Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds
A/N: Shout out to OhSnapItsMadison, Hippichic81, tannrose5, Mrs. JaganshiReidofHufflepuff, and snowdrop65 for reviewing chapter 35.
When watching the latest episode Surface Tension (My heart broke for Spencer during the episode), I was surprised to find out that Spencer has an uncle that he never mentioned before that he's in contact with! So the latest new episode helped inspire me some scenes for this chapter since I was dealing with some writers block. And I am going to have it that Spencer's uncle Gordon is Diana's twin brother which is why Spencer and Olivia are expecting twins.
Depending on how this latest story arc is going during the second half of season 12, I might make changes when I get to the season 11 and season 12 story line of my Love Takes Away the Pain Series (It's going to be awhile since I have to finish up season 8 and do seasons nine, ten, and 11 for this series) since the caretaker would tell Spencer and Olivia that having Diana live with them wouldn't be safe for Piper, Albert, Ava, and a future Baby Reid especially since Diana slapped Spencer in the latest episode and I could picture the Reid children getting scared if they saw their grandmother slap their daddy.
Now it's time for me to stop rambling so you can read chapter 36.
Spencer was sitting at his desk working on paperwork when he heard a voice that he has talked to through Skype and phone calls since Piper's Christening.
"I see that my favorite nephew hasn't even realized that I am standing a few feet in front of him." said a male voice
Spencer lifted his head in shock when he noticed his uncle Gordon standing a few feet from him, causing him to get up and make his way over to his uncle.
"I'm your only nephew, uncle Gordon." said Spencer as he hugged his uncle despite the audience that was watching the reunion "When did you get back from Germany?"
"I got off the plane at Dulles today, and I called Olivia and asked her if you were on a case. When she told me you were here, I decided to surprise you here while hoping to hold my great niece for the first time since Piper's Christening. And I can't miss the births of my new great niece and great nephew within in a few weeks." said Gordon as he looked at the photos of Piper on Spencer's desk "I appreciate you sending me all those photos and videos of Piper, and she reminds me of how you were when you were her age."
"Mom and dad have told me that Piper reminds them so much of me when I was her age, and I can't believe that she's already 11 months old." said Spencer
"And you remind me so much of my twin sister when it comes to intelligence, even though you are a perfect combination of both Diana and William." said Gordon
At that moment Hotch decided to alert Spencer to his presence since he and Rossi were standing by the railing, watching the reunion.
"Reid, how about you take the rest of the day off and catch up with your uncle." said Hotch
Spencer turned his head to see Hotch and Rossi standing by the railing.
"Are you sure, Hotch?" asked Spencer
"You haven't seen your uncle since Piper's Christening and security called me to tell me that your uncle was on his way up." said Hotch
Spencer looked at Hotch as he started to pack up.
"Thanks, and Olivia's hoping that everyone can come over for dinner tonight." said Spencer
"Jack and I will be there." said Hotch
"So will I." said Rossi as he thought about the first time he met Spencer's uncle when Spencer was recovering after getting shot in the knee
"Will, Henry, and I will be there." said JJ before looking at Gordon "Would you mind telling us more stories about Spence as a child?"
"I have a few in mind." said Gordon
"Let's get going, Uncle Gordon." said Spencer
"I will tell the others know about tonight." said JJ
An hour later Spencer and Gordon entered the Reid family home, and Spencer smiled when he saw Olivia watching TV as she snacked on jello while Piper played with one of her toys.
"Guess who surprised me at work." said Spencer
Piper turned her head and squealed when she saw her daddy.
"Daddy!" exclaimed Piper as she worked on standing up before toddling over to her daddy who scooped her up
"Hey Gordon." said Olivia
"Just stay seated and I will come over and give you a hug." said Gordon as he made his way over to Olivia "You're looking beautiful Olivia." said Gordon as he hugged Olivia
"Thanks." said Olivia
"And I have a feeling you have been told many times over the past few weeks that you look like you're about to pop." said Gordon
"Everyone is telling me that, and it's yours and Diana's fault that I am expecting twins." said Olivia
"Well, Spencer always knew that twins run in the family." said Gordon
Spencer made his way over to his uncle with Piper in his arms.
