Chapter twenty-eight
Bellflower House
3625 Yuma St. NW
Washington DC
Spencer
Garcia and Morgan left them off at the corner. His plan was to walk her back to the house, say good-night, and then walk home. Really, that was his plan.
But then his mouth ran away with him. "What did you mean, the other night?" She turned in his direction, questioning. "When you asked 'you too'?"
"Oh." He watched her cheeks turn red in the light of the streetlight. "That's a long story. You just seemed as nervous as I was, that's all. I was wondering why. Probably not for the same reason though."
"Probably not," he agreed as they climbed to the porch. "It's a long story too. I don't suppose you have a short version?"
She thought a moment. "It's new." She said. "But if I can't hug people then the bad guys win. What about you?"
He thought about it for a long moment. Why was he so uncomfortable? Because it brought back the vivid memories of violation, of lying, of that moment when Maeve… but she wouldn't want him to stay in his shell forever. Was that why she reminded him of Thomas Merton? Not only to say I love you but to remind him to keep on trying to love? Was it? "It's about the same."
"Well then we shouldn't let the bad guys win."
"No, we shouldn't." And with that he pulled her into his arms. She fit, he realized, she didn't feel as fragile this time and she fit just so into the crook of his shoulder, and she smelled like some kind of herbs and flowers as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on tight.
He could almost feel Maeve's approval.
After not nearly enough time he had to let go. "Well, good night then." She said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah. Good night." As she turned to go in the door and he headed down the stairs he stopped. "Susanna?"
"Yes, Spencer?"
"I'll tell you that story someday."
"And I'll tell you mine."
"Stop." He said as he felt her hand trail lower on his chest. "Please stop."
"Sure about that, Doctor?" Diane Turner cooed in his ear. She bent and ran her fingers over his stomach, teasing at the waistband of his pants.
"Please." I don't want this, he thought. I don't want you.
"'Cause I'm the only one you're going to get." With that she pulled off his blindfold.
Maeve sat across from him, her body tied into the chair. The hole in the side of her head was so small, the bullet had been left with just enough velocity to go in but not enough to exit. It spent the last of its energy ricocheting around inside her skull, turning her magnificent mind into grey ooze that dribbled out onto her shoulder.
Another body was tied to the chair next to her, burnt to a charred black, beyond all recognition. Burnt alive, he realized, with burns so deep if the victim did survive a few moments after she, for it was clearly a she, wouldn't feel pain. He was almost reassured by that until the victim opened lavender-rose eyes that couldn't see but somehow found his…
Apartment 23
Ponce de Leon Co-op
4514 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC
"NO!" Spencer all but jumped off his couch, rolled to the floor, and only missed the coffee table by virtue of learning from the first nightmare and having shoved it away before falling asleep. For a moment he didn't know where he was. But after a moment he started breathing again and he got back up onto his makeshift bed.
Just friends his ass.
Daylight was just starting to filter in through the windows. Five am, way too early to call her, as badly as he wanted to. It was one thing when she was safe under Garcia's wing, but now….
He just had to get a grip, that's all. Just get a grip.
Right.
Sheridan School
4400 36th St. NW
Washington, DC
Spencer pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Good morning Garcia."
"Hey Reid. So I just had a premonition that something was up with you."
Damn it. "How do you do that?"
"I'm…magical. Now, tell me what's up with you?"
"I…had a dream this morning. More like a nightmare. Maeve and Diane Turner and…."
"And…Susanna?"
"Yeah."
"Oh sweetie. She's all right. You know she's all right."
"Yeah, I do."
There was a pause. "Okay, you sounded way too confident with that. Where are you?"
"Garcia…"
"Okay, tell me you are not sitting outside the house like some skeezy stalker."
"No." There was a private elementary school right across the street, thankfully closed on Sundays. He was sitting on one of the benches that ringed the school tennis court, watching the house through the fence. Technically he wasn't sitting outside the house at all.
"Liar. Reid, she's fine."
"But…"
"She is an adult and no one in her life has ever let her act like an adult."
"But…"
"And we are going to be the first people in her life to give her that and let her open her wings and fly and she cannot do that if you're going to be hovering all the time."
"But…"
"But what?"
"But I'm not fine." He finally admitted. He took a deep breath. "I don't want to lose someone else."
Garcia was quiet a moment. "Oh sweetie," she said at last. "I know. I know. But sometimes you have to have faith. If anyone knows the odds you do."
