A/N: I just started my vacation and will be on it until the 24th

My Life Had Stood

Chapter 41: No Lid Has Memory Pt 4

"Sir." Garcia answered Hotch, the phone on speaker. "I'm currently looking into Alsie's - Adrienne's - history. And I have to say, there's not much there. Birth records and some hospital records, but nothing as an adult."

-"Was she adopted or put into foster care?" Hotch asked, glancing back toward Alsie's hospital room. He was about ten to twelve feet down the hall.-

"No, nothing. In fact there doesn't seem to be much record of her after she turned eight." Garcia replied, still perusing the files she managed to find on 'Adrienne Leigh Crawford.'

-"That's strange. She's just confessed to commandeering Schmidt's identity, but not until she was twelve and Schmidt ten." Hotch considered things for a moment, wondering if Alsie had been lying about when she took the other girl's identity.-

"'Commandeering'? Sir?" Garcia repeated, the word choice a tad bit bizarre. "Anyway, how can a twelve year old manage to steal an identity?"

-"She had help. The real Allison Schmidt's grandmother took her in as a replacement after Allison died and gave her the identity." Hotch paused briefly, then continued, preemptively answering Garcia's next question. "There won't be any record of it, since the grandmother, Mary Schmidt, didn't report the death, but rather had Allison secretly buried. The Jane Doe from the case we had a few months ago, the one Kendall confessed to, that's Allison."-

"Wha...that...her own granddaughter? What kind of grandmother just buries and replaces her grandkid..." Garcia gaped, unable to wrap her head around the audacity and heartlessness that would take.

-"It's possible it was to protect Adrienne. She said she and Allison were playing by a well and she stumbled while holding the younger girl. I'm not sure if it was an accident, though Adrienne's medical records as Allison do support the possibility."-

"Why not report it then? If she was a child and it was an accident, there wouldn't be any reason to cover up the death. Right?"

-Hotch mulled over the tech analyst's words, his own thoughts running a similar trail. "There is one possible reason. Adrienne may have runaway from an abusive home, and any investigation into the accident could've led her abusers to her or got her sent back home. Is there anything in Adrienne's records to indicate abuse?"-

"Just a mo', let me check..." The clacking sound of computer keys being pressed could be heard while Garcia searched the files. Her eyes widened then narrowed, from surprise and perplexity. "Huh. There's no reports for physical abuse, but the Crawfords were cited for neglect when Adrienne was brought to the emergency room suffering from severe abdominal pain, which turned out to be from appendicitis. There was an investigation into the Crawfords that revealed they never bothered bringing their daughter in for any needed medical care, and not because they were against medical care for religious reasons or such. They just never noticed when she was sick or injured. At least that's what they claimed when questioned by the hospital and child services. Because of that the Crawfords almost lost custody of both their children, Adrienne and her younger brother. Who, get this, they'd also named Adrian. Adrian Vincent Crawford. Seriously." Garcia shook her head, flabbergasted at the Crawfords. "Neglecting and possibly abusing their daughter wasn't enough, they had to take her name away too? It's not even like the two were twins, Adrian Vincent was born two and a half, nearly three years, after Adrienne Leigh."

-"..." Hotch's jaw stiffened, his brain sorting through what Garcia just said. The citing for neglect wasn't surprising, not if the Crawfords had also been physically abusing Alsie. The recycling of the name did seem strange though, especially when he considered the suspicion that nagged him. "Garcia, check to see if there's anything indicating the Crawfords abused or neglected their son."-

"All right..." Garcia sucked on her lip, typing away. "That would be a no. According to his medical and school records, the Crawfords lavished him with attention and brought him to the hospital for even the smallest of colds. His sister on the other hand was completely ignored. Which is sad really, since that wasn't always the case. The Crawfords took really good care of the older Adrienne until their son was born. They had even enrolled their daughter in a special preschool for gifted children when she was eighteen months, but stopped paying the tuition not long after their son was born."

-"...eighteen months is a bit young to enroll a child in school. Even preschool. Are you sure it wasn't a daycare?"-

"Nope. It was a preschool, and one designed for highly intelligent children. The school did require Mrs. Crawford to attend with Adrienne though, since she was a year younger than their minimum age accepted." Garcia picked up one of her glittery pens and started twirling it, trying to alleviate her anger at the Crawfords. "The school really must've wanted to keep Adrienne. After the Crawfords stopped paying the tuition, the school offered to waive all fees, even offered her a full scholarship."

