JJ stepped out into the cool fall air with a look of worried determination in her eyes. She hadn't seen Spencer so worried for such a long time, that the pain that practically radiated off of him now was heart wrenching. She never wanted to see her teammates like that, especially her Spence. He was so innocent, so young. He didn't deserve the things that had happened to him since he joined the BAU. Watching him suffer at the hands of Tobias Hankel was one thing; watching him be mentally tortured in this manner was another.

The blonde agent's heels clicked against the concrete as she walked away from the door, scanning the area for any sign of Reid. Agents and students that were attending the academy there walked around quickly, heading to training or getting files to their team leader. Reid, however, was not among them.

Something finally clicked in JJ's mind, though. She felt extremely stupid and she marched back into the building and reentered the elevator, pressing a button that would take her to the floor the library was located on.

Spencer sat on a burgundy sofa in a far corner of the BAU library. In his hand he held one of his own worn out books that read Divina Commedia di Dante, but it was only opened to the first page. His other hand was brought up to his mouth and resting on his lips like he was thinking about something. His eyes were focused on a spot on the far wall.

Spencer tried to focus on anything but the fact the Maggie was with the UnSub. The pictures Garcia showed them flashed through his mind. The faces, all with sparkling brown eyes embedded in them, slowly changed to the mutilated state that that monster had brought them to. Alexandra's smiling figure suddenly switched to Maggie, shyly beaming at Spencer from across the restaurant table. Reid muffled a gasp when he imagined Maggie's destroyed body laying her apartment.

Biting his bottom lip, Spencer slowly set the book in the seat next to him and buried his face in his hands. He pushed back stubborn tears that threatened to break through his eyelids at any moment. He massaged his temples and took in deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Calm down, Spencer. Just calm down, he told himself. But he couldn't do it.

A single salty tear broke through and rested on his cheekbone a moment before sliding down to his chin. His hands, still pressed against his face, absorbed the drop and wet Spencer's palm. He felt ashamed with himself for breaking down, even if it was silent and subtle. But the thought of him and Maggie showing up one day on the floor of some apartment, ripped apart, beaten, and destroyed, just tore through him like a blade. Guilt and fear swept over him like a monsoon. Another tear escaped its ocular prison.

The young agent heard the elevator doors open from across the library. It was the third time he'd heard this, and each time he prayed it wasn't a member of his team coming to find him. He hoped that his spot on the opposite side of the room was concealed well enough behind all the bookshelves that they wouldn't think to look back there. Spencer kept his face hidden in his trembling hands, like a child, thinking that if he couldn't see the world, the world couldn't see him. For the first time in a long time, he let the darkness envelope him willingly.

The library was unusually vacant today. Only a few people here and there were seated at the polished wooden tables that littered the open area. Tall wooden bookshelves filled the rest of the room as well as a glass computer room in the back. A few comfortable chairs were here and there and JJ knew that there were couches lining the walls, too. At first glance, her little genius was nowhere to be found, but knowing Spence he would've cut himself off from the world in a time like this.

JJ made her way to the bookshelves, glancing at all the novels on criminology and the history of the BAU. A small smile spread on her face at the thought of Spencer reading all of these. There was no doubt in her mind that he had read at least half. She gradually progressed to the back after glancing in all the rows where Spencer might be standing, holding a random book and flipping through at remarkable speed as he tried to erase the memory of the victims.

In a back corner, she finally found him. Spencer was leaning over, elbows rested on his knees and face in his hands. His pale fingers gripped at his brown hairline and they were shaking slightly. JJ could hear him trying to calm his breathing. Her heart dropped at the sight of him like this. He didn't deserve this. No one did.

With her arms crossed she slowly took a few steps towards him, her heels making small bump noises through the red carpet. He obviously didn't notice her approach, because his face stayed hidden in his palms. JJ moved over to the spot next to Spencer and picked up the book he had probably set there. She placed it on her lap as she sat down next to him, which jarred the young man slightly.

He pulled his face up at towards her before whipping it back to face the far wall again. But JJ had seen. Spencer's eyes were puffy and red, which matched the tainted pink color of his wet cheeks. He sniffed and looked back down at the floor, visibly ashamed of being snuck up on by a fellow agent, especially when he was crying.

JJ had a feeling that Spencer silently hated her right now. Everyone, JJ especially, knew that Spencer always felt like the child in the group; he avoided any situation that would demean or show the slightest weakness in him. This was one of those situations.

Spencer didn't speak. He just blushed deeply at the embarrassment of it all and stared at the floor, subconsciously wiping away tear tracks on his cheeks. JJ decided to break the silence with, "What were you reading?" in an attempt to 'speak his language' and calm him down.

