Soaring Through the Sky - Spencer Reid

the end of the world

"Why do these eyes of mine cry?"

*                  *                   *

Spencer dragged his feet as he walked up to the door of the small apartment he had been a prisoner in for over a week. He let out a yawn, his eyes tired. In fact, his entire body was tired. His mind was tired, which was highly unusual for him.

Hearing everything that Bella found out made him feel like he could pass out at any second. It felt as if his life was a constant plot twist. Shawn was still on the loose and he was closer to Bella than they both had thought.

All Spencer wanted to do was make dinner and watch a movie with the girls, it's what they all deserved. Both girls had been highly confused ever since Bella was put into protective custody. Neither of them understood where she was. Neither of them knew if she was coming back or not.

Spencer approached the door, looking around for the guards that were typically outside. He furrowed his eyebrows upon discovering that none were waiting for his arrival. The protocol was to knock before entering, announcing himself so the guard watching the girls knew who was entering. In this instance, Spencer felt all the logical rules leave his body as dread took over.

He ripped the keys out of his pocket, shoving them into the door and unlocking it as fast as he could. He threw open the door with a loud bang, drawing his gun immediately. As his eyes trailed down to the floor, the guard assigned to the girls lay bleeding from his head. A large bullet hole gushed out blood as Spencer's body began to tremble.

"Girls!" Spencer shouted, stepping over the guard's body as his shoes got soaked in the thick blood. "It's dada! Where are you!"

Silence followed his question as his heart began to race. He held his gun tightly, his eyes scanning the small apartment for any sudden movement. The silence in the air was deafening and he felt as if it was going to swallow him at any second. He pushed back fearful tears and made his way down the hall, coming face to face with his bedroom door. Grabbing the doorknob, he opened the door as quickly as possible and caught his breath.

"Dr. Reid!" Shawn exclaimed, holding a gun up to Spencer. "It's about time you got home!"

Shawn held a sleeping Emma in one arm while a sleeping Ophelia rested in his lap. The appalling man smiled, flashing off a pair of dimples that were similar to Bella's.

"Get away from them," Spencer ordered. "Do not touch them, you sick bastard."

"They're asleep, Dr. Reid, no need to worry," Shawn taunted, aiming at Spencer's chest. "These are my granddaughters, do you really think that I would try to hurt them?"

"You tried to hurt your own daughters, Shawn. Get your filthy hands off of them!"

"Shhhhh, they're sleeping."

Spencer's jaw clenched, "What did you give them?"

"Oh, just some Benadryl. They were out like a light!"

Shawn chuckled and looked down at Ophelia. He brought the gun down, using it to comb through her hair. Spencer took a step forward, anger and fear coursing through them. As he got closer, Shawn pressed the gun against Ophelia's head.

"Careful, Dr. Reid," Shawn chuckled. "Do you really want to lose another child?"

"Don't hurt them," Spencer pleaded. "Please, just tell me what you want. Just, don't hurt them."

"I won't have to hurt them if you comply, alright?"

"What the hell do you want from us? They're children, you bastard. Children!"

Shawn grinned, "If you keep up your attitude then I'm going to blow the little one's brains out. I'll make you watch. Then I'll go after Bella and shoot her right in that growing stomach of hers. I doubt she nor the fetus will survive. Then, I'll shoot you right in the chest so you can bleed out slowly. Just like I did to your friend...what was his name? James Adonis?"

Tears pressed at the back of Spencer's eyes. He kept his finger steady on the trigger, ready to kill Shawn at any second if he touched the girls.

"What do you want?" Spencer repeated, keeping his voice low so it wouldn't break.

"I want you and the girls," Shawn said. "If you come peacefully with me, nothing bad will happen to you or your family."

Spencer paused, his head spinning. In his pocket, his phone began to ring loudly. Shawn smirked, his eyes traveling down to Spencer's pocket.

"Answer it," Shawn ordered. "It might be important, Dr. Reid. You mustn't miss it."

Spencer kept his gun raised as he reached into his pocket with his other hand, taking out his phone. He looked down to see that it was Luke, the call following a long list of text messages that he had missed. Spencer sniffled and answered the phone, bringing it to his ear.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Spencer," Luke sobbed. "It's-it's Rory. She's gone, that bastard took her."

"Are you serious?"

"There's blood on the ground and she's gone. The team is on their way over but...I really need your support right now. Julian is sobbing and it's just a lot to handle."

"Ok," Spencer swallowed. "I'm on my way."

Spencer hung up the phone, shoving his back into his pocket before looking up at Shawn. The man laughed loudly as if it was all a huge joke.

"You took Aurora?" Spencer questioned. "Really?"

"Mhm," Shawn nodded. "And now I'm going to take you three."

"No, you're not. Take me, leave the girls out of this."

"No can do, Dr. Reid. They're my family, I deserve to spend some time with them, hm?"

"They are NOT your family!"

"Careful!" Shawn exclaimed, wiggling the gun. "Remember what I said would happen if you kept up the attitude? Now, lower your gun."

"No."

Shawn's face contorted in anger, "I SAID, LOWER YOUR GUN! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO WATCH YOUR CHILDREN DIE?"

Spencer hesitated before slowly lowering his gun. He took a deep breath before kicking it over to Shawn, the man chuckling and picking it up off the ground. He eyed it and gave a subtle nod.

"A revolver?" he questioned. "Interesting choice."

"Let me take the girls," Spencer said. "Let me just keep them here and I'm all yours, ok? They are just children, Shawn. They don't know what's going on. They have nothing to do with any of this."

"How many times do I have to keep telling you?" Shawn spit. "NO!"

Spencer frowned and watched as Shawn looked down at the girls, both of them sleeping peacefully in his arms without a single clue as to what was happening.

"How did you get this location?" Spencer asked. "How did you get any of our locations?"

"You've been married to my daughter for a while, yes?" Shawn asked.

"8 years."

Shawn nodded, "Then you're well aware of her dreams. Her...visions? Dr. Reid, did you really think that those came from out of nowhere? That they weren't inherited somehow?"

"You're a psychic too."

"It seems to run in the family," Shawn smirked, looking down at the girls. "You might want to start listening to them more often when they beg you not to go into work. It's not intuition, Dr. Reid. They saw it with their own eyes."

Shawn stood up, managing to hold up both girls with one arm. He approached Spencer, an arrogant smile glued to his face as he got closer and pressed the gun up against his forehead.

"This is what's going to happen next," Shawn said. "You're going to give me your phone, I'm going to destroy it, then we're going to go outside to my car and you're going to drive us all to your new home. Alright? Sound easy enough?"

"Yes," Spencer said through gritted teeth, handing over his phone as Shawn tossed it into a cup of water.

"Alright, let's go," Shawn smiled.

He forced Spencer forward, keeping a gun pointed at him while he continued to carry the girls. Spencer walked slowly, closing his eyes as he hoped for a miracle.

Swallowing roughly, Spencer opened the door as the cold gun pressed into his back.

*                  *                   *

Bella put her earrings in with a gentle sigh. She didn't know why she was even bothering to get dressed. It wasn't like anyone was going to see her. She let her hair out of the high ponytail she had it in, letting it spill over her shoulders as she reached for her hairbrush.

She brushed out her long, silky hair. It was getting darker the more she aged and with the more children that she had. Staring at herself, she realized how mature she looked. Deep down, she couldn't believe that she had been on the job since she was only 19 years old. She now stared at herself having celebrated her 33rd birthday only months prior.

Her fingers traced over her stomach as she set her brush down. She reached into her drawers, pulling out a pair of jeans and Spencer's striped, maroon sweater. When she was packing to leave, it was the one thing of Spencer's that she took. It reminded her of when things were good. It reminded her of old times when they were young and chasing each other in circles because neither of them was brave enough to confess their feelings.

She pulled the sweater over her head and torso, smiling at the fact that she was able to fit in it now that she had a growing stomach. She looked back up at herself and ran her fingers through her hair, giving herself a gentle smile while ignoring the heavy bags underneath her eyes.

As she reached for her makeup bag, a loud knock sounded at her door. She caught her breath, her eyes darting over. Every bad memory flooded back to her quickly. Her body tensed as she looked around, remembering that she was now in a room with no windows.

She held her breath and grabbed her gun, making sure it was loaded as she quietly approached the door. She was light on her feet, making sure that she was making absolutely no noise. As she approached the door, another knock sounded as she pressed her hand against the cold wood. She looked through the peephole, her vision focusing as the weight on her chest quickly subsided.

Tears began to flood her eyes as she let out a laugh, reaching for the doorknob and answering the door quickly.

"Hotch," Bella breathed out.

"Come here," he whispered, pulling her into a tight hug.

Bella began to sob into his shoulder, not caring how ridiculous she looked or sounded. Hotch rubbed her back soothingly as she gripped onto him tightly, feeling so much comfort and warmth at that very moment.

"What are you doing here?" Bella cried, pulling away from the hug.

"The team debriefed me on everything that's happening," Hotch answered, wiping one of Bella's tears away. "I couldn't just sit back and watch it unfold. You're my family, Bella. Family doesn't let family suffer alone."

"Thank you," Bella sniffled. "Please, come in."

Hotch stepped into her room as she closed the door behind him. She gave him a weak smile, still in disbelief that he was actually standing right in front of her. He looked down at her stomach and smiled.

"Congratulations," he said. "Are you ready for this one?"

"I can already tell that they're a fighter," Bella laughed.

"Well, of course. You and Spencer are the parents."

Bella smiled and shifted on her feet, "You feel strong enough to work this case?"

"I've been missing the BAU for years," Hotch said. "I need to help you catch this son of a bitch."

"I had no idea that he was my father, Hotch. Before that, I thought he was my uncle. And before that, I didn't even know that he existed."

"I know, Emily caught me up on everything that happened. I'm really sorry to hear about the loss of your co-worker, Dr. Adonis."

Bella sniffled, "He was a good man, a brave man. You would've liked him."

"I'm sure I would've."

Offering another weak smile, Bella wiped her eyes and nose as she tried to collect herself. Hotch frowned and looked down at the ground, his chest heavy as he looked back up at Bella with sad eyes.

"Bella," he said. "There's-um-there's some things that I have to talk to you about."

"What?" Bella spit out. "More bad news?"

Hotch frowned, "Do you want to sit down?"

"No, just tell me."

Letting out a sigh, Hotch moved in closer to Bella. He knew that after what he was about to tell her, she would need a lot of comfort.

"Aurora is missing," Hotch blurted out. "Shawn got ahold of her. Julian and Luke are ok but–she's gone."

"Oh my god," Bella said, feeling sick. She sat down on her bed and buried her face in her hands. "Is that it?"

"No," Hotch said, willing the words to slip out of his mouth. "Shawn-he...he got ahold of Spencer. Spencer and the girls are missing as well."

"No!" Bella cried out, clutching her chest. "What? Is there any trace of them? He got the girls?"

"We-we're working on it."

Bella stood up, "We have to go, we need to find them."

"Bella, it's not safe."

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN IF IT'S SAFE OR NOT!" Bella yelled. "MY SISTER, HUSBAND, AND DAUGHTERS ARE MISSING! A DERANGED PSYCHOPATH IS HOLDING THEM CAPTIVE! I AM NOT GOING TO SIT BACK AND LET IT HAPPEN, HOTCH! I'M NOT!"

Hotch hesitated, watching as Bella began to shove her things into a bag. She grabbed her gun and all the ammunition she brought, shoving them into her bag as well. She looked up at him and frowned, raising her eyebrows.

"It's not safe," Hotch repeated.

"Hotch, I will literally knock you out if you don't get out of my way," Bella huffed. "And I'm serious. I'll kick your ass."

Hotch frowned, "You really think you can kick my ass, pipsqueak?"

"Hotch. Move. Now. Don't make the pregnant lady angry."

Hotch stood his ground, scanning over Bella's face. Tears pressed at the back of her eyes as she bit the inside of her cheek. Closing his eyes, Hotch let out a breath.

"You stick by me, you got it?" he said, sternly.

   "You got it," Bella nodded, pushing past him.

He opened the door and followed her closely. 

*                  *                   *

Florence lightly knocked on Penelope's door, shifting from foot to foot as she waited for a response. It felt hopeless, Florence knowing that Penelope hadn't let anyone in her office for days. Florence barely even saw Penelope out of her office. Releasing the breath that she was holding, Florence knocked once more.

