Disclaimer- I do not own CBS or Criminal Minds
LYSSA'S HOUSE
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17
"So Spence," Lyssa said as the two of them sat beneath a large oak tree out in her back yard, playing with Shiro-chan. "Are you getting together with your family for Thanksgiving or do you have to work?"
"Well," Reid said thoughtfully as he tossed a tennis ball for the dog. "I'll more than likely have to work that day, whether out of town or at Quantico, but I don't really have any family to celebrate with so it doesn't really matter. My Mom's in Nevada, after all, and she's pretty much all that I have."
Lyssa nodded. She knew about Reid's mother, that Diana Reid was a paranoid schizophrenic who lived in a sanitarium in Las Vegas. She also knew that the subject was painful for Reid, which made her feel guilty for bringing it up seeing as she had first hand knowledge of traumatic childhoods.
"You're like me," the young woman said quietly, reaching over and taking hold of Reid's hand. "I don't have any family close by although I think I have an aunt out there somewhere."
"You think you have an aunt?" Reid asked in confusion, slightly surprised that their discussion had shifted to the topic of Lyssa's family. She'd been avoiding that particular subject since the day that they'd met.
Lyssa nodded, a distant look in her vivid blue eyes. "My mom died when I was born and my father was an abusive bastard. I was taken away from him when I was seven years old and I spent most of my childhood in various foster homes."
"I'm sorry," Reid said quietly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
Lyssa shrugged. "You don't have to be sorry Spencer, it's okay, really.. It gets lonely sometimes not having a family but on the bright side the only one I have to please is myself. I have the freedom to be who and what I want to be without having to worry about disappointing someone. Plus I have my little Shiro-chan. . . and you."
Reid smiled slightly.
"Tell you what," Lyssa said, an idea coming to her. "If you're not out of town with the BAU on Thanksgiving you can come over here and I'll cook a meal for the two of us."
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"That seems like a lot of trouble for just two people," Reid said.
"Oh it won't be any trouble," Lyssa said with a smile. "I really enjoy cooking and YOU can do the dishes."
"Alright," Reid said, laughing softly to himself. "If I'm not away on a case then it's a date."
"Great!" Lyssa exclaimed as she tossed the slightly damp tennis ball for her dog for the fifteenth time. "And if you're out of town for Thanksgiving then I'll just cook for us when you get back. After all there's no law that says you can't cook a turkey on a day other than Thanksgiving."
"You have a solution to everything don't you?" Reid asked, slightly impressed by her planning.
"Yep," Lyssa said. "My teachers always said I had good problem solving skills."
"They were right," Reid said.
REID'S APARTMENT
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18
FOUR A.M.
Barely half an hour had passed since Reid had finally crawled into bed and he jumped slightly when his cell phone began to ring. Instantly wide awake the young man grabbed the phone off of the night stand and glanced down at the screen which was the only light in the pitch black room. The illuminated screen held the single word, Hotch.
Knowing that something bad must have happened for his boss to call him this early in the morning Reid quickly flipped his phone open. "Reid."
"We're meeting at headquarters in an hour," his boss' voice said over the phone, the tone as crisp and business-like as always despite the early hour. "We've got a case and it's a bad one."
"I'll be there."
Flipping his phone closed Reid got out of bed and, after a hurried shower, left his apartment for the headquarters of the FBI.
BAU HEADQUARTERS
AN HOUR LATER
The BAU profilers, along with Agent Jareau and Penelope Garcia, assembled in the conference room as soon as they arrived and all of them, with the exception of Hotchner, looked slightly more disheveled than usual. Their leader however was, of course, his usual flawless self. He was the last to enter the conference room and he closed the door behind himself as he did so.
"Thank you all for assembling so quickly," Hotchner said as his intense gaze surveyed the room. "A small town in North Dakota, Valley City, has seen a string of child abductions turned murder. In the past month three little girls have gone missing, their bodies typically being found about a week and a half after they went missing. JJ received a call from their police chief this morning saying that another girl was taken last night. They've requested our assistance so that hopefully this little girl can be brought home alive."
