The evening air was cool and crisp as Spencer settled in a little more into the glider. He tucked his arms carefully around himself and leaned more to his side than against his back. As comfortable as he could be, he stared out at the slowly darkening sky from his seat on the back porch. All around him were the sounds of the forest at night. Crickets chirping, the breeze blowing through the trees, the rustle of branches and leaves. Behind him, he heard the warm sounds of home, of family. A family he'd never expected to have and one that he never wanted to lose. The deep sound of Remy's laughter mixed with the higher sounds of Belle's and Andrei's and it brought a smile to Spencer's lips. He was truly blessed with the people he had in his life. Maybe he'd never expected to find himself a family like this, but it had found him and they weren't letting go.

Only four days had passed since Spencer had left the hospital. It took three days in the hospital before Spencer was allowed to leave. Even then, he practically had to beg to get his doctors to sign his release forms. But after some quick talking on his part and some promises from Remy to watch over him, the doctor had eventually signed the release forms and Spencer was sprung. From the hospital, he was immediately whisked to Remy's house where he spent the next three days. In that time, Spencer went into the Bureau, taking care of making his statements and dealing with all the legalities. Paul had been arrested and everything had to be documented for when he went to trial. When finally they were done with him, Spencer went back to Remy's and they packed themselves up, packed up Belle and Andrei, and they made their way up here to the one quiet little sanctuary that Spencer had—Gideon's cabin.

The idea to come here had been mostly Andrei's. Or, at least, the idea to get away. From there, Spencer had thought of Gideon's cabin. Thinking of that had Spencer's lips curving. He remembered when Andrei had come in with Belle to see him while in the hospital. Remy had warned him that the little boy was frantic with worry. All he knew was that Spencer had been hurt and he wasn't going to settle until he saw him. So, Spencer had given his permission for them to come and visit.

Their timing had been, of course, just perfect. Spencer was lying propped up in bed, talking with Remy, Derek, Emily and Penelope when there was a knock at the door. A second later, two heads came poking in, and Spencer hadn't been able to stop from smiling. It was Belle with Andrei in one arm and a vase of flowers with a balloon in the other. "Would you look at dat? Looks like we're just in time for the party." She teased. Stepping into the room, she set Andrei down on the ground. Immediately the little boy raced over to the bed. Remy, who was sitting on the bed by Spencer's hip, reached down and caught him, drawing him up into his lap. Those bright blue eyes turned to Spencer and they were wide and worried. "Hey, Spencer." He said softly.

"Hey, Andrei." Spencer said back just as softly.

Andrei bit his bottom lip and peeked out through his curls. "Mama said you…you got hurt."

It was the most shy that Spencer had ever seen the little boy. It was also more than he could take. There was no way he could resist trying to soothe the fear he saw in that little boy's sweet face. Shifting just slightly in his bed, forcing himself not to wince, he made a small space right next to him. Then he lifted his hands out. That was all the encouragement that Andrei needed. He scrambled out of Remy's lap and right up to Spencer's side. The young genius only winced a little when the small body snuggled right up against him, one arm wrapping over his stomach in a half hug. He saw Remy start to protest and shook his head minutely, letting him know that it was okay. Then he wrapped his arm around Andrei in return and held him close. Only when Andrei was firmly against his side did Spencer finally answer him. "Your Mama's right, I did get hurt. But the doctors here are taking care of me and making sure that I get better."

"An Papa's taking care of you too, right?"

Remy and Spencer shared an amused look. "Oui, petit." Remy said fondly, patting Andrei's knee. "Your Papa's taking care of Spencer, too."

That seemed to set the boy at ease. His little body relaxed and he tipped his head to flash a smile up at Spencer. "Mama and I broughts a balloon and some flowers. Did you see? Mama let me pick em out all by myself!"

Looking up, Spencer saw Belle standing near the foot of the bed, grinning at him. She'd set the flowers and balloon on the counter across from the bed. "And you picked out a great one, Roo." She reassured him.

Spencer stroked some of the curls back from Andrei's face and smiled down at him. "You did. I like them very much, thank you."

