Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.
A/N: Shout out to TVHollywoodDiva, Angel Wings00, fishtrek, ms. Ladyaries08, E. J. Morgan for reviewing chapter 35.
I'm sorry for the delay for this chapter. I had to help clean up from Blizzard Evelyn and go to Wisconsin Dells for two nights and three days to attend a conference. I couldn't work on my stories because I didn't take my laptop with me. Also I wanted to update Romance by the Book before I updated this story, so I put a few exciting things in this chapter to make up for the delay.
I deleted the poll, so my final decision will be written in when Evan Reid is finally born.
Spencer entered Diana's room just as he saw Diana setting up 10 plastic bowling pins.
"You can't play with your toy bowling set right now, Diana," said Spencer.
"Why?" asked Diana.
"I just put Bridget down for a nap and mommy's taking a nap too," said Spencer.
"OK," said Diana before she looked out her window and jumped when she heard a crack of thunder while rain hit her bedroom window, "Can we have a second date this month?" asked Diana.
Spencer smiled at his daughter.
"I think you are ready to go bowling at a bowling alley for the first time," said Spencer.
An hour later Spencer smiled as he watched Diana push the bowling ball down the ramp that was provided for her before the bowling ball headed towards the pins. 30 seconds later the six-pound bowling ball ended up knocking down all 10 pins.
"Go Diana!" cheered Spencer.
"Did you see that daddy?" asked Diana as she did a little victory dance causing Spencer to laugh while a few other parents who also took their kids bowling to get out of the house to smile.
Spencer gave Diana a high five.
"Great job, bumble bee," said Spencer.
Diana beamed at her daddy.
"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.
"Eventually I'll show you how to use physics to score strikes when you outgrow using a ramp," grinned Spencer.
Two days later Spencer was in the lecture hall of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland with his godmother cleaning up their materials just as a familiar face approached both of them.
"That was a great lecture, Dr. Reid, and Dr. Blake," said Katie.
Spencer looked up and smiled at Agent Cole.
"Thank you, but I'm surprised to see you here," said Spencer.
"One of my agents attended one of the lectures you two done together at Georgetown two years ago, so I decided to attend the guest lecture you two were giving here," said Katie before noticing Spencer's wedding band, "Is it really true that your married to Hotch's little sister?" asked Katie.
"Yes," said Spencer.
"Why was it kept a secret?" asked Katie.
"I was 22-years-old when I joined the BAU and there were some agents who weren't happy that I was hired by Gideon. So all the higher ups, Gideon, Hotch, and I agreed to keep my marriage a secret while certain information was kept off the computers and my personal file. It also helps that Clarissa's and my landline number isn't listed in the phone book because of Clarissa being a nurse at Children's National," said Spencer.
"Any little ones yet?" asked Katie.
Spencer beamed.
"I have a four-year-old daughter named Diana, an eight-month-old baby girl named Bridget, and Clarissa's 29-weeks pregnant with my firstborn son," said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and showed Katie a picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget together, "This was taken yesterday after church," said Spencer.
Katie looked at the picture of the smiling family together at the park before noticing Diana sitting on her daddy's lap, Bridget sitting on Diana's lap, while Clarissa sat next to her husband while she gave her husband bunny ears causing her to laugh.
"They're beautiful, and did you know that Clarissa was giving you bunny ears before the picture was taken?" asked Katie.
"Thank you, and I didn't know until I saw the picture," laughed Spencer.
Katie looked between Spencer and Alex.
"Do you two have time to stop for lunch before you head back to Quantico?" asked Katie.
Spencer looked at his godmother.
"Should we join Katie for lunch, mom?" asked Spencer.
"Sure," said Alex.
Katie looked at Spencer.
"Aren't you an orphan?" asked Katie.
Spencer nodded.
"I've known Alex my entire life," said Spencer.
"His biological parents named me his godmother, and after the 20th anniversary of his biological parents' deaths, I told him that he can start calling me mom because I call Diana and Bridget my granddaughters," said Alex.
A few minutes later Spencer and Alex were going out to eat with Katie Cole.
