My first Criminal Minds fic, and of course I own nothing. Please leave a review :)

Chapter 1

Three years. That's how long it's been since he went missing. Three years, exactly, since Morgan and the team had seen their boy genius. Everyone deals with this time of year differently. JJ locks herself in her office, and from outside you can hear the sound of sniffling and crying coming from inside. Garcia brings flowers and places them on Reid's desk, which has remained otherwise untouched for three years. Gideon travels to his cabin to be alone for two weeks. Hotch is extremely cold to everyone he talks to, but behind his eyes, you can see the same sadness everyone else is filled with. On the anniversary of his disappearance, Morgan goes to a bar and has a drink for the two of them.

As he finishes his first drink, Morgan pulls a photo of Spencer out of his wallet. "Hey there pretty boy," he smiles, though very faintly. "I want you to know how much I miss you, how much we all miss you." Derek couldn't believe it had been three years since he'd gone missing. "We'll never stop looking for you," he frowned, choking back tears, "we'll never stop trying to find out what happened to you."

As the bartender refills his drink, Morgan couldn't help but feel that if they'd only noticed he was gone sooner, this all could have been over by now. How could it have taken two weeks to figure out he was gone. A few sips into his drink, he begins to think back to three years ago.

Three years ago

"Hey kid! You in there?" Morgan shouts, knocking on Reid's door. It had been two weeks since he'd left on vacation, and he was supposed to be back a week ago. Everyone assumed he had decided to stay a little longer, and knew that he wouldn't have any cell service up in the mountains, but after an extra week had gone by, and still no word, they were beginning to worry.

Morgan turned the knob, only to find it unlocked. "Reid!" He called out again, stepping into his home. Morgan flipped the light switch on and off several times with no luck, so he pulled out is flash light. "Come on kid, where are you," he says to himself, knowing for sure now that he isn't here. As he looks around, Morgan begins to feel uneasy. Everything is very well kept, not a speck of dust in the air, and yet he can't help but feel like something is off.

Morgan had only been to the young agent's house a handful of times, but he felt like everything was out of place. He could have sworn there was a glass coffee table in the middle of the living room, and while there were two pictures on the wall, Morgan remembered there being three.

Grabbing the phone attached to his belt, he began to dial Hotch's number. It only rang twice before his boss picked up. "Hotch, it's Derek. The door was unlocked when I got here and something doesn't feel right." He continues to look around and notices the house plant. The soil inside is loose, like it had been spilled and cleaned back up. Moving to the kitchen now, Morgan notices a note on the table.

Don't look for me

-S

"Hotch, call the team. Get down here, now

Present day

"Can I buy you another," an unfamiliar female voice snaps him out of his memory.

"Not interested," he coldly responds without a glance in her direction.

"Of come on baby," the woman presses.

Finally looking up, Morgan meets her gaze. He looks he up and down, as if he were checking her out. When he looks up again she's smiling at him, bitting get lip. Smiling seductively, Derek leans in to whisper in her ear, "Go home to your family." As he leans away he catches the look on her face and can tell she's baffled. "Your hand," he states, "the tan line on your ring finger tells me you're married. The car keys in your hand belong to a minivan, so obviously you have kids. So I repeat, not interested." It didn't take a profiler to notice any of this, just a little bit of observational skills.

She looks him in the before splashing the remains of her drink in his face. "Ass hole," she yells as she walks away.

He sighs, turning around, "you're the one trying to cheat and yet I'm the asswh-" he stops mid insult as someone bumps into him. "Hey watch it man," he says as he turns in the direction the guy is walking in. Irritated, and receiving no response from the stranger, he gets up and chases him down. Grabbing the man's shoulder, he turns him around, "I said wat-" he freezes dead the moment he sees the face of the man in front of him. Looking at the terrified eyes with dark circles that look back at him, he instantly recognizes the young man looking back at him.

"Spence?"