Twilight isn't mine and neither is Criminal Minds. This plot however is.

A/N All mistakes are my own and I am sorry you had to see them.

Sorry for the delay with posting my muse is mad at me and not cooperating at all.

Chapter 8

Spencer sat staring at Bella while she slept. They had talked for hours then when he saw that she was just about talked out he put her to bed after insisting she take a hot shower. Now Spencer could only sit and stare at the beautiful woman sleeping in one of his shirts surrounded by his sheets. He had always dreamed of having Bella with him in bed in a non platonic way but now his head was bursting with all the information that he had received from her. He knew that she had left a lot of details out of her story and he knew that some parts had been blatant fabrications on her part. After all it was a part of his job to know when he wasn't being told the truth. He believed that Bella had told him as much as she could about the situation with the Cullens and how they had left her.

His rage at their casual dismissal of his friend was tempered by Bella's explanation that they did it for her safety. His first response had been to want to hunt them down and hurt them for making his girl hurt but after listening to Bella's explanation of what she believed to be Edward's untold reasons for leaving all Spencer could do was chuckle a bit.

Edward Cullen may have loved his Bella but in Spencer's mind there was no doubt that Edward hadn't been 'in love' with her. No one who loved Bella with everything they had could try to destroy her, the way Edward had. No one who loved her would try to break her spirit the way Edward had. It may have seemed right to make a clean break the way he tried to but to be as cowardly as to hurt the person he loved to get away was just sick in Spencer's mind. All it had done was made Bella doubt her-self and everything they had together. If Bella hadn't been smart enough to see through it she might have spiraled into all sorts of self hating destructive behaviors. Spencer could only thank a higher power that Bella had seen her way through it and come to him for support.

Spencer stretched out on the bed next to Bella as the sun began to rise. Now he had a serious decision to make. He could pursue Bella knowing that her wounds from Jerkward were still bleeding and fresh or he could willingly put himself back into the friend zone and help her heal and maybe miss a chance at being more to her. As he sat thinking about the ramifications of both options Spencer realized that he was doing what Edward was famous for. He was trying to make a decision about his relationship with Bella without asking for her input. No matter which way they decided to go all Spencer knew for sure was that it had to be an equal partnership between them.

Gathering Bella in his arms as he began to drift into sleep he made her a promise that he was unaware that she heard

"No matter what happens now Angel, we will get through this together." After brushing a soft kiss on the top of her head he finally let sleep claim him.

Bella wasn't sure what had made her wake up. Maybe it was the unfamiliar feeling of warmth that surrounded her when she had become used to chilling cold or maybe it was Spencer's familiar scent that made her wake up, but whatever it was she woke up just in time to hear Spencer's promise to her. In all the time she had been with Edward he had made plenty of promises to her and with his leaving he broke the most important one. So as Bella lay in Spencer's arms she made a promise to herself. She wouldn't let her feelings for Spencer cloud her judgment to the point where she was risking her safety and sanity anymore. She also promised to be as pen with her feeling and needs as she could be. She understood that a lot of her problems with Edward came from things unspoken and misunderstandings. She knew how she wanted things to go with Reid and she would do what she could in a healthy way to make whatever came next between them work.

Bella feel back asleep with a small smile on her face and a gleam of hope in her heart not realizing that the decision she had made was not a solitary one and was about to spark the catalyst for a great many changes in her life.