Reid called Ethan's mother to offer condolences as well as to try and find any information on Ethan's murder. She knew little evidence on her son's death; cops were reluctant to share that kind of information with the victims' families.

Reid stood outside of the hotel on his cell phone. Riley and his father waited for him inside. Wanting to ease the pain of the grieving mother, Reid promised he would do all he could to find Ethan's killer.

After hanging up, Reid had another idea. Quickly, he clicked through his phone until he found JJ's home number. It had to be about seven in Quantico. They hadn't started another case yet, so she probably left the unit at a decent hour. Hopefully, she'd be home by now.

The rings sounded three times before someone picked up. The familiar voice of Jennifer Jareau answered. "Hello?"

"JJ, it's Reid," he said.

"Oh, hi," she replied. "How's Vegas."

"Uh… it's… actually not too good right now. Listen, is Will there, I need to talk to him."

"No," she answered. That was strange; Reid never needed to speak to Will. Then again, Reid rarely called JJ at home. "He should be back in a few hours though. What's going on, is everything okay? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," He assured. "I just need his help. Can you ask him to do me a favor?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I need him to call the New Orleans' police. Tell him I need all the information he can get on the homicide case of Ethan Williams. I need it as soon as possible."

"Ethan… Williams," JJ repeated, and Reid assumed she was writing it down. "Okay, he'll call you back tomorrow with everything you need."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." Reid said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Excuse me?" She asked, confused.

"Well… you seemed a little sick yesterday. I was just wondering if you felt any better."

She hesitated. "Oh, well… yeah, I feel a little better today. Thanks."

"You're welcome." He replied, convinced. "We'll see you guys next week. And thank Will again for me."

"I will." JJ said. "We'll see you Monday." She hung up the phone. She could have just told him what was going on, but he had enough on his mind right now.

The rest of the evening was morbid and somber. Reid, Riley and Will spent a few hours together. Will had received a letter every day since he returned from Quantico, each one seeming as disturbing as the first. Reid had looked them over, unable to pull any new evidence from them.

Thankfully, their evening was short. Reid's father saw them to the hotel and agreed to meet them at the hospital tomorrow morning. Reid and Riley didn't go to sleep until just after midnight. Riley worked on her plans for the interview tomorrow; Reid worked on any scenarios that could have lead to Ethan's death. Hopefully he'd get a breakthrough once Will LaMontange called him. It couldn't come soon enough.

They had a restless night sleep. Both pretending it had been the bed. Reid used that as a scapegoat. He had spent more nights in hotel beds than he did his own. He could sleep just about anywhere, unless things preoccupied his mind. He did have a feeling Riley was using it as an excuse, too.

Once outside, Riley shivered, bundling her coat around her tighter. "I didn't expect Vegas to be so cold," she said as they waited for a cab.

"It's the desert, but it still gets cold this time of year." Reid said. "It just doesn't usually snow."

Riley didn't say much else on the way. Reid understood and didn't press anything. He had enough on his mind; what with the impending encounter with his mother, having both his parents in the same room, and the unexpected news of his friend's death. His brain kept switching subjects, and he was beginning to predict this whole thing was not going to be as easy to clear up as he had first anticipated.

All too soon, the cab pulled up outside of the Bennington Sanitarium. It had a chilling quality to it. Dark clouds and a clap of thunder would accompany the setting perfectly. At eighteen, Reid had looked on this place with grave apprehension, and not just because he had been planning on placing his mother here. The first time he walked up those steps, he felt like an unsuspecting character in a horror movie.

"Damn," Riley muttered as they began up the stone steps.

"What?" Reid asked.

"Nothing, I just… I wouldn't be surprised if Riff Raff answers the door, that's all."

"Who?" Reid was confused. A genius maybe, but when it came to popular culture, Reid was sadly deprived.

"He's a… character from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. We've been dating all this time, I can't believe I haven't made you watch that yet."

"Well, that'll be the first thing we do once we get home," Reid assured, his fingers entwining with hers.

"Don't be surprised if I want to reenact 'Toucha Toucha Touch Me' when it's over." She replied with a seductive glare.

Reid smiled. "I think I'm going to like this movie."

Reid led them to the receptionist and announced their arrival. Will Reid hadn't arrived yet, nor had Diana been informed her son was in town. After a short wait, Dr. Norman came to greet the two.

"Dr. Reid," he said, shaking his hand upon arrival. "I was a little surprised when I got your message yesterday, but it's good to see you just the same."

"Thank you, sir," Reid said, his hand indicated Riley, guiding her forward. "Dr. Norman, this is Dr. Riley Parker."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Parker," he said, shaking her hand in turn. "I'm pleased you both are here, but I'm a little confused as to why this is necessary."

"Dr. Norman," Reid began. "I don't mean to offend you by brining her in, this isn't pertaining to her treatment. My father was here recently. He said you told him my mother's medication had to be increased."

"Yes, but it was necessary. She was having horrible nightmares." Dr. Norman explained.

"What exactly happened during these nightmares?" Riley asked.

