I'm back! NYC was wonderful, and I had a blast!

So, here's the one-shot I promised you all; I hope you enjoy

The only Criminal Minds related thing I own is a T-shirt I bought at the CBS store off of Times Square. It was $20, totally worth it! I SWEAR, that's it!

….

Spencer Reid set his go-bag on his desk before collapsing into his swivel chair and closing his eyes. This last case had drained them all, physically and mentally. And, truth be told, Reid was glad to be back in Quantico, at his desk, with another case behind him.

This last case had taken them to Los Angeles, a killer who preyed on his victims in the dark. It made the young genius shiver at the thought; he had always been afraid of the dark, but his case… the mere thought of this case, and the UnSub that had been the center of it, tripled the fear that had been there before. The good news was that the UnSub, Billy Flynn, was dead and Ellie Spicer, Matt Spicer's daughter, had been saved and reunited with her aunt. Admittedly, Reid had almost received the short end of the stick; Reid had taken her from Flynn, causing a short chase on foot, ending when Flynn had held his gun to Reid's head, but Morgan had snuck up behind him when Flynn's back was turned, and had saved Reid.

Afterward, Morgan had hugged Reid before reprimanding him about the countless dangers Spencer had faced. Reid could still hear the man's voice in his head. "Kid, you've been held at gunpoint, kidnapped, taken hostage, tortured, drugged, shot, nearly drowned, infected with Anthrax, nearly killed… I'm starting to think you have some bad beef with someone in this universe."

However, there was also some negative outcomes. The city of Los Angeles had lost a good cop in Matt Spicer's death, as well as Detective Kurzbard's looming retirement after this last case; the older man had admitted that this case had hit him harder than any other, but he was glad to see that many open murder cases across the country had finally been closed because of the BAU. Not to mention all the press coverage that had followed after Flynn had been taken down, and Garcia's rant about how they all could've been hurt when she finally could get through to them…

Reid sighed. Yes, it was good to be home, he concluded, opening his eyes and sinking deeper than ever into the chair. And then jumping about a foot into the air as his phone rang.

"Reid," he answered, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Spencer? Are you alright?"

Reid bolted upright in his chair. "Aislinn?" He gaped in surprise. "W-What are you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted, sounding tired and sleepy despite the recently stated opposite. "I heard about the guy in L.A who was killing people during power outages, and that he'd attacked a Federal Agent. I was so worried. I kept calling you and calling you, and you never answered, and I just… I panicked. Mom told me to go to sleep ages ago, but I had to make sure you were alright. I dozed off until about a few minutes ago… I had a nightmare, and… I had to call you, just to make sure." She paused, trying to catch her breath. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "Just some, ah, bumps and bruises, maybe a cut or two, but I'm alright, Aislinn."

"And the rest of the team?"

"We're all here," Spencer soothed. "We made it. Garcia threw a fit when she finally got a hold of us, and Morgan basically told me I'm a danger magnet, but otherwise, we're good." He paused, thinking for a moment. "So, do you want to tell me about that nightmare? Sometimes I find it easier to tell someone about them than to watch them over and over again. It's a relief."

"Well," she began after a moment, "You know I've only ever seen Los Angeles in the movies, right?"

Spencer smiled. "I can believe that; I know you have 500 Days of Summer somewhere in your house." He heard her chuckle softly.

"Well, I was walking down a street by the beach, and it was dark. Suddenly, I heard gunshots, and people yelling. And when I blinked, it was daylight, and I saw a body lying in the middle of the street. It… it was you, and you… weren't moving. And when I ran over there, you disappeared, and it was my dad's body instead. And when I blinked again, I was back in the chapel, and Griggs was there, telling me it was a-alright, and that it'd be over soon." Her voice broke. "A-and he stuck the needle in my arm, and I turned and saw you. And you were… You were… d-dead. And then everything went dark, and I woke up."

Reid smiled softly. "You know, I had a dream like that," he admitted. "And someone once told me that sometimes, we don't always beat the monsters to the babies, but we do enough to make the job worth it. And you want to know something."

"What?"

"I think you're worth it."

Reid didn't see Garcia walking over to him until she tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up, muttered softly, "Can I call you back?" paused and replied, "I love you, too," and hung up.

"Hotch gave us the rest of the week off," Garcia reported. "He thought it would be a good idea after everything that happened… over the past few days."

Reid nodded in confirmation. "I could use a few days," he admitted, shivering slightly at the sudden feeling of hot breath on his neck, and a cold gun barrel at his head.

Garcia nodded, and slipped something on his desk. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation," the Tech Goddess added. "The flight leaves at seven this morning, and I booked you a return flight Monday morning. I think you need to see her right now."

Reid opened the envelope to find an airline ticket, business class, to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Garcia smiled before kissing her index and middle fingers and pressing them to the young man's head. "Go get 'em, Tiger," she purred before waltzing out of the office.

Reid picked up his phone and quickly dialed a number. "Hey, Aislinn," he began in earnest. "Are you doing anything this weekend?"

….

A/N: Thar ye be! ARRRR!

Please, be a dear and click on the little link at the bottom of the page to let me know if you liked it. I'll give you a virtual root beer float!

Also, I have another contest submission for a contest The-Vampire-Act put together; the story is called 'Dear Mick,' and I was hoping you could vote for it… Please? With Chocolate Fudge, Caramel and a Cherry on top? Another virtual root beer float if you do!

Thanks for reading (And reviewing, and favoriting, and alerting, and voting)!

*~N_CBAU~*