"Hey, Penelope?" she called out. "Uh, it's Florence! I know that you haven't really been letting anyone in but–but I have something to talk to you about. I know I'm just an intern, and what I say really doesn't matter, but I have something that's really useful. So-uh-please just open the door and we can talk-"

Florence was cut off as the door jolted open. Penelope frowned at the young woman, eyeing her up and down with drained eyes. Florence smiled awkwardly, raising her hand up and waving slightly.

"Can't you see that I'm busy?" Penelope hissed. "My door is closed for a reason!"

"I'm sorry," Florence said. "I just know how tirelessly we are all working on this case right now. We-we've lost people in the process due to it. It's a difficult time right now, I understand."

"What do you want, Florence?"

"I have someone who might be able to help you. In fact, he is perfectly capable of helping you. He's the best hacker I've met in my entire life. He-he's infiltrated the dark web numerous times. He got arrested for posing as an agent to try and lure a suspected cannibal out."

"Got arrested, hm? Seems all too familiar."

"He can help you a lot, Penelope. I know that you...I know that you lost James. He did a lot to help this team out and now we don't have him around to help out. You need another set of eyes, trust me. Please, trust me."

Penelope paused and willed herself not to burst into tears at the mention of James' name. She sniffled and looked down at the ground, her eyes stinging due to her tears and the amount of makeup she was wearing to make herself appear more awake and alert. She looked back up at Florence, giving a small nod as the young intern smiled.

"Ok," Penelope said, crossing her arms. "Who dares enter my lab?"

"This is my cousin, Kai," Florence said, stepping aside to reveal a young, skinny Asian man with piercings and a purple streak in his hair.

Kai threw up a peace sign as Penelope's mouth dropped open. She looked between Florence and Kai, disbelief running through her body as she went to close her door.

"Wait!" Florence exclaimed, stopping her. "He's incredible, Penelope, trust me. He has known code since the day that he was born. He was meant to do this. He was meant to take down bad guys like Shawn. He'll be your greatest asset, trust me. You just have to give him a chance."

Penelope wrinkled her nose and stared at Kai, "How old are you?"

"22," Kai answered. "I can't rent a car yet but I'm able to hack the shit out of anything you put in front of me."

"You've been arrested before?"

"Mhm, when I was 18. It was bullshit, they let me off with a warning. I've just learned how to be sneakier."

"How sneaky?"

Kai grinned, "Very sneaky."

Penelope let out a sigh, "Are you sure you're up for this? This is a major case involving an incredibly dangerous man."

"Let me help bring this fucker down," Kai smirked.

Penelope nodded and turned to Florence, "Who gave him clearance?"

"I ran it by Emily," Florence said. "She's ok with it. She's determined to take Shawn down."

"Alright," Penelope said, looking over at Kai. "Come on in, set your stuff down. Just don't mess up my flowers or toy ponies."

Kai nodded, making his way into Penelope's office. He chuckled and looked around the room, doing a spin before sitting down in a chair and opening up his bag. He pulled out all of his equipment, setting it up.

"I hope you're right about him," Penelope whispered.

"Trust me, I am," Florence said. "Emily wants me to meet the rest of the team in the conference room to discuss Spencer's disappearance. Just, call me if you need anything."

Penelope gave her a thumbs up before turning and walking back into her office. She sat down next to Kai, eyeing him up and down while narrowing her eyes. He looked over at her, giving her a confused look.

"Look, I'm just here to help," Kai said.

"I know," Penelope replied. "I'm still allowed to scope you out."

"Whatevs."

Penelope furrowed her eyebrows and turned back to her computer, turning it on. She adjusted her seat and listened as Kai opened up his own systems.

"Did Florence debrief you?" Penelope asked, reaching for her coffee.

"Hell yeah she did," Kai nodded. "She told me about all that crazy shit happening, an evil twin and shit...so crazy."

"Yeah, well, the evil twin has a lot of important people held captive right now."

"I heard about that as well. He for real took some kids?"

"He's a sick bastard. Those little girls are my god babies, I can't let anything happen to them."

"We'll catch him."

Penelope let out a nervous breath and turned back to her computer. Kai glanced around her desk, his eyes landing upon a photo that Penelope had taken at Rossi's New Year's party. It depicted Penelope clad in a bright pink boa and sparkly glasses, her arms wrapped around James' waist as he wore a light purple boa. From the way that he was posed, it was obvious that he was laughing hard.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Kai asked, pointing at the photo.

"Huh?" Penelope questioned, looking over at the photo. Her heart sank. "Oh. Him? Uh, no. He was just...he was just a really close friend."

"Was?"

"He was killed over a week ago by the same man who stole my god babies. His name was James Adonis."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. I'm sorry."

"He was a good man. He-he could've solved this case."

Kai fell silent as Penelope sniffled and looked away, not wanting to burst into tears in front of a person that she had just met. She inhaled sharply, focusing back on the computer in front of her. She heard Kai begin to type, his fingers quick across the keyboard.

"Keep an eye out," Penelope said. "Shawn Snow is almost completely off the grid. Look for any phone that pings, it might be Spencer's or Aurora's."

"What's this?" Kai asked.

"What's what?"

"This!"

Penelope turned around and adjusted her glasses, focusing on a link that was popping up on Kai's screen.

"How did you get that?" she asked.

"I got into Shawn's email," Kai shrugged.

"Click on it!"

Kai clicked on the link, bringing him to a video that loaded quickly. The video depicted a dark room with the silhouette of a person chained up in the background. A laugh echoed in the background as Shawn stepped forward, getting in front of the camera.

"Hello, BAU," he snarled. "I hope this video finds you well. As you may know, I now have Aurora Snow, Dr. Spencer Reid, Emma Reid, and Ophelia Reid. They're mine now."

"Oh my god," Penelope breathed, covering her mouth.

"I don't want to hurt these fine folks," Shawn continued. "After all, they're my family. I am willing to let them go, under one condition. Give me Isabella Snow. You have until 3:00 this afternoon to give her to me. Leave her outside her old home, you know, the one I burned down? I'll find her. The clock is ticking, BAU! You don't want to mess this up!"

A loud cry echoed in the background as the video ended. Penelope let out a gasp as Kai quickly attempted to track where the video came from, coming up empty. He cursed underneath his breath as Penelope stood up.

"He's not getting her," Penelope said. "He can go fuck himself, he's not getting Bella."

"What if he hurts the others?" Kai asked.

"He's not winning!"

Penelope stormed out of the room, running to go find Emily. 

*                  *                   *

"Let me go, you sick fuck!" Aurora yelled, struggling against the tight ropes on her wrists. "What do you want? Just tell me what you want, you bastard!"

"Aurora!" Shawn scolded, opening up the chain door. He shook his head while chuckling, approaching the blonde woman as she scowled at him. "You shouldn't be using such vulgar language."

"I can say whatever the fuck I want. You're a piece of shit for doing this! You're an absolute monster!"

"Aurora, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Are you on drugs? Or are you just stupid? YOU KIDNAPPED ME! Let me out of these damn ropes!"

Aurora began to struggle against the ropes, even more, tugging as hard as she possibly could as tears streamed down her face. Shawn watched her with an amused smile, he let out a loud laugh, kneeling down next to the distraught woman. Aurora frowned and turned to stare at him, attempting to make out his face in the absolute darkness of the room.

"You took me in front of my son," Aurora cried. "He's just a baby, he didn't need to see his own mother getting attacked."

"He won't remember any of it," Shawn said, looking down at a damp bandage on Aurora's arm. "How's the cut?"

"It hurts, you idiot."

"Well, if you didn't try to fight back then I wouldn't have had to use a knife against you."

"You threatened to hurt my son!"

"Unless you went peacefully with me...which you didn't. It's your fault, Aurora Jane."

Aurora blinked some tears away, some getting stuck to her eyelashes. She wished to reach up and wipe them away, but couldn't.

"You know my middle name?" she asked, confusion sweeping over her. "Have you been stalking me or something?"

"Aurora," Shawn laughed. "What kind of father doesn't know their own daughter's middle name?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're my daughter, Rory Cakes."

Aurora blinked more tears away, "You have no idea what you're talking about. How-how do you know about that nickname? My dad called me that. I haven't heard that since-since I was 8."

"My brother called you that, huh? Well, he stole it from me."

"Stop!" Aurora yelled with a shake of her head. "What the hell is going on? You're not making any sense! You're my uncle!"

"Oh, Aurora. You have so much to learn."

Shawn stood up, letting out another laugh. He reached up, turning on a dim light that hung above Aurora's head. With a grin, he bent back down and reached out to touch her face. She flinched as he started to wipe her tears away.

"Robert Snow isn't the father of all you girls," Shawn said with a shake of his head. "I am. I married Alice Foster and had 5 daughters with her. Things didn't end well between us and...well...that's when Robert decided to take things upon himself and pretend that he fathered all you girls."

"What?" Aurora cried, her mind feeling like it was bleeding.

"I was arrested and in jail, so I couldn't come talk to you girls and straighten things out. He's not your father, I am."

"This makes no sense!"

"Well, try to make sense of it! Your bitch of a mother was too much of a coward to reveal the truth! You're all my girls. Your son is my grandson."

"Why the hell didn't anyone say anything?"

"They didn't want you knowing who I was. I guess having a murderer in the family isn't something people are too fond of."

Aurora hung her head and began to sob loudly, feeling as if her entire life had been turned upside down. Shawn began to pet her head, smoothing out her hair as she tried to shake him off. He let out a laugh, taking her by the chin and forcing her to look up at him.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Aurora sobbed. "We-we're your children!"

"All of you were nothing but burdens to me," Shawn admitted. "Honestly, it's a good thing that Robert adopted you all. I didn't need to deal with 5 daughters, even if one of them died so very early."

"Don't talk about her," Aurora sniffled. "Virginia was nothing but a kind soul. A terrible man, just like you, took her from us too soon."

"Your family likes to die, eh? Your mother died of cancer, oh...so very sad. I'm upset that I couldn't be there to watch her die. I deserved to see that."

"Shut up!"

"And Robert? He hung himself, remember that! Your dear sister found him! I can't even imagine the therapy bills for that one. Do you want to know why he hung himself? Hm?"

Aurora began to cry even harder, "Shut up! Don't talk about him! You don't deserve to! He was a good man, he was nothing like you!"

Shawn got closer to Aurora, inches away from her face. She could smell his breath clearly, it was obvious that he had snacked on oranges and peaches before visiting her. She tried to back away from him, his icy eyes glaring into hers.

"He hung himself because of me," Shawn hissed. "I had that much power over him. He hung himself because of the guilt he felt knowing the things that I had done. Robert was nothing but a coward. He checked out of life early because he couldn't handle the fact that I was his brother. He left your mother alone to raise you girls. Doesn't that make you angry?"

"He-he was mentally ill," Aurora whispered. "He cared about us, he would never hurt us intentionally."

"Oh, but he did. He killed himself before you were even out of elementary school. He killed himself before he saw you grow up, get married, have a baby. Doesn't that frustrate you? Doesn't that upset you?"

Aurora scowled, "You're not going to get inside of my head, Shawn. You can keep taunting me all you want, but I'm not going to let you win. My dad was a good man, he took care of us and he loved us."

"I'M YOUR FATHER, NOT HIM!" Shawn roared.

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" Aurora yelled back. "YOU'RE A SICK SON OF A BITCH WHO DID NOTHING BUT DESTROY MY LIFE! I MISS WHEN I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU EXISTED! YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME BUT A DERANGED PSYCHO! YOU'LL NEVER BE MY FATHER! DNA DOESN'T MATTER!"

Shawn's hands balled up in fists as he went to strike Aurora, the blonde looking away and flinching. He let out a heavy breath and lowered his fist, standing up and beginning to pace around the room. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"I'm more powerful than you think I am, Aurora," he snarled, snapping his head over to look at her. "You're lucky that I'm not going to kill you right now."

"Powerful, huh?" Aurora scoffed. "How so?"

"How do you think I found your address? How do you think I knew how to slip by without anyone noticing? How do you think I know so much about everyone?"

Aurora gulped, "I don't know."

Shawn smiled, "Bella didn't get her gift from out of nowhere. I have the dreams too, Aurora. You used to doubt her when you were little. You wouldn't listen to her."

