A/N: Hiya there, folks!

But first… All those reviews! GOSH, are there really so many of you waiting for this chapter? (beams and blushes, then GLOMPS) THANK YOU so much for all those incredible, amazing reviews! You guys ROCK! (hugs again)

And, before I forget! About responses to anonymous reviews. This story's also received anonymous reviews. I usually respond to all my reviews. If you want a response to your anonymous review, please do let me know – I'd be more than happy to write a few lines! (grins) Those responses can be found underneath the next chapter and ending AN. There's one under this one, too.

Awkay, because I don't think stalling is a nice habit, let's go. (gulps) I really hope you'll enjoy the ride!

TO THOSE WONDERING… This story takes place during the current season, so JJ's already taken her unwilling departure. (sighs sadly)

CHAPTER 3 – Hello, Goodbye

/ One of the few happy things about Spencer's childhood was the huge, most likely ancient prosopis tree that grew near his home. Although he was always accused on being clumsy he managed to climb high up to the tree's secure branches, where no one was able to touch him.

There, high up, there were no school bullies. And there was deffinitely no Vincent, because it was the pretty much only place in the world from which the boy couldn't find him.

The tree was Spencer's hideout, his safe haven when the rest of the world seemed to be falling down on him. It felt good to have at least one place to which he could run away from Vincent's brutality. Spencer got to be in his precious tree all alone until one day not long after his sixth birthday.

That morning he was shaking while sitting on one of the tree's biggest branches, fighting furiously against tears and pressing a hand to his left eye that was steadily swelling shut. Razor sharp flashes of the most recent attack flashed through his head. As usual it was the words, not the wooden toy that hit him, which hurt the most.

'It's because you're a freak no one else wants to play with you.'

'You're worthless, midget.'

'I bet it's because of you mom's sick. She's sick of you.'

'Don't try to scream. Mom took the pills – she won't hear you. She wouldn't even care enough to help you.'

Spencer was so wrapped up in those vivid memories that he didn't see, hear or even sense the person approaching him until a voice called out to him. "Hi. What are you doing up there?"

For just a moment Spencer's body turned unbelievably cold until he realized that the unfamiliar voice belonged to girl, not Vincent. Blinking twice he looked downwards and felt something shift in his stomach.

Standing there was a girl of about his age with long, extremely wild red hair and the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. She had a frown on her face as she looked at him. "What happened to your face?" she inquired instantly.

Spencer swallowed thickly. This was a strictly forbidden topic – if he'd talk, Vincent would… "I… I fell", he nearly whispered, so quietly that it was a surprise the girl heard.

She nodded, believing him with child-like trust. "Does it hurt?"

He shook his head, trying not to wince at the pain the motion caused.

"That's good", the girl stated, then gave one of those smiles he'd never, ever forget. "I'm Madison, but it's okay if you call me Maddy."

To his surprise Spencer managed to smile back. "I'm Spencer."

"Can I climb up, too?" Madison asked after a second's pause. "You don't have to talk to me, if you don't want to. But I'd want to see what it looks like up there."

Spencer wasn't sure if he wanted any company, really. But somehow he couldn't deny the redhead. "Sure", he managed, feeling infuriatingly shy. He was almost sure the heat on his cheeks was caused by a blush.

Madison grinned, then climbed to the tree as fast as some sort of a monkey. Without showing even a hint of fear she made her way to him and sat only a slight distance away. Her huge eyes became even wider as she took in the sight before her. "Wow!"

Spencer looked the same way, and despite all the times he'd seen the view he couldn't help agreeing with her reaction.

The sun was still rising, painting the city of Las Vegas with so many colors that it was hard to even register them all. It'd been raining the night before and absolutely everywhere raindrops shone, making it look like there'd been a field of diamonds below them.

"This is the prettiest thing I've ever seen!" Madison gasped.

Spencer glanced towards her, then looked away firmly, feeling a heavy blush sneaking all the way to his face and neck.

He was thinking about the exact same thing. But his thoughts weren't on the landscape.

Silence that can only be called companionable lingered around them as they sat there, enjoying the morning. And for a little while Spencer felt like everything was right in the world.

As soon as he came back home and heard the all too heavy silence Spencer knew something was badly wrong. "Mommy?" he called out in a tiny, extremely scared child's voice. There was no response. "Dad?"

Just then he heard noises coming from the bathroom. Although a part of him begged him not to do so he found himself approaching the room with dangerously weak feet, his heart beating so fast that it hurt. The silence around him was absolute, suffocating, and the small journey seemed to take ages. The hallway leading to the bathroom was completely dark, and it took all his courage not to stop before he reached his destination. What he found made him freeze completely, and if he'd been able to he would've screamed at the top of his lungs.

