OMG guys I'm soooo sorry! This has taken forever. But I do have excuses! I got grounded, for one, and I had to complete this dodging around my parents so they didn't know I was like, disobeying them. Then, last week I got my wisdom teeth removed and I am still in an uber amount of pain. So yeah, I'm still grounded so don't expect another update at least for a few weeks. Plus I'm making this up as I go along so it takes longer to write it out with no planning. I haven't planned this because I'm a closet fanfic writer. My family doesn't even know I READ it or that I know what it is so half the time is spent with me deleting my internet history and pretending to watch movies when I'm really reading fanfiction. But anyways, sorry and continue reading!

P.S. I really, really, really hate this chapter. It just would not flow but I'm too tired and frusterated to try changing it. So yeah... continue if you dare.

Despite Morgan's exhaustion he kicked in the door with his usually, if not more, amount of force.

"FBI!" he bellowed loudly, the sound of it echoing off the wooden floor of the house. His team-mates followed behind him, flowing smoothly, in a rhythm that was natural to them. Emily and Hotch gave a look and started up the small wooden staircase off to the side. Morgan and JJ continued down the hall into a small kitchen with door to one side of it and the other side opening up into another room. Without stopping Morgan started towards the door, dodging around a wooden table while JJ continued into the other room.

Morgan stopped and twisted the knob on the door, cursing silently when it didn't budge. He took a deep breath and wound back, preparing to knock it off its hinges if need be.

Earlier…

It had been two days since Reid had went missing. And the team had worked almost non-stop through that whole time, running on nothing but determination, coffee, and lots of sugar. They all put in their very best. JJ had three more press conferences, and everyone had gone through every case file about any case they had ever had at least once. In desperation, Morgan and Emily had even gone to Reid's apartment but had found nothing out of place or unusual. But although they all had been working as hard as possible none of the team could deny that Garcia had been working harder.

Since her Junior G-man had gone missing she had barely stopped to eat or sleep. She checked every frame of the video, second by gruelling second, making sure she missed nothing. She cross referenced case files and names and dug through Reid life (although she wasn't the most eager about that).

"But sir!" she pleaded, "I can't just go through his life! He's such a private person and I would feel all yucky and gross shifting through all his ummm, private things!" Hotch gave her a look that softened slightly at Garcia's miserable expression.

"You know I won't ask if I didn't think it was necessary. But we need to see if anyone had any grudge against Reid. This man most likely stalked him so we need you to look for anything unusual since, by as much as we can gather, Reid had no knowledge someone was watching him." Garcia turned away and said, "I know sir, it's just… It's Reid!" Hotch nodded and replied, "I know; just keep working Garcia. We'll get him."

Garcia gave a sniff and clicked away at her beloved computers that showed nothing now but that Reid visited a coffee shop near his apartment a lot and that the bastard was too smart in both of the videos. No license plate on the car, no image of his face, nothing to link him or Reid together. Absolutely zero. A wave of grief, so intense it almost knocked her over, flooded through her. She had to fight the urge to break down into uncontrollable sobs. It wasn't fair! Reid was the sweetest person she knew and the world just kept wanting to mess with him.

And us, she thought miserably, sniffing back the lump in her throat and going back through everything, desperate for anything that would help lead her to her darling baby-boy.

Meanwhile, Hotch sighed after exiting Garcia's darken office. He rubbed his forehead, a headache starting, and thought about their predicament. He had argued with Strauss to stay on this case but was that the best thing? Was his team, including himself, too close to this? Were they so desperate to find him that they were overlooking important details? He sighed and looked over to the Round Table room where stacks of files were everywhere.

Emily was sitting reading a file and chewing on her nails. There was no emotion on her face yet her fingernails had now been reduced to bloody stumps. JJ sat beside her, also reading, chewing her lip and brushing her hair out of her face with eyebrows drawn back in a worried frown. And still Morgan stood by the whiteboard, silently searching for any clues that could help put together this jumbled puzzle. Hotch suddenly felt eyes on him and shifted his focus to Rossi who was fixing him with an intense stare. He locked eyes with the other man and something passed between them.

