Disclaimer: see my profile

A/n this idea for a a ghost story, occurred to me a few weeks after Zugzwang. The majority of the story will be told from Maeve's point of view as she tries to make contact with Reid. Some of the cases we have seen on CM will be mentioned, but I have my own ideas about who the Replicator is, which is most probably different from what CM has planned.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes, was Spencer. That couldn't be right though, because he was on his knees and he wept. Why? Why did he sob like a heart-broken child?

"Spencer?"

He stared right through her as though she didn't exist. "Spencer? What's wrong?"

His wavy hair half covered his face, but she saw the rage in his kind eyes and she flinched.

"What happened?"

The last thing she remembered, she stood, held still by Diane who held a gun. Then she was there, free of her bonds and Spencer acted as if he didn't see her.

She waved her hands in desperation, but he just stared through her as if he'd gone blind. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

She jolted when he wailed her name and dropped his head forward to his knees.

"I'm right here," she stabbed out in irritation. "Look at me!"

She went to him and tried to hug him, but her hands and arms passed right through him, as if he were made of smoke. "Baby," she whispered as fear, larger than any she'd felt, even when Diane held a gun on her, rushed through her like a freezing wind.

One of the people, who'd ran into the room after Diane shot Spencer, hurried to him and tried to put her arms around him. "Reid," she said kindly.

He jolted away from her as though her touch electrocuted his skin. He unfolded his body and stood up like an arthritic old man.

"Maeve," he croaked and stepped away from her.

"I'm right here," she shouted, but he ignored her.

She yanked her eyes away from him when a very large black man with pity in his eyes tried to grab Spencer.

"No," he shouted and pulled away.

"She's gone, man."

"No, leave me alone," Spencer, screamed.

What did he mean? She's gone. Who was gone? Diane? How? They were there together and then there was… oh god, she couldn't remember. She turned back toward Spencer and saw for the first time what her eyes refused to see. She keened as an animal caught in a trap. It couldn't be true. It was too cruel. How could it happen at the happiest moment of her life? No, she'd close her eyes, and when she opened them, it would all be a dream. It was just her subconscious. She'd wake up, and when it was Sunday morning, Spencer would call her and she'd tell him that she wanted his team to help her.

She opened her eyes and the scene hadn't changed. Spencer had returned to his knees at her side, the other her, on the ground with a bullet wound in her head and scarlet blood, the darkest she'd ever seen, pooling around her like some obscene lake. Oh God! Oh God! No, it couldn't be true.

A light, brighter than the sun at noonday began to appear next to her, it grew brighter than any light she'd ever seen, but her eyes were somehow able to bear it. The light beckoned to her so strongly, that she took a step away from Spencer and the others. No one noticed the light but her. They didn't see her, and she suddenly realized that this wasn't a dream. It was real.

She took another step and then something seemed to hold her in place. A knowledge bloomed in her head, as a malignant plant bred to live and grow in some dark and dank, underground chamber.

She looked back at Spencer, who wailed and rocked back and forth at her side. He raised his hands and she saw that crimson blood covered them. As suddenly as the light appeared, so did the color all around her, snuff out like an extinguished flame of a candle. Only the blood retained its brightness and it stood out on Spencer's skin like an accusation.

"No," she shouted at the people around him that couldn't hear her. "It's not over."

They all stood with their backs to her. She went to the one with the beard and graying hair. She remembered his name from Spencer's description. It had to be David Rossi. She'd even read some of his books. Maybe he'd respond. She tried to touch him, but he didn't acknowledge her. "You have to help me," she shouted at him. He didn't flinch.

"Please, you have to help me."

She went to the blond woman that must be JJ. The woman was kneeling at Spencer's side and trying to talk to him while Maeve's blood soaked into the knees of her slacks.

"Help me," Maeve shouted again.

She went to the black man who was trying to lift Spencer to his feet. He was Morgan. Spencer said he was a friend. Perhaps he'd hear her. "Agent Morgan, please help me. It's not over."

The man didn't respond so Maeve tried to pick up the chair that Spencer had sat in before it all went down, but her hands passed through the wood just as they had through Spencer.

The dark haired man who had to be Agent Hotchner stood apart from them. She watched as his mouth twitched and his eyes began to shine with tears. The sorrow and pity in his eyes wasn't for her, it was for Spencer. She reached out and tried to put a hand on his arm. Her fingers hovered over his shoulder and she said. "I don't know what to do, Agent Hotchner. Please hear me, somehow."

He didn't move so she went back to Spencer and knelt in front of him. The bright light that had filled her gaze began to retreat until the room returned to normal.

"I promise I won't leave you until you're safe. I love you, Spencer."

He raised his head and for a heart stopping moment she thought that maybe he heard her. His red-rimmed eyes broke her heart. She reached out and let one hand hover over his check. Oh, it was so unfair that her life was over, that she'd never had the chance to get to know him and really experience love and life with him.

"Why?"

She jerked when he spoke and he still looked right at her as if he could see her. "I don't know," she said. "I'm so sorry. I should have let you help me. Please forgive me."

"Come on, man, let's get out of here."

Spencer ignored Morgan and looked down at his hands instead of at her and she wished that she could cry. It would soothe the ragged burning in her heart if she could give voice to her misery.

"Spence, we have to -"

"Leave me alone."

Maeve jerked at the nearly feral quality to Spencer's voice. He yanked his arm out of the JJ's grasp. "Just leave me alone," he demanded hoarsely.

"You can't stay here."

"You can't make me leave," he countered.

"Reid."

"I said no," he shouted. "All of you go away and leave me alone."

Hotch nodded when Morgan looked up at him. Morgan pulled JJ to her feet and shook his head at Blake who tried to talk to Reid. They all moved away to one corner of the room.

Maeve returned to her knees next to Spencer. "I wish I could go back and change everything," she said quietly. "If only I'd known…"

"Why did you leave me?"

She started at the question. He was staring at her body, as it lay unmoving in her blood. "Why?"

"I didn't want to."

"I love you," he whispered. "I'll never stop loving you for as long as I live."

"I love you too."

She waited and after awhile men and women came to the roof. They were probably crime scene people, she thought. They would take her body away and perform an autopsy. She found that didn't bother her as much as she once thought it would. She stood next to Spencer as he watched them work and then take her body and Diane's body away in those awful black bags.

He once again fell to his knees and began to sob. He didn't shake Blake away when she returned to his side and hugged him.

"Thank you for taking care of him," Maeve said to Blake. "He needs all of you."

Frustration welled up in her chest. Something was wrong and she couldn't figure out what it was. Spencer's team didn't realize that there was something out there, ten times worse than Diane. Maeve didn't know how she knew, but it seemed that she had use of some intuition hidden from her in her former life. She followed the team out of the building and stayed closed to Spencer as they separated into three black vehicles. If it took the rest of eternity, she'd figure out what shadow lay over the team, and Spencer. She'd make sure that he lived for many years, even if it meant she had to wait for him to return to her on the other side of eternity.