A/N: Yup, I'm baaaaack! And considering what kind of a situation these poor things are in the story not a moment too soon. (grins sheepishly)

First, of course! THANK YOU, so much, for all your fantastic reviews! Seriously, guys, you're amazing. (GLOMPS) If that amount of love wouldn't keep my writing spirit at the top nothing would.

Awkay… (takes a breath) This is always the most nerve wrecking part so let's get to it. 'Hope you'll find this one worth the wait!

From Birth to Death

/ The birth of a human being is always a dramatic experience. Especially for the one giving birth. Despite all his knowledge and intelligence Spencer hadn't been able to prepare himself properly for what was ahead of him.

With Anton out on a assignment Spencer was all alone, left into a bizarre, practically empty apartment who knows where. Night was already dark when he woke up to a intense pulse of pain. The pulse was quickly followed by another one, and another, and another. Each of them only a few minutes apart.

As realization dawned Spencer gasped, his hand moving to the slight bulge of his stomach. In a flash his head went through all the little options he had left. There was no way he'd get to a hospital on his own, not in his current condition and without knowing where he was – he'd been asleep when Anton dragged him here. The neighbors he possibly had probably wouldn't be a lot of help, considering the rough neighborhood he'd seen through the window. Anton had taken his cell phone so he wasn't even able to dial 911.

This… This was the absolutely worst of times – and over three weeks too soon. There was no way he'd be able to do this now. Yet the baby was coming and there was nothing he could do about it.

Deciding to act on his instincts and hoping, praying, for the best Spencer got up although it was the last thing he wanted to do and began pacing around, rubbing soothing circles on his stomach. The pain waving inside him made him hiss, gasp, groan and whimper but he kept moving, did whatever he could to find at least a hint of comfort.

"C'mon…", he murmured, the rubbing motions becoming harder as the flashes of pain intensified. Tears pooled into his eyes, more than a few rolled. "Don't be in such a hurry, little one… Please… Don't hurry."

The baby chose to ignore his pleas. Because right there, during the darkest hours of the night, he began to feel the need to push. Peeling off his pants from sweaty legs was harder than he'd expected, laying down without feeling like he'd been stabbed to death proved to be even more of a challenge. As he lay there on a painfully uncomfortable bed Spencer felt something trickling from his most private parts.

With the contractions reaching a brand new level his water broke, it seemed.

Struggling desperately to remember what he was supposed to do in this situation Spencer fought to focus on his breathing, used every ounce of his will to not pass out during the tidal waves of pain. He pushed whenever his body urged him to, gritting his teeth as hard as he could to keep himself from screaming, from alerting potentially dangerous people.

Spencer had no idea of how long the sheer torture lasted, how many times he'd been sure that he'd die right there and then, until he heard the most beautiful sound that'd ever brushed his ears. A cry, small yet so full of determination that it left nothing to be questioned. Moving right then was one of the hardest things Spencer had ever done but he did, desperate to see his child, to make sure that the baby was safe and alright. What he found made fresh tears roll.

There, right in front of his dazed eyes, was the most beautiful baby girl he'd ever seen. Still crying, tiny arms flailing in a search for comfort. Feeling dizzy and out of breath Spencer picked up the little one, ignoring the floods of agony even the simplest movements and the smallest of weight caused. As soon as she was safely in his arms the baby stopped crying and snuggled closer to his warmth.

Spencer's eyes watered all over again when he pressed a tender kiss to the newborn's forehead. Just as he pulled his lips further moonlight shone through the window, casting a nearly unearthly light on her. He swallowed, stroking her face with a gentle hand. "I'll keep you safe, Lucia. I promise." He held on to her even more tightly, the kind of love he'd never known before swelling inside his aching body. "Whatever it takes I'll make sure that he'll never, ever hurt you. You'll never have to be scared because of my mistake."

That's how Anton found them half an hour later, still joined and searching comfort from one another. It was impossible to read the secrets hiding in the man's eyes. /

In the bureau Aaron and David stared at the exact contents of the delivery that'd found its way to the unit chief's hands. Elle's phone call had been a surprise. This was something beyond.

