Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds
A/N: Shout out to Fashionista7 for being the 400th reviewer for this story, and also a shout out to Natashia, Tegan, Aleona, Cara, Kyla, Charis, tannerose5, fishtrek, Guest, Hippichic81, Daisyangel, southernbeauty13 for reviewing chapter 52.
When it comes to now having over 400 reviews for this story, I like to thank everyone who has taken the time to review this story because this story has the most reviews so far!
I'm going to have it that Spencer isn't teased about Lila Archer because of him being married and a father. I'm sorry about the lack of Jocelyn and Gabriella in this chapter, but they'll be in then next chapter.
With it being six months since William Reid was put in prison for punching Spencer, I thought that I should revisit the topic.
Spencer glanced towards Jocelyn who was napping in his mother's bed while Maeve nursed Gabriella before looking at his mother who was writing in her journal.
"We won't be visiting next week Saturday," said Spencer.
"Why?" asked Diana.
"Maeve and I are going to Irvine, California for two days and three nights to attend a lecture that Dr. James Fallon is giving, so Joe and Mary will be helping Stephanie watch Jocelyn and Gabriella next weekend," said Spencer.
Diana smiled a bit before looking at her son and her daughter-in-law.
"You two have fun," said Diana.
"You're not upset about me not visiting for a weekend?" asked Spencer.
"Even though we've visited each other every weekend since I transferred here, I know that I won't always see you every weekend because of your job, Spencer," said Diana before smiling a little bit, "With everything you two have been dealing with, you two deserve a weekend getaway without my beautiful granddaughters," said Diana before all three adults started to talk about books before Diana got to hold Gabriella again.
Two days later Spencer was working on his consults when his desk phone rang causing him to quickly answer the phone.
"Dr. Reid," answered Spencer.
"Are you William Reid's son, Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid?" asked a man.
Spencer instantly stiffened up causing Emily to look at him.
"I am, but who are you and why do you know my full title?" asked Spencer.
"I'm William Reid's parole officer Brandon Wilson from Las Vegas, Nevada and I know your full title because I saw you at our high school reunion earlier this year and I was sitting nearby when you confronted the four worst bullies of our graduating class and I was about to come help you before you were able to stop Brett from attacking you," said Brandon.
"I remember you because you were one of the few kids who were always nice to me," said Spencer.
"That's because I have a brother your age, so I was like 'what if my brother was in your footsteps' so that's why I chose to be nice to you," said Brandon before becoming serious, "Do you have a few minutes to talk about your father?" asked Brandon.
"I'm at work right now, but I do have a couple of minutes to talk," said Spencer.
"When it came to reading the restraining order and no contact order that was filed to order your father to stay away from your mother, his daughter Stephanie, your daughters, some of your remaining family in Las Vegas, and you; its protocol to let you know that your father will be getting released from prison in an hour and he'll be wearing an ankle monitor for the rest of his life. The ankle monitor will only let him stay in Clark County, so you won't have to worry about him traveling to Washington DC," said Brandon.
"I appreciate you for letting me know. You won't have to worry about him going to see my mom because my mom got transferred to a sanitarium in Alexandria, Virginia last month because she wanted to live closer to my daughters and me," said Spencer.
"Good to know, and if you, your sister, or your mother get any phone calls, text messages, emails, or letters from your father please let me know," said Brandon.
"My wife, Stephanie, and I changed our personal cell phone numbers, land-line number, and personal email addresses when Maeve and I returned to DC with Stephanie in tow, and Maeve and I rarely give our personal phone numbers to people we don't trust," said Spencer.
"Good to know," said Brandon.
"Even though my job rarely brings me to Las Vegas and I try to go out there a few times a year to visit some of my remaining family, I'll call you and let you know whenever I end up in Vegas for work or personal reasons,' said Spencer.
"I would appreciate that," said Brandon.
"I have to get back to work, but I'll give you my work phone number, land-line number, and personal cell phone number so you can contact me about my father," said Spencer.
"I got pen and paper by me right now," said Brandon.
A few seconds later Spencer was rattling off a few numbers, and when he was finished he spoke up.