"That's because I was 10!"

"Well, listen close and listen well. I can see things that others can't. I am one step ahead of everyone else, always. Bella is my biggest threat. Like father like daughter, hm?"

Aurora shook her head, "You're insane."

"Goodnight, Aurora. I'll see you in the morning."

"Shawn, wait," Aurora said as he reached up and turned the light back off. "Shawn!"

He began to whistle, ignoring Aurora as she yelled and pleaded for him to let her go. 

*                  *                   *

Bella's stomach churned as she stared at the news, watching as a school bus filled with softball players erupted into flames. The victims were all girls that attended a nearby middle school. There were no survivors, leaving 13 families having to bury their young daughters.

With a shake of her head, Bella reached for the remote and quickly turned off the TV. She sat in silence, staring at the dark screen in front of her. Her reflection stared back at her, showing a broken and exhausted woman. This wasn't the Bella that she knew. This was someone else, someone who had to fight for life for 33 years. She just wanted to rest. She just wanted to live peacefully for once.

She rubbed her eyes and slid the remote to the center of the table, not wanting to feel the urge to turn on the news again and learn of any new horrific things Shawn had done. As she went to pull herself up from the comfortable chair she was in, she heard a knock at the door of the office she was in. Hotch opened the door, poking his head in.

"Hey," he said. "We've been looking for you everywhere."

"Sorry," Bella said. "I was just...looking at the news."

"I'm guessing you saw the bus explosion?"

Bella nodded, "Yeah."

"Snow, don't pay attention to these things anymore. It'll only upset you more."

"Hotch, Shawn said that he would stop if I turned myself over to him, why haven't we done that? He'll let Aurora, Spencer, and the girls go."

"We're not doing that."

"Why not? I'm not afraid to risk my life, Hotch. You know this."

Hotch moved into the room, "Well, Bella, you have a whole group of people who are afraid to lose you. If we turn you over to Shawn then he wins. He's a narcissist, there's no way to know that he'll hold up his end of the deal. There's no way to know what he'll do to you."

Bella fell silent as she shook her head and looked at the ground. All she wanted to do was protect her family and she wasn't able to do that. She couldn't protect the people she loved the most.

"What if they're all dead?" Bella whispered. "My entire family...what if he killed them all?"

"He didn't, Snow," Hotch said. "He still has to use them as bargaining chips."

"What if he's hurting the girls? They're so young, Hotch. They must be so scared. They must be so cold and hungry."

"Snow, it's going to be alright," Hotch said, making his way over to her slowly. "We're going to catch him, I promise. Spencer, Aurora, and the girls are going to be fine."

"How can you promise that?"

"I've been in this line of work for decades. I guess you're just going to have to trust me."

Bella sulked, chewing on her bottom lip. Hotch reached out, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She stood up, brushing her hair out of her face as she reached up and pulled Hotch in for a hug. With everyone gone, he was the one person that Bella knew that she could lean on no matter what. He was able to comfort her even if the world was ending around her.

"I trust you," she whispered. "I always have, Hotch. I'm just so scared."

"I know, I am too," Hotch said. "But I've got you, alright? I will always have your back."

Bella grinned and tightened her grip on Hotch, burying her face into his shoulder as she held back hot tears.

"Woah, woah, woah," a voice taunted from the doorway. "How about you too find a bedroom next time?"

Bella looked up, furrowing her eyebrows at the sudden voice. As she looked up, the smiling face of Derek Morgan greeted her as she let out a gasp.

"Derek!" she exclaimed, rushing over to him and throwing her arms around him. "You're here too?"

"Of course I am, Dimples," Derek replied. "I'm not going to let my best girl take on this case alone."

Bella grinned, "Derek, you have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you."

"Don't thank me, sweetheart. I learned that kid was missing along with the baby geniuses. Then I heard that Aurora was missing. I wasn't going to let this one slide, no way. I may not be part of the team anymore, but you guys are still my family. I'm going to do everything that I can to find them."

"Thank you, Derek."

Derek nodded and peaked down at Bella's stomach, a grin spreading across his face, "Damn, you and Reid need to slow down! I haven't gifted you guys condoms in a while, maybe I should!"

"Shut up," Bella laughed, shoving him.

"Is it bad that I completely agree?" a female voice echoed behind Derek.

"Charlotte?" Bella gasped as her sister walked out, smiling as she pulled her into a hug.

"It's going to be ok, Bells," Charlotte said, rubbing Bella's back. "Aurora is a badass, she's going to be fine. Spencer and the girls are fine, they're strong."

"I can't believe you're both here," Bella gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "Charlotte, you're up for this?"

"Are you kidding me?" Charlotte laughed. "I'm the one who pitched the idea."

"Actually, it was me," Hotch interjected.

Charlotte ignored him and placed her hands on Bella's shoulders. She offered her sister a weak smile.

"Let's go catch some criminal ass, yeah?" she said.

"Ok," Bella breathed. "There's-uh-there's actually a lot that I need to catch you guys up on. A lot that I haven't told the team because I just found out. Spencer knows, he's the only person I told."

"Alright, the rest of the team is at the round table," Derek said.

Derek held open the door, allowing Bella, Charlotte, and Hotch to walk out first. All four of them marched down the hallway, making their way up to the conference room. As Bella reached for the door handle, Hotch stopped her. She looked up at him in confusion.

"Before you go in there, I want you to know how massive this case is," he said. "That's why I had to call in some reinforcements."

"Some reinforcements?" Bella questioned. "Like who?"

Hotch looked between Derek and Charlotte before opening the door. As Bella stepped into the room, she felt all the air in her lungs get knocked out. It was as if she had taken a time machine and landed back during a time when she was happy.

As she stared forward, she looked at the familiar faces of Kate Callahan, Alex Blake, and Elle Greenaway. Faces that she hadn't seen in years. Faces that she had missed so badly.

"Oh my god!" Bella exclaimed. "I can't believe this! You-you're all here!"

"Of course, we're here," Alex said, pulling Bella into a tight hug. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too!"

"Hey, there!" Kate exclaimed, pulling Bella into a hug. "We came as soon as we heard."

"Thank you," Bella sniffled before turning her attention to Elle. Bella's bottom lip quivered as she reached out for her old friend. "Elle!"

"Hey, Bella," Elle said, hugging Bella tightly. "It's been too long. Far too long."

"13 years too long," Bella chuckled, wiping her nose as she pulled away from the hug. "Oh my god, thank you all for being here. It-it truly means a lot. We need all the help that we can get."

"That's why I called them," Hotch said, looking over at the team. "Shawn Snow is a narcissistic psychopath who is now showing off because he didn't get what he wanted. He'll continue to show off, that's why we're making it clear that groups of women or girls should seek safety or disband immediately. He's targeting women and girls because they're surrogates for Bella and her sisters."

"Why did he take Spencer?" Penelope asked.

"Because he's a piece of his game," Rossi said. "He knows how important Spencer is to Bella, so he's using him to try and lure Bella out."

"Why does he want Bella so badly?" JJ questioned.

Bella swallowed roughly, "That-that's actually what I needed to talk to you all about. "I've learned something incredibly shocking and it-it has completely changed my life...and not in a good way."

"What is it?" Tara asked.

"Charlotte, this might be hard to hear," Bella sighed, earning a confused look from Charlotte. Bella looked back up at the team and frowned. "Shawn Snow isn't my uncle, he's my father."

"What?" Charlotte gasped as Penelope's mouth dropped open.

"Shawn Snow married my mother and they had us 5 girls. He-he began to threaten us and he told my mom that he was going to kill us all. That's when my mom decided to take us all and flee. Robert Snow, the man that raised us, adopted us all, and pretended to be our biological father. We-we couldn't tell the difference because they were twins. They kept Shawn a secret from us because he got arrested shortly. They didn't think that Shawn would ever get out. They never expected him to come and disrupt our lives."

"So, the man who raised us and we called dad was actually...our biological uncle?" Charlotte questioned.

Bella hung her head and lowered her voice, "Yeah. Shawn was the one who murdered all those women while studying in Albany. He was the one who murdered all those girls after he disappeared. I thought all my sisters and I were born and raised in Alex Bay, New York. Turns out we lived in Albany but had to flee because of Shawn. We were just children, we truly thought that Robert was our father."

"This changes everything," Emily said. "Shawn feels as if he had his family stolen from him, even though he's the one who walked out on all of you. He found out that his brother raised you all and now he's angry. He was grabbing your attention with the attacks, now he's doing it because he remembers how good it makes him feel."

"What will stop him?" Florence asked.

"Considering his narcissism and willingness to hurt his own family," Elle started. "Nothing is going to stop him."

"He's a highly intelligent man," Bella said before looking over at Hotch and lowering her voice. "He can...he can see things. He knows things, like me. If you know what I mean."

"I've got you," Hotch nodded before focusing back on the team.

"Robert killed himself because of Shawn," Bella continued. "He had realized what he had done and...he killed himself due to the guilt."

"Oh my god," Charlotte said, burying her face in her hands.

"I know that this is a lot to take in," Hotch said. "But we need to act fast, we need guards on every block. We need patrols around any area with a high female population, including schools or churches."

"How do we draw him out?" Derek asked.

"He'll come to us," Matt said. "He'll eventually get so annoyed that he will."

"What about Spencer?" JJ asked. "Aurora? The girls?"

"He won't kill them," Alex said. "He needs them."

Bella sat down and reached over, taking Charlotte by the hand, hoping that the team was positive in what they were doing.  

*                  *                   *

Bella handed Elle a cup of coffee, the brunette woman smiling and thanking her. She took a long sip before looking over at the mug that Bella was holding.

"Do you still strictly only drink tea?" Elle asked with a grin.

"Some things never change," Bella responded with a laugh. "I can't believe that you remember."

"You were my closest friend on the team, Bella. Of course, I remember."

Bella smiled and set down her mug, opening up a large map and laying it out in front of them. She had already circled places where she suspected Shawn might be hiding. From the video he sent the team, it was clear that he was holding them in a factory or a warehouse. The only challenge was trying to dwindle it down to one.

"So, what have you been doing for the past 13 years?" Bella asked, taking a seat.

Elle joined her, taking a seat as well as she smiled. Her hair was still thick and dark, though she had a couple of grey hairs peeking through.

"Well, I moved back home to New York," Elle answered, licking her lips and hoping that her dark red lipstick was still staying. "I became a victim advocate, and I still am. I met a surgeon and we got married, had a son, and then we got divorced 3 years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Bella said. "How old is your son?"

"He just turned 7," Elle smiled. "He's the best thing that has ever happened to me. Honestly, leaving this job was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I enjoyed being here but the more I worked on such dark cases, the more jaded I got. This job changes you and it's disheartening."

"I understand completely. Elle, the number of cases we worked on after you left was insane. We had a cannibal who fed the girl we were looking for to the search party, we had a woman who framed Spencer for murder and got him sent to jail, we-we had an unsub kill Haley Hotchner."

"I read about that," Elle frowned. "I'm so glad I wasn't around for that. That's horrible. That's the last thing that Hotch needed."

"It changed him forever. It changed us all forever."

Elle nodded, realizing how thankful she was for leaving the job when she did. She took another sip of her coffee and looked down at Bella's stomach.

"I meant to congratulate you earlier," she said, pointing at Bella's growing bump. "How exciting is that?"

"I know," Bella smiled. "My third. I like to think that I'm ready but...I'm nervous as hell. This one wasn't planned whatsoever."

Elle laughed, "Is any kid actually planned?"

"I guess you're right," Bella chuckled.

"So, you and Spencer got married and had babies, huh? That is so cute, I should've seen this coming from miles away."

"We definitely are perfect for each other."

"You two were always hanging around each other, it was so obvious that you were in love. How long have you been together?"

"11 years together, married for 8."

"How old are the girls?"

"Emma just turned 4 and Ophelia is 1."

At the mention of her family, Bella's heart began to sink. Her chest ached and tightened, feeling as though she could die of heartbreak at any second. She frowned and looked down at the ground, forcing back her tears once again. Elle tilted her head, noticing Bella's pain immediately.

"Hey," she whispered. "They're ok, Bella. They're going to be fine."

"I know," Bella whispered. "Still, they're my family. I-I feel sick to my stomach because of how scared I am."