"Please hand Piper over to me." said Gordon
At that moment Spencer passed Piper to his uncle.
"Hi there Piper. I'm your daddy's Uncle Gordon, and I haven't seen you since your Christening." said Gordon
"Hi." said Piper
"You definitely have some of your daddy's looks from when he was your age." said Gordon as he stroked Piper's curly hair
A few hours later Gordon, Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Spencer's teammates, and Will were sitting on the patio watching Jack and Henry play with Einstein in the backyard while Piper sat on her father's lap playing with a stuffed clown that her great uncle gave her earlier.
"Can you please tell us some stories about Reid as a child?" asked Morgan
Gordon looked at the clown, causing him to think about Spencer's first trip to the circus and the aftermath.
"When Spencer was barely four years old, Diana took him to the circus for the first time. He was impressed watching the tightrope walkers and exclaimed that he wanted to be a tightrope walker when he grew up." said Gordon
Everyone started laughing at the idea of Spencer being a tightrope walker since they've seen him deal with clumsy moments.
"I thought that I wanted to be a magician?" asked Spencer
"That was a few years later when I took you to your first magic show when Diana had to spend a few days in the hospital getting her medication adjusted." said Gordon as he took a hold of his nephew's hand and showed Spencer the scar "You got this scar when you were trying to make your way across the top of the backyard fence, and a few hours later a hysteric Diana called to tell me that you ended up with a broken wrist that caused you to have minor surgery which caused your parents to find out that you're allergic to beta-lactams. But after your wrist healed, you were still adventurous like you are today since you picked a career choice I never thought you would pick." said Gordon
Olivia looked at her husband.
"It's a given that Piper has inherited my balance." said Olivia smugly
"But all those months on crutches and going to physical therapy over three years ago helped improve my balance." shot back Spencer
JJ looked at Olivia.
"When do you see Dr. Carter again?" asked JJ
"Tomorrow morning." said Olivia as she started to talk to JJ about Henry and Piper
Hotch looked at Spencer.
"Are you still going?" asked Hotch quietly
"I am because Dr. Carter is wanting to talk about putting Olivia on bed rest, and we are going to try and see if she can spend the next couple of weeks on bed rest here." said Spencer
Gordon looked at his nephew.
"How about I stay here with Piper while you two are at the doctor's office." said Gordon
"That would be great." said Spencer
The next day Spencer entered Hotch's office and saw Hotch smile before getting off the phone.
"How was Olivia's doctor appointment?" asked Hotch
"Olivia's starting bed rest at home today." said Spencer
"Do you want to start paternity leave yet?" asked Hotch
"Olivia doesn't want me to start paternity leave yet, and uncle Gordon told me that I should just go to work and he will take care of Olivia and Piper." said Spencer
"But as soon as she's in labor, you're officially starting paternity leave." said Hotch
"I know." said Spencer
Later on that evening, Spencer was sitting at the round table with Rossi, Garcia, Alex, JJ, Morgan, and Strauss while they Skyped with Hotch about the case that Sean's involved in.
"And the M. E. reports showed 3 other victims bleeding out over the last week." said Hotch
"Yeah. One in Harlem, two in the Village, all 5 of them categorized as Ecstasy overdoses." said Garcia as she showed her teammates pictures of the victims
"And one of the victims may have been drugged without her knowledge." said Hotch
"Ecstasy is frequently used as a date rape drug, but I've never seen it cause bleeding like this." said Rossi
"Could it be a bad batch?" asked Strauss
"Well, uh, according to the M. E., the victims had so much MDMA in their systems that it caused their internal body temperature to go out of control. They boiled from the inside out." said a grossed out Garcia
"That's not typical of overdose victims either. We could be looking at product tampering, similar to the Tylenol cyanide poisoning in '86." said Rossi
"And the working theory in that case was that the unsub targeted a specific victim but dosed mass quantities to cover his tracks." said Hotch
"So you're telling me these deaths could just be the start." said Strauss
"Yes, ma'am. I'd like the team to join me in New York as soon as possible." said Hotch
"We're on our way, Aaron." said Rossi
"Thanks." said Hotch before shutting down the feed
Rossi looked at Strauss.
