"Portland, Oregon," JJ began, as everyone opened the case files on the table, looking between the files and the screen. Four faces popped up as JJ continued. "Four victims. Two male, two female."

Spencer flipped through the files, the pictures of the victims, the statistics, and ME reports, quickly cataloged in his mind. He searched his memory for similar victimology in other known cases as JJ continued to explain the case.

"There was a mass grave uncovered with three bodies killed six months ago, a fourth body was found nearby yesterday."

"Causes of death range from asphyxiation to being burned alive," Rossi stated as he looked up from his case file. JJ nodded as the image of the mass grave popped up on the screen.

"No signs of sexual assault."

"Well, the torture is clearly sadistic," Derek offered.

"And the lack of sexual preference is going to make it difficult to determine if the unsub is male or female." Spencer added.

Derek looked over at him with a fascinated look upon his face. He had heard from Garcia how quick Reid was to figure things out, and was interested to see him work.

"Typically, female serial killers stick to the same MO. This guy looks to be all over the place," Emily pointed out.

"Latest victim was Jenny Whitman who was discovered yesterday, died of asphyxiation."

"How long was she missing?" Spencer asked, looking over to Hotch.

"She wasn't reported missing."

Spencer furrowed his brow. "And the others?"

"Only one."

"One of four?"

"Rick Holland was reported missing nine months ago," JJ explained as she pulled the missing person's report up on the screen. "The search was called off though."

"His family discovered his car at the train station," Hotch read from the report. "But more importantly, they received emails from him saying he needed to time to figure things out."

"And his family bought that?" Derek asked.

"I guess the alternative's too hard to accept."

"Reaching out could be a sign of remorse," Spencer suggested.

"Psychopaths don't apologize for their behavior, this guy's trying to cover his tracks."

"Well, it's working," Derek mumbled as he looked back down at his file.

"So, he buried three victims in one grave and only Jenny Whitman in the other," Emily said as she got up and went over to evidence board, pointing between the two photos.

"You thinking it's a pattern?" Derek asked, looking at her.

"It's hard to tell," she responded.

"If there is. One down, two more to go. We'll figure out more on the jet. Wheels up in 30." Hotch got up from the room, Rossi and Emily following him while discussing the possible pattern.

Derek gathered his things and looked over to Spencer, who was rereading through the file.

"Spence, wanna ride to the strip?" JJ asked.

'Damn it,' Derek thought to himself. 'I'll try to talk to him on the jet if there's time.'

Spencer nodded and got up, following her out, Derek not too far behind them.


Derek sat next to Emily on the jet with Rossi and Hotch across from them. JJ was sitting on the couch, while Spencer sat cross legged on the cabinet next to it.

"Can we go over what Fortland found?" Aaron asked as they all looked over their case files.

"One female and two male victims found buried together in the same grave. All aged 25 to 30 and all had been dead 6 months," JJ explained as she read through the report.

"That sounds like 3 different MO's," Emily pointed out.

"Uh, the Phantom Sniper, Gary Taylor? He was all over the map, just like this guy. He changed his MO as his need to control the situation changed," Spencer explained, ignoring the surprised look Derek gave him at the information.

"What about the fresh grave?" Hotch asked.

"One female, 28, roughly dead 48 hours. She was asphyxiated," JJ answered.

"It's a good thing this guy's dumpsite has been compromised," Derek said as he looked up from his file.

"Soon as the unsub knows that?" Emily began. "He may feel pressured that we're on to him. It could push him to make a mistake."

Everyone jumped slightly when they heard the beep from the computer and Garcia's image popped up. "Attention team members. This killer continues to stoop to an all time low of lows by posing as his victims." She explained. "He's also manipulated two of the families into thinking that everything was okay even after they were reported missing."

Everyone shared a grim face as Garcia continued. "They received a fake email from their daughter that said that she had met this guy who was taking her to her favorite place in Australia for a few weeks. The family had contacted the Australian authorities after too much time had passed."

"This guy sure knows a lot of personal information about his victims," Derek pointed out.

"How did he get access to their email accounts?" Emily asked.

"The screen name was the same, but the domains were different," Garcia explained. "The families never noticed. When I find more pieces of the puzzle, I'll let you know. Garcia, out!" And her image popped away.


After landing in Portland, the BAU team had made their way to the local FBI Field Office where they had met SSA Bill Calvert. Emily, Rossi and JJ had decided to stay behind at the precinct while Hotch, Morgan and Reid headed to Jenny Whitman's apartment.

Derek knew he couldn't talk to Spencer in the car on the way to the apartment, especially since Hotch was in the car. He just hoped he would have the chance later.

"Whitman's place in on the fourth floor," Spencer said as the three men arrived at the elevator. Derek walked in followed by Spencer. "Can you get in here?" Spencer asked Hotch, taking in how small the elevator actually was.

Hotch looked at it once and shook his head. "I'll meet you guys up there," he said and made his way to the stairs.

Both Spencer and Derek remained quiet as the elevator doors closed and it slowly made its ascent.

"So, Reid-"

"Not now, Morgan."

