Spencer limped into the room, a determined look on his face. Emily glanced over at him, but knew better than to talk. This was not a time to talk him down or try to take this from him. Talking to this guy was going to be what he needed to get over what happened to him. Being the one who would make the decision to put him behind bars was one of the last steps to get over everything. She took out her phone, texting Derek.

Come out, someone else is here to interview him.

Spencer saw Derek eye his phone and walk out. "Who's going to do it?"

Spencer glanced up at him. "I am."

"…You're sure about this?"

"I haven't slept in nearly a week because he is the reason I've had endless nightmares. If I can get him to say something and put all of this behind me? I can finally relax."

Derek looked over at Rossi and Emily, who gave him a nod.

"Do you need me to go in there with you?"

Spencer shook his head. "You can if he tries anything, but I need to do this on my own."

He patted Spencer's good shoulder, squeezing slightly. "If you need anything, I'll be on the other side of this glass."

He nodded and took a deep breath before walking inside, sitting down in front of him.

Spencer couldn't ignore the small grin that crossed the man's face when he saw him.

"Okay there, g-man?" he asked, leaning back and crossing his arms.

Spencer gave a slight shrug, pushing the pain he felt back into his mind. "I've been through worse. This is nothing but the work of a coward."

"What makes you say that?"

"The facts," he started, looking him in the eyes. "Only a coward would initiate an attack on somebody from behind in the dark late at night. Someone who actually had a pair would've been a man about it. He'd make sure I saw his face, knowing it'd be the last thing I'd see if I didn't pull through. But you know what? You failed. You ran away with your tail between your legs, terrified the second I shot my gun. A real man would've faced it instead of running."

"I wasn't there."

Spencer laughed softly, shaking his head. "I can prove you were there."

"Thought you said you didn't see anything."

Spencer could hear the nerves in his voice and considered it a small victory. "There are so many perks to my job. Why? I can read body language better than the average person can read a book. Your lip started trembling the second I called you a coward. You want to prove that you're a man, but you can't, because the only way you can assert your masculinity is with anger. That explains why your last girlfriend had to change her identity and go into hiding. Because you couldn't talk out your problems with words, oh no, you had to use your fists. She couldn't stand to be around you anymore, so she got as far away from you as she possibly could. I could stop right here if you'd like to confess, or I could keep going."

When the response was a simple shrug, he smirked. "You only sexually assaulted your first, fifth, and ninth victims. All of which were much smaller than you and couldn't fight back, even if they tried. You knew better with the other victims, because they would've had fight in them. You have to prey on those that are weaker than you. It's what you need to feel good about yourself, but let's be honest, you're impotent. Maybe that and not the fact that you need to beat your girlfriends is why you can't keep one. They're not satisfied with you."

He jumped up, pulling at his wrist currently linked to the handcuffs on the table.

Derek shook his head. "I'm going in there."

Emily put a hand on his arm. "He needs to do this to feel better about what happened to him. If you go in there and save him-"

"I'll save him from this son of a bitch finding a way to hurt him again."

Hotch sighed. "Derek, if he doesn't have a confession in the next few minutes, I give you permission to go in there and save him. Until then, just let Reid get him riled up. He might let something slip if he gets angry enough."

Reluctantly, Derek nodded in agreement, looking back in the room.

"I can end this right now if you just admit what you did, or I can keep going and we can wait for the DNA samples to come back and nail you to the wall." He shrugged slightly. "It's your choice."

"And if I did?"

Spencer groaned internally. It wasn't a confession, it was an inquiry. "If you did? You'd be going to jail for each attack, and you probably won't see the light of day until your funeral. Both of your little pawns sold you up the river to reduce their sentences, so even if you don't admit it, you're going away for them."

He clicked his tongue. "I want a lawyer."

Spencer laughed. "And I want this to not have happened to me. I guess we're both screwed."

"I want a lawyer," he repeated, eyeing the two-way mirror.

Hotch sighed and looked over at Derek. "Get him out of there."

"Just because he lawyered up doesn't mean-"

"He's asked for a lawyer, and anything he says past this point can't be used against him, because he requested legal counsel. Get Reid out of there."

He groaned, getting up from his seat.

Spencer slammed his hand on the table. "Why did you do this?"

He shrugged. "I don't have to say anything."

