Criminal Behaviour

SIX

*Samantha's POV*

I met JJ in reception and told her that Hotch wanted her upstairs to help give the profile and gave me the job of talking with Anna. It wasn't long before Francis, Anna, Hannah and Jamie walked in. I couldn't help but smile when I saw them. I bent down and opened my arms to be hugged by both Jamie and Hannah. "I really owe you one, Francis. You have been a life saver over the last couple of days."

"Don't be silly." She smiled to me, as I let go of my children and stood back up straight to talk to Francis face-to-face. Jamie, Hannah and Anna continued a conversation they must have been having - talking about their favourite foods and why. "You water my plants when I go on my many vacations."

"No, I really owe you one." I smiled to her.

I heard a chirp from below me and realized that it was Hannah, I looked down to the innocent eight year old, "Can we go up and see Daddy?" She asked.

I felt my heart crush into a million pieces. If only it was that easy where the kids could visit Spencer at work a bit more, but since the team are unaware of the fact that he is a father, it was very difficult for Jamie and Hannah to see Spencer during work hours, "I'm sorry, but Daddy is really busy with work right now. If Mom and Daddy have some time after work today, we will take you out for dinner. Is that a deal?"

"That's a pretty fair deal." Jamie laughed.

I gave Francis the signal to leave with Jamie and Hannah in case anyone - especially someone from the team had overheard the conversation. I heard Francis say that she was bringing them somewhere, but couldn't quite hear where it was; the park maybe. I looked down to Anna who remained standing beside me. I bent down to match her eye level and spoke in a gently tone, "Hi Anna. I'm Samantha." I shook her hand, "We met earlier."

"I remember. You're Jamie and Hannah's Mom." She smiled to me. Whatever way she smiled at me, was the way Nicolas used to smile at me whenever I passed him in the halls.

I came back to reality and shook all memories and thoughts of Nicolas from my head. "You're Mom is upstairs, but I'm going to need you're help on this. I'm going to bring you upstairs, with your Mom and I need to talk to you."

The little girl nodded and smiled, "Yep, that's okay."

I couldn't help but smile as I led the young girl up the elevator to the sixth floor. Fiona was sitting in a room near the bull pen, where there was a coffee machine, a sofa and a bookshelf - of which purpose I do not know. I brought Anna inside, who quickly ran into her mother's arms, "I'm sorry, but I just need to ask her a few questions."

Fiona looked to me, putting her daughter back steady on her feet after lifting her up in the air to hug her, "Oh, okay." She seemed hesitant, but sat down on the sofa any ways with Anna sitting on her knee.

"Okay." I smiled sitting down opposite them, with a small notepad in my hand and eventually found a pen lying around the room, "Anna," I addressed her. She faced me with the same blue eyes as her mother, "And I ask Fiona, please do not get involved with the answering of questions or coerce her answers in any way."

"I won't, I won't." She said nervously but then just held Anna in close to her.

"Anna, do you own your own cell phone?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"And would you use it a lot?" I asked, writing down everything Anna says; what Hotch had told me to do.

"Only for games really, and talking to my friends."

"And," I continued, my heart beat becoming a bit faster as I progressed, "Who would have your number? To call you."

"Only my friends. I'm not allowed give my number to anyone else other than the people that my Mom and Dad know." Anna answered, swaying slightly in her mother's embrace.

"And have you given your number to anyone that your parents didn't know? An adult or another person."

"I don't remember."

"And, you received a phone call last week? From a man, apparently?"

"Well, I don't know who it was." She answered, scrunching her forehead trying to think back to the events of this mysterious phone call, "I thought it was some of the boys from my class doing prank calls."

"And what did the person say on the phone?" I asked her, hoping that it wasn't too dull or bleak and would make me feel worried for Nicolas' safety. At this point, I noticed the local Police Department walk by the room and toward the bull pen.

I shook off all movement going on around me and just focused on the young girl in front of me, writing down what she says, "I'm not sure word for word."

"That's okay." I smiled to her, "But can you remember anything that the person said? Even along the lines of what he said, would be a great help."

