Misplaced Life

Part 1

"Ready?" Dave asked his son in a calm tone of voice, but with an edge to it that told anyone who knew him that underneath the calm he was furious. In this case, he had every right to be. It had been discovered through sheer coincidence that Spencer Reid was Dave's blood son, one he had believed dead for nearly 30 years.

Spencer nodded looking resolute. The two men opened the door to the lawyer's office building and entered with a warrant in their possession.

The whole team rode up to the 10th floor in silence and once there Dave boldly strolled to where the reception desk was.

"We need to see William Reid," Dave stated, as he showed the secretary his badge.

"Do you have an appointment?" the secretary asked.

"This is all the appointment I need," Dave said trying to be polite, as he placed the warrant on the counter and then tapping his badge.

The secretary studied the warrant and nodded.

She had a feeling that William Reid would never be coming back to work and she wondered briefly what he had done to bring the attention of the FBI. It must be a serious offense if the FBI was involved.

"His office is to the left, third door right side of the hall," the secretary said.

"Thank you," Dave said, immediately heading in that direction, with Spencer following closely behind.

The whole team had agreed that this was Dave and Spencer's operation and they were just along in case of trouble.

You might ask how Spencer could possibly be David Rossi's son and the answer would be that, Spencer had been kidnapped as a baby out of the hospital. It had been believed until now that David Rossi's second son Peter Daniel Rossi had died after he was born of a bad heart. It turned out however, that William Reid had switched the babies, while there were no nurses about as he knew that it was unlikely his own son would survive more than a few days. Back when Spencer had been born in the very early 80s, such things as kidnappings out of a hospital had not been common and so the neonatal unit was not watched very closely. Nowadays, things were different, neonatal units were, much more closely monitored and they had been back then.

Dave found the entrance to William Reid's office easily and knocked.

When a male voice said come in Dave opened the door and strode in Spencer behind him while the rest of the team waited in the front of the reception desk.

William Reid's looked up at Dave's entrance and the look on the other man's face was terrifying to behold.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes William Reid, you are under arrest for kidnapping and other charges will be pending," Dave announced, as he pushed the one in front of the senior Reid.

"This is ridiculous!" William sputtered. "I'm a well known attorney these charges will not hold."

"You really think so, dad?" Came the sarcastic voice of Spencer. "You're not my father though, are you? Not my real father. You kidnapped me out of the hospital, switched me with your own son, because your own son was going to die of a bad heart, so you switched babies. My real father and I had a blood test done when he noticed several similarities between us and also his late wife. The blood test of course proves without a doubt that I am this other man's son."

William Reid stared at his son and realized that he was indeed in deep trouble. He had never imagined that his crime would be discovered and he had quit worrying about it after a year or so. It had never occurred to him that the real father might run into his supposedly dead son and would notice enough similarities to be very suspicious.

"And there's no statute of limitations on kidnapping," Dave added. "You see he's my son and you caused Caroline and me a great deal of pain thinking that he had died and my wife has no way of knowing that he's actually alive because she died a couple of years ago."

Dave didn't bother to mention that it was the supposed death of Peter that had caused his marriage to break up, although all the time he'd spent at work was also was a major factor.

"Stand up!" Dave ordered. "You're finally going to get what you deserve!"

"I hope you go to prison for the rest of your life," Spencer said his tone totally emotionless, but then he was a master at concealing what he was really feeling. "You take me from my real family and then you don't give me the attention you would a pet. I'll never know my real mother now and all because you thought it was a good idea to kidnap another man's son."

William sputtered, but Dave just pulled his arms behind his back and put the handcuffs over his wrists.

"What's going on here?" demanded a voice.

"William Reid is under arrest," Spencer said calmly turning to face the other man. "It has been discovered that he kidnapped the son of another man, because his own was going to die of a bad heart. I was that baby."

The other man who was also a lawyer stared at him.

"You're welcome to represent him or not," Dave added, as he led William Reid out the door after passing over the warrant, which the lawyer studied intently.

