CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: HAUNTED GHOST !

14x01

━━━━━━

CASEY HAD TAKEN A VEHICLE WITH MATT, ROSSI AND EMILY BACK TO QUANTICO. Casey had been trying to get in contact with the director about Benjamin Merva and successfully got through and explained the situation to him.

"That's right, Benjamin Merva. He's being held in the sixth floor interrogation room." There's a pause from Casey. "I'm sorry, what do you mean?"

"Guys." Matt alerted Emily, Rossi and Casey. Casey hung up, saying she'd call back when she had seen ambulances, officers, fire trucks. Like some emergency had happened.

Luke, Tara and JJ skated through security in their SUV in front of an officer. When it was their turn, Matt and Casey both held up their badges in the front seat. "What's all this?" Matt asked.

"It's a fire alarm on the sixth floor, sir." The man answered and Casey furrowed her brows. A fire alarm causing all of this chaos? "Which building?" Emily decided to ask as Rossi rolled down the back window. "Yours." The man answers.

"How many injured?" Rossi asked curiously. "Unclear. Director isn't taking chances. There's been a mandatory evacuation." The man answered.

"We have a prisoner awaiting transfer... Benjamin Merva." Casey stated. "I can't look it up. System's down." The man told. "Well, we need to search every vehicle, especially emergency ones." Emily told.

"I've got guards manning exits, but we're outnumbered." The man told, to which Rossi retorted with, "No, we're under attack."

With that, Matt drove them straight into the BAU and they entered the building with guns a-blazing but were met with jack squat. No Merva, no Theo, no Owen, no Garcia and no Spencer. Rossi informed Emily and Casey that Owen was found in the parking garage injured, debunking their theory of his involvement.

After things seemingly calmed down and only the team heading into the bureau, Casey and Matt had decided to check on the parking garage and were met with JJ looking at Garcia's car.

"Is that Garcia's car?" Matt began and JJ nodded, "Yeah. Spence and Penelope's phones were left inside with their bags. If they were helping with the evacuation, they wouldn't leave those behind." Casey furrows her brows, "Well, where the hell are they, then?" She wondered.

"And I also found something else, but, Casey..." JJ stares straight at Casey. "I don't want you to freak out when you see it." Casey furrows her brows. "Why would I freak out?" She asks. "And don't start a sentence like that when you know I'm gonna freak out anyways."

JJ walks both Matt and JJ towards a pole over that covered in streaks of blood. "This is Quinn's blood, but over here," She points towards the ground, splatters. "I mean, whose blood is this?" JJ could see the gears turning in Casey's head and she thought the worst, "What if whoever took Merva hurt Spence or Penelope?" Casey didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to think about Spencer or Penelope bleeding and fighting for their lives. She didn't want to imagine that.

"We'll find them." Matt told. "Doesn't make sense." JJ answered. "Who would take Spencer or Penelope amidst all this chaos?" Casey wonders. "There's no fire, no sprinklers. It's clearly a false alarm."

"Hundreds of people were evacuated, some panicked, fell down the stairs." Matt stated. "Wait, hundreds evacuated?" JJ asked in disbelief. "Really, this late?"
"It's campus wide all the buildings were emptied. New protocol, apparently." Matt said. "Okay, so whoever pulled that alarm knew it would cause chaos." JJ told.

Uncovering what they knew, they head back towards the BAU and Casey gets a phone call and it turns into an argument with the director. "I said no one leaves without a search." She tells as Matt and JJ walk behind her and head towards Tara and Emily. "I know it's late. Tell him I'll pay the damn overtime myself."

With that, she hangs up and and JJ speaks up: "Whoever pulled the alarm knew the director's protocol and used it as a distraction to escape with Merva." Matt adds, "If they took an emergency vehicle, they can get through any roadblocks. We need to widen the search."

"Track down every ambulance that responded. He's in one of them." Emily tells. "We're still offline." Tara informs. Casey then speaks up, "Matt, call the coordinator. And I'll see why we're not back online yet." Casey stated.

