A/N: This chapter is short one but it felt fitting for bringing this story to a close.

Chapter Thirteen

"Let him know that you know best, 'cause after all you do know best. Try to slip past his defence without granting innocence. Lay down a list of what is wrong, the things you've told him all along. And pray to God he hears you, and I pray to God he hears you." The Fray- 'How to Save a Life'.

JJ had been unsure of how to react when Emily informed her that Spencer wanted to talk to her, especially after he had spectacularly lost his temper and threw her out the last time she had visited him. Emily had spent a few days with him and had successfully got him to open up, which was no easy feat by any means. He still held an understandable degree of anger and hurt in his heart. After all, Lila Archer had left him with a life-long illness, one that could lead to complications in his future. JJ leaned with her back against the wall outside of Spencer's room and rested her head back. She stared at the tiled ceiling and controlled breathing exercises to manage the anxiety creeping through her chest. Mentally preparing herself, she placed a hand on the door handle and entered the room.

Spencer was sat up on the bed nursing his injured knee with his casted hand. The index finger of his right hand traced down the pages of an open book propped up on his other leg that was bent at the knee. He lifted his eyes from the book to see JJ stood in the doorway, holding unsurely on the door handle. The bruising around his eyes had deepened and he closely resembled a panda. He offered JJ a genuine smile that reached his eyes.

"Hey, JJ." JJ swallowed hard.

"Hi, Spence. How are you feeling?" Spencer grimaced as he shifted his knee slightly.

"I'm in a lot of pain. Listen, Jennifer, I just wanted – "

"Spence, I'm so, so sorry for what I said. I don't know what I was thinking. Shit, I wasn't thinking! But I should never have said what I did. I should have believed you. I should have known that something was wrong when you reached out." JJ dropped heavily into the chair beside the bed with her head in her hands. Spencer closed his book and reached his hand out to her. JJ glanced up to see him holding out his hand. She grasped it as though it was a lifeline.

"I understand that you all thought it was part of the paranoia that came with my PTSD. Part of me wishes it had been. Having spent much of my life alone, taking care of myself and my mom, I'm now scared to be alone." Spencer laughed stiffly and shook his head. "I need help to get me past what happened in prison, and now with Lila." Spencer's eyes gazed fondly into JJ's deep blue pools.

"What are you saying?"

"I have been allocated a therapist who specialises in complex trauma therapy using a combination of treatments such as talking therapy and EMDR."

"Spence, you're normally so averse to therapy," gasped JJ.

"I am, but it's the right thing. Plus, I'm going to be out of the field for quite some time. The doctors have said it could be up to a year before I'm able to walk unaided. Emily has managed to get Cruz to agree to me doing consults and working with Garcia from the office. I would prefer to be mentally and physically well when I return to the field."

"That's amazing. I'm so proud of you, Spence." A tear slipped from Spencer's eye, his lips pressed into a tight smile. "So, what's your plans for when you leave here?"

"I'm going to be staying with Rossi for a while. He has a spare ground floor bedroom I can use with en suite bathroom. It'll be nice to have company. I've spent too many years on my own. Very soon, my mom won't know who I am anymore and I've accepted that now. But I don't want to wind up being that lonely old man that feeds the pigeons in the park, grumbling about what could have been to anyone that will listen."

"Instead, you'll be the old man that rambles statistics and facts at anyone that'll listen." Spencer pressed a hand to his chest and his mouth gaping in mock offence.

"You wound me, Jennifer Jareau!" JJ stared uncertainly, not completely sure if Spencer was being serious. He was never renowned for sarcasm or jokes, and it had once been suggested to him that he had a degree of autism. Plus, the genius was still mentally and physically fragile. JJ's concerns were instantly washed away when Spencer broke into a fit of hysterical laughing. He traced the back of his finger under his eye to wipe away the tear that escaped his eye. His laugh was finally so real. It reminded JJ of the innocence he held long before Hankel had entered the picture. His laugh subsided slightly and Spencer turned his attention back to JJ, his hazel eyes sparkling and a wide smile on his face. It broke her heart to see the yellow tint to the whites of his eyes and his skin, a certain effect of the condition forced onto him. But he was alive, and with the love and support of the team, he would be well and happy again. The nerdy genius that she had come to love so long ago was still in there, and she would stop at nothing to make sure Spencer returned to that.

End