The next stop happened to be the Yamata house once again, direct orders from Hotch. Walking around the house looking for anything out of the ordinary, Alex toyed with my rubber gloves while Reid examined the living room.

"Wouldn't you usually keep an internet router in an office? Not really a place for it on the floor." She mused.

"Not when you're John Yamata and camping out here." Reid retorted, examining the set of sheets tucked under one of the couch cushions. He bent down and picked up a piece of paper beside the dirty, brown slippers on the floor. "Look at this. It's point spreads for NFL games. John was gambling away the family money."

"Sounds like a keeper". Alex scoffed. Suddenly, her phone started ringing from the waistband of her skirt. She picked it up quickly, hoping it was Hotch with good news.

"Kennedy." She answered. It was three weeks from when she started the job and she still couldn't get over how official she sounded.

"It's Morgan. We're at the Acklin house and it looks like the parents weren't sleeping with each other." He informed. Alex loosened up, knowing Morgan wasn't as strict as Hotch.

"Yeah, it's the same here. The parents are sleeping in different beds...if you want to call the couch a bed, really."

"Do you know if the house was remodeled?" He asked.

"Do you know if the house was remodeled?" Alex reiterated to Reid.

"It's a two door bible house which means it was built in the 1940's but I see hardware fixtures from the 1980's and the way your heels sound on the wood makes me think that it's a specific floor laminate that was used in the 70's. And, there's some hardware and window moldings from the 2000's."

"I'm gonna' take that as a yes." She restated to Morgan in the simplest of terms.

"Do me a favor and check inside the high-hats, in the light fixtures. See if there' anything in there." He ordered. Alex's eyes drifted up.

"Uh, okay. Give me a sec." She took the phone away from my ear before looking around the room for a second. She climbed up on one of the chair cushions, her boots causing her to wobble. "Spencer, help me for a second." She ordered, not realizing her slip of the name at first. But once she did, boy was she happy Reid wasn't face to face with her. Reid came over and Alex quickly handed him the phone. She turned around and cringed once she realized her mistake for the second time today. She was a complete and utter idiot.

"Hold on Morgan." He said.

"Spencer? You two are on a first name basis now?" Morgan giddily asked. "My boy! Did you make a move? What's going on there? You think she's pretty!" Reid thanked his lucky stars all Alex could hear was jumbled words.

"No, not at all! Just, no. I never said that." Reid replied. Alex quickly wondered what Morgan had asked. She used Reid's hand to steady herself on the arm of the chair. Reid did his best to avoid the skirt flowing in his face as he awkwardly fixed his eyes across the room. He stayed in his spot to help Alex balance herself. The last thing he needed was her falling flat on her face.

Alex carefully reached up into the lighting fixture and worked her fingers around the hot bulb and into the metal surrounding it. The tips of her fingers hit something. Bingo. She pulled it and there it was: a small camera connected with a wire. Reid's eyes widened.

"Damn." She whispered. She continued to use Reid's arm for another moment as she hopped down from the chair.

"Yeah, we've got a camera." Reid stated, hanging up after Morgan thanked him.

"He's been watching them." She realized somberly, looking into the eye of the camera.


The second Reid and Alex arrived back to the station, they were ushered off into the SUV again along with Rossi and Morgan. The unsub was Arthur Rykov, one of the men who found Scott Yamato's body at the constriction site. Garcia had sent them an address and they had sped off to Rykov's house, meeting Hotch and JJ there along with an array of other officers. Alex had her gun ready, her flashlight stationed right underneath. She was prepared as she crept through the night. Her vest felt snug against her chest. She breathed in and out, thinking that this outcome would be different. This would turn out okay. The team busted into the house through the side door, JJ and Hotch separating from them immediately. Alex entered the kitchen, her finger hovering over the trigger in case of Rykov's appearance.

"Clear!" She yelled.

"FBI, show me your hands!" Hotch yelled in a room not too far by. Morgan rushed in front of Alex, kicking open the locked basement door just as a gunshot went off.

