Pieces of the puzzle

by Izzy713

Izzy Santiago didn't know what to expect when she first walked into the BAU on her first day as the teams new profiler, she most definitely did not expect to catch the eye of Doctor Spencer Reid. New to the team she must navigate the waters of catching and putting away unsubs, all while the relationship between her and Reid blossoms into something that neither of them ever expected

4. Folie à deux

Izzy's POV

I walk into the house with Spencer's hand in mine, his hand is warm and comforting and helps settle my nerves. He turns to me and gives me a big smile, I feel myself smiling back at him. Spencer opens the door and I can hear the laughter already coming from inside, it sounds like happiness, like a family. My family. It is weird to be holding hands with Spencer like this, being so open with our relationship but things have been more normal lately. We have been dating for a few months and the team has known for a little while now, we are more affectionate around the workplace but things still go on as normal. We turn the corner and I can smell the food Rossi must be cooking, he is a phenomenal chef and this won't be my first family dinner, it will be the first time meeting the families and loved ones of my new family though. As soon as we turn the corner the sound of children laughing come full force, I see a little blonde boy with glasses, he looks a lot like JJ and I can tell that must be her oldest son Henry. He is sitting on the couch talking with a boy a little older than him, his hair is lighter than Hotch's but I can tell he is Jack. They are laughing about something and look up when Reid and I walk in, the cries of "Uncle Spencer" ring through the air and Henry gets up and Jack follows behind as they run up to hug him. Reid lets go of my hand and pulls Henry into a hug, he picks him up and spins him around, he adores that kid and talks about him all the time. After he hugs Henry and sets him down he goes to hug Jack, both of the kids are ecstatic to see him. At the sound of his name JJ walks over with a toddler in her arms, he has the same shade of blonde hair that JJ and Henry have, he smiles at the sound of his uncle's name and claps his hands in a motion that he is wanting Reid to pick him up. "Spence, Izzy, I'm so glad you guys finally showed up" JJ says to us.

"I hope we aren't late" I tell her, I look around and now notice we must be the last to arrive.

"Your fine, JJ is just teasing you" Says a man in a thick Louisiana accent, he shares some of the same features as Henry and Michael and I can tell this must be JJ's husband Will. "I'm Will by the way" He extends a hand out to me and I shake it and smile at him.

"It's nice to meet you, I have heard a lot about you" I tell him. Michael starts to get fussy and JJ hands him over to Reid who wraps him in his arms tightly and starts to bounce him lightly. I look at him as he does this and I can see how comfortable he is holding the baby, he has clearly done this before and it makes my heart swell.

"Good things I hope" Will jokes with me. JJ wraps her arms around his middle and kisses his cheek.

"Mostly good things" She teases him.

"Well I have heard a lot of good things about you, JJ really likes having you on the team and it's nice to find someone that can keep up with Spencer" Will tells me. I laugh at his joke but Reid doesn't notice, he is now crouched down showing the kids a magic trick.

"Well I am glad to be on the team, and Spencer is really great" I tell him. Reid stands back up and wraps his arm around my back pulling me close to him. I smile and lean into him, he kisses me gently and when he pulls away he has a big smile on his face. Henry comes up to stand right in front of me, I give him a big smile and can see that he looks a little shy. "Hi Henry" I tell him.

"Hi" He says.

"I'm Izzy, it's really nice to meet you" I tell him, I want to make a good impression with him, he is probably one of the most important people in Spencer's life and I want to make sure he likes me.

"Hi Izzy, I am Henry" He meets my hand with his little one and I shake it. He pauses for a minute and then looks up at his uncle with his arm around my back. "Are you dating my uncle?" He asks me. His question takes me off guard and I can feel myself blushing.

"Yes we are" Reid answers him.

"Are you guys going to get married?" Henry asks us, this question takes us both off guard and I am at a loss for words. We have only been dating a few months and while I feel like things are serious between us I haven't even thought of marriage. I have let my mind wonder to where my future will be and I know that I see Reid standing there beside me, I just don't want to freak him out by imagining matching rings on our fingers.

"Okay Henry that is enough questions for now. Why don't you and Jack go see if uncle Dave has lunch ready" JJ tells him, she is steering away the conversation from the awkward situation we are in now.

"Okay mom" He says and then he runs off with Jack following behind him. Will has picked up Michael and I can tell he is trying not to laugh.

"Guys I am so sorry about that, he is kind of in a phase where he has questions for everything" JJ is apologizing to us.

"It's okay" I say, I can still feel Reid's arm around me but I can't look up at him. JJ and Will walk away to go follow the kids and Reid guides me over to where Garcia and Morgan are. Garcia has a baby in her arms, I instantly recognize him as the same baby that fills up many of the pictures on Morgan's desk, and a few pictures in Reid's apartment. Garcia is holding Hank in her arms and talking with the woman standing next to her, she has light brown skin and she is gorgeous. I have heard so much about Savannah but have yet to meet her. As we get closer I can hear Garcia cooing over her god son, she is planting small kisses on his head and I watch as both Morgan and Savannah share smiles.

"I just want to take him home with me" Garcia says in between giving Hank kisses.

"Baby girl you can't take him home with you, it would just break my heart and you wouldn't want that would you?" Morgan teases her.

"You are lucky I want to keep your big heart intact. But couldn't I just borrow him for a weekend?" She asks Savannah.

"I'll tell you what Penelope, next time we need a date night you will be the first one we call" Savannah tells her.

"You could always ask us too" Spencer tells them. At the sound of his voice I can see Morgan's face break out into a smile, and an almost identical one soon follows on the face of the baby still in Garcia's hands. As we get closer I can see the similarities in Hank's face that he shares with his mom as well, a perfect mix of two incredible human beings, not only in looks but skills as well. She is a doctor and he is one of the greatest profilers I have ever met, the mix of genes he has in that little body of his is already such an advantage. I think of Henry and Michael, both of their parents are heroes. Thinking of all the overwhelming amount of perfection in this room is enough to make me dizzy.

"Pretty boy, you finally decided to stop by" Morgan teases him. Morgan pulls him into a tight hug. I watch as Garcia hands Hank back to Savannah as she comes over to pull me into a hug.

"Izzy, I'm so glad you two are finally here" She practically screams as her arms wrap around me. As soon as she lets go she moves over to Spencer to hug him, it's like we trade because Morgan comes over to kiss my cheek and then hug me. When he pulls away he keeps his around my shoulder and steers me in the direction of his wife.

"This is my wife Savannah, and our son Hank. And Savannah, this is Izzy, not only is she a valuable member of our team but nowadays she is Reid's better half as well" Savannah hands Hank back to Garcia and pulls me into a quick hug.

"It is so nice to meet you finally" She tells me with a warm smile. "I have heard so much about you from Derek, he says you are quite the profiler" At the sound of her words I can feel a blush creeping along my cheeks.

"Thank you. I have definitely found my family within our team" I tell her and I watch as Garcia, Morgan, and Spencer start to smile. "And Hank is so adorable, Spencer talks about his all the time" I tell her.

"Isn't he just precious" Garcia agrees with me.

"Do you want to hold him?" Savannah asks me. I nod my head and she hands Hank over to me and I move my arms to get him in a comfortable position. I can feel him grab a piece of my hair, not in a rough way but it is gentle, a way for him to balance himself as he makes the transition from being in the arms of his mother to now a complete stranger. From the first touch my heart melts, he smiles up at me and I now truly understand Garcia's desire to take him home with her. He is so quiet and content, happy with who is holding him, happy with me. "He really likes you" Savannah tells me.

"Yeah, he really does" I can hear Spencer say. I try not to look up but I can feel his eyes glued to the scene in front of him. His girlfriend holding his god son, much less being so comfortable with holding a baby, especially a baby that is so important to him. The last thing I would want to do is scare away my boyfriend of four months but something about holding Hank feels so right, and I can't help but imagining a time where we will be having a family dinner, but this time Spencer and I will be the one leaving with a baby, our baby. I am pulled out of my trance by the sight of a new face. A tall man with dark brown hair comes up and wraps him arm around Garcia's middle, she smiles up at him and takes the drink he offers her.

"Izzy, this is my boyfriend Sam, Sam this is Izzy. She works at the BAU with us and she is also dating Reid" I move ever so gently and hand Hank to Spencer and extend my hand out to Sam.

"It is very nice to meet you" Sam tells me.

"It is nice to meet you too, Penelope has told me so much about you" I tell him. Garica's bubbly personality makes it easy for her to talk and talk, and since I have joined the team I have also joined the tradition of girls' night, along with Emily and JJ. Meaning that we are always the first to know the dish when it comes to Sam, so when I tell him that I have heard so much about him I don't mean that lightly. Since I am with Spencer and he is a member of the team I try and keep some parts of our relationship private for his sake, meaning that I am usually doing a lot of the listing, rather than the talking. They all try and get the details about how far our relationship has gone, it's an awkward subject as our relationship is not as physical as most people would probably be when it is coming up 5 months of dating, but our relationship isn't a typical one. Both of us have faced hardships in the past when it comes to relationships, it can be hard to be ready for that physical intimacy again when the last person we shared it with, is dead now. Whenever a question like comes up I try and distract them by telling them something that Spencer had done that was the sweetest thing. They already knew that while he may be awkward at times, and as brilliant as his beautiful mind is it has tendencies to be unable to read social situations, that he was one of the most caring people we all know. They all find it fascinating to see him in role as a boyfriend, rather than just a doctor and profiler.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less, our Penelope tends to be quite the talker" He jokes with us.

