Garcia was surprised when Jessica informed her of the newest addition to the Reid-Warner family. "What was Reid thinking? I'm not letting a cat into the same apartment as my poor, elderly Chocolate Thunder!" she texted back.

"I can feed Bianca before and after school," Jessica suggested. "Same with cleaning the litterbox."

"Okay, I guess that's reasonable." Now that Garcia was no longer worried about potential danger to her precious gerbil, she became very curious. "So, how's the furbaby settling in?"

"Pretty well. I think she's appointed herself the household mediator. She starts climbing all over us and meowing incessantly if we argue about anything."

Garcia stared at that message. "How do you know she's meowing?"

"Well, Spencer says she is, anyway. It was cute at first, but it gets old when we can't even have a civil debate over whether Snape is good or evil. I'm not sure how she could tell we were arguing that time."

Garcia gasped before responding. "You got him to read Harry Potter?! I've been trying to get him to read it for three years!"

"He's still groveling. I could probably get him to buy me a brand-new car if I really wanted to."

Garcia almost asked why Jessica didn't do exactly that, then she remembered that Jessica was both too young for a driver's license and had good reason to not be fond of cars. She settled for a different question. "So, has he changed his mind about not liking fantasy?"

"He keeps complaining about things that make no scientific sense, but he does seem to like the more 'literary' aspects of the books. Like Snape's confusing loyalties."

"You going to line up outside a bookstore when book 7 is released?"

"I'm not THAT big a fan. Besides, despite the groveling, I'm pretty sure Spencer isn't about to allow me out and about after dark without adult supervision."

"You could have just asked me to come along," Garcia pointed out. "But okay."

Jessica was giving Bianca a belly rub in her room when the kitten suddenly rolled back onto her feet and ran for the front door. Jessica followed, and was unsurprised to see that Spencer had just gotten home. He had Bianca in his arms, though he quickly set the kitten down when she decided to start playing with the strap of his messenger bag.

"Interesting case?" Jessica asked.

Spencer shook his head. "Not really, just sad. Sixty-three victims, and one of the local detectives was the only one who noticed or cared that they disappeared."

Jessica raised an eyebrow. "So, you're telling me you didn't get hit on by every hooker in Kansas City?" she signed teasingly.

Spencer blushed. "Not every prostitute! Just…all the prostitutes that Hotch and I actually talked to."

"I see," Jessica replied, nodding sagely. "You're right, you've clearly had a very boring time."

"Did Morgan also happen to mention that he dove through a suspect's open driver's side window to seize control of the car, and crashed it while he was still hanging out of it?" Spencer retorted. Then he let out a startled exclamation and looked down. Bianca had lightly dug her claws into his leg and meowed plaintively at him.

"I'm starting to see why you hate Derek's driving," Jessica replied, ignoring their kitten's antics. "If he ever tries to give me driving lessons, I'm running away."

"Good plan," Spencer agreed.

One night, Jessica was playing with Bianca in the living room when Spencer hurried out of his room, holstering his gun and looking very worried. "You have a case?" Jessica asked.

"Not sure," Spencer replied. "They just said the BAU was requested at 181 Arthur St."

Jessica's eyes widened. "That's Gideon's address."

Spencer nodded. "I have to go." He left without further ado and locked the front door behind him.

Jessica pulled out her phone to text Gideon. "Spencer said the BAU was requested at your apartment. Are you all right?"

There was no answer. Jessica tried again multiple times, but to no avail.

A few hours later, Spencer gave Jessica a brief summary of what was going on: an old unsub who'd got away had come looking for Gideon, but had found Gideon's dinner guest instead and murdered her. Gideon was now the local police's prime suspect in the woman's death, and meanwhile the unsub was threatening to keep killing until he got his missing girlfriend back. Apparently the girlfriend, Jane, was an innocent, though Jessica had to wonder what sane, non-murderous woman would love Frank. Spencer advised staying home with the door bolted, and Jessica was more than willing to oblige.