After finally getting the team back online and Luke had Owen taken into surgery, Luke informed the team that Meadows was behind this the entire time. And right now, she was their number one suspect. Casey couldn't believe it, the bitch was right under her nose.

Casey later joined Emily and Tara as Tara had something that Casey should look at. "Okay, Garcia's keycard was used to exit the garage at 10:09pm and then Reid's seven minutes after that and then Meadows' after that. So she separated all of them." Tara told.

"'Cause she had the manpower of an entire cult to help her." Emily stated. "But of all the departments, why did Meadows join ViCAP?" Tara wondered. "It's a desk job. She never had to pull her gun or arrest anybody." Emily shrugged.

"But there is something I just can't figure out," Casey spoke. "Why did she not just keep her head down about Quinn? I mean, she risked exposure by coming into my office. She didn't need to defend Quinn."

"Unsub 101," Tara answered. "Inserting herself into the investigation. And also, you're our leader and she probably got off knowing she tricked you."
Casey groaned, "And I can't believe I didn't see it. I'm a damn profiler, that bitch."

Tara then followed with, "However, she did improvise Garcia's abduction, which means that this whole this is not as solid as she would have hoped." Garcia hadn't been part of this plan, so there was a chance things could slip through the cracks.

"I'll have Dave and JJ look into her work history. She was in the FBI for a reason." Emily tells as she walks away.

After that, the team regathered to debrief their information. Luke and Matt had informed the team that Spencer had persuaded Meadows into thinking that triggering the fire alarm would cause enough chaos to get Benjamin Merva out. He made eye contact with the cameras when he was getting Benjamin Merva out and used sign language and signed - B-E-N-S-B-E-L-I-E-V-E-R-S. Ben's Believers.

"'Why' is at the heart of every BAU investigation." Rossi pointed to the word on the board. "This one isn't any different."

"Why did Meadows join ViCAP?" Luke stated. "Exactly," Rossi nods. "As we know, ViCAP agents liaison between federal and local agencies. The whole point is to put together details of crimes that could be connected across the US. Then it gets on our radar."

"So let me guess," Matt starts. "Meadows has been erasing murders that would have connected us to the cult." Rossi nods, "We had to go back to when she joined and rebuild her case histories. We found a pattern that she was hiding."

JJ continued, "So the murders she was covering up were the ones where the victims were missing hyoid bones." Tara speaks up, "Like the seven we found in storage."

"As it turns out, this cult has killed more than seven." Rossi told.
"How many?" Emily asked.
"299." JJ answers.
"Well, that's specific." Casey comments.

After Casey talked with Anderson about one ambulance not being accounted for, she walked back into the room as the team continued to debrief.

"I still can't believe that Meadows was able to cover up all these kills." Matt comments. JJ nods, "Over a decade. There doesn't seem to be an obvious pattern. They're all over the continental US." Luke adds, "Victomology's protector type."

"That's a good start, but we need more." Casey tells. "Why take hyoid bones?" Emily wonders. "Well, they're unique to humans, they float in the neck, and they aren't connected to any other bone." Tara tells.

"Well, it anchors the tongue. Without it, the victims have no voice." JJ adds and Rossi points to her. "Run with that," he says. "They removed them while their victims were still alive, which isn't just sadistic, it means they want them speechless."

"What if removing the hyoid isn't just a ritual, but an individual's signature?" Emily suggests. "So it isn't a cult of killers, it's just Merva." JJ concludes. "All the victims were sacrificed by The Messiah." Emily adds, "The followers are simply hunters." Luke nods in agreement, "That would eliminate some of his risk."

"He gave the hunters hyoids as trophies, maybe as some kind of reward for their hard work. That's why he gave Theo's parents seven of them." Matt told.

Casey started to run with the idea more as Tara continued, "All right, look, The Believers, they're just like Jonestown, Manson, Heaven's Gate, even Rajneeshpuram in Oregon. There's always a charismatic leader and a strong right hand who appears as a devoted disciple. In this case, Meadows."

