Happy Thursday! I trust that everyone is having a splendid week? I finally got around to typing up this next chapter and I'm incredibly thrilled—this whole story is like my love child so I basically adore it. Did anyone else watch the recent CM episode called 'Rite of Passage?' I genuinely thought it was one of the best ones this season! And of course, the episode that introduced the new team? Loved it! I'm really excited to watch the spinoff show and see how it goes. It could never be as good as our original Criminal Minds but I think it will prove itself in time. And if you don't follow any of the actors on Twitter (do it), I just found out that Tim Curry—yes, THE TIM CURRY—will be on the CM season finale! Get excited everyone!

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and please drop me a line with your thoughts! You're amazing. Love,

HollySophia

~*~*~*~

"Quick, down this way!" Reid hurried Gia into the trees, going down the hill that led away from the house. The darkness made it nearly impossible to see but they charged thru as fast they could. While they rushed, Gia tripped over a rock and rolled her ankle, landing hard as all the wind was knocked out of her.

"Gia!" Spencer cried, quickly dropping to her side.

"I'm okay." She said, trying to get to her feet. The pain was terrible and she had to bite her lip hard to keep from screaming. Right then, from somewhere not too far from their position, someone shrieked like a banshee. Spencer knew their captor was close. He made his decision in a split second.

He touched his companion's hand and fixed his eyes on hers, saying, "Gia, I want you to head down the hill away from here, okay?"

"But what about you?"

"I'm gonna draw him in the other direction; hopefully that'll give you a chance to get away."

The petite brunette looked horrified. "But Spencer…"

"I promised not to let him hurt you again. I don't plan on breaking that promise."

He helped her to her feet, leaning her against a tree. "Go Gia. I'll draw him off."

Reid turned, vanishing into the darkness. Gia waited for a few moments before she began slowly picking her way down the hill.

***

"Where exactly are we headed again?" JJ asked Rossi, who was driving the large, black suburban they rode in.

"Morgan said it's a small town called Ashley—barely 3,000 people live there. It's about half an hour away from Aquia Harbour."

The blonde woman sighed, "It still amazes me that no matter how small a town is, people still can't recognize the mark of a serial killer in their community."

"Ignorance is bliss." Rossi remarked, speeding to pass a car in the next lane.

JJ nodded, "It sure is."

Just when both agents thought it would be a quiet ride to Ashley, Emily spoke up from behind them.

"Can I tell you both something?"

"Of course." Rossi replied, more focused on his driving than his teammate.

Her voice was full of incredible vulnerability as she added, "In confidence."

JJ's interest was piqued now. "You have our word that we won't tell anyone."

The raven-haired woman took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for all hell to break loose. "I'm transferring out of the BAU."

Rossi nearly careened off the road but caught himself just in time. JJ turned around in her seat, eyes wide. "You're not serious, are you?"

Emily nodded her response. "I am. I have it all arranged with Chief Strauss."

The anger in Rossi's voice was unmistakable. "Emily, if this is about Hotch…"

"Why would this be about Hotch?" JJ questioned, looking back and forth between Rossi and Emily.

"It's not. This is all my decision…Hotch had nothing to do with it." Emily replied calmly.

Rossi looked at her in his rearview mirror, eyes narrowed. "You can't fool a profiler Emily. I know you're lying."

She held up her hands in defense. "You don't understand why, Dave. This job means more to him than it ever could to me. I can move on if I lose it—Hotch would be paralyzed."

"You love him." JJ murmured, all the pieces she'd seen over the past few months suddenly coming together.

Emily felt a sudden desire to prove something to her teammates. "I'm not leaving because of guilt or some sense that I owe him something. I do love Hotch and I'll do whatever it takes to protect him. Even if it requires me to give up this job…he's worth it."

"How could he not think of you in all this? Why would he let you throw away everything you've worked for without a fight?" Rossi was very angry, tightening his fingers around the steering wheel.

"I didn't tell him I was going to do this." Emily admitted. "I knew he would have stopped me if I did. He was already planning on taking a leave of absence when I made the decision."

