spencer's hand, following my old friend over to a quiet corner of the room.
"What's up?" I asked, my gaze still focused on Spencer as JJ fussed over him a bit in my absence.
"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice serious, but caring. "You know, with that whole getting drunk by yourself the other day thing?"
I felt my cheeks go a touch pink as I felt ashamed of how I chose to deal with the situation.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured her. "It was stupid, I shouldn't have done it, but it was a one time thing. I was really scared, Pen. I just wanted something to take the edge off and help me sleep, but I won't do it again. I don't drink with the sole purpose of getting drunk anymore, I barely even get more than tipsy when I go out for drinks."
"I know," Penelope nodded. "I know you're trying, but I know it's hard at times like this. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you to talk to, but if you need anything let me know, alright?"
"Of course, you've always been my go to," I smiled. "But I'm fine, I promise."
"Alright, then I'll let you get your sweet thing home to get some rest."
We rejoined the group for a few moments for me thank them again and for us to say goodbye before I dragged Spencer to the elevator, eager for us to have some time alone.
I'd taken public transit to Quantico, knowing he'd driven himself to work when the team left for the case and after a short argument about whether or not he was fit to drive, I drove him home.
"Are you hungry? I could make us some food." I suggested as I swung open the door to Spencer's apartment.
I dropped his bag on the floor before stretching out my shoulder slightly when he wasn't paying attention. We'd had another argument about whether or not he was strong enough to carry it himself and he wouldn't listen to my insistence that it wasn't that I doubted him, it was that I wanted to take care of him and help take on some of his strain. However, I'd massively underestimated the weight of his 'go-bag' as they called it and regretted my childish decision to simply run up the stairs with it knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up properly in his current state.
"Do you cook?" Spencer asked causing me to realize that we spent most of our meals together at a restaurant or with take away.
"Not really," I admitted sheepishly. "But I'm sure I could throw something together if you don't mind something a bit less than gourmet."
Spencer chuckled at my answer, but shook his head.
"Don't worry about it," He assured me. "I'm not really hungry."
I frowned knowing his body would need sustenance after it's ordeal.
"Well I am," I lied. "Mind if I raid your fridge?"
"Sure," Spencer shrugged, following me into the kitchen. "But I doubt there will be much of use in there. I have been gone for almost four days."
I ignored his pessimism and opened the fridge. Leaning inside I could see he was right, but I did find one useful ingredient that would have to suffice.
"Do you have bread?"I asked as I stood up, taking the eggs with me. "Eggs on toast is my speciality."
Spencer looked around briefly before his eyes landed on a clear plastic bag on the counter next to him. He picked it up and inspected it before shaking his head.
"It's mouldy."
"Let me see," I insisted, holding out my hand for him to pass it to me. He reluctantly did and I opened the bag. Sure, there was a touch of mould on the first slice, but the second was alright and the third and fourth were even better. "It's fine. A little mould exposure never hurt anyone, it's good for your immune system."
"Actually," Spencer started, his tone conveying that he was about to prove me wrong and not too pleased with my decision, but I cut him off.
"Sorry, Spencer, but I don't want to hear your mould death statistics right now," I smiled at him, popping the bread in his toaster before moving to find a bowl to whisk the eggs in. "I do this all the time and it's not killed me yet."
I could have sworn I heard him mutter something under his breath about me being reckless with my health, but he didn't stop me and ten minutes later I placed a lovely looking plate of eggs and toast on the table between us. As I suspected, Spencer licked his lips as he looked at the food.
"Would you like some?" I asked after taking a bite of the eggs. He hesitated for a moment then nodded.
"Just a bite, if you don't mind."
I shook my head and handed him the fork. He took a small bite at first, but then went back for another bigger one before taking a bite of the toast as well. I watched quietly with a smile as he devoured the entire meal like he hadn't eaten in weeks.
"Sorry," He mumbled sheepishly once the plate was clean. "I guess I was hungrier than I thought."
"That's okay," I assured him, taking the plate and putting in the sink with the dishes I'd use to cook. "I wasn't hungry anyway."
"But you said..."
"I was being sneaky," I admitted. "I knew you'd want to eat if there was food in front of you."
Spencer chuckled, shaking his head at my game.
"I guess I'm just so tired my profiling skills aren't what they should be," He sighed. "Care to take this to the bedroom?"
"Of course," I smirked. "But you better not try anything. I've been dying for round two, but I want you in top form first."
"That's not what I meant!" He insisted, his cheeks going bright pink at my teasing. "I just want to lay down and be close to you."