The bathtub was full of water. And in the water, as well as on the white floor tiles, he could see several droplets of blood.

Vincent's voice, which seemed to be all too close, made his heart jump madly. "Mom was screaming." The voice held no emotion, not a trace that the other boy would've been affected. "I think she hurt herself. Dad took her to a hospital."

During his short life Spencer had never felt the kind of terror that swept through him just then. His eyes widened to a impossible size while his small body turned utterly cold. It became hard to breathe.

He didn't realize he was crying until Vincent hissed. "Stop weeping – you're not a baby!"

Spencer tried to obey, tried so very hard, but he couldn't. Instead the sobs seemed to become louder, the tears fell harder. "I… I'm sorry, Vincent!" he half-whimpered.

Vincent, apparently, didn't accept his apology. Spencer cried out of pain and startle when the older and stronger boy grabbed his hair, so hard that he was sure his hair would be ripped off. His heart began to race once more out of terror when the other boy dragged him towards the bathtub with such force that his feet barely touched the ground. "V-Vincent, stop…!" he pleaded. "Please stop…! Don't…!"

Vincent didn't even seem to hear. There was a chilling look in the boy's eyes that'd never leave his nightmares when the force pulling him along grew still. "I'll teach you a lesson on being strong, midget."

Spencer's mouth opened, but before he could utter a sound he realized that his head was already in the water. Terror took a hold of him and he tried to fight with absolutely everything there was in him, but Vincent was much stronger. The firm, stony hand holding him by the neck didn't disappear, didn't give him the slightest chance to get out of the water and catch some air. In the end black dots began to dance in his vision.

And at the moment the six-year-old little boy was sure he was going to die. So sure that the horrible realization almost made his heart stop.

But then, just before his consciousness faded, Vincent pulled him out of the water and nearly threw him to the floor, making him hit his head dangerously hard in the process. There was barely any emotion in Vincent's eyes while the boy straightened his form and turned around, walking towards the room's door without looking back. "I hope you learned your lesson. Because I don't want to teach you again." With that the boy disappeared, leaving him all alone.

When William Reid finally came home from the hospital, utterly exhausted and his whole body heavy with worry, he was instantly alarmed by how dark and quiet the house was. Upon searching he discovered that Vincent was nowhere to be seen. Spencer, on the other hand, was crying and sobbing hysterically while sitting in the furthest corner of the bathroom, with his legs brought tightly to his chest. It was impossible to tell if the boy's hair was wet with sweat or water. The look on the child's face broke his heart. "Spencer?"

It wasn't until he spoke the boy finally noticed him. Tears kept rolling down Spencer's pale cheeks while the child whispered so quietly it was difficult to hear. "I… I'm so sorry." Sobs broke the child's already frail voice. "I… I wet my pants, daddy." /

Bad news have the habit of sneaking up on people. That Thursday-morning in BAU headquarters made no exception.

At first the team noticed that one of them was missing. And then cold shivers ran down their spines when they noticed that something else had also changed.

Spencer's desk… It was empty. And Erin Strauss was sitting behind it, flipping through a file.

"What the hell is this?" Derek snarled while taking a step forward, his narrowed eyes ignoring the warning look also frowning Aaron sent his way. "Where's Reid?"

The look on Erin's face was impossible to read while her eyes met Derek's. One of her eyebrows arched slightly. "So he didn't tell you?" There was a small, dangerous pause. "Dr. Reid won't be working here anymore. And before you accuse me, let me assure you he left willingly. He asked for these arrangements three days ago."

"He never told me he wanted to leave", Aaron pointed out sharply, mistrust and perhaps even worry loudly present in his tone. The man's fists were balled tightly, as though he'd been preparing himself for a particularly hostile interrogation.

Erin's eyes were filled with mock and smugness. "Well, maybe you didn't know him as well as you thought." She then got up, preparing to leave. "It looks like Dr. Reid took care of all his paperwork before leaving, so I'm done here." Without any words or actions of consolation she began to walk away.

"Strauss, I'm asking again. Where the hell is Reid?" Derek snarled before the woman got the chance to disappear from his sight. He looked fully ready to attack her. "We're his team, his family. We have the right to know."

Erin gave the dark-skinned man a long, evaluative look before speaking. "He should still be in Quantico for some hours. After that it's privileged information." She then gave them a look of deep irritation. "Now if you will excuse me, I have a lot of work to do." She left before any of them got the chance to do more than blink.

David Rossi stared at the direction towards which Erin had disappeared, his eyes slightly widened and his face unusually pale. He managed to produce only one, barely audible word. "Shit…"

Her expression quite similar Emily stared at the empty desk. It looked like she was shaking violently. "I… can't believe this", she whispered.

