"Don't you need a notepad or something?" She wondered, curious. Maybe he couldn't do much, but maybe - just maybe - he could find one clue. One sign as to where her baby was... what happened to him or who took him away. She wouldn't have come here if she didn't think there was a chance.
"I have an eidetic memory, remember?" He groaned, annoyed.
"Oh... right..." Alexa stammered, thinking back. There was little she could recall about Spencer and his abilities. All she knew for sure was he was exceptionally smart, said to have an IQ higher than most people in recorded history... but they didn't care back then. All they wanted to do was prove he was inferior to them.
Reid let out an annoyed sigh. "I can remember everything you tell me, word for word. Like a tape recorder." He explained. "Now, as I said, start from the beginning. Who are we looking for?"
"My son," Alexa admitted at once. She knew her ignorance was increasing his agitation and she didn't want to push him any further. "Peter..."
"Peter," Reid repeated, his voice softened. "And how old is he?"
"Six," She answered. "He's in the first grade... with his twin sister, Penny."
A twin, that struck in Reid's mind. It could explain why he was targeted, but if that were the case, the sister was in danger as well. He tried to think of them as just a boy and girl. It helped keep him objective through this. Regardless of his feelings for Alexa, however, he made a point to contact the police in order to protect that little girl.
Despite his effort to remain detached, he listened intently as the weepy woman began to reveal more about her child. "He's such a sweet little boy... he's quiet and he loves to play... he looks just like his father... with wavy blonde locks and jade green eyes, and a face like a little angel. He's my only little boy... I have to find him."
"When did he go missing?" Reid asked. His gentle tone surprised him more than her.
As she opened her mouth to speak, tears choked her into submission. She whipped a tissue out of her sleeve. Reid noticed that as a motherly trait. His mother often did that, even now when her son had long outgrown her assistance at wiping his nose. JJ did it now. She often stashed one or two up her sleeve, even when her sons were across the country. It was something out of habit.
"Uh..." She mumbled, thinking back to his question. "About two months"
At that, Reid let out a low grumble. She had certainly wasted his time, just as he had suspected. "I'm sorry, Alexa, I can't help you."
"What?" She exclaimed, meeting his eyes once again.
"I understand you can't let go of the hope, but there's nothing to be done." He admitted. "Child kidnapping is a serious issue, and most victims are..." He stumbled over the word. He was having trouble at the fact he was about to destroy this woman's whole world. "...are killed... within the first 24 hours."
Alexa swallowed, forcing herself to keep her emotions buried. "Is that so."
"I'm sorry for you're loss, but there's nothing I can do." He revealed. Honestly, he said that with more feeling than he believed possible.
She watched in a startled amazement as he got to his feet. "But I can't do this without you."
Reid would have said the exact same thing to one of his teammates, although he'd be much more sympathetic about it. "There's nothing I can do. Without any substantial evidence your son could still be alive, there's no reason to waste government manpower on searching for his body, not when there are lives we can actually save. I'm sorry... have a safe trip back to Vegas."
And with that, Reid turned and headed to the door. At once, Alexa was on her feet, chasing after him. "Spencer, wait please!"
Her scream startled him, stopping to turn back as she grabbed his arm. His eyes found hers, lost in a sea of swelling tears, begging him to help her. "Please..." She said in a partial sob, "Spencer, I'm not naive. I know my son is dead... I know that. I just..." Her sobs got caught in her words as tears began to stream down her face. "I just want to know what happened to him... He needs to come home, so we can bury him with his teddy bear... please... please..." Her hands gripped his sweater in her hands, the fabric clutched in bunches.
In that moment, Reid allowed himself to believe his answer was only to make her let him go, that he believed she wouldn't release him until he gave in. "I..." He stuttered, damning himself with each syllable. "I... can't..."
She let out another sob, about to release the grip on him. "I can't do it alone." He continued. "I work better with my team... let me assemble them and... you can tell us everything you've learned."
At that, Alexa gasped. "I... I have some of the files. Police reports and... evidence logs... I can bring them up."
He was suspicious as to how she'd manage to get her hands on those, but didn't care enough to ask. "You do that," Reid said as he managed to wrench himself from her hold and continued out the door, grateful to put some distance between them, for however short a time.
Rossi was the last of the group to arrive that day, coming in after a long mind numbing meeting with their section chief. His first attention went to the group conversing in the bull pen, like a group of kids goofing off while the substitute teacher was out of the room.
