Title: Reid's Learning Curve

Rating: T

Pairing(s): Established Morgan/Reid, Reid/JJ friendship

Warnings: spoilers for seasons 2, 4

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.

Summary: Reid still can't get his mind off of Adam/Amanda, and JJ sets him straight.

Word Count: 610

Feedback: Yes

Despite his talk with Morgan, Spencer can't get his mind off of Adam and his alter ego, Amanda. After his experience with Tobias, Reid should have seen the signs. He probably understood dissociative disorder better than anyone on the team, and it wasn't just because of his genius brain.

There was a knock at his apartment door. Thinking it was Morgan checking up on him, he reluctantly opened the door. "Oh, it's you."

"Hello to you too," JJ said sarcastically. "Aren't you a ray of sunshine?"

"If you are here to see how poor, little Spencer is doing, save it." He crossed his arms.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Come with me, Spence." She gripped his hand and dragged him to the lone couch – his apartment was sparsely furnished since he didn't spend much time there – and he was pushed to a sit down position. "I'm here because I care about you. I also remember the guilt I felt when you were captured."

"It wasn't your fault. I'm the one who decided that splitting up was the thing to do. And I'm supposed to be a genius."

JJ rested her head on his chest. "My head knew it wasn't my fault, but my heart said something entirely different. All I could think about was one of my best friends in danger, and there was nothing I could do to save him. So many 'what if's' went through my head during that time. And none of it was productive to rescuing you."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

JJ smiled with sad eyes as she looked up into Spencer's eyes. "Just like I knew deep down it wasn't my fault, you know deep down what happened to Adam isn't your fault. You need to stop beating yourself up over it."

"Adam is a victim as much as Tobias was. They can't control the alternative personalities that took over."

"I know," JJ whispered. "There's nothing you could do to help Tobias, and there's still nothing you can do to help Adam. Pushing away the people who care about you isn't going to solve anything."

"You mean Morgan?"

JJ nodded. He's walking around like someone killed his puppy. He loves you, and he hates he's being kept at arm's length. All he wants is to hold you and make everything better. You have to let him in, though.

"A hug isn't going to make everything better," Spencer rebuffed.

"Maybe not, but it will remind you that you aren't alone and you don't need to go through this thing alone.

The next day at the office, Spencer pulled Derek into a storage closet. Normally Derek would joke about Spencer having a hidden kinky side, but all he did was silently wait for Spencer to take the lead.

"I'm sorry."

Derek's arms came around him. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." Spencer rested his head on the strong chest and shook his head and could feel Morgan breathing in the scent of his hair. "I'm not used to have others to rely on, even now. I've always dealt with my problems by myself. I don't know how to ask for help, even when it's obvious I need it."

Derek's arms tightened. "It'll be okay. It's a learning curve. Dr. Spencer Reid can't be a genius with everything.

"Bite your tongue," Spencer joked.

"How about I bite your tongue?" Derek playfully growled.

Just like that, everything seemed to go back to normal. There were still problems that Spencer needed to deal with, but as he shared a probing kiss with his lover, Spencer began to see he didn't have to deal with them in a solitary fashion.