Chapter 28

FBI Headquarters
Quantico, VA

Spencer

"It's not full on witness protection." Spencer said. "It's really more protective custody. Um, you'll be able to stay in the city and go to your doctor's appointments, but the rest of the time you'll be at a safe house. And you'll be under guard 24/7." Alice looked at him for a long moment, her eyes too dark, her face, at least to him, unreadable. "It actually won't be that bad, and it should only be for a few days. Schrader doesn't profile for patience, he wants this over with."

"What about you?" She finally asked.

"What about me?" He asked in reply.

"Who's going to be there for you?"

"My team will be. I know I questioned when it took so long but I really believe they care. They'll keep me safe, I promise."

"But that's not enough, Spencer. Who's going to be there for the nightmares? Who's going to be there when the memories become too much or when you need to ramble to get things out of your head or to remind you that's it's okay to laugh? Who's going to be there when the...the problem becomes an issue? If I'm...sent away who's going to be there?"

"You are." Spencer said after a long moment. "Look, I know that what you do, that what matters to you, is to make a safe place for the people you love to be exactly who they are. For me that's where you are, no matter where it is. The only thing that kept me sane in there was knowing that at the end of the night I would be back at your side. If I know you're safe then I know I can come back to that and knowing that will let me keep going."

"You deserve more than that." She replied. "You deserve to actually have that, every single day of the rest of your life."

That was...that was..."Promise?"

"Absolutely." She took that one more step to him and pulled him into her arms.

Which was the only place he wanted to be. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder and just breathed. Oh this was going to hurt. "As soon as this is over..."

"That is exactly what you will have." She held him close as long as she could. "And in the meantime since I am likely going to be staying in a house I will figure out how to function in one again. Maybe I can expand that safe space to include four walls and a roof somehow."

"I have no doubt you will." Letting go was so hard, so achingly hard. There was no logical basis for it but he just felt safer around her and letting go seemed impossible. But Hotch was at the door to the conference room and there were people waiting and he had to let go.

"I love you." She murmured as she kissed him once more and then walked out the door.

He stood on the catwalk and watched her go to the elevators and beyond and realized that he had lied. He loved his friends, they were his family of the heart, but no one could replace her.

Rossi

He should not have laughed. He should not have lost control and laughed. He should have said something.

Spencer was safe, or at least safe enough, and while there was still an Unsub out there he would not be that hard to catch. Everything was going the way it should be going, Alice was going into protective custody, Spencer would be staying the night at a safe house, tomorrow they would set a trap and catch the last Unsub and all would be just fine. Everything as it should be. Which was likely why Morgan felt comfortable enough to let loose with a little joking around. "We're only 53 years away from the Death Star." Morgan said, mimicking Spencer's voice and body language. "Now that the Hadron thing is existing..."

Okay, it was funny.

Right up until Hotch cleared his throat behind them.

Rossi turned, and his stomach sank. It wasn't just Hotch, he might have said something and they would have knocked it off. But Alice Huntington was standing there with him. He'd seen that look on a woman's face before, angry and offended and hurt on behalf of another. But all of it controlled beneath a clean, bright mask. "I've changed my mind." She said in a clear, confident voice. "I'm not going."

Hotch sighed. "Protective custody..."

"No." She said, cutting him off firmly. It took a lot to stand up to Hotch, but she was doing it with ease. "I go with Spencer or not at all."

"But..."

"You can try arresting me, but you'd better have good cause because I can afford very good lawyers." She turned and started walking to the break area, where her luggage was waiting. "You can also have security put me out but I have no problem waiting at the highway."

"We can protect the both of you..."

"Oh can you? Like you did last time? May I remind you that I rescued both of us, after six weeks of imprisonment on his part?"

"Politics..."

"And what is to stop politics from rearing its ugly head again? No, really, give me one good reason why I should trust him to this pack of...of childish bullies you call a team?" She looked directly at Morgan when she said that.

"Miss Huntington..."

"What I should do is hire a solid security firm to protect both of us while you settle this. At least they would act in a professional manner."

"Miss Huntington." Morgan said. "I apologize if I offended you in any way."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." She said. "And you should learn how to make a proper apology while you're at it."

Morgan opened his mouth, but closed it again. "I am not going to win here, am I?" He asked Rossi.

"Not for a few years, no." Every Domme he ever met held grudges until they fossilized, Rossi thought, especially where their subs were concerned. And Lady Victoria was crystallizing a good one right in front of him. "I am sorry." He said to her. "A the senior agent around here I give you my word it won't happen again."

That at least thawed matters a trifle. "Thank you." She said. But she was still unrelenting. She turned to Hotch. "We go together or I arrange for private security. Which shall it be?"

"I'll make arrangements for you two to go together." He said.

"Thank you." She replied.