"Thank you for taking a few minutes to talk to me, and I hope you have a good rest of your day, Spencer," said Brandon.
"You too," said Spencer before hanging up.
A few seconds later Emily looked at Spencer.
"Is everything OK?" asked Emily.
"It was my father's parole officer letting me know that dad's getting out of prison in an hour. He'll be wearing an ankle monitor that will keep him from leaving Clark County while being ordered to stay away from my mom, Maeve, Stephanie, Jocelyn, Gabriela, and me while he's also forbidden to contact us," said Spencer before he grabbed his crutches and settled them underneath his arms, "I need to move around for awhile, so please don't add your consults to my pile of consults," said Spencer.
After using the closest men's room, Spencer hobbled towards Hotch's office before he heard Hotch's voice through the open door.
"Before you think about knocking, come on in, Reid," said Hotch.
Spencer shook his head as he hobbled into Hotch's office.
"I really can't wait to get rid of these crutches because these crutches always alert everyone of my presence even though I have to admit that Josie and Gabby are acting like dogs when they hear my crutches is cute because they realize I'm nearby causing them to want my attention," said Spencer.
Hotch chuckled a bit.
"At least your getting faster on them every day," said Hotch before gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk, "Why don't you sit down and rest your leg and help me with a consult I'm working on," said Hotch.
"OK," said Spencer as he made his way to the chairs that Hotch moved to make everything easier for him and slowly sat down, "Before I help you with your current consult, I should tell you about the phone call I just had," said Spencer.
"Is everything OK?" asked Hotch.
"I was just notified that my dad will be out of prison in an hour and that the restraining orders you helped me file will be in effect and you and the rest of the team already know that Maeve and I already changed our land-line number, personal cell phone numbers, and our personal email addresses and only give that information to people we trust," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Is it cruel of me to decided that my father won't get to watch his granddaughters, Stephanie, and any future children that Maeve and I have together, grow up?" asked Spencer.
"Even though becoming a father caused you and your father to reconnect again, I don't blame you for deciding to cut him out of you and your family's life because he hurt you again," said Hotch.
"In a couple of years Jocelyn and Gabriella might ask about the few photos that include my father with Jocelyn and ask Maeve or me why they never see him, so would I tell them the truth or lie to them?" asked Spencer.
"Don't come up with an answer yet because you have a few years before Jocelyn and Gabriella ask you about your father, but for now Rossi and I are happy to be honorary grandfathers to your daughters," said Hotch before he handed Spencer the file he was looking at.
A few hours later Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates while being briefed on their latest case.
"The latest victim is Tara Farris, 20. She's the third victim in two weeks. All found on freeway off-ramps by commuters," said JJ as she passed files around.
"Well, he's not hiding them," said Hotch.
"An LA freeway during morning rush hour? He wants them found," said Rossi.
"Quickly," said Morgan.
"Well, they're still dressed. That minimizes the shock value," said Emily.
"Maybe he's concerned for them. Think he wants them taken care of?" asked Spencer as he opened up a file.
"No signs of sexual assault on any of the victims," said JJ.
Rossi looked at a picture of Tara.
"Look how pale she is," said Rossi.
"All of them were severely hypovolemic. Tara had less than a pint of blood in her," said JJ.
Spencer who had quickly read the file looked at his teammates.
"Look at this. the first two had more than three pints each. If exsanguination is the goal, the unsub is definitely becoming more proficient," said Spencer.
JJ pulled up a picture.
"This is new. Tara's the only victim to have a written message," said JJ.
Hotch quickly read what was written on Tara's lie.
""The Liar."" recited Hotch.
""The" liar. That's strange, isn't it? Not a liar or just liar," said Emily.
"So what did you lie about, Tara?" asked Hotch.
JJ pulled up another picture.
"All of the victims appear to have been strangled and then bled out through identical wounds in the throat," said JJ.
Emily noticed the wounds.
"Wait-seriously, are those supposed to be fang marks?" asked Emily.
"All of the wounds on the victims were covered in saliva. Human saliva, as though," started JJ.
