Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. The occasional scenes from episodes of Criminal Minds in this story belongs to the writers of Criminal Minds and CBS. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: Hello again, everyone!

Again, sorry for the delay!

My apologies if I had made any mistakes but do enjoy the chapter!

Also, I would like to credit ahowell1993 for helping me with this chapter.

Two weeks later….

Élise hurries up to the door when she heard knocking on the front door. When she opens it,

"Hey, Rossi!" Élise perkily greets him.

"Élise! How are you and Reid doing?" Rossi asked as Élise let him into the house.

"We're doing okay," Élise answered before entering the kitchen nook with Rossi, where they see Reid finishing up his breakfast.

"Hey, Rossi."

"Reid."

"Who's this PYT?" Élise noticed Rossi was carrying a small black puppy in his hand as she washed Reid's plate and placed it in the dishwater.

"She's one of Mudgie and Kuki's five children."

"Aw," Élise took the puppy from him. "Normally, dogs scare the crap out of me, but she's just so adorable and so small."

"Yeah, she is." Reid agreed.

"The puppy's a present for your birthday."

"Oh, thanks, Rossi." Reid said before wondering, "What should we name her?"

Élise suggested, "Maybe Marie."

"I was thinking Opal," Reid replies. They both held out their hands and their fists shook three times. Reid spread his palm while Élise's hand remained closed.

"Paper covers rock!" Reid crowed with delight.

"Opal Marie?"

"As long as her first name is Opal, yes." Reid quietly purred in Élise's ear before kissing her on the lips.

"Hate to interrupt the kissing," Rossi deadpanned said. "But we have to get to work."

"Oh." Élise kisses Reid again on the lips. "Be safe, okay?"

Reid kisses her forehead as he uses his crutches to pick himself up.

"I got your messenger bag and go bag." Élise grabbed his bags before handing them to Rossi. Whispering to him again, "And when you get home, I have another surprise for you."

"Oh." Reid raised his eyebrows three times, knowing what she meant.

"Let's go before I hear things, or see things, or even think of things I can't unheard, unsee, or unthink again," Rossi said.

"Oh, are you okay, buddy?" Garcia asked as she grabbed a rolling chair and helped him in the seat.

"Thanks," Reid said as he sat down.

Looking at his braced knee, Garcia asked again, "Does it hurt?"

"It really only hurts when I think about it," Reid truthfully answers. "Which is pretty much all the time." He soon had his eyes on a small tin next to him.

"No, no, no." Garcia protectively said.

"What?"

"Get away, you." Garcia pulled it away from Hotch. "These are for Hotch."

"I get shot in the leg and I don't get any cookies." Reid sounded slightly offended. "You know he's gonna hate the attention."

"It's cookies, not cake," Garcia replied as she puts a bowl of suckers on top of the tin.

"He's probably gonna pretend like nothing happened, anyway," Reid asked as he unwraps the sucker.

"Well, it doesn't mean we have to." Garcia comments.

Reid figures before sucking on the sucker, "I think maybe we should."

"I don't roll that way," Garcia said.

Taking the sucker out before taking, "I've been thinking about it? The entire time I've known Hotch, I don't think I've ever seen him blink."

"I know. It's weird." Garcia retorts

"Classic alpha male behavior," Reid said before sucking on the sucker again.

"Do you think he stared down Foyet?" Garcia asked with worry.

"Maybe. If it would save his life." Reid said.

"Do you think he stared the whole time, like with each stab?" Garcia asked as she mimics the stabbing.

"I have no idea."

"Is he ok?" Garcia asked again.

Taking the sucker out of his mouth, "I wouldn't be, but... I'm a blinker."

"Spence, there you are," JJ said as she walked in. "Grab your go bag."

"What's going on?" Reid asked.

JJ urged, "Turn on the news."

"Which one?" Garcia asked.

"It doesn't matter," JJ said before she, Reid, and Garcia watched the news.

"Just after 8:00 this morning, 40-Year-Old Darrin Call, a lifelong resident of Louisville, assaulted customers at the pharmacy On the corner of Main and Truxton avenue. Eyewitnesses saw him walking east on main street Minutes after the attack. He has not been seen since then…"

"We're going to Louisville." JJ claps Reid's shoulder before walking out.

Reid waves at Garcia before using his crutches to hoist himself out of the room.

Reid was sitting on the couch in his crutches nearby; taking the time to text Élise.

HEADING TO LOUISEVILLE! I'LL BE CAREFUL! LOVE YOU! ~ SR

Élise texts back,

BE CAREFUL! LOVE YOU MORE! ~ EB

Reid smirks before putting away his cell phone as they started the briefing,

"So our point person in Louisville Is Lieutenant Kevin Mitchell," JJ said as Hotch and Prentiss joined.

Hotch greets the team, "Good morning."