Penelope Garcia, who was stood nearby, didn't speak. All she could do was bring a shaking hand to her lips. No one noticed the single tear that rolled down her cheek.

The room was utterly quiet for a moment until Derek moved. No one had the time to see the look on the man's face as he began to storm away, slamming the door painfully loudly as he went. They were fairly sure he didn't utter a sound, but somehow the rest of the team could've sworn they heard a loud scream.

Emily moved to follow Derek until Aaron placed a firm hand to her shoulder. The unit chief's face didn't betray a thing, but his eyes were another story. "Don't. He needs a moment alone."

Suddenly everyone's eyes were on Aaron. He was, after all, their leader, who was supposed to guide them through anything. And he'd already lost JJ – they refused to believe that he'd accept another defeat. "What's our plan?" Emily all but demanded in the end, voicing what was on everyone's mind.

If he was fully honest, for the first time in ages Aaron had absolutely no idea, no master plans or words of encouragement. He had nothing to offer when his team needed him the most, and the infuriating sense of helplessness made his blood boil. He pressed his lips to a tight, thin line before speaking in a voice he often used on field. "We do our job." Seeing the looks of disapproval he went on, his voice even more authoritative. "You heard Strauss. Reid left out of his own free will, so there's little we can do through official channels. None of us likes this, but our hands are tied." He took a breath, attempting to ease some of the weight sitting on his chest. "So focus on work. It's the best we can do for now." With that he turned and began to head towards his office. He didn't want to see the looks on the faces of his team, because he didn't know how much of those expressions he'd be able to take without damaging the mask of composure on his own face.

He beginning to crack was the last thing any of them needed.

As soon as he made it to his office and behind his desk Aaron picked up his phone and dialed numbers he hadn't used in a long time. The answer was almost instant. "Hello?"

Aaron glanced towards the door of his office, as though suspecting that someone was behind it eavesdropping. "It's me." His voice was raspy, as though he'd hadn't used it in ages. He swallowed. "I… need you to do me a favor. It's about Reid."

Apart from one tiny lamp the rather small apartment was completely dark and filled with tightly taped cardboard boxes as a lone figure sat there.

Spencer didn't really know what he was doing as he sat on his couch, staring at the opposite wall with glazed over eyes. He'd come much too far to regret and he knew he was doing the right thing, but that didn't make things any easier.

Memories of his life with Vincent mixed with those of his life with his team when he closed his eyes and breathed in deep, attempting to soothe the chaos inside his head.

And just then a one more memory floated into his mind, as though attempting to reassure him of his decision. A flash of emerald-green eyes that had a smile in them. If he really focused he could still hear her laughter echoing faintly in the back in his mind.

Spencer grit his teeth so hard that it caused a nasty screeching sound.

I made a mistake with you, Maddy, he mused sullenly. And I swear I'll never do it again.

Just then his eyes flew open when there was disturbingly loud, demanding knocking on his door. A couple of seconds later Spencer decided to open the door before his neighbors would start complaining. After all, judging by how dark it was outside it was already pretty late.

Moving stiffly and slowly through the maze of boxes Spencer made his way to the door and opened. His eyes widened to a size he'd imagined impossible and his heart stilled for a couple of precious beats when he found Derek standing there.

Derek's eyes were filled with a storm of emotions, and the older man's hands were shaking as though they'd been itching to break something. "Strauss, she…" The man swallowed. "She told us you're quitting, that… That you're just leaving us." In some other situation the outburst might've amused Spencer; trust Derek to be so blunt. But now…

He swallowed thickly, barely managing to maintain eye contact. It was ridiculously hard to just bite the bullet, especially when he knew he'd cause an explosion. "I am leaving." It was barely audible, but Spencer had a feeling Derek heard all too clearly. "Tomorrow morning."

At first Derek simply stared at him like he'd turned into some foreign organism. Then, slowly yet surely, the emotions set in. Spencer couldn't even identify them all, but he did know that after just those simple words Derek was angry, hurt and wounded. The genius hadn't felt as bad and guilty since sending his mother to a hospital. It took his all to remind himself that this had to be done, that there was no other way.

Spencer took a deep breath and hoped from the bottom of his heart that his eyes managed to lie just this once. Looking at Derek in the eyes while speaking the words was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. "I need to go. I've… been trying to find another way to deal with this – all of this. But…" His voice faded away.

It wasn't until he saw Derek frown he realized his slip. "To deal with what?"

