Authors Note: Here is the last chapter, faithful readers. My thanks to my wonderful Beta REIDFANITIC and to all those who've reviewed.

"Hey baby girl, you miss me?" Derek's smooth as silk tones purred in her ear, and she almost forgot the reason she called him, almost.

"Sugar, I've been busier then a fox in the hen house when the guard dog's away. I need your help baby."

"Honey… I don't know a lot about computers but I can try."

"No sweet thing, my babies are just fine, its Reid and JJ I'm worried about. JJ called, and asked me to check out Agent Abbott. She's dead Derek!"

"What do you mean she's dead, I just saw her couple of hours ago."

"You saw someone, it wasn't Karen Abbott. I found a death certificate for her, she was killed two years ago, shot in the head, and the case was never solved."

"Then who is our Agent Abbott?"

Garcia explained to him all that she'd found. He whistled, swore, and then hung up, and hit the speed dial for Hotch.

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Spencer started in surprise when the door bell rang. Wondering who could be at his door, he walked over and looked out the peep hole. What the hell is she doing here? He ran back to his room, grabbed a tee shirt, and put it on

The bell rang again as he pocketed the phone. Karen knocked, and he yelled, "Just a minute." He stood for just a minute contemplating the door, and wondering if he should call Gideon, or just let her in. He could handle her, couldn't he?

He opened the door, and she jumped into his arms, her small frame nearly knocking him over. "Ah - Karen what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry Spencer, but I just had to see you, I had a really bad dream, and I thought that - oh it's silly I should just go.

"No, its okay, come in."

He led her over to the couch and they sat down. "Tell me about the dream."

"It was so awful, it was about Detective Lange, and the other night, only this time, I wasn't fast enough I couldn't get to my gun and he…" Her breath began to hitch, and tears began to fall onto the leather couch.

"It's okay Karen, he's dead and he can't hurt you any more."

He jerked in surprise when she kissed him, and he pulled away from her. "Spencer, please I know that we haven't known each other very long, but I really like you. You're a sweet, kind, and good looking guy. Please don't push me away."

"I don't think this is a good idea, you're upset, and I know how bad dreams can screw with your head. Why don't we have some coffee and you can tell me more about it."

She pushed him back on the throw pillows, and kissed him again hard, pushing her tongue against his lips. His mouth eventually opened, and she swept her tongue through his mouth. Shivers ran through him at the contact, and he pushed her away in shock.

"Karen, we need to step back, and talk about this -"

"No, I don't want to talk anymore. I know this is moving too fast, but I need some comfort. Make love to me Spencer, please."

His phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket. Karen snatched it away from him.

"Damn it Karen, what if that's work." She ignored him and opened the phone. "Dr Reid's phone, he's really busy right now."

"Who is this?"

"JJ well isn't this nice. Spencer's hands are pretty full right now, and I'd guess he doesn't want to talk to you anyway." She hung up the phone and put it on the coffee table.

"Hey… what'd you do that for?"

"It was JJ; you don't want to talk to her do you."

"It might have been about work."

"I don't think so, besides, she doesn't care about you Spencer." She nuzzled his neck licking the pulse point. He slid away from her, and she said, "Baby, I'm the one that truly cares for you. Don't you think you've waited around for her long enough? Don't let her make a fool of you anymore."

He pushed her off of him once more, and got up from the couch. He looked down at her with real contempt and yes disappointment. "I really thought you were different from all the pretty girls I've known, but you're not are you. I don't know what you want from me, but we are not sleeping together."

"I don't know what you're talking about Spencer I -"

"Oh save it Karen, I know you knew Detective Lange before we met him on the case."

"Spencer… I don't know why you're saying this."

"Stop it Karen, and tell me what really happened in that hotel room."

She sighed, and hung her head. After a very long moment, she looked back up into his eyes, and said, "okay, but can I have some coffee first?'

He regarded her for a very long time. What was she up to now? "Yes Karen, I'll make us both a cup, but then I want to hear the truth!"

He went into the kitchen, and she called after him. "Put lots of sugar in mine." He stopped mid stride at that comment, then continued into the kitchen.

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Gideon was just putting the finishing touches on a lovely chicken Marsala, when his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw the familiar name. Damn it all that work on the meal, and now it would go in the trash.

"Jason Gideon."

"Jason, we have a serious problem."

"Hotch, unless the President himself has been kidnapped, I don't want to hear about."

"You're going to want to hear about this." He laid it out for Gideon, and by the time he finished Gideon was in his truck and on the road.

"Call Morgan, have him meet us at Lexington and 9th streets, one of those large warehouse shopping clubs is on that corner. We'll leave the cars and take my truck.

"Ok Jason, I just hope we're not too late."