We need to talk.

Hotch sighed again. This was not going to be easy but he walked around towards his office. At the same time Rossi stood, put down the file he had been reading, and proceeded to Hotch's office. When he got there Hotch was standing with his back to him, looking out the window where snow lightly fell.

"Close the door behind you please." said Hotch, not moving from his spot. It was only when he heard the soft click of the door closing that he turned around. Hotch looked at Rossi, emotionless, trying to read his eyes. Rossi looked back; calm, serious, and curious.

"Would now be a time to tell me about Reid?" inquired Rossi softly. Hotch rubbed the bridge of his nose then said, "I guess you have the right to know. I just wish it was Reid that could tell you."

"It isn't helping Reid when you are keeping secrets from me. I may be able to help. Put fresh eyes on this case." said Rossi logically. Hotch went and sat down at his desk, folding his hands on the shining wood surface. He waved a hand at Rossi to sit in the chair across from him. When both had settled into comfortable positions Hotch fixed him with an forceful gaze.

"Whatever I tell you will not leave this room. This all happened years ago and I do not need it coming back out to threaten this team again." He paused then said, "Not many know the whole story."

"You know I won't say anything Hotch. I do not wish hurt upon this team or Reid."

Hotch fixed him with a serious stare. "No I didn't think you would say anything but I just had to make my point clear." Rossi nodded in understanding.

"Don't interrupt me." warned Hotch. Then he started.

"A few years ago we had a case in Georgia. It was a religious based killer that was phoning 911 before murdering the victim then posting the murder online. About halfway through the case, I sent JJ and Reid out to interview a witness who had been walking his dog while the rest of us went to the scene of the latest murder. It was when we got back that Garcia got the video showing the death of a girl that had been kidnapped. She was mauled to death by dogs and at the last minute the lead detective recognized the dogs. They were owned by a man named Tobias Hankle. That man turned out to be the witness JJ and Reid had gone to talk to."

"When they got there the man completely shut them out. Even denied that he owned a dog. It was Reid that figured out that he had claimed to be a witness just to see how long it took for the police to respond to his 911 call of seeing someone snooping around one of his future victims house. Reid ran around back and saw all his computers and the murder videos."

"Hankle fled and JJ and Reid split up. JJ was attacked by the dogs and Reid, who had circled around into a cornfield, heard her screaming. He was distracted long enough that Hankle was able to knock him out."

Now Hotch paused in his speech, glancing at Rossi who, thankfully, had not said a word. Just sat calmly listening to every word.

"He had Reid for two days." Hotch saw a flicker of shock cross Rossi's face as he took in that information. But he took Hotch's words to heart and refused to speak the hundreds of questions flooding his mind.

"Hankle had three different personalities; his abusive father, an arch-angel named Raphael, and himself. The arch-angel played Russian roulette with Reid and the father personality beat Reid, telling him to "confess his sins." Tobias himself tried to "help" Reid by drugging him with dilaudid. He sent videos of him beating Reid to us. In one video he forced Reid to choose people to die."

"In the last video Reid had a seizure, probably from the stress and drugs, and died right in front of us. Tobias then revived Reid. Hankle then took it in his head that the team was seven angels out of Revelations. He, God Rossi… he forced Reid to choose which of us was to die! He put the gun to Reid's head and told him to choose and Reid said no three times! Three times of nerve-breaking clicks, Reid refusing to give in to him, of staring into that monster's eyes."

Hotch took a deep breathe and a struggling Rossi watched in slight amazement the outburst that had come from his boss.

"Reid did choose someone." said Hotch slowly. "He chose me, and quoted out of the bible that I figured out was a clue to a graveyard where he was being kept. I guess while we were figuring this out Tobias gave Reid more drugs that caused him to remember putting his mother away in her hospital. He confessed his "sin" to Hankle. When we got there Reid was being forced to dig his own grave. He managed to get his gun back and shot Hankle."

