Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
A/N: Shout out to Angel Wings00, Hippichic81, tannerose5, and southernbeauty13 for reviewing chapter 13.
I decided to skip Doubt (Everything that happened in Doubt still happened) and go straight to In Name and Blood, and here's a warning that Strauss does have a soft side for Spencer since she met him when he was 19 (during chapter six of the prequel) and with knowing everything about his background, she will occasionally become motherly to him.
Even though I'm now on season 3 for this universe, the beginning and ending of the chapters that deals with episodes will be much different than my story Romance by the Book because of little Diana and Bridget (And the newest OC that will be born in the near future). Even though I started Friends, Lovers, Husband and Wife, to Parents before writing Romance by the Book I don't regret writing Romance by the Book because that story and this one are both different stories since this story involves an AU background for Spencer while having it that Spencer didn't get addicted to Dilaudid.
This chapter starts on September 18th of 2007, so Bridget's six-weeks old in this chapter. And let's just say that Bridget has transitioned to sleeping in her crib, but she's still small enough to sleep in her bassinet.
I've been cooped up indoors all day yesterday because of a snowstorm that brought over 10 inches of snow to my hometown because of being right by Lake Michigan (I live a few blocks away from Lake Michigan so on windy days I can actually hear some waves along the shore) caused snow to form over the lake (Which is called Lake Effect Snow) that kept me from volunteering at the hospital and going to babysit because my safety was more important than risking myself and getting n the bus.
Spencer entered the master bedroom and groaned when he found Clarissa wearing lingerie.
"Diana fast asleep?" asked Clarissa.
"Yes, and Bridget's fast asleep in her crib," said Spencer.
Clarissa smiled as she thought about spending the past two weeks getting Bridget to transition from her bassinet to her crib.
"Good," said Clarissa as she made her way to her husband and locked the bedroom door before she started to undress him, "We have a couple of hours for some much-needed mommy and daddy time before Bridget wakes us up," said Clarissa.
"Are you sure that you're ready?" asked Spencer.
"I had my follow up on Friday, and my doctor said that I could start having sex again tonight," said Clarissa as she led her husband to their bed.
A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were making love for the first time in 10 weeks, and little did they know, that that night of passion would cause their family of four end up growing to five that night.
The next morning a yawning Spencer sat down at his desk when Emily looked at him.
"Rough night with Bridget?" asked Emily.
"Very," said Spencer as he blushed a bit.
Emily smirked.
"I guess that blush means something else," teased Emily.
Spencer's face turned beet red causing Emily to laugh.
Later on that afternoon, Gideon walked over to Spencer's desk.
"Do you think that Clarissa wouldn't mind if you stayed later to play chess with me in my office?" asked Gideon.
Spencer quickly grabbed his personal phone and sent Clarissa a text message.
DO YOU MIND IF I STAY LATER AT THE OFFICE AND PLAY A GAME OF CHESS WITH GIDEON? ~ SR
A minute later Clarissa replied with a new picture of Diana giving Bridget her bottle.
NOT AT ALL SPENCE SINCE YOU ALWAYS DON'T HAVE TO COME STRAIGHT HOME FROM WORK TO HELP TAKE CARE OF HOUSEHOLD DUTIES AND THE GIRLS SINCE YOUR ALLOWED TO HANG OUT WITH FRIENDS. ~ CR
Spencer looked at Gideon.
"Clarissa doesn't mind me staying late to play chess," said Spencer.
"OK," said Gideon.
Later on that night a sighing Spencer left Gideon another voice mail before he looked at the time before making his decision.
"Instead of falling asleep on the way home, I might as well fall asleep here," muttered Spencer to himself before he got comfortable and fell asleep.
The next morning Spencer woke up to JJ's voice.
"Reid? What are you doing here?" asked a concerned JJ.
Spencer shifted in the chair that he was sitting in causing him to groan as his tired muscles moved before looking at his watch before realizing that he should call Clarissa as soon as possible to let her know that he's OK.
"Gideon didn't answer his phone. I called him twice," said Spencer.
"Have you been here all night instead of going home to your girls?" asked JJ.
