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Distress

I went to lunch with Angie this afternoon. She's so happy with Curtis. It made me angry to see how happy she was when everything has gone so terribly wrong. I don't want to feel this way. I want to be happy for my friends, but it's like there is this veil that's come between Spence and me, and I can't find a way to cross it.

Then, as we were leaving the restaurant, I ran into Henry of all people. He was with some little blond with a bad hairdo and muddy blue eyes. She sneered at me when he stopped me to say hello. What is it with guys that they have a type and they can't seem to see other girls? It's a good thing women aren't that way.

Also, I ran into Emily who was having lunch with an old friend from college. She happened to see me running into Henry. After we got back to Quantico, she was asking me all about the Reid look-a-like. I told her to back off and she said, I was just teasing you. Morgan happened into the break room and wanted to know why we were glaring at each other. I told him to mind his own business too.

So… after I managed to piss off half the team, we had a briefing the next day. I called Spence this morning, but he didn't answer the phone. I was going to go over there, but the call came in from Houston Texas. The cops alerted me to three men that all had their necks broken. I was in the middle of the briefing when Spence showed up. He looked terrible and everyone was staring at him.

We bounced around a few ideas about what might be happening in Houston. Spence was a bit sarcastic about the challenge that we had which surprised me. He's never sarcastic about a case. It was like he didn't care.

On the plane Emily offered to help Spencer with the geographical profile and he practically jumped down her throat in front of everyone. Hotch had to get after him and Hotch never has to do that with Spence. I was embarrassed for him. I wanted to ask him what his problem was, but we had too much to do. I had to do my job. I promised myself I was going to corner him after the case was over.

Gideon and Morgan went to the latest crime scene at a construction sight. The last victim was the security guard. One of the parents of the kids that were there vandalizing the place brought her son to talk to Gideon and the detective we're working with, but the kid didn't see anything that happened after the guard chased them off. Morgan found a little cubby-hole in the structure where someone was living.

I brought cookies into Emily and Spencer that one of the cops' wives made for us. Spencer went nuts about the noise of the construction going on outside. Gideon sent Emily and Spence to check the shelters. Emily said "You okay with that Reid." I could tell she was past the point of taking his crap. I thought they might have a full blown confrontation, but then Spencer backed down and they left. Why won't he tell me what's bothering him. I just want to help.

Then this guy killed another construction worker. Gideon and Morgan found another "nest," in the bottom of the sewer. I guess Morgan had to go down and check it out. All that he found was the nest and a lovely smell.

The big problem was if the killer is homeless, how did her learn to kill like that? Then he attacked a local store owner, but the guy was saved by his daughter showing up before the man could kill him. She was so cute, and so small, to have to deal with something like that. Is there no safe place for anyone anymore? She told Emily that the man looked at her like he was sad and he asked her if she was okay. She gave us a description of the man.

Garcia found an SOS on the top of a building and because of the noise from the construction that Spence pointed out, we realized he was a war veteran suffering from PTSD. He thought he was in a war zone and killing enemy soldiers.

His name was Roy Woodridge. He never came home after work one day. His wife came in with a friend of his who was also in combat.

He told us about their time in Somalia. Apparently Roy killed a young boy that had a machine gun pointed at his friend. He was just a child. Roy never got over it. Now the guy was reliving the memory and we had to use his friend to contact him and get him to agree to meet with his friend. We had to use SWAT and I knew it could go bad.

His wife talked to me as a lot of the families of victims do. She wanted me to promise to help her husband. I had to tell her that her husband killed people. She talked about losing him fourteen years ago and living with a ghost. She looked so lost and in so much pain. I couldn't help but feel like I had to do whatever I could to help Spence. I don't know what is bothering him, but I have to do something or he'll just slip away from all of us.

Roy's friend and Gideon tried to talk him into coming out, but the construction work made him think he was getting shot at. They were so close, but then a boy on a bike entered the area. SWAT didn't have any choice they had to take the shot. God it was terrible! He was just a man that wanted to go home, someone trapped in his own mind.

I just got off the phone with Spencer… He said he didn't want to talk about what was bothering him. I tried to argue. I threatened to go down to see him. He said he didn't want to see me. I went to his apartment anyway, but he wouldn't open the door. I threatened to call Morgan to come kick it in. He said go ahead. There was such hopelessness in his voice. I left, but I'm going back! This isn't over. I won't let it be over.