After the team found Rebecca Bryant, Reid shut himself in the bathroom and took a few moments to collect himself. Somehow, whether through sheer coincidence or intentional design by Hotch, Reid hadn't actually been to a scene with a dead body since New Orleans. And now, he'd seen two in the last twenty-four hours. He was starting to desperately crave Dilaudid again…but he couldn't go back down that road. And not just because he'd gotten rid of the last of the drug.

Someone knocked on the door. "Kid? You okay in there?"

Reid seriously considered claiming he was fine, but decided he'd told that lie enough already this year. He opened the door. "Sorry. Just…crime scene."

Morgan nodded in understanding. "Hey, if you need to sit the rest of this case out…"

"I'll manage," Reid said determinedly. "I can't avoid them forever."

"There's no shame in taking the time you need, you know."

Reid shook his head. "I dealt with my last problem. Now I need to deal with this one."

Morgan scrutinized him, probably assessing his mental state, then nodded again. "Let's go find this son of a bitch."

That night, Reid and JJ were in the conference room when Reid's phone rang. He answered it. "Yeah, Hotch?…What?…Well, that's good, I guess…all right, we'll keep looking. Thanks." He hung up.

"What happened?" JJ asked. "Did they find Tracey Belle?"

"Yeah, she's home and she's fine," Reid confirmed distractedly, staring at the photos on the table. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he picked one up—his own. "Fuck."

"Spence?!" JJ exclaimed in shock, having never heard the mild-mannered doctor swear before.

Reid ignored her and pulled out his phone, typing out and sending a brief message. When he did not receive an immediate reply, he pushed his chair back and ran out of the room. "We need to get to my apartment, now!"

JJ hurried after him. "Spence, what's wrong?"

Reid answered without slowing his pace. "Like Morgan said, Frank will go after what we hold sacred, someone we can't not trade Jane for. Who would Gideon hold more sacred than the girl whose picture is in multiple places around his apartment? And not just her picture, I'm in some of them too—and from the looks of things, Gideon added me to his book after Hankel."

Finally following his thought process, JJ completely agreed with him. "Fuck."

JJ called Hotch and Morgan to fill them in, and the four of them met up at Reid's apartment building. Upstairs, the door to Reid's apartment had clearly been forced. A quick search revealed that the only living thing in the apartment was a highly agitated Bianca, who attacked Morgan when he entered Jessica's room. "Whoa, hey—hey!" he exclaimed, trying to grab her.

Reid holstered his gun and picked up the kitten. She calmed down slightly, whining. "Signs of a struggle," Reid observed shakily. "He has her."

"We'll find her," Morgan said bracingly. "Frank won't kill her, not when she has value as leverage."

"She's a person, not leverage!" Reid snapped.

"I know!" Morgan said quickly. "I know. I'm just saying what Frank's thinking right now."

"We have to find her," Reid murmured dazedly, subconsciously petting the cat in his arms. "We have to."

"Garcia, get me Jason, I have someone who wants to talk to him," Hotch said, his voice tight.

Warily, Garcia handed the phone to Gideon. "It's for you."

Gideon took it. "Yeah?"

"Hello, Jason," came Frank's voice. "I'd let you speak to this lovely young woman here, but she appears to lack certain basic abilities requisite to using a phone." Muffled noises could be heard in the background. "I will say, though, she is quite the fighter. I wonder if that's your doing."

"You son of a bitch," Gideon breathed.

"A shame," Frank continued. "I had hoped to catch your attention by making you listen to her plead, but I suppose we can't have everything. I chose the station because I know how much you love trains. I saw the…toys in your apartment." There was a click, and the call disconnected.