"Bella, you've got the strongest team looking for them. I promise you, we'll get Shawn."

Pulling herself together, Bella looked back up and offered a half-smile. Elle reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

"We've always had each other's back," Elle smiled. "I never thanked you for keeping my secret."

"Elle, the man you shot was a monster," Bella said. "All I know is that it was self-defense, that's it."

Elle smirked and nodded, "Right." She laughed and squeezed Bella's shoulder again. "Thanks, Bella."

Hiding her grin, Bella watched as Penelope and Kai raced down the hall with terror etched upon their faces. They ran up to Emily, the woman widening her eyes before covering her mouth. Bella felt her stomach drop as she stood up and marched towards the doorway.

"What the hell is going on?" Bella asked, panic rising in her chest.

"N-nothing," Emily said.

"Emily, don't you dare lie to me. This is NOT the time for lying. What the hell is happening?"

Penelope frowned and exchanged a glance with Emily, the brunette woman giving her a nod as Penelope looked over at Bella with glossy eyes.

"We were sent another video," Penelope whispered.

"Of what?" Bella asked.

"Bells, I don't know if you want to see this."

"God damn it, Penelope, just show me."

Penelope sulked into the room and set down her laptop. She let out a nervous huff, slowly clicking on the video. She held her breath and looked away, plugging her ears. Bella sat down, her eyes watering before the video even started.

The video opened in a poorly lit room, with a tied-up Spencer sitting in the middle of the room. Shawn chuckled and walked in, looking straight at the camera.

"I really hope the reason why I don't have Bella yet is because you didn't receive my first video," Shawn said. "Innocent girls died because of you all. You're a foolish team that has absolutely no idea what to do. You're stuck! You're forcing me to be the bad guy!"

Shawn turned around and stared at Spencer, grabbing his hair and pulling his head back. He grabbed the gag out of Spencer's mouth and tossed it aside.

"Say hello to the camera, Dr. Reid," Shawn taunted. "Your team is going to see this!"

"Fuck you," Spencer whispered, glaring at Shawn. "Where are the girls?"

"This is your last chance to give me Bella," Shawn ordered, looking back at the camera. "Do you really want me to kill more innocent women and girls? Is that what you all stand for now? The blood of innocents on your hands? GIVE ME ISABELLA SNOW!"

"DON'T DO IT!" Spencer yelled in the background. "Bella, if you're listening, don't do it! Keep yourself safe!"

"SHUT UP!" Shawn roared. He looked back at the camera and grinned. "You have until 9:00 tonight to give me Bella. If not, someone she loves is going to have to pay for your actions. Will it be Aurora? Spencer? One of the girls? Who knows."

"Bella, don't!" Spencer yelled again.

Shawn let out a frustrated yell, "IN FACT, WHY DON'T I DEMONSTRATE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF ISABELLA IS KEPT HIDDEN?"

Shawn turned and punched Spencer in the face as hard as he could. Blood flew out of Spencer's mouth as Shawn yanked him up by the hair, punching him once more. More punches were sent across Spencer's face before Shawn kicked him in the gut, pulling a knife and holding it against Spencer's throat.

"Bella," Spencer sputtered, blood caking his mouth as he struggled to talk. "Don't! You need to hide! You need to be safe!"

"9:00," Shawn repeated, forcing the gag back into Spencer's mouth. "Or else the brainiac is dead."

The video ended as Bella let out a loud cry and jumped up from her seat. Emily caught her by the shoulders, preventing her from running out of the room.

"Let go!" Bella yelled. "Emily, let go of me!"

"I can't let you leave," Emily said.

"My husband is in danger! He-he's going to kill Spencer!"

"No, he's not."

"Emily! He just said he was!"

"Bella, listen to me!" Emily yelled, steadying the broken woman. "I made a promise to Spencer to always watch out for you, ok? You're a pregnant woman, I'm not letting you run out there and risk your life."

"So you're just going to let Spencer die?" Bella sobbed.

"No," Emily stated. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

*                  *                   *

A loud ringing woke Bella out of a sound sleep as she stirred in bed. Visions of an old factory she was dreaming about slowly disappeared, seeping into her foggy memory. She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes as she looked over at her clock. 8:27 p.m. Letting out a groan, Bella reached over and picked up her phone.

"This better be good," she said into the phone, her voice filled with exhaustion.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" the deep, familiar voice laughed into the phone.

Bella froze, all of the exhaustion in her body quickly disappearing. She sat up in bed, quickly reaching over and turning on the lamp on her nightstand.

"Shawn," she said. "What do you want?"

"Come on, Bella," Shawn taunted. "You're a psychic, right? What do you think I want?"

"I know that you want me."

"Bingo! Your powers are incredible!"

"This is a new phone, Shawn. How did you get my number?"

Shawn laughed, "I'm going to let you figure that one out as well."

"You dreamt about it, didn't you?"

"Bingo! You're spot on again!"

Bella pulled the phone away from her ear, putting it on speaker as she went to text Penelope. Her hands began to shake as she typed out each message, seeing Penelope quickly respond. It was obvious that she barely slept, up every night patiently waiting for a call or text saying that Shawn was caught.

"How hard is it to turn yourself in?" Shawn spit, his voice growing angry.

"Very hard, Shawn," Bella replied, focusing on the texts.

BELLA: Penelope, Shawn is on the phone with me right now.

PENELOPE: WHAT? How??

BELLA: I don't know, he got it. I'm trying to keep him on.

PENELOPE: Keep him on 4 as long as possible

BELLA: I'm trying, trust me.

PENELOPE: I'm on it, grl genius

"Did you get my videos?" Shawn asked, proud of himself.

"I did," Bella responded.

"How did they make you feel?"

"Upset, very upset."

"So, why haven't you brought yourself to me? Hm?"

"It-it's complicated."

"I thought you were brave, Bella. Didn't I raise you to be brave?"

Bella gripped the phone tighter, "You did not raise me, Shawn. You are NOT my father! I don't give a shit what our DNA says."

"You and your sister are feisty ones, eh? Don't worry, I got her to shut up."

"What are you doing to her?" Bella worried.

"Why don't you come and find out?"

Bella pushed the blankets off of her legs and began to pace, continuing to hold the phone against her ear. Her mind flooded with horrible images of what Shawn could possibly be doing to Aurora. Spencer. The girls.

"Are my children alright?" Bella asked. "They're only babies, Shawn. They need their parents."

"They are perfectly fine," Shawn said. "I've been taking very good care of them."

"Shawn, they have nothing to do with anything. They're just babies for crying out loud. Let them go, please."

"NO! I don't let things go, Bella. Do you want your children back? Then you bring yourself to me."

Bella sniffled, "How's Spencer? Is Spencer ok?"

"He's still bleeding," Shawn chuckled. "He got quite the beating earlier. I gave him an ice pack, hopefully, that'll make some of the swelling go down."

"Why are you doing this?" Bella cried.

"Why wouldn't I?" Shawn hissed, getting awfully close to the speaker of the phone.

Bella looked back down at her messages, seeing that Penelope was still trying to find a trace to where Shawn was calling from. Bella chewed on her bottom lip, nerves rattling her. She felt completely hopeless. She felt stuck.

"Don't hurt them," Bella breathed, hoping to find some humanity in Shawn. "They're your family, Shawn. Please don't hurt them, they mean so much to me."

"If you don't want to be a widow, then you will bring yourself to me within the next half hour," Shawn said, sternly. "Spencer is dead after that, you got it? I'm going to send the video to you. You'll watch as I gut him open, slowly, letting him bleed out. Then maybe I'll shoot him, but not in the places that it'll kill him. I want it to be really slow. I want him to suffer."

"Stop this, Shawn!"

"The next one I kill is Aurora. I plan on burning her. If you STILL haven't appeared, then the next one is going to be Ophelia. Then Emma. I don't know how I'll kill them, but I'll make sure that it's slow."

Bella started to cry, "Shawn, please don't do this!"

"YOU HAVE LESS THAN 30 MINUTES, BELLA! Meet me at Colonial Beach. You better hurry up, your husband's life depends on it."

The phone went silent as Bella let out a loud cry. She clutched her chest, her entire body shaking as she held her phone in her hands.

BELLA: Anything?!?!

PENELOPE: He's a ghost, idk what's going on!

BELLA: What do you mean? He was on the line for so long? How didn't you get a trace?

PENELOPE: idk! I couldn't find anything! Bella, I'm so sorry

Bella's heart sank as she dropped her phone, watching it fall to the ground with a loud thump. She sat down on her bed, burying her face into her hands as she began to weep. She wanted to do everything to save her family, but what she wanted to do went against everything the team wanted her to do.

She couldn't let her sister die. She couldn't live if Spencer was killed. She would go absolutely insane if the girls were killed. Hot tears streamed down Bella's face with no intention of stopping. Standing up, she continued to pace around the room as her eyes continuously darted over to the clock. It was like a bomb, counting down the seconds until complete and utter horror and disaster.

Bella wiped her nose and eyes, attempting to gather herself as she looked over at the pair of keys sitting on her nightstand. At that moment, Bella didn't feel logical. She didn't care about all of the things the team had told her not to do. She just wanted her family back. She just wanted them safe, even if that meant she had to risk her own life.

Marching over to the nightstand, Bella grabbed her keys before throwing her phone down on the bed. She wiped her nose and eyes before opening the door and storming out.

Bella's heart raced the entire way to her car. 

*                  *                   *

The sky was a dark black as Bella pulled up to the beach, struggling to breathe as she trembled with fear. She didn't know why she was so scared. She was there to save her family, she should feel elated.

Her car drove over the smooth sand, the sounds of the chill waves crashing in the distance. Bella stopped the car, putting it in park as she took a deep breath. She tugged on the sleeves of her sweatshirt, hiding her hands. Glancing over at the rearview mirror, she took one final look at herself.

Sacrificing herself to save her family was the only option she had left. She didn't care about herself, she accepted the fact that her unborn baby might not make it. Despite that, she wanted to save the people that she loved with her entire heart. She wanted them to go home and continue living. The world would keep spinning without her.

She took the keys out of her car and opened the door slowly before stepping out. The shivered due to the low temperature outside, ignoring it as a set of headlights made its way down a hill and towards her. Bella watched as the car grew closer before stopping, the lights turning off completely before the driver's door opened.

Slowly, Shawn stepped out of the car with a large grin on his face. He tilted his head, smiling wider as he stared at a horrified Bella.

"Bella!" he exclaimed. "It's so good to see you after all these years! The last time I saw you, you were probably up to my knee!"

"Where are they?" Bella asked. "Is Spencer ok?"

"He's perfectly fine, minus the beating I gave him."

"Did you bring him?"

"No."

Fury ran through Bella, "So how the hell do I know he's alive? How the hell do I know if any of them are alive?"

"You're going to have to trust me, Bella," Shawn said. "I'm your father, you should trust me."

"You want me to trust you?" Bella scoffed. "I typically don't trust people who kidnap my sister, husband, and children."

Shawn let out a laugh and pulled out his phone. He opened it up, turning it around to show Bella a live video. Bella's heart dropped as she saw in one video that Aurora was tied up while crying. Another video showed Spencer tied up, bruises and cuts decorating his face as he struggled to keep his head up. The last video showed the girls, sleeping on an old bed while holding stuffed animals.

"See," Shawn said. "They're perfectly fine, Bella. They're alive and well."

"Let them go, Shawn," Bella ordered. "I held up my end of the deal."

"You haven't quite yet."

"What else could you possibly want?"

"You're coming back with me, then I'll let them go."

Bella's eyes watered as she stared at Shawn, attempting to get a read on him. It was strange, Bella had been a profiler for 14 years...yet she couldn't read one single emotion on Shawn's face. She couldn't predict what he was going to do next.

"What do you even want from me, Shawn?" Bella questioned. "I have absolutely nothing to offer you. What do you want?"

"Bella, I need you to understand something," Shawn said, stepping closer. "You're the only one out of all of your sisters that has the same gift as me. Do you consider it a gift?"

"I do."

"Why?"

Bella pursed her lips, "Because I have been able to solve crimes because of it. I have seen things that have led me to capture absolute monsters and put them behind bars for good. My intuition saves me and my colleagues every single day."