"Merva has killed 299 innocents for a reason. We just don't know why. But now that he's taken Spencer and Penelope—" Casey looks towards Emily as she finishes for her. "The Believers have declared war on the BAU. So this has got to be working toward their end game, one that could make either Reid or Garcia their 300th victim, perhaps their last."

Matt shakes his head, "Garcia wasn't a part of this. She was just racing to the elevator." JJ then speaks, "So it's Spence." Casey's heart drops at the realization. "It's been him all along. He's a protector. It fits the victimology."

"Reid has to know something we don't." Tara told. "Ben's Believers," Luke remembered. "Reid could have told us anything, but he chose that."

Casey sighs, "So, why did he choose it?" She then faces the board and shakes her head. She then knew what he felt when he was looking for Emily. Feeling like he's running on a countdown and there was no way she was gonna stop. She was gonna try and figure it out. It what he would've done. "What are you telling me, Spence?"

━━━━━━

Casey stayed at that board for another twenty minutes as Matt, Luke and Tara were downstairs, looking into Benjamin Merva and JJ and Emily went to the restroom. The only person that stayed was Rossi and for a minute, he saw Gideon turning the gears in his head.

"What are you thinking?" Rossi asked and Casey nearly jumped when she realized she hadn't been alone this entire time. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "I'm thinking that if I don't have some solution here soon, I'm gonna lose it and I'm gonna lose Spencer and Penelope. If
they—" Casey stops herself. She doesn't want to say it. She can't even bring herself to say it. It suddenly feels like pins and needles are being jabbed into her throat, causing her to lose her voice. She then clears her throat, "I can't think like that."

"Then don't," Rossi told. "I saw your gears turning there. What are you really thinking?"

Casey then turns towards Rossi as she begins to breakdown her thoughts. "When we hit a wall in the Quinn investigation, Meadows showed up in my office. She convinced me Quinn wasn't a killer."

"Unsub 101." Rossi mimicked Tara from earlier and Casey nods, "Yeah, I know, but it was the way she stood there. She lingered. It's almost like she was testing me to see if I recognized her." Casey remembered.
"Did you?" Rossi asked.
"Yeah, from here, but I don't know where else our paths could've crossed." Casey answered.

"What if Reid recognized her, and that's why he signed "Ben's Believers"? Maybe she's the connection." Rossi tells and Casey begins to think back. Why and how would she had have recognized her? She thought hard and that's when it hit her.

           "Mothers... Fathers... Children, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil. For thou are with us. And God will wipe the tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. And there will be no more pain. For all of the former things have passed away."

          Ten years ago.
          Benjamin Cyrus.
          Merva.
          Meadows.
          Colorado.
          Ten years ago.
          Liberty Ranch.
          Ten years ago.

        "Oh, my God." Casey's jaw drops as soon as it hit her and Rossi looks up, "What?"

         "I have seen her. So have you. So has Reid. We've come across The Believers before." Casey tells as Rossi stands up from his seat. "When I was an intern, remember? Liberty Ranch in Colorado. Polygamous leader, Benjamin Cyrus. Bastard beat the crap out of me, remember?" Casey tells Rossi.

          Rossi begins to remember the day Casey and Spencer had gone undercover, it going awry, Casey's cover being blown, the church exploding. "I remember him."

        "Merva was there and so was Meadows. She must have been one of Cyrus' wives." Casey stated. "Ben's believers." Rossi repeats the message Spencer relayed onto them. "Benjamin Cyrus and Benjamin Merva are connected." Casey concludes. "And this is the payback for Cyrus' death." Rossi told.

        "But it's been almost ten years, why now?" Casey wonders.

         It was like the case had come back to bite them in the ass. All of the ghosts coming back to haunt them. Casey couldn't believe how only a decade later, it was all coming back and not in a good way. Deja vu, all over again.

