Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. It crossed Reid's mind only after the matter began. Here he stood, sweat from strength and nerves glistening on his brow as he attempted to help Riley through the window. Hair kept falling into his eyes, mixing with his perspiration, his hands too occupied to push it away. He took a quick glance at Morgan, who was all too happy to stand back and enjoy the scene.

"Okay, you're going to have to give me a little more leverage back there." Riley called. With an injured hand, she wasn't able to give herself much support, her elbows propped on the ledge.

Reid took a deep breath, reluctant to move his hands for a better hold. Still, time was ticking and he knew Riley wouldn't be able to wiggle inside herself. He refused to let Morgan touch her again. Why he would respond to such a Neanderthal attitude, his logical mind could not determine. It didn't occur to him that it wasn't really his mind responding to the situation.

He gathered his composure and helped her in, just enough to get her knees onto the ledge. After that, Riley had to situation in her control.

"Something tells me this isn't her first B and E," Morgan muttered to Reid as she disappeared into the dark.

They waited. The sounds of movement and shifting of items was heard. It was hard to imagine what kind of mess sat inside there. There couldn't have been much light either. "766 – PND, right?" she called.

"Yes," Reid cried. "We're in the clear."

"Can you get out of there?" Morgan asked.

There was a long pause. "Yeah, I think so," She replied. More movement, the scraping of metal across the floor, Reid suspected chair legs, and a moment later she appeared.

"You seem like you know what you're doing." Morgan pointed out.

"Hey, I was a teenager once." Riley said, struggling to pull herself through the portal. "Never thought breaking out while grounded would come in handy with the FBI, got to be honest with you."

Reid automatically stepped forward, her good hand resting on his shoulder. Allowing his instincts to kick in, he easily pulled her towards him, guiding her down. Her arms went around his neck as he held her, embracing her until she were steady, breathing in her perfume. Reid heard her wince slightly as she placed her weight on her bad ankle. Her hands gripped at his shirt, obviously in a bit more pain than she was letting on.

"Are you okay?" He asked, keeping his hold on her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered into his shoulder, taking a minute before pulling away. "I'm fine."

Reid nodded, looking her over, her red sweater smudge with dirt and soot and more orange dust. She brushed herself off as they followed Morgan the short distance towards the school.

"I think we should split up," Morgan said, pulling at a loose board over one doorframe. "Reid, you and Riley check out the downstairs and the basement. Do not go off by yourselves. I'll take the upper floors, signal if you find any evidence someone is or recently had been here."

Once they managed to get inside. Morgan and Reid, guns out, pointed downward, began moving through the run down halls of the once activated middle school. Reid's mind flashed back. A year ago, walking in the cold night air through the abandoned church. His search having led him there for Riley and the man who kidnapped her. Like the church, it was littered with old beer cans, debris, spray paint and paint ball splotches stained what was left of the walls. Morgan found the doorway to the stairwell. Taking one last look at his companions, he headed upstairs, setting their plan in motion. Reid and Riley moved on.

"Remind you of anything?" Reid whispered.

Riley was close to him, like she were afraid he would turn a corner and they'd be separated, never finding their way back. He could have sworn he felt her shiver, but maybe it was just because the air was so frigidly cold in here. "Yeah," she muttered. "A little too much." They were closer to the front of the building now, where the former front office was located.

A quick check revealed they were indeed alone. Reid moved through the room, looking for evidence of recent life in the place. Looking back, he noticed Riley had frozen, looking much like a deer in the middle of the woods, listening for the arrival of a hunter.

"What is it?" Reid asked.

"Shh," she hissed, straining her ears. Nothing but silence; pure unnatural silence. Only in the situations with the most intense emotions could silence feel so anomalous.

Finally, she shook her head. "I thought I heard a car outside."

"We're pretty close to the street in here," Reid said. "It was probably just someone driving by," Reid explained, checking around, his eyes noticing a pile of rags left behind. He slipped on a glove and carefully picked up one, covered in dirt and what appeared to be a few, small smears of blood… like it was wiped from someone's hand.

"Be careful," Riley hissed rushing forward. "You don't know where that's been,"

"Sure I do," Reid said. "Someone used it. And…" he carefully pulled out an evidence bag from his pack and slipped the rag inside. He secured the object in his bag, carefully placing it so it would neither puncture anything nor become contaminated. "If I recall correctly, and we both know I am, you did stab your attacker in the arm. Maybe this is the blood from that wound. We might be able to pull DNA"

"What good will that do?" Riley asked as he stood up.

"Well, if it is the unsub's DNA on there, it'll prove he's the one that attacked you."

Riley shook her head. "That's not important."

"Yes it is. He could have killed you."

"Do you know how many people have been affected because of this guy, how many lives lost, how many families suffering? I am not more important than all of them."

Reid shrugged. "You are to me."

Riley wanted to say thank you. She wanted to smile and kiss him and hold him, but she knew she couldn't. Spencer could never know the truth, not if she wanted to protect him. Riley turned and headed towards the hall as she said, "I shouldn't be."

Reid chose not to retaliate. A professing of his undying love for her wouldn't do anyone any good right now, particularly Alex, and the clock was ticking on finding him. Quickly, Reid pursued her into the hall.

"This is eerie." Riley said as Reid caught up with her. "This is usually the part of the story when the axe murder jumps out and kills the couple in the hallway."