He stepped over to join them. "This is certainly productive. Do I dare ask what's going on?"
"Somebody came by this morning looking for Reid." Morgan explained, leaning back in his chair. "Some woman who seemed very upset and determined to speak to the young man."
The reoccuring pain was acting up again in Morgan's abdomen, making each breath a difficult chore. Pressing his hand on the spot helped eased the discomfort. Luckily no one seemed to notice. Years of being a profiler had taught him how to remain stoned face through any emotion and illness, helping hide his illness from Emily. If she knew he were sick, she'd feel obligated to take care of him... and he didn't want that.
At his response, Rossi was suddenly as interested as the others. There wasn't much they could tell from this angle. "Any idea what she wants?"
"Not a clue." JJ replied. "But it doesn't seem like she's a stranger."
Emily nodded in agreement, sitting partially on Reid's desk. Riley was in his seat, anxiously awaiting him to come out and tell her what this was all about. She was considering calling her office to reschedule her appointment this afternoon. She hated to do that, but her husband needed her more.
"God," Emily muttered as she looked at the young therapist. "You ate that whole thing already."
It was true. Riley was nawing at the last remnants of the apple. Chewing the last bit of the fruit's meat, she tossed the core in Reid's trash bin. "I know," she mumbled, reaching for a tissue to wipe her mouth. "It's weird, I don't even like apples."
The comment triggered something in JJ's head. She looked to Riley with great curiousity, even more than she had for Reid.
"You don't like apples?" She questioned. The woman couldn't have been that hungry. After all, there were plenty of snacks in the cupboards. "Why'd you eat it, then?"
Riley shrugged. "I don't know. I saw them in the fridge and they just looked so good, I couldn't resist. I might go get another one."
It didn't mean anything. The human body often craved things when they were missing certain nutrients. Riley avoided fruits and vegetables most of the time, her system may have desired those vitamins.
It was a logical conclusion... but still, as JJ turned back, she couldn't quite push the concern aside. It lingered in the back of her mind.
They sat up instinctively, seeing Reid get out of his seat. Alexa Hillman rushed to stop him before he left her behind, obviously pleading with him over something. This was unbearable; what on Earth was going on up there?
At last, he pulled from her and the sound of the door opening sent them away. They each turned, pretending to be too engrossed in their conversation to care what he was doing.
Reid stood above them, observing the scene from the catwalk. "You guys don't have to hide it, I know you've been watching."
There was no point in pretending. Everyone turned as Reid casually walked down to the bull pen, joining them.
"We're just worried about you, Reid." Garcia said kindly. "It's obvious you weren't a very happy camper having to talk to her."
"Who is she, Reid?" Rossi wondered.
His eyes moved through the group, spotting Riley as she stood beside his desk. "You didn't tell them?" He asked.
"It wasn't my place to tell, Sweetie." Riley replied.
That was kind of her, but most things of his life, he wound up telling these people anyway. He looked to everyone, waiting with batted breath. "She's a girl I knew... from high school." At that, his eyes traveled up to meet Morgan's, who stood beside him. "Alexa Lisbon."
Morgan gasped lightly and stood in shock for no less than ten seconds, suddenly filled with guilt. "Reid... I'm sorry, if I had known... I would have turned her away."
"It's okay," He nodded, looking away, avoiding everyone's eyes. He did not, did not, want to relive that story right now. Or ever. It had been difficult enough to tell Morgan six years ago. It was painful to retell it to Rilley, but she'd always been easy to open up to. Even after all this time and all he'd experienced and accomplished in life, the memory still twisted his stomach into knots.
If he played a low key, the others would never need to know. He looked up, and through the group found Riley's adoring gaze glowing in her beautiful brown eyes. Those eyes gave him the strength to lift a car.
"Her son turned up missing two months ago." He explained to the others. "I told her the statistics of his survival and that there wasn't much anyone could do, but she begged me to look over the case... she knows he's dead, she just... wants to know what happened to her son. Reluctantly, I agreed we would look at the case."
"We can do that." Rossi assured. "Let's take a few hours to finish our work and we'll look over it at the end of the day."
"I've got nothing to do right now, I can work with her to set up a presentation." JJ offered kindly.
"You guys don't have to." Reid exclaimed at once. "I understand if you're too busy. You can't just put everything on hold to help someone who just waltzes in here-"
"Reid," Emily stopped him, brushing his arm. "We don't mind. We're not doing it for her, we're doing it for you."
