Disclaimer: I do now own Criminal Minds.
A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 20.
Let's just say that the injuries that Spencer received in Rabid are a bit different since Spencer was wearing his glasses during the scuffle between him and David Cunningham so he will just have some bruises on his eyebrow instead of the cut since his glasses kept David from punching that area.
One of the Wisconsin towns that mentioned in this chapter, is the Wisconsin town that I reside in so that's one of the few reasons why Rabid is one of my favorite episodes.
Morgan placed a photo on the clear board while Spencer was doing some math in one of his black pocket books.
"Chris Blythewood, 21-year-old college student, and Liz Foley, 42-year-old stay at home mom. The only two people reported missing for the last month within a 10-mile radius of the hunting zone." said Morgan
"Pretty good chance the unsub's holding at least one of them." said Rossi as JJ approached them.
"So I went through the list of vet offices and animal control employees, and nada. Everybody's clean." said JJ as she sat down
"Guys, I've been doing some math. Based on the estimated time of death and when the victims were last seen alive, it appears as though the first victim, Melvin Lewis, was held for a couple of months. The second victim, Rudy Hightower, for one month, the third victim, Susan Clark, for only a couple of weeks." said Spencer, pointing at each victim as he talked.
"Why is he taking progressively less time with these victims?" asked Morgan.
"He's getting more efficient?" asked Hotch.
"He may have found a way to shorten the incubation period." said Spencer.
"And how would he do that?" asked JJ.
"Rabies attacks the nervous system. It travels a few millimeters a day until it reaches the brain. But if you were to infect the area around the head or the neck, the distance would be shortened. He may be some kind of symphoraphiliac." said Spencer.
"And instead of setting a fire or causing an accident and watching the ensuing mayhem, he just wants to watch them die." said Hotch.
"A rabies death is apparently quite the spectacle. There are convulsions, spasms, then the madness sets in, along with uncontrollable salivation, which accounts for the foaming at the mouth we all associate with the disease." said Spencer.
"That sounds terrible." said JJ.
"It is. And one of the cruelest ironies of all is the extreme dehydration caused by hydrophobia. Victims have a visceral fear response to liquid of any sort. Add to that confusion, hallucinations, and you can probably imagine the horror." said Spencer.
Spencer was eating with his teammates when Garcia called.
"Give it to me, Dollface." said Morgan.
"Do you know that over 50,000 people die of rabies every year in third-world countries? Thank God for monsieur Pasteur, otherwise we'd all be dead. Ok, so I looked into every known case of rabies exposure in the country over the last 20 years." said Garcia.
"Did you find anything?" asked Morgan as he took a sip of his soda.
"Cool your jets, hot chocolate. I will let you know if I've got something. So I've got something. 15 years ago, in a town called Two Rivers, Wisconsin, a 9-year-old, Hunter Cunningham, was admitted to the hospital with severe flu-like symptoms. Symptoms get worse, he develops hydrophobia. Turns out that 3 weeks prior, he was bitten by a bat when he was out camping with his family." said Garcia.
"Two Rivers is less than a 2-hour drive from here, and it's even closer to the disposal site." said Spencer.
"A bat. That's odd." said JJ.
"Actually, bats make up 12% of Wisconsin's mammalian population, and they're responsible for the majority of the infections in the U. S." said Spencer.
"Baby girl, what's so special about this Hunter Cunningham kid?" asked Morgan.
"Here's what's special. A week after he was admitted to the hospital, he checked out of the hospital. But I can't find a death certificate. It's like he disappeared." said Garcia.
"What about his family?" asked Morgan.
"Uh, his father Patrick died 6 years ago of a massive heart attack. And mom, Wanda, works as a bartender at the Tropicana hotel in Vegas." said Garcia.
"Any siblings?" asked JJ.
"Yes, affirmative. He has one older brother, David Wade Cunningham, 28-year-old resident of Milwaukee." said Garcia.
"And what's his deal?" asked Morgan.
"His deal is... Ay, chihuahua. He works at Nassee Pest Control, which specializes in dangerous animal removal, and you don't even have to ask me, home and work address sent—bam!" said Garcia.
Spencer entered David's house with Morgan and JJ.
"It's clear here." said Morgan.
"Clear." said Spencer as he approached his two teammates.
"Clear." said JJ.
"He's not here." said Spencer as he approached Morgan.
"I think it's safe to say this guy's single and not in a relationship." said JJ as Spencer started looking at the books.
"Guys, look at this." said Spencer as he showed JJ and Morgan a book about rabies.
"I don't know, you think we got the right guy?" asked Morgan.
