Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any character associated with it, no copyright infringement is intended.


The sun was just about to set when Spencer Reid parked his truck next the RV. He had spent most of it on the reservation. The good part about having friends there was that police and the FBI didn't go to bother him there. It helped that Megan Rutherford was the Tribe's lawyer. It also helped that she won a harassment case against LVPD two years ago.

Reid got out of the truck, sat down in a folding chair and watched the sunset. It was beautiful, the sky turning deep colors of blue, yellow and red. It gave Reid a contented feeling all over. As he watched the sunset, he also contemplated the poles that were placed in the ground around the trailer. To the causal observer, they looked like a strange kind of ornament, but Reid knew they were dreamcatchers.

They didn't like any other dreamcatchers, which were round. These were more oval and came to a point on each end, so they resembled an eye. Longarrow made them, and whenever Spencer told him they weren't made right, Longarrow gave him a pitying smile.

After the sun had set, Ried pulled out his cellphone and called Agent Bryson.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"I thought you were coming in."

"I was. Then I changed my mind. Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day."

"This isn't a request, we need your help."

"You knew where I was going, you could have come over."

"You mean on the reservation? The last time we did that, your friend Megan Rutherford turned it into a media circus."

"You can be bit a clownish, I guess. I'm actually surprised you didn't just wait for me here."

"That didn't seem like a good idea, not with your friends there."

"Friends?"

"Don't play dumb, there were two Indians sitting there all day. I'm assuming Megan sent them."

"I have a lot of friends at the reservation. I guess they were concerned my trailer might not be secure."

"When I send agents, it isn't a whim. The BAU asked me to bring you in."

"Why didn't they call me?"

"Probably because you never answer your phone. You screen messages and, if you feel like it, you call on a disposable cell phone."

"I do like my privacy."

"What is this? Do you have a problem with the Bureau? Or them? Or is it me?"

"Why can't it be all three at once?"

"You can't still be pissed at me. It was high school."

"That doesn't constitute an apology."

"You are a son of a bitch, you know that? People need your help and you're holding on to past hurts. You like playing bullshit games, and people are ... "

"You know, I used to go all over the country at the drop of a hat. But that was then, now I just want to be left alone."

"I would love to, but I was told this is a case that requires you."

"Well tough." Reid hung up the phone. He imagined the look of irritation on Agent Bryson's face; it made him smile.

Reid sat for another 15 minutes, enjoying the night air, when he heard something moving. His eyes darted as he tried to see what was making the noise. It sounded like footsteps. He a few lanterns lit, but they didn't offer much light. "Who's there?" It was one of the few times he wished he still had a gun.

"You are a hard man to reach, Dr. Reid," a familiar voice said.

Spencer Reid kept trying to tell himself it was impossible when Emily Prentiss walked into the light. "I like your place," she said," it's a little bare bones for my taste, but it's nice."

"Hello Emily. It's been a while."

"Almost four years. You look well. I like the beard."

Reid's hand touched the slight beard he had been growing. It came down from his ears down to his chin, with none of it touching his cheeks. It was an experiment Reid was trying, but he wasn't certain he liked it. "Thanks. This is a surprise. To what do I owe this visit?"

"I think Morgan's been trying to get in touch with you about a case."

"What does that have to do with you? I thought you were still at INTERPOL?"

"I am. We asked for the BAU's help. I think you would be a great help for this."

Reid let out a little laugh.

"What's so funny," Emily asked.

"Longarrow was right."

"Longarrow?"

"He's a friend of mine. He said you would be coming. The funny thing is that he's been saying it for the last three years. Oh, he didn't use your name. He called you the Woman with Sad Eyes."

"I've been called worse."

"I had some choice words for you."

"I know. I'm sorry I hurt you. That wasn't my intent."

"Of course not. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I don't do cases anymore. I don't go on adventures. I have a comfortable life sitting in my chair. When I want company, I visit the reservation. I visit Mom a couple of times a week. I even visit Dad every few weeks. What ever you're working on, I want no part of."

"Spencer ..."

Reid stood up, "whatever it is, I don't care. Go back to London, and tea and whatever you do to keep warm. I don't have time for games."