As Hotchner spoke Jareau opened a file folder embossed with the seal of the FBI and handed out a photograph of a small girl, appearing to be between the ages of three and five years old.
"Amilee Christian," Jareau said once everyone had a copy of the photograph. "Four years old. Abducted from a supermarket where she was shopping with her grandmother."
"Why would anyone want to hurt something so precious?" Garcia asked as she stared down at the pixie-like face of the missing child.
Hotchner shook his head; he had no answer for her question. "We have to find the UnSub as quickly as possible so that he doesn't have a chance to hurt this little girl. Wheel's are up in an hour."
This was Hotchner's usual cue for them to gather together their gear and the BAU profilers all quickly did so however instead of talking amongst themselves, like they normally did, they all grabbed their ready bags and returned to the conference room. Each team member quickly read through the case file, Reid finishing first of course, and then they began discussing what could have caused the UnSub to perpetrate this particular crime.
"The fact that the UnSub targets small children suggests two things," Reid said in his lilting, matter-of-fact manner, skimming through the case file one more time. "One; he has a need to feel powerful and in control and two; he doesn't have the strength and or the skills to target adults."
Morgan nodded. "There were no signs of sexual assault on any of the victims, which is unusual since the victims were all small girls. There were also no signs of injury on the three girls, save for the fatal one, the snapped neck."
"No one in the supermarket where the fourth victim was abducted noticed anything out of the ordinary the evening that she was abducted," Prentiss said. "They had no idea that something had happened to the child until the frantic grandmother came up to one of the registers screaming that she couldn't find her granddaughter. The organized a search and sealed off the store however the child was gone."
"That tells us that our UnSub is a smooth talker," Gideon spoke up. He had remained silent up until this point. He hadn't even greeted his colleagues when they'd arrived. "He managed to convince this little girl to leave the supermarket with him without causing a scene. The UnSub is a normal guy, possibly even part of the community. He belongs there, or at least he looks like he belongs there."
The door of the conference room swung open at this point. "Time to go," Hotchner said as he stuck his head in the door.
Silently the members of the BAU got to their feet, grabbed their things, and filed out of the conference room.
LEARJET
AN HOUR LATER
"You should all try to get some sleep," Hotchner told his team as they all settled in for the flight to North Dakota. "We start work on the case the moment the wheel's touch the ground."
The team members all nodded and most of them settled down to get what sleep they could before they arrived in North Dakota. Unfortunately for him Reid was wide awake so he pulled out his laptop and set it up on the small table that was in front of him. He knew that it was too early on the West Coast for Charlie to be online however he was hoping that Lyssa might be.
And luck was on his side.
FBI PROFILER: Good morning
MYSTIC WOLF: Spencer! What in the world are you doing up so early? Have you even been to bed yet?
Reid couldn't help but smile at her mother hen routine. She was always telling him that he needed to take better care of himself.
FBI PROFILER: Calm down. Yes, I went to bed but I received a call from Hotch at four this morning saying that we had a case.
MYSTIC WOLF: Oh. So where are you now?
FBI PROFILER: We just took off. We're on our way to a small town in North Dakota. I have no idea when I'll be back or for that matter when I'll have a free moment to email you so I just wanted to take this opportunity to talk to you.
MYSTIC WOLF: Good luck with your case Spence and if you need to talk about anything you can give me a call anytime. I don't care if it's two o'clock in the morning, if you need me, call me.
FBI PROFILER: Thanks Lyssa. I'll keep that in mind. So why exactly are you up at this hour?
MYSTIC WOLF: Force of habit. I have to get up really early for work and school Monday through Friday so on the weekends, when I actually have the opportunity to sleep in, I can't. It's maddening.
Reid couldn't help but chuckle softly to himself as he read through her little rant session.
