Ch. 5

Emily was up by 6:30 and made her way over to Derek's room. She opened the door to see him sprawled out across the bed sleeping peacefully. She became angry all over again, she threw the door closed making sure it made a nice loud slam. Derek jumped awake and saw who it was he grabbed his head. "God dammit Emily!"

"What the hell, Morgan?" She asked. He gave her a look as if to ask 'what the hell are you talking about?' "Do you not remember me and JJ having to drag your ass home! What the hell were you doing at that diner? If Hotch would've found you that ridiculously wasted!"

Derek sat on the edge of the bed rubbing his head trying to remember last night's events. He remembered the girls carrying him through the hotel. He remembered screaming outside a diner but why?... Emily was still ranting. Finally he pictured it, Reid's book sitting behind the counter. He tried to grab it and that's when they threw him out. He stood up dramatically. "Reid! They have Reid's book!"

"What?" Emily asked stopping her rant.

"Reid's crossword book was at the diner. I tried to grab it but they threw me out." He said grabbing his jacket from the floor.

"Are you sure it was his?" Emily asked.

"Well it sure as hell looked like his but I didn't get a chance to look at it." He said putting on his shoes.

"Where do you think you're going?" Emily asked. He gave her a look as if to ask 'seriously?' "You're not stepping foot near that diner again. When I found you, you were drunkenly screaming outside that diner. And my guess is you did something to get yourself thrown out."

"This is Reid we're talking about, here!" Derek said angrily.

"And maybe if you didn't make a drunken fool of yourself you could go! But unless you want hotchner to know you better stay far away from that diner." Derek huffed and sat back glaring at Emily. "I'm going to the diner now."

Emily stormed out of the room and down the hallway. If Morgan hadn't of been so drunk last night maybe they could of found the book sooner and possibly Reid. That could've been where he was taken from and Morgan had just been sitting on that information. She opted to walk to the diner since it was so close. When she finally made it she noticed the parking lot was empty. She hurried over to the door only to find it locked. She looked inside to try and find someone. She looked at the hours it said they opened at 11:00 am. She sighed and muttered, "Damn it, Morgan." She grabbed her cell phone and called Garcia.

When she answered she sounded groggy, "What can I do for you this very very early morning?"

"I need you to look up Johnny's diner." Emily said.

Garcia stayed silent for a moment, "You called me about breakfast?"

"What? No, we think Reid may have been here the night he went missing."

She suddenly sounded alert "There was no transactions on his credit card, but he could've paid in cash." There was the distinctive click of keys in the background. "The owner's name is Johnny McKinney Jr. I'm sending the info to your phone and I'll continue to do background checks on the other employees. And I'll call the owner."

"Thanks Garcia." She said hanging up the phone.

-/-

Spencer jumped awake to the sound of the door slamming. He saw Debbie standing there she quickly set down the clothes making sure she had full access to the cattle prod. She gave Reid a big smirk, "I have to say you gave quite the performance last night. We weren't sure you had it in you." Reid's cheeks flamed red. He was embarrassed and angry at the same time. "Then again we do have our good little whore here to seduce you. She does such a good job doesn't she?" She said giving him a wink and he just ground his teeth. He so badly wanted to yell and scream, but he didn't want to get shocked. He didn't want Nicole to get shocked. She chuckled and walked out of the room. He grabbed his pillow and threw it against the wall. His head thunked against the headboard and he ran his hands through his hair. That's when he heard the smallest of sniffles. He almost ignored it until he heard it again. Nicole was awake and crying and he had absolutely no clue what to do.

He awkwardly patted her back, "H-hey it's ok, you know what she said... It isn't true."

He felt her slightly stiffen, "I'm ok. Really." She muttered as she rubbed her face making Reid highly unconvinced. She sat up a very small, but very fake smile on her face. "If you have to use the bathroom you should do it now, I tend to take long showers."

"Uh yeah ok." He said walking to the bathroom. He closed the door pressing his head against it questioning again how he ended up in this mess.

