NINE. GIVING TOO MUCH

SPENCER WOKE UP AT SIX IN THE MORNING TO SEE RHEA PASSED OUT BESIDE HIM ON THE COUCH. She was cuddling a pillow to her chest, her face pressed against her shoulder. He ought to tell her that her sleeping position could lead to back problems when she reached her forties and fifties, but for the moment, he let her rest.

She'd been staying with him for several days now, only leaving to get her belongings and to go to work. Katie had spoken to him on the phone and told him all about the ending of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and how she and Louis were going to be buddies on the upcoming museum trip. He'd been invited to chaperone, and as much as the idea appealed to him, he didn't know if he could stomach being outside for so long. He was yet to venture out of the apartment, the closest he'd been was holding the door open for Rhea when she came back from her errands.

His answer machine turning on was what woke Rhea up, and she groaned at the sound of Derek's patchy voice. Spencer didn't bother turning around from where he was making two cups of coffee, as he wasn't ready to talk to his coworkers just yet. It wasn't the first voicemail he'd received and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "Hey, Reid. It's Derek. Listen, I got a work question for you. The Unsub's exsanguinating victims and removing their eyelids antemortem. Does that mean anything to you? Hit me back."

"What does exsanguinating mean?" Rhea muttered, stretching her back with a satisfying 'pop' (which only made the doctor want to talk about her bad posture more). Spencer walked back over and wordlessly handed a mug to her, the drink not as hot as it should have been, as she liked cold milk to balance out the hot water.

"To drain the blood from a body," he replied softly. He didn't even have to think about it, which was a good sign. He was slowly starting to find his feet, and he couldn't have done it without the woman beside him. They still weren't the best of friends, but there was an unspoken understanding between them. 

Spencer knew it couldn't be JJ or Penelope that he could bare being comforted by, as they knew him too well. Rhea...she knew him, but not in the same way. It wasn't uncommon for people to confide in strangers when facing problems, as they are more inclined to listen rather than try to burden said person with help and resolutions. That's what Rhea had done. She just wanted him to know that she'd listen, and she'd be there if he needed. 

She noticed how he eyed his phone, and she reached over to pick it up and hand it to him. "Go on, doc. I know you want to."

"I don't know if I'm ready," he admitted, so Rhea put the landline on the coffee table beside her mug. She wasn't looking her best either, considering the fact that she hadn't slept in her own bed for several days. She'd grown knackered and anxious, but she wasn't about to let that slip in front of the grieving doctor. "What if I mess up?"

She shrugged. There it was again. The non-forceful assurance that he could heal at his own pace. "Then you mess up. But I doubt you will."

Spencer was quiet for a moment, before he reached for the phone and dialled Derek back. Rhea went to stand, but the doctor stopped her, wanting some moral support. His eyes squeezed shut as the line rung, and as soon as Derek picked up he tried his best to maintain his composure. "Have the cornea or pupils been harmed in any way? If he's taking care not to damage the eyes, then line of sight is probably what's important to him."

He then fell silent, waiting for his friend's response.

Rhea rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up a little more after being startled only minutes prior. She had been offered the spare room but she kept accidentally falling asleep on the couch. She wasn't the only one, as he'd caught himself nodding off a few times. "I gotta go."

She looked up as he slammed the phone back on the receiver, his face void of emotion but his eyes filled with hurt. She pursed her lips. "Spencer?"

He stormed into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Rhea stared at where'd he disappeared, trying to ignore the tiredness that was weighing her heart down. She exhaled and got to her feet, moving across the lounge to grab her car keys. After finishing her coffee, she put the mug in the dishwasher, before she got the packet of bread out and set it by the toaster.

Then, she walked to Spencer's door and knocked twice. At first she didn't get an answer, but eventually he called out. "Just go to work. I'll be here when you get back."

"Call if you need anything, alright?" she tried to maintain her positive and soft tone of voice as she formed a reply. 

"Fine."

That was as good a response as any, so she packed up her things and left the apartment despite the familiar worry churning in her stomach. There wasn't much more she could do; he'd refused to talk to anybody else, and hadn't seen the sun in days. But she wasn't about to make him do anything he didn't want to do. 

So, she set off with less than five hours of sleep and the knowledge that the day ahead was going to be unpredictable and utterly exhausting. 

★☆

"He's a grown man, Rhea," Samuel said as he sorted through his records. His classroom was starkly different to her own. It was dark and filled with all the things the older kids liked to say they were into, but secretly didn't understand. Samuel quite liked being the 'cool' teacher, so he never hesitated to play his students music and educate them about important things under the guise of modernity and fun. "You don't need to check up on him every five minutes."

"I know," Rhea grumbled, putting her phone down on the ground beside her. She was colouring in the new sticker chart with pastel Sharpies she'd stolen from Louisa's office as a way to get her mind off Spencer. "It's just...he finally talked to Derek Morgan today and he took it pretty hard."

Samuel glanced back over his shoulder, feeling bad for the stressed out woman. Her mind was fifteen places at once, as she was thinking about how she could help out everyone around her. "There's only so much you can do."

Just as he finished speaking, Rhea's phone dinged with a text message. Her coworker sighed as she rushed to pick it up, her eyes darting back and forth to soak in the paragraph. "He's going to San Fransisco to help the team with their case."

"And?" Samuel could tell he'd written more, as it made his coworker smile.

"He wants to thank me for everything I've done for him over the last few days," she went to hand the phone over, but he shook his head, not really fussed in reading the doctor's words. "And that if the offer's still open, he'd like to help chaperone the museum field trip."

At her excited expression, Samuel bit back his concerns. It was nice to see the woman being so passionate in helping someone, but he couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't taking too much on her shoulders. She had always been emotionally strong, but there had been one too many times where her hard work would go unappreciated by her loved ones. She never expected to be paid back for her affection, but Samuel knew that eventually it would all catch up to her.

But for now, the look on her face made the waiting worth it.

★☆

the chapters are getting shorter and shorter I stg SORRRYYYY

I'm also super behind on uni so I'm a stressed bitch but it's fine it's fine it's fine 

oh shit! also! there's gonna be some time skips here and there so i can cover more of the seasons, so how do we think I should do it? should I separate the books into parts or just kinda do one continuous part with mentions of time passing??

let me knowww!!! x