Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1 - Kidnapped

Dr Spencer Reid woke up in a dark room. The cold floor against his forearms was the first sign that this wasn’t his hotel room. The second was that his hands and feet were tied, and mouth gagged. From somewhere to his right, Reid could hear someone stirring. The first and only question running through his mind was: Why is it always me?

 At that point, he had been shot three times, survived an anthrax attack, and been taken hostage twice. The others were right, he was a danger magnet. The other person in the room started moaning, and Reid swore he knew the voice.

He couldn’t believe it. The two youngest members on the team and they had both been taken. How the hell had that happened? What scared him the most was they were in a dark room, and he had no recollection of how they got there. He couldn’t even remember their last case. Did the team know they were missing? God, he had a splitting headache. Were they knocked out? Is that why he had a headache? Is that why he couldn’t remember what happened? So many questions.

Suddenly there was a bright light in the room hurting Reid’s eyes and intensifying his already barely manageable headache. He tried closing his eyes to block out the light, but it was almost like it was under his eyelids.

All he could see was a blinding light. He tried moving away only to realise that his hands were bound to the floor on a short chain. The light started burning his eyes. He couldn’t escape it. As suddenly as the light appeared it disappeared leaving spencer unable to see anything other than white and red splotches. After what seemed like hours of not being able to see properly his vision finally cleared, the room was once again dark.

Looking around he could only see silhouettes and could only just make out JJ’s shape across the room on the floor, not moving. Spencer was still puzzled on how they had gotten there and where ‘there’ was.

After about an hour of silence, in which Reid had time to his thoughts, he felt the all too familiar feeling of coming down from a high. How he didn’t realise earlier was beyond him, like oh so many other things.

________________________________________________________________________________________

JJ woke up to darkness. Her wrists were tied behind her back and she could feel rope around her ankles. As far as she could tell though, those were the only restraints. As she became more alert she could feel something around her eyes and extending to the back of her head. Blind fold.

Off to the right of the space she could hear stirring. So, she wasn’t alone. Was it one of her teammates? Or was it someone she didn’t know?

She had only been awake for two minutes and the blind fold was already annoying her. Just then she felt the pounding in her head and before she could stop it, started moaning against the pain. Once the pounding became more manageable she called out but there was no reply.

After her failed attempt to find out who was in the room with her, she decided to go over the previous case.

Unable to see to anything else she went through the case mentally. Eight victims all partners at work; Occupations range from project partners in college to partnered cops on patrol. All of the victims had their throats slashed, mouths taped, and face painted as several different movie villains. The first two victims, George Stevens and Michael Richards, were found behind a diner next to the trash bins their faces painted as the Joker and scar. The next two victims, Marilyn Foster and Jane Rowland were found in an alley way littered with garbage and rats. Their faces were painted as ‘Maleficent’ and ‘The Evil Queen’. The fifth and sixth victims were Amanda Andrews and Patrick McKenna. Found outside a convenient store next to the bins. Faces painted as ‘Jaffar’ and ‘Poison Ivy’.  The seventh and eighth victims were Adam Johnson and Amy Lucas. Found outside their office building with a trash can lid on their laps. The face paint was of ‘Harley Quinn’ and ‘Bane’. But that was as much as she remembered.

She couldn’t even remember the profile, it would most likely turn out problematic. She wondered if the team realised she was missing. For some reason she was getting the feeling that she knew the other person in the room.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Reid was pulled out of his thoughts by a door opening, trying to distract his mind from the familiar feeling. He was craving the drug now.

He was sure at this point that it was dilaudid. As much as he tried though, his mind never seemed to be entirely distracted.

He tried remembering the last case but came up empty. He tried to recall what he was doing before he was taken but he kept drawing a blank. He couldn’t even remember what he ate for breakfast, wasn’t sure if he had had breakfast for that matter.

The whole situation was making him frustrated and he just wanted to punch something. Oh, great this again. Shut up. Come on Spencer you know you want it. No, I don’t leave me alone. Why? So, you can stay clean? Well sorry but that’s gone down the drain, hasn’t it? Leave me alone. No. Get out of my head. What scared you’re gonna end up like dear old mommy? I said leave me alone. Why. Seeing you argue with yourself is amusing.

“This can’t be happening,” he said softly vigorously shaking his head. “This is a dream and I am going to wake up in my own bed still clean.” Come on spencer you know this isn’t a dream. If it is Jennifer found a way to dream the same thing. He was trying to distract himself from his own conscious.

Spencer was too busy trying to reason with himself that he hadn’t noticed that the gag had been removed. Or the fact that he was speaking out loud and JJ could hear it.

Meanwhile, the unsub was standing in the corner listening to what the young doctor had to say to himself. A smirk crept onto his lips until it was a grin. “This is going to be fun.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 - Helpless

JJ heard the door open and held her breath. She heard footsteps go over to the far side of the room and after a moment, the unsub receded to her side, took off the blindfold, and headed to the corner.

It took a little while for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but she could hear someone say, “Shut up”.  JJ knew that voice. It was Spence’s voice. But who was he talking to? “No, I don’t.” Silence followed, the next sentence came a little later. “Leave me alone”. JJ was really confused at this point. Who the hell was he talking to? Then the next line cleared some of the confusion. “Get out of my head.” Oh no. “I said leave me alone.”

JJ could hear the fear in his voice. He knew he was arguing with himself. He knew what this probably meant. What was said next was heartbreaking. “This can’t be happening. This isn’t happening. This is a dream and I am going to wake up in my own bed still clean.” JJ got the feeling that Reid had been drugged again. However, what was more concerning was the fact that Reid was talking to himself. Was this the start of a schizophrenic break?

________________________________________________________________________________________

Only after Reid had finished arguing with himself did he notice that the gag had been removed and felt two sets of eyes on him. It was also at this point when he started feeling the effects of the with-drawl. He felt both too hot and too cold as the fever started setting in and his stomach felt like it was on a roller coaster ride. He couldn’t stop trembling. He could feel the cold sweat on his face. How long had he been unconscious for? How much had he been given? Did he really care?

Thoughts like these kept running through his mind and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, so he just laid there in the most comfortable position he could manage, and waited for the nausea and vomiting to set in. He could hear JJ calling him, but he didn’t answer. When he refused to answer the second time, he could hear shuffling and a couple minutes later he felt JJ off to his right side. He shifted so he had his back to her and the door. Reid didn’t want to talk right now. If he was being honest with himself, he just wanted to curl into a ball and hide.

After an hour or so Reid managed to get some sleep only to be woken up to the door opening about fifteen minutes later. But he didn’t bother looking around. He didn’t have the energy to and he already knew who it was. He wasn’t expecting the needle he felt in his arm. Relief flooded through his bloodstream and within seconds he was consumed by darkness and the blissfulness of sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Aaron Hotchner woke with a feeling of dread. He had a bad feeling that something had happened. Little did he know that in the next room Derek Morgan had woken up at the exact same time with the same feeling. Knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep he decided to get dressed and head down to the police station to go over everything.

As he was locking his hotel room he heard a door open next to his and was somewhat surprised to find Morgan dressed and ready to go as well. If Morgan was awake this early, something really bad had happened. Whether known or unknown.

“Can’t sleep either?”

“Nah, I woke up about half an hour ago. Hotch I think somethings wrong.”

“You got that feeling to?”

“Yeah. Wait what do ya mean by ‘you got that feeling to’?”

“I woke up about half an hour ago with the same feeling. If it woke both of us up around the same time, then there probably is something wrong.”

“Should we wake the others?”

 “I’ll send them a message to get to the station ASAP We should go now.”

They climbed into the SUV and went to the police station. Little did they know, if they went to wake the others up instead, they would’ve found out an hour earlier why they had a feeling of dread.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3 – Questions        

The unsub came back into the room and JJ could make out the shape of a needle. He started towards Reid and JJ had a bad feeling but there was nothing she could do. Instead she watched as Reid became unconscious. How much had the unsub given him? Was he still alive? JJ couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not.

