Piper was in her office one night, working away at her laptop when Reid came in. "Hey, babe, I'll be in bed in a sec, I just want to-"
"Grab your coat and get in the car. I've already got Sophie in her carrier and Nate's getting his things together now. We've got to drop them off at Jessica's. I already called her too. I just need you to get ready."
"What's wrong, Spence?" She looked up from her computer, seeing that he was struggling to hold himself together. Piper stood, giving him a hug as he held on to her for dear life. "What's happening? Is someone coming after us?"
"Gideon's dead," he said, sniffling into her hair. "We need to… we need to get to his cabin." He said nothing else on the drive there, Piper running in to drop the kids off with Jessica. When they finally got to the cabin, the rest of the team was already there, standing around a body. They looked over to Piper and Reid as they walked in, offering a few nods and grim expressions.
"Are you sure it's him?" Piper asked, looking down at the sheet on the floor.
"It's Gideon," Hotch nodded gravely. Garcia burst into tears again, JJ shaking her head and giving her a hug. Reid turned and headed outside as Morgan looked to Piper, who followed in his wake.
She found her husband sitting on the steps, his head in his hands. "I haven't talked to him in a while. The last time… I was telling him about Sophia. It's been over six months now. I… he left me a letter when he left the BAU." The words all came streaming out at once, Piper putting her arms around him as he talked. "I think it was because he knew about my dad. About how he just packed up and left. He felt… like he owed me an explanation. He's - was - one of the biggest mentors…"
"I know, Spence." Piper leaned on him a bit, promising that, "We're going to find out who did this. And we're going to make sure they get what's coming to them. I swear, we'll hunt him down across the world if we have to."
Reid nodded, taking a deep breath. "Before we do that, can we stay here a bit longer?"
"However long we need," she said, glancing into the window, seeing that Hotch was looking out, checking up on them. "However long we need."
They rejoined the group, who was split between looking up Gideon's credit card history and going through evidence the killer had left behind - footprints, a lack of shell casings. "We're going to need someone to head over to the morgue," Hotch directed, his voice hollow. "We're going to need the autopsy reports. They're processing him immediately, so it should be just a few hours."
"We'll go," Reid volunteered, looking to Piper. In the end, Morgan came with them, keeping them company on the quiet car ride there. Piper drove, not saying much other than asking for directions when they got into town.
"He didn't suffer," the medical examiner told them as they walked in, handing copies of the autopsy reports to Morgan. "He was gone within a fraction of a second."
"Could you give us a minute?" Piper asked, looking over to her. The medical examiner nodded, leaving the three of them alone with the body. Piper looked to her husband, her eyes growing as red as his were. Both of them started to cry again as she reached out for his hand. "We're gonna find him."
"We will," Morgan vowed. He looked to the both of them, adding, "But you two have got to promise to be here. Don't give me that look, Piper. I know you two. I've known you for a long time, and when things like this happen, you don't always share what you're feeling. But we can't get through this like that. We've got to be honest. We're family, and that means being there for each other. Now I'm going to head outside and ask the ME a couple of things. When you're ready, we're going to hunt this guy down."
"I can't believe it," Piper finally said, breaking the silence of the icy room. "I know I hadn't talked to him in a bit, but I can't believe he's gone."
Reid nodded, not meeting her eye. "Garcia said he stopped in Roanoke even though he was speeding home. What if he had met someone there?"
"It's an idea, Spence, but we're standing in the morgue."
"We have ideas in the morgue all the time."
"Not in that hollow tone of voice, not when it's our friend lying there," she insisted, putting her arms around him. "Not when all I can think of is… is walking in on my first case and having him make sure I felt welcome. All the times we met up after he left, how he would write, or call and ask about Nate. I wish he could've met Sophia. I wish I could have… Spencer…"
"I know." He held her tightly for a few minutes, the two of them finally meeting Morgan outside once they had collected themselves again. Back at the cabin, they split up, Reid heading off to investigate BAU archives with Rossi, Piper and Morgan helping the others start a profile and canvas the woods for evidence.
It hadn't been long when Kate called them back in, saying that Rossi had found something. The team gathered around Hotch's phone, listening as Rossi filled them in. "Back in 1978, we had a case that went cold, and I think Gideon finally realized something and was back on it again. The unsub was strangling 20-something brunettes. Look for a mention of dead birds."
"We've got a 50-something woman, possibly strangled in Roanoke. No dead birds. Probably not your guy."
"He could have been checking it out, trying to see if there was a connection."
"50-something would have been in her 20s then," Garcia said. "Maybe he's been holding her for a while."
"She was the one he was looking for, until she wasn't," JJ nodded, looking to the others. "And now that she's gone, he's going to keep hunting and killing until he finds another one."
"We'll meet you in Roanoke," Hotch told Rossi, hanging up and addressing the team. "Garcia, JJ, Piper, you're here on forensics. The rest of you, with me."