Two days later Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates and Garcia while JJ showed a picture of a young man.
"Charles Luvet was found floating in a Miami Marina last night. Local ME thinks that he was only in the water about an hour," started JJ.
"Any attempt to weigh the body down?" asked Hotch.
JJ sat down.
"Doesn't appear to be," said JJ.
"The dumping could be convenient, as opposed to a means of hiding the crime," said Morgan.
"Well, he's the third victim found in Miami over the last two months. Though the locations of the bodies are different, many of the elements are the same-all males, 25 to 35, all traveling, all asphyxiated with no signs of sexual assault," said JJ.
"But tourists could be just simple robbery," said Morgan.
"Well, there are some personal items missing," said JJ.
"He's targeting travelers for a reason," said Rossi.
"You guys notice the red flag on the autopsy report?" asked Rossi.
"Yeah. None of the hyoid bones were fractured," said Emily.
"No visual signs of trauma. No ligature marks. Yet, the unsub still managed to asphyxiate grown men," said Hotch.
"Maybe a choke-hold, wouldn't leave any signs of trauma," said Morgan.
"It would also be a way of controlling a male. A powerful grip from behind gives the unsub all the leverage. None of these victims look out-of-shape or easy to control. In fact, they all look remarkably fit," said Spencer.
"Well, as I said, the recovery locations are very different. Charles Luvet was found in the water. Daniel Brown was partially buried in the shallow sand dune. Paul Hayes was stuffed into a dumpster," said JJ.
"That's not much of an effort to hide any of them," said Emily.
"They were all found in high-traffic areas," said Rossi.
"Miami PD is asking for our help, considering there are currently four other men missing That match this victimology,"
"I can dig up what I can on the victims from their hometowns," said Garcia.
"Miami is a mecca for potential targets, and anyone traveling is more vulnerable than they normally would be," said Hotch.
"Case in point, Charles Luvet, the latest victim, he was a vacationing cop," said JJ.
A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.
I'M GOING TO MIAMI, FLORIDA. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU. ~ SR
Spencer exited an SUV and groaned when he realized how hot and humid it was in Miami.
"Ugh...agh. Is it always this hot?" asked Spencer as he politely averted his eyes from the women that were walking past them.
"Every day, all day," said Morgan as he admired the women walking past them.
Rossi looked at the women that Morgan was looking at.
"That's South Beach," said Rossi.
"That's not what I'm talking about," said Spencer.
Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.
"They know," said Hotch just as a woman approached them.
"FBI," said Detective Lopez.
"Yes," said Morgan.
"Detective Lopez, Miami PD," said Detective Lopez.
Morgan quickly shook hands with Detective Lopez.
"Oh, um, Morgan... Derek," said Morgan.
"Tina. So, thank you for coming down so quickly," said Detective Lopez.
JJ shook hands with Detective Lopez.
"Agent Jareau JJ. We spoke on the phone," said JJ.
"Yes," said Detective Lopez.
"These are agents Hotchner, Prentiss, Rossi, Derek, and Dr. Reid," said JJ.
"Well, I hope there's no test because I'm lousy with names," said Detective Lopez.
"Agent will be fine," said Rossi while Emily recognized a face from over a year ago.
"Hey, isn't that-," said Emily.
"Detective LaMontagne just arrived from New Orleans to ID the cop they pulled from the bay last night," said Detective Lopez.
JJ smiled as she shook hands with Will.
"Detective, it's good to see you. How are you?" asked JJ.
"Yeah. Charlie Luvet and I worked together for 7 years. We haven't formally ID'ed him yet, but we believe it's him," said Will.
Morgan looked at Will.
"Sorry for your loss, man," said Morgan.
"So, you all know each other?" asked Detective Lopez.
JJ shifted on her feet at the thought of having her former crush and current boyfriend both near her.
"Professionally," said JJ.
"Yeah. The BAU helped me out on a case about a year ago," said Will before looking at Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Rossi, "Just for the sake of clarity, I'm not here to investigate. Charlie was supposed to be married this August, so if the guy that floated up last night was him, I guess I have the honor of notifying his fiancee, so she's gonna need some answers, closure, and I'm just here to get that for her," said Will.