"We were supposed to play chess," said Spencer as he glanced at the chessboard that he set up.
JJ glanced at the chess board.
"Here?" asked JJ.
"Uh, he hasn't been back to his apartment since, um..," said Spencer.
JJ understood what Spencer was trying to say while Spencer slipped his messenger bag around his shoulders before smoothing back his hair.
"Right. I need to brief the team, so…," said JJ.
Spencer thought about his brother-in-law.
"Is Hotch here?" asked Spencer as he got out of the chair.
JJ looked at her watch.
"Uh, he's not due for a half hour," said JJ before she left the room.
At that moment Spencer's cell phone vibrated causing him to see that it was Clarissa causing him to quickly answer it.
"I'm so sorry that I didn't come home last night," said Spencer.
"Other than playing chess with Gideon, did a last-minute case happened and you forgot to call me?" asked Clarissa.
"No last-minute case, but JJ just told me that there will be a case," said Spencer.
"Then what happened that caused you not to come home last night?" asked Clarissa.
"Gideon never showed up for that promised chess game, and because of how I'm still adjusting to losing sleep again, I ended up falling asleep in Gideon's office instead of leaving headquarters," said Spencer.
"Its OK Spence because I believe that it's better that you fell asleep in Gideon's office than paying a hefty price to a cab driver to drive you to DC or getting into an accident due to lack of sleep," said Clarissa.
"OK, and has Diana left for school yet?" asked Spencer.
"She will be leaving in five minutes, so I'll put her on," said Clarissa.
Spencer heard some rustling.
"Hi daddy," said Diana.
"Hi Diana," said Spencer.
"Where are you, daddy?" asked Diana.
"I ended up falling asleep at the BAU while waiting for your godfather to show up for a game of chess," said Spencer.
"Uncle Jason didn't show?" asked Diana.
Spencer smiled slightly as he thought about Diana's language development that was advanced for a girl her age.
"He didn't, but I ended up falling asleep since I'm still adjusting to Bridget waking me up a couple of times a night," said Spencer.
"Bridget wakes me up too with her crying," said Diana.
"I know, bumble bee," said Spencer before hearing Lucy's voice.
"Lucy is taking me to preschool now. I love you, daddy," said Diana.
"I love you too, and please be a good girl for mommy and Lucy since I'm leaving for a case this morning," said Spencer before hanging up.
25 minutes later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table when Morgan entered the room.
"What, no Hotch, now no Gideon?" asked Morgan.
"No, not yet," said JJ.
"These guys have been out two weeks. You'd think the least they could do is be on time," said Morgan as he sat down.
"Yeah, 'cause you're never late," quipped Spencer.
Morgan looked around for Emily.
"So where's Prentiss?" asked Morgan.
"Her phone keeps going straight to voicemail," said JJ.
"Well, this room just keeps getting smaller and smaller, doesn't it?" asked Morgan.
Spencer thought about his brother-in-law, Gideon, and Emily.
"Should we wait 15 minutes?" asked Spencer.
JJ looked at her watch.
"We can just brief them on the plane," said JJ before she became serious, "Right now the police task-force in Milwaukee needs our help. They've had four murders over the past three weeks, and in addition, another woman has been missing the last two days. They've all the women are in their 30s, married with children," said JJ.
"Any connection between these victims?" asked Morgan.
"Just that they've all been abducted from the area of Wauwatosa, all from very public places, but there are no witnesses," said JJ.
Spencer looked at the file that he was reading.
"How are we even certain it's the same killer?" asked Spencer.
JJ showed more pictures on the monitor.
"Well, for starters... All of the bodies have been dumped in the city's third ward," said JJ before she showed one last picture, "And there's this," said JJ.
Spencer looked at the picture as he realized what he was seeing while Morgan closed his eyes.
"Is that what I think it is?" asked Spencer.
"All the hearts have been cut from their bodies," said JJ.
A few minutes later Spencer was calling Clarissa.
"Do you know where you're going?" asked Clarissa without preamble.
"Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So luckily I'll only be one hour behind DC when it comes to time-zones," said Spencer before he heard Bridget crying.
