Daley brings the bat down swiftly, but a quick, "Wait!" from Spencer makes him move the bat at the last second, causing it to hit the floor. A loud clang rings throughout the room.
"What is it now!?" Daley says with clear irritation.
"Uh...I..." Spencer's mind races to come up with something - anything - that could possibly make Daley stop from hitting him. "You didn't finish the party games!" he desperately exclaims.
Daley sighs and lowers the bat. "I don't care about the party games anymore, Spencer. You're not enjoying this party. It's half yours, you know."
Spencer is utterly shocked. Of all the things he expected Daley to say, that was not one of them. "Wh-what?"
"I know about your childhood, Spencer. You didn't exactly have huge birthday parties. Actually, no one really cared except your mom and your dad, before he left, of course."
Spencer pauses a minute before asking a simple question, "So?"
"So, neither did I. I relate to you, Spencer. I thought we understood each other, that we were the same."
"There are countless differences between you and myself. The biggest one you seem to have forgotten is that you murder people, and I catch people like you. Unlike you, I didn't let my past ruin my future. I made something of myself. Something I am proud of."
Daley stares curiously at him for a few minutes, thinking about what he said. After Spencer bows his head, waiting for the pain to come, Daley says, "You're right."
Spencer slowly looks up at him, careful to make small movements.
"I guess I did, didn't I? But that isn't my fault. What happened to me...even though my dad liked to blame me when he came home drunk and decided to hit me around like a punching bag, it's not my fault. It's...my dad's, first off...and, my mom's, for not doing a d*mn thing! If only I could have killed him before the car accident did. Then I would have made sure he suffered just as much as I did all those years," Daley growls.
Spencer processes this; he knew Daley was abused, but he didn't expect Daley to vent to him. "So why are you taking your anger out on me, if I remind you of yourself?"
Daley opens his mouth as though he is going to say something, but no words come out. For the first time since Reid's kidnapping, he doesn't know what to say.
"Please let me go...I'm all my mother has..." Spencer lets out a tear at the thought of his mom hearing the words, 'Your son is dead'.
In response, Daley turns around and walks to the door, dragging the metal bat with him. As quick as he entered, he slips out the door silently, leaving both Spencer and John to their own scary imaginations.
~~~~~ . : . ~~~~~
"As much as it kills me, I think we need to look at the picture closer. It could have a clue as to where he is," Emily suggests slowly as she flips over the picture in the middle of the table, which was turned over because none of them could look at it any longer.
As soon as the side with Reid is faced up, JJ closes her eyes tightly and looks away, the memories from his last kidnapping haunting her. At least Tobias had video of him so we knew he was still alive...
The team members scan every inch of the picture except Reid himself. They focus on his surroundings, and try to ignore his beaten image.
"This is hopeless! There's no window or anything! It's just a plain cement wall!" Morgan exclaims in frustration.
Hotch's phone rings and he leaves the room to talk.
The four remaining team members look around at each other, hoping it's any word about Reid. Moments later, Hotch rushes back in.
"They found Reid, c'mon!" He runs out the door and into the FBI van they drove here. The team follows quickly, but fears Reid is dead.
As soon as the car is on the road, JJ asks, "Is he alive?" Emily, Morgan, and Rossi look to Hotch expectantly, willing him to say he is.
"The EMT's said he has a pulse, but he's unconcious." They breathe a sigh of relief. Unconcious is definitely better than dead.
The drive seems to linger forever. The hospital is only about ten minutes away, but when every second counts, a minute feels like an eternity.
They finally arrive and all file through the hopsital entrance door and immediately go towards the front desk.
"May I help you?" The young blonde at the desk sounds like she would rather be anywhere else but there.
"We're here to see Spencer Reid," JJ says.
She types in his name and reads a paragraph before saying in a dull tone, "Visitors for that patient are not allowed at this time." She turns her back on them, expecting them to go away.
Hotch quickly pulls out his FBI badge and says, "He's a federal agent."
The woman straightens up in her chair a little when he pulls out the badge, and swiftly types some more into her computer. "Third floor, room 311," she says.
"Thank you," Hotch mumbles as he walks away as quickly as possible, the rest of the team trailing behind him.
When they finally get out of the elevator, they search for his room number. It's just a few doors down from the one across the elevator.
They rush into the room, all gathering around Reid's side. He looks so weak, laying in the hospital bed unconcious, with all sorts of tubes protruding him. A little bit of dried blood is still on him. His head is bandaged, blood staining it.
At this sight, JJ opens her mouth then places her hand over it. Emily's mouth gapes slightly. Morgan's teeth clench, vowing revenge on Daley.
~~~~~ . : . ~~~~~
The team fell asleep in Reid's hospital room. Knowing he's alive, they were finally able to sleep. Emily wakes up to a nurse softly shaking her. "He's waking up." She immediately bolts up and wakes everyone else, telling them the same thing.
Reid opens his eyes to see them peering at him worriedly. He jumps a little, faintly remembering how this kind of greeting has happened before. They immediately apologize.
Looking around and recognizing where he is, he says to them, "No, it's not you. I'm sorry for being startled."
JJ rubs his arm sympathetically and softly says, "It's okay, Spence. You're okay now. We're here for you."
Spencer awkwardly smiles at her and says, "Thanks...but, uh...who are all of you?"