A/N: Thankyou for reading this, I really hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Criminal Minds :(

Chapter 1

Morgan entered the bullpen, using the side of his body to push open the tall glass doors, his hands otherwise occupied. He carried his morning cup of coffee, whilst precariously juggling a pile of brown manila folders, over to the desk where his three female colleagues were deep in discussion. He'd only just arrived, late as usual with traffic yet again to blame, and felt a caffeine hit was exactly what was needed to wake him up. The closest of the women in front of him had a serious expression on her face, her brow creased as she spoke. She leant back, half sitting on the desk behind her, her short dark hair just brushing the shoulders of her professional-looking black blazer. Next, contrastingly dressed in a bright pink floral-patterned dress and yellow knitted cardigan, the shortest of the three was listening intently, pushing her intricately decorated pair of purple glasses farther up her nose every now and again. She twirled a fluffy pink pen between her fingers, adding to her unique and slightly abstract appearance. On the far end, the tall, attractive blonde had her palms resting against the back of the closest chair as she listened and occasionally contributed to the conversation.

"Hey ladies, what's happening?" he asked with his typical flirtatious tone. He threw the folders down on the nearest desk, flinging an arm around Garcia's waist - nearly spilling his coffee in the process - and smiling broadly whilst winking at JJ with a jovial smirk.

JJ rolled her eyes with an unfazed smile, too used to his antics to take any notice, laughing along with Garcia and Prentiss.

"We were just talking about how this is the first time in ages that we haven't got a case," Prentiss explained, brushing her hair behind her ear as she spoke.

"Don't we?" Morgan questioned, eyebrows raised in surprised. It was very rare for the BAU to have much time at all between cases. Typically they began a new case only a day or two after returning from the previous one. Yet it had been almost a week since they'd caught their latest serial killer, and they were still without something new to work on. They almost found themselves wishing for a new case, though this thought was banished as quickly as it had formed, since fulfilling this wish would involve the deaths of innocent people.

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it? It means there are no psychopaths out there killing innocent victims for fun or going on killing sprees instead of shopping sprees," Garcia pointed out, convinced by her logic. Despite the confronting images and horrifically detailed descriptions of murder she was exposed to almost every day, she never failed to see the positives in a seemingly negative situation, and this was no exception.

"It doesn't mean they're not killing, it just means nobody knows about it yet," JJ said with a sigh. She hated to shatter her innocent friend's refreshingly optimistic view of the world, but sadly the reality was far from positive.

Morgan gazed around the room as he took a sip from his mug, noticing Rossi reading in the far corner of the bullpen. Another glance showed Hotch filling out paperwork in his office, head buried in piles of notes. With every other team member accounted for, he couldn't help noticing they were one person short.

"Hey, where's Pretty Boy?" he asked, only just noticing Reid's absence. It was unusual for him to be late, given his tendency to notice even milliseconds passing by. This in addition to his lack of a social life gave him little excuse for a belated arrival to work.

"I don't know. I called his mobile twice, but he didn't answer. I just assumed he was with you," Prentiss replied, a perturbed look crossing her face, though she was slightly relieved at the knowledge she wasn't the only one bothered by the fact the genius wasn't present. She'd been beginning to wonder if she was just being paranoid, a habit that irritated her immensely.

"I called his home phone about five times, and he didn't pick up there either," JJ said, her eyes wide. They all looked at each other, worry finally beginning to set in. One missed call for Reid was a usual occurrence, but seven was unheard of. He was always contactable, even at the most ungodly of hours. This, in conjunction with his absence caused, their worry to increase, their indefinite concerns beginning to become a reality.

"If he wasn't at home he'd have his mobile on, and if he was he would have answered his landline," Garcia thought aloud, piecing the worrying facts together, her voice low in distressed realisation. She covered her bright red lips with the palm of her hand, unable to remain calm any longer given the circumstances.

"He's probably just caught in traffic and forgot to charge his phone," Morgan presumed confidently with a little smile, in an attempt to reassure the girls, although truth-be-told he was trying to convince himself at the same time. Behind his back, his hands were jittery with uneasiness. He was irked by the fact his immediate assumption had been one of such negativity, with very little evidence to back this theory up. However the more he thought about it, the more this assumption seemed like one of very few other plausible explanations for Reid's absence.

"What's wrong?" Rossi asked as he joined their little huddle. He'd notice from metres away the concern his friends were sharing as he peered over his novel, a habit he'd picked up many years ago whilst he'd still been training to become a profiler. He'd frequently watched completely oblivious passer-by's from behind a newspaper, calculating their behaviour and gaining an insight into their lives. Surrounded by profilers, analysis was a slightly more challenging task, since the ability to notice specific behaviours brought with it the heightened skill to hide any revealing emotions. Yet anxiety was the most changing to camouflage, so he had little trouble piecing together his team members' mixed reactions to the issue being discussed; JJ's darting eyes, Morgan's constant fidgeting, Prentiss' wide eyes and Garcia's clearly troubled expression.

"Reid's not here yet," Morgan informed him. He stood tall, his eyes staring at Rossi as he tried to stay focused. However, the worry he truly felt threatened to burst through with every word. It took every ounce of his control to remain in control, though he knew full well Rossi would see though this charade.