Reid hadn’t refused it and that made JJ worried. Every time Reid found himself in hospital after Georgia (which was a lot,) he always refused narcotics in fear of getting addicted again. Yet here he was lying still on the floor and not even trying to fight against the unsub. JJ didn’t know what to feel. Angry? Disappointed? Scared? Worried? All she knew was she was confused. The unsub turned to her next, grabbed her hair and dragged her out of the room.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Back at the station Emily Prentiss and David Rossi rushed into the conference room that they had hijacked. After waking up and receiving Hotch’s text message to meet at the station ASAP, they quickly got dressed and headed out, wondering why they had been called in at two in the morning. The ongoing case was worrying yes, but was it necessary to bring them in this early to work on it?

As Rossi entered, he was starting to get a sinking feeling. When he saw Hotch grim faced and Morgan looking more pissed than usual, he had a feeling this wasn’t just about the case. Looking around he realised that the two youngest members of the team weren’t there.

“Where’s Reid and JJ?” It was Prentiss that dared ask and the look on their unit chief’s face was enough of an answer. This time it was Rossi who spoke.

“That’s why you texted us to meet ASAP isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so. We don’t know where JJ and Reid are. I have a feeling I know who they’re with though. If my theory is correct, then we need to find them soon. We know what he’s done to the other victims. But we also need to stay clear headed. Now anyone want to brave telling Garcia?”

“What, scared Hotch?” Morgan teased.

“Yeah your unit chief. You tell her.” Prentiss agreed. Hotch needed to man up. The three other agents could visibly see their leader gulp, and despite the circumstance they let out a small chuckle. Although Penelope Garcia was a technical analyst, you did not want to get on her bad side. Garcia was scarier than a knife wielding maniac.

“Hey Garcia, I need you to do me a favour. I need you to track Reid and JJ’s phone. We don’t know.” Everyone felt sorry for Hotch in the next couple of seconds. Penelope Garcia was screaming into the phone so loud, that Morgan, Prentiss, and Rossi could hear the not-quite comprehensible speech from across the room and Hotch had to move the phone away from his ear. After the phone call they got to work on trying to track the last steps of the youngest two of the team. Garcia called back with the bad news that the last known location of the twos phone was back at the hotel.

________________________________________________________________________________________

JJ was dragged for what seemed like hours against the rough concrete floor. The pain in her back was enough to let her know that her top was ripped and the liquid trailing down was an indicator that there would be more than a few scars.

They finally stopped in a brightly lit room and on the walls, were all sorts of knifes. In the middle of the room was a hospital bed with straps for the wrists, ankles, and neck. The blood on the sheets and floor still looked somewhat fresh. JJ got dragged to the table and tried to fight the unsub off but to no avail. Her guess was she had lost a fair amount of blood and the sudden movements of her trying to fight sent pain racking up her back and across her body. After the unsub strapped her down he disappeared to one of the walls. When he reappeared JJ’s, heart stopped. In his hand was a machete.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 - Alone

Reid woke up to quietness in the pitch-black room. He couldn’t even sense another body. He wasn’t sure if that was due to his senses being dulled by the high or if the unsub had taken JJ. He started to panic. Where was JJ?

He could hear himself hyperventilating, he could feel his pulse and heart rate quicken; but that all seemed far off. He still couldn’t remember the case. Couldn’t remember what state they were in and he was alone in the dark. Even with the drug in his system he was still afraid of the dark. Reid didn’t even realise how long his breathing pace had changed for until he saw white spots dancing in his vision. It wasn’t long after that, that he passed out again.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Hotch and Morgan went to Reid and JJ’s hotel rooms. They found nothing. There was no sign of forced entry, no sign of a struggle and no prints. At least not in JJ’s. Reid’s on the other hand was almost the same except for one thing. In the bedroom there was a needle on the bed.

“Morgan? Come have a look at this.”

“What the? Hotch was he using again?”

“No, I don’t think so. I mean why would he Morgan? Every time he ended up in hospital he always refused any narcotics. Even during the anthrax case. No, I don’t think this was Reid. Even if he was using he would hide it better than this. He was drugged Morgan.”

 “That sonovabitch. When I get my hands on this guy…” 

“Come on we need to get back to the station.”

“Find anything at their hotel rooms?” Prentiss asked as she saw the two males coming into the station. Morgan looked just about ready to tear the unsub, or anyone who said the wrong thing, for that matter, a new one. Hotch also looked pissed but the only way to tell with Hotch was his eyes.

“Yeah. We found this on Reid’s bed.”

“Is that…”

“Yep.”

“He wasn’t using, again was he?”

“No. Even if he was he would’ve hid it better. The unsub left this for us. He knows our personal lives. Or at least Reid’s.”

“What’s this about Reid using?” Came Rossi’s voice from behind Prentiss. Hotch almost forgot that Rossi wasn’t there for that particular case.

“Sorry, I forgot you weren’t there. Well I guess you have a right to know…”

“Hotch. Come on man. That’s Reid’s choice to make. We can’t just go around telling people.”

“Morgan, it effects this team, and Rossi has a right to know.”

“Not if the kid doesn’t want him to know. And if he was ready for Rossi to know than he would’ve told him himself. No offence Rossi.”

 “Morgan, it’s got to do with this case, therefore Rossi has a right to know.”

Morgan didn’t know what to say or do. But he was seething in anger at his boss. So, he stormed out of the room and kicked the door on the way out, earning a few confused and startled looks from the officers in the bullpen.

“Sorry about that. Reid probably would want you to know. Especially considering the circumstances. It’s just something we don’t really talk about.”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me Aaron. You don’t have to.”

“No, I do. Plus, it may help you understand Reid a bit better. Especially why he refuses to take morphine in the hospital. There was a case a couple years back. The unsub suffered DID, but we didn’t know that at first. We thought there were three unsubs that were on a religious mission killing sinners. He posted the videos of the murders online using the victim’s laptop to film it. We were getting nowhere. He always managed to break into the house, call 911, kill the victims and be out in the time it took the police to get there.

“A report came up saying that someone reported a prowler outside one of the victim’s house, so I sent JJ and Reid to ask him a few questions. One of the videos, it was replicating Jessabelle’s death from the bible and one of the officers realised who the dogs belonged to. It turns out the witness to the prowler was the unsub and the call about the prowler was to gauge police time.

“Reid saw the monitors and pieced it together. He saw Tobias run out back and split up with JJ. We found JJ in the barn with the three dogs dead and a bite mark on JJ’s arm. Morgan went around to the corn field where there were signs of someone being dragged, but no sign of Reid.

“He was held in a shed tied to a chair for two days, while the personality of Tobias’s father played Russian roulette. In his house we found a bunch of dates for NA meetings, so Prentiss and JJ went to talk to his sponsor. We eventually found Reid. Tobias was sending a live video feed to his computers and Reid was smart enough to leave us clues. He ended up shooting Tobias.

“Turns out our arrival distracted him long enough, so Reid could get the gun. It wasn’t until later that Reid admitted he needed help but we all suspected it. We just couldn’t do anything until he admitted it himself.”

“So where do narcotics come up?”

“Tobias’s drug of choice was dilaudid. He drugged Reid multiple times to try and help him, because that was the only way Tobias knew how to escape. His father was strict on religion and he did some pretty bad stuff to Tobias in ‘the name of god’. Then his dad got sick and asked Tobias to kill him. Of course, that went against the religious code he was brought up with and thus you got the three personalities: Tobias Hankle, Charles Hankle and the Arch angle Raphael.”

“How long was Reid clean before this case?”

“A couple years. But there were times when he struggled. The case with the Vaughn’s for instance. The thing is though, getting over an addiction twice is going to be difficult. Especially narcotics.”

