Okay this is the last part of this fic! Fluff is so fun to write! We have some sad boi Reid in here who falls into some relatively somber thoughts, but I decided we needed some fun Reid&Prentiss bonding time so that was a fun part to write! Enjoy!

PT3

The three agents had begun piecing it together when they found the flyer. Garcia had been able to find out information on the unsub's business. It was clearly fake, but she was able to find a name and address.

When Prentiss and Morgan had gone back to the dumb sight, they'd found eight more bodies buried in the area. The unsub had killed a lot more people than they'd originally thought.

The team was gathered in the precinct, going through files about all the new victims they'd discovered, discussing the new information. Reid stood at one of the boards, rereading information, searching for more clues.

"Look at this, guys," he began, circling wording that was in the unsub's flyer, "he calls them phobias instead of anxiety disorders."

Prentiss scoffed, "Yeah, this guy's either an amateur or he studied psychology in the eighties."

"His phrasing of the questions are clinical. This guy's a professional." Derek stated.

Hotch added on, "well, he's able to pick the perfect victims. 'Are you close to your family? Easy making friends?' Just answer yes and you're spared the torture."

"We figured out how he chooses his victims, but how does that get us his real name?" the police captain asked.

Hotch nodded, "alright, let's review. JJ, can you get Garcia?"

"I think the guy's a real psychiatrist."

"Also afraid of being alone, so he's most likely married."

Reid cleared his throat, speaking up, "May have adopted children."

"Why?"

"Uh because the tortures lack a sexual component."

"Oh, right. He might be impotent." The police chief said, connecting the dots.

"Hey, guys." Garcia greeted through the speaker.

Reid continued, "also, he's desperate for a sense of community. He'd definitely have kids."

Garcia quickly began typing, "Ok, I'm crossing Portland doctors with adoptions…"

The team continued giving Garcia more and more information until she could properly narrow down her list of potential unsubs. Finally, she got a name.

Stanley Howard. A psychiatrist who was married with an adopted daughter. His practice had been closed for a year and he was going into debt quickly. This man had to be their unsub, he fit the profile perfectly. Garcia managed to get a few addresses, his house and previous practice's building. Hotch split them up, having some of them go to the old building and some go to his house.

Morgan threw a vest at Reid as they were loading in the SUV. He caught it and began putting it on as Hotch started the car. He tightened the straps as far as they could around his lean body. When they arrived at the scene, they were shocked to find it empty. As in, there was no building.

"This is 427 Ceders Avenue, where's the office?" Reid asked, walking into the empty lot.

Confused, Hotch quickly called Prentiss.

"Hey Prentiss, were at the office, the building's gone."

Reid saw the look on Hotch's face and turned around, heading back for the SUV. The man must be at some other building, pretending it was his office.

Prentiss called back, alerting them of a building downtown that the unsub's wife owned. Quickly, Hotch turned the car around, heading towards the address.

When they arrived, the four men sprinted inside. They went up to the level which the man's office had been listed on. The room was cleared rapidly, the unsub had to still be in the building though.

Hotch ordered Reid to go with the police chief, taking the west side of the building. The two hastily took off down the hallway. They worked together, clearing rooms on each floor. A few minutes later he heard Morgan through his earpiece.

"Reid, its Morgan, we got Howard. Call the fire department, he's going to the roof." Reid complied, quickly dialing 911 and reciting the address to them as he and the other man made their way downstairs so they could head outside.

"Wait, I'm gunna check the rest of the building for the victim." Reid stated, running back the other way. He ran as fast as he could, checking the rest of the rooms, she had to be there somewhere. Adrenalin shot through him, they had to save her.

He reached the man's office once more, rapidly scanning all the documents he had on his desk. He picked up journals, reading as quickly as possible. Finally, Reid came across the woman they were looking for.

Grabbing the journal, he turned, sprinting out the door, heart pumping fast. He dashed down the stairs, heading for the first floor. Finally, he bust outside to see the rest of the group standing around the body of the doctor.