"That's funny," Shawn chuckled. "I have never considered it to be a gift. In fact, I have always loathed it. People look at you like you're crazy. People don't listen to a word you have to say."

"That's why you have to surround yourself with people that do believe you. People that you can trust completely. People that don't judge you."

"Why do you think I want you around?" Shawn smiled. "Can you imagine the things we could accomplish together?"

"What do you mean?"

"Bella, the reason why I have killed as many people as I have is because I can see where they are. I know when to strike and they never expect me coming."

Bella shook her head, "You're sick."

"Your mother never believed me, she always thought I was crazy. I was trapped in jail for 26 years, having these vivid dreams and not being able to do anything about it. Do you know how much that hurts? To hold back your urges?"

"I'm not a mass murderer, Shawn, I don't know what it's like. My dreams save people, you use yours against others. We are not the same and we never will be."

Shawn let out a chuckle and shook his head, looking down at the ground. He looked back up, his eyes cold, as he began to approach Bella. He got closer and closer until she could smell him, the sweat on his skin mixing with a cheap soap he had used in his hair.

"We're father and daughter," he whispered, his breath sour. "We are more alike than you think."

"Screw you," Bella whispered back.

Shawn laughed, "I think it's time we go back. I'm going to have to pat you down, Bella, I hope you understand."

"Go right ahead."

Bella stiffened as Shawn began to pat her down, making sure that she wasn't carrying any weapon or phone. He reached into his pockets, feeling around. Bella frowned, feeling Shawn pull away as he turned to look at her.

"Good job, honey," he smiled. "You followed my directions."

"I'm not risking the lives of my family," Bella said.

"Our family."

Bella scowled as Shawn pulled out a piece of rope from his pocket, tying it around Bella's wrists before leading her to his car. He opened the back door for her, forcing her in. Bella looked around the car, making sure to memorize her surroundings as much as she could.

Getting into the driver's seat, Shawn adjusted the rearview mirror and smiled at Bella. She continued to scowl at him, not wanting to let him think that he had any power over her. She didn't want to be afraid in front of him. She couldn't let herself be afraid. He thrived on fear.

"You'll see them soon, Bella," Shawn said. "They're all safe, I would never hurt them!"

"Whatever," Bella mumbled. "Let's just go, alright?"

"Very eager, huh? You're so brave, Bella. Even while pregnant, you don't care that you might be risking your own life."

"It's my family, Shawn. Family does whatever to protect each other. You wouldn't understand."

Shawn smirked, "You're right, I don't."

He put the car into drive and began the long drive.

*                  *                   *

 Shawn grabbed Bella's wrists tightly, forcing her out of the car. Bella looked around quickly, the air suddenly colder. She took in the trees and how loud they were due to the wind. The air smelled like rotten eggs, Bella scrunching her nose at this.

"Wait," Bella said, stopping in her tracks. Her face paled as Shawn looked over at her.

Bella bent over and vomited near Shawn's feet. He let out a string of curses, stepping away from the vomit as he looked down in disgust. Bella coughed, gathering herself as she brought up her tied hands and wiped her mouth.

"Are you sick?" Shawn asked her in disgust.

"I'm pregnant, you moron," Bella hissed. "The air smells like shit."

"It's a factory, you'll want to get used to it."

"Is this where I'm going to be held captive for the rest of my life?"

Shawn laughed, "No, Bella. We're going to go far away from here. Somewhere they'll never find us."

He grabbed Bella by the wrists again, forcing her forward and towards the doors of the factory. She stared up at the large, grey building, feeling like a small ant. Shawn opened the door with a hard tug, forcing Bella in first as he followed behind her and slammed the door shut.

"Here it is," Shawn smirked. "Is it better than you imagined?"

"You've got me here," Bella said, ignoring his blatant arrogance. "Let Aurora, Spencer, and the girls go."

"I will, I will."

"No, Shawn, do it right now. A deal is a deal, right?"

Shawn smirked and scanned Bella's face, watching as anger bubbled inside of her more and more. He took a step toward her and pulled out a pocket knife, raising it up for her to see. Bella continued to stare into his eyes, a blank expression on her face as he spun the knife around.

"Are you trying to scare me?" Bella asked.

"Is it scaring you?" Shawn smirked.

Bella took a step closer to him, "Not one bit."

Shawn's smirk dropped as he stared back at Bella. He gripped the knife tightly before lowering it, slicing through the rope that bound Bella's hands together. She threw it off, rubbing her wrists as they stung underneath her touch.

"Where's my family?" Bella asked again, growing angrier by the second.

"They're here," Shawn said.

"LET THEM GO!"

"Not until I say it's time."

"Shawn, I swear-"

"Are you going to hurt me, Bella?" Shawn taunted, sticking out his bottom lip and pouting.

Bella scowled, "I will."

Shawn laughed, "I'd like to see you try."

He continued to fiddle with the knife in his hands, looking over the sharp blade as he softly hummed to himself. He glanced up at Bella, grinning, hoping that he was making her more uncomfortable. Bella glared at him and allowed her eyes to dart around the room, looking at the old machines that were now rusted and covered in dust or old blankets.

"I have a question for you," Shawn said.

"What?" Bella huffed.

"You're a profiler, Bella. You have been for many years. Did you ever think that your own father could be a killer? Did you ever consider the possibility that you have it in you...the chance to become a murderer?"

"You're a narcissist, Shawn. You're also a psychopath, you have an antisocial personality. You most likely grew up killing small animals and then the urge became too much, that's why you decided to kill all those women. Your frustration with women probably stems from the fact that your father died when you were young, so you were raised by your mom. She drank a lot and had depression, so you assumed that all women were untrustworthy and flighty. Robert never became what you did because he can feel, he has the ability to care for others. You shoot and bomb your victims because you don't like to be up close and personal, you're afraid to look at them. You don't want them looking at you because deep down, you're a coward."

Shawn's jaw clenched as he listened to every word coming out of Bella's mouth. She stood her ground, looking him in the eye as she exposed him entirely.

"I'm not capable of being a killer because I'm nothing like you," Bella said. "I have a conscious and I am able to empathize with others, unlike you. I don't enjoy seeing people hurt, in fact, I absorb other people's pain. I am nothing like you, Shawn. We are nothing alike. I'm actually human."

"Do you think you're better than me?" Shawn asked.

"I am better than you, Shawn. I don't fucking murder people."

"LIAR! You don't spend 14 years as an agent without getting your hands dirty somehow."

"The people I killed on the job did it to themselves. I killed the people I did because I was protecting myself and my team. I didn't feel good about it, I never reveled in it. You get off on death and destruction. You have no ability to feel."

"Oh really? I fell in love and had 5 daughters, Bella."

"You didn't fall in love, you needed a facade. You married mom because single men look out of place. You had 5 children because men with children look settled and incapable of doing anything wrong."

Shawn tilted his head, "I loved you girls."

"No you didn't," Bella said with a shake of her head. "You only loved the idea of us. We were a burden, right? You said that."

"I've said many things in my life."

"Shawn, I saw it all. Don't you dare try to act like a saint."

"Our dreams are wonderful things, aren't they?" Shawn smiled. "The reason I need you is because you are my biggest threat, Bella. I can't have you telling the police my location, no ma'am. When you're with me...you'll have no one to run to."

"You don't plan on killing me?"

"You're my daughter," Shawn said. "I would never do that."

"Bullshit."

"No, Bella, I'm serious. It's time that we caught up. I haven't seen you since you were 4 years old. I want to make up for the lost time."

"What about the baby?"

Shawn shrugged, "I can finally raise a child."

Bella sniffled and looked around the room before looking back over at Shawn. She gave him a quick nod, earning a smile from him in return. She knew she had to do anything in her power to save her family, even if that meant sacrificing everything else. Her family came first. It always did.

"Alright," Shawn said. "I think you'll grow to like me, Bella."

"I hope so," Bella said.

"Do you want to see your family now?"

"Yes," Bella said without hesitation.

Shawn nodded as Bella began to move forward, her sweatshirt shifting slightly as Shawn stared at it intensely. An outline of a small square stuck to the inside of Bella's shirt, causing Shawn to furrow his eyebrows and grab her by the arm.

"What's that?" Shawn asked.

"What's what?" Bella questioned, playing dumb.

"There's something in your sweatshirt."

"What are you talking about?"

Shawn grabbed Bella roughly, the blonde woman struggling against his grip as he held her steady. He reached down into her shirt, pulling out a small black box. He studied it, watching it flash slightly.

"What the hell is this?" he hissed, shoving it into Bella's face.

A sly smirk spread across Bella's face as police sirens began to echo in the background. Shawn's eyes went wide as he threw the box to the ground, stomping on it and smashing it into tiny pieces.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" he yelled, shaking Bella by the shoulders. "YOU STUPID FUCKING BITCH!"

"I'm always one step ahead, Shawn," Bella whispered, smiling. "Fuck you."

She headbutted the man as hard as she could, watching as blood spilled from his nose as she turned on her ankle. In a blind rage, Shawn let out a loud yell and grabbed Bella by the hair. She let out a loud yelp as he yanked her backward.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?" Shawn yelled. "YOU'RE DEAD! YOUR FAMILY IS DEAD! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU IS DEAD!"

Bella threw a hard punch, hitting Shawn in the nose. He reached for her as Bella dodged his hands. He drew his pocket knife, letting the blade slice into the air as he swung at her. Bella watched the blade carefully, dodging it as he swiped at her. Bella let out a yell, watching as the knife sliced into the thick fabric of her sweatshirt. She pulled it away, confirming that her stomach wasn't hit.

Looking over, Bella noticed a small rusted shovel against a wall. With wide eyes, she grabbed it and brought it across Shawn's face. The man fell to the ground with a yell, dropping the knife from his hands as blood dripped from his nose and mouth.

Bending down, Bella grabbed the knife quickly as he reached for it and grabbed her ankle. Bella let out a yell, slicing his hand as he screamed and pulled away. Red and blue lights began to shine outside as Bella smiled, turning on her heel and running as fast as she could.

Her only thought was of her family.

*                  *                   *

Aurora's tired eyes slowly opened as her mind felt foggy. The tightness on her wrists slowly disappeared as she attempted to pull herself together, focusing her vision. As she opened her eyes fully, she was able to see Bella standing above her, cutting the burning ropes off of her wrists. Aurora stared at her sister in shock, wondering if she was dreaming.

"Bella?" Aurora breathed. "Is that...is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me," Bella whispered. "You're ok now, Rory."

"How-how did you get here? How did you find me?"

"I-I'm good at my job."

Bella pulled the ropes off of Aurora's wrists. Aurora stood up, her legs wobbly as she tried to find her balance. As she looked over at Bella, a wave of emotion crashed over her. Aurora let out a loud sob, pulling Bella into a warm hug. Bella attempted to keep herself together, rubbing Aurora's back and smoothing out her hair.

"I've got you," Bella whispered.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that," Aurora cried, pulling away from the hug to look at Bella with wide eyes. "Is Julian ok? Is Luke ok?"

"They're both fine, Rory. Luke has been worried sick about you, he'll be here soon. You're safe now, Rory, I promise."

"What about the rest of your team?"

"They're perfectly fine," Bella breathed, looking around at the cold, dark building. "Rory, where are the girls? Where's Spencer?"

Aurora sniffled, "I don't know where he kept Spencer, he said that he kept him far away because he didn't want us talking to each other. He-he thought that we would make an escape plan. Bella, is Shawn actually our father? Is he serious?"

"Yes, Rory, he's very serious. I was going to tell you but a lot got in the way. Rory, listen, you need to take me to the girls. Do you know where they are?"

Tears leaked out of Aurora's eyes as she let out shallow, terrified breaths. She looked around, her teeth chattering due to her nerves and the temperature of the factory. She licked her chapped lips, her eyes scanning over the hallway.

"They might be a few down from here," Aurora said. "I-I can show you. We'll look around, we'll find them."

Aurora took Bella by the wrist, stepping out of her cage and looking down the hallway. The two women hurried down the hallway, seeing their breath in the air as Aurora peeked into multiple large cages.

Bella's eyes began to water as she searched desperately for the girls, her tears choking her as she peeked into one cage. She caught her breath, seeing the two small girls sitting on a dirty mattress on the ground. Bella let out a cry, breaking open the door quickly.

"Girls!" Bella yelled, running towards the two babies.

