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Summary
Spencer Reid has always been good at understanding other people.
Trauma. Addiction. Grief. Fear. He knows the science, the symptoms, the warning signs. What he doesn't know is how to recognize when he's drowning until he's already too far under.
Since Tobias Hankel, Spencer has been struggling with memories he can't escape and feelings he doesn't know how to carry. The Dilaudid makes everything quieter, easier, numb—but when the numbness wears off, everything comes back sharper than before.
His temper is getting worse. His patience is disappearing. He's hurting people he cares about, and every apology only makes him feel more like a burden.
Then one bad day on the jet finally pushes him too far.
And this time, Spencer doesn't have to fall alone.
With the rest of the team beginning to realize just how much he's been hiding, and Aaron Hotchner quietly offering him the one thing Spencer has been afraid to ask for, Spencer has to confront the possibility that maybe being loved doesn't mean being easy to love.
Maybe he doesn't have to be fine.
Maybe he just has to let someone stay.