Title: All Fall Down

Pairings: None

Rating: T

Warnings: Angst; death

A/N: Alright, anyone who's read any of my other work probably knows that I absolutely adore angst and this is definitely angsty, but it's also fairly uncharted territory for me so… brace yourselves and let me know what you think!

(Also, yes, I did use the Fitzgerald quote in the last update of Snapshots, but it's one of my favorite quotes and it fits very well for this.)

Reviews are much loved!

All Fall Down

Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tears like an ocean, never ending, never slowing. People clad in black clothing, heads bowed low, disbelief and horror and real, true grief churning behind every set of eyes. It was a dark day in the hearts of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, a dark day with the sun shining high above their heads, birds singing, white clouds wisping overhead. A cruel reminder that even in tragedy, the world keeps on turning and spinning, oblivious to the suffering of its inhabitants…

Adrenaline pumped through their veins as the SUV came to a shuddering halt, jerking the agents forward as they shot out of the doors, not bothering to wait until the vehicle had stopped moving completely. Sweat beaded their brows as Morgan and Hotch took the lead, with Prentiss, JJ, Reid and Rossi right behind them.

"Reid, you and JJ go right!" Hotch ordered, "Head around back and see if you can find a way inside!"

The two agents nodded briskly, never pausing in their stride as they hurried around the side of the building and the team of agents separated.

The music was playing now. Slow and sad and somber as they marched down the trail, heads still bowed. Morgan wasn't even bothering to hide his tears as he looked solemnly ahead, staring at nothing of consequence. The metal in his hand felt cold and the rest of him felt numb. The last time he'd been here, his head had been racing with so many thoughts and 'what-ifs', but not this time. No… He was hollow inside. Carved out completely.

All he could think of was keeping on. One foot in front of the other. Someday, not any day soon, he knew he'd be able to feel again. It was just like when his dad had died… Months, maybe even years would pass before he would really smile, but it would happen. His clammy hands gripped the handle tighter and his throat convulsed.

At least… he hoped it would.

JJ bent down beneath a window, Reid close behind her, sneaking a glance over her shoulder.

"I can't hear a thing," JJ whispered, holding her gun between her knees, finger resting lightly on the trigger as she turned to look at the taller agent. "Do you think they're still alive?"

Reid didn't respond immediately, his hazel eyes distant and worried as he shifted his weight and got a better grip on his revolver, "Hard to say," he admitted, finally turning his gaze back to the blond agent, "He's angry and emotional right now; that makes him highly unpredictable."

JJ worried her lower lip, turning her attention back to the window. It was too dark inside to see anything clearly, but she thought she saw the outline of two people. Whether or not they were both alive was another story. "His own daughter though…" she shook her head in quite disbelief.

Reid's face remained unchanged, worried and thoughtful as ever, "We've seen it before," he reminded her grimly.

JJ shook her head fiercely, determination lighting behind her blue eyes, "Not today," she said sternly, fixing the young doctor with a hard stare, "Not today."

Prentiss never thought she'd be back in this place again. At least, not so soon after her own "death". She had known the pain she'd put the team through when they'd been led to believe that she was truly gone, but now… now she really understood. It was a horrible, aching emptiness right in her chest, as if something had been ripped away and as she followed the slow, sad procession she couldn't stop her tears from smearing her mascara.

Her blood was like ice in her veins as she fought to keep her emotions under control. It was horrible and unthinkable and yet it had happened and there was nothing she could ever do to undo the damage. Discreetly, she swiped a tear away and turned her eyes from the casket, unable to look at it properly any longer.

Reid and JJ found the door and stood on either side of it, JJ reaching out and testing the handle, surprise flickering across her face when it turned easily. He'd left the door unlocked. She looked to her partner for a moment and swallowed heavily, holding her breath for a moment as they lifted their weapons in unison.

"Hotch, the back's open," she whispered hoarsely into the microphone on her collar. There was a moment's pause before Hotch's voice came crackling back over the speakers.

"We've got the front covered," he said, "It's locked. SWAT's on their way. We'll hold it from here. If you see or hear anything before, go in. But be careful."

The two agents nodded and leaned against the side of the building, crossing their fingers and hoping that this was going to be as easy as it seemed. Before they could get too comfortable, however, they heard an angry, half-desperate male voice shriek from inside and a young girl cried out.