"Handsome and Funny, Sam is really the whole package" Garcia says as she snuggles up to him. I have heard that she used to date someone else who works within the FBI, another technical analyst but they broke up because they wanted different things, I have been told about how down she was and it makes me happy to know that she has someone else, this job can be a lot for someone, especially the ray of sunshine that is Penelope Garcia. Having someone to talk to, even someone who doesn't know the minds of killers like we do, can be cathartic to talk to about the job, they may not fully understand, but they can listen. It goes the same for relationships between JJ and Will, or Spencer and I, we have someone who knows exactly what we have been going through and that can be just as helpful.

"Lunch is ready" Emily says as she pokes her head around the corner, a smile fills her face as soon as she sees Spencer and I and she comes over for quick hugs.

"Emily" Spencer says and he hugs her tightly, everyone in our team shares a different kind of relationship with her. They all had to watch her die only to see a ghost as she came back months later, alive and well. Faking her own death to not only protect herself but the ones she love. I can see it in each and every one of their eyes whenever she is around, the way everyone cherishes her just a little bit more, but would never say it aloud. They know what it is like to live without her, and weather they notice it or not, they are always seeming like they are making up for lost time and will always make sure to get the most time with her as they possibly can. When she comes to hug me I can smell food on her, not in a bad way, but in a familiar way. The smell of Rossi's cooking radiating off everyone who has entered his house and our family.

"Sorry I didn't come to see you guys sooner, I was the first one here so I was helping Rossi cook with Joy" She tells me. Joy is the name of Rossi's daughter, I have never met her or her husband and son but have heard many stories and the pictures that fill Rossi's desk in his office.

"This must be extra special if Joy is in town" Spencer says. Emily nods her head and then follows Sam and Garcia into the kitchen, Spencer goes to follow them but I grab his arm and stop him. He looks confused until I take both of my hands up to his face and kiss him. He didn't expect it at first but after a second wraps his arms around my middle. It would look like he is about to pick me up considering I am standing on my tip toes in order to meet his lips, I kiss him a few more times and then let go of his face and wrap my arms around his neck. "What was that for?" He says through a smile, I can see the light in his beautiful brown eyes, the ones I could look into forever.

"Because of you. I was so nervous to meet everyone today but you have just been so great. And not to mention that you are the basically a kid magnet and it is one of the best things I have ever witnessed" I tell him and kiss him lightly once more. He smiles and I untangle my arms from his neck and take his hand and lead him into the kitchen. The sweet aroma of Italian cooking have found its way into every nook and cranny of this house but walking into the belly of the beast is a whole other sensation. There are flavors coming from everywhere. Sitting on the kitchen counter eating crackers is a young boy, he looks to be a little younger than Henry, he is dark brown skinned and is being watched by a light brown skinned woman and a tall man with skin the same shade of Rossi's. That must be Rossi's family, his daughter Joy and her husband and son Kai. I can see some similarities between Joy and Rossi, not so much in looks but in little mannerisms. I can tell they have the same type of focus whenever completing tasks, I can see how she is checking every dish that surrounds her, no doubt creating a mental list in her head about everything that is ready to be served. Once she looks content she takes Kai into her arms and set him down onto the ground and he runs over to where his grandpa is, with hands full of food.

"I see the lovebirds have finally made it into the kitchen, what were you two doing all by yourselves?" Morgan teases the two of us. I hope there isn't hint of a blush on my face because there is clearly one all over Spencer's. I lace our fingers together and we go over to the dinner table and sit down for the feast Rossi has just prepared. Joy smiles at me as she sits down a few seats down from mine.

"I'm Joy" She directs at me as her son is trying to get her attention. She pulls him from his own seat and into her lap.

"I'm Izzy" I tell her and wave back at Kai who is waving at me.

"My dad has said some really great things about you, he loves having you on the team" She tells me. I have gotten so many compliments today but this one means something in a different way, Rossi was the one who started the BAU, and the fact that he has talked about me to his daughter makes me feel really good.

"That really means a lot" I say and hope Rossi hears.

"This is my son Kai, he can be shy sometimes but it seems like he has taken a liking to you" She says as Kai has a huge smile on his face. Joy kisses Kai on the cheek and then starts to cut up some of his food on the plate. Morgan and Savannah are sitting at our end of the table with Hank in a car seat on the floor, still too little to sit at the table. While Henry is sitting in a chair between both of his parents, Will has Michael on his lap and is alternating between taking a bite of his own food and feeding some to Michael. Jack is sitting next to Hotch who is next to Emily over by Garcia and Sam who are down the opposite of Spencer and I. For the first few minutes after we all begin eating there seems to be mostly silence, us all just enjoying the food and the company. We spend our time talking about everything that doesn't actually involve work, it is nice to take a few hours away from psycho paths and serial killers and enjoy the company of each other and act like a more conventional family. After our plates have been cleared we are able to just talk, I am holding Spencer's hand on the table when he picks up my hand and kisses it gently, an act of PDA that is unusual for him, but nice. I watch the way that Joy and Rossi interact, he didn't know about her for most of her life but you wouldn't have noticed unless you were already told. They act so comfortable around each other, like they had been doing the whole father/daughter thing for only the past few years. Hotch looks down at his phone and I watch his face fall back into the same serious nature it usually is in.

"I'm so sorry but we just got a case" Hotch breaks the news to the whole table. Rossi gets up and starts to clear the table.

"It's okay dad, I'll clean up, it is the least I can do for you letting us stay with you" She smiles at him.

"You will always be welcome to stay at this house, anytime" Rossi wraps Joy into a hug and then Kai stands up and gives his grandpa a hug.

"Go on to work dad, someone needs you" Joy tells him and Rossi makes his way around the kitchen to find his stuff.

"I'll take the boys home" Will tells JJ as he stands up and hands Michael to her so she can say goodbye. I watch as Hotch bends down to Jack's level with a look on his face that looks rehearsed, the same look he must have ready every single time a new case comes up and he has to leave his son. I couldn't ever imagine that type of pain, especially for Hotch who is Jack's only parent left.

"We have to go buddy, I'll call aunt Jessica to come and pick you up but I promise that I will stay here with you until she shows up" Hotch tells him in a gentle voice. Hotch is keeping it together very well but I can see the cracks in the interior, I can see the pain behind his eyes that he is trying not to show.

"I'll take him if you want, he can hang out with Henry for a little while and then Jessica can pick him up from there" Will offers.

"Do you want to go over to aunt JJ's house and play with Henry?" Hotch asks Jack. I watch Jack nod his head in agreement. "Thank you Will" Hotch tells him and then bends down to give Jack a hug. I watch Savannah pick up the car seat that has Hank in it and take him out of the car seat and hand him to Morgan. Morgan kisses the top of his son's head and holds him close. He gives him back to Savannah and then kisses her, already knowing he is going to have to leave his family for a case.

"We will see you when you come back home" Savannah tells him and gives him one more kiss.

"We can give you a ride" Garcia offers Morgan.

"Thank you baby girl" I watch as the house slowly disperses, that bubble of a reality without unsubs is now popped and we all have to get back to the real world. I take Spencer's hand as we walk out of the house and into my car, I get into the driver's seat and he goes into the passenger's seat, we have fallen in a pattern, the familiarity with each other grows more and more each and every day. The whole time I am driving I can feel his looking at me, not in a creepy way but with a gaze full of love, not that I would ever utter that word aloud. That four letter word can have the power to either destroy or continue a relationship, say it too early and everything could implode. I wouldn't want to ruin what we have by saying it too early. I do love him, I loved him when I first joined the team. That was originally a different kind of love, the same way I love everyone on our team, but over the past few months I have grown to love him in the way that gives me visions of marriage and babies, another thing that would absolutely freak him out.

"You have been staring at me the entire time" I say through a laugh to him, I keep my eyes fixed on the road and can feel the temptation of looking over at him.

"Oh, sorry" He says sheepishly, I feel bad now.

"No, it's okay. I actually thought it was endearing" I reassure him. I hate it when I make him feel awkward like that, I know how hard he tries, relationships are new to him. Especially ones with people who aren't on the same intellectual wave length as him, he has reassured me that it doesn't matter to him, I remember how he looked when he told me, and I try and think about it whenever I feel insecure.

"I guess I was just excited to see you with everyone today, I mean I know you care about them too but they are some of the most important people in my life and now that you are too I just like seeing you at the family dinners" He is stumbling over his words slightly nervous, I feel myself smiling when he tells me I am one of the most important people in his life.

