A/N: This story's been cooking up in the back of my mind for ages, since I found out certain things…

Mild SPOILER ALERT, I guess. At the moment we're watching season 4 episodes of 'CM' where I live, but I've kept taps on what's to come. And lately I've been slightly alarmed when hearing that season 6 will include a big secret of Reid's, and it has something to do with genes. Plus, it's something the team has to deal with as a family. I've also gathered that there's been hints (tiny, but still) towards stomach problems (stomach ache, possible vomiting, signs of not being well in general…). So I'm a bit panicked here; after remembering that Reid's uncle (?) died when he was a child my instant thought was that there's a cancer-gene or something similar in his family. And my mind came up with a conclusion that poor Reid is very, VERY sick in not so distant future. (winces) Not that I mind Reid getting some extra screen-time, but I'm worried about the possibility of a terminal illness. This is also my idea of how the team could possibly find out about his secret. END OF SPOILER ALERT.

And that's how this story was born; this is my attempt of grasping on one possibility of what's to come. (grins sheepishly)

DISCLAIMER: (sighs) Oh boy, if only… But I can barely afford feeding my cat.

WARNINGS: A SLIGHT (as in barely excistant) possibility of spoilers, a bit of violence… (blinks) Heh, for my story that's a surprisingly short list.

Awkay, because I've already been rambling for AGES… (takes a deep breath, and gulps nervously) I really, REALLY hope you'll enjoy the ride!

/ From the beginning it was all too clear to Aaron Hotchner that this case wasn't a average one. Not when the UnSub was Evan Preston, who submerged once more after three new murders.

The last time he tried to catch the man – or no, a monster who'd by then killed and raped six women – two police-officers were killed and he was sent to a hospital. That's why Aaron was even more cautious than usual. And he noticed that Spencer looked much less than healthy. That's when he made the tragic mistake of telling the younger man to go to the hotel and get some rest.

Now stood before a window, Aaron felt his eyes darken significantly as his chest tightened.

Exactly fifteen hours and twenty minutes ago they'd found Spencer's car abandoned from the parking lot, a hint of blood on the sharp corner of its door. A note had been left for them to the driver's seat of the vehicle.

'How much do you want to find me now?'

"Hotch." It was fortunate, perhaps, that Emily's voice pulled him away from that memory. He saw hints of what was spinning inside him hiding in her eyes. She swallowed. "Reid… He's been through a lot. He'll hang on. But… To help him you have to stop blaming yourself on something you couldn't possibly see coming, okay? You couldn't have guessed he'd come after one of us."

Aaron opened his mouth to respond, but never got the chance to before his cell-phone came to life. His heart deffinitely missed a beat when he saw who the caller was.

'Reid' flashed on the screen.

He didn't wait a second before picking up. "Reid? Are you alright?" He was dimly aware that behind him a chair screeched loudly when Derek Morgan got up rapidly.

The first thing he heard was a whimper, most deffinitely that of pain. And then, so quietly he barely heard, Spencer spoke. "Hotch, don't… Don't come here, 'k? Don't…!"

The cry of agony that followed almost stopped Aaron's heart before sending his blood boiling. "Reid!" He was unaware of the rest of the team staring at him with questioning, fearfull eyes, of David Rossi's hand on his shoulder. All he could focus on was the utter silence on the other end.

Then a entirely new voice spoke. Evan Preston. "It looks like Dr. Reid passed out, so I'm taking over from here." There was a second's pause. "I'm sure you understand that his time is running out, rapidly. So if you have any intention whatsoever of seeing him alive again, I suggest you come here fast."

Aaron grit his teeth and balled one fist. "Where are you?"

Preston actually chuckled. "I have a feeling that you know the place. You've already been here, the last time you tried to catch me."

Aaron's eyes flashed as memories floated through his head. "Melissa Jacobs."