A silence spread through the room. Finally Rossi said softly, "God, that kid is much stronger then people give him credit for." He paused, then asked cautiously, "How badly was he hurt?"

"Mentally or physically?" asked Hotch. He shook his head and said, "Physically he had broken several bones in his foot, refused to tell us how, and plenty of scrapes and bruises, especially on his face. Mentally…" Hotch trailed off.

"Yes?" prodded Rossi.

"To cope Reid started taking dilaudid. He also had extreme PTSD. Emily got the full blunt force of him. He was reckless, won't talk, and I'm almost positive he suffered nightmares. All in all, he was a wreck but refused to believe that we could see through him. Gideon talked to him. Morgan also got a conversation with him. Reid managed to quit the dilaudid and went through the withdrawal on his own. Strauss doesn't know. Very few know that he still goes to a support group just so he's not tempted."

"I should have reported him but I didn't. I threatened both my job and this team's just by turning a blind eye to the problem. I have done a lot to keep this team together over the years, and I don't regret it, but now you know how important it is to keep this quiet." finished Hotch. Rossi nodded and said, "I won't speak a word Hotch."

Hotch stood up and sighed. "So did it help?" he asked, "Does this give you fresh eyes on the case?"

Rossi, who also stood, replied sadly, "Right now I am still trying to grasp all you have told me. This alters my image of Reid greatly. But I'm sure soon the shock and amazement will wear off and then, hopefully, I'll see something." Hotch nodded and Rossi took that moment to leave.

He was, to say the least, baffled. Never before had he known the strength Reid had. Going through withdrawal on his own? He shuddered to think of it. Although Rossi had never gone through it, he had seen others in withdrawal firsthand and the struggles they had with their addictions. For the kid to have gotten over it alone, with all the other shit he had suffered piled on top, well… That was probably the most incredible thing Rossi had ever heard.

He was heading back to the Round Table room when he saw Garcia burst out of her den, tears pouring down her face.

"Garcia!" he yelled. She whipped around, and moving faster than he thought possible in the lime-green heels she was wearing ran towards him. He was surprised that when she reached him she grabbed him in a hug, bawling her eyes out.

"Hey kitten, what's the matter?" said Rossi softly, dread building in his gut. Garcia pulled herself together enough to choke out, "An-another vi-video was s-sent. Just s-sound though…" She trailed off as another round of sobs broke out from her. By now she had attracted the attention of the team who were hurrying over with grim, almost fearful expressions.

"What's wrong Babygirl?" asked Morgan gently, being the first to get to them. Garcia pulled her hold away from Rossi and went to Morgan, who instantly opened his arms to her. Rossi quickly led the way to Garcia's office. When they got there Garcia stopped and said in a panicked voice, "No, no, I refuse to go in there. Just p-push the button on the screen. But no, I'm not going to go in there, I'm not going to listen to it again!"

"Shhh Babygirl, you don't have to go in there. Did you say you already listened to it?" asked Morgan.

"Y-yes, by accident. I was going to get you guys when it popped up but I hit the button and it just started! Not a video, just audio." sniffed Garcia. The rest of the team filed into the small office. Hotch stepped forward and pushed the arrow on the screen to a little box with the play button. He then briskly double-clicked it.

At first, there was just static. Then the sickly sweet voice of the unsub echoed out of the computer.

"You're running out of tiiiiime." sang the unsub gleefully, like a small child.

"Would you like to hear Dr. Reid?" There was a slight scuffle on the other end and suddenly they heard it. Very faint was the sound of Reid, screeching in unmistakable agony. It echoed, on and on, never stopping, barely a pause for breath, as Reid screamed. And the team was visibly affected. JJ soon fled the room when the unsub giggled into the recording, "He doesn't seem very happy does he?"

Emily followed after JJ, almost thankful that JJ had ran so that she had an excuse to escape the sound of Reid's personal hell. Morgan looked both in pain as well as incredibly pissed, if that was possible. Rossi and Hotch even showed signs of disgust and worry, fear for their youngest member overcome by their need to stay in control of their emotions.