"Good to see you." Rossi greeted back.

"You, too."

"You look well, sir," Garcia said through the webcam.

"Thank you." Hotch sat down next to JJ and looked at Reid with his knee resting on the couch. Pointing to his crutches. "How long do you have that?"

Looking at it, "I'm not really sure. Welcome back." Reid smiles back.

"Thank you." Hotch said before looking and asking, "Any other attacks?"

"Um, no, not yet." JJ answers.

Reid said, "Call's proven hard to track. He's never had a driver's license, So he's most likely still on foot."

JJ suggested, "Or public transportation."

"He's not gonna take the bus. His face is everywhere." Prentiss figures.

Hotch asked, "Has anyone found a stressor?"

"He just lost his job," Garcia said before continuing. "He's worked at a factory since 1990. Made appliances since forever and not a single promotion."

"That's a long time to be bitter," Morgan mumbles

Reid proposed, "Or he doesn't care."

"Not if he's got a family to feed," JJ suggested.

Garcia said, "Actually, he's of the Hermit Variety. As far as I can tell, he's got no one. No wife, no kids, no parents."

"Nothing to live for," Morgan concluded.

"So why hasn't he killed himself yet?" Hotch quietly said. "Sprees usually end in suicide. If he's got nothing to live for, why hasn't he ended it?"

"Because he isn't finished yet. We know he has displaced anger. He took it out on the first victim." Reid said.

"Well, the stock boy represents someone. We need to know who. Is he military?" Hotch asked again.

"Negative," Garcia answered.

"Well, he's lashing out for a reason. This guy's got anger, endless targets, and a gun, and he's just getting started." Hotch said.

JJ and Reid are soon greeted by Lieutenant Mitchell himself.

"Lieutenant Kevin Mitchell." He greeted him. "And you two must be from the BAU."

"Hello." JJ greets him back. "I'm Agent Jennifer Jareau and this is Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Hello." He waves at him.

"What happened to you?" Lieu Mitchell asked, noticing Reid's braced knee.

"I got shot by an unsub while protecting a target," Reid answered as he sat down.

"If anything, just ask any of my officers or even me, so that way, you don't have to get up."

"Thank you," Reid said as he received a text from Élise.

OPAL MARIE'S A DADDY'S GIRL ~ EB

Reid chuckles when he sees the photo of Opal with one of his mismatch pair of socks. Lieu Mitchell walks over to Reid with coffee for the team.

"Figure you might need it, considering the work we're about to do."

"Thanks." Reid still looked at the picture and text. "My fiancée just sent me a text and a picture of our new puppy, Opal Marie."

"They're both cuties and congrats on the engagement."

As Lieu Mitchell looked at his officers, pointing out a map with a red circle,

"All right. We've got checkpoints at the state line on both I-64 and I-65 And within a 20-Mile radius of downtown. We think he's still on foot."

Reid continued, "It's been just under 3 hours with an average walking speed of 2.5 miles per hour, which rounds up to an approximate 8-Mile radius."

As Lieu Mitchell continued to point of a map, "Now, we've concentrated here. First responders started a hard-Target search of businesses and residences within that 8 miles. You're gonna join 'em. You know what he looks like. Go find him." As his officers walk away, "We dug up all we could on Darrin Call. Even went to his apartment. Didn't find much."

"We've got agents over there now." JJ said, setting up a laptop, "Don't worry, we'll fill it in."

"What's your strategy?" Lieu Mitchell asked.

"We try to figure out where he's headed next," Reid said.

"Huh. You got a crystal ball?" Lieu Mitchell sounded jokingly doubtful.

"Most spree killers are outwardly aggressive. We've studied Call's behavior, And he's defensive." Reid said.

JJ, Reid and Lieu Mitchell turn to the TV, "First victim...stock boy."

"Boy, there's nothing defensive about that." Lieu Mitchell said as he watched the video.

"Actually, there is." JJ points out, "Call doesn't react until he's touched."

"And that's what set him off?" Lieu Mitchell asked.

"Happens every time. Contact, then stab, Contact, stab." JJ said as they continued to watch the footage.

"So, you're saying he didn't mean to hurt these people." Lieu Mitchell said.

"He didn't go in there with a weapon," Reid noted.

"Well, now he's got 2." Lieu Mitchell pointed out. "I just put his face all over the news. People are gonna stop him themselves."

"How soon can we have a press conference?" JJ asked.

Lieu Mitchell answered, "The camera crews are out front."

"Great. Let me call Hotch." JJ said as she walked away.

"Who's that?" Lieu Mitchell asked.

"Our supervisor. He's at the crime scene already." Reid answered.

"What is it about this kid?" Lieu Mitchell asked as he observed the video footage.

Reid said, "That's what we need to figure out."

