Author's Note: Okay, so TPTB were half listening to my Season 8 wish for Reid. He's finally got himself a woman (who said that she lurves him…) but he's never met her face to face and there's this elusive big bad possibly abusive gorilla in the background keeping them from their HEA. Awesome. Hopefully, we'll get a resolution (a naked resolution…) before the end of the off to a good start season. And I like Alex Blake. I really do. I didn't expect to but I do. Of course, it's not as much as I adored Emily (I hope she gets like a guest appearance in the future…) but I think Blake will carve herself a good deep niche into the fandom nicely. Enjoy the update.

Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"

"I'm not gonna insult you and ask if you're okay. You're not okay. Your dear friend, teammate and mentor just disappeared in the dead of night with nothing but a note left behind for explanation. And he's left a big ass hole in your family. You're the furthest thing from okay and I understand that you probably want to be alone right now but, I'm gonna sit in this dark room with you anyway and if you want to talk or go do jello shots or whatever, you let me know."

Emily sat on the layout room couch next to him but the only movement from him was the curling and uncurling of his fingers. Jason Gideon had left the BAU. He just left, sending a formal letter of resignation to Strauss and letting the bureaucrat tell them 2 days after the fact. For once, the blonde woman hadn't been overtly hostile but she said that a replacement would be found for the unit post haste. None of them had the slightest clue who but there was always going to be a Gideon shaped hole in the unit, just like there was an Elle shaped one. Reid had gone up to his cabin and brought back his service weapon and badge. There was also a letter in the front pocket of his bag but since it was addressed only to him, none of them made a move to grab it. Gideon had made his statement in his actions better than any note could say. In the end, they all just…shut down and swallowed it whole.

"...He didn't even say good bye..."

Garcia had holed herself up in her domain, tinkering with her network of computers between sniffles before going home right at 5.

Morgan had gone down to help the rookies learn how to defend themselves in the field and to beat the hell out of a few punching bags before heading out to a club or four.

Hotch's face had gone completely placid and he was still in his office working, even though it was pushing 10PM and even though Hailey was probably waiting up for him.

JJ was in her own office, trying to come up with the cases they could handle with a man down, a mammoth task that had her burning the going deep into midnight oil too.

After finishing his paperwork, Reid had retreated away from the bullpen with a book but it hadn't been opened. He had just sat there in the dark, his head up but eyes closed loosely. Emily felt her gut clench at the sadness on his features and she just wanted to…

"I'm sad and a little angry but I'm not surprised this happened."

"You're not?"

"I'm not. I knew in the back of my head after Bale that he wouldn't make it another five years doing this damned job. And it is a job of the damned, Emily. We're up to our eyeballs in pain, depravity, and the underside of the human condition. Day in, day out, there's another case. Another family torn apart, another life snuffed out, another sick nasty fuck or traumatized beyond repair person taking out all their shit on innocents just so they can feel a sliver of joy again. No…I'm not surprised Gideon's gone. I'm angry at his timing and the consequences of his decision for the unit. We're a man down with no replacement lined up and Strauss is probably going to pick some government drone that will do her bidding without question instead of an actual profiler to fill the position. I'm not saying that we can't do this without him because we can. We all can but…this sucks, Emily. Royally."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault."