It's a Wonderful Life Spencer Reid
Three weeks before Christmas
"Today in Washington, 85 year old Penelope Garcia Morgan, wife of the late FBI Director Derrick Morgan was laid to rest. She leaves behind 2 children, 5 grandchildren and 1 great-grand daughter. Her husband died a couple of year's ago." said a news reporter.
The service was attended by about 400 people and was in the Christ Church which is outside of Washington D.C. Spencer Reid was in attendance. He sat in the back of the church. He was the only BAU member still living. All of the others were deceased, most of whom had died within the past 10 years or so. Rossi was the first one to go and that had been nearly 20 years ago. Reid didn't really keep up with their children.
A woman who was about 75 years old went up to the podium to speak.
"My name is Lila Archer Klemper. I'm alive today because of the work of the BAU. Penelope Garcia Morgan didn't work for the BAU when my case came up, but I got to know her later as she and her Derrick lived next door to my sister who I visited when I come into Washington D.C. Got to know her and Derrick quite well over the years….
Spencer Reid couldn't believe that he was staring straight at Lila. He hadn't spoken to her in 50 years. But he had kept newspaper and magazine clippings and internet pictures of her for decades. It was apparent that she didn't recognize him or if she did, she pretended like she didn't. At age 75, she still was a very attractive woman who had a good figure and who took good care of her body.
There were some laughs when Jack Hotchner and Cassandra Morgan Portman got up and told stories of the old days. Jack Hotchner was married and had grown children. He also had 3 grandchildren. Cassandra Portman had become a grandmother two months before her mother died. She recalled with happiness that her mother had lived long enough to see the child and Penelope's mind was as sharp as a whip even though her body was failing.
Spencer Reid never got up to speak. He thought about getting up and saying something but decided not to. He left right after the funeral. He didn't go to the house after the funeral either.
Three weeks later Christmas Day
It was another lonely Christmas for 75 year old Spencer Reid as usual. He was at home at his apartment, feeling very down. He had no one. No family, no friends, no one and it had been that way for decades. He had retired from the BAU 10 years ago. He pretty much lived in his apartment and often didn't go out for days. He was becoming more and more depressed and on Christmas Eve was seriously considering ending his own life. He looked at a pill bottle which was on the night stand. Who would care if he took the pills? Anyone who did was dead.
"Don't you dare, Spencer Reid?" Said a loud voice.
Reid looked straight ahead and saw his mother standing in the kitchen.
"I have nobody. Nobody will miss me if I'm dead. Maybe I would have been better off not being born." Said Reid who was almost in tears.
"I want you to see something, Spencer. You've changed the outcome of many lives."
A couple of days earlier
Lila Archer Klemper was sitting backstage at the Kennedy Performing Arts Center with her husband Bill. In a couple of minutes Lila would be on-stage with her entire family singing Happy Birthday to the President of the United States who was a much younger half-brother to her husband.
"Do you know who I saw at Penelope Morgan's funeral?" Said Bill Klemper.
"No, who." Said Lila curious.
"Spencer Reid. He was sitting in the back."
Lila looked surprised. "Did I see him?"
"You must have although you didn't recognize him. He left right after the funeral. He didn't come to the house afterwards."
"How did you recognize him? I've haven't seen him in decades."
"Well, I would see him sometimes in the Park when we came to DC, sitting alone reading a book."
"Really. You never told me that Bill."
"Well, I didn't want to upset you Lila."
"Why would it Bill. That was over 50 years ago.
"Well, you never discussed it with me but I read the document you had when you left it on the table at Marcie's house. You were sobbing in the bathroom. He broke your heart just like Maxine broke my heart a couple of days earlier."
Fifty years earlier on Christmas Day
Spencer Reid had missed Lila's 25th birthday. He didn't have to work on her birthday (Hotch told him he could have the day off) but he worked anyway, which really angered her. Lila had moved to New York to make it easier for her to see Reid. Career wise this wasn't a wise move. This had been costly to her as she wasn't getting the work she'd hoped for. She was barely scrapping by in fact. On her 24th birthday he'd given her an engagement ring. But they had set no date. Lila was eager to get married, but Spencer Reid wasn't. He'd only gotten her the engagement ring because other friends of hers had engagement rings and she was nagging him about it. Marrying young had become fashionable again.
"The first couple of years our relationship was great Spencer. We saw each other a lot and made time for each other. But as the years progressed, our relationship took a back seat. Work was your main focus. In the last year we've rarely seen each other."
The couple was sitting in his apartment in the kitchen sitting across from each other. The final straw for Lila had been the night before. Lila was standing in his bedroom door with a red Victoria Secret teddy looking at him in a seductive manner. He totally ignored her. When she got into bed with him, he told her that he wanted to sleep alone and asked her to sleep in the guest room. She was very hurt by his rejection.