"Someone drank their blood," finished Spencer.
A few minutes later Spencer was sending Maeve a text message.
I'M GOING TO LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. I LOVE YOU, JOSIE, AND GABBY. ~ SR
Spencer was sitting on the couch with his bad leg crossed over his good leg while JJ concluded a phone call.
"OK. OK, thanks," said JJ as she hung up and looked at her teammates, "So they've already set up a task force in Los Angeles," said JJ.
Morgan took a seat next to Spencer.
"This isn't their first serial case," said Morgan.
JJ looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Hotch.
"You remember Detective Owen Kim?" asked JJ.
"From the stalker case," said Hotch.
JJ looked at Spencer.
"I know that you remember this case, but are you going to visit any of your friends in LA or Pasadena?" asked JJ.
"We should probably focus on this case. It's a little more pertinent, but depending on how this case goes, I might catch up with Parker or my friends from Cal-tech," said Spencer.
Morgan looked at Spencer.
"All right, so tell us about blood-drinkers, Reid," said Morgan.
"Human blood consumption, or clinical vampirism, is known as Renfield's syndrome, named after the insect-eating character in Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula."," smiled Spencer.
"Are they sadists?" asked Emily.
"Not necessarily. Pain to the victim is usually only a byproduct. Blood is the focus. Renfield's syndrome is usually accompanied by varying levels of schizophrenia and occasionally more classic cannibalism if the condition evolves," said Spencer.
"Classic cannibalism. Lovely job we have," said Rossi sarcastically.
"I will say this- True cases are exceedingly rare," said Spencer.
"That's comforting. Sort of," said JJ.
"Renfield's may be rare, but vampires are anything but. And there's a huge subculture in Los Angeles of the red-drinking undead," said Garcia.
"Why is that not a surprise?" asked Rossi as everyone saw some pictures.
"Garcia, all these people drink blood?" asked Morgan.
"Au contraire. they mostly just dress up like Prentiss did in high school and they make believe. It's all kinds of delicious," said Garcia as she saw Spencer's smirk directed at Emily.
"It's not the same thing at all. as a matter of fact, we should refer to this unsub as a vampirist, not a vampire. And they would be attracted to the subculture merely for its professed worship of blood," said Spencer.
"OK, I'm going to continue spelunking through the various online sites, see if anything jumps up and bites me," joked Garcia as she took a sip of tomato juice.
"Thanks, baby g-," said Morgan before he corrected himself, "Thanks, Penelope. Stay close," said Morgan.
"Yes, sir. Garcia out," said Garcia as she signed off.
"You guys, one more thing- vampirists are coveters. They most generally always have some sort of relationship with the victim, even if it's tangential. And they're likely to become obsessed. They've almost certainly crossed paths in some way," said Spencer.
Spencer followed his teammates on his crutches as he made his way to Lieutenant Kim.
"Hi, Lieutenant Kim. Agent Jareau," said JJ as she shook hands with Lieutenant Kim.
"JJ, of course. I remember most of you," said Lieutenant Kim before he shook hands with Hotch, "Agent Hotchner," said Lieutenant Kim.
Spencer let go one of the handles of his crutches and shook hands with Lieutenant Kim.
"Reid," said Lieutenant Kim before he shook hands with Morgan, "Morgan. Welcome back to the left coast," said Lieutenant Kim.
Hotch looked at Lieutenant Kim.
"These are agents Prentiss and Rossi. I believe they're new to you," said Hotch.
Lieutenant Kim shook hands with Emily and Rossi before motioning everyone to follow him while Spencer quickly followed on his crutches.
"We already have a room set up full of glass boards, case files, and extremely bad coffee," joked Lieutenant Kim.
"We've worked with a lot less," said Emily.
Hotch entered the conference room that they were given.
"Agent Morgan's in charge now. it's his show," said Hotch.
Lieutenant Kim looked at Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and JJ with a confused look.
"Long story," said Hotch as he watched Spencer enter the room.
