Dark Paradise (The Story of Us Book 4)

Chapter 8- The Truth

3rd Person P.O.V.

Things were a lot better in the team dynamic after Spencer and Derek made up. Ever since Amanda's death, the team hadn't been as close-knit as they once were. Spencer had pulled away, Emily wanted to move back to London, and Garcia was terrified of losing anybody else. Slowly, they had all come around but it had taken Spencer the longest. He knew that Amy wanted him to move on but he loved her and he held out hope that maybe there was something he could do to help bring her back. Yet, with every day and every secret phone call with Maeve, Spencer felt better and better and it showed.

He hadn't even gotten upset when Blake had implied that he has Asperger's while talking about a young boy who had it. Much to the team's shock he had merely said that Amanda suspected the same thing before pointing out that the Asperger's might make it so he doesn't really understand that he had been kidnapped. They weren't sure if this would be better or worse for him. The case ended up turning out okay with them finding the family all alive and for once, the team was good as they celebrated family.

About two weeks later, things started to get rocky. They were working a case that had to do with someone with medical training cutting off legs to try and implant them. Derek had been with Reid, who he had been on far better terms with, when he saw him rubbing his eyes. This concerned Derek who was one of the few people who knew about Reid's headaches. He confronted him about it but Spencer denied it.

This upset Derek for a few reasons. First of all, they had just gotten on better terms after Spencer apologized and the lanky genius had taken up Amanda's mantle as Derek's sparring partner. The light-skinned man had to admit that he was surprised to see how good Spencer was. He may get tired easily but he could also take Derek down with barely enough effort to make a shift in his breathing patterns.

While the sparring was fun and helped them get closer, the two men also used it to talk. Morgan explained his continued frustrations with Amanda's death. He confessed that everything felt so unresolved as if they were missing something. Reid had contemplated this before pointing out that the sniper was an amateur meaning he was likely hired. Derek wanted to reopen it but he couldn't without Hotch's permission and he wasn't sure how to broach the subject with his boss.

What was he supposed to say? "Hey Hotch so I know that you're dead sister just missed her niece's first birthday, but I think there was more to her murder. Can I look into it?" There was just no reason to open old wounds. Spencer seemed to agree and that had helped Derek feel better about the whole thing.

Which is why it bothered Derek so much that the genius was hiding something from him. He had never complained that he was having headaches again and even after he denied it, Derek knew that he was hiding something. This was further proved when they were at a crime scene and Spencer got this look on his face as if he had realized something right before he stepped away from him and made a call to Garcia.

He watched him the whole time and when Reid turned around he gave him a quizzical look before Spencer just left with Blake. Next thing he knew, Spencer was coming back to the precinct with a major break in the case. For a moment, he wondered if the younger man was back on drugs. He actually may have bought it if he were more aggressive and mean. Now he was just...sketchy. So he brought his concerns up to Prentiss. The moment he stopped talking, she just stared at him.

"So he's keeping one secret and you're having a hissy fit? Also, why is your first thought that he is on drugs again? Both of us remember very well what it was like when he was on drugs and he isn't even close. Besides, it's been months since Amy's death, he didn't just decide to start taking drugs again."

"I'm not the only one who's worried about his weird behavior. Hang on," he tells her before calling Garcia. "Babygirl, tell little Miss Prentiss what our resident genius asked you for."