"Spencer" I say to him and then stop. I can feel myself losing my nerve to tell him, seal that deal of letting him know I love him.

"Yes" He replies.

"Do you want me to stop at your apartment to get your go bag?" I chicken out.

"No, I always keep a spare in a drawer in my desk. With the amount we travel we practically live out of suitcases-" He laughs and then gets serious as he continues "the only good thing is that it will be easier if you moved in since you usually have some sort of bag packed for cases" He doesn't even skip a beat between talking about me moving in one day, he goes straight into rambling about where we could possibly be going this time. I can't focus on anything new he is saying, I'm fixated on his comment about me moving in, the fact that he even has thoughts like that makes me want to tell him that I love him. In that big beautiful brain of his, all jumbled together with equations and theories and random facts that would seem useless to some but actually help us out a lot, all mixed in with that are thoughts of me. I can feel my heart swell, maybe my thoughts today of babies and marriage wouldn't scare him. His brain does tend to move and work faster than others, maybe he can already start to comprehend all of this. We pull up to the bureau and I pull into my spot, I get out of the car and try and contain my excitement, he might not even realize what he has said, it was just a thought in his head that was relevant to the conversation that we were having and it just slipped out. I try and act natural, we haven't even slept over at each other's places, much less have sex yet, moving in would have to come behind both of those things, but just the thought of him seeing our relationship moving forward is something exciting to me. I find my go bag in the trunk, I can feel him standing there and watching me the whole time I was looking for it. I turn to face him and realize how close he is standing to me.

"I found it" I tell him, I can feel my breath getting shorter being in such close proximity to him. I suddenly start to feel nervous a little, the same butterflies I got on our first few dates.

"Do you want me to carry it for you?" He offers. I nod my head and get on my tip toes to kiss his cheek. I didn't really think of our height difference that much until I was super close to him like I am now. I hand him my bag and I feel our hands brush, I can't even listen to myself think, my thoughts sound like the ones of a middle school talking to her crush for the first time. We walk together, this time without our hands joined. Walking into the FBI holding hands would not be very professional, no matter how much I want to be close to him right now. When we get up to the office the rest of the team has all just arrived, I can already see the smirk on Morgan's face. I brace for the witty comment about Spencer and I, no doubt making some joke about us unable to keep our hands off each other.

"Looks like the love birds have finally made it" He teases us as we walk past him while heading for the stairs. He is right behind us and his mouth keeps running. Morgan is by far one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my life, and he always means well but when a big brother's little brother gets a girlfriend there is going to be some teasing to be expected.

"We hit some traffic" Spencer informs him.

"Oh, is that what the kids are calling it nowadays" I playfully hit his arm and he puts his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I'm done" He laughs it off and whispers something to Spencer,that I can hear. "you got yourself a feisty one, that's good for you" We walk into the room and Garcia is setting up the monitor and some truly gruesome pictures fill the screen. It looks as what once was a body is now in pieces, still bloody pieces meaning this murder is fresh.

"I know, this absolutely disgusts me" Garcia tells us as we sit down. I take my normal seat next to Spencer and focus my attention up at the screen.

"How fresh is the body?" Spencer asks her, he is already thinking the same thing I was.

"The body was just found now but it looks like the actions of cutting the body into itty bitty pieces happened as soon as yesterday" She answers him.

"Then how did we know about this so fast? Did someone come across the body?" Prentiss asks her.

"That's the thing, while we do not know the name of this victim, something we are working on trying to identify right as I speak, and we don't have any idea if this body is the only one, we do have somewhat of a lead on who our unsub could be" She tells us all.

"How?' Hotch asks her.

"The reason we were able to get this case so fast and find the body is because a tip was called in my a concerned therapist who thought one of their patients was capable of committing a crime like this, and he knew this because after their last session he could tell his patient was agitated and mentioned having dreams and thoughts of cutting up his enemies" She tells the whole table, with the same look of shock on her face that we all have. We could already have our unsub. "Our case is in Vegas, the wonderful hometown of our one and only boy wonder, Reid" I can see a little bit of light in this obvious dark case, going to where Spencer is from, he might have time to visit his mom, something I know would make his happy. It also might give me the opportunity to meet her, getting to know someone as important as my boyfriend's mom will really cement the seriousness of our relationship. A step I know I am ready to take, hopefully one he is ready to take as well, I mean he has mentioned moving in together, I'm sure he will be thrilled to introduce me to his mom.

"We need to get down there very soon, we need to find this therapist and ask him what he knows. Wheels up in 20" Hotch says and then is the first to leave the room, with the rest of us following close behind.

"We are going to where you grew up, if we have time you will have to show me around, and we can go see your mom" I tell him as we leave the room and head to grab our bags.

"Yeah" Is all he responds with, he doesn't seem as excited as I would assume he would be from the way he talks about his mom, there is something wrong but I can't seem to pinpoint exactly what it is.

Reid's POV

Izzy sits next to me on the jet, we all sit anxiously waiting on any update on who are victim is and if they could locate the therapist who called in the tip. I can feel her inching her hand near mine, she is surprisingly in a good mood about going to Vegas, she couldn't stop going on about me showing her around places, something that I am excited about. I would love to take her to some of my favorite places but she keeps bringing up seeing my mom, something that I am not sure is a good plan. My mom's mind is going through a lot, she gets confused more easily and I just don't think introducing her to a new person right now is such a great idea. I've let Izzy know about the schizophrenia and the conditions I grew up in, I know my mom tried her best, always, that is something that I never will dispute but the schizophrenia really took a toll on her. The onset alzheimers has confused her further, it has muddled her mind and greatly impaired her memory. I haven't told Izzy yet but there have been times when I am on the phone with my mom and she just simply doesn't remember who she is having a conversation with. So far it hasn't lasted more than a few moments, as soon as I restate my name she quickly can jump back into a conversation. Those few moments are already heart wrenching and while they are brief I know they are just a glimpse of the dark road ahead. I don't want to hurt Izzy, that is that last thing I want to do, but introducing my mom to a new person just doesn't seem like the best thing right now. When she finally does take my hand I let her, she turns and smiles at me and she can instantly tell there is something wrong, I can see it in her eyes.

"What is wrong?" She asks me, the ability for her to know me so well can sometimes be a blessing, her ability to understand me completely is something that helps her to be ahead of everyone else and be on the same page as me, for so long it was just me ahead of everyone but somehow she has found a way for her mind to move as fast as mine. Blessings can sometimes be a curse, and its times like this when they really are. She is already anticipating that there is something different in my usual behavior, she is studying my behavior, doing her job as a profiler I suppose.

"Just waiting to get information on the case, that's all. The fact that our potential unsubs psychiatrist had to call in a tip means that he could be deteriorating mentally and could easily be a sign that he is already devolving, meaning that his actions will be all over the place instead of planned and it will just be harder for us to find him" I can feel myself rambling, I know to most people the normal response I get when I tend to ramble is annoyance or just ignoring me, but the way she looks at me, authentically hanging onto every single word that is coming out of my mouth. She looks at me with such a fascination, something that I know she really means.

"Yeah, your right. From what I already know about the case it seems like the crime is either disorganized or the result of a psychotic break and either doesn't seem like it would be a better option for the general public, especially if this guy is on the loose" She tells me. Just looking into those big brown eyes of hers makes me just want to tell her, open up about what has been happening with my mom, I know she would understand and want to be there but it is something that I just can't talk about right now, my mom means the world to me and her schizophrenia was one thing but that was something I learned to deal with over the years as I grew up but now, adding something else onto that is just too hard sometimes. She continues to go on about the possibilities of the case, something I would normally be excited about but I can feel my mind begin to cloud. Consumed with the thoughts and fears for my mother. I am trying to think of what I can say next to her that won't make the truth come spilling out, I already feel like I am lying to her and it's making me feel guilty, I never wanted to hide anything from her, especially not my feelings. The sound of Garcia's voice fills the jet and I get out of my seat to get closer to the screen, I can feel the warmth of Izzy's hand leave mine and I feel guilty yet again, such a small gesture now means the world to me, now that I have someone I really care about.

"Hello, hello" Her bright voice says over the screen, her glasses match her outfit, something I don't think I had noticed earlier.

"What do you got for us Garcia?" Hotch asks her, he sits a few seats down from Izzy and ,I around JJ, Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi. The two of us separated, as if we are in our own little world. When I move to get closer I lean against Morgan's chair, Izzy just adjusts her position so she can see better, something I could have easily done, I hope she is focused enough on the case that she didn't notice.

"I don't have much as you guys would want, I am very sorry guys" She tells us, I can tell there is disappointment with herself in her voice, upset that she can't do more to help the team out right now.

"That's okay baby girl, why don't you tell us what you have so far" Morgan comforts her.

"What I do have is a trace to the call that was picked up by 911, the therapist didn't give his name but did give the name of his patient, his patients name is Johnathan King and so of course I looked him up and there is only a handful of people who have that same name in the area so I will have to do more research into that but I did get the recording of that 911 call for you guys to listen to" Garcia clicks a button and then another voice begins talking.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"I want to report a patient, I really think he is going to do something"

"Sir, are you with this person right now? Is your life in any kind of danger?"