FBI PROFILER: If it makes you feel any better I know exactly how you feel. I think the most sleep I've ever gotten at one time was six hours. I average about three or four.
MYSTIC WOLF: That's horrible Spencer. Why in the world would you think that would make me feel better? Contrary to popular belief misery does not love company. At least not in my case.
FBI PROFILER: I'm sorry Lyssa. I'll never do it again.
MYSTIC WOLF: You'd better not or you'll be in the dog house.
FBI PROFILER: That probably wouldn't be so bad. I've seen where the dog lives.
MYSTIC WOLF: Ah, my little Spencer has developed a sense of humor.
Reid paused, his hands over the keyboard, as he thought about what Lyssa had written. She'd called him HERS and strangely that made him feel good. Someone actually wanted him.
FBI PROFILER: Ha-ha
MYSTIC WOLF: Laugh it up, but just remember what they say about payback.
FBI PROFILER: I'll try to keep that in mind.
VALLEY CITY NORTH DAKOTA
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18
When the BAU profilers arrived in Valley City they quickly took their things to the motel where they would be staying while they were in North Dakota and then they met the chief of the local police department. Hotchner led the way inside the small town police headquarters, followed behind by Gideon and the rest of the room.
A slender, auburn haired woman was seated behind the front desk and she glanced up as the group walked through the front door. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked the group, not unkindly.
Hotchner held up his credentials. "I'm Supervisory Special Agent in Charge Aaron Hotchner. We're from the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI and we're here to see Chief Conway."
The woman nodded as she quickly got to her feet. "Wait here please and I'll be back in a couple of minutes." This said the receptionist rushed away, returning a few minutes later in the company of a tall, broad shouldered man who had dark, but slightly graying hair and intelligent gray eyes.
"I'm Chief Travis Conway," the man introduced himself as he extended his hand to Hotchner. "Thank you so much for coming."
"SSAIC Aaron Hotchner." Hotchner quickly introduced the rest of the team and Chief Conway shook each one's hand, with the exception of Reid who offered the man a small wave. "Is there somewhere we can set up?"
Chief Conway nodded. "We have our conference room set up for you. If you'll follow me."
The agents followed the police chief through the large front room of the station, down a narrow hallway and into a room that was just barely large enough to accommodate the group of profilers.
"I'm sorry about the size of the room," Chief Conway apologized as the group from the FBI entered the conference room and began to set up. "This is the largest room that we have."
"It's fine," Gideon said. "Don't worry about it. Have you gathered any new evidence since the last time we spoke?"
Chief Conway shook his head, looking slightly dejected. "We've followed several leads but none of them panned out. We're no closer to an answer than we were when I called Ms. Jareau."
"If you'll get us all of your case files we'll get started," Gideon said, not wanting to waste another minute. A little girl's life was on the line and the faster they sorted through the evidence and came up with a profile of the kidnapper then the better the chances were that they could bring her home alive.
Chief Conway nodded and quickly left the room. He returned about fifteen minutes later, carrying two large boxes stacked one on top of the other. The chief placed the two boxes on the table that was in the center of the conference room. "This is everything we've got."
"Thank you," Gideon said as he opened the top box.
Chief Conway nodded as he and the rest of the BAU team immersed themselves in the evidence and case files.
"Alright," Hotchner said as the police chief left the room, closing the door quietly behind himself. "Morgan and Prentiss, I want the two of you to work on victimology. Find out why each of these little girls was targeted. Reid, I want you to work on finding any similarities between the cases. Find out if there are any connections. JJ, you're in charge of making sure the local PD is kept up to speed on the progress of the case. Jason, I think you and I should visit the crime scenes."
Gideon nodded, showing his approval of the plan.
This decision made the group all set about their assigned tasks with Hotchner and Gideon leaving the conference room to request a ride out to the locations where the three bodies had been found from one of the local police officers. Gideon took the lead as the two senior agents left the conference room and he led the way back to the chief's office. The door was slightly ajar and Gideon knocked lightly on it.
