This Love: Spencer Reid

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an: i would def recommend reading this chapter while listening to the music, enjoy!<33

—
my phone is ringing.

it's ringing and i can't find it.

i feel around underneath my bed until i the find the source of the noise.

the temptation to cover my ears with a pillow and let sleep take over my body was strong, but the consistent buzzing eventually got too annoying to ignore.

32 missed calls from reid.

i grabbed for it blindly and answered.

"hello?"

"fran! oh thank god. are you okay?"

i felt my heart skip a beat at your words, wondering what made you call me.

your voice cracked a little at the end of your sentence and i could sense the genuine fear radiating off you from the phone. i felt goosebumps on my arms and legs, prickling my pajamas in their wake. i heard faint voices in the background of the call and i pondered the possibilities of who you could be in a room with at 4 in the morning.

"um, yeah i'm fine. spencer it's 4 AM, why are you calling? are YOU okay? am i on speaker?"

i sat up from my bed a little too quickly and blinked a few times, trying to clear my blurred vision and foggy sleep deprived mind.

"are you alone?"

"yes, why wouldn't i be? what's going on?"

"can you make it to the bau in 10? are you in a position where you can safely leave?"

"what? um probably, am i in danger?"

"yes. mal jackson escaped from prison last night. fran, you need to leave as soon as you can. please."

mal jackson.

a serial killer who targeted wealthy single women in new york. it turned out that the source of his anger had been his own mother who had witnessed his abuse as a child and did nothing. thankfully, hotch and i had got to his mother's condo and were able to arrest him before he could complete his endgame.

"oh my god. is jack okay?"

"yes, he's fine. this morning hotch got a phone call from him and mal said your address in it. we have S.W.A.T and bomb squad on their way to you. we haven't been able to locate mal yet, so please be careful and be here soon."

bomb squad? holy shit.

"okay, okay. i'll be there as soon as i can."

"alright. please be safe."

with that the room fell silent and i set my phone down with shaky hands. i felt a sudden feeling of loneliness and fear sweep through my body, persuading me to turn the light on and scan my room, making sure i was actually alone.

i changed into white pants and a flannel, clipping my hair back into a bun and scrambling to tie my converse. i grabbed my gun and phone and ran to my car.

as i backed out of my driveway and drove down my street, i saw several SWAT vehicles driving down my road. i shuddered and made a list in my head to distract me.

things that i wanted.

i wanted you to pull me into a comforting hug and hold my head.
i wanted to see hotch's face, safe and okay.
i wanted penelope to shower me with pity that would make me feel embarrassed but warm inside.
i wanted derek's face to light up when he saw me walk in.
i wanted emily to look me in the eyes and tell me everything was okay.
i wanted jj to put a hand on my shoulder and smile.
i wanted rossi to say "good to see you, kid." and for him to be proud of me.
i drove a little faster.

i parked and ran through the doors, past your desk and into hotch's office where everyone was gathered.

home.

you were the first to notice my presence and you jogged over to me, wrapping your arms around my body tightly and muttering faint 'thank god's.

hotch nodded at me. "i'm glad you're alright fran. did reid brief you on the phone?"

"kind of. but i'd like to know the full story, if you have the time."

"of course." he replied, gesturing for me to take a seat.

the team collectively sat down with me in the small room and turned to hotch.

"tonight at 2 in the morning mal and a few other prisoners organized an escape at New York Correctional Confinement Facility. mal was the only one who successfully escaped. 2 guards were shot via blitz attack and the words "come get me" were carved into the stomach of one of the guards and "B.A.U" was carved into the other."

hotch paused and nodded at garcia who displayed the gruesome images onto a screen in the front of the room.

"mal then fled presumably by foot to a nearby town where a 12 year girl allegedly saw him steal a black toyota camry. she wasn't able to get a license plate number but it looked like it was from Illinois. he could be anywhere by now if he somehow manages to get on a plane but we've profiled that he will stay where he is. he might attack new york soon, old habits die hard especially if you're willing to break out of prison for them. a few hours ago i got a call from a 'doctor spencer read' with reid spelled r-e-a-d. spencer was sitting next to me and obviously was not making the call. i answered and i heard your address in mal's voice. that's all he said. your address, and then he hung up."

i nodded slowly. "okay, why misspell spence's name? that was on purpose, right?"

"probably. i think it was a taunt." rossi said with scrunched eyebrows.

"still is weird, though." you said slowly.

well that was the understatement of the century.

"your family is in witness protection for the time being and your entire apartment is being monitored 24/7 by S.W.A.T" jj said with a reassuring smile and nod.

hotch folded his arms together and stood up. "we meet with NYPD in 45 minutes. wheels up in 10."
—
the flight was filled with glances of pity in my direction, hand squeezes and guesses of where mal was hiding out.

all just guesses, though. he could be at my house right now and this flight would be for nothing.

"well, i think it's safe to say our guy is devolving. he might want revenge on the city that locked him up. he may go back to his original M.O and target wealthy widows again." derek suggested with a shrug, interrupting my negative train of thoughts.

"definitely possible." hotch replied.

"this case has always been weird to me," emily said "-why target the women? his dad was the one who abused him so it would make more sense if his anger was towards father figures instead. and why single women? his mother wasn't single."

"maybe because to him watching was almost worst then committing the act himself. and we know that his parents were wealthy and successful, so it's likely that every wealthy and successful women reminded him of his mother. it's also probable that he's a misogynist that blames everything on women. or, he felt like he wasn't confident enough to kill men." you said, tapping your chin with your fingers.

"the 'single women' part could have been because they are a lower risk target then a married women." jj added as the plane descended to the ground.