The kiss ended; their lips barely separated before they started up again. Reid's hands unfastened the few buttons of Riley's coat and slipped inside, running over her blue sweater along her lithe figure. Riley emitted a soft, blissful sigh. She moved her arms, placing her hands on his face. One lingered on his cheek, lightly brushing his skin with her thumb. The other slipped up, weaving her fingers in the long chestnut brown hair she had desired for many months.
Their kiss broke a second time. Pulling apart to catch their breath, their eyes opened and locked with each other. Reid watched her cautiously, waiting for her reaction. She smiled. Her eyes closed, reaching up to him again. "It's nice to know some things never change."
The tip of her town slithered gently over his lips. Without thinking, he forced her into another kiss, knocking her off her feet slightly. She stumbled back a step, caught by his protective arms. The intensity of their kiss increased as his tongue asked for passage into her mouth. She uttered another moan, deep and eager.
"You know that noise makes me crazy," he said quickly, claiming her mouth again.
She giggled a moment before responding quickly, "Let's go back to my apartment."
He didn't need any convincing. He nodded quickly, commencing another arousing kiss. It was finally happening. Riley was his again, and he was never going to let her go.
He moved his lips away from hers, moving them down to the spot just below her ear, sucking on it a moment, emitting a delighted whimper from her. Reid let her flesh go, lovingly nuzzling her, "I love you," he muttered before moving his lips down to kiss along her neck. "I missed you so much."
Suddenly, the warmth of Riley's arms left him and Reid felt himself being pushed away. Reid was confused, looking into her brown eyes, glossy from arousal. A warm pink twinge glowing in her cheeks. "What's wrong?"
"Spencer…" She shook her head, pulling away from his gaze. "I'm sorry, we can't do this."
"Why?" he argued, refusing to release his hold of her.
"You're not over me," she stated.
The words seemed to hang in the chilly air, like vocal icicles. "So, you're only interested in having sex if it doesn't mean anything?"
"That's not what I meant," she said. Her one hand returned to his cheek, the other brushing away the hair she had tousled. "We could go back to my place and make love and it would be wonderful, but… you have to know, it doesn't mean we're getting back together."
Her eyes glistened as she said it. Reid felt like his heart was tearing, like a cheap paper towel. "Riley, you don't kiss someone like that if you don't love them. You're a doctor, not an actress."
"Thanks, McCoy," she said, smiling, never able to deny a Star Trek reference. The first few tears dripped through her lashes. "This has nothing to do with love, I just-"
"You just don't want to be with me." He said, feeling his own tears forming. A white hot rage was blistering in his stomach, spewing up into his throat like malevolent heartburn. "Or, I guess I'm only worth being with if there's some immoral complication attached."
Her breathing was shaky. Her mouth dropped a bit, but she closed it quickly. "I can't believe you just said that. I was your girlfriend for four months; you're making me out to be some kind of… slut.
"Well if the shoe fits…" His words had caused a virus of anger to spread over her voice, and for a moment Reid thought she might slap him. He faltered a second, thinking he had perhaps said enough. But his anger had taken over and he desperately wanted to hurt her. "You could just confess the fact that you're miserable here, at the very least." He pointed out.
Shocked. "What in God's name makes you think that?"
"You've been living in your apartment for seven months, yet you've unpacked the bare minimum. I haven't seen you pull out a book once since I've come here. You always had a book with you in Quantico. There are bags under your eyes, which means you aren't getting enough rest and since I know your job is mostly 9 to 5, you haven't had a full night sleep in weeks, probably months. I'm going to just assume you're not sleeping with anymore patients."
"Shut up!" she cried, looking around. A few people were gathered on the adjacent street, a man was sitting in his car down the block, apparently waiting for someone, but no one seemed to notice the ex-lovers quarrel. She released a rather reassured sigh. "Fine, Profiler. I'm not happy here. But that doesn't matter. I'm fine with my choices. And I would rather stay here and know I'm doing something important. Didn't you ever want to be apart of something special? Even if it's just once?"
Reid could feel the angry rising. "I was apart of something special. I guess the problem was I loved you more than you could ever love anyone other than yourself!"
"Go to Hell!" Riley screamed. She turned and started rushing down the street.
"After you," Reid announced. He took his keys and got back into the car. As much as he wanted to go after her, he left her behind. Riley watched him as he sped away, hating herself. She had done it again.
…
The next morning, Reid arrived before the rest of the team again. He hadn't slept. Again. His insides, last night so twisted with burning frustration, had morphed into a permanent slab of guilt and self-loathing. Any possible rest was completely off the table. Coffee was the only thing keeping him remotely functional. Reid felt like an idiot. How could he have said those things to her? He should be begging her to come back, to just come clean to the truth that he wasn't over her and he had made the biggest mistake by letting her go. Now it was ruined forever. Maybe love was only meant for specific people. If everyone ended up in a fairy tale romance, it wouldn't make it special. Most people had to settle or wind up miserable. As logical as that was, Reid didn't want to admit it were true. For someone with such high operating brain power, Spencer Reid was a hopeless romantic. Probably from all those stories his mother used to read him.