"STOP IT! SIT STILL!" the man yelled angrily. They heard the sound of a rifle cocking and their hearts froze. So much for waiting on SWAT.

"Hotch, we're going in," Reid spoke quickly into his receiver, "She's not going to last if we don't."

Echoes of gunshots reverberated through Hotch's mind as he made his way along the wet grass. The last time he'd been at a funeral, he'd been consumed with guilt, but it was a different kind of guilt. The kind of guilt a person felt for deceiving the people they loved.

This guilt was worse. The kind of guilt a person felt when they were responsible for someone else, and they hadn't been there when it truly counted. The kind of guilt he had felt the day Hailey had died. He stared straight ahead, the same stoic expression on his face that he worked hard to always maintain. Only the team could see the cracks in his mask. Only they knew that inside he was a moment away from breaking down and completely losing control.

He'd lost agents before, seen men and women die in the line of duty more times than he could count. But this was harder than any of those times. He didn't know why and he didn't care to know why. All he knew was that it was true and even he couldn't get a firm grip on his emotions as the funeral march played on and the birds sang in the trees above.

The room was dark as Reid and JJ rushed in, guns ready. The scene they found was horrific. A tall, scraggly looking man dressed in torn, bloodied clothes was standing over a teenage girl, absolute terror in her wide brown eyes.

There was a gash on her forehead, one of her eyes encircled a dark bruise and her lower lip had been busted.

The moment the agents entered the room the man whipped around, holding a shotgun in his shaking hands and swinging it between the two of them.

"St-Stay back!" his voice shook as he spoke and JJ glared daggers at him.

"Mr. Reese, step away from your daughter and put down the gun. We can talk this through calmly, alright?"

He'd been at this job for nearly half his life now and he'd suffered losses people wouldn't believe if he told them. He'd watched innocent men and women die, seen some of the most horrific scenes any human could be witness to and none of that could ever truly prepare a person to lose someone. Friend or family… Or friends who were like family.

When Rossi had decided to come back to the BAU, he'd never expected to grow attached to the agents he was working with. In the old days, they would have simply been coworkers and nothing more. But this team functioned differently and that made it all the harder to lose an agent. Especially like this. Standing in the bright sun, amidst all these other mourning people, watching as a friend was lowered in the ground. Nothing could compare to the trauma, the grief. And nothing would erase the pain of losing another person he cared about before he was ready for them to go.

"No," Reese shook his head, swinging the shotgun again, this time to point it at his daughter who flinched away and whimpered quietly. "No talking, just get out. Get out or she dies."

"She's your daughter!" JJ protested angrily, taking a half-step forward and stopped when his finger tensed over the trigger.

Reid licked his lips, looking between the gun and Reese's daughter, "Mr. Reese, please," he said quietly, "Just put your gun down. We only want to talk, that's all. Just talk. We can help you if you'll let us."

"Help me?" Reese laughed, a loud, barking laugh that sent chills down JJ's spine. "You can't help me! I put this gun down, I get the death penalty. No way." He shook his head violently, "I'm not gonna do it."

It was worse than before. She hadn't thought it was possible to hurt any more than she had when they "lost" Prentiss, but she did. Perhaps it was because it had been such a short time ago that they had been to this cemetery, perhaps it was because it had happened on such an ordinary day on a routine case. If there were ordinary days in the BAU. If there was such a thing as routine day. Sure, agents died in the field all the time, but Garcia had to believe it wasn't any everyday thing.

There was supposed to be some kind of warning. Some dark, ominous message to let her know that tragedy lay ahead. Instead she sat in her dark little office, crossing her fingers as she always did and having faith that the team was going to capture the UnSub, Mr. Jonathan Reese, and close the book on yet another case. There had been no warning that in less than an hour's time she would receive the worst phone call she'd ever gotten…

She didn't even bother to keep up a brave face. Not anymore. What was the point? Being brave didn't change the fact that they were standing here, burying a friend and loved one. Being brave only made it hurt more when she was alone. She didn't have the strength or will to be brave any longer, so instead she held Morgan's hand and allowed him to be brave for her because right now, she really needed her Adonis to tell her that everything was going to be alright, even though she knew what a terrible lie that was.