"I have to tend to Bridget, so please call me when you can," said Clarissa.
"I promise to stay safe, and I love you," said Spencer.
"Love you too," said Clarissa before hanging up.
JJ who was sitting between Morgan and the window looked over where Strauss was sitting and going through files.
"You know, from this angle, she almost looks human," said JJ.
Spencer shifted in his seat so he could look at Strauss before looking at JJ and Morgan.
"Has anyone talked to Emily yet?" asked Spencer.
JJ snorted.
"She was gone before I heard the news," said JJ.
Morgan thought about the conversation he had with Spencer in the bathroom earlier.
"I told you, Reid, now we're down two agents and Gideon's MIA," said Morgan.
Spencer lowered his voice as he looked at JJ and Morgan.
"Doesn't Strauss ever do any," whispered Spencer before seeing Morgan give him a signal to stop talking when Strauss joined them.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's protocol to brief everyone before we arrive at the crime scene?" asked Strauss.
JJ smiled at the Ice Queen.
"Yes, ma'am," said JJ before she motioned Strauss to sit down.
Strauss took a seat next to Spencer while giving him a gentle smile as Spencer scooted over a bit.
"This unsub is abducting women from very public places, with no witnesses. He holds them 48 hours, with no sexual assault, and then he dumps their bodies with their hearts carved out of their chests," said JJ.
Morgan dropped a photo onto the table.
"There's an obvious dichotomy in the skill the unsub exhibits in abducting these women and the fact that he cuts their hearts out so crudely," said Spencer.
Morgan noticed Strauss paling a bit as she looked at the crime scene photo that he placed on the table.
"We're probably looking at someone in a psychotic break. Could be a butcher. Might be a hunter. Somebody who's very comfortable being around blood, but as you can see, he obviously doesn't have the skills of a surgeon," said Morgan.
Strauss crossed her arms.
"So do we have a working theory?" asked Strauss.
Morgan chuckled a bit.
"Sure we do. Somebody really doesn't like women," said Morgan as he got up before walking away.
Spencer held back his laughter as his personal phone vibrated causing him to quickly fish his personal phone out of his pocket before smiling slightly when he saw a new picture of Bridget.
"A picture of Bridget?" asked JJ.
"Yes," said Spencer.
Strauss turned her head looked at Spencer with a soft look in her eyes as she glanced at the picture of Bridget on Spencer's personal phone.
"How's Bridget doing?" asked Strauss.
JJ looked at Spencer in shock as she saw the softness in Strauss's eyes as she looked at Spencer.
"Bridget's reaching her milestones right on schedule," said Spencer before sighing sadly, "I just can't believe that she's already six-weeks old and that Diana's going to be four in December," said Spencer.
"As a mother of three kids myself I know that time can go fast, and I know that you remember my advice about cherishing your daughters being as young as they are before they become teenagers like my own," said Strauss.
Spencer nodded.
"I do," said Spencer.
"Now how is Diana adjusting to preschool and being a big sister?" asked Strauss.
"She definitely loves attending Washington International School, and even though she occasionally complains about Bridget waking her up during the night, she loves helping Clarissa, Lucy, and I take care of Bridget," said Spencer as he showed Strauss one of his latest pictures of Diana.
Strauss smiled a bit at the picture of Diana while thinking about the conversation she had with Spencer about Diana inheriting his intelligence and eidetic memory.
"What has the school said about Diana's intelligence?" asked Strauss.
"Since it has been decided that Diana will stay in preschool, her preschool teacher is working with other teachers on challenging Diana," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Even though Diana has made friends during her figure skating lessons and Sunday school, she has already made a few friends in preschool," said Spencer.
"I'm glad that Diana's adjusting well to everything, and I recently found some clothing that belonged to my daughters that should fit Diana," said Strauss.
"I'll let Clarissa know in a couple of hours when I call her to check on Diana and Bridget," said Spencer before he decided to focus on the files in front of him.
Detective Wolynski noticed two men and two women approaching him.
"You the FBI?" asked Detective Wolynski.
Morgan shook hands with the detective.
"Derek Morgan. Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau, and Section Chief Strauss," said Morgan.
