Title: Whenever You Call
Author: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Spencer Reid
Fandom: CSI/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Warning: ongoing series
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Spencer Reid, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Spencer raised his head from the magazine he was thumbing through, glancing over at Greg with a worried frown. It had been over a week now since the encounter with Foyet, and his boyfriend still didn't seem to be adjusting and moving on.

He couldn't really blame Greg for that, could he? He'd been the victim of a violent crime; it was a miracle that he'd survived. And Foyet's last words to him hadn't exactly been words of comfort; they'd only made Greg feel that he was being watched, hunted.

He never wanted to go out now, and he hadn't been able to bring himself to go back to work. Spencer didn't blame him for that, either, and the crime lab seemed to agree. They'd given him medical leave, so it wasn't as though he was completely destitute.

But he'd have to go back to work sometime, and Spencer knew that he couldn't stay here with Greg forever. Now that he was considered Greg's roommate, and he was paying part of the rent on this apartment, he had the right to live here, but the clock was ticking.

The last thing he wanted to do was go back to DC and leave Greg here alone, but at some point, he'd have no choice, not if he wanted to stay in the BAU. Hotch had given him a leave of absence, but there would come a time when he'd have to make a choice.

That wasn't something he wasn't prepared to do, at least not yet. Greg still needed him; he wanted to be here for his boyfriend for as long as he could. He only hoped that Greg would get back on his feet soon, and be able to put the whole horrible experience behind him.

His boyfriend wasn't working as an escort any more; Spencer had put his foot down about that. He didn't blame Greg's job for getting him into the situation with Foyet, but he didn't want anything like that to happen again, and he was relieved that Greg had agreed to leave.

He still seemed quiet and listless, which wasn't like the Greg he'd first met at all. Spencer wanted the Greg that he'd first known back; he wanted the effervescent, sparking personality, the ready laugh, the insouciant smile, the sunny outlook on life.

It was almost as though his Greg had disappeared, and a stranger who looked like his boyfriend had taken his place. Spencer didn't blame Greg for feeling traumatized, but he hoped that his lover would be able to work past all that had happened to him.

Getting to his feet, he moved across the few feet that separated the chair he'd been sitting in from the couch where Greg was, sitting down beside his boyfriend and slipping an arm around his slim waist to pull him close. Greg snuggled against him, sighing and closing his eyes.

"I'm glad you're here," he whispered, the words so soft that Spencer almost had to strain to hear them. "If you weren't, I'd be going crazy. I know it's stupid to get paranoid, but I can't help it. I keep thinking that Foyet's going to turn up again, without any kind of warning."

"He won't," Spencer said, with more conviction than he felt. "I think he's moved on to other members of our team now -- and he'll be in DC to threaten them with the safety of someone they hold dear. What he did to you was a warning to all of us."

"We deal with psychos like him all the time at the crime lab," Greg murmured, shaking his head. "Or at least, we deal with the aftermath of what they do. But you and your team .... you're right in the middle of it all. Right when it's happening, not after the fact."

Spencer shook his head, resting his cheek against the softness of Greg's hair. "Not always, Greg," he said softly, feeling regretful as he spoke. "More often than not, we're dealing with the aftermath, too. We don't save everybody. We don't save nearly enough people."

"I'm just glad he didn't get to you," Greg murmured, taking a deep breath and raising his head from his boyfriend's shoulder. "I'd rather it have been me. I think I was more prepared to deal with what he did to me than you'd have been if he had gone after you."

Spencer didn't want to agree with Greg, but he was forced to nod slowly, knowing that his lover was right. If Foyet had gone after him in the same way, he would more than likely have fallen apart. He didn't have that inner core of strength that Greg did. He wasn't that tough.

"I don't think he'd have let me live," he finally whispered, his voice only a little shaky. "I'm just glad he did decide to spare you. If he hadn't, then I'd have been in mourning for the rest of my life." His voice broke on the last few words; tears were rushing to his eyes.

"I knew you'd find me," Greg said softly, his voice barely audible. "I knew you'd rescue me, Spencer. All I could think of the whole time he was .... raping me was that you would be there. I knew you wouldn't let him kill me, that you'd find a way to get me out of there."

"Only I didn't," Spencer whispered, swallowing back the lump that had risen into his throat. "I didn't get there in time to stop him from hurting you, Greg. I wish more than anything that we'd gotten there sooner. What he did to you was my fault, because I got there too late."

Greg shook his head, his voice firm and decisive when he spoke. "No, Spencer, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what he was doing until it was too late to stop him. That wasn't your fault. He didn't leave you enough clues to put together until he was way too far ahead."

"I'm just glad we made it here in time before he ...." Spencer let his words trail off, pushing back the thought that had been in his mind. He didn't want to think about the possibility that Foyet could have killed Greg; it hadn't happened, and he was grateful for that.

"So am I," Greg whispered, burying his face against Spencer's shoulder. "I just kept thinking that if he did kill me, I wouldn't have had the chance to say goodbye to you. Of all the things I could have regretted, that was the biggest one. I'm just glad you got here in time."

"I'll always be here for you, Greg," Spencer managed to say, the tears rising to choke his throat again. "Whenever you call, I'll be right there by your side. I might not always be able to come running to you that very second, but I'll do my best."

Greg nodded, snuggling more closely against Spencer, his arms sliding around his boyfriend's waist. "If you hadn't been there this time ...." He choked on the words, his breath catching in his throat and turning into a cough. Spencer held him closer, swallowing hard again.

If only he had been here in Vegas with Greg when Foyet had been here; if only he'd had some inkling of what that psychopath would try to do. But he hadn't thought that Greg could be caught in the cross hairs, or that any of the unsubs they chased would make his lover a target.

"I wish I'd been here," he finally managed to whisper, feeling guilt sweep over him in a wave that he couldn't hold back. "If I had been, then Foyet wouldn't have gone after you. You shouldn't have gotten caught up in this. I"m sorry you did."

"I'd say that I'm sorry, too -- but that would kind of mean that I regret being with you, and I don't, not for even one second," Greg said softly, raising his head from Spencer's shoulder to look him in the eye. "I'll never regret being with you, no matter what happens."

He was going to cry. Spencer was sure of it; he could feel the tears pressing behind his eyelids, ready to break through, threatening to streak down his cheeks at any moment. The sobs were rising in his chest, ready to flow through the air in waves of sound.

Somehow, he managed to hold them back, giving Greg a tremulous smile. "I'll never regret being with you, either," he murmured, leaning forward slightly to brush his lips against Greg's. "And whenever you call, Greg, I'll be there. As quickly as I can."

"I know you will," Greg whispered, the words very soft, but sounding strong and firm to Spencer's ears. "I'll always be here for you, too. We might not always be right by each other's sides, but we're always in each other's hearts. And that's what matters most, isn't it?"

"It definitely is," Spencer told him, taking a deep breath and feeling the tears recede. He wasn't going to cry. Not here, not now. He was simply going to be glad that Greg was still with him, and that they could take some time to themselves to be together.

He had no idea what the future would bring, but he would be here with Greg for at least a little while longer. He hoped that his boyfriend would be a lot steadier by the time he had to go back to the BAU, but he wasn't going to worry about that at the moment.

Really, all they could do was take everything one day at a time, he told himself, taking another deep, calming breath. They had come through a bad situation with themselves and their relationship intact, and he hoped that there would no lasting bad effects from it.

They'd move forward from here, Spencer told himself firmly, and they would always be there for each other, whenever either of them called. He rested his cheek against the softness of Greg's hair, closing his eyes and letting the presence of the man he loved fill his senses -- and his heart.

***