"…I'm really liking this story ;) You should all know that I just posted a preview to my next new story (should be up soon) called Stranded in the Desert. Thnx for reading everyone! I love you all…!"

White Light-Chapter 3

Anxiety

"Her name is Katelynn Michelle. She was found in the bathtub with the water filled to the brim and a toaster that was plugged into the socket in her hands." Prentiss said as Greg and Reid joined the group at the victim's house. "The bathroom's upstairs; Hotch and Rossi are in there right now."

"Thanks." Reid sighed. He hated that there was a man killing children who were just like him in his hometown. That struck a nerve for him, and he was honestly starting to regret not taking Hotch's offer to stay off the case.

Greg seemed to have noticed Reid's distress, and he put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to go up there."

"I do." Reid shook his head. "I appreciate that you care, honestly, but this is something that I have to do."

"Understandable." Greg nodded. With a sad smile, he started walking up the stairs. "So I heard you were some kind of genius, just like these kids. Maybe we can use that to our advantage…"

"Oh yeah? How?" Reid asked, his eyebrows raised.

"You can relate to these kids. You know how hard it would be for them to find someone to trust. I doubt they would confine in other kids, and I think we both know that if they had everyone in their school would know what they had discussed." Greg explained.

"So either the children talked to an adult or a kid. Either way, someone else other than their therapists could tell us something about the person in the letters." Reid nodded.

"Other than the therapist?"

"Yeah." Reid nodded. "Do you honestly think they would tell the therapist a secret they didn't want their parents to know? I know I never would have."

"You're right." Greg agreed. Then, he smirked a little.

"What?" Reid frowned.

"Look at us- we haven't known each other a day and we're all ready cracking this case. Damn, where's my supervisor when I need him?" Reid shared a quick laugh with Greg before they walked back into the crime scene.

"Oh my…" Greg whispered as he walked into the room. The site was horrible. Katelynn lay in the tub wearing a white dress and a red ribbon in her hair. Her eyes were open and staring right at them. Her nails were painted an aged red color, and her hands were burnt to a crisp. Greg couldn't take the image, and he fleeted from the room. Reid let out a shaky breath as he watched the man run from the room. In all honesty, he badly wanted to join the man. He knew he couldn't, though, so he sucked in his gut and joined the two older men.

"This is pretty bad." Hotch sighed. "The other victim poisoned themselves; Katelynn went to the extremes to kill herself."

"She's also younger." Reid nodded. "I heard that she was in the 9th grade, which also makes her smarter. Chances are she still wasn't developed emotionally, though. There's no way she could have handled it as well."

"Hey guys, we found a letter." Morgan said as he joined the group.

"Greg and I found one earlier, too." Reid nodded. "It's part of the UnSub's MO. He contacts the victim's through that letter and says that he's either the mother or the father, whichever the child seemed to prefer to say with during the custody battle. This makes me think that he's talked to the children before, like a trusted teacher. It wouldn't be the therapist, though."

"Why not the therapist?" Rossi asked.

"These kids are smart; they know that the therapist will tell their parents' what's wrong with them. They want to keep that a secret, and if they did tell a teacher, they probably think that would keep it a secret." Morgan supplied.

Morgan walked over to the body for the first time, and he cringed when he saw the damage that was done. Shaking his head, he got back up to his feet and stood next to Reid. He put a hand supportively on his younger friend's shoulder, knowing that the case had to be taking a toll on him. Everyone in the room noticed the action, but no one chose to comment on it. Instead, Hotch cleared his throat and got his team's attention back.

"We should head back to the station." He said. "We can discuss the case and put everything we have together and then head back to the hotel rooms." With a series of nods, they all started walking toward the door, but Reid hesitated. He glanced behind him one last time before shutting the door behind him.

~* WL *~

A few hours later, the team dragged themselves out of the police headquarters and into their SUVs. They had all ready made a rough profile of their UnSub and the victimology, but there was nothing else they could do until they had no information.

"Hey Pretty Boy, you bunking with me?" Morgan asked.

"Don't I always?" Reid mumbled.