Dr. Norman thought a moment, "Well, her dreams were always centered on her son. Usually after midnight, she'd wake up in terror. Screaming, crying for her son, covered in cold sweat. Many times we had to sedate her. But in the mornings, she would always claim they were nothing. And that we were making a fuss over something so little." He took a pause before he continued, considering something. "Usually, when a patient has nightmares like this, it takes months, even years before they get this bad; but it seemed your mother reached such a debilitating stage in just weeks."

"Was it after the letters began to arrive?" Reid asked.

"Letters?" There was no recognition at that.

"My father said my mother had received some… unique letters. I think that may be the trigger to her nightmares. Dr. Parker wants to just… analyze her in case she knows something my father was unable to deduce."

"I see," Dr. Norman said. Thankfully, he wasn't offended. "Well, I'm not sure how much information you'll be able to get out of her. She's just a lucid as always. Her memory is what is most affected by the dosage."

"We'd still like to try." Riley assured.

Dr. Norman led them to the main sitting area. Patients were scattered all about. Some were playing board games or talking. One patient sat motionless in the corner, staring into space. Mrs. Reid, as usual, sat in a comfortable chair, pen and ink in hand. She wrote frivolously in her journal. It was then Reid noticed the resemblance. Riley looked very similar when she worked. Not quite, but close. It was a known fact of the human race. Men fell for women most like their mothers, just as girls fell for boys most like their father's. He wished for a moment Riley's father were still alive. He'd love to see exactly how Reid mimicked the man.

Reid didn't say any warning until he was directly in front of his mother. He waited for her to look up. Thankfully, she immediately recognized him.

"Spencer," she muttered, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," He said, smiling. Riley stood back nervously, waiting to be introduced.

Reid knew he had to take this slow. "Mom…" he said. Her blue eyes focused on him with such love and intensity. This was going to upset her, and Reid longed for someone to step forward with some evidence he wouldn't have to bring this up. He took a seat across from her. "…I got a visit from Dad the other day."

"Your father?" she asked, as if there were another man he referred to as dad. "Why would he come to visit you? You haven't seen him… since you were ten years old."

"No, Mom, remember… I saw him two years ago." He didn't want to divulge into the case about Riley Jenkins. The only Riley she needed to be concerned about was ten feet away from them. "But Mom… he told me he had come to see you recently."

She thought for a moment, thinking back. "No, you're mistaken, Spencer."

This was going to be much harder than Reid had suspected. "Okay," Reid said. They weren't going to get anywhere this way. "Mom… I heard you'd been having nightmares about me."

She suddenly became annoyed. "I told them they were nothing." She snarled. "These people will pick on anything to say a person's crazy, just to keep them here. Just like Leonard back there, the poor dear. He used to be a history teacher-" She turned back to point out the catatonic man in the corner. Her vision was obstructed, however, by Riley standing there.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Hi, Mrs. Reid," Riley said, stepping forward. "I'm Riley; it's nice to finally meet you."

She offered her hand, but it hung unclaimed. Diana Reid stared at her, taking in the young girl. After a second, she looked back at Reid. "I always thought Riley was a boy."

Riley was confused, but Reid immediately understood. "No, Mom… she's not my imaginary friend." He took a deep breath, standing up. He indicated for Riley to come over, which she obeyed. "Mom… this is Riley Parker… She's a psychiatrist."

"Spencer," she moaned. She eyed Riley warily. "I don't need another doctor. I'm fine."

"Well, Mom… I brought her here to… talk to you about your dreams." Reid paused, mentally prepping himself for what came next. "See… Riley works with me at the FBI."

Her wary expression became scared and panicked. She whispered to Reid, as if speaking that softly would prevent Riley from being able to hear. "Spencer… she's the government. How could you bring her here!"

Riley was becoming more and more confused. This was not what she had expected.

"Mom, she's not the government." Reid urged. "Riley is more than a psychiatrist… she's my girlfriend. We're dating."

What came next, no one could have predicted. Her crystal blue eyes become cold and livid. She moved toward Riley, fierce and deadly, like she might kill her with just a look. "How dare you!" she yelled. The attention of the other patients was drawn in their direction.

Riley backed away slightly, terrified. Diana Reid normally seemed so non-threatening, but a vicious beast lived inside of her. "My son will never wind up in this place. My baby is not crazy. You can try to break him, but it won't work."

Riley was confused. "Mrs. Reid… don't you know who I am?"

Diana had not wavered from her original thought. "My baby's amazing mind is too strong to fall to you. You stay away from him or I'll scratch your eyes out!"

"Mom!" Reid exclaimed, stepping between them. "Riley is not trying to get me committed, she loves me."

"Spencer!" Her eyes looked over Reid's shoulder at the frightened and mystified Riley Parker. "That's exactly what she wants you to believe. She wants to seduce you and make you think you love her, and then she'll get you locked away! You'll never see the real world again!"

"Mrs. Reid, you have to know how much your son and I care about each other." Riley urged. "Don't you remember, from his letters? Or… when he visited you…"

While Diana remained focused on her, separated from Riley by her son's arms, Reid kept his back to her. He had been dreading this. The silence, flowing throughout the entire room, was uninterrupted for several long, terrible moments before Reid finally turned around.

Riley looked at him, partly shocked and partly hurt. Without a word, she stepped away, her eyes glistening. As quick as she could without running, Riley hurried out of the sitting room.