Will Reid had yet to return his son's call. Reid had more important things to worry about right now, though, so he wasn't concerned. Ethan was dead; he had attempted to contact anyone he knew in New Orleans, but found himself at a dead end. He employed Garcia to search until she found someone even remotely connected to Ethan. So far, nothing had turned up. He had always remembered his friend being a loner, and knew this could take awhile.

Lila was on her way. Reid had just gotten confirmation that Lila had been picked up and was on her way to the unit. She'd be here within the hour. Morgan and Emily hadn't returned from Fairfax yet. He would need their help to look into her case, and he figured Lila might be more comfortable with Morgan helping. It was common knowledge familiar people made a victim more comfortable in these types of situations.

Currently, Reid was alone. He tried sitting at his desk and working, but he had already pulled everything from both Elle's case and his father's letters. He had drank so much coffee, he didn't believe his system would support another cup. And that was something, considering his serious addiction to the substance. Now he leaned against his desk in the silence, arms folded, focused on too many different ideas and thoughts.

"Reid?" someone called. Looking up, Reid saw Elle heading down the steps towards him. He tried to give her a comforting smile. Elle gave the impression her nerves were constantly on edge and he didn't want to send her over the metaphorical cliff. "Where is everybody?" she asked.

"Well, Morgan and Emily thought they'd follow up on Larissa's murder by going to her work. JJ went home to be with her family. Riley's helping Garcia in her office trying to track down some information for me… for another case I'm working on. And I'm waiting for someone."

Elle looked him over with skepticism. "Still don't know why this case is familiar to you, huh?"

Reid shook his head. "I'm working on it."

"It seems odd someone with your memory would take this long trying to remember." She pointed out. Elle leaned on the desk across the aisle from him. "Or are you just humoring me?"

How could he explain this without sounding condescending? "Elle… when you knew me, you know I wasn't a very good liar… while, yes, I have changed a lot in four years, I haven't progressed much in that area of my work."

"Hmm," she nodded, still in disbelief. "Is that right?"

"Yes, and honestly I don't want to. I like being honest with people. People like Hotch and Morgan like being someone who can influence a suspect, I like being someone a victim can rely on. I wouldn't lie about this just to appease you. Reading this case does spark something in my memory. Something I can't put my finger on. This week alone I've encountered too many abnormal things for any of it to be coincidence. And, over the last two years alone, I've learned not to ignore my instincts in circumstances like this."

That seemed to convince her. "So… you're reason for looking into this… is more for your benefit?"

Looking away from her eyes, Reid gave a guilty shrug. "Yeah… I guess so."

But Elle's doubt seemed to melt away as she gave a small but warm smile. "Well, I can definitely respect that more than pity, Dr. Reid."

Reid was glad he was able to comfort her. They stood in the silence of the bull pen, not really sure what to say to each other. Reid was thinking quickly for a topic of conversation when they were interrupted.

"You guys are still here, I see." A voice behind them said.

Both Reid and Elle turned to look, finding none other than Aaron Hotchner joining them. Surprisingly, he was dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans. Reid couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his boss look so… normal.

"What are you doing here, Hotch?" Reid asked.

"Well, Reid, when someone calls for an order of protection, especially on a Saturday, they check with the unit chief before it's sent through." He explained.

Elle looked between Hotch and Reid confused, unaware of the boy's current situation. Reid looked a little nervous. "I'm sorry, sir. But it was an emergency."

"Really?" He was not convinced. "You want to explain that?"

Reid went into Lila's plea for help that afternoon. "I just wanted to look into her case. Normally, I would just refer her to the local field office… but she got the same letters as my parents. I don't know about Elle's sudden appearance, but this is not a coincidence. I just wanted to make sure she's safe."

Giving the young man great relief, Hotch gave a nod. "That was good thinking, Reid. Don't worry, I made sure the order went through." He looked around. "You need any help with her case?"

That was odd. Not that Aaron Hotchner wasn't a helpful person nor that he cared about his team, but from the sound of things, it didn't seem like he was offering help so much as looking for something to do. Reid nodded. "Yeah, thanks. I could use another set of eyes. As soon as Morgan and Emily get back, I'm going to see if they'll help, too."

"Lila." Elle repeated, making sure she'd heard him right. "Wow… it seems like everyone's coming out of the woodwork."

"Does a certain someone know about… your history?" Hotch asked. The ghost of a smirk seemed to hide on his face.

"Who's history?" Morgan wondered as he and Emily stepped in. Both looked in pretty good spirits, having no other uncomfortable confrontations once they left the market.

"Lila Archer," Elle said immediately.

Morgan looked shocked, and Emily spoke up. "The actress Lila Archer?"

"The BAU handled a stalker case for her a few years ago." Elle explained. Maybe it was Reid's imagination, but she seemed almost pleased to know something about the team that Emily didn't. "She and Reid… had a fling."

"It was not a fling!" Reid cried. He looked to Emily, feeling the need to explain. "It wasn't a fling. We never dated or anything."

"Except make-out in her pool, you mean." Morgan was trying not to laugh. He leaned towards Emily, explaining. "You should have seen him; he looked like a drowned rat."

"Reid, I never knew you were such a ladies' man." Emily giggled.

The poor genius's face was turning beet red. He shifted uncomfortably, feeling like some spectacle in a freak show. "What brings her up, anyway?" Morgan asked, his curiosity finally winning.

As his embarrassment ebbed away, Reid started to explain the entire situation. He had hoped to keep his family's affairs private, but he should have known days ago, he couldn't keep anything secret from this group. It seems no matter what he tried to accomplish by himself, most of them found their way in to accompany him. Though he might want to work solo, by the end he was always grateful for the help. Reid couldn't imagine this time would turn out much different.

