They'd just left the jet and were on their way to Boston PD when the message came in to Spencer from his brother. I found her, Gabriel sent to him, his voice soft and easy in Spencer's mind. Those three words were enough to have Spencer slumping down in his seat. His eyes drifted shut as relief swamped him. Thank you, Father, Spencer prayed. Then he turned his voice to responding to Gabriel, not even needing to use prayer to do it. They were in the same city and they had a strong connection to each other; they could speak mind to mind instead of having to use prayer to do it. Can you get her out?

You doubt me, bro? I'm hurt! Gabriel sent back. We're in a car outside the Boston PD waiting for you guys. I healed her, so she's doing okay now. Heads up, though—she aint happy with you.

A laugh slid from Spencer that was more relieved than anything. He ignored the strange looks his friends sent his way and focused solely on his conversation. She can be as unhappy as she wants. She's safe and that's all that matters to me. Thank you, Bree. Thank you so much.

The response Gabriel sent wasn't in words. The warmth of his brother's love wrapped around him and had Spencer sighing happily.

When the archangel opened his eyes once more, he found the others in the SUV all shooting him curious looks. "Reid?" Ashley spoke up sort of hesitantly, her eyes worried as they watched him. "Are you, um…are you okay?"

Spencer looked at her and wished that they had split up a little differently when they'd gotten off the jet. In this car Aaron was driving, with Ashley in the back by Spencer and Derek up in the passenger's seat. Dave and JJ were riding in the other car. Ashley's presence meant that Spencer couldn't speak openly here. There was no way for him to come right out and tell his friends what was going on. He could try and convey something, though. Hopefully the other two would understand what he meant as he told them "I'm okay." Turning his eyes away from Ashley, he looked up towards the front and let his smile grow. "I just, got caught up in my thoughts. But I'm fine. Great, really."

There was such honest happiness in his voice he knew the others would catch on to it. He caught Aaron's eye briefly in the rearview mirror and the two exchanged a quick look that told Aaron all he needed to know. The Unit Chief was smiling as he put his attention back on the road.

There had never been a slower car ride. By the time they arrived at the station, Spencer was almost vibrating with his need to get out of here, to go ahead to what he knew was waiting. His wings had been trembling the whole ride with the need to fly ahead and find her. To take him so that he could see for himself that the missing member of his flock was alive and well and safe.

When the car finally came to a stop, he was the first one out. He didn't have to search around for his brother; he could feel Gabriel's grace just ahead of him. Immediately his eyes went over there and the tension that he'd been unable to let go of finally bled out of him at the sight of the two climbing out of the SUV at the far end of the parking lot. He barely noticed Gabriel—all of his attention was on the woman who got out with him. "Emily."

He reached her before anyone else did. Spencer really wasn't even all that aware of the others following him. All he was aware of was his friend in front of him, in his arms, wrapped up tight and safe in his wings. The fear that had been in him was replaced with so much relief. Holding her tight, feeling her arms around him, he let out a breath that was more like a shudder. "Don't do that to me again." he whispered in her ear. "Don't…don't take my family from me."

His soft words had the anger draining out of her. Her arms tightened around him a little more and he felt her sort of melt into him for a moment. The mind that had been so closed to him lately was suddenly wide open and Spencer caught the rush of her thoughts as they all slammed into him at once. The fear she'd felt, the grief over her friends, the guilt and regret over what had happened and what she'd done, the fear of what might happen, all overlaid with the overwhelming need to make sure that no one she cared about was hurt because of her. Her need to protect them and her guilt over things had spawned this desperate run. Logically, she knew that staying with them would've been smarter, that Spencer was a being who could keep them all safe. But years of being alone, of handling things alone, as well as the guilt over her past and her fear of what they might think of her, all of that had mixed together into this giant mess that had left her sick and scared inside. Spencer brushed his grace up against her in a touch meant to reassure and to let her know just how loved she really was.

The two drew apart and that allowed the others to all step in and take their hugs and handshakes. While they said their hellos, Spencer turned to Gabriel and let his grace reach out in a thank you so warm it had Gabriel actually sighing happily under the touch.

That seemed to remind the others that he was there. They looked towards him and Spencer could see their hesitance, their worry about how to handle this situation. They shouldn't have worried. Gabriel had it all under control. He smiled at them all before he turned his charming grin over to Ashley. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you." Moving around Emily a little, he held his hand out to the young blond. "SSA Gabriel Arch."