"I hope JJ hasn't decided to take matters into her own hands."

Jason dropped his phone into his pocket, and drove to the meeting point, profound dread already taking up residence in his heart for Reid.

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Spencer almost dropped both cups of coffee when he returned to the living room, and Karen stood there with her gun pointing at him.

"Put down the coffee and come to me."

He did as she asked without a word. She pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her pocket, and gave them to him. He put them on, and she gestured to the couch with the gun. He sat down and she sat on the easy chair, keeping the gun on him.

"So you want to know how I recognized Detective Lange. It's a long story so get comfortable. You see Spencer, my name is Lisa, JJ and I went to high school together in Pennsylvania. I grew up there just as she did; the only difference was I was the class nerd. I skipped two grades, and was fifteen when I started my senior year. I was ugly, with mousy hair, coke bottle glasses, and braces. I was the butt of every joke, and the guys ignored me unless they could make me suffer some indignity.

Now at this time Jenny was on the soccer team. She was pretty and well liked, but she didn't treat me the way the other kids did. She was kind, she tried to be nice to me, and be my friend, or at least that's what I thought. She asked me to tutor her in math, and we struck up a friendship. Her friends laughed at her because of it, but she didn't seem to care.

One early spring day she asked me to come to a party with her. I accepted because she always defended me in school, and I thought she would at the party. She helped me find a nice outfit, and she did my hair. I should have known it was all a trick."

Karen was pacing up and down in front of Spencer, like a cat trying to decide when to pounce on the mouse it's stalking. Reid was trying not to panic, he'd been stupid enough to open the door to a deranged mind, so now he had to figure a way out of this mess, if he could.

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JJ threw her phone onto the passenger side of the car. Karen was with Reid, but he didn't know about her, or what she was capable of. She remembered Lisa, and the terrible things that girl had done to some of her friends. She couldn't let Spence become one of Lisa's victims. She picked up the phone again, and it beeped in her hand.

"Hello."

"JJ it's Hotch, Morgan called us, he told us about Karen, and your connection to her."

"Her name's not Karen it's Lisa Stanton. She killed five people when she was sixteen; I thought she was in an institution all this time."

"I know JJ; we have to make sure Reid's informed."

"He's with her Hotch, I just tried to call him, and she answered his phone. I don't know if she's hurt him or not. I'm so scared."

"Look, we're on our way over there now, I want you to stay put and let us handle this."

"No way Hotch, this is my fault, I'm going with you."

"JJ please -"

"The longer we argue, the more we risk her hurting him, and I can't live with that. I love him Hotch; I want a chance to tell him, and to fix something I messed up."

"Okay," Hotch replied and told her where to meet them.

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Karen stopped pacing, and sat back down on the easy chair. She watched Spencer intently, he hadn't said a word, and she wondered what he was thinking.

"So I let myself be talked into this party, I let Jenny dress me up, and I let her drive me to her boyfriend's house. I thought we would be at his house for the duration of the party, but someone suggested we go to the woods, and tell ghost stories around a campfire. Of course everyone was drinking, including little miss perfect. I went with her because I had no choice, she was my ride.

Well after that it's all a blur; I don't remember anything after we arrived there, until I woke up alone the next morning tied to a tree my clothes torn, and my body beaten. I was lucky it was a public campground, and a ranger found me.

They said I was given a date rape drug," Her voice began to waver, and as much as he despised what she had become, Spencer pitied her more than he'd ever pitied himself, and what he'd suffered as a child.

"I was raped by at least three different boys. They beat me up, and the left me to die. Your perfect Jennifer did nothing to stop them. But I got my revenge, I killed all three of those boys, and my stepfather who'd also beat and raped me on a regular basis. I would've killed Jenny too, but they put me away in the sanitarium, they said I was psychotic, but I wasn't, I enjoyed killing those boys, and my stepfather. I would have enjoyed killing Jenny too, but this will be much more fun."

"What are you going to do Lisa?"

She erupted out of the chair, strode to where he sat, and backhanded him hard across the face. "My name is Karen, Lisa doesn't exist anymore."

"I'm sorry Karen, but there is another way out of this."

Karen laughed. "Don't beg Spencer, when Jenny gets here, I'm going to kill you, and then her, and then I'll be free."

"You don't have to kill her, you can leave her alive, and take me with you.''

"What, you can't be serious, you're a big time profiler, and your personal code of ethics wouldn't allow you to shack up with me?"

"Karen, I have been looking for someone like you all of my life, you understand me, we're the same. Both of us were tormented as children by lesser minds. You can love me the way I've always wanted."

She regarded him with narrowed eyes. Was he telling her the truth, or was he playing her?

"Come on Karen, lets go away, we'll leave JJ knowing that you won, she doesn't love me and it's time I realized that."