Emma looked up, her face dirty and her hair messy. Her eyes attempted to focus on the face in front of her, eventually Bella's familiar smile came into clear focus. Emma's frown quickly turned into a big smile.

"Mama!" Emma exclaimed.

"Mama?" Ophelia babbled, picking her head up.

"My babies," Bella cried, gathering the two girls into her arms. She kissed their heads and faces continuously, trying to run her fingers through their matted hair. "Hi, babies. Mama's here, mama's got you."

"Mama," Emma sniffled. "I am hungry."

"I know, baby," Bella whispered. "We'll have dinner soon, ok?"

"Mama," Ophelia continued to cry, her wails becoming louder and louder.

Bella rubbed her back, bouncing her in her arms in an attempt to soothe the screaming child. Hot tears left clean streaks down Ophelia's face as Emma looked at her, wanting to cry as well but feeling too confused and hungry to do so.

"Mama," Emma said. "Where is dada?"

"He-he will be here soon," Bella said. "Dada is just busy right now. He's going to go get dinner."

"Ok, mama," Emma sighed, clinging onto Bella tighter.

Tears continued to fall from Bella's eyes as she smothered her children with kisses. Her heart felt like it was oozing out of her chest, bleeding completely out and turning into mush. She tried to wipe the dirt off of the girls' faces, only to realize how caked on it was.

"Home," Emma said, starting to cry. "Mama, go home soon?"

"Yes," Bella said, standing up. "Let's go home right now."

Bella held both girls in her arms as she turned to Aurora, the distraught woman still trembling and crying. She wiped her tears away quickly, wanting to appear as brave as Bella was. She envied Bella's bravery, she wished she had even an ounce of it.

"Rory," Bella whispered. "I need to go find Spencer."

"How are you going to find him?" Aurora asked.

"I don't know, but I need to go find him."

"Bella, that's dangerous."

With a trembling lip, Bella looked down at the dirty clothes that both girls were wearing. Their shirts were covered in dirt and stains, and their pants covered in dirt as well. Bella looked back up at Aurora and held back a sob.

"Take the girls," Bella said.

"You just got them back!" Aurora exclaimed.

"Rory, take the girls right now. The team is here and they're going to help you, ok? I need you to take the girls and find my team. They will help you, they will make sure that you're safe."

"What are you going to do?"

"I-I need to go find Spencer. Shawn beat him severely, I need to go find him."

"But, Bella-"

"No, please don't," Bella begged, having no energy to deal with any more obstacles. "Aurora, I need you to do this, ok? Please...just trust me."

Aurora nodded, "Ok, I trust you."

Bella grinned before turning back to the girls, smothering their faces with kisses once again. The girls giggled, hugging Bella tightly as she tried not to break down crying. She held both of them tightly.

"Girls, you're going to go with Aunt Rory, ok?" Bella said, sweetly.

"No, mama," Emma cried. "Go home!"

"Aunt Rory is going to take you home, alright? Mama will be there soon!"

"Mama," Ophelia cried.

"I know, baby," Bella whispered. "Mama and dada will be home soon, ok? Can you be big girls and go with Aunt Rory? Can you do that?"

Emma nodded as Bella grinned at her, planting a kiss on her forehead as she passed her over to Aurora. Bella kissed Ophelia on the forehead, handing her over to Aurora as well. Aurora held both girls in her arms, bouncing them slightly and trying to let them feel comforted.

"I love you," Bella said, looking at all three of them. "I will be back, ok? Em and Phee, be good girls for mama, ok? Be big girls!"

Emma nodded as Bella blew them each a kiss. She made eye contact with Aurora, giving her a slight nod as Aurora trembled. With a thin smile, Aurora turned on her heel and began her journey down the hallway and towards the flashing blue and red lights.

Wiping her tears away, Bella took a deep breath and collected herself. She turned and ran down the dark hallway, looking into every room as she desperately searched for the familiar mop of hazel curls and warm eyes.

"Spencer?" Bella hissed, keeping her voice low. "Spence? Are you here?"

"Be-Bella?" a weak voice responded.

Bella perked her head up, "Spencer! Where are you?"

"Bella?"

The blonde agent followed the voice, her eyes landing on a darker cage with Spencer tied up inside. Dark black and blue bruises decorated his face, the side of his lip swelling. Bella caught her breath, throwing open the door to the cage.

"Spencer!" she exclaimed. "I'm here! I'm here, honey!"

"Bella," Spencer whispered. "Wha-how-where?"

"I tricked him, Spence. I trick him."

"Bella," Spencer continued to breathe out, mesmerized by her. Tears flooded his bruised eyes as he stared at Bella in awe and amazement.

Hastily, Bella cut the rope that was tying Spencer's hands together. She let it fall to the ground, looking back up at him as he fell into a mess of tears.

"Bella," he sobbed, wrapping his arms around her.

He cried into her shoulder as she hugged him tightly, hiding her own tears as she rubbed his back and ran her fingers through his hair. He sniffled and pulled away, holding her by the shoulders and admiring her.

"Look at you," Bella cried, reaching up and gently touching his face. "Spencer, you poor thing. We're going to get you all fixed up, hon."

"Don't worry about me," Spencer sighed. "Bella, you're here."

"I'm here, Spence. You don't have to worry anymore."

"Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry about me, honey. I'm fine, ok?"

Spencer's heart dropped, "Where's Rory? Where are the girls?"

"They're safe," Bella breathed, stroking his cheek as gently as possible. "Spence, I've missed you so much. So, so, so, so much."

"You're so beautiful, my love," Spencer cried. "You're so brave, sweetheart. You're so amazing. I love you so much, sweet girl. I love you, Bella. I love you."

"I love you too."

Bella pulled Spencer into another tight hug, holding him against her body. She closed her eyes and melted into his touch, reminded of something that she had missed so badly. She pulled away and looked up at him as he wiped his nose before leaning down and pressing a kiss against her lips.

He didn't care that his lip was swelling. He didn't care that he was in an extreme amount of pain. He only wanted Bella again. He wanted to kiss her for the first time in what felt like forever. He wanted to feel her. He wanted to freeze this moment.

"The team is after him," Bella said. "Spencer so much has happened. I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I should've turned myself over to him sooner."

"No," Spencer said with a shake of his head. "Bella, I never want you to risk your life for me."

"Too late, doctor."

Spencer chuckled, planting another kiss against Bella's lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in tightly. As he pulled away from the kiss, his eyes trailed up to the dim nothingness behind Bella. Slowly, a shadow emerged, holding a large knife.

"BELLA!" Spencer yelled, throwing Bella out of the way.

Bella let out a yelp, stumbling slightly before catching her footing. She looked over to see Spencer gripping Shawn's arm, preventing him from using the large knife in his hands. Weakly, Spencer threw a punch across Shawn's face.

Shawn stumbled backward before landing a punch across Spencer's face. Blood flew out of Spencer's mouth as he took the hit, turning and grabbing Shawn by the collar of his shirt and pinning him against the wall.

"BELLA!" Spencer screamed. "GO! GET OUT OF HERE!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Bella yelled back.

Shawn kicked Spencer in the gut, grabbing his arm and twisting it. Bella let out a yell, running over to Shawn and pulling the small knife on him. He grabbed her by the wrist, shoving her as hard as he could as she fell to the ground with a thud.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Spencer yelled, grabbing Shawn and hitting him.

"Spencer, go!" Bella begged, getting back on her feet.

Shawn punched Spencer again, sending him falling to the ground. He reached out, grabbing Bella by the hair and dragging her toward the door of the cage. She clawed at his hands before taking her knife and stabbing him in the side of the leg. Shawn let out a loud cry, letting go of her hair.

As she turned and balled her fist, ready to hit him, Shawn grabbed her wrist before pinning her against the wall. He let her go before backhanding her roughly, a small cut splitting open on Bella's cheek.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Spencer yelled, grabbing Shawn and flinging him to the ground.

Shawn quickly got the upper hand, throwing Spencer to the ground before getting on top of him. He pulled out the large knife before stabbing Spencer in the side. Bella's eyes widened as she watched blood pour out of Spencer's wound.

"NOOO!" she screamed, her voice blood-curdling.

"Let's go!" Shawn yelled, trying to grab Bella as she dodged him and ran into the hallway.

"Spencer!" Bella yelled, a sob getting caught in her throat.

"Bella, run," Spencer begged as he continued to bleed. "Run! G-go hide!"

"Spencer," Bella continued to sob.

Shawn grinned, wiping Spencer's blood on his pants as he followed Bella out into the hallway. She let out a terrified gasp before turning on her heel, and running towards a long ladder at the end of the hallway. She sobbed loudly, hating the fact that she had just left Spencer there to bleed.

"BELLA!" Shawn yelled. "GET BACK HERE!"

Wiping her eyes, Bella grabbed the icy cold bars on the ladder, looking over her shoulder before making her way up. The night sky peeked out at the top, Bella instantly realizing that she was heading towards the roof of the building.

She looked down, letting out a yelp as she watched Shawn climbing up behind her. She kicked off her shoes, letting them fall off, and hit him in the face. He swore loudly, letting the shoes fall to the ground.

"You can't hide from me, Bella!" Shawn yelled.

Bella held back a loud cry.

*                  *                   *

Kicking down the front door, Derek drew his weapon and turned on the flashlight as he moved into the large building. Hotch followed behind him, gripping the gun tightly in his hands while scanning every last inch of the room. It felt natural to both of them, as if they hadn't been off the job for the past 3 years. Hotch could finally hold a gun again with his hand trembling. Derek could finally be out on the field without panicking.

JJ, Emily, and Rossi followed behind Derek and Hotch. They attempted to control their breathing, watching as their breath hit the air and froze. JJ blew some hair out of her face before looking over at Emily, the two women opening up a door quickly and aiming their guns.

"Help!" Aurora called out, running down the hallway with the two girls in her arms. "We-we're here!"

"We've got Aurora and the girls," JJ announced, lowering her gun as Aurora approached them.

"They're scared," Aurora said, attempting to comfort the crying children in her arms.

JJ took Ophelia from Aurora's arms, kissing the small child on the cheek and holding her tightly against her chest. Ophelia cried loudly, her sobs echoing in the building as she clung onto JJ.

"Get them out of here," Hotch ordered. "Get them warm."

"Aurora," Emily said, stopping the woman from leaving. "Where's Bella?"

"She went to go find Spencer," Aurora said, her voice weak. "I tried to stop her...she wouldn't listen to me. She ran off, I don't know where."

Hotch hung his head, frustrated by Bella's bravery. JJ exchanged worried glances with the team before wrapping her arm around Aurora and escorting her outside into the cold, night air. Aurora let some more tears fall from her eyes as she looked up, watching as another FBI SUV pulled up in front of the building.

The car stopped abruptly, the passenger door opening as Luke jumped out with wide eyes. Aurora let out a loud cry, a smile spreading across her face as she handed Emma over to JJ. She broke out into a sprint, colliding into Luke as he gathered her in his arms.

"Oh my god, Aurora," Luke cried, hugging his wife tightly as he began to smother her face with kisses. "You're alive."

"Of course I'm alive," Aurora chuckled with tears streaming down her face. "Do you really think that I would let that sick bastard kill me?"

Luke let out a laugh, his eyes clouded by tears, "I was so worried, Rora. I thought something so bad happened. Jesus, I was so scared."

"I'm here, I'm ok."

With a smile, Luke pulled Aurora into another kiss. He cupped her face, wiping the tears away, before pressing his forehead against hers. He kissed her cheek and looked over at the two girls.

"Hey there, beautiful girls," he smiled. "Come on, let's go home."

"Where's mama?" Emma cried.

"Mama will be out soon, alright?" Luke said, taking Emma into his arms. "Poor baby, she's so cold."

He made his way to the SUV with Aurora and JJ following behind him. He set Emma down inside before taking Ophelia from JJ and setting her down as well. He grabbed some fuzzy blankets, wrapping them around the girls.

"We need to get them out of here," JJ said, lowering her voice. "We don't know how this is going to end. They shouldn't be here to see this."

"Right," Luke said. "JJ, take Aurora and the girls to safety."

"No!" Aurora exclaimed. "Luke, I was just rescued from a psychopath. Please don't leave me. I don't want to be left alone."

