I landed and called my sister, anxious to get there and do whatever. It was 3 o'clock Washington time, which would be 6 am Quantico time. I decided to just text Spencer.
Goodmorning. I just landed, waiting on Melanie to come pick me up. Have a good day. 😘
I put my phone away, not expecting a text back, but much to my surprise, it started ringing.
"Hey Spence." I was about to get an earful for not calling.
"Mads I told you to call me." He sounded sleepy.
"I didn't want to wake you up. I can tell you just woke up."
"Oh well. Good to know you're there. Have fun, call me later."
"Will do babe. Go back to sleep." I heard snoring on the other end, and I guessed he fell asleep. I went and got my luggage from the baggage claim and I heard someone yelling my name.
"Maddie!" I turned around to see Melanie running toward me with open arms.
"Hey!" I squealed and I hugged her. "You look great! It's been forever." I said.
"Do you want to go get breakfast or something?"
"Mel it's 3 am." I scoffed.
"I know, let's go!" She laughed and I grabbed my stuff, following her. We went to a little coffee shop and got cinnamon rolls with cappuccinos.
"So, update me with your guy friend... What was his name... Sam?"
"Spencer," I laughed. "He's not just a friend anymore either. He asked me to be his girlfriend about 3 weeks ago."
She gasped. "That's so cool! Have you guys done the dirty yet?" She asked.
I went red. "No, Mel. My friend Penelope Garcia did make me buy lingerie sets for whenever we do though."
She smirked. "Have you said you love each other yet?" I nodded. "Aw, tell me about that."
"Well, he had just come back from a case," she stopped me.
"Wait, what does he do?" She asked.
"He's a profiler with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI."
"That's so cool! It's like you have your own body guard. Anyway, continue." She stopped talking.
"He had just returned from a case all the way in Florida where this lady was killing men who looked like her husband because she blamed him for having 5 miscarriages. Spencer found her before anyone else did and listened to her story before she shot her husband, and he shot her. He was so upset when he came home, we laid in his bed and he cried for 45 minutes before telling me anything. I sang him to sleep and I figured he couldn't hear me so I said I loved him and he said it back before we both went to sleep."
"Awww, that's so cute. I'm glad you have someone to be all mushy with." She grinned.
I yawned. "Yeah. Can we go home? I'm tired." She nodded and we went to her house, where I collapsed onto the couch and woke up at 9 am.
"Morning sleepy head. Get up, we're gonna go do fun stuff." She said. So I got up, showered, and we went to a zoo with all sorts of animals. I took pictures with moose, snow deer, a caribou and a flock of albino peacocks before we left.
"I'll have to show those to Spencer when I get back."
"Do you have a job yet since you graduated?" Mel asked.
"No," I began, "but I turned in an application at Stafford Hospital up there for their ICU."
"Ohh," she said, "how exciting."
The next few days were filled with adventures to random places and laughter all around. It was the 26th now, and I was hesitant to go home in a few days.
"Hey Mads," Mel called. "I'm going to go get some groceries, do you want to come?"
"No," I called back, "I'll be here when you come back." I heard the door close and wondered what I could do. I decided to go out back and water the flowers and plants she had back there. I heard a car pull up and footsteps walking around the house. "You're back already Mel? It's been like 10 minutes."
"I'm not Mel, good try though." A man said behind me. I froze and then tried to run, but he caught me around the waist. I kicked and punched but only knocked over some plants and broke a window. I cut my arm on the broken glass, getting a lot of blood on the porch steps and my clothes. He put a rag to my nose that was undoubtedly chloroform, and my legs gave out beneath me.
Melanie's POV
I came home and the house was quiet. Too quiet. "Maddie," I called, "I'm back."
No answer. I looked upstairs in her room, no luck. I looked in the bathrooms, basement, my room, kitchen and living room, all no luck. I decided to look in the back yard. I got back there and she wasn't there. Her purse and it's contents were splayed all over the ground, and I couldn't find her anywhere. Not good. I remembered her FBI agent boyfriend, and decided to look up the number for his office and get ahold of him.
"Quantico FBI, this is Jennifer, how may I help you?" A nice lady on the end of the line spoke.