"Lila, I don't know if I want to marry you or anyone else for that matter. I really don't know." Said Reid in a very matter of fact manner.
Reid never made any moves on her. She was always the one who intimated sex with him.
"Do you no longer find me attractive?" asked Lila.
"Lila, I never found you attractive or any other woman attractive for that matter. In fact, I've never been in love with you. "
A lot of shock and hurt came over Lila.
"Are you attracted to men, then?"
"No, I'm not attracted to either. The sex was just a physical release for me, so that I would feel normal. I also have never loved you either."
Lila was in total shock. She looked at the engagement ring which was on her finger.
She took the ring off and threw it at him. Reid seemed shocked.
"Lila, that wasn't very nice."
"Well, Spencer what do you expect. You told me that you don't love me, don't find me attractive and this really hurts me. Well, I've given you the engagement ring back. Have a good life."
Spencer Reid ate breakfast as Lila packed her bags and called a cab. He watched as she left in the cab. He gave her a copy of a report that he had finished up the night before about the future of their relationship. .
The TV set went off. A very angry Donna Reid walked up to Reid and was right in his face.
"I've never laid a hand on you Spencer Reid but right now I'd love to slap your face. What you did to Lila was terrible and you can't really blame her for leaving you. What were you thinking?"
"Maybe she would have been better off if I didn't exist." Said Spencer surprised that his mother was screaming at him.
"Well, Spencer, this is what would have happened if you weren't there."
Donna turned on the TV set. A news reporter was standing in front of Lila's home.
"Last night 23 year old Lila Archer was murdered in her home by her best friend who then took her own life. Police are still sorting through the details. Lila Archer was an up and coming actress…..
Two bodies were taken out of the house.
"You prevented this from happening Spencer. It was you who saved her life. "
Fifty years earlier
Lila read the document that Reid had given her after the taxi dropped her off at the Washington National Park. She burst into tears after she had read the short document. She had wasted 3.5 years on a man who never loved her and who wasn't attracted to her physically. She couldn't understand how she didn't see this but as she thought about it, things finally came into being.
If Lila hadn't been the one to initiate sex, they never would have had sex. At first Lila thought this had to do with Reid's lack of experience with women but was shocked to find out he'd had sex with several different women. Most of them were one-night stands.
He never told her he loved her but told her he cared about her a great deal. Now she was beginning to wonder if he ever did care about her at all. The document suggested he had no concept of what love was nor was he capable of loving another human being.
She had called a friend of hers who lived next to the National Park. It was a short walk. Once she had composed herself, she went up to the apartment but fell apart when her friend hugged her. Her friend was having a Christmas dinner party and this is where she met her future husband Bill. It was love at first sight for both of them even though Lila was weeping and sobbing when she shook his hand. She quickly ran off to the bathroom.
A couple of days after meeting Bill, the couple got married on New Years Eve. Bill was supposed to marry a woman named Maxine on that day but she called off the wedding a couple of weeks before and ran off with another man. People thought they were nuts (even they thought they were nuts) but the marriage was nearing its 50th years. It had been a good marriage blessed with 4 children and 8 grandchildren.
The crowd cheered as the entire family, Lila, her husband Bill, their 4 children and their 8 grandchildren came out and sang Happy Birthday to the President. This was a surprise.
Reid was surprised that the TV was on. It was the Kennedy Performing Arts Christmas Show that he had supposedly tapped even though he'd never watched the show before.
"Because of you, Lila was and is able to live a full life. It you weren't there for her, she wouldn't exist and Bill's life would have been much different. Other people's lives would have been different as well. I will show you how different."
Reid found himself in front of a home that he didn't recognize. He was told by his mother to knock on the door and ask for Lila. An elderly woman answered the door.
"I'm looking for your sister Lila. "
"She dead."
"I'm looking for….
"My sister has been dead for over 50 years. That crazy best friend of hers stabbed her 25 times and then shot her in the head. I'm glad she killed herself. Now get lost before I call the police." Said the woman who was very angry. She slammed the door so hard it vibrated.
Reid walked several blocks until he got to a place which was filled with homeless drunks. He was shocked to see Hotch passed out on the ground. When he tried to wake Hotch, he tried to assault him and tried to throw a bottle at him. He screamed at him and cursed at him. Reid started running and ran until he was exhausted.
He found himself in a nice neighborhood with old trees and sidewalks.
"Haley…
The old woman with graying hair looked at Reid with suspicion. As he came to her door.
"Who are you and what do you want."
"Just wanted to tell you I saw Aaron….
"Just tell him I don't want to see him and if he comes here, I'll have the police cart him off to jail."
"What happened?"
