As always I do not own the rights to Criminal Minds, CBS, ABC and their affiliates. This is a fictional story for entertainment purposes only. All Original Fictional Characters are of my imagination and any resemblance to living or deceased individuals is purely coincidental. Do not use any or all parts of this story without prior permission from the writer.

Buried Beneath Still Waters

Chapter 2

The walk through town was uneventful and didn't hold much interest for her. She loved living here, the town held a very special retreat that Ryan Miller, discovered one afternoon while investigating a disturbance call. The disturbance was never found, but instead she had unearthed the path through the trees that led to the lake. Since that fateful day she has explored this area often. Ryan loved to be here at dawn more than any other time of the day. It was new and fresh, before anything in her life would cause her stress and discomfort. Here she could forget the past, ignore the present and focus on the future. She left Tampa with hopes that this job would be less stressful and she could plan on living the way she wanted. That was not to be. Sure she didn't have the case load she had back then, but being the only female cop on the force made her life a bit difficult. She had to prove herself here long ago, and at times she still faced questions about why she left Florida and a career to come here and have a job.

Rumor had it that she couldn't handle being a Crime Scene Investigator, that, what she saw in Florida was too much for her. It wasn't the gore or all the horrible things people did to one another, as was thought by the men on the force. The truth was the sheer volume of cases, and what it did to her life, that was what had taken its toll. She had watched her life go from happy and content to longing and lonely. She used to have a slew of friends and even dated on occasion. But as time went on and the job changed her, she found people outside of her department slowly ebbed out of her life. Always being on call meant she couldn't have much of a social life. And when she did, she couldn't relax, always wondering when the next call would come in. Unfortunately killers didn't take vacations and it seemed to be never ending. She was tired of the late nights of murder after murder after murder. It drained the life out of her. Five long years on that job had left her jaded. She was happy for the most part in the beginning, her friends were her co-workers and they were more like family. But as time wore on Ryan had begun to feel lonely in a crowd as if something was missing. She realized she wasn't alone; the majority of the men and women she worked with were single or divorced. It hadn't sat right with her that she could be facing a life without a family, or someone to love. The seed of doubt had been planted and with each late night call and every senseless murder investigation, Ryan had grown weary, longing for something more.

The final straw had come one early morning and that case still haunted her. A mother of three murdered her children and then killed herself, for no apparent reason. There wasn't any evidence to suggest anything other than she had snapped, gone crazy and killed them all. After hours of pouring over the scene and looking for any evidence that this was more than a murder suicide, finding nothing, Ryan was ready to give her report to the lead detective. She was familiar with him, having worked countless cases together. He remarked that he saw her more than he saw his wife. Ryan knew that it was meant to be a joke but there was more truth in that statement then he carried to admit. That was it; she applied for and got the job here. She never looked back, except for the haunting memory of those children.

Round trip from her front door it was a five mile walk, two and a half of it spent inside the woods. She loved it, gave her time to think, to reflect back and look forward to what her life would eventually be. As she passed the large flag poles at the entrance of Memorial Park, she could hear the metal ties clanging against the pole as the flags whipped in the wind. High above the poles the tops of pine, maple and oak trees swayed in the breeze, rustling and sending the scent of woods through the air. She inhaled deeply. She couldn't be happier with this part of Virginia, it was home and she would not trade it for the world.

The path wasn't visible unless you knew it was there. It wound through the trees, over a runoff stream and down into a deep crevice that had been a creek from a natural spring, which had run dry. In the summer when the rain would get heavy, this gully would fill making passage impossible. The other end opened at the lake. This place was always changing, although it appeared to stay the same. The leaves coming and going, the snow that at times never quiet made it to the forest floor, the undergrowth and the wild life rearranging the direction of the path. This was her private heaven. She looked forward to coming here each morning and nothing was going to stop her.

She walked on, the darkness never bothered her. She knew every part of this wood and the lake. It was her home and she had explored every inch of it claiming it as her happily ever after. That was what she wanted, a happy ending, a family, a good job, a loving man. Had she stayed in Florida none of that would be possible. The sky was slowly turning a shade of pink and predawn dew turned to frost on everything. The air was crisp clean and she inhaled deeply. Although her nose was cold, the rest of her body was warm from the walk and insulated clothing she wore. In a few more weeks with spring fast approaching the temperature would be warm enough to forgo the jacket.

She stepped over the fallen tree, her excitement level rising. Soon she would be into the clearing and she would see it full on. Before the trees bud and the leaves block her view she would get glimpses of the Cabin off in the distance. That place was the root of her fantasies. She imagined a husband loading firewood on the side of the house, children playing on the grassy knoll by the dock. She pictured the boat tied there and the fishing excursions they would have. She thought of the time before the babies would come when passion was high. How she would spend countless nights naked in front of the fire place. She envisioned picnic tables on the grass, checkered table cloths, fried chicken, lemonade, and watermelon, family and friends gathered, late night fireworks displays over the water, bonfires and s'mores. Each time she saw this wonderful place she pictured her life there happy and in love. She stepped out into the clearing and something caught her attention, smoke! "Oh God the cabin is on fire!" Ryan ran to it as fast as she could. A man, tall and thin stumbled on to the porch coughing and gasping for breath. He bent over the railing hacking loudly and Ryan worried if he was going to be alright. She ran the remaining fifteen feet to the wooden steps.