"Uhm, he told me that my life would change forever and that I'm going to lose someone close to me." The innocent voice spoke. I couldn't help but feel like all of my intestines were going to fall out of me. It made me feel ill and just want to go get Nicolas. "I didn't really know what they meant by 'someone close to me' and then my hamster died three days ago, so they were lucky with the guess that my hamster was going to die." I tried to hide my emotions from Fiona and Anna and simply thanked them for their co-operation and that they should stay put for any update.

I left the room and took some heavy breaths to try and process everything Anna had just told me. I cleared my head and glanced into the bull pen where Hotch, Morgan, JJ, Spencer and Rossi stood in front of the local Police Department giving the profile of the killer and giving the list of 27 possible UnSubs. I walked into the bull pen quietly as Hotch addressed the Police Department, "We're looking for a white male, early thirties -" As Hotch spoke, I stood quietly down the back, folding my arms, trying to conserve my fear at this time.

"He is tracking down his old classmates from Liberty High School. Graduating year of 2001." Morgan spoke as the cops sitting in front of them took down notes of everything the team said.

"He knows who he wants and who he wants to hurt." Rossi added in, "He's making his victims suffer brain hemorrhages which shows that he has rage toward these victims and wants them to suffer."

There was a short pause before a short woman sitting in the front spoke up, "And how many possible past students are we looking at?"

"We are currently at 27 possible UnSubs from that graduating year." Hotch answered, "If the list does cut down, we will send out a notice. Thank you." And with that, everyone got up and left. The team remained where they were as the Police Department were quick to leave with their small notepads.

I walked past everyone who was leaving and toward the team to fill them in about the phone call Anna had received last week. "Did you talk to Anna?" Spencer asked just as the team turned their attention to me.

"Yeah," I sighed, "It was the UnSub. He told her - " I took out my notepad where I wrote what Anna had told me,
"That her life would change forever and that she was going to lose someone close to her, but she thought it was some boys from her class playing a prank on her."

I sighed heavily, thinking to Hannah or Jamie getting a call like that, which sickened me, "You alright?" Morgan asked me, noticing my discomfort about the case.

I nodded and gulped, "Yeah, it's just that my daughter is very similar to Anna -" Spencer and I shared a quick look, but I shook it off and tried to continue as normal, " - I just couldn't imagine her getting a call like that. It's creepy and terrifying."

"It's hard, I know." JJ smiled to me, "It's natural to feel fear for your child's safety, but you just have to keep telling yourself that they are going to be okay."

At that moment, I noticed a person out of place from the corner of my eye. I saw a petite, blonde woman walk around unsure, "Excuse me for a moment." I said to the team before walking over to the woman. I knew her from somewhere, I just couldn't quite put my finger on it; the woman at my local coffee shop, the librarian, one of Jamie or Hannah's teachers. Everyone that I have ever known flashed across my memory before the name 'Ashley Washington' came to me. "Ashley." I smiled to her. She responded to her name and looked over to me, also smiling.

Ashley walked over to me and greeted me with a hug, "You actually made it to the FBI." She smiled in my ear as I held her in close.

"Oh," I said pulling out of the hug, "I'm actually just helping out a friend." I said indicating to the team who stood talking where I had left them a few moments ago, "So what brings you here?" I asked her quickly changing topic to avoid going into intricate detail.

"I heard what was going on, you know, with Mia, Malcolm, Victoria and now Nicolas." She sighed, "I just wanted to see if you were okay and to invite you to an evening we are having in the gym of our high school, just to remember Mia, Malcolm and Victoria and to also pray that Nicolas is found."

"I can see what I can do." I smiled to her.

"Great." She smiled to me, "It starts at eight. I'll hopefully see you there."

"I'll see you then." I hugged Ashley again, holding her tightly and for a little bit longer this time. She pulled away and we parted ways.

I noticed the team look at Ashley in slight confusion but not mention anything until I mentioned her first, "Who was that?" Spencer spoke as I stood next to JJ - Spencer not wasting any time.

"Oh," I said glancing back at Ashley who stood in the elevator as the elevator doors closed, leaving our sight, "She was a close friend of mine throughout high school."

"Any particular reason why she was here?" Spencer asked, showing that he had the most interest about Ashley's identity than anyone else in the team.

"Apparently a get together has been organised at the school tonight, just to remember Malcolm, Mia and Victoria and to pray that Nicolas is found." I sighed, "But I don't think I'll go."