"Vic Wolynski, Milwaukee PD," said Detective Wolynski.
Spencer instantly recognized the detective's name.
"You worked the Jeffrey Dahmer case," said Spencer.
"16 years ago," said Detective Wolynski.
"I've studied it," said Spencer.
Detective Wolynski looked at Spencer.
"And you remember my name?" asked Detective Wolynski.
"He remembers everything," said JJ.
"It's what he does," said Morgan.
Strauss looked at the detective.
"What can you tell us?" asked Strauss.
"Uh, local merchant noticed her a few hours ago. Uh, but considering he didn't see her when he first came to work, uh, we figure she was dumped there between 7:50 and 8:05. The same window as the others," said Detective Wolynski.
"All the bodies were found in this area, right?" asked Morgan as he gestured to his surroundings.
"Uh, Wauwatosa is an upper-middle-class suburb approximately 15 minutes from here. All the women were abducted from there in the afternoon and turned up here in the morning two days later," said Detective Wolynski.
JJ looked around.
"All this foot traffic and no one saw anything," said JJ.
Everyone started to walk closer to the body.
"Well, he, up, wraps the bodies, uh, loosely so they're not immediately recognizable. Eventually the, uh, wrapping comes open my guess is he, uh, has a van or a truck, something he can back up so he's shielded when he makes the drop," said Detective Wolynski.
Morgan who was crouching down by the body looked at the detective.
"No prints on whatever he wraps them in?" asked Morgan.
Detective Wolynski shook his head.
"There have been traces of paint and wood stain, but most of its just common stuff you'd get at any hardware store," said Detective Wolynski.
"He's trying to demean them, putting them out like trash," said Spencer.
"This guy might work or live around here. Gets off on the reaction to his... handiwork," said Morgan.
JJ looked at Detective Wolynski.
"What can you tell us about the victim?" asked JJ.
"She was taken from a supermarket. Her husband says that most days she would have been picking up her son at school, but he was spending the afternoon at a friend's," said Detective Wolynski.
Strauss looked at Detective Wolynski.
"This is your fifth victim, right?" asked Strauss.
"Yes," said Detective Wolynski.
"You should have called us sooner," said Strauss firmly.
"I thought we had a handle on it," said Detective Wolynski.
"Apparently not," said Strauss.
"Ma'am," said JJ before looking at the detective, "Excuse me, sir," said JJ before she led Strauss away.
Detective Wolynski looked at one of his cops.
"Hey. What do we know?" asked Detective Wolynski.
"Woman's name is Claire Thompson. Husband tried to reach her on the cell phone. When she didn't pick up, he drove to the department store. Car's in the parking lot, but she's not inside," said the cop.
JJ noticed a man sitting down.
"Is that the husband?" asked
"Yeah," said the cop.
Morgan looked at JJ.
"JJ, take Strauss with you," said Morgan.
JJ and Strauss walked away while the cop looked at Spencer and Morgan.
"I had the department store uplink the security footage to your analyst in Quantico," said the cop.
"Perfect," said Morgan.
"My desk is over here," said Detective Wolynski.
A minute later Spencer was looking at the security camera footage.
"She doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar," said Spencer.
Morgan instantly saw a kid.
"Look. Who's the kid?" asked Morgan.
"Does Claire Thompson have a son?" asked Detective Wolynski.
"No. 2-year-old daughter," said JJ.
Spencer's heart melted at the thought about the missing woman having a daughter who's a year younger than Diana.
"It looks like the kid's lost," said Spencer.
"Garcia, this all you got?" asked Morgan.
"That's it. They turned down a hallway without no security camera and we lose them," said Garcia.
"I'll get a list of missing kids, see if we can make out a resemblance to any of them," said Detective Wolynski before he walked away.
Morgan instantly remembered his conversation with Hotch.
"Oh, damn," said Morgan.
"What?" asked Spencer.
"Something Hotch said. All the abductions and disposals have been timed around school. We thought the unsub might work in the system. What if this guy's actually using his own son to lure his victims?" asked Morgan.
Spencer and Morgan stood in front of the police force.