A few hours later when it was daylight, Spencer opened a closet and pulled out what he would see at the animal shelter when Morgan approached him.
"All right, thanks, baby girl. This Cunningham guy got fired from his last two pest control jobs." said Morgan.
"Probably for stealing equipment." said Spencer as he held up a small cage.
"You know, I bet that's how he acquired his first sample of the rabies virus, on his job." said Morgan.
"The acquisition of the virus may have been the trigger itself. It's worth mentioning, the only known rabies survival story that didn't involve the vaccine happened right here in Milwaukee. A 15-year-old girl survived the virus when doctors put her in a medically induced coma." said Spencer.
"You think it's connected to this?" asked Morgan.
"Based on the sheer proximity, it's possible, but given the lengths to which the unsub goes to infect his victims, I think it's unlikely." said Spencer as JJ approached them with a small box that contained pictures and recordings.
"Hey, look what I found. It was hidden really well in his closet. He did not want anyone finding it and I think I know why." said JJ as she started to play a recording.
"Please! Let me go! I feel sick. I really gotta go to the bathroom! I gotta go!" shouted Hunter.
"Hunter, look at me. Buddy, it's gonna be OK. David, what are you doing in here? Get out of here! Turn that damn thing off." shouted Mr. Cunningham.
"1999? that was the year his brother Hunter got rabies." said Morgan.
"By the time they got him to the hospital, there was nothing the doctors could do. It's possible the parents brought him home to die instead." said Spencer.
"And then his big brother David recorded the whole thing." said JJ.
"He was 12 at the time. That's an impressionable age for a single event imprint." said Morgan.
"It clearly unlocked some sort of psychopathic fascination that he's still trying to satisfy." said Spencer.
JJ looked at Spencer.
"I can't imagine watching my own son die or your kids die, let alone from rabies." said JJ.
"It almost makes you consider euthanasia." said Spencer as he saw JJ look at him making him realize if he put his foot in his mouth, "I'm not saying I would advocate euthanizing Henry or me having to euthanize my kids or anything. I'm just-." said Spencer
"No, Spence, that's it. That's why Garcia couldn't find a death certificate for Hunter Cunningham." said JJ.
"Because his parents must have done it. They couldn't bear to watch, so they put him out of his misery." said Morgan as JJ looked the pictures.
"It was bad enough watching Piper be in pain when she was in the hospital for Kawasaki Disease." said Spencer.
"I know, Spence." said JJ as she rested a hand on Spencer's arm.
Morgan was speeding Spencer and JJ to the address that Hotch gave them.
"Got it, Hotch. Marshall and East Lyon." said Morgan.
"We're on our way." said Hotch.
"Hang on, guys." said Morgan as he turned.
A few minutes later Morgan was driving slowly near a park as they tried to find woman they were called about.
"I'm gonna circle around the block." said Morgan.
JJ saw someone in a park.
"Wait. There." said JJ.
Spencer realized they found the woman.
"I think that's Liz Foley from the missing persons report." said Spencer.
Morgan pulled over, and a few seconds later Spencer, JJ, and Morgan were running towards Liz.
"No, no, no." said Liz as children and adults screamed.
"There's too many people." said JJ.
"Move everybody out while I get her attention." said Morgan.
JJ started moving people away as Spencer and Morgan moved closer to Liz.
"FBI! Come on, we need to clear everyone out. Let's go! Let's go." said JJ.
"Liz Foley! I need you to stop right there." said Morgan.
Liz started coming towards them.
"Ma'am, I need you to stay back." said Morgan as he and Spencer pulled out their guns.
"You don't tell me what to do, I tell you what to do!" shouted Liz.
"Ma'am, I said stop now! You need to listen to me. Stop right now!" shouted Morgan.
"I tell you-" said Liz right as Morgan had to shoot her in the thigh, causing her to wail.
Spencer and Morgan were standing by Liz who was being given oxygen by paramedics.
"Her family's been notified. They're gonna meet her at the hospital." said Spencer.
"There's nothing they can do for her, huh?" asked Morgan.
"Comfort measures, but that's about it." said Spencer as he and Morgan headed towards the others.
"Thanks, officer. We can't be far from where he's holding them hostage. She was on foot." said Rossi.
"But in her state, how in God's name did she escape?" asked Alex.
Hotch looked at Spencer.
"Reid, where are we in relation to his hunting ground?" asked Hotch.
"Right in the middle of it." said Spencer.
Hotch called Garcia.
"At your service, sir." answered Garcia.
"Garcia, we're trying to figure out what kind of building or property the unsub might be using. What do you see in a 5-mile radius of our current position?" asked Hotch.
"A lot of stuff. What am I looking for?" asked Garcia.
