The Chase (Criminal Minds)

Finders Keepers

Reid winced in pain as he slowly hopped up the stairs to his apartment. After several long and boring days at the hospital, his doctor had finally agreed to sign his release forms. He wanted to go back to the Kansas police station and help his team on the case, but Hotch ordered for him to go back to Virginia and get some rest. He thought about arguing, but he knew that Hotch was right. He couldn't be in the field with two healing ribs and a broken ankle. He had caught a late afternoon flight back to Quantico and was back in Virginia before he knew it.

Reaching the top floor, he placed his crutches in their rightful position under his arms and checked his watch. It was 7:15pm. His flight had only been 2 hours and 47 minutes, but he stopped by work to grab some paperwork he needed to complete.

He awkwardly pulled his beige messenger bag to his chest and grabbed his keys. Unlocking the door, he smiled at the sight of his leather couch and green painted walls. He went over to the couch and sat down, sinking into the cushions. "God, I missed you..." He murmured to himself as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

He was lost in his thoughts when he heard the phone ring. He quickly balanced himself with his crutch and hobbled over to the kitchen. Reaching the phone, he glanced at the Caller ID before answering. It came up as Unknown Caller.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Spencer."

"Who is this?"

"My name is Victor Hale," The man said as he introduced himself.

"You may remember me from The University of Las Vegas. Your mother and I used to work together as professors when you were little."

Reid was deciding whether to hang up the phone when he heard the voice continue.

"I'm just calling to tell you that I'm outside Bennington Sanitarium as we speak. I'm going to pay her a well overdue visit."

Reid didn't know who this man was. If he had been an important person in his mom's life she would have told him. Before she became ill, she used to share stories all the time about her friends at work and their funny stories. Whoever this man was, he wanted him to back off.

"You can't go visit her without permission," He warned. "It's strict policy."

The line was silent for a moment until the man spoke again.

"I can't believe your stupid little team of profilers haven't found me yet. If they would've been smarter, they would already have caught me. I guess that's good news for me though. After all this time, I'm finally going to finish what I started."

"W-what?" He stuttered as he tried to make sense of everything. It had only been six hours since he had left the hospital and the pain medication they gave him was still fogging his mind.

"I'll make sure to tell Diana you said hello."

Spencer slammed the phone on the table.

"DON'T YOU DARE GET NEAR HER," He growled into the speaker.

He could hear the man laughing softly.

"Finders keepers, losers weepers, dear Spencer."

The line went dead as he was about to say more. He started to dial Hotch's number, but felt his knees buckle out from under him as he collapsed to the kitchen floor. He felt as if there was a drum pounding inside his head as he slowly faded out of consciousness.

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"Hello, how can I help you today, Sir?" The secretary asked as she stared at the skinny man in front of her desk.

"Hello. I just came to visit my cousin, Diana Reid. I heard she's been doing well and it's been such a long time since we've last seen each other. I was hoping to give her a little surprise visit."

"That's very sweet," The woman smiled and look at her computer screen.

"Can I get your name, please?"

"Jackson Reid."

She typed the name in quickly and waited for the system to inform her on his visitation rights. victor stood awkwardly with his oxygen tank-cart at his side. He prayed that the hacker had added the name into the database in time.

The woman nodded her head as she printed out his visitor's pass.

"You're all set to go in, Mr. Reid. I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you."

He began to walk down the busy corridor.

"I'm sure she will."

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"Reid! Wake up, baby boy!"

Reid listened to the sound of Garcia's voice. He tried to open his eyes, but the lights were too bright.

"C'mon, Reid, just open those pretty eyes of yours."

He squinted for a minute before he could finally make out the flood of colors hovering over him. Garcia pushed a strand of hair back behind his ear.

"Oh thank goodness you're awake!" She beamed as he opened his eyes all the way.

"How do you feel?"

"Wh-what?" He mumbled, barely audible.

"Damn, this concussion is really kicking your butt," She smirked.

She reached down and grabbed his hand as she tried to get him back to his senses.

"Reid, do you know what happened?"

"My head feels weird. Why does my head feel weird?" He asked hazily.

"You hit your head pretty hard against the tile floor when you fell. I came by to see if you got home safely from your trip and when I came in, you were like this."

He lifted his arm and pointed to the phone.

"The call...Victor Hale. Said he was at B-Bennington Sanitarium."

Garcia's hand clapped over her mouth.

"Oh no. Oh no no no..."

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Smiling, Victor gently knocked on the bedroom room. It opened a few seconds later to show Diana Reid.

"Hello, Diana," He greeted her. "Long time, no see."

She stared at him with a blank expression before her mind registered who the man was.

"Dr. Victor Hale," She said excitedly.

"I've waited so long for you to sit in on my lecture. I've written up some notes that could use a bit of revision," She informed him and shook his hand. "I'm so glad you're back. My students have missed you."

Victor walked inside her bedroom. "My students have missed you, too. Before we start that lecture though, how about I take you out for dinner? I can read over your notes while we're there."

Diana grinned and put on her slippers. "That sounds wonderful."

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Hey!

Unsub action has arrived!

Sorry if this update came a little late (I forgot what day I posted my last chapter), I've been busy with last-minute projects and exams, but I graduate tomorrow which means I will have 2.5 months of awesome writing time coming up!

You guys are amazing! Thank you for your support!

-Sammie