Hey guys!

I just want to thank you all so much for sticking with me to the end. And this is it. Years of hard and not so hard work have come to an end and Facing the Pain is finally done.

As I was trying to write this chapter (somewhat) I though back to my writing process. When I started writing this I was a 17 years old, half-way through high school and never thought things could change as much as they did. Now I'm 21 on my second year in a university (I graduated high school with good grades, yay). During these years I have seen my grandmother get worse and eventually die and my father struggle with his illness and my mother suffer from the fall out of it all. I've learned to write better and I have certainly become more mature, though I am still far from being a proper adult.

I also tried to figure out why my motivation to write this story has been so low for the last couple of years. I don't think it is solely because I haven't been watching Criminal Minds for a while (I still haven't seen season 9 and 10). I think it has more to do with the fact how much I have changed. Because let's face it, no one is exactly the same at the age of 21 as they were when they were 17. There are things I am definitely not happy with in this story and I haven't really been able to re-read it because I've been a bit ashamed of how and what I have written.

So once again, thank you for your amazing support, your reviews, favorites, follows and everything. I feel very fortunate to have had so many wonderful readers for my story and I thank you for your infinite patience.

I believe there are still many stories for me to write (some are currently in process and partly published and some will not see the daylight in years) and I am looking forward to all those projects. This has really been rewarding journey, though it took a lot longer than it should have. This is the longest complete story I have ever published but it won't be forever.

So, for the last time with this one,

Enjoy!

Chapter 22

In some way, saving an innocent doctor who had only tried to do his job, had felt really good. The aftermath of it not so much. But thinking back on it Reid could really see the silver lining. The team was now closer than ever before. Straightening the wrongs and working out the rights hadn't been all that easy but it had been rewarding, though there was still some work to do.

Reid couldn't help but think how truly lucky he was to have such a good team around him. They were co-workers and friends, but most of all they were a family. They would lean in to each other and lend each other strength when they needed it and they had needed it a lot lately.

"Hey genius, get out of your headspace we need you looking pretty in the picture!"

Reid could feel a plush creep up his cheeks as Morgan slapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. The hand guided him to back row to stand between Hotch and Morgan. He adjusted his weight to lean more on the uninjured leg, although his knee wasn't really bothering him anymore. It was a reflex.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hotch throw a look at him. It was a question. A challenge. It urged him to tell the truth or lie and suffer the consequences. Reid flashed him an easy smile as an answer and strengthened it with a soft nod. It should be enough.

As good of a profiler Hotch was – and Reid knew he was one of the best – his senses were sometimes overthrown by his concern for his family and friends. He would go to lengths to protect those he loved but it was rarely shown to those who were not trained to see it. But when it happened, those were the times Hotch was in a need of reassurance or guidance even. And those were the times Reid was happy to provide the help. He was positive they were not at the point now, but Hotch's open show of caring was due to the past events. A mark that all the wounds had not yet healed. But they would with time.

As he stood there wearing a goofy grin on his face, Morgans arm around his neck and Hotch looking a little less stern Reid realised that he would not have wanted any other family to brighten his adulthood. It did not matter that they had just come out of a huge mess of lies and shouting and anger. It mattered that they had come out. Because families fight. Perhaps their fight was a bit worse than those of a normal families', but there was really nothing normal about them.