Criminal Minds 1. Chapter 1

"_And at that very moment, we heard a loud whack!_

_From outside in the fields came a sickening smack_

_of an axe on a tree. Then we heard the tree fall._

_The very last Tuffula Tree of them all!" The Lorax_

"You know it really is amazing that you managed to find the bodies at all! I mean this forest is the largest one in the United States, over 17 million acres," Reid said as the trio made their way through the densely packed forest.

Forest Ranger Stanley Marks only chuckled. "Well like I told that pretty blonde of yours, I was going along on my usual rounds and saw some dirt disturbed. I decided to investigate figuring it was some of the local kids, but as we both know it wasn't."

"We're very glad you could offer us your services," Morgan said, cutting off Reid who looked once again ready to launch into a rant about whatever facts were bouncing around in his head.

"It's no problem. I practically lived in these woods when I grew up, practically spent every weekend here," Ranger Marks said with a faraway look in his eye.

"You know your way around this whole place?" Morgan asked, slightly impressed.

"Pretty much. I've been a ranger for almost thirty years and I've been in these woods since I could walk."

"That's amazing," Reid said as he caught himself from tripping over a root protruding from the ground.

"Alright there pretty boy?" Morgan asked with a teasing grin.

"Fine."

"He's not too good on his feet," Morgan explained the forest ranger.

"We all have our talents. I hear you're pretty good with the maps," Ranger Marks.

"And statistics and just being an annoying know-it-all," Morgan added under his breath.

Reid ignored the other agent, "I suppose so."

"Me too. I actually took a few classes about reading and making maps when I was in Texas for college. They're pretty helpful, especially when you're dealing with huge places like these woods. Easy to get lost if you don't know where ya going."

"You went to Texas for college? I didn't think that most Alaskans would do that."

"Yep. I thought that maybe I could find something better out in a different climate. I loved the forest, but I couldn't live my whole life wondering what if. I had to get out and experience at least something different than the Alaskan life. But of course after college I moved right back."

"How come?" Morgan asked.

"Too hot. Every day was like sitting in a boiler. So when I graduated I moved back up here, got a place of my own and became a ranger. Never looked back."

"Reid you got any statistics on the weather of Texas?" Morgan asked with a smirk.

"Actually Texas is a fairly diverse climate. Since it's so massive you can have several different weather patterns happening at once. For instance, in Laredo it is almost constantly close to the 90's all year whereas in Amarillo you even get some inches of snow," Reid explained.

"No average overall?"

"I'd say 70 degrees."

"So you're the genius," Ranger Marks said with a nod.

"Well not technically a genius-"

Morgan cut off the younger agent, "Yes, he's a genius."

"Well we're almost at the sight where I found the body. You guys come up with any suspects yet? I know you're suspecting some of the locals and I know that nobody in town feels good about that."

"We think it's a local because who else would know these woods so well. Like you said it can be easy to get lost in this place and the Unsub –the killer- he obviously knows where he's going," Reid explained.

"He?"

"Statistics show that serial killers are most likely to be male than female."

"So this guy is a serial killer now."

"We have already found five bodies in these woods. There could be any number of them buried all over this place, so yes, this is a serial killer," Morgan said.

Ranger Marks rubbed a hand over his aged face. "None of the locals are going to like that very much. People move here to get away from the rest of the world's troubles."

"We'll deal with the locals; you just do your job. We're very good at our job and hopefully we'll be out of here within the next few days."

"You're pretty confident."

Morgan and Reid only exchanged glances. Neither of the agents felt compelled to tell the Forest Ranger of their success rate or how many Unsubs had been locked away because of their quick thinking.

"So far, none of the victims have been from here, they're all tourists. Do you know of any one in town that has a strong hatred for visitors, maybe they even talk about how much they loathe the tourists in public places…things like that, ring a bell?" Reid asked after a few minutes of undisturbed silence.

"No, we usually like the visitors. They're friendly enough and the people around here are kind folks. And we don't usually see too much of each other. The locals go for the hardcore camping and hiking while most visitors take the easy hiking trails," Ranger Marks said.

"Okay, but does anybody have an anger issue? The man we're looking for makes fast and deliberate moves on his victims. Sometimes he keeps on stabbing them long after the victim has died, that doesn't just show up, that's a long history of rage," Morgan asked.

