Chapter 3: Reid Gets Shot
Six months had passed since Maeve's murder. Chief Erin Strauss had been murdered by an unsub known as the Replicator. He tried to trap all of the field agents except Rossi in a house he planned to blow up. But Rossi saved the rest of the team and waited for the Replicator to return. Rossi attempted to arrest him, but the Replicator chose not to go to jail, but to die with Rossi in the explosion. He stood up from the pressure seat to close the door, locking them both inside. But, Rossi had Strauss's sober coin holding the door open for him to leave the Replicator behind and escape the explosion. Hotch, JJ and Reid tried to be there for Rossi after Strauss's funeral. But, Rossi only turned to Hotch. Mateo Cruz was then brought into the BAU to fill Strauss's vacant Section Chief role. And, Cruz already secretly knew JJ.
Around Halloween, Garcia hosted a "Day of the Dead" celebration in her apartment. The whole BAU team attended the party. Garcia started by putting up a photo on her family tree to honor her late stepparents, Barbara and Emilio Garcia, who both died from a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Garcia also put up a photo of her late cat, Simba. JJ put up a photo to honor her late sister, Rosalyn Jareau, who had committed suicide when JJ was only eleven years old. JJ put up a model of the Eiffel Tower to honor Roz's dream of living in Paris someday. JJ also put up a photo to honor her late boyfriend, Detective William LaMontagne Junior. Rossi put up two Chicago Cubs season tickets to honor a late fellow soldier named Private Darryl Jenson, who died in battle. Rossi also put up photos to honor the late Erin Strauss and his late ex-wife, Carolyn Baker-Rossi.
Reid put up a photo to honor his late girlfriend, Maeve Donavan. Reid also put up a photo of a late inventor named Nikola Tesla. Dr. Blake put up a photo to honor her late mother, who inspired her to be a linguistic by solving crossword puzzles by pen. Blake also put up a photo of her late older brother, Danny Miller, a Kansas City police officer who was killed in the line of duty. Morgan put up a photo to honor his late father, Hank Morgan, a Chicago police officer who, like Danny Miller was killed in the line of duty right in front of Derek as a ten year old child. Morgan joked that his father and Darryl Jenson would probably argue over Rossi's Chicago Cubs tickets. And, Hotch put up a photo to honor his late ex-wife, Haley Brooks-Hotchner. Hotch also put up a photo of his late father who died from lung cancer. Garcia said a toast for all of their late loved ones. Everybody had a good time remembering their late loved ones, including JJ and Reid.
A month passed and the BAU team did a serial killer case in Boston, Massachusetts. At the end of the case, Morgan and Reid came in the front of a house where they had tracked down the unsub. Meanwhile, Dr. Blake and JJ came in the back of the house. The unsub, Tanner Johnson had killed his pregnant ex-wife, Hannah's brother, Matt. He held Hannah at knifepoint and Hannah was ready to give birth.
Reid tricked Tanner into giving up his knife so Morgan and Blake could arrest Tanner for murder. They dragged Tanner out of the house, not letting him see his ex-wife giving birth. Reid and JJ stayed inside the house helping Hannah deliver her baby. Hotch and Rossi proudly watched the baby delivery from the computer screen at Boston PD. And, Garcia happily watched the baby delivery from the screens in her lair. After the EMTs arrived, they gave the newborn baby boy a clean bill of health. Reid gently gave Hannah her baby. JJ was so proud of her Spence for helping Hannah deliver the baby. JJ happily hugged Reid while Hannah named her newborn baby Spencer Johnson.
On the flight home from Boston, Hotch was writing his end of case report. Morgan was listening to music on his headphones. Blake was reading a book. Rossi was pouring his favorite drink. Reid was sitting alone and looking out of a window. And JJ sat down next to Reid.
"You were great, Spence," said JJ. "I didn't know that you could help a woman deliver a baby. Did Maeve inspire you to learn how to help a woman with childbirth?"
"Actually, you did, JJ," answered Reid. "When you and Will were expecting Henry, I memorized all of the delivery manuals just in case you had gone into labor out in the field."
"So," said JJ. "If I had gone into labor while we were working that missing child case in Nevada..."
"Then," said Reid. "I would have helped you and Will bring Henry into the world."
JJ's heart soared. She smiled warmly at Reid.
Reid continued, "I must admit that the practical application did not quite live up to the theory..."
"Spence," said JJ. "Don't talk. Just enjoy your moment."