The name had Spencer fighting not to snort. Gabriel Arch? Creative.

He felt Gabriel's wing shove at him in reproach and he had to turn his head away to cough in an attempt to cover his laugh.

"Ashley Seaver." She introduced herself, and it amused Spencer to see that she couldn't resist smiling back at him. The little brat was far too charming for his own good. When she drew her hand back in, she looked much more relaxed than before. "You're an agent as well?" She looked him over and was obviously trying to match up the image he presented with the one he was saying. Gabriel wasn't exactly dressed like an agent. He was wearing green converse, jeans, a dark blue button up shirt and the army green utility jacket that he seemed to favor. His hair was slicked back and the stick of a sucker stuck out between his lips. Really, he didn't look at all like an agent.

"Violent Crimes Task Force." The lies rolled easily off his tongue. "I just happened to be in the area and Rainman here called me up and asked me to take a look around and see if I could find your missing girl. I just happened to get a bit lucky."

Now it wasn't just Emily that was scowling at him; Spencer was as well. He pushed a wing out, knocking it into his brother's. Rainman? Rainman? That was a reference Spencer actually understood. He'd looked it up once when people had kept calling him that. It was one of his least favorite nicknames and, judging by the smirk on Gabriel's lips, his little brother knew that. Hell, it was probably the whole reason that he'd used it.

"We can discuss this inside." Aaron interjected. "There's a lot that needs done."

That was an understatement. While they may have had Emily back, they still had to find out what was going on and actually catch Doyle. And they had to make a case against him.

When the group started to move into the building, Spencer wasn't the least bit surprised that Gabriel fell into step beside him. The other archangel leaned in close enough that their arms brushed. Then his voice came in soft and easy through to Spencer's mind. I know where Doyle is and it'd be pretty easy to bring him in, but I figured you guys still had to do all that important stuff to make a case against him.

We do, Spencer agreed.

I saw she shared some with you. Did you catch that bit about the boy—Declan?

Spencer pressed against Gabriel's arm and gave a small nod. He had. And it changed things, quite a bit. Right now he's still safe. Doyle has no idea. We'll get officers over there as quick as we can to make sure they stay that way.

Somehow they managed to get them all inside and into a private room rather quickly and with minimal dealing with the locals. Mostly Aaron did the introductions and then requested a private place to meet that they were quickly pointed towards. It didn't escape Spencer's notice that Ashely had been sent off for something. What, he didn't know, not bothering to eavesdrop on whatever Aaron said to her. What mattered was that Aaron got her away from them and then took the rest of them in towards the conference room they were apparently going to use here.

Spencer held himself together until then; he didn't say anything, didn't do anything. He just followed after Aaron and let the man lead them into the private room. Only when they were inside and the door shut – and a quick ward up to keep anyone from hearing them – did Spencer finally turn to Emily. In that moment he sort of forgot that Aaron was the leader of their group. With an air of command that surprised everyone else, Spencer moved in front of Emily and met her stare head on, his shoulders back and his spine straight.

"What you did was extremely foolish." He said. She started to protest and he cut her off with a shake of his head. "No. It was – you know it and we know it. You tried to handle this on your own and it almost got you killed."

"I couldn't let him hurt you."

"And you think we could let him hurt you?" Spencer shot back. "You're our friend, Emily. Our family. There's nothing we wouldn't do to help keep you safe."

From beside him, Gabriel chimed in his two cents. "Besides, you're forgetting the fact that you've got two archangels on your side." He grinned when she turned to look at him. "All it would take is a snap to get Ian Doyle trapped somewhere. Another snap to get a pile of evidence that would be enough to put him away."

"You want to fabricate evidence?" Derek asked.

"I never said it'd be fake evidence."

Spencer held a hand up towards Gabriel that silenced his brother. All of his focus was still on Emily at the moment. "I know you were doing what you thought was right, but you put yourself at risk to do it. If you'd just talked to us, a lot of this could've been avoided, Emily. I know life hasn't made it easy for you but I need you to trust us. We can help you. Can you trust us to do that?"

The room fell quiet as everyone stared at them. Fora long moment the two just stood there and looked at one another. After a long pause, Emily gave a sharp nod.

Spencer smiled warmly at her. Then he gestured towards a chair at the table. "Then I need you to tell us everything."

