"If you look for the truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin; and in the end, despair." – C.S. Lewis

The battle between Dr. Spencer Reid and the staff at the hospital had been rather strenuous and extensive. As it happened though, the young genius managed to talk his way out of urgent care. Even so, there was an unsettling depth of concern in the eyes of the doctors that Morgan couldn't help but notice.

Part of him wanted to turn around and haul Reid back to the hospital over his shoulder. But the truth was out and Morgan understood that this case had become just too personal for his colleague to step away. So the man decided against giving the kid anymore grief as they made their way back to the Bureau.

"What in God's name are you doing here, Spencer?"

A voice came from behind the two men as they were about to walk inside the office. Special Agent David Rossi barely gave the police car time to stop before he opened the door and stepped out onto the pavement.

Reid's gaze did not leave the car as he answered plainly, "I'm not going back until this is taken care of. My mother is out there and after losing Prentiss gone, we need everything we've got to solve this case." When the police car sped off, Reid curiously changed the subject with a bit of relief in his voice, "Where's Hotch?"

It took a moment for Rossi to answer. He stared the young man down, noticing the way he was standing. It didn't take an expert to see that he was miserable. But if Morgan couldn't get him to stay checked in at the hospital, Rossi knew it would only be a waste of time if he tried.

"He's still in Woodbridge interrogating Gideon," the man replied and lead the way into their office. He held the door open for his colleagues and remarked as Reid passed him, "You're lucky that's the case too. If Hotch were here you'd be sent strait back to that hospital bed."

Rolling his eyes, Reid followed Morgan with a slight limp in his step. He turned to Rossi as they entered the elevator and inquired, "Why is Hotch wasting time interrogating Gideon? We already know he didn't do this."

"True. But there's more to it than that."

Before Rossi, Reid or even Morgan had a chance to continue the conversation; the doors of the elevator opened and revealed to them a painful sound from within the office. They almost didn't recognize the voice of the cries as none of them had ever heard JJ in such a panic. Yet, as they hurried out of the shaft to investigate, they found she was in hysterics and fighting desperately to be free of Garcia's embrace.

"No! Stop it! Stop, Garcia! Let me go! I have to see him! I have t-"

Just as Reid and the others approached the two women, JJ managed to break away and she more or less fell into the young doctor's arms. At that moment, the first beams of sunlight streamed through the windows, piercing the darkness of night. She flinched from the pain of everything she felt but for some reason clung to Reid a little more tightly. For a moment it was as if he brought her a little peace of mind. … But just for a moment.

While Reid awkwardly did all that he could to comfort JJ, who sobbed into his shoulder, Rossi looked to Garcia for answers, "What's going on?"

"We just received word that someone broke into Will's place. He's in the hospital now and Henry is…" The woman choked as the present circumstances were weighing on her as well. "Henry's gone, sir."

Hearing Garcia's words of her son's disappearance sent JJ into a second wave of hysterics. She pushed Reid away and exclaimed again, "I have to get out of here. Will needs me. He might remember something… maybe… maybe he knows where Henry was taken…"

The way JJ was shaking frightened Reid. She was obviously and understandably not thinking too clearly. It didn't even occur to her that it was Reid of all people holding her. Garcia on the other had watched Reid curiously as she reached out for JJ and gently touched her arm, "Sweetie, you heard what the nurse said over the phone. He's unconscious right now and even if you-"

"Nobody is leaving the office until we get ourselves organized," Rossi interrupted, "This un-sub has got the better of us this far and it's because he's caught us off guard. We need to settle down for just a minute and treat this like any other case."

"Easy for you to say."

The barely audible words were spoken sharply from Reid's breath but softly under his breath. They were breathed into the strands of JJ's hair as he still held her close to his body. Even so, those words didn't go unheard and neither did the spite dripping from them.

Each member of the team stood in silence, staring at Reid until Rossi was the one to say something. He took a step forward and lightly moved JJ out of his line of fire, "Reid," he began quietly but firmly, "You need to understand that Strauss is watching us under a magnifying glass. Any attitude or conduct displayed that is unprofessional will not be tolerated. Now just because Hotch isn't here, that doesn't mean you have the right to act out of line. I understand the two of you are the only one's with family in danger right now but we have to follow procedure. So if there are no more set backs, Garcia, gather all the files on Bale that you have and meet us in the conference room."

Morgan and Rossi made their way in that direction while JJ and Reid stayed put. "Could you guys give us just a minute?" Reid asked, feeling a bit out of line asking a favor after popping off the way he did.

To his surprise, Rossi just nodded and continued into the room with Morgan. When the two men were out of sight, Reid turned his gaze back to JJ. Even in her current state of mind, he found her breathtaking.

"Spence… I'm so scared. I don't… I don't know if he's cold or scared… or hurt… I don't know if he needs me…"

"We'll find him, JJ." It wasn't a statement. It was a promise. "He's gonna be alright."

Her smile was weak but it was still a smile. As Reid's words of comfort began to sink in, JJ reached for him and sweetly touched his arm. "You're pushing yourself by being here, Spence. You should be resting."

"I know," he returned with a similar bittersweet smile. "But I couldn't let you guys do this alone. Not after… everything that's happened."

JJ nodded. She didn't need to be reminded of who or what they lost thus far. Her nerves grew tight as her eyes lifted to meet his gaze. There shone a familiar gleam in her eyes from before, back at the hospital.

"Come on," Reid quickly said before she could bring up anything else. "They're waiting for us."

Another chance to speak to him about what happened between them before slipped from her. But JJ knew this wasn't the time anyway. She nodded and followed his lead to join the rest of their team in the conference room. As they entered, Garcia was just bringing in what evidence she had.

"You guys might want to take a look at this," she said, laying down a handful of folders. On top of everything else, there was a separated piece of paper that contained a message written in atrocious handwriting. "This was just uploaded to me from the CSI. It's another note. They found it at Will's."

The team gathered around and read the words carefully.

'I WILL TAKE FROM HIM WHAT HE TOOK FROM ME.'

Morgan was the first to speak up, "How is taking Henry and Diana Reid taking anything from Gideon? Henry wasn't even born until after Gideon left."

"No, no… there's more to this than we're catching. Something's out of place here but I just can't figure out what it is." Rossi made eye contact with each member of his team hoping to receive some kind of feedback.

"Maybe its Gideon's peace of mind that Bale is after. He's been locked away and placed in a dangerous environment for so long that… what he's really trying to place on Gideon is that sense of fear and unease."

For the first time since they knew him, something that Reid was saying didn't quite add up to the team. They didn't want to point it out, knowing that it wasn't his fault. He was off his game. He wasn't thinking clearly. So rather than belittle their friend, the others continued hypothesizing.

After several minutes of only going in circles, each of them nearly jumped out of their skin as a conference call came in. Ironically, none of them could move to answer it.

"Think it's Bale?" Morgan asked, dangling his hand over the device.

"There's only one way to find out," Rossi replied and gave the okay to answer.

The agents of the BAU held their breath as Morgan pressed the button and waited. To their surprise, it was Hotch's voice on the other end.

"Rossi? Is everyone in the room?"

"Uh, yeah Aaron. We're all here. What's going on over there? Did you get something from Gideon?"

"Yes." Hotch paused and the silence made his team feel like exploding.

"And?" Reid blurted out without considering who they were talking to.

But with the news Hotch had to give, there were very few things that could lead him astray from the topic. Despite the tension he knew was growing in the room, Hotch gave his team a moment to prepare.

"Adrian Bale isn't the un-sub. Gideon killed him two months ago."