JJ hugged Reid and she rested her head on his left shoulder. Morgan walked over and sat down across from the two of them.
"Dr. Reid, MD!" smiled Morgan. "When we get back, let's get Garcia and go out somewhere to celebrate!"
"Where?" asked JJ.
"I know where," said Reid. "Rossi took me to a karaoke bar called The Benjamin to show me where he had met his first wife, Carolyn. But we found out that the bar is closing down. And, that really upset Rossi."
"Well then," said Morgan. "Let's give him one last good memory of this place."
"I'm in," smiled JJ.
Later on that evening, everybody from Quantico went over to The Benjamin to celebrate Reid's first baby delivery. Hotch and the bar owner, Helen had tricked Rossi into going up on stage to sing. Rossi had gotten Reid, JJ, Garcia and eventually Morgan to join him up on the stage singing. Everybody had fun singing while Hotch recorded the stage singing on his phone camera.
The BAU team's next case was in Morgan's hometown, Chicago, Illinois. An unsub was kidnapping children and brainwashing them to attack the Chicago PD. One child was killed by pointing a gun at an officer inside of a restaurant. Another child died by blowing up his car near a traffic cop in a construction intersection. And another child named Daniel was caught alive with a backpack of guns by Morgan and Detective Mark Reyes in a city park.
The unsub was a former Chicago cop named Wayne Gulino who wanted revenge on Detective Reyes and the Chicago PD for firing him from the force. In the Chicago police station JJ, Morgan and Blake confronted a teenage girl named Stephanie Lawford who was dressed up as a cop wearing a C-4 bomb vest. Stephanie recited a message from her abductor, Gulino and she was ready to blow up the police station. Morgan had to shoot Stephanie to save everybody in the station. Detective Reyes and Morgan arrested Gulino at his late partner, George Scotman's house. And JJ found another abducted child in Gulino's trunk.
On the flight home from Chicago, Hotch was writing his end of case report. Rossi was writing a new book chapter. Morgan was on the phone with his mom and sisters. The three of them were giving him a hard time for not coming by to visit them before he left Chicago. Blake was working on a crossword puzzle by pen. Reid was sitting across from Blake reading a book. JJ was sitting next to Reid sadly looking out of a window.
"What's wrong, JJ?" asked Blake.
"This case has really upset me," said JJ. "That coward, Gulino used children to perform suicide missions for him. Children!"
"JJ," said Reid. "You helped Lauren Morrison get her missing son, Daniel back to her alive and safe."
"I know," said JJ.
"Both of us tried to talk Stephanie out of blowing all of us up, JJ," said Blake. "She was just too far gone into Gulino's world. But, she's still alive."
"I know," said JJ. "And I know that Morgan had to shoot her to save all of our lives. I just don't like that it was a child who had to be shot."
JJ started crying.
"It's the boy who you found in the trunk that's bothering you, isn't it, JJ?" asked Reid. "He wasn't much older than Henry."
"Yeah," said JJ. "When I found the boy, I asked him his name. And he said, 'My name is Cameron Patterson. I'm a soldier. 53699.' There are some unsubs who I don't think get punished enough for what they do to innocent children!"
"I agree," said Blake. "But, Cameron is back with his parents now. And both he and Daniel will be deprogrammed from all of the brainwashing that Gulino did."
"Henry will never be brainwashed like Stephanie, Daniel or Cameron, JJ," said Reid. "Not as long as he has you in his life."
JJ smiled warmly at Reid.
"And as long as we have people like you arresting monsters like Gulino, JJ," said Blake. "The world will be a safer place for all children to grow up in."
"Thank you," said JJ. "Thank you both. I just want to go home and hug my son."
JJ and Chief Cruz had secret meetings together in between BAU cases searching for somebody. JJ didn't like keeping their past work relationship a secret from Hotch, Reid and the rest of the team. Two months passed and both JJ and Cruz were kidnapped by two unsubs named Tivon Askari and Michael Hastings. JJ's mom, Sandy brought Henry into Quantico to tell Hotch that JJ had only said to ask Chief Cruz what to do if anything had happened to her. But, because Cruz was nowhere to be found, Hotch had Agent Anderson take Sandy and Henry into protective custody until they found JJ.
Askari started torturing JJ and Cruz for secret codes. JJ was strung up by her arms, water tortured and tazered in her ribs. With help from Emily Prentiss returning to DC from London, the BAU team had found and saved both JJ and Cruz.