JJ was stunned, for practically the millionth time that day, when her fellow agent said that. "Why?"

"Because of Jerry Harper's death. Chief Straus was launching an investigation into what happened at the request of SWAT. Hotch and I knew that she would discover our relationship eventually and we would undoubtedly be suspended or even fired. He believed that if he went on a leave of absence that it would ease the pressure the department was under. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would be the end of his job here if he did that. The only way to protect him from destroying his career was for me to leave the BAU." She looked Rossi and JJ straight in the eyes and said, "Sometimes love requires selflessness. I'm willing to give up what I have here to protect him because I love him more than I've ever loved anyone."

Emily could see that JJ was deeply moved despite her feelings of anger and betrayal. Rossi understood why she was doing this now but he hardly agreed with her. He was resigned to her decision yet she knew in her heart that the wise, experienced man could never agree with what she had done.

"It's your decision." JJ finally said, shrugging her shoulder in resignation. "If this is what you want to do then I'll try to be alright with it."

"Thank you." Emily inclined her head thankfully in her blonde teammate's direction. Then she looked back to Rossi. He was purposefully avoiding her gaze, staring straight ahead at the road. "I know you don't agree with what I'm doing Dave. I'm sorry if I disappointed you in some way or made you feel betrayed. That was never my intention." She glanced back and forth between the two people in the front seat. "I consider this team my family and I care deeply about each of you. This is simply something I need to do…I hope you'll understand."

She stopped, hoping for something. Some sort of sign that she was doing the right thing. Finally, Rossi slipped his hand off the steering wheel and gripped Emily's hand with it, giving her a squeeze. "Go with your gut Prentiss. Mine's never failed me and yours won't either. You'll be alright."

Emily gratefully returned Rossi's gesture, feeling a sort of relief inside. "Thank you Rossi. Thank you."

***

Reid knew for sure now that his captor was no longer contained within the house; every light within the house seemed to be on and the front door lay wide open. He carefully crept over to the side of house, trying to catch sight of the man who held him captive. Movement a few feet away caught Spencer's eye. The man with the flaming red hair was roaming the edge of the woods with a baseball bat. The lanky FBI agent decided in that moment to pull the most reckless move of his life.

"Hey! Over here!" He screamed loudly at the man. The crimson haired Koty Abbott spotted him and Spencer ran. They were both tall and wiry so they were evenly matched when it came to speed but fortunately, Reid got a head start. He ran behind the house, breathing hard as he searched for an escape. In a split second he caught sight of the back door and darted inside. Now he was in the kitchen and quickly got out of sight from the door. There was junk strewn across the room which included a gas canister. Spencer grabbed it, spreading the liquid all over the kitchen floor before ducking next to the door. Koty burst into the room, slipping on the slick floor and landed on his back. The panicked Reid practically flew out the back door. Seething with rage, the fiery red head flipped over onto his stomach, got to his knees and took off after the lanky brunette.

'What now?' Spencer thought, running around the large van parked in the front yard to rest for a moment on the trunk. He cautiously peered around to see if the coast was clear and got smacked in the back. Reid hit the ground, rolling quickly as he narrowly avoided the furious man's next blow.

"Stay still you little snake!" Koty snarled, charging at Spencer. Reid jumped to his feet, shoving the other man against the van as the baseball bat fell forgotten on the ground. The red head pummeled Spencer angrily with his fists and he was able to block and avoid until his captor landed a punch to his face. It was enough to distract him and get him knocked into the dirt.

"I've got you now!" Koty howled menacingly, kicking Reid in the gut. He got another kick in before someone behind him said, "Hey buddy."

The fiery red head turned around and a shot rang out, bullet grazing his upper arm. Gia took off as quickly as she could; he attempted to follow her but Spencer tripped him. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Reid tightly around the neck, ignoring the burning pain in his arm.

"Come out, come out Gia!" Koty shouted, looking carefully around the yard. "You don't want to abandon poor Dr. Reid to die, do you?"

