never grow up, criminal minds

007. grandparents

"Reid." Rossi calls. "Reid." He calls again, the genius waking up. He sits up, glancing at Clara who is asleep by his leg. Ellie was sick and Spencer knows he'll probably see his mom and she always prefers when her granddaughter comes along.

"Sorry, I was dreaming." Spencer says.

"Ha, no kidding." Emily says, laughing.

"We found a 6 year old boy who had been abused and stabbed. Your baby was at the crime scene. I was trying to get him out of there." He tells JJ. "Sorry."

"It's okay." JJ says, not sure what else to say.

"You know, Reid, simple dream analysis -- if there's a baby in your dreams, that baby's actually you." Derek says.

"I don't believe in dream analysis." Spencer says.

"I don't know. It makes sense. The case we're working on and the case in your dream both involve children. Maybe your subconscious is telling you you want to sit this one out." Hotch says.

"I don't." Spencer says.

"Well, maybe you're just stressed out about going home to Las Vegas. Did you tell your mom you're coming?" Emily asks.

"Why aren't we reviewing the case file?" Spencer asks.

"I don't know. Maybe because someone fell asleep on the jet." Emily grins. Spencer smiles and looks down, opening the case file.

"All right, let's start from the beginning one more time." Hotch says.

"This is Ethan Hayes. He was 5." JJ shows a photo. "Two weeks ago he was abducted out of his own front yard. "

"Where were the parents?" Spencer asks.

"His mom just ran inside to grab her purse." JJ says. "When she came back, he was gone. She wasn't away for more than a minute or two. Police found his body exactly one week later in the desert. He was in a new change of clothes. His nails were clipped. His hair was combed."

"That's a lot of remorse." Rossi says.

"No sign of sexual assault. The medical report suggests he was smothered. Unsub could see this death as merciful." Hotch says.

"Who's the new boy?" Emily asks.

"Michael Bridges." JJ states. "Yesterday, he set out to walk by himself to a friend's house a block away. He never showed up."

"Are we sure these cases are even connected?" Spencer asks.

"The unsub called each of the families." JJ says.

"But no ransom demand." Rossi says.

"It was more like taunts." JJ says. "He's telling them it's their fault that their child was taken."

"Okay. So, we have an unsub who shows remorse and then projects his guilt onto the victims' parents." Derek says.

"And if we're lucky, six more days to find a boy before he's killed." Hotch says.

+++

Spencer and the doctor walk over to the table that Diana is at, the former holding his daughter. Diana looks up.

"Ah, the little one." She smiles at the toddler.

"Grandma." Clara grins, wiggling in her father's grip until he puts her down. Clara goes over to Diana and hugs her, Diana wrapping one arm around her.

"I'm proud of you, Spencer." Diana tells him.

"For what?" He asks.

"Saving that boy." She says.