"We can switch it up if you want…"

"No, I didn't mean it like that." Reid sighed. "I'm just….tired." Tired was an understatement. He felt dead on his feet, and he was almost positive he looked that way, too. Morgan chuckled before racing up to Reid's side. He dug his fingers into his hair and playfully messed up his less than perfect hairstyle.

"Yeah, I couldn't tell." He smirked.

"Jerk." Reid hissed.

"Leave Spence alone." JJ glared. She inserted herself between Reid and Morgan and started fixing the poor boy's hair. "Don't worry; we're almost inside." Reid just nodded and kept walking forward.

Finally, the team separated into their hotel rooms and prepared for a restless night of sleep. Morgan made fort in the bed closest to the window, while Reid took the closest to the door. While Morgan entered the shower, Reid quickly stripped his work clothes off and donned a pair of too-big sweat pants and a form-fitting shirt. He cuddled underneath the blankets and closed his eyes, but he still couldn't sleep.

'I wonder if Greg's okay.' He thought. 'He seemed pretty upset after seeing that girl…then again, we all were….'

"Hey, mind thinking a little quieter? I can practically hear your mind mumbling incoherent words over here." Morgan joked.

"Sorry." Reid sighed. He turned over in his bed and inwardly moaned. He knew that sleep wouldn't come easily tonight, and he wished that there were something he could do to change that. He was flat-out exhausted, but his thoughts kept rambling on in his head and he couldn't control them.

Morgan knew that the case was really starting to get to Reid, and as he tossed and turned in his bed, he knew there was something specifically that was bugging him. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep until he knew that Reid was okay, he sat up in his bed and called out to Reid. The younger man immediately sat up and gave Morgan his attention. "What's eatin' you, man?"

"The same thing that's 'eating' everyone else." He sighed. "I'm fine Morgan, honestly."

"Pretty Boy, you don't look or sound fine. Now stop lying to me and tell me what's really bothering you."

"It's nothing Morgan." Reid glared. "I'm just as 'okay' and 'fine' as you are."

Morgan huffed at that. "This is your hometown, Spencer, not mine. Cases in Chicago always hit me a little harder than the rest. Now tell me it's not true for you and Las Vegas!"

Reid was taken aback by the use of his first name, but he quickly recovered. "I think we should go to bed." He spat back. Then, he collapsed onto the bed and hid under the sheets. As childish as he knew he looked, his intention was to sleep under the sheets all night anyways, not to hide from Morgan. He was freezing, despite the heat of the Nevada desert-area. He almost felt the need to explain that to Morgan, but he decided against it last minute. Instead, he curled into himself and shivered, silently wondering why he was crying.

Morgan watched as Reid's form shivered underneath the blankets, and he frowned. Something was up with him, but he now knew better than to pry. Instead, he shoved his own blankets aside and wiped sweat from his forehead. As he closed his eyes, he was only slightly aware of the silent sobs coming from the other side of the room.

~* WL *~

Spencer woke up the next morning in a cold sweat. He was still freezing, of course, but now he was sticky as well. He moaned tiredly as he escaped the tangle of blankets he was trapped in and less than gracefully walked into the bathroom. His eyes darted to the mirror, where a sticky note laid in waiting on the glass.

Reid,

The Unsub contacted us. Hotch called us in. I told him you weren't feeling well so don't worry about it. I'll call you later to catch you up.

-Morgan

PS- Oh, and your dad called. You should call back- it seemed urgent.

Reid groaned as he read the letter. He didn't want to talk to his father, but if it was urgent, he knew he'd regret it later. For a brief second, he contemplated throwing it away and telling Morgan that it must've flown off, but he thought better of himself and decided to make the phone call…. after an extremely hot shower, that was.

Reid quickly grabbed a sweater vest and a white long-sleeved button-up and headed toward the bathroom. He threw the clothes down on top of the bathroom counter and started running the hot water. Just as he started to take off his pajama shirt, an image caught the corner of his eye, and he turned around. He gasped as he realized that he had just seen a person- a child, more accurately. As he turned around to face the child, his jaw hung open and his eyes became more wide than usual.

"Hello Spencer." Katelynn Michelle smiled.

"….No, Spencer is not the ghost whisperer ;) hehehe….Now, am I mean for ending it there or what? Thnx for reading; hope you liked it…!"