"No, but he just stormed out of my office and he was telling me he had been having dreams about killing people, chopping them up into little pieces and killing people"

"Sir, what is this man's name? Did he threaten you or anyone else?"

"He didn't threaten me or even anyone specifically but he said he wanted to hurt people. His name is Johnathan King and I am his therapist, please, you need to stop him" There is a click on the other line.

"Sir, are you there? Are you still there?" There is no answer and eventually she just hangs up the phone, leaving the silence to move through the recording and onto our jet. We all sit, with the exception of me standing, but all the same look on our face and the feeling of utter disbelief. The chilling conversation, still resonating through all of us.

"Creepy right?" Garcia says as she breaks the silence.

"Any idea about who the caller could be?" Hotch asks her.

"I'm still tracing it now sir, it was harder to do because they weren't on the phone for very long but I've got some tricks up my sleeves, it is just going to take a little longer than usual" She tells Hotch.

"Just keep working your magic for us mamma" Morgan tells her, his words earn a smile from her and she seems less on edge.

"Thank you Garcia" Hotch tells her and she is content, his encouragement allows her to focus on the case at hand.

"I won't let you down sir" She says and then with a click her face disappears off the screen. After she is gone a simultaneous bing erupts from all the tablets indicating that Garcia has sent us all something pertaining to the case. I pick up my paper copies, preferring these to the electronic copies, having all these innovations only is continuing the demise of paper copies. Soon books will be considered obsolete and that is something that scares me. Before Izzy I only used my phone for purposes of the case, but now I find myself calling her on the phone every night, even after spending the whole day with her I still want to have endless conversations with her.

"It looks like we finally found the identity of our victim, he was a homeless man named Daniel Campbell, his fingerprints were in the database from when he was arrested for stealing a couple of months ago. It looks like he had been homeless for a while, they had to contact his estranged sister to identify the body" Hotch says allowed, everyone is scrolling through their tablets looking for information that can help us find this unsub.

"So we know our unsub is mentally ill, maybe part of his illness has something to do with hating homeless people, that isn't anything we haven't seen before" JJ says.

"Or he could have been controlling his urges so long that when he finally did snap he just needed that instant gratification and he killed the first person he saw, in this case a very unlucky homeless man" Prentiss counters off JJ's point.

"From what we have seen so far I would classify this unsub as some mix of unorganized but also has the preciseness to cut up the bodies, not an easy task, especially not something that a scattered man who had previously made a confession about his desires would be able to perform under so much pressure" Morgan says. He has that look on his face, the same one he always gets when he is trying so hard to get to the bottom of the case but nothing is seeming to budge. Izzy says I have a distinct look on my face, she says it's a mix of concentration and frustration, she described it as cute that night we laid together with her wrapped in my arms after we both had a few drinks. It was nice, and I remember her voice as she whispered that to me, the smell of her hair, and the way she kissed me afterword. It never has gone much farther than kisses, then it wouldn't have been fair, we were both a few drinks in and it would have been taking advantage, and I wouldn't want our first time to be during a drunken night. So we laid there, just enjoying each other's company and that was enough, she is always enough for me, even more if that is possible. I am a man of logic and facts, but when I am with her it somehow isn't the only thing that matters, it seems as if she is the only thing that matters. She notices me starting at her, she smiles and I don't feel embarrassed, more disappointed that I am not telling her how I feel, I used to be such a forward person but worrying about feelings, especially those who are close to me, are something that always come first. But allowing her to get excited about something and then upsetting her isn't something I want to do.

"Maybe the reason he was being treated was for a form of personality disorder" I offer. I watch their reactions, my realization suddenly dawning on them and making absolute sense.

"That would explain the presence of disorganization but also the ability to complete the process of cutting up a body with the preciseness that is needed" Izzy says to everyone.

"We will have to talk to the therapist and also examine the body. Rossi and JJ, I want you two to come with me to set up at the station and begin to talk to the sister of the victim, Morgan and Reid, I want you two to go to the Medical Examiners office and look at the body, Reid that will give you a chance to see up close if your theory is right. Prentiss and Izzy, I want you guys to go to the office of the therapist and interview him, as soon as Garcia sends us the address of where the call came from I will have an address for you guys" Hotch tells us, we all nod in response and I go back to sit down next to Izzy. I look out the window and don't say anything, just watching the passing clouds as we head closer and closer to the state I once called my home.

"I can't wait to get to Vegas, hopefully we will have time for you to show me around and finally meet your mom" She says, giving me the perfect opportunity to tell her I am scared, I have an irrational fear that by introducing her to my mom is inviting her into my world of unpredictability and the little bit of memory she has left will be consumed with seeing everything she will miss out on with me. Introducing my mom to my future will make it that much more real that there is a possibility she won't get the time to learn all the wonderfulness that is my Izzy, and that scares me.

Morgan and I stand in front of what remains of this body, all the pieces of the body lay scattered around the two tables that stand before us, the torso and the head are still connected but the arms are disfigured and in multiple pieces, along with the legs. The head is still connected to what is left of what once was his body but there is a deep slit along the throat. His head isn't yet decapitated but it was awfully close to being off, whoever killed this man had to be strong, this was no easy task. The amount of force alone to complete such a task would take a lot out of any person, no matter what their strength is. There is a slit along the stomach of the body, it looks like the unsub cut the body open, I keep a mental note that it could have been an urge to eat the human flesh, if it is then they usually go for the organs. I will have to ask the M.E about if there was any organs missing, the actions of cannibalism will be important to the profile if it is true. I examine each and every piece as I wait for the M.E to go get some more paper copies for me to take back to the station, it always makes things take a little longer but I can use this time to look a little closer at the bodies. The official report can answer a lot of questions for me but I tend to be a little more hands on when it comes to my work. Morgan looks focused as he takes his time on the other side of the room to look at everything, some people would find this eerie, the silence among the only two living people in the room as they stand if front of the dead, but this calms me. Not the fact that they are dead but the concentration on the work is what I enjoy, just completing the task at hand. Morgan looks up and goes to talk, breaking the silence.

"Izzy was pretty good today with Hank, she really seemed to be in her element with him" Morgan says to me. I don't know where he is going with this, I already told Izzy that I saw that motherly instinct in her come out, and it was nice to see.

"Yeah she was. I already told her that earlier" I say to him, I watch as my words make his expression change into a big smile. He is laughing. "What is so funny?" I ask him.

"No wonder you guys were a little late, she was probably getting baby fever and your comments indulged her" He continues to laugh as he speaks.

"That isn't true, and we didn't do anything that you are insinuating" I try and keep my voice calm, let him know that this conversation isn't making me as nervous as it truly is. Morgan would never let me live it down if he knew that me and my girlfriend of almost 6 months, someone I actually have met in person and spend each and every day with, have not had sex yet. It isn't something I tend to bring up into conversation, especially not with Morgan.

"Whatever you say kid, but I guarantee she will be looking at you with big heart eyes for the rest of the day" He says to me. I want to say something witty back at him, but even thinking about saying anything out loud about that possibility that I could be breaking Izzy's heart today just makes me too sad. I don't want to hurt her, I really don't, but I just can't give her that chance for her to meet my mom, at least not right now. My feelings and the M.E. walking back into the room that keep me from unloading everything I have been keeping inside.

"Here are your paper copies Doctor Reid, just let me know if you will need me to fax over anything else" She tells me. She gives me the files and I scan over them, reading at an incredible speed that astonishes many but has always come naturally to me. There have been times when Izzy had come over and we were just spending our day off enjoying each other's company, me sitting on the couch reading a book while she watches and smiles, planting small kisses along my hand she holds while I balance the book with my free one, only slightly distracting me. Just thinking about the two of us siting on my couch, snuggled up together, having that close contact that I used to hate but feels so right with her, makes everything weigh down heavier than already on my mind. I break out of my trance and give her a smile.

"Thank you" I tell her.

"What do we know about the victim?" Morgan asks her.

"He obviously was cut into pieces, the cause of death was the slitting of the throat causing him to bleed out, it would have been a quick death but filled with a lot of pain. My conclusions was that the cutting of the limbs was done post modem but the cut to the abdomen was done while our victim was still alive"

"So there was some torture involved?" Morgan asks.

"I would say yes" She replies.

"Was there any sign of missing organs?" I ask her.

"No, everything seemed to be there when I was examining him" She says and Morgan and I both breathe a sigh of relief, while we can't rule cannibalization out until we finish with the profile, this is giving a very good chance that we don't have a cannibal roaming the streets.

"What about the dismembering of the body, was there anything surgical about it?" Morgan asks.

"That was one thing that bothered me about that, there weren't the obvious signs that this was performed by anyone with medical knowledge, but there was the level of organization from someone that was precise but almost just ordinary enough to not to raise any flags"

"So our unsub either has done this before or is incredibility smart" Morgan says.

