Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: This is the last chapter folks. Thanks to all who took the time to read and review. It was greatly appreciated.

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The elevator doors opened on the sixth floor and the six members of the BAU team exited the car. Garcia, who'd been waiting rushed forward, "Sweetcheeks, are you okay?" She asked Reid who now sported a sling on his left arm.

"Yeah Garcia, I'm fine. It was just a small shot in the arm, soft tissue injury, no broken bones. The sling's just for sympathy." He raised his eyebrows. "Looks like it's working."

"Reid, I think you should have gone straight home from the airport," Hotch stated.

"Hotch, I'm fine. I want to finish my report," he said. What was the use of going home? All he'd do is think about Linda and what a mess he'd made of things.

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Linda dragged herself into her office and kicked off her shoes as she sat in her swivel chair. She needed sleep but every time she laid her head down all she could see was Spencer telling her she'd killed their baby.

That guy in Lansing hadn't helped. He'd been brought in by his friends. He was experiencing a severe gastrointestinal disturbance and trouble breathing. He was only twenty-eight with brown hair and twinkling brown eyes that reminded her so much of Spencer. His friends refused to leave and she remembered all over again why she'd fallen in love with the young genius.

She pulled a research paper out of her desk drawer. She guessed she might as well read.

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"So how was he in Denver?" Garcia asked JJ when she'd come into the tech's office.

"He was pretty down. He looks really tired. I don't think he's getting any sleep," the blond agent responded.

"This is ridiculous," Garcia said, "those two are made for each other."

"Yeah, well, Reid loves her. He's not so sure that she reciprocates anymore. I told him it was a pretty emotional time for Linda and he should hang in there. I hope I gave him the right advice."

"We've got to do something," Garcia replied.

"Like what?" JJ asked.

"Leave that to me," Garcia turned towards her phone. "We'll talk later JJ, I have work to do."

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"The soft knock on her door interrupted her reading. General Mattingly opened the door. "How are you this evening my dear?" he asked.

"I'm fine general, and you?" Linda replied.

"You're not a very good liar and I've heard through the grapevine that you're not seeing Dr. Reid anymore. That saddens me; he was so perfect for you. That must be the cause of your red eyes and those dark circles under them."

"General, he thinks I killed our baby." She told him about the argument.

"Oh Linda, I don't think he believes for one moment you killed your baby. He's concerned about the dangerous job of the woman he loves. I don't know a man who wouldn't be."

"You think I overreacted?" Linda asked. " And then I tried to shift the blame to him."

"We all do things like that at one time or another. Listen, you're still grieving and trying to come to terms with something you didn't even realize was happening to you. It's understandable. We all say things we don't really mean in a heated moment."

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Linda called.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sandy said. "I wasn't aware you were with someone."

"I was just leaving." General Mattingly rose from his chair.

"Please, don't leave on my account. It's just that a group of us were going to Brannigan's for a drink. We felt after the last couple of months we needed to unwind. We'd like you to join us."

"No Sandy, I don't think I'm up…"

"I think it's a great idea," the general agreed, looking at Sandy. "You've got to stop staring at four walls and get into life again." He pulled Linda to a standing position. "I know you've got a change of clothes here, go change and go have some fun." He raised his hand when Linda was about to speak. "That's an order."

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"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Reid said as he took a sip of the beer in front of him.

"Hey man, you need to get out and have a little fun more often," Morgan shouted.

"They're here," Garcia yelled as Kevin and Will joined the party. Each went to kiss their respective ladies.

"Look at it this way Reid," Emily gestured to his beer. "It might help dull the pain of your injury and you might actually get some sleep tonight."

Yeah, the alcohol might dull the pain of his physical injury but it would do nothing to cure his aching heart. That was the most important thing he'd learned at Beltway Clean Cops.

"Garcia, how did you know about this place?" Emily took in her surroundings. It was a good sized back room off the main bar used mostly for private parties, Emily surmised. It had a few tables, a small dance floor and a very old fashioned jukebox.

"I know Guy Brannigan. I've been to a couple of parties back here. It's not as loud as the main bar, and we get to choose the music!" She pointed to the jukebox.

Reid got up to peruse the music selection. "Some of this stuff is over twenty years old," he turned towards the group as Shirley, Sandy, Beth, Connie and Linda walked into the room.

Time seemed to stand still as Linda and Reid stared at one another. She looked gorgeous, he thought, in a pair of black denim jeans and a red silk blouse topped with a black suede bolero jacket. Her hair fell around her shoulders.

He looked gorgeous, she thought, in a pair of grey pants, a black jacket, a black shirt with tiny white polka dots topped with a grey sweater vest and coordinated with a white tie with black polka dots. His hair was brushed back off his face.

The spell was finally broken when Linda spoke. "What happened to you," she asked with concern, rushing forward.

"Just a small shot in the arm, soft tissue injury, no broken bones," Reid explained.

"That's uh…great, uh…I mean that it wasn't more serious," Linda said.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Sandy suggested we all go out for a drink. I didn't want to go but she and the general insisted. I…I didn't realize that you would…"

"Well, why would you?" Reid replied.

"I suppose I should g…" Linda pointed to her team.