"Detective Wolynski told us you're trying to single out trucks and vans. That's smart. The unsub is dumping his victim in the business district, so I'd agree with you- he's probably not driving something that would stand out. He may even have some type of company logo on the side of his vehicle as well," said Morgan.
Spencer walked to the geographical profile he made.
"We know that he abducts the women in Wauwatosa and dumps their bodies somewhere in the third ward. Most unsubs keep their area of control- where they kill their victims- triangulated between the two points," said Spencer as he gestured to his geographical profile.
"Which means that the unsub probably lives in Wauwatosa or the third ward. Somewhere in that area. And the people who live there know the unsub," said Morgan.
"There's no sexual component to these crimes, which means it's more about the unsub making a point. He's cutting their hearts out," said Spencer.
"It might just be that this is the sickest way the unsub knows to disfigure the women and... Throw them out like trash. We can't we really know," said Morgan.
"The two most important questions to ask ourselves are: What is this guy doing with these women for 48 hours? And why is he willing to use his own son to abduct them?" asked Spencer.
"And if he is truly using his own son, then it's likely that he has what we call borderline personality disorder. Now, borderlines- they think that all relationships revolve entirely around them. When they set their mind to something, absolute there is no gray area," said Morgan.
"It would also manifest in a way that would be visible to people around the unsub. Intense bouts of anger and depression, problems drinking. He would also be highly sensitive to rejection," said Spencer.
"And one last thing. It is not easy to crack clean into breastbone," said Morgan as he tapped his chest a bit, "You're dealing with a guy who works with his hands and he's used to hard labor. At the very least, he's not afraid to get dirty," finished Morgan.
Spencer stood in front of the map of Milwaukee with Morgan and Detective Wolynski.
"I have triple patrol in the area and I've got every available unit recanvassing," said Detective Wolynski.
"It's tough knowing they're out there and we're still a step behind," said Morgan.
Detective Wolynski, Spencer, and Morgan made their way to some chairs to sit down.
"You know, it used to be a running joke that if you told people you were from Milwaukee, all they wanted to talk about was "Happy Days" reruns. And then Dahmer happens and they ask you about it as if it's the same thing. As if it's entertainment. But I was in that apartment," said Detective Wolynski.
"Gideon, one of our bosses, says that there are things that attach to you that you can never wash off," said Spencer.
"All right it, is it possible we're looking at this the wrong way?" asked JJ.
"What do you mean?" asked Strauss.
"Well, we're trying to zero in on the unsub. Now, you guys tell me, but... if he really is using his son, wouldn't the trauma manifest more clearly on the boy?" asked JJ.
Spencer squinted his eyes at JJ's idea.
"Can your analyst get a list of all the children in the area that we're targeting?" asked Strauss.
"Garcia can get you whatever you want," said Morgan.
Strauss quickly used the land-line to call Garcia while not realizing that Garcia thought that Morgan was calling her.
"Talk dirty to me," said Garcia in a sultry voice.
Spencer held back his laughter as he watched Morgan face-palm himself while JJ held back her giggles.
"This is Section Chief Erin Strauss," said Strauss.
Spencer, JJ, and Morgan heard Garcia gasp.
"Ma'am, I think it goes without saying that I was expecting it to be someone else," said an embarrassed Garcia.
Spencer held back his laughter even more as he watched Morgan run a hand over his head.
"I need a list of every grade school in the third ward and Wauwatosa," said Strauss.
"Yes, ma'am," said Garcia as she started typing, "The third ward has one public grade school, but there appears to be four private schools that draw from that area," said Garcia.
"And Wauwatosa?" asked Strauss.
"That would be 9, ma'am," answered Garcia.
"And how many students?" asked Strauss.
"3,200," answered Garcia.
"Can you also get me a list of every guidance counselor that deals directly with the student body in that area?" asked Strauss.
"Certainly, ma'am. And again, I'd like to a…," said Garcia as she tried to apologize before Strauss hung up.
"You need to present these counselors with a profile of a troubled kid," said Strauss.
After getting back from the schools Spencer was going through files with JJ when Morgan entered the room.
