(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters)

Can't believe what is happening around us. I'm back home from university due to the virus, I will probably be stuck at home for a while so updates are imminent. I hope everyone is staying safe during these scary times.

Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter, your support was unbelievably kind and uplifting.

Thank you and enjoy!

"Either you're going to explain or we're going to find out. We'll get the same results, make this quicker for us. For your son."

Aaron looked at William imploringly, encouraged when the man looked down in his lap.

"I didn't want to hurt her," he murmured.

"What? Less mumbling, man."

William raised his head and spoke more clearly. "She was never meant to... I... I never wanted it to happen that way."

"And what was meant to happen?" Morgan said. Aaron held up a hand and took Morgan's empty seat. He clasped his hands on the table and fixed William with a look of understanding.

"I want to believe you cared for your children," he said. William looked back at Aaron, his eyes full of sadness, his features heavy with guilt.

"I did..."

"Then tell us why you had to do this."

"If I didn't-." William looked away before mumbling, "-they would have."

"Who?"

William turned his sad eyes back on Aaron. "I'm in trouble. I have been for a while."

William Reid sat back in his chair, not looking at anything in particular as he spoke. "Years... I sought help, I had my firm to keep afloat, as well as the house, Diana's bills."

Morgan watched William, his features easing out of confusion into anger. "You really are an idiot."

"I-I had no choice! A friend of mine, James Turnley, he introduced me to them."

"How much did you get?"

William blinked up at Aaron, his lips turning down at the realisation of the answer. "A lot. Too much to pay back quickly, but I couldn't get by with any less. I sunk three quarters into the firm, the rest went to the house and medical bills."

Aaron nodded, shuffling some files together. He looked up after a moment. "When did you realise you couldn't pay them back?"

"It was just over four years later." William swallowed. "The money was already gone and Spencer had been born so... I-I needed more and..." he looked away in shame. "I'd tried my hand at a few local casinos. I had nothing."

"Did they offer you more?"

William nodded.

"And you took it?"

"Yes. I had to do some things for them, act as their lawyer for some of their contacts, they said it was a deposit of sorts, for them. We managed for nearly two and a half years. I had to provide for both Spencer and Diana. She died and the bills became easier but they wanted the money back. I-I offered to continue free service to any of their contacts in need of a lawyer but they wanted my debt in full."

"What happened when you couldn't pay?"

Aaron's fingers touched the photo of Ashley's shallow grave and William's eyes avoided it quickly. Emily and Morgan were watching from their standing positions, everything Hotch had already figured out piecing together in their minds.

"T-they... oh god..."

"William, what did they ask you for?"

William covered his eyes briefly, as if he could taste the same disgust Morgan was feeling.

"They wanted Ashley, didn't they?" Morgan muttered.

William pulled his hands down, encasing his mouth with them before dropping them back to the table.

"Yes."

Three months before

"Daddy! Please! I was good. No closet, no, no!"

William closed his eyes as he ushered his son into the basement. "Quiet, Spencer," he muttered.

The boy sobbed in response, clutching the banister as William led him down the stairs. There was a knock at the door upstairs and William shoved Spencer toward the opposite wall. He yanked the door handle from within the wall, clicking it into place and wrenching the heavy door open.

"Daddy, I don't want to," Spencer said when his dad pushed him inside and he turned back to look at him before being forced into darkness.

William didn't say a word as he shut the door, locking it quickly. He couldn't promise the boy he'd be back because... well, he was in a mess.

William went back upstairs, shutting the basement door and composing himself before answering the front door.

"Took you long enough, Reid."

Chris stepped inside, William moving aside to let the four other men in.

"I need more time," William blurted as the last man shut the door and snapped the lock meticulously.

Chris smiled and put a hand on William's shoulder. "I think you've had enough time," he said. "It's time we got something back from you."

William was a stuttering mess while the men surveyed his house. He prayed they didn't hear Spencer who was no doubt sobbing.

Chris stopped on a photo. It was of Ashley. Spencer had gotten it from his sister after he'd begged for something to remind him of her. There was another photo of Spencer in Ashley's lap on Diana's bedside table.

"Pretty," Chris muttered, picking up the photo.

William felt his heart drop.

"Where is she?" Chris asked.

"S-she... she's travelling."