"I-I can't trace the call, it wasn't long enough," Garcia stammered apologetically. "And-and even if it was, I-I can't triangulate it, and…what do you want me to do? Please tell me there's something I can do. My poor baby…"

Gideon barely heard her. Just a few months earlier, he had watched Reid die as a result of his actions. Reid had gotten lucky; there would be no miracle for Sarah. And now Jessica had also gotten hurt because of him. Even if they got her back alive, how could he ever forgive himself for this? He desperately hoped he would never have to live up to his promise to take her if something happened to Reid—not only because he didn't want anything to happen to Reid, but because he wasn't at all sure he was fit for the task.

It was quickly decided that the team would divide their forces between going to Union Station in the morning and heading to New York to look for Jessica at Mary Breitkopf's address. Hotch turned to his youngest agent. "Reid…"

"Don't tell me to stand down," Reid interrupted fiercely. "If it was Jack, would you?"

"I'm not telling you to stand down," Hotch said quietly, choosing to ignore his subordinate's rudeness in light of the circumstances. "You and JJ go to New York, and best of luck to you."

Reid swallowed. "Thank you."

Outside Mary Breitkopf's apartment, JJ grabbed Reid's arm. "No matter what happens this time, we don't split up, clear?"

"Crystal clear," Reid agreed, not taking his eyes off the door.

The building super let them in. JJ, Reid and the SWAT team cleared the apartment, discovering a mummified woman but no immediate sign of Jessica. Then, they heard muffled thumps coming from a corner. Reid followed the noise and found a closet. He opened the door, which Jessica had begun kicking when she felt footsteps nearby. She was sitting on the ground with her hands tied behind her back, a situation that Reid quickly remedied. Then she threw her arms around him, clinging tightly. He hugged her back, drinking in the fact that they'd found her. Neither let go for a long time.

Eventually, however, Jessica did let go. "He drugged me with something," she revealed, thoroughly spooked. "I don't know what!"

"Probably ketamine," Reid replied, trying to calm her down. "Just a sedative. It's what he used on all his other victims."

"Is it addictive?" Jessica asked fearfully.

"You'd need to use it for longer than that to become dependent," Reid assured.

"I want to go to a hospital," Jessica stated, not convinced.

"That would be standard procedure in any event," JJ chimed in. "Come on."

According to the doctors at the nearest hospital, whatever drug Frank had used was completely out of Jessica's system by now. She had a few minor bruises and abrasions from struggling against her bonds, but was healthy enough to go home. Only once she had been discharged did she think to ask what had happened to her abductor.

"He and Jane jumped in front of a train at Union Station," JJ informed her, having gotten the news from Hotch.

Jessica swallowed. "You mean they…"

"Killed themselves, yes," Reid confirmed bluntly, not a believer in sugarcoating things.

"He won't be coming back for you," JJ assured.

Jessica swallowed again. "Why didn't he kill me?"

"He wanted to trade you for Jane," Reid explained. "He knew we wouldn't let you die."

"So…you traded Jane for me?"

"Actually no, we profiled Frank and figured out where he was most likely to have hid you," Reid replied. "You were in his mother's apartment."

"The dead woman was his mother?!"

JJ grimaced. "We'd need forensics to confirm it, but we think so."

Reid took a deep breath. "Jessica…what happened?"

Jessica shuddered. "I was on my laptop when he just came into the room and grabbed me. I tried to fight him. I don't think he was expecting that. I broke free and got as far as the front door when he came up behind me and injected me with something. It was like the whole world got heavy. Next thing I knew, I was tied up in that apartment. He must have been trying to talk to me from somewhere, because finally he walked in front of me and asked if I was deaf or something, and I nodded. He made a phone call, I think to Gideon, and then after he hung up he locked me in the closet and left me there."

Reid briefly hugged her again. "I am so sorry that happened to you. I'm going to get a second deadbolt installed in the door."

Jessica nodded and leaned against him, exhausted from her ordeal.

Back at Quantico, the remainder of the team sans Hotch was waiting to see Jessica with their own eyes. Garcia was the first to hug Jessica, followed by Prentiss, Morgan, and finally Gideon. "I'm so sorry about this," Gideon signed sadly.