In any other situation Rossi would have been unconcerned by this comment. After all, it was physically possible for Reid to be late. Three doctorates and an IQ of 187 didn't make a person immune from getting delayed or distracted. However, he'd seen the evidence of worry in their actions, and knew them well enough to know that they wouldn't jump to conclusions without firm reasoning to suggest something was wrong.

"Maybe we should speak to Hotch," he suggested without any further questioning. He trusted their instincts as much as he trusted his own.

Hotch looked up, slightly startled, from his paperwork when he heard the fist rapping loudly on his door, sounding hurried and urgent. He rose from his chair, placing the document he had been reading down on the desk, and turning his attention to the door.

"Come in," he called, and was surprised to see his entire team filing into the small room. Like Rossi, he knew immediately something was amiss. As they crammed together inside the room, he scanned their faces one by one, quickly deciphering the issue at hand.

"Reid's not here?" he asked, and his presumption was confirmed by grim nods from each of them. "And you've called him?" was his next question, though he already knew the answer. He knew they wouldn't raise a concern with him unless they were almost certain something was up.

"I called him twice on his mobile, and JJ's called his home phone five times," he was informed professionally by Prentiss, though it was still obvious she was uneasy. Her eyes continued to avoid his own, peering down at her feet and around the room instead.

"Okay, first you all need to calm down," Hotch told them in an attempt to prevent his team from stressing unnecessarily. After all, there was no proof that their concerns had any truth behind them yet. Though even he had to admit, the likelihood something was amiss was high. "It's possible that there is a perfectly rational explanation for Reid being late. However, I'll send Morgan and JJ to check up on him just in case."

This seemed to reassure the team, and they left slightly more relaxed than they'd entered. Although not much.

The drive to Reid's apartment seemed to take hours, and JJ clasped her hands together nervously for the entire journey. Outwardly Morgan seemed calm, though his stomach felt as though it was doing back flips churning around and around to the point of nausea. Despite his best efforts to think positively, he couldn't wipe the horrifying images of Reid tied up, injured, or even dead, from his mind. He began tapping the steering wheel with his fingers in agitation and restlessness. He couldn't stand not knowing what was happening to his friend whilst he sat comfortably in the SUV, helpless to prevent any suffering Reid was possibly experiencing.

He shook his head, clearing the negative thoughts from his overactive imagination. Presuming the worst would help no one, least of all Reid. If something really had happened, Morgan would need a clear head in order to help him.

On arrival, the pair threw the SUV doors open wide, sprinting to Reid's door whilst still trying to keep some sense of formality and calm. Morgan knocked, but waited only a couple of seconds before he pulled on the door handle. To his surprise, and concern, it opened easily.

He shared a look with JJ. They both new Reid would never leave his door unlocked. It wasn't like him to be so careless. They entered slowly, their guns drawn, their hearts in their mouths.

The hallway before them was neat, shoes ordered neatly against the wall behind the door from most to least worn. Throughout the building stood numerous bookcases, each containing rows and rows of books, everything from thousand page novels to textbooks of such high complexity neither of the agents would have been able to understand a single word of had they picked one up.

"Spence? Spencer! Reid!" called JJ as she moved down the hallway. Her eyes darted from room to room, searching for any signs of danger. She was in a state of complete alertness, even the tiniest of noises catching her attention. Her hair whipped around her shoulders as she peered cautiously around every corner, half expected someone wielding a knife to jump out at her from the shadows at any moment.

Ahead of her, Morgan was yelling Reid's name at the top of his lungs, moving much more quickly. Caution was his last priority when his friends were in danger, Reid especially. He'd always seen him as a younger brother, someone to protect and look after. Right now his protective instincts had kicked into gear, overriding any protocol he was supposed to follow.

"Reid!" he yelled once again as he moved into the kitchen, JJ heading in the opposite direction towards the bedroom. Their guns remained high, fingers resting on their triggers just in case.

Morgan was circling around the table toward the adjoining room when he heard JJ's horrified gasp. He ran at full speed towards the sound, reluctant to find out what had caused it, but needing to know regardless. He realised he'd been holding his breath, and took in a deep gulp of air, readying himself for the worst.

As he approached, JJ stood frozen in the doorway of Reid's bedroom, staring down in alarm at the bloodstained carpet. Her eyes were wide, a hand covering her open mouth. Morgan had to peer over her shoulder to get a glimpse inside the room, as she seemed completely oblivious to the sound of his voice or the touch of his hand on her shoulder.

Morgan's reaction to their discovery was much more violent. After a moment of stunned silence, he slammed a fist against the door in frustration and worry, as well as anger at himself. After Reid had been kidnapped and tortured by Tobias, he'd sworn never to let anything similar happen to the most vulnerable member of their team again. Now that he was missing, and a puddle of blood was spattered across his bedroom floor, Morgan couldn't help but felt he'd somehow let his friend down, despite Hotch's advice to never to blame himself for things out of his control.

Finally JJ turned; seemingly awaken from her horrified trace by the loud chiming of her phone. Tears of dread and overwhelming panic welled up in her eyes, as she fumbled around for the phone in her pocket. With her hands shaking uncontrollably, it almost slipped from her grasp as she handed the phone to Morgan, unable to answer it herself.

"Hotch, you need to get here right now."