Everything after that felt like a cross between a dream and an alcohol induced delusion. Her legs felt like marshmallow and her head felt like lead. Somehow, after some amount of time, autopilot kicked in and Riley managed to carry herself inside and straight to bed. Her hands reached up and brushed the remaining tears out from under her glasses. No new ones escaped. It was like she'd gone dry. Maybe she felt she didn't deserve to cry… being the one who'd broken his heart. Again.
She collapsed on her bed, not bothering to change her clothes or even get under the covers. She lingered close to the side Reid slept on last night. It smelled like him. She buried her face into his pillow and took a deep inhale.
The threat that someone was out there stalking her didn't bother her. She regretted how it had come about, but Riley knew this was for the best. She hated to lose her friend though, but maybe it was the price she had to pay to spare him. Spencer was too good a person to end up with a pessimistic, emotionally distant woman who would end up ruining his life. He would wind up leaving her, or worse… remain. Like her father did. He'd wind up hating her. And Spencer was already a recovering addict; he could slip back into drugs and destroy his career. Sooner or later, he would see this was for the best. He'd find someone else, someone beautiful and smart and happy and deserving of him.
Riley sat up, panicked. She looked around; the light in the room had changed. Glancing at the clock, it was almost seven. She had drifted to sleep in her thoughts. Now she felt groggy, like she hadn't slept at all. Quickly, she got up and got ready to leave, anxious and scared about what today would bring.
In her usual work attire this morning; Riley left deciding she'd catch a cab on corner. The threat of a stalker didn't stop her. She was disappointed after coming outside, finding no one out there. She was alone.
…
"There didn't seem to be any new victims last night," JJ reported once the majority of the team was assembled that morning. Each one taking notice Novak was absent, as was predicted.
"It could be awhile before he strikes again," Emily said, stirring her coffee around slowly. "We discovered his hideout; it could be some time before he gets back on his feet."
"We don't even know if he's going to stay in Seattle now," Morgan added. "And if he leaves… that's it for this case. It goes cold and he strikes another city. He could discards the notes, the numbers… it could be years before we hear from him again, if ever."
"I don't think so," Reid said. "He's still here, and he's not going anywhere. His work isn't finished yet."
His words took everyone by surprised, all staring intently at him. "Okay," Morgan said skeptically. "How many victims does he have to capture before his work is finished, Reid?"
That he didn't have an answer to. He could only think of one in particular. "I spoke to him yesterday. He made it sound like… he was killing out of compassion. He had said he wanted to end their suffering."
Emily spoke up; she'd had an epiphany. "These are mercy killings. He chooses his victims based on a problem."
"Which is further evidence he stalks his victims for awhile." Morgan added.
"How does he find out about these people, though?" JJ wondered. "Reid, you said Maria was pregnant. Alex has cancer… what about the others?"
Reid glanced at Riley. They hadn't said a word to each other, both avoiding eye contact until now. He wondered what the unsub saw in her that attracted him. Better yet, if she'd been so busy with work, when would he have the chance to meet her? "Riley was one of the victims. Maybe we should try to connect things about her that she has in common with the others."
As Reid spoke, the door opened. Hotch and Rossi had joined them in the conference room. "It could be days, though, before we can speak to Alex." JJ recognized.
"Actually, it won't," Hotch interrupted. "I just spoke to Patricia Beck on the phone. Alex is at Seattle Mercy; Mrs. Beck has granted us permission to speak to her son."
"He's talking?" Reid asked.
"Only through a dry erase board." Hotch explained. "Reid, Riley, head on over there and call us if you learn anything."
"Hotch, I'd rather just… stay here and work on the case." Riley said. She took a glance at Reid, trying to read how it affected him. "I don't feel well."
Hotch wouldn't be swayed. "Then you should have done that yesterday. She agreed to let us speak to Alex, but she demanded to meet the two people who saved his life."
Riley looked to Reid. He didn't seem too pleased of having to go with her again. Wasting no time, he stood up, "Let's go," he muttered as he grabbed his jacket. Riley followed suit, trying to keep up with him.
