AN: I'm sorry it took so long to update. This chapter is short, but hopefully it will inspire further adventures in this tale. I hope to update sooner next time.
Spencer watched the team assemble in the round table room. They did not joke and laugh like they used to. Over the past several months, the mood within the team had become melancholy. He felt guilty for being the reason for the change. After all, it was difficult to be cheerful with a ghost on the team.
Even though no one on the team besides Hotch knew about Spencer's secret, Spencer could tell that the others were beginning to sense it. Soon, he would have to decide if he would tell them that they had been living with the dead for the past six months or if he would just move on and let Hotch deal with it.
The hardest part of Spencer's situation wasn't keeping it a secret. The hardest part for Spencer was realizing that his life was over. He no longer wrote letters to his mother. No longer published articles in journals. No longer read his favorite books or watched his favorite documentaries. Spencer's life had become a shadow that watched the world pass without being a part of it.
He often wondered why he stayed. Spencer knew that better things waited for him beyond. He couldn't say how he knew this, only that he knew it with every piece of his soul. He wanted to go there, to heaven or paradise or whatever it was called. He'd glimpsed it before. Just before Tobias Hankel gave him CPR, Reid had seen the light that had caused him to question everything he believed as a man of science.
And yet, he stayed. He stayed with his team. He stayed to give them his knowledge and insight into cases. He stayed to give them strength and hope. When the time came, Spencer would have to leave. And he knew he couldn't do that without saying goodbye.
Spencer was pulled out of his thought by Garcia bustling into the room and snatching up the television remote. Was it Reid's imagination or was she purposefully not looking his direction?
"Five bodies have turned up in San Diego," Garcia said, pressing a button to make an image of the latest victim appear on the screen. "Meet Diego Valdez and no, just because he shares a name with the city he was found in does not mean he lives there." Garcia pressed another button and all five victims' pictures popped up on the tv. "In fact, none of our victims are from San Diego and only one of them even lives in California. Our unsub has a thing for tourists."
"How do they know the cases are connected?" Emily asked, scrolling through the information on her tablet.
"Each victim had their throat slashed and an organ removed," Hotch explained. "Police speculate it's part of the unsub's signature."
"What organs were removed?" Morgan asked.
"A heart, lung, two kidneys, and our latest victim turned up without liver," Garcia explained, looking slightly green.
"Slitting the throat and removing organs is reminiscent of Jack the Ripper," Spencer interjected. "Our unsub hasn't contacted the media yet, has he?"
"No dear boss letters from hell so far," Garcia said, staring at her file instead of looking at Reid.
The collection of the organs presents some disturbing theories," Rossi said. "I can only imagine his reasons for needing them."
"We'll talk about it on the plane," Hotch said, seeing Garcia turn another shade paler. "Wheels up in thirty."
The team scattered to their desks to collect go-bags before heading to the airstrip. Spencer followed Hotch up to his office, shutting the door behind him. Closing doors was one ability Reid retained as a ghost.
"Sir," Spencer said to his boss, "this will be my final case."
Hotch had taken a seat at his desk. For a brief moment, disappointment and fear crossed the normally stoic man's face before he covered it with an expressionless nod.
"Will you tell the team?" Hotch asked.
"Yes. After the case is solved."
"I see." After a pause, Hotch said, "I don't know how to react. This isn't like going away to see your mom for a weekend. This is permanent." Some of Hotch's fear began to show again.
"Think about how I feel," Spencer said with a chuckle. "I wish I could stay longer, but I can't keep pretending." He strode forward, right through one of the chairs in front of Hotch's desk. "I can't keep this up."
Even though it had been six months, Reid could tell that Hotch still wasn't used to seeing his subordinate walk through solid objects.
"It's time, Hotch," Spencer said.
Hotch swallowed and nodded. "When the case ends."
Satisfied, Reid turned to leave. Hotch stood, go-bag in hand and moved quickly, reaching the door so that he could open it before the young genius walked through it.
Spencer joined his team in the elevator, feeling only slightly guilty over his hope that his case proved to be long and difficult.