Chris glanced over at him and feigned a concerned look. "A young girl, traveling alone. Now, Reid, that's a little dangerous don't you think? Someone could snatch her up."

"Don't-"

"Don't what?" Chris frowned, looking back down at the photo. "She is very pretty. I could sell her for almost all of your debt you know."

William stared at Chris as the man licked his bottom lip, his fingers rubbing over the glass frame. He knew full well that Chris had close links with the trafficking ring, in fact, William was sure that Chris was a crucial element in its system. Some of the clients Chris had sent to him for legal help were involved in the ring. Part of William contemplated it. His daughter hated him anyway.

"What do you say? We forget about the debt and you tell me exactly where I can find your daughter? I think that's more than fair."

"Pretty damn lenient, if ya ask me," one of the men said, but Chris held his hand up.

"William?"

William looked down.

"You have a little boy too, don't you? He upstairs? If he's anything like this beauty I'm sure I could get-"

"No!"

Chris smirked, his eyes glinting at the sight of William's furled fists.

"It's your choice, William. Your daughter or my men get two hours with you before I personally slit your throat... then maybe we'll find that boy of yours and-"

"Please," William muttered, interrupting again, his voice weaker. "A location and You'll-You'll forget about the debt?"

"If we find her? Sure. You'll be clean."

William took a deep shuddering breath. He took out his phone. Slowly, he dialled Ashely's number while the men watched him.

"Ashley?"

Chris turned back to the photo before stashing it into his wide jacket pocket.

"If you haven't left yet I'd like to talk to you? With Spencer, yes."

William pushed through each lie until his only daughter agreed to meet him and his son, only William and Spencer would not be there. Chris would.

Spencer only knew softness when he woke up. Everything felt good against his skin. It was like he's been wrapped in a blanket and laid before a toasty fire. He shifted a little and that's when he realised not everything was comfortable. There was something holding his mouth open painfully and his arms had wire tangled in and around them. Before he opened his eyes Spencer heard a quiet voice.

"Hold on, kiddo. The nurse is going to help now, hold on."

Spencer tried to open his eyes when he felt the pressure of the thing in his mouth move. He felt the thing rise from his throat and when it left he coughed weakly, water raising up with the tube. There was something pushed under his mouth to catch whatever he spit up.

It was then that Spencer finally managed to open his eyes.

Everything was blurry when he managed to peel them open but after blinking a few times he managed to get a clearer image of the white room he was in.

His one eye felt painfully sore and it only opened partly.

David Rossi was talking again and Spencer had to turn his head stiffly to look at him.

"There he is. How you feeling, kiddo?"

Dave watched as Spencer looked at him in bewilderment.

Spencer's head fell back lightly on the pillow, his eyes closing.

"Spencer?" Rossi said nervously, watching the way the boy's eyes moved beneath his eyelids.

The nurse paused and glanced at Spencer, taking in the thick bandages around his wrists, the sling keeping his shoulder in place, and the stitches strung against his face and the still infected red skin. "He's been through a lot," she mumbled, writing down some things from the heart monitor.

Dave could have snorted at the nurse's words. Captain obvious over here, he thought. "Yea, I saw the aftermath," he said instead.

Spencer reached his non-slinged hand up and pressed a finger into the corner of his eye.

"Spencer, can you open your eyes, kiddo? I just want to know you're okay."

Spencer did open his eyes but they were glazed over. He turned his head around the room slowly, his fingers twitching against the sheet.

"Is he alright?" Dave said, looking over at the nurse who was still checking Spencer's vitals. She stopped and looked down at Spencer who had begun to tremble.

"Spencer? Sweetheart? Can you hear me? You're in the hospital, honey, there's nothing to worry about." She reached out and touched Spencer's arm and the boy jerked back, a strangled cry wrenching from his throat. The nurse pulled her hand back quickly.

Dave looked at her for some kind of answer but she shook her head.

"Maybe you should leave, agent Rossi, just so we can... check him alone."

Spencer's eyes widened and he turned to look at Dave. He was still trembling ferociously and his eyes weren't exactly locked on Dave, they were blank and drifting but Rossi could see the call for help within them.

Dave smiled. "It's alright, kiddo. I'll stay here."

Dave watched the boy as he rocked slowly in his now upright position.

The nurse watched him before checking his vitals one last time again. "I'll come back to check on him later, he's stable for now but press the call button if he continues like this."