"You're coming, aren't you?" asked Rossi
"Just as a precaution. This team tends to go rogue when loved ones are involved." said Strauss before looking at Spencer "How far is Olivia?"
"35 weeks pregnant, and she's not showing signs of labor yet." said Spencer
"You want to stay behind?" asked Strauss
"I'm coming with since my PhD in chemistry can be put to good use, and uncle Gordon is staying with Olivia, Piper, and I for a few weeks since Olivia's on bed rest at home." said Spencer
"But if you get a phone call about Olivia ending up in labor, I am pulling you off the case and sending you back to Washington." said Strauss
"Yes ma'am." said Spencer
"This is more than product tampering. This is mass murder." said Morgan
"Overdosing certainly seems like a hard sell now." said Rossi
"How is he taking out experienced partiers and non-drug users at the same time?" asked Strauss
"He has to be dosing his victims without their knowledge somehow." said Alex
"Ecstasy can be made in pill, powder, and liquid form. It wouldn't be that hard to slip something into someone's drink or to convince them the pill they're taking is safe." said Spencer
"So even regular users might not know they're being dosed until it's too late." said JJ
"Why kill in such a graphic manner?" asked Strauss
"Well, he gets off on the spectacle. It's not just about the victims with this guy. It's about the witnesses. He incites fear." said JJ
"Which means the unsub is desperate for attention, and he wants all eyes on his work because he craves recognition." said Alex
"He'll be paying close attention to the media, then. It allows him to relive his crimes." said Rossi
"You know, the medium of his kill is interesting. He's picking a drug that's known for its euphoric effect. It's like he wants to take that happiness away." said Spencer
"Well, it can't be a coincidence that the majority of his victims are known drug users. He's taking the law into his own hands." said Morgan
"But what about the two who were clean? Linda Heying and Erik Sullivan's families insist they never touched the stuff." said Alex
"Either the victims are good at hiding the truth or the unsub's killing for another reason. We should take a closer look and see how they're connected." said Rossi
Spencer was interviewing one of the witnesses in the club where the latest deaths happened.
"It's the drug." said one of the ravers
"Did you and your friends take the same pills?" asked Spencer
"Yeah. But it wasn't pills. It was liquid X." said the raver
Spencer crossed his arms.
"I'm just trying to understand why the drug killed your friends and not you. Did they take a lot more than you?" asked Spencer as the boy stayed silent "Why was that?"
"They had more money." said the raver
"Why would you want more doses? I mean, it appears that the drug had its intended effect." said Spencer
"Eventually, yeah. But it took forever and the others didn't want to wait." said the raver
"How long does it normally take?" asked Spencer
"An hour, maybe. But is stuff was different. It took nearly double that." said the raver
"So your friends bought more doses, thinking the batch they'd taken was weak. How much more did they take? Do you know?" asked Spencer
"Two vials, each." said the raver
"Do you think you'd be able to describe the person you bought the Ecstasy from?" asked Spencer
"Don't have to. He's right over there." said the raver as he pointed at the dead body being bagged
"Thanks." said Spencer before walking over to JJ and Morgan who were walking over to him "The delayed onset of the drug caused the victims to OD themselves."
"Well, that explains why the victims boiled. The higher the dose, the higher the heat." said Morgan
"Maybe it was designed that way. According to the M. E. Report, the Ecstasy was cut with a high volume of methamphetamine." said JJ as Morgan called Garcia
"Go for greatness." said Garcia
"Hey, baby girl. I need you to run a search on delayed onset MDMA. Meth amphetamine mixtures. See if you can find anything about-" said Morgan before Garcia interrupted
"Whoa?" asked Garcia
"What?" asked JJ
"Double oh to the whoa to the oh whoa power. There's a drug called para-methox...ish..." said Garcia as she had trouble pronouncing
"Para-methoxymethamphetamine?" asked Spencer
"Yes. What you just said. PMMA for short. It just hit the international market. Its street name, which I'm not making up, is Doctor Death. So coined because the drug keeps killing people. Apparently it's produced with such a huge percentage of meth, it masks the effects of the Ecstasy until the user's already taken too much." said Garcia
"MDMA costs more to make than methamphetamine, so it's common practice to mix the two in creating Ecstasy in order to maximize the profit margins." said Spencer
"Like watering down liquor, except in this case, the water kills you." said JJ
"So is this PMMA coming straight from the manufacturer, or is our unsub altering the drug supply to make it more lethal?" asked Morgan
Spencer was watching a crime scene tech dusting a glass while thinking about the pre-teen girl whose parents died in front of her when Rossi entered the room.