There was pause for a moment, but it seemed longer than it actually was, "Actually -" Spencer said looking around at the others to see if they were thinking the same as him.

"You should go." Hotch said, more or less stated.

I looked to him confused, "Hotch is right." Morgan added in, "The UnSub won't show up because he'll be too busy with Nicolas, so out of the 27 faces that don't show up, that will show who the UnSub is."

"This is the perfect opportunity." Rossi also added in.

"We can arrange a stake-out outside the school tonight, to be there to see who isn't there or any suspicious behavior." Hotch said looking straight at me.

"But," I sighed, trying to get the words out but stuttering instead, "What if he is there and he unleashes?" I asked thinking about an open shoot-out or people being taken or killed tonight.

"We'll be there, so there is no need to worry." Rossi re-assured me, "If anything happens, we're taking that son of a bitch down."

After the short exchange, Hotch and Rossi left to go to the board room to fill Garcia in on the plan about tonight. Morgan and JJ went to get a coffee that Spencer and I refused, so Spencer and I were left on our own. Spencer brought me over to his desk in the bull pen. It was quite clean with several case files stacked to one side. Spencer offered me his seat, while he leaned against his desk.

I sat down and swung side to side for a few moments before steadying in the chair, and facing Spencer who simply sighed.


*Spencer's POV*

I leaned against my desk while looking at Samantha entertain herself by swaying in my chair before steadying. She looked up to me, but all I managed to do was sigh. Thoughts of Samantha's body being found was all that flashed across my mind the last three days. "Spencer?" Samantha asked gently before standing up, nearly eye-level with me.

I snapped out of my daze and focused all of my attention on her, "Hm, sorry."

"I'm going to be okay." She said gently making full eye-contact with me, "I'm going to be fine."

I couldn't help by ask, "How do you know that?"

"Because I just do." She replied stepping in closer to me, "Hannah, Jamie and myself are going to be okay. You just have to trust me and believe that nothing is going to happen, we are going to catch this guy and he will rot in prison for the rest of his life."

"You really believe that?" I asked her, as though every statistic, hope and belief left my mind.

"You are Dr. Spencer Reid." She smiled to me, which somehow boosted me slightly, "When have you never solved a case? I believe in you, Jamie and Hannah believes in you, the whole team believe in you. You are going to solve this -"

"- We are going to solve this." I interrupted her, smiling. And before, I think, either of us had noticed, we leaned in toward one another. My lips gently pressed on hers, and this time, she wasn't hyperventilating or we weren't drunk in her house doing something stupid. This time, it felt real; with real emotion and as if it meant something. I pulled away from her and smiled to her, "Go home and get some rest. I need you to have a clear head going to the meet-up tonight."

"Thanks Spence." She smiled to me, before kissing my cheek and leaving the bull pen and soon leaving the building.

I stood at my desk for a moment, trying to re-live the last three minutes of my life. I felt a small tingle on my cheek where Samantha's lips touched. I always thought that sensation was just made up and was just featured in our minds, and maybe it is, but this sensation felt real - "Look at you pretty boy." I heard Morgan's voice enter the bull pen.

I snapped my head toward his direction and sure enough, Derek Morgan was walking over to me with the biggest smile on his face and a coffee in his hand, "Hm, I'm not quite sure I understand." I said to him, questioning his reference. He referred to me as 'pretty boy' before, but I was never quite sure why.

Morgan chuckled, "I saw that."

"You saw what?" I questioned.

"You and Samantha." He laughed, "I knew there was something between you two, I just couldn't quite figure it out. So ... how long have you two been dating for then?" Morgan sat down in my chair that Samantha had just been sitting on and made similar swaying movements in the chair.

I gulped, "Oh, we're not dating."

Morgan facial expressions changed to a confused one, "But -" Morgan paused for a moment, "When did you date?"

"During college." I sighed, knowing that it was going to come out eventually and Morgan had already half figured it out, "It was just a fling, but we remained friends."

"But, there is some unfinished business right?" He asked, sipping his coffee.

"I guess you could say that?" I tried to hide the redness in my cheeks but I was unsure at how well I was doing.

Morgan laughed before jumping up from the chair and rubbing the top of my head, "Reid is back in the game!" Which confused me slightly as I was never in the game and don't even know what game it is.