"Frank was the one who kidnapped me, not you," Jessica pointed out.

"You were kidnapped because of me," Gideon argued.

"And Randall Garner involved me in his 'quest' because of Spencer, but you don't see me blaming him."

"Where's Hotch?" Reid asked, trying to change the subject.

"Strauss," Morgan replied, as if that explained everything. Which it did. "You guys want a hand fixing your front door?"

"Can you install about fifty more deadbolts too?" Jessica begged.

"Maybe one or two more," Reid corrected. "We don't want to imprison ourselves."

"I think I can manage that," Morgan agreed.

When Morgan arrived at the apartment, he found that Bianca's opinion of him had not improved in the slightest. Jessica shut herself into her bedroom with the kitten so that Morgan could actually get some work done.

That night, despite the repaired front door, Jessica couldn't sleep. Eventually, she gave up and knocked on Spencer's door, seeing that his light was still on. Moments later, he opened it. "Can't sleep either?"

"No," Jessica admitted. Spencer stood aside and let her in. She sat down on his bed, curling up with her knees to her chest.

Spencer sat next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jessica raised her eyebrows and gave him a skeptical look. "Like you did?"

Spencer winced. "I learn from my mistakes. Avoiding the subject and pretending nothing happened isn't going to do any good."

"What happened to Hankel?" Jessica asked. "Is he in prison, or is he dead too?"

Spencer sagged back against a pillow, suddenly looking bone-weary. "He's dead."

"They had to kill him to save you?"

Spencer hesitated before answering. "No. I killed him to save myself."

"How?" Jessica demanded, baffled. From what she'd seen over the video feed, it didn't look like he'd been in any position to overpower his captor.

"He…he took me outside, and…ordered me to dig my own grave. Eventually I realized he'd put his gun down. He was still threatening me with a knife, but the moment he became distracted by the rescue party, I grabbed the gun and shot him."

Jessica pondered that for a few moments. "You saved yourself. I didn't. I was just a helpless victim."

"You're a fourteen-year-old civilian," Spencer pointed out. "Informal self-defense training from Elle hardly qualifies you to take on one of the worst serial killers the BAU has ever faced. As your guardian and an FBI agent, it's my job to rescue you. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed. I just don't want to feel helpless."

"I'm going to do my best to make sure you never have to again," Spencer promised. A moment later, he gave her a wry look. "I'm beginning to have some idea how you must have felt in that farmhouse. Coming back to the apartment last night was even more terrifying than waking up in that shed."

Jessica leaned against him, trying to banish the memories of her own terror. Of how she'd feared that Frank might come back and kill her at any moment. Although she'd known the BAU would look for her, and that they were very good at their jobs, she had also known that they didn't always manage to save everyone…and that sometimes horrible things happened to survivors before they were rescued. Spencer was a perfect example of that.

Suddenly, Jessica sat upright again. "Do you remember it? Dying?"

Spencer looked startled by the question, then uncomfortable. "Yes."

"What…what was it like?"

Spencer swallowed. "I still haven't made sense of what I experienced that night. The seizure was definitely unpleasant. It was painful, and terrifying. I could tell I was dying. But then…warmth. Light. If there really is a heaven, I think I glimpsed it."

Jessica contemplated this. "You deserve it," she decided. Then she leaned against Spencer again, closing her eyes. Though she had no desire to emulate Spencer's experience, learning his story somehow made the whole world seem like a far less terrifying place.

Spencer put an arm around Jessica, glad that he'd put her at ease. Dredging up his old nightmare certainly hadn't put him at ease. A brief glimpse of what might have been heaven didn't come close to cancelling out two days of hell. His Dilaudid cravings were returning in full force. But by looking at his now-sleeping cousin, he was able to push the cravings to the back of his mind. He'd lost Jessica twice now—once because of his addiction and once because of Frank. He had no intention of losing her a third time.

Soon, Spencer was asleep too.