"What do you-"

"I know you want to talk. I want to talk, but not right now, wait until we're at the hotel or something-"

Spencer was cut off as the elevator came to a sudden stop and creaked as it froze.

Derek started to jump slightly.

"Don't do that," Spencer ordered.

Derek jumped again. "Why isn't it moving?" He asked.

"I don't know," Spencer glared at Derek as he started pushing the buttons. "Don't-, stop-"

"What?" Derek continued to repeatedly push the buttons.

"Don't!"

"What's the problem?"

"Don't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because there are 6 elevator-related deaths per year, not to mention 10,000 injuries that require hospitalization," Derek was surprised at how easily Spencer had rambled that out. "Chill out."

Derek shrugged. "Those sound like pretty good odds to me," he said, starting to push the buttons again. Spencer tried to knock his hand away. "What? What are you scared, Reid?"

Spencer glared slightly. "I'm not scared."

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"I don't want to be in an elevator with you to be honest-"

"You're scared. You're scared!" Derek continued to push the button, amused with the way Spencer kept fidgeting and knocking his hand. "What if I push that? What if-"

He was cut off when the elevator dropped suddenly and froze again, causing both him and Spencer to cling to the wall. Derek grabbed the bar that wrapped around the interior of the elevator as Spencer pushed himself against the wall.

"Woah. Woah, okay-"

"Um, hit the, hit the, yeah-" Spencer stuttered as he flipped up the top to the emergency alarm and gestured his hands towards. "Push it! It's not a-"

Derek pushed and pulled the alarm as Spencer continued to flail his hand towards it. "I'm-, push-pull, push-pull. I'm doing it! Nothing's happening!"

"Pry, pry the, pry the door open. Just, yeah-" Spencer said, almost pushing Derek towards the doors.

Derek stepped over to the doors and reached up, attempting to pull them apart. "It's stuck man," he groaned out as he continued to pull.

Suddenly, the elevator shook again and froze just as it had done before. Derek quickly moved back to the corner. "No, no, no. Not today. No, not today," he mumbled.

"Hotch?" Reid called out, his voice squeaked in the higher pitch.

"Hotch!" Derek called out as he continued to push the alarm.

After what seemed like hours, the elevator cooperated and the doors opened, revealing Hotch giving the pair an alarmed look.

He stepped aside as Derek quickly stumbled out and sat against the wall, Spencer stepped out slowly behind him.

"Was that the alarm? Are you guys okay?" Hotch asked, looking between the two of them.

"Let me get back to you on that," Spencer murmured, and Hotch led the way to Jenny Whitman's apartment, the two agents following slowly behind him.


When they had returned from Jenny Whitman's apartment at the field office, the little they had learned from her apartment added to what they knew about the other victims: they were ready to give a profile.

With the unsub's dumpsites being found, he had been forced to change part of his MO. With him being a person who thrives on control, it's not going to be easy for him. He was able to get away with the three first murders because he got meticulous at every stage.

His victims, as of now, only share the fact that they're new to the city and that they each died a tortuous death.

The unsub craved control, most likely coming from a place of weakness, and probably had been abused. He's probably married, he craves stability and security, and he's had every moment planned.

Unfortunately after giving the profile, they really didn't have any more leads]. The decided to head back to their hotel for the night and start fresh tomorrow.

They were all exhausted and were incredibly happy once they had arrived at the hotel.

"Unfortunately," JJ began as the rest of the team grouped around her in the hotel lobby. "We're going to have to double up on rooms."

There was a collective groan from the team.

"Hotch, you and Rossi are on the fifth floor in room sixteen," she said as she handed the two of them the key.

JJ gave Spencer an apologetic look, he shrugged in response as she hanged Derek a key. "Morgan, you and Reid are on the ninth floor in room twenty-two, while Emily and I are on the fourth floor in room twenty-six."

They all grabbed their go-bags and made their way towards the elevator, while Spencer started to make his way towards the stairwell, everyone giving him a strange look.

"Reid, where are you going?" Rossi asked.

"I'm taking the stairs," he said as he turned to face them.

"You're on the ninth floor, do you really want to walk all the way up there?" Emily asked him, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Spencer shrugged. "I don't want to risk anything. Statistically, I probably won't get stuck in an elevator again, considering that there's a 1% chance in your life that you'd get stuck in an elevator anyway," he rambled, running a hand through his hair before he continued "I'm a small, walking magnet for trouble-"

JJ cut him off with a snort. "Small?"

He glared at her slightly. "As I was saying, odds are usually never in my favor, so, I'd rather take the stairs." With that, he turned away from them and made his way up the stairs.

"I'm actually going to go with him," Derek said quickly, surprising the others as he ran over to the stairwell, trying to catch up to Spencer.

"I thought those two weren't getting along, yet?" Hotch asked as he and the rest of the team stepped into the elevator and pushed their designated floors.

Emily shrugged slightly. "They basically ignore each other, at least that's what I've seen with both of them in the bullpen."

'"I'd thought it would be easier, considering they're neighbors."

JJ shook her head. "Spencer hardly knows him. I think they got into an argument on the way home earlier this week, but I don't know over what."

