Author's Note:

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of the characters or storylines from Criminal Minds or Glee.

This story was sparked from 1) watching Glee again on Netflix and falling back in love with Kurt and Blaine and 2) seeing Jane Lynch and Matthew Gray Gubler again as mother and son during this past season of Criminal Minds. A 'what if' scenario popped into my head and wouldn't go away, later growing into this story.

For CM fans, this probably won't deviate significantly in terms of what we see on the show for the level of drama, but it's probably more angst than you're used to seeing me write. For the Glee fans, this is definitely going to be darker than the show ever went (although as a crossover with CM, I'm hoping you'd be expecting that).

I'd like to thank Gleeful Darren Criss Fan for serving as a beta, general sounding board, and helping to see if the Glee characters seemed correct since its my first time entering the Glee fanfic world (I technically started this before The Glee Holiday, just didn't post).

If you're still with me, here's the timeline for this story. It takes place in season 2 of Glee, right before/around Never Been Kissed (so we will meet Blaine, but its pre-Klaine). Which puts us in 2010 or in season 6 of Criminal Minds (around Devil's Night). Which pains me, but means no JJ.

This will be very AU for Spencer Reid's and Sue Sylvester's backstories, but I'm hopeful you'll appreciate the journey I put them both, along with the rest - Kurt and Blaine in particular, through. If you're a fan of both, I hope you'll see the weaving between the two I'm trying for. If you're just a fan of one, I hope there's enough information laid out for you to understand the other show, but please ask if something is unclear.

And now, finally, on with the story!

Prologue

1991 - Las Vegas, Nevada

She just couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't handle a son like this. After growing up with her beloved big sister, Jean, and watching her get bullied, tortured, while they grew up just for being different, she just could not handle watching her son go through the same thing. Jean, or Ethel as Jean nicknamed herself after watching Ethel Merman in 'There's No Business like Show Business,' was the sweetest and wouldn't hurt a fly...or have the ability to stand up for herself. She didn't think Spencer could do that for himself either.

She'd been resistant to William's ideas of putting Spencer in 'normal' activities because she knew how the other kids would treat him. Then there'd been that horrible mess with that man in the park that immediately put her defenses up. Her beautiful, sweet and trusting boy had been willing to play chess with that – that thing – and was none the wiser of what she knew his true intentions were, particularly after what had happened to poor Riley.

The move to a different section of the town had helped for a little while, but now that her ten year old was in high school – high school! – she'd seen how much more reserved he'd become, how he'd taken to wearing sweaters when it was far too warm for that type of clothing. She could sense what was happening, but she was completely at a loss at how to fix it. Making a scene at the school, demanding he get special treatment and protection, would probably make it worse for him. They couldn't afford to send him to a special school either, which was ironic since Cal Tech had already voiced interest in him after he graduated. Couldn't they help now?

Was this just some cruel right of passage he needed to go through? How in the world was that fair?

It wasn't. And she just could not sit by and watch it happen. Not after Jean.

She watched him sleep; peacefully unaware of what she was about to do. Even William didn't know about her bags in the car. She sat gently on the side of his bed so not to disturb him, running her hand through his long hair. After a few minutes was watching her beautiful boy sleep, but before the tears could start to fall, she bent down and placed a tender kiss on his forehead.

"Goodbye Spencer. I love you."

1995 – Lima, Ohio

Diana smiled softly as her sister got settled in her new care facility. When she'd committed to leaving behind her life in Vegas, her first priority was finding the best place for her sister because she just couldn't leave her behind. That's where she'd redefine herself; put that past behind her. It had taken a few years, hopping around some, to find the right place. She'd been surprised that a small town in the Midwest would have a great place for her big sister with special needs, but that made her feel better actually. It wasn't a big city with a large university, which was probably where Spencer would try to find her if he looked. She sighed, still a little sad about giving up her career as a professor of literature as well, but it had to be done.

She turned back to the want ads in the paper before her as Jean went to meet some of her new friends. She smiled when she spotted an ad for a cheerleading coach at the local high school. She'd been quite good at gymnastics as a teenager, even winning a state title her senior year. It was an area she thought she could succeed in. But it was in a high school…

Well, she was determined to shape herself into someone new. Maybe at this school she could practice the tough love she couldn't do with Spencer. She'd be hard, cruel, to her students in order to toughen them up for the real world. She'd make them grow thick skins so they could handle anything.

A few days later, when she stepped foot into McKinley High, she had already started to embody this new her. She'd cut her hair short, bought a tracksuit, and strode into the principal's office with her application.

"Hello, you must be…" the principal looked down at the list of applicants. "Sue Sylvester?"

She held in a sigh as she shook the educator's hand, still adjusting to her name. She'd legally changed it last year to her middle and maiden name.

"That's Coach Sue to you."