Chapter three part twelve
Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember. Seneca
Spencer went to the passenger side and opened the door for Catherine.
"Thank you," she signed and it took some doing but she got out of the car. At seven months pregnant moving around was starting to become a bit of struggle for her. She grabbed the flowers they bought for her and they started walking to the grave site. Emily had been gone for six months now and everyone was going to visit her grave today. Spencer took her hand and his grip on hers was tight and she could feel it shaking a little in hers. She stopped him and looked up at him.
"If you don't want to do this we don't have too," said Catherine softly.
"I have to do this and I need to do this," signed Spencer. Catherine nodded and took his hand again. They made their way to the site and almost everyone was there.
"Of course Morgan is late," muttered Garcia. Catherine went up and hugged Garcia. Garcia wipped her eyes and gave Catherine a small smile. JJ was holding Henry and Will was distracting him with a toy. Hotch was there with Jack. Rossi came up to Spencer.
"I look forward to seeing you around the office again...I missed having someone rattling off statistics at the speed of light," said Rossi. His sabbatical was coming to an end and he was due back into the office next week when Catherine went back to school.
"Thank you." The time off was needed and he didn't regret taking it for one second. He needed to spend the time with Catherine and with his mother. She finished her chemotherapy last month and her results looked good so far. She was back on her medication and she had no recollection of any of her prior disillusions and was happy to see Catherine and talk to her about what she could remember from when she had been pregnant with him.
"So how's she doing?" asked Rossi.
"Good...walking up stairs, hills, long distances and sleeping on her back now present some difficulties but she's managing ok for the most part."
"And you?"
"I'm still mentally trying to prepare myself for the fact that in two months I'm going to be in delivery room with her and responsible for another human being."
"You're scared...sounds about right." Morgan came up to him.
"Sorry I'm late."
"We expected nothing less," said Hotch.
"Everybody's here now...ok." Kevin handed Garcia a candle and she bent down and lit it.
"We do that for mommy," whispered Jack to Hotch.
"Yes we do," said Hotch squeezing his son's shoulder. JJ and Catherine sat down the roses they got for Emily. Garcia handed Catherine a note.
" It's so you can follow along." Catherine nodded and hugged her again. "Hey E...it's...well it's all of us. I thought...we thought that we should let you know how we're doing." Spencer squeezed Catherine's hand and she leaned against him. She knew he didn't have any religious beliefs and he probably felt a little silly being here, but he came because his family was here.
"JJ is now our newest Profiler and let me tell you she is kicking ass and taking names left and right. She is doing such a good job and you would be so proud of her." Spencer looked over at JJ and she was holding Henry and blinking back tears. Will had his hand on her shoulder and she leaned against him.
"Hotch is going to Pakistan soon to help sort out some land issues. They picked him since he's one of the best negotiation people they could think of. We're going to miss him, but Morgan is going to be filling in again and well...I will enjoy taking orders from my chocolate god of thunder." Morgan just shook his head and tried not to smile and Spencer saw a twitch of smile from Hotch.
"Rossi is about to publish another book that is based on The Butcher. We're sure that it's going to make him even more money and maybe even score him his fourth wife. You should see the girl they have to be his editor, she is a dish to behold."
"What can I say I believe in love," said Rossi with a smirk.
"Reid and Kitty are about to start having little baby geniuses. According to two different ultrasounds they are having a little girl and they're naming her Abigail Emily Reid. If she's anything like her parents and her namesake she is going to be so awesome that people are just going to blown away by it." Spencer gripped her hand tight and she squeezed back.
"Me and Kevin...well we're us. We're thinking about moving into together, however we're still trying to figure out how to deal with our digtal stuff...Kevin wants to have one computer and well Mama needs her own unit," said Garica. They all couldn't help but laugh.
"I just want you to know that we miss you so much. That there isn't a day that goes by and we don't think about you. But...we're doing ok now and that we're going to be alright. It was really hard for awhile without you, but we're still a family and we're looking forward to having new members in a few months. And I know that where ever you are that your looking out for us now. Well...E...that's all for now...we love you." She knelt down and blew out the candle. Catherine wiped her eyes and JJ had burried her face in Henry's hair.
"Baby girl that was very sweet," said Morgan and he hugged her.
"It's something that we do in Group...it's just nice to talk to her you know," said Garcia. Spencer had to agree, even though he knew that she was gone and what they were talking to was just a body it felt like something he should have done a long time ago.
"Mommy...are we going to have lunch now?" asked Henry.
"Yeah baby...that sounds like a good idea," said JJ wiping her eyes.
"You ok?" asked Henry.
"Yeah she's fine," she gave him a hug and started walking towards the car with Will. Rossi, Hotch, and Jack started towards the parking lot. Garcia, Kevin, Spencer and Catherine stood there for a few more moments before heading towards their car.