With that, he gave a twitch of a smile. It was hard to be bitter knowing his friends cared about him so much. "Thanks guys."
JJ took a glance up in the conference room, where Alexa was finishing her tea. "I'll go talk to her, help arrange the files for when we're ready."
"I'll help you, Jay," Garcia said, and the two began their journey to the conference room.
The others agreed to meet at four. Rossi headed to his office while Morgan and Emily went to grab a quick bite to eat. Suddenly, Reid stood alone in the bull pen, face to face with the only woman he wanted to be alone in a room with.
"Are you okay?" She asked kindly as she moved closer.
"I guess," He shrugged. "I was kind of hoping I'd just talk to her for a half hour before telling her off and walking away."
Riley reached to pull him into her arms. Reid rested his head in her shoulder, clutching to her tightly for support. He felt one hand caress his shoulder while the other lost itself in his shortened hair. Nothing could ease nor excite him like the feel of her touch, accentuated by the scent of roses. He buried his face in the fabric of her violet blouse, inhaling deeply.
"I know, I wanted that for you, too." She moaned, pressing a kiss on his cheek. "You know you could have done that anyway, and you had every right to. The fact that you agreed to help her like this just proves what an amazing, caring human being you are."
"I guess that's a good thing." He grumbled, his words muffled by her blouse.
"Of course it's a good thing," She said, moving so she could look at him. Her hand tenderly stroked through his hair. "It's one of the many reasons I fell in love with you. Remember when you stayed outside my apartment all night in Seattle to protect me, even though you hated me?"
"I never hated you." He corrected, his hands slid down the curves of her spine. They landed on her skirt, just above her backside.
"Nevertheless, you were still there." She reached to gently brush his temple. "You're always there because you can't bear to see someone suffer. That's why you chose to do this job. So you just remember, it doesn't matter what she did to you or what she thinks of you. The only person who's opinion of you matters is mine. And I think you are the most wonderful..." She pressed a quick butterfly kiss on his cheek, "the kindest..." another kiss peppered another spot lightly, "sexiest man alive... not to mention the smartest. And I love you."
For the first time since he'd heard that woman was here waiting for him, Reid breathed a sigh of calm relief. "How do you always make me feel better?"
She smiled, her arms wrapping around his neck, bringing her closer. She stood on her tiptoes, resting her brow on his. "And for the record, you shouldn't be too hard on her. After all..." She gave a seductive smirk with a twitch of her eyebrows. "She's not the only one who's stripped you naked and tied you up."
Reid blushed as he rolled his eyes, a dopey grin crossing over his face. "It's a lot more fun when you do it."
Riley giggled and their lips met. Reid let out low moan, the last remnants of his bitterness melting away at the feel of her tender kiss. She was absolutely right, he knew. It didn't matter about anyone else. Riley loved him. She adored him, lighting up like a firefly whenever she saw him. He saved her life several times, but she gave him a reason to live.
Their lips parted begrudgingly and Riley gave his hair one more stroke. "I'd better go, I still have my session, but I'll be back in time."
"No," Reid shook his head, suddenly serious. "I want you to go home afterward, you're sick, you need your rest."
"Oh, Baby, I'm fine." Riley waved it off. "In fact, I ate an apple a few minutes ago and I'm feeling a lot better."
"An apple?" He mentioned. That did not sound right. "Wow, you must be sick."
"Ha ha," She sarcastically remarked and pulled away. "I'll see you in a few hours, I love you."
"I love you, too. Very much." He said. Reid grasped her hand, refusing to release it until the last possible second. He watched her until she was safely on the elevator. Alone now, he glanced up to the conference room. There, JJ and Garcia were talking with Alexa. It felt like a paradox, his two separate lives combined in one space. He could have gone up to help his friends, but those few minutes around Alexa had been a little too much for him. He needed to find his bearings before he faced her again, and so sat at his desk to lose himself in some paperwork.
Meanwhile, the others were anxious to learn more about this woman. It was clear whatever history she had with their friend, it wasn't a pleasant memory. It was wrong to be nosy, to pry into the darker moments of Reid's past, considering how he reacted when they did discover something less than pleasant. But Reid's life before the BAU was a bit of a mystery. He didn't like to talk about it much, even the better moments... this was just too incredible to pass by.
Emily bided her time in the elevator, standing with Morgan. He didn't even bother pulling her into a kiss, knowing she'd much rather spend the alone time talking. He simply waited, ticking down the seconds until the question was finally asked.