"I think you need to stop reading Stephen King," Reid said, checking each door knob as they headed down the hall. Everything seemed lock, which was a good sign. Anything locked indicated the unsub probably didn't use it too often.

"There's nothing wrong with Stephen King," Riley announced.

"You get too scared." Reid said.

"I do not!" She whined, looking offended.

"Oh, really? I seem to remember returning from Rockford, going to your apartment and you trying to attack me with dishwasher soap because you fell asleep reading The Dark Half."

"That had nothing to do with it!" She said as they turned a corner. The door to the basement just a few feet away. "It was after midnight and you said you and the team wouldn't be home until the next morning. And it was dark. And you're such a baby; we got all the soap out of your eyes, didn't we?"

"You read The Stand and panicked when you got the flu the next week. Every time you read Christine, you won't ride in a car for two days." Reid pointed out.

"I like Stephen King!" She exclaimed, turning towards him. Both stopped walking. They were both trying to keep from laughing, but it was futile. Reid and Riley stopped, leaning on each other as their giggles escaped.

Reid had a quick flashback. He and Riley, standing in the snow, holding each other while they laughed on the street corner. And then Riley kissed him. Quick and all but meaningless, but the first gesture into a beautiful night together.

Their laughter quieted slowly. Riley was still leaning on him, and Reid wrapped his arms around her. This was wrong; they shouldn't be enjoying themselves when a young boy was missing. But Reid wasn't thinking clearly, as was usual when this woman was so close to his person. "Your wife would object to that very strongly, Mr. Torrance. And she appears to be… somewhat stronger than we had imagined. Somewhat more resourceful. She certainly seems to have gotten the better of you."

"What?" Riley asked, adjusting her posture.

"Page 383 of The Shining. When Jack is talking to Grady in the pantry. It is your favorite book, isn't it?"

She smiled brightly, nodding. "Do you still have it?"

He hesitated. "I always carry it with me." He confessed. "I'd know it by heart if I had an average memory… I've read it so many times over the last seven months."

Her smile faded, and her breathing got heavier. "Why?"

Because I miss you. He thought. Because when I read it, it's like you're still there. The words formed in his mind, but he couldn't seem to get his mouth to say them.

He gathered the nerve and opened his mouth to speak. Riley held up her hand. "Shh!" She hissed for the second time. Her eyes looking down the hallway towards the double doors. "Listen,"

Reid froze, listening again. A soft, muffled sound was heard, giving the impression of a suffering cat. "What is that?" she whispered.

One hand grabbing his gun, the other slipped into Riley's hand, running towards the basement. They began a speedy journey down the stairs. The sound continued as they made it into the darkness, getting louder as they got closer.

Their eyes managed to adjust to the dark, the basement surrounding them like a horrific labyrinth. With storage and scrap and the distinct scent of mold. They stopped, trying to determine where the crying was coming from.

"Could that be Alex?" Riley whispered, leaning closer to Reid's ear as they crouched down, just in case unseen eyes had spotted them.

Reid didn't know and chose not to answer. Instead, he searched around, trying to see how best to advance on the situation. He turned back to Riley, a Kevlar vest her only form of protection. He thought of sending her in search of Morgan, but there was no guarantee there were no other suspects. The possibility of her getting hurt was too great a risk. Instead he leaned into her ear.

"You need to stay here," he whispered as low as he could. "Do not move until I call for you, stay out of sight, okay? Promise me."

She nodded. "I promise." She whispered.

Reid stood, following the sound. True to her word, Riley remained. Reid took a glance back, thankful her hiding place kept her out of sight. His gun at the ready, Reid moved towards the sound.

In the darkness, he noticed a door standing ajar. The crying was just behind it. Taking a deep breath, he crept forward, sliding it open.

"FBI," Reid called, holding his gun up. A stream of light flashed through a window on the right. Directly in front of him was darkness. A being curled in a ball lay weeping at the feet of another figure.

At least six feet tall, with his sweatshirt's hood over his head. He didn't stand up for long, stooping over the weeping figure, the obvious blade of a knife went to his throat.

"Let the boy go," Reid demanded, his gun aimed at the unsub.

"You don't understand," Reid strained to hear him, his voice disguised in a hoarse whisper. "I'm helping him."

"You're going to help a sick child by burying him alive?" Reid asked.

"I'm ending his suffering." The man explained. "No one cares about him enough to do that."

"Alex is not suffering," Reid explained. "He's beating his cancer, don't you know that?"

"No," the voice explained. "He won't survive. I know. I can give him peace, Dr. Reid."

Shocked, he took a step back. "How do you know who I am?"

"Riley," he whispered. "I've known Riley for some time. She's suffering… I want to end her suffering. And I will."

Reid could barely get the words out. "I'm not going to let you hurt her."

"Is that why you deserted her on the street?" Reid suspected he was smiling; he could hear it in his tone. "I watched you… you didn't see me, but I was watching you. I don't want to hurt her; I just want to take away her misery…"

He had to keep his head. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Let the boy go-"

As he finished his sentence, the sound of gun fire was heard. Two bullets rang out. Reid knew he hadn't pulled the trigger yet. He was sure… but all thought left him as an incredible force threw him back, a white hot, burning pain struck him, pulling him from reality.