"FBI!" He yelled. Alex's eyes laid on the father and daughter, who were kneeling on the ground beside the mother who was crying her eyes out. She hadn't seen blood, so she wasn't aware of how bad the situation was yet

"Find the kid." Rossi ordered. Alex quickly scanned the room, noticing Braden wasn't present. Without hesitation, she ran back out into the kitchen and began searching the house, her gun still ready by her side. She entered the living room, seeing Braden sitting on the couch staring at a bunch of figurines lined up on the coffee table. He looked up to her, confusion in his big brown eyes.

"Hey." Alex crouched beside the child as she slid her gun back into its holster. "I'm Agent Alex Kennedy with the FBI. You're okay now." She took his hand for comfort. He flinched but became still once more. Garcia had informed the team of Braden being Autistic, so Alex attempted to comfort him in the calmest way possible. "You're okay." She insisted once more.

"Where's my family?" His eyes wandered around the room.

"They're okay. They're with other agents. Let's get you out of here, okay?" She urged. Braden nodded, grabbing a figurine before taking her hand. As the two were about to walk out the front door, Braden stopped.

"What about Darren?" He wondered.

"What?" Alex stopped in her tracks. Darren?

"Mackenzie's boyfriend. The man let him take a nap in the bedroom." Braden elaborated. Alex's eyes widened but she managed to keep calm on the outside.

"Which bedroom, Braden?"

"Over here." Braden led Alex by the hand. The bedroom door was closed. "This one".

"Braden, can you stay right here for me? I'm just going to make sure Darren's still sleeping." She instructed. Braden simply nodded and leaned against the wall beside the door hinges. Alex turned the knob on the door before seeing a young teen boy passed out, badly bruised and beaten on the floor. Quickly and without doing anything to scare Braden, Alex closed the door and pressed the talk button on her earpiece wire that was connected to hearing all the other agents.

"Guys, the boyfriend's here. We need a medic to the bedroom."

"Copy." JJ was the first that replied. Alex's attention was faced to Braden once again.

"Why don't we go see your parents, okay kiddo?" She suggested. Braden nodded eagerly before he took her hand once more and trotted out the front door and into a see of red and blue flashing lights.


Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Rykov was taken to the station in police custody, while the Acklin family was deemed physically safe. The gun the mother had shot herself with was only loaded with blanks and thankfully, there was no physical harm. Nearby, Alex leaned on one of the SUV's while officers spoke with Hotch and JJ. Medics were taking the daughters boyfriend, who had been beaten unconscious by the unsub, to the hospital to heal. He'd have a long recovery, but he was supposed to be okay. As far as the Acklin family, they all stood huddled together beside the ambulance they were being checked out in. They hugged each other, crying tears of joy. Alex could over hear how they'd never leave each other ever again. She could also overhear the uses of 'I love you' over and over. It warmed her heart.

"Are you starting to see?" Morgan came up beside her.

"What do you mean?"

"Why the jobs worth it?" He smiled while Alex happened to not. She refused to look away from the heartfelt scene in front of me to meet Morgan's gaze.

"Reid told you?" She frowned, shifting uncomfortably. Damn it, she had trusted Reid to keep quiet. How many other people did he tell?

"Don't you mean Spencer?" He smirked. She frowned even more. He heard her slip up while he was on the phone.

"Don't start with me Derek." She warned.

"I went through the same thing when I first joined. I had nightmares for months. But this, this is why the jobs worth it. This scene right here of a happy family being reunited takes away all that pain and sorrow we feel before." Though Alex didn't dare meet Morgan's gaze, she didn't need to see the truth in his eyes. She could hear it in his voice. She also knew now why Reid had confided in Morgan about the situation.

"It is." She admitted. "All those feelings from earlier, they feel inferior compared to this."

"It's the best part of the job." She nodded in agreement with Morgan, continuing to watch the scene from afar.