Reid was sitting by the phone with Garcia on speakerphone after learning that she's got something on their unsub, Darrin Call. "May 1, 1975, a 6-Year-Old Darrin Call Was found roaming in the middle of nowhere and was picked up and was in state care for the first few months."

JJ asked, "Did he tell the cops what happened?"

"No," Garcia answered before continuing. "Because he didn't talk, Not for over a year. And once he started talking, He only knew his life as Darrin Call."

"That's awful." JJ sadly said as she rubbed her eyes.

"So is this. Little Darrin was never claimed." Garcia replied.

JJ said as Prentiss, Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi joined in, "maybe he wasn't from the area. There wasn't a thriving missing children's network in 1975."

"Call is wearing Cipolla's clothing," Prentiss said.

Reid asked, "You think he's lucid?"

"No, most likely he's just freaked out," Prentiss replied.

"Either way, we should update the public." Morgan insisted.

"You should be there, too," JJ said.

"What is this?" Lieu Mitchell pointed out to the whiteboard.

"Call's timeline," JJ answered.

"He left Louisville?" Lieu Mitchell asked again.

"3 times. Always came back to the same 10-Block radius."

"Why?" Lieu Mitchell asked a third time.

"Victims are often drawn to the scene of their first trauma. Part of him wanted to escape, the other part probably struggled to find answers." Reid explained.

"Was he hospitalized?" Hotch answered.

"Uh, 1985 for 2 years," JJ answered.

Garcia: "Yeah. And again in '95 for a few months, Both at the state facility in Fayette County.

"You know he doesn't drive." Lieu Mitchell said. You think he'd walk all the way out there?"

"He's desperate. He'll find a way." Rossi said

"Well, then I'll tell the sheriff in Fayette." Lieu Mitchell said before walking away with JJ.

Hotch asked again, "When did he start the prescriptions, Garcia?"

"In 1977, and it looks like he tried them all. I've got a list. Alphabetically, Alprazolam, Clonazepam, Diazepam..."

"Just send it." Hotch cuts her off.

"Yes, sir," Garcia said.

"His doctor weaned him off the prescription for a reason. Now, that's a big risk, so the reward must have been greater." Morgan said.

"He needs the truth." Prentiss deduced.

"He took his file. He's got some answers." Rossi replied.

"And a head start," Reid adds.

"Well, we need to catch up," Hotch concluded.

Reid swung himself into the elevator as the team stepped out and smile when he saw Élise waiting for him.

"Baby." Élise rushes to hug him.

"No hug for me?" Morgan playfully teases them.

"I'll give you one." Garcia gratefully hugs Morgan.

Élise asked with concerned. "How are you feeling, Hotch?"

As Hotch remained silent,

"I was just about to drive him home," Prentiss said.

Élise raised her hand, "I'll drive him home. And I…heard about the case from Spencer. And I maybe actually feel sorry for the Unsub."

"I do, too." Rossi raised his hand in second. "I'm actually kind of glad the unsub's jagoff father is dead."

"Same." JJ and Morgan agreed.

"Come on, Hotch," Élise said as she took Reid's messenger and go bags from Rossi's hands and walked back into the elevator with Hotch and Reid. "We'll take you home."

"Home sweet home," Reid said as he swung himself into the house first as Élise opened the door for him and Hotch.

"You got a puppy?" Hotch noticed the puppy balled up and sleeping in the corner in the confinement area Élise had just set up.

"Yeah, as a birthday gift from Rossi before I left," Reid said before he sits down on the couch with his left leg and knee elevated underneath pillows Élise adjusted for him.

"I thought you were taking me home," Hotch said.

Élise cleared her throat, "You're staying here tonight in one of our guest rooms. And…may I say, what the bloody hell were you thinking? I applaud for you making a risk and that resulted in saving a boy, but you put your life at risk and in ways, you are never supposed to and even you know that. Two months you had everything to live for but with Foyet still on the loose and Haley and Jack in witness protection, we will not stand idly by and watch you kill yourself. GOD DAMN IT, WE WON'T!" She sighed before calming down. "We..."

"And you won't now," Hotch assured Élise.

"Hotch…if you're is gone, Foyet's got no one else to torture and you win. But if you live but don't get to watch your son grow up, you lose." Inhaling and exhaling once more, "You're staying here tonight, and you'll like it."

"I'm going to take a shower," Hotch said.

"You go do that, okay?" Élise softly said and as Hotch did that,

"Are you feeling okay, babe?" Élise asked Reid, relaxing on the couch.

"I'm hanging in there."

Smiling coyly, "Well, I'll go make you something to eat for dinner and dessert. Chocolate souffle." Kisses his lips.

"Something tells me we're having dessert three tonight; Hotch wants to share the cookies Garcia made for him with me." Reid kisses her again.

Until next time!