Family

A/N: Hello again! We've skipped a fair amount of time since the last chapter, but I'll always put the relative time at the top or the episode the chapter is related to. Hope you guys are enjoying!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds or the characters. Alexander and Juliet Reid are characters of my own design.

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Chapter 3: Boston

Early March, 2005

Alex and Julie sat on the couch late that night, waiting. Spencer had called a little while ago, saying he would be home soon. He sounded as though he hadn't slept in days, which, considering, may have been the truth. Over the past year and a half, the two had gotten very good at telling from Spencer's voice when a case had hit him hard, and this one sounded bad.

A lot had changed since Spencer had started at the BAU. They had moved into a new apartment a few months after he had begun, though there had been several holdups due to Spencer's job. Gideon had helped them move the last of their things; he seemed to be fond of spending time with the small family, as they were with him. Now each sibling had their own room and Spencer had a small office area. Alex would be graduating in a little over 2 months and Julie would be going to middle school in the fall.

To Alex and Julie's relief, Spencer had not changed very much at all, but he was somewhat withdrawn after the more difficult cases. They both knew this had been one of those cases, though he hadn't discussed it over the phone, and it was all they could do not to jump up when they heard the front door unlock. They knew it was best not to rush him on a night like tonight.

Spencer came into the living room where Julie was already standing and Alex was sitting just behind her on the couch. A wash of different emotions came through in his expressive eyes: horror, sadness, shock, even a little anger. However, at the sight of the two of them staring worriedly back at him, relief pushed all the other emotions away. In a few quick strides of his long legs, he was standing before them and he looked about ready to pull them both into a hug. However, he seemed to decide against such personal contact at the last minute and simply stood there for a moment, looking rather embarrassed, and then collapsed on the couch. There was silence for a few minutes before Alex finally asked the question he and Julie desperately wanted an answer to. "What happened?"

Spencer looked over them both, his eyes lingering on Julie. "Julie, I think you should go to bed." He said finally.

"What? Why?" She asked quietly.

"Because you shouldn't have to hear what I have to say."

"I want to know what's wrong." Julie sat down resolutely.

"Julie, I said you should go to bed." Spencer told her more firmly.

"I already know you were working on the "Boston Bomber" case. I'll hear the other stuff on the news too. I'd rather hear it from you."

Spencer's resolve broke; he knew she was right and he was too tired to put up much of a fight. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and began to speak. "His name is Adrian Bale."

"The Boston Bomber." Alex said.

Spencer shook his head. "No. Adrian Bale. It's important to give them names. It humanizes them." He was met with silence so he continued to speak. "We thought we had him. He was cornered… but he had a hostage and a bomb. Gideon… he finally managed to talk Bale down."

Neither Alex nor Julie spoke; they knew there was a 'but' coming. "We had Bale out of the building but… he detonated the bomb anyway."

Julie's hand came up to cover her mouth, but her stare was as unwavering as Alex's. "Six agents. And a civilian." Spencer shook his head. "Six good agents. Seven people whose families won't ever see them again."

Finally, Spencer seemed to run out of the little energy he had left and leaned back and against the couch closing his eyes. "Gideon didn't- uh… he didn't take it well." Spencer gave a hollow laugh. "He's been given 6 months leave to recover."

There was silence for a short while before Julie broke it. "I'm sorry…" she said quietly.

"Nothing to be sorry for. You didn't…" Spencer trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

The shadows that were always present around his eyes seemed as dark as black eyes, he seemed to have aged 10 years as he sagged against the couch. "When was the last time you got some sleep?" Alex asked.

"What time is it?" Spencer mumbled.

"Um… 10:47." Alex replied, glancing at the clock.

"40 hours, 6 minutes ago." Even half-asleep, Spencer's brain continued its work, though his voice was fading.

"You should get some sleep then." Alex noted unnecessarily.

This advice fell on deaf ears, however; Spencer was already asleep.

Alex smirked and looked over at Julie, who shrugged at him. He shrugged back and settled into the easy chair next to the couch while Julie took the part of the couch that was not occupied by Spencer, where they both remained as Spencer slept on.

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A/N: That was shorter than the others… Oh, well. Next chapter will be up with the official beginning of the series. Hoorah. Hope you guys are enjoying so far. Review, if you'd like… I enjoyed reading all of your review so much since putting up the last chapter, they were like little birthday presents, as I turned 17 yesterday!

Speaking of which, thank you so much to donttouch, criminalxxxmindsxxxfreak, clt, Lunalike, morgo7kc, KASEY64, Shadow Mistress-of death, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, AgnesSophia, CRIMINAL-MINDZ-FANZ, FishieGurl, Eriks angel 15, and Tahreh the Blind Ninja for your wonderful and encouraging reviews and to everyone who is putting up with this story!