"Morgan, Prentiss, Reid and I will search the house. Rossi and JJ- you'll go in after and secure Mrs. Davis" Hotch said formally as the team in front of him strapped their bulletproof FBI vests on. "Michael didn't clock in at his job today so there is a possibility he's in the house with Lilly Mae" He added as he did the last strap on his own vest. He watched his team for a moment longer before nodding. "Come on"
Morgan and Prentiss pulled out their guns while Reid kept his hand on his. The team slowly crept forward until they were at the door of Joan's small bungalow. Morgan stepped forward and in one swift movement he kicked the door in. "FBI!" He yelled as he stepped inside. Hotch followed Morgan with Prentiss and Reid close behind as they quickly searched the rooms. Rossi and JJ were eager to follow the team but decided it was best to stay at the door until they found Joan.
"We've got her!" Reid shouted out of a room to JJ and she quickly sprung forward with Rossi matching her speed.
"Where's your nephew, Joan? Where's Michael?" Morgan asked as he placed a hand on her frail arm. She was sitting on a wicker rocking chair in a long nightgown with her hair in bright pink curlers and her soft grey eyes were darting from one member of the team to the other.
"I don't know" Joan whimpered back and pulled her arms away from the muscular man. "He left this morning and he hasn't come back" she added softly.
"We know about the girls, Joan. Tell me where Michael took Lilly" Reid said as softly as he could as he approached the woman.
Joan's face flashed a look of horror as her secret was unveiled but she hid it just as quickly as it appeared. "I don't know what you're talking about" She said indignantly. "What are you doing in my house?" She practically shouted as JJ and Rossi entered the room.
"It's alright, Joan" JJ said as she slowly escorted the woman out.
"We've cleared the rest of the house" Prentiss sighed as she walked into Joan's bedroom with Hotch. "Michael's not here"
"Michael doesn't know that we're here; if he left it won't be for long and when he gets back he won't be expecting us to be here" Morgan thought out loud.
Hotch grabbed at his radio and said urgently "Move all the police cars and ambulance away from the house now"
"Do you think he'll come back here?" Reid asked as he holstered his gun.
"Where else would he go?" Prentiss asked him.
"He could be worried. Joan would have carried on abducting the girls for as long as she could; this could be the first abduction he's done without Joan's help. Even if he doesn't know we're here, he won't know what to do with the girl" Reid explained.
"That's a good point" Prentiss said quietly as she processed what he'd said. "He's used to having someone to show him what to do. Without Joan helping him he'll be disorganised and unsure of what to do with Lilly. He could be looking for the easiest way to get rid of her" She added.
"If that's true, he could be anywhere" Morgan said unenthusiastically.
"He's at the track!" Reid exclaimed as he put the pieces together. "Think about it- his whole life has revolved around the girls' abduction and making them part of the family. He didn't abduct Lilly to continue Joan's legacy, he abducted her to end it" Reid hurriedly explained to them as his head spun from one team member to the other.
"Come on" Hotch said as he jogged out of the room and toward the SUV with the team in tow. Hotch took the driver's seat with Morgan next to him and Reid and Prentiss in the back.
Hotch hurriedly drove down the busy streets of Las Vegas until they were on the empty, twisted road leading towards the Mount Wilson track.
Reid was the first to get out of the car, followed closely behind by Morgan then Hotch and Prentiss. They jogged to the beginning of the track Michael took then paused. "He could be anywhere along the track" Morgan said as he ran a hand over his head.
"He'll be at the slope Kathleen died on; he wants this to end the same way it began" Reid huffed as he caught his breath. Morgan took a couple of breaths then nodded and the team began jogging the track, picking up speed as they turned the corner of the track and saw the forest that hid the steep slope.
The team pulled out their guns and stealthily slipped through the forest, hiding behind trees and stealing glances toward the slope.
"I told you to shut up!" Michael yelled at the girl and pushed her closer to the edge. Reid took a step forward so he was no longer shielded by the tree. He saw Morgan signalling for him to come back but he ignored him, took another step forward and cleared his throat.
"Michael Davis?" Reid asked with a shaky voice.
"Get back!" Michael yelled as he turned around, pulled the girl closer to him and pushed a gun to her head.
"Michael, I know how you're feeling right now but this isn't going to help you" Reid stated. "I'm gonna put my gun away now, okay?" Michael hesitated for a moment then nodded so Reid slowly holstered his gun. "I know about your aunt and what she did, Michael. I know that the only time she ever treated you like you were worth something was when you helped her abduct another girl. You thought that she'd changed but after she had a new girl you went back to being nothing" Reid said as he edged closer.
"She hated me" Michael said angrily as he flipped the gun from the girls head to Reid's body. "She only cared about the stupid girls" He spat, pain obvious in his voice.
"I know" Reid comforted him as he edged a little closer. "But this isn't Lilly's fault, Michael. I know how you feel right now. I know you just want it all to end so you can start again but this isn't the way. Your aunt has hurt so many people, Michael. If you hurt Lilly now… You'll just be like her" Reid finally sighed and took a final step forward so there was only a foot between them.
"Give me the gun, Michael" Reid prompted as he stretched out a hand for it. Michael gripped the gun a little tighter then, with shaking hands, slowly passed it to Reid. "Now let go of Lilly" Reid instructed. Michael pulled her a little closer as his eyes swelled with tears that he fought back. "It's alright, Michael. Just let go of her and we can walk away from this" Reid coaxed him forward a little.