Dave and Spencer headed back to the reception area with William Reid in front of them, so that they could join the other members of the team.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~

Flashback

Dave stared at the birthmark that was on Reid's left hip in flabbergasted shock. He and the younger man were sharing a room because Morgan had taken a couple of days off to visit his family up in Chicago

"Rossi? What's the matter?" Spencer asked noticing the older agent staring at his hip.

Rossi shook himself and tried to explain.

"Your birthmark, it's just like the one my son had after he was born. He supposedly died within 48 hours of being born, bad heart."

Spencer stared at Rossi and then down at the birthmark on his left hip. "You know I've never been able to find any information on a birthmark like mine, so as far as I know it is unique."

Rossi could immediately tell where Spencer was going with this and asked, "You don't think that somehow the babies got switched? That one of the nurses put my son into the Reid crib in the nursery?"

"While that's possible, I wouldn't put it past my father to switch babies. The doctors would have told him that his own son wouldn't survive more than a couple of days, as medical technology wasn't as advanced back nearly 30 years ago, as it is now."

Dave stared at him his shock clearly evident.

"There's only one way to know for sure," Dave finally offered.

"A blood test," Spencer said following Dave's train of thought instantly. "We could be totally wrong you know."

"Yes, we could be, but somehow I don't think we are," Dave said. "I've noticed other similarities between you and my late wife Caroline and also between the two of us, but I dismissed them as coincidence, because I thought that our second son, who we named Peter Daniel was dead. That birthmark clinches it for me and as you said you believe it is unique."

"Well, yes, but..." Spencer said staring at the older man, his expression unreadable.

"You are the same age my son would be if he had lived," Dave said.

Spencer stared at the senior agent, his mind whirling. "If you are my father, I'm going to strangle William Reid. If our scenario is correct and he switched the Reid baby with your own he didn't do it because he wanted a child, no, he did it to have a son to carry on the family name. He likely knew that my mother would never be able to have another, because not only was the birth hard on her, she also had schizophrenia and she would have had to go off her medication in order to make sure the child didn't develop any problems."

"I already knew that your childhood wasn't easy," Rossi said, "just from my own observations and I promise you that you would have grown up differently if you had been raised with your mother, brother and I."

Spencer stared at Rossi his expression undecipherable.

"We'll have to wait until this case is finished before we go for blood tests and I'd prefer not to mention it to anyone until we're sure, just in case we're wrong," Spencer said.

Dave nodded at this, as he agreed 100 percent with Reid's statement, except the last part.

"I think that's best," Dave agreed. "I don't believe we're wrong though, which was the only part of your statement I disagree with. I know in my gut that you are my son, the one I had believed dead for 28 years. William Reid is going to regret ever being born I guarantee it, as he caused Caroline and I unbelievable pain, because we thought our son had died. James should have grown up with a brother and instead he believes he's an early child, as we never told him about Peter. He was only 2 when you were born, so doesn't even remember that his mother was pregnant. Having a brother is going to come as a shock to him. I know my oldest son and he will be furious at what the Senior Reid did, just as I am."

"I have a brother," Spencer whispered, his voice filled with wonder, beginning to believe.

"You do, James David Rossi and he will be thrilled to find out he has a sibling. Unfortunately, you won't be able to meet Caroline, as she died a couple of years ago," Dave said really wanting to embrace his son, but knowing it was going to take time to build that type of relationship.

"I knew my father was something of a bastard, but that was in general, as I had no idea he had committed such a heinous crime," Spencer said.

"You don't seem to doubt that your father would do something like you suggested a few minutes ago," Dave said.

"I don't, because I know what kind of man he is," Spencer explained. "He's the kind of man that would abandon his family just because his wife was ill and his son wasn't turning out like he wanted. It's also possible he started to feel guilty for what he had done, kidnapping another man's son, so dealt with the situation by leaving a ten year old boy to look after his ill mother. He at least provided some money for us so that we could buy food, medication for mom and other basic supplies, but that was all he was willing to do. If he was willing to abandon his son and ill wife then I have no doubt that he's capable of much more heinous action, such as kidnapping, though I don't believe he's capable of murder unless his life is threatened."

"So you don't think your mother was involved in your father's kidnapping of you?" Dave asked.