"We need you."

"No, you don't. I'm going to bed, so unless you want to join me, go away."

"Would that do it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Would you help me if I had sex with you?"

"I ..." Reid's comment about joining him in bed had been a joke. In poor taste, sure, but just a joke. He knew his bitterness towards Emily and the BAU was unwarranted, but he felt no desire to get involved in a case. What he told her was true, he liked his life now. Still...

"Sure, Emily. That would do it. If you come into the trailer right now, I'll help you." He didn't really meant it, of course, but he was certain she wasn't really going to have sex with him right now.

She walked to him,"That's good. For a minute, I thought this was going to be difficult." Before Reid could say anything else, she started kissing him.

The kiss was unexpectedly hungry, passionate, and even a little desperate. As she kissed him, Reid's brain was trying to get his attention. From the moment she came here, there was something wrong. There was something he wasn't paying attention to, a vital detail he would regret missing, but Reid chose to ignore that part of his mind.

When the kiss ended, Emily said,"I'm not just doing it for the case. I want you to know that."

"You'll have to pardon my disbelief but ..."

Emily interrupted him by kissing him again, even more passionately than before. Somehow in the midst of it, they ended up in trailer. Sooner than he expected, Reid was naked, and Emily was shedding her clothes as well. Soon their naked bodies intertwined and moved against each other with more passion than Reid could have imagined.

When it was over, Emily's head lay of Reid's chest. "I meant it."

"Meant what," Reid asked.

"I'm not just doing this for the case. This is something I've been thinking about for a while. It's just ... you never seemed particularly interested in things like this."

"Well, I guess I tried for a long time to avoid things like this. They always seemed to get in the way or at least not work out."

"And now? Do you try to avoid them now?"

"Try to? No. But the opportunities don't seem to present themselves either."

"Ah." Emily's eyes saw one of Longarrow's dreamcatchers hanging overhead. "What's that?"

"A dreamcatcher."

"No it's not. Dreamcatchers are round. The hoop is supposed to be a circle with the netting inside to look a spider web. The netting catches the bad dreams and lets the good dream through. I saw these outside too. Did you make these?"

"No. My friend Longarrow did."

"Longarrow?"

"His name is John Rutherford, but everyone calls him Longarrow. Anyway, he says these are special dreamcatchers. They keep dark spirits away, not just dreams. He said all the ones outside will make it so the spirits can't even find me."

"Do you believe him?"

"I don't know. He was insistent I hang them up all over so I did. I even sent them to people. Mom has one, so does Dad. I sent some to JJ."

"That's where I've seen them before. She sent one to me."

"I asked her to. I don't why it just seemed to be the thing to do. I even sent a few to Declan."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I guess I figured if anyone deserved protection from dark spirits, it was him."

"That's why..." She broke off her sentence, like she was in the middle of a thought process and speaking was impeding her from thinking. Then she looked at Reid. "Oh you sweet, sweet man."

Then she kissed him again, this time even more passionately than before. That lead to more sex, but it was different. She was even more passionate, almost like a wild animal. Reid didn't know exactly what got into her, but he sensed he had something to do with it. And Declan.

This time, when they were done, he fell asleep almost immediately. Right before he did, though, she whispered in his ear,"thank you. And I'm sorry."


When Reid woke up in the morning, Emily was gone. The only trace of her that he found was a large manila envelope that felt like it was stuffed with case files. On the front of it was a post it note that said ,"For Dr. Reid."

He thought about opening it, but decided he would wait., He hadn't even had coffee yet.

He threw on some clothes and went outside. He didn't see her outside, he didn't even see any sign of a vehicle besides his. Well, he saw the tracks of the SUV from yesterday but ...

He grabbed his phone and called a number he hadn't used in a while. "Hey Morgan. It's me."

"Kid? Is that you?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd talk to you instead of going through your surrogates."

"Thanks."

"I have to say, using Emily as a go-between was a good idea."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you sent her, didn't you? Or was that all her idea?"

"Reid, are you saying you saw Emily?"

"Yeah. She was here last night."

"That's impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"Kid, she's the case. Part of it anyway. She disappeared from London 6 weeks ago."