"I need to speak with uhh.. Spencer. His name is Spencer. I don't know his last name." I was panicking.
"Just a second ma'am."
I waited I minute before a male voice spoke.
"This is Dr. Reid, how may I help you?"
Spencer's POV
"Dr. Reid, Spencer, whoever you are, my name is Melanie Collins, I'm Maddie's sister."
I felt a pit in my stomach. This couldn't be good.
"W-what can I do for you?" I asked.
"I left Maddie here at my house about 45 minutes ago to go get groceries and I just got back. I can't find her anywhere and there's blood on the porch and broken glass everywhere." She started crying.
I felt like crying too. "Okay ma'am, my team and I will be there as soon as possible." I hung up and ran to Hotch's office. I burst through the door and he looked up at me like I was crazy.
"Reid, what do you need?" He asked.
"Maddie's in trouble Hotch, we have to go to Washington. Now." I said quickly.
"Are you sure?" He asked. I nodded and he told me to get the team and that we'd leave in 15.
I ran into the bullpen. "Guys, wheels up in 15, we're going to Washington." They all thought I was crazy. I went to Garcia's office, knowing she needed to go with. "Garcia, do you have a go bag ready?"
She nodded. "Yes, why?"
"We have to go, I can explain when everyone's on the jet."
We all boarded the jet and everyone looked at me.
"Care to tell us what we're doing Reid?" Morgan asked.
"I got a call from Maddie's sister, Melanie, and Maddie got kidnapped. She can't find her anywhere and there was blood on the porch and broken windows."
JJ, Emily and Garcia all looked at the ground, upset. Rossi looked mad, as well as Morgan. Hotch just took a deep breath, knowing just as well as the rest of us that this would be rough.
Maddie's POV
I woke up in a dark room, aching all over. "This is so cliche." I thought to myself. I was standing, my hands chained above my head and my ankles chained to the wall. Not good. The man turned on the lights and I was blinded.
"Goodmorning," he gave a cheeky smile. "I hope you slept well." My stomach dropped.
"Who are you?" I asked. "What do you want from me?"
He chuckled. "I don't want anything from you, more so your little boyfriend." He wanted Spencer? I guess this was a good way to get him, Melanie would have called by now.
"Why?" I asked.
"You remember the woman he shot in Florida? That was my mother. Now I'm going to kill someone he loves." He was now inches from my face. He picked up a knife and scratched my side, leaving barely a scrape.
"I'm not afraid of you." I said. "Spencer and his team are going to kill you." He picked up a metal rod with a red hot end and pressed it into my shoulder. I screamed in pain and he laughed at me.
"Maybe, but it's just you and I for now."
Spencer's POV
We had gotten set up in the Seattle police department, Melanie lived in the eastern side of it. Morgan and I decided to go to her house and question her.
"Reid, slow down kid. You either need to relax or let me drive." Morgan said.
"I can't Morgan. I have to find her." We pulled up to her house and got out.
"Are you Melanie?" Morgan asked. She nodded. "I'm SSA Derek Morgan and this is Dr. Spencer Reid."
"Thanks for coming," she sniffed. "It's back here." She led us through the house and to the back porch. There was blood on the steps, a broken window, and knocked over plants. "This is why I gave her mace." I thought. "Have you talked to the neighbors?" I asked her.
"No," she said. "Why?"
"They could've seen something. The car model, the tag number, anything helps." I said. She nodded and we walked to the nearest house and knocked on the door.
An older woman answered. "Can I help you?" She asked. I guessed by her stance she knew what was going on but was trying to stay quiet.
"Yes, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid and this is SSA Derek Morgan of the FBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions." I said. I was barely keeping it together. We were just taking our time with something that didn't have time to take. We asked if she'd seen anything and she explained that she saw the entire thing, and gave us the car model and license plate,
"You've helped a ton, thank you Linda." Melanie said. She lady nodded and we left. Morgan called Garcia.
"Hey baby girl, I need you to find this car." He gave her the info and she got the owner.
"His name is Douglas Shendleman, he owns a house at 3207 Shell St and a warehouse on 4803 Brickman Ave." she said.
"Morgan, that woman from Florida, her name was Darcy Shendleman. This has to be her son getting revenge." I said.