Elle had been right. It included everything. Most of Anton Silas' targets and contacts. Information on the man's resources. Each and every hideout, all over the country and even abroad.

"We already know that he hasn't taken Reid out of the country. We would've found out", David pointed out, feeling the need to bring out at least something positive in the disheartening situation. "At least we know that much."

Aaron nodded stiffly, sharply. The unit chief's eyes had a haunted look in them. "Yes, but that still leaves twenty-two possible locations. Garcia's going through them, trying to find out if there's been any activity. Before she finds out something I don't think that there's much more we can do than wait."

David looked at his friend with a frown. The other man looked ready to blow up or grumble down right there and then. "We're going to get him back, Aaron. No matter how many rocks we have to turn to find that son of a bitch who took him we'll bring him home."

Aaron sighed, rubbing his face roughly with one hand. "I really hope that you're right, Dave. Because… Because we need to find him." The man swallowed loudly, staring at something one can only guess. "There's a lot I need to tell him."

David blinked once. Of course he'd seen the way his friend felt for their youngest but actually almost hearing it… He then smiled slightly. "I'm sure he knows all that already."

The haunted look didn't disappear. It took ages before Aaron managed to speak out once more. "I know he does. That's not the only reason why I have to find him."

David frowned, for once in his life throughoutly lost. Confusion dawned to suspicion. "Is there something you haven't told me?"

Aaron sighed, his shoulders slumping. Then spat out the words like they'd burned his mouth. "It's probably not my place to tell this, but… The morning after Spencer left I… I found something, from the bathroom's trashcan." The sharp inhale sounded unnaturally loud. "There was a positive pregnancy test."

David stared, stared and stared. Until finally… "What?"

The two couldn't possibly know that there were two pairs of ears listening in on them. Derek and Emily had been on their way to ask if they'd found anything when they – against their better judgement – stopped there to listen. Aaron's words and the revelation that followed sinking in Emily glanced towards Derek. What she found certainly wasn't what she'd expected.

Derek… looked like someone had kicked him. She'd never seen the kind of a expression that lingered on his face at that very moment. 'Shock' was nowhere near a word enough to describe it. The man's whole body was shaking.

She frowned. Would've brought a hand to his shoulder if she'd dared to. "Derek?" What the hell?

Derek wasn't listening. He turned without saying a word and walked away, leaving her wondering.

The house where Anton took Elle and Spencer was huge. A mansion, really. As it was neither paid much attention to the fancy setting.

Elle was just reaching out towards her pocket when Spencer barged into the room and closed the door, a confused look on his face. "Elle… What happened to you? What are you doing with someone like Anton?"

Shit…! She did not have the time for this. Her eyebrow bounced up. "I could ask you the same thing. Or am I supposed to believe that the Reid I knew would hook up with someone like him?"

Spencer exhaled. All of a sudden it was very easy to see just how much the boy she once knew had grown up. "I'm here to stop him."

She smiled wryly. "So am I. He's a valuable link to a lot of sick puppies that need to be caught but he's become too dangerous. He's gotten out of hand. The CIA ordered me to get rid of him. Tonight I'm about to seal the deal."

Spencer blinked twice. She saw him shiver. "You're going to kill him?"

Elle nodded. Somehow it saddened her to see no shock in the genius' eyes. The innocent soul she once knew would've been appalled by the thought of someone, no matter how evil, being murdered like that. "Yes. Soon this place is going to be full of CIA agents. If I fail there'll be a lot of chaos. I need you to be ready to finish the job if I'm not able to."

Spencer nodded, then began to move towards the door. Just before leaving he whispered once more. "Elle?" Those eyes she knew. So the person she walked away from wasn't gone forever. "I'm sorry, about what happened to you."

Elle could only nod, her breath stuck somewhere in her throat. "So am I", she murmured.

There was a one more long look that spoke a million things before he vanished. Somehow she already knew that it was the last time she ever saw him.

Elle took a deep breath that shuddered far more than she would've liked, then made sure that Anton wasn't anywhere to be seen before taking a tiny device from her pocket and switching it on. There was a brief flash of red when the device began to transmit signal. She'd been supposed to get Anton's hideout for the CIA. She'd done her share, now.