"Or both" I reply to him. All of the questions that have been floating around my head have started to get some answers.

Izzy's POV

Prentiss drives as I read her the directions to the address Garcia sent us. It look her a little longer than usual to get us a direct address to where the call was made from but she finally found it, as we get closer and closer Garcia is trying to find everything she can on the therapists that work from that office, maybe find something that will give us the identity of who made that phone call. The car stops and I look up from the tablet I was reading from to see that we have pulled into the parking lot in front of a normal looking office building, who would have know a monster would have been brewing inside there for so long. We both get out of the car and she goes over to the sign out front that should have the list of all the names of the therapists that work there, I follow her and look, I notice that there is an empty slot among all the names. "It looks as if someone is leaving this office" I say to her.

"Or maybe they just want people to believe they are" She says back to me. I open up the door and hold it for Prentiss as she walks in, I soon follows behind her and we go inside to find many closed doors with names on them. "We should probably check the door without a name on it, if he covered his bases correctly then he would have taken the name off the door as well" She says.

"That makes sense" I reply as we look around the room. It is creepily quiet in the room, everything about the situation feels unsettling to me. Pretniss motions for me to come over to where she stands, she points to a door that has the fresh scar of what was once there, probably the name of the man we are looking for. Prentiss knocks on the door and we wait. We can hear a rustling coming from the inside, signs that there is someone in there. Suddenly a tall and lanky man opens the door and there are signs of relief in his eyes, that soon passes over and I can tell we are not the people he was expecting to see.

"Oh, hello. Are you two looking for a therapist? I usually treat the psychiatric but I could recommend you two to a wonderful couples therapist I know" He tells us, Prentiss and I look at each other and I can tell we are both trying not to break out into a smile as we look back at him, Spencer would find this funny when I tell him later.

"Actually we aren't a couple, we are from the FBI" She tells him. I study his face closely and watch as the calmness from seeing us is rapidly changing to one of anxiety and fear. I pull out my badge and show him, Prentiss does the same.

"I am SSA Santiago and this is SSA Pretniss" I say and motion to her.

"I should have known you would be coming" He breathes out. He runs his hands through his already messy hair and pushes the door open as he walks back into his office. When he moves the door back I can see the room is now filled with boxes, he really must be moving out of the office.

"Does that mean you were the one who called in the tip to the police? The one about a patient of yours?" Prentiss asks him.

"Yes" He answers as he paces back and forth around the room. "He just came in and was so anxious, I kept asking him if he had been taking his medication because the way he was talking was just pure insanity. I kept trying to calm him down but he kept talking about all the delusions he has had the whole time I have been working with him. He kept saying that he needed to hurt those who had wronged him, that he was going to get the revenge he deserved. He had spent so much time talking in detail about how he was going to cut people up, dismember these bodies and all the ways he was going to hurt them, it got to be too much sometimes" He keeps rambling on, it looks like this person really took a toll on his and his mind.

"What is the name of this person? We need to find out his identity" Prentiss asks him, he continues to pace as if he is reliving all the moments he spent with our unsub.

"Christian, his name is Christian Barns and he came to me a little over a month ago" He breaths out and then sits down on the couch.

"I'll text Garcia and see if we can find this guy" Prentiss says and pulls out her phone, I walk over by the couch and try and talk more with him.

"Why didn't you give out your name or his name to the 911 dispatcher?" I ask him. "Was he in the room with you when you called?" I ask him, he is looking as if each question I ask him tears him apart just a little bit more.

"I honestly was in such an intense situation, he just came in and was so angry and I just needed to report him to someone, he said he was going to go on some killing mission to take out anyone he believed needed to die, as if they had wronged him. That was always the root of his delusions, he never really knew that many people but he felt as if there were people that made him this way, wronged him in some way and that he needed to take care of them"

"So this was a ongoing delusion?" I ask.

"Yes, I diagnosed him with Delusional Disorder very early on due to him having frequent delusions and often had a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy, we had only met once a week for the past month, I didn't know if he was going to remain my patient after I moved my office out here, sorry about the mess" He tells me as he motions to all the boxes. So he wasn't trying to run away and hide, he had just moved into this office, and now he probably won't be moving in at all. If a maniac knew where I lived and had told me in gruesome detail of ways he could kill people, I would probably move right away.

"It is okay, gosh I don't even know your name yet, what is it?" I ask him, trying to get more information about him without flat out asking, I can tell he is a fragile man.

"It is Dennis Green, I am sorry I didn't give my name when I contacted the police, he had just left and I was worried that me or my family was in danger. I really didn't want to have to get involved, but I did want someone to know" He says, it looks as if he is about to cry.

"It is okay, we can get you protection for you and your family and if you could give us your files on him it would help us out a lot to find him" I tell him in a comforting voice, trying to make him feel a little bit better about an impossible situation. He nods his head and then walks over to a filing cabinet and pulls out a thin file.

"This is all I have on him, he was a newer patient of mine, sorry that I don't have more to give you guys" He says in a apologetic tone, he clearly thinks that any of this is his fault, as if his work as a therapist wasn't successful.

"Thank you for this, this is better than nothing" I give him a small smile and hope that my small gesture brings him some peace. I hand him my card before speaking again. "Just call me if you need anything, especially if Christian tries to contact you again, if he does want to have another session just try and bring it into conversation about how long it would take him to get to your office, at that point you will need to act calm and let him think you don't know anything about our investigation into him. If you can lead him here just get out of the building as soon as possible and alert us if he just shows up, he is very dangerous and you could be a potential target of his" I tell him in a very serious tone, sometimes therapists can be calm and think they can handle the situation, and sometimes they crack, and Dr. Green is seeming to be the latter.

"Why would I be a target?" He sounds frightened as he speaks.

"Sometimes unsubs blame their problems on others, he may believe you were the answer to curing him and since he finally acted out his impulses that could mean he blames you for his actions. It in no way means that it is actually true, that is just how his brain is processing that he was the one who committed these horrible crimes"

"So he really killed someone?" He says with a chill, I can physically see it go through his body.

"Yes, a homeless man. Did he ever talk about a hatred for the homeless, I know you mentioned a lot of his delusions revolved around the ideas of getting revenge"

"I don't believe so, but he did tell me that when he was younger him and his mother were homeless for a few months after his father left them. A recurring one of his delusions was him seeing his father again and tearing him limb from limb for leaving their family" He says.

"What was the reason his father left?" I ask, the killing of the homeless man was obviously a form of trying to kill who he was, he wants to detach himself entirely from who he used to be. Being homeless left him helpless, he is finally taking control, ready to start anew.

"He cheated on the mother, his mistress got pregnant and he left his wife so he could marry again and support his new family, it was truly awful to hear about. It really seemed to effect him even in the present" So any sleazeball father and husband, or someone he views that way, could be a potential new target.

"Did anything major happen recently to trigger this unraveling?" I ask, hoping somewhere we can find the stresser.

"His father did recently die, he went to the funeral. We had spent a whole session on it preparing and he seemed very well adjusted, it clearly must not have gone very well because when he came to his next session he was spiraling" We found the trigger.

"Thank you, that was very helpful" I smile and then walk out of the room back over to Pretniss.

"Garcia is looking up information on our unsub now, seeing if she can find anyone that matches the mental history of his patient"

"He gave me his file and told me a little bit more about who he is as a person, apparently this all happened after he went to his absent fathers funeral" I tell her.

"Well there is the stresser"

"That is what I thought, and there was a period of his life when because of his father him and his mother were homeless, the killing of the homeless man could be symbolic"

"Then he could either continue to kill homeless men or start to go after people like his father"

"We need to get back to station right away, start building this profile" I tell her and we both rush back out to the car.

We walk into the station and find the rest of the team all together, I see Spencer and give him a big smile, already imaging his laugh as I tell him about the therapist that thought Emily and I were a couple. Spencer goes up to Hotch and pulls him aside to tell him something, he gives him a look and then Spencer grabs my hand and leads me over to an empty room, Spencer flips on the lights and I let out laugh. "Wow, sexy" I joke with him, he doesn't laugh.

"Iz, I got to tell you something" His tone is serious. I step closer to him and study his face. "I wanted to wait until the case was over but I couldn't let this weigh on me anymore, I have just felt so bad all day"

"Spencer, you are scaring me" Everything bad that a guy could ever do starts playing out in my mind, but none of it matches his personality, not my Spencer.

"Don't be scared, I just have to talk to you about something" I can feel my heart begin to beat regularly again, he isn't going to break my heart right here in this empty room in the middle of Las Vegas.

"Oh okay, you really were worrying me though" I tell him.

"I just wanted to let you know that I don't think it is a good idea for you to meet my mom" I can feel my heart drop, maybe he really is about to break my heart.

"What? Why?" I ask, I can feel my voice wavier, I have to stay strong, I refuse to cry in front of him right now.

"She just hasn't been very well lately, I don't think introducing new people to her right now is going to help her condition, it might just make her more confused about everything" He tells me, he sounds sad when he talks about his mom and her condition. He hasn't told me that she was getting worse, why would he keep something like this from me?

