Nine Days

A/N: Wow! I'm amazed at the response already! Normally it takes my stories a little to get this popular, if they ever do. So, three things. First, thanks to everyone who added me to their alerts list! Thanks!

And second, there were a couple people who wanted to know if Reid was actually dead, or if he was just going undercover or something. Sorry to all the Reid fans (he's my fave too), but he really is dead. This was an annoying plot bunny that wouldn't go away until I wrote it.

Third, I know I promised some people that the update would be posted on Monday, but I couldn't, and here's why. On Sunday, I finished proofreading the new chapter, but then I had to go clean and I put my flash drive in my pocket. Unfortunately, I somehow misplaced my flash drive (which had the new chapter on it), and so I had to retype the chapter. --' Anyway, here's the new one.

Chapter 1

"This sucks."

Morgan's words echoed through the air. No one seemed to acknowledge them. Other than their quiet breathing, no sounds pierced the air surrounding the BAU and their technical analyst.

Nobody said anything. It was as if Morgan hadn't spoken. They were all lost in their own thoughts, their own whirlwind mess of confusing, hard to follow, thoughts.

'I need to do something,' Hotch thought. 'I need to say something. Now, before they give up.'

It took him a few moments to find the right words. And even then, it didn't come out the way he wanted it to.

"We need to find him."

It was still quiet. JJ and Prentiss both looked stunned. Morgan and Rossi just looked like they couldn't believe it. Like they didn't want to believe it.

"Come on," Hotch said. He stood up, finally earning their attention. "We need to find the killer."

Every agent in that room stared at him as if they had no idea what he was talking about, but Hotch continued on, obliviously staring away from his team.

"At least look over the case file again," Hotch said. The word again wasn't used lightly. They had all seen the details of the case plastered over every newspaper in the area. 'FBI agent killed in homicide.' 'FBI agent killed in own home.' And the file, well, they had all seen that enough. They practically knew the details of the case by heart. They didn't really need to open the folder with the details inside again.

Morgan, who hadn't seemed to be as frozen as the others, was the first one to speak. His voice was shaky as he opened the folder (1), revealing the neat print inside. He quietly began to read.

"26 year old Caucasian male, brown hair, brown eyes (2)," Morgan read quietly. His eyes never once left the folder in front of him. "Name…" Here, Morgan's voice wavered more that it had, but he finally managed to say, "Doctor Spencer Reid."

A muffled noise came from JJ's side of the table. Hotch glanced over at her, but didn't say anything.

At this point, Rossi took over the narration. "Killed in own home, suspected homicide." He dropped the folder on the table. It skidded a bit before coming to a halt.

"What else do we know that isn't in the file?" Hotch asked.

"The killer shot him twice in the stomach, but then felt the need to shoot him in the head," Rossi observed. "What does that tell us?"

"He's either unsure of his abilities, or he's had a victim get away from him before," Hotch said grimly.

There was silence for a moment. 'If it's the second one, then Reid wasn't one of the lucky ones,' Hotch thought.

There was silence for a moment.

"There were no signs of forced entry, so Reid either let the guy in, or he was already there when Reid got home," Morgan said.

"Neighbors reported no disturbances," Rossi pointed out.

"Reid was smart," Prentiss said. "He wouldn't let just anyone in. He saw enough crime scenes to know what happens when you do that. If he let the guy in, he knew him."

"Which would indicate a hate crime," Hotch said, turning to face the team.

"What if he wasn't inside when Reid got there?" Morgan asked, looking up. Hotch, Prentiss, Rossi, and JJ stared at him in surprise.

"What if the guy was waiting for him, but not inside Reid's apartment?" Morgan clarified. "He could have been waiting for him outside, but made himself look as inconspicuous as possible so as to not attract attention. He could have been anyone. Some janitor, a night guard, anyone. So he waits for Reid to go inside, and then he jumps him, and closes the door behind him."

"It's possible," Hotch said. "If Morgan's right, then it might not have been a hate crime. This could be the work of a serial killer."

"I'll tell Garcia to see if any cases from the past match this one," JJ said.

"Good," Hotch said. "The rest of you, come with me. We're gonna check Reid's apartment again."

The FBI, as well as state police, had been through the apartment more than once, but the BAU had avoided the apartment for as long as they could. Hotch knew that they didn't want to face any of it.

The door was closed, and Hotch knew that it would be locked, but he had the key.

The group walked up to the door, and Hotch pulled out the key, opening the door quietly. They ducked through the police tape set across the door, and hurried inside.

Hotch took a deep breath before looking around. There was dried blood on the carpet in two places. 'His head and stomach,' Hotch thought. He felt his stomach heave, and he turned away. 'Oh, God. How are we going to do this?'

Prentiss and JJ had stopped in the doorway, and were both looking uncomfortable. Rossi was standing at Hotch's shoulder, and Hotch exchanged a glance with him.

Morgan however, plowed through all of them, as if they weren't there. He stopped and turned halfway around to look at them. "Are you just gonna stand there?" he demanded. "Or are you gonna let Reid's killer get away with this crap."

Hotch took a deep breath. "We're coming," he said, his voice shaky. "Just give us a minute."

Morgan hesitated, but finally spoke. "All right," he said finally. "I'm gonna start looking."

Hotch nodded and turned to the two women on the team. "How are you?" he asked.

"Fine," Prentiss said, her voice faint. "Just… You know. It's this place. Reid… Reid died here."

"It's not right," JJ whispered.

"We're going to fix it," Rossi said firmly. "Whoever did this won't live for much longer after we catch him. After that, it's over."

"Hotch." Morgan's voice came from behind him, and Hotch turned.

"What is it?" he asked.

Morgan hesitated before speaking. "Hotch… We've got a problem."

Hotch blinked. "What?" he asked.

"Hotch…" Morgan hesitated again. "There's nothing at all that could incriminate whoever did this."

Hotch's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

Morgan shook his head. "Nothing. Reid's bed is made, the garbage's been taken out… There's no visible evidence of anything. It's almost like…"

"No, Morgan, it is not almost like," Hotch interrupted. Because he knew what Morgan was going to say. And Reid wouldn't kill himself.

A/N: I NEED A BETA! BADLY! I'm new to the fandom, and I would REALLY like someone to beta the story for me. If you would like to be my beta, PLEASE review and tell me! I'll tell you who the beta is in the next update. Thanks!

Off to take over the world,

Crazy Girl