Sorry it's so late; second semester is now in full swing, and I'm just being stretched everywhere! Mostly because I'm taking voice lessons as well as violin lessons this semester, and both professors have asked me to order a book that isn't in stock at the bookstore on campus. In other news, I got the majority of this chapter written when my local area was BOMBARDED by about 15 + inches of snow; it was an official snow day on Monday, with no classes!

Again, I own nothing pertaining to Criminal Minds... All recognizable dialogue is from various episodes over the past six seasons.

...

The pen is mightier than the sword. ~Benjamin Franklin

The rays of the setting sun flashed into the small hospital room, illuminating the sleeping form of Spencer Reid. His hair was washed, his injuries were bandaged and healing, and the clothes that he had been wearing when he was kidnapped had been replaced with a hospital gown, a scrub shirt and scrub pants. However, he still kept his eyes closed to the outside world.

And as he slept, he dreamed.

::::

The Floridian sun beat down on the parking lot, heating up the tarmac and anyone caught walking in the reflection.

Including Spencer Reid, who was shading his eyes while he glanced up at the sky.

He had just finished interviewing the family of the last victim, who had been found just that morning, just two days after the BAU had arrived in Florida. At least it showed that the UnSub wasn't too concerned with the arrival of the team. Reid hoped that it would change, that the UnSub would make a mistake. Just one little mistake so they could go home….

His phone rang, the cheery tune that came with the phone when it was issued to him. Reid pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the caller ID. It was Hotch.

"Hey, Hotch," Reid began.

"Reid," Hotch greeted. "How did things go with the family?"

Reid sighed, looking around for the black SUV, the one he wasn't to keen on driving back to the station with right now. "Not good, actually. When I told them it was his body, the mother started crying and the father locked himself in the bathroom. He didn't come out until the brother and his wife came back, so I told them, and then took their statements."

"Did they say anything?"

"No," Reid stopped walking to stare around the parking lot. Something was wrong, he could feel it. But he couldn't put his finger on what exactly was wrong. "Have you given the profile yet?"

"Rossi was giving it with Prentiss and Morgan; I sent them on ahead with Orlando PD."

"Alright," Reid said. "I'm going to head back to the station; I'll see you in 20 minutes."

"Take care, Reid," Hotch said suddenly.

"I will," he replied. "You, too."

Reid hung up and put his phone away, his fingers already digging around in his pockets. His mind was on the profile he knew they had all worked together. But why different victims in different social circles? And in this case, different locations? Until now, all the victims had been from the Orlando area; this last victim had been from Montana, the best man at his brother's wedding. So what had made the UnSub go for him?

Reid was so lost in thought that he almost missed the swooshing noise that was made by a baseball bat as it was preparing to swing. He made to look back toward his attacker, but before his body could pull through, the wooden bat smashed heavily against his skull and he went down, his vision darkening….

::::

The doors of the hospital opened as Hotch, Garcia, Morgan and Prentiss entered the reception area, walking toward the waiting room where Rossi and JJ stood.

"How is he?" Garcia asked as she wrapped her arms around JJ's body. "How's my baby boy?"

"Spence's fine," JJ answered, patting her friend gently on the back. "He just has a few bumps and bruises. As soon as he wakes up and the doctors get some fluids into him, he'll be able to go home."

Rossi turned to the other agents. "The doctors and nurses just cleared us to go visit. He's alright, they're just waiting for him to wake up."

Hotch nodded. "Let's go," he uttered. Rossi nodded, taking his friend's arm and leading him down the hall to a room with the door slightly opened.

They entered to see Reid asleep on the bed, looking peaceful, despite the events of the past few days. A quick glance around the room revealed that it looked more like an upscale hotel room than a hospital room. The room was painted a yellow-tan color, and the lighting was dimmed; a dial on the wall beside the door seemed to control the brightness of the lights. There was a bookshelf that carried a few magazines and paperback books, as well as a few DVDs,' and on the wall was a flat screen TV. The window had a small stone ledge about four inches across, and beneath the ledge was a small maroon couch with matching pillows. The floors were hardwood, and the bathroom was tile. The bed and its accessories, however, destroyed the hotel-like feel of the room; a twin bed with all-white sheets and blankets surrounded by plastic railings, with a remote for the bed and a heart-rate monitor, pulse ox, and IV.

Nobody moved for a moment.

Then, Garcia crept into the room, making as little noise as she could with high heels on. She set a vase of flowers on the window sill of the hospital room, and calmly sat on the couch, laying her hand on the sleeping boy's shoulder.

After a second, Morgan followed, moving to sit beside Garcia on the couch. JJ and Prentiss moved into the room next. JJ moved to sit between Morgan and Garcia, grabbing a chair that sat in the corner for Prentiss, who sat on the other side of the bed, taking Reid's hand in hers.

Finally, Hotch and Rossi moved in. Rossi took the last two remaining chairs in the room, setting one at the foot of the bed next to Prentiss. Hotch took the second, moving to sit next to Dave.

And they sat there, waiting.

