Criminal Minds Series Rewrite: Season Four

Memoriam: Part Four

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice."

"Well, I'm always happy to assist the FBI. Is there a witness you want me to look at?"

"Yeah. Me. I'm trying to recover memories from my childhood. There was a murder."

"How long ago are we talking about?"

"I was four."

"Memories from that age can be difficult to interpret," Jan sighs.

"I'm aware of the limitations of hypnotherapy."

"Then you're aware of suggestion issues. If you've looked into this case, you may have a bias."

"Are you saying what he remembers under hypnosis may not be real?" you ask.

"It's a possibility. Either way, it's a tough sell in court."

"We won't be using this for evidentiary purposes. It's really just for me. The suppressed memories are about my father."

"If it's okay with you, I'd like to be here to watch."

"You want to sit in? I don't normally allow that."

"I want her here, please."

"You won't even know I'm here."

Jan brings you and Spencer to a better room for this kind of thing. Spencer lies down on the couch, and you sit on the single sofa away from them to give them space.

"I want you to hold my wrist in your left hand, and if you should feel any fear, I want you to squeeze, do you understand?"

"Yes."

Spencer looks over at you to make sure you're still there, and you give him a small smile to let him know he is going to be okay. Spencer rests his head on the pillow and closes his eyes to focus on Jan's voice.

"Go back to the night you were just telling me about. You're at home, in your room. You can't sleep because your parents are arguing."

"He's coming in."

"Who?"

"My dad."

"What about him, Spencer? What is he doing?"

"I don't want to be here," he says fearfully.

Spencer's fear is enough to roll over to you, and you grip the edges of the armrests. Tears pool in your eyes, but you have to tell yourself this isn't your fear. Spencer is hurting, and you can't do anything but sit back and watch.

"It's okay, Spencer. Take us to where the light is, to the next morning. The sun is coming up. Where are you, Spencer?"

"Mom? My mom. She's at the window. She's thinking. She's been crying. She saw him."

"Who? Your father? Do you talk to her?"

"No. No, I wanna--I wanna see..."

Spencer squeezes her arm tightly, signaling that he doesn't want to do this anymore. He is full-on panicking right now, and you need this to end.

"What is it, Spencer? What are you seeing?"

"No, you need to stop this. Please," you beg and rush over to Spencer. "He doesn't want to do this anymore!"

"I need you to leave this location now, Spencer."

"Wake him up!"

"I'm going to count backward from five. Five, four, three, two, one, and wake."

Spencer jerks awake, and you put a hand on his forehead to let him know you're here. He is this close to crying, and it breaks your heart into two.

"Spencer, baby, it's okay. I'm here. You're okay. What happened? What did you see?"