Spencer Reid had changed after prison.

Anyone could see it. He was rougher around the edges, more assertive, more direct. Where the previous him would have brushed off disrespect, the newer him wouldn’t, or rather, couldn’t.

He knew he wasn’t the only one recovering from trauma, either.

You’re getting abducted by the elusive Mr. Scratch felt like a beginning and an end. An end to the case that had long tormented the entire BAU team, and the beginning to Spencer’s new attitude towards the team, and specifically, you. The only word he could think to describe it was possessive.

He couldn’t help it, either. After what he went through, what he survived, he couldn’t stand to see anyone else get hurt. He couldn’t tell you why— well, he couldn’t, but he wasn’t exactly interested in profiling himself to figure out what was wrong. But you knew. Somehow, you did.

When he was reinstated, it was done with a condition; for every 100 days he worked, he had to take 30 off. He hated it. It was like the bureau didn’t trust him, after all these years, that this was who he really was; or, worse, that you didn’t trust him anymore. He didn’t think he could take it.

“Are you worried?” He inquired, in the middle of a conversation about his plan for the 30-day gaps in his schedule.

“About what?” You asked, blissfully unaware. He almost envied that.

“Me being in the field. That I might freak out, overreact?” He clarified, a hint of vulnerability peeking through.

“Why would you even—“ You started, but he beat you to it.

“Because I wanted to kill Scratch.”

“Standing room only on that bus.”

“No, I mean it literally,” He said, leaning in, “After what he did to you, if I had found him, I would have killed him. And.. I would have slept well.”