Clueless

Fear

"Spencer, answer the phone!" Rowan shouted into his voice mail.

She hung up, distressed. "I'm sure he's fine." Penelope said comfortingly.

"I know he's fine. I'm worried about Elizabeth. He's writing a speech and sometimes forgets his responsibilities." Rowan didn't know how the girls had talked her into this.

JJ, Penelope, Emily, and Rowan were surrounded by loud music, the smell of alcohol, and the wave of moving bodies.

"Elizabeth will be fine, too. Now come on, my girl genius. It's time you dance."

•

"You smell like booze and cheap perfume." Spencer woke Rowan up around ten, keeping the blinds securely shut.

"I feel like I was hit by a truck." Rowan managed. "Where's Elizabeth?"

"Asleep. Don't worry, Row, she got her medicine." Rowan nodded, once. "Good. Help me up." Instead of helping her stand, Spencer sat down beside her. She looked up at him.

"We've been through it all, haven't we?" He asked softly.

She managed to pull herself up. "Yeah, we have. What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

He wasn't looking at her, instead looking anywhere but her face. "Spencer?" She pressed.

"I don't want Elizabeth to have the life we had." He managed. "I want her to be normal. No eidetic memory, no schizophrenic parent, no abusive parent, none of it."

"You're not going to have a schizophrenic break, Spence. Stop thinking like that." She instructed. "We're going to get through this."

"I know. I know, it's just... what if I do? What if I start to scare her like my mom scared me?"

She leaned forward so their foreheads were touching. "You won't. I promise. We promised Elizabeth we'd be the best parents we could be, and we will. Come on." She pulled him to his feet.

"I'm going to take a shower. The door will be unlocked. Give Elizabeth her medicine." She told him.

"Are you-"

"Spencer Reid, do as I said. I love you." And she kissed him, right on the lips, for a very long moment.

"I love you, too."