Spencer had lowered his gun and closed his eyes. He leaned his head back on the wall that kept him and the rest of his team away from the Unsub's line of sight. Hotch, who had stayed quiet this whole time, came up to Spencer, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Go. Trade places with Rossi. Make sure Alvez doesn't blow up the girl. Rossi and I can handle the Unsub."

Spencer opened his eyes and need only look at Hotch for a second before the team leader shook his head and started pushing Spencer toward the staircase.

"As noble as it would before you to be the one to take down the unsub, I have a feeling there is a particular woman who would much rather you be the one to get the girl out alive than to risk your life at the hand of an exhausted exploiter."

Spencer haded when Hotch knew exactly what emotional as well as logical strings to pull to get Spencer to do what he wanted. But before he went he turned off his earpiece and whispered to Hotch.

"And if we can't get her out? Bomb squad?"

"No time. We are the bomb squad." Hotch clapped Spencer on the back. "We will cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let's focus on assessing this new situation."

Spencer nodded and with no farther delay, left the fourth floor to find Rossi and Alvez conversing a few halls down from the girl and her fireworks display. Rossi nodded to Spencer, no words needed to pass between them considering the earpieces. Alvez walked up to Spencer, his hands on his hips and his head shaking.

"We looked at everything and I can't tell if it's possible or not to get her out. We can't even get close enough without setting off a few of them, to begin with."

Spencer nodded slowly as he peeked over to the hall that was indeed lined and floored with nearly a hundred small explosives. It puzzled Spencer. They were obviously not placed nor purchased with the intent of causing too much damage. More of just as a distraction. Spencer could hear Rossi and Hotch talking to the unsub so he did his best to tune them out as he thought of the next plan.

"Did you do as (Y/n) said and use a bathroom mirror to communicate with the girl?"

Alvez shook his head. "We don't know how to get it far enough into the room for her to see us."

Spencer almost smiled. "Now this is why I have the three PhDs." Then he ran off around the explosive hall and to the bathrooms on the other side of the floor.

"Ah, why you gotta make it personal man?" Alvez complained while running after him.

The two of them with the help of brute force from the other officers and the butts of their guns, they were able to dislodge two large pieces of glass. Spener held one and Alvez held the other.

"You go to the east end of the hall and I'll take the west. We need to get as close to her as possible. It will take some positioning but I have a feeling this with work."

The teams took position. Hotch and Rossi were still talking to the unsub, though it didn't sound like they were making any progress. They had to hurry nonetheless.

Spencer stood at his end of the hall and nodded to Alvez on the other. Then Spencer took a deep breath and started on moving and positioning the angle of the mirror for Alvez to see the girl. Spener looked right at him, following his silent direction of where to move and stand. Suddenly your voice came up, giving Spencer a bit of a fright.

"Talk to me, please. What is going on?"

Spencer kept his eye on Alvez and made minor adjustments until a smile lit up the man's face. Now it was Alvez's turn to position himself so the reflection in Spencer's mirror would reach Spencer and he could talk to the girl.

"Hey, it's just the woman I need."

"You need me?" There was a bit of fear mingled with the confusion in your voice.

"You don't nee dot come up here. But I'll need your help signing."

"You can see her?!"

Spencer held off on his answer until he could give you a true answer. "I-" he moved his head to the left a bit, and Alvez complied, "am-" then Spencer moved his head back a bit, lifting shoulder for him to angle it back a bit, "looking-" just the barest of sifts to the side and a bit of an angle down and-

"I am looking right at her, (Y/n)."

And Spencer wasn't about to describe her to you. To say she was wrapped up was downplaying it. Severely. But he kept his voice level and his face kind as he spoke to you while holding Danielle's frightened gaze.

"How is she? Is she alright?"

"She is alive, (Y/n). Take a deep breath, she's alive."

Spencer listened with a sad smile as you did as he said and breathed heavily and deeply. How he was going to talk to Danielle without you knowing his plan was going to be difficult. Therefore he was going to need to tell you what he saw.

"(Y/n), I need you to do something for me."

"Yes? Anything."