Michael slowly lessened his grip on Lilly until she was completely free from him. "Come here, Lilly" Prentiss called as she emerged from behind a tree. Lilly quickly scrambled toward the woman and clung tight to her once she had hold of her waist.
"Now step away from the edge, Michael" Reid said as he offered his hand toward him. Michael paused for a moment then slowly edged backward and toward the slope. "Michael, come here" Reid yelled as he got dangerously close to the drop. "If you do this then your aunt wins" Reid begged him. Michael's face twisted as the emotions inside him fought until he finally took a step forward.
"She's not gonna win" He whispered but with just as much conviction as if he'd shouted it. Reid grabbed his arm, pulled him even further away from the edge and towards Morgan who quickly cuffed him and began the walk back towards the track.
"How is she?" Reid asked as he stumbled towards Prentiss.
"I think she's gonna be okay" Prentiss answered with a big grin on her face as she stroked a few strands of the little girl's blonde hair. "Let's get you back to your mom, Lilly" Emily said quietly to the little girl and started the walk out of the forest with Reid close behind.
The walk back felt much shorter than the jog up to the forest to all the team members now that Lilly was safe with them. By time they reached the start of the track the SUV was now joined by three cop cars, one to take Michael to the police department, one to take Lilly home to her parents and one to secure the scene.
Hotch passed the information onto the police on seen then drove the team back to the local PD where Rossi and JJ were waiting to hear firsthand what had happened. Morgan and Prentiss got out quickly and walked toward the PD doors, Reid began to follow them but Hotch stopped him.
"What you did back there was extremely dangerous" Hotch told him sternly.
"I know… I don't know what I was thinking" Reid said apologetically.
There was a long pause as Hotch stared hard at Reid. "Don't worry about it" He finally sighed. "I got Garcia to check if Desiree still lives in Las Vegas"
Reid immediately looked up at him for an answer. "Does she?" He asked with a mixture of excitement and anxiety.
"She lives two blocks from here… I called her and she's waiting inside for you" Hotch added with a smile as Reid's face lit up.
"Can I go see her now?" He asked as he took a step toward the door. Hotch nodded and Reid quickly jogged inside, asked at the desk and found the right room. He glanced inside through the window on the door and saw a blonde haired, blue eyed woman sitting unsure in a soft interview room. She wasn't like he'd imagined; she was better.
He took a deep breath then knocked on the door and slowly opened it. "Hi, I'm Doctor Spencer Reid" He introduced himself like he always did only realising his mistake after he'd spoken. "I'm Spencer" He corrected himself and gave his usual awkward half smile.
"What's this about?" She said with a nervous smile that was incredibly similar to Reid's.
"I, uh…" He said with a little hesitation as he wondered how to put it. "I'm your brother" He blurted out. "When you were seven you were abducted off a track in Mount Wilson… You were probably old enough to remember"
"My mom told she adopted me after my parents died in a car crash when I was seven?" Desiree replied with confusion painted on her face.
"She probably told you that so you'd accept her quicker… But your parents… our parents are still alive and living in Las Vegas" He explained as he studied her face, although he knew she was nearing forty she still looked like she was in her mid thirty's. "When did you last see her?"
"We had an argument when I turned eighteen and she kicked me out… When my dad died she sent me a letter telling me I was a bad daughter and not to bother showing up to his funeral" She answered with spite obvious in her voice when she talked about Joan. "Where are my real parents?" She asked and looked up at him, her eyes full of hope.
"Your dad isn't far from here" He forced out with his best attempt at a smile.
"You don't like him much, do you?" She said with a little smile as her body started to relax.
Reid laughed a little at her honesty. "I haven't spoken to him for three years" He answered with another awkward smile.
"What about our mom?" Desiree asked after a sympathetic and almost understanding smile.
"She's…" Reid began but he trailed off when he tried to explain. "She lives in Las Vegas… She used to be a college lecturer on 14th century literature" He said.
"Where is she now?" Desiree asked as she sensed something was wrong.
"She was institutionalized for paranoid schizophrenia" Reid explained quietly.
"Spencer, I'm not gonna run away, you know? You just told me my mom is actually a stranger who abducted me and that you're my brother…. If I was going to run away don't you think it would have been then?" She said with a little laugh.
Reid shyly laughed and nodded. "I guess so" He answered.
"Shoot" She said as a buzzing noise became audible and she began to search through her bag. "Sorry, it's my son" She said as she answered the phone and pressed it to her ear. "Hello? Yeah, I'll be home in a little while… No, I'll bring something home. Alright… bye" She said then hung up and pushed the phone back into her bag.
"Son?" Reid choked out as he stared at the bag.
"Yeah…." She said with a little smile. "I have a son and a daughter… Do you…" She hesitated then her smile got a little bigger and she cleared her throat. "Do you wanna meet them?" She asked.
Reid's face broke into a nervous smile and his head bobbed up and down. "That would be great"
As you can tell this chapter was a lot bigger than the last few I've written so I hope you enjoy it! Also, it would be great if you'd vote on the poll currently up on my page to decide on Reid's nephew and niece! If you've got any suggestions just send them over and I'll make them options for any future voters. The next chapter might not be up for a day or two simply because I'm really busy right now and I want to give everyone an opportunity to vote on the kids' names. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for all the reviews! :)