"You're welcome." Andrei said seriously. Then his smile grew a little brighter and, with a child's enthusiasm and innocence, he moved beyond Spencer's injuries, reassured by their words, and onto what were important topics in his world. "You gotta get better so you and Papa can come camping with me and Jimmy in Mama's backyard. Papa says you tell the bestest stories. Me and Jimmy wanna hear the stories about the stars like the guy in the book. Mama says there's lots of stories about stars. Do you know any of those ones?"

After reassuring the little boy that, yes, he knew stories about the stars, Spencer had stopped for a moment to think. Then he'd slowly said, "You know, I'll talk to your Papa and Mama and maybe, once I'm a little better, we can go stay up at a very nice cabin in the woods. I have one that a very dear friend of mine gave to me when he moved away. There, we can sit outside and see thousands and thousands of stars, and I'll tell you plenty of stories. We can even go down to the little lake nearby and swim, if the weather's nice."

"But I don't know how to swim."

"That's all right, petit. We'll teach you." Remy said, smoothing a hand over Andrei's hair. He met Spencer's eyes over the little boy's head and smiled at him. "It sounds like a great idea to me. A perfect place for you to go and recover, non?"

Wide eyed, Andrei looked to Belle. "Can we, Mama?"

She smiled at him. "I don't see why not. It sounds real nice. I'm sure you'll have a bon time with your Papa and Space."

Surprised, Spencer looked up from the boys and over to Belle. "You're not coming?"

"Course she is!" Andrei protested. He looked up at Belle now, too. "Right, Mama? You gotta come. Our whole family's gotta be there."

And that, as they said, was that. The little family made their plans to escape to Gideon's cabin as soon as they were able. While they discussed their plans, Andrei had stayed plastered against Spencer's side, but he'd turned his attention to the three agents still in the room. Within moments he'd charmed them all. It wasn't any real surprise that he'd fallen for Penelope. Her bright and cheerful personality always seemed to set kids at ease and Andrei was just as cheerful and bubbly as she was. He'd chattered away happily with them, telling stories all about his Papa and his Space and listening avidly when they told their stories about Spencer in return. Eventually, Andrei had drifted off to sleep right up against Spencer, and to his later embarrassment, Spencer wasn't far behind. He'd passed out not long afterwards.

He'd had two other visitors while in the hospital. The officer who'd been hurt on that last case, Evans, stopped in to see him, and Spencer's relief had been huge at seeing that the man was truly going to be okay. And the victim they'd saved, Joe Boston, he'd stopped in as well. His heartfelt thanks had left Spencer flustered and embarrassed. But he was happy to know that the young man was going to be okay. It would take time, some counseling, but he would make it. Before he left, Spencer had made sure to give him his contact information, telling him he could call any time he just needed to talk.

Spencer was drawn abruptly from his thoughts when he heard a door open. Snapped back to the present moment, he turned his head and looked across the porch, watching as Remy stepped outside. The man carried a blanket with him and he was smiling when he turned towards Spencer. "You're gonna freeze yourself out here, cher." He scolded teasingly.

As Remy strolled over to him, Spencer let himself admire the lean form inside those well-worn jeans and dark grey turtleneck. Not for the first time he thought to himself just how lucky he'd gotten. He knew his love showed in his eyes and on his face. He watched as Remy saw it and everything about him softened. When he reached the glider, he bent down and took a quick kiss first, pouring his own love into it. "You make my heart sing when you look at me like that, bébé."

"Like what?" Spencer asked. He shifted as Remy sat down beside him.

The two took a second and adjusted with each other until Remy was tucked into the corner of the glider and Spencer was settled against his side. It had only been a week total since Spencer had been injured and his body was still healing, so they had to be careful about how they sat together. But eventually they were snuggled up with the blanket draped over them. Only then did Remy take another kiss. He stroked his thumb over Spencer's cheek and looked down into his eyes as he answered his question. "You look at me like I'm the most important thing in your world."

Oh. Turning towards Remy's hand, he pressed a kiss against his palm and then snuggled back in, dropping his head to Remy's shoulder. "That's because you are." He said simply.