Spencer looked right at Alvez's questioning look as he spoke. "I am going to tell you exactly how Danielle is doing. But if I do I am going to need you to be strong. I am going to need to you to help me navigate her out of here and the only way you can do that is if you keep a level head."

You didn't reply and Alvez started shaking his head. But Spencer proceded, not sure how else to go about this.

"She is tied up with her hands behind her back, some tape around her ankles and over her mouth. She is inside what looks to be a kennel cage of sorts for a large dog. Around the cage is a net of more explosives. This unsub was busy. He had this here. He planned for this to happen."

"Though I don't think he planned to do it with Danielle." Your voice was small and there was a hint of resignation. Spencer stayed quiet to let you finish. "He had threatened me on several occasions when I stepped out of line and did something for Becky or myself. He would say he would tie me up and cage me. He said he would help me meet my maker in a splendor of color. But of course I never really heeded him, considering all the blank threats he made me in particular and the fact he was drunk every time he said it."

"Now it has truly come to pass. And to be honest (Y/n), I am not fully sure how we are going to get her out of this." Spencer hated the sound of defeat he tried to keep out of his voice and failed at completing.

The line was quiet for a time. No one had any ideas to present. That is until Garcia popped in. 

"Do you have a window nearby where the sun is shining nice and hot-like?"

Alvez nearly snorted as a smirk grew on his lips. "As the sun would, yes. There is a hot-like beam of light moving slowly across the floor. What of it?"

Spencer spoke up before Garcia could answer. "Hold on, I know what you are getting at but I need to do something first. (Y/n)?"

"I'm here." Your voice was timid but he could tell you were doing your best to sound strong. 

"Hey," Spencer couldn't help but let a small smile pull at the corner of his lips, "are you holding up alright?"

"Yes, but I would like you to hurry." You let out a nervous laugh.

"I know. But I am going to need you to do something for me."

"Yeah..."

Spencer took a breath and glanced at Alvez before he pressed on. "I need you to take the earpiece out. Now I know you don't want to, you want to know what is going to happen but I am going to need you to trust me."

There was silence and Alvez gave Spencer a look. But Spencer nodded slowly then looked at Danielle looking at him through the mirror. She was shaking her head slightly, her eyes imploring. But Spencer had to get you off the line before he started the next step. Not only for your sanity but for his. He was having a bit of trouble concentrating. 

Then you spoke, your voice shaking but strong. "Alright. I trust you. Please bring her back to me."

Spencer let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and let his head drop. taking a fortifying breath, Spencer then looked up and didn't leave Danielle's gaze as he spoke. 