"So..." She mumbled, at last turning to him. "Who is Alexa Lisbon?"
He was impressed, she lasted until the second floor. Morgan let out a sigh, shaking his head. "We shouldn't talk about it."
"Oh my God, what do you know?" Emily cried. It was obvious from the way Reid said the name to her that Morgan knew who she was... but there was a lot more there than just the recognition of a name.
"Emily..." He muttered, chosing his words carefully. "We shouldn't be talking about this, it's not fair to the kid."
"How do you even know who she is?" Emily asked. "You never met her before, otherwise you would have recognized her this morning."
"No, I've never met her before today." He explained. "Reid... he was going through a tough time one day... he opened up to me about something that happened in high school. Alexa Lisbon was one of the instigators... and if it hadn't been for her, it wouldn't have happened. It was really hard for him to tell me... he almost broke down in tears."
It was amazing how a friend's pain could hurt someone worse than her own. "I'm not telling you what happened, I won't betray him like that. And if you care about Reid at all, you won't ask him."
"I won't," Emily assured. She wouldn't dream of it.
Alexa Lisbon. The name kept resonating in Riley's mind that afternoon. She still had another fifteen minutes before her patient, giving her some time to sit back and reflect. With the notes of her patient in hand, Riley sat to study them a moment, laying on one of her couches... the one Spencer always occupied during his sessions, she remembered.
She wanted to kick herself for not asking that woman's name yesterday. Then again, she would have given her married name and Riley would have never known. But if she knew the truth before hand, Riley would have made it her mission to keep that bitch away from her husband.
Spencer didn't like to talk about his past. Riley appreciated and accepted that because she was the same way. They knew about each others lives, where they'd come from, what they'd experienced, but after four and a half years, there wasn't much else to discuss. Their interest wasn't on the past anyway, nor was it the future. It was one the beautiful parts of being a newlywed. Their focus was on the here and now, lost in each other with blissful conversations and making love every chance they got.
Now, the memories his eidetic memory had been desperate to block out were looking him right in the face. At one point or another, he was going to have to come to terms with this, whether it was confronting Alexa or just dealing with it himself... at least she could be there for him.
The problem was getting him to open up. Sure, she was his wife, but Spencer could be so difficult. Not that she could blame him... if someone were trying to get her to overcome her past by facing it... she'd be fighting tooth and nail to avoid it.
How much faith could a person have in his therapist when she herself can't even face her own problems...
Her clothes were soaked through by the time she made it to her block. Riley clutched her book bag tighter to her chest. The straps broke this morning, forcing her to carry the whole thing back and forth from school, but wrapping her arms around the bundle kept her from shivering too much. She hoped her mother would be asleep or passed out by the time she got home, giving her a chance to get a hot shower.
No such luck. The rain dripped down Riley's face as she frantically searched for her keys. The water fell onto the dozen books in her bag as she found the jagged pieces lost at the bottom of the bag. Whipping them out, she unlocked the front door and stumbled in. Somehow, it was colder in here than out.
"Where the hell have you been?" Was the first thing Riley heard as she stepped into the front hall. The place was a mess, as always. Books and papers and numerous other objects she couldn't begin to remember nor name were littered all around the place. At one time, this may have been a lovely home, but it wasn't a time Riley could ever remember. It looked more suited for a crazy old lady with a dozen cats.
She looked into the living room to find her mother sitting on the plaid tweed sofa, yellow with stuffing sticking out in odd places. There was already a brown bottle clutched in her hand, and judging by the freshest of the numerous odors in the place, it was beer.
"I had a Drama Club meeting after school." She explained.
"Drama Club?" Her mother said with a snort. "God, don't tell me now you want to be an actress."
Riley took a deep breath in order to keep her temper. "No, I joined so I can work backstage for the shows this year. If I want to get into Harvard, I need at least some activity in the arts."
Her mother snorted as she lifted her bottle to her lips. "Are you still on about that stupid school? You're never going to get in, so why are you even trying?"
She could have retaliated, but it was easier just to ignore her. She was not in the mood to start a fight. Drunk or sober, her mother had a mean temper and had no qualms about getting violent. In an attempt to ignore the woman, Riley unpacked her books from her bag. The fabric was completely soaked, there was no way she could use this anymore. Maybe there was an old duffle bag she could use for now.
"Why are you all wet?" Her mother questioned, looking her daughter up and down.