…
It was like a game of chicken. Neither Reid nor Riley wanted to be the first to speak and show weakness. Reid felt wounded. No, he hadn't meant what he said; he had only expressed those things to hurt her. It was frustrating. He sensed she still loved him, but had some twisted notion that she was protecting him. From what? Not being together was destroying him, and things were only going to get worse when he returned to Quantico.
Riley was distorted with guilt. She wanted to apologize and beg him to forgive her, but she couldn't let him get the idea she'd changed her mind. The silence and tension between them was thick and uncomfortable, like steam in a bathroom on a very humid day.
At the hospital, they made it to the nurses' station. Reid asked about Alex's room. He had been placed a few floors up, on the cancer treatment unit. Though he'd been through a trauma, he still needed special care.
Down the hall, Reid and Riley waited for the elevator. Each one taking quick glances at the other; never at the same time, each assuming the other didn't care.
"You look tired," Riley finally voiced.
Reid didn't answer at first. Riley suspected he was giving her the silent treatment for a moment. "I was up all night." He explained.
"Oh," Riley said, pressing the UP button another time. "How come?"
Again, a long pause. "If I had gone to sleep, someone could have gotten in."
His words were puzzling, taking her a moment to understand. "You… you were outside my building all night?"
His eyes remained on the steal doors. "All night."
"Why?" she asked.
"Did you really think I would leave?" Reid finally looked to her. "I promised I'd protect you."
Speechless for several seconds, Riley managed to force the lump forming in her throat down a bit. "Thank you," she muttered. "I guess you don't hate me after all."
"No, I don't," Reid snapped. "Believe me, though, I'm trying. I'll get the hang of it eventually."
Riley knew she deserved that, but it didn't hurt any less. She gently brushed his shoulder. "Spencer… I'm sorry."
"Don't," Reid said softly, shrugging away her gesture. "Don't do that. Don't say that, don't do that."
She carefully took her hand away, hiding the pain from his refusal. The doors slid open, empty inside. Reid and Riley both stepped in. As the doors slid closed, secluding them, Riley continued. "I know you don't see it now, but… no matter what we feel for each other, eventually things will change. We're better off where we are. You'll go back to Quantico and I'll stay here and… in the long run, we'll be… satisfied.
"Satisfied." Reid repeated. "Sounds like a wonderful existence."
"You doubt it now, but you'll see."
"No, Riley, you'll see," Reid said. "You think this is what you want. I'm going to leave. Time will pass… and inevitability will catch up to you. You'll realize you made a mistake. You'll come crawling back to me." They arrived, and the doors slid open. "Just don't be upset when I say 'I told you so' and walk away."
"Regardless… it's a chance I have to take." She replied.
"Excuse me…" A man said in the hall, surrounded by several other people. "Are you… getting off?"
Reid and Riley hadn't noticed the doors were open, or that they had an audience. They each muttered a sorry and pushed past them off the elevator. Neither chose to speak as they made their way down the hall.
A woman was waiting for them outside of Alex Beck's room. She was a petite lady, looking as if she hadn't slept in a few nights. Understandable. "Mrs. Beck?" Reid asked as they approached.
She came to attention at the sound of her name. Patricia Beck looked relieved and pleased to see them as they approached. "Yes," she said.
"I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, this is my… this is Dr. Riley Parker." He explained, offering his badge for proof.
"Are you the ones who saved my son?" she asked.
"Yes, well… Dr. Reid is really the one responsible." Riley explained, leaving out her involvement. Reid looked to her, a little amazed.
The technicalities didn't bother her. Immediately, she pulled Dr. Reid into a hug. "Thank you," she muttered, beginning to cry. Reid held her a moment before she pulled away, giving the exact same gesture to Riley.
Once Mrs. Beck had gathered herself, they got down to business. "If it's alright with you, Dr. Parker can speak with Alex. I'll stay out here with you."
"Alright," Mrs. Beck said.
"I promise, we won't be long," Riley said with a reassuring hand on Mrs. Beck's shoulder. Riley shared a look with Reid, lingering a bit longer than natural.