"Alright, Garcia. What was your plan with the sunbeams?"

~~~~~~

You placed your head in your hands as you sat in the back of one of the cop cars that was parked next to the command tent where the BAU and other officers were stationed. You did as Spencer asked and took out the earpiece, though you felt as if you were abandoning Danielle. But after hearing three more small explosions and seeing a team of officers leave the building, you were a bit glad you didn't know what was going on. 

You were about to get out of the car when a hand stopped you. Looking up, you watched as Emily quickly moved to stand in front of the open door. You moved to ask what was wrong but she shook her hand, her voice stern as she spoke to the others on the line. 

"I am with her. Bring him out and take him to the squad car B12. Then take him away from here as fast as you can."

Your blood ran cold and the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end. Part of you wanted to push her aside and see the unsub, him, be escorted out of the building. But the other half of you played back what Spencer had said to you about never wanting the unsub to set eyes on you again. So you stayed put, closing your eyes and leaning your head back on the headrest. Before long you felt a slight pressure on your arm, making you open your eyes. 

Emily was leaning in the car a bit, a small but kind smile on her face. "You alright?"

You blinked. "Is he gone?" Your voice came out a lot quieter and weaker than you wanted but you had to know. 

Emily nodded, squeezing your arm gently again. "He's gone. You're safe."

You let out a small breath and nodded, but you didn't look away from her. "And Danielle?"

Emily hesitated, though her eyes didn't flicker and her breathing didn't change. You could feel she was deciding what to tell you and what to not say. But either way, you knew it wasn't going to be what you wanted to hear. It had been nearly an hour after Spencer told you to leave the group. You were beyond curious to know how they were doing. If they were successful or...

With a small sigh, Emily nodded her head. "Spencer and the others have-"

"RUN!"

"TAKE COVER!"

Emily's words died on her lips as she stood and turned. You sat up and looked through the windshield of the car just in time to see several officers rush out of the building. A few of them were BAU agents but none were Spencer. 

Or Danielle.

You opened your mouth to ask Emily what was going on but all you ended up doing was covering your mouth with a hand in shock. 

The building that held two of the most important people in your life shook with such large explosions your ears rang. Fire erupted from the windows and the ground billowed with dust and parts of the warehouse fell. Then, one by one, each level of the section that the unsub had rigged fell to the ground in a thunderous cloud. the force of the explosion then hit the rest of the group, making your car shake. 

You closed your eyes to the dust as you got out of the car and stood next to Emily who was shielding her face, her other hand pressed to her ear as she spoke quickly. 

"And the others?"

There was a pause. You looked at her, blinking against settling dust, your ears straining to hear anything from the other end. 

"Right. I am still with her. What about the others PG? Stay with me."

Others? Did not everyone get out?

You searched the people who were doubled over, panting from running so hard. No one looked in a rush to see if there were people in the rubble. You saw all the other BAU members besides Emily; Rossi, Hotch, Alvez, JJ, and...

Your eyes grew wide. 

Where was Spencer?

And Danielle?

You took a step closer to the fallen section of the building but was stopped by Emily. You spun on her, sick and tired of being held back. Anger flared in your eyes as you clenched your jaw. But before you could say anything, Emily shook her head then looked behind you at the building. 

"Look. There."

You turned and followed her finger to the second floor of the building. Narrowing your eyes you noticed movement. Then your heart lept.

Emily let you go as you rushed to the building, the small figures on the second floor moving quickly to an exit. You stepped over rubble and debris as you made your way closer, your eyes filling with tears and your heart pounding with anticipation. 

There was a loud clank of a metal door and the sound of running as Danielle came bounding out of the building and straight into your arms as you two knelt on the ground, sobbing. Spencer was close behind though he stopped a few feet away to give you space. You closed your eyes and let every feeling overflow in tears. You said nothing, unable to, as you clutched her small frame to you as tightly as you could, unsure of who was trembling. 

You opened your eyes after some time and pulled away but only enough to get a good look at her face. She was filthy but not bleeding, her tears making tracks on her dirt covered face. Her hair was tied back in a messy braid and her clothes were all but torn. But her eyes were bright and her smile intact.

You smiled, wide and bright as you saw her own tears of once fear turned to happiness as she looked at you. With trembling lips, Danielle started mouthing the same words over and over again, until she collapsed on your shoulder once more, holding onto you tightly. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you

You held onto her again but this time looked at Spencer behind her. He gave you a nod as well as a small smile, his body just as dirty as Danielle's. But you spotted a few areas of blood on his arms and face, thankfully just mere scrapes. You watched as he slowly approached, his hand resting on your shoulder. 