-"...and the Crawfords didn't take it?" Hotch shook his head when Garcia answered that the Crawfords pulled Alsie out of the school. He sighed, and glanced back toward Alsie's room. The nagging feeling in his gut stronger than ever after hearing all this about the petite woman. "Garcia, pull up Adrienne Leigh's birth certificate and any other medical records for her birth."-

"Sir? Okay..." Garcia was tempted to ask why, but got the feeling that Hotch wasn't going to answer that. At least not then. Finding the birth-date, she told the unit chief, and then told him the name of the hospital Mrs. Crawford had given birth in when prompted. She clicked her tongue at the date, intrigued by it. "Alsie's a week older than Reid and was born in the same hospital, that's totally bizarre..."

-"...What day did Leah Crawford take Adrienne home?" Hotch asked, not commenting on the tech analyst's last sentence. Though a knot had formed in his stomach at that bit of information.-

"That would be..." Garcia gave a 'huh' sound once she found the hospital discharge record. "A week after she was born. Reid's birthday. That..." The tech analyst made a face, finding the information to be amusing and a wonder of fate.

-Hotch, however, sucked in a breath. His eyes locked on the door behind which Alsie and Spencer were talking. "Garcia, don't ask why, but pull up Reid's birth record as well as his mother's medical record for the birth. It's important."-

"Ah..." Garcia nearly protested and asked why, even while she did what Hotch asked. But she stopped. Within seconds of opening the file, her eyes narrowed in confusion. Her lips were slightly agape as she skimmed the files. "Oh my...did you know Reid had a twin sister who died shortly after she was born? That's like...seriously..."

-"Damn." Hotch mumbled, the nagging feeling in his gut being proved right.-

"Sir? What is it? What..." Garcia asked, concerned by the normally stoic, composed agent's suddenly sounding uncomposed.

-"That hospital was one Connell operated in during the early eighties. '81 to '84...correct?"-

"Yeah, bu..." Garcia froze mid-word, her eyes widening as she figured out what Hotch was thinking. "No! That can't...no. Alsie and Reid...No! You can't think that...they can't be..."

-"I'm not fond of the idea either, but you've met Adrienne. You can't say you didn't notice the similarities. Her hair and eyes, her chin..." Hotch paused while Garcia let out some PG rated swears, which would've been amusing under different circumstances.-

"...I honestly thought their similarities were just a fluke. Or the universe being nice. I never considered..." Garcia stammered, her eyes becoming moist, her stomach sinking into a bottomless pit. "I...you know what, sir, you have to be wrong. There's no way Connell switched the Crawford's daughter with the Re...Alsie. I would've found a money trail connecting them when I connected those other families to Somerfield and Connell's scheme. There's nothing like that with the Crawfords."

-"Garcia..."-

"If you don't believe me, I'll run another search on the Crawfords' and check all their finances. I'll prove they didn't buy Alsie..." Garcia said, obviously upset. Enough that she even hung up on Hotch. 'I'll prove I'm right, and that Reid and Alsie are not siblings...'

0

Spencer stood by Alsie's bed, his migraine still present though it was a bit more tolerable than earlier. The nausea was gone at least, thanks to some medicine he'd been given.

"Hey." Alsie smiled at him, slightly unsure how to take his silence. The moment he had stepped into her room, she could tell something was on his mind. Something important. Her stomach roiled as she thought about what it could be.

"Hey, back." Spencer reciprocated the greeting, including the smile, though his faltered after barely a second. His brain was whirling nonstop, and despite his headache, he kept thinking. Sorting through all he knew about Alsie.

He vividly recalled the dream he'd awaken from that morning. Plus the one from last night. Both dreams, nay, both memories he had blocked out after his father left when he was ten. As he recalled more of that month, he realized how unsurprising it was that he'd blocked it out.

It hadn't been from guilt from not helping Alsie, but rather because his parents had argued a lot in the days immediately following. The worst part was that that month, his mother had gone to 'visit friends' while his dad stood home to take care of him. Knowing about his mother's illness even as a child, he'd realized something was wrong. That something had happened to upset her, and possibly sent her to the hospital temporarily.

He had never found out what, and once his father left him and his mother, he'd blocked out all memories connected to the man. Including that month after he first met Alsie.

Spencer studied Alsie's face quietly. His brain shifted through all his memories of Alsie, each second of each conversation. How she'd seemed familiar, even back when they'd met as children. His brow furrowed as he wondered how he hadn't noticed it before. Why he had refused to see what his subconscious mind had.

'The both of you are quite alike.' Spencer mouthed the comment Rossi had made last night, while Alsie had been unconscious. The older man's observation had struck him speechless, not because it wasn't true, but rather because it was. He and Alsie were uncannily similar.

And it wasn't just the migraines. Or their similar intelligence - how else would Alsie have stalemated him in chess as children when he'd just taught her the game? He could beat adults that had been playing for longer than he'd been alive! Or how Alsie seemed as avid a reader as he was, going by the sheer number of books in her apartment. Or how he felt at times like he knew what Alsie was feeling or thinking and vice versa.