        Casey, Emily, JJ and Rossi walk into the room after Matt, Luke and Tara have watched the news video of the explosion. "After the explosion, the ranch was condemned. Local FBI has eyes on it for us in case they head back there." Casey informs.

       "When the women and children were rescued from the ranch, the government offered to relocate and give them a fresh start through WITSEC." JJ told. "That makes sense why Meadows was able to clear the FBI background check." Matt told. "She accepted their help knowing she would betray the government." Tara adds.

       "Not every survivor wanted help." JJ stated. "We ran those who left the ranch and kept their names. A few relocated in rural Maryland and Virginia." Rossi informed. "Well, they could be helping now. Any of them have large pieces of property?" Luke wondered.

       "A few," Emily answers. "The Washington field office has started searches in Maryland. We'll take the lead in Virginia."

       "Oh, my god." JJ looks towards the door and Casey turns to see a disheveled and clearly traumatized Garcia walk through the doors and the rest of the team rush over to her. "Are you hurt?" JJ questioned. "Are you okay?" Casey asks soon after.

        Garcia doesn't answer, tears are streaming down her face as she speaks, "It's a warehouse that's in Hillcrest, 18 minutes. I can take you there. You got to hurry. They hurt Reid. He's been bleeding. They're in trucks with Theo."

         Casey exchanges a look with the rest of the team and immediately calls up a SWAT team and officers as they go to where Garcia told them to go. Casey entered the abandoned warehouse, gun up and vest clad against her chest. She looked around for any sign of Spencer, any sign of Theo. And then she found something.

         As she approached closer with the team, she spotted a body on the ground and stopped herself before going to check it. She could only see the outline of the body. Deciding not to check it herself, Emily had done it and she moved the arm over to reveal Theo, dead in front of them. Casey shakes her head at the sight but is relieved to know that it isn't Spencer they had found. She can tell everyone else is relieved, but of course, upset that it had been Theo they found.

        Casey had contacted Garcia and JJ and Garcia revealed that she hacked the automated vehicle ID and created clean histories for the trucks they were leaving in so they wouldn't have to stop and that the trail for the trucks were untraceable. Garcia was disappointed that she had to do it but Casey understood that she had no choice. She didn't blame her for this.

        When they'd entered back in the BAU, Casey walked into the conference room and spotted JJ and Garcia as Garcia was working her magic. "What have you got?" Casey started.

       "Multiple routes they could take out of state. Based on the size of the truck Garcia described, we're talking two fuel tanks filled with diesel." JJ stated, looking at the map on the screen.

        "Those tanks could be anywhere from 50 to 300 gallons, and they get roughly 7 miles a gallon average." Luke told. "Yeah, we're looking at 1,200 to 1,800 miles before they need to refuel." Matt added. "They won't want to risk stopping. They'll stay inside that radius." Tara stated.

        "They're using trucks for transport because of all the supplies, so they're setting up a new compound." Emily explained. "Agreed. But where?" Rossi asks.

     "Where will they be at 10:23?" Garcia wondered, repeating what Spencer had told her. That it would all be happening at 10:23. She didn't know what and neither did the team.

       JJ speaks, "Well, 500 miles in any direction. Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Georgia, Kentucky." Luke speaks, "Only connection between those states is that there were victims killed there." Matt nods, "Emotional history's in Colorado, but that wouldn't connect to 10:23 at all."

      "But they can make it to the ranch without refueling. It's too risky. They know it's the first place we'd look." Casey told.

        "What about this?" Tara asks, walking towards the board. "Do you have any idea why they'd want to kill 300 victims?" She wondered. "It feels like the ultimate sacrifice." JJ commented.

         "Cyrus was a history buff," Rossi stated. "He chose Franklin as his middle name after a founding father."
        "300's a recurring number in history," Matt told. "Spartan's guard of the King, it was 300 men."

       "300 invisible soldiers of Gideon," Tara suggested. "Coincidence?" Casey shook her head, "No, my uncle left a year before we were at the ranch."

