Reid glanced at his watch as he walked down the hall. If he hurried, he'd have just enough time to stop at the mall to pick up a couple of new books and get home before rush hour.
"Could you hold the door?" A voice called out as Reid stepped into the elevator. He looked up to see a young woman, hurrying down the hall.
"Thank you." She smiled as she stepped in.
"You're welcome." Reid smiled back. "So it's a boy?" He asked, noticing her shirt.
The woman laughed, "I got tired of people asking."
"I guess you would."
The elevator paused. A man and woman stepped in, slipping to one side as Reid and the young woman moved towards the other.
"Now is when you are supposed to ask me if I have a name picked out?"
"I am."
"Yep."
"Sorry, I'm not very good as this game."
"That's okay. I"ll teach you."
"Okay. So do you have a name picked out?"
"Not yet."
The elevator stopped with a lurch.
"Great." The man growled. He jabbed at the alarm button. They could hear the bells signaling that they needed help.
"Oooo." The young woman gasped.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just a serious kick there. He's really feisty." She said with a grin. "Do you want to feel?"
"Feel?"
She reached out for his hand, putting it on her belly. "Did you feel that?"
"That was him?"
"Yep. Very ready to get out. And I"m not going to argue when the time comes."
"How far along are you?" The woman asked.
"Thirty eight weeks." Lauren smirked. "I need to sit down. Could you?"
"Sure." Reid helped her down. He sat down, leaning against the wall.
"I'm Lauren, by the way."
"Spencer."
"Well isn't this cozy." Lauren said with a laugh.
Reid looked at his watch. Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty. No one spoke. Reid watched as the older man jabbed at the intercom button with no reply. His mind filled with thoughts. The man was probably mid to late 40s. Middle to slightly upper middle class, but from the crisp suit he probably like folks to think he had more money. Probably lived in one of the nearby suburbs. The type filled with well kept yards and all the children's toys nearly stored in the garage. Not like the bicycles always in the driveway, teenage boys mowed the grass every other weekend neighborhood he grew up in. From the matching rings, they were clearly married, but their body language hinted at some turmoil.
"Does anyone have some water?" Lauren broke the silence. They all shrugged. "Just make me have to pee anyway."
"I'm sure we'll be out soon." the other woman said with a weak smile.
Reid felt himself drifting off in the silence. The chirp of his cell phone snapped him awake. He glanced at the readout. It was work. No surprise there.
"Reid." He answered.
"Reid, It's Hotch." The voice crackled on the other end. "I know I told you to take the day off, but there's been an incident."
"It happens. What's the situation?" Reid half whispered into the phone. His fellow passengers weren't paying attention and something told him it was better they stayed that way.
"Police in Montclair called for assistance. They have received a call from an unsub who has taken control of an elevator in one of their office buildings downtown. He's threatened to drop the elevator with at least four people inside if the police don't meet his demands. We leave in ten minutes."
"I"m not actually in Quantico right now."
"How close are you to Montclair?"
"Pretty close." An odd, almost sick feeling started churning in Reid's stomach.
"Good. The building is at 117 Fielding."
Reid gulped. "Hotch. I"m already at 117 Fielding."
"What?" There was a pause. "Reid, please tell me that you aren't in that elevator."