"Well of course there are people like that here, you get them everywhere!" Ranger Marks was close to shouting now.

"Ranger Marks, we don't mean to offend you or anyone in this town. I'm sure you're all good people, we just need to know these things to help find the man who is doing this."

Ranger Marks sighed, "There are a few, but they mostly drink the local bar dry then go home and beat their wives. It's sad but true. Even up here we have our bad apples no matter how hard we try to wrap it all up."

"That helps a lot. When we get back to the station you can give us the names of those people."

"Ranger Marks, is there anyone who is particularly attached to this forest. I know you all love this place, but this man would have an almost obsession with this place…" Reid trailed off as he stared up at the trees towering above him.

"Reid, what are you asking?" Morgan asked, snapping his neck to look at his colleague, "We didn't discuss that."

"I know, but I think that the Unsub didn't just bury his victims out here because it was hidden from everyone else. I mean, there are plenty more deserted places here, Alaska is almost all deserted. But this is a national forest, there are people patrolling these areas all the time. I think it has a deeper meaning to it…like the Unsub feels an attachment to the forest."

"Well, I guess we all feel an attachment to this place. The government is trying to 'modernize' this place or something like that," Ranger Marks said with a bitter tone in his voice. "We're all pretty upset about it."

"What do you mean modernize this place?" Morgan asked.

"The government has been pushing for an act that will build roads through the forest so that supplies can be delivered to small Alaskan towns easier," Reid explained before the Ranger could open his mouth.

"Isn't this a National Forest?"

"Yep, and that's why so many locals are fighting for this place," Ranger Marks said.

"Reid, the Unsub could have been aggravated by the pushing for the roads and that eventually led to him killing. We already know this guy has an anger management issue, if something he treasures is threatened, that's got to push him over the deep end," Morgan said.

"Possibly," Reid said without adding anymore.

"This is the place," Ranger Marks said, stopping abruptly. Reid almost tripped over yet another tree root, but caught himself just in time. Morgan was too busy examining the burial site to smirk at his fellow agent.

"Wait…something is off," Ranger Marks said as the agents examined the sight.

"What do you mean?" Moran asked.

"This place has been disturbed since the last time I was here with the police. Has anyone else been out here?"

"Not to our knowledge, no."

"See, there are fresh prints right here," the ranger gestured to a patch of dirt, "and over here. Yes, someone has been here recently…and I don't think he went far."

"What makes you think that?"

"These tracks don't go towards the town, but that actually go deeper into the forest. I think this may be your killer."

"We didn't think he would come back to the place where he buried his victims, that shows remorse and this killer obliviously has no remorse," Reid said as he scratched his scalp.

"So what is he doing back here?" Ranger Marks asked, fear starting to show in his aged eyes.

"I'm not sure…"

"Reid," Morgan said ad gestured a few paces away from the ranger. Reid nodded and walked away to join his colleague, leaving the Ranger to gaze up at the sky. "Do you really think it's the Unsub?"

"I don't know who else would come out here?"

"You have your gun right?"

"Yes," Reid said.

"Me too."

"What are we going to do if the Unsub comes here?"

"The Ranger said that the footprints went further into the woods. Maybe he heard that we were in town and came to see if we had found where he buried the body."

Reid was about to respond, but before he could a twig snapped to his right. The young profiler quickly turned his body around only to hear a gunshot go off and see the Forest Ranger fall to the ground with a hole in his forehead.

Morgan grabbed Reid's shoulders and pushed him to the left, "Reid, run!"

"But-"

"Run! I'll be right behind you."

Trying to not remember the last time he had separated with his partner with an Unsub in their presence, Reid broke for a run into the Togass forest. He felt his skin being scratched with branches and brambles, but he never once stopped running.

Another gunshot rang out and Reid prayed like no other that Morgan hadn't been on the receiving end of that bullet.

The young profiler felt his clumsy feet trip on once again a tree root. He crashed to the ground, all the air being knocked out of himself as he did so.

Groaning, the young profiler rolled to his back and looked up. That's when it finally hit the genius.

He was in the middle of a 17 million acre forest without any idea where he was.

Morgan might be dead.

And there was an Unsub in these exact same woods.

Reid didn't think that the Unsub would get lost as easily.