Rossi shrugged. "We'll just let them figure everything out."


As they walked into their hotel room, Spencer and Derek dropped themselves down on the separate beds, giving themselves time to catch their breath.

"Living on the sixth floor doesn't seem that bad anymore," Derek said as he sat up wiping a hand over his face.

"Yeah," Spencer replied. He swallowed and got up from the bed, going through his go bag. Derek soon followed suit.

"Do you mind if I take the first shower?" Derek asked him. Reid shook his head in response. "Go ahead, I'm a morning shower person anyway."

After getting out the shower and getting dressed in a muscle shirt and pajamas pants, Derek made his way back into the main room. Spencer was sitting cross legged on his bed, dressed in plaid pajama pants and an oversized FBI shirt. His glasses were on and he was flipping through the case files of the victims. He looked up when he heard the bathroom door close.

"So," he began as he piled the files together and placed them on the nightstand. "You wanted to talk?"

Derek nodded and sat on the part of his bed that was closest to Spencer. "Reid, I want to apologize. I know I haven't been fair or even nice to you. All of these problems in my life just sort of mashed themselves together and I took it out on you."

"Nothing that I'm not used to," Spencer mumbled as he brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

Derek raised an eyebrow slightly, but brushed the comment off not wanting to risk pissing Spencer off anymore.

"I know it might take awhile for you to forgive me and I understand that. I just want you to know I'm sorry and I was hoping, if you'd give me the chance, we could start over?" Derek asked.

Spencer looked at him and nodded, causing Derek to grin. Derek stuck his hand out and frowned when all Reid did was stare at it.

"It's just a handshake."

Spencer licked his lips before responding. "The number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering, it's actually safer to kiss."

Derek blinked and shook his head when Spencer cracked up and laughed slightly. "Very funny, kid. We okay?"

Spencer nodded and shook Derek's hand. "Spencer Reid."

"Derek Morgan."


The next few days, the team noticed the change in both Derek and Spencer. No one was snapping or getting angry. There were little jabs of teasing here and there, but nothing that set the other agent off.

Another victim had been found: Patrick Walker, he was drowned. Emily and Derek had been at the crime scene when they called the victim into the others at the precinct.

"Fire, hanging, asphyxiation. Now we've got a drowning." Hotch had listed off. Then Spencer had a breakthrough.

"I think it's someone who's afraid of drowning."

"What do you mean?"

"It hit me when Morgan freaked out when we were stuck in the elevator."

"You freaked out?"

"I freaked out?"

Spencer had deduced that the unsub's MO of the victims could all be classified as anxiety disorders. They were all being killed by their fears.

When Spencer and Emily had gone to a laundromat that was near Walker's apartment, they had found a flyer that was advertising a research project where they would be paid to get over their anxieties.

With Garcia's help, they had traced the flyers back to something called the Goodman Institute run by a Barry Goodman who was said to be the best in his field.

After some more research, they had traced things back to a Doctor Stanley Howard. Having spoken to the unsub's wife which led them to an abandoned business building that he was using as his office to lure the victims in, it had belonged to his wife's family.

When they arrived, they had chased Howard up to the buildings roof, where he unfortunately took a death plunge. Fortunately they had found his last victim, Missy Casswell, buried alive in the building's elevator shaft.

They were now back on the jet to Quantico. Hotch and Rossi had taken a corner to fill out reports while the others sat at the table toward the front of the plane.

"JJ, what are you reading?" Emily asked, looking across the table to the blonde who was sitting next to Spencer.

JJ had a frustrated look on her face and was practically glaring at the magazine in her hands.

"There's this article in Marie Claire called "What's Your Number?," JJ began. She placed the magazine down on the table so that the others could look. "It says that women who have over twenty lovers have more difficulty finding a husband."

"That sounds like my thesis for my philosophy bachelors," Spencer said as he read through the article.

"Philosophy? That really doesn't fit in with mathematics or engineering."

Spencer smiled at Emily and shrugged. "I kind of like it because there's no right or wrong answers."

"What's the thesis?" Derek asked.

A look of surprise quickly crossed Spencer's face before he answered. "It's a study to show that a person with multiple relationships would have a more difficult time trying to find their desired 'life partner' than someone who has had fewer relationships. My only problem is I can't find someone to take part in the study."

"Which half?" JJ asked.

"Someone who has had more relationships than me."

"You should ask Morgan," Emily suggested, she gently poked Derek in the side to let him know that she was teasing.

He slapped her hand away before turning to Spencer. "Actually, I wouldn't mind helping."

"Really?" JJ, Spencer, and Emily said at once, causing Derek to furrow his brow in confusion.

"Yes, what do you need me to do?"

Spencer swallowed slightly before answering. "Uh, can we discuss this later? That way I can have my data sheets with me and can explain the process and everything else a little better."

Derek nodded. "Sure, I'll drive you home and we can go from there?"

Spencer nodded as he slipped a hand into his messenger bag and took out a copy of The Varieties of Scientific Experiences by Carl Sagan. The rest of the way home, they all fell into a comfortable silence.