"Anything relatively isolated or industrial." said Rossi.
"Uh, it's mostly residential, single-family homes, apartment buildings, stuff like that." said Garcia.
"What about abandoned properties?" asked Hotch.
"Not per se, but people don't usually give notice when they do that. Let me see if there's any condemned. No, nothing." said Garcia.
"What about properties for sale?" asked Morgan.
"Let's see, 1, 2, 6 homes for sale. All of them occupied. An apartment building for sale, also occupied. It looks like the city is selling some land." said Garcia.
"What's there?" asked Rossi.
"Uh, hold yourself. It is a... Hello. It's an animal shelter, but it's shut down due to budget cuts." said Garcia.
"That's could be it, Garcia. Send the address." said Morgan.
"Done and done. Please be careful." said Garcia as she thought about Hotch, JJ, and Spencer all having young children to go home to.
Spencer stood outside the abandoned animal shelter with his teammates as he mentally prepared himself for the raid he's about to participate in.
"All right. S.W.A.T.'s still 5 minutes out." said Morgan.
"All right, we can't wait. We'll go in in two groups. We'll go in this door, you guys take the west door down the alley. Let's go." said Hotch.
Spencer went with JJ and Morgan, and a few minutes later he was clearing rooms, and when they heard screaming they ran in the direction of the screaming where they saw David.
"David Wade Cunningham, FBI!" shouted Morgan causing David to run off and he fired a few shots at a fleeing David as JJ went to Russell, "JJ, you got him?"
"Go!" shouted JJ.
Spencer ran with Morgan in the direction David went and Spencer kicked a door open to check on a room. As soon as Spencer heard Morgan scream in pain, he quickly entered the room and pointed his gun at David while trying to line up a shot and couldn't shoot David since David kept getting Morgan in his line of shot. As soon as David was shocking Morgan with a taser that was used on dogs, he decided to holster his gun and tackle David to the ground. After David punched Spencer, Morgan got up and grabbed something to hit David over the head with allowing Spencer to get up and point his gun at David while putting a foot on David's back to keep him down.
"Nice tackle, kid." said Morgan.
"Thanks. All this working out to reduce my migraines paid off." said Spencer as Morgan handcuffed David.
A few minutes later Spencer was looking over his glasses as Hotch looked at Spencer and Morgan.
"Your glasses helped save you from further injury to your head, but I can tell that a bruise is forming." said Hotch.
"At least I have my spare pair of glasses in my messenger bag that I can wear until these get fixed." said Spencer.
"With the tackle Morgan described, I just want you to make sure that you didn't develop a concussion and make sure your knee is OK. So you two are going to the hospital to get checked out before we go home." said Hotch.
Spencer sighed, knowing that if he didn't follow Hotch's orders to get checked out, he would call Olivia and have her convince him to go.
As soon as Spencer left the exam room, he called Olivia.
"Are you on your way home?" asked Olivia.
"Yes, and please don't freak out when I get home." said Spencer.
"What happened?" asked Olivia.
"I got punched in the face by the unsub so I have a few bruises." said Spencer.
"I'm planning on picking you up at the office." said Olivia.
Spencer saw Morgan signing some papers.
"I have to go, and I will see you when I get home." said Spencer before hanging up.
Morgan came over to Spencer and saw a slight bruise on Spencer's eyebrow and on his cheek.
"Pretty boy. I hope they didn't mess up that face too bad. You know that's your best asset." said Morgan as he knew that Spencer's glasses prevented him from getting a cut on his eyebrow.
"Luckily I just got some bruises, my glasses protected my eyes and eyebrow even though the lenses didn't survive the fight. How are you doing?" asked Spencer.
"I just got a couple burns, but I'll be all right." said Morgan as JJ approached them.
"Found another body at the disposal site." said JJ.
"Hunter Cunningham?" asked Spencer.
"Well, we're still awaiting DNA confirmation, but they're the skeletal remains of a 9-year-old boy, So..." said JJ.
"It's gotta be him." said Morgan.
"You guys ready to get out of here?" asked JJ.
"Yes, please. I can't stand hospitals. It's something about the lighting." said Spencer.
Morgan looked over to where Rossi was talking to some people.
"Who's Rossi talking to?" asked Morgan.
"The Foley family. She slipped into a coma." said JJ.
Spencer looked over to the area where Liz was laying in bed.
"It won't be long now." said Spencer as he saw the emotion that Mr. Foley and his kids were showing at the realization that Liz wasn't going to make it.
At that moment a nurse came over with Russel who was in a wheelchair.
