spencer reid's daughter

prologue

october sixteenth ; seven years ago

Spencer Reid awoke to the shrill scream of his six year old daughter. He immediately grabbed his gun from underneath his pillow, sprinting from his bedroom; wasting no time to wake his wife Hazel who remained to peacefully sleep entangled in blankets. He tiptoed down the hallway with his eyes set on his daughters ajar door, the gun pointed out for any signs of movement.

Inside the bedroom, Colette Reid was curled up in the corner furthest from the door, her knees pulled up to her chest as she trembled in immovable terror. "Cole, are you alright?" Spencer lowered his gun as he quickly approached his daughter, kneeling at her side.

She reached out for her father's hand, her face completely flushed of color as she couldn't muster the courage to say a single word. Her wide, brown eyes couldn't focus on Spencer, staying set on her bedroom door behind him. "I—It's the Boogeyman." Colette stuttered, squeezing Spencer's hand as hard as she could.

Spencer rose to his feet and turned towards the door, right as he felt a fist collide with his jaw, sending him backwards against the wall. He blinked as he tried to focus his blurred vision on the man towering over him and his daughter. Colette couldn't move as she sat in shock, her hand still squeezed around Spencer's. The "Boogeyman" leaned down and grabbed Spencer's gun, having a weapon in each hand.

"Get up, Reid's. I haven't even made it to that wife of yours yet." The man grabbed Colette by her wrist, jolting her to her feet with a yelp. Spencer took a swing at the man and kicked him backwards in the chest, turning towards Colette.

"Go get your mother and run. Get out of here!" Spencer pushed Colette towards the door, being slammed against the wall while being distracted. The man pressed his arm against Spencer's throat, smiling as he gasped for air. "Do you even realize who I am?"

Spencer blinked his eyes as he focued on the mans face, analyzing every feature of the man before shaking his head. "I don't know you." Spencer croaked, trying his hardest to fight back.

The man yelled, punching a hole in the wall by Spencer's head before pacing across the room whispering to himself. Spencer's legs crumble from beneath him as he breathing became loud and heavy. As Spencer tried to stand before the man turned and shot him in both of his legs, his screams echoing throughout the house.

The man left Spencer helpless in the bedroom as he searched for Hazel and Colette. Spencer struggled to rise to his feet, clenching his teeth to prevent from yelling once more. From downstairs, Hazel's scream hit Spencer back to reality as he limped from the bedroom to the stairs. As he weakly tried to descend, his wobbly legs gave out once more and he fell down the flight of stairs.

In the kitchen, Hazel was gripping her stomach as blood oozed between her fingers with her other arm protecting Colette from behind her. Hazel's brown eyes were wide and full of fear, but she stood her ground and refused to look weak. The man stood inches from her, the gun pointed towards Hazel's head.

"Don't hurt her!" Spencer screamed, redirecting the man's attention towards him. Before having time to react, the man turned back around and shot Hazel in the chest once more, smirking as she coughed up blood and collapsed to her knees. Colette held Hazel close to her chest, her brown curls covering her eyes to keep the man out of her vision.

Spencer clenched his fists in anger as the man approached him, grabbing Spencer's jaw to force him to look into his eyes. The man's blue eyes were full of madness, a smile remaining across his lips. "The name Tobias Hankle ring a bell, Doctor Reid?" The man taunts, tsking as he watched the horror reappear on Spencer's face. "Ever realize he had a brother?"

The man rose to his feet, shooting once last look towards Colette and winked, before merely walking out the back door. Spencer blinked as he crawled across the floor to his dying wife, a trail of blood following him across the hardwood. Police sirens blared from down the street — the neighbors must've heard gunshots.

Hazel laced her fingers around Spencer's, a faint smile forming as her eyes began to roll in the back of her head. "Hazel? Hazel, honey, look at me," Spencer patted her cheeks lightly, trying to keep her awake. Colette sobbed at her side, staring only at her mothers face.

"Please—Please take care of our baby." Hazel turned her head towards her daughter, reaching up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I love you both so much, never let her forget about me."

Hazel exhaled one finally shaky breath as her hands went limp, her brown eyes remaining wide open. As the police entered the house, everything only blended together in Spencer's head as he tried to process the events from the past twenty minutes.

Only one thought kept running through his head, a thought that would keep him wide awake from years to come.

How did his team fail to realize Tobias had a brother?