"Do you know why he was here?" asked Rossi.
"He was meeting up with some college buddies to compete in a regatta. He was a big boat guy," said Will.
"So, he wasn't traveling alone," said Hotch.
"Well, he came alone. He was meeting them here," said Will.
"We should track these friends down, see if they saw anything. And the 2 other victims, any potential witnesses?" asked Rossi.
"No. Paul Hayes was here alone on business. Daniel Brown came down to windsurf by himself," said Detective Lopez.
"So, they were all essentially alone," said Spencer.
"The unsub watched them long enough to know that," said Emily.
"Yeah. He's probably already scoping out his next victim, and I don't have a damn thing to warn people with, So come on inside. I've got everything all set up," said Detective Lopez.
As soon as they were heading towards the doors, Morgan looked at Will.
"How are you, LaMontagne?" asked Morgan.
"Good to see you," said Will before he looked at Spencer and realized that he looked much happier than he was in New Orleans, Will looked at Spencer, "May I see the picture of the baby girl that your wife was pregnant with when I worked with you nearly a year ago?" asked Will.
"Sure," said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and showed Will a picture of Diana and Bridget together, "Diana is now four and Bridget is eight-months-old, and my wife's currently 29-weeks pregnant with my firstborn son," said Spencer.
"Congratulations," said Will.
"Thanks," said Spencer.
"Hopefully I can have a wife and a couple of kids someday too," said Will as he glanced at JJ.
Spencer walked with Morgan and Detective Lopez on a beach towards a dumpster.
"Paul Hayes was found in a dumpster over there," said Detective Lopez as she pointed at a dumpster.
Spencer came to a realization.
"Hey, I think these guys knew the unsub," said Spencer.
Morgan looked at Spencer.
"What makes you say that?" asked Morgan.
Spencer thought about the moving he had to do for college and joining the BAU.
"Where you're a fish out of the water, you look to locals for where to eat, where to shop…," said Spencer.
"What path to run," said Morgan.
"Yeah. Why would he kill them and then risk dragging their body across the beach?" asked Spencer.
"He wouldn't. They were already out here," said Morgan.
Spencer was walking with Morgan and Detective Lopez when two CSI techs walked past them.
"All clear, detective," said a CSI tech.
"Thanks, guys. This Garcia girl of yours is good," said Detective Lopez.
"That's an understatement," chuckled Spencer.
"Hey, you can't go wrong with a Latina at the controls," said Detective Lopez.
"Yeah. She's my girlfriend, but she's not nearly as Latino as her name sounds," said Morgan.
"Its a shame that someone like you is single," said Detective Lopez.
"A lot of single women started mourning the day Morgan and Garcia became a couple," joked Spencer.
While Morgan was on the phone with Hotch, Detective Lopez looked at Spencer's wedding band.
"How long have you been married?" asked Detective Lopez.
"Five years and five months," said Spencer.
"Any little ones?" asked Detective Lopez.
"I have a four-year-old daughter, an eight-month-old baby girl, and my wife's 29-weeks pregnant with my firstborn son," said Spencer.
Spencer was reading a book in his hotel bed when there was a knock on the door causing Spencer to recognize JJ's knock, and a few seconds later Spencer was letting JJ into his room.
"Is there another victim?" asked Spencer.
"No, but I need relationship advice," said JJ.
"Because of you and Will?" asked Spencer.
JJ looked at Spencer in shock.
"Clarissa and I talk to each other about everything that won't violate National Security from our job or the Hippa policy that Clarissa had to sign, but I haven't told the rest of the team including my brother-in-law that you and Will have been seeing each other every weekend," said Spencer.
"I just broke up with Will because of Will wanting to tell everyone while I want to keep Will a secret," said JJ.
"And you thought that you could talk to me because I kept Clarissa and Diana a secret for a couple of years and you are wondering if you're making the right choice?" asked Spencer.
"Exactly," said JJ.