"It's raining out. It's been raining all day." Riley explained. She removed the last book from her bag, clutching it in her frozen hand for a moment. She'd found it yesterday at the used book store, The Shining. She'd never read Stephen King before, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a try.
"Why didn't you wear your coat, you idiot?" Her mother grumbled. She tossed the empty bottle across the room, landing with a few other dead soldiers. There was no way to tell if those were old or new, there were a lot of them around this place.
Riley did not like to be called an idiot. "I don't have a coat, remember?" She said, giving a glare to her mother. "I haven't had a winter coat since junior high. Remember? Thank God it's not snowing yet."
"Don't you get smart with me, little girl!" Her mother yelled as she got to her feet slowly, her wild black curly hair sweeping around her. It was very much like Riley's, with the same unruly behavior. Gray was starting to swarm through it, though, giving an indication of the woman's age. "You're lucky I let you even live here. I can't wait until you're 18 and I can finally kick your ass to the curb."
"Why wait?" Riley wondered, meeting her eyes. "Oh, that's right, then you'd be forced to actually get off your ass and take care of yourself for a change."
At that, a heavy sting struck Riley as her mother slapped her in the face. She stood immobile for a moment, her eyes squeezed shut as she dealt with the pain.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that. Get those damn books out of my living room and clean up this mess in here." She ordered. Stepping away, she headed to the kitchen, no doubt for another beer or maybe something stronger. "One damn broken condom and I'm paying for it for the rest of my life."
Her voice trailed off and Riley was left alone. She'd love to defy her mother, leave her books here and just get into the shower, but the repercussions would be too much for her to bear. It was just easier to follow orders. Besides, what if it weren't a bluff and her mother did kick her out? Where would she go? She didn't have anyoney... not one person in the entire world. And she never would...
A pounding knock on the door made her jump, forcing her to sit up. She hadn't even been aware she'd fallen asleep. It wasn't a surprise, she was exhausted today, and eyeing this couch when she came in, it just looked too comfortable to ignore. Unfortunately, her quick cap nap lead her into a nightmare... the saddest part was not a moment of it was from fantasy.
"Come in," Riley cried, swinging her legs over to sit up straight.
The door opened to reveal her colleauge, Dr. Gregory Redmond. When Riley had returned three years ago, she'd met her fellow therapist for the first time, one of the five who worked here. Redmond had been Sam Andrews replacement, and despite his wife of six years and his three daughters, Riley was very wary of the man, almost afraid of him. It took a long time before she didn't feel her heart rate speed up and her breathing become shallow. She often felt ashamed of that now, because Dr. Redmond was an excellent doctor and a very nice man.
"Hey, I've been knocking for awhile, everything alright?" He wondered with concern.
"Uh," She shook her head. "Yeah, sorry, I'm just distracted. What's up?"
"Carol and I are going away next weekend. We want to leave Thursday evening, I was hoping you could take my two patients on Friday." He said, still watching her with caution.
"Oh," Riley muttered, getting to her feet. Her notes were a mess on the coffee table and hurried to straighten them. "Yeah, sure, no problem. I'll get the files before I leave today."
"Great, thanks." He replied. He didn't leave immediately. In fact, he stepped further into the office. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?" She wondered, knowing it was obvious.
"You just seem flustered, that's all." Redmond assured. "Everything okay with you and Spencer?"
"Oh," She gave a smile. "Yeah, we're great. He's... dealing with some things right now and I'm just worried about him, that's all."
He gave a hum of sympathy. "Well... you tell him if he ever wants to talk to someone professionally, I'm here."
"Thank you," She said kindly. "I'll remember that offer, in case he's ever interested. I appreciate it."
"No problem," He said, "You sure you're okay?"
Riley nodded, setting her newly gathered notes onto the table. "I'm fine. Thanks."
"Sure thing, and thanks again." Redmond said, and with that left the room, closing the door behind him.
Riley let out a sigh of relief, grateful to be alone. She straightened herself, taking a moment to wake herself fully. A difficult task considering how sleepy she was; a result of having no coffee over the last two days. The smell just made her want to be sick... speaking of which, the distant dizziness and nausea was beginning to claim her again.
At once, she realized she had to go to the bathroom. Again. Thankfully not to throw up this time. This was ridiculous, this had to be the fifth time she'd needed to use the restroom since she'd got back from the BAU. She wasn't sure what was worse, the nausea, the exhaustion, or her suddenly weak bladder. Hopefully she could get through this next hour without a problem.