"Come in," the chief called out as he glanced up from his paperwork.
Gideon and Hotchner both stepped inside the small office and Chief Conway said, "Is there something I can help you guys with?"
Hotchner nodded and Gideon said, "Agent Hotchner and I would like to take a look at the crime scenes. Can you spare an officer to show us the way?"
"Of course," Chief Conway said with a nod. He got to his feet and ushered the two FBI agents back out into the crowded front room. "Jones," he called out.
"Yes sir?" A young blonde woman quickly stepped over to the spot where the chief stood. Based on her appearance and mannerisms Gideon guessed that she'd been out of the police academy less than a year.
"Lacy could you please take these two gentlemen from the FBI out to the scenes where the three little girls were found?" Chief Conway asked.
"Of course sir," Officer Jones said, her voice filled with youthful enthusiasm.
"Thanks," Gideon said with a nod in Chief Conway's direction as he and Hotchner fell into step behind the eager young officer. Officer Jones led the way out to the small parking lot in front of the police station and up to a white Chevy 4-Runner with Valley City Police Department written on both sides. She climbed into the driver's side while Gideon took shotgun which left Hotchner in the back, something he was unaccustomed to.
"Now I know why Reid said he always feels like the unwanted kid brother who's been pawned off on an older sibling for the day," Hotchner thought to himself as he fastened his seatbelt, resolving as he did so to make sure that Reid occasionally had the opportunity to ride up front from now on.
The trio drove in silence and half an hour after they departed the Valley City Police station they pulled off the main road and made their way down a gravel road that led into a wooded area. Officer Jones drove for another quarter of a mile before pulling off to the side of the road and turning off the engine. She turned to face Gideon as she unfastened her seatbelt. "The first victim, Reagan Price, was found just on the other side of this embankment."
"Thanks," Gideon said as he and Hotchner both got out of the 4-Runner and the group made their way over to the spot where the first little girl had been found.
"The police report said that the child's body was found wrapped in a blanket," Gideon said as he and Hotchner surveyed the scene.
Officer Jones nodded. "Yea, a red and white checkered blanket. The kind you see families taking on picnics in the old movies."
Gideon nodded to show that he'd heard her and continued to walk around the small clearing. Then he turned to Hotchner. "Do you think the child was killed here?"
"It's almost impossible to say," Hotchner said, shaking his head ever so slightly. "There aren't any apparent signs of a struggle but the victim was a small child so. . ."
Gideon nodded once more.
The two senior profilers visited the other two crime scenes with Officer Jones however they didn't collect a whole lot of new evidence, much to their dismay.
"Are you ready to head back to HQ sir?" Officer Jones asked as Gideon and Hotchner walked back over to the SUV.
Gideon nodded. "Yea. I think we've learned everything there is to know about these crime scenes."
Officer Jones nodded and without another word the police officer and the two FBI agents climbed into the SUV and made their way back to the Valley City Police Department. When they arrived Officer Jones went back to work while Gideon and Hotchner rejoined their team in the conference room.
Hotchner shook his head. "Unfortunately no. Everything we learned from the scenes was already in the police reports. All three girls were killed somewhere else, wrapped in red and white checkered blankets, and then moved to the scenes where they were found.
"The bodies of the victims were carefully laid out," Reid said quietly in his lilting, matter-of-fact manner. "That means that the UnSub felt some level of remorse after he killed them."
"So he feels bad about what he's doing," Morgan said. "And yet he continues to do it. Why?"
"That is the million dollar question," Hotchner said.
VALLEY CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21
The BAU team had been investigating the string of kidnapping turned murders for the past four days and they'd finally come up with a suspect who could be linked to all four of the victims in the case. It had been Reid, with the help of Garcia, who had made the connection between all the children and a local social worker named Marty White.