________________________________________________________________________________________

JJ was trying not to scream. The blade cut down her shin and she could immediately feel the warm and sticky blood. Her leg on the other hand felt like it was being repeatedly cooled and heated over and over. The unsub left her view, only to come back with a small dagger. He walked over to JJ’s right side and splayed her hands out. JJ realised what he was doing and tried to curl her hand into a fist but to no avail. The dagger came down and straight through her hand to the table, and she couldn’t help the ear-splitting scream or the tears that came out.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Reid woke up again alone in the dark room to the far-off sounds of JJ screaming. He didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious for, but the effects of the drug were wearing off and the feeling of withdrawal was already setting in. God! How much was he given? Before he even knew what he was doing, he threw up over the floor in front of him. He couldn’t stop the shaking which in turn made the chain, that was keeping him where he was, rattle, already giving him a head ache.

He heard the door open and looked up to see an orange light and an unconscious JJ being brought back into the room, blood covering her leg and hand. The unsub threw her down beside Reid and disappeared.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5 - Cut

He came back later with a mop, bucket and advanced first aid kit. He then came over to unlock Reid’s hand cuffs and told him to “stitch her up”. Oh shit. Reid didn’t have the best hand eye coordination at the best of times, and he couldn’t see in the dark.

“I c-can’t do it in the dark.”

With that, the unsub brought out a small cordless lamp for Reid to use. He turned JJ onto her back. Reid scrambled to assess which wound was doing the most damage. Once he reached her he fell to his knees helpless and mortified. The hem of her nightgown torn at the seams, soaked a mixture of various un identifiable liquids, the silk at the front held together by thin threads.
A deep bout of maniacal laughter occurred from shadows. Reid forced himself to turn around on the spot and witness the unsub disappear through a door.

He slipped on the gloves, prepped the needle and thread and numbed the area with the anaesthetic. After he finished both sides of her hand he repeated the same procedure on her leg.

-2 hours-

The door opened to reveal the unsub with a gun in his hands.

“Back over to the chain or I shoot her in the head.”

Not wanting anything to happen to JJ, he obeyed, putting his hands behind his back and sitting over near the wall where the chain was. The unsub came over, not taking his eyes off Reid and at the same time not moving the gun away from JJ’s head until he reached Reid. He pointed the gun at Reid’s head as he did the hand cuffs back up. He left the room with the lamp and slammed the door behind him.

________________________________________________________________________________________

JJ woke up in the dark room that she and Reid shared now. The pain in her hand and leg were bad, but she realised it was no longer bleeding. She went to touch it with her good hand.

“Don’t touch it. I’m not sure my stitching is that good.”

“What?” It was the only response she had for her best friend. It was the first time she had really heard his voice in what seemed like forever. He hadn’t even turned around.

“I might be a doctor, but I don’t think my stitching is that good.” Came the reply and she could tell that Spence was trying to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work.

His voice broke JJ’s heart. Cracked and soft it sounded defeated and withdrawn. He still had his back towards her.

“Y-you stitched it?” Reid didn’t reply but JJ could just see the shape of his head moving up and down slightly in a nod.

“oh spence…” She cut the sentence off not knowing where it was going. “We need to come up with a plan.” Was what she eventually ended up saying.

“Yeah? A plan for what? To escape? Even if one of us found a way to escape it would most likely mean the death of the other one.”

And there was the Reid JJ was hoping never to meet again. The sarcastic, tell-it-how-it-is Reid that got annoyed easily and snapped at anyone and everyone. The one that didn’t care if he upset people or scared them. The one that no one wanted to be in the room with any more than they had to be. The one that was a result of a single unsub back in Georgia.

Of course, everyone had their dark side, but it wasn’t like Reid to show his without being really annoyed or frustrated with something. It took a lot to annoy the patient, caring doctor Reid that they all knew and loved. The side of Reid was the one that Reid himself loathed. All JJ could hear now was the steady beat of Reid’s breathing. Not knowing if he was asleep or not she sat there in silence, not wanting to wake him up if he was.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6 – Breakthroughs

Reid woke up once again to the door opening. This time though, there was a faint metallic sound. As the unsub walked in Reid could see what looked like a breast plate of armour, connected to a chain. Reid immediately understood and started protesting, but before he could make a sound, he felt a needle in his arm, the cool clear liquid spreading through his blood stream once again and knocking him out.

He came to consciousness, the Armor the unsub brought in weighed heavily on his chest. The chain connected with the loop that was on the floor, so he couldn’t go more than a half meter if that. But it did leave his hands free. As the drug started wearing off he started to feel pain in almost all his torso except his back; It was a stinging sensation across his skin. It took him a minute to realise it must be something in the ‘Armor’.

A little later he started taking smaller breaths through his mouth and stayed completely still. His theory proved correct after a short time of doing these things. The stinging became more bearable and he could feel blood running down his sides. The only position, he figured, that he could lie in without the pain was on his back. That however proved rather uncomfortable.

To make things worse he felt himself about to throw up again, forcing him to move or drown in his own vomit. He rolled onto his side, which immediately erupted in pain and was once again sick on the floor the only thing coming up was bile. When he was done he groaned and rolled back onto his back. But that was no use. He was panting now which caused his abdomen to erupt into pain as well. He eventually got back into the rhythm of small breaths and fell back into a pain filled sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Hotch was getting really worried. It had been three days since Reid and JJ went missing, and they were no closer to finding the unsub, or them. Hotch wasn’t sure if no bodies showing up was a good or a bad thing. Of course, it meant his team-mates weren’t dead, but what could the unsub have done in three days? If Reid was being constantly drugged again, he could easily snap at JJ or worse. The unsub could accidentally give him an overdose.

The cameras at the hotel revealed nothing but a hooded figure that was always facing away from the cameras, and the street cameras around held nothing of interest either. Morgan was losing it, punching or kicking every door whenever a lead came up empty. They had the profile but that was all and there wasn’t a lot to go by on that.

 “Alright, let’s go over the profile again. There must be something we missed. The guy we’re looking for is a white male in his early to late thirties.” The team could tell at this point Hotch was getting frustrated by the tone of his voice. Emily was the one daring to pitch in next.

“If he’s keeping his victims long enough to paint their faces and everything else he has to have a secluded place to work.” With Morgan chiming in after Emily.

“He has a problem with people who are smarter than him or can keep a job, which means he hasn’t been able to keep a job long.”

“He is smart enough and skilled enough to take two FBI agents at once without leaving a trace.” Rossi added in his usual relaxed tone, but the team could tell he was worried.

“He does his research about his victims. Past struggles, things that scare them, favourite villains even. He knows how to get inside people’s heads, but he blends in. He has the means to transport his victims from wherever they were to where he’s holding them. He most likely has a van big enough to hide two bodies inside, but ordinary enough to blend in. It could be a van with a logo, or a common plain white van.” Hotch summed up the profile.
 

After they delivered the profile they went their separate ways. As Hotch was walking off he heard Morgan call him.

“Hotch, what if Reid was one of the intended targets all along? I mean the unsub could’ve taken any of us, but he had to of bought the dilaudid beforehand. He was specifically targeting Reid.”

“Then why take partners? Why take JJ. The unsub could’ve taken any of us.”

“Maybe he figured JJ getting hurt and Reid not being able to do anything would psychologically harm the kid the most. Not to mention if the unsub told Reid to do something and Reid refused he could threaten to kill JJ or threaten her family. Knowing Reid, he wouldn’t want to leave Henry without a parent, so he would comply.”

As Morgan was speaking Hotch could see that the words were becoming more real, and more plausible as they came out.

“We need to rethink victimology then. Morgan gather the others and call Garcia. We need a list of anyone that might want Reid dead, and know his personal history.”

With that the two parted ways with a new-found sense of dread. If Reid was the intended target, then the unsub would take his time. But that wasn’t necessarily a good thing and they still had to figure out how the unsub had taken them both. Hotch had a theory, and he didn’t like it one bit.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7 - Hidden

JJ woke up to the almost quiet room. The only noise was what sounded like someone panting but not being able to fill their lungs up completely. After a moment or two JJ realised it was coming from Reid’s direction, and she shuffled over, to find Reid asleep, breathing shallowly. He was wearing what looked like the breast plate of old Armor. The difference being, she could see spikes coming up from the neck hole just missing Reid’s neck. Like an iron maiden.

