An hour later and an unkempt Ethan Willis was placed in a cell in Las Vegas police station. By a particularly grumpy Sheriff nursing a newly formed black eye. The evidence of dried blood under his fingernails that match three of the victims and hairs on his clothing matching the last victim left the police in no doubt that he was the killer. The team stood watching Ethan in his cell as he paced murmuring to himself about failing Satan.
"You alright? Looks like he got you pretty bad" Morgan asked Moore, who had come to stand with them clutching his bruised head and ego. Concerned looks were exchanged from the rest of the team.
"I'll be fine" Moore responded. "He was so docile when we picked him up, should of known something was off, then in processing he just lost it started raving about Satan, took four of my men to pin him down so the Doc and CSIs could finish their jobs. I'm just glad its over" the battered sheriff stated tiredly "thank you all for coming, I don't know what would of happened if you lot hadn't come to help. So thanks" The last thanks was heartfelt and firmly directed at Spencer, giving the impression to the youngest FBI agent that Moore had worked out who he was and the sincerity of his thanks was both a thank you to the adult stood in front of him and an apology to the boy he once bullied. Unable to vocalise his response he could only nod his understanding, both pairs of eyes locked in a nonverbal conversation. Breaking apart when the rest of the team, unaware of the hidden conversation taking place, started to exit the room.
"I'm sorry for everything back then, I'm not the same jerk I was in school" Moore whispered before he ducked out of the room to check up on the other officers involved in the brawl. Reid stared at the doorway for a second, before following his team who were already down the corridor making their way to their work room.
Once back in the room they had commandeered Hotch let down his always stern leader persona to congratulate his team.
"Now, I've spoken with Strauss" He started.
"This can't be good, nothing good comes out of a summoning from the ice queen." Morgan whispered causing Spencer to bite his tong to hold back from defending the woman he respected. Rossi gave him a firm nod before turning his attention back to Hotch.
"And she has informed me that the jet is unavailable until tomorrow morning, seems no one was expecting such a speedy resolution. It will pick us up at 11am tomorrow after dropping C team off. So, until then, the time is yours to do with it as you please."
Spencer couldn't help the passing thought that this was Erin's way of ensuring that he had the time he needed to visit his mother. The ice queen that Morgan described would never do such a thing, but Spencer smiled to himself, he knew the real Erin Strauss and she would do it in a heart beat. He only wished he had the opportunity to repay the favour one of these days. A warm feeling bubbled in his chest knowing there was someone out there looking out for him, the little things that Erin did to show she cared, like checking he'd eaten at the end of a busy day or driving him to work when he's frantically running late as well as keeping her not so secret coffee machine stocked up with his favourite blend. So many little thinks throughout the day that all added up to the same relation, is this what it feels like to have a mother? He questioned himself, not to discredit his mother who he loved more than any other but thanks to her illness their relationship for as long as he can remember was turned on its head with him firmly being the one that would have to care for her. Thinking back to the most basic definition: a female caregiver that offers safety and support nurturing and developing their young. Erin fit the description perfectly. Right down to the post it notes of inspirational quotes she would leave in his bag for him to find during tougher cases. The warm feeling spread round his body at this, he was not alone anymore, not when it mattered.
"You're kidding!" Morgan exclaimed in shock breaking out of his pondering, just like that the Spencer became aware of the bustling room of excited agents .
"A paid day to sight see round Las Vegas, finally a job perc I can get onboard with" Prentiss laughed.
"What happened to refusing to stay another night in that hotel Morgan" JJ asked pointing out Morgan's breakfast rant.
"Who said anything about sleeping in that God awful bed tonight, I'm going clubbing" Morgan winked. "Quick lets get out of here before she calls to say she's changed her mind" Morgan joked grabbing his coat and standing up, when Hotch's phone buzzed with a message. "Who wants to check out the main drag?" Morgan asked.
"Sure" Emily called.
"Why not" JJ added.
After checking his phone to see a picture of Jack baking at home and a few minutes of nagging Hotch caved and offered to join them after calling home to check on his son. Leaving just Reid and Rossi.
"What about you Pretty boy? It's about time we got you out from behind a book, on your home turf too." He called in what he thought was a persuasive enough tone coupled with the pleading looks from Emily and JJ who flanked him on either side he was almost positive the kid would relent. So, his answer had him taken aback.
"Not today, there's something I have to do first, I'll see you all tomorrow" He stated with such determination whilst marching out of the room that no one dare questioned him.
"How about you Rossi?" Morgan asked trying to catch the older man already following Reid out of the office.
"I'll catch you all tomorrow" He shouted over his shoulder not bothering to wait for a response. now only a few steps behind Reid. If he were to look back he would have been confronted with the confused faces of his three co-workers.
"What is going on with them?" Prentiss asked perplexed.
"First Reid acting all odd and then Rossi, somethings off" JJ stated.