He swallowed although his mouth felt so dry it ached. "I really loved working in BAU. Don't ever doubt that. But…" Dear god, Spencer felt how tears burned in his eyes and could only pray his friend was too upset to notice. " It just… It feels like I'm being stretched to shreds. I… I can't sleep. I can't even think anymore." Gosh, how much he would've wanted to tell that it wasn't the team's or even his job's fault! He licked his lips and ran a shaking hand through his hair, feeling dangerously close to breaking down right there and then. "That's… That's not living, Morgan. It isn't. So I… I need to get away. I've gotta leave when there's still something left to save." He had no idea where the line between truth and lies went in his words, because he couldn't really process what he was saying at all. The words just came, and as the hurt in Derek's eyes deepened Spencer's hatred towards himself grew.

He hoped and prayed that when this was all over Derek would find a way to forgive him, to understand. That his family would understand.

Derek's eyes narrowed, the man's look screaming far louder than the voice that hissed. "What about us – your team? Have you had it with us, too?" The man was, apparently, too pissed off to listen to his answer. For exactly a second his friend grit his teeth so tightly it must've hurt before continuing. "You should've told us – you should've told me. You could've come to us, but instead you chose Strauss. And now… Now you're expecting me to…!" The man's eyes turned dangerous, and for a moment Spencer was sure he'd get punched. "You're walking out on us, Reid. You're walking out on your family. Don't expect me to understand that anytime soon."

"I… I have to think about myself this time, Morgan", Spencer breathed out, feeling tired and throughoutly torn. "I… I'm sorry, if this upsets you."

Derek's eyes were so hard it made him shiver. "Is that what I'm supposed to tell the team? Because they're just as full of questions as I am."

Spencer felt a ton's weight settling to his shoulders. "Yeah. It is."

"Fine." For a moment Derek's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If this is how you've decided to handle things, then good luck." Spencer didn't make a sound while Derek turned, then stormed away and disappeared.

Spencer didn't whimper although the ache inside him spread to absolutely every single one of his cells. He took the pain and accepted it, never noticing the tears shining in his eyes as he closed the apartment's door almost soundlessly.

Somehow it felt like he'd just said goodbye.

He didn't have the time to grieve long, though. Because less than a minute later, before he'd managed to move from the door, he heard steps and felt all of his muscles stiffen. For although it was years from the last time since he heard these steps he recognized them all too well.

The chilling chuckle and clapping made him feel sick to his stomach, almost more so than the words. "Now aren't you a good boy, midget? That was one hell of a show. And here I thought I'd have to take care of him." Vincent didn't touch him, but he could've sworn he felt the man's hands around his neck. "Now keep playing nice and we'll have splendid time together. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Derek had no clue how long he'd been walking around, rage and confusion making his head so blurry that thinking properly was impossible.

None of this made any sense to him. The Spencer Reid he knew would never do something like this. So why the hell…?

That thought was cut when his cell phone snatched his attention.

"What?" he barked out, not bothering to take a look at the caller ID.

"And I thought I was in a bad mood", Penelope's voice, which didn't sound quite right, noted.

Derek frowned, in an instant knowing that something was very, very wrong. "What's going on?" he demanded. He wished he would've managed to produce at least some sort of a apology, but at the moment he was too angry and tired for such.

Penelope swallowed so loudly he heard it. "I… finally had the time to make that background check you asked me to do, to see if there's a… Vincent in Reid's past." There was a long pause. "I found something, and… I really think you should know this."

TBC, no?

A/N: Oh crap… Here comes Vincent – in present time. (sweatdrops) Things are about to get very, very nasty…

PLEASE, leave a review to let me know what you thought of the chapter! Good, bad, luke warm…? Aww, c'mon, you know how much I adore hearing from you. Besides, it's almost Christmas and elves are keeping an eye on you… (grins)

IN THE NEXT ONE: Spencer is introduced to his own private hell while the rest of the team is introduced to Vincent. When the team goes to Reid's apartment to get some more answers they find a devastating sight…

Awkay, I've got a millions things on my 'do to' –list, so I've gotta get going. (pouts)

Until next time, folks, with whichever story that may be! And of course…

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!

CMSP: First of all, I'm thrilled you asked for a response! I love messaging with readers. (beams)

(And don't worry one bit about your English – I think it's very, very good! I'm a non-native, too, btw.) (grins)

AND, I'm even more glad to hear that you've enjoyed the story thus far THAT MUCH! (grins from ear to ear, even blushes a bit) I'm particularly happy to hear you liked the different POVs and emotions; they're something I'm trying to be particularly delicate with.

Reid's deffinitely been through a lot already, and it looks like there's more to come now that Vincent's on the loose. (winces) We'll see just how deep the mess gets…

As for Madison… Her story shall begin to unfold in chapter three. We'll see just what kind of a role she had in Reid's past…

Gigantic thank yous for the INCREDIBLE review! I really hope you'll enjoy the story to come as much.