"Ecstasy isn't exactly an appetizer." said Rossi
"You know, Kimberly Sullivan said she and her brother were drinking wine the night he died." said Spencer
Rossi took a look at the bottle.
"It's almost empty." said Rossi
Spencer reached for the kit that the crime scene tech brought.
"Do you mind? Thanks." said Spencer
Spencer extracted some of the wine from the glass and squeezed it into one of the test tubes, causing the liquid in the tube to turn blue.
"The unsub wants to increase his body count. He doesn't care who he hurts." said Spencer
Spencer was alone in the conference room with Strauss when his phone rang and he saw that it was Olivia, causing him to quickly answer.
"It's time?" asked Spencer as Strauss looked at him
"No, but Piper wants to hear your voice before she and I take a nap together while Uncle Gordon is taking Einstein for a walk." said Olivia as she laid in bed with Piper
Spencer sighed in relief before smiling.
"Put her on then." said Spencer as he put his phone on speaker so Strauss could hear
"Say hi to Daddy." said Olivia
"Hi Daddy." said Piper
Strauss couldn't hide her smile when she heard Piper's voice and the smile that was showing on Spencer's face as he talked to Piper.
"You being good for mommy and Uncle Gordon?" asked Spencer
"Ya." said Piper
"Are you about to take a nap?" asked Spencer
"I go seepy wit mommy." said Piper
"You want me to tell you and your mommy a story?" asked Spencer
"Ya." said Piper
"Just make one up Spencer." said Olivia
"I think I have a story in mind." said Spencer
"Then please tell us." said Olivia
Spencer took a deep breath and started telling his story to Piper.
"Two years ago there was a lonely knight who decided that he needed a change of scenery for a few months, so he decided to go to teach chemistry at Cal-tech. While he was sitting in a coffee shop planning on what to teach future chemists, he met a beautiful lady who thought that the lonely knight could use a friend and they ended up talking for hours before the knight walked the fair lady home and decided to ask her if he could court her. The knight and the lady enjoyed getting to know each other for a few months before the knight had to go back home and luckily the beautiful lady decided to follow him. And before the knight had to go back to his duties, he decided to ask the lady to become his wife. Two weeks later the knight and his lady married in front of the knight's parents.." said Spencer before Olivia interrupted him
"Piper fell asleep." said Olivia as she wiped a few tears that fell when Spencer was telling she and Piper a story
Spencer turned his phone off speaker and put it by his ear.
"Good." said Spencer
"You might as well write a short story with drawings since I knew that you were telling Piper about our first meeting two years ago and in a few years Piper, Albert, and Ava are going to ask us how we met. But I did enjoy how you decided to have you be a knight while I am the knight's lady." said Olivia
"I think I will take your suggestion into consideration milady, but I have to get back to my knightly duties so I can finish the quest and I can come back to you, our holy grail, and our belching dragon." said Spencer causing Olivia to giggle
Strauss couldn't help hide the small smile on her face as she heard Spencer's side of the banter that he and Olivia were exchanging.
"I love you my handsome knight and please stay safe." said Olivia
"I love you too milady and I promise to come back to our castle safe." said Spencer before hanging up
Strauss looked at Spencer.
"You are very sweet to Olivia." said Strauss
Spencer's face heated up.
"I remember what's its like to be young and in love, and you are so in love with Olivia." said Strauss
"I know, and I am glad that I took that sabbatical." said Spencer
"When you mentioned the belching dragon, were you talking about your dog?" asked Strauss as she thought about how Einstein burped out loud when she joined the team to check on Spencer after his tonsillectomy
"Yeah." said Spencer
Spencer got out of the car as Hotch made his way over to he and Morgan.
"Thanks." said Morgan as he got off the phone "The crash didn't kill him. Someone poured PMMA down his nose and throat."