"I know you like to start with the freshest information and work your way back. So Tara's apartment has been processed and sealed in case you want to go there. And her body, along with that of the first two girls, is at the morgue with an ME. Waiting there for your call," said Lieutenant Kim.
Morgan looked at his teammates.
"All right. JJ, get set up here and then hook up with Garcia. Send her the witness information So she can start cross-referencing with the first two victims," said Morgan before he looked at Spencer, "Reid, I want you to go through all the case files, set up a preliminary profile based on what you already know about the psychopathology. And the rest of us, let's find out what we can on Tara," said Morgan.
"So we're looking for a connection between the witnesses," said JJ as she taped a picture of one of the victims to a board.
Spencer rubbed his eyes and started blinking rapidly as the contact lenses in his eyes were starting to bother him.
"When vampirists become obsessed, they aren't likely to find a random victim. If we can find a cross-relationship, someone in all the victims' lives, that'll be incredibly helpful," said Spencer.
JJ looked at a file that was in front of Spencer.
"Gina King knew Tara the longest. They apparently had some classes together," said JJ.
"Let's get all the information we can on that relationship. As a matter of fact, get me everything you can on all of Tara's friends," said Spencer.
"All right," said JJ as she looked at the clock, "In the morning I'll track them down and do some follow-up," said JJ.
"That's fine," said Spencer.
A few minutes later Lieutenant Kim was driving Spencer and JJ to the hotel.
"If you don't mind me asking, but why are you on crutches, Dr. Reid?" asked Lieutenant Kim.
"I got shot above the left knee two months ago, and I'm in the process of using one crutch for short distances around the house while I still have to use two crutches for long distances. So I'm counting down the days when I can get coffee on my own without having my wife, in-laws, and teammates deciding to limit the amount of coffee I drink," said Spencer.
"Did you say wife?" asked Lieutenant Kim.
Spencer smiled a bit.
"I got married to a fellow genius nearly two years ago," said Spencer.
"Any kids yet?" asked Lieutenant Kim.
"I have a 15-month-old daughter named Jocelyn and a four-month-old daughter named Gabriella, and my wife and I are fostering my 14-year-old half-sister," said Spencer.
"Congratulations," said Lieutenant Kim.
Lieutenant Kim looked at JJ.
"Any boyfriend, fiance, husband, and kids yet?" asked Lieutenant Kim.
"I have a boyfriend and a son who just turned one last week," said JJ.
Spencer raised the chair that Lieutenant Kim brought in for him before he used his good leg to get the chair closer to the whiteboard as he and JJ watched the news before JJ looked at him.
"So much for keeping the media out. Penelope?" asked JJ as she looked at Tara's computer in front of her, "Are we in yet?" asked JJ.
"All yours," said Garcia as she sighed, "I always feel skeevy going through someone's life like this," said Garcia.
"Ok, so everything looks like it's password protected, so you might not even be able to-," said JJ just as she saw a homepage, "You're in already, aren't you?" asked JJ.
"The password was Cullen," said Garcia.
"Of course," said JJ.
Spencer who was writing on the board looked at JJ.
"Cullen from "Twilight"?" asked Spencer.
A wide eyed JJ looked at Spencer.
"You've read "Twilight"?" asked JJ.
"Stephanie insisted on having me read her books when she found out that I really didn't get to have a normal teenage experience," said Spencer before grumbling, "Even though I got through "Twilight" very quickly, it was a waste of time to read. I can't believe that my sister enjoys books like that," grumbled Spencer.
JJ laughed.
"At least having a teenager living under your roof is causing you to be prepared for when Jocelyn and Gabriella are teenagers while you are getting to read more books that aren't technical books," said JJ.
"But I still prefer reading fiction books in foreign languages," said Spencer.
JJ laughed.
"OK, I'll see what I can dredge. My love is strong," said Garcia.
"OK, thanks," said JJ as she hung up and looked at Spencer, "How's the profile coming?" asked JJ.
Spencer turned his head from the board.
"I don't know. I never really feel ready, you know?" asked Spencer.
JJ stood up and made her way towards Spencer.
"It'll be fine. I am gonna go talk to Tara's BFF before the media requests come in and it gets too crazy," said JJ.