Nicole slipped out from underneath the blanket and walked over to the clothes grabbing hers and not caring to look at them. She walked over to the window looking through the small crack between the boards. She saw the wind blow through the trees and tried to remember what it felt like. What it felt like to have the breeze blow through her hair or the feeling of the sun on her face. It had been so long since she's been out of this room. She closed her eyes and hoped for the millionth time that someone would save her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped looking up at Spencer, "We're going to get out of this." Nicole broke down and began to cry.

She looked at him for a few seconds and then turned back to the window tears silently dripping down her face, "Do you promise?"

He gripped her shoulder a little harder as if to enforce his words. "I promise." Her hand went to the one on her shoulder. She gave it a slight squeeze and nodded.

Nicole slid her hand away and rubbed her face. She turned to him giving him a sad smile. "Thank you." She said and walked past him to the bathroom. Spencer watched the door until he heard the shower running. He sighed and looked down at himself, immediately feeling embarrassed. He had temporarily forgotten the only thing he had on was his boxers. All thoughts of what he was wearing left his mind when he saw her looking so vulnerable. He quickly rushed over to the clothes. Finding a pair of khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt. He groaned not enjoying their choice of clothes, but quickly threw them on finding them better than just his boxers. After that he looked around the room. He sighed and sat down on the bed, trying to figure a way out.

Obviously the unsubs were unable to have a child themselves which is why they needed the victims. But they were a little late to be trying to have a kid. They were in their mid to late 40s. Also there had to be a larger event as the stressor. Something had to make them this determined to have a kid. The more he knew about the unsubs the better chance he had at figuring a way out. God he wished he was with his team solving this case instead of being a part of it. He wondered what they figured out. Had they realized he was kidnapped by the same people that kidnapped Nicole? Did they know he was taken from the diner yet? He just hoped they figured it out soon. He had a feeling they would keep trying to make a baby until they were sure there was one. Or if there wasn't then he'll end up like the others. Most of all he was trying not to think about the fact that he was probably one of the reasons Nicole was crying.

-/-

Emily quickly ran back and informed the team of what was going on. Of course they didn't go into full detail on how they found Derek, but they did have to explain he was unable to connect what he saw until this morning. Hotch still had quite a few words for him. Luckily a call from Garcia saved him. "What is it, Garcia?" Hotch asked putting her on speaker.

"I talked to the owner and he really isn't involved in the business anymore but he gave me access to the cameras inside the building and Reid was definitely there and something definitely happened while there I already sent the video to JJ's computer." JJ immediately pulled out her laptop and pulled up the video. "He wasn't in there that long walks in fine but when he leaves he's stumbling out the door." Garcia said her voice cracking a little at the end.

"That waitress seems to be paying him a lot of attention." Rossi said.

"And look he starts to refuse the pie... he didn't order it she was giving it to him and she walks him outside before paying which is why there is no record of him being there."

"Garcia can you tell who the server is?" Hotch asked.

"No sir. There are 8 brunette servers there and you can't see a name tag or any distinctive facial features. And all their records are squeaky clean except for one marijuana possession. But there's something else, sir."

"What?" He asked.

"Well Nicole's sister, Nora, said that her sister just started work that day at a diner. Nicole never told her sister which one and no diner would put someone in to their system that quickly. Not if they're not sure the person was even going to stay..."

"What's your point, Garcia?" Rossi asked.

"I have an online application from Nicole Niehaus for Johnny's Diner. That doesn't mean she actually started working there... but she could've."

"Are you saying Reid was taken by the same unsub we're here to catch?" Emily asked.

"I'm saying there's a possibility..." Garcia replied.

"Do you think they know they have an FBI agent?" Rossi asked.

"No and we need to keep it that way we also need to talk to all the employees there. One of them is the unsub and the others may have seen something and not have realized it."

Finally Derek spoke, "How did no one notice him? How did no one realize something was wrong with him?"

"It was late people were stumbling in out of there all night... he blended in." JJ said sadly.

"Garcia do any of the other victims have a connection to the diner?" Emily asked.