**Author's Note: I think this would have never have happened if Reid had a sassy gay friend. Things are only going to pick up from here. **


	2. Chapter 2

Reid was lying on the icy cold ground for longer then he would like to admit to himself. It was just so tempting to close his eyes and take a few hour long nap and forget the world and its troubles. Nightmares were back with a vengeance bringing with them four hours for sleep each night.

But he would rather bight off his own tongue then come running back to Morgan or Hotch. Perhaps if Gideon was still with the team, but even then it was a stretch. Reid was a man in his mid-twenties, not a five year old child to be coddled.

He rolled over to his stomach and slowly pushed his sore and aching body to a standing position. The young doctor swayed a little on his feet but otherwise remained steady.

A strong wind blew through the forest and Reid couldn't help but shudder. He had packed nearly all of his winter clothes for this trip –it was October after all- and he was even wearing a big parka borrowed from one of the police officers at the station, but still it wasn't enough.

Reid cursed Las Vegas and its desert climate. He suffered bitterly every winter in Quantico and when they had a case in a forsaken town far up in the cold north; he just wanted to scream in frustration.

Couldn't Unsubs kill in mild climates only? What was it with the cold that attracted dangerous murders?

The young profiler took a look around at his surroundings. He had briefly glanced at the map of the forest before leaving, but he had mostly focused on the sites where the bodies had been buried and not the rest of the 17 million acres. And a map wasn't going to help him after he had taken off running in a random direction.

The trees seemed closer together in his part of the woods. They were tall, thick and seemed to stare down at him with accusing eyes. Reid was vaguely reminded of his high school bullies and how they also surrounded him like giants just as these trees were.

Once again repressing his high school memories, Reid attempted to focus.

"I came from this direction," he said out loud. There was no one around to judge him for acting like a crazy person for talking to himself, and Reid always enjoyed thinking out loud. "But I wasn't really paying attention where I was going…so I took lots of turns. Still, it's better than nothing…"

With his mind made up, the young genius trudged back the way he had ran through. As he walked, he remembered the gunshot that had rang out through the forest and tried to not imagine Morgan's dead body sprawled out on the ground.

"He's not dead, he's Morgan," Reid tried to convince himself, but his words sounded hollow and unconvincing even to himself.

There was a rustle among the leaves and Reid turned to see a wide-eyed squirrel staring back at him. It had an acorn clutched between its tiny paws and seemed to be wondering why this lanky, awkward man was in its forest.

"Do you think Morgan is dead?" Reid couldn't help but ask the little creature. Reid had always wanted a pet when he was younger. He heard that dogs were extremely loyal to their owners and would never leave them or stop loving them. For an eleven year old genius just abandoned by his father, that sounded pretty good to him.

The squirrel simply stared on and then raced off deeper into the woods. Reid stopped and stared for a few seconds before continuing on his journey. "Could have at least given me an answer," he mumbled to himself.

Reid walked in silence, the only sounds being the crunch of leaves underneath his shoes and the soft muttering of "He's not dead," repeated over and over underneath his breath. It was this phrase that gave him a little glimmer of hope amongst this dark, cold place.

As he walked, the young profiler couldn't help but notice the drop in the temperature. He glanced up and saw that daylight was fading fast from the sky. Reid wasn't sure if his thin frame could survive a night out in the harsh Alaskan wilderness.

He had never been a camping man.

Reid rolled back the sleeve of his parka to check the time, but his watch had unfortunately gotten itself smashed when he had fallen earlier. The young genius grumbled to himself and placed the useless watch in his pocket.

He had really liked that watch.

"Well it was three-thirty when Morgan and I left with Ranger Marks. It was a twenty minute drive out here and then we hiked for about forty or so minutes. And I've probably been wandering around for about an hour…so it must be at least five thirty, if not later," Reid reasoned out with himself.

Pausing every now and then, Reid would make a random turn in what he hoped was the right direction. If the genius was honest with himself, he would admit that he had no idea where he was going, but he was pretty sure it was the wrong way. The forest seemed to be getting darker and thicker, not thinning out like it would at the edge of it.

Reid also couldn't shake the terrible feeling that he was being watched. He felt eyes watching him every step he made and Reid swore he heard something moving to his left. But when he had looked, there was nothing there.

Still, there was the feeling that he was not alone. And Reid had seen enough low-budget horror films to know that when you're being watched in the forest, it is never a nice person who's doing the watching.