       "If this is about a believer's rebirth, babies are born with 300 bones, and they're taking the hyoids." JJ told. "And the hyoids we had in evidence are missing, which means Merva needed them back. And that means they mean more to the end game than we thought." Tara stated.

       "But why did Reid need us to know it all happens at 10:23?" Garcia questioned. "That's got to be important. It was the last thing he said to me."

       Matt puts a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, you're right. It means something to him. We're trying to figure it out." Garcia shakes him off and leaves the room, "You better." Casey sighs as JJ goes off to talk to her.

         After JJ had talked to Garcia, she had come back. She wasn't going to give up on Reid, not yet. He wouldn't have wanted her to do that. Matt had just gotten off the phone with the agents at the ranch. "Still no sign of any prep at the old Liberty Ranch or nearby." He informed.

      "Well, if this is about rebirth, they'll choose a new place." Luke told. "Well, given their adoration of Cyrus and his love of the country, he'd want them to stay within our borders." Tara stated.

       "Remember, Benjamin Cyrus wasn't his real name, and he wasn't born into the cult. He and his mom arrived there when he was a teenager. He was kicked out for molesting girls. And then he served time in prison in Kentucky." Garcia explained, remembering the case herself. "So he was technically reborn in Kentucky, and that's in the area. Maybe that's where they're headed?" She suggests.

        "Let's find out which city he was born in or where he was in prison and we'll spread out from there." Luke nods and Casey puts a reassuring hand on Garcia's shoulder. "Great work, Garcia, as always. We'll get in the air, narrow down which city before we land. We should also circle back to the religious component that Cyrus brought to the cult. Spencer and Cyrus quoted scripture a lot. 10:23 could be a lesson."

        With that, the team heads off to the jet.

━━━━━━

         Spencer didn't recognize the place he was in. He had looked around at the many people doing labor work. He was just glad he'd gotten Penelope out of there and that she'd listened to him. She wouldn't have been able to handle it. Not like he could.

        He knew by the end of all of this, there was a possibility that he might die. There was a possibility the team wouldn't figure it out in time. There was a possibility he'd never get to hold his son again and tell him how much he loved him and to take care of his mother.
           His mother.
           Christopher's mother.
           Casey.
           Casey.
Casey.
          There was a possibility he'd never see her again. The only person he's ever loved.

          Spencer thought about death. Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including the brainstem, and brain death is sometimes used as a legal definition of death.

        Death always seemed to dance around in his head often.  And when Merva held that knife to his throat, he'd felt peace. Peace that maybe the world would be better off without Spencer Reid. He'd ruined everything he'd touched. He ruined his own marriage, his career, his sobriety. Wouldn't death be better to follow through with? Because he was living in a world where it was all her could see. The death of his marriage, the death of his sobriety. The death of his family. He'd rather he stopped living in a world where he couldn't have his family.

         As Meadows walked him through the grounds, she taunted him with her words. "You claim to feel peace, but you've chosen a path that surrounds you with violence." That much was true, he figured.

         "I mean, I get it," Meadows continued. "Clock's ticking and your team still hasn't found you yet. You need something to hold on to."

          Of course, a part of him knew the team was gonna find him and save him and that would be it. But there was that nagging feeling that they wouldn't have made it in time. That they were too late. That they would be too late.

           But Meadows was right, he needed something to hold onto. He thought of the day Chris was born. It was single-handedly the best day of his own life.

          He remembered holding Casey's hand through the entire labor, how sweaty she looked but was still beautiful all the same. He remembered the look on her face the minute they handed baby Christopher over to Casey. The look of protectiveness, the look of love. For a moment, he feared all of the possible irrational fears yet to come but they were all thrown out the window the minute he'd seen that look on Casey's face. And baby Christopher's crying. And how he instantly calmed down the minute he saw his father. Casey looked up at Spencer with that loving look on her sweaty face, holding her son for Spencer to look at him. "Look what we did!" She had exclaimed.

