𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 ➳ [ SPENCER REID ] [PARTS 1 & 2]

━━━━ prologue

488 DAYS. IT had been 488 days since leah gray died.

488 days ago, leah gray was shot by a man named gregory campbell. you remember him, right? gregory campbell, in love with our leading lady leah gray- so much so that he and his partner jason porter killed her parents, killed her best friend, and- well- killed her.

her name was dead. not a soul would ever come to meet our lovely leah gray again.

but not for the reason you may think.

it was unbeknownst to anyone except agent hotchner and the surgeons in her hospital room that saved her, but leah gray was alive. she lived in england now, for her own safety. jason porter got away, and nobody knows where he is. until they know that he is no longer a threat, leah can't come back.

sorry, did i say leah?

right, our lovely leading lady leah gray. she truly was a beaut, wasn't she? spencer seemed to think so.

as i said, her name was dead. the name "leah gray" could make anyone on the bau tear up just by hearing the name.

but the person? she still lived. a beautiful, courageous soul still lived in her body. the only thing different was her name.

and her name was noelle.

when leah gray finally became conscious after her surgery, aaron hotchner entered her room, and he was the only one.

"we both know jason porter won't stop looking for you until you're dead," he had started. leah nodded sadly, knowing where the conversation was going.

"so you're going to england to live there. i already talked to an agent over there, you have a set job already."

leah nodded again, starting to cry. "i understand, aaron."

"will you be okay?"

"eventually. it'll just be hard- you know, not being able to say goodbye?"

hotch looked down, starting to tear up himself. he nodded.

"obviously you know you will have to change your name. any ideas on what you want it to be?"

leah started to think, still crying. and for a few seconds, she smiled, laughing a bit to herself.

"noelle."

hotch looked at her and smiled, knowing the reason she chose this name.

"and your last name?"

leah thought a few seconds. she hadn't thought that far. dozens and dozens of surnames flooded her head. noelle smith? eh, too boring. noelle carter? it's okay, but there's a lot of other better options.

how about noelle morgan? no, that just sounds stupid.

she smiled once again, wiping her tears before she finally answered.