Spencer and Ryder continued to see each other when they could, between both their jobs. Spencer busy with cases and Ryder busy with her work, Photoshoots along with a few meetings and editing.

The last few times Spencer had seen Ryder he had opened up to her a bit more. He didn't go into detail with anything, he just told her he had gone through something bad a little while back and sometimes had trouble.

Trouble dealing with things and when he saw that kid killed in front of him he wasn't in the best of places. Although he hadn't told her that's what happened, he just said a case had ended badly.

It was hard for him, but easier than he'd thought it would be to talk about it. And although he didn't get into detail, Spencer felt much better after talking to Ryder. And he was eternally grateful that she still accepted him.

He hadn't realized how long he had been talking one night and ended up there passed midnight and Ryder had offered to let him stay so he wouldn't have to travel home so late. He was hesitant at first, he didn't want to impose or make her uncomfortable but she had insisted with that smile of her's and he couldn't resist.

So he stayed the night, sleeping soundly with his arms wrapped around Ryder. He would be lying if he said it wasn't the best nights sleep he's had in a long time.

Waking the next morning, Ryder rubbed her foggy eyes before looking up at Spencer's sleeping face. He was adorable when he was sleep, Ryder though as she carefully detangled herself from his arms without waking him up.

Sneaking out of her bedroom, Ryder quietly made her way down the hall and into the kitchen with the plan to make breakfast. Spencer had opened up to her last night and although he didn't use a lot of detail she was happy he was starting to trust her. It made her feel all warm inside.

She didn't have a coffee maker because Ryder never drank the stuff so she couldn't make him coffee but she knew she made killer pancakes. So collecting all the ingredients, Ryder started mixing everything up, grabbing some fresh blueberries from the fridge to put in her own.

"Morning." A groggy voice said from behind Ryder as she stirred the pancake batter causing her to turn to see Reid standing in front of the kitchen, hair tousled from sleep, his white undershirt wrinkled.

"Goodmorning." Ryder greeted with a smile, setting the bowl down before walking up to him, trying to smooth down his wild hair.

"Why are you so cheery?" Spencer asks her as he rests his head on her shoulder, his hands holding her waist. Don't get him wrong, he slept great last night, doesn't mean he wanted to get up just yet.

"Because I get to make my amazing pancakes for my amazing boyfriend." She tells him with a smile, her hands covering his to keep them on her waist as she leans back to look Spencer in the face.

"Pancakes?" Spencer asks, perking up a bit.

"Yup. I'm putting blueberries in mine." Ryder stated as she turned away from Spencer so she could start cooking them.

"Of course you are." Spencer said as he came to stand behind Ryder, his hands returning to her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched her cook.

"Oh shut up." Ryder shot back playfully. "I'm sorry I don't have a coffee maker or anything, just juice."

"That's okay." Spencer says, kissing her cheek and moving away from her towards the fridge, opening it to grab the orange juice before setting it on the counter, going to the cabinet to grab two cups.

Leaning his back against the counter behind Ryder, he watches her as she cooks, not able to keep the smile from his face. He was so happy right now as he watched her, he thought she looked adorable. She had pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, still in her pajama shorts and a batman T-shirt.

"You're staring." Ryder told him with a smirk as she looked at him over her shoulder.

"It's kind of hard not too." Spencer said before poor both of them a drink as she brought two plates with pancakes over, going around the counter to sit on one of the barstools.

"Please, I'm still in my pajamas." Ryder said, looking down to hide the blush rising in her cheeks.

"You're beautiful." Spencer told her as he lifted her head with a hand under her chin, leaning down to kiss her.

Pulling away, Ryder smiles and shakes her head. She would never get tired of hearing that.

Settling into a comfortable silence, the couple eats their breakfast until Ryder speaks up as she finishes her food. "You still going to a meeting tonight?"

"Yeah." Answeres Spencer after taking a sip of his drink.

"You want to come over after?" She asks, knowing he shouldn't be alone. A head nod was the only answer she received, so it was Ryder's turn to use her hand and turn Spencers head towards her to place a kiss on his lips. "You want to shower before you go into work?"