Piper pulled her jacket on, texting Reid a "Good luck. I love you." before heading outside, grabbing a pair of gloves from the box that Forensics had left on the front porch. She spent the next few hours hunting for evidence in the woods, looking for additional bullets in trees, canvassing the outside of the house, anything and everything that she could do to pull any more evidence from the area. She could hardly feel her hands anymore when JJ called her in, saying that she and Garcia were making hot chocolate and that she needed to defrost. Besides, there were updates on the case.
"The body they found was a girl who went missing years ago," JJ told her as she handed over a mug. "She had symptoms of malnutrition and calluses like she had spent years crawling around somewhere. They're thinking she's one of the girls he kidnapped."
"We've got an hour until I can get the case files over here, so come in, warm up, and dig in. We found some ice cream in the freezer," Garcia said from her position sitting on the floor with her computer on her lap. "Oh, hey… missing woman from Roanoke."
"I'll call Hotch," JJ nodded, taking out her phone.
Hotch had news of his own - they were looking for a bird-watcher, someone who was good at picking out details, someone who had been in the area and knew who to target. Gideon had been singled out by him, since he wasn't a local, and the unsub knew what he was looking for. "Let me see, I've got the girl tracked down to the supermarket where she worked right out of high school, before she disappeared," Garcia reported. "And let's try… there's one of the bird group… that name sounds familiar. Okay, I've got a Gertie Mallick, with a relative… Donald Mallick, who spends so much money on bird food that you need to check it out."
"He's been replacing people, keeping them like birds," Piper wondered aloud as Garcia sent the address over to Hotch and the rest of the team. "Cool. Well, not cool, but interesting."
They hung up, trying to do more research and playing a waiting game. Piper's things were all on her laptop or in her office, so she couldn't screen more case files. JJ kept her company while Garcia worked on digging up more information. Looking out the window, Piper remarked, "I can understand why he liked it up here. I had an aunt with a house in the woods in Maryland. It was always so nice and peaceful out there. Watching the seasons change and everything... "
"It's nice out here. I'd like it too, if I wasn't so used to the city," JJ agreed.
"They're there," Garcia reported, checking the locations on the team's cell phones. "We should have some news soon."
They did get news soon - the team was on the way home, they had rescued a missing woman, and the unsub was dead. There wasn't much more news, but they knew that the team would have a whole lot to say when they got back. In reality, though, they wouldn't say much, splitting up after agreeing that they had done a good day's work. Piper drove home, holding Reid's hand as she navigated the nearly-empty streets at night. They had agreed to pick up the kids in the morning, since they were exhausted and were in no shape to explain what had happened.
Reid dropped down onto the bed, untying his shoes as Piper got into the shower. He was still in the same spot when she got out. "Spence, there's still plenty of hot water. Don't give me that look. You need a shower. You've been up for almost a day, driving all over the county and tromping through the woods. Don't forget to check for ticks."
"Piper -"
"I'm serious," she smiled as she grabbed her pajamas from the closet. "I'll go through your hair when you're done, if you comb through mine. Look, we can talk later, okay? I'll make some tea or something."
As Reid jumped in the shower, Piper went downstairs, making tea for both of them and answering a message from Garcia, saying that they had gotten home fine and were getting ready for bed. She agreed to help with the funeral plans, telling her to get some rest in the meantime. Heading back upstairs, Piper found Reid in his pajamas, standing in front of the mirror. "I look like I haven't slept in months."
"You never sleep regular hours. And you always look like that. Don't worry, I think it's cute. It makes you my Spencer, and I love having my Spencer with me," she smiled, handing him a cup of tea. "Come sit down with me. Well, take your contacts out and then come sit down with me." He obliged, putting his glasses on while she plugged in the strand of lights that they kept on every night before crawling into bed with her.
"I wish I could have said goodbye," Reid began, shaking his head. "AT least play one more game of chess with him, introduce him to Sophie. I wish…"
"There's so much more that I wish we could have done. I never thanked him properly for introducing us," Piper sighed, curling up next to him as Reid put his arm around her. "I never thanked him well enough for giving me away at our wedding… I can't believe…"
He nodded, taking a sip of his tea. "He hated goodbyes."
"I know. He… he created so many 'hello's. I mean, he welcomed a ton of people to the team, he introduced us, he helped us meet Nate… I'm sorry, I'm just talking," Piper shook her head. "I'm just talking and I have no idea what I'm saying. I'm exhausted and I have no idea what I'm saying. Spence, I just -"
"I know." He sighed, holding her close and thinking of how grateful he was to have her and the kids. How lucky he was. How he could lose them at any time, just like they had lost Gideon. "I know. I love you, Pipes."
A.N.: I missed Gideon while he was gone, which is why I brought him back for the wedding. And then when I found out he died... I know we hadn't seen him in a while, but it was still sad, especially seeing what it did to the rest of the team.