Dave nodded, his eyes falling back to the shaking child.

Neither of them realised that Spencer was back inside that closet, with a dead rat at his side and his arms hooked around a bar by handcuffs.

Dave reached out and touched Spencer which caused him to cry out as if he'd been burned. But Dave kept his hand there. After several moment of flinching and whimpering Spencer relaxed a little, his rocking easing up slightly.

"You're alright, Spencer," Dave said for what felt like the tenth time. Spencer still wasn't looking at him. He paused, thinking of what he could say. "Do you remember my office? Maybe we could go back there soon? What do you say, kiddo?"

Silence followed and Dave continued to rub the boy's uninjured shoulder.

Maybe... he thought, maybe they could take Spencer in. They'd mentioned having more kids, why not Spencer?

Spencer was a great kid.

Dave smiled to himself at the thought.

"Alright, if you don't want to talk you'll have to put up with me talking," Dave said, lifting his fingers to gently brush back Spencer's hair. "Why don't we talk about... hmmm... did you know I have a dog?"

"What happened after?" Aaron asked quietly. William had been sat, his fingers to his lips, tears pooling in his eyes for a few minutes, thinking of everything he'd done.

Morgan was gone. Aaron ordered him to leave when he got overly aggressive. He hoped the agent would join Dave, knowing the sight of Spencer and Dave might calm him.

Emily was sitting again, watching Reid quietly. Aaron would commend her patience later.

"Mr. Reid?"

Aaron didn't like to push but they were close to a confession.

William finally looked up, his eyelids red. He dropped his hand and placed them steadily on the table.

"I had no choice," he whispered. He was looking at Emily, his eyes imploring, as if he was specifically trying to make her understand. "When they had her I thought... I thought I could go on as normal but... the whole idea made me sick. I knew she'd be sold, raped, killed." William stopped to sniff, rubbing a finger under his nose. "And when she escaped she came to me..."

"Dad!"

William sat up in bed. There was another bang on the front door and he got up, stepping quickly into the hallway. There was more banging and William heard a whimper from his son's room. Panic filled the older man. It was them. Chris was back for him and Spencer. William dashed into Spencer's room, falling to his knees in front of his son's bed where the boy was rubbing his eyes.

With the child tightly bundled in his arms, William tore down both flights of stairs, placing the boy on the ground in the closet and locking the door.

He was back up the stairs when the backdoor startled to rattle.

"I paid you!" William shouted, pressing his back to the basement door. He sobbed when the door banged again, but then a voice called out to him, quite unlike Chris'.

"Dad, please let me in, please!"

William opened his eyes and glanced toward the backdoor. Through the tempered glass he saw a pale face and long blonde hair.

"Ashley?"

"Dad!"

William stumbled toward the door, unlocked it and wrenched it open.

And there she was.

"Ashley?"

Ashley pushed past her dad, staring at the door she had come through. "Shut it," she hissed. William numbly shut the door.

"Lock it!"

"What-"

"Do it! They'll find me, t-they'll k-kill me. Y-you have to lock it!"

William locked the door, his hands shaking.

"How did she escape?" Hotch asked, interrupting William's story.

"I-I... she just ran. Hitchhiked part of the way."

Aaron nodded and motioned for the older man to continue his story.

William guided Ashley to the couch. She couldn't stay. He knew that already. Chris would find her there and none of them would escape.

Ashley sat down heavily, her hand reaching up to brush away het tangled hair.

"Water?" William asked.

"Yes please."

William stepped into the kitchen, pulling a glass from the cuboard.

"Where's Spencey? He sleeping?" Ashley called. William paused, reaching slowly for a draw and pulling out a small bottle of Diana's old sleeping pills (most likely out of date.) He dropped them in the glass quickly and ran some water over them.

"He's uh... yea, he sleeps pretty deeply these days," William called back, his voice a disguise for the sound of him mixing the dissolving pills into the water.

"Okay, I'll see h-him in the m-morning. I... I probably look a mess." William listened to Ashley pause to sniffle. "I don't want to scare him."

The pills dissolved and William filled the glass up to the top before stepping back into the living room.

"Here," William handed her the glass of water and Ashley took it with a smile and finished it.

"Thanks. Haven't had anything for a while."

"You just stay here, I'm going to call the police okay. Try and get some sleep."