He guided her further down to a waiting area. For once, there was sunshine. It streamed through the windows, giving an almost heavenly feel to the place. Reid and Mrs. Beck took a seat. "Don't worry about Dr. Parker, she's excellent with child psychology."
Mrs. Beck nodded. "I can't thank you both enough. You have no idea… for months, you feel like your child is being taken from you. Then… someone just rips him away."
"I'm very sorry for what you've been through," Reid said. "At least he's okay now."
"Thanks to you," she said, giving a smile. "Do you have children, Dr. Reid?"
"No," Reid admitted, and before he could stop himself, "Not yet."
"Oh," she said smiling a bit brighter. "I see. I didn't think they let couples work together in the FBI, but-"
Reid interrupted. "Dr. Parker… and I… we're not…"
"Oh, I'm sorry," She cried. "I just assumed… they way you looked at each other…"
"Let's get back on subject, Mrs. Beck," Reid urged. "We're running out of time to catch your son's abductor, and… we have suspicions he may be after… another woman." He cleared his throat, hoping he didn't give anything away. "We're trying to see if Alex has anything in common with the other victims. Did he know of a girl named Addie Zachariah?"
"No," she said almost immediately. "I know, you think all kids keep things from their parents, but… it's just me and my son. And… well, if anything good came out of his cancer, it's brought us closer together. If he knew someone by that name, he would have brought her up at some point."
"What about Maria Engles?"
"Maria… Engles…" The words seemed to roll over her tongue slowly. "Where do I know that name?"
"She was on the news a few days ago. Another… victim of the Undertaker." Regardless of whether Alex knew her or not, it was dismissed if she'd been all over the news.
"Oh… I see…" she still seemed confused, thinking. "…no, I don't think I've heard of her. I could be wrong, though… I'd have to think about it."
"Okay," Reid said. "What about some activities that Alex does? Any strange or different people he comes in contact with? Maybe a neighbor or maybe a doctor?"
"No," Mrs. Beck admitted quickly. "No one that sticks out in my mind."
"Okay," Reid said, "Just one more question. The note the unsub left you-"
"Unsub?"
"Sorry, it stands for Unknown Subject. We prefer it over the Undertaker. Um, the note… there was… no number included with it? In the lower corner, perhaps?"
"No," she said. "I remember that note. For the rest of my life, I will remember that note, and there wasn't any number."
Reid nodded, getting a sudden idea. "Alex is on the basketball team. What's his team number?"
"12," she replied.
It sent Reid's mind to work. 12 was also Addie's number. Addie had been buried in the field at the school. Alex could possibly have been the third body in that field. The number wasn't a label, it was a clue to their location. The unsub didn't feel the need to state Alex's number. But the other victims hadn't been connected to their numbers. Or had they…
"Thank you," Reid said, handing her a card. "If you think of anything else, any connection your son or even yourself may have to the victims or if you notice anything suspicious… please, let us know immediately."
"I will," She said, placing the card into her purse. "And… thank you so much for saving my son."
Reid nodded. "It's our pleasure… but Dr. Parker deserves the credit. If she hadn't been there…"
Mrs. Beck nodded, hugging him again. "Thank you, to both of you."
She released him and headed down the hall, back to her son's room. Just as she reached it, the door opened and Riley emerged. Reid couldn't tell if their conversation had been successful.
"Anything?" Reid asked.
"Not much," Riley admitted. "He hasn't met or come in contact with anyone taking a special interest in him. He's never been approached by anyone strange… he's been so sick until recently, he's never even gone anywhere without his mother. Most of his time has spent at home and in this hospital. Walking home the other night was his first chance of freedom in about a year."
"So however he met the unsub, his mother knew him, too." Reid decided.
"Exactly," Riley continued. "Did you find anything?"
"She thought she recognized Maria, but since she's been on the news so much, we can't really assume they knew her. I did figure out something about the numbers; somehow, the unsub picks the numbers based on the victims, then somehow matches the number to a location and that signifies where to bury them."
"But the numbers can't be random. How does he pick them?" Riley wondered.
Reid shook his head. "I'm still working on that one."