"Hmm, I knew you'd get the picture. It's been eight years since I killed her, remember? I thought I could borrow her house, since her parents never sold it. Now you finally have the chance to put that bullet into my skull you promised." There was a beat's pause. "But I suggest you hurry, the doctor isn't looking too good right now. And be sure to bring the entire team along."

Aaron frowned, feeling inhumanly cold. "How can I know…?"

"Tick tock, agent Hotchner", Preston interrupted him. "You've already wasted enough time." With that the man hung up.

"Hotch." Derek's voice was filled with impatience and something quite close to fear. "What's going on? Is Reid okay?"

Hotch took a breath before making his decision and spoke in a voice he couldn't recognize. "We're going. Now." /

The hospital's waiting room was suffocatingly silent as Aaron Hotchner sat on one of its painfully uncomfortable benches, his face buried into one hand. There was a extremely strained look on his tensed face as he kept his stinging eyes firmly closed, gritting his teeth.

The events of that day kept playing themselves before his closed eyes, taunting him. And he couldn't help wondering if…

Fortunately that endless circle of thoughts was finally cut when he sensed someone watching him. Lifting his gaze and opening his eyes slowly, Aaron saw the same doctor who'd taken Spencer with her through those damned double-doors. There was a look he just didn't manage to read in her green eyes.

Making sure Derek and Emily were still sleeping on the seats next to his, Aaron pushed his incredibly stiff body up and made his way out of the room. The journey to the doctor was one of the longest he'd ever made although it was barely fifteen steps. "Well?" he demanded instantly, his voice carrying a sharp edge he hadn't meant.

The doctor – Ollen, wasn't she? – took a deep breath. It seemed to take a tiny eternity before she finally spoke. "None of the stab wounds were lethal, although some of them were fairly deep and Dr. Reid lost a lot of blood. He's going to recover from them over time." Her eyes hardened. "Despite his condition Dr. Reid is a very lucky man, but you really need to convince him to take it easy. With the treatments his body isn't strong enough to take strain like this – it's a surprise he's still able to work at all, especially considering his job description."

Aaron frowned, feeling absolutely all warmth disappear from his body. "What are you talking about?"

Dr. Ollen's eyes widened as she realized. "So he hasn't told you…"

/ The old, barely still standing house looked hollow and lifeless as the team approached it soundlessly, their guns raised and their eyes darting for even the slightest trace of danger. As they made it to the front door Aaron suddenly stopped and lifted his other hand in a signal for them to stop before pointing downwards. A wire, to trigger a explosive no doubt.

The house was booty trapped. Their job had just became severely more difficult.

They moved even more carefully than before. Quite miraculously they avoided a maze of more wires as they made their way through the dusty and shadowy, furniture-free room towards stony stairs that led downstairs.

That was when they heard the scream, followed by another voice. The same Aaron remembered far too well from the phone call he'd received what felt like ages ago. "… that again, and the next one sinks deeper. Understood, doctor?"

A soft whimper was the man's response, followed by words they heard much too clearly although they were barely even whispered. "Please, just… Just do it. Please. You don't… have to hurt them, 'k? They don't have to…" Spencer swallowed loudly. "Just… Just kill me. Leave them alone, and kill me. Please."

Aaron felt a extremely painful jolt in his chest that made his facial muscles tense, and beside him Emily gasped faintly. He barely had the time to see the dangerous flash in Derek's eyes before the man was already moving, as swiftly as a attacking wild animal. It was pure luck the stairs weren't wired. Clearly Evan Preston had expected them to get careless earlier. It was a surprising and welcomed slip-up.

After exchanging loudly speaking looks the rest of the team moved quickly to follow – to make sure Derek didn't do anything stupid. Aaron made it halfway there before a set of loud shouts was followed by a gunshot that echoed in the tiny space like a explosion. There was a surprisingly loud thud just before Aaron finally made it there and took in the chilling sight before him.

Preston was dead. That much was obvious from the pool of blood, coming from a gunshot wound on the man's head. Derek was staring at the corpse with hard, unforgiving eyes, as though expecting it to get up again. Aaron's attention, however, focused on Spencer although what he found made it incredibly difficult to maintain his stoic expression. He had a feeling his mask cracked.