"Mhm." Spencer hums his answer, eyes still closed as Ryder gives him another quick kiss.

"Okay, there are clean towels in the bathroom, you go shower and I'll wash the dishes and change. Maybe I can drive you to work? We can stop for coffee on the way." She asks hopefully, smiling when Spencer agreed before going to take a shower, leaving Ryder to quickly wash the dishes and change.

"Call me tonight, I can pick you up if you want." Ryder told Spencer as they said their goodbyes for the day.

"Okay, I might just take you up on that." Spencer told her with a smile, his hand sliding around the back of her neck as they leaned across the car to give each other a parting kiss.

"Okay, have a good day." Ryder told him when they separated, giving Spencer a smile and wave as he exited the car.

With the way the day started, Spencer figured it would be hard to have a bad day at this point. Or at least he hoped he was right.

Having to call and tell Ryder he had a case was not how Spencer saw his night going, but he wasn't surprised either. Ryder had told him she understood like she had every other time he had to cancle for a case and she told him she'd be there when he got back.

He felt guilty for canceling on her all the time, the way she always said she understood somehow making him feel even worse. He wasn't sure why, but it did.

He should have known when that morning started so good that he was going to have a bad next few days.

When he got to the office to start the case he had been late, resulting in teasing from his team members and then the case started and he saw so much of himself in the unsub. It got to him and he took out his anger on everyone around him.

He was angry that everyone around this kid didn't do anything to help him when he so obviously needed it. It reminded him of when he was a kid in school, all the things that happened to him.

He realized he was being unprofessional but he couldn't help it and he found himself lashing out at others, even going to the extent to lie to Hotch and confront the dangerous unsub, risking his life and others in doing so.

It was later that night on the plane headed home as Spencer twirled his phone in his hands that Hotch came to talk to him, "You knowingly jeopardized your life and the lives of others, I should fire you. You're the smarted kid in the room, but you're not the only one in that room. You pull something like this again, you will be. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir." Spencer tells his boss with a nod of his head. "It won't happen again. Thank you."

"What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that that would have been the second time a kid died in front of me." Spencer told Hotch, looking down at his phone to avoid his eyes.

"You're keeping score, just like Owen."

"It was my turn to save one."

"It doesn't work like that."

"It should." Spencer said to him, a humorless smile on his face.

"I know it's painful when the person you identify with is the bad guy."

"What's that make me?" Spencer asked, finally looking up to meet Hotch's gaze.

"Good at the job." Hotch told him. Hotch wasn't one to show emotion much, but it definitely didn't mean he had none. "I know it's none of my business, but I think you should make that phone call." He said, nodding his head towards Spencer's phone.

Nodding his head, Spencer looks back down at his phone. He had been thinking about calling Ryder since before he boarded the plane. He wasn't sure why he didn't just do it, but something was holding him back. He knew whatever it was had to do with this case and the feelings and memories it brought with it.

But he decided to ignore those feelings as thoughts of Ryder voice floods through his head, telling him it didn't matter, that he could talk to her, that she was there for him. So picking up his phone, Spencer quickly calls Ryder, looking over his shoulder at his sleeping team members.

"Spence?" Ryder's voice says, sounded through his ear as he closes his eyes, leaning back in his seat.

"Hey." He responds quietly.

"What's wrong?" Ryder asks, knowing something was off.

"Rough case." Spencer says, knowing he didn't have to say anything more.

"You almost back?"

"Soon."

"I'll be here." Ryder says, letting him know he could come to her if he wanted.

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." Ryder tells Spencer, feeling her heart clench in pain at the sound of his tired, defeated voice.

"Stay on the phone with me?" Spencer asked her, never once opening his eyes.

"Of course."

And she did, Ryder stayed on the phone with Spencer until he landed. Going between small talk and not talking at all until she had to hang up, offering to pick him up at the office to which he declined, saying he had a few things to take care of first.

