A/N: Hey everyone, I love Criminal Minds so much but this is my first ever fanfic for it. : ) This story is a little Reid centric but the other characters are definitely in it. Please review if you get a chance, all feedback is welcome.


"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."

-Morrie Schwartz

Spencer Reid slowly sat up in bed and looked at his watch that was lying on his night stand. At first he thought he was reading the numbers wrong but after cross checking it with his cell phone he confirmed that it was already well past nine. Without a second thought he threw off his comforter and raced into the shower not quiet caring that the water didn't have a minute to heat up.

When he stepped out he looked down on his phone and saw that he had missed a call. Quickly he got dressed and called the number back.

"Hotch." The voice on the other line answered.

"Hey, it's Reid, I'm sorry I must have overslept. But I'm about to leave the house right now, I'll get on the ten o'clock train and…"

"Wheels up at ten thirty; don't be late." Hotchner interrupted Reid and then promptly hung up. Spencer looked quickly around his apartment and double checked that he wasn't forgetting anything. When he was sure that he had grabbed his coffee and everything else he needed he sprinted out the door.


"Where have you been all morning?" asked Morgan ruffling Reid's hair at sitting down on the seat across from him.

"Well I woke up at nine fifteen; jumped in the shower, got dressed, called Hotch and now I'm on the plane…waiting for you all to get here."

"Uh-huh. You've been waiting for us." Joked JJ as she sat down behind Derek. The two other agents smiled as they waited for the rest of the team to join them. One by one Prentiss, Hotchner and Rossi got onto the plane.

"Nice of you to join us Reid." Aaron said as he looked down at the young boy who looked even smaller in the large white airplane chair.

"I'm sorry; I haven't ever overslept since senior year." Reid looked down his cheeks tinted a slight red with the attention.

"You mean you haven't been late since you were thirteen?" Prentiss asked taking her seat next beside Morgan.

"Twelve actually." Reid quietly corrected.

"I don't care. Try not to let it happen again. Morgan inform Reid about the case, the rest of you start working on a profile. Work with what information we have so far, I want to get a head start on this thing before we get there." Hotch said as he looked at the team.

"Where exactly is it that we're going?" asked Reid.

"If you had been on time you would already know."

"So, what, now I don't get to know? I mean the location could prove to be a vital part of the profile someone from the east usually…" Reid began but for the second time that morning he was cut off.

"Alaska."

"I'm sorry, did he say Alaska?"


"Hey Pretty Boy, what's wrong?" Morgan asked Reid when he noticed that the young doctor was just staring out at the dark sky.

"It's nothing." He lied as his head continued to pound. He first noticed the dull ache when he woke up – then on the subway to catch the plane he realized it had become a slight throb – in the air it had intensified so much there was no way he could ignore it – now it had become a powerful pain that he was doing his best not to show.

"Well just let me know if you need anything, okay?" Morgan could tell something was troubling him but if Reid didn't want to share he wasn't going to push it; but he wanted to make sure he knew that if he needed something the team would help him.

"I hate Alaska." Mumbled Reid as he picked up his bag and began to follow Hotch.

"Why's that?" asked Emily betting she knew the answer.

"That's weird," JJ said "My phone must be broken. It's saying that it's two in the afternoon but the sun is barely over the horizon."

"Alaska experiences a 67 day long night. It's the longest night in the world…this is why I hate Alaska." Reid grumbled still trying to fight off his headache.

"I kind of like it. I mean it's not completely dark, it's like you're looking at the sun rise for the entire day." Said JJ cheerfully.

"Yeah, except the sun never actually rises, it just stays there lingering." Reid countered and JJ shrugged having no entrance in arguing about how magnificent the view was.

"Focus," came the stern voice of Aaron Hotchner "We need to get to the station quickly and start helping." They piled into two separate cars and drove the thirty miles in silence to the police station. Once there they were greeted kindly and given a room to set up in. Reid took full advantage of the coffee machine they had set up.

"What do we know so far?" asked Rossi looking around the conference room.

"Well he likes to take them in the middle of the day. I mean that's not saying much because it's still pretty dark but there are witnesses outside. That suggests maybe he knows the victims." Reid said with his hands wrapped around his head as he tried to massage the pain out. Suddenly he felt another pain present in his body; the sure sign it was more than a headache. He tried to swallow again but the pain was still there. With each drop of saliva the tightness and pain in his throat became more prominent and undeniable.