It continued on, Reid's yells fading down to pleading whimpers. But the worst part of it was what Reid had been yelling. Most of it had been an almost un-human screeching with no words or even tone. Just pure torture in a sound. But he had also, in between the wordless screams, begged for his team mates to save him.

"Morgan, Morgan help! Please make it stop! Hotch please!" Hotch flinched at the desperation in his young agent's voice. "Rossi, JJ, pleaaase!" Rossi felt like he was being torn in half all over again. Again and again Reid yelled blindly for them. Then final, with one last diminishing whimper, Reid whispered brokenly, "Why can't you just kill me?"

If the men thought they couldn't feel any worse, they were wrong. With that last whimpered plea they felt themselves ripped apart with invisible claws, tearing, slashing, roughly ripping out their hearts. Without a word Morgan stalked out of the room, rage and desperation radiating off of him.

"I'll have to get Garcia to run checks through the file. Try to isolate any background noise." murmured Hotch softly. Rossi could only nod mutely.

But even when Garcia ran the audio file, over and over, she could gain no new information. The unsub was just too damn smart. Hotch had had to force them to take breaks, knowing all of them would run themselves into the ground before admitting they needed a break. After all, they couldn't help Reid by being so tired they couldn't even hold their eyes open. But even so, they all still were utterly exhausted, not taking very long breaks, and all refusing to even go home to rest.

It was nearing the end of the second day, all of them gathered in the Conference room, re-reading files and trying to stay awake. There was a heavy air of dread and anguish, broken slightly as Garcia continued to click away at her computers she had set up in the room. She needed to be by the rest of the team right now.

It was the pause of clicking and he small shriek from Garcia that snapped the rest of the team out of their work.

"I just got a hit!" she yelled.

"What?" said Morgan quickly getting to his feet.

"Well, my pretties, those videos were sent from a supposed dead-end but my fantastic beasts of limitless knowledge just needed time to sort through the cyberspace and tell me the location of our sick-o." she explained with a new burst of energy and hope. "Aaaand I just sent the address to your phones! Go bring my Baby home!" she called to the agents that were already half out the door.

And that was how Morgan found himself standing in front of the bolted door, in the old house on the outskirts of Quantico. He frowned at the door and swung his foot upwards to crash through it. He had to kick it twice before it gave way and crashed open, revealing a simple wood staircase that lead into a darkened basement.

Shining his light ahead of him he descended downwards into the gloom. He entered a small cement room, with rows of cages stacked to make aisles. A small cracked window on the other side of the basement let in a sliver of moonlight. Morgan could see nothing in here.

But no, in the light of the moonbeam he did see something. Morgan stepped closer, and in one of the cages lay a lump. The cage was stacked on top of another cage so that he did not have to bend down to see what was inside.

Through the bars he shone his light, revealing a dog. A border collie by the looks of it. At first, he thought it was dead, by the way it lay so still. But just as he was about to turn away the dogs eyes slid open. The dog stared with glazed brown eyes at Morgan. His painfully thin chest rose slowly up and down in a broken rhythm and out of his throat rose a pleading whimper. Morgan felt something jolt in his chest, looking at the poor creature. The dog continued to look at Morgan, shivering in the chill of a basement in winter. And Morgan knew he couldn't just leave it there in that small cage.

Hotch looked at the house he and his team had rushed to, hoping for a miracle. But nothing, no sign of Reid or the unsub. He felt a hopelessness spreading in him as he looked across the lawn of the house. He supposed it was a beautiful night; the moon shining fully as snow fell thickly through the night, so pretty as the flashing lights on the police cars gleamed off the piles gathering on the ground in a reflection of colours on white and black. But he didn't see it, not really. But now he was wondering about Morgan.

The entire team had already exited the house but Morgan. He had radioed in, saying that he had explored the basement and there was no sign of anyone and that he would be out soon. But that had been a few minutes ago and there still was no sign of him. A flicker of unease shot through Hotch. He had just decided he would go look for his agent when he saw Morgan approaching him.