And what felt like forever later, a small knock sounded at her door, causing her to jump up from the couch and open it, immediately wrapping her arms around Spencer's neck, his own going around her waist.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ryder asked, her voice slightly muffled as she talked into Reid's shoulder.

Tightening his hold on Ryder, Spencer shakes his head as he buries his face further into the crook of her neck. "That's okay, you don't have to." She reassured him, her left hand coming up to play with his long hair, helping him relax.

"I will," Spencer told her, reluctantly pulling away from Ryder's warm embrace. "Just not right now, if that's okay."

"Of course that's okay." Ryder told him, stepping back into her apartment, allowing Spencer to do the same. "Are you hungry, or anything?" She asked him after he sets his bag down by the couch, coming back to stand in front of her.

"Not really." He told her, playing with her fingers and avoiding her eyes. "You have small fingers."

Laughing at Spencer's random statement, Ryder moves her hand flat against his own, the size difference very obvious. "See, small." Spencer says as he takes both of Ryder's hands in his own, covering them both completely.

"How do you know my hands are small and your's aren't just big?" Ryder asks, confusing herself a little.

"What?" Spencer asks with a laugh.

"I don't' even know." Ryder says, laughing as well. "But hey, I got you to laugh."

"Yeah, you did." Said Spencer, leaning down to place a kiss on Ryder's lips.

After they separated, Ryder led Spencer over to the couch where she turned on the tv and cuddled into his side as they watched in silence for a while. Ryder knew Spencer had a lot on his mind as he never said anything about the movie, never pointing out the mistakes or anything. He just sat there in silence, playing with her hair.

She wasn't going to push him to talk, she didn't think that's what he needed right now, and she trusted he would talk when he was ready. Ans her thoughts were confirmed as Spencer's voice broke the silence between them.

"He reminded me of myself." Was all he said, his hand still brushing through her hair, his eyes never leaving the tv.

"Huh?" Ryder asked him softly, turning her head to look up at his face.

"The unsub." Spencer said before realizing Ryder probably didn't know what that was and corrected himself. "The bad guy."

"Oh, Spence." Ryder said sadly, reaching up to turn Reids head towards her so she could look him in the eye, any words she had dying on her lips when she saw the emotions behind them.

"He was just like me, tormented in school, absent parent. Poor kid just needed help and no one around him did anything." He told her, leaning into the hand she had placed on his cheek, not meeting her eyes.

"Spencer look at me." Ryder said more sternly than before, causing his eyes to snap to hers. "You are not and never will be a bad guy. You went through some horrible stuff when you were growing up but you didn't let that define who you are. You are one of the greatest people I've ever met. And please don't ever think otherwise."

Grabbing her wrist, Spencer pulls on her arm, bringing it around his neck as he pulls her closer, burying his face in her neck.

Allowing him to pull her closer, Ryder wraps her arms around his neck and runs her fingers through his hair, laughing when she feels Spencer place a kiss on her neck.

"Are you ticklish?" Spencer asks her, pulling away just enough to see her face.

"No, maybe, yes, a little." Ryder reluctantly says, knowing there wasn't any way to get around it.

"How about here?" Spencer asks before squeezing her sides, drawing a surprised squeak from Ryder.

"Spencer!" Unable to control her giggles, Ryder grabs Spencer's wrist in a poor attempt to stop him. "Spencer, stop." She said, laughing hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"But you're so cute when you laugh." Spencer told her, stopping his movement but not removing his hands from her sides.

Catching her breath, Ryder wipes the tears from her eyes, attempting to glare at Spencer, only resulting in her laughing even more. "There are other ways to make me laugh that doesn't involve tickling me to death." She tells him, tapping him on the chest.

"How did I get so lucky?" Reid asks, looking down into Ryder's eyes, smiling fondly at her.

"No, I think I'm the lucky one." Ryder tells him, reaching up to push some hair out of his face.

"You'd lose that argument," Spencer told her before leaning down to place a kiss to her lips, Ryder responding immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

Truth was, they were both lucky. Running into each other that morning was the best thing that ever happened to them, and their lives would never be the same because of it.