"Let's pay Mr. White a visit," Hotchner said, gathering together his team along with Chief Conway and several members of the Valley City PD. The group all donned bullet proof vests, the BAU's emblazoned with FBI while the Chief Conway's and the rest of his officers' read Valley City PD. They all covered the Kevlar with windbreakers and then set out for the suspect's house.
When they arrived at Marty White's house Hotchner and Chief Conway took the lead, their weapons drawn, followed behind by the rest of the team. The law enforcement officials made their way across the yard slowly and methodically and when they reached the front door Chief Conway nodded to Hotchner who nodded back before knocking on the door. "FBI! We have a warrant! Open Up!"
After waiting the mandatory length of time Hotchner and Chief Conway gave each other a look before Hotchner kicked in the door. The two lead agents entered the house while the rest of the team fanned out to secure the rest of the perimeter.
Holding his gun out in front of him, Special Agent Spencer Reid made his way around to the back of the house. At first glance the back yard appeared empty however, just as Reid was preparing to declare the scene clear, he heard a strange sound.
The sound of a small child laughing.
Raising his service weapon back up to the ready position Reid carefully made his way toward the sound. As the agent stepped around a large clump of bushes he came upon an unusual sight; a man sitting on a red and white checkered blanket with a small girl sitting across from him.
The man's back was turned toward Reid however the child was facing him and she offered the FBI agent a smile. "Did you come to join our tea party too?"
The man whirled to face Reid, holding up a gun as he did so.
"I'm with the FBI Mr. White," Reid said in a quiet tone of voice. "Put down the weapon and no one has to get hurt."
Marty White made a move like he was going to put down the gun but then he spun around with an agility that Reid wasn't expecting and grabbed the little girl around the waist. "Back off man. Back off or she dies."
Reid instantly picked up on the desperation in the tone of Marty White's voice and he quickly dropped his gun, not wanting to provoke the suspect. "Calm down."
Marty White was nervous and agitated, as was evident by the jerking movements of his hands, one of which held the little girl, the other held the gun.
"You don't want to hurt this little girl," Reid said quietly, hoping to keep the suspect occupied until someone from his team found them. "I know you don't want to hurt her so why don't you let her go?"
"I can't," the man choked out, tightening his grip on the child that he held in his grasp. "If I let her go then she'll get hurt."
"Who's going to hurt her Marty?" Reid asked, confused.
"They were all hurt," Marty said, completely ignoring Reid's question. "I saved them. I only wanted to save them."
At that moment Reid lifted his gaze from Marty White and watched as Morgan and one of the Valley City police officers slowly made their way up behind the suspect.
"Don't move," Morgan warned as he touched the back of the suspect's head with his gun. "FBI. Marty White, you're under arrest."
With surprising strength and agility the suspect elbowed Morgan in his bad knee. The FBI agent fell to the ground and the suspect turned back to Reid, a look of betrayal in his eyes. He released his hold on the child before raising his gun and firing two shots, both of which struck Reid in the chest. The young profiler fell to the ground.
"SON OF A BITCH!" Morgan exclaimed as he tackled the suspect and pulled the gun from his hand.
The bushes rustled as Hotchner, Gideon and the rest of the group ran up to the scene.
"REID!" Gideon exclaimed as he dropped to his knees at the young agent's side.
"I'm. . . okay," Reid gasped as he struggled to sit up.
Gideon pulled the young agent to a sitting position and quickly pulled back his windbreaker, revealing the bullet proof vest that Reid wore. Both rounds were embedded in the vest and Reid slowly pulled one of them free. The young profiler stared down at the bullet that would have ended his life had it not been for the vest.
Chief Conway grabbed Marty White by the arms and as soon as the suspect was pulled away Morgan walked over and knelt down beside Reid and Gideon. "Are you okay kid?"
"I'll live," Reid said, wincing due to the pain in his ribcage. "Although it's going to be uncomfortable to breathe for a little while."
"Come on Reid," Hotchner said, offering the young man his hand. "Let's get you to the hospital to get checked out."