Once the others arrived, they talked things over about the case. When the rest of the squad was gathered, they could give the profile. Hopefully, within a day or so, they would have a suspect in custody. Reid went over the evidence, remembering what Maria's friends had said yesterday. He gathered over what the others had found out from the other victims, including the latest one, Addie. He couldn't ignore that gnawing sensation they were missing something. It was the equivalent of when one was searching for an item – a book, a hair brush, house keys – and it is seen visibly in the mind. You know how it looks, you can see the physical items surrounding it… you just don't know where it is. At least, Reid imagined that's what it was like. People with eidetic memories didn't often misplace their house keys.
The team was prepared to give the profile. The other officers were ushering together, waiting for the presentation. They were all but ready however, as they sat waiting for Riley to show up.
It was close to ten; the police beginning to get impatient. Reid was beginning to hope she was called into another emergency. Maybe she would be too busy to assist them any longer. The case could be solved and Reid could be back to Quantico without ever having to see her again.
But Reid wanted to see her. He couldn't decide whether he loved her or hated her. He couldn't hate her; he had tried that before and failed spectacularly. Riley would walk in any minute now, in her usual knee length skirt, with varying blouse or sweater, in dark nylons and Mary Jane's. Her black curls would be held back, usually in a barrette, but maybe a braid. Reid wondered if she would be wearing her glasses… he liked her glasses.
At 10:30, it was over. Hotch announced they could wait no longer. They gathered what was needed for the presentation and headed out to the bull pen.
"Reid, wait up a second," Morgan said, waiting for the others to leave. "What happened last night?"
"I told you, we met up with Maria's friends at Leadworth and-"
"I meant between you and Riley. Something happened, we can tell. And from the look of you, it wasn't good."
That was one thing about being friends with profilers; you couldn't hide anything from them. But that didn't mean Reid had to admit it. He shrugged, keeping silent.
"Okay, is this the game you want to play?" Morgan asked. "Because I could reveal to Hotch and Rossi I feel you're jeopardizing this case. And I think a quick confab with JJ and Emily would get them on my side. And suddenly, after a little word with Garcia, there's a notation in your file and the next thing you know, you're stuck in Quantico wasting your skills on a desk job-
"It's none of your business, Morgan!" Reid hissed. "What is this obsessive need you people have to invade in my personal life? Why don't you follow Riley's example and just treat me like I'm nothing. It would make life a lot easier."
He rushed out the door, joining the others. Among the cops and detectives was Leona Novak, making no effort to hide how pointless she thought this was, and Logan Levinson. Hotch was just about ready to begin.
"Agent Hotchner," the station's captain called from the door of her office. "There's a phone call for you."
Confused, he glanced at the time, silently informing them to take over. He went off, following the captain inside and closing the door. Rossi stood up, beginning the show.
"We are looking for a white male," he said. "In his late teens, early twenties. He will appear small, none threatening. He is deceptively strong and probably has the appearance of a homeless man. Someone who could hide on the street and easily go unnoticed."
"Though he has abducted both men and women, he has a specific type of victim." Emily chimed in. "He wants a person walking alone. Someone who appears to know where they are and where they're going. When someone is in a familiar area, they pay less attention to their surroundings. Odds are, he stalks his victims at least a day ahead of time."
"Then why give a blitz attack?" Novak rudely piped in.
"One simple reason: the unsub lacks confidence," Morgan explained. "He doesn't have the courage to sneak up and use a more subtle technique. Once the victim is bound and silenced, his confidence grows. He has someone he can now control and he is sure won't fight or struggle against him."
"The varying between men and women states he has no real desire to torture his victims." Reid pointed out. "This isn't something sexual, which consists with the lack of rape. The notes he leaves have a prophetic sense to them; he is doing this for a purpose. Since the victims are random, the burial is more for the unsub's benefit. Possibly, it is something of a cult or fanatical fashion. Religion is also a possibility, but not necessarily his reasoning."
"Maria was placed directly into her grave." Emily explained. "The victims up to Maria Engles were buried in makeshift coffins. This could mean our unsub is evolving. He wanted his other victims to slowly die with more mental torture and now he wants it quick and painful. It also explains why the killings have become more frequent. But, without the body of Addie Zachariah, we can't be sure."
"The notes are the biggest mystery." Rossi said. "The prose is a clue to his mental instability. The numbers are not labeling the victims numerically, but we are sure they are not insignificant."
"You can't figure it out?" Novak called aloud, drawing further attention to herself. "Wow, I thought you were brought in here because we were incompetent. What good is all of this if you're just as useless?"
"The numbers do mean something." Morgan spoke up. "We may not figure it until after we catch him. We've spoken to the families; none of the victims seem closely connected to their numbers. Which means it's either a clue to their location or purely from the unsub's delusion." The group noticed as Hotch, his face concerned and gray, returned to the squad room. "Hopefully, we'll get this guy within a day or so and be able to find where the missing victims are buried."
With that, the police all went off on their duties. Some hitting the streets, others going over reports of possible suspects. The team, however, was focused on Hotch, wondering what could have made him so upset.
He took a deep breath, almost in disbelief from his news. He spoke quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the other officers. "I just got a call from Seattle Mercy Hospital."
"About what?" Emily asked.
"Reid… were you the last person to see Riley last night?"
