The Love in Dreaming

Chapter 1

AN: I don't own any characters. The names given to the suspects, victims, and criminals are pulled out of a hat and are purely made up. I OWN NOTHING! :) Enjoy and review please. :)

"The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

"She was my greatest love." Reid started, staring off in the distance.

"She showed me things in an all new light; a different view of the world I didn't even know existed. She helped me, not only understand the world, but my fears and how to overcome them. I no longer fear anything like I did before. She showed… no, she gave me a love like no other. One that was stronger than I've ever seen." A tear welled up in his eye before he blinked it away. While he didn't have a problem with public speaking, this eulogy was almost overwhelming.

"If she did all of this for just me, made me feel this way, I can't even imagine how all of you must feel. How much she has done for all of you who knew her so personally, not to mention the people whose lives she barely touched. One thing is for certain, she was a one in a million and she will be greatly missed by us all."

He stepped down with the rose he selected from those on the podium. He placed it gently in the cold, frail, beautiful hands of the woman he loved so dearly, looking his last. As he leaned down to give her one last "I love you" goodbye kiss, her hands shot up gaining a death grip on him and pulled him in.

Reid shot up in bed breathless in a cold sweat. He didn't know who this woman was, but she had been haunting his dreams with her death for over a week now. He looked at the clock knowing exactly what time it was. With every one of her shaking dreams, he awoke at 5:00 am. Rubbing his face, he got up and started his morning routine getting ready for work. As he headed out the door, he tried to prepare himself for what he might see today.

As he entered the familiar room, a woman passed by, flooding his dreams back in his mind. They felt as fresh as they did in the mornings. He tried hard to shake her and her dreams and walked on to his desk not uttering a sound.

Morgan noticed how pale and distant his friend had been lately, coming in every morning silent with a blank stare and doing nothing. Worried, he got up and walked over to him. Upon seeing no response to his presence, he spoke.

"Hey kid, what's up?" with still no response, he tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Reid!" he nearly fell over backwards in his chair, but Morgan caught him.

"Damn kid, what's eatin ya?"

"Nothing… just had a hard time sleeping last night."

"Yea well it's been more than just last night. You've been like this for a while now. So what's keepin you up at night, a girl?" he smirked. Reid wouldn't look at him, he knew better. He also knew, however, that anything he did would give him away.

"What's this, Pretty Boy's got a girlfriend?" His smile grew. Reid knew that if he didn't tell his friend something he wouldn't leave him alone and someone else might over hear.

"No." he said abruptly.

"C'mon kid, its me."

"It's not what you think, trust me."

"Then why don't you explain."

"This stays between you and me, Morgan." he said in a serious tone not familiar to him. The smile dropped and he sat on the desk, giving full attention.

"You're right about a girl, but I don't know who she is. She has haunted my dreams with her death for the last week or so."

Morgan just smiled once again. There was an easy explanation for this. He had seen it with all of the teammates and wondered when it would be his turn.

"Hey kid, I wouldn't worry about it. Working here can make your dreams go nuts. It's probably just something that bothered you more than you realized at the time. It could also be because you're still missing Maeave. It hasn't even been a year yet. I've had some pretty disturbing dreams too."

"Yea, but the same exact dream with the same exact girl at the same exact time every single night? I've had some work related dreams too, but these are different."

"Different how?"

"Well, it always starts out at her funeral and I'm giving her eulogy. I'm always talking about how much I loved her and how she changed everyone's life. When I go to put a rose in her casket, she always pulls me in and I wake up at 5:00 am."

"That's still all due to work. It's probably a victim or a girl that passed you on the street that you thought was pretty. Working this kind of job makes you lonely and yet afraid to have a partner. You're afraid that if you do find someone, you'll lose her one way or another. And as far as repetition goes, that's just your personality. Everything has to be a certain way, almost like OCD. Ya get me?"

"Yea. It does make sense. Thanks." He said wanting to believe that's all it was. Still, there was something different about these dreams and he knew it.

About that time, Hotch came in calling a meeting for a case. By now the color had returned to Reid and he was starting to feel better. He was the last one in the room trying to brace himself for what was to come. This was the part of the job he hated most. He hated seeing how sick and twisted some people could be. He hated seeing all of the people, living and dead, that had to be affected by them. This case was particularly gruesome.

"We have 12 people here in these pictures today. Each one was a teacher taken hostage from school during class. In each class 5 students were shot to wound, not kill. Unfortunately, 3 of them died anyway. Gender doesn't seem to matter, nor does the time of the kidnapping. However, the time of the discovery has always been 5:00 am and the body comes in pieces to family members closest to the victim. He pulls them apart while still alive and sends each body part with a messenger that they find on the street. Each one has said that they were approached in a public place and have always been unable to tell if it was a male or female. It's always exactly 5 days after the kidnapping."

As he told them more about each crime, there were photos being flashed on the screen. Each one was of the victim before and after the killer did his gruesome work.

"This is the last teacher taken captive earlier today."

Up on the screen was a picture of a woman that made Reid's blood turn to ice and all the strength leave his body. All the color drained from his entire body as he quickly got up and exited the room. He was barely able to fumble out words that could hardly be understood as "Excuse me…" All the others stared in concern, as this was very unlike him. Morgan excused himself to go check on his friend.

As he entered the bathroom, Reid stood there shakily hanging on to the sink with his head down and sweat beading on his face.

"Hey kid, what's up? I aint ever seen you get like that before."

"That's her."

"What?... What are you talk…"

"That's the woman in my dreams. The one that was taken this morning."

"How can that be?"

"How am I supposed to know? All I know is that it is her."

They stood there in silence for a few moments before Reid pushed past him and made himself sit back down in the conference room. Her picture remained on the screen, so he just looked away feeling nauseous. Hotch looked at him inquiringly, to which he nodded. He went on with the brief when Morgan returned quickly behind him.

"Her name is Allison Wright. She is a 26 year old kindergarten teacher."

"What else do we know about her?" Reid asked before he had a chance to realize what came out of his mouth. He immediately regretted it.