She had no doubt that there were more inside which was why Reid was breathing abnormally and staying as still as a statue on his back. She knew if this breathing pattern kept up he wouldn’t last long due to lack of oxygen. Just then JJ heard the door open and immediately dropped down pretending to sleep.

She heard footsteps come up behind her, and she shut her eyes. The footsteps proceeded in front of her, the rattling of chains filling her ears.  Then there were the sounds of metal being weighed down and dragged against the floor. Before she knew it, JJ was alone in the room.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Spencer woke up breathing in and out normally with less pain in his torso. As he became more aware though, he realised that he was lying on his back, his hands pinned to his shoulders in an X shape like he was wearing a straight jacket. The space he was in also seemed more confined and he was alone. It was still too dark to see anything.

A sudden bright light filled the room. He was in the middle of it, slightly in the ground. Around him was a clear hard material. Either glass or plastic, Spencer had a feeling it was the latter. A sense of dread and fear started to engulf him as he realised what was going to happen. At this rate he was going to have a panic attack before the unsub even started. About five minutes after he woke up, the floor that was holding, what could only be described as, his coffin started moving down, much like an elevator.

When the contraption was lowered about five feet into the ground, the unsub made an appearance, bag of dirt in hand. His mind went back to the grave yard, that fateful night in Georgia so many years ago. The voice of ‘Charles Hankel’ worming its way into Spencer’s thoughts once again after many years of suppressing it. “I’m going to bury you alive in there. You need time to think about what you’ve done.” Every time the dirt fell onto the casing he was in, a different memory from his life played.

“I’m about to get naked so they can scrub me down. Is that something you really want to see?” He thought about his team, wondering if he would ever see them again. He knew the statistics of how long someone could go without air. Even if the unsub did manage to revive him after that time, brain damage would probably be present. Even if the unsub did start to pull him up before time ran out, the extra weight from the dirt would take the device twice as long to bring up the coffin. The unsub was pouring the fourth bag of dirt onto the coffin, but there was nothing Spencer could do.

Thoughts of Henry crawled into his mind and he wondered if he would be left without a god parent. Or, if JJ survived, would she pass on stories about him? Or would she be too sad. Henry’s first Halloween trick-or-treating came to mind. He remembered Derek asking, “So he wants to be a profiler.” And JJ’s reply. “ah he wants to be his favourite profiler.” and that was when Henry came out of hiding, wearing a dress shirt, sweater vest and tie, with a brown bookbag across his shoulder. Spencer was extremely happy and flattered that, to complete the look, gave him his credentials.

Spencer couldn’t stop the tears he felt sting his eyes. He could feel himself starting to panic now. His heart rate increased, and he was finding it incredibly difficult to catch his breath, even though there was maybe another fifteen minutes of air left. Not if you don’t calm down, genius. Oh great! The voice was back. He tried counting to ten to calm himself. After attempting that several times he finally calmed down enough, but by his estimate, he had ten minutes left of oxygen before the air became completely stale and un-breathable.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Rossi noted that Hotch looked pissed. “What’s wrong Aaron?”

“This whole case. That’s what’s wrong. God. I can’t believe that Reid was taken again. And right from his hotel room.”

“He’s strong Aaron, he’ll survive. They both will.”

“I know. But I can’t help but feel I failed them.

“You haven’t failed anyone, Aaron. Now let’s just focus on getting them back alive.”

“Yeah, you’re right Dave.” Still, Aaron couldn’t help but feel something was wrong, other than two of his team members being missing...

Chapter Text

Chapter 8 – Anguish

JJ couldn’t help the warm tears that stung her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Spence had been gone for well over an hour. Something was wrong she could tell.  Panic started setting in, her breathing faster, and she was struggling to catch her breath properly. She heard the door open but the dizziness and the lack of air to her lungs was making her vision dance. JJ didn’t even feel it when her head hit the concrete.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Penelope felt dread take an iron grip on her heart. It was bad enough that Spencer had been taken, again. But the fact that the unsub also had JJ was even more alarming. Penelope knew how protective Spencer could be when it came to the people he cared about. Even if he wasn’t violent in the sense of throwing punches, Spencers words when he was emotional, were enough to make anyone flinch, or worse, break your heart. Penelope had heard about how spencer could lash out when there was something that didn’t sit right with him.

The tech analysis didn’t notice her phone ringing, too deep in memories and thoughts. It wasn’t until the third time it rang that she noticed. A number that wasn’t a member of her teams, lit up the display of the small device. With a shaky breath she answered it. A deep voice on the other end relaying specific instructions. After the phone call she immediately called her team, horror settling on her face and in her voice as she explained the call and every word the caller had said.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Morgan was at a loss for words when Garcia relayed the contents of the phone call. It took a moment for the information to sink in, and then he was out the door of the conference room, with a slam and a potentially broken hand.  The cops in a two-meter radius made sure to stay the hell away from him, the fire in his eyes screaming bloody murder. The blood running down his hand reinforcing the silent promise to break anyone who came near him.

________________________________________________________________________________________

There was nothing Aaron could think of to do, so he just stood there, leaning against the table blinking in disbelief. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Was the team ever going to forgive him if he made this choice? After the whole fiasco with the reaper and the aftermath of that, he wasn’t sure if he could make the choice. But they had nothing to go on. Aaron didn’t know what to do, which was a shock to all of them. Aaron, the unit chief, the team leader, the one who took the fall and suffered the consequences with Strauss, the rock that kept the team from completely falling apart, had absolutely no idea what choice was the right one.

________________________________________________________________________________________

JJ woke up to a voice that sounded distant and calm, but unfamiliar to her. It took her another moment to realise that the voice was giving instructions, but JJ could only sense one other person in the room, which filled her with a new sense of dread. That meant that Spence was still God knows where, or worse… No, she refused to believe that Spence would give up that easily. Yes, he had some close calls and dark patches, but he always came back, always fought. He was always thinking about those he cared about instead of himself. Which, she realised is why the unsub had taken her to. To control Spence. Which meant that he was the target all along.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 – Shattered

Reid miraculously regained consciousness. Well it would’ve been a miracle, if he wasn’t suffering from with-drawl and a stinging torso. He also felt light headed for some reason and his throat was raw. Than it all came flooding back to him like a movie on fast forward in high definition. The drugs, armour, the spikes that pierced his chest enough to make it hurt and sting like hell, but not enough to puncture any organs.  Being buried alive… He felt his stomach do a back flip and wasn’t sure if it was the thought of the last torture or the with-drawl.

He hadn’t realised that he blacked out again until he heard a door open from his left side. Suddenly there was a blinding light and a person standing above him. Reid didn’t even notice the needle until the contents was making its way through his blood stream, disabling all movement from his muscles. It was at this point in time, that he realised he was still in the clear container that was too much like a coffin for his liking, with his hands and arms beside him.  Too lost in thought, it wasn’t until there was a sharp pain in his side that he realised the unsub had a knife. The cries of pain got stuck in his throat, as the paralytic only allowed movement for blinking and breathing. He closed his eyes, not noticing the tears that rolled down his face.

________________________________________________________________________________________

The next time JJ woke up, it was pitch black as if she was underground. She couldn’t feel anything around her except for the cold of the room, and she sure as hell couldn’t hear anything. Sensory deprivation, her mind so helpfully supplied. A form of torture that could make even the bravest people go insane. JJ didn’t know how long she had been unconscious or when she was moved into this room. What she did know however, is that her arms were strung up above her head and she couldn’t feel the ground. JJ had the urge to start screaming but knew it would do no good.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

At the Montana police station that the team had made base, the four older agents were starting to get frustrated and tension was so thick in the air it was suffocating. They felt helpless as every lead turned into a dead end. Morgan had had enough. It had been three days since their friends and colleagues had gone missing and there was nothing to lead the team to where they were or who had them.