"You're trying to trick me, it won't work."

"Come over here baby; let me show you how I feel about you."

His tone was low and seductive and his eyes pierced hers. Something down inside of her, the part of her she'd thought was dead, and hadn't missed rose up, and wanted to believe him.

"No, you were pushing me away earlier, why are you saying you want me now."

"I was surprised that's all, and you're so damn beautiful, I didn't want to get hurt again."

His eyes pulled at her, and she stood up, and walked slowly to him, her gun still trained on him. "That's right baby, come over here."

"I think you're lying to me Spencer, you want me close so you can go for the gun."

"No, that's not true, I just want to kiss you baby, you tasted so good before." She hesitated, took a step closer. He didn't react only watched her come closer to him. She took another step, and then she straddled his lap, and kissed him. The gun fell out of her hand to the sofa and a voice said, "Freeze Karen, step away from him, and keep your hands where I can see them."

She froze her eyes pinned Spencer, and the betrayal in them chilled him. She dived for the gun, and ignoring Morgan's second warning brought it around to point at Spencer. He saw her begin to pull the trigger. There was a loud explosion, and she fell to the floor with a bullet in her chest.

"Am I alive," he said, turning his eyes on Gideon, who was literally shaking with relief. Morgan kicked Karen's gun away from her, and knelt down to check for a pulse. Spencer looked down at him, and Derek shook his head.

"I never wanted her to die."

"I know kid, I didn't have a choice, and she had a point blank shot at you."

"I'm lucky you're fast on the trigger.

"We're lucky you left your back door unlocked."

Reid grinned, "That wasn't luck, and I left it that way on purpose after JJ called here. I figured you guys were on your way. By the way, what took you so long?"

Morgan pulled him up, took off the cuffs and Spencer was suddenly engulfed in a big group hug. It was good to have the team back together. They let him go, and he watched JJ turn and walk away. He started to go after her but was stopped by Gideon.

"Let her go son, she has a lot to process."

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Epilogue

Gideon stood in the doorway of JJ's office. She was sitting in her chair staring into space, and rocking back and forth. She looked so much like Reid when he was trying to work out a problem that his heart tore in his chest.

"JJ, why don't you go talk to him."

"Gideon, I appreciate that you want to help, but I messed it up with him so badly that I can't fix it."

"Yes you can, he loves you, he has for a long time, and you know it."

"I don't know what to say to him."

Gideon smiled sadly, "He said that to me once, right before he asked the only one who calls him Spence, out on a date."

"He called in sick; I don't want to bother him."

"Stop making excuses and go to him."

So she did, she drove to his home, his truck wasn't in the driveway, and he didn't answer the door. She thought about going home, and forgetting all of this, when something Gideon said struck her and she turned her car around.

When she got to the parking lot at FedEx Field, she saw his truck parked across the street, and he was leaning against the driver's side door, staring at the football stadium. She pulled in behind him and got out of her car. There was little traffic that time of day, so she stood waiting for a long time while he was silent.

Finally he said, "How did you find me?"

"It was something Gideon said to me."

He smiled at last, "Yeah, he has a way with words."

"I'm sorry Spence, more than you'll ever know."

"I know that what happened with Lisa wasn't your fault, you don't have to apologize."

"I'm not talking about that, or at least not only about that. Listen Spence, whatever she told you I -"

He stopped her with a hand on her arm. "I know that she exaggerated your involvement in what happened that night. You would never hurt someone like that." His hand dropped away and her soul mourned.

"Everything she said was true. I took her to that party, I got so stupid drunk that I didn't realize what the guys were up to, and then my boyfriend Mike took me home. I didn't hear about the rest until the next day. I wish I could go back, and change what happened, but I can't. I want to fix us; I want to do whatever it takes to make things up to you. Please let me try."

He was so silent for so long that she was afraid he'd get in the truck, and leave her standing there, and then it would be over.

"I love you JJ, I always have, but I don't know if we can get past last year, and the last few days."

"I want to try Spence… please let me try… I'll beg on my hands and knees if you want, but please give me a chance to love you."

"I don't know if I can, you have to let me think about it."

"Okay… I deserve that… I hurt you… and I can't take it back, but I hope that one day you'll let me make it up to you.

He smiled sadly at her, got into his truck and drove away. She made her way back to her car. She wouldn't rest until she convinced him that she loved him. If it took the rest of her days, she would fight for him. For her, the blindness to his worth had gone; the darkness was over, now it was time to shine a light into a soul that didn't know its own beauty. God willing, he would see that light. She got into her car, and drove away from the place where it all began. Where it would end, only time would tell. Precious time, hopefully spent sharing the vast spectrum of all human emotions, love, humor, joy , and yes even anger sorrow and grief, with one another.