Reid had already been at the mercy of several Unsubs before, and he did not feel like doing it again, especially out in the Alaskan wilderness with no one around to hear his screams for help. He was positive that he was captured that there would be no videotapes to send clues for his team to come save him.

That is, if his team even noticed his and Morgan's absence yet. They had only been gone for two hours or so which wasn't unusual for the BAU team to be gone. And Hotch never got worried unless there was true reason for him to.

The Chief leader was a very calm man, but for once Reid wished that he wasn't so Hotch would send someone out to come and save Reid from this nightmare.

Once again, he had no desire to spend his night on the cold forest ground. He had been locked out of his house plenty of times when he was younger and knew that even in Las Vegas, nights got cold.

Reid turned around a particularly large tree and froze to the spot from the sight before him. There standing not fifty yards in front of him stood a ginormous brown bear sniffing the pile of bushes next to it. Reid was sure if his mind had not stopped out of terror he could have identified several characteristics and gone on about its eating habits, but now was not the time.

Even he occasionally knew when to keep his mouth shut.

So far the brown bear had not been alerted of his presence and Reid intended to keep it like that. He inched back slowly, hoping to take shelter far away from the predator when his foot snapped a twig.

The bear's head was up instantly. It turned towards Reid and let out a menacing growl. Reid was sure his heart stopped for a brief second.

He raised his hands slowly, "It's okay…I was just leaving…" he said, attempting to reason with the predator despite logic telling him that it was pointless. Bears didn't understand English!

Reid took a cautious step backwards and the bear only advanced one more step.

The young doctor remembered reading about how when faced with a predator such as a bear that one should try to make their body as big as possible. Bears wouldn't want to attack a predator that posed a threat, they were more for weak and easy prey.

Reid slowly maneuvered his body out of the parka he was wearing. He waved it above his head, trying desperately to make his lanky body seem stronger and bigger than it actually was. Oh how he now wished that he had eaten more protein as a teenager.

The bear did not seem to care that the doctor was now waving a parka above his head like an idiot. It took a few steps forward and then rose to its hind legs and let out a terrifying roar.

The whole forest seemed to shake with the force of the bear's roar. Reid was sure his bones were shaken and once again his head skipped a beat. His eyes glanced around desperately, searching for something that could be used as a weapon against a six hundred pound bear.

Reid immediately gave up his search as the bear got back down on all fours and charged straight towards the profiler.

He let out a yelp and took off sprinting into the forest, thinking that this was the second time today he had to run from a dangerous situation. It was almost like the universe really did not want him to have a good day.

Reid's shoelace came untied and he tripped over it and landed face down in the dirt. He only had a few seconds to turn himself over on his stomach when the aggressive bear was on him.

It was like being in high school all over again. Here he was once again in the fetal position as something much stronger and crueler attacked his body mercilessly. Reid really hated being reminded of his years of torment and bullies.

Reid still had the parka in his hands and he tried desperately to push it against the bear's massive claws and sharp teeth. For the most part, it worked out well. Most of the bear's swipes missed his vital organs and sensitive skin.

Then the bear managed to tear through the jacket and clawed Reid's side. He let out a howl of pain as fire seemed to race from the wound and coursed through his entire body. The bear let out a roar that mimicked Reid's own.

The brown bear managed to claw Reid once again on his right bicep before it suddenly stopped with its assault on his small frame. The bear lifted its large head and let out a soft cry.

The cry was echoed in the forest and there was rustling in the bushes a few yards away. The bear moved away from Reid and towards the rustling.

Daring his luck, Reid looked up, biting his lip harshly to keep from screaming out in pain. He knew that any sudden sounds might send the vicious bear into another attack and he preferred all of his body parts to stay inside of him.

Out of the bushes came a much smaller, but identical brown bear. It bounced over to its mother and let out a soft cry. The mother nuzzled its cub and turned back to Reid with something deadly in its eye.

Reid laid his head back down on the ground and tried to pose as little as threat as possible. "I'm not going to hurt your cub," he whispered and hoped beyond all hope that the mother bear would hear him and understand him. He was just an FBI agent who so desperately wanted to find his friend and go home.

The mother bear continued looking at the injured agent, before it nudged its cub away from the doctor. The mother and cub duo stayed a few seconds longer, then they took off back into the deep bowels of the forest.