"No," Spencer said firmly shaking his head. "Mom never would have agreed to allow her husband to do something like that and probably would've yelled at him for even suggesting doing something so criminal. I'm positive she doesn't know anything about what William Reid did and would be furious if she happened to learn of it. Now, that she's taking her medication regularly, well, I wouldn't be surprised if she goes and at least slaps him silly. To let her believe that I am her son when her own died as a baby for nearly three decades ago would be something that she would likely never forgive him for, even if he was genuinely sorry, which I don't see ever happening. Not only did William Reid hurt you and me by what he did he also hurt her, even if she never knows it. She would feel not only her own pain at the loss of her child, but the pain you and your wife must've gone through, when you believed that I had died."

"Alright then, it's only a father that I'm going to go after," Dave said, accepting the young man's word, the man he was absolutely positive was his long lost son. "I'm sure that Garcia can find evidence as luckily, they had started to use computers to keep records, even if those computers were much more primitive back nearly 30 years ago. You know this is nearly the perfect type crime, because if someone didn't know precisely where to look or know that a crime had taken place they would never find evidence, except by sheerest coincidence."

"If you're going after him then I would like to be a part of it," Spencer requested firmly and Dave nodded.

"You deserve to be, because what he did hurt not only me and Caroline, but you as well. If he had really treated you like a son it would be different, but from what I know he didn't," Dave agreed.

"No, he didn't not even from my earliest memories," Spencer agreed. "Maybe he felt guilty from the beginning for what he did or maybe he's just a lousy human being, but either way if I really am your son then he's going down."

On that particular subject both father and son were in complete agreement. Sure neither men knew if they really were related, but somehow neither had any doubt.