"I miss her," signed Catherine. Spencer kissed her forehead.
"I miss her too."
…...
Despite being gone for almost three months his aim was still good. The target came back and he had empitied the clip into the head. He reloaded his gun and called up a new target, he empitied that clip into the torso of the target. Spencer had been going to the gun range every other day after Emily died. He knew that he would never be able to hold his own in a fight the way Morgan could or the way Emily had. However he was no longer the kid who couldn't shoot his way out of wet paper bag, plus it was a stress reliever. He had passed his re-certification this time with flying colors. He spent another hour at the gun range before heading back to the office. He was greeted by JJ when he came in.
"Hey, you have time to eat lunch with me?" asked JJ.
"Sure." He followed JJ into the break room and grabbed his lunch out of the fridge and sat down with her.
"So welcome back."
"It's good to be back," he said. He meant it too. He had enjoyed his time off with Catherine, but his other family was here and apart of him had missed the job too. He didn't think about the cases he had missed out on and he didn't ask. He decided that he was going to focus on the cases that were in front of him and not the ones he hadn't been apart of.
"So we really didn't get a chance to talk the other day due to Henry's questions." Spencer sort of grinned. Henry was very curious about Catherine and the baby. He wanted to feel how the baby kicked and wanted to know how the baby got inside of her.
"Did he buy that it was a magic trick?" asked Spencer.
"He is now asking us to show us how the trick works," said JJ rolling her eyes.
"You know a good magician never reveals his secret," he said with a smug grin and JJ gave him a little shove.
"So do you mind me asking how your going to handle it when Catherine has the baby?" asked JJ.
"We've talked about it and I'm going to take a week off after she's born and Catherine is going to take her full three months of maternity leave."
"Are you going to take any paternity leave?" asked JJ.
"I might depending on our case load," said Spencer. He and Catherine had talked about how they were going to handle everything after the baby was born. They agreed the sooner they got into a normal routine the easier everything would be. Catherine said she would be fine if he wanted to go back to work after Abby was born, that it would help set up the routine sooner rather than later. JJ took a sip of her soda.
"So you think you're ready for her?"
"It still feels a little surreal you know...I mean I've read the books, we have her room ready, I've seen the ultrasounds, but I'm still nervous you know. I mean...I'm going to be someone's dad and even saying it out loud sounds weird. I can't wait to meet her through." JJ smiled at him, he had come such a long way since Emily's 'death'.
She had really been worried about him, he seemed to be slipping into such a dark place that she didn't know if he was going to be able to get out of it. He had crawled his way back and she knew that parts of him had changed and some of them not for the better. His time at the gun range worried her a bit. But, the parts of him that had stayed the same had gotten better, his devotion to his job, to Catherine and to his unborn daughter was amazing. He was still the same sweet and loyal person she had met six years ago.
"Let me tell you something. When you get to meet her you are going to fall so head over heels for her it's going to be unreal. When I finally met Henry, it was like falling in love all over again...I fell in love with Will again after Henry was born and it was the most amazing feeling ever." Spencer toyed with his lunch, but JJ could see a small smile on his face. It's good to have you back Spence.
…...
The month of August drifted by quietly and most of the cases they handled were close to home or he helped Rossi teach classes at the Academy. Catherine had gone back to school, she had dropped working with the Junior Council. She explained to him that it was just too much work trying to organize everything that had to go into it: field trips, school dances, fund raising, ect. She stayed with the Drama Program though since she had Kyle's help and less to plan and fund raise for. The kids wanted to try having a show choir this year instead of putting on a play, they were still deciding though if they wanted to compete in any invitationals though. Catherine had been put in charge of reading song lyrics and teaching the kids how to sign it. It was like West Side Story trying to make all the singing, dancing and signing line up right, but with less planning. Spencer had watched a few rehearsals of the choir and was impressed and proud of the work she was doing with these kids. He promised that this time he wouldn't miss the show. Things were relatively normally until September when everything came out and shook everyone to the core.
They day started normal enough, he and Catherine had breakfast together and headed to catch the Metro together.
"I'll see you tonight," signed Catherine and she kissed him on the cheek. She got off and Spencer watched her get on the next train. He caught his connecting train and went over some case reports the cadets had worked up and handed them back to Rossi. He had lunch with JJ and helped her file some older cases and then went to Academy with Rossi to teach a class about identifing different types of stressors. He was about to call it a day when Garica called them up to the round table room telling them it was urgent. Morgan was already up there and was pacing, they had barely sat down when Morgan started talking and it's what set the ball in motion. Morgan had found Declan Doyle, but more importantly he had found Doyle.
