Author's Note: Hello, everyone.

Now for this chapter, I don't want to spoil too much, but let's just say you're going to see some heartwarming moments with the team, including a flashback involving Reid and Maddie.

Anyway, thank you very much for your reviews and thank you to those who read, followed, favorite story/author alert and visited my story. I really do appreciate it. I do look forward to hearing from all of you.

This chapter has been re-updated.

Please, do enjoy my story and please review; constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Chapter 12:

- It's a sad moment, really, when parents first become a bit frightened of their children.

- Ama Ata Aidoo

They all were still holding on to Reid and each other as they witnessed Maddie being slapped around. Morgan hugged Garcia tightly, so she couldn't watch the screen. Reid looked both scared and enraged, seeing Maddie go through so much.

"I'm going to tell you one last time, girl. I…said…," Müller forced her head up before raising his hand. "Apologize…to…me!"

"No!" JJ covers her mouth.

"Oh god!" Prentiss covers her eyes.

"Maddie!" Reid begins to tear up.

"I'm sorry."

At a slow pace, Maddie opens her eyes to see Müller slowly turning the palm of his hand into a fist, Müller stops himself halfway from hurting her anymore. Collecting himself as he takes a deep breath,

"Say that again."

"I'm sorry…sir." Maddie meekly said with her head up. "I'm sorry, sir."

"What are you sorry for?"

Feeling the cracks in her voice, trying to get the words out. "I'm sorry… for…attracting…any kind of a-a-attention…I've g-given you…and for talking back to you…in your house. It's your house…and I will not talk back to you…in your house. Your house…your rules. Your house, your rules."

Calming himself down, he gives himself a deep sigh. Stroking her cheek before kissing her forehead, stilling from his cold lips. Turning back to the camera,

"Now that's a good girl. Did you see that, BAU team? That's how you deal with a child. Like I said before, you will never find us. Never. Ta-ta."

The video cuts out as the screen go back. After comforting Garcia, who had tears falling down heavy, sobbing, Morgan storms out of the room, slaps the door, making a loud sound while letting out a booming growl. While Rossi runs out to try and calm down Morgan, JJ and Prentiss took Reid out of the room for a while, beginning to hyperventilate after seeing Maddie like that.

Hotch comforts Garcia, who was still crying after seeing Maddie suffering at the hands of her biological father. "It's alright. It's okay. Let it all out."

"I just don't understand, Hotch," Garcia sighed shakily, watching her tears drop on Hotch. "Hasn't she been through enough? We all, especially me, just want her to have a normal childhood and life. She's a good girl; she doesn't need this happening to her. She shouldn't be happening to her. I…"

"I know, Garcia. Maddie gets her intelligence and strength from her late family, us and Reid, especially. We'll find Maddie and when we do, I promise you this; you can spoil her silly as much as you want." Hotch smiles at her.

After seeing his little Maddie get smacked around by Müller, Reid could barely stop himself from shaking like a little Chihuahua. He hated seeing her upset or crying. Reid could remember this one time as if it was yesterday…

Over four years ago…

It was a quarter to noon in the afternoon and the January snow was coming down lightly. Reid was carrying an eleven-month-old Maddie in a semi-colorful building. Reid thought Maddie looked absolutely adorable in the outfit Garcia and JJ got for her. It was a pink cashmere and pants set over a diamond-quilted coat with a cashmere hat and booties set. Walking through the glass double doors, he is greeted by the receptionist, dressed in a polo shirt and khakis,

"Hello," Looking up on her computer, "Madison Jean?"

"Right here, ma'am." Reid said as Maddie was moving around in his arms.

"Wonderful. Follow me, please."

Following the receptionist, "Is this your daughter?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, she's so cute. She has your eyes; you know that?"

"Yeah." He agreed as he fixes up her hat.

He and Maddie are leaded into a colorful room, filled with wall-to-wall toys, games puzzle-styled carpeting, cribs. It was practically a baby's and child's version of heaven. He is later greeted by two other day care workers, also dressed in polo shirts and khakis.

"Hello, sir," One of the workers said. "Is this Madison Jean?"

"It's Maddie, actually. Here you go, little Maddie." Gently setting Maddie down before knelling down and giving her a loving hug, "There's somewhere I have to be, but I promise you; I'll be back at around six to get you, okay? Have fun and be a good girl, too." Kissing the top of her head before pinching her cheeks, "Daddy loves you."

