Two updates in one day, this is unprecedented! I hope the editing isn't too shoddy and that it all seems cohesive. I will be updating again soon, I promise. It will be difficult not to write the rest of this very soon as I too am looking forward to Reid and Nathan's interactions.

DISCLAIMER: Everything before the episode "Lauren" is fair game in this chapter. There are several spoilers for previous episodes: "Haunted," "Elephant's Memory," and "Damaged." Happy reading.

Dr. Spencer Reid drove as quickly as he dared in the direction of Washington D.C. the entire time his thoughts were awash with the promises he'd made to Gideon, Hotch, and Morgan regarding his reliability and safety.

After Owen Savage, Reid had promised Hotch never to put himself in danger like that again, though, Reid justified, it wasn't like Hotch hadn't risked his own safety when he found himself identifying with an UnSub. Hotch had even allowed the UnSub one final kill before disarming him and walking him out safely. In the end, Reid though, Hotch would understand.

Morgan and Garcia had both needled him about his attachment to Nathan. "I know your heart bleeds for the kid…" Morgan seemed to preface everything with that, back when he was convinced that Nathan was the UnSub they sought so long ago in D.C.

Reid thought of the letters. He knew that he was some part of the puzzle for Nathan, he didn't need to be a genius to figure that out, but maybe he was the one that could keep him safe. If the team got there before he did, which was unlikely, but if they did, Reid knew what that would mean for Nathan.

Reid could just imagine Hotch and Morgan vying for the honor to dispatch the man they imagined had Reid in his clutches. Morgan would tease him later, allowing all of the anger at him to disappear with the overwhelming happiness of his safe return. Hotch would remain silent. It was that silence that Reid feared worse than any formal repercussions. Reid would willingly take on a hundred Congressional panels rather than face that silence.

As he pulled into the familiar neighborhood, Reid could feel the eerie silence enveloping him. Nathan's former home seemed filled with a frightening stillness. Reid had been taught to ignore his fear of the dark but there was something about approaching this home that made the hair on the back of his neck stand at attention.

Reid drove around the block and parked his car out of sight. He knew if Nathan spotted it that it could lead to panic, and a dead hostage meant Nathan was living on borrowed time until the rest of the team arrived. If Reid failed to handle this, it was likely that no one would be getting out alive.

Reid sat in the car looking contemplatively at his gun. If he brought it with him, he might as well just hand the gun to Nathan as he walked through the door. Nathan, if the house had been occupied, had several lives to leverage Reid with to get him to disarm. Reid also knew that Nathan had no desire to use a gun. Nathan's interests were towards sexual sadism and piquerism – he would have no interest in shooting Reid.

As if those facts provided Reid with any comfort, as he circled the dark house, trying to determine the best entrance. Reid had seen the bathroom window ajar and decided against it as he was most-likely to run face to face with Nathan if he took that route. As Reid walked cautiously through the backyard he caught sight of colorful curtains, a child's room, and he hoped he wasn't too late to save the occupant.

Reid was able to drop himself through the window with a fair amount of ease, landing on his feet, Reid bristled as it became very clear that he had landed on wet carpet.

After touring the crime scenes that Nathan had left behind previously, Reid felt the welcome signs of desensitization – this job, this UnSub, and these murderers had prepared him for pretty much anything. Yet there was still something terrifying, which seemed to gnaw at Reid's most primitive nature, when he took in the sight of Nathan's youngest victim.

The idea that maybe he'd been too late tore at Reid with conflicted feelings of responsibility and relief. It was his fault that this family had suffered this way and yet he was relieved. Reid was relieved that he could call the team in to deal with this horror, now they were on a warm trail, and they might still catch him. Yet Reid's relief was cut short by a familiar shout followed by a whimper of pain coming for just outside of the bedroom. Reid drew in a deep breath, thanking any intervening deity he could think of, flooded with a new relief that the bedroom door had been closed.

The whimpers turned to tears and a loud slam against the hallway wall. "Just make it stop, please. Please, make it stop."

Reid reached for the doorknob and hesitated as his thoughts turned to Hotch and Foyet. He'd said it to Garcia, "I'm a blinker." He knew he didn't have what it took to stare down someone determined to kill him. He'd been lucky to have Hotch there with him that day of the interview in prison when they'd unwittingly been locked in with a serial killer with nothing to lose. Reid took another deep breath and opened the door.

"Nathan?"