About an hour later, the rest of the team had showed up and J.J. was getting things ready in the conference room. Reid kept glancing back anxiously, waiting for Riley to reappear. Oh, to be a fly on that wall during that conversation. Hotch had been sniffing after them for awhile and now Reid was worried he'd figured it out. Then again, you didn't have to be a genius to figure out they had been more than professional with each other. The worst part was trying to keep his jealousy from creeping out of its dark hole. He had already suspected something going on, or had been going on, between Riley Parker and Aaron Hotchner. It wasn't impossible. They were both single, but Hotch hadn't been for a long time. He and Haley had only been divorced two years. Plus, Riley was at least twenty years younger than he. It definitely wasn't unheard of, but it didn't seem like either person's style.

Finally, Hotch opened his door and allowed Riley to pass. Just before she was out of arms length, he grabbed her wrist to look at him again. Reid was – flabbergasted seemed the best word – at the small smile that appeared on Hotch's face. Riley returned it, turned and headed across the bull pen. Reid stood up to intersect her.

"Hey," he asked, glancing up at Hotch. "Are you okay? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," she said.

"What was… that about?" he asked, aware to Hotch was still watching them like a hawk.

"Nothing," she said quickly, looking away. "Listen, um… I have to get to work. I'll… I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, I mean… I'll call you later."

"Okay," she replied. Again, it seemed like she wanted to kiss him on the cheek, but Reid distinctly saw her lock eyes with Hotch. She looked back at Reid, smiled and quickly left the office. He watched until she was out of sight.

"Reid," Hotch called, pulling his attention. "Come on, let's get started."

He followed Hotch into the conference room where everyone else was already assembled. Surprised Hotch didn't pull him aside again, he took a seat and began (not) listening to the next case.

Just before they were about to leave for the airport, Reid sat at his desk. He knew he should be getting ready to leave, but instead debated something over and over in his head. He really hated to leave Riley like this. She needed him, probably less than his mind was letting him believe, but she did. He couldn't just leave her like this. As much as these families in Tulsa needed the B.A.U., Riley needed him more.

Standing up, Reid went to Rossi's door. He figured Rossi would give him more of a break than Hotch would. And Rossi had pretty much just as much authority as Hotch. He help create the B.A.U. after all.

The door stood ajar and Reid knocked lightly. "Agent Rossi, can I… talk to you?"

Rossi looked up, surprised. "Sure, Reid, can it wait until we're on the plane?"

"Actually, that's what I want to talk about." He said, walking in and shutting the door. "Um… would it be alright if I… stayed behind on this one?"

"You mean work the case from here? With Garcia?" He asked.

"No, I mean… not work the case at all."

Rossi seemed a little surprised. "Reid, we need you, you're apart of this team."

"You guys have solved cases without me before." He stated.

"That's true." Rossi replied. "Are you having some sort of personal problem?"

"Kind of," he answered truthfully. "I don't think I'll figure it out in a few days, I just… don't think it's very fair to everyone else to work on a case when I'm not focused. Morgan's told me that before and… I'm starting to listen." He paused. "If you need me to go, I will, but… I would really just like to take break this time. I just need a few days."

Rossi nodded. "Well, it's alright with me, but I'm going to clear it with Hotch first."

"Great," Reid mumbled.

A few moments later, Reid was back at his desk. Everyone else was heading down to the cars. Rossi headed over to the elevators while Hotch went to confront Reid. He stood up as he approached.

"You're not coming, Reid?" he asked.

"I just need some time. To clear my head." Reid replied, trying to look valid.

Hotch nodded, then leaned in closer so only the two could hear the conversation. "If you're taking time off, you stay away from this office."

"Why would I come here if I'm taking time off?" Reid asked, sounding like a smartass teenager.

"Maybe if you're working with someone on another case that the B.A.U. isn't involved in."

"Hotch, I just need some time to myself, that's all."

"Fine," he answered. "But know this, Reid. If I find out you're working on that case with Dr. Parker, I'm going to fire you."

With that, Hotch turned and headed out with the rest. Reid was left alone in the bull pen. Only the gofers and interns were scurrying about. He knew Garcia would be in her office. Other than that, he was alone. He waited a moment to make sure no one returned. Quickly, he pulled out his phone.

"Reid?" Riley asked as she answered.

"Hey," he said, feeling butterflies like the last time they talked on the phone.

"So, where are you headed?"

"Well, I was hoping your office."

There was a silence. "What?" she asked.

"I took some time off. I thought we could use more than an hour to investigate Fueller."

There was another long silence. "You did that for me?" she asked, disbelieving.