Luke stared at his crying wife, his heart breaking the more he looked into her devastated eyes. With a nod, he turned back to JJ.

"Hop in the back," he said. "I'll drive."

JJ nodded, climbing into the back of the car. She wrapped her arms around the girls, comforting them as they snuggled into her. She could only imagine how confused they were, wondering where their parents were.

Luke turned to Aurora and cupped her face, "Did he hurt you?"

"No," Aurora said. "He-he was just an asshole."

"He didn't touch you?"

"No."

Pressing his lips together, Luke nodded before planting a kiss on Aurora's forehead. He opened up the passenger side door, helping her in before he got into the car. Giving one final look at the building, he inhaled sharply before putting the car into drive.

He pulled away from the building, leaving it behind him as he drove away quickly. He hoped that he was making a rational decision and that the team would be able to handle it on their own. He hoped and prayed for Bella and Spencer's safe return. He didn't know what to do if they lost both of them.

Inside the building, the team continued to search for Shawn, Bella, and Spencer. Rossi shined his flashlight down at the ground, following a light blood trail. He sucked in a breath, hoping that it was Shawn's blood.

Continuing to walk down the cold hallway, Emily narrowed her eyes as she looked into the dark cages. Her eyes panned down onto the cut rope on the floor, signifying that Bella had been there earlier. Emily looked over her shoulder, making sure that Hotch, Derek, and Rossi were still behind her. She gave a nod before continuing down the hallway.

As she moved faster, her eyes continued to scan over the inside of the cages. She walked past the last one, seeing that the door was still wide open. She raised her gun, inhaling sharply, before turning and aiming her gun into the room. As she shined her flashlight down on the ground, her eyes fell to a bleeding Spencer that lay on the dirty floor.

"Spencer's here!" Emily shouted, grabbing the attention of the rest of the team. "He's down!"

She knelt down next to him, taking off her jacket and pressing it against his stab wound. Spencer's eyes fluttered open, his face pale. He looked around the room, watching as Hotch, Derek, and Rossi all rushed inside.

"Reid, you're going to be alright," Hotch said.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if he was dreaming the fact that Hotch and Derek were there. He attempted to sit up as Derek knelt down next to him, applying more pressure against the stab wound.

"Bella," Spencer breathed. "My...my...Bella."

"Kid, did Shawn do this to you?" Derek asked.

"Yes."

"Where is he? Do you know?"

"He ran. He ran after Bella. You have to save her...you have to go save her."

"Where did they run?"

Spencer began to cry, "I-I don't know. They ran...down the hall."

Hotch and Rossi turned and began to make their journey down the dark hallway, their guns raised as anger coursed through their veins. Tears began to fall out of Spencer's eyes as he started to weep, wondering if he had just lost Bella forever.

"You have to save her," he continued to breathe. "You have to save her."

"We will," Emily said. "Reid, was Shawn armed?"

"A knife...he had a knife."

Loud footsteps echoed as Hotch and Rossi ran back towards Spencer, their eyes wide as they looked down at him. The sounds of ambulances began to echo outside, red flashing through the small window at the top of the caged room.

"We have to get out of here," Rossi said.

"No!" Spencer protested. "Where's Bella? Did you find Bella?"

Hotch turned to Emily and Derek, "The building is rigged with a bomb, Shawn has control of it. We need to evacuate."

"NO!" Spencer continued to yell, ignoring the pain in his side. "BELLA IS HERE! WE CAN'T LEAVE HER! SHE'S STILL HERE!"

"Reid, you need medical attention," Emily said. "We have to move you outside."

Spencer attempted to stand up on his own, "No! I'm not leaving her!"

"Kid!" Derek boomed, trying to settle him down. "We need to move you and get you medical attention, you're bleeding out. We will continue to look for Bella once we get you out, alright? It's not safe for any of us right now!"

"No!" Spencer continued to yell, struggling against their grips.

Hotch, Rossi, Emily, and Derek all grabbed onto Spencer and managed to subdue him. They carried him out, blood gushing out of his side as he cried out loudly and tried to fight against them. Hot tears spilled down his face as he continued to look back in the direction that Bella and Shawn ran off.

"NO!" Spencer yelled. "BELLA! BELLA!"

The team continued to carry him out, hiding the tears in their own eyes.

*                  *                   *

Bella let out a loud cry, collapsing on top of the roof as she struggled to her feet. The small knife in her hand sliced some of her hand as she fell, tears falling on top of the blood stained blade. She turned around quickly only to be met with a strong fist colliding with her cheek. She fell to the ground with a groan, blood caking her mouth as she looked up.

"Stupid bitch," Shawn panted, wiping away the blood dripping from his nose. "Do you realize how fucking stupid you are? This could've been so peaceful, Bella. All you had to do was listen to me. AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT!"

"You really thought that I would comply with what you were asking of me?" Bella laughed. "YOU'RE stupid, Shawn! You're a moron! You posses zero intelligence!"

"SHUT UP!" Shawn roared, grabbing Bella by the hair and forcing her to stand up.

Bella struggled against him, swinging the knife at him as he caught her wrist. She let out a loud cry as he twisted her wrist back, taking the knife from her. She fought against his grip as he pulled her in, raising the knife to her throat.

"Your husband didn't have to die," Shawn growled. "You made me kill him, Bella. You're the reason why he's dead."

"He's not dead!" Bella yelled.

"He will be...very soon. And when he does die, I want you to remember that it was all your fault. You did that."

"I did nothing but try to protect him. I came here to protect my family, Shawn. You don't know what it's like to protect people you love. You have no idea what it's like to sacrifice everything out of love!"

Shawn snarled, bringing his hand across Bella's face. Her cheek stung as tears pricked her eyes. She looked back over at him as the sun began to rise slowly, the sky turning a light shade of pink and orange.

"I'm not afraid of you!" Bella screamed. "Don't think for a second that I am! You're a coward, Shawn! Cowards don't scare me!"

"Why couldn't you make things simple?" Shawn roared. "Your family would've been fine if it weren't for you! If it weren't for your blatant ignorance and stupidity! You had to bring your team here, huh?"

"We were going to catch you no matter what," Bella said. "It was only a matter of time until you were over, Shawn. You will never get away with anything that you did! You're absolutely idiotic if you think you would!"

"You think you're so brave, huh? You think you're the hero of this story? YOU'RE NOT THE HERO!"

Bella shook her head, "I don't have to be the hero! I never asked for that!"

"Then why show up here so ready to turn yourself over to me? Why bring your team in, knowing how dangerous I would become? Why allow me to chase you up here? I'm the stronger one here, Bella, we both know that!"

"I'm not a hero," Bella said with a shake of her head. "I am only doing what is right. I am only here to protect my family. I am here to protect the people that I care about."

Shawn laughed, "You stupid girl, you think that bringing your team into this building is going to be beneficial? You seriously think that I didn't plan that far ahead."

"What do you mean?"

"Bella, I am ALWAYS one step ahead of you," Shawn laughed.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Bella watched as Shawn reached into his pocket and pulled out two small buttons. He held them up in the air, taunting her with them as a sly smile spread across his villainous face.

"You see these?" Shawn asked. "These will determine the fate of everyone that you care about. I hold their lives in the palm of my hands, Bella."

"What the hell is that?" Bella asked.

"What do you think it is? Come on, smartypants, TELL ME! What am I known for? What is something that I would do?"

Bella swallowed roughly, "You rigged this building to blow up, didn't you?"

Shawn snapped his fingers, "There you go! You are so brilliant, Bella, you get it from me! Not your stupid slut of a mother!"

"Don't say a word against her!"

"Since the day that I was arrested, I have been waiting for this," Shawn said, spit and blood flying from his mouth. "I have been waiting to get out and get my hands on all of you. Since the day all of you girls were born, I had visions of murdering each and every one of you. Something about it seemed so satisfying. I never got the opportunity because your mother took you all and fled before I got the chance to slit all of your throats. You're lucky, Bella. You and all your sisters are lucky."

"You're never going to touch them, this is the day that you die!"

Shawn laughed, "Is it? Are you sure? Or is it the day that you die?"

Holding up the buttons, Shawn continued to taunt Bella. Her eyes stayed glued to his hands, watching to make sure that he wasn't going to hit them yet.

"My brother was a fool!" Shawn yelled. "He did nothing but leave me in his shadow! He did nothing but show off and act like he was the best thing that ever came out of Albany, New York. He was a moron!"

"He was a good man!" Bella yelled back. "He raised us and he loved us! He knew how to love, Shawn. He wasn't like you. He didn't waste his talent because of deadly urges that controlled his mind. He didn't get arrested and spend years behind bars. He actually lived. He had a great life and he loved a lot of people. You are pathetic, you never meant anything to anyone. You were always in his shadows because people knew how worthless you really are!"

"I'LL DO IT!" Shawn yelled, holding his finger to one of the buttons. "I WILL BLOW THIS BUILDING UP AND TAKE YOU WITH IT. YOU WILL DIE KNOWING THAT YOU KILLED YOUR TEAM AND YOUR FAMILY! DO YOU WANT THAT, ISABELLA? IS THAT THE LEGACY YOU WANT TO LEAVE BEHIND?"

"You're not going to do it," Bella breathed. "You can't press that button because then you die right in the explosion as well. You're too much of a narcissistic asshole to do that. You think that you can live forever."

Shawn scowled, anger bubbling in his chest. He lowered the button before grinning, holding up the other button. He let out a loud, annoying laugh as Bella stared at him. She scrunched her eyebrows together, staring at the new button.

"Do you know what this is?" Shawn laughed. "I didn't just rig this building to blow up, Bella. You stupid, stupid girl. I have bombs outside the BAU right now as we speak. If I hit this button, then your entire team at the office is dead. Who's there right now, hm? Penelope Garcia, Tara Lewis, Matt Simmons...you know...the usual suspects."

"Don't," Bella said.

"I'm always one step ahead," Shawn said. "ALWAYS!"

Bella looked over to see Emily, Derek, Hotch, and Rossi carrying Spencer out. He thrashed against their grip as they forced him to sit down, the EMTs quickly working on his stab wound. Bella knew that Aurora and the girls were safe, JJ would've gotten them away by now. Closing her eyes, Bella looked back over at Shawn.

"Looks like your team is out," Shawn laughed. "I guess the bombs inside this building are going to go to waste, what a shame."

"I'll go with you, Shawn," Bella said. "Just, don't set off the bombs. I'll go with you peacefully."

"It's too late for that, Isabella. You already betrayed my trust. If only you had listened to me, then you would be able to live."

"What are your plans?"

Shawn took out the large blade he used to stab Spencer with. He twisted it around, Spencer's dark red blood staining the sharp blade. He grinned and approached Bella slowly, holding the knife out and pressing the sharp tip against her chest.

"I'm going to take my time with you," he said. "I don't like people who betray my trust, Isabella. So, I'm going to use this knife against you. I'm going to cut you open and gut you. I'm going to watch you bleed out."

"Ok," Bella breathed.

"You'll be nothing but a sad memory. No one will miss you. No one will even mourn you. You'll be forgotten so quickly that people will forget your name."

"You're right."

Shawn scowled, "Fuck you."

As he went to raise the blade, Bella grabbed him by the wrist. She twisted it slightly, watching as the knife fell from his hands. She dove down to grab it as Shawn let out a yell, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her back. Bella yelped as he slapped her and grabbed the knife again, swinging it down. She rolled out of the way before kicking him in the back of the leg. Shawn fell with a thud as Bella climbed on top of him.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!" he yelled, hitting her in the face.

Bella rolled off of him, wiping the blood from her nose as she backed up. Shawn came at her with his hands, wrapping around her throat. She clawed at his hands before reaching up and clawing at his eyes. Shawn let out a loud, pain-filled cry. She pulled her hands away, blood caking itself underneath her nails.

As she backed away, Shawn stood up as blood poured from his eyes. He let out a loud laugh as he continued to approach her.

"GET BACK!" Bella yelled, holding up one of the buttons she managed to steal from him.

"What are you going to do?" Shawn laughed. "You plan on blowing up your own team? You plan on killing everyone back at work?"

"Wipe the blood from your eyes and take a better look, Shawn."

Shawn scowled and looked closer, seeing that Bella was holding the button to the factory. He stopped and looked at her, a loud laugh ripping from his lungs. Blood continued to drip from his eyes, staining his mouth and shirt as he flashed his yellow teeth.