End flashback

~~~Criminal Minds~~~

"This is ridiculous!" William Reid bellowed, even though he knew that the FBI had him dead to rights including his own son that he had kidnapped as a baby. The Senior Reid sat in an interrogation room having no doubt that he was being observed through the two way mirror.

The Senior Reid tried his best to think of some way out of this situation but knew that that wasn't possible. He doubted very much that this David Rossi would accept any type bribe from him, especially since it was his son that he had switched with his own. At the time it had seemed like the perfect solution and he didn't even really feel guilty for what he had done. It had been a nearly the perfect crime that no one was likely to ever find out about. He didn't even think about how he had left family grieving for the loss of a child. Nurseries in hospitals hadn't been watched so closely back in those days, not like now, where stealing babies from hospitals to sell on the black market adoption ring was much more common and therefore, more risky. It had been so easy to switch his son with the one that he thought looked the most like him and the baby had even had brown fluff for hair that was only a few shades off his own. That he had happened to kidnap the one that belonged to an officer of the law, an FBI agent no less had never occurred to him at the time. No, he would receive no mercy from this David Rossi and probably not from Spencer either considering how he had treated him as a kid. He doubted very much that Spencer would be in his corner considering he treated him worse then some mud found on the bottom of his shoe. Why did fate seem to hate him? The odds must be very long that Spencer's real father ran into his son and though the two men looked nothing alike that didn't mean that they weren't father and son. Oh, there was some superficial similarities, but nothing that thousands of other people didn't have. All he could figure was the fact that Spencer must look more like his real mother then his father

Rossi had mentioned something about a blood test, which he knew would show that he and Spencer were indeed related and that meant he was screwed, because he could see no mercy coming from either father or son, the other agents or the police for that matter.

It looked like he was going to land in prison unless he could bribe the judge, though he had a feeling that both Agent Rossi and his son would make sure that didn't happen by attending the trial, as they wouldn't want him to get off scot-free or with just a slap on the wrist.

William knew that wasn't going to happen as the charges were much too serious, so he suspected he would be spending the rest of his life in prison and even if he didn't his reputation was now in tatters, so there was no way that his firm would keep him on, even if he was declared innocent. A lawyer needed an impeccable reputation unless you were one of those sleazy ones that got criminals off scot-free. His reputation had managed to survive his divorce from Diana as back then standing by your family was very important in his profession.

This was something he knew he couldn't survive though, even if he somehow got off, which was not very likely there's no way he could ever return to his firm as a partner.

They were waiting on his lawyer to arrive, before they questioned him, but William was smart enough to be aware that he would still be changing his address to prison, as kidnapping was a very serious charge. It wasn't just a misdemeanor, as it was a very serious crime, which was why the FBI was involved.

Finally what seemed like hours later the door opened.

His lawyer strolled in sat down at one side of the square table and the two men begin to talk softly.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~

"Think that he will admit his guilt?" Aaron asked Rossi and Reid, as the three men stood in front of the three-way mirror as the two men inside the interrogation room talked.

"He should considering the evidence we have against him as his guilt isn't in any doubt, but whether he will or not..." Dave said.

"I just realized that my father shares many traits with those psychopaths the BAU catches, the ones that have no emotion whatsoever, but can fake them well enough to fool most people. Looking back he was always like that, though as a child of course, I didn't know that it wasn't normal, no matter how intelligent I happened to be. I really don't believe that William Reid has it in him to murder anyone at least not directly, but that doesn't mean he doesn't share many personality traits with past serial killers. He's cold, doesn't care about anybody but himself, not even the son he kidnapped from another family or even his wife. He likely married to keep up appearances, as being a family man was important back in the days I was born, particularly for an attorney. I won't say he didn't feel some sort a shallow affection for the woman I believed was my mother, but really loving her is likely beyond him," Spencer said. "I mean he abandoned her after all."

"I agree with that," Aaron said nodding. "He might actually feel emotions for others, but if he does they're probably of the shallow variety that will fade over time."

"I think you should be the one to question him," Dave told Hotch. "I'm not entirely sure I could control my temper if I was to enter that room. I had enough trouble stopping myself from punching him in the nose when I was arresting him. He made Caroline and I believe that our son had died and while you know I'm usually very calm and steady this is a different situation altogether."

"Yes, I would be furious to the same thing had happened to Jack," Aaron agreed, truly understanding his old friend's feelings. To find out that Spencer was his son, a son Dave had thought dead for nearly 30 years, well, that would certainly get him angry enough to want to punch out the person to blame or really he'd want to beat that person to a pulp so he could understand what Dave was feeling. Dave had lost nearly 30 years with his son and that son would never get to meet his real mother, since she was dead, so Dave had every right to be at least extremely upset, if not downright pissed.

"Alright," Aaron agreed. "I'm upset too, but not as upset as you are. I'm upset that Spencer didn't grow up with his real family and that you didn't get to see him grow up, but I know my emotions aren't as strong as yours, since he isn't my son. I'm upset at the situation more for your sake then for my own, because what happened nearly 30 years ago was a great travesty of justice, something that never should have occurred."

"It shouldn't have, but we know things like this happen all the time, although it wasn't as common back in the early 1980s as it is today, which is probably why William could get away with it." Spencer said. "I think I too should stay in the background unless it's necessary for me to play a more active role. I'm not sure I can control my own temper and yes, I do have one, even if I normally don't lose it."

"I'll take Morgan with me," Aaron decided. "He will be able to intimidate William Reid I'm sure and he is really upset on your behalves, since he's really fond of Reid."

"I noticed," Dave said while he was smiling just a little

Spencer said nothing, but blushed a little.

"Well, even if he doesn't confess, it won't matter, as we have enough evidence to put him away for a very long time," Dave said. "Certainly long enough that he'll likely only be leaving prison in a wooden box, unless he offends one of the other convicts and gets himself killed sooner. I won't be mourning his demise if that happens."

"Him getting himself killed in the shower or the laundry room or even out in the exercise yard is very possible, as we all know how rough places like prison can be, especially the federal ones which is were he'll likely be headed," Spencer said. "He did commit a major crime against a man that was an FBI agent even back when that event occurred, so I can't see any judge showing him leniency since kidnapping is a federal offense. Also it's much worse, because the crime was committed against an officer of the law not just an ordinary citizen, so no court in the world is going to show him any mercy."

The other two men agreed with that, but were silent, before Hotch left then to go collect Morgan and start his interrogation.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~