"Well… yeah," he said. He left out the part about risking his job.

"Wow," she still sounded shocked. "What, uh… what are you doing now?"

"Well, I thought I'd drop my overnight bag off and then… maybe meet you for lunch?"

"I can't, I'm driving to Havensall this morning. I still have some patients there. Plus, I thought I'd check for some of the older files on Fueller. See if they're still in the basement."

"Okay, well… why don't I ask our lab tech if she'll do some research on Fueller for us. Maybe she can find something no one else did."

"I doubt that, she'd have to be pretty good to find anything like that."

"Trust me, she's more than 'pretty good'. She's beyond 'pretty good'."

He heard her laugh. "Okay, well then, why don't we meet at my place at around… seven?"

Reid smiled. "Sounds good."

"I'll see you then, Brianiac."

"I'll see you, Over-achiever."

She giggled. It was the first time he'd use that term on her and was glad it amused her. He listened until the line was dead and closed his phone. This could definitely be worth his job.

Reid knocked on the door to Garcia's office. He hoped she wasn't talking to others via webcam, but he doubted they were even at the airport yet, let alone in the air. Still, he had to be safe. He also had to make sure he could trust her to cover for him. Reid could just ask her to do it and not tell her he wasn't allowed to be investigating this, but if Hotch asked – and he was sure Hotch would ask – she'd have to lie. He hated to make his friends lie but they had covered for him so far… why not now?

"Enter the mystical world of truth oh fortunate one!" she called from inside. Slowly, Reid walked inside, thankful she was working on her computer, not open to a webcam.

"Hey, Garcia… I need your help."

She looked over, surprised. "Reid. Why aren't you on your way to Tulsa?"

"I'm not going to be working the case with the others. I'm taking some time off."

"Oh," she said, still confused. "Then why are you still here?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Like a member of the Corleone family." She said with a smile.

"Who?" he asked.

"The Corleone family. It's the family from The Godfather? Don't tell me you've never seen The Godfather!"

"I've never – that's not the point, I need you to keep a secret and… I might need you to risk getting in trouble."

"Oh, it's what I live for!" she said. "Why all the deception?"

"It's probably best you don't know."

"It's probably best you tell me or I'm not doing it!" she replied.

Reid heaved a heavy breath, ran a hand through his hair and started to explain, indicating the entire ordeal with Riley and the Fueller case. He explained about Riley brining the case to Hotch and Rossi a week ago and the finding of a second victim.

"To top it off, Hotch is kind of suspicious about us and… he told me if I'm caught investigating this case with her, I'll be fired."

Garcia had suddenly gone serious. A very strange demeanor for her. "Honey… do you really think this is a good idea?"

Surprised, "What do you mean?"

"I mean… we all know how you feel about her. And… we all know you have a history with her beyond medical. You've already risked your job enough, is this really worth it? Do you really want to throw your career away just because some girl you think you're in love with suspects someone is a murderer? I mean, I know you said he was a serial killer, but… how do you know she's legitimate about this? How do you know she isn't blinded by prejudice or resentment?"

"Because I do, and it has nothing to do with me being in love with her." She gave him a disbelieving look. "Alright, it's not entirely because I'm in love with her. I know she's telling the truth. I've spent time with her, Garcia. I… I know what she's like. I mean, if she wanted to be a profiler, I think she'd greatly succeed at it."

"And what if you're wrong? What if she is just out to get this guy or… it turns out to be someone else."

"Garcia, I've studied the case. I'm almost positive it's the same guy."

"And what if it's not?"

He paused, thinking. "Then at least she knows she wasn't alone. Look, if you don't want to help me, I understand, just don't tell the others, okay?"

"No, I'll help, sweetie." She said, reaching out her hand to pat his comfortingly. "I'm not saying all this for the sake of your career; I say it for the sake of your heart."

"Thank you," he said. "I appreciate you, all of you, for looking out for me. I already know she doesn't feel the same way, I already know she probably feels that way for another man…"

"But?" Garcia said, knowing there was more.

"But…I love her so much, I don't care." He paused, swallowing in the same habit as Riley. "I just want her to be happy."

Garcia squeezed his hand once more. "Okay," she said. "I'm running simultaneous scans on information for the team on the Tulsa case. I'm waiting for them to log on, which shouldn't be too much longer, just FYI. What am I searching for?"

"Anything on a case or man pertaining to George Harrison Fueller. Unknown, hard to find, or sealed information would be best. Can you do that?"

"What are you, new here? I'll tell you the shoe size of his first babysitter if you want it." She said as her fingers began working their magic.