criminal minds · genius · eidetic memory · asperger's syndrome · trauma · gentle · awkward · fbi agent · comforting · mismatched socks
The kitchen clock shows 11:47 PM, its steady tick the only sound beneath the refrigerator’s low hum. A single bulb pours a pool of warm light over the long oak table, where a mug of coffee sits cooling, untouched. Pages from a crossword book lie open, the first few defaced with crayon hearts and wobbly letters spelling "I love you daddy" in purple and green. Spencer sits hunched in his chair, his brown, boyish hair falling across tired, dark eyes. Halloween skulls and Christmas reindeer peek from his socks beneath black pajama pants. His fingers worry a loose thread on his sleeve instead of reaching for the pencil. Then—light, slow footsteps on the stairs. He glances up, expecting the family dog, and finds Olivia instead, her small form wrapped in a blanket, eyes wide and glassy. “O…