"Stephanie explained to me that BFF means 'best friend forever'," said Spencer.
"Stephanie is definitely a good influence on you," said JJ.
"Should I go with you?" asked Spencer.
JJ looked at Spencer's bad knee before glancing at the crutches that were nearby.
"No, you have a profile to deliver," said JJ.
Spencer looked at the board.
"I should really work on it a little more," said Spencer.
"Reid," said JJ as she went to grab Spencer's phone causing Spencer's eyes to go wide as JJ pressed a few buttons.
"What are you doing with my phone?" asked Spencer.
"Derek, hey, um," said JJ as she saw Spencer made some hand movements to her, "Spence is ready for the profile," said JJ.
Spencer shook his head as JJ listened to Morgan.
"Why, yes, he is, right here," said JJ as she passed Spencer his phone, "I'll be back," said JJ.
Spencer pressed his phone against his ear.
"Hey," said Spencer.
Spencer was sitting on a desk while his feet rested on a chair with his crutches nearby as he looked at all of the officers in the task force.
"We aren't looking for a vampire in the supernatural sense, only in the sense that this unsub has a very strong desire, a need, for human blood. Now, fortunately, vampirists display several characteristics which will be helpful in finding him. He will have cut himself repeatedly," said Spencer as he pointed at the whiteboard, It's called auto-vampirism, essentially becoming his own first victim. It's the way by which he first tasted human blood. Most vampirists are incredibly ashamed of this and will wear long-sleeved shirts in order to conceal it," said Spencer before he pointed at the board again, "Secondly, there will be a long history of animal abuse, starting with smaller animals such as insects and rodents and then working his way up to larger things- Dogs and cats. Though this is a well-recognized component of the homicidal triad seen in other serial killers, in the case of the vampirist, it's more pronounced. There will, interestingly enough, not be any animal torture, as with other psychopathologies. The killing isn't the point, it's merely a means by which to obtain the blood," said Spencer.
"Look hard at your animal control sections records, as far back as you can. They will probably have some record of this unsub as an adolescent," said Morgan.
Spencer pointed at the whiteboard.
"This guy also most likely lives in a poorly kept older home," said Spencer.
"He needs a house for the privacy, not an apartment. It takes some time to drain a body completely of blood. Uninterrupted time," said Rossi.
"This unsub also most likely lives with an elderly woman, a grandmother, a mother, even an aunt," said Spencer.
"How could you know that?" asked Lieutenant Kim.
"This type of mental illness, Accompanied by extreme schizophrenia, dominates a family's entire existence. It often leads to a broken home, and a woman ends up as a primary caregiver," said Emily.
"The men generally leave," said Hotch.
"Oh, and one more thing. This type of disorder cannot be hidden for long. I guarantee you someone out there already knows this unsub is very, very sick," said Spencer.
Spencer was sitting on a stool with Hotch and Morgan on either side of him while he, Hotch, Morgan, and Lieutenant Kim watched Paul Davis pace inside of the interrogation room.
"A lot of this doesn't add up," said Spencer.
"We've been wrong before," said Hotch.
"Not this much," said Morgan just as Emily entered the room.
"The plot thickens. He was arrested for domestic violence 10 years ago," said Emily.
"How bad?" asked Morgan.
"Well, Garcia was able to find the battery charge, but it was expunged, so who knows?" asked Emily.
"Again, welcome to celebrity justice," deadpanned Lieutenant Kim.
Emily looked at Paul Davis who was looking at his phone.
"He's pretty agitated," said Emily.
"I wonder why," said Hotch.
"Celebrities out here aren't used to being put in the box," said Lieutenant Kim.
"This seems more than that, though," said Morgan.
"I don't know. These are people everyone falls down around, defers to. Adulation is their norm," said Lieutenant Kim.
Morgan looked at Emily.
"You know, Prentiss, that may be a good way for you to play him," said Emily.
"Me?" asked Emily.
"You were the one who pointed at him. He may see you as an adversary. Have him off-guard," said Morgan when Rossi entered the room, "So, what did you tell the press?" asked Morgan.