By the time he finished explaining his father's appearance, Ethan's murder, and the notes, there wasn't a single chuckle alive in the group. The attitude had turned very solemn as he finished. "Maybe you guys wouldn't mind looking into the case with me."

"Not a problem, kid." Morgan said. "When is she supposed to be here?"

Reid answered with a simple "Soon."

…

Over the next hour, Reid, Morgan, and Elle decided to try and set something up in the conference room. Investigation would go much more smoothly if they were organized. They didn't have much. Will Reid's letters were arranged on the bulletin. Reid had set in his best approximation of the correct order.

Had he not set them this way, he may never have noticed the clues standing right in front of his face. He read the letters once again. Morgan observed him with interest for a long time before speaking up. "What is it, Reid?"

"I wanted to arrange the letters in sequential order." He explained. "I can't say which letter was first; none of these are dated. But I found a different order."

"Which is?" Elle asked, knowing he was about to slip off into silence again. He often did when focused so fixedly.

"This…" he hated to say it. It would be like admitting that this person was a danger. But for lack of a better term, "…unsub… knows details about my life and career that almost no one outside of the FBI would know. Some of these things, only the team would know. They're not completely confidential, anyone who wanted to look into public records and agent reports could find out about these things…"

"…but who would take that kind of time?" Elle voiced.

Reid turned to her, thankful for her concurrent thinking. "Exactly."

Morgan glanced out the blinds and gave a satisfied smile. "Reid, I think she's here."

Truthfully, Reid was beginning to dread this. He wanted to help Lila and, considering she was being threatened like his parents, he knew he had to. But he hadn't seen her in years. He wasn't sure how to react around her.

There was a twist in his stomach and gave a nod, billions of butterflies had just come to life. Slowly, he followed Morgan out to the bull pen. Elle opting to stay behind.

Sure enough, Morgan was right. Lila was being lead into the unit with several agents, all apart of the protective order. Reid couldn't help remembering how he felt when he'd first met her, at the art gallery. There were few times he'd felt so exposed. One was in high school on the football field obviously, the other had been standing outside of the diner two years ago.

"Spencer," she exclaimed when she saw him, smiling brightly. Before he could get any word of greeting in, Lila engulfed him in a warm hug. She clung to him, and Reid wanted it to be his imagination that felt like she was pressing into him. His arms' instinctive response was to embrace her back.

Lila's grip was so tight, he couldn't move for over a minute. He wanted desperately to pull away, his body tense, which only increased when the worst of things happened. Both Garcia and Riley appeared and joined the group. Reid cursed the search systems for not taking a few moments longer.

Finally, Lila released him. Reid focused on her, not wanting to see the deadly stare coming from his girlfriend as she stepped closer. Lila smiled, patting his shoulder. "I almost didn't recognize you. You look… wow!"

"Thanks," he squeaked, wishing the scent of roses hadn't just moved into the area. "You look… pretty good yourself." He quickly shifted gears and turned to Riley, hoping this wouldn't be as bad as he thought; or as entertaining as everyone around was making it seem. "Hey, there you are." He leaned down quickly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. A gesture Reid realized seemed a little too abnormal and therefore would make the already paranoid girl suspicious. "Haven't seen you in a while. Done with those… searches?"

Riley plastered a fake smile, looking at Reid with intense eyes. "Who's the blonde?"

The distinct sound of Morgan's muffled laughter was heard. Reid's stomach twisted three times over as his voice squeaked again. "Oh, this is… Lila. I told you she was coming in tonight. For a case. Lila," he smiled, placing his hand in the small of Riley's back. She at least didn't shrug him away. "This is my girlfriend and the love of my life, Riley Parker. She's a… doctor."

Neither one offered a handshake. Lila gave as kind a smile as she could. "Hi, Riley. It's nice to meet you."

"Hello, Lila," Riley spoke slowly, over pronouncing each syllable. Her smile remained fake with the undertone of contempt.

Finally, none too soon, Hotch took pity on Reid and decided to step in. "Hi, Lila, remember me, I'm SSA Hotchner. Why don't you bring your case into the conference room, we have some things set up in there."

"Of course, Agent Hotchner." she repeated with a warmer smile.

Riley's eyes didn't leave her until she and Hotch were out of earshot. The others around them were pretending they weren't really listening. Reid wished they would just leave as Riley finally turned to him.

"I guess you failed to mention she's Lila Archer!" Riley hissed. It was futile. She may have moved to the conference room, but the little activity wouldn't be enough to muffle any whisper.

Reid stammered with a response. "It's… not relevant. She's an old friend and I want to help her, that's where it ends."

"Is that why you didn't want to go see her movie last September?" She questioned. It was more derisive than serious. He knew his girlfriend well enough to spot that.

Morgan decided to speak up. "Riley… you don't honestly think there's anything going on between them, do you?"

"No," She was trying to remain calm without exploding into another fight. "It's just… a little unexpected. I'm sorry, this isn't the time for this. You guys should get to work so we can go home."

"Wait," Reid said, grabbing her arm. And that was where his plan ended. He wanted things to be calm and happy between them, but had no idea what to say to make things better. "What did the searches turn out?"

"That can wait," she said, than flashed another fake smile. Riley's hand brushed his cheek, her words were distinct again as she finished with, "You go help Lila."

Reluctantly, Reid and Morgan followed suit and walked to the conference room. Morgan leaned close to his friend's ear to whisper. "The old girlfriend, the new girlfriend. On the next Jerry Springer."

Reid looked to him, puzzled. "Who's Jerry Springer?"