Spencer glared at him. "Why did you do this to me? What could I have possibly done to you to deserve this?"

He gave Spencer a smirk. "What, g-man, are you scared?"

"Of you? Definitely not. We all get what we deserve. You deserve to be somebody's bitch in prison, while I deserve an explanation."

Emily gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "He's been spending way too much time with PG."

Even Rossi had to resist the urge to chuckle.

Derek shook his head, walking in the room. "Reid, that's enough."

Spencer looked up at him. "I'm not leaving this room without an explanation."

"He's asked for a lawyer, there's nothing we can do until he gets one."

Spencer shrugged, staying put in his seat.

Derek sighed, grabbing his arm and pulling him up, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

"Why did you do that? I had him and he was going to admit he did it."

"He asked for a lawyer, we can't do anything else."

"What so we're just going to let him sit in there and come up with a way to get out of this? No, absolutely not."

"Spencer, I get it, you're scared-"

Spencer mock laughed. "Oh, so you know me now, Derek, is that it? You understand. You empathize? I thought you promised not to make me a victim. You all did, and guess what, you failed at it. I am not a god damn victim here, Derek. I am a federal agent and I deserve to get my answers."

Derek had no response, so he just reached over, wrapping his arms around Spencer and rubbing his back.

Spencer sniffed, shaking his head. "I need this to be over." His lip trembled as he rested his head against Derek's shoulder. "I can't sleep, I can't eat, I just… I need him to own up to what he did."

Emily sighed, walking over and running a hand through Spencer's hair. "This is almost over, Reid. I promise. The fact that he lawyered up doesn't change what he did."

He sniffed again, his eyes brimming with tears as he turned to face her. "I'm scared. I can't live in constant fear for my life anymore-"

"And you don't. We have him in custody. He can't hurt you as long as he's here."

He blinked, tears finally running down his cheek. He swore at himself for getting this upset in front of his team. Never in his six years at the BAU had he ever let his emotions show. He always internalized them and kept them to himself, as to not upset anyone else.

She leaned over, kissing his forehead. "You're safe now, Reid. He can't do anything."

He nodded slightly before burying his head in Derek's shoulder, crying. All Derek could do was keep his arms around Spencer, rubbing his back. He knew one day he'd finally see him snap and show his emotions, but he just wished it hadn't come with so much baggage. Usually, Spencer had his shield up, but now, even in front of their superior, he was crying out all of his feelings.

Hotch looked over at Derek. "Can you take him home with you tonight?"

Spencer shook his head. "I'm not going to be a burden anymore," he mumbled, sniffing.

Emily sighed. "What if you come back with me tonight, Reid? I have the pull-out, and it'll just be tonight, so you don't have to feel like you're being a burden on Derek anymore."

He sighed, nodding. "That's fine."

She looked over at Hotch. "I know you guys are probably going to be working late, but-"

He put his hand up. "The two of you, go get some sleep. You could both use it."

Before she could ask, Derek spoke up. "His go-bag's under my desk."

She put her hand on Spencer's back, rubbing it. "Let's get you home. It's been a hell of a day."

He sighed, nodding and following her out.

Derek turned to Hotch. "If this son of a bitch walks-"

Hotch shook his head. "Not happening. We at least have him on dodging a warrant and his father's murder."

"He'd better be charged for the muggings-"

"And he will. Once he talks, and I think you're the right person to do it once his lawyer gets here."

While Spencer went to Garcia's lair to grab his satchel, Emily walked to the bullpen, pulling Spencer's go-bag from under the desk.

"How is he?" JJ asked.

She sighed. "He just had an emotional breakdown in front of everyone. Luckily, it wasn't in front of his attacker, but he lost it."

"Was it really that bad?"

"Jayje, I've been working with him for a few years now, and I didn't even know he was capable of showing emotion. I was there for Hankel and narcotic withdrawals and Benjamin Cyrus… all of those had no results. But this? I've never seen him so vulnerable or scared before."

JJ crossed her arms. "Put any of us through that and we'd have the same reaction, I'm sure."

She shouldered the bag. "I'm taking him in tonight while Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan are going to pull a late night trying to get him to talk. Keep me updated?"

"Of course."

She gave her a quick thank you before walking over to Garcia's lair.

Spencer grabbed his bag off the couch, picking it up. "Thanks for letting me sleep in here today."