It was the package that finally had him storm out of the room and into the men’s room.  A civilian was asked to give them a package and they didn’t know who it was from or what way they came. When the questioning was over, Hotch donned on plastic gloves and opened it. In the box there were easily thirty photos, some smeared with blood and others in black in white. It was what the photos showed that made Dereck sick. They were various photos of JJ and Reid in different, terrifying scenarios. Several of Reid being shot up.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Reid opened his eyes when the unsub started talking, but through the pain and drugs he couldn’t comprehend what he was saying.  Through the haze in his eye sight, Reid could make out an object in the unsubs hand. It took about a minute for him to realise that it was a knife. Another minute to register that his arms, hands, legs, feet and torso were bound to the box with wire thin enough to still expose most of the area, sharp enough to cut into his skin should he move but strong enough not to come loose or break.

He could also feel something that felt too much like a heretic’s fork for comfort. Reid could feel blood running down the outside of his throat, the pain registering a moment later. He was dimly aware of the box being raised so he was upright, the wire binding him to the cursed piece of furniture digging into his skin and drawing more blood. His head lulled forward as far as it could, putting pressure on the torture device and causing more blood to flow. Reid could feel himself losing consciousness...

________________________________________________________________________________________

Morgan felt sick looking at the pictures. The horrified agent left the conference room slamming the door and heading straight for the bathroom. Reid had been through enough before he even joined the team, the situations he often found himself in on the job added to that. Reid had been through enough for three life times, yet he never lost his childishness and the universe seemed determined to break his care free demeanour, and every time Reid came back stronger than ever. But this time, Morgan wasn’t sure if this time would be the same. Reid had already seemed to have accepted that there was no way out of this one.

Reid’s face in those photos was haunting. His eyes held nothing but anger and sadness and his expression in all of them was grim. Morgan was surprised that the kid had lasted this long with that attitude and those injuries, but the agent knew that his friend wouldn’t last much longer. The tortures always seemed to get worse each time, the fact that he was under the influence of drugs added to that and the unsub could quite easily overdose him… Before Morgan even realised what, he was doing, there was a sound of shattered glass and the realisation of blood coating his right knuckle. Looking up he saw himself in the remains of the shattered mirror. It had now been a week since Reid and JJ went missing and they were still no closer to finding them.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

JJ’s senses woke up, it was no different to the last. JJ wasn’t sure how much time had passed, and it was already driving her mental. It was eerily quiet that she wanted to scream just to fill it but refrained herself from doing so. She tried swinging her legs a bit and found that her foot felt colder and there was a sound of movement. Water. She realised. The room was filling up with water and there was absolutely nothing she could do to help herself out of this one. She wasn’t sure how long it took but the water was now up to her waist and moving quickly. She just hoped that the rest of the team would get there in time to save them.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

It had been three days since Garcia had relayed the message of the phone call. Those 72 hours were the worst of Aarons life. He still hadn’t come to a decision and had no idea what Reid and JJ were going through right now. It had been six days since the two went missing and there were still no solid leads. All they had to go on for proof of life was the photos that were sent to them which were sent the same day as the phone call. Aaron was trying to figure out what Reid and JJ would want him to do when Morgan came busting into the conference room looking like he was ready to sever a few heads.

“A video was sent to Garcia. She sent it to Prentiss and we were just about to watch it. Garcia sounded hysterical on the phone, Hotch. Whatever is on that video is not good.”

“I’m coming.” With that Morgan left the room, Hotch following a minute or two later.

________________________________________________________________________________________

The first thing Reid noticed when he regained conscious was that he was no longer upright but instead upside down, the different position making the device around his neck slightly more bearable as his head was no longer resting on it for support. The genius could still feel blood coming from the wound, on his neck, trailing down his jaw. His cheeks. He could see red in the corner of his eyes as the thick, crimson liquid continued its descent, matting his hair, until finally dripping to the floor. It was dripping agonisingly slow, but the blood seemed like it was gushing out, the new position making blood flow to his head, but out of the wound before it even made it there.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out, or upside down for that matter. He was dimly aware of a red flashing light in one of the corners but wasn’t sure if it was real or if his sleep deprived, drug hazed mind was playing tricks on him. He wasn’t aware of the footsteps until they were right near him.

“So, looks like Aaron has made his choice. I do hope you understand his reasoning. After all I did give him a deadline that he only just managed to meet. I must say that team leader of yours has more... what’s the right word. Courage? No, that doesn’t fit. Recklessness? No that doesn’t describe him either. I got it! Stupidity. Yes, that seems to fit. To think I would actually harm a child. How amusing.  Your team has very low standards of me. But alas that was not why I came in here. Upon making his decision I have decided to make a little video for you team leader. Although I do believe the lovely miss Penelope will receive it first. That would then result in her sending it to the team, and alas the entire team will see what I am about to do. Well, all except the infamous Jennifer Jareau.”

Reid saw him walk over to a corner of the room, grab a hammer and a tool that Reid later identified as a chisel, and walk back over to his right. He closed his eyes, feeling the cold metal against his wrist, trying to prepare himself for the moment of impact.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 – End Game

Hotch almost threw up. The video was worse than the ones from the Hankel case. At least back then he was only drugged, beaten and forced to play Russian roulette.  Nothing came close to the horrific scene that was Reid. When the video started Reid was unconscious, blood running down his neck and face. He lay unmoving. Upside down. Heretics fork at the base of his neck, connecting to his bottom jaw.

The team thought he was dead. Until he opened his eyes. As unfocused as they were, the team was glad that he had opened them. Then they heard the echo of footsteps, then the voice of the unsub. The unsub came into view, wearing a batman mask, and holding a hammer and chisel.

They watched as the unsub walked up and placed the chisel on Reid’s wrist, Reid closing his eyes to brace himself. They were all unprepared the moment the hammer was brought down onto the handle of the chisel with such brute strength. The strangled, high pitched scream that escaped from Reid’s lips, and the blood gushing out of the wound, permanently seared into their minds.

 Some of the team were silently questioning how they were going to recover from this and more importantly, would this be what finally kills Reid? Reid, the one who survived an anthrax attack. The man who took a bullet in the knee for a doctor. The one who watched his entire future die in front of him after offering to swap places. The same person who got shot in the neck during a shoot-out at an abandoned restaurant. The break from all the seriousness the job brought on.

He refused to believe that this was how it would end. That this is how the team would fall apart. Reid was the childlike innocence that kept the team from being consumed by the morbid nature of their job. The unit chief couldn’t remember what the team was like before Gideon recruited Reid into their ranks, and, as much as Hotch hated to admit it, if not for Reid a lot of cases would have ended worse than they did like the anthrax case. Hotch came to the realization that Reid was the glue that kept this team together now.

As long as Reid was part of the team they could function. If he were to be removed, then they would collapse in on themselves. He was the one most trusted with the team’s secrets. It was his ramblings and physics tricks that kept the team smiling. It was Reid’s obliviousness to sarcasm or the random facts that he spurted that weren’t relevant to the case. It was just Reid’s personality in general that stopped the team from falling into the abyss.

The water stopped just below her chin. It was freezing, like she was bathing in ice. Her thoughts drifted, focussing again when she heard the scream. How loud would it have been to penetrate the walls of her cell? The sound was faint, strangled and high pitched. Her blood froze. She knew that voice. What the hell had that bastard done to him? Reid, despite is exterior, was a hard person to crack, unless you riled him up. His will was iron clad. So, for him to give out a scream like that, something really bad had happened.

JJ started thrashing trying to loosen the bonds and escape. It was no use though, her bonds held tight. Tears mixed with the water, her head resting on her chest, resulting in her mouth and nose being submerged. Not having the will to care, she lost consciousness again.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Watching the video made Garcia feel sick. Wait! Video. Without the usual orders from Hotch the tech focused on another screen and started typing. This unsub was smart, which meant cocky and cocky meant mistake. Garcia just hoped that the mistake was in her area of expertise. With something to focus her mind on her work came naturally and absent minded. After about 15 minutes the results came back. She had successfully traced the video feed. With a sense of hope and urgency Garcia called Hotch.