"My official statement was that I hate Los Angeles. What's happening?" asked Rossi.
"Prentiss is gonna take the lead," said Morgan.
"Good choice," said Rossi.
Spencer looked at Emily.
"Remember, if he is the unsub, he's ashamed of the disorder, so use that to your advantage," said Spencer.
"Tell him you can't believe that someone like him could do this," said Hotch.
"Right. Throw him a lifeline," said Hotch.
"Ask him for his autograph," said Morgan.
Emily laughed before Morgan raised her eyebrows at her.
"Oh. Right. Right. Adulation," said Emily before she entered the interrogation room.
After watching Emily and Paul talk for a bit, Spencer looked at his male teammates and Lieutenant Kim.
"Good, she's confusing him. Schizophrenics can't follow that," said Spencer.
"Neither one of us is the type of person who belongs in a police interrogation room. Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss, Federal Bureau of Investigation," said Emily.
"FBI?" asked Paul.
"And, of course, I know who you are. I'm a big fan," laughed Emily.
"Really?" asked Paul.
Emily laughed.
"Does that surprise you?" asked Emily.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's a surprise," said Paul.
Emily became serious.
"OK. well, before we get started…," said Emily as she put a yellow notepad and pen in front of Paul, "Would you mind?" asked Emily.
"Would I mind what?" asked Paul.
"Well, I hate to ask, but I don't usually get opportunities like this," said Emily.
Paul realized what was going on.
"What the hell is this? You're no fan of mine," said Paul before he looked at the window, "You people think I'm stupid," shouted Paul.
Spencer realized that Paul wasn't schizophrenic.
"That kind of contradiction should completely confuse a schizophrenic. They can't make sense of it," said Spencer.
Spencer was following Morgan and Morgan on his crutches when as his phone rang.
"There's nothing you can do when they lawyer up, Prentiss," said Morgan.
Spencer quickly lets go of one crutch as he grabbed his phone as he continued to walk and answered his phone.
"Dr. Reid here," answered Spencer.
"Spence, what's going on?" asked JJ.
Morgan opened the door while Spencer continued to follow him as he used his right shoulder to help move his right crutch in sync with his left crutch as he walked out the door.
"The possible suspect's some sort of rock and roll star," said Spencer.
"Seriously?" asked JJ.
"Yeah. A lot of it doesn't fit the profile, though," said Spencer.
"Anything I can do?" asked JJ.
"There's a lot of media attention," said Spencer.
"All right. well, I'm already here at Gina's house, so let me get some info and I'll be back," said JJ.
Spencer arrived at a table.
"Great. Thank you so much," said Spencer before he hung up and sat down.
"None of this makes any sense," said Morgan.
"No," said Hotch.
Lieutenant Kim approached them.
"Television is saying his new record is selling through the roof. All of his stuff is. As soon as his being questioned in an actual string of murders became public," said Lieutenant Kim.
"What do they say? Any publicity's good publicity," said Rossi.
"What are we gonna do with him?" asked Lieutenant Kim just as Hotch's cell phone rang.
"Hotchner," said Hotch as he walked away a bit.
"Well, he wants to talk to his manager, so maybe we let him make that call and find out what that guy knows," said Emily.
"It's worth a try," said Morgan.
Emily and Lieutenant Kim walked away.
"You sure? OK, thanks," said Hotch.
"Something?" asked Rossi.
"That's the lab," said Hotch.
"The saliva samples from the victims' throats- the DNA's from a woman," said Hotch.
"A woman? That's incredibly rare," said Spencer.
"But not impossible," said Rossi.
"No, but Renfield's with this type of aggression- it almost never presents this way," said Spencer.
"OK, we knew something was wrong. Our profiles have never been this far off, Reid. Go back and work it with a woman. See if there's anything we may have missed," ordered Morgan.
Spencer quickly grabbed his crutches and quickly stood up as he hitched his crutches underneath his arms before hobbling towards the clear board.
Spencer was propped up on his crutches as he stared at the clear board.
