Jennifer Jareau found herself standing at his apartment door. She wasn't positive that something was wrong, but it wasn't like Spencer Reid to call in sick to work. She slipped out of the office unnoticed at the end of the day and drove over to Reid's apartment. She just needed to know that he was okay, just to be sure. As she knocked on the door to his apartment, an uneasy feeling of worry settled in the pit of her stomach.

"Spence, it's JJ. I just wanted to stop by and make sure you're okay," she called out when he didn't answer the door.

She did her best not to panic as she dug around in her purse to find the key he had given her. Just as she opened the door, she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"JJ, what are you doing here?" Reid said in a scratchy voice.

Shakily, she responded, "I-I.. You weren't at work today. I was worried that…"

"You were worried that I had given in to the drug again," he said flatly as he turned to let her into his apartment.

She did all that she could to keep the tears that were forming in her eyes from falling down her cheeks as they sat down on the couch together. Right now wasn't about her.

He changed his tone when he saw the hurt on her face and said, "I really am sick. Well, sort of…"

"What's going on, Spence? Talk to me," she said scooting closer to him on the couch.

Normally, he would be nervous around JJ, but he was too exhausted.

"I'm not sleeping well, JJ. Every time I close my eyes, I'm back in that graveyard. I know Hankel is gone, but it's like he's still getting to me," Reid explained.

"Oh, Spence," she said as she wrapped her arms around his shaking body.

He hadn't realized he was crying, but now that he had started, the sobs wouldn't stop coming. All of this he had kept bottled up for months, unable to talk to anyone about it.

"You know you could have come to me sooner," she said as if she was reading his mind.

He shuddered out one final sob and said, "I didn't want the team treating me like a baby. I should have come to you though. You'd never do that to me."

"You are far too strong to be treated like a baby, Spence. I would have never survived if he had taken me instead," she said as she wiped away the tears left on his face.

"I'm glad he took me instead of you," Reid whispered, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you had gone through all of that."

JJ wasn't able to respond. It wasn't like Spencer to be so open and honest about his feelings, and she didn't want to interrupt if he had any more to say.

He continued, "I thought about you the whole time he had me, Jennifer. At first, I was worried that something even worse had happened to you, but I knew you were strong and brave enough to get away. Then when he was resuscitating, I saw you. You were calling out to me, telling me to hold on. I couldn't leave you, Jennifer. You're the reason I've survived all of this."

Now it was JJ's turn to cry. Tears silently streamed down her face as she looked him directly in the eyes. He had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. In this moment, she was eternally thankful she was still able to look into his perfect brown eyes.

"Spence, why didn't you ever tell me this before?" she asked him quietly.

"Honestly?" he smiled slightly as he blushed.

She only nodded him to prompt him to continue.

He took a deep breath and said, "I never told you before because I always got too nervous. I've always wanted to tell you how much you mean to me, but I guess you could say my brain got in the way. I'm not letting it get in the way right now though. I wouldn't have survived any of this without you. You're my angel, Jennifer. I love you."

"Spence, I love you, too," she said with new tears forming in her eyes.

Timidly, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. As he did, a new fire flowed through his veins, a fire much different than that of the drug Tobias had injected into him. Kissing JJ was absolutely electrifying. She pressed her lips against his as her hands tangled in his hair. As she tilted her head slightly to the side, his lips parted and their tongues met. Spencer couldn't stifle the moan the rose up in his throat as he kissed her. He had dreamed of kissing her for years, and now he finally was. Eventually, the need for oxygen was too demanding to ignore.

He rested his forehead against hers and said, "Jennifer?"

"Yes, Spence?" she responded.

"I am very glad you decided to check on me tonight," he confessed.

They both started laughing and curled up in each other's arms. Both their lives had changed so much since the Tobias Hankel case. Tonight, though, their lives had changed for the better.