"I know." She agreed. Maybe, she'd be cut out for this line of work after all.


As the jet sailed through the night sky, Spencer Reid was one of two agents still awake. The team hadn't bother waiting until morning to leave back for Quantico. After Rykov was booked and paperwork had been filed, they were off, much to everyone's excitement. They couldn't wait to be back in their own beds.

A book plastered in his hand, Reid sat on one of the leather chairs across from the couch, which was occupied by a sleeping Agent Kennedy—or Alex. He wasn't sure as to what to call her. Not even in his own thoughts. He called JJ well, JJ, so why couldn't he call Agent Kennedy Alex? And why was he so god forsaken intimated? For a genius who knew the answers to almost all questions, he couldn't answer this simple one for himself.

Alex was curled up on the couch, sleeping peacefully as the jet lulled her into a deeper slumber. Reid noted how peaceful she looked, unlike earlier as to where her panic attack drained her of all her colors and soft features. He felt bad for the new agent. Genuinely bad. He knew what is was like to have attacks. It was a demon that haunted both of them. Though, it was nice to know he wasn't alone.

Reid's mind flashed back to the two times Alex had called him by his first name. Spencer, he remembered. He liked the way it rolled off her tongue, of his name coming off her lips. It felt natural and well, it just seemed incredibly right. He wasn't sure as to why, but he was one hundred and ten percent (although not possible) sure he liked it. He had grown fond of Alex over the past month, and he wanted to be there for her. But he wasn't sure as to how.

He had tried to earlier when Alex underwent her panic attack, though he wasn't sure he did a great job. He wished desperately he was better at talking to girls. Relating was probably the better word.

When Reid was going through his nightmares a few years ago, Morgan and Gideon were the ones to comfort him and make him feel sane again. So, Reid confided in his older-brother-like fellow agent about Alex. Morgan pushed Reid to be the one to talk to the girl, but somehow Reid insisted Morgan do it. At the crime scene, he saw the two talking with seriousness plastered among both their features. Alex didn't seem to have been mad at Reid afterwards, but what did he know? When it came to girls, Reid knew zip. It was a subject he failed in miserably.

"You're staring." Rossi informed,quietly. The older agent walked over to Reid with a glass of whiskey in hand. Reid hadn't noticed his eyes trail up from his book and stayed on a sleeping Alex. He must have looked like a complete creep. Immediately, Reid's eyes darted around to make sure no one else heard Rossi's statement. "Relax, kid. They're asleep." Reid sighed, thankful he hadn't been caught red handed by anyone other than Rossi. "What's eating at you?"

"I'm hoping she doesn't hate me for talking to Morgan about, uh, about—"

"Panic attacks?" Reid nodded. Of course Rossi already knew. Morgan couldn't keep his mouth shut for five minutes. "My lips are sealed." Rossi smirked.

"Thank you." Reid was relieved. If Alex knew that more people knew, she'd probably punch him in the face.

"She's not mad. And she definitely doesn't hate you."

"How do you know?"

"Kid, take it from me. I've got experience older than you." Rossi quietly laughed. Reid smiled.

"You probably should get some sleep. We still have another hour and forty three minutes left." He informed.

"Don't worry about me. I've got a nice podcast and a good drink to keep me occupied. Now you, on the other hand, look like you need some sleep." Reid looked from Rossi to his book. He only had 187 more pages, which he could crank out pretty quick. But Rossi was right, sleep did sound nice. Reid closed the book and placed it beside him. "Finally time you put a book down." Rossi chuckled. "Night, Spencer."

"Night Rossi." Reid ended as Rossi walked back to the other side of the plane. With one last look at Alex, Reid decided to close his eyes for the remainder of the flight.


Hello Reiders :] How is everyone? I hope you all had a lovely Monday. For the love of Hotch's smile, please please please review! I'm barely getting any and it disappoints me and feel like no one likes the story! :[ Elena out!