"Divina Commedia di Dante—Dante's Divine Comedy," he croaked softly. "I uh… I was reading it when Maggie and I met. You know that outdoor café nearby?"

JJ grinned sadly. Spence still hadn't looked at her. "The little square you go to on the weekends?"

"Yeah." He smiled ever so slightly. "I met Maggie there. She was—is—a waitress there, working at the Starbucks portion of it, and she waited on me. I never got the coffee though."

"Why?"

He looked at her briefly and laughed a little. Just a little. "You called me actually," he responded. "You were calling us out to a case and said it was urgent. So I gave it to Maggie. Now that I think about it, I paid with whatever bill I had in my pocket at the time. I think I gave her a huge tip, too."

"You think she thought you were being sweet on her?" JJ asked, smiling.

Spencer shrugged. "I don't know, but I wasn't at the time!" They both gave a small laugh at the memory, but it quickly faded when the bitter-sweet feeling of it hit Spencer like a brick wall. The cheerful color that had crept back in his face disappeared and the smile that had grown fell. He sat back on the couch and stared at the wall again.

JJ sighed and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The team could do the profile without them. Spencer needed a break. He needed to smile. "Tell me more about Maggie. What's she like? If it's ok to ask, that is."

"Oh no, it's fine." He paused a moment before starting in, picking up on what JJ was attempting. "She's…" but he couldn't finish. He found himself back at the table, staring across the white cloth at the radiant brunette that had brought him back from the living dead. He was once again bathing in the gaze of those shining brown eyes that refused to stop glowing. The eyes that he searched so desperately to describe, only to emerge with a word that seemed so miniscule to actuality of their being.

JJ waited patiently for him to finish. His eyes didn't focus on anything. They just seemed to wander above her head aimlessly. JJ looked on at her little brother with eyes of serendipity as she saw the same look in his own eyes she had seen so rarely before in others. His deep brown irises grew suddenly brighter for a second that JJ was glad she spent looking at him. She saw in his smile and dazed eyes such a precious thing, one she hoped to feel herself one day.

The sweetness of love flowed in his words as he barely whispered, "She's…I can't really describe it. She's like an angel. She practically glows when she smiles. I can tell when she's up to no good or thinking something crazy because her eyes flash all different colors. She's funny, and beautiful, and smart. We share so many things. And her eyes… JJ, I can't tell you enough about her eyes. They saved me, JJ. Before I met her I was having the roughest time. I was going to use again, but when I finally snapped out of it and asked her out…"

Spencer seemed to have realized all he was revealing because his eyes widened and he glanced up and JJ before staring at the floor again. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, sorry. I uh—"

"Spencer, don't," JJ cut in, reaching out to hold his hand lovingly. He recoiled only slightly at the touch but it wasn't unordinary. Then he held her hand back and flashed a smile.

"Tell me more?" JJ asked.

"Let's start from the beginning. The women were reported missing by their husbands. When was this?" Emily began.

"Only a few hours after the predicted abduction," Garcia answered. "After all possible phone calls were made and there was no lead on the wives' whereabouts, both husbands filed a missing persons' report."

Morgan spoke this time from his spot on his desk. "But Reid didn't even know Maggie was missing. They aren't married and apparently don't live together, so who called in for Maggie?"

"Give me a moment…" Garcia said, typing on her laptop and holding out the syllables on the last word. "Jessica Brown, Maggie's BFF. She claims she was going over to Maggie's house for a get together. She saw she wasn't there, tried calling and she didn't answer, looked for her everywhere, and then filed the report."

"The accident involving Maggie's mother was obviously a lie; she hadn't spoken to her for at least four days and is in perfect shape," Morgan said. "Reid said the man in the corner of the restaurant had looked like he was texting before Maggie got the message that her mom was in a wreck. He probably got her number, put his phone under Maggie's brother's account and lured her out that way."

Hotch flipped through the case file. "Let's focus on the UnSub himself for a moment."

"He's either strong enough to overtake Maggie and get away unnoticed," Rossi said. "Or he's weak and has to take her at gunpoint. By the damage done to the previous victims and the bind marks on the wrists and ankles, I'd say strong enough to subdue but—"

"Hotch!" The team turned around sharply to see JJ rushing up to the bullpen with Reid following close behind. All the color was flushed from his face and he seemed genuinely terrified.

"JJ, what is it?" Hotch answered, concern thick in his response.

JJ took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she glanced at Reid, who was clutching his phone in his hands until his knuckles turned pale. "JJ, what's going on?" Hotch asked again.

The rest of the team moved a little from their positions in preparation of what was to come. JJ breathed deeply again before speaking. "The UnSub just called Reid."