Dr. Spencer Reid hurried home as fast as he could, his fists shoved in his coat pockets and his entire body shivering. He liked winter- shivering was a lot better than sweating- but it was times like this he wished he lived somewhere like Florida or California. Or at least had a car. Reid fumbled for his keys and sighed, rubbing his hands together as soon as he got inside his apartment building. As he began to climb the stairs, the lights went out. That was odd. Maybe around Christmas people were using up more electricity than usual but he couldn't remember the last time the power went out for the entire building. Perhaps there was a problem with the electrical line, he mused as he reached his apartment, pulling out his keys again. Upon entering, Reid hurriedly went to get his gun. He would never admit it, but after all those years of chasing after murderers and keeping calm at the gruesome, bloody scenes, Reid was absolutely terrified of the dark. He remembered Gandalf's words from Lord of the Rings, "And in the darkness, bind them." Bad things happened in the dark. Reid preferred daylight much better. He went to look for his flashlight and cursed, realizing it had no batteries. He decided to invite the team over, since he didn't want to be alone and had not candles. He figured Garcia would and reached in his back pockets for his phone. As he pulled it out, he couldn't help but remember the fresh batteries he had put in his flashlight a week ago. They couldn't have run out that quickly. Especially since he hadn't used his flashlight at all. Reid shrugged it off, knowing it would freak him out too much to dwell on it and dialed Garcia's number. It was getting cold and he wished desperately that the electricity would turn back on. The phone rang a couple of times until Garcia.

"Penelope Garcia, representing the lollipop guild. How may I help you?"

Reid chuckled. "Hey, Garcia. It's Reid."

"I know," She answered brightly. "Remember that thing they came up with about ten years ago called 'caller ID'?"

"1969, Garcia." Reid said.

"What?"

"Caller ID. It was first used in 1969 but I have no idea who thought of it first." Reid said, smirking.

"Why do you know that?" Garcia asked, sounding impressed.

"What, am I supposed to fill my head with useful trivia?" Reid said sarcastically. "Speaking of which, did you know that Norwegian scientists have hypothesized Rudolph's red nose being a result of severe respiratory problems?"

"Oh good, Christmas trivia. Time to get in the spirit!"Garcia laughed.

Reid was about to bring up the first artificial Christmas tree when he shivered and remembered why he had called Garcia in the first place. "Well anyway, the reason I called is because the power went out in my apartment building and I was wondering if you had any-" Reid froze and the grin slid off his face. There was someone in his apartment. Someone was walking into his living room. Someone was cocking a gun. Reid stood there, his gun raised at the shadow of a person standing in the corner. He was silent for a long time and Garcia started to worry. "Any what?" she asked. No answer.

"Reid? You there?" She brought the phone away from her ear to see if the line had disconnected, but it hadn't. She started to panic. "Reid? Spencer! Answer me! Can you hear me? Are you alright? Reid!" Garcia had to calm her hysterics when she heard the all too familiar sound of a gunshot just before Reid hung up. She continued to shout his name into the phone, knowing that he couldn't hear her.

She put the phone down and thought for a minute. Oh god, oh god, oh god. Was all she could think. She had to clear her head. Reid needed help and she had to call someone to protect her baby. And Garcia knew exactly who to call. She dialed and waited impatiently for Morgan to pick up.

"What's up, baby girl?" He was happy that she had called him because he was so bored and needed to hear her bright, bubbly voice. None such tone awaited him. Only a panicked and shaking voice that said,

"Derek, you need to get over to Reid's now! He's in trouble. He just called me and then I heard a gunshot and he said that the power was out and please protect my baby." Garcia choked out the last few words on a sob leaving Morgan confused and worried. When he finally processed what Garcia had said, he jumped up and ran out the door.

This couldn't be happening. Not so close to the holidays. What a great freaking present. He tried to think about the best case scenario as he drove to Reid's apartment like a mad man, listening to Garcia's panicked sobs and telling her to breathe. Best case scenario: Reid had accidently let his gun go off because of his fear of the dark. Yeah, the team knew about it. It was obvious. Worst case scenario: Reid was dead. He tried not to think about that one and focus on the other scenarios as he arrived at Reid's apartment building and ran inside as another resident was walking out. Reid could have shot his attacker, maybe killing him. Or he might have been shot with a non fatal blow, allowing himself to be taken by whoever was in his apartment.

Morgan raced up the stairs two at a time and as he reached the floor Reid's apartment was one, he had a hunch he knew which one it was. He hoped it was wrong, but then Garcia confirmed his suspicions and, taking a deep breath, Morgan pushed open the already slightly ajar door and took a look around. Even in the dark, what he saw made him cringe.

"Garcia, call Hotch. We got a crime scene" He said.