This is going to be such an intense chapter, I've been waiting to write this chapter since I started this story to be honest. I haven't said so thus far, but the title of this story is actually a lyric in Science/Visions by Chvrches, the song that inspired this story. Again, listening to this song as I write this and it seemed to fit the overall theme of what was meant to happen here and the intensity of the situation as it escalates, and then the lyrics just fit Rosemary and Spencer in my mind!

Perhaps running from a federal building was not the smartest move Rosemary could have made for all her intelligence. Racing down the stairs, heart threatening to jump out of her chest as she moved, she discovered that going out of the emergency exit would set off alarms in the building that shrieked piercingly, almost sending her toppling down the steps in surprise.

But what else was she supposed to do?

Her life was tumbling down around her and she had nothing left to lose.

Or did she?

The sudden realization that the assumption was a fallacy, and in fact, she had the most important thing in the world to lose- Spencer's trust- hit her as she finally darted out of the building, trying to navigate her way back across the sprawling campus in the evening's moonlight. A sob caught in her chest but she forced herself to keep going, walking at a quick pace to avoid suspicion from any cameras that might have their digital eye trained on her. But did it really matter? She knew the team would be rushing after her now that they knew she was gone and those alarms had been set off.

She picked up her speed, freezing in the night air, and watched her breath dissipate in the darkness as she moved. She wished she could go back and apologize and make it all okay. But they would never believe her- she wasn't even sure if Spencer would believe her after this stunt. Rosemary couldn't possibly blame him if he never forgave or trusted her again.

Then she would really have nothing left to lose... and maybe it would all be easier that way.

Spencer rushed past his team members as they made their way down the stairs, ignoring the shrill cry of the alarms that sounded around them. He was determined- if he knew anything at all as he was chasing Rosemary, it was that he wanted to get to the bottom of this once and for all. He would either find out that he had been played by a clever criminal and his heart would break for the second time, or that he had not done enough to assure a scared girl that he believed her every word- and protect her from the evil that had already tainted her kindness too many times.

"She won't be far, come on!" he called back to J.J. and Morgan, who were not only steps behind.

"Spence, be careful!" J.J. warned as the young agent moved at an alarming speed down the stairs.

He blocked out the warning, his head swarming with all of the terrible scenarios that he might encounter when they made it out of the building.

He didn't have any longer to think, however, as he landed at the bottom and shoved open the emergency door, shooting out into the cold night.

Rosemary glanced back as she made it towards the main road that surrounded the government buildings, scared that someone might be gaining on her. She halted to a stop right by the side of the road, turning to peer through the dim lights on the grounds.

"Rosemary, stay there!"

Spencer had spotted her from further away and quickly burst into a sprint. The brunette panicked.

"I can't," she breathed out with heaving chest, backing up. As she whirled around to face the road again, she could see approaching headlights and made a split second decision. She waved for the car to stop, the lights too bright for her to see who was inside. The car came to a slow halt and Rosemary ran across the road, trying her hardest to ignore Spencer's desperate shouts and focus on anything else.

Just breathe.

The brunette threw open the passenger door and got in, turning to face the driver as she began to shut the door and say in a hurried mess, "Please, I just need to get away-"

A sudden flash of gold made her lose all sense of speech. It was happening all over again, that life-changing nightmare- her muscles locked up in fear and she was unable to make a sound as her kidnapper stared at her with smug eyes behind the mask. The silent young woman reached at the door to push it back open, trying to get her limbs working again- he suddenly reached across her body, crushing her, to reach for the door. She finally emitted a cracked scream as he slammed the door shut completely.

The will to fight was slowly creeping back into her blood and she squirmed under his torso, shoving and scratching at him. She hated him more than she could put into words- so she decided to put it into her muscles and fight back. But he took the brunt of her attacks as his hand grappled for something on the dashboard. A flash of silver alerted her body that it was going to be taken advantage of for a second time-

"No!"

Spencer was not athletic whatsoever, but he knew he was running faster than he ever had in his life to catch up to Rosemary. Across the grass he could see her frantically stopping a car and she hastily threw herself into the passenger seat.

Spencer began to slow near the edge of the road, feeling close to defeat- but a scream that just barely reached his ears made the blood pump in his body at a rate much higher than it even had been while on the run.

"Rosemary!" Spencer shouted frantically towards the car. He glanced right as another car zoomed down the road, going too fast for him to make a move without potentially getting hit.

"Reid, what's going on?" came Morgan's yell from only feet away, the rest of the team right on his heels.

Spencer kept his eyes on the car across the road as the other speeding vehicle finally passed in front of him. He immediately made a run for it across the road...

Rosemary could feel the heavy loss in her chest as the needle was roughly inserted into her neck, quickly rendering her body useless to the overwhelming tiredness. Her eyelids were like weights she could not lift and her muscles felt weak. Her heart pumped agonizingly slow.

"Sp-Spence..."

She knocked a limp hand against the window before she fell into complete unconsciousness.

The car was speeding away, he couldn't stop it, he couldn't-

"Spencer, stop!" J.J. pleaded in a cry from across the road as the agent ran after the car. But it picked up speed and swiftly disappeared around the curve.

Spencer staggered to a halt, staring down the road and breathing so hard his mouth had gone dry.

He heard the footsteps come up behind him, and J.J. put a hand on his arm, tugging him out of the road with her.

"It was him," Spencer spat breathily, pulling out of the blonde's grip as soon as they were out of the road. "That son of a bitch!"

Spencer Reid rarely, if ever, swore. But he was in a rage, one that he was eager to put into good use to find the sick man who had taken away the one other person after Maeve that made him feel good- made him feel whole.

"The guy in the mask?" Hotch asked, brows furrowed. "She wasn't lying."

"She was never lying!" Spencer insisted, pacing away from them and putting his hands on his head as he tried to calm his heart and regain proper breathing.

"Jesus..." Morgan trailed off.

"Let's go," Hotch suddenly ordered, beginning to go back the way they had come. "We're not going to let him get away this time."

Spencer faced the group again, his eyebrows twitching in surprise at Hotch finally believing him and preparing to track down the real criminal.

"Did you get a license plate?" Blake interjected, stashing her gun away as they ran back towards the parking lot.

"YYA-2081," Spencer recited, the image of the plate burned into his memory.

"We'll have to get Garcia to hook up to traffic cameras in the area and we'll send out an alert to local authorities," Hotch finished before they made it to the SUVs, everyone hopping in. The engines revved up before the cars shot out of the parking lot, the agents of the BAU now only racing against time to close this case and save a life.

Spencer could feel the anxiety crushing him as he sat in the back of the vehicle, watching everything zoom by out of the windows.

If he was too late...

No- he couldn't bring himself to think about it that outcome.