Chapter 12: JJ Meets Diana Reid
The BAU team took a case in Detroit, Michigan where a street artist known as "Morpheus" seemed to be responsible for murdering some people and leaving them in artistic looking crime scenes. The unsub then went to Gross Pointe, Michigan and abducted a baby, Corinne Wallace from her home nursery and spray painted the baby monitor camera. JJ consoled Corinne's parents, Stuart and Katherine while Reid looked at all of Morpheus's past artworks. Morgan interviewed a rival artist named Marcus Ivey, who wound up murdered himself shortly after the interview. Morpheus called Hotch at the precinct with an offer to retrieve the baby and then he told Hotch and Prentiss through a laptop computer screen that somebody framed him for the murders and the kidnapping. Hotch and Prentiss profiled that Morpheus was a woman, not a man. They had Garcia search for a woman who was an artist and who had lost a child. Garcia came up with the name Ellen Clark who had lost her son, Charlie in a drowning accident while she was painting at a lake beachfront. Garcia also came up with the name of Ellen's ex-boyfriend, William Cochran whom she broke up with after the accidental drowning. Corey Marlin, Morpheus's partner, was then murdered by the unsub.
The BAU team believed that William was the unsub trying to destroy the Morpheus legend before he killed Ellen. William got from Corey Marlin the location where Ellen had been hiding. William abducted Ellen and he took her to where he was holding little Corinne. William was mad that Ellen took her half of Charlie's favorite blanket as a part of her first Detroit artwork honoring a homeless woman and child who both died in a car. The BAU team found out from a store owner where William was hiding. William took Ellen up to the roof of his building to kill her. The BAU team arrived at William's building. Prentiss, Morgan and Reid covered the back of the building while Hotch and JJ covered the front of the building. Hotch and JJ found little Corinne unharmed inside. JJ took her outside to safety. Hotch went up to the roof and found William holding Ellen at gunpoint. Hotch ordered William to let Ellen go and to drop his gun. William threw himself and Ellen off of the roof instead. Hotch looked down and saw a mural painting on the pavement where they both landed saying "RIP, Morpheus" on it. Reid confirmed that Ellen was dead while Prentiss confirmed that William was dead. At the precinct, the BAU team happily watched Stuart and Catherine Wallace reuniting with little Corinne.
On the flight home from Detroit, Hotch was writing his end of case report. Rossi and Prentiss were sitting across from Hotch. Rossi was telling Prentiss about the day he first met his daughter, Joy. Morgan was sitting alone listening to his headphones and JJ was sitting alone looking outside of a window. Reid sat down next to her.
"Hey," said Reid. "How are you feeling, JJ?"
"Great," said JJ. "I was happy that Stuart and Catherine Wallace got their daughter back unharmed."
"Oh, I was too," said Reid. "But, I'm talking about Ellen's son, Charlie drowning. I...thought that your hearing about a mother losing her child might..."
"...might make me think about losing my baby in Afghanistan?" finished JJ. "You know me too well, Spencer Reid! Yes, it did make me think about my miscarriage. But, I had somebody telling me that I would find somebody else special and have another child with him. And, look at me now. Happily engaged to my best friend and having his baby. I'm okay, Spence. But, thank you for worrying about me."
JJ kissed Reid's cheek.
"You're welcome," smiled Reid.
"What about you, Spence?" asked JJ.
"What about me?" asked Reid.
"Well," said JJ. "William killed himself and Ellen intentionally by jumping off of a rooftop. I...thought that your witnessing a murder/suicide might..."
"...might make me think about Diane Turner killing Maeve Donavan in a murder/suicide right in front of me?" finished Reid. "You know me too well, Jennifer Jareau! Yes, it did make me think about losing Maeve. But, I had somebody telling me that I would find someone else special and have kids with her someday. And, look at me now. Happily engaged to my best friend and expecting a baby with her. I'm okay, too, JJ. But, thank you for worrying about me."
JJ put her hands on Reid's face.
"Well, worrying about your significant other is in the marriage job description," smiled JJ. "And, so is kissing your significant other. Give me those delicious lips I've been missing all day!"
