3.5 years ago:

Spencer sat on the couch, waiting for Brennan to get done getting ready. They were going out with Morgan and Garcia to a club, because Brennan thought they needed to go out as a couple more and not just stay in and watch a movie like he had wanted to do.

"You know they're going to be here any minute."

"I'm almost done," Brennan called from her bedroom.

Spencer looked around her apartment. He had been in it a million times and could tell you where everything was at any given moment. It was, in an essence, her. He looked to the door as it opened and Brennan came out wearing a halter crop top and jeans with boots that went up to her calves. Her red hair was curled and flowing around her shoulders, with just the front pulled back out of her face. His eyes moved over her body settling briefly on her bare stomach before going back up to her face.

"What?" Brennan asked as she noticed him watching her.

"You're just absolutely beautiful."

Brennan smiled as she moved forward and straddled his lap, kissing him. "Keep giving me compliments like that and we're never going to leave this house."

"I don't want to leave the house anyways," Spencer said as he leaned forward and started kissing along her neck. "I just want to stay in and spend the night doing this."

Brennan gasped as his teeth nipped lightly on her neck. "You're killing me, Spence."

"But such a good way to die."

Brennan chuckled as she kissed him again, her eyes rolling back as his hands expertly squeezed her breasts outside of her shirt. "You've gotten a lot more brazen, Dr. Reid."

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for a redhead." Spencer ran his hands under the back of her shirt, pushing her harder against him. "Come on let's stay in," he muttered as he nibbled her ear, grounding his erection against her.

"We can't. We promised Morgan."

"Morgan doesn't need our help getting women."

Brennan kissed him hard. She wanted him. She no longer wanted to go out and party. Staying home sounded like the best idea he had ever had. She groaned loudly as there was a knock on the door.

"And that's Morgan and Garcia," she mumbled against his lips. She climbed off of his lap and headed for the door while straightening her clothes. "Later."

"I'm holding you to that," Spencer answered as Brennan opened the door.

"You guys ready to go?" Morgan asked as they walked into the room. "Damn, woman, you're looking fine. Trying to find someone to replace him?" He asked jokingly.

"Always looking for the greener grass," Brennan said with a laugh.

"Look no further," Morgan told her holding out his arms.

Brennan pushed him away and grabbed her keys. "I'd sleep with Penelope first, Derek."

"And turn me right on," Garcia said as she hugged Brennan.

Brennan kissed her cheek as she grabbed her purse off of the counter and motioned to Spencer. "Come along, baby, or else I might have to take one of them up on their offer."

Spencer pursed his lips as he got up, his hand going around Brennan's waist as he caught up to her.

"So where are we going?" Brennan asked as she started up her car and glanced in the mirror at Derek and Garcia.

"I have us reservations at Bar 21."

She looked back at Morgan. "Reservations?"

He shrugged. "It's exclusive."

Brennan raised her eyebrows as she started down the street. "Okay Mr. Fancypants." She turned on her radio and started moving to Party in the USA that was playing.

"Okay now, what kind of white girl shit is this music?"

Brennan laughed. "Do you have something better we should listen to?"

"No, I like this song," Garcia said from the backseat.

"Overruled," Brennan replied as she drove to the club across town.

Derek rolled his eyes as he continued to listen to a string of Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift, and every other teen singer there was out there. She parked behind the club and climbed out of the car, locking hands with Spencer as they followed behind Derek to the entrance.

"I wanna dance," Brennan told Spencer as soon as they were inside. "Order me a beer?" She asked behind him to Derek.

"Beer, woman? You need better taste."

"I think my taste is impeccable."

She pulled Spencer out onto the floor and started to dance with him, watching him for his usual signs of discomfort. He was moving with her, but Brennan could tell that he wasn't really enjoying himself. She moved forward and pressed her lips to the pulse point on his neck.

"Let me have this night and I promise you a really nice surprise when we get home."

"You've already promised sex, not sure what more you have to offer."

"Plenty," Brennan said as she pulled away again and started moving to the music once more.

"Let's dance," a man said as he came up behind Brennan, his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm already dancing." She brushed his hand off of her shoulder.

"With this skinny prick. You can do so much better than him," he countered as he grabbed her waist.

Brennan turned quickly as her leg came up and knocked his hand off of her. "Excuse me? Who are you to tell me who I should be with? I'll have you know that it's him that could do better than me, not the other way around, asshole. Now leave before I have you arrested for assault."

"Actually the definition of assault is a threat to initiate unwanted physical contact or harm to another person, so technically it was assault." Spencer stepped up next to Brennan. "So, you did actually assault her."

"What are you a walking dictionary?"

"What are you a dumbass?" Brennan retorted as she took a step forward. "I'm an FBI agent. I would back down."

"Then where's your badge, Miss FBI agent?"

Spencer effortlessly pulled his out. "Hers is in her purse. Any more questions?"

The man looked over the badge before he turned and walked away. Spencer turned to look at Brennan before he sighed and headed to the bar. Brennan pursed her lips as she followed him. There was a reason that they spent most of their time at home. Almost every time they went out someone tried to hit on Brennan and she knew that it made him feel insecure.

"I love you," she said as she sat in the chair beside him.

He doesn't have time to answer her as their phones go off. Brennan dug her phone out of her purse before frowning slightly at the message on the screen.

"So much for a night off," Derek said as he threw some bills on the bar and they headed out of the club.

"You drive," Brennan said as she threw him her keys.

"Why aren't you driving?"

Brennan gestured toward her outfit. "I don't really think I'm wearing work approved clothes, do you? My go bag is in the car."

Morgan and Garcia climbed into the front of the SUV as Brennan and Spencer sat in the back. Spencer watched as she fumbled around in the back before pulling her go bag up and grabbing a different shirt and pair of shoes.

