Spencer Reid One-Shots

"Just play along...please."

SUMMARY:
Having just closed another tough case, the team remain in New York City for one more night. Turns out another case had been right under their noses the whole time.

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Spencer and the BAU spent one more night in New York after a very difficult case that lasted 5 days. They needed a night to de-stress before they returned home to another case provided by Strauss. So, while the team - minus Hotch and Rossi - spent their evening getting drunk, Spencer walked near the hotel the team were staying at, wanting to enjoy the lights, and the sites around him, considering every time he came to New York City, it was due to the cases he and the team had to solve.

As he walked, mere minutes from reaching Time-Square, Spencer was suddenly stopped on the sidewalk by a frail woman who wrapped her arms around him, refusing to let go.

"Just play along...please." She begged, whispering to the confused Spencer. Suddenly, a few men - maybe 3 or 4 - rounded the corner, clearly searching for someone. Sensing the imminent danger the woman was facing, Spencer wrapped his arms around her body, feeling how skinny she was. She buried her head in his chest after glancing at the group of men walking behind them and Spencer moved his body so that she could be hidden between himself and the wall now behind her.

Once the men were far enough away that the danger lowered, Spencer pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled Hotch's number, quickly hearing his voice. While he put his coat around the woman to keep her warm, Spencer guided her to the nearby police station, seeing Hotch waiting in the conference room he and the team had been in merely 6 hours ago.

"What's her name?" Hotch asked as Spencer let a police officer guide the woman away to a nearby seat.

"Her name is Y/N. She came out of nowhere and hugged me, begging me to play along. I sensed that something was wrong when 3 or 4 men came from the same direction she did, clearly looking for someone.

"I'll have Garcia check her name in any missing persons databases." Rossi appeared through the doorway leading to the conference room.

Before Rossi left to call Penelope, he glanced at the frail woman sitting in a seat only a couple of feet from him. Her clothes - only some 3/4 length leggings and a t-shirt - were ripped, as if they had been sliced by something like a knife, or maybe ripped after snagging on a piece of wood or other solid material. Her feet were bare, covered in cuts and bruises and incredibly red, most likely from walking - or perhaps running - on difficult surfaces like gravel or asphalt. The parts of her body that were exposed due to lack of clothing, i.e. the bottom of her legs, most of her arms, her collarbone, and her face, were covered in more cuts and bruises, some that looked slightly old and others that looked very recently sustained. Her eyes were bloodshot and dark circles were clearly visible whether up close or far away, signalling to anyone that the woman hadn't slept in a long while, possibly 24 hours, or maybe even longer. The most prominent thing about her was the collar that was so tightly secured onto her neck that she could barely breathe normally.

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It was less than 30 minutes before Penelope called Hotch and Rossi back.

"Hello my fine-furry-friends. Unfortunately I call with less than good news." Penelope exhaled.

"You couldn't find her?" Hotch asked.

"I found 1,625 reports of missing women in New York City and surrounding cities with her name. None of them fit Y/N's description." Penelope told.

"Okay, uh, expand your search. Look at nearby states. Maybe she's not originally from New York City, or the state." Hotch offered a better solution.