"I had a feeling that you might do something stupid to keep them from sending you to a jail for murdering that sick bastard." Anton's voice sent chills through her entire body. It didn't hold any emotions. It sounded… almost like the killer had been expecting this. "You're a silly girl, Elle. Betraying me and imagining that you wouldn't be caught."

Elle swallowed, shivering a little. The bitter taste in her mouth wasn't unexpected. "They'll be here soon, Anton. It's over."

"For you, maybe." There was a soft click. "But I still have quite a bit of things left to be done." Slowly, unwillingly, Elle turned towards Anton. A gun – a pitch black Colt with a silencer attached – was pointed directly towards her. There was nothing but cold hiding in the man's eyes. "Sweet dreams, Elle."

Elle breathed in deep, feeling deliriously calm. Knowing with absolute certainty that yes, it was definitely over. And there, in her last moments, she kept her focus on Anton's eyes.

When the bullet met the space between Elle's eyes her father was already there waiting for her, his arms wide open and a smile on his face.

Anton stared at Elle's dead form for a long moment, his expression never changing. Then breathed in and out easily. His eyes darted towards the door behind which Spencer would be found.

Spencer teamed up with the CIA to betray him. Then tried to hide that they were going to have a child. Then left, taking their daughter along.

It's like they say. Three strikes and you're out.

/ Anton had never, ever loved anyone in his entire life. Yet when he got a call that Spencer had passed out on his way back home from a case Anton felt a bang of responsibility. He dropped his current assignment for a while and made his way to the hospital, but didn't dare to approach the genius' room until he could be sure that no members of Spencer's team were present. The last thing he needed was an encounter with FBI-agents. It took ages before Spencer's doctor – a quite beautiful young woman with long, black hair and equally dark eyes whose nametag said 'Lopez' – managed to usher Aaron and Derek away.

Anton walked towards the doctor just before she had the time to enter the patient room. "Excuse me?" He gave her a sweet smile that would've melted just about anyone's resolve. "I was informed that Dr. Spencer Reid was admitted earlier today. How is he?"

Dr. Lopez frowned. He could've sworn that she took a step further. "Are you a member of family?" she demanded in a not exactly pleasant tone.

Anton managed to maintain the smile although he felt a sharp flare of irritation. If they'd been anywhere else… "I'm his fiancé."

The doctor blinked, even had the decency to appear embarrassed. "Oh." She went through the file in her hold. "Dr. Reid was slightly dehydrated, anemic and weakened by intense nausea. He should be fine in a few days, although I wouldn't recommend active duty in his condition. He's resting at the moment, which is for the best for both him and the baby."

Anton blinked. Once, twice. It was extremely difficult to surprise him. This woman managed to do just that. "I'm sorry, but what did you just say?"

Her eyes widened. "He… hadn't told you yet? I was aware that he doesn't want me to share these news with his team but…"

The irritation was burning Anton. But soon curiosity joined the mixture of stirring emotions. "No, I didn't know. Now tell me… How is it possible that he's in this condition?"

An hour later Anton stood in the room, watching as Spencer slept. His eyes strayed towards the still flat stomach and a devious grin made itself known. This was going to be very, very interesting… /

Spencer – who'd been preparing equipment – stiffened, his eyes widening. The cold that just came over him… It couldn't be natural.

When the room's door opened he turned around slowly, already knowing to expect bad news. There was a threatening look on Anton's face. "Did you honestly think that the two of you would get out of betraying me like that?"

Spencer took a breath, fighting the urge to take a step backwards. He glanced towards the empty space behind Anton, then towards the blood that'd sprayed to the man's shirt. Suddenly the world was a extremely cold place. He didn't even need to ask if Anton had… "Did she suffer?" he whispered, a bitter taste sitting on his tongue.

Anton's shake of a head didn't make him feel any warmer. "No. I never trusted her in the first place. Her crime wasn't very severe." It wasn't very hard to make the connections. He was out of luck. The power of that realization took Spencer's breath away.

Spencer's mouth went dry. He gave the other a tiny and shaky wry smile. "But mine is."