"Spencer, I'm not just anybody, I am your girlfriend" I say in a hushed yell, I don't want to make a scene right here, it wouldn't be professional.

"I know, and trust me there will be a time for you to meet her, just not right now" I can't imagine that this will be the last time he says something like this to me, he is always going to want to wait for a better time.

"Do you not think we are going anywhere? Is that it? Do you think that little of our relationship?" I ask him, I blink away the tears as I speak, I can't let him know how much this is hurting me.

"That isn't it at all" He protests.

"Were you just screwing with me earlier when you said something about me moving in? Was that to try and toy with me in some way?" I say in a raised tone.

"That was real, it still is. I meant it when I said it" He tells me, the hardest part is he sounds sincere.

"Then why don't you want me to meet your mom, what is the real reason? Are you embarrassed of me or something?" I can't help but let my mind go to my race, while I am only half Mexican I could easily pass for full, is he worried his mom won't be accepting of someone who isn't white?

"That isn't it at all, I already told you. I am worried that she won't react well to a new person, it could just confuse her and I don't want her to get worse"

"I know your mom has Alzheimer's, and it hurts me deeply to see you in pain about it but I would judge you or your mom, I can take whatever may come with her because I would give anything so that my mom could meet the man I love" I stop abruptly after I let the word 'love' fall off my lips.

"What?" He asks. He sounds more surprised than anything.

"Fuck" I mutter underneath my breath, he shouldn't have found out this way. I don't want him to not say it back, or worse tells me he loves me when I am so pissed off at him, I would rather things are just left unsaid. "We better get back out there" I say as I walk past him and open up the door, I feel him grab my arm.

"Izzy, wait" When I turn to him I finally let a tear fall, he wipes away the tear. I don't say anything but I pull my arm away. I wipe my face and make sure that no one will see me upset, I check my watch and see only a few minutes have passed, I try and look like we weren't fighting, we promised Hotch that the job would come first, then and now I intend to keep that promise.

"What did I miss" I say casually, ensuring that they don't think there is anything wrong.

"I was actually just telling them about how it went with the therapist, I know you talked to him more though so why don't you tell us what he said" Prentiss tries, she could have easily told them what we both know, she wanted me to have this.

"He told me that our unsub is named Christian Barns, he was being treated under Dr. Dennis Green for Delusional Disorder, he had an absent father that left his mother for another woman, he started a new family and left them homeless" I say.

"That must be why he killed a homeless man" Rossi says.

"That was what Izzy and I were thinking, we thought it was possibly that he projected himself in the homeless man and was trying everything he could to get rid of the old him" Prentiss tells the group.

"We think his next victim type is going to be one of similarity to his father, the therapist said that the stresser might be the death of his father, after going to the funeral he came back to the office having the delusions" I tell them.

"So now we can build a better profile" JJ says as she smiles at me. Morgan's phone begins to ring and he picks it up and puts it on speakerphone.

"Hey baby girl, what do you got for us?" Morgan asks her.

"A whole lot of nothing, I have searched that name over and over throughout my data base and couldn't find a match to that name, there was a few sure but none of them had ever been homeless, had a recent death of the father or even been treated by any psychiatrist before, I am so sorry guys, I don't know what I possibly could have done wrong" She sounds upset.

"Penelope calm down, we know this isn't your fault" Morgan reassures her.

"He could have used a fake name" Spencer says, it is the first thing he has said since our fight.

"So our unsub is smart" Hotch says.

"Everything about this guy doesn't sit right with me, he was smart enough to not only use a fake name but to also to be skilled and precise enough to cut up a body but suffers from serious delusions and is unraveling, nothing about this case makes sense" Morgan says.

"Sometimes they don't always make sense, but we need to deliver this profile, especially if our unsub is using a fake name, it will be even harder to find him now" Rossi says, we all nod our head in agreement and make our way out of the room and stand before everyone. We all line up and I see a dozen pair of eyes starting back at us.

"We are looking for a white male in his early 30's, he is patient and intelligent but is starting to unravel. He suffers from delusions and should be considered highly dangerous" Hotch starts out.

"He is strong, he had enough strength to properly dismember a body, meaning he could have medical training or the type of job where those skills would be needed such as a butcher" Morgan says.

"He has targeted a homeless man as his first victim, he chose that victim because we believe he was projecting himself into that man and wanted that part of him to die, this unsub has a lot of anger and self hatred" JJ says.

"That anger and self hatred comes from the abandonment of his father, he believes his father wronged him and he is now searching for justice and revenge any way he seems fit" Prentiss adds.

"He sought out help from a therapist but used a fake name, meaning he once had hope for treatment but now believes the only way is to kill" Rossi says.

"He is considered to be extremely dangerous so if you do find someone that matches the unsub approach with extreme caution" Hotch says.

"Search around areas with high population of homelessness and any shelters, those along with hotels could be targets" Spencer says.

"The hotels could be targets because of the chance of spouses cheating there, infidelity is what ruined his life and he doesn't plan on allowing the injustice of it to happen anymore" I finish off. Hotch asks if there any questions and then we all go back into the other room. Without a positive ID of who our unsub is we are back to square one, we are going to have to work hard to match an identity to this son of a bitch before he strikes again. I sit down when I can feel my phone beginning to buzz, it is an unknown number but the area code is of Las Vegas, I pick it up. "Hello?" I say.

"Detective Santiago?" I hear breathe across the other line, something about the voice is chilling.

"Yes?" I ask, still a little unsure of who I am talking to.

"This is Dennis Green, the therapist" He says.

"Yes, so sorry about that, is everything alright?" I ask, he doesn't sound alright.

"No, at least I don't think so. I've been hearing sounds coming from outside my window, it could just be my imagination but I am worried he may try and come back to the office. I haven't gone home because I didn't want to put my family in danger but I am worried now that he is waiting outside for me" He almost says in a whisper.

"Okay, I need you to remain calm, I will be heading over there right now along with another officer to patrol the area and then we will get you to a safe location along with your family. Do not worry, we will be there soon" I tell him and I can hear him gulp.

"Okay, just please hurry" And then he hangs up the phone. I put my phone back in my pocket and go to talk to Hotch, it is just my luck that Spencer and Morgan are standing over by him.

"Hotch, the therapist of the unsub just called me, he has been pretty shaken up by this and he doesn't feel safe at the office, I told him that me along with another officer would be over to take him and his family somewhere safe, I am going to head over there and then meet you back here later" I tell him.

"Okay, just be careful, and take someone with you" He tells me. I know it isn't a thing about trust or worrying about me, it is about always having a partner there so you aren't alone. Spencer told me about when he was kidnapped it was when he was alone, he never told me it was JJ that was with him before it happened, that the two of them split up. I only learned that from her after one of our girls nights, she told me how that was something she was lie awake at night and think about, it broke my heart, knowing that she felt that way before. She told me the worst part was that Spencer never blamed her once, she said through slurred speech that him blaming her would have made it easier, sometimes forgiveness can be harder than blame.

"I could go with her" Spencer offers. I give him a cold stare before I even speak.

"You don't have too, I'll take a patrol officer" I say and then walk up to an officer who works at this precinct with the last name Owens on his shirt, he smiles and tells me yes and we walk off together to his car. It is a quiet drive, it is nice not to have anything to talk about sometimes but it lets my brain work and think through the fight Spencer and I had earlier today, I can't get the look on his face when I said I loved him out of my mind. He didn't seem upset or even disgusted, but he didn't seem like he was jumping at the chance to return the phrase. When we get there officer Owens offers to go inside with me.

"Your supervisor was pretty clear that he wanted me to stick with you" He argues.

"I will be okay, I have built trust with him already. Why don't you keep an eye out for anything out here and I will just go in and bring him out, it will be quick and fast" I tell him, I can tell he is going to be cooperative.

"Alright, but if you aren't out in 10 minutes I am going to come in looking to make sure everything is alright"

"Thank you" I tell him. I walk inside the building I was just at this morning and walk into the room without a name on it, I twist the nob and open the door to find Dr. Green facing the window. "All ready to go?" I ask him. He slowly turns around and that is when I notice the gun in his hand, I take a step back and know that if I take one more I will be out of the room, and away from the danger I can sense.

"Why don't you close the door" He says in an unsettling voice. I can feel my heart begin to beat faster and my palms begin to sweat, I turn around and slowly close the door, every inch I move brings me closer and closer to being trapped in a room with what I now know is a killer.

Reid's POV

I lay my head on the table and close my eyes slightly, first the fight with Izzy and now we have hit a wall, in terms of baseball I am one miss away from a strike out. I try and think of every possible combination of names that Christian Barns could stand for, the hardest part about this is the name could not even mean anything, it could be completely random. When I close my eyes all I can see is Izzy telling me she loves me, that was supposed to be a special moment for us and it was during a goddamn fight. I didn't know how to respond, I mean I love her, of course I love her, I just have never told anyone before that I love them. With Maeve I never got the chance and with Izzy I basically blew it. I open my eyes and sit up when I can hear everyone else come into the room. I pull out my phone and call Garcia, I look down at the list of names I have written down on my pad and know the only way to get to the bottom of this is by reading her every single one until we find some sort of correlation. She picks up on the second ring and I put her on speaker so everyone can hear. "Hello" She says in a dreary voice, she must still be taking this pretty hard, her inability to find the identity of this unsub is driving me crazy, I didn't even think to consider how this must be bothering her to no end.