"The drug aside, this is a completely different M. O. He's no longer content to sit back and watch. Why?" asked Spencer
"The overkill seems personal. Whoever did this had a definite grudge against Peters." said Morgan
"Garcia's running background and financial records on Sean." said Hotch
"Hotch, you don't think you're overreacting?" asked Morgan as Spencer glanced at both Hotch and Morgan
"He left the Edinburgh for a reason. We need to know why." said Hotch
"You can't actually think that he did this?" asked Morgan
"I don't, but I can't eliminate the possibility until I know what he's hiding." said Hotch
"Maybe we should look at this another way. We know Thane was responsible for dosing the wine. That was his own plan, not the unsub's. So how would a sociopath seeking recognition for his achievements handle someone interfering with his work?" asked Spencer
"He'd put a stop to it." said Morgan before looking at the body "Any way he could."
"That was after the Hatchitt parents were killed. As innocent victims, they were the deviation." said Hotch
"So we were wrong. The unsub does care who dies." said Morgan
"Instead of targeting Thane, the unsub went after Peters. He held him responsible." said Spencer
"He may hold Peters responsible for more than Thane's actions. I'm gonna have Garcia dig into his life." said Morgan
"In the meantime, we'll use that to find out what we can." said Hotch before Morgan walked away
Spencer looked at his watch as he and Morgan approached Mr. Beaird who was opening up his store.
"How do you expect to stay in business if you open 20 minutes late every day?" asked Spencer
"I got a hangover. What is it to you?" asked Mr. Beaird
Morgan showed his badge to Mr. Beaird.
"We'd like to talk to you about your inventory." said Morgan
"We pulled your shipping orders, Mr. Beaird. It appears you're selling more product than you're taking in." said Spencer
"Don't you guys have anything better to do than to harass an old shopkeeper?" asked Mr. Beaird
"Yes, actually we do, so can we not waste any time? Where do you get your extra goods?" asked Morgan
"Private donations." said Mr. Beaird
"Do those donors include employees of local establishments?" asked Spencer
"Look, sometimes a guy nicks a bottle or the supplies from his place of employment and brings it to me. If I can sell it, I take it off his hands at a bargain price." said Mr. Beaird
"Does that include cases of wine?" asked Morgan
"Yeah. I bought one a couple of weeks ago. Funny thing. The guy came back yesterday and paid the full price for what was left. Strange fellow." said Mr. Beaird
Spencer and Morgan exchanged glances.
Spencer and Morgan got out of the SUV at Franklin Airport, and Morgan looked at Spencer who was securing his vest.
"Since there's two ways to get into the room, we each block an entrance." said Morgan
"Got it." said Spencer
A few minutes later Spencer and Morgan were approaching the room that Larry was in.
"Larry Feretich?" asked Morgan
Larry looked up and realized that he was caught.
"FBI." said Morgan
Larry looked in the other direction and noticed Spencer coming towards him, causing him to quickly try to escape by pushing a luggage cart towards Morgan before making his way over to Spencer, and Spencer quickly grabbed a packed suitcase and used it to knock Larry over before putting his knee on Larry's back.
"Larry Feretich, you're under arrest for the murder of." said Spencer as he and Morgan hauled up Larry.
"He killed my daughter! He killed Megan!" shouted Larry
"No, he didn't. A drug killed your daughter." said Spencer as he handcuffed Larry
"No, it was Jim Peters. I said so, but no one would listen." said Larry
A few minutes later Spencer and Morgan were in the SUV heading back to the police department, and Morgan looked at Spencer who got off the phone with Olivia.
"Nice take down." said Morgan
"Thanks." said Spencer
Spencer and Morgan entered the room and Morgan looked at JJ and Rossi.
"Larry pushed a luggage cart at me before making his way over to Reid, and Reid uses a packed suitcase to take him down." said Morgan
"I bet Larry realized that he shouldn't judge a book by its cover." said Rossi
"I think so too." said Spencer
"Well, let's pack up before heading to the hotel so we can all get some sleep before heading home tomorrow." said Rossi
As they were gathering their belongings, Hotch entered the room looking at his agents.
"The Replicator is in New York City right now, and I recalled the security details to come back to our homes. We need to pick up Strauss and Blake." said Hotch as he started to give orders, not realizing that the Replicator already got one of their own