Ryan put her hand on the railing as she took the steps two at a time. "Are you ok?"

Spencer was gasping for breath, barely managing to say "Yes."

Smoke poured from the open door making it hard for Ryan to see inside. Surprisingly she didn't see a fire other than the one in the hearth.

Spencer gagged over the railing, violent heaves racked his body and he didn't think he would be able to stay conscious. He felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen, but he could do nothing to save himself, except cough up a lung, grasping the railing leaning into it heavily to keep from falling. She seemed to appear from nowhere. He was confused about that, but he couldn't focus on it because right now all he could think of was not dying. He looked over his shoulder in time to see her duck inside. He wanted to tell her no, instead a coughing fit took over and Spencer emptied his stomach into the dirt.

Ryan returned a moment later with a glass of water. Spencer was grateful she was not party to his vomiting. Slowly his coughing was subsiding and he was able to stand up a bit. He remained at the railing just in case.

"Here sip this." She handed him the glass.

He coughed some more, it was painful and his eyes watered. When he could manage he took a mouthful, spitting it over the railing. He then took a sip he swallowed, barely getting it down before hacking.

She took his arm, helping him to sit on the bench to the right of the door. He put the glass to his lips once more. His hands were shaking and he struggled with connecting the glass to his mouth. Ryan reached out, wrapping her hand around his steadying it. It was getting brighter as daylight moved into the area. She could see him clearly now. He was indeed tall, thin, lanky even. His hair was collar length, shaggy looking with a natural curl, light brown, she could imagine if he stayed in the sun for a few days it would become the color of wheat. She had an urge to tousle his hair, maybe run her fingers through it, and push it away from his face. His eyes were red rimmed and she could see petechiae under his eyes from coughing, but his face was quickly losing the flush of red that gagging had given him. His lips were a healthy shade of pink which made Ryan grateful. He wasn't having any residual effects from the smoke with his breathing. Still she worried what damage it could have done to his windpipe.

"Take a few more sips of that, I am going to call for help. Do you have phone service inside?"

"No…" Spencer croaked. His voice was horse and cracked. He cleared his throat after taking another sip of water. "Yeah, uh no I have phone service but I don't need help, thanks." He cleared his throat a few more time and when he spoke again it was clear, slightly on the raspy side. "I'm ok, really I am. I don't know what I was thinking; I could have sworn the flue was open."

Ryan understood she had done the same thing once causing much of the same results. "I'm still concerned about the smoke inhalation, and would like you to get checked."

"I'm fine, really I am." Reid protested. His glass was empty and he felt like he could not keep his throat moist enough. He started to stand and she anticipated what he was going to do.

"Wait here, I'll get you some more water. It's still very smoky in there." Ryan disappeared into the cabin. A faint haze hung in the air but it was getting better. She quickly dialed Sally Anne's phone number asking her to come out there. Sally Anne worked at the hospital in the emergency room, if anyone could convince this man to seek medical attention it was that woman.

Ryan refilled the glass taking a quick peek around the room. This was the first time she had been inside of it and her fantasies could not match the reality, it was more beautiful than she imagined. It wasn't extremely fancy; in fact it was rather plain. But she loved it anyway, the right balance of modern with rustic. The fire place in the center of the long wall creating a glow in the room that made her heart flutter. The granite counter tops had the feel of expensive state of the art kitchen facility, and yet the table was antique plank wood that seemed to have been around for decades. A bowl of reddish green apples were centered on the table creating a "living" focal point. Men's hiking boots were lined up next to a pair of plastic flip flops and a pair of running shoes. Above them on peg hooks were a flannel jacket and a baseball hat. Through an open door Ryan could see the bedroom, the wood footboard of the bed and a blue plaid comforter. Ryan turned towards the door, ready to take the glass of water to him when she saw him standing in the door way watching her. He had both hands on the door frame and he blocked most of the opening. A thought occurred to her, 'I have no idea who he is.'

"I'm sorry I was just admiring the room. It's very beautiful." She extended her hand to him, "I'm Officer Ryan Miller of Bath County PD"

"Spencer Reid…" He was going to say more but he heard the distinct sounds of tires on the gravel out front, and then a car door. So this is why she took so long to get him water, she called an ambulance. Reid was annoyed and he looked at Ryan accusingly. "I told you…" He coughed deeply, "…that I…I don't need help."

A/N Special thanks to CSK for helping me with the forensic aspects of the case. Without you Crime Scene Kelly my case would be a bunch of fabricated foolishness. From the bottom of my heart a very big thank you for your time and effort!

Thanks to all of you who are out there proof reading, giving me suggestions and helpful hints. And to you the reader for your reviews and your continued support!