“sir, I-I traced the video feed and I-I have an address.”

“Baby girl what’s the address?” She must’ve been on loud speaker.

“Uh, 505 Marconi street.”

“Thanks Garcia.” and with that the phone went dead.

After the call from Garcia, everyone was in a frenzy. Hotch was spouting orders that his brain didn’t register until Hotch sharply said his name.

“Morgan, you’re with me. We secure the perimeter before we go in. Understood?” With nods from everyone, the team rushed out to the black SUV’s.

Reid’s brain felt like it was full of cotton wool. The pain in his wrist had dulled. He knew that wasn’t a good thing, but he couldn’t remember why. He was tired, but he knew he shouldn’t sleep. The sounds around him were echo-y and out of focus, his eyes threatening to close, and his vision blurred. He couldn’t fight it anymore and his eyes closed. Before he lost full consciousness, he heard the door burst opened, a shout and then nothing.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

After clearing the first ten rooms, the team of profilers came to the eleventh. Hotch gave the signal for Morgan to open the door and they were all surprised and horrified when water came gushing out. Everyone lost their footing due to the sheer force of the water. By the time they got up, the team was soaked and quite frankly pissed off. They entered the room to find a figure hanging from the ceiling, clothes soaked, and head sagged. It took Prentiss a moment to realise that it was JJ. It barely looked like she was breathing.

Morgan felt his anger rising. When they found JJ, her lips were tinged blue, her skin looked too pale and her breathing was shallow and laboured. He couldn’t take it. His best friend and little brother was somewhere in this god forsaken building and the rest of the team seemed more focused on JJ.  He went off on his own, his wet shoes and socks making slight squelching noises as he went. He opened the first door he came across, his gun drawn in front of him at the ready.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

He heard squelching footsteps nearing the door. The BAU brats found him quicker than he thought they would, and if the footsteps were anything to go by, they had found the female agent. Oh well, time to have some fun and end this.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

JJ came to again with shouting around her. She was wrapped in a blanket and on a gurney. After her eyes stopped blurring, she caught sight of Hotch, Emily and Rossi but there was no sign of Reid or Morgan. That couldn’t be good. She tried calling out to get answers, but when she went to open her mouth she felt a tube down her throat and was aware of the pain in her chest. Her eyes were becoming heavy again, but before they closed by themselves the profiler caught sight of two covered gurneys coming out of the building. Then her vision went dark.

Chapter Text

Epilogue

They had made the funeral opened to the public so that anyone who he had saved could attend. JJ was finally starting to understand why Reid had been so upset with her for lying about Prentiss. Aside from the obvious feeling of betrayal, JJ also realised how hard it was for someone to realise they had lost someone as close to a sister, and Spence had trouble dealing with his emotions as it was. Now he was gone.

The cases after that one, were unbearable. Everyone heard the ghost of his voice spouting out a random statistic. The things they all took him for granted for became daunting without him. There were no useless ramblings, or pranks on Morgan. Hell! There was barely any teasing going on anymore. The office had taken on a suffocating feel to it, everything seeming a little more grey than usual. Strauss had given the entire team a month off and all had to have psych evaluations before returning. Hotch had buried himself a little further into his work, Morgan trained harder every night at the gym, Prentiss’s stoic mask was still in place, but you could see the tiny cracks in the facade. Rossi’s liquor cabinet was slowly becoming emptier and JJ was in a daze when they weren’t on a case. She visited Spence’s grave almost all the time when they weren’t on a case, sometimes taking Henry as well.

It was on one of the days Henry was with her that she noticed a woman with a young girl laying flowers on the grave site. The woman was hugging the girl as they both cried at the gravesite. JJ recognised them from the funeral. The girl was no older than six with light blonde hair, like the woman’s, that came down to her waist. She was tall for her age, and her eyes were a brown colour, she was wearing a pink dress with flowers on it. The woman, presumably the mother, was kneeling down so the girl could hug her, her back turned toward JJ. Her blonde hair was shorter than the girls, coming up just past her shoulders. She was wearing jeans and a white top and looked to be in her mid-thirties.

After about five minutes the girl whispered something to the woman and they stood up and headed over their way. JJ was curious to say the least as to who the two people were. The woman stalked over, sadness mixed with fury in her eyes and face. Now that JJ could see her face she noticed that the woman was pretty in an elfish sort of way. Her features were short but sharp and her green eyes were piercing. “Who the hell are you?” JJ was not expecting the shaky hostility from the other woman, and without meaning to, got on the defensive herself.

“A work colleague Spencer was like a brother to me. Who the hell are you?”

“A close friend of Spencers.”

At that all JJ could do was blink like she had just been slapped and hadn’t registered the pain yet.

“You knew him?”

“Yeah. The name’s Sophie McKenna… I’m guessing you’re JJ then? He spoke about you guys a lot.”

“How long have you known each other?”

“Twelve years, we lived together up until well... Didn’t he tell the team about us?”

“No. Spence never really let anything out about his life away from work. Knowing Spence, I think we all just assumed he stayed home and read.”

“Yeah well… Any time he could spare he was at home with Alice after she was born. And who’s this little guy?” At that she ruffled Henry’s hair.

“This is Henry, Spencer’s god son. We came by to visit him. And I’d take it this little one is Alice then? She has his eyes.”

“Yeah”, she choked out, “she’s his daughter”. JJ couldn’t believe that Spence had been a father, especially to a beautiful young girl like this. Wait till the team found out. “She also has her father's smarts. Although she has my people skills. She is already in fourth grade. Aren’t you honey?”

“Yep all the older kids are really nice. Daddy had nothing to worry about!”

“Wow. So… how long did you know Spence?”

“Since college. He…uh... used to help with my science and math classes.”

“I can’t believe Spence kept this from a team of profilers for so long. Hey that gives me an idea. Do you maybe want to meet the rest of the team?”

“Uh...I don’t know. It might not be the best idea seen as he kept this life secret for so long.”

Three weeks later they were all at JJ and Will’s house for dinner. After the initial shock, Alice and Sophie were welcomed with opened arms. Morgan taking the role as protective uncle, Garcia being the gift giving aunt and Rossi the grandfather who spoilt the kid on Italian treats. Everything finally made sense.

Chapter Text

Alternative ending- Chapter 10 endgame

Hotch wasn’t sure how he felt watching the video. On the one hand he was glad that the unsub wasn’t currently in the same room as Reid and that their teammate wasn’t restrained. On the other hand, however, it was quite easy to see that the kid had been drugged and was currently high as a kite. He was stumbling around, gripping the elbow of his left arm with the shirt sleeve rolled up, and was hunched over somewhat hugging himself. He managed to stumble his way over to a corner and drop, resting his head against the wall, his whole-body slumping in an induced calm as he quickly fell unconscious.

Still watching, hotch could pinpoint the exact moment withdrawal started as Reid’s body began to shake almost violently, Reid’s head dropping onto his arms that were now wrapped around his knees, his right hand scratching at the inside of his left elbow. It was about hour after the video was sent that the withdrawal started showing itself. Reid managed to find his feet to get up and walk around, scratching at his left elbow the entire time.

Just as it seemed that Reid was about to start throwing up, the unsub walked into the room, syringe in hand and made his way over to Reid. Hotch somehow expected Reid to move away even though the signs pointed to this not being the first time Reid had been drugged. Hotch watched helplessly as Reid was injected and lowered to the ground as he fell back into the land of unconsciousness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reid knew he should feel ashamed, he didn’t know why but he knew he should. His arm was itching, he couldn’t find his feet properly and he was oh so tired. He managed, just barely, to lower himself to the ground without injuries and prop himself up on the wall, his head leaned.

His head felt like it was full of cotton and he couldn’t think properly, he knew he should have been panicking, ashamed, and angry, but he couldn’t remember why. All he could feel and think about was the warm feeling in his bloodstream that blissfully took the pain away as he succumbed to the darkness.