It was the sum of everything, combined with the memory of his parents arguing that one night years ago. Particularly what his mother had said.

"Spencer...?" Alsie chewed on her lip, her eyes trying to delve into the agent's, to figure out what he was thinking. Her cheeks paled as she realized the gist what he had mouthed to himself.

"You asked me before if I recalled that day we met in the park. Which of course I do, but..." Spencer studied Alsie, having noticed her cheeks grow pale and how she'd started fidgeting with her hands. His gut twisted, and his migraine threatened to return, though thankfully it remained mild. He bit his lip, not wanting to voice the suspicion he had let alone accept it as truth. "...why did you ask it?"

"...it...does it matter?" Alsie mumbled, averting her gaze to her hands then towards the window. Spencer froze, recognizing the question and body language for what it was - a method to avoid answering and possibly divert the conversation.

He felt the truth hit him bluntly, not just about what his memory had meant, but that the woman before him already knew. Or at least had suspected the truth of their connection.

Spencer stared at Alsie, feeling the worst sense of betrayal he'd ever had. It was stronger than even when his dad left...it was worse than any sort of abandonment he'd experienced.

"I...Spencer, I..." Alsie whispered, returning her gaze to Spencer when he didn't answer. His face as easy a read as her own had been. Her deep, brown eyes were wide and desperately beseeching Spencer's.

"...when we met at the cafe, did you already know?"

"No." Alsie shook her head. "No. I didn't know." She fell silent as Spencer continued to watch her, his eyes recording her every micro-expression to memory. He shook his head.

"You suspected though."

Alsie hesitated, about to answer but instead chose to remain silent.

Spencer shook his head again, his brown eyes filling with betrayal. "Why didn't you say anything? Why did you not tell me the truth? That you suspected we were...are..." Spencer faltered, suddenly touching his lips. His stomach knotted, his cheeks turning red as he remembered the cafe where 'Ana' had kissed him.

"...I'm sorry." Alsie whispered.

Spencer didn't reply, his cheeks still red and his stomach a cascade of knots. He still hoped he was wrong, that what he'd remembered his parents arguing about could be explained a different way. There had to be another reason - another explanation.

"...we could pretend we don't know." Alsie mumbled, looking up at Spencer through the strands of hair covering her face. "No one needs to find out. Not even us, not for sure."

Spencer simply gave her a look, one that was a mix of incredulity and repulsion, but also slightly of hope. He shook his head against the latter, reminding himself through the statistics why it was a horrible idea.

If Alsie and him were related...If they were siblings...twins...

He shook his head, wishing he'd never remembered his parents' argument that night, or that he'd never overheard it. What his mother had said that night: 'she looks so much like her brother' and 'they look so much alike' he understood now had been about Alsie, and about how Diana had noticed the similarities between him and the young girl.

"...Spencer, the statistics don't matter. I...after the incident...after what happened three years ago...I can't..." Alsie spoke quietly, her eyes glazing over as she recalled the 'accident,' and its aftermath. Her soft voice spiked with bitterness. "...I can't ever carry another child to term..."

"What?" Spencer's eyes widened, horrified. Enough that he forgot his anger, for a moment. "Alsie...I'm sorry...I..."

"So..." Alsie swallowed, shaking away the memory. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, folding her hands over her abdomen. "There's no risk. Besides..." She bit her tongue, reading Spencer's response in the look he gave her.

"That's...that's not..." Spencer backed away a step, shaking his head. His thoughts even more awry and overwhelmed than just before he entered the room. His emotions were just as jumbled and confused. He started to speak but stopped, thrice.

"Please. Spencer...I..."

"N..." He started to speak, shaking his head, when his phone rang. He quickly answered it, not even bothering to glance at the caller ID displayed. Regardless of who it was, even a telemarketer, it was an excuse to escape the current conversation. "Hello? This is Spencer Re..."

His eyes widened at the caller's voice, though not merely from shock. Anger creased his brow as he recognized the man who'd called him.

"What do you want?" Spencer grumbled, ready to hang up almost as soon as he recognized his father's voice. The first thought running through his mind was about how William Reid had gotten his number. Second was why the man would call or even think he'd answer. "Talk about what? There's nothing to..."

Spencer fell silent, listening to the other man despite his initial reluctance. He glanced back at Alsie, realizing in that moment how important knowing rather than suspecting the truth would be.

"Fine. We can talk. There's something I need you to answer as well." He took a breath, jaw set taut as he told William Reid where to meet him. After hanging up his cell a few seconds later, Spencer left the room without another glance toward Alsie. Even as she asked who had called.