"All right, the boy doesn't look like he could be any older than seven. Let's work youngest to oldest. Start with the worst behavior. Get the names of the parents, send them over to Garcia. She can cross-check for criminal records. This guy's dumping bodies between 7:30 and 8:00," said Morgan as he checked his watch, "That gives us... A little over 12 hours to make something hit. Let's get it done," said Morgan.
At that moment Spencer smiled when he saw his brother-in-law and Emily enter the room.
"Look who's here," said Spencer.
"Hey. Where do we start?" asked Emily as Hotch shook hands with Morgan, "How fast can you get us up to speed?" asked Emily.
JJ tossed files onto the table.
"How fast can you sit down?" asked JJ.
Strauss entered the room causing Hotch and Emily to look at Strauss.
"We're only here to help," said Emily.
Strauss quickly glanced at Spencer and noticed that he looked happy to have his brother-in-law back.
"We'll deal with this later," said Strauss.
Hotch reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a picture that Diana drew and passed it to Spencer who smiled at the picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget together before smiling at Diana's message that said I LOVE YOU DADDY causing Spencer to smile at the progress that Diana was making when it came to her writing.
"I take it that your oldest niece convinced you to join us and give me a picture that she drew?" asked Spencer as he gave his brother-in-law an innocent look.
"Your oldest daughter is going to be one hell of a master manipulator when she grows up since she told me that she would be sad if I'm no longer a knight like you while giving me the puppy dog eyed look," said Hotch.
Spencer beamed.
"Diana does have the both of us wrapped around her finger," smiled Spencer.
"I know, but you and my sister were right that I shouldn't break Diana's heart," said Hotch.
"What's going on?" asked Detective Wolynski.
Spencer looked at a confused Detective Wolynski.
"Agent Hotchner and I are brother-in-laws since I'm married to his little sister," said Spencer.
"Oh," said Detective Wolynski.
At that moment everyone started working.
11 hours later Spencer pushed the glasses that he ended up switching to up his nose.
"It's impossible. There's too many," complained Spencer.
Morgan looked at Spencer.
"Keep looking, Reid. We still have an hour," said Morgan.
Hotch looked at JJ.
"Thank you, by the way, for giving Garcia that file to give to me," said Hotch.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't see Garcia before I left," said JJ.
Spencer watched Strauss slip on the dead woman's hair causing Hotch to catch Strauss.
"Are you all right?" asked Hotch.
Strauss looked at the body.
"I st-I stepped on her hair," choked Strauss.
"If you need a second, take a second. This is what it is. Just don't let the public see you break down," said Hotch.
As soon as Strauss walked away, Emily looked at the crime scene.
"This is a different area from the other dump sites, isn't it?" asked Emily.
"He's getting smart. He knows where all of our manpower will be so he's changing locations," said Spencer.
Morgan crouched down a bit.
"How long before he changes when and where he abducts them?" asked Morgan.
"He does that, we're back at zero," said Emily.
At that moment Claire's husband was approaching the crime scene.
"Claire?" asked Bill Thompson.
"No, no, no, no. We gotta keep him out of here," said Morgan.
As soon as Morgan, JJ, and Emily were out of earshot, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.
"Both Clarissa and Morgan told me that you're worried about Gideon," said Hotch.
Spencer inwardly shook his head as he thought about the few times he was able to talk to Clarissa.
"I keep on calling him, he doesn't call back," said Spencer.
"He's probably at his cabin. That's where he goes when he... needs to get away," said Hotch while Spencer stood up to his full height, "Reid, I need your head in this," said Hotch.
"I know," said Spencer softly as he nodded.
Hotch looked at Detective Wolynski.
"So what's around the dump site?" asked Hotch.
"Here's the old printing press of quad graphics, and the paving yard, and then the concrete factory where we found the body. None of them visible from the highway," said Detective Wolynski.
"You don't end up there by accident," said Emily.
"So we go back to the schools, we eliminate the third ward, and we target problem kids whose fathers have held blue-collar jobs over the last 10 years," said Hotch.
Spencer thought about how he acted after his biological parents were killed.
"What if he's not a problem kid?" asked Spencer.
