Chapter 10

Logan School Condos
Apt #13
Washington DC

December, 2005

Jeremy was either more sensitive than even Spencer had considered or else it was psychosomatic, but on their way out of the hospital he started shivering. Thankfully Spencer had both of his coats with him, just in case. He bundled Jeremy into one, which was way too long but it seemed to help.

They got to the building just in time to see JJ and Will leaving. "Aw, damn it!" JJ said when she saw them.

"What?" Spencer asked.

"I was...we were...um..."

Penelope grinned. "They were elfing."

"Elfing?" Spencer asked.

"It was her idea." Will replied. "I was just here to carry boxes."

"Thanks for backing me up!" JJ replied to him with a grin, swatting at him lightly.

"Elfing?" Spencer asked again.

"You will see when you get in there." Penelope replied. "Now unless you two need something we are going to go and let you settle in." She pulled Spencer into a hug first, then turned to Jeremy. "Do you like hugs?"

"I love hugs." Jeremy replied.

So there were hugs all around and then the team took their leave. Spencer let Jeremy in to his apartment, locked the door, set the security system, and hung up his coat. As Jeremy started pulling off layers he went to see what they had done. There was nothing in the living room. Nothing in the dining room...

In the kitchen Jeremy caught up with him. He took one look and his jaw dropped. "Did we...did we really do this?"

Sitting on the counter was an apple pie, a basket of raspberry muffins, and a crusty loaf of bread. Through the open door of the fridge you could see a chocolate cream pie, a pumpkin pie and a tray of macaroni and cheese waiting to be reheated in the oven. And the crock-pot was giving off steam that suspiciously smelled like ham and bean soup. All the things they had cooked in their combined imagination while Jeremy was trying to survive. For a moment it all felt very real, but Spencer had to tell the truth. "No." He replied. "It was elves." He held up the note in his hands. "They couldn't find pecan butterscotch scones so they left pecans and butterscotch chips. They also left Christmas decorations in the guest loft if we want to put them up later."

By now Jeremy was grinning. "Your friends really did this for us?"

"Yeah. They're like that."

"That's amazing. I just... I never."

"Yeah." Spencer could tell Jeremy had never felt this welcomed before. But it was good. It was very good. "Hungry?" That soup smelled like it was pretty much ready.

Spencer felt Jeremy's good mood turn to embarrassment. "Um, actually, can I get a shower first?"

"Sure." Oh, of course. He hadn't had more than a cursory clean-up at the hospital. Knowing what Spencer knew about victims, and Jeremy was still on that edge between victim and survivor, he wanted to scrub and scrub to get the real or imagined scent of the Unsubs off his skin. "Down the hall to the right. The master bedroom is on the left, the bathroom on the left and the library at the end of the hall."

Jeremy had already been heading out, but now he turned back. "Library?"

"Yeah. Help yourself. I, um, use the loft above it for an office, in case I bring work home. You're welcome, of course, but sometimes I put case photos up on the board in there..."

Jeremy smiled. "Right. Avoid your office. Got it."

"If you need any toiletries check under the sink."

"Okay." And with that he was off.

Spencer settled out everything in the kitchen. They would start with bean soup and fresh bread, and some pie. Apple would go well with it, as would pumpkin. The muffins would go well with breakfast, and tomorrow there would be mac and cheese and the chocolate pie. He might pick up some fried chicken as well, make a salad. All of Jeremy's favorites, just because.

That settled he went back out to find those Christmas decorations. Jeremy had left a couple of bags in the living room, a leather satchel with books and notebooks and a basket with yarn things, both tucked in by the sofa like they belonged there. They did belong there, Spencer realized. They looked just right next to his satchel and basket there. Exactly as it should be.

As he went up to poke through the decorations, and eyeball the guest loft to see if a second office could be put in there, he became aware of a growing disquiet, a combination of fear and embarrassment and anger at self that he couldn't quite put a finger on. It wasn't him, there was no reason for it, so he took a deep breath, let it out, and after a moment headed for the bathroom. There he found Jeremy, minus only his shoes, sitting on the closed toilet, staring at the big, glassed-in shower. "What is it?" He asked.

Jeremy sighed. "You know, intellectually I know that the door is locked and the security system is on and you probably have a huge hot water tank..."

But he was scared. Spencer could understand that. And he didn't have to think long for a possible solution. "Wait here." He went and collected all the candles he could find, came back and lit them around the room. Then he turned off the lights.

"What are you doing?"

"It's the opposite of the room you were in. It's psychologically warmer and safer, with a closed in, sheltered feeling. And with the dim light if we take off our glasses neither of us is going to be able to see all that much." He would have told Jeremy to speak up if he became uncomfortable, but Spencer would likely know before Jeremy realized it.

"Okay, but what are you doing?"

Spencer turned on the water in the shower so it would start to heat. "Well, I'm supposed to be the knight of the house, right?" Jeremy nodded so Spencer continued as he toed off his sneakers. "So it's my job to protect you. Even against cold water."

Spencer had an L-shaped couch in his living room. Later that night he was stretched out on the long side, his feet toward the fire, idly reading a book he'd read before. Jeremy, his stomach full and his body clean, had wrapped up in a quilt on the short side to read with him but had quickly fallen asleep with his head pillowed on Spencer's thigh. Spencer was not complaining about this arraignment at all.

No, they had not gone there. Jeremy wasn't comfortable with the idea and likely wouldn't be without time and therapy. But Spencer privately thought that anyone who believed that love-making required the use of genitals needed to expand their horizons. He had a companion now, an intimate partner. The only thing that could have made this sweeter was if the Unsubs had never been involved. But life had never been perfect, only good.

Which was why he did what he did after his phone rang. "This is Dr. Reid." He said quietly.

"Oh my god, Spencer!" JJ said. "Turn on your TV!"

Spencer turned it on and found a special news report going. An alien ship had been spotted over DC. Apparently it was hit by lightning and had decloaked. "Oh. You know they don't mean us any harm."

"I know, but you have the strongest mind I know and they did give us a gift."

Of course. Spencer agreed and hung up the phone. Gather your thoughts, they had said. Focus the emotions connected to them. Build them as strongly as you can and then let it go. Push it to the receiver in one giant rush...

Spencer concentrated and focused and when he was ready sent a giant push to that ship up in the sky.

Thank You

As he watched a light on the side blinked, and the ship disappeared into the vastness of space.

.

And so we come to the end of this short one. Much thanks to P for her feedback through the writing process.

I'm going back to Percival's Dominatrix on AO3, but it is epic length and so I might want/need another distraction. I'n not supposed to ask what else you might want to see Spencer and Jeremy do, what other adventures you might want them to have, anything like that here, but I can over there. Link info at the top of my profile.