"'Delicious lips?'" said Reid. "You do know you're starting to talk like Garcia, don't you?"
"Are you complaining, Spence?" asked JJ.
"No," answered Reid. "Just observing."
"Kiss me," whispered JJ.
Reid and JJ started kissing each other on the lips. Morgan noticed them kissing.
"Hey," said Morgan. "Get a room, you two!"
"Get a fiance'!" said JJ.
"Whoa," laughed Prentiss.
"She's got you there, Morgan!" said Rossi.
Hotch smiled. Morgan laughed quietly. Reid and JJ continued kissing each other's lips.
The following Saturday, Reid took JJ and Henry with him on a flight to Las Vegas. The three of them went to the Bennington Sanitarium to visit Reid's mother, Diana.
"Dr. Reid," said a nurse. "It's so nice to see you again."
"Hello, Doris," said Reid. "This is my fiance', Jennifer Jareau and her son, Henry."
"Hi," said Henry.
"Hi, Henry," said Doris. "Are you all looking for Diana?"
"Yes, Doris," said JJ.
Doris led the three of them into the room where Diana was in. They saw Diana inside from a distance with her back to them while reading a book. Reid walked up to her.
"Hi, mom," said Reid.
Diana turned around to see her son.
"Spencer!" smiled Diana. "What are you doing here? Another case here in Las Vegas?"
"No, mom," answered Reid. "No case. I came to talk to you. Mom, do you remember my best friend, Jennifer...?"
"JJ," said Diana. "The Pennsylvania petite, Redskins fan, butterfly collector, single mother of Henry LaMontagne and press liaison turned profiler."
"Yes, ma'am," blushed JJ. "It's good to see you again, Mrs. Reid. This is my son, Henry."
"Hi, Mrs. Reid," said Henry.
"Hello, Henry," said Diana.
"Mom," said Reid. "We have something to tell you..."
"You and JJ are engaged to be married," said Diana.
"What?!" said JJ. "How...how did you know that, Mrs. Reid?"
"A mother knows, JJ," answered Diana. "We're animals. We feel things. So, when is my grandchild due?"
JJ gasped.
"Wow!" smiled Henry.
"That's amazing," whispered JJ.
"Uh, in under eight months, mom," answered Reid. "I'm sorry, guys. I should have told you that my mom has a way of already knowing things about me before I can tell her."
"She must be pa-see-keek!" said Henry.
JJ laughed, "That's 'psychic,' baby."
"Mom," said Reid. "We also wanted to ask you to come back to DC with us for good. We want you to be a part of your grandchild's life."
"Spencer," said Diana. "Can you take Henry over to the vending machine for a snack? I want to talk to JJ alone."
"Yes, mom," said Reid. "Come on, Henry."
"Okay," said Henry.
Reid took Henry's hand and they walked out of the room. JJ sat down in front of Diana. Diana studied JJ's blue eyes for a few moments.
"First, mother to mother," said Diana. "I'm sorry about your miscarriage."
"How did you...?" said JJ. "Ah, yes. A mother knows. Thank you."
"Actually, Spencer wrote to me about you in his letters, Jennifer," said Diana. "He constantly writes about you. He loves you. You grew up playing soccer in East Allegheny. You are a champion dart player. You went to college in Georgetown. You chose to become an FBI agent after meeting book author, David Rossi during your senior year. Your favorite Italian restaurant, Il Cantinori is in New York. You taught my son how to eat with chopsticks there. Spencer told me about your unconditional love for your son. And, your heartbreak over the death of his father. And, your sadness over the loss of your second baby and your older sister's suicide. And, your disappointment over your father walking out on you and your mother when you were little. That's similar to my Bill walking out on me and Spencer when he was little. Your parents divorcing gave you strong commitment issues. That's why you didn't marry Henry's father before he was born. After Henry's father was killed, my Spencer was there for your sadness, comforting you above anybody else. But, you let your commitment issues push him away from you. And then he met another girl. He fell in love with her, but then she was senselessly murdered."
"It's true," said JJ with her head down. "She died right in front of him, me and our whole team. And, after Maeve Donavan's funeral, I was there for your son's sadness, comforting him no matter what. But, I still had commitment issues for over a year. And then during a case in Texas over a year ago, Spence was almost murdered, not once, but three different times."