"Lila Archer was killed by her best friend and Aaron was blamed for it. Her family knew some big shots in Washington and they made sure that he paid for that. He was fired from his job. Then he took to the bottle and started to become verbally abusive to me and Jack. I left him after he trashed the house and tried to assault me and Jack. To get back at me, he took Jack from school and then got drunk and smashed head-on into a school bus. Jack died and several children on the bus died as well. He wasn't injured at all. He was sentenced to life in Prison but got out after 15 years. Heard he's homeless and living on the streets drinking and using drugs. I don't feel sorry for him. A couple of days ago one of his friends beat him senseless and he's in a coma in the hospital. I'm not going to weep if he dies. Now if you excuse me, I have things to do…
A young girl ran up to the house.
"Grandma."
"It took me a long time to rebuild my life but I did. I remarried had two more children and now have grandchildren." Said Haley.
She slammed the door in his face.
"Please, moms don't show me any more of this. I can't stand it." Said Reid.
"We aren't finished."
Reid walked into a cemetery which was filled with FBI agents attending a funeral.
"This morning, FBI agent JJ Jareau was laid to rest. Last week, the 28 year old agent was attacked, mauled and killed by a pack of vicious dogs when trying to arrest a subject wanted on murdering several people."
He then found himself in New Orleans and saw William Latmonye at the bar drinking some beer.
"Hey, Will, where is JJ?"
Will looked at the man.
"JJ who?"
"You know, JJ, your partner.
"I don't know any JJ and I don't know what you're talking about. "
"JJ Jareau. You got married to her and you have a son named Henry."
"Are you talking about the agent who was attacked and killed by a pack of dogs?"
"Yes, I am."
"I don't know the woman. I've never met her. All I know was she was attacked by a pack of dogs. If you don't stop bothering me, I'm going to arrest you."
Reid walked out of the bar and then found himself in another cemetery at another funeral. This one was Emily Prentiss who was beaten to death by a suspect who was a leader of a cult. He didn't notice an elderly woman who was coming with flowers to the grave. The elderly woman was a classmate of hers going back decades.
"Who are you?" asked an elderly woman who saw Reid staring at Emily's grave.
"I'm Spencer Reid; I'm a friend of hers. I'm looking for her."
The woman looked at him like he was nuts.
"Well, there she is and there's she's been for decades."
"But I have to find her."
"She's dead and has been for decades. She was beaten to death by a suspect she was trying to arrest. If you don't stop this, I'm calling the police."
When Reid turned around he came face to face with his mother.
"You're actions saved the lives of JJ and Emily. If you weren't there, well things would be different. JJ married Will and had two children. They didn't live happily ever after (they divorced) but they were on friendly terms despite their differences. Those two children are now grandparents. Emily adopted a troubled teen-ager who turned her life around. She never married but had a long term relationship with a man who was younger than her. After she retired from the BAU, she helped troubled teens and others who were troubled."
He was beginning to see that she was right.
"Do you remember this scene, Spencer?" asked his mother.
The ambulance took Reid to the hospital after he was shot in the leg.
"You prevented someone from going into a private school and killing students at the school. This is what would have happened if you weren't there."
"Breaking News. A man went into a private school and started opening fire on students as they came out of class. Students were running everywhere. .
Several hours later
"Two FBI agents (David Rossi, and Derrick Morgan) were killed trying to protect students at a private school from a madman. By the grace of God none of the students were killed, one suffered a minor injury. This is a terrible tragedy.
Jerome Morgan saw her granddaughter talking to a strange man. He was mortified when the man took the hand of his grand daughter and came up the steps.
"Pops, this is Spencer Reid. He's a friend of great-grandpa Morgan."
Jerome had never seen the man in his life. He told her granddaughter to go inside and play. After his granddaughter left, Jerome looked at the man in a stern manner.
"I'm looking for your mother.
"She not here. Who are you?
"I'm looking for you're father Derrick. "
"He's been dead a long time. "
"I have to talk to him…
"Well, you obviously can't as he's dead and has been dead for a very long time."
"I'm Spencer Reid. I worked with him years ago.
"I don't know you from Adam. Are you a news reporter…?
"No, I'm not."
"We were good buddies."
"I was 7 years old when my father died. I remember everything like it was yesterday. I don't remember you being in the BAU or you being friends with my parents."
A frail elderly woman came out onto the porch walking slowly with a walker. She looked at Reid.
"Mom, do you know this man. He says that you worked with him at the BAU."
"I don't know him from the moon. He came up to me earlier in the day at the Senior Center asking about Derrick. He's asked others about him as well.
Jerome was furious and Reid could see that he was very angry with him.
"I don't know who you are nor do I care. If you ever harass my mother again or if you ever talk to my granddaughter again, I'm going to kick you butt. Do you understand me? Now get off my property before I shoot you."