           The minute he held Christopher in his arms, he was at peace. Everything changed and nothing else mattered except for the bundle of joy in his arms. He swore to that vow that he would never be his father. He would treat his child with love and affection and care the way his father never did. He would be a better father than William Reid ever could be. He would show Christopher that the last name 'Reid' really did matter because he would be better. For him.

            Peace.
               Peace.
            Peace.

            That was the kind of peace he needed to hold onto. Instead of chasing ghosts and waiting to die. Because he had something worth living for. He had to remember mind himself of that.

           He had to.
           And Casey would want him to remember that.

━━━━━━

           "We're approaching Kentucky." Rossi came back from the front of the jet. "The pilot needs to know where to touch down." Casey groans, "We're still looking. What does everyone have so far?" She questioned:

         "Uh, proverbs 10:23. 'A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.' Doesn't fit." Matt stated.
         "Jeremiah 10:23. 'I know that the way of man is not in himself.'" Luke said, knowing that didn't fit either.
        "'Corinthians. Do also the glory of God.'" Tara told. Casey sighs, "We're not finding anything."

       "Uh, hey, guys, listen to this." JJ spoke. "Matthew chapter 10, verse 23. "'When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.'" That fit better. That had to have fit better.

       "They're going to the next town." Emily suggests. "Flee to another, but which one?" Garcia questioned. "Their endgame is also a new beginning. Cyrus brought religion back to the cult. They'd honor that by wanting to start fresh, like the Garden of Eden." Rossi told and a lightbulb clicks in Tara's head. "That's how 300 fits. That was the number of angels that protected the garden of Eden. Are there any Edens in Kentucky?"

        "Uh, no. But there are two synonyms, Canaan and Arcadia." Garcia informs.
        "Which one's closer to where Cyrus was born?" Casey asks.
       "Arcadia." Garcia answered and Casey pulls her cell phone out of her pocket.

      "Okay, that's where they're going. Garcia, pull land deeds. I'll notify SWAT."

Soon enough, the team had found Reid, Merva, Meadows and the Believers, but they couldn't make themselves known just yet. Taking down their guards one by one as Spencer stalled, the team headed in with SWAT behind their backs.

"Let the sacrifice begin. Protect us from all harm. Let the sacrifice begin. Protect us from all harm." Casey heard the cult as she approached closer with Luke right behind her.

"Today we give thanks for our patience, perseverance, and strength." Merva spoke. "Without these, our efforts would have failed. And we thank the others who have sacrificed for us."
"Thank you for your sacrifice." The Believers.
"And for our guardian, who will protect this family now and always. Spencer, keeper of provisions... you are given selflessly to others and will be rewarded by the highest honor we could bestow. Your blood will be our blood. Your life will fuel ours."

Casey approached closer and had seen Spencer was strapped to a board, hyoid bones hanging above his head, looking like he was ready for his death and that's when Casey knew to make her move and gave the signal to the rest of the agents. "Now!"

They entered guns a-blazing and Casey had spotted Merva heading towards Spencer with a blade. "Merva!" She yelled and shot right at him. Emily went to check for his pulse as Casey headed towards Spencer, unstrapping him off of the board.

JJ and Emily also help Spencer but the main person Spencer just wants to see right now is Casey. "Thanks." He pants and then both Spencer and Casey wrap themselves into a relieved a hug. "Are you okay?" Casey muffled into his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm okay." Spencer assures.

The cult is taken into custody and it's over. It's all over and they can go home.

On the jet ride back, Casey sees that JJ had finished talking with Reid and decides to go and see him. The bruises on his face are noticeable. It gives her deja vu again, only this time, he's the one with bruises.

"You okay?" Casey asks and Spencer nods, "Yeah, I am." He answers honestly. "It'll take a while, but those will eventually fade." Casey speaks, motioning to the bruises. "You look kind of tough."

Spencer nods at Casey, "Thank you. That's what I was going for." Casey lets out a small chuckle at Spencer. Still music to his ears.

