I'm finally finished the story! Sorry this took so long I just could not think of anything to do with this chapter. I'm really sorry for any mistakes I wrote and published this on a train so I might have hit the wrong key.

I don't own Criminal Minds or its characters.


Stryker and Derek were in the kitchen while Reid slept. Stryker sat on the counter top and Derek sat at the table. They were at a pause in the conversation and it was beginning to feel like it wouldn't start again.

"I gotta say." Stryker said clearing his throat and breaking the silence. "I'm impressed with Spencer. Getting a best friend. He hasn't done that since we were five. Probably hasn't had to."

"Um… you mentioned Reid – Spencer – had drugs? Don't you want to talk to him about that?" Morgan asked.

Stryker smiled bitterly. "We're not a family that talks things out – we just ignore them until its forgotten about or not important anymore." He was serious again. "He might do something like this again though, so watch him. All the Reid men self-destruct – or try to – in some way or other. Our dad drank, I became suicidal, Zach got arrested, Sparx joined a gang – dragged us along – and Spencer nearly turned to drugs to deal.

Stryker laughed at the look of disbelief on Morgan's face. "We're a very dysfunctional family." He explained.

Morgan swallowed trying to take that in.

"So, does Spencer have a girlfriend?" Stryker asked teasingly.

"No." Morgan answered. "At least, I don't think so."

"Yeah." Stryker said sadly. "'Course he doesn't."

"I think he likes JJ. She's on the team."

Stryker smirked. "Let me guess, blond?"

"Yeah."

He chuckled quietly. "Spencer's first crush was a blond too. Lucilia Amelia. Bonded over their weird names I think. They both legally got their names changed to just one name a while back. Lucy Amy and Spency Sparrow, awful nick-names. She was a weird girl. That's probably why they got along so well."

"I didn't think Spencer would have been interested in girls." Morgan said.

Stryker raised an eyebrow.

"He seems like he would have been oblivious to stuff like that."

"Yeah, well Lucy certainly makes an impression. She punched him in the face the first time they met. We were just starting school. Became great friends though."

Morgan laughed. "That would leave an impression." He agreed.

"So how does Spencer get on with the rest of your team?" Stryker asked.

"Our team." Morgan corrected. "We're a lot like a family. Hotch and Gideon are like the parents. Spencer is the youngest and I'm the older brother. JJ is like the big sister. Garcia would be Spencer's older sister, and I guess Prentiss too."

"Hmm." Stryker said.

Morgan worried for a minute if he had offended Stryker because he was Spencer's actual family.

"What are Hotch and Gideon like?" Stryker asked.

"Um. Well Hotch looks out for everyone really and Gideon is definitely a father to Reid."

Stryker nodded. "This Gideon good enough to look out for Spencer?" he asked

"yeah, he'll look out for him. And I'll pick up the slack if he doesn't." Morgan promised.

Stryker seemed satisfied. "So the tech girl, Garcia right? Does she and Spencer get along?"

"Yeah, I guess. Why?"

"She sounds a lot like our youngest sister Ally. She's a computer genius too. Ally was definitely Spencer's favourite."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

They lapsed into silence once more.

"They haven't talked properly for years." Stryker admitted.

"Who?" Morgan asked not following.

"Spencer and Ally." Stryker elaborated. "She moved to England."

"To study?"

"Sort of." Stryker was quiet again. "It was my idea to put mom in a home. It was the right thing to do but… the girls were 14 and she was our mom. They were just kids, they didn't…"

"They didn't want to put her away in some facility." Morgan finished.

"It was my idea but… it was Spencer who put her in."

"They havent talked since then?" Morgan said in disbelief.

"Not since the girls were 18, they send birthday cards but that's about it."

Morgan couldn't imagine not talking to his sisters. "If you to weren't talking then who did Reid spend the holidays with?" he pictured Reid all alone in his apartment.

"Ethan and Lucy. Sometimes Zach and Sparx. We don't really celebrate Christmas. Halloween is more our thing."

"Does he keep in touch with Lucy then?"

"Yeah, Lucy, Ethan, pretty much every one of our friends."

"I bet you $5 I can get Spencer to call Ally within a year." Morgan said after a minute."

Stryker thought for a moment. "$10, if you can also get him to mention Lucy."

"Deal."


I really hope you enjoyed this story. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I hope you all had a great Christmas and I hope everyone enjoys their New Year.