"There's a definite pattern with the women he's taken. Look." Emily fanned the photographs out for everyone to see, "They all have dark brown hair and blue eyes."

"It's usually rare to find light eyes with dark hair; it narrows down other potential targets." Reid said his voice sounding a little weaker than usual.

"Alright JJ I want you to hold a press conference and warn women between the ages of 16 to 45 with dark hair and light eyes to be cautious until we catch this guy." Hotch ordered, "Reid and Morgan I want you to check out the first two girls' houses. Rossi and I are going to look at the latest girl's apartment. Emily call Garcia and see if she finds anything weird with the phone records."

"One more thing Hotch, no bodies have showed up yet, that could mean all of the girls are still alive." Reid added as the team began to split.

"I hope so." Hotch said before he and Rossi quickly descended the stairs and got into their car and left the station.

"You okay man?" Morgan asked once they were in the sanctuary of their own vehicle. Reid nodded as he tried to suppress his obvious discomfort.

"I'm fine." Reid smiled but Morgan could see the lie underneath it. He knew they had agreed not to profile each other but anyone could see that something was bothering the boy. His usual pale skin hade a hint tint of red and his hair was matted down to his forehead.

"Reid, what do you think Hotch wants us looking for? Reid? Reid?" Morgan looked over to see the gangly figure slumped over fast asleep. "Kid, you've got to get up." He said gently shaking his shoulder.

"I'm up, I'm up." Reid jumped and looked over to see Morgan looking at him even more concerned.

"You slept in, you drank plenty of coffee and you still fell asleep. Don't lie to me, something's up." Morgan said as he kept his eyes on the road.

"I probably shouldn't have drank all that coffee." Reid grumbled turning away from Morgan, maybe he could try to sleep some more, the first house was a forty minute drive.

"Why, are you feeling nauseous?" Morgan asked concern laced in his voice.

"Not yet but I definitely burned my throat." Reid said peering through one open eye at the driver.

"So you have a sore throat."

"I burned it."

"It's sore."

"Because I burned it on coffee." Reid said defiantly.

"For someone who is so smart you're being really stupid about this." Morgan slightly chuckled.

"What am I being stupid about?" Reid asked defensively.

"You're sick."

"I am not sick. I don't get sick. I haven't been sick since I was seven."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, Trey Porter sneezed on my calculator and I didn't know. Of course nobody cared to tell me that and I went on using it. Two days later I woke up and could hardly move I was so feverish and sore but my mom was having one of her episodes and I didn't have any way of calling myself out of school, so I went. I was participating in a mandatory physical education class when I passed out, they took me straight to the hospital and I waited forty-one hours there until my mother realized I was missing and came and got me." It was hard for him to talk so much. The topic was a hard one to discuss but what made it so bad was that he could feel his throat burn with each word he spoke.

"I'm sorry." Was all Morgan said as he placed a caring arm on Reid's shoulder, "Gah, you're so hot."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I don't care what you say, you're obviously sick. I can feel your fever through your sweater."

"I don't have a fever." He argued but when he realized that Morgan wasn't buying it he decided he was caught and should confess, "Maybe I am, but I don't want everyone on the team knowing. I don't like people knowing when I'm hurt or sick so don't go making a big deal about this. I mean, it's probably just one of those quick colds. I'm sure it'll be gone by tomorrow. Just don't tell anyone…please."

"Kid, if there's something wrong…"

"Please."

"Fine, but if you're not better by tomorrow don't think I'm keeping my mouth shut."

"Deal." Said Reid as he shifted in his chair for the third time and drifted back into a heavy slumber for the rest of the drive.

"Reid?" Morgan's voice cut into his dream, "Do you remember what type of car she drove?"

"The case file said black truck, why?" Reid said instantly.

"Look." Reid did what he was told and instinctively reached for his gun as he and Morgan got out of the car.


I hope you enjoyed that. Like I said, all feedback is greatly appreciated. : ) I was smart and got ahead on my writing so the next chapter is already done and will be up in the near future. : )