Reid was taken aback by the body. Attempting to catch his breath, he stopped for a moment before speaking.

"I went through all of his journals and I found Missy's."
"What did it say?"
"That she was going on a cave diving trip. Uh-she wasn't scared of the water, but she was terrified of the walls crumbling down on her?"

"So what's she afraid of?"

"Being buried alive." Reid stated, still trying to catch his breath.

Hotch knelt down, examining the doctor's body. "Guys, look at the dirt under his nails."
Morgan leaned down to see what Hotch had been pointing out, "She's gotta be close guys."

"Is there a basement in this building?" Hotch asked.

"Yes."

Quickly, the four men went back inside, heading for the basement. They ran down the hallways, looking for any sign of life. Hotch spotted a pile of dirt and called them over. He handed Reid the flashlight to hold as he and Morgan began digging out the woman's body from the dirt.

They pulled her out as gently as possible. She wasn't breathing at first, but luckily it didn't take long before she began to start again.

Reid let out a sigh of relief, running a hand through his hair. It wasn't long before the paramedics were on scene, taking care of Missy. She would make a full recovery, they made it in time. It felt good to have a successful case, even without Gideon there. Reid watched as they carted the girl away on the gurney, a small smile on his face. Maybe they would be alright.

The team met back up on the plane, everyone piling in, hoping to get some rest. Reid claimed the couch, stretching out. He was tired, but his mind didn't want to shut down. However, he did not want to talk to anyone, so he feigned sleep, letting his mind wander.

He thought back to the letter and what Emily had said. Why had Gideon only left a note addressed to him? Why did he leave his gun and credentials to him? Why did he only say goodbye and apologize to him?

Reid knew the answer, but he didn't want to admit it. He knew that he reminded Gideon of his son. The son he didn't have much of a relationship with. The son who was the same age as him and who looked fairly similar to him. That, he supposed, was probably why Gideon had been interested in him in the first place. And that's why he'd been interested in Gideon. He had approached him after a lecture Reid had attended, not because he knew who he was and knew of his IQ, but because he was just interested in him.

Reid had never had that before.

He tended to blend into the background. No one payed him much attention. He was average looking, had weird hair and dressed blandly, and he was very socially awkward. He wasn't one to initiate conversations as he'd been told that he was annoying and talked too much. However, until he opened his mouth, no one gave him a second look, because his brain was the interesting part about him.

He clenched his jaw, falling into a pit of self-loathing. It was hard, growing up with no sort of praise. Reid guessed that's why he gave 110% to everything he did. He craved the approval that he couldn't receive from an absent father and a mentally ill mother.

He gravitated towards men like Gideon because they could fill the hole that his father had left in his heart when he'd abandoned him.

He remembered the words Gideon had written for him. They were incredibly apologetic and regretful. He hadn't wanted to write the note, he never thought he would. Yet, he did. Reid knew that Gideon was having a hard time, that much was obvious, but he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he hadn't had the courage to say goodbye to him in person.

He felt like he had deserved that much.

With as much shit as he'd gone through in the past six months, through the torture and the drugs and the withdrawal, he deserved a real goodbye.

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe that was asking too much. Maybe he didn't deserve it as much as he thought he did. Maybe it was because he had been weak, coming to work high and shooting up in the bathrooms, snapping at people because of the cravings from withdrawal, maybe it was because of that, he didn't deserve Gideon's goodbye. Maybe he didn't deserve the note at all.

He felt a tear leak from his eye and he hastily turned onto his side, facing the couch. Reid didn't need any more sympathy from the team. They'd somehow seen him breakdown this week, something he usually only did in private.

They'd seen him as weak.

His heart started pounding rapidly, did they know? Did they know how truly weak he felt? Did they understand how he felt like he was being held together with tape and that he could fall apart with a light breeze? Did they know he contemplated buying dilauded, filling the needle with too much and letting the drugs kill him?