My heart melted at his words and I grabbed his hand off the table, linking our fingers together to lead him to his room.
Spencer began unbuttoning his shirt as soon as we stepped through the door to his bedroom.
"Feel free to raid my closet to find something to sleep in," He told me before freezing as he realized he'd been presumptuous. "That, uh, that is if you...you want to stay here tonight?"
I smiled at his ever endearing nervousness before stretching up to gently kiss his lips.
"I've spent the last three days praying I would get to see you again," I confessed. "You wouldn't be able to kick me out tonight if you wanted to."
Spencer wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against his chest, his face buried in my hair.
"Thank you," He mumbled quietly.
We stayed like that for a few minutes, just holding each other until I reluctantly pulled away to find something more comfortable to wear.
Spencer lounged on the bed after stripping himself down to his boxers and undershirt as I rifled through his closet. I was about to just wrap myself in one of his dress shirts when a t-shirt caught my eye. I giggled as I quickly stripped down to my underwear before pulling it over my head.
"Freeze! FBI!" I shouted, leaping around to face Spencer with my fingers together as if they were a gun, the letters FBI across my chest.
Spencer chuckled at my antics, but his shook his head.
"I don't think you're supposed to wear that," He teased me. "Impersonating a federal agent is a serious crime."
I giggled and cocked my head to the side as my hands moved to my hips.
"Does it count as impersonating a federal agent if I'm not wearing any pants?"
"Mhmm, still counts," He nodded lazily, the exhaustion of his ordeal written all over his face. "Come over here so I can arrest you."
"Kinky," I giggled as I pranced over towards him, enjoying the way his cheeks flamed every time I made any kind of sexual reference.
I crawled across his bed until I could curl up by his side. Feeling a wave of absolute gratitude wash over me that he was safe and here next to me. It would seem he was feeling the same way as he draped an arm over my shoulder and squeezed me as close to his side as possible.
"I missed you, Kayla."
I raised an eyebrow at his words.
"Kayla?"
"Everyone calls you Mickey," He shrugged. "I want to call you something else, I was just testing it. I won't use it if you don't like it."
"Well then what do I get to call you?" I pouted as he absentmindedly stroked my hair and I traced shapes on his forearm. "What's your middle name?
"Walter," He informed me as his eyes drifted shut. "What's yours?"
"It doesn't matter," I brushed him off, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "Just get some rest."
"I'm fine," He assured me. "Just tell me."
I hesitated slightly before finally blurting it out.
"Betsy."
At that, Spencer's eyes snapped open.
"Betsy?" He clarified before bursting out laughing when I nodded. "Oh my god, that's awful."
"It was my grandmother's name!" I protested, unable to hold back a giggle of my own at his amusement. "You can't tell anyone! You'll ruin my street cred!"
Spencer only proceeded to laugh even harder as his exhaustion had clearly turned to hysteria.
"Street cred? Did you join a gang while I was away?"
I slapped his chest playfully before burying my head in his neck to hide my giggles.
"Maybe I did," I mumbled against his skin. "But the first rule of fight club is that we don't talk about fight club."
"What?"
I could almost feel his muscles move as his brows furrowed in confusion and I moved back slightly so I could see his adorable face.
"It's from a movie. Well, from a book. It's good, we can watch it some time," I suggested, moving my hand to cup his cheek. "It's so good to hear you laugh. I was so worried I'd never get to hear that sound again."
A sad look crossed his face as he leaned into my hand.
"I'll always come back to you, Mick," He assured me, kissing my palm softly. "Don't tell the team, but the thought of leaving you behind, not even getting to say goodbye, helped keep me focus while he had me. I've never had someone to come home to before and I couldn't bare the thought of hurting you like that."
I felt tears well up in my eyes at his confession, but I blinked them back. I was speechless, the only word filling my mind was that little, but oh so important 'L' word, but I just couldn't bring myself to say. It was too soon. I didn't even know what it felt like to feel that way. Surely, I was just getting ahead of myself because we'd faced a horrible situation that most couples are never put in.
Realizing I was just staring adoringly at Spencer and not saying a word, I pressed my lips against his, hoping to convey my feelings whatever they might be.
"I'm so glad you're home," I whispered as I pulled away. "But you looked wrecked, let's get some sleep."
Spencer nodded, placing another kiss to the tip of my nose before wiggling the blankets out from underneath us and pulling them over us. I turned onto my side, pulling Spencer's arm around my waist and his front against my back. Once we were settled in, I whispered a 'goodnight', but when it went unanswered, I peered over my shoulder and saw that he was already very deeply asleep.