Anton smiled almost sweetly. The man was kissing him before he could even register the killer moving. A hand was holding on to his wrist so tightly that it hurt. "You, my dear Spencer… are a very, very special case", was whispered into his ear. "I've planned something special. For you and your team."

Spencer's eyes were full of sheer terror while he backed towards the corner, away from the other man's reach. His heart was beating furiously. "Anton, what did you do?" he half wheezed, out of breath and dizzy. Full of terror that couldn't be explained with any amount of words. "What the hell did you do?"

Anton smiled in a way that made him feel sick to his stomach. The killer came closer, eventually cornering him. "I only did what was necessary, love. Just like you did when accepting the CIA's offer to help haunt me down."

The look in those eyes made Spencer's fighting instinct take over. He swung, managing to meet the tender space right beside Anton's right eye, then kicked as hard as he could, sending the man a couple of steps backwards. His wrist was free. The defiance caught the killer off guard. They spun around each other for a mighty while, kicks and punches flying. In the end they were both covered in bruises and bleeding wounds.

"Irritate me any further and you'll never find out how many of them your silly little plot against me killed."

That bit certainly cut Spencer's fighting. His eyes widened and ice flowed through his veins when the words flooded through. "What…?"

This time hard, merciless hands captured both of Spencer's wrists. Before he even realized what was happening he'd been flung to the bed with such force that took his breath away. All he managed to emit was a tiny, pathetic and desperate mew when Anton was all over him, demanding and far from gentle hands greedily claiming what they considered theirs.

"I told you, Spencer… To never betray me. To never, ever betray me." Anton's hissing voice sounded so unlike the usual that it chilled him. "Now… I'm going to show you that you should've listened to me."

Spencer's mind was spinning and shutting down. No amount of training could've prepared him for this. He struggled, with everything there was in him, but Anton was much stronger. He cried out upon feeling sharp, blinding pain in about a million places all at once. What the hell was happening to him?

In that desperate moment his mind clung to the one person who made him feel the safest. His lips betrayed him. Cried out completely free of his will.

"Aaron!"

Anton stilled completely, absolutely. Then chuckled. "Oh, Spencer… You do realize that you're never going to see him again in this life, don't you? But don't worry. When I'm done you're both dead."

Spencer's eyes widened and his lips opened but no words slipped through.

Five minutes later his scream ran through the whole house.

/ "You did a very good job on those pictures. But your sister… She's a very, very sought out young lady. That's why her safety costs you a one more favor." /

In the bureau a lone figure made their way through the hallways. No one paid much attention to the visitor dressed as a FedEx-personnel. Having a extremely dangerous criminal to be caught tends to make people, even trained agents, lose their focus on other things.

/ "A simple delivery, that's all. Go in, leave a package, then get out. That's all it takes. After that your sister will never have to live in fear again." /

No one noticed the brown package left behind, either.

/ "So, think carefully… Which one do you choose? Them, or your own flesh and blood? This is your sister's life you're holding in your hands." /

When the explosion sounded two minutes later a blue Sedan was already speeding away, the driver wiping tears and mouthing empty prayers.

"I'm sorry…"

The blaring sirens wiped away whatever little sound came out.

"I'm so sorry…!"

TBC

A/N: What the heck is it with these explosions…?! (growls) And what did Anton do to Spencer? Let's hope that this chaos means that the mess is going to be sorted out soon. (sighs)

Okay, seriously, leave a note! Let me know if that chapter was any good at all, despite that very annoying double cliffhanger! (gives puppy's eyes) Awww, half a minute of your time and I'd be swelling with joy.

ONLY THREE MORE TO GO, FOLKS!

Hope you'll all be staying tuned for next time.

Be good!

Anon: You did? Oh dear. (winces and hands over some tissues) It was quite sad, though, wasn't it? Those poor things. Let's hope that this whole mess gets sorted out before both Aaron and Spencer lose their minds in the chaos.

Until next time, I hope. Gigantic thank yous for the review!

Guest: Ah, let's hope that they will get back home soon. That little family's been through a hurricane already. (sighs)

Colossal thank yous for the review!

Guest (2): I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the chapter although it's been a long run. (beams) There's only a few more chapters of this to go. It'll feel so weird to finish this! (sighs mournfully)

Huge thank yous for the review!