::::

….He awoke, his first thought being that it was an accident. But when he realized that darkness was all he could see, he began to think it was some cruel trick. He groaned; if he freaked out in any way, Morgan would never let him hear the end of it. Besides, he thought they'd known better, but he should at least humor them… as long as they turned the lights on.

"Very funny, guys; can we turn the lights on now?" Reid made to call out… except the words seemed to be caught in his throat. That was when he realized that his arms were twisted behind his back. He made to move them, but they couldn't move; Reid felt the chafing of thick strands of rope rubbing at his wrists. The same held true for his ankles.

"Guys," Reid tried to call again, but like before, the words didn't even make it from his mouth. That was when he ran his tongue through his mouth and tasted the cloth between his teeth. Immediately, his heart started to beat faster within his chest, and his stomach plummeted to his feet. He twisted against the bindings, growing as he fought. But the growls turned to whimpers as he realized that it would take more than some shuffling and magician's tricks to loosen those knots.

Reid fought back the helpless tears that burned salty against his eyes like the smell of the ocean surrounding him. The team would find him; they had before, long ago in Georgia. They'd found victims in worse situations… Hotch, Morgan, Rossi and Prentiss would burst through that door soon, and everything would be fine….

::::

Reid's hand twitched, and a soft whimper rose from his lips as he slept; JJ gripped one of his hands, rubbing soft circles into the palm. Emily grabbed his other hand with both her own, hoping to keep him grounded so he wouldn't fly away in whatever nightmare he was caught up in. Garcia pulled her chair closer, moving her hand toward his face to stroke away a few strands of errant hair. But when the hair was gone, she didn't stop; instead, she ran her fingers across his forehead and through his hair. Morgan stood protectively at the foot of the bed, watching the sleeping form of his friend as he slept. Hotch had begun pacing again, like he had at the station, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did so, and Rossi simply sat there, his hand gripping the railing of the bed, and his eyes watching the entire team as they stood together in their youngest member's hour of need.

::::

Memories flooded Reid's unconscious mind… There were so many of them….

He was four, playing chess in the park…

…He was eight, and running from the bullies at the bus stop, his backpack banging againt his back like a second heartbeat…

…He father was leaving again

"I'm out of ideas, Diana."

"Well you could take Spencer with you…"

And then his own voice: "I'm not weak."

"I know, baby…"

…He was in the library, studying.

"Hey, Spencer!"

He looked up to see Alexia Lisbon sliding into the seat across from him in the library's study lounge.

"Listen," she began. "Harper wants to talk to you about something. I don't know what, but she seemed really excited. She's behind the field house, come on…"

"…Are you Spencer Reid?"

He turned to find the face of an older man staring at him intently.

"I'm Jason Gideon with the FBI; I wanted to ask you something."

Reid paused. "What about?"

"I was looking at the paper you wrote; I think we could use someone like you at the BAU…"

After that, everything was a blur.

"…Extreme aggressor… 'Enter Sandman'…"

"…I'm a profiler…"

"…Can you forgive yourself, Mr. Garner?"

"…Confess!

"I haven't done anything!"

SLAP!

"… You're pitiful, just like my son..."

"…I remember it like it was only yesterday…"

"…How did the blood get on the clothes?"

His father staring at him in confusion.

"You don't want to go down this road…"

He held his phone to his ear, heart pounding. Was it harder to breathe, like the oxygen in the room had been sucked out, or was that just the Anthrax He paid it no mind; he had something to take care of.

"Hi, mom, this is Spencer. I just... I really want you to know that I love you... and I need you to know that I spend every day of my life proud to be your son…"

And then, it want dark. Unending, suffocating darkness. He was drowning in it.

He was lost in it, with nowhere to go, no place to hide…

Was he going to die here?

And then… When Reid had given up all hope… There was a light…

There was only one thing it could be…

"Tinkerbell?" he asked.

The light sparkled, twinkled; Reid swore he could hear chiming…

She seemed to be travelling upward, toward another light, a light so bright that he was blinking with the intensity….

And then, a voice echoed through the darkness for a moment before becoming clearer with every passing second….

"Reid?" It asked. "Reid?"

Another voice quipped up. "He's waking up! Get the doctor!"

And Spencer opened his eyes.

::::

Do you believe in fairies? Say quick that you believe. If you believe, clap your hands! ~James M. Barrie

….

A/N... First off, three more chapters to go!

Second... Who is looking forward to Coda tomorrow? The fact that it's Reid-Centric is awesome, but the fact that one of the characters is a little boy with ASD just won me over; I have friends and family who have been diagnosed with autism, and I have a mild form of Asperger's, so this episode will be really close to my hear for a while...

Thanks to my awesome reviewers: SSAFunbar, Noel Ardnek, GoddessSumezofVenus, pottyandweezlbe89, 68luvcarter, SayidRocks, The-Vampire-Act, Laurella, zannabanana, darlene10104, and Integer!

Laurella: Thank you very much! I'm glad you caught the Princess Bride reference, and I hope you stick around!
Integer: I actually freaked out when I realized Mandy was Inigo Montoya! It was awesome to know that! :D

Please leave a review for me! ;)

*~N_CBAU~*