"Keeping Clarissa and Diana a secret from you, Emily, Garcia, and Morgan was hard for me because I wanted to tell you guys about how I really spent my weekends, but I was under orders about not telling you guys because of some of the response I received as soon as word got out that I got into the BAU," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "When I was laying in that hospital bed after Hankel and Garcia saw my wedding band, I felt a lot of weight fall off my shoulder when Clarissa and Diana entered my hospital room because you guys finally learned the reason why I'm distant from you guys after cases," said Spencer before he started to study JJ a bit.
After a minute of Spencer studying JJ, JJ looked at Spencer.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked JJ.
"I suspect that a congratulation is in order," said Spencer.
"What do you mean?" asked JJ.
Spencer shook his head.
"You don't know that you're pregnant?" asked Spencer.
"Why do you think I'm pregnant?" asked JJ.
"When it comes to Clarissa being pregnant with my third child, I can tell the signs if a young woman's pregnant or not. You have the same glow that Clarissa has dealt with, you've been more tired lately, and I've seen you turn a bit green at smells of certain food and coffee," said Spencer.
JJ quickly did the math before her eyes went wide.
"Have you told your brother-in-law your suspicions?" asked JJ.
"No," said Spencer.
"Why?" asked JJ.
"Its something that you have to tell him and Will yourself," said Spencer.
"When it comes to working this job, do you regret being a parent?" asked JJ.
"Even though I never like working cases that deals with children, I don't regret being a parent because spending time with Diana and Bridget help balance out the bad memories that are forever locked in my brain when it comes to having an eidetic memory. I always enjoy it when Diana says 'I love you, daddy', the hugs and kisses I get from Diana, and every time my daughters want to cuddle with me," said Spencer.
"Do you think I'll be a good mother?" asked JJ.
"With how you are with my daughters and nephew, you'll be a great mother," said Spencer before becoming serious, "I highly suggest that you take a pregnancy test before you see your gynecologist as soon as possible while thinking about talking with Will because he does deserve to be a father to his child even if you two don't talk things out," said Spencer.
"I guess I'll think about talking with him," said JJ.
Spencer looked at JJ.
"I'm glad that you finally found someone to make you happy because you've been happier since New Orleans," said Spencer before yawning, "I'm going to get some sleep, and you should get some sleep too," said Spencer.
JJ gave Spencer a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you for talking to me, and I'm glad that you have Clarissa in your life," said JJ before she got up and left Spencer's hotel room.
The next morning Spencer approached the recent crime scene with his teammates.
"What have we got?" asked Hotch.
"Male, the same age range, and we found Luvet's police badge about a half a block from here," said Detective Lopez as she held up a bagged badge.
"So, the unsub either ditched it or dropped it when he was getting away. Any sign of Luvet's gun?" asked Morgan.
"No. He may be holding on to that," said Detective Lopez.
"Why would he kill out on the open like this?" asked Spencer.
"He's losing control emotionally. He could be devolving," said Hotch.
"Leaving the body out in plain sight? It's off pattern," said Emily.
"He was interrupted," said Detective Lopez.
"Who interrupted him?" asked Rossi.
Detective Lopez looked at two officers who were talking to a young man.
"Bring him over," said Detective Lopez while the young man came over to them, "Bus boy. He's from the bar. Mi Hijito, these are the FBI people that I told you about, so just tell them everything you saw," said Detective Lopez.
"Well, I came out here on my break to have a smoke, and that guy was on the ground, and his friend said-," said the bus boy.
"His friend?" asked Rossi.
"Yeah. His friend said that they had just been mugged," said the bus boy.
"You spoke to this guy?" asked Emily.
"No, ma'am. I tried. But he did say that he was a cop, so he took off, and he chased after those guys," said the bus boy.
"Could you give a description of this cop to a sketch artist?" asked Morgan.
"No. I can't. I mean, he was a white guy, but it was pretty dark out here, and he basically kept running away from me the whole time," said the bus boy.
"I'm gonna have to get all your information," said JJ.
"Yeah, sure," said the bus boy before JJ led him away.
"So, this guy is impersonating Luvet?" asked Detective Lopez.
"Could just be a ruse he used to get away," said Morgan.
"But if he is impersonating his victims, why?" asked Emily.