The arm Remy had around him gave a careful squeeze. "Je t'aime, Spencer." The words were said huskily, full of emotion. Hearing them never failed to make Spencer's heart thrill. "I love you too."

As the two sat there together and stared out at the night sky, watching the stars slowly start to come to life, Spencer thought to himself just how much his life had changed. How blessed he'd become. He'd never pictured himself in a situation like this. He'd always figured that he was going to end up growing old alone. Oh, he knew he'd have his friends. He'd play Uncle and he'd have a part in their lives. That, he didn't doubt. Not anymore. But he'd never pictured that he would reach a place like this. Sitting on the back porch watching the stars with the man he loved at his side, holding him close. Or with two people inside the house who he had come to consider just as much family as anyone else. Belle treated him like he was her brother and there was no denying that Andrei had captured Spencer's heart.

"Whatcha thinking about, cher?" Remy murmured. His head had dropped down and his cheek was resting against Spencer's hair.

"How lucky I am." Spencer answered honestly. "I never expected to find anyone like you, Remy. It never fails to amaze me that you care about me. That you're still here, especially after all this."

"Where else would I be? I love you, Spencer. You're my heart. There aint nowhere else that I'd rather be than with you."

"Not everyone would've stuck around through all this stuff with…with Paul." Just saying the man's name was enough to have Spencer shivering. His body was starting to heal, but the injuries on the inside, the ones that no one could see, would take a lot longer to heal. That was yet another area that he knew he was blessed for having Remy. The man didn't pressure him, didn't make him feel like he was overreacting to anything. When the nightmares hit at night, as they had every night since the incident, Remy was there to hold him and help him through them, never making him feel weak. Instead, he seemed to wrap Spencer in his strength, helping him hold himself together until Spencer could find his own strength once more. "I don't know if I would've made it through this without you, Remy."

He felt Remy shift and a kiss was pressed against the crown of his head. "You're stronger than you think. You would've made it through all this just fine. But you don't need to worry about it. I aint going anywhere. Nothing is gonna chase me away from you, mon amour."

Spencer smiled and snuggled in just a little closer. It was worth the small ache just to be able to sit here like this and absorb the feel of being in Remy's arms. There was no place on earth he felt safer or more comfortable. Here, he was always free to be himself, and he knew he would always be safe. Remy would never hurt him. No matter what fears Paul had put in him, Spencer knew he didn't have to fear Remy. Even when he occasionally flinched from Remy's touch, it wasn't because of Remy himself. Time would eventually heal Spencer's wounds inside and out. And Spencer knew in his heart that Remy would be there with him through it all.

Once more the back door opened and Spencer was brought out of his thoughts. This time it was Belle and Andrei. The two hurried out, Belle carrying a tray that held steaming mugs of what smelled like homemade hot chocolate, a secret recipe she refused to tell him but that was absolutely delicious.

Andrei raced straight over to the glider. Spencer moved just enough that there was plenty of room on Remy's lap for the little boy to come climbing up. He settled in and immediately looked to Spencer. "Will you tell us a story, Space? Mama said I had to wait till we were done making cocoa and we're done now, so can you tell us a story about the stars?"

The three adults couldn't help but laugh at the barely restrained excitement. Spencer sat himself up a little more, gratefully accepting the cup that Belle handed him. She handed one to Remy as well and then surprised Spencer by folding herself to the ground near their feet. She settled back against the railings of the porch and looked up at him, her own mug cradled in her hands. "Oui, Space. Tell us a story." She teased him.

Amused, Spencer looked around at his little family, all of them watching him, eagerly waiting for their story. A small, broken part inside of Spencer warmed and healed over. His heart filled to bursting with love for these people. That loved shone in his eyes and smile. "Okay." He adjusted his seat, cradling his mug and balancing it on one knee as he sifted through his mind for a story. It only took him a moment to think of what he wanted. Once he had it, he smiled. "Okay." He said again. "Let me tell you the story of Perseus and Andromeda."

In the dark of the porch, with the stars coming to life in the sky, Spencer's warm voice filled the cool evening air, spinning a tale for his family. "Cepheus and Cassiopeia, the king and queen of Ethiopia, had a daughter called Andromeda…"

Finis