Spencer then speaks again, "What happened to me..." He began. "I chose to get everyone out of there, to cause a distraction. I don't want you thinking it was your fault." He admitted. This would've been the first time something complicated happened with her as unit chief. He knew she liked to overthink about her position. But he wanted to reassure it that it would be fine.

"I always had a hard time saying what I feel. I think maybe it's because I'm afraid of being disappointed. But... I've never said..." He pauses and so does Casey. Oh, what's he gonna say? "How much I love all of you." He says, motioning to the team and Casey looks to see Emily has agreed, "That's the beauty of family. We already know."

Spencer and Casey look at one another and Spencer then leans back to watch the sun rise. Casey can't help but look at him and then watch the sunrise right along with him. Of course, Spencer himself couldn't help but throw a few glances Casey's way but she was too busy looking at the sunrise to even notice. Peace. It was all he felt.

━━━━━━

After a reunion with Garcia, Casey insisted on bringing Spencer back to his place. She figured that he needed all of the rest he could get and so she'd drive him back. Spencer had wanted to stop by Casey's dad's place to retrieve Christopher and Casey insisted to go by herself to her father's place so he wouldn't raise questions about Spencer and her. It was the last thing either of them needed right now.

Christopher had insisted on staying up all night until sunrise so when Casey went to get him, he was already falling asleep from a sugar crash. Christopher had fallen asleep as soon as Casey buckled him in and had gotten his things.

When Casey had driven back to Spencer's apartment complex, she couldn't help but notice that Spencer kept looking over his shoulder at Chris every five minutes or so. She figured that what he must've gone through was a lot, especially if he thought he was gonna die. She couldn't erase from her mind how he looked strapped on that board. Defenseless. Hopeless. Acceptance.

As soon as Casey parked, Spencer nearly jumped out of the car to get Chris from his car seat. Casey had grabbed Spencer's satchel, Chris's backpack, his stuffed animal and galaxy duffel bag full of his things as she followed right behind him. Christopher's arms involuntarily wrapped around his dad's big shoulders as he continued to sleep.

Spencer made his movements as gentle as he could as he walked up the steps of the complex. "You really didn't have to take me back to my apartment, you know." Spencer whispered over to Casey and she shrugged, speaking lightly so as not to wake up their son. "It's whatever, I don't mind. You used to do the same thing, remember?" She reminded.

"How could I forget?" Spencer said to himself as he began to unlock the door. He turned towards Casey. "Thank you for... saving my life." He told and Casey smiles at him, "Of course."

There's a brief pause and as Spencer opens his door, he turns back to Casey. "Do you wanna come in?" He offers and Casey is nearly taken aback by the suggestion. "Oh, I-I... I shouldn't. I don't wanna invade on anything." She told.

"You're not invading," Spencer assured. "It's the least I could after you took me home." Casey pauses. She hasn't set foot in this apartment in a long time. It felt like a whole life ago. But Spencer was tired and their son was already sleeping in his arms. She'd probably have to leave soon anyways. But she figured, what's the worst that could happen? So, she nodded: "Okay."

Casey had walked into the apartment, it was neater than when she left it. It kind of looked the same to how Spencer had it before she moved in, of course, with a little boy's bedroom added this time. She had set his satchel and Chris's things neatly on the ground as she looked around. Spencer had taken Chris back to his room and laid him gently on the bed, tucking him in and shutting his blinds tightly so the sun wouldn't bother him.

Casey watched as this happened, leaning against the doorway. "He's always been a deep sleeper." She whispers to Spencer. "Just like his dad. You could sleep through anything."

Soon, Spencer exited the room, offering anything to drink for Casey. Of course, she'd chosen water since she'd be leaving soon anyways. She didn't intend on staying.

Casey had seated herself on the couch and Spencer had gotten her a glass of ice water and he'd gotten himself some as well. There's a long ring of silence until Casey decides to speak up.

           "You know, what you did, leaving that clue. It was smart." Casey stated. "I, uh, remembered you understood sign language." Spencer told and Casey nods.