"Excuse me, agents? Um, the doctors, they said that I'm gonna be OK. And I... I just-I don't know how to thank you guys." stuttered Russel as he looked at the three agents.
"No, there's no need." said Morgan.
"Just get better." said JJ.
"Ok." said Russel as he shook hands with Morgan and JJ before waving at Spencer who waved back before he was wheeled away.
Morgan looked at Spencer.
"Talked to Olivia?" asked Morgan.
"She's planning on picking me up from the office." said Spencer.
"Well let's get going." said JJ.
Spencer lightly shook his head when he saw Olivia talking to Garcia in the bullpen.
"Livy." said Spencer.
Olivia rushed over to her husband and took note of the bruises on his face.
"I thought that you promised me you would stay safe." said Olivia.
"I couldn't find a line of fire so I had to tackle the unsub who was tasing Morgan, and the doctor that checked me over said that my glasses helped prevent from me from getting a cut on my eyebrow from the punch." said Spencer.
"Well I'm glad you're OK Spencer, and as soon as we get home you're putting some ice on that bruise." said Olivia.
Spencer grabbed his broken glasses from his messenger bag.
"I will need to take my glasses to the eye doctor so the lenses can be replaced, so for now I will be wearing these." said Spencer.
Olivia looked over her husband's glasses and noticed the crack on its lenses.
"It's a good thing you have a spare pair to wear, and I will take them in tomorrow." said Olivia as she slipped the glasses into her purse.
Hotch looked at Olivia.
"You can take your husband home." said Hotch.
Olivia grabbed her husband's bags before taking hold of his hand and leading him to the elevators.
Piper ran to her daddy, and Spencer scooped her into his arms right away.
"I missed you Piper." said Spencer as he hugged and kissed his oldest daughter.
Piper looked at her daddy's face right away and noticed a bruise.
"You got a boo boo daddy?" asked Piper.
"The bad guy got me." said Spencer.
Piper kissed the bruise on her daddy's cheek.
"All etter now." said Piper.
"Thank you Piper, your kisses always makes me feel better." said Spencer as he set Piper down on the floor so he could scoop up Albert and Ava, "Daddy missed you two too."
Albert and Ava started babbling while saying the words that they knew.
"I decided to order pizza, and it will be here in 20 minutes." said William.
A day later Spencer and Garcia were in the same field they were training at waiting for Agent Watkins.
"I appreciate the advice Olivia gave me while you were in Milwaukee." said Garcia as she and Spencer stretched.
"I don't think they would terminate us if we couldn't run fast enough. The FBI knows that I'm on everyone's wish list and it would be their loss and somebody else's gain if they terminated me if I couldn't pass this test. And it would be the FBI's loss if they lost you to another agency like the NSA." said Spencer
Garcia laughed.
"That's true. Probably something worse. They'll probably make us take another fit test." said Garcia.
"I'd rather be terminated." joked Spencer.
"I just hope the P.T. Instructor isn't a jerk. Those jock guys are always such jerks." said Garcia.
Spencer quickly thought back to high school.
"Yeah, total jerks." said Spencer before seeing a hooded figure coming towards them, "That's probably him right now."
"Oh, look. He's totally walking like a jerk." whispered Garcia.
"Yeah, it's a total jerk walk." whispered Spencer.
"Total jerk walk." whispered Garcia as Spencer squinted as he recognized a familiar face.
"Wait a minute. Wait, I think it's Morgan." said Spencer as he realized that he was right, "Yeah."
"Oh, my God, it is. Why are you here?" asked Garcia as Morgan approached them.
"It looks like I'm your new P.T. instructor. Watkins got sick, so today's your lucky day. I'm your guy." said Morgan.
"Awesome. That's awesome." said Garcia as Morgan removed his hood.
"Guys, guys, come on. Seriously, you should have just said something. This whole fit test thing is just a formality. I could've got the whole thing waived." said Morgan before looking at Spencer, "You passed the test the past two years, and you have taken me down a few times when we hit the mats in the gym." chuckled Morgan as he watched Spencer and Garcia exchange glances before becoming serious "But since you didn't, you ready to do this?"
"Yeah, let's do this! Whoo! Whoo!" shouted Garcia and Spencer as they got up and headed to the track.
"Uh, hey, hey, hey. Happy-go-Luckys, where are you going?" asked Morgan.
"To run the mile." said Garcia.
"No, no, no. You didn't hear? The fit test is more than just a mile. Get your little butts back over here." said Morgan.
A minute later Spencer and Garcia were doing push ups, and Spencer thought back to when he did push ups while blowing raspberries on the kids bellies when they were much smaller while being glad that spending all those months on crutches and carrying the kids helped strengthen his arms quite a bit.