"What?" asked Morgan.
Spencer hesitated.
"Forget it. It's off the textbook profile," said Spencer.
Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.
"What is it, Reid?" asked Hotch.
Spencer looked at his teammates.
"After my biological parents died, I tried to be the perfect child because I was afraid that my aunt and uncle would put me in foster care if I misbehaved before they sat me down and told me that they wouldn't get rid of me. So I'm thinking that this child is trying to be the perfect child," said Spencer.
"Like help your father abduct women?" asked Emily.
Spencer looked at his team.
"They're never late for school. Even with the abductions, the disposal of the bodies, it's always timed perfectly so the kid will be on time to school. I don't think the killer would care. I think the kid would," said Spencer.
Hotch quickly left the room to call Garcia
Spencer and JJ sat in front of the principal.
"He's a kid that's a model student," said JJ.
"Not just straight As, though. It's someone who tries to please in a way that the other teachers have probably talked about. Inventing extra-credit projects, volunteering to skip recess to help clean the classroom, stuff like that," said Spencer as he thought about how he volunteered to skip recess to avoid his classmates during recess.
The principal instantly recognized who Spencer was describing.
"David Smith," said the principal.
"Do you know his father?" asked Spencer.
"Oh, it's such a sad story. The teachers all talk about it. He was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor six months ago, and his wife left the two of them," said the principal.
"She just left?" asked JJ.
"Yeah. I don't know what's gonna happen to David," said the principal.
Spencer and JJ walked with the principal as they headed towards David's classroom.
"I can't imagine David's father being someone you're looking for. He's very involved. He drops David off and picks him up every day," said the principal.
"Do you happen to know what kind of car he drives?" asked Spencer.
"A van, maybe? I can't say. Something big. He makes hand-crafted furniture. I know he does deliveries," said the principal before she stood in an open doorway, "Miss Bennett," said the principal.
Ms. Bennett looked at her students as she headed towards Spencer, JJ, and the principal.
"Just continue working," said Ms. Bennett.
"We're looking for David Smith," said Spencer.
"You just missed him," said Ms. Bennett.
"Do you know where he went?" asked JJ.
"He wasn't feeling well, so the nurse volunteered to drive him home to help out David's father," said Ms. Bennett.
"Thank you," said JJ before she and Spencer hurried away.
Spencer and JJ who both had earwigs in their ears followed Hotch's silent instructions on heading to the back door, and a few minutes later Morgan was handing them their Kevlar vests.
"Prentiss is in. We're waiting for her go," said Morgan.
A few minutes later Spencer and JJ were going through the back door, and a minute later Spencer was untying the school nurse.
Two hours later Spencer set his phone down again when Hotch joined him.
"Are you planning on going to Gideon's cabin?" asked Hotch.
"I am, and luckily I actually drove myself to the BAU the other day," said Spencer.
"As soon as you get home, I need you to let me know if Gideon's there or not," said Hotch.
Spencer nodded.
"I promise," said Spencer as his cell phone vibrated causing him to read a text from Clarissa.
AS SOON AS YOUR ON YOUR WAY HOME FROM GIDEON'S CABIN, LET ME KNOW SO I CAN WAIT UP FOR YOU. ~ CR
Spencer quickly typed a reply.
I PROMISE. ~ SR
Spencer pulled over by Gideon's cabin, and a minute later he was knocking on the door
"Gideon?" asked Spencer.
After a minute of silence, Spencer opened up the unlocked door
"Gideon?" asked Spencer.
After hearing silence, he quickly grabbed his flashlight and turned it on to find the cabin to be completely empty while being thankful that he wasn't smelling a decomposing body before turning on a lamp only to find Gideon's gun, badge, and an envelope that contained his name on it.
Spencer sat down and opened up the envelope and started to read the letter to himself.
I knew it would be you who came to the cabin to check on me. You must be frightened. I apologize for that. I never meant to cause you any pain. And I also never envisioned writing this letter. I've searched for a satisfactory explanation for what I'm doing. All I've come up with is. A profiler needs to have solid footing. I don't think I do anymore. The world confuses me. The cruelty, the indifference. The tragedy. When my dear friend Sarah was murdered, it tore a hole in me.