Maddie's POV
I wasn't sure what time it was. I knew I'd only been in here for about 24 hours though because he'd gone away for about 8. He was ruthless. He had beat me, cut me, burned me and I think he broke my wrist because it was sitting at a sickening angle. He came back in the room.
"Hungry?" He unchained my arms and handed me a plate of food. I threw it at him and punched him with my good hand before he hit me in the stomach and chained my wrists to the wall again. "You bitch," he said. "Behave."
I spit in his face. "Fuck yourself you creep." He picked up his knife and drove it into my side. I yelled, it hurt like a bitch.
"Keep your mouth shut, stupid girl. Maybe if your boyfriend wasn't so eager to kill people you wouldn't be here." He said.
"It wasn't his fault," I said, "he didn't want to kill her. She killed your father and Spencer was forced to shoot."
He slapped me across the face. "HE WASN'T FORCED TO DO ANYTHING TO HER!" I had angered him and he took the knife out, stabbing me in the leg. I screamed again and my vision started to go black around the edges. "You don't get to pass out," he said, "you're going to stay awake until I decide to kill you." He threw water on me that burned my wounds and woke me up.
Spencer's POV
We pulled up to the warehouse, followed by the rest of the team.
"Okay, Reid and JJ you go around the sides, Morgan and Emily go around the back, Rossi and I will take the front." Hotch commanded.
I signaled JJ to go left, while I went right. I opened the door and smelled something burning. I did everything in my power to keep my thoughts at bay, getting angry and more scared by the second. I cleared the rooms I could find and found one last doorway.
Maddie's POV
I could hear the footsteps upstairs and the team yelling clear.
"Shit." I heard him say.
"Spencer! I'm down he-" I screamed until he put his hand over my mouth.
"Shut up." He said. I heard a door open nearby and the man let go of my mouth and ran to unlock a door on the other side of the room. I guessed it was an escape hall, because he never used it. I screamed for Spencer again and this time he wasn't having it. He shot me in my abdomen and everything went black.
Spencer's POV
I heard a gunshot and immediately burst through the door and down the stairs. Maddie was chained to a wall and she was bleeding profusely from multiple places.
"I need back up in here!" I called over the comms. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and gasps of horror.
"Morgan go find him, he left through that door." I said. Morgan ran out, and I heard struggles and handcuffs being put on someone. JJ handed me keys out of the door and I unlocked Maddie's ankles and wrists. She was totally unconscious. She fell into my arms and I carried her out to an ambulance.
"This is her. She needs help now." I put her on a gurney and climbed in the ambulance, holding the hand that didn't have a broken wrist.
"Multiple stab wounds and a gunshot wound to the left upper abdominal quadrant." The EMT was giving information as we arrived at the hospital. I followed the nurses as far as I could before they got to the ICU and asked me to stay back.
I've waited in the waiting room for 7 hours, 28 minutes and 49 seconds now. The team is here waiting too, as well as Maddie's sister, brother and parents.
"Hey," JJ said, "she's a fighter. She'll pull through." I just nodded, I couldn't speak. She walked away.
"Hello," I looked up to see couple, Maddie's parents. "I'm Dave Collins and this is my wife, Carol."
"Nice to meet you." I shook their hands.
"Thank you so much," Carol pulled me into a hug. "I don't know what we would do if you hadn't saved her." She sobbed and I felt my heart break a little bit more. She sat back down beside her husband and the doctor came out.
"Okay, she had a stab wound in both her right side and left thigh, a gunshot wound in her abdomen that almost severed her aorta and a broken wrist. We've removed the bullet and stopped the bleeding. Her wrist is reset. She can take one visitor now." He said. Everyone looked at me.
"Go on Reid." Morgan said. I looked at her family and they all nodded. I made my way into the room. I immediately broke down. I sat beside her and held her hand.
"I'm so sorry Maddie." I sobbed. "I never meant for this to happen. I'll make this up to you." I would never forgive myself for this. She started stirring and I called for a nurse. I was hopeful, but the stirring turned into seizing and her heart monitor was off the charts. The nurse ushered me into the hallway and then shut the door. I fell on my knees and was enveloped in someone's arms. I wasn't sure who, but I didn't care.