"Transference," said Spencer.
"Whatever he sees in his victims, He wants for himself. He hates who he is. He's targeting tourists because he sees them as living a kind of lie, too," said Hotch.
"Could be suffering from cluster "B."" said Emily.
"Cluster "B"?" asked Detective Lopez.
"A cluster of personality disorders. It's also called the erratic, dramatic emotional cluster, an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that differentiates itself markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture. It manifests itself-," rambled Spencer.
"This guy's a sick dude," interrupted Morgan.
Spencer nodded.
"But something triggers his constant need to escape. It could be drugs, sex, something that makes him feel vulnerable," said Emily.
"And he can't allow himself the vulnerability," said Hotch.
"Escape into the fantasy protects him from ever having to look at himself," said Rossi.
"You know, if the unsub lives in their skin, odds are, he's living in their hotel rooms," said Morgan before Hotch went to a CSI tech.
"Any ID on the body?" asked Hotch.
"No wallet, nothing. It might have dropped. They're searching now," said the tech.
"You're not gonna find anything. We need to roll the prints and run them. We need to figure out who he is and where he was staying," said Hotch before he motioned his team to follow him.
Spencer followed Morgan, Emily, and Detective Lopez towards a hotel room before Detective Lopez noticed a hotel room door open.
"It's open," said Detective Lopez as she, Spencer, Morgan, and Emily all pulled out their guns and entered the room.
As soon as all of the rooms were checked, Detective Lopez turned off the running sink water.
"Clear," said Detective Lopez.
Emily let out a breath of air.
"Boy, he tore through this place in a hurry," said Emily.
Spencer holstered his gun.
"What was he looking for?" asked Spencer.
"Identity, anything to possess a new one," said Emily.
"He thinks there's a witness out there who can ID him. It's not about fulfilling his need anymore. It's about his own survival. How does he escape? I'm gonna find out if Deacon Rogers had a car here," said Morgan as he pulled out his phone and called someone.
Spencer, Morgan, and Detective Lopez were looking at a file when Detective Lopez looked at Morgan.
"Think we missed something?" asked Detective Lopez.
"I don't know," said Morgan.
"Forensics pulled hair from the sink, but it'll be days before we get results," said Detective Lopez.
Emily who was going through a bag looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Detective Lopez.
"We don't have that kind of time," said Emily.
"The unsub can't follow his pattern. He thinks there might have been a witness, so he's gonna need to change identities sooner than usual," said Spencer.
"What if he can't?" asked Morgan.
"What do you mean?" asked Detective Lopez.
"We're predicting that the unsub may take another life in the next 24 hours because there was a witness who saw him. Remember what Garcia said, that specific paradigm two victims in one day? That occurred one other time. The first two men disappeared on the same day," said Morgan.
"Because somebody might have seen something that threatened the unsub with getting caught?" asked Emily.
"It's worth profiling," said Morgan.
"Steven Fitzgerald first went missing two months ago, took a bus to Miami from Oakland Park, which is just up the highway, never seen again. Robert Feeney flew in for a wedding but never arrived at his hotel," said Detective Lopez.
Morgan looked at Spencer.
"We need to get back in these files, question both families. Somewhere along the way, their paths may have crossed," said Morgan.
Spencer, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi approached Detective Lopez.
"Texas plates," said Rossi.
"Deacon Rogers never rented a car. He drove here from Texas in this. Put it out as a bolo," said Detective Lopez.
Spencer looked at the body.
"Agent Hotchner is taking statements from the family of Steven Fitzgerald. He might be our unsub," said Spencer.
"Seriously?" asked Detective Lopez.
"It's an unusual household," said Emily.
"We've had his picture this whole time?" asked Detective Lopez.
"Apparently," said Spencer.
"Didn't know soon enough to prevent this. One set of tire tracks in, nothing out," said Rossi as he pointed at the road.
"Yeah, I noticed. County spotted the vehicle 20 minutes ago just as it is," said Detective Lopez.
"Asphyxiated?" asked Emily.
"Heh. Why mess with a good thing? It's clearly working for him," said Detective Lopez.