"Spencer doesn't include that in his letters to me," said Diana. "He tries to protect me from all of the bad things about his job. But, over a year ago, I could feel that someone had hurt him. Someone shot him."
JJ put her hands into Diana's hands.
"Yes, ma'am," tearfully said JJ. "I saw it. Spence was shot in his neck trying to protect our colleague, Blake. Our friend, Morgan shot dead the man who shot him. The worst fear of our whole team is someday we would have to call you to tell you that we've lost him. I know firsthand that losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to a mother. But that time, the doctors were able to save him and put him into recovery. Then, a dirty cop tried going to the hospital to shoot Spence dead. Through teamwork, our friend, Penelope was able to turn on the hospital evacuation alarm which stopped him from shooting Spence dead."
"Penelope Garcia," said Diana.
"Yes, ma'am," said JJ. "But after that, a fake orderly came into his room trying to poison his IV with..."
"Carbenicilin," said JJ and Diana.
JJ continued, "Your son told me about his severe reaction to beta lactams. The fake orderly also had a gun to try shooting Spence dead with. But, Penelope shot the orderly first, saving Spence's life. Morgan told me about those murder attempts. I was worried when I heard that the dirty cop wanted to shoot Spence dead. I was really scared when I heard that the fake orderly tried poisoning him. But, when I heard he had a gun as well, my heart stopped. I...I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I was paralyzed with fear that the orderly had shot him dead instead!"
JJ cried from saying those things. Diana comforted JJ's hands with her hands.
"You were really scared for Spencer," said Diana.
"Yes, ma'am," said JJ. "But, when Morgan said that Penelope saved Spence's life, I was so happy I couldn't stop crying. I realized that with this job, I could lose your son just as easily as I lost Henry's father. Spence was my first love. And I don't want him to die any more than he wants me to die. I wasn't going to take our special bond together for granted anymore. I told Spence that I've always loved him, and then he told me that he's always loved me, too. I stayed with him during his recovery. He comforted me about my lost baby. We've been dating each other for over a year now. I comforted him when his mentor, Gideon was recently murdered. He's been teaching me and Henry how to play chess. We've grown closer to each other than ever before. My son adores him. And, I've wanted to marry your son ever since I first told him that I've always loved him."
Diana was looking deeply into JJ's tearful eyes the entire conversation.
"Spencer writes to me about all of you," said Diana. "He loves Derek Morgan like a big brother. And, he loves Penelope Garcia, Kate Callahan and Emily Prentiss like sisters. He also loved Elle Greenaway like a sister. He loved Dr. Alex Blake like another mother. He loved Jason Gideon like another father. And he also loves Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi like fathers. But, I feel a special happiness when he looks at you or whenever he writes about you. He trusts you much more than he trusts anybody else. You two children do have a very special bond that can never break. He loves you like a soulmate."
"And, I love him," smiled JJ.
"You do love my Spencer," smiled Diana.
"With all of my heart and soul, Mrs. Reid," tearfully said JJ with her voice breaking. "And, I love you, too!"
"You don't even know me, child," said Diana.
"I...don't know you?!..." said JJ.
JJ took a deep breath and she looked deeply into Diana eyes.
"Your name is Diana Reid," said JJ. "Lifelong resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother of Spencer Reid and ex-wife of lawyer, William Reid. Your favorite author is Marjorie Kempe. Your favorite dinner is chicken fried steak at Binion's. You were a college professor at UNLV until your schizophrenic break. You used to smoke cigarettes. William wanted more than one child, but you said you didn't want to mess with perfection. William tried putting Spence into normal things like little league baseball, but you said Spence was exceptional, not normal. You taught Spence how to play chess. When Spence was only four years old, he started playing chess with adults and winning the games. You and Lou Jenkins protected your son from a pedophile who killed Lou's son, Riley. William left you when Spence was only eight. Spence took care of you alone until he was eighteen. Then he moved you in here, the Bennington Sanitarium. You've been here for nearly fifteen years. When I first met you, Spence flew you to DC despite your morbid fear of flying. You identified a recorded voice of another patient from Bennington for Spence. You helped our team find his prisoner with a house photo. A year and a half ago, you missed a visit from your son because you took a supervised field trip to the Grand Canyon without telling him. Spence showed me the boxed shale, limestone and sandstone and the post cards that you sent to him telling him how much fun you've had there. Spence was so happy to hear that you were getting better. You wrote that Spence might have to commit you twice because you paid for the privilege of riding a mule on a tiny trail with a 1000-foot vertical drop!"