"Don't you dare look in that mirror, Derek, or I will shoot you." Spencer said as Brennan started to get changed.

"Wouldn't dream of it, pretty boy," Derek commented as he kept driving to the office. "So what was that altercation with that guy?"

"Just another one of Brennan's followers."

Brennan glanced at him as she pulled her new shirt on and started working on her shoes. "I can't help how I look."

"I know," Spencer replied. "That's mostly your dad's fault since that's where daughters get the majority of their genes from."

"Spence."

"We'll talk later, Brennan," he replied as he got out of the car as Derek parked it.

"Everything okay?" Garcia asked as she looked back at him.

Brennan sighed as she looked at the woman. "I don't know," she answered honestly as she climbed out of the car as well.

Spencer frowned as he looked at the board in front of him. Brennan had been staying at the Four Seasons, then she had gone to the police station to talk to her partner, then from there she went to the bar with him and it was the last time she had been seen.

"We need to go back to the bar where she went with Parker."

"Why?" Hotch asked as he looked at Spencer.

"Brennan has this attraction to her," he replied as he turned to look at the team. "We used to get in arguments about it because she always had someone hitting on her no matter where we went. Someone at that bar would have seen something simply because they would have noticed Brennan. Either the bartender or even just a patron. This is how we're going to find out where she went from there."

"Are you really saying that Brennan is so attractive that men stare at her?" Rossi asked frowning at the man.

"You don't see it because you're her dad, but attractiveness is a natural response in males towards a beautiful woman. Brennan is perfectly symmetrical." He frowned as no one responded. "Men notice symmetry in faces, it's what makes them want to mate. Even Morgan looked at her as she walked away every time."

"Morgan looks at every woman when they walk away," JJ said as she nudged the man.

"Okay, Reid, Morgan, go to the bar, we're going to go to the station and see if Brennan spoke with any of he old coworkers other than her partner."

Reid nodded as he started to leave before stopping as Rossi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Is that what you see in her? Symmetry?"

Spencer looked at the man and shook his head. "I've always loved your daughter for a lot more than her looks. The way she's taking care of my mother right now while her own life is on the line, that's why I love your daughter." He turned and followed Morgan out of the room.

"You really doubt his love for her?" Emily asked as she walked up behind him.

"No," Rossi said with a smile. "I just like to remind myself every now and again what a great guy she married."

Emily laughed as they started to get ready to go to the station.

Spencer and Derek entered the bar and headed to the bartender. It was all Spencer could do to keep from sneezing. There was a reason he never went to bars. All you could smell were the cigarettes and alcohol reeking from the place.

"FBI. Were you working last Friday at around 8pm?" Derek asked the bartender.

"I work every night," the guy said as he kept wiping the bar. "I own the place."

"We're looking for someone who was here around that time."

"Got a picture?"

Spencer pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped to a picture of him and Brennan. He turned it around to show the man. "Her name is Brennan Reid."

"I know her. Though you'll probably get more information out of that guy." The bartender gestured to a man sitting a few seats away.

"Who's that?" Reid asked the bartender.

"That's the ex," Morgan said as he turned back to the bartender. "Did she leave with him?"

The bartender sighed and nodded. "Yeah, they came in together around 8-8:30 and left about an hour later. She wasn't feeling well if I remember right, had gone to the bathroom looking flush and came back out then they left. He has half dragging her out."

Spencer pursed his lips before he moved purposefully toward the ex-partner. "What did you do drug her because she wouldn't sleep with you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You know who I am and who I'm looking for," Spencer bit out as he dropped his phone on the bar in front of the man. "What did you do to her?"

"Ah, you're the boyfriend."

"I'm the husband."

The ex raised his eyebrows as he took another drink of his beer. "So she finally settled down. Never thought she would be one to stick to one man." He nodded towards Spencer's wedding band. "But you're wearing a ring and she wasn't. Guess she wasn't as committed to the relationship as you were."

Spencer grabbed the man's chair and leaned close to his face, ignoring Morgan telling him to calm down. "Where is Brennan? You left the bar with her. She was sick. Where is she?"

"I don't know what the old fool told you, but like I told your partner, we had a drink, reminisced about some old times and went back to my place. She was gone in the morning. That's no unlike her."

"It's extremely unlike her," Spencer answered the man. "Brennan doesn't sleep around and she never has."

The cop sitting opposite of Spencer leaned back slightly. "And you know that from the little amount of time you spent together? I worked with Brennan for ten years. Fucked her for over half of them. Tell me, husband, she still like sucking cock as much as she did?"

Spencer didn't think as he drew his hand back and punched Brennan's ex, his hand connecting with hard bone that he felt give away as his knuckles hit it.

"Reid!" Morgan yelled as he grabbed Spencer's shoulders and pulled him away. "What are you doing?"

"He knows what happened to her!" Spencer told him as he waved his hand in the air.

"Go cool off. Now!" He exclaimed as Spencer started to argue.

Spencer looked back at the cop who was holding his bloody nose before he stormed off through the bar and went outside of the bar. He waved his hand in the cool air trying to get the stinging to stop. Finally, he leaned his head against the wall of the building to try and calm himself.

He knew he lost his composure in there, but he couldn't continue to sit there and listen to him lie. Brennan had told him everything about her past and how she had been with that controlling, manipulative creep out of fear and a sense of loyalty. Until the day he hit her. That was the day she packed up and moved in with her dad in Virginia, then less than two weeks later she was started at the BAU and they met.

"Spencer Reid?"

"What?" He said harsher than he intended as he turned around.

Searing red hot pain. He felt the bullet connect with his skin, heard the gunshot go off. Felt the hard ground beneath him. Then nothing, nothing but blackness and cold.