He breathed an inner sigh of relief and waited for Morgan to come to him. And wait, what was that Morgan was carrying? He frowned as Morgan walked up to him.

"Morgan what is that?" asked Hotch, peering closer at the lump in Morgan's arms.

"A dog, border collie I think." replied Morgan. Hotch blinked and gave Morgan a look, telling him to explain.

"There was nobody in the basement but there were tons of cages and this guy was in one of them. And I couldn't leave him down there, I mean it was freezing!" Hotch sighed and said, "Fine, deal with the dog and meet us back at the Bureau."

Morgan watched sadly as the rest of the team piled into one of the vans and drove away. He had felt the grief and hopelessness coming from the rest of his team and he himself felt horrible. Their first lead in days was a dead-end. He stared up at the sky and watched the snows glinting with the colours thrown upwards by the flashing lights. He was startled when he felt a cold, wet tongue lick against his arm.

He looked down at the dog, looking at him with those large, brown eyes. And although the dog was probably sick it had not fought Morgan nor acted terrified towards him. In fact, it had seemed to fall into his arms. He gazed into those eyes that seemed to stare right through him, wondering why it had been in the unsub's basement or what it had gone through. The dogs eyes slid closed weakly and it shivered closer to Morgan's warmth.

Morgan walked over to an ambulance, that had been called in case they had found Reid, to see if they could check over the dog and maybe take it to the animal shelter or something. The man looked up from where he was packing up all his gear when Morgan came over.

"Hey man, could you check this dog over?" The EMT sighed and replied, "I'm not a vet but I'll see if I can help." He instructed Morgan to place the dog down on the steps of the ambulance then proceeded to check him over.

"Well, like I said, I'm not a vet but he seems okay. A few meals, plenty of liquids, maybe a bath," he said, fingering the dog's matted, dusty fur, "And he should be fine. Probably doesn't even need to see a vet."

"Okay thanks man." sighed Morgan, stroking the dog's head.

"Want me to take him in?" offered the man seeing Morgan's dejected expression and feeling his sorrowful air. Must be part of the team with that agent that was kidnapped he thought sadly. Poor guy.

"Sure, where you going to take him?" he asked curiously.

"Well I was going to take him to the animal shelter. Sad really."

"What do you mean?" asked Morgan, looking up from where he was petting the dog's head.

"Well," replied the EMT, "I have a sister that works at a shelter. Most of the animals that don't get adopted are put down. You would think that a young, handsome pure-breed dog like this would instantly be adopted but that usually doesn't happen. See, people want the cute little puppies and this guy seems to be, I don't know, one or two years old? Still a puppy really, but he doesn't look it. Plus, people in the city wouldn't want a border collie. Very high-strung dogs. Work dogs you know? Can't be in an apartment. Need lots of exercise and most people just don't want that amount of responsibility."

Morgan pondered what the EMT had told him. He felt something jolt through his chest. Could he really hand over this dog to a stranger, sent to a place with a high possibility that he would be put down? For some reason he felt protective of the dog, like it was his responsibility. Could he really just turn the dog away?

The dog's eyes opened again, the brown light radiating with intensity. It seemed to be waiting for Morgan to choose, as if it knew that its fate was being decided. A soft, pleading whimper rose and hovered in the night. Morgan placed his hand down lightly on the black and white head and the very tip of the tail thumped faintly on the metal.

And as Morgan stood, snow swirling around him, he knew what his decision was.

OK people that's it. I will try very hard to get other chapters to you. I have a feeling that now that the story has started to pick up it will be easier to write. I have some ideas but to be honest need a little help. Any suggestions for this would be greatly appreciated. Also, people, i need your reveiws! Just one word would be good! Please, if you have taken the time to like me, this story, to start following us (and I know there are lots of people because my email was overflowing with the notifications) just review. Every one gives me new inspiration and the only way this story is going to be finished is with you ranting and raving and kicking my butt along. So yeah, other then that, special thanks to all who did review and liked me and this story! Till next time my loves! (and thx for your patience)