"Hey Garica, I have been compiling a list of possible names that the unsub could have gotten Christian Barns from, just let me know when you are ready and I can start reading them out for you" I tell her.

"How many names do you have?" She asks me.

"So far 57" I say. She breathes out a giant sigh and I can feel her eyes rolling through the phone.

"Why don't you just give me the name of the therapist and I will tell you if anyone with the type of insurance his practice goes through has one of those names or if anyone at that particular office has had a patient by one of those names" She tells me.

"Okay, Izzy and Emily told me it was Dennis Green" I tell her and wait, I can hear her tapping on her keyboard but there is a pause.

"Oh no" She says.

"What is it Garcia?" Prentiss tells her.

"Are you absolutely positive that the therapist that called 911 and that told you all the information about our unsub is named Dennis Green?" There is urgency and worry in her voice.

"Yes, baby girl what is going on?" Morgan asks her.

"Dennis Green is, well was, a practicing therapist at that same office where I traced the call too-" I cut her off, the use of the past tense when talking about the therapist isn't sitting well with me.

"What do you mean was?" I ask for clarification.

"I mean was as he was fired a little over a month ago from that very office. He was fired after an altercation with one of his patients, he was sent to a psych ward after that when he was diagnosed with Dissociative identity disorder and delusions. After that things really seemed to go down hill for him, he not only lost his job but his wife filed for divorce about a week ago and recently put their house on the market, it looked like she was leaving him" The delusions, the leaving of a spouse in a marriage, a broken family, all similar narratives as the unsub.

"He is the unsub" Hotch says. Everything makes sense now, the clarity among the chaos, it was two different personalities this whole time.

"Oh my god, Izzy" I say. I can feel the panic begin to over take me, she went to go bring him back here. She is among a killer, and I lead her to him. I get up and run, not even bothering to pick up my phone with me, I can hear the footsteps of my team behind me, I only stop to put on a bullet proof vest, something I know realize she must not have. We all pile into the cars and I try and breathe, even though I know that something terrible could already have happened. We pull up to find one of the police cars already outside, the officer she left with sits inside, unknowing to what is happening. The air is filled with the sound of police sires and then a single gunshot, followed by my screams.

Izzy's POV

I stand very still as he raises the gun and now points it at me, I should have known he was the unsub all along, he had us all fooled. "Hello Detective Santiago" He says in a deeper voice than before, there is something different about him.

"Dr. Green, why don't we all just calm down okay? We can sit down and talk" I offer, I try and remain as calm as I can, letting him know I am scared is just what he wants.

"Talking doesn't work, and stop calling me Dr. Green, are you trying to taunt me!" He screams, he isn't Dr. Green anymore, Dissociative identity disorder, that explains the differences in the victim, it wasn't just one person there.

"Okay, I am sorry. Can I know your name? Mine is Izzy" I try, trying to connect with him might make him more rational, there has to be something I can do that can trigger Dennis' personality to come out.

"Haven't you already heard, It's Christian, the doctor has been blabbing it to anyone that will listen" He spits out. He somehow knows about our investigation, maybe he saw something on television when we were trying to find the therapist.

"I bet that made you angry" I say in clean clear voice, I try and keep my face the same and not flinch even though I can see him get a tighter grip on his gun.

"Of course it made me angry, if he had just helped me in the first place no one would die, even though there are plenty of people who deserve it. Take the good doctor for example, he is divorcing his wife and moving away, he was not only going to leave behind his son but me too" I can see him getting emotional when talking about that. The delusion he invented about the abandonment is coming back to haunt him.

"Like your father abandoned you?" I try, it is daring but it might help me get out of this alive. If I can only distract him for long enough I can reach for my own gun that he hasn't managed to notice yet.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You don't know a damn thing about my father"

"I know he left you, and I am so sorry about that" I apologize to him, let him know I can sympathize with him. I can hear the sounds of sirens, at first faint but soon they grow, my team is coming for me. If only I can distract him a little longer.

"You hear that?" He asks me.

"Hear what?" I play dumb, pretend not to hear the sound of rescue coming our way.

"Times up. See, talking never manages to get you anywhere" I have nothing to loose now, as long as I can get him to not aim for my head I can survive, I reach for my own gun on my right hip, he must think the best way to stop me is by shooting at that spot because I am knocked down by the force of an intense pain in my lower stomach. It is quick and I move my hand to put pressure on the bleeding, this isn't the first time I have been shot but never in such a risky place as my stomach, a lot could go wrong. I watch him run out the room, I can hear the sounds of screams as I hold my hand up, already soaked in blood. I don't know if they are my own or not, I can feel my head begin to spin, along with the room. I hear the sound of two more gun shots, he wasn't getting out of here alive, we both knew it. I crane my neck to look over and watch as his eyes roll back, I can only hope he got to die as Dennis. I hear heavy footsteps come near me, then I see the big brown eyes of my Spencer. He gets down on the ground and is already crying, he plants small kisses on my cheeks and I can feel the pressure of his hands over mine that cover my wound.

"Oh baby, baby I need you to stay with me" He tells me. He only ever calls me baby when we are alone, he isn't really into the couple nicknames but this one he likes, I never told him before how it sends chills down my spine when he calls me that. Maybe he will never know.

"Spencer" I can manage to say. The sound of his name coming out of my lips makes him smile and cry harder simultaneously.

"I love you, I love you so much and everything is going to be okay, you are going to be okay" Everything is happening so fast, I want to tell him I love him too but I can feel myself slipping, fading. I see the faces of my entire team as I am lifted onto a stretcher, Spencer's hand never leaves mine and his eyes are the last thing before I allow myself to fall into darkness.

Reid's POV

I can't even sit, I am too nervous about Izzy being in surgery. Surgery to remove the bullet, she was shot. I still can't wrap my head around all of this, I keep thinking about our fight, that stupid fight that doesn't even matter anymore. Everyone else sits, I can't help but think back to the last time we were all in the hospital waiting for one of our own to get out of surgery, that was the day we all thought we had lost Emily. And yet here she is, sitting next to JJ as we all wait anxiously for any news about Izzy, my Izzy. "Spence, why don't you sit down?" JJ says in a quiet voice, she talks to me like she talks to her child when they are upset about something.

"I don't think I can sit" I choke out. I haven't talked much in the past two hours mostly just crying. Running in there and seeing her like that was all too familiar with Maeve, a bullet took her away from me and I'm not going to let a bullet take away Izzy from me as well. JJ just nods her head at my response and I see a doctor walking towards us.

"Are you guys the family of Isabella Santiago?" He asks.

"We are her team, we are apart of the Behavioral Analysis Unit with the FBI" Hotch answers.

"And I am her boyfriend" I add.

"How is she?" Emily asks him.

"She is in recovery now, the surgery went very well and she is expected to make a full recovery. The bullet didn't hit any major organs or bone, it just grazed tissue mostly and it was easy to extract the bullet. She should be waking up soon but I am going to ask that there are only a few visitors for right now, we don't want to overwhelm her" He says.

"Thank you" I tell him and actually feel like giving him a hug, letting him know how grateful I am that he was able to save her. He gives us a smile and then walks away, over to another family to give them an update on their loved one.

"Spencer, why don't you go in there and be with her, we will be waiting out here for you, we can visit later" Emily tells me as she wipes away a tear and smiles.

"We can go out and bring you guys something back to eat" Rossi offers. I nod my head and let them all pull me in for another hug, it is when I hug Morgan that I begin to cry, remembering how Savannah was shot while pregnant with their son, he could have lost both of them that day.

"She is alright kid" Morgan tells me, I nod my head and then make my way over to her room. I open the door and see her laying on the bed, she has an IV hooked up to her arm and I can't help but notice how small she looks laying in that bed, so fragile, the total opposite of her personality. I pull a chair up next to her bed and sit down in it, I take her hand in mine and plant small kisses along her fingers. Her hands look so pale, as if that is even possible. I can see her eyes begin to flutter awake and she looks over and smiles at me.

"You called me baby" She mumbles and then begins to laugh.

"What?" I ask her, breaking out into a smile myself as the tears fall.

"You called me baby, you never call me baby unless we are alone" She says as she tries to sit up, she winces from pain and realizes she won't have such an easy time as she though she would.

"It didn't matter, I was so worried about you" She fully opens her eyes now and is really looking at me, she takes her free hand and wipes away the tears from my face, much like I did earlier to her, only this time she isn't devastating me in the same way I know I devastated her.

"Please don't cry, I don't ever want you to be sad" She tells me. I don't know if it is the drugs that are making her this way but she doesn't at all seem worried about herself, she got shot and she is telling me she never wants me to be sad, what have I done to deserve her? I ask myself.