"A woman-what changes, what doesn't? Older female," said Spencer to himself as he stared at the board for a minute before grabbing a file, "Oh, no," said Spencer just as his cell phone rang causing him to grab his phone.
"Yeah," answered Spencer.
"Uh, Reid, uh, I found fan mail to Dante. Vampire fan mail. It's bananas," said Garcia.
"Obsessional?" asked Spencer.
"Ad infinitum and beyond. Tara's friend Gina- The stuff she writes- She-he's her god. A vampire god. She lives for him. She said she'll kill for him," said Garcia.
"And she fits every other piece of the profile," said Spencer as he hung up and turned his head towards his teammates,
"Guys!" called out Spencer as he quickly hobbled towards his teammates, "The girl Tara was with before she died- Gina-it's her," said Spencer.
"Do you have an address?" asked Morgan.
"Yeah. I think JJ is there right now," said Spencer frantically.
Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi noticed the panic in Spencer's eyes causing Hotch and Morgan to think back to when they realized that Hankel abducted Spencer.
"Let's go," said Hotch.
30 minutes later Spencer's cell phone rang causing Spencer to see that it was Morgan.
"Did you find JJ?" asked Spencer.
"We did and we're taking her to the hospital right now while Prentiss releases Paul Davis," said Morgan.
"I ended up getting a text message from my former classmate Parker Dunley because he realized that I was in town while he recognized you on TV, and he was hoping that I could meet up with him for dinner before we fly back," said Spencer.
"Go ahead and catch up with your friend because it's going to be a couple of hours before we leave," said Morgan.
"Thanks," said Spencer as he hung up and quickly sent Parker a text message.
THE CASE IS CLOSED AND I HAVE SOME TIME TO MEET UP WITH YOU, ABIGAIL, AND RICHARD FOR DINNER BEFORE I FLY BACK TO QUANTICO. ~ SR
Spencer was standing outside the diner that was near the police department on his crutches when Parker walked over with his wife Abigail and a five-month-old baby boy on Abigail's hip.
"Hey," said Spencer as he hobbled towards Parker and his family.
Parker's eyes went wide when he saw Spencer's crutches.
"Why are you on crutches, Spencer?" asked Parker.
"I got shot above the left knee two months and one week ago. I had surgery to repair the damaged muscles, but I've made enough progress in physical therapy that I can bear weight on my left leg. Depending on how the daily physical therapy sessions I have tomorrow until this Friday go, I might be down to one crutch before I get to use a cane for two months," said Spencer.
"That's a long time to recover," said Parker.
"I know, but the bullet nicked my femur causing me to spend two weeks in traction while my in-laws moved in to help Maeve and me out at home," said Spencer before looking at the baby boy on Abigail's hip, "Enough about talking about me, but I have to admit that the pictures you two sent Maeve and me pictures of Richard while Maeve and I sent you two pictures of Jocelyn and Gabriella, he's much more adorable in person while looking like you, Parker," said Spencer as he made faces at the baby boy causing him to laugh.
Parker looked at Spencer.
"Why don't we go inside and sit down so you can finally hold Richard," said Parker.
"OK," said Spencer.
A few minutes later Spencer was sitting down with a cup of coffee in front of him while Parker put the nearly six-month-old baby boy in his arms.
"Richard, I want you to meet your uncle Spencer," said Parker.
Richard began to babble at Spencer while Spencer raised his eyebrows at Parker.
"Uncle Spencer?" asked Spencer.
"You became a little brother to me in high school, so I want you to be an honorary uncle to my son," grinned Parker.
"I'm honored," said Spencer as he smiled down at Richard before Parker took a picture, "Did you really take my picture, Parker?" asked Spencer.
"You need to show Maeve and your teammates a picture of you holding Richard," said Parker before both men started to update each other on their lives before their food arrived.
A few hours later Spencer was standing on his crutches as he looked at his teammates from the small kitchenette on the jet.
"Hey, do you guys think Davies will continue to perform as Dante?" asked Spencer.
Emily passed a bottle of water to JJ.
"The character's probably responsible for the murder of four women. If he has any conscience at all, Dante died with them," said Emily.