Diana was blushing. She was completely surprised to hear that JJ knew that much about her.
"I'm not the only woman in your son's life who he constantly talks about," smiled JJ. "He constantly talks about you, too, ma'am. I remember all of those things because I love you. We may never have spent any time together, but I feel like I've gotten to know you through Spence. Just like you've gotten to know me through Spence. He loves both of us. He's my best friend. Spence's love is the best thing to happen to me since I had Henry. His love for me helped make me who I am today. No man has ever treated me the way that he does. You raised him to be kind to women. Because of you, your son grew up to be the wonderful man who I fell in love with. That's why I love you. I want my son to grow up to be just like your son. And, I want you to come back to DC with us. I want to spend some time together with you, Mrs. Reid."
"Please," smiled Diana. "Call me Diana...daughter!"
JJ tearfully gasped.
"Yes, ma'...Yes, Diana," smiled JJ.
JJ hugged Diana while crying happily. Reid and Henry walked back in.
"So, mom," said Reid. "Will you move to DC to be a part of your grandchild's life?"
"And a part of all of our lives, too, Diana?" asked JJ.
"Please?" asked Henry.
"Mother to mother," said Diana. "You've raised a good boy, JJ!"
"Thank you, Diana," said JJ.
"Son," said Diana. I would love to!"
Reid and Diana hugged each other happily. JJ smiled at the two of them. The four of them went out to Binion's to eat one more chicken fried steak dinner together before leaving Las Vegas. In the hotel that evening, after Henry was put to bed, Reid and JJ were in each other's arms looking out of the hotel balcony into the clear starry sky.
"The sky is so beautiful here, Spence," said JJ.
"I always try taking a good look at the Nevada night sky whenever I visit my mom, JJ," said Reid. "But, I guess this is the last time I get to see it. My mom is coming back with us tomorrow."
"Well," said JJ. "It doesn't have to be the last time, Spence. We could come back to Las Vegas for our honeymoon."
"I love your way of thinking, Jennifer," smiled Reid. "Let's do it!"
Reid and JJ kissed each other gently on the lips. JJ looked up at the sky again.
"I can't believe I never took the time to see this before," said JJ.
"We were working on cases, JJ," said Reid. "We were always trying to stop the unsubs to really enjoy sightseeing almost anywhere we've ever been."
"Well then," said JJ. "On future cases, let's put our files down for a minute and find a little time to enjoy sightseeing together before we fly back to DC. We spend so much time helping other good people's lives, that we hardly ever take the time to enjoy our own lives during cases."
"As long as we don't get too distracted, JJ," said Reid. "I don't want us getting in trouble with Hotch."
"Deal," smiled JJ.
The following morning, Reid and JJ got Diana released into their care from Bennington. Reid and Diana said goodbye to Dr. Norman, Doris and the Bennington staff. Then the four of them returned to McCarran airport to fly back to DC. Diana still had a morbid fear of flying. But, the whole flight back, Henry was holding Diana's hand while Diana was reading Marcel Proust to him. Reid and JJ smiled at the bonding between Henry and Diana.
"You know that Henry got that comforting behavior from you, don't you, JJ?" smiled Reid.
"I know," proudly smiled JJ. "I can't wait to come back for our honeymoon. I love Las Vegas, Spence."
"Because of the lights?" asked Reid. "The casinos? The restaurants? The shows? The starry night sky?"
"No," said JJ. "Because Las Vegas gave me you, Spence."
Reid and JJ kissed each other gently on the lips while Diana continued reading Proust to Henry. After they returned to DC, Reid and JJ settled Diana into a local facility called Brookfield.