Spencer wasn't surprised that Morgan had been trying to find Doyle since Emily's death and he wasn't surprised that Morgan had not asked him for his help. He had been too out of it to be any real help on it, plus Doyle had already indirectly threatened Catherine once. This was a man who murdered children and killed one of his best friends. Spencer wanted Doyle brought to justice, but he wouldn't risk Catherine for it. He would not let her meet the same fate as Haley, murdered by a mad man she knew nothing about.
He was surprised though that Morgan had found Declan, Doyle's son that Emily had pretended to murder to hide him from his father. He wasn't surprised though that Emily had moved Declan to Virginia so she could keep in contact with him. Emily was always good with child witnesses and she wanted to make sure he stayed safe.
"You found him?" asked Rossi shocked.
"Well it was sort of easy to do once we remembered the forger Emily had contact with and we found Declan's fake ID," said Garcia sitting the fake passport on the table and explained how they had video from a camera outside of Declan's home.
"So what do we do now?" asked Spencer.
"I called Hotch and he says we need you to bring in Declan," said Morgan. "We have Doyle on tape and we're going to bring him in." Spencer didn't ask if he meant dead or alive.
"He still might be at school and we should check there first," said Rossi.
"I already have agents inside the house, so try the school first," said Morgan.
"What are you going to do?" asked Rossi leaning back in his chair.
"JJ and I are taking a SWAT team and we're going to stake out Doyle's place," he said. Rossi said nothing and left the room.
"We'll call you when we have him," said Spencer getting up from the table. Garica gave him the school address and home address on his phone. Rossi got a car from the motor pool and he drove towards Virginia. Spencer sent a quick text to Catherine and looked out the window at the passing scenary.
"Twenty dollars," said Rossi.
"What?" asked Spencer.
"Twenty dollars says Morgan shoots him before SWAT gets a chance," said Rossi. Bring Doyle in and letting him sit in an American jail was not ideal. This was a man who escaped from a North Korean prison camp and made his way to the States. Spencer doubted an American jail would phase him, after being on the run for almost seven months an American prison might seem like a vacation.
"Does it make me heartless to say I really don't care what happens to him?" asked Spencer. I just want him to stop breathing the same air as me.
"No. Not at all," said Rossi.
…... They didn't find Declan at the school, according to Garcia he should have rugby practice, but the Headmaster told them he had been sent home sick. They tried calling the agents Morgan had sent and got no answer. Spencer called JJ to let her know what was going on. Please don't let him have the boy.
"Hello," said JJ.
"We can't find him," explained Spencer getting out of the SUV that was now in front of the house. Spencer quickly filled her in on what was going on.
"Did you call the agents?" asked JJ suddenly fearful
"They're car is out front," confromed Spencer.
"The lights are off," said Rossi drawing his weapon.
"Let me call you back," said Spencer hanging up the phone and drawing his weapon. They entered the house and found it unlocked. The air smelled like copper and he could hear a beeping sound. Rossi nodded his head upstairs and than to the kitchen door, Spencer nodded back and headed upstairs to clear it while Rossi took the kitchen. He cleared the upstairs quickly and found nothing. He went back downstairs and to the living room. Half hidden behind a coffee table was a dead agent, Collins if Spencer remembered right. Spencer heard Rossi behind him and he shook his head.
"Della is dead too...I'm going to check the back, you take hall," said Rossi. Spencer nodded and stood up. Taking a deep breath Spencer turned his attention to the main hallway and he noticed the closet door was open a crack. Please don't let the boy be in there, please. Spencer had his gun in one hand his flashlight in the other, with his flashlight hand he opened the door quickly. A woman that had been badly beaten fell out and onto the floor. Spencer checked her pulse and found none. He saw Rossi coming back down the hallway.
"This was the nanny," said Spencer studying her face and she looked like the woman from the fake passport.
"Three bodies and no kid...Doyle's got him."
"Shit," muttered Spencer and he called JJ. Before she could say anything Spencer was talking.
"He's gone."
"What? What do you mean he's gone?" asked JJ.
"We got here and it looks like Doyle killed Collins, Della and the nanny and Declan isn't here."
"Shit!" snapped JJ.
"My thoughts exactly," said Spencer.
"Morgan has Doyle cornered," said JJ. She got on her radio and spoke to Morgan. "Declan is missing and we need Doyla alive to find the boy. Don't shoot!" It was quite for several minutes and than JJ came back on the line. "We have Doyle and we're bring him in." JJ hung up her end and Spencer hung up his just as Rossi was getting off with the Virginia PD.
"They have Doyle," said Spencer.
"Now we just have to find the boy," said Rossi.
…...
They stayed at the house while the Virginia PD and their Crime Unit worked the house. It looked like the power to the house had been cut along with the phone lines. Garcia called Rossi to let him know that the pole camera outside the house had been cut by a solo man and they had no footage of what happened.