Ashley smiled at her father and nodded. He turned to leave but she reached out and touched his arm. "Thanks dad," she mumbled, her eyes heavy already from the drugs. William smiled back tiredly.

He walked into the kitchen, watching from the door as Ashley laid her head down.

William stopped talking, his eyes staring at the table. Emily looked at Aaron who was just watching William. She took a quick breath before asking, "why did you let her in?"

William raised his eyes slowly. There were more tears on his face now. "She... she's my daughter."

"You knew they were looking for her, why not tell her to run?"

"You haven't met Chris," William said with a snort. "He's ruthless," he added in a raspy whisper. "He would have found her."

"What did you do after you drugged her?" asked Aaron.

"I went to the shed. Dug a hole. Ground was pretty soft still in Diana's old flower patch."

Emily turned her head down to the photo. The two holes were between weeds and several skeletal flower remains.

"And then?"

William dropped the shovel, his chin dripping with tears and sweat. It was shallow but it would do. He walked back into the house, pushing down all the emotions rising inside him. He'd done this before, not quite so personal, he hadn't had to clean up but he could do it again. He couldn't let Ashley go knowing where she'd end up. It was easier this way.

William had been in such a trance that he didn't realise that he was stood in front of his daughter again. He stared at her sleeping face.

She was much prettier than her mother had been.

William silently shifted a pillow from under Ashley's legs and he inspected the coarse thread weaved around embroidered flowers.

William knelt down, the pillow clamped in both hands.

Chris would be there soon, he thought, he would come and when he did he'd take Ashley and Spencer, and kill William.

William closed his eyes, pushing away the doubts and disgust mingling in his mind. He opened them to watch his hands move robotically, lifting the pillow and slowly covering his daughter's sleeping face. He held it there for a moment, watching Ashley's chest rise and fall. He held his own breath when he pressed the pillow down over Ashley's mouth and nose.

It took two minutes. At first Ashley didn't react but after several seconds she started to stir. William lent his body on the pillow, squeezing his eyes shut when Ashley began to thrash, her legs slamming on the opposite arm of the couch while her hands grasped the fabric around her, her body unconsciously fighting.

William continued to hold the pillow after Ashley stopped moving. He began to sob when the third minute went by and Ashley's chest no longer rose and fell.

He held the pillow until he could hear his son's muffled yell from downstairs. That was enough to push him into motion.

It took another ten minutes until William was standing on top of his eldest child's shallow grave.

Aaron walked silently alongside Emily. They were looking for the children's intensive care unit.

Emily glanced at Aaron who was watching the approaching doors.

"Hotch?"

Aaron turned his head and saw her staring. "I'll tell him."

"Are you sure you should? Rossi said Spencer is basically catatonic right now, do you think telling him his sister is dead will help?"

"It won't help but we can't keep it from him."

When they arrived Spencer was sedated again. Morgan and Emily left, going to the hotel to get some rest. Aaron took a seat beside Spencer.

"Did Morgan tell you?"

Aaron glanced at Dave who nodded, his face downcast.

"We have to tell him," Dave said and Aaron answered with a nod.

"Not yet."

"No... tomorrow."

Rossi let out a breath. "He admitted to it?"

"He smothered Ashley to keep her from the human trafficking ring. That other hole was ready for when they decided to have Spencer instead."

Rossi sighed. He looked at Spencer. The thought of what might have happened to the kid made him all the more nauseated. He looked back at Aaron for a moment, wondering if now was a good time to share his earlier idea.

"Aaron?"

Aaron turned his head from the young boy, his hand slipping slightly from the frail one.

"Hmm?"

"I..." Dave paused, glancing at Spencer's sleeping face which was still brutally stained in his trauma. "He can't go into the foster system," Dave said finally, smiling weakly at Aaron who was rubbing his thumb against Spencer's knuckles.

Aaron sighed and turned to face Spencer. He looked at the pale features, slightly crinkled in pain.

"He needs more pain medication."

"Aaron," Dave mumbled and Aaron shook his head slowly. "Can we just talk about this?"

"He's so... damaged, Dave," Aaron said, his voice low and sad.

Dave dropped his head, his hands wringing in his lap. It was a stupid idea anyway. He looked back up to see Aaron leaning forward to stroke Spencer's hair back. They were both just missing Jack... that was all.

Thanks for reading. That was a long chapter.

Please review. Means a lot.

See you soon.