"I'm sorry, I am so sorry for earlier okay?" I tell her, I refrain myself from telling her about just how many times I thought about how I might have never gotten the opportunity to let her know that.

"It's okay, I am not angry anymore because I love you" She has the biggest smile on her face as she tells me this.

"I love you too" I tell her.

"I know, I've always known" She tells me and it brings me some peace to know that she knows, from now on I am going to do everything I can to make sure she knows every single day because I don't intend on letting her go.

Izzy's POV

It's been three days and I am finally out of the hospital, the stitches itch and I am the most uncomfortable I think I have ever been but I would never let Spencer know that, he has been trying so hard to make everything perfect and it isn't like he can do anything about it. Even though the entire team protested about going home without me I told them there was nothing they could do by staying in Vegas, they reluctantly went home leaving me with strict instruction to not come back to work for a week, even giving Spencer a few days off to get me safely home and an extra day to spend with me. The heat is think and it brings even more discomfort for me, I reach to turn up the AC in the car when I feel the sharp pains again. "If you need anything all you have to do is ask" Spencer says and he reaches the knob with ease and turns up the air for me.

"I know, I'm just not used to having everything done for me" I say.

"Well get used to it because I will be there to do anything you need while you heal" He tells me.

"It isn't even that big of a deal" I say, it really isn't. So I have a couple of stitches, that doesn't mean I am not capable of doing some stuff for myself.

"Not that big of a deal? You got shot" He protests.

"Okay, so maybe a minor deal at most" I joke.

"You are awfully stubborn" He says. I look out the window, we have been driving for a lot longer than I thought we would to be getting to the airport.

"Spence?"

"Yes?"

"Are we almost to the airport?" I ask him.

"Actually I felt really bad about never showing you around anywhere while in Vegas so I thought I would take you somewhere special before we have to go home, if that is okay with you?" He says in a excited tone, wherever we are going must be good and he must think that just shot and all I can handle it.

"Okay" I tell him. We drive a little longer and then we pull into a parking lot of a big building, Spencer parks the car and then gets out and goes over to my side to help me out. He keeps his arm around me as we walk up the little bit of steps, he leads me to a front desk and everyone is smiling at him as if they know him. When we get to the front desk he smiles at the woman as if they are old friend.

"Spencer, how lovely it is to see you again. I'll let Dianna know that you and your beautiful friend are here to see her" Dianna, his mom's name. He actually took me to come meet his mom.

"She is actually my girlfriend" He tells her proudly.

"Well this must be an extra special visit then" She smiles at us and leads us to a big opened room with couches and games on tables, a T.V. in the corner and many people around. In the middle of the room sitting on one of the couches is a woman with short blonde hair, she looks nervous and then she notices Spencer and her whole face just lights up. She stands up and looks like she wants to run at him and envelope him in a big hug but she stands and waits for us to come over to her. When we are closer Spencer lets go of me to hug his mom, I can't remember seeing him happier than he looks in this very moment.

"Oh Spencer, how good it is to see you" She gives him a big smile.

"Hi mom" He says. When he pulls away he puts his arm around me again. "Mom, I have brought someone very special here to meet you" He tells her. She seems hesitant at first but when I reach out my hand she shakes it.

"Hi, I'm Izzy. It is so nice to meet you" She looks at Spencer for a sign that it's safe to keep talking.

"This is my girlfriend mom, the one I have told you about" He tells her. It takes her a moment but then he memory is jogged and I watch as pieces start to fit together.

"That's right, Spencer has told me about you. It is really nice to meet you. Please, both of you sit" She says and then sits in the couch opposite from us, Spencer helps me sit down and then sits down himself. "So what do you do for a living?" She asks me.

"Mom, don't you remember, Izzy works at the BAU with me"

"That's right, you are a profiler as well"

"Yes" I answer.

"It can be dangerous work, but Spencer loves it so much and that team greatly benefits from that beautiful mind of his" She tells me, I let out a laugh.

"Yes, he is brilliant" I tell her. She smiles and we begin a conversation about a mutual topic that we can both relate too, Spencer.

"All that genius and to think when he was a little boy he wanted to be a tightrope walker for the circus"

"I did?" He questions.

"Yes, you did. I took you to this circus when you were just a little boy and you were so amazed, you actually tried to balance yourself on our fence, trying so hard to get across. You had all the mathematics planned out perfectly but you were just so small that you fell, there was so much blood, how do you think you got that scar on your wrist" She tells him. I take his hand in mine and check his wrist to find that small scar she remembered.

"But I thought I wanted to be a magician when I was little?"

"You did, but this was before. I still remember your excitement when you glued that little picture of your head onto a newspaper clipping from an article about the circus. My little boy with such big dreams" She reminisces with us. We talk and talk among the three of us for what seems like hours, Spencer stands up and lets us know that he is going to go get some water, leaving me and the mother of the man I love to finally be alone.

"You have a truly amazing son, he is so kind" I tell her.

"Thank you, will you promise me something?" She asks kind of suddenly, I begin to worry this might be a promise I won't be able to keep.

"Anything" I tell her instead because I can tell from the look in her eyes that this is very important.

"Promise me that you will take care of him for me" She asks me, it seems like a lot to ask but I don't even hesitate before giving my response.

"Always" I tell her, knowing this is a promise I can keep. Spencer comes back and we say our goodbyes, even earning a hug from Dianna before walking out. Spencer holds me close and I whisper to him. "Thank you" Truly meaning it.

The plane ride home seems to be short, they flew out the jet for us so I could have a more comfortable ride back and I was very thankful for it, Spencer laid me down on the couch and wrapped me in a blanket so I could sleep, keeping watch on me the entire time home. When we got off the plane my car was there waiting for us, Spencer begins to drive when he turns to me quickly to ask a question. "Do you want to sleep over at my apartment?" He asks me, I can see the blush already creeping up his cheeks.

"Yes, but don't plan on getting lucky I joke, maybe if I hadn't just got shot" I semi joke with him. There is nothing more I would want right now than to jump his bones but that will have to wait for another time, and that is something I am okay with. He parks my car and then we walk up to his apartment, he sets both of our bags down and then leads me to the bedroom, I have been in his apartment before but something feels different this time, so much anticipation. "Spencer"

"Yes"

"Will you help me get my pajamas on?" I ask him. He nods his head in response and I can tell he is nervous, I am a little too. I stand there and take off my shirt, I stand in front of him with just a bra on, I've never been embarrassed of my body but I suddenly feel self conscious.

"Wow" He breathes out, from my experience with one other guy in my whole life that does seem like a good sign. "You are incredibly beautiful" He tells me. He gets closer to me and I kiss him quickly and then pull away as he helps me take my pants off, leaving me standing in front of him with only a bra and underwear. I begin laughing uncontrollably. "What?" He asks.

"You are finally seeing me undress but it is so you can help me put my pajamas on" I am laughing so hard I can feel tears spilling out of my eyes. "Nothing kills the mood faster than a bullet wound" I joke as I lift my legs into the pajama shorts he holds out for me. He hands me a tank top from my bag and I turn around as I take off my bra and quickly pull the tank top over my head, it hurts like hell but I bite my lip to stop from yelping out in pain. I turn around to face him and kiss him quickly again. "Soon" I breathe out. "Once I am healed" I let him know.

"I know" He tells me as I take his hand and lead him over to his bed. I pull back the covers and lay down, he lays behind me with his arms wrapped around my middle. He kisses my shoulders and whispers to me. "I love you" he says over and over, this might just be the most intimate moment I have ever shared with anyone. As I feel his arms wrapped around me I know anywhere with him is home because he is my home.

Authors note-Hey guys! First I want to apologize for the lack of posting, it is for a very good and exciting reason though. So all my life I have always wanted to be an author and I actually came to this website as a way to publish my work and a few months ago I got in contact with a publisher about potentially having one of my books published. It was such an amazing moment and I have been working very hard to write my book, I really hope you guys can understand. Fanficion is very much a priority but this is such an amazing opportunity that I have been working so hard to prefect it, and along with that my uncle who has basically been a father to me was in the hospital for a little while, it was very scary and obviously I dropped everything to be with him, but everything is thankfully good now. I have been keeping up with Criminal Minds and spoilers for those who don't know about Reid's major story line this season but it was intense af and even though it put me through hell for weeks to see my baby be in prison it was all worth it to see him find some happiness at the end of the season. Also getting to fully watch it play through really helped me plan for the future and how I might potentially address that situation in my fanfiction, so you guys will have that to look forward too. Again I want to apologize but I hope my super long chapter that I stayed up very late on a school night to finish for you all can help a little bit. If you liked the chapter reviews are appreciated and I love you all and when I promise you there will be a new chapter soon I actually mean it. When I get out of school I will be sticking to a more formatted schedule for when I am going to update so look out for that in my bio by the end of June, I am already predicting every Wednesday, in honor of Criminal Minds night, that a new chapter will go out. I love you all and until next time-Izzy