Reid waited several minutes after the bears had left before he dared to move. He slowly sat his aching body up, sore from falling multiple times and his new acquired bear scratches. Reid looked at the parka in his hands and saw that it had been ripped to shreds.

"Just perfect," Reid whispered and tried to hold back a sob. His side and bicep were pulsing with intense agony and blood was pooling out of both wounds. And now he lost his main source of warmth and night was quickly upon him. Not to mention he was sharing the forest with an Unsub and apparently malicious bears.

Reid used strips from the now useless parka to bandage his still bleeding wounds. They had soaked through his many layers which didn't make the new doctor too happy. He didn't particularly enjoy having his clothes ruined, for shopping was highly expensive.

The task of bandaging his wounds was fairly difficult to do one handed and he cried out in pain several times, but the job was done. He knew that the wounds had to be cleaned or else infection may set in, but he didn't have the tools or the energy to do such a thing.

The young doctor's body was completely spent of energy. He knew that standing, or doing anything really, was out of the question. Sitting up was enough of a struggle.

He saw a comfortable looking tree trunk a few feet away and Reid dragged his unwilling body over to it. He was close to tears now as his pain filled body was dragged across the ground. When he reached the trunk, a few tears had actually fallen.

Reid was freezing and knew that the temperatures would only drop further, but now, he did not care. Nobody would find him in this mess of a forest, and even if they were going to send out search parties, they would wait until the morning. Reid would actually welcome freezing while he slept, it might bring him some long sought after peace.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he finally closed them and drifted off to sleep, his last thought being, _I hope Morgan doesn't run into the bear._

**Author's Note: Bears are actually terrifying, I've seen one up close…scariest moment of my life. Just to be clear, this is friendship only and no deaths will be occurring of major characters. I apologize if this is just full of awfulness, I feel like death currently. But otherwise, drop me a review. You can tell me what your favorite frozen yogurt flavor is! Mine is white chocolate mousse. **


	3. Chapter 3

Reid jolted from his peaceful sleep only to be greeted by the harsh world. The temperature had dropped significantly since he had fallen asleep and the sun had completely left the world by now. His injuries had stopped bleeding, but they still burned with every heartbeat.

He rubbed a hand over his weary face and tried to forget his nightmare about flashing bear teeth and claws. Reid shifted to get a more comfortable place on the cold ground when he felt something hard press against his side.

He reached a hand down and found his familiar gun sitting at his side. His fingers grasped the gun and pulled it up to eye level.

That was the final straw for the young genius who simply let out a scream of frustration. In his panic of being separated from Morgan and going head to head with a bear he had totally forgotten his weapon. If only he remembered it and then he wouldn't bear the marks of bear scratches all over his body.

Reid searched the rest of his pockets, hoping to find at least something to make him a little more comfortable. He was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger and his throat ached for something soothing to drink.

He only found his broken cellphone, credentials and a paperclip. None of which would help him in his current situation.

Reid sighed and laid his head back against the trunk of the tree. He still felt exhausted, his entire body was screaming for more rest. His eyelids fluttered close and Reid was off in once again a peaceful slumber.

Little did he know that there was someone just a few trees over watching…waiting.

The man smiled as he watched the FBI agent succumb to his body's needs once more. The agent was so weak, so pitiful. He did not deserve to come into these woods; he could barely survive the bear.

He chuckled softly as he remembered how Mother Nature had dealt with the man in her own special way. She did have a tendency to deal with intruders and he always respected her choices. She tested all who dared to come into her path, and the man was one of the few who had been approved by her infinite wisdom.

But he was also slightly puzzled at the man. He had been tested with the bear, and the man was sure that the agent would fail. Bears were deadly creatures if one was ignorant enough to cross their path like the young man sleeping before him.

And yet the agent did not die. By sheer luck he had escape the icy hands of death and lived to see another day. The man was not sure if this meant he had passed Mother Nature's inspection or that there was more testing to go on.

One thing he was sure of was that he had been approved by Mother Nature. He had done everything to immerse himself in her splendor, her beauty. He had gotten rid of his civilized name and exchanged it for Wolf, the strong nighttime predator that was misunderstood, just like him, just like these woods.

