February Night

Chapter 45

"Mom?" Spencer slowly stepped into his mother's room. She was sitting next to the window, wearing a bathrobe over her casual clothes. A notebook was laying in her lap and she was writing hastily into it. When she heard Spencer's voice, she slowly turned around. A smile formed on her lips almost immediately when she saw her son.

"Spencer!" She put the book away and got up from her chair to come and greet him with a tight hug.

"Hey mom", Spencer smiled.

"Oh, you look good, darling", Diana said after she had examined him for a moment. She cupped his cheeks and smiled brightly. Then her eyes wandered to Lucy, who had been standing some steps behind Spencer. "Oh, who are you?", Diana asked, coming closer.

"Uhm, mom, this is...Lucy. Lucy Alvez. She's Luke's sister and...well, we're..."

"I'm his girlfriend", Lucy finished Spencer's sentence with a smile. He had been stammering around for too long and she was sure, Diana had already guessed who Lucy was. The smile on her face told so.

"Oh, hi! Come here!" With a huge smile, Diana came to give Lucy a hug. Surprised, Lucy hugged her back. Spencer's facial expression showed surprise as well and Lucy couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed as if Diana was having a good day. One, where she remembered that she had a son. "It's so nice to meet you", Diana said while she pulled away again.

Lucy nodded. "The pleasure's mine", she said with a grin.

"Spencer, why haven't you told me about her? God, she's lovely!", Diana exclaimed. Spencer shrugged, clearly a bit overwhelmed by his mother's reaction.

"Well, I...I don't know", he murmured, but Diana just shook her head.

"I'm your mother, you should tell me such things."

Spencer sighed and sank down on a chair next to Diana's. Lucy joined them on the third one. For a moment, they were all quiet, until Diana started to speak again: "Would you like to play some Scrabble?" Her eyes had started to spark and when Lucy and Spencer nodded, Diana clapped her hands. "Watch me beat both of you!", she laughed.

While they were playing Scrabble, and chatting, Lucy could see and sense how much Diana loved her son and how much Spencer loved his mom. They laughed together and sometimes Diana looked at Spencer as if he was the most precious thing in the whole wide world. It was adorable.

And of course, Diana wanted to know a bit more about Lucy. When she told Spencer's mom that she had studied linguistics, Diana squealed. "Oh, Spencer! You truly belong together, I see that!", she exclaimed, not caring about Spencer and Lucy's cheeks that started to turn a bright red. Spencer cleared his throat and brought Diana's attention back to the game they were playing.

"Come on, mom. It's your turn. I thought you wanted to beat us", he said with a little smirk before she glanced over to Lucy. She bit her bottom lip to hide a huge grin.

~

Spencer and Lucy stayed with Diana for three days before they had to fly back to D.C. And Lucy had enjoyed it a lot. She liked Diana and it seemed as if she liked Lucy too. Well, Lucy knew that she did. Diana had told Spencer that she liked her and that she thought, Lucy would be the right girl for him. Lucy had just smiled when she had heard that. It felt right for her to be with Spencer and to be visiting his mom. Although she had been extremely nervous, she now felt comfortable around Spencer's mom.

Holding hands, Spencer and Lucy walked in Diana's room to say their goodbyes. "Mom, we have to leave now", Spencer said. Diana was sitting on her bed, the same notebook in her lap as she have had three days ago, when Lucy and Spencer had arrived.

Diana slowly looked up. And Lucy immediately saw that something had changed since yesterday. Her gaze was empty when she looked at them. "Mom?", Spencer quietly asked and let go of Lucy's hand.

"Who are you?" Diana frowned, obviously confused and not knowing that it was her son who was talking to her. Lucy swallowed hard and was wondering if she should take Spencer's hand again or not. He looked devastated. He opened his mouth and closed it again, without saying a word. Lucy hurried to his side and now took Spencer's hand. She gently squeezed it to show him that she was there, although she didn't know what to say.

"What are you doing in my room? I don't know you! Please leave!", Diana exclaimed and stood up from her chair.

"I...I...", Spencer stammered, overwhelmed and not able to say anything else. Lucy saw that this wouldn't lead anywhere, so she dragged Spencer with her, out of Diana's room. "Lucy, I...I can't leave her alone now!", he said and stopped. She turned around to face him.

"Spencer, she...she doesn't recognize us anymore", Lucy quietly said, feeling awful suddenly. And before he could say anything to that, Dr. Norman approached them. He had heard what was going on.

"Mister Reid, I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you before you walk into her room, but..." He just shrugged. Spencer and Lucy had been in Diana's room before he could have had a chance to tell them what was going on.

"Since when?", Spencer simply asked and his hand was holding Lucy's tightly, as if he was searching for support. Lucy looked at Dr. Norman; her heart was pounding fast against her chest and she hated how their visit had turned out. Of course, there was always a possibility that people with Alzheimer's would suddenly be here and then gone again within minutes. But she had expected – no, she had hoped – that this wouldn't happen. Not while Spencer was visiting his mom.

"Since yesterday evening, shortly after you've left for the night", Dr. Norman explained. "I'm sorry."

Spencer just sighed and his gaze wandered back to his mother's room. He let go of Lucy's hand and went to say goodbye to Diana. Lucy hesitated for a moment, then she followed him. She wanted to say goodbye too, although Diana didn't know anymore who those two people were.

~

Three hours later, Spencer and Lucy were sitting in the plane back to D.C. They both had been quiet during the car ride to the airport and while they were waiting for their plane to depart.

Lucy glanced at Spencer repeatedly but she just didn't know what to say to him. It was obvious that he was heartbroken and Lucy was insecure. What if the wrong words would make him angry? Or even more devastated? She quietly sighed and leaned back in her seat. Spencer was sitting next to the window and he had placed his head against it now. He was staring into space and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

Alright, enough, Lucy eventually decided and her hand slipped over to grab Spencer's. She entangled her fingers with his and was relieved when he didn't pull away. She slowly leaned her head on his shoulder while her thumb was stroking Spencer's hand. "I'm so sorry", she whispered, not expecting any answer. She just wanted him to know.

"She...she will get worse and worse. And I...I just can't do anything against it. I just can't help her", Spencer quietly said. It was the first time he spoke since they had made their way to the airport. Lucy stayed silent. She just listened to him. "I hate it to feel so helpless. It frustrates me that I can't help her. She...she's forgetting me. She can't remember me when she drifts away again. And one day...she won't come back anymore."

His last words were only a whisper and Lucy had trouble understanding him. For a moment, silence fell over the couple before Lucy started to talk. "I can't even imagine how this must feel for you, Spence. It must be awful to watch a person you love so much drifting away into their own world and forgetting everything." Spencer just nodded. Lucy squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Spencer. And I'm standing by your side. I'm there whenever you want to talk. Or when you want to just sit around in silence. I'm there. Okay?"

Spencer eventually turned his head to her. There were tears shimmering in his brown eyes. But a slight smile had appeared on his lips. He nodded. "I know. And I can't even tell you how much this means to me, Lucy." He leaned in and kissed her.