Zoe awoke in her living room, her head spinning. It took her a moment to remember what happened. She sat up, looking around the room.
"Hello?" she called.
In the hallway, Spencer appeared.
"Oh, you're up. Are you feeling okay?" he said, walking towards her and sitting in the chair next to the couch.
She nodded. "Better, actually. What happened?"
"You fainted. You sort of came to once we set you on the couch, but you fell asleep pretty quickly right after. Does your head hurt? How's your vision?"
She blinked, rubbing her forehead. "Seems pretty normal. Um, who's that woman? In the picture?" she asked.
"I don't know. Garcia's looking for missing person cases right now all over the state and West Virginia, but we haven't found anyone matching her description yet."
"Do you think she's going to die?" Zoe whispered. Spencer looked at her carefully, noting the way her brown eyes caught the light, how her breath rose and fell in her chest.
"I don't know." he replied quietly. "But there's something you need to see."
He stood, and she followed him down the hall and into her bedroom, and then through to her bathroom. He pulled back the shower curtain, and gestured to a small black mark in the top right hand corner of the tile. She looked closer, climbing over the edge of the tub and standing on her tippy toes. It wasn't a mark, it was a small piece of black glass, mounted on one of the black tiles, because the shower was black and white checkered. She tapped it, it was round edged.
"Is that...?" she said. She looked at Spencer, her eyes wide with shock. "A camera?"
"Yeah, I wanted you to see it before I took it out."
"Oh, god." she whispered, stepping out of the shower. Spencer leaned over, trying to get a grip on the lens.
"Did you have anyone come work in your house in the past few months?"
"Yeah, a plumber, he fixed a leak my sink had in here, god, he couldn't have been in more than half an hour. I didn't even notice. Was it him?"
"I don't know for sure, but I doubt it. He probably payed the actual plumber to do it. Do you have the name of the business you used?"
"I probably can find the bill if I look."
"Okay, I can get JJ to go and talk to them." he pulled his walkie-talkie from his belt, and spoke into it. "Derek, do we have that tool set in the SVU still?"
"Yeah, I'll bring it in. Garcia is running the plates against anyone who has previously lived in West Virginia who's over the age of 30. Just a sec."
After a minute or two, Morgan appeared in the bathroom doorway with a small box.
"What's up?"
"There's a camera in here. I want to see if it has a wireless connection so Garcia can trace it."
As the day went on, not much in the case broke. Garcia had traced the wireless signal, but it bounced all over the map, and she couldn't find it's base no matter how many algorithms she used. Zoe felt much better with the two agents around, and she sat in a comfortable silence at the kitchen table with Spencer. She finally got some homework done, as Spencer hunted through the letters. She watched him more than she watched her own books and papers. His eyes darted across each paper faster than she'd seen anybody's, and his lips formed quiet words to himself as he wrote things down on a yellow legal pad. She was entranced by him, how his fingers twitched excitedly, how his expression changed everytime he noticed something important.
"Zoe, what ethnicity was your mother?"
"We're Brazilian. Well, I guess I'm only half. But she moved here with her family from Brazil when she was 5."
"All the other victims were white, blonde and blue eyed. He has a type, but he's after you."
"Yeah, I'm definitely not blonde and blue eyed." she sighed.
"I think he has a vendetta on your mother because she escaped, yet he's taking it out on you."
She placed her head in her hand, her eyes blinking slowly. She felt as though she should be terrified at this revelation, but now that she didn't have to be on constant guard, the only thing she could feel was tired.
"Are you okay, Zoe?" Spencer said. She grinned sheepishly.
"Oh you know, just a deranged serial killer who's probably my father stalking and harassing me, and probably going to kill me."
"He's not going to kill you. I-I-" he stuttered, "we won't let that happen. How much sleep have you gotten in the past few days."
"Like 6 hours, tops."
"You should go get some rest."
She thought maybe she should argue, but then decided against it.
"You'll be here?" she asked timidly. Spencer smiled slightly.
"Yeah, I'm going to be right out here all night if you need me. Agent Morgan too."
"Thank you." she said, standing. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
"I think I have an idea. Do you want some help?"
"Nah, I got it. Thank you again, Dr. Reid."
He shook his head. "You don't have to call me that. Spencer is fine."
"Thanks, then, Spencer."
Their eyes met, and Spencer felt his pulse rise suddenly. He wasn't used to feeling so much attraction so suddenly, and tried to shake it off as hormones.
With the comfort of knowing Spencer was just outside her room, Zoe curled up in bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
Around 10 PM, as Morgan and Spencer sipped coffee in the kitchen, there was a sudden noise from outside, coming from the roof, like hailstones. Both agents froze, and then sprang into action.
"Go to Zoe's room, see if that woke her." Morgan said. Suddenly, all the lights in the house went out, and more things crashed onto the roof, some against the windows. There was the distinct sound of shattering glass.
Spencer tore down the hall and into Zoe's room. She was sitting up in bed, pressed up against her bedframe, her eyes wild with terror. When he pulled the door open, she yelped with surprise.
"It's just me, come here." he said, reaching for her hand and pulling her out of bed. She noticed the gun in his hand, and held onto him tightly.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"Don't know, come on." he said, and they hurried to the living room. Morgan was shining his flashlight out the front door.
"The entire block is dark. There's rocks all over the front yard, but it's clear I think." he said.
There was an abrupt and unexpected scream as television turned on. On screen was the same woman from the picture, bound in the same position.
A low grumbling voice spoke to the screaming girl. Zoe watched, shaking uncontrollably.
"Call Garcia!" Reid shouted at Morgan, who pulled his phone out of his pocket, and began rapidly telling Garcia the situation.
"You're going to die today, bitch, how 'bout you show little Zoe what's going to happen to her." the voice said. The man was holding a camcorder, and circled the bound woman like a lion circling it's prey. Spencer's eyes were locked on the television, and he didn't notice Zoe hyperventilating violently. On the television, the man pushed the girl forward, so her head was between her knees. With a red hot rod, he began carving his 'red wings' into the girl's exposed shoulderblades.
"No..." Zoe muttered as the girl screamed in agony.
"Zoe," he reached for her. "Zoe don't watch this."
She pushed away his hand, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Zoe, please." he whispered. He knew what was going to happen next.
The wings were finished, and the camera turned towards a table full of knives. He reached for a long, dull, rusted knife and held it tightly. He turned back to the girl, grabbing her hair and pulling her back. "Please, please-" the girl on the TV begged.
"Garcia, hurry!" Morgan said desperately into the phone.
"Zoe, close your eyes." Spencer ordered firmly, stepping towards her and grabbing her wrist, trying to turn her away.
"Don't let him, don't let him." she muttered maniacally.
"Look at me, Zoe."
There was a sudden silence as the girl's throat was slit. At the same moment, Reid pulled Zoe to his chest, wrapping his arms around her, muffling her hysterical screams.
"Don't let him! He can't! Please!" She cried, her sobs sending tremors through her body.
"I'm here, it's okay, he won't get to you." he said. He looked at Morgan, who watched the TV with wide eyes. Derek met his eyes, and shook his head.
For the next few hours, Spencer held Zoe on her couch as she cried and shook with fear. Morgan watched them from a chair by the front door, his head in his hands.
"It's alright, Zoe, you're safe." Spencer repeated to her, over and over.
But, he wasn't sure if that was completely true.
A/N: I hope there are some people out there who are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. If you want more, please review! Update very soon!