He wasn’t sure how long he was unconscious for, or when he woke up fully. He did however know what woke him up. His body started shivering violently, his stomach rolling slightly. The itch in his arm was starting to become more prominent and he couldn’t stop fidgeting. He got up to pace the room, with a vague memory of why he should be feeling furious, and ashamed.

All thoughts of that subsided though when his stomach started cramping and rolling more violently then before, about to start heaving. The door suddenly opened, and Reid was vaguely aware that someone came in with an object in his hand. Too busy trying not to throw up, he didn’t register the needle, substance or person coming closer until he felt a slight pinch on the inside of his arm before the black started crowding the edges of his vision once more.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The water stopped just below her chin. It was freezing, like she was bathing in ice. She was getting worried as she couldnt hear anything. She thought she heard screams but couldn't be sure they were real. The one she thought she heard the most sounded like Reid and that terrified her. If reid really was screaming, the bastard was hurting Reid more then she initially thought. He was harder to hurt then most people gave him credit for.

JJ started thrashing trying to loosen the bonds and escape. It was no use though, her bonds held tight. Tears mixed with the water, her head resting on her chest, resulting in her mouth and nose being submerged. Not having the will to care, she lost consciousness again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watching the video made Garcia want to cry. Watching one of her babies go through something they fought so hard to conquer the first time hurt her soul. She almost did cry until her brain caught up with itself. Wait! Video. It screamed at her. Without the usual orders from Hotch the tech focused on another screen and started typing.

This unsub was smart, which meant cocky and cocky meant mistake. Garcia just hoped that the mistake was in her area of expertise. With something to focus her mind on her work came naturally and absent minded. After about 15 minutes the results came back. She had successfully traced the video feed. With a sense of hope and urgency Garcia called Hotch.

“sir, I-I traced the video feed and I-I have an address.”

“Baby girl what’s the address?” She must’ve been on loudspeaker.

“Uh, 505 Marconi street.”

“Thanks Garcia.” And with that the phone went dead.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan couldn’t believe it. They finally had a solid lead. After the call from Garcia, everyone was in a frenzy filled with a new sense of hope. Hotch was spouting orders that his brain didn’t register until Hotch sharply said his name.

“Morgan, you’re with me. We secure the perimeter before we go in. Understood?”
With nods from everyone, the team rushed out to the black SUV’s.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hotch was starting to get frustrated. After clearing the first ten rooms with nothing to show for it, he was starting to think that this lead was a bust. They came to the eleventh door, fully expecting it to be empty just like the other ten. What they saw instead made hotch’s blood run cold and burn with anger all at once. Morgan opened the door, tensing ready in case he had to fight. Water flooded out of the room instead, much to everyone’s horror.

It was freezing cold. The room itself was pitch black with absolutely no way for light to get in unless the door was opened. What shocked and angered the team most however was the fact that hanging from the roof, unconscious and pale with blue lip, was JJ. They quickly scrambled inside the room in a rush to get her down. Hotch was dimly aware of Morgan calling for a medic to meet them outside before storming off by himself.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan felt his anger rising. When they found JJ, her lips were tinged blue, her skin looked too pale and her breathing was shallow and laboured. He couldn’t take it. His best friend and little brother was somewhere in this god forsaken building and the rest of the team seemed more focused on JJ. He went off on his own, his wet shoes and socks making slight squelching noises as he went. He opened the first door he came across, his gun drawn in front of him at the ready.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Reid slowly woke up, fully aware that someone was watching him as he did so. Once again, he wasn’t sure how long he was out of it for. He could hear a slight squelching noise but put it down to his drugged brain making the noise up. The other person in the room was surely aware by now that reid was waking up, as footsteps made their way over to his direction. He struggled to try and stand up to no avail, the man instead gripping his jaw hard enough that it would bruise.

A flash back to a similar event attempted to crawl its way to the front of Reid’s mind, but he was gladly able to push it back. He knew know wasn’t the time to dwell on the past, even if he couldn’t think straight. The squelching noises seemed to be getting closer, and the other man, grumbling in an annoyed tone under his breath, the man went to the door standing behind it ready for a fight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan was suspicious of the quiet. That did not mean however he wasn’t prepared for an ambush. After opening the first door he came across after leaving JJ’s cell, he was not expecting to be jumped, hence he was not prepared for a fight. The guy jumped him from behind the door, making him drop his gun from his hands. Morgan tried fighting him off but only accomplished kicking the gun further into the room and away from them.

They tumbled around, each trying to get the upper hand when the unsub stumbled backwards into the room and next to the gun. Without Derek knowing how the unsub had the gun in hand and cocked aimed at Derek. Knowing that he didn’t have a weapon or anything to defend himself with he took a step closer to the unsub in a last hope to get the weapon back. A shot rang out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reid didn’t know how he was able to move that fast in his drug addled brain, but he saw the situation unfold seconds before it did and managed to get to the unsub and grab the gun. What he was unable to account for was the bullet that ended up aiming down, shooting Reid in the stomach.

As Reid fell he was able to wrench the gun out of the unsub’s hands with the last bit of strength the adrenaline provided and flung it somewhere near Derek before he hit the ground. The last thing he was aware of before the darkness enveloped him once again was the sound of another shot ringing out and a glimpse at his friend’s face.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Reid you idiot.” Morgan was scared. He was scared and lashing out at his friend who had jumped in front of him while a man had a gun. Now he was laying on his back, a puddle of blood pooling underneath him and on top of him Morgan’s hands covered in his best friends’ blood.

“I NEED A MEDIC NOW!”

Morgan hysteria coloured his voice as he shouted into the comms and out into the hallway. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there trying to stem the bleeding before help came, but he couldn’t help thinking it was too long. As the medics frantically rushed Reid onto a stretcher, then into and ambulance, and then off to the hospital, Morgan felt numb. He hadn’t realised that he was crying until Emily came up to him and offered him a tissue, leading him to one of the SUV’s
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JJ came to again with shouting around her. She was wrapped in a blanket and on a gurney. After her eyes stopped blurring, she caught sight of Hotch, Emily and Rossi but there was no sign of Reid or Morgan. That couldn’t be good. She tried calling out to get answers, but when she went to open her mouth, she felt a tube down her throat and was aware of the pain in her chest.

Her eyes were becoming heavy again, but before they closed by themselves the profiler caught sight of two gurneys coming out of the building. One covered, and one with several paramedics around it rushing to an ambulance with a mop of brown hair easily seen from the top. Then her vision went dark.

Chapter Text

Alternate ending-Epilogue

The air in the room was alive with anxiety. The team, minus JJ who was being treated for hypothermia, were all nervously waiting around for news on Reid. Morgan was yet to change or wash up, being in a state of shock and pacing the small waiting room, blood still on his arms and jeans. Garcia was in the corner, knitting, keeping her hands busy in a way that didn’t seem too obvious to an on-looker, but the profilers could see how stiff her hands were. Prentiss was in a chair bouncing her leg up and down and biting her nails but otherwise looked like an almost perfect image of calm.

Hotch was standing up, appearing to go for the “pretending to be a statue” route as he was just standing there, not moving, with one hand on his chin as if contemplating and the other crossed across his chest Rossi was trying to act nonchalant as someone needed to keep the worry at bay. He was in the corner pretending to do a crossword puzzle, but he hadn’t written anything down and there was a slight crease in his forehead. They were so lost in their own heads that they didn’t hear the footsteps approaching until the person called out.

“Agent Hotchner?” The voice startled everyone, some (Garcia) jumping in surprise while others (Emily) reached for their gun. After seeing who it was though all stood with a more alert stance, ready to find out how their teammates were doing.

“yes, that’s me. Anything you have to say can be said in front of my team as well.”

“Alright, first, Agent Jareau will be fine, she was being treated for hypothermia, as I’m sure you’re aware, and despite the severity of it, she is responding quite well to treatment. I’d say if all goes well, she can go home in a few days.”

“really?” Garcia asked, her voice timid and unsure from where she was standing with her knitting kit.