Telling them everything was easier said than done. It took a while for her story to come out. When she hesitated at one point, unsure, Spencer reached under to the table to take hold of her hand in a physical gesture of support that he didn't often give. Emily gave a soft squeeze in gratitude; then she began to tell them about the boy, Declan. The boy who was Ian's son. The one whose death she had faked for the sake of keeping him alive. The boy who was close and who she knew Ian would be after as soon as he found out.

If there was ever anything geared to get Gabriel up in arms it was the protection of children. It was no real surprise to Spencer that he volunteered to go and keep an eye on the boy. Spencer knew that he'd keep him safe.

That left the rest of them to deal with Doyle.

This was where Spencer knew things might get a little tricky. Because, he knew Aaron wanted to take care of this the regular way. He wanted to bring Doyle in the same way that they brought anyone else in. He wanted him captured and arrested and made to pay for his crimes in the legal way. Only, the more that Spencer listened, the more that he knew, deep down in his grace, that wasn't going to be enough.

There were only so many options here and Spencer knew already just what option he was going to have to pick. He knew what he'd have to do. Just as he knew the team wouldn't approve.

Spencer bided his time and listened to them plot and plan and gather all the information they could from Emily on where Ian might be.

When they finally let her up to get a drink was when Spencer made his move. He knew Aaron would be furious about this later if he ever found out the truth. This was the first time since Spencer had revealed himself and who he was that he was setting out to deliberately lie to his team.

To keep them all safe, he'd do what he had to, no matter what it took.

"Hotch." Spencer's low voice caught the Unit Chief's attention. When Aaron turned to look at him, Spencer lowered his voice and took a small step closer. "I'm going to go check in with Gabriel and make sure everything's okay. He'll want to know what's going on."

Aaron nodded his understanding. "Be safe about it."

A smile had the corners of Spencer's eyes crinkling. "Always."

Quietly, Spencer made his way out of the station. Once he was outside and away from people he relaxed his guard just slightly. A quick bit of grace shielded him from anyone's sight. That left him free to slump slightly for a moment, to close his eyes and draw in a pained breath. What he'd heard in Emily's story and seen playing in her mind made him ache straight through every inch of his grace. This man, he was a monster. Spencer knew he should be thinking of redemption. He should be thinking of saving the human's soul.

He wasn't.

When he opened his eyes he was steady once more. What he was about to do wasn't pleasant, it wasn't good, but it was right. This was right. Spencer held on to that conviction as he spread his wings and set out to ensure that his family and plenty of other families would be just a little bit safer tonight.

It only took an hour for Spencer to do what needed to be done. One hour and he was making his way back to the police station where his friends were. A brief prayer as Spencer landed in a private spot outside the station let Gabriel know that it was safe for him to return as well. The older archangel was still standing there smoothing his hands over his clothes and composing himself when Gabriel arrived at his side. All it took was one look at him for Gabriel's brow to furrow and for him to demand "What happened?"

"What are you talking about?" Spencer tried for nonchalant and knew that he'd failed it miserably.

Gabriel took a step closer and let their wings brush together. His hand lifted and came to rest on Spencer's bicep, a weight that was warm and comforting. "Feel, what did you do?"

There was a moment of quiet as the two archangels looked at one another. Spencer broke first, sighing softly and shaking his head. It wasn't like he'd planned on keeping this from Gabriel. From the others, yes. From Gabriel? Never. He didn't want the secrets and lies between them. "I did what I had to do." Spencer's wings lifted and then resettled behind him. "Ian Doyle won't bother us anymore. When they find him, it's going to look like he and one of his men argued. No one will ever know anything different." No one would know how carefully Spencer had staged the scene. How he'd done everything just so, laid it all out just right, to create the image that the two men had argued after Emily's escape and ended up killing one another.

"And your team?" Gabriel asked quietly.

"Will never know any better."

There was another moment of quiet. This time there were so many words being shared in that silence, though. The press of grace against grace shared thought and emotion both and the two shared so much of it as they stood there. When they both pulled back, they were smiling. "You did good, Feel." Gabriel told him. "I know it might not feel like it, but trust me – you did good."

"I don't like taking life, Gabriel."

"I know. But I also know that sometimes, it's what's necessary. Sometimes there aren't other answers." Rubbing at Spencer's arm, he smiled and then took a step back. "Come on, bro. Let's go in and help these guys make their case. Maybe then we can get our flock home."

Home. That sounded wonderful. Spencer was more than ready to get them all home.

With his brother at his side, he headed inside.