Sarah, Haley, Elle, Gideon, his Dad, almost Morgan, almost Emily, almost Will, Maeve, almost Henry… "Yeah." That was the problem.
"Now go home. I'll see you at the party."
"Right."
Spencer rang off and went to walk home. But maybe something was watching out for him because as he walked by the house an early rising farm girl opened her window and smiled into a new day.
She was fine.
He went to get breakfast.
JJ & Will's House
76 W. Lenox St.
Chevy Chase, MD
"Susanna!" Henry shrieked as they came in the door. "Spencer!"
"Oh I see how it is. I'm getting second billing now." Spencer teased as Henry threw himself into their arms.
"Come meet Grandma!" Henry yelled as he grabbed Susanna's hand and pulled her further into the house.
JJ had followed her son in, now she watched him drag his friend off as she moved to his Godfather's side. "Thank you for bringing her." She said.
"It wasn't a problem." It hadn't been. He'd gone back to the house about ten minutes before the set time, had joined her for coffee and muffins in the house kitchen, and had then driven over. JJ and Will were too far off the beaten path, it was private and hard to find but no trains or busses went out this way.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." He had been scared out of his mind right up until Susanna had hugged him hello. Then it was all right again somehow, even though he was still terrified. "Are you?"
"I don't know." She admitted. "I just don't know. This is making it all real."
"Hey, come here." For the first time since she'd helped him clean up the destruction of his apartment Spencer pulled JJ into a hug. "It's going to be okay."
JJ smiled as he pulled back, "Maybe."
They moved further in and found Sandy Jareau giving Susanna an immense hug. "Thank you." She said. "Thank you for my grandson." She said, her eyes wet.
"There's nothing to thank me for. All I did was write letters. Thank the people who came for us."
"Them too. You too, come here." It was Spencer's turn to get hugged.
Susanna turned and very nearly ran over another child. "Please help me find a chair." She murmured as soon as Spencer was free.
He helped her over to a chair at the dining table, where she was close enough to sit and visit with everyone. "Hey Susanna," Will said as he moved past her to put food on the table. "How's the new place."
"Wonderful." She replied. "Tomorrow I get to start learning how to cook and use a computer."
"You don't know how to cook?"
"To be honest I can't even boil water on my own. This morning I learned to use the hot drink maker. I can make myself tea, it's wonderful."
"Did Garcia get you a phone yet?"
"Yes, she did." She pulled it out of her bag to show him.
"Got one of those quick dial numbers free?"
"Yes. One is for emergencies, two is for Spencer, seven is for Penelope…"
"I'll take three then. You need anything you just call."
"Give me eight." Morgan said.
"I'll take nine." Rossi added.
Susanna smiled even as she shook her head. "Really, I don't need…"
"Hush." Rossi replied.
The party continued. Spencer had wanted to stick close but for one reason or another he ended up in knots of people somewhat away from the table. He kept his eye on Susanna though, noting that she seemed to be holding her own with both JJ's family and the other mothers from his kindergarten that were there. And, he noticed, JJ was watching her too. All was going quite well until after dessert was served to the children. "I have to go brush my teeth!" Henry announced before he ran off to the bathroom.
"He's been doing that." JJ said, "Ever since he got back."
"I told him to." Susanna admitted. "I never thought to tell him to stop."
"Why?"
"No dentist. Better to keep your teeth clean then to have Father pull one out."
"No one is going to be pulling out Henry's teeth!" JJ snapped, suddenly savage. "Or yours!"
Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Susanna spoke. "Well that's nice to know."
JJ turned and almost ran to the kitchen. Spencer followed. "JJ, what's wrong?"
"She's a victim, Spence! I don't think I really realized it until today. I mean I've never…when we catch the Unsubs the victims are always wrecks, destroyed, they can barely crawl. I've never seen one so actively try to get help for herself and another victim. The only people I've ever seen do that are accomplices who changed their mind or who got pushed too far. So when she did that and she was dressed like them and I just thought…"
"Stockholm Syndrome," Spencer nodded. "You thought Henry had Stockholm syndrome, that she was the enemy somehow and she was fooling us all."
"I did." JJ admitted. "But seeing you show up with a…a college student today and hearing her today…this is real, isn't it? This is really who she is. She's someone who should be this but was trapped."
"I think she's still trying to figure that out, but…it's closer."
JJ considered this a long moment. "Well, she's a lot stronger than she looks."