She smiled. "No problem, 187. My couch is yours for the sleeping."

He chewed on his lip. "And thanks for, you know, everything. Taking care of me. Most people would think I'd hate it, but it felt kind of nice."

"Anytime, sweetie." She got up from her seat, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing his back. "If you need to talk at all, I'll be here. I promise."

He nodded against her shoulder before pulling back, sighing. "I'm going to be at Emily's for the night, so if you don't get an answer on my phone, try her."

"Will do!"

He walked out and looked at Emily. "Ready to go?"

She nodded, leading him out to the garage.

Once he was settled in her apartment, she went to the kitchen. "What are you in the mood for?"

He shrugged, wincing. "Damnit. I'll really eat anything."

She reached for a stack of take-out menus, fanning them out and holding them out to him. "Close your eyes and pick one."

He raised an eyebrow, but went along with it. "It's not like I can see much, anyway… but, if you insist." He reached out and picked one out, handing it to her.

She studied it. "Haven't had Italian in a while. What do you eat?"

"I guess I could go for some fettuccine alfredo."

She picked up the menu, grabbing her phone and walking to her room.

He reached for the remote, flipping through the channels. He landed on the news and saw coverage of his attacker being arrested. He bit down on his lip, screwing his eyes shut and pulling his knees to his chest.

Emily walked back in, setting her phone back on to charge. "Should be here in about a half hour. I also ordered some garlic bread, I'm sure you don't mind." When she didn't get a response, she looked over at the couch. Spencer was curled up, trying to catch his breath. She turned toward to the TV and saw news coverage of the case. She sighed, turning off the TV and rubbing his back. "Reid? Reid, it's Emily. You're fine, nothing's going to happen to you. He's in custody and he can't hurt you. I need you to take a deep breath. Can you do that for me?" He glanced up at her. She reached a hand over, squeezing his. "I'm here and you're safe, I promise."

He took a deep breath, wincing and exhaling. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be, it happens to the best of us."

He put a hand over his face, sighing. "I'm sorry."

She ran a hand through his hair. "Stop apologizing. With this job, we all have panic attacks once in a while."

He swallowed, nodding.

After dinner, Spencer took a quick shower and curled up on the couch. Emily knew better than to poke and prod in his business. She brought out some blankets and pillows, turning out the lights and lying back on her bed.

She was woken up several times that night by a panicking and screaming Spencer. He had several nightmares pertaining to the case, and each time he'd sit up and spend at least a half hour trying to calm himself down. She went out after his fourth one, getting him some Tylenol and a water. She sat beside him, rubbing his back. "Everything okay out here?"

He nodded slightly, wiping his eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just… I can't stop them from coming."

She handed him the pills, which he quickly swallowed. "We all have nightmares. It's nothing to apologize for. It comes with the job."

He sighed. "Please tell me you've heard from somebody that something's happened?"

She frowned. "I wish I could, but there's nothing right now. Maybe we'll hear in the morning."

He bit down on his lip, nodding.

"Do you need anything, or-"

"I just want to get some sleep. I'm sorry for waking you."

She shook her head. "Stop apologizing, Reid." She ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. "I'll be in my room if you need to talk."

He gave her a quick thank you before pulling the blanket over himself, dozing off.

She walked to her room, grabbing her phone and calling Derek.

He answered, sighing. "Hey, Prentiss, you can't sleep either?"

"Wish I could. Even if Reid wasn't up every few hours, I've been wide awake. Did you guys get anything?"

"Unfortunately, he's been quiet since lawyering up."

She groaned. "We need to do something to get this out of him. We just need a single confession and we can charge him for all of this."

"I've been thinking all night. I think I might have something. Listen, I need you to stay with Reid tomorrow."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll keep him at his desk all day."

He shook his head. "You need to keep him out of the offices. Hotch approved of it, and thinks he needs to take a few more days before his psych evaluation, because at this rate, Hotch thinks he's going to fail it."

"He won't fail if this ass would just confess already."

"Tell me about it. You just need to keep him away from work until this is over."

"Because we were able to keep Garcia from the BAU after she was shot, right?"

"Just try your best, it's all I ask."

She sighed, but agreed. "Okay. Try getting some sleep tonight."

"Yeah, you too."

She hung up, leaning back and willing this whole mess to be over.