"Just one. Monica Barrows the first female. She visited multiple times late at night but there is no transaction for the night she went missing."

"There wouldn't be she makes sure there isn't." Hotch said. "Send me the list of all the employees and I want to know their whole life story." He said hanging up. "Lets go to the station we need to figure out what they're doing with them. Emily I want you at that diner as soon as it opens." He said as everyone gathered their stuff.

-/-

When the shower shut off Spencer was jolted from his thoughts he sat up quickly. But then tried to relax feeling nervous and awkward. For the life of him he couldn't remember what a casual sitting position was. Just as he heard the door start to open he laid down his hand under his head. Silently breathing a sigh of relief his instincts chose something normal. He felt her eyes on him and he looked over, "What?"

"The clothes aren't exactly right for you, but you have to admit their better than the last ones." She said with a smile. Any trace of the tears he saw before gone.

He looked her over. Though she was still wearing a dress, this one was a little more casual. It stopped just above her knee and was white with a floral design all over it. "And at least you aren't forced into a ball gown this time." He replied which made her laugh.

"Thank you, for earlier. I've been here so long it's nice to be reminded that there's still a chance we'll be saved." She said.

"There's not just a chance we are absolutely going to be saved. Not even a fraction of a percentage we won't." She scrunched up her face and started to say something, but then closed her mouth and nodded her head. She was most likely thinking of the other men who didn't make it.

"So... who was your first crush?" She asked with a smirk.

"Why do you always ask questions like this?" He asked sitting up with an exasperated sigh.

She laughed, "Because I'm curious who first caught little genius Spencer Reid's eye."

"Ok well who was your first crush?" He said turning it on her and not answering the question.

"His name was Jimmy he had blonde hair and green eyes. I was in kindergarten and I used to do things like take his hat and stuff. Now it's your turn." She said crossing her arms.

"Um well as soon as I started kindergarten they moved me up to the 2nd grade. Her name was Sarah Kyles, she had blonde hair blue eyes. Easily the prettiest girl in the class, but also the meanest." Reid finally told her slightly embarrassed.

"Oh come on all those brains and you still fall for the mean girl!" Nicole replied in a playful manner. "And here I thought the brains made you brighter than any other man. But really you're all just the same." She said with a shake of her head.

"Hey I was 5 at the time the cognitive abilities of a child are very limited! I very much had no choice in who I liked!" He said defensively.

"Oh, Spencer Reid. Don't you know anything? We never truly choose who we like. Our heart merely decides without our brains knowledge."

"Actually love is just a combination of the hormones serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. So technically it does take place in the brain." Reid said correcting her.

Nicole busted out laughing, "Why do you have to ruin my profound statements with science?" He couldn't help but laugh with her. "Ok so this question will be more to your liking what was your favorite movie as a kid?"

He chuckled, "Toy story. I loved the idea that my toys could come to life when I wasn't watching."

She started laughing, "Aww, I can just imagine little Spencer now. Running to see if he can catch his toys moving." He rolled his eyes at her. "Running to your mom to show her that your toy moved an inch when it really didn't."

"Ok so what was your favorite movie?" He asked.

"The Little Mermaid." She said with a laugh.

"And now I'm imagining a little girl pretending she's a mermaid."

"Yup. Used to sing the songs and everything. 'I wanna go where the people are. I wanna see wanna see them dancing. Walking around on those-what do you call 'em? Oh feet!'" She sang a verse and then laughed. He chuckled but was surprised to find she actually had a beautiful voice. (No, I do not own the song or the movie it came from.)

"You know I'm quite impressed. I think your dream of being a mermaid could still come true." Reid said with a smirk.

Nicole busted out laughing, "Oh shut up!" She said smacking his arm.

He looked offended, "Did you just assault me?"

"Yes and I can do it again." She joked putting her fists up. "I'm feistier than I look." He started laughing at her. Reid had never found it so easy to talk to, well anyone before. But of course it had to be someone who was trapped in a room with him held against their will.