You looked up at him and smiled weakly. "You brought her to me." You sniffed, holding her tighter, smiling a bit more as she returned the gesture. "She's here. In my arms. She's safe."

"Thank you for trusting me," Spencer said as he crouched down next to you, his hand moving to Danielle's shoulder. "She was very brave."

 Danielle turned from you but didn't fully pull away to look at Spencer. She reached out with one hand and, though it was with one hand, she signed "brave" on his chest. Spencer smiled and nodded, reaching up to ruffle her hair as if she were ten years younger than she was. 

"Yes, brave."

Suddenly a rush of medical personnel and other BAU members came over, checking everyone and taking Danielle to a nearby Ambulance. At first, she was worried she was going to be taken again but you assured her with ease with a smile and a nod from Spencer that she was among friends and she was never going to be taken again.

You stood next to Spencer, your arms crossed, as the two of you watched Danielle get checked over, a nurse signing to her, making the girl laugh and feel at ease. She would look to you from time to time and share a smile, her eyes flickering to Spencer as well. But all you could do was stare, your mind still trying to process that she was here. Danielle was safe. You hadn't abandoned her.

"Thank you," you whispered as you glanced at Spencer, "thank you for keeping your promise."

Spencer took a step sideways closer to you, his own arms folded. He did nothing more than brush his shoulder against yours and instantly your heart started to slow. 

"Thank you for your help." He paused. "And for leaving the conversation. I didn't want-"

You turned to him, your brows furrowed. "No, don't. It's alright. You brought her back. That's all that matters."

Spencer gave a small smile and nod, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. He looked over at Danielle, drawing your attention to her too. She was laying on the stretcher in the Ambulance, her head nodding as she watched the nurse sign to her what was going to happen next. You and Spencer walked up to the Ambulance just as the rest of the BAU team arrived. 

Emily smiled at you and you nodded. JJ rubbed a comforting hand up and down your arm. Alves nodded and Rossi smiled. Hotch got straight to the point. 

"The unsub is detained and we have successfully rescued the victim. We will need to meet at the hospital but after she is seen to and taken care of head back to the hotel. We can rest before we see to the paperwork and the unsub transfer. He can wait."

You nodded your eyes glazing over slightly.

IT was done. You were free. 

You were safe.

Your head snapped to Spencer as a question burned on your mind. "How did you do it? how did  you get her out of there?"

It was Alvez who spoke first. "It was actually Danielle who figured it out. Not us."

You looked to Spencer to see him nodding. "Garcia was going to suggest we burn her bounds off with a light beam, something that would have taken far too long with what little natural light energy we had.  But I caught Danielle trying to say something."

Alves chuckled. "She is so smart. Nearly puts Reid to shame. She made letters with her eyes as if writing them in the air. At first, I thought she was going Insidious on us but it wasn't until Spencer started saying the letters out loud that I knew what was going on."

You shook our head, having trouble following. 

Spencer looked at you and with dramatic movements, looked diagonally up, then diagonally down then centered to the right then moved his eyes straight across, all without moving his head. You caught on. 

A

"She was frantic and was spelling the letters backward it took me a minute but after figuring out what she was doing I was able to understand her completely." Spencer turned back to the group. "She spelled out "Net is fake" then did it over and over again."

Alvez continued on. "I don't think he knew she was deaf and had let it slip or something. But she was right. So we knew we just had to pick our way through the smaller explosions and get to her, open the cage, get her out and bingo, we were home free."

Rossi joined in. "But what we didn't know at the time was that the unsub had planted a second bomb on the floor he was on. The one he was wearing was fake too. He had a thing for wanting to psyche us out."

You nodded. "That does seem like him."

"It wasn't until after we had him off the location he let slip about the other bomb. But by then it was too late to do anything about it," JJ added. 

"So we had Alvez make the net of bombs around the cage ready to detonate and evacuated the building, setting it off ourselves before the other one could take us by surprise," stated Hotch.

You shook your head again. "But why did you and Danielle not get out of the building?"

Spencer nodded to the ambulance as he spoke. "She was scared to the point of being all but paralyzed with fear. She was having issues breathing and walking and with time not on our side I figured it would be safer to get out of the range of the blast than to risk hurting her further to get her out of the building."

You nodded, satisfied with that answer as if seeing her alive wasn't satisfying enough. You looked over at her and was greeted with a big smile. She raised her hand and gave you a small wave. You smiled and waved back. 

"Do you want to go with her to the hospital?" Emily asked, her voice soft.