Spencer continued to read the letter as tears fell down his face, and as he got to the end of the letter he steeled himself.
And that was the last domino. The death of that girl. Hotch being suspended over something that was my fault. I said at the beginning of this letter that I knew it would be you to come up here. I'm sorry the explanation couldn't be better. And I am so sorry that it doesn't make more sense. But I've already told you I just don't understand any of it anymore. I'm sorry.
One thing I need to tell you is I'm proud of the man I watched you become when I first met you when you were 19-years-old. You've managed being a profiler while being a husband to a wonderful young woman and be a father to two beautiful little girls, so please don't let this job ruin yours and Clarissa's relationship since Clarissa's been one of the best things that have ever happened to you after all the tragedy you had to deal with during your short 25-and-a-half-years of life.
With how much I enjoyed being Diana's godfather, your oldest daughter is the reason why I didn't commit suicide. I don't care if you ask someone else Diana's godfather because I'm planning on staying away from Washington DC for a long time. I'll be sending you an email address that you can use to send me pictures of your little girls and any other children you and Clarissa have together.
After Spencer finished reading the letter, he quickly headed to his car.
Over an hour later Spencer entered the house to find Clarissa in the kitchen.
"Thank you for waiting up for me," choked Spencer.
Clarissa looked at her husband and noticed the dried tear stains on his face causing her to hurry towards her husband.
"Spence?" asked Clarissa.
"He left," said Spencer angrily.
"Who?" asked Clarissa.
Spencer handed the letter to Clarissa as he placed Gideon's gun and badge onto the kitchen island, and a few minutes later Clarissa hugged her husband.
"I better call Aaron and ask him to come here," said Clarissa as she quickly headed to the land-line in the kitchen and called her brother who answered on the second ring.
"Everything OK?" asked Hotch.
"You better get here as soon as possible because Spence is in distress and I have a feeling that his PTSD symptoms might return," said Clarissa.
"I'll be there as soon as possible," said Hotch.
15 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch were all drinking tea while Hotch read the letter that Gideon wrote Spencer.
"I thought that I would be finding a dead body in Gideon's cabin, but with all the losses I've dealt with, I'm glad that he didn't eat his gun," said Spencer.
Clarissa reached over and squeezed her husband's hand.
"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa.
Hotch looked at Spencer as he made a mental note to start thinking of Spencer as a second son since he sometimes treats Clarissa as his daughter.
"We all need sleep because I'm going to be calling in an early meeting to let the others know that Gideon left," said Hotch.
Spencer sighed before looking at his wife who was yawning while glancing at the baby monitor that was on the kitchen island.
"Bridget will be waking us up in a couple of hours," said Spencer.
Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.
"Do you want to stay the night so you and Spence can ride into Quantico together in the morning?" asked Clarissa.
"I think I will," said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "Since you have Gideon's gun and badge with you, I'll need to take them to headquarters tomorrow," said Hotch.
"I know, and that's why I made sure to grab them," said Spencer.
"I better go grab my go bag from my car," said Hotch.
Five minutes later Hotch was walking down the hallway upstairs only to find Spencer and Clarissa each carrying one of their sleeping daughters out of Diana's and Bridget's bedrooms.
"Having them sleep with you two?" asked Hotch quietly.
"I need them close to me," whispered Spencer before entering the master bedroom.
"Goodnight, Aaron," said Clarissa.
"Goodnight, Clarissa," said Hotch.
15 minutes later Spencer was fast asleep in bed with Diana laying between her parents while Bridget was fast asleep in her bassinet.
A/N: Part of me wanted to be evil and have it that Gideon committed suicide and that Spencer finds Gideon's dead body in his cabin, but with all the death that I had Spencer deal with (His biological parents, his aunt Ethel, and his uncle Gordon) I decided against it because of having Gideon be little Diana's godfather (I ended up remembering that I had Spencer and Clarissa name Gideon godfather when I reread chapter 23 of the prequel to this story), Gideon will send gifts to Diana because she has became a granddaughter to him.