Reid only took turned around and took a step before Maddie started crying, tearfully waving goodbye at him. In her mind, she was probably telling him not to go. He could felt a tear coming down as he backed out of the room as he waved Maddie goodbye back.

Slowly walking out of the room, through the glass window, he could still hear and see Maddie continuing to cry while some of the staff members rushed to calm her down. Waving at Maddie through the window, "Bye, Maddie. I love you."

Flashback end…

He looked through the pictures he had of Maddie; all of them were of her smiling and laughing. Flipping to the side with her biological family, he could feel the tears dropping down from his face to the pictures. He missed seeing her when she came home from school after work, the nights he would spend with her and read together. He even looked through Maddie's bag, which was filled with her school work, books from H.G. Wells to Charles Dickens and the picture she drew at the time of her abduction. JJ and Emily rushed to try and comfort him,

"Reid, buddy…"

"That stupid…bastard…slapped her little face and head." Shaking his head, pulling on his hair. "She's just a little girl. Just the sound of listening to her scream and shriek. Oh, if only I'd let her gone to London with you…" Reid began to completely break down in tears again, struggling to calm down.

"Reid, are you actually blaming yourself for what's happening to Maddie?"

"This never would have happened if I'd let her gone to London with you; it's obvious. It was so damn obvious and I missed it, damn it! I mean…I put her in danger when I'm supposed to protect her! It's all my fault. It's all my damn fault…"

Prentiss wraps her arms around Reid. "Reid. Reid, dear. Listen to me, Reid. What's happening to Maddie is not your fault. It's not and it never will be your fault. The only person who's at fault is her birth father, who doesn't deserve to be her birth father or any kind of father at all."

"Look, in my mind, that's the truth, but…in my heart…I don't know. I just…I feel as if I failed. I failed her. I even failed her whole family. She deserves better. She deserves more than I could give her. I don't deserve her."

JJ places her hand on his shoulder. "Dr. Spencer Reid…you take her in, gave her everything: a home and a life. I mean…not a lot of people would have done that. Out of all the people in the world, she chose you. When we all tried to calm her down, you were the only one that could. You didn't fail her or her family at all. Maddie's just as smart and just as strong as you, her late mother, three older siblings and the rest of her family. You were the best thing that has happened to her when she lost her family to him." Prentiss and JJ wrapped their arms around Reid, comforting him as he began to let it all out. "You do deserve her. She's lucky to have you as her father."

Morgan was in one of the rooms, taking his frustrations out of a pillow. He needed to clear his head. He needed to get his hands on Müller. All that rage from watching Maddie get smacked and hit by him and the thought of her being alone with him made him want to explode all of hell out; explode so badly, all the bats fly out of hell pissing on themselves. He figured he needed to hit something. He kept on pounding and pounding on it before taking a small break. He turns around and he sees Rossi standing the door with his hands in his pockets. This wasn't the first time he seen Morgan like this.

"Can I help you with something?"

"I can see you're taking this well."

"If it was anyone in your family, what would you do?"

Shrugging his shoulders, "I'm not to lie; I'd kill them…but I would also try and talk about my problems…"

"I don't know about you, Rossi, but I usual don't like talking about my problems."

"Look, Morgan. I understand why you're so protective of Maddie…."

All of a sudden, every ounce of Morgan's energy just enraged as he threw the pillow aside, "You know what? You're right; you're absolutely right. I am protective of Maddie. Of course I am! It was bad enough that bastard birth father of hers took her entire family from her when she was not even a year old, but now that she was forced to watch that kid and Meyer died right in front of her and her father smacking her around like that! Don't you think that's going to have some kind of effect on her for someone her age or when she gets older?! Huh?! I want him to pay very…badly, both physically and mentally!"

Rossi kept his composure and calm as he has his hands in his pockets and had seen Morgan shout at him like that before. "I just think this goes deeper than that. Don't you?" He soon walks out of the room.

Morgan takes a deep sigh as he tossed the pillow to the side and slowly thinks about what Rossi had said to him. He reaches into his pants pocket and finds a gold cross attached to a chain.

He was right. It did go deeper than that. And it wasn't just with what he had dealt with as a child.

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