You nodded again, slowly turning to the others. "I'll go with her and have your men take me back to the safe house once I know she is alright."

The others nodded and turned to go. Emily went to go notify the ambulance you were to ride with them. You then turned to Spencer, your hands falling from your chest. But he caught your uninjured right had, holing it gently in his.

"Are you going to be alright?" He asked softly.

You looked up at him, giving him a tight smile. "I'll be okay. it's just been a long day. I"m surprised Danielle is handling it as well as she is."

Spencer smiled knowingly. "She is made of tougher stuff. And usually, with any traumatic experience, there is always a situation, memory, song, smell, sound, pet, or person that will act as a pacifier to the traumatized person and make the pain disappear completely. She will no doubt have some psychological damage but for now, she is alright with you nearby."

You looked down at your clasped hands. "How will I ever repay you? You have done so much for me." You closed your eyes and whispered to yourself. "What will I do when you are gone?"

There was movement and you looked up, seeing Spencer had stepped closer. With his other hand, he reached over and picked up your casted hand, holding your fingers gingerly. His eyes peered into yours, soft and kind. You looked back at him, trying your best to read him. He was quiet for a moment but just as you were about to speak he beat you to it. 

"You will live a wonderful and strong life. You will overcome this strenuous part of your life and learn to build a new one with new memories. You will find and make new friends. And if Danielle's parents are alright with it, you can keep in touch with her and see her too become a strong and able-bodied woman taking control of her life that you were able to give back to her."

Tears stung your eyes as you peered up at him. "And you? What of the man who helped me see there was still good in this world? The man who spoke to me like I wasn't fragile, who trusted me to be strong. The man who held me while I cried and thought I had failed but told me I had saved countless lives." Tears now streamed down your face as you tried to commit Spencer's face to memory, the thought of having to leave him hurting your heart. "What will you be doing?"

Spencer reached up and stroked your tears away with a gentle hand, his voice low as he replied. "I will be saving content knowing you are safe and that Danielle was returned to her family." He didn't drop his hand but cupped your cheek instead. "I will keep doing my job and hope to succeed like this every time."

You sniffed, subconsciously leaning into his hand. "Will you not be happy?"

A small smile broke across his face. "You want me to be happy?"

You only nodded, your lips starting to tremble despite doing your best not to let them. 

Spencer let out a soft laugh, his entire face lighting up making your chest squeeze. He took a step closer, his hand never leaving your face. "Then can I ask you something?"

You gave him the barest of nods, his close breath creating goosebumps on your skin.

He gazed into your eyes and angled your head up ever so slightly. "May I kiss you?"

You didn't say anything as you stood up on your tip toes, the perfect distance where your lips then pressed against his. You weren't the only one surprised by your bold move.

At first, you were terrified that this was going to be like every other time you had to kiss a man. But you had never been so wrong in your life. He wasn't them. He wasn't him. He was Spencer Reid, the man you completely trusted with every fiber of your being.

You closed your eyes and let his movements mold you like putty in his arms. His one hand stayed on your cheek as the other snaked around your middle pulling you closer. Besides a bit of stubble, you could feel him smile as he moved just a bit more to kiss you gently.

To be held like this, like you were real. Like you were...important. Not fragile perse but more like you were to be handled with care and feeling. Spencer didn't grab or pull, only gently nudged or grasped. You didn't feel trapped. You felt...loved. 

Was this what true love felt like?

You reached up and placed your hand on the back of his neck, your fingers weaving into his long hair. You all but sighed as he pulled away, but only just. 

"I am happy," he whispered, "but your health comes before anything else."

You opened your eyes, grateful to still be in his arms given how weak your knees felt. "I have no one to help me. My parents died when I was in college. I was never close to any other family members. I have a cat named Tripod and a dog named Whip. Or...had, at least. After three years, I-"

"(Y/n) (L/n), I will do all in my power to make sure you are well cared for and you get the best treatment." Spencer broke you off, stroking your hair softly. "I will do my best to be with you but please make it easy by agreeing to be seen to. Everything else can come later. Only then I will ask to kiss you again."

You gazed at him for a moment then nodded, slowly. "After I am better."

"And you will get better," he whispered, pulling you into his chest for a warm, much-needed hug. 

You buried your face in his clothes and clung to him, new tears surfacing at the thought of one day being better to the point that you wouldn't have to fear for your life every moment you woke up in the morning. That you will be able to see Danielle grow up and smile more. That you will be able to be in Spencer's arms again, to be kissed like he did again.

You were going to get better.

hold onto your buts the epilogue is coming right after...