"I want to apologize for the argument we had," Reid blurted out before she could leave. "I didn't mean what I said, at least not the way it came out. JJ made me see that sometimes I tend to be too logical and forget the emotional component of things. I never meant to hurt you in any way."

"I…I think I may have overreacted. I mean it was an argument. I snapped back in a moment of anger. I probably shouldn't have said what I did and kicked you out like that but I lost my temper. I've come to the conclusion that we have to face the fact that we'll never know what caused us to lose our baby. It may have been the Ebola or it may have been the anthrax or it may have been a chromosomal abnormality that wouldn't allow our baby to become a viable fetus. We'll just never know."

Reid nodded, "I think that's best."

"You have a dangerous job," she reached out and tenderly touched his arm. "And I sometimes have a dangerous job. It's a consequence of what we've chosen to do. For me to have you in my life, I have to live with that. For you to have me in your life, you have to live with that. Knowing that I will always do everything I can to protect myself, can you?"

Garcia went up to the jukebox and selected a song. She looked at Reid and Linda. "Don't just stand there…dance!" She said as Peter Cetera began to sing.

Well here we are again

I guess it must be fate

Linda put her arms on Reid's shoulders. "I guess we should do what she says," Linda replied as the voice carried on in the background.

We've tried it on our own

But deep inside we've known

We'd be back to set things straight

"I…I'm not a very good dancer," Reid said as his good arm encircled her waist.

"Do you hear me complaining?" Linda asked as her arms went around his neck and Cher began to sing.

I still remember when

Your kiss was so brand new

"You do realize that we were set up again, don't you? Are you sure you want to be around a guy whose friends are so conniving?"

Every memory repeats

Every step I take retreats

Every journey always brings me back to you

"My nurses aren't completely innocent either but I'm willing to chance it if you are. Besides, Beth has been dying to meet Agent Morgan." She smiled as her fingers began to play with the hair at the back of his neck. Linda could feel his breath on her hair as he held her tighter and their hips moved in unison to the music.

When love is truly right

It lives from year to year

It changes as it goes

And on the way it grows

But it never disappears

"I was talking to a guy at Beltway Clean Cops that…that had lost a baby with his wife. He told me about something that they did. He said that it helped pull them through."

After all the stops and starts

We keep coming back to these two hearts

Two angels who've been rescued from the fall

After all that we've been through

It all comes down to me and you

I guess it's meant to be

Forever you and me

After all

"What," Linda said when something bounced off her head. The same thing happened to Reid moments later. The couple looked at the peanuts on the floor and out at their friends as the last strains of the song ended.

"Hey you two," Morgan yelled. "Get a room!"

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General Mattingly strode down the hallway to the nurses' station where Shirley, Sandy and Beth were discussing their newest H1N1 admission. "Good morning," Mitch Mattingly said as he began to peruse the patient's chart. "I'm just letting you know that you're going to have to put up with just me today. Dr. Kimura has called in ill. I thought she looked rather run down yesterday so she likely needs a good rest."

His eyes flicked up from the chart while his head remained down and he appeared intent on reading, to see Beth nudge Shirley, "Yes, I'm uh… sure a day in bed will do her the world of good," Shirley said.

The general's mouth curved into a sly smirk. "Good work ladies," he said as he patted the chart. "Carry on," he said with a wink as he left them.

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"Where's Reid?" Garcia asked the others when she entered the BAU bullpen and found his desk empty. She was eager to find out if all was right again with him and Linda.

"He's late," Morgan said as he swiveled in his chair.

"No, he's not," Hotch told them, walking by with a steaming cup of coffee. "He called in sick."

"His arm must be bothering him more than he was letting on," Emily remarked.

"Yeah, must be," Rossi agreed as he and Hotch shared a rare grin while climbing the stairs to their offices.

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Quiet Hills Park was all but empty this early on a Sunday morning. The sun had barely risen on the place where Chad Brown had unleashed his attack on the innocent men, women and children who enjoyed the space. There were two people in the park, however, even at this early hour. Spencer Reid hoisted the last shovelful of dirt from the ground that finally made the hole big enough. "How did you get permission to do this?" Linda asked.

"Hotch knows somebody on the Parks Board. He convinced him it would be good for their green initiative." Reid went over to the box they had brought and removed a small magnolia sapling.

"I think this is the perfect place to plant it. If it hadn't been for the anthrax, I wouldn't have met you and we wouldn't have conceived our little girl. It will always be a remembrance, like she's still with us in a way; that she got a chance at life," Linda said as she held the thin trunk straight while Reid piled the dirt back in the hole and tamped it down. He hooked a hose up to the park's water system and sprayed the ground liberally with water.

"There," he said with a nod as he put his arms around Linda. "Her roots can grow deep and in the spring she'll blossom and be beautiful, just like her mother."

"And she'll grow tall and strong, just like her father," Linda said.

"She'll offer shade for park visitors and shelter for birds and squirrels. She'll welcome sunshine and rain equally," Reid replied.

"But most of all, she'll go on spreading her bounty to brighten her little corner of the world long after we're gone," Linda added.

"That's as it should be," Reid said.

"Yes," Linda agreed, "that's as it should be."

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The End

A/N: After All was composed by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford