A/N: Yosh! I was able to deliver another Wednesday update, after all. (grins) Hooray?

First things first, of course. THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for all your amazing reviews and listings! You guys really love this story, huh? (GLOMPS) You can't even imagine how happy your support has made me. So thank you!

Awkay… (gulps) Because the best way to reward your affection is to get to business, let's rock. I REALLY hope that this turns out to be a good ride!

Waltz With the Devil

/ Anton Silas had never been one of those people who hated what they couldn't understand. If anything the unknown allured him. And he most certainly didn't understand Spencer Reid.

Anton had a temper that spun out of control far more often than he would've liked and he could tell that it scared Spencer sometimes. Yet the genius kept coming back to him. Time after time. A bruise after a bruise. Even though there were days when Anton could almost smell just how badly the younger man hated him. He couldn't understand and didn't ask.

Amusingly enough, that fling was the closest thing to a relationship he ever had.

Yes, Anton had a temper. And Spencer, albeit definitely a very interesting creature, had his limit. One day it was crossed.

The smell of intimacy was thick in the air when he opened his eyes to discover that Spencer was getting dressed. "Hotch called while you were asleep", the genius explained in a slightly tight voice. The man's mind was probably a million miles away. "We've got a new case. I'll have to get to the jet in half an hour."

Anton watched for a moment, musing, and couldn't resist the temptation. "I wonder, sometimes…", he murmured in a quiet, almost lazy tone that might've fooled most. He was sure that his companion detected the threat. "What would your team say if they knew that you're sleeping with someone like me?" He smirked at the flash of fire in Spencer's eyes. He didn't know anyone else who looked quite as tempting when crossed. "Perhaps I should meet them, one day."

Spencer wasn't a violent person, at all. (Hell, Anton was surprised that such a person had actually taken lives.) But at that very moment Anton crossed a line.

The fist was right there before either one of them could see it coming. But unlike Anton Spencer didn't aim at a person. The limb slammed at the wall right next to Anton's ear with such force that it was a miracle none of the tiny bones were fractured. Spencer's eyes were flaming when they burned into his.

"Never…", Spencer hissed in a voice he'd never heard before. (Had the genius even ever produced such a sound?) "… talk about them again. Ever."

Anton couldn't stop the smile from appearing to his face. He reached out and touched Spencer's face although it broke a yet another boundary, determined to remind who was in charge. "Well how about that… And here I thought that you wouldn't be able to surprise me anymore." He growled and pushed the younger man far from gently back to the bed, determinedly turning the tables. "Just so you know… Going against me like that can be very dangerous, no matter how arousing I may find it."

A fist was swung his way. Anton caught it so easily that the killer couldn't help chuckling a little bit, shaking his head. "My gosh, you're something else…!"

Spencer's eyes were still narrowed but not as furious. Not even nearly as dangerous. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep you away from my family. To protect them."

Anton sighed, leaning closer. His lips tingled when he lay them against Spencer's, then whispered. "Well, it means that we do have something in common, after all. Because I, too, am willing to do whatever it takes to keep my family close." His eyes burned when they looked into Spencer's. "But just so you know… You, my dear, are my only family. And I'll never, ever let you go."

Spencer breathed hard, looking at him with smouldering eyes. Stared but didn't speak even a single word. Neither of them was willing to bend.

The sound of Spencer's cell phone cut the thick silence that followed. Anton gave a treacherous, sweet smile that revealed a little bit too many teeth. "Do pick up, pretty boy."

Spencer swallowed, feeling dizzy, out of breath and about a million other things. It took a mighty moment before he was finally composed enough to find his voice and pick up. "Spencer Reid."

"Um… Hello. This is Dr. McCoy. I'm calling to inform you on some test results that just came in. I believe that we've discovered why you fainted yesterday. Is this… a bad time?"

YES! "No. What is it?" Spencer felt very cold all of a sudden. In full truth he really, truly didn't want to know.

Dr. McCoy was quiet a lot longer than he would've liked before speaking tentatively. "You can interrupt me at any point if this is too much to take in, alright?" There was a torturous pause. "As you already know your anatomy is… exceptional. Still, no doctor could've predicted that this could be possible."

Spencer was squeezing the cell phone so hard that it hurt. For a second or two he was sure that he'd pass out. NO! No, no, no… "So… You're saying that I was right?"

"Yes." The doctor sounded baffled and confused. "Dr. Reid… I don't have the slightest clue of how your body managed to perform this miracle, despite its… unique traits, but… Congratulations. You're pregnant."

Anton watched with a arched eyebrow and a great deal of curiosity how Spencer took off all of a sudden, dropped his cell phone while bolting to a run. Soon he heard the man throw up.

This… might just turn out to be something interesting. /

As soon as Aaron woke up he had a feeling that something was horribly wrong. The feeling only grew stronger when he discovered that Spencer wasn't there by his side. Dangerously close to a panic attack he dashed downstairs, hoping that he wouldn't end up awakening Jack. What he found confirmed all of his fears.

A letter.

Goddamnit, Spencer…! For a genius…!

For the longest time Aaron – a long term FBI agent and a unit chief, a former prosecutor – could only stare. Stare with wide, half glazed over eyes. For a while nothing but the pain underneath his ribcage made sense to him.

Then Aaron shook his head. At whom he didn't have the slightest idea. "No", he growled, both fists balling. "I'm not going to read your letter. I'm going to bring you home, whatever it takes, so that you can say whatever you wrote out loud." With that he walked away, hiding the letter deep into the corner of a cupboard.

True, Aaron didn't read the letter. But the undiscovered words Spencer had written kept burning his mind, made his skin ache like someone had set him on fire that wouldn't die out.

'Dear Aaron,

You have no idea of how sorry I am that I had to leave this way. In secrecy, without talking things through properly first. I need you to believe that I would've done things – a lot of things – differently if I'd had the chance. I wish that I wouldn't have to hurt you and Jack.

I've made a lot of mistakes. Now some of them have almost claimed the lives of those I care about the most. I can't endanger you any longer, not anymore. I'd never be able to live with myself if something happened to any of you because of this nightmare. That's why I'm doing whatever is necessary to end this.'

Spencer, of course, knew that his team would figure out where he was sooner or later. He could only hope that he had enough time to avoid meeting them before he'd get the chance to meet Anton alone. He wasn't planning on risking their lives all over again.

It was chilling to sit in the café knowing exactly what was approaching, in the middle of a rather large amount of laughing and smiling people who were focused on their own things. A young father was feeding a baby that couldn't be older than four months and Spencer couldn't stop his thoughts from wandering towards Lucia. His throat felt choked and no amount of swallowing was enough to remove the blockage.

What the hell was he thinking, doing this? What if he was making a huge mistake? What if he'd never…?

"After that little stunt of mine I had a feeling that you might call out to me." Anton's voice didn't carry even a hint of emotion. A cool hand brushed his hair. "My apologies for agent Pavlov and your father. But I had a lesson to teach."

Spencer's eyebrow bounced up. It was nearly impossible to look away from the baby he stared at before Anton's arrival. "For them or for me?"

"Both, if you want me to be honest." The finger that ran down his neck left no room for questions. Somehow it felt harder than any kick or punch. "I'm glad that you decided to learn your lesson before running out of family members."

Spencer fought the bitter snort that wanted to slip right out. "Yeah… I've learned my lesson alright." Slowly, abandoning the coffee he'd barely even touched, he got up, stepped closer to Anton's unwanted warmth. "We need to get going, right now. It's only a matter of time before my team gets here. I'm not going to give you another excuse to hurt them."

Anton shrugged, giving him a long look that was impossible to decipher. "As you wish, pretty boy. My car is right outside."

Sure enough, Spencer saw the dark vehicle as soon as they stepped outside – as did anyone else walking by, for the matter. (For some odd reason he noticed how one middle-aged man chose to ogle at the car instead of two very attractive women who walked right by.) They didn't get in immediately, though. A rough hand grabbed his wrist.

Spencer knew that he had very little choice over what was about to happen next. All he could do was to try and survive. That's why…

His lips met Anton's, sealing the man into a kiss that tasted a little bit too much like poison to his liking. Firm, possessive hands held him and he could've sworn that he felt a grin. Greedy teeth bit him, hard enough to make him hiss.

'Mine.'

If Spencer could've he would've bitten back, with all his might. But as it was there was fairly little he could do. Now wasn't the time for defiance.

As soon as Anton felt that they'd given a good enough show the man pulled away with a smirk, ran a hand down his cheek. Those eyes seemed to see far too much. "I'm never, ever letting you forget who you belong to again." Before Spencer could even react the killer was all but dragging him towards the vehicle. He could've sworn that the murderer's touch burned him to the bone.

Anton, of course, couldn't resist making the burn marks deeper. "And in case it crosses your mind to try something… I've placed two bombs to locations that I'm keeping to myself for now. If you do anything stupid they'll go off."

The last glimpse of freedom Spencer got was that of the baby in the café.

'Lucia's safe. That's the one good thing about all this. I took her to a very old friend and right now all I can do is hope that I did the right thing. I would've wanted her to stay with you but this was safer for all three of you. I've made sure that you'll get her back into your arms when this is all over. Biology doesn't matter. She's as much your child as she is mine.

Please, tell Jack that I'm sorry. I didn't leave him a letter because I've sworn that I'll be a better man than my father was. I want him to know that I love him, and that no matter what happens I'll never, ever leave him. Not really.