Reid took off running. The next thing he knew he was in his apartment in his bed with the TV on. The Kennedy Performing Arts Show had just ended.
A couple of days later Lila was interviewed on TV by Mia Jones about a book about her life. She was doing at a book signing at a mall which wasn't far from Spencer Reid's home.
"Tell me about how you met Bill. You were weeping and sobbing when you arrived at Lauren's apartment."
"Well, it was Christmas Day. I was engaged to be married to Spencer Reid but I broke it off. I got a cab and went to my friend Lauren's apartment. Bill was already there. I went into the bathroom and sobbed for about 20 minutes and then came out. Bill looked very forlorn like he'd lost his best friend. We both told our stories to each other. So we had dinner, talked, then he called me when he arrived at his apartment and the rest is history. As they say."
"It says here that this man told you that he didn't love you and never had loved you on Christmas Day. It says here that he said this in a very matter of fact manner with little emotion. That must have been quite a shock. Spencer Reid was the same man who saved your life a couple of years earlier from a stalker."
Lila nodded.
"At the time it was but looking back on it, I should have seen the signs of it. He was not eager to get married. I was. I talked him into getting me the engagement ring because all my friends were either married or had a pending marriage. I was hurt by his comments and took the engagement ring threw it at him and called a cab. He had no reaction to this and couldn't understand why I was so upset. I went to my friend Lauren's apartment. Bill was there as a guest. He was not in the mood to celebrate as his fiancée had broken up with him and left him for another man. "
"Lila and Bill said that it was a love at first sight and it must have been as they got married a couple of days later. Now I've heard of love on the rebound but this has to be crazy."
Lila laughed. "Oh, I know. Can't tell you how many family members and friends said, "Are both of you crazy?" "We are still married to each other after nearly 50 years."
In the wee hours of Christmas Day, Spencer Reid went to bed but before he did, he took out the engagement ring that he'd given Lila fifty years ago and put it on the desk where it would be found. Shortly after drifting off to sleep, he died.
Several hours later, a neighbor who noticed that papers were still outside knocked on his door. When he didn't respond, the neighbor who had a key went into the apartment and found Spencer Reid in his bed. He was cold to the touch. Police were called.
About 2:00 p.m. shortly after Christmas dinner was eaten, President Alan Klemper got a call. He excused himself from his family and went into another room to take the call.
"Oh, God, I hope it's not something terrible." Said Lila.
President Klemper usually had Christmas dinner with his family (children, and grandchildren) and extended family including his older half-brother Bill, Lila and their children and grandchildren.
"I just got news that Spencer Reid was found dead in his apartment. It appears to be natural cases. I hope that this is the case." said President Klemper.
"Why would anyone want to hurt him, Alan? Can't really think of anyone, can you?" asked Bill who had a puzzled look on his face.
"Spencer Reid was a genius and cracked a lot of cases. He knows a lot of things and I will leave it at that."
The TV was turned on by one of the Secret Service Agents.
"Spencer Reid who worked for the BAU and was one of their top agents was found dead in his apartment a couple of hours ago. He was 75 years old. There is no foul play suspected and it is believed that he died of natural causes. Spencer Reid helped solve a number of cases including uncovering a plot to kidnap Former President Gilmore."
An autopsy later confirmed that Spencer Reid died on natural causes which were a relief to President Klemper. He was surprised when he was given a box which had been found in Spencer Reid's apartment. He opened the box and was surprised to see that this was the engagement ring that had been given to his sister in law Lila 50 years ago.
On December 30th a small funeral was held for Spencer Reid. There were about 50 agents who attended, most of whom knew Reid during the last 10 or 20 years he worked at the BAU. President Klemer after hearing that no one was doing any service for Reid ordered that a funeral service be done. Reid had done undercover work for him secretly. Reid had uncovered a plot to kidnap his older brother Bill and had called him personally to tell him. This had happened earlier in the year and it had been posted on Face book in coded messages. . The mastermind of the plot had taken his own life before anything happened. He'd told Bill about the plot after the fact and the press never got wind of it. He doubted if Bill would ever tell Lila about it. She was a worry wart.
Lila and Bill attended the funeral. The President gave a short speech about Spencer Reid, mostly about his work at the BAU. In Lila's purse was the box with the ring in it. She and Bill had spoken with Spencer Reid a couple of weeks before he died after seeing him at the park. They had a brief conversation.
He had written instructions that the ring be given to her upon his death or if she didn't want the ring that it be auctioned off and the proceeds given to charity. . The president made sure she got the ring. It seemed tacky to auction the ring off and since President Klemer was up for re-election, someone might make a political issue about it. Lila put the ring away in a safe where it stayed for the next 50 years.