“Yeah she certainly is a fighter.”

“that she is.” Rossi’s smooth tone came out, in a way reassuring everyone that she would be fine.

“And Dr Reid?” Hotch want sure if he wanted to know. They’d all seen the video and knew that he was drugged and that’s all they knew. But someone had to ask. After all their youngest teammate had been through…

“Well, he had more severe injuries and some of them were infected. We also ran a tox screen just in case and found high levels of dilaudid in his system. He is out of surgery, and the bullet was successfully removed. We’re administering antibiotics for the infections and he is on non-narcotic pain killers considering the tox screen and his personal notes. There are some concerns, but we won’t be able to monitor those until he is coherent enough to talk to us. We have also put him on a ventilator as he was having some trouble breathing.”

“will he be alright?” The concern in Emily’s voice far from hidden.

“Once withdrawal is over and his body can heal, I believe he will make a speedy recovery. Both your agents in our care are strong.”

“What are the concerns that can’t be monitored until he wakes up?” Morgan had a feeling he knew what the concern was, he was there when the kid was shot, but he was hoping that he was wrong.

“There’s no easy way to say this but because of the entry of the bullet was in the thoracic region of his spinal cord... "

“They’re worried about paralysis, aren’t they?” God Morgan hoped he was wrong.

“Unfortunately, yes that is their biggest concern. And until he is coherent enough to tell us what we need to know, we have no way to know if that is the case.” Morgan couldn’t help it. His emotions and stress got the better of him and he slammed his fist into the wall and walked off, needing time to process and calm down. The others just let him go, some (hotch and Emily) feeling the exact same way but needing to keep their composure.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reid woke up with the all too familiar smell and sound of a hospital room. God, he hated hospitals. His body felt like he’d been run over by a truck and the sound of the heart monitor was giving him a headache. Then his mind caught up to him and he started to become more aware of the ventilator he was on, and the effects of the withdrawal.

At first the shaking wasn’t that bad; he could handle it. But soon after he became aware of that the cramps and nausea started settling in. A doctor or nurse (Reid didn’t really care) came in and started assessing him. He was apparently able to breath on his own and so the ventilator was taken out, and he became aware of just how raw his throat was. After somehow getting a drink of water there was one thing he had to ask.

“Ex-excuse me, can I request no visitors?”

He was trying to be polite, but he wasn’t sure that’s how it came across. But he really didn’t want his team to see him like this. Especially not going through withdrawal. That was an ugly sight and he also felt slightly ashamed that he had to go through it again anyway, (he knew somewhere that it wasn’t his fault but still…) The nurse(doctor?) said something and then was out the door.

*Time skip*

He wasn’t sure how long had passed. The cramps and nausea were getting stronger to a point where that’s all he could feel, and it was clouding his mind. He felt like he needed to vomit but he knew nothing would come up. The shaking also intensified, and he could feel sweat dripping down his neck, but he felt cold. He tried curling into a ball, trying to alleviate some of the pain.

He felt exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but when he tried to move his legs nothing happened, and the memory of the shot came to mind. Instead of dwelling on it for now he hunched his back curling his arms around his torso. Feeling both hot and cold, tired, and shaking like a branch in a storm, Reid resigned himself to his fate. Unable to sleep and feeling, (not for the first time) helpless as he sat in the hospital bed.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was a week after he was admitted to hospital that Reid finally allowed visitors, wanting to get through at least the worst of the withdrawal without witnesses. When the team walked into the room (fully aware that Reid couldn’t feel his legs) their hearts fell to their stomach.

Reid was under the hospital covers, looking small. His face was pale, eyes looking sunken and even in his sleep he looked haunted. When he eventually woke up they tried to avoid topics and Reid knew exactly what they were doing. He snapped. At the entire team.

“Just stop it already! I’m not a little kid, you don’t have to worry about hurting my feelings with what you say!”

“Reid we’re just…”

“No. Don’t. I’m not as fragile as you guys think I am. You don’t NEED to protect me. It never ends well in one way or the other. If you plan on tiptoeing around the “issues” then you can all leave. I mean it. LEAVE.”

The team was shocked. They decided it was best to let him cool down and all left the room. After the team left the dam broke and tears started tracing lines on Reid’s face.

It went on like that for a while. The team would go visit Reid. Sometimes he snapped at them and kicked them out. It broke their hearts even more because they all understood Reid and knew this was his way at protecting himself. It was after they had come back from a case that they got the biggest shock of their lives though.

It was the day that Reid was being released from hospital. The team went in to see Reid and help him get home when they thought they had the wrong room. There was a small child about six, that had light blonde hair that came to her waist and was hugging Reid tight enough that it looked like he wouldn’t be able to breathe. She was tall for her age though. There was also a woman, presumably the girl’s mom, who looked to be in her thirties with the same blonde hair as the girl only shorter, being cropped at just below her shoulders. What really surprised them though was that Reid not only reciprocated the hug but seemed to rest his head in the crook of the girl’s neck.

It took a moment for the woman to notice them staring through the door, immediately pointing it out to Reid who gently pushed the child back and sat up straight. Whispering in her ear and handing over what looked to be a couple of dollars. The girl ran off giggling a bit and in a cheerful way that only small children could emanate. Reid’s voice finally brought them out of their stupor.

“You can come in you know. We won’t bite.” At the remark, the woman in the room gently swatted at Reid.

“Ow what was that for.”

“you don’t have to be so rude you know. Especially not to your team.”

“You don’t even know who they are. How could you possibly know that?”

“Spencer it doesn’t take a genius like you or a profiler to connect the dots. Also, you talk about them non-stop when you visit. It wasn’t that big of a jump.”

“yeah yeah whatever.” Reid knew this wasn’t a battle he could win by the looks of it. The pair had obviously had many more similar interactions.

“so pretty boy, you going to introduce us?”

“you must be Derek Morgan, I’m Sophie, a close friend of Spencer’s.”

“I’m JJ, nice to meet you, though I didn’t know spence had close friends outside the office.”

“You know spence is sitting right here? Please stop talking like I’m not.”

“Spencer?”

“Yes Sophie?”

“Behave. Or Alice is not staying over.”

“that’s mean and you know it.”

“Yeah and you know you’re acting like a child right now, so I digress.”

“Fine you win. But seriously guys, I’m right here.”

“sorry spence I didn’t mean to offend you. You just don’t really talk about what happens outside of work.”

“Yeah man, I mean what’s up with that?”

“I like keeping my personal life and work life separate?”

Reid tried but he knew he failed when it came out more sounding like a question. JJ, thank his lucky stars saw he didn’t want to continue with that line of conversation and switched topics.

“So how do you guys know each other?”

“We met in college. Well it was my first year at college, I think it was like spencers third or fourth college.”

“It was Caltech.”

“That’s right. Anyway, spencer was 18 at the time, I was struggling with some of my classes and was at risk of failing. Spencer ended up being my tutor in algebra and chemistry. After we worked out our differences and stopped being stubborn with each other it grew into an awesome friendship. And the rest is history.”

“So, who’s the kid?” Rossi was curious.

“oh, that’s Alice.”

“I’m guessing she’s your daughter Sophie?”

“yeah. She takes after her dad though.” She said with a sly grin and a glance at Reid that the others missed.

“Oh really? How so?” “Well, she’s sweet, caring, smart and has started learning magic.”

“Sounds like an interesting guy.” Hotch commented.

“I’d assume you guys are close if Reid is comfortable enough to reciprocate her hugs.” Sophie just laughed.

“You could say that.” It was then Garcia’s curiosity got the best of her.

“What do you mean by that?”

And because it seems that the universe hates Reid I multiple ways, it was then that Alice decided to run in yelling

“DADDY, LOOK WHAT I GOT!”

as she ran up to give Reid a hug and show off the toy she’d just bought. As embarrassing as it was, he wished he had a camera to capture the team’s faces as they all just shouted

“WHAT!”

in unison, mouth gaping wide. And with that Reid burst out laughing at his teammates’ reaction.