"Yeah Rossi never misses an outing, especially when there'll be alcohol involved. Hotch do you know anything about this?" Morgan asked brows raised to the heavens, but only received a hand wave in response as Hotch was already on the phone greeting his son.
"Hey, Reid wait up." Rossi hollered catching Reid's attention. The man in question paused next to the doors of the police station ready to make a speedy escape. Spencer was in two minds on whether to listen to Erin's wise words and take Rossi with him to visit his mum or not. The older agent, just like the rest of the team knew about his mum's situation but to see her in person on a bad day was something else entirely. Something none of his team had witnessed. In the time it took David to make it to his position Spencer had come to a decision feeling the time was right to open up, just a little bit more to someone he now considered family.
"Want a lift to wherever you're off to in such a hurry?" Rossi asked car keys in hand.
"Yes please, that is if you don't want to go out with the others."
"And lose all my money in the first casino, I don't think so, I'd much prefer to spend the day wherever you're off to, so?..."
"I'm going to visit my mother if you still want to come" Spencer expected this to put off the other man.
"Have the opportunity to meet the woman that made you the exceptional genius you are today, you bet I'm in." Rossi stated while lightly placing his arm around the younger man's shoulder to give it a supportive squeeze, Spencer looked up happily shocked at the response. With that the two walked out to the car. Leaving three suspicious co-workers behind them.
The drive over to the sanatorium was filled with jolly music blasting out of the radio, in start contrast with the nervously loud breathing of Spencer who instead of looking where they were going fiddled with his phone updating Erin on what he was about to do, only speaking when he was asked for directions.
"Here we are" Rossi stated as he pulled into a space near the double doors into the sanatorium. Noticing his passenger's nervous demeanour Rossi add, "You know we could always go meet the others instead if you'd rather"
Just then Spencer phone buzzed to life with a response from Erin. After reading it a small smile formed on Reid's lips, his shoulder squared, and he firmly found his voice. "No this is something I have to do" Hopping out of the car. Rossi mumbled to himself "That woman could do miracles" he smiled knowing only one person that would have that kind of effect on the young doctor. His curiosity was now peaked wondering what precisely Erin had put in her response that had boosted the sweater vest wearing man who was now striding towards the entrance without a hesitation.
"You coming Reid called as he stood holding open the door into the building" Dave shook his head out of his ponderings, accepting the fact that there was something that he would never know. He locked the car and walked over to the doors where Spencer was waiting for his support.
Meanwhile at a nearby bar. Hotch had ducked out to take a call from Beth leaving Morgan, Emily and JJ sat huddled round a table plotting over their third round of drinks.
"We should just ask him" Emily pointed out while suspiciously eyeing up the bright coloured cocktails that Derek had brought back from the bar for them.
"Ow yeah so he can clam up again about it like earlier, no we need to get inventive." Morgan countered, taking a big swig of his cocktail. "If Reid's seeing someone then it is our duty as his friends to check them out to make sure that he's safe." Come on JJ you've got to agree.
"Well when you put it that way, danger does seem to follow Spence, so some light digging just to make sure he's safe doesn't seem too bad." JJ fumbled over her words sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than the other two agents.
Morgan then moved his focus back to Prentiss. "Come on Em, this is about keeping our little bro safe, for all we know this new love interest may be an UNSUB looking to lure him in."
"Okay, okay we'll look into it just to ensure he's safe" Emily relented after counting in her head all the dangerous situations Spencer had gotten himself into in the last few years.
"So where do we start?" JJ asked directing her question mostly to Morgan who had become the unofficial leader of their undercover operation into Spencer's personal life.
Morgan answered by pulling out his phone. "I think its about time we get baby girl involved, Reids obviously snuck off somewhere and I bet it's to go see his secrete plus one. We'll get her to track his phone to where this person lives. Do a bit of background checks on who lives at the address and hey presto we know everything we need to know without leaving the comfort of the bar."
"Sounds like my kind of plan" Emily responded, plucking off the little cocktail umbrella that came in her drink and eating the cherry stuck to it.
"Hi baby girl its me, I need you to do me a favour" JJ and Emily leaned in close to try and hear what they knew was about to come. "Could you track Reid's phone for me… no no there's no problem. What I'm about to tell you has to stay within the family okay so no shouting it out so half the FBI building can hear you. We think Reid's snuck off to meet a secrete girlfriend. The shouts coming out of the phone were clear to hear. Causing Morgan to remove the phone from his ear and Emily and JJ to lean back in their seats laughing. "Pen calm down we need your help you can integrate him later right now we need you to help find out as much as you can on whoever this is." After a couple of moment, presumably enough time for Penelope to gather herself, loud clicking of a keyboard could be heard.
"She got him" Morgan relayed to the women excitedly before his face dropped.