"Don't listen to him! Run!" Spencer screamed into the darkness. His captor harshly pulled Reid's long hair in punishment for this outburst. "No, do listen to me Gianna! Listen to me very well!" He paused, listening for any sound that she was near. "I'm going to kill Dr. Reid—slowly and painfully. Just like all those FBI agents in my basement. And I will make you watch. You'll cry and beg but I'm gonna butcher him anyways. Then I'll kill you too Gia. I'll use my favorite hunting knife to draw pictures onto you!"

He backed against the van's trunk, sneering at the mental image in his head. "And before I take your life for good, I'm gonna rape you."

Koty laughed manically then even harder as Spencer struggled against his constrictive grasp. "Does that bother you Dr. Reid? Don't worry; we're familiar with each other. I took her innocence once," he shouted as he said this, "and I'll take it again!"

From somewhere above his head, Gia screamed, "Hey you bitch! Take this!"

All at once, several things happened. Spencer broke free from Koty's grasp—smashing his foot with his heel and scratching the place where the bullet had grazed his arm—and darted away from him. Koty screamed in pain and suddenly, Gia dropped a lit match onto him. The fuel on his clothes and the fire combined, igniting into a blaze. He gave a blood-curdling shriek, running around madly as the fire consumed him. He ran towards his house and Gia met him with her gun, firing another round that hit him in the shoulder. Koty whirled around to escape and Spencer slammed the baseball bat into his face. In a rush of panic and terrible pain, the man charged into his house to escape them.

"Spencer! Run!" Gia screamed, charging quickly from the house. Reid realized what was about to happen and followed her as fast as he could.

In a blaze of light and noise, the house exploded. The shockwave that followed knocked them both flat on the ground. Finally, the only sound left was the burning remains of the ranch style house which were illuminated by the unveiled moon. Spencer turned his head in Gia's direction. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were closed. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned for her. She nodded, looking at him with a look of relief on her face. "I'm absolutely fine."

"What about your ankle?"

She gently prodded it and winced. "It's been better."

Reid came over and helped her get to her feet, supporting her on his shoulder. "You didn't listen to me. I told you to run."

She nodded. "I know you did. But honestly, I couldn't leave you here by yourself. No matter how badly you wanted to play the hero."

"It wasn't about being the hero." Spencer insisted. "I promised I would protect you."

"And you did a spectacular job of it." Gia assured him, patting his shoulder with her hand. "There are just some things friends don't let friends face alone."

He raised an eyebrow, trying to discern her meaning. "Is that what we are then? Friends, I mean."

Gia twisted her lips into a wry smile. "I guess so. Since we didn't die I'd think so."

The lanky genius didn't know why he chuckled over that. "Right."

"Come on," the petite woman motioned her way "Let's get out of here."

"On foot? But what about your ankle?" Spencer was incredulous. "You won't be able to walk very long on it."

There was a glint of silver as she dangled a key ring in front of his face, looking slightly smug. "When you were leading the crazy on a wild goose chase, I swiped his keys. You drive, okay?" She tossed the keys his way and he caught them easily with his long fingers.

"Do you ever stop defying expectations?" He questioned her.

She grinned at him, "Never."

***

After Spencer finally got the massive, white van started they drove down the road behind the house's corpse for a few miles before they reached a little town. It consisted of a few houses, a motel, grocery store, a diner and a gas station. Spencer parked in front of the little gas station and helped Gia inside. A rather gruff looking man stood behind the counter, reading a newspaper.

"Excuse me, sir?" Spencer attempted to catch the man's attention. He folded the paper over and looked at the two of them. They looked like hell and he let them know it.

"Damn. What happened to y'all? Get into a bar fight or something?"

"Just an accident. Could you tell me where we are?" Spencer's appearance apparently didn't scare the man away because he told him. "Ashley. Just outside of Aquia Harbour."

Gia brushed her auburn hair out of her eyes as she inquired, "Are we still in Virginia? This kind of seems like the middle of nowhere."

The man looked at her like she was crazy. "Did the accident knock out your memory or something? Course you're still in Virginia. And this sure as hell ain't the middle of nowhere. Ashley may be a small town but we're a very proud town."

"Of course." Gia said apologetically. "I'm sorry for my confusion. I haven't lived here very long."

The older gentleman nodded towards her, "No problem little lady. Now, what can I do for yah?"

"Do you think we could use your phone?" Spencer asked hopefully. The man shrugged, "I don't see why not. Just give me your names—I'm trying to keep track of my phone users."

"I'm Spencer Reid—that's R-e-i-d, and her name is…"

Gia interrupted to say, "I'm Gianna Rosenwood, sir." The old man nodded, muttering to himself. "Alright, go ahead. The phone's in the back room."

The small brunette waved Reid off. "I'll stay here Spencer, you go ahead."

Reid slipped behind the curtain that led to the back room. He thought to himself that this town must be very old because the phone had a cord and looked like something from a golden age Hollywood film. He dialed the number he always called when he was in trouble. It was probably the closest Spencer had ever gotten to a miracle when he heard the familiar voice say, "Aaron Hotchner."

He didn't remember how to talk. "Hotch?"

"Reid? Is that you?" Hotch sounded concerned and alternately hopeful.

"Yes it's me."

Hotch breathed a sigh of relief and Spencer swore he could hear someone yelling in the background. "Thank God. Where are you?"

"In a town called Ashley, just outside of Aquia Harbour. I'm in their gas station. There's another FBI agent here with me—she was kidnapped too."

Hotch muttered something that Reid couldn't hear, then, "Okay, here's what I want you to do. We're already en route to Ashley so I need you to stay put until we can get to you. It won't be very long."

"We'll be here." Spencer replied, trying to mask his happiness at hearing his boss's voice. The phone line went dead and he felt strangely glad that the unexpected ending of phone conversations still went on at

When he stepped back out, he discovered that Gia had engaged the gas station attendant in a conversation about his family. Spencer sidled up to Gia and said, "My team should be here at anytime."

She smiled cheerily at him. "Great!" Then she turned back to the man, "Hey Hank, do you have any ice? My ankle's pretty swollen."

Hank thought for a moment then remembered something. "Yes we do! Hang on just a tic." He disappeared into the back room but not before he offered, "We have a bathroom over there if you two want to clean some of that mess off."

"Thanks." Gia said. She turned to Spencer now. "You can go ahead and use the restroom."

He felt surprised, "Are you sure?"

"Trust me; I don't want to know how bad I look. At least, not yet." She smiled jokingly at him. He smiled back. Finally, Hank returned with an ice pack and chair. "Here yah go. You'll probably need this after what you've been thru."

"Oh trust me, "Gia said vaguely "You have no idea."

~*~*~

The-vampire-act: They are indeed free! I'm very glad that you love this story—it means a lot to me. And yes, Mosley Lane was very much a "Gubler" episode. Utterly amazing!

Hpenchantress: Yeah, I'm so glad they figured it out too! Reid and Gia are definitely gonna be alright—have no fear!

LionInAComa: Haha, I love that you're yelling actually. It's rather amusing. Thanks for getting so stoked about this!

Nymphadora-CullenBAU: I absolutely agree. There was barely any blood spilled yet I was terrified and glued to my seat—a rare feat indeed! Of course, I can imagine the look on Morgan's face but man, his fury would be frightening to behold I think. On a side note, I'm always impressed that you spot my references so easily! Yes, it is from 500 Days of Summer—fantastic movie!

Marie-Ruth: Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

Beachchick4: Aw, you're too sweet—thank you! The team always has a knack for showing up at exactly the right time, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Thanks to all of you who are reading and reviewing—I genuinely appreciate it! I'm cranking out one more chapter of Que Sera Sera before it's all said and done. Let me know how you felt about this story and PLEASE, feel free to shoot me ideas for future stories! Keep watching our favorite BAU team everyone!