JJ accepted some pain medication from Hotch.
"Thanks," whispered JJ.
Spencer hobbled towards JJ with a folded up blanket in his right hand.
"Are you OK?" asked Emily.
"Yeah. Doctor said it'll be sore for a while, but I'm fine, really," said JJ.
"I feel so bad I didn't go with you to interview Gina," said Spencer as he worked on covering up JJ up with a blanket.
"Spence, stop, all right?" asked JJ while Spencer took a seat by her feet, "We had no way of knowing she was gonna be dangerous. She was just the friend of a victim. Granted, a schizophrenic friend with a sociopathic partner," said JJ.
"And a shovel," deadpanned Emily.
Morgan looked at Spencer.
"Seriously, Reid, we had no way of knowing that Gina had that type of anger inside of her," said Morgan.
"Yeah, but she was obsessed with Dante. I should have known that that level of fixation can lead to manipulation," said Spencer softly.
Hotch looked at Spencer.
"But only when the fixation's coupled with schizophrenia, which we had no way of knowing," said Hotch.
"Still it never ceases to amaze me how dark obsession can get," said Emily.
Rossi decided to defuse the situation.
"And with a pop star? I mean, I was obsessed with the Rat Pack, but I wouldn't have killed for Frank or Dean," said Rossi.
"No, you just drank whiskey and smoked cigars," joked Hotch.
Emily smiled a bit while Rossi glared at Hotch.
"This from the man whose favorite record is the Beatles' White Album," said Rossi.
"Just because Manson hijacked it doesn't have to ruin it for the rest of us," said Hotch causing some chuckles.
"That's why I stick to Beethoven. There's no chance of guilt by association," said Spencer causing some silence.
"Well, yeah. Have you ever seen a movie called "A Clockwork Orange"?" asked Emily.
Spencer shook his head causing some laughter before his cell phone rang causing Spencer to quickly answer his phone and grab his crutches as he stood up.
"Dr. Reid," said Spencer as he started to make his way towards the kitchenette.
"You and your teammates really arrested Dante," yelled Stephanie.
Spencer groaned.
"Please don't tell me that your a fan, Stephanie," said Spencer.
"I have his CDs and I just bought the new one with Holly, Erica, and Ramona," said Stephanie.
"We thought that he was our original suspect, but he wasn't. Right now I'm flying back from LA, but I'll see you either tonight or tomorrow morning," said Spencer.
"OK, Spencer," said Stephanie before she hung up.
A few seconds later Spencer was making his way back to his teammates when Emily looked at him.
"Stephanie is really a fan of Dante?" asked Emily.
"She is, and she yelled at me over the phone," said Spencer as he reclaimed the spot he was originally sitting in.
"Watching you talk on the phone while still moving the crutch you let go of in sync with the other crutch is impressive," said Emily.
Spencer smiled a bit as reclaimed his seat.
"One of my physical therapists taught me how to do that so I can easily talk on the phone when I'm heading to another room," said Spencer.
Morgan looked at Spencer.
"How did your visit with your friend Parker go?" asked Morgan.
Spencer grinned.
"Even though he got worried when he saw me propped up on my crutches, it was nice to catch up with him because I haven't talked to him since Gabby's birth," said Spencer before grinning, "I got to hold Parker's five-month-old son Richard," said Spencer.
"Any pictures?" asked JJ.
"Parker took a few pictures and sent them to my phone so I can show Maeve and you guys," said Spencer as he grabbed his phone from his pocket and found a photo and passed it to JJ.
"He's adorable," said JJ.
"He told Richard that I'm his uncle Spencer," said Spencer.
"Uncle Spencer?" asked Morgan.
"Parker became a big brother to me in high school along with my friend Ethan, so he wants me to be his son's honorary uncle," said Spencer before seeing a questioning look from Morgan, "Both Parker and Ethan weren't at school when the goal post incident happened, but after they found out what happened to me, Parker decided to personally escort me to and from school," said Spencer.
Later on that evening Spencer was sitting on the couch watching "Clockwork Orange" with Maeve.