Right now the dream that one day the four of us can be together once more is the only thing keeping me sane.'

Three weeks rolled by faster than the shocked, disappointed and angry team managed to keep track. Three weeks, without a single hint of Spencer or Anton. They couldn't help the nauseating feeling that the silence was a good sign. As long as there were no bodies left behind there was a chance that Spencer was alive and well.

A fool's hope is always better than none at all.

As much as they hated it Strauss made sure that life went on, even without Spencer. Just like it did for over six months in the past that felt distant already. Cases followed one another, leaving them with very little time to keep tracking down Anton. A family after another gained peace. Theirs never did.

After the barely tolerable heat of the south Aaron felt good when he got back home, for far more reasons than one. As soon as he opened the door running steps could be heard. In a matter of seconds he had his arms full of a very excited Jack. "Daddy!"

Aaron couldn't help smiling, no matter how much it pained him to discover that during his absence even the scent of Spencer had vanished from the house. "Hey, buddy. You have no idea of how much I missed you."

"I missed you too, daddy." Finally letting go of him Jack glanced towards the empty space behind him, searching. Disappointment was loud and clear.

Feeling his chest and stomach twist painfully with sorrow Aaron sighed. I know the feeling. "He'd be here if he could. You do know that, right?" He went on after a tiny nod. "Don't worry, we'll find him."

In all, full honesty he couldn't tell if Jack was close to laughing or crying while shaking his head. "No you won't, daddy. Uncle Spencer's really good at hiding." Ah, that was definitely a smile. "But don't worry. He's still with us – he'd never leave us, not really. He told me so."

Those were, quite possibly, some of the saddest words Aaron had ever heard his son utter. His mouth opened but in the end all words died out. What the hell was he supposed to say?

Jack didn't allow the silence to continue for too long. "Daddy?" The child's nose wrinkled. "I'm sorry, but you smell. You need to shower."

Aaron laughed. It came so unexpectedly that it startled him. "Yeah, I know, buddy. Why don't you go and find us some ice cream? We could treat ourselves with some when I've washed up."

Jack, visibly excited, didn't hesitate for even a second before dashing into motion. Aaron took a deep breath (good lord, he did reek!), then took a step towards the bathroom before his cell phone started ringing. He couldn't identify the number.

Aaron picked up with a frown, not quite understanding what was ushering him forth. "Agent Hotchner."

"I know that it's been a while, but… I need your help."

It took a moment. But then, with chilling certainty, recognition dawned. Aaron's eyes widened slightly. "You…?"

"I don't have a lot of time so I need you to listen carefully. Do you understand? A friend of mine is going to deliver you a package in exactly two minutes."

Aaron frowned. He was curious although a part of him screamed against all this. "What's in it?"

"Hopefully everything you need to stop Anton Silas."

'Don't come after us, please. You've all paid more than enough for all this mess. I don't know how but I'll finish this, once and for all. As soon as I have I'll try as hard as I can to get the chance to come back home to you.

Come what may I'll never lose the sight of what I'm fighting for. I'll never lose hope. Don't you dare do that, either. We both have too much to fight for.

I'll love you, forever and always. I've never said it before but I will now, just in case. I really hope that I'll get to say it to you out loud one day, when this is all over.

Love,

Spencer'

After weeks of traveling Spencer had withdrawn into a numb state of mind where he was able to pay attention to everything without feeling absolutely anything. Anton dragged him around, took him from one hideous hideout into another. When he tried to ask about his team the man only stated that they were still alive. That was all he was going to get.

Today something was finally happening. He was surprised and very unnerved when Anton took him along to a meeting. "We're meeting a new associate of mine", the killer revealed while knocking on the dark door of a house only sheer will kept standing. "I'm under the impression that you two know each other. This should be interesting."

Spencer never got the chance to ask before the door opened. His eyes widened to a dramatic extend and he was almost sure that his heart skipped a beat. Cold filled his body. No matter how hard he tried the sight before his eyes wouldn't disappear.

Elle Greenaway gave him a smile the kind he'd never seen before. "Hi Reid. It's been a while."

TBC

A/N: 'Thought the mess couldn't get any deeper? Think again. (sighs)

PLEASE, do leave a note! Let me know if this is going down the hill or towards the skies. It'd mean A LOT to me. (gives puppy's eyes)

Until next time, my dears! Perhaps I'll meet you there?

Take care!

Guest: Let's hope that they'll get to be together soon. This must all be killing them. (sighs) Awww, that real dad thought sounds so nice… (smiles fondly)

HUGE thank yous for the review!

Anon: Thank gosh she's safe, no? Let's hope that the rest of her family will be as lucky (Anton excluded…) (sighs) Oh, how pleased it makes me that you've enjoyed the chapters thus far so! Here's hoping that the next one won't fall flat on you.

Colossal thank yous for the heart warming review!