"Come on, let's go, all the way down, all the way up." said Morgan as he looked at Garcia before looking at Spencer who was doing push ups with ease, "Having to carry your kids around paid off."
An hour later Spencer was sitting on the ground while thinking about how he did on everything, knowing that push ups and pull ups were easy for him due to how much upper strength he gained when having to hobble around on crutches over four years ago and having to carry three kids around.
"Hey, hey, hey. What are we doin'? What's all this huffin' and puffin'? Come on, we still got a 2-mile run to go. Let's go!" shouted Morgan.
"Two miles?" asked Garcia.
"It's supposed to be one mile." said Spencer as he thought back to doing the fit test the same time as Hotch a year ago.
"No, no, no. Not on my watch. This whole fit test is altogether different. Now suck it up!" shouted Morgan.
"Oh, my God." said Garcia as she watched Spencer rub his bad knee.
"Let's go!" shouted Morgan.
At that moment Morgan burst out laughing.
"All right, all right, all right. Enough is enough. I guess I gotta let the cat out of the bag. I kind of already had your fit test waived." said Morgan.
"What?" asked Spencer.
Morgan looked at Garcia.
"Yeah. Baby girl, think about it. You're not even in the field." said Morgan before looking at Spencer, "And pretty Ricky, you already got enough case hours to qualify while you passed the past two fit tests you took over the past two years. This was just a good time for me."
At that moment Garcia looked at Spencer.
"I'm gonna kill him." said Garcia.
"If I can manage to lift my arms, I'll hold him down." said Spencer as he did a move to knock Morgan onto the ground.
"Dang kid." said Morgan as Garcia pounced on him and started tickling him.
"Here's a spot where Piper always tickles him." said Spencer as he started tickling his surrogate older brother, "You like that?"
As soon as Spencer and Garcia decided that Morgan had enough, and Spencer looked at Morgan.
"Remember what I told you about waging a prank war against a Cal-tech grad." said Spencer as he and Garcia shared smirks.
"You better watch out Derek, since I'm going to help Reid get you back." said Garcia.
"Better hide my electronics from you two." muttered Morgan.
The following morning, Spencer and Garcia were talking to Alex, JJ, Hotch, and Rossi in Hotch's office.
"I once warned Morgan that I would go nuclear on him, and I am going nuclear on him." said Spencer.
"What did he do?" asked Hotch.
Spencer and Garcia started explaining what Morgan did, and Hotch looked at them when they were finished.
"The fit test is only a mile." said Hotch.
"We know, and that's why we want to get revenge on him since I developed a nice bruise on my bad knee from his prank." said Spencer as he rolled up his pant leg and showed his teammates the bruise.
"Ouch." said Alex and JJ in unison.
"What are you two planning on doing?" asked Hotch as he realized that he couldn't stop Spencer and Garcia from gaining revenge on Morgan.
"We are going to need the boys help since Piper, Albert, and Ava are going to be part of the revenge." said Garcia as she explained what they wanted to do.
"Remind me never to wage you two Cal-tech geniuses into a prank war." said Hotch.
"I am thinking about having the dinner happen on my back patio where he can fall asleep on one of the lounge chaises, and I will put the benadryl in his food so he doesn't suspect that he will be falling asleep at my gathering tomorrow night." said Rossi.
The next evening a tired out Morgan laid down on one of the lounge chairs on Rossi's patio. A minute later he fell asleep, and as soon as Spencer and Garcia made sure that Morgan was asleep they started their revenge with the help of Olivia, JJ, and the kids.
Morgan woke up to laughter and the sound of a camera shutter and looked at everyone who was smirking at him.
"What's going on?" asked Morgan.
Garcia grabbed a mirror and passed it to Morgan, and Morgan saw that he was wearing make up and had marker all over his face before looking at Spencer and Garcia who were giving each other a high five.
"This was your revenge?" asked Morgan.
"Yes, and I already posted it on the Quantico message board and mentioned that this is what happens when you mess with two former Cal-tech students." said Garcia.
"Who all helped?" asked Morgan.
"JJ, Olivia, and I applied the eye shadow and mascara." said Garcia.
"Henry, Piper, Albert, Ava, and I did the coloring on your face and head." said Jack.
"I did warn you over two years ago that you should never prank a Cal-tech grad since I will prank you back, and I had a reputation at Cal-tech." said Spencer.
"You two win." said Morgan.
A/N: I was planning that Morgan would have to babysit Jack, Henry, Piper, Albert, and Ava all by himself while Jack, Henry, and Piper are hyped up on sugar or cake, but I was told that revenge prank would be a bit too hard on Morgan.