"That's not necessary Hotch," Reid said as he took his boss' hand and allowed Hotchner to pull him to his feet. "I'm fine."
"I know," Hotchner said, his tone firm. "But it's SOP in this situation."
LEARJET
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22
The BAU team had packed up and left Valley City as soon as Reid was cleared by the emergency room doctor and most of them were now trying to catch some sleep, something they hadn't gotten much of while they'd been working the case.
"Why don't you try to get some sleep Spencer?" Gideon asked as he sat down in a chair across from Reid.
"I'm not really tired," the young man replied. "Than man actually thought he was saving those girls by killing them."
Gideon nodded, knowing that this case would haunt the young profiler for awhile. During his interrogation Marty White had admitted his motive for abducting and murdering the young girls. All four families had been investigated by child protective services on accusations of violence and all had been cleared. White had killed the children to spare them further pain.
"You should get some rest," Gideon said.
"I'll try," Reid said softly.
Gideon got to his feet and, after briefly placing his hand on Reid's shoulder, made his way back up to the front of the jet. With a sigh Reid debated attempting to sleep however deep down he knew that it wasn't going to happen so instead he pulled out his laptop. The young profiler had every intention of emailing Lyssa and telling her that they'd have to cancel their plans however when he logged on he discovered that Lyssa was online.
MYSTIC WOLF: Spencer! I've been waiting to hear from you. How's the case coming along?
FBI PROFILER: We solved the case and because of that a little girl was reunited with her parents.
MYSTIC WOLF: That's wonderful! So that means you'll be coming back home to Virginia right?
FBI PROFILER: We're in the air as we speak.
MYSTIC WOLF: You're coming over later right?
FBI PROFILER: I don't know Lyssa. This case was really rough and I'm tired. I was thinking that I'd go back to my apartment and catch a nap.
MYSTIC WOLF: Come on Spencer. You can sleep at my place. I've really been wanting to see you.
FBI PROFILER: Alright I give. I'll come to your place when we get back.
MYSTIC WOLF: Great! I'm looking forward to seeing you Spencer. See you soon. Love you!
Lyssa logged off her instant messenger at this point, leaving Reid to sit and ponder what she'd written. She'd written 'Love you' and that made Reid's heart pound.
LYSSA'S HOUSE
LATER THAT DAY
When Reid pulled up to Lyssa's house he was surprised to see her standing on the porch awaiting his arrival. He found this extremely odd since he hadn't given her an ETA, he'd just told her that he'd come by when they got back in town.
"Hey Spence!" Lyssa called out as she ran down to the car to meet him. She threw her arms around him in an excited hug. "I missed you."
"Ah!" Reid exclaimed as her body pressed against his sore ribs.
Lyssa immediately released her hold and stared up at him in concern. "What is it Spencer? I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry."
Reid held up his hands. "It's no big deal. Just a couple of bruised ribs."
"What happened?" Lyssa asked.
"Well to be completely honest with you I was shot," Reid said and watched as her eyes widened. "But I was wearing a vest so I'm only slightly bruised."
"Come inside and you can catch a nap," Lyssa said grabbing him by the hand.
Reid allowed himself to be led into the house, where he stretched out on the sofa although he was fairly certain that his insomnia was back in full force. However, despite Reid's doubts, soon after he lay down on the sofa he was sound asleep.
Lyssa went about her usual household chores while Reid slept however she jumped slightly when her boyfriend sat up on the sofa, screaming. "Spencer!" Lyssa quickly crossed the room and sat down on the sofa, pulling him into her arms. "It's okay Spencer, you're safe."
Reid's breathing gradually slowed as his awareness came back to him and he realized where he was. His first instinct was to pull away from her embrace however that urge passed quickly and Reid allowed Lyssa to hold him.
TBC. . .
A/N- Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took longer than usual to update but I had some trouble with this chapter. FYI- SOP stands for standard operating procedure and ETA stands for estimated time of arrival I love acronyms!