"This stretch of road takes you out of the city. If we lose Steven now, it could take us months to catch up with him again," said Emily.
Morgan looked at something in the car.
"May I?" asked Morgan.
"Knock yourself out," said Detective Lopez.
Morgan grabbed a piece of paper out of a bag.
"What is it?" asked Rossi.
"Some kind of scraps of paper. Looks like a fast-food wrapper," said Morgan before he opened up the piece of paper, "It's a receipt for a youth hostel. It's dated last night. The name on it is Michael Aldridge," said Morgan.
Rossi looked at Michael.
"From the looks of his sunburn, it's a good guess this young man was hitchhiking," said Rossi.
"Assuming Steven has taken over Michael's identity, he didn't drive?" asked Spencer.
"Not if Michael didn't," said Rossi.
"He's not becoming his victims by choice. It's his illness. He'd have to travel the exact same way," said Spencer.
"Hostels," said Rossi.
"There's a few hostels in North Miami Beach, four miles that way, and in Seneca, five miles west," said Detective Lopez.
"Ok. We'll have to split up. We'll take Seneca. You take North Miami Beach," said Rossi.
Spencer smiled as he stood with Morgan and Emily as they watched JJ and Will kiss each other.
"Well, finally," said Morgan.
"Mm. I thought she was never gonna admit it," said Emily.
"Yeah. At least I've known for about a year because Will's the one to convince JJ to apologize to Clarissa about how she treated my wife," said Spencer.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" asked Morgan.
"I don't like sharing secrets unless the secret is harming someone or I'm asked to keep a relationship a secret," said Spencer before looking at Morgan, "Even though you've been dating Garcia since November and have known her for nearly four years, have you thought about going engagement ring shopping and ask Garcia to marry you yet?" asked Spencer.
"I have, but was planning on asking you to help me find a ring," said Morgan.
"I used my mom's engagement ring to propose to Clarissa, so why don't you ask your mom for her engagement ring," said Spencer.
Emily looked at Morgan.
"Reid's right that Garcia might like to wear your mother's engagement ring, so why don't you find time to call your mom and ask her to send you the ring," said Emily.
Morgan smiled as he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed his mother's number before walking away.
A few hours later Spencer quietly entered Diana's bedroom and smiled as he watched his four-year-old daughter sleep for a few minutes before he gave his oldest daughter a gentle kiss.
"Daddy loves you, bumble bee," whispered Spencer before he left Diana's room.
10 seconds later Spencer entered Bridget's nursery and shook his head when he saw Bridget laying awake in her crib while playing with her feet.
"What are you doing up, Bridget Mackenzie?" asked Spencer.
Bridget grinned when she saw her daddy.
"Dada," said Bridget before she made a sign for her diaper.
"Need a diaper change?" asked Spencer as he lifted his youngest daughter out of her crib and felt her diaper, "What has mommy and Lucy been feeding you?" asked Spencer as he laid his youngest daughter onto her changing table and started removing Bridget's pajamas so he could change her diaper.
A minute later Spencer was sitting in the rocking chair in Bridget's nursery and smiled at Bridget who was awake in his arms.
"Even though I don't want you to date until your 30-years-old, I don't care if you fall in love with a girl instead of a boy because I only care for your happiness and that includes your big sister Diana and your soon to be born baby brother Evan too," said Spencer before he started to sing one of his favorite lullabies to get Bridget to sleep.
A few minutes later Spencer entered the master bedroom to find Clarissa getting out of the bathroom.
"Hey," said Spencer.
"You didn't tell me that you were coming home tonight," said Clarissa.
"I know, but I thought that you should wake up to find me in bed with you," said Spencer.
"I heard you talk to Bridget through the baby monitor, and I agree with you about caring for our children's' happiness when it comes to falling in love," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband, "Instead of taking a shower, how about you take a bubble bath and I join you?" asked Clarissa.
Spencer nodded, and a few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were taking a bubble bath together while Spencer told Clarissa that JJ and Will were finally together while Clarissa told her husband about how the past two days went.
A/N: I already have it planned when Morgan will propose to Garcia.