"Okay well thanks for finding him Pen" With that he hung up. JJ and Emily more eager than ever after seeing his reaction jumped with questions.
"So what happened?"
"Where is he?"
"Is he safe?"
"What's wrong?"
The questions were coming so fast that Derek wasn't sure who said what. Holding his hands up to silence the barrage of questions he started to respond.
"She was able to track his phone to the Las Vegas sanatorium"
"So, let me get this straight" Prentiss starts "we tracked his phone not to find him meeting up with a secrete girlfriend but to visit his mother" She laughed "Your detective instincts were a bit off on that one weren't they Morgan.
JJ couldn't help but let out a laugh at that maybe it was the ridiculousness of the situation or maybe the strong cocktail half empty before her was the cause of the humour. All that she knew is that once she'd started laughing it was very hard to stop.
"All right, all right laugh it up you two. I may have been wrong this time, but we all agreed that somethings off with Spencer and its been going on a while he's different, right?" Morgan asked the girls who both nodded. "And we all heard the phone call today. So maybe the girlfriend on the phone today isn't from Las Vegas but someone from Quantico and the movie night is tomorrow night when we get back to Quantico."
"Nice recovery, we'll make an FBI agent of you yet" Emily sang.
"Yes, not half bad and we can get Penelope to track the call from earlier today to Spencer's phone.
Morgan checked his watch. "Its getting late over there, we should probably let baby girl go home and sleep. Now we know Reid's not in immediate danger I suppose we can let loose for tonight and pick this up tomorrow."
Emily raised her glass toasting "To being the best big sibling that nobody asked for" two more glasses were clunked next to hers. As Hotch walked back into the bar and over to the group, tie and jacket gone and a beer in hand. "So, what are we drinking to?" Hotch asked noticing the raised glasses.
"To family" JJ replied smiling as Hotch add his glass into the huddle.
While signing in and applying their visitors badges to gain entry into the sanatorium a booming voice called stopping the FBI agents in their tracks.
"Spencer Reid, you are a sight for sore eyes"
"Dr Jones" Spencer greeted upon recognising the silvered haired doctor appearing from the crowed. Doctor Jones was a friendly looking older man with kind brown eyes and a creased face that betrayed his years. He wore a long white medical jacked with many pens sticking out from the pockets and a watch clipped onto his right lapel all trademarks of a busy Doctor. Rossi noted with profilers accuracy.
"It is good to see you my boy, you've been away far too long. If I'd of known you were coming I would of picked you up from the airport myself, not often we get a visit from the FBI's finest." Doctor Jones spoke in a warm tone. Clearly the Doctor knew Reid very well Rossi noted.
"That's not necessary Dr Jones I was already in town on a case and thought I'd pop over" It was at this point that Spencer remembered Rossi stood patiently beside him. "Agent David Rossi I'd like you to meet Doctor Jones. Doctor Jones has been caring for my mother for seven years, three months and seventeen days now" "Doctor Jones this is Agent David Rossi, a coworker and fried from the BAU." Spencer knew that he didn't have to explain what the BAU meant to Doctor Jones thanks to his mothers proud nature all information about her son was shared with the certain trusted members of the staff.
The two men stood forward to shake each others hands.
"Nice to meet you, please call me Dave"
"Only if you call me Ted, I've been trying for years to get this one" His head jerked in Spencer's direction "to drop the formality with no luck." The two men laughed, after a few minutes if small talk Ted's expression became serious.
"Although I'm over the moon that you've come to visit and brought a friend two, I must warn you, you're mother hasn't had the best day. She became violent towards a new staff member she believed was working with the government to spy on her, during this episode she ripped things off of her walls and shelves of her room. When asked why she was doing this she said she needed to find the bugs that were listening to her. At this point we had to give her a mild sedative for her own safety. Its been a couple of hours now so I can go check on her to see if she's up for a visit if you still want to see her?
Spencer gulped, the confidence draining from him with the likelihood that he would be confronted not by the mother he remembered from his childhood but by the shell of the woman that schizophrenia has left behind. He looked at David for guidance.
"Up to you kid, the offers still there we can go meet the others and come back tomorrow or we can go in, whatever you want to do." Rossi stated not wanting to push Spencer one way or the other.
Spencer's hand, that was still stuffed into his pocked clutched onto his phone like a lifeline to Erin and her motherly words of encouragement giving him the nudge he needed.
"No I'd still like to see her if that's okay with you?" The question was indicated to Doctor Jones.
"Of course its okay with me, I'll just go make sure she's up to having visitors, why don't you go wait in my office, you know the way Spencer and I'll come get you with news either way. Make yourselves at home, the coffee makers on the side and there's an extra large bag of sugar in the draw underneath it." The Doctor smiled before the three men parted ways unsure what the next few hours would bring.
Thanks for reading, leave a review to let me know what you think. This ones a slightly longer chapter, lets call it a birthday miracle.