"This was highly organized. One could have taken out of the camera while the other started in here," suggested Spencer.
"So the power was cut, but there are no signs of forced entry. So how do you overpower two armed agents?" asked Rossi.
"It could have been a male and a female posing as the next shift."
"It makes sense considering how efficent this was." Something wasn't sitting right though with Spencer. Killing Collins and Della makes sense, taking the boy makes sense, but why kill the nanny. She raised Declan, if anything Doyle would have taken her too.
"But than why did they take the time to kill the nanny and shove her in closet?" asked Spencer.
"It's personal and professional," said Rossi.
"It doesn't make sense though, she raised Declan and was with Doyle for years. He would have wanted her alive." They got the all clear that all the bodies had been removed and they went to study where the nanny had been found. They studied the closet and Spencer noticed men's jackets and pointed them out to Rossi. Someone else lived in this house and was currently unaccounted for.
"You think Doyle did this?" asked Spencer.
"He's capable of a lot of things, but being two places at once. It took us an hour to get here and that was with us hitting every green light and little traffic. No...someone else was looking for a way to hurt him."
"What better why to hurt someone than through a child." They got back in the SUV and headed towards the BAU. Garica called them to let them know Hotch was on his way back and Morgan was questioning Doyle. As much as I hate that man, I would actualy feel sorry for him if something happened to that boy.
…...
Morgan questioned Doyle for almost six hours and was getting nowhere fast. He was working with Garcia to figure out who hated Doyle and was currently in the States. The list was very small to say the least. The only one that really fit and they had his picture was a guy named Richard Geriace that Doyle had scared badly over twenty years ago. Spencer poured himself another cup of coffee and studied the crime scene photos of the house, the death of the nanny bothered him in ways he couldn't figure out.
Collins and Della had been quick and clean kills. The beating took time and they could have been caught or heard by a neighbor, something was just off enough to bug him.
"If you stare long enough do you see the sail boat?" asked Garcia.
"If I'm lucky I'll see a motive," said Spencer.
"You think there's a motive?"
"Collins and Della were in the way...beating the nanny to death was risky overkill. It doesn't fit with the other kills." Spencer watched as Rossi, Morgan, JJ and walked in.
"You get anywhere with Doyle?" Did you turn off the camera yet?
"Doyle doesn't think Geriace had the balls to do this," said Morgan and Garica frowned.
"But that was defiantly Geriace on the tape." Hotch came in through the back way and Spencer was taken aback by Hotch's appearance, he was sporting a beard and a roughneck look that he thought he would never see on Hotch.
"Welcome back," said Morgan. Too bad it's not for something pleasant, thought Spencer.
"Thank you. Everybody take a seat," said Hotch. They all took a seat except for JJ who went to stand by Hotch with her hands shoved deep in her pockets. Hotch crossed his arms and took a deep breath.
"Seven months ago I made a decsion that affected this team. As you all know Emily had lost a lot of blood after her fight with Doyle. But, the doctors were able to stabilize her and she was airlifted from Boston to an undisclosed location under a fake name. Her identity and location were on a need to know basis. Once she was well enough to travel, she was reassigned to Paris with several fake identifies and passports, none of which we had access too for security reasons..." Hotch couldn't seem to go on and Spencer knew that if he hadn't been sitting he might have fallen to the floor in shock. The room suddenly seemed to small and oppressive. He couldn't seem to get air into his lungs to breathe.
"She's...she's alive?" asked Garcia near tears. Hotch didn't say anything and he couldn't look any of them in the eye and neither could JJ.
"But we burried her," said Spencer. They had carried her coffin, it was so heavy, not just from the body inside, but from the guilt and loss of failing his friend and teammate. He had cried over her closed coffin and had tossed dirt in grave. They had just stood over her grave and told her how much they missed her. We burried her and said goodbye. Spencer couldn't seem to get another word
out. He was speechless.
"As I said I take full responsibility for the decision. If anyone has any issue they should be addressed to me." It was like Morgan was reading his mind.
"Issues," Morgan spat in a tone that didn't seem to cover all the rage and sadness he and everyone else had felt over the past few months. "Yeah I got issues!" Before he could get another word out Garica let out something between a sob and a gasp.
"Oh my god!" Her attention was towards the door and without a thought Spencer turned his chair around and had to grab the armrest for support or else he might have slide right out of the chair from the shock. There in the door, looking a bit thinner, a little tired and with nails that had been cut very short stood the person that his daughter would share one of her names with. Emily.
"I'm home," she whispered near tears.
A lie may take care of the present, but it has no future. Author Unknown
Notes- Ep's referenced -LDSK-Hotch told an Un-sub Reid couldn't shoot his way out of wet paper bag.
It takes a Village.
