Breaking Barriers - S.R.

22

Spencer and I had been spending a lot of time together again since we reconciled a few weeks ago. His mother was living in a facility less than twenty minutes away so he could go see her whenever he felt like it. Diana had been adapting better than expected and I had even accompanied Spencer on a few trips to visit her. This managed to free up a lot of Spencer's time. He had also been back to working fewer hours when he wasn't away on cases since the team had hired enough people again after Hotch and Morgan's departures. I could tell that Spencer missed them a lot, but he was doing his best to adjust to the changes. He was much happier, less stressed out and in a healthier state of mind overall. It almost felt as good as how things used to be between us.

Since we had started seeing each other again, Spencer was very cautious on how he handled every interaction between us. I knew he wanted us to go back to normal, but he wouldn't initiate any sort of physical contact other than a hug. He was adamant about respecting my boundaries and it was nice to see him going above and beyond to prove that he was willing to move as slowly as I needed him to. It was a subject that I wanted to bring up to him while we were at dinner this evening.

"I'm going out of town next week. I'll be gone for a few days." Spencer stated, taking a bite of his burger. We opted for casual tonight, not feeling like braving the Friday night crowds at the nicer restaurants.

"Where are you going?" I asked, picking up a fry off of my plate.

"Mexico." He replied.

"For a case?" My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. I don't see why Spencer would be working a case outside of the United States. I knew it was possible, but not exactly common.

"No, not exactly." He said hesitantly.

"Well, what else would you be doing? In Mexico, of all places?" I pressed.

"I, um- The medicine that my mom has been on that I told you about...it came from a doctor in Mexico. I have to go there to get refills."

"Why?" I asked before taking a sip of my drink. He seemed uncomfortable with the topic and I wanted to know why.

"It's not carried in the U.S. yet." He stated.

"Is it legal to bring it here, then?" I carried on. He stared at me hesitantly and I sighed. "Spence, don't lie to me."

He glanced around the diner we were in to make sure no one was paying attention to our conversation. He leaned towards me, his voice lower. "It's...frowned upon."

"Have you lost your mind?" I whispered angrily. "You're a Federal Agent!"

"Can we talk about this later?" He said quickly, reaching for the check placed at the end of our table. I nodded reluctantly, keeping quiet until the bill was paid and we were walking the couple of blocks back to our apartment building.

My mind was racing almost as fast as my heart as I thought about what could potentially happen if Spencer got caught. Once we were safely inside his apartment, I spoke up.

"Spencer, why? How are you even getting away with this? Do Diana's nurses not know that her meds are illegal?" I rambled out one question after another.

"I give the medicine to her myself when I go visit, so they don't even know she's taking it. This isn't the first time I've been to Mexico for this, so relax. I went when you weren't speaking to me. I'm not doing anything to hurt anyone, Liv." He said calmly.

I leaned against his kitchen counter, running a hand through my hair in frustration. "You're putting your career on the line. Your entire life. For an experimental drug! Experimental, Spencer! There's not even a guarantee that it will work! I understand you want to help your mother, but do you really think she would approve of this if she knew what you were doing? And your team! How would they feel?"