Façade//Spencer Reid

43. Free at last

Marco's entire operation had effectively shut down once Marissa had been killed. With no one willing to help Marco - who was behind bars, everything he worked for was gone. Everyone went underground, understanding that their evasion from the law was over due to Marco's incarceration, and they'd be stupid to try and continue without him.

This meant that Y/N and Carter were free. Marco would die in prison - considering he had no chance of ever being granted parole. There were no more associates of Marco wanting to kill Y/N. There was no more fear whenever she saw an unknown number calling her phone. She and Carter could finally be happy and have the life she always wanted for them.

All they had to do now was wait. Once the knife had been removed from just above Y/N's stomach, her surgery took 2 hours. Spencer stayed away from the hospital. Instead, he went back to the BAU to make sure Carter was okay. He had questions, lots of them, ranging from 'why isn't mom here?' to 'when's mom coming home'. Of course, Carter was way too young to know where Y/N had been for the past month and what she had been through, so he lied and told Carter that Y/N had gone away for a while to visit an old friend who was dying. Carter seemed to believe that, which made Spencer happy. As for his answer as to why Y/N was in the hospital, well, Spencer simply said that Y/N had an accident while she was away.

The moment Y/N was out of surgery, Derek called Spencer, who brought Carter with him. They waited for 5 hours before Y/N woke up from being conscious but asleep. Once she was awake, Spencer wasted no time telling Y/N everything. He told her what Marissa's death meant for Marco's operation. He told her how she managed to get into the FBI building without raising suspicion. But the last thing he told her is all she listened to.

"You're free. You and Carter are free. No more looking over your shoulder. No more worrying." Spencer held Y/N's hand, rubbing the top of her hand to keep her calm.

"I love you, Spencer." Y/N whispered as she cried, a smile on her face.

"I love you too, Y/N." Spencer got up and leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Mom. I'm tired." Carter yawned.

"Okay. Spencer can take you home." Y/N smiled.

"Dad's home, or our home?" Carter asked, curious.

"If you wanna go to dad's home, you gotta ask him." Y/N turned to Spencer, who nodded.

"C'mon buddy. Let's get you to bed." Spencer lifted Carter off the floor and carried the tired boy out of the room and toward his car. He drove home and helped him get into his pajamas before he tucked Carter into the bed that resided in the guest bedroom of Spencer's apartment.

"I'm gonna go spend another hour with your mom, and then I'll be back here. Is that okay?" Spencer asked as Carter yawned again. He nodded, snuggling into the pillow. Spencer placed a small kiss on Carter's head before leaving.

He headed back to the hospital, intending to actually go home and sleep once visiting hours were over.

"You didn't have to come back here, Spencer. I would've been fine for the night." Y/N exhaled.

"I wanted to say an actual 'good night' to my girlfriend. Is that not allowed?" Spencer questioned, a smirk on his face.

"Fine. But I have something I want you to think about when you're at home." Y/N admitted.

"What's up?" Spencer sat down, holding her hand.

"I- I want to move in." Y/N spoke.

"Y- You want to m- move in?" Spencer's eyes widened.

"Yeah. I know we haven't talked about this, but I'm sure Carter has grown to love your apartment and I love it too. Besides, I'd sleep well at night knowing that I get to wake up next to you and see your handsome face every morning." Y/N explained, nodding.

"I don't need to think about this to know my answer." Spencer admitted. Y/N bit her lip in hope.

"As soon as you're discharged from the hospital and healed, we'll move in together. Whether that means you move into my apartment, or we find a bigger place so that we can actually start fresh, I don't care. As long as I get to see you next to me when I wake up and I get to see Carter every day, I'm happy." Spencer watched a tear fall down her cheek as she smiled, unable to keep her happiness quiet.

"I love you...so much, Spencer." Y/N kissed him.

"I love you so much too, Y/N. I love both you and Carter." Spencer kissed her back before a nurse came around, letting the couple know that visiting hours were over.

"Goodnight, my love. I'll be back with Carter tomorrow morning before I return him back to school." Spencer smiled.

"Goodnight, Spencer." Y/N let Spencer leave, before realising what he had said. She furrowed her eyebrows, but realised that whatever he had done, it would've been for Carter's best interest. Y/N knew that Spencer would do anything to keep her and Carter safe.