           Spencer leans towards, resting his elbows on his knees. "You know... um... there was a moment where Merva could've killed me. And... I would've just let him. He asked me what I felt and I told him I felt peace. And for a moment there... I felt hopeless, so I just kind of accepted it." He admitted. "Then, I thought about the day Chris was born. And instead of dreadful peace, I felt something better. Hope. Hope that I would get out of this." He tells and Casey looks down at his admission.

           "You looked like you were ready to die." Casey stated. "I saw that look on your face. It was that same look you had when Gideon died. The same look you had in prison. And I would know because I had those same looks."

         With that in mind, Casey and Spencer both sat back in their spots on the couch. "Talk about your past coming to bite you in the ass. And they never give you a break now do they?" Casey joked and Spencer gave the girl a look. "Too soon?" Casey assumed but all Spencer could do was burst out in a fit of laughter.

        As the two laughed at the smallest joke Casey shared, Spencer sat up again and looked down at his glass as he set it down. The two stopped laughing. "You know... when anyone says something really funny, I laugh. And I look around to see if you think it's funny, too. Even when you're not there, I still look around... I still do that." He admits.

        Casey looked into his brown eyes and Spencer gazed into Casey's crystal blue ones. Suddenly, his eyes averted from her eyes to her lips and she started doing the same thing. Casey stared at his soft lips and then suddenly, felt them on hers as Spencer leaned in, grabbed her face and kissed her.

        It took a moment for Casey to get used to that again but she wasn't complaining. She was feeling something she couldn't explain as he kissed her. The nostalgic feeling Spencer had made him yearn for Casey even more.

        The woman had kissed back and had even taken the liberty of leaning back on the couch as Spencer rested his arms on each side of her, kissing and hovering over her.

        Spencer placed a hand on Casey's waist and another on the couch to prop himself up. One of Casey's hands had been on Spencer's scruffy face and another had been on his hand that was on her waist.

        Casey didn't even register the fact that she started unbuttoning his shirt and Spencer tried lifting Casey's shirt off as well. Casey had suddenly noticed the spot she was in as Spencer had started kissing her neck... oh, he knew how to get her going.

       But then... "Spence..."

      "Casey..."

       Reality hit Casey like a brick. What the hell was she doing? Certainly not abiding by her own rule book. Something in her brain soon clicked and Casey's hands pushed towards Reid's shoulders as Casey tried to squirm away. "Spencer, please..."

       "Casey—"

        Finally, with a hard push, she tells him: "Okay, get off. Get off of me." She got his attention and Spencer had immediately jumped off. "What's wrong?" He asked, concern in his face.

        Casey sat up and Spencer began to throw out apologizes left and right. "I'm sorry. Did I... Did I do something wrong?"

        Casey stood up, grabbing her shirt and pulling it back over her body as Spencer had rebuttoned his own shirt. Casey put a hand on her forehead and began to stress. "That cannot happen again. I need to..." She pulled her hair back and grabbed her things. "I need to go. Now."

       Spencer stood up from the couch and began to follow Casey towards the door. "Casey—"

       "Don't tell anybody that happened. I can't believe I let that happen." Casey stated.

        "Casey—"

        "Just-just don't." Casey spat. "Okay? Don't."

         And with that, she rushed downstairs and Spencer's peace and hope was left crushed once more as she watched her disappear down the stairs.

hehehehe.... y'all still love me right?😁
IM SORRY IM SORRY ITS FOR THE PLOT
PLUS SEASON 13 SPENCER LOOKS SO GOOD YOU CANT NOT KISS HIM😭

y'all because you're most likely so done with me rn:

anywaysssss
14x01 hands down one of the best episodes
and i love the callbacks to 4x03 hehehe🤭 and i literally called this twist too and when it happened i was like: 🫢

thank you for reading
i love you all!!
s14 is here!!! (and then one more season 🥺)
DUN DUN DUN
theories on where we go from here? 👀
-mya </3333