A/N: Guess what? It's time for another chapter of this story to appear. (smirks)

THANK YOU, so much, for your reviews and love for this story! It warms my heart more than you could ever imagine that you've enjoyed this storyline enough to follow it to a sequel. (HUGS)

Awkay, before I get all mushy… Let's go! I really hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

Family Matters

Spencer's heart hammered while he stared at the woman walking out of the shadows. Every little cell in his body was on fire and his lungs felt like they'd been stretched to the extreme. He'd never, ever experienced such pain before.

This woman was the centre of his life for such a long time. The only constant in his life. And now he began to realize that he'd never known her at all.

His mother stopped, clearly hearing his thoughts loud and clear. They had to be screaming in her head. Her expression didn't change much but there was grief in her eyes. "Spencer… I'm truly sorry that you had to find out this way."

It took just about all Spencer had to hold himself together. The tension mounting inside him showed with a tremble that spread quickly from his hands to the rest of his body, along with the fire that was driving him insane with its intensity. "Why?" Because really, that was the only question that mattered at the moment.

The eyes that looked at him weren't the same she had when she used to kiss him goodnight, in another life. That person… Did she even exist? Was it just a façade, a magic trick? "Because after the things that I saw in their minds… After what they did to me… It was the only thing that I could imagine doing."

Spencer shook his head. His eyes were stinging hellishly but he couldn't feel any moisture yet. "The only thing you… The only thing you could imagine doing was to kill them?"

Diana sighed, her eyes sad, helpless and frustrated. "It was to kill them or to let them kill us. It's basic survival instinct, Spencer. They're a rivaling species. There can never be a harmony between us."

Spencer gritted his teeth. His throat was tight but surprisingly the words came out strong. "There can't be a future out of tearing each other apart, either."

His mother's expression was grim. "They won't get the chance to tear us apart. Not if we get to them first."

Spencer didn't even notice the single tear that rolled. His jaw was tight with agony and rage. "My friends… They could've all been in the bureau when your troupes destroyed it. You could've… You could've killed them all. You did kill all those people…!"

"I've done what I had to in order to protect my family." Diana's eyes were blazing but there, deep down, was the mother's love he'd grown used to seeing. "You can't tell me honestly that you wouldn't do the same."

And Spencer couldn't. Not really. But starting something like this…

"I hardly started the war", Diana pointed out. There was a touch of melancholy in her voice. "It was raging well before I was properly involved."

Spencer took a deep, shuddering breath. By some miracle he managed to blink away the moisture in his eyes. "You could stop this."

Diana shook her head. "This has gone much too far to be stopped in a blink, even with my powers. All that can be done is to see this through."

If Spencer hadn't known better he would've been sure that a knife was plunged into him right there. He stared at his mother, whom he still loved from the bottom of his heart. And realized with a horrible amount of certainty that there was nothing, nothing, he could do to change this. So he chose the only option he had although he hated it. He looked into his mom's eyes, one more time. "I… I have to go." I can't stay around you any longer. He turned away, feeling something inside him being torn to pieces. "Don't have anyone follow me. Just… Let me go."

"I will. I promise. But first… There's something that I want to tell you. Maybe it'll help you finally understand." There was a long pause, and for some inexplainable reason Spencer indeed stopped walking. Diana went on as soon as he'd stopped fully. "I need you to know what made me get involved in all of this."

It took a mighty while before JJ managed to breathe properly. Even then she didn't dare to try getting up from the floor. Tears burned in her eyes and a fire blazed in her chest.

The bureau… It was destroyed. A lot of people were dead. And it was more than likely that Will played a part in it. What the hell…?!

"Mommy?" It took a long moment before she realized that the small, tentative voice was very much real. Henry sounded scared. When she couldn't bring her voice to work he tried again, more desperately. "Mommy?"

JJ swallowed and wiped her eyes. She spoke although there was barely any breath left in her. "I'm here, sweetie. I'm okay."

There was a long silence, especially considering that the other participant to the conversation was a small child. "Are you… scared of me?"

Those words, whispered in the kind of a voice that should've never come out of her son's mouth, broke JJ's heart. This time she didn't waste a single precious second before answering. "No, honey. I'm not scared of you and I never will be. Never, ever think otherwise. And do you know why that is?"

