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Branches hit his face as he ran through the rain. The ground was damp, so his shoes were quiet till they found leaves to crunch. Wind had picked up and blew over him like the blast chill from a freezer. He shivered, and wished for a jacket to pull around his skinny body.

"Spencer… Get your ass back here!"

Oh God… He began to breathe in and out as though someone had given him five cups of espresso in a row.

Uncle Mike had recovered much faster than Reid had anticipated. Wasn't a knee to the groin supposed to put a man down for awhile? Hadn't he kicked him hard enough?

He looked back over his shoulder when the lightning flashed around him. He couldn't see anything through all the rain and the splatters on his glasses. His foot slipped and he tripped, falling backwards to his backside with a thud that snapped his teeth together. The blood from his bitten tongue made him gag. He spit it out with grunt of disgust.

There was a crunch behind him and he leapt to his feet. He whirled around and tried again to see out of his glasses that were drenched with raindrops. He decided to stay very still and wait. The wind and the rain falling in torrents gave him cover, but it also gave cover to the person that might be following him.

He's following you while you run in terror. Don't call him a person. He's your uncle and he wants to kill you for no other reason than to see what you look like on the inside.

Chills were wracking his body and still he stood there trying to see into the darkness. He should have tried to grab the flashlight.

"I know you're just standing there Spencer. I know everything you're thinking."

The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. Reid jerked up his head like a deer scenting the air around him. Another crack of thunder made him jump. He almost fell in the mud that was beginning to form under his feet.

Don't stand there like a deer in the headlights. Run you idiot!

So he ran, branches stung his face and after several minutes, his glasses were pushed off his face. He stopped in his tracks and tried to find the glasses.

NO! Just go!

"I can't see," He said out loud and someone laughed.

"You'll never get out of these woods alive."

The darkness and the rain had his heart pounding. It was tripping faster in his chest than running alone would cause. His chest hurt and he could hardly breathe.

"I can hear everything you do. You're like a rabbit being chased by a wolf."

Reid ran and made it a few yards before his shoes slipped and he fell forward onto his hands. Mud flew up into his face and into his mouth. The jarring impact to his arms vibrated up his body all the way to the top of his head. His teeth snapped together again and he screamed at the pain in his knees.

"Ready to give up yet, Spencer?"

It sounded like his uncle's taunting voice came from above him. He didn't dare turn to look. His uncle was following him and taunting him. Was he going to be killed in this rain and mud? Would he just be practice for a burgeoning serial killer, or would this be part of the signature that would confuse and baffle law enforcement.

If I get out of here, I'm going to chase down anyone that hurts the innocent. I swear it.

The first person he had to outsmart was his uncle. He'd stand up and he'd face him instead of running. He'd show his father's brother that he wasn't afraid.

"Come out and get me!'' He shouted into the rain that had soaked his clothing and his skin.

"Well, have you decided to stop running? Good for you Spencer… You're a better man than your father."

Michael Reid stepped out of the darkness. "Well, let's get to it shall we."

"NO! Leave me alone! Morgan, help me please. Hotch!! Where are you?"

He screamed himself awake at the same time someone opened the door. Calloway entered the room. Didn't this man ever sleep? How long had he been here anyway? The days were all running together now.

"Go away!"

"Oh, you're very irritable for a man that is running out of options fast."

"I said… Get. Out. Of. Here!!"

"Don't shout at me Dr. Reid. I'm only here to thank you for naming the man that almost killed you ten years ago. It's only a matter of time before we bring in your uncle. We'll be heading out to California very soon."

"I'm happy for you."

"The sarcasm isn't appreciated."

"The headache and the pain in my knees, and my shoulder are killing me. Excuse me if I'm not chipper."

Reid got out of his bed. His dark blue tee shirt and white boxers made him look more than ever like a college kid. He tried not to limp to the couch. He gritted his teeth against the pain and walked past his captor to the couch.

"Since you've done what I asked you to do, I'm going to give you a prize."

Reid looked at the wall instead of Calloway. His eyes wanted to go to the computer screen to see if Austin was okay, but he flicked them away.

Don't give him the satisfaction.

"I don't want whatever you've got."

"Oh, I think you'll want this."

"Spencer…"

Her voice made his head whip around in surprise. "Austin…"

She was standing in the doorway with Stark holding her arms. "You told me you were going to let her go!"

"I changed my mind. Why don't I leave you two alone?"

"No, let her go!" He watched helplessly as Stark shoved her into the room. "Please just let her go!"

"I don't think so. She's here to stay. Just enjoy it Dr. Reid. You might like spending time alone with a beautiful woman in your room."

"Do you want me to beg? Is that it?"

"I don't want you to beg. Now, just enjoy having her here. It's after midnight. You should both get some sleep."

He left the room, ignoring Reid's pleas and Austin's crying. After the door locked behind their captors, Austin ran to the couch and threw herself into Reid's arms.

He cried out in pain when her body hit the places on his body that ached. "I'm so sorry Spencer." She pulled away from him.

"Don't," He pulled her back.

She was wearing a pair of pink flowered pajama bottoms and a white tank. Her hair was mussed as though they pulled her out of bed. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No… I was coming to see you. Someone was at my apartment. They must have hit me or something. I woke up with a headache and I was here with my suitcase. My phone was gone and I couldn't get out of the room. Who are they Spencer?"

"Calloway is a profiler like me. He's trying to force me to solve cases for him."

"Why!"

"I don't know yet. I'm working on it."

"Why did they bring me here?" She was beginning to cry again.

I don't know what to do with a crying girl.

"They're punishing me for trying to escape."

She hugged him tighter and he tried not to wince at the pain in his shoulder and his ribs. "You tried to get away?"

"Yeah, I did. I wanted to see you so badly. I thought you'd give up on me."

"No!" She pulled away from him. The pain lessened, but he missed the softness of her skin and the way she smelled like flowers. "I'd never give up on you."

"I'm sorry they scared you again. I never wanted you to suffer because of me. I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to see me again."

He untangled from her and limped over to his bed. She had tears running down her face when he was able to meet her eyes again. "I'm so sorry!"

"You don't have to be sorry. This isn't your fault. I don't understand what is going on, but I don't care."

"How could you not care? You're here because of me. If anything… Um, if anything happened to you… I couldn't stand it."

She stood up slowly and came over to where he sat. There was something in her eyes that he didn't recognize. Her weight on the bed and her smell of roses made the hair stand up on the back of his arms. She moved closer to him and the heat from her body made his hands shake.

"Austin… Um… You should sleep here. I mean… I'll just go over to the couch."

"No… I'm scared! Please don't leave me here."

"I can't! We really don't know each other at all and _"

She put a hand on his arm and restrained him more effectively than handcuffs or ropes. "I don't have to know you. Don't you feel it? There is something between us that was there from the first moment we laid eyes on each other."

"Yes…" He breathed. "But they're watching us and listening to us."

"I don't care."

"I do care. Please just sleep here and I'll take the couch."

"Don't leave me alone… I need you. Please just stay here. I promise nothing will happen."

He lay down next to her because there was nothing else to do. She tried to hug him and he groaned again."

"They hurt you!"

"It's nothing… I'm okay." He reached out and shut off the lamp next to the bed. "I really am okay."

She put her head on his chest and he put his arms around her. For the first time since the night Stark had brought him to this place, he felt peace.

"Spencer…"

"What?"

"Are they going to let us go?"

"No!"

"Then I'm glad I told Garcia about your last phone call."

Hope filled his chest and pushed away the pain that seemed to permeate every part of his body. The darkness didn't scare him the way it had for so many days.

"You called her?"

"Of course I did. She told me that she'd call me back when the team found you. I waited for days and then someone brought me here."

"I'm sorry…"

"Stop apologizing to me. I'd rather be here with you than waiting to hear if you're going to be okay. I didn't want you to die."

She was crying again. He wanted to kiss her, but he was so scared. This wasn't the time to be thinking about kissing her.

"Spencer?"

"I think we should go to sleep. The team is going to find us. We just have to wait them out." He whispered in her ear.

"Good night Spencer."

"Good night Austin."

But he didn't go to sleep. Even after he was sure Austin was asleep, he couldn't make his eyes close. He had to be strong for her, but what if the team couldn't find them?

They will… Hotch won't let them give up.

The darkness, and the knowledge that Calloway was watching him, made home and freedom seem like it was another lifetime away.