"Is this your big plan?" Shawn yelled. "Are you going to blow yourself up, Bella?"

"You do what you have to do to save the people around you," Bella said. "You're not going to kill my team, Shawn. I'm not going to allow it."

"YOU STUPID BITCH! THIS IS YOUR GRAND PLAN?"

Wind blew through Bella's long hair, "I'm always one step ahead, Shawn. You should know this by now."

"SNOW!" Hotch yelled as the team spotted her on top of the roof. They all looked up at her, running towards the building.

"NO!" Bella yelled. "ALL OF YOU NEED TO GET BACK! STAY BACK!"

"YOU'RE NOT THE HERO!" Shawn roared. "PUT THE BUTTON DOWN, ISABELLA! STOP ACTING LIKE YOU'RE SO BRAVE!"

"BELLA!" Spencer screamed, struggling as he attempted to run towards her. The EMTs held him back as they continued to bandage him. "BELLA!"

Closing her eyes, Bella tried to block out the sounds of Spencer and the team calling out for her. She tried to block out the pain-filled cries as they screamed her name, begging to help her as she faced off with Shawn. They urged her to back down, for once not wanting her bravery to cloud her judgement.

Bella shook her head, knowing that she had to do whatever she could to save her family. She had to do everything in her power to save them. As she tried to block out their screams, her life flashed in front of her. She saw herself as a child, running around her yard and climbing trees with scraped knees. She saw herself as a teenager, getting her ears pierced and running from store to store in the mall with Hyacinth and Gianna. She saw herself as a young adult, starting at the BAU and spending her days looking over cases. She saw herself falling in love with Spencer, kissing him for the first time, marrying him, holding him. She saw herself holding both of the girls when they were newborns. Nothing in her life compared to that moment, the moment that she finally got to hold her babies.

As Bella opened her eyes, she watched as Shawn snarled and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the other button. Holding up the button in her own hand, Bella looked over at Spencer once last time.

She wanted her last memory to be of his face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered before pressing the button, stopping Shawn from pressing the one in his hand.

The team watched in horror as the factory turned into a rubble in front of them. 

*                  *                   *

Bella felt a slight shake as she opened up her heavy eyes. She looked down at the ground, staring at a bright white floor. Her ears rang as she pulled herself off of the ground, rubbing her head as she focused her vision.

"Bells," a calming voice echoed. "Bella!"

"What?" Bella whispered. "Where am I?"

"Honey, wake up!"

Bella rubbed her eyes and gasped as she saw her mother and father sitting in front of her. Robert smiled, removing his hands from Bella's shoulders as Alice smiled kindly at her. Bella pushed herself away from them, her eyes watering.

"Mom, dad," she whispered. "What are you...how are you here?"

"How are you here?" Robert chuckled.

"I-I was stopping Shawn. I wasn't going to let him kill my team. I had to make some sacrifices, I had to."

"Oh, honey, we know all about sacrifices," Alice grinned. "You're so brave, honey. I hope you know that. You are so courageous, you're more courageous than I ever was."

"That's not true, mom," Bella said with a shake of her head. "You fled with all of us and raised us while living in fear."

"I kept too much from you."

Bella hung her head, "It's ok."

"It's not," Robert sighed. "Bella, I am so sorry that we never told you girls anything. We thought that Shawn was gone for good. We never thought it was going to get this bad. We should've told you what he was. We should've told you what kind of monster he was. I'm so sorry, hon."

"You were just trying to protect us," Bella said. "I understand, dad. You're always going to be my dad, Shawn is never going to take that away. I can never be mad at you both. I-I miss you every single day. I wish that you were still here."

"We're with you everyday, Bella," Alice said. "We're always with you, watching you and attempting to guide you."

Bella sniffled and wiped her nose, realizing that all of her injuries were gone. She looked down and noticed that her clothes were clean with no rips. She placed her hand over her stomach, realizing that she still had her baby bump.

"Am I dead?" Bella asked.

"That's up to you," Alice said.

"We don't want you going, hon," Martha said, appearing next to Alice. She looked younger, her face happy and healthy as she stared at Bella.

"Grandma," Bella sniffled.

"It's not your time," Martha said. "You're so young, honey. Go back!"

Bella wiped her eyes, "How do I go back?"

"It's easy!" Ginny yelled, walking up behind Bella.

She smiled at her, tossing her blonde hair behind her shoulder. Bella looked at her older sister, smiling at how beautiful she looked.

"You keep holding on," Ginny whispered. "Don't you dare let go, Bella. I will haunt you forever, you got it! You've been here before, remember? You were here and you fought it. We all watched you fight it."

"But-but what if I don't want to fight?" Bella sobbed. "I'm so tired, I just want to rest. I'm so sick of bad people. I'm so sick of death and destruction. I'm so sick of everything bad happening to me, I don't know how much more I can take."

"I know it feels hopeless," a sweet voice said.

A young blonde girl emerged, Bella narrowing her eyes to look at her. She smiled brightly, her clothes screaming 1980s.

"Aunt Isabella," Bella said. "I-I never got to meet you."

"Now you have," she laughed. "I know what it's like to go too early, Bella. It damages everyone around you. It damages souls forever. I know how hopeless it can feel, but you have to stay on Earth. People need you."

"Do they?" Bella cried. "Everyone in my life is so strong. They don't need me. I've done my part, I've accomplished everything that I needed to accomplish."

"People do need you!" a sweet voice echoed. "We all needed you!"

Bella furrowed her eyebrows and turned around, watching as James walked out with a dopey smile on his face. He waved at Bella, adjusting his glasses as he came closer to her. Bella waved back at him, smiling widely.

"You helped me grow as an agent," James laughed. "So don't even try to say that people don't need you. Everyone needs you! Just take a look around, Bella. So many people love you. So many people care about you! You're the strongest agent that they have!"

"Am I?" Bella teared up.

"Oh, stop with all the crying!" a deep voice echoed. "Dr. Snow, do you really have to be this dramatic?"

Bella let out a sigh and turned around, "Alistair, do you really have to be this much of an ass?"

Alistair let out a loud laugh, "You're too stubborn, people realize that. Stop being so stubborn, Dr. Snow!"

"You're one to talk!"

"You don't give yourself enough credit. You have gifts beyond what anyone can imagine. You're the youngest on your team. You have solved countless cases, some on your own. You are the best agent that they have!"

"Alistair-"

Alistair shook his head, "Dr. Snow, we always agreed to never lie to each other, right?"

Bella grinned thinly as another man appeared, this one with dark black hair and familiar blue eyes. He flashed a smile as Bella grinned.

"Kit," she breathed.

"Hiya, Iz," he smiled. "What the hell are you doing back here?"

"I was protecting the people that I love."

"You do that too much."

Bella chuckled, "What else am I supposed to do?"

Kit grinned, "You're supposed to go back. You have to go back and reunite with Spencer and the team. You have to hold your girls, they miss you so much. You have to hug your sisters and your friends. You have to give birth to that third baby."

"It's all so much," Bella sighed. "I'm so tired."

"And you will be, but that's ok. Life is hard, Bella, but it is still so beautiful at the same time. You have family and friends waiting for you. You have them pleading for your return. Don't let them down, Bella. You can't."

"He's right," another deep voice said.

As Bella looked over, she watched as Jason Gideon walked over, holding a little boy in his arms. Tears fell out of Bella's eyes as she looked over at them, her body feeling completely numb.

"The team needs you," Jason said. "I didn't hire you because you were weak, I hired you because I saw how much potential you had. You have turned into the greatest agent on the team, don't feel like anything less."

"Dada needs you, mama!" Gideon yelled, jumping out of Jason's arms.

"You named him after me," Jason laughed, looking at the young boy.

"Of course we did," Bella said. "You were like Spencer's father."

"And I left him," Jason frowned. "Go back, Snow. The team is waiting for you. Spencer is waiting for you. Your children are waiting for you."

"Am I ready?" Bella asked.

"You've always been ready, sweetheart," Robert grinned.

He walked over to Bella and smiled before taking her by the hands. Slowly, he leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Bella closed her eyes and welcomed darkness. 

*                  *                   *

 "Come on," Hotch pleaded, gathering Bella in his arms. "Come on, breathe. Breathe, Bella, breathe."

He wiped away the dirt on her face, pressing his fingers up against her throat and feeling her pulse. He held his breath, feeling how weak and labored it was. As tears fell out of his eyes and onto Bella's clothes, Hotch wiped them away as Rossi, Derek, and Emily rushed over.

"Come on!" Hotch yelled, terror ripping through his voice. "We're here, Bella! Come back to us!"

"Come on, Dimples," Derek begged. "Come on."

"Is she breathing?" Emily asked.

"Barely," Hotch said. "Where the hell are the medics?"

"They're coming," Rossi answered.

The EMTs rushed over, having to peel Hotch away as they loaded Bella onto a stretcher. They hurried to give her oxygen as Hotch stared at her with a terrified look on his face. He silently prayed underneath his breath, hoping that his prayers would be heard and answered somehow.

"Come on, Bella!" Emily yelled. "You're strong, you can do it!"

"Come on, honey!" Rossi said. "We can't make it without you, kid."

As the team watched Bella's face, they held their breath and closed their eyes as tears began to fall out. Hotch buried his face in his hands, turning around and wiping his eyes so no one would see him mourning. He continued to cry, the sun continuing to rise and shine above them. As he let out another tear, his head perked up as a gentle voice sounded behind him.

"H-Hotch?" Bella whispered, opening her eyes and looking at the man standing in front of her. "Where am I?"

"Oh my god," Hotch gasped, turning back around.

The team let out collective gasps, gathering around Bella as she slowly opened up her eyes. She tried to wipe away the dirt that was caught on her eyelashes, her entire body feeling sore and beaten up.

"She's back," an EMT said. "She'll be alright."

"Hey," Hotch sniffled. "We've been waiting for you."

"You scared us, Dimples," Derek said.

"Did I do it?" Bella coughed, exhaling some dust.

"Do what?" Rossi questioned, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

"Stop him," Bella whispered. "Did I stop him?"

Emily grinned, "Shawn is dead, Bella. You did it. You stopped him. The rest of the team is ok, the bombs were defused."

A smile spread across Bella's face as she looked up at the sky, watching as birds flew by. The sun was shining brightly, warming her face. Hotch grabbed her other hand and squeezed it, wiping the lingering tears in his eyes as he stared at her.

"BELLA!" a voice yelled. "WHERE IS SHE? BELLA?"

"Sir, you need to come back!" an EMT yelled.

Spencer ignored her, holding onto his painful wound as he ran towards the pile of rubble and dwindling fire. His feet pressed against the cement and stone, his eyes glancing everywhere before falling on the stretcher that held Bella.

"Bella!" he called out, tears springing to his eyes.

"Spencer," Bella said, trying to be as loud as possible.

With a sob, Spencer ran towards Bella. He let out a cry of pure joy as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her face as she cried into his shoulder and latched onto him. He smoothed out her hair and kissed her cheek.

"Spencer," Bella cried.

"You're alright," Spencer whispered against her ear. "You're safe now, Bella. We all are. We're safe now."

 "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, my love. You saved us all, you're a hero. God, I love you so much. I love you so much, Bella."

"Is everyone ok? Is everyone alive?"

Spencer nodded, "Everyone is fine. You're going to be ok, Bells. The baby is going to be ok. Everything is going to be fine."

The team smiled and watched the reunion between Bella and Spencer. Derek and Hotch looked over at each other, smiling, before pulling each other into a hug. Rossi hugged Emily tightly, wiping her tears away. They all looked back over at Spencer and Bella, realizing how truly lucky they were to have them in their lives.

"Shawn is never going to bother you again," Spencer whispered. "He's gone forever, Bells. You never have to worry again."

Bella smiled and gripped onto him tighter, taking pride in that statement. 

___________________________

Song: "The End of the World" by Skeeter Davis

A/N: Wow, so that took me SO LONG TO WRITE omg. Was it worth it though? I hope you're all satisfied with this conclusion. There are only 6 CHAPTERS LEFT! I can't even believe it omg. Ok, so make sure to leave comments! They're motivation! Please leave comments on this one, I spent way too long on it for it to flop. Alright, I'll see you soon!