Wolf had prowled the forest ever since he had left everything nearly twenty five years ago. He was sure that civilization had forgotten him and he had nearly forgotten his time there as well. These woods were all he knew and he had long since memorized them by heart.

He hadn't gotten lost in a very long time.

But then Wolf began to notice people coming into his forest. People that seemed to think they owned everything and that they could trample all over Mother's creation without even respecting the precious beauty they had destroyed. Wolf tried to scare them off, but they never stopped coming. They seemed to think it was fun to destroy the beautiful nature before them.

And Wolf hated them for it.

Mother had always been one of peace and for a long time so had Wolf. He had never once harmed another living creature unless it was food and even then he felt a pang of guilt. But when these ungrateful civilized people came in, Wolf could barely control himself.

He tried losing himself in the woods like he had so many times before when these feelings arose within himself. Even that didn't help for he could only think of how this was what was soon going to be lost to those who did not care for the beauty of Mother, to the disrespect of those who only sought to destroy.

And then came the men who rode in the giant machines. They believed themselves to be so strong and powerful sitting on top of the vehicles that could kill all of Mother's children, but Wolf knew that to be wrong. He listened to their conversations with one another; he knew them to be weak within their own lives.

What a pitiful waste of life these men were.

Mother had taught him that all lives were to be cherished and cared for, but surely she couldn't be talking about these pathetic excuses for a human life form. They threw trash and cigarettes on the beautiful leaves and shouted profanities into the air.

And they cut down tree after tree with their machines. They drove into the forest and went away chopping down precious life after precious. Never once did they stop to ask Mother for forgiveness or even stop to think about their actions.

It was this that did it in for Wolf. He could no longer stand by and watch as Mother's beautiful creations were destroyed by ruthless savages who would never be able to stand up to the full force of Mother's almighty power.

The men kept on coming and coming as well. Wolf may have been able to fight down his urges if they stopped, but the men never did. They were back almost daily to chop down more of the beautiful forest, to kill more of Wolf's home. He didn't act for a long time, he only sat in the shadows watching…waiting.

Finally one day, only a few summers ago, Wolf acted. It had been much easier than he had expected, even easier than killing an animal of the forest. But humans hadn't been equipped with tools like animals to defend themselves. They only had their brains and even that couldn't save them from Wolf's knife.

The first had been walking along alone. He remembered how the man had been singing quietly to himself. Wolf remembered feeling a surge of anger at the man. How could he sing when the quiet of the trees carried so much more feeling, so much more musical than any human song?

It was this act of anger that pushed Wolf to do the final act. The initial kill had been quick and only a few droplets of blood had splattered on Wolf. But he found that once he started stabbing, he simply couldn't. All the years of watching people mistreat his wonderful home came out on the victim's body underneath him.

It was a sign from Mother that finally got Wolf to stop. The soft tickle of wind against his cheek told him to stop, that the job was done. Wolf had buried the man somewhere deep in the forest right in the middle of Mother's creation.

"Maybe he'll appreciate it more in death," Wolf remembered saying to the freshly buried body.

After that the killings came and went. There was no pattern to them, they simply followed his anger. Sometimes he managed to control his anger while watching the men come and so carelessly chop down the majestic trees.

And then sometimes he couldn't stop himself. It was during these times that Wolf didn't remember much of what happened, but all he knew that there were three bodies mutilated before him. Occasionally he felt guilty for killing real living human beings, but that feeling went again when he thought of how they killed Mother's creation.

Once, Wolf had left the forest for the first time in years. He followed one of the men who worked so tirelessly on the machines to chop away his forest. It was one of the more vulgar men and Wolf felt an especially strong hatred for that man.

He killed the man and his entire family, including the four children.

But no one traced it back to him, for no one even remembered that he existed. Wolf simply set the house of fire and all blamed it on a simple house accident, but he and Mother alone knew the truth.

And then that Ranger had to come and ruin everything! Wolf clenched his fists in anger just thinking of how all of his hard work to help Mother had been shattered in that man's stupid move. Now there were police and clumsy agents in his home.

The police may even be worse than the men on the machines. For the police simply trudged alone in the forest, scaring away the creatures and causing a ruckus amongst the normally peaceful, quiet nature.

Wolf despised them.

He hated their uniforms, their names, the way they talked, the way they thought they were so superior because they carried a gun and others called them "Sir." Wolf was much more superior to any one of them. He had killed