Askari and the other bad guys were all killed in a gunfight against Hotch, Reid, Morgan, Rossi and Dr. Blake. JJ and Prentiss fist fought Hastings on a rooftop trying to stop him from escaping aboard a helicopter with some stolen codes on his phone. JJ kicked him causing him to fall off the rooftop. Prentiss grabbed JJ's arms, stopping her from falling with Hastings. At the bottom, Rossi and Blake confirmed that Hastings was dead and his phone had smashed in the fall. After the EMTs had checked JJ's injuries and taken Cruz to a hospital, the BAU family took Prentiss to their favorite bar, O'Keefe's to celebrate JJ's safe return.
"Emily," said Hotch. "How much longer do we have you?"
"Prentiss looked at her watch and said, "Six more hours."
"No," cried Garcia. "That's too soon."
"It's more time than we had yesterday," smiled Rossi.
"Yeah," smiled Reid. "We've all missed you, Emily."
Prentiss smiled at Garcia, Reid and Rossi.
"I'm just glad I finally got a chance to meet you," smiled Blake. "They've all told me so many things about you."
"They're all lies!" joked Prentiss.
"No," laughed Morgan. "They're all the truth, Prentiss."
"Yeah," smiled JJ. "Thank you, Emily. I wouldn't be here now if you hadn't dropped everything to help save me."
"I owed you," said Prentiss. "You dropped everything to help save me from Doyle three years ago. And you're family, JJ."
Prentiss and JJ hugged each other.
Chief Cruz spent a month away recovering from a stab wound. And, even though both Askari and Hastings were dead, JJ started experiencing some dark feelings about a personal secret she had learned about Askari and Hastings during her torturing process. Reid tried being there for JJ. JJ let Reid and Garcia help her with taking care of Henry while she spent two weeks off from solving cases for recovering physically. But JJ had refused to talk to anybody about what was bothering her emotionally.
Two months later, in Briscoe County, Texas, Morgan, JJ, Reid and Dr. Blake were helping a Sheriff Coleman and some local officers corner a crooked reverend named Mills outside of a restaurant called El Lobito's Diner. Somebody hiding in the shadows outside of the restaurant had shot Sheriff Coleman. Everybody else started shooting at Mills inside thinking that he had shot Coleman. Mills was heavily armed. He fired back at them. Blake tried to get to Coleman but a bullet broke a car door window just above her head. Reid tried to help Blake and he got shot in his neck by Mills. JJ and Blake gasped.
Morgan moved Reid to safety. JJ and Blake tried to move Coleman to safety as well, but the mysterious shooter shot Coleman again, killing him. Dr. Blake stayed by Reid's side. Thinking of her own son, she called Reid "Ethan" while trying to keep him awake. Morgan and JJ chased Mills through the restaurant, houses, yards and abandoned buildings. Mills had shot Morgan twice in his vest and once in his arm before Morgan had shot him dead. Then, Morgan rode in the ambulance with Reid to the nearest hospital while JJ and Blake were closely following them in an SUV.
In the hospital, both Morgan and Reid were taken into surgery. Dr. Blake washed her bloody hands in the ladies room and then she grabbed Reid's bagged clothes from the operating room and she went into the waiting room. And then, JJ came in with Morgan's bagged clothes joining Blake. They were both extremely worried about Reid.
JJ asked, "Any word?"
"No," answered Blake.
"Spence would have read two or three books by now," said JJ uneasily.
"It should have been me," said Blake.
"Or me," said JJ. "Or any one of us."
"No," said Blake. "He pushed me out of the way."
JJ gasped and looked up at Blake. Blake lowered her head.
"Spencer saved my life," said Blake. "Now, if he doesn't make it..."
"Please don't say that," said JJ. "He'll make it."
"He has to," said Blake. "He's just too young!"
"Yeah," said JJ. "There's still too much for him to do. Did he tell you that he wanted to have kids with Maeve?"
Blake smiled from hearing that.
JJ tearfully smiled asking, "Can you imagine Spence as a dad?"
Blake tearfully laughed answering, "I think that would be the luckiest kid in the world."
"No doubt!" laughed JJ.
Garcia and Chief Cruz arrived at the hospital. Garcia hugged JJ and Blake. The nurse told them that they could go and see Morgan now. Blake continued waiting for Reid's operation results. JJ practically ordered Blake to call her immediately when there was any news. Garcia, JJ and Cruz joined Hotch and Rossi in Morgan's hospital room for a group discussion about the diner shooting.