"Yes, we can help you, Mr. Reese," Reid assured the man, cautiously moving forward and lowering his gun slightly. "I promise you, if you put the gun down, we will do everything we can to help you."

Reese swallowed roughly and shook his head, the gun swinging back around to point at them, his eyes shifty and anxious, sweat beading on his brow. Reid and JJ eyed the door behind him, wondering how much longer it was going to take for SWAT to arrive. Or for Morgan to try and knock the door down himself.

"No," he said sternly, "Just leave, or I'll kill her, I swear I will!"

JJ couldn't hide the contempt she held for the other man. He'd killed six women. Six. And now he was going to use his own daughter as a hostage. "She's your daughter!" she argued again, "Your own flesh and blood! How can you even consider taking her life?"

Reese's hands shook slightly, but he ignored JJ and stared at the agents seriously.

Reid licked his lips anxiously, "Mr. Reese, listen to me, that gun isn't going to solve your problems. If you attempt to shoot your daughter, we'll shoot you and take you into custody then. Please, just put the gun down. We don't need any more blood spilled today,"

There was a tense pause and for a moment it seemed like Reese was considering putting down his weapon, but then he simply lifted the shotgun higher, keeping it trained on the two agents, "No," he said with renewed vigor, "Get out now or I start shooting. NOW!"

JJ's jaw was tight as she shifted her weight and tightened her finger over the trigger of her gun, "We can't do that until your daughter is safe, Mr. Reese. Listen to Agent Reid and put you weapon down," she ground out the words through her teeth and when Reese still didn't respond she snapped.

"Damn it, she's your daughter, Reese! You can kill six anonymous women, but can you really murderer you own child!"

Reese paused, thinking about that for a short moment, "No," he finally admitted, "But that doesn't save you."

Before either agent reacted, Reese pulled the trigger and the shot exploded in the small room.

It wasn't fair. Of course, life was rarely fair, but this was one of those times when it was really and truly just completely unfair. As she stood beside the rest of her team, her heart was the heaviest, her tears the saddest. Her grief the most powerful.

JJ blamed herself more than anyone would ever know. Reid had almost gotten killed once before when they were together and it was like fate was mocking her for doing things like this. Everything had happened so fast and yet she recalled all in slow motion.

She would have died if Reid hadn't saved her. Prentiss told her later that Reese had pulled the trigger, it was his fault, not hers. But she had snapped. She had lost her temper and Reid had paid the price with his own life and it was all her fault.

JJ couldn't move, her legs numb from shock. Both agent fired shots seconds after Reese and Reid heard the man's daughter scream as her father hit the ground with a thud. In less than a fraction of a second, Reid had reacted, shoving a started JJ to the side and gasping as the bullet meant for her tore into his exposed throat.

JJ had screamed as he fell to his knees, trying to talk, but not being able too as blood spilled from his mouth and throat. The world went dark and he felt his head spin. Funny, he'd expected more pain…

He hadn't realized it when he fell completely, not until JJ's face swam above him and he vaguely felt her hand clutch his. His body was going numb. Shutting down slowly as he lost blood. A fatal shot to the jugular. His fuzzy mind calculated that he had less than a minute.

As he looked up into JJ's horrified blue eyes he used the last of his strength to squeeze her fingers and the last thing he heard was her half-choked sob as the life left his expressive eyes and she held on to all that was left of her best friend.

There is no tragedy so great as the death of a hero. No loss so painful as the loss of a friend. They have faced dark days in their past, they had dark days yet to come, but this day seemed to be the darkest of them all. Nothing would fill the void left in their hearts or their souls by the death of Spencer Reid.

~fin~

What really raises one's indignation against suffering is not suffering intrinsically, but the senselessness of suffering.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

A/N: And that my friends, is the most depressing thing I have ever written. *sobs*

I wrote this most because I was re-watching The Dark Knight and watching that movie is a bad idea if I ever want to write something happy ever again. Seriously, if you haven't seen it you need to. (It's a great movie) But be wary. There seriously isn't a happy ending. At all.

Anywho, hope you guys, uh, enjoyed this! Opinions are much loved! First time I've ever written character death… And I seriously hate myself for it. But please let know what you thought!