He needed to be more careful, Reid decided. Things needed to go back to how they were before. He could trust them as coworkers, but he needed to slowly push them out of his life again. If he got too close, he'd be disappointed, he was certain. Because regardless of what Hotch had said, if there was one thing Spencer Reid knew was consistent in his life, it was that people always left.

Reid was being shook awake. The jet had landed. He silently sat up, gathering his things. He let the rest of the team get off before him, taking his time in loading up his satchel. Once everyone had deplaned, he let out a sigh, burying his face in his hands.

He controlled his breathing, not wanting to have a full breakdown on the plane. He collected himself quickly, standing to exit.

He was trailing quite a bit behind the team. No one had noticed thankfully, and he picked up the pace, catching up to the group. They loaded into the cars, heading for the office.

Everyone seemed to be a bit lighter, happy that they'd had a successful case. Even Hotch looked slightly happy, which was not a common sight. When they got to the office, there was talk about getting drinks, but Reid tuned out.

He was going to grab his stuff from his desk, catch the metro home, and probably cry in the shower for an hour before passing out from exhaustion. That sounded like a good enough plan to him.

Reid hurried to his desk, hoping to slip out before any invites were thrown his way, though he doubted anyone really wanted him there anyways. He knew he wasn't very good company. The rest of the group was taking their time, meandering in, so by the time they made it to their desks Reid was already beginning to hurry off. He almost successfully made it out, but then-

"Pretty boy!"

Fuck. Reid stopped in his tracks, slowly turning around. The whole group was staring at him, slight confusion on their faces.

"Aren't you coming out with us? We're gunna go celebrate a little" Prentiss said, smiling enticingly.
Reid gave a small smile, "Sorry uh, I gotta get h-home, uh and I don't wanna miss the m-metro," he began moving towards the door, hoping if he got out before anyone else could speak, they wouldn't try and convince him otherwise. "Have fun, I'll see you guys tomorrow, bye!" he slipped out the door, deciding to take the stairs rather than chance the elevator, still slightly scarred by his last elevator ride.

He missed the looks of concern that the team members exchanged.

He hurried down, exiting the building swiftly. Reid practically sprinted to the metro, knowing he was about to completely break down.

The station was pretty empty as it was very late at night. He caught both trains fairly easily and made it to his apartment building in record time.
Reid took the stairs two at a time, racing to his apartment. He hadn't been back here in quite a while, having stayed with Hotch after the whole Gideon fiasco, and then they'd been to Portland. Opening the door, he slipped inside, locking his door behind him.

He let out a breath which almost immediately became a sob as his emotions overcame him. He slid down the door onto the floor, tears leaking out of his eyes at a rapid rate.

It was all too much.

Reid sat, crying, for a few minutes, before dragging himself to the couch. He curled up, grabbing Gideon's note out of the satchel to hold. He knew the team wanted to be there for him, but he felt so alone. His other hand went to the crook of his arm, scratching involuntarily.

There was a knock at the door a little while later and he instantly froze. He wiped the tears off his face and glanced at the clock. It was way too late for visitors. Another knock sounded and he grabbed his gun. Slowly, Reid stood, walking quietly towards the door, keeping his gun pointed towards the floor.

A third knock sounded, this time a voice accompanied it.

"Spencer it's me, I know you're in there." Emily's muffled voice said. Reid sighed, placing his gun on the counter.

"Em now's not a good time" his voice wavered and cracked slightly.
"Come on Reid, let me in, I can tell you're miserable from out here."

"Em… please just leave"
Prentiss's voice hardened, "Reid I will pull a Morgan and break down this door if you don't open it for me."

Reid sighed, dejected. He carefully undid the locks and pulled open the door. Emily's face was full of guilt and she immediately pulled him into a hug. Reid didn't move at first, but slowly melted into her arms, carefully snaking his arms around her, returning the gesture. He knew he must look like shit, eyes puffy and red from crying.

After a few moments she let go, stepping inside and closing his door.

He cleared his throat, "I thought you were going out?"

"I was, but I told them to go ahead without me. You looked like you could use a friend."

He cringed, "was I that obvious?" Reid asked, eyes dropping to the floor in shame. He couldn't even hide his emotions right anymore, what was wrong with him?

"Hey, hey, hey look at me, it's okay. I shouldn't have pushed you about the letter in the middle of the case" she brought a hand up to his face, caressing his cheek sympathetically, "I know it threw you off and I'm sorry. You had been doing so much better and I messed it up, that's on me. Don't go shutting us out again Spencer."

He nodded into her hand, "sorry" he whispered. She pulled him into another hug which he immediately leaned into this time. He planted his head into her shoulder, looking at the ground as she held him softly. They stayed like that, standing in a hug, for a while, her comforting him as he held onto her for dear life.

When they eventually separated, she held onto his hands for a moment, smiling at him reassuringly. He gave a small smile, keeping his head down. She glanced down, noticing scratch marks on his arm near old track marks. She reached out, gently grazing them. Reid's face instantly became a dark shade of pink with shame. He knew that he'd developed a habit to scratch at his old track marks when he was distressed, but he didn't even realize he'd been doing it tonight.

Luckily, it didn't look like he'd broken any skin. Emily looked back up at Reid, noticing the look on his face. "Reid, it's not your fault, I just don't want you to hurt yourself." He nodded quickly at her comment. Reid then let out a yawn that he couldn't hold back. He rubbed his eyes and she smiled.

They were both tired, that much was clear. Emily ordered him to go change into some pjs. He thought about arguing but decided he didn't have the energy.

When he emerged from the bedroom, she had changed into pajamas as well. He tilted his head in confusion at this, to which she replied; "Slumber party!"

He laughed, thankful that she was with him. He offered her the bed and she accepted, on the grounds that he was there too. "I wanna be the big spoon!" She declared, knowing that cuddling him would probably help him calm down and actually be able to get some decent sleep. Emily was also aware of his nightmares and knew that she'd be more help to him if she was there to wake him up.

She'd been so worried about him during the whole endeavor. In the short time she'd known him, the kid had been to hell and back. He had finally gotten clean and was getting back to the kindhearted kid that she had briefly met when she initially joined the team. He quickly had become the little brother she never had. When the whole thing with Gideon had happened, she wanted to make sure and do everything she could to make sure he didn't fall back into that dark place again.

Prentiss was glad he'd been staying with Hotch, and when they were in Portland, she knew he was sharing a room with Morgan. But when they'd gotten back to Quantico and he'd run off alone, clearly depressed and unstable, she knew it was a silent cry for help.

That's why she'd volunteered to go. The whole team had begun arguing over who was going to go check on him, but she wouldn't let anyone else convince her otherwise. She didn't want him to be alone that night, she needed to be there. She didn't want him to throw away all the hard work he'd put in to get his life back in order because Gideon had abandoned them.

Reid got into bed and Prentiss followed. He quickly rolled over on his side, curling into a ball under the pile of blankets. She couldn't believe how tiny he could make himself with how tall the kid was. He managed to look even more like a child laying like that.

She scooched next to him, wrapping an arm around his torso, leaning into his back affectionately. Prentiss began running her hands through his hair, something she'd seen both Morgan and Hotch do before. It was incredible that such a small gesture would make him practically melt in their touch.

Reid sighed when Emily began playing with his hair, his exhaustion beginning to seep through his body. His eyes began to droop. Reid relaxed into her hold, deciding that he'd allow himself to be vulnerable. That perhaps the paranoid thoughts he'd had on the plane had been wrong. That his team was telling the truth. Why else would Emily had decided to come comfort him rather than party with the rest of the team?

He smiled, his eyes closing completely now, beginning to quickly drift off to sleep. Gideon might be gone, but he'd be okay without him. He had to. He had to for his team, because with people like these on his side, Reid had no excuse but to try.