Spencer had been attached to a huge hook on the ceiling by a rope that'd cut nasty-looking burns to the man's wrists. The pressure on the young man's wrists must've been excruciating, because his bare toes barely touched the floor. There were at least ten stab wounds all over the brunet's body, and they were all too easy to see because the young genius only had his pants on. Aaron didn't dare to even try and guess how deep the wounds were – the amount of blood covering Spencer's body and the floor below it told more than enough. The man's eyes were closed, squeezed tightly shut.

Aaron barely noticed Emily doing the same on his other side as he rushed to Spencer's right and started working on the ropes. It wasn't until then Spencer opened his eyes. At first they held a look of wild terror in them, but soon they changed and filled with moisture when recognizing him. "You… You didn't…"

"Everything's okay", Aaron reassured his youngest agent. "We're here to take you home."

Just then the ropes finally gave way, sending Spencer's weaked form falling limply against Aaron. He took a firm yet tender hold of the slim body, mindful of the injuries, and lowered them both to the ground. He mouthed 'Call an ambulance' to Emily before focusing on Spencer once more. He wondered with a great deal of worry if the younger man was going into a shock. "Spencer, stay with me, alright? Stay with me."

He had to strain his hearing to catch the words Spencer breathed out. "I… I don't want to die, Hotch. I don't want to die."

"I know. I know." Aaron's voice was much softer than usual as he pulled the violently shivering younger man slightly closer, his thoughts and feelings racing a million miles per hour. "We're getting you out of here, now. It's over. You're safe."

Aaron didn't know if it was because of all the stress and terror finally catching up with him, or for some entirely different reason. But at that moment Spencer broke into soundless, heartbreaking sobs. And Aaron wanted very much to do the same. /

Night had fallen long ago, so Spencer's room was quiet and dark as Aaron stood before the window with his arms folded, his eyes not really taking in anything of the sight outside. He was shivering, and his thoughts spun madly while Dr. Ollen's words echoed in his ears.

'…two months ago…'

'…cancer…'

'…don't know if…'

'I'm sorry.'

They'd thought Spencer was safe once they got him out of the UnSub's hands, to the hospital where a yet another set of battle wounds could be taken care of. How were they supposed to know that the greatest threat was inside Spencer, that it was something they had no control over?

Aaron took a deep breath, noticing far too easily how it shuddered.

They'd… almost lost Spencer today, again, after the man had fought so very hard to help the team despite everything. And Aaron couldn't help wondering just how much more his youngest agent, a member of BAU's strange family, was supposed to take and overcome. Wondering if this job was asking too much.

He wondered, because he tried so very hard to keep his mind from tangling to the dangerous, horrifying question of whether they'd lose Spencer, after all.

Today, as it turned out, was one of those far too many days when Aaron hated his job from the bottom of his heart.

Just then there was the sound of a body shifting in the bed behind him, followed by a tiny mew of pain. Aaron stiffened, then braced himself with gritting his teeth and turned slowly.

It was time to face the entirely new nightmare.

'There is something in sickness that breaks down the pride of manhood.'

(Charles Dickens)

End.

A/N: Ah, now I finally have it off my chest! Almost. (sighs) Although I'm still dreading what's to come for poor Reid this time. (winces) But this I swear; if Reid disappears from 'CM', I'll never watch another episode. I do love the other characters as well, but kicking Reid out of the show completely would be unforgivable in my book. So let's hope I won't have to give up on my favorite TV-show… (Although I trust the creators of the series to be smarter than that.)

BUT, now… (gulps extremely nervously) Was the story any good, at all? PLEASE, leave me a message to let me know your thoughts! For some reason I'm extremely… self-conscious, I guess, when it comes to sending this baby out into the world, so hearing your thoughts would mean A LOT to me.

Thank you so much for reading! Perhaps I'll see ya guys around some day…? (glances hopefully)

Peace out!