"Why?"

The tears in Henry's voice were more than enough to push her up off the floor. Her legs weren't steady but they held when she made her way to the bathroom's door and opened it. Behind it Henry was shaking so hard that he could barely stand.

JJ gulped, her own eyes far from dry. "Because, sweetie… You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you more than anything in this whole wide world." It was something she'd sworn to him since he was a baby. Now the words held more meaning than ever.

There, holding her son tightly, JJ came to a decision. True enough, she or her former team combined wouldn't be able to stop the war. But she'd do whatever she could to get her extended family to safety. Because she couldn't even think of the possibility that she'd lose one of them.

Maeve wasn't a profiler or a telepath. But she could tell that something was badly wrong the instant Spencer returned from the mysterious meeting. Although he tried to remain in control over himself his eyes were haunted and a massive weight seemed to have been laid over his entire being. It became apparent why when he finally told her and Emily what he found out.

After all had been revealed she gave him a agonizinly long hour before walking into the bedroom. He blinked slowly at the plastic dish of dough she was carrying along. "What…?"

"That… is going to be the best brownies you've ever had in your life. Right after someone's stirred it properly, of course. You may be the perfect man for the job." Seeing the way his hands shook while he started the task she kissed his cheek, gently yet with passion. "In case you're worrying… We don't have to talk about it. Or anything. At least not yet."

All of a sudden she was the sole centre of all Spencer's attention. Those hazel eyes drank her in, as though worried that she might vanish if he'd as much as blink. For a moment a suffocatingly heavy silence lingered until he breathed out. "Don't ever make me lose you again."

It took much longer than it should've before Maeve managed to take those words for what they truly meant. Her eyes widened while something incredibly warm and overwhelmingly strong flowed through her. If she hadn't known better she would've thought that the baby was already kicking. "Are you… asking me to marry you?"

Spencer seemed absolutely horrified and so excited that he was about to burst at the same time. His eyes were wide and there was quite little color on his face, aside a hint of red on his cheeks. His mouth opened twice before he succeeded in producing a response. "Yes."

Oh, how Maeve's heart was singing to scream out a YES. But at the last moment reason kicked in. There was a war raging around them. He'd already lost her once, she came less than an inch from losing him what felt like a blink ago. "I'm not going to give you my answer yet", she announced firmly, staring right into his eyes. Her voice was far more unsteady than she'd expected. "When the war's over, or when we're all safe… When we're both standing there together, alive… Then I'll answer you."

There was a flash of hurt on Spencer's face until realization dawned. His eyes darkened, full of love and devotion, while he nodded slowly. They both knew that all they could do was promise to try their hardest, no matter how much it ached. And then he was kissing her with all the passion that he could muster.

It didn't take long before the heat of the moment intensified. Soon enough hands were everywhere, the touches began to burn with need and urge took over completely. That was when Maeve remembered something.

She groaned, although it sounded more like a purr under the courses that'd taken over her. "Your hands… There's dough all over them." And, as it turned out, all over her hair and pretty much entire body.

Spencer smirked in a filthy way most wouldn't have thought he was able to muster. "Take the benefits into equation", he adviced in a husky voice that sent very pleasant shivers down her spine. "We'll get to take a shower together."

Neither of them got brownies on that day. But they did get a couple of hours of bliss. And that was exactly what they needed.

When they finally came out of the hormone and lust driven hue they realized that at some point Emily had returned. They didn't know how much the poor woman had heard but she seemed to be blushing and refused to look at them properly while announcing that they should get ready for a meeting. Although the world was in a state of chaos and there was a thunderstorm of uncertainty ahead Spencer and Maeve looked at each other when they made it to the safety of their room and giggled like two children.

Aside the son that he was allowed to announce his officially there were only two people Jason Gideon cherished to a point of being willing to do anything for them. So hearing the words that Spencer spat out, no matter how justified they were… Seeing the way they wounded Diana… It made his heart bleed.

Finally back at the Others' base he was, for once, bold enough to enter Diana's room without being invited. She was standing with her back towards him, staring at the rapidly gathering rain clouds, but of course she knew that he was there. "I'm a big girl, Jason", she pointed out softly, almost fondly. "I'm not going to fall apart."

He walked closer, stopped a single delicate step away from her. Their hands lingered, not touching but close enough for them to be able to feel each other's warmth. 'He loves you still', he swore to her, switching to a far more private form of communication that came effortlessly. 'And telling him… It was the right thing to do.'

'I know.' Diana's mental voice sounded sad. 'He loves us both. But I'm afraid that we'll never walk the same path again.'

For some reason that reminder slashed Jason deeply, enough so to make him shudder. Even if he'd already come to that sombre realization himself. But the weight of the loss, the sacrifice, didn't diminish with knowledge and over time.

'I remember a day when he was trying to learn to drive a bike.' Diana's eyes shimmered but no actual moisture formed or fell. It took a couple of moments before she managed to go on. 'He fell down and cut himself. The amount of blood… It was horrible. And he was crying so hard that he could barely breathe. He was hysterical, William was at work and I was panicking. It was a disaster.' She closed her eyes. 'The following morning he was trying again before I could stop him or even made it there to watch over him. And fell down again. I tried to scold him but he… he smiled at me.' One actual tear slid through, no more. 'He smiled. And he said, 'It's okay, mommy. I need to do this on my own'.'

Jason found it much harder than it should've been to control his own emotions. 'You raised him to be strong. You can be proud of him.'

Diana's chuckle was brief and without humor. 'He learned that all by himself. But I am very proud of him, every single day.' She unleashed a shuddering sigh, as though to test if she was still able to breathe. 'But sometimes… Sometimes I wish that I wouldn't have to be so scared for him all the time.'

Jason's sigh wasn't the slightest bit more steady. The first raindrops began to fall. 'He'll make it through this, Diana. We'll make sure of that.'

'Yes, he will.' Her declaration was harder than steel, fueled by sheer despair. 'And so will our grandchildren.'

A violent shudder crossed Jason from head to toe. His eyes widened dramatically. "What?" he sputtered out loud.

As she entered a long ago abandoned underground factory hall, followed by Spencer and Maeve, Emily was surprised to discover that she still remembered the first time she met the BAU-team like it happened mere hours ago. The uncertainty. The need to be accepted, lingering somewhere deep down. Since then those people became her second family, or perhaps her first real one. Making them believe that she was dead for a moment nearly killed her. Leaving them for what she assumed to be forever was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

And here she was.

She heard familiar voices a while before they'd see her. For a moment the temptation to turn around and run away lingered on her skin. But she'd never been a coward and she wasn't about to start now.

All talking stopped when they finally heard her steps. She took a deep breath, hoping that the couple behind her didn't hear, then stepped out into the open. Instantly she met four pairs of bewildered eyes. "Prentiss?"

Emily didn't smile as a greeting because it would've felt out of place. Instead she nodded, giving each and every single one of them a long, lingering look. Greedily taking in the faces that she thought she'd never see again.

David seemed to have aged a decade since she last saw him and the stress was loudly present in his haunted eyes. It was much the same with Aaron, who appeared to have a brand new scar on his neck. It was stunning to see that the unit chief wasn't wearing a suit anymore, having chosen a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt instead. JJ looked like she'd been crying recently and she'd cut her hair. This time it wasn't to test out a new style, Emily realized, but to symbolize that in this insane new world JJ lost a part of herself. The grief and internal torment were heavy in those blue eyes. Derek was a mess, to put it simply. The man was painfully banged up, with several still bandaged wounds, and only sheer stubbornness seemed to be keeping the man up. His eyes weren't telling any cheerier of a story. In a way his condition was the perfect metaphor to the state of their family.

A little bit of light, however, appeared when they realized that she was really, truly there. Alive and well. Like they hadn't quite dared to believe as much from the text with which she invited them to this place.

"We… have a lot to talk about", she admitted. "But not now, before Garcia's safely with us." She gritted her teeth. "This war you've been pulled into… It's not yours to fight."

Derek's eyes flashed. "The hell it isn't! Leonor just tried to recruite me against my family, against everything that I believe in. She tried to fool me to her side even though she knew full well that since day one I've been trying to help those who pay the price of this idiocy!"

Emily felt deep sympathy towards the mocha skinned agent. Derek had always been the type that wanted to fix things. Unfortunately this mess was too deep even for him. "Morgan, there's nothing you can do to stop this war. What any of you can do. As soon as Garcia's been rescued I'll pull every string that I can to get all seven of you, along with Henry, Jack and Will, far away from here."

The others mulled over those words in a stunned silence for a moment. In the end it was Derek's voice the rest of them heard. "Seven of us?"

It wasn't until then Spencer and Maeve stepped to view. At first a stunned silence filled the space. Then, before any of them saw it coming, JJ sprinted her way to him and hugged him as tightly as humanly possible, clearly unaware of the still sore spots. And he let her although it had to hurt, held on just as tightly. Somehow no words were needed right there.

As soon as the tender moment was over the rest of the team and the newly returned genius looked at each other. There was a clearly palpable amount of tension in the air. Which wasn't a surprise. Before Spencer was torn away from them the wound left by his secret being revealed was still fresh and tender. They never had the chance to really talk it through.

Derek's Adam's Apple bobbed. The usually confident man appeared hesitant. "Reid…"

Spencer smiled, faintly but still. "I know." It wasn't a magic word to fix all. But it was a start.

Aaron frowned although relief was still clearly present. "I just saw a file with your picture in it. Do they know that you're alive? That you're back?"

Spencer's eyes darkened considerably. The tall man's whole body tensed up. "They do. And they have a good reason to keep an eye on me." He took a deep, uneven breath. "My mom… She's the real leader of the Others."

It took a bit too long before the baffling recent events had been retold. By the time it was all cleared out as throughoutly as possible they were stunned to a deep silence. JJ recovered the fastest. "I… I want to get my son away from here. I want to get us all away from here. How do we find Penelope?"

Derek appeared frustrated and outraged. "I know where she is, where they keep the injured prisoners. But it's a high security location. We're never going to get in."

Emily shook her head. "We may have a way." She focused and all of a sudden it was Erica Leonor standing in her place. "If we have a proper plan."

After her hazy younger years, and mostly even during them, Penelope Garcia had done what she thought was right. Of course she was acutely aware that she'd made tons of mistakes along the way but at least she tried. And when she saw what humans did to the Others… She just couldn't turn the blind eye.

And here she was.

She jumped in her bed when the door was opened and Erica Leonor walked in, eyes blazing. The woman watched her for a while before speaking. "I'm under the impression that you've been awake long enough to find out the consequences of your actions. Those people you've been helping… They destroyed the bureau, killed a lot of people who were only attempting to protect their kind." There was a hazardous flash. "In case you still care, Derek Morgan regained consciousness a while ago. He'll be fine."

It was like a punch right at her face, like getting shot all over again. Penelope fought furiously to keep a whimper from erupting. To convince herself that no, this wasn't just some sick nightmare that'd end soon.

Penelope swallowed and looked away, her eyes moist and dangerously close to overflowing. "I… I didn't know, until the last minute. That… That the Bureau is their target. They warned me so late that I couldn't stop it anymore, told me to get out. And…" And after that a lot of people she'd worked with for years, seen almost every day, were dead.

For a long moment Erica looked at her with clearly apparent disgust. With eyes that didn't believe a word coming out of her mouth. Then, so suddenly that it chilled her, a small cold smile came. "You'll face your punishment. There'll be a trial", the agent promised, then leaned closer. "But that's not the only reason we've decided to have you here."

Penelope looked at the other, her whole being filling with dread and terror when realization began to dawn.

"Spencer Reid made the mistake of returning", Erica revealed, as though trusting her with a great secret. "I've made sure that the news of your… situation reach his ears. And when he finds out… Well, I doubt that he'd just leave you here."

Penelope's heart hammered at a impossible speed. There was no longer holding back the tears. Her whole body was trembling pitiably.

What had she done?!

Erica seemed very pleased by her reaction. "He'll come for you", the agent swore. "And when he does… We'll be ready."

TBC

A/N: Leave no man behind! The BAU-family (well, the extended version of it) is planning on making a run for it. But will they make it to safety?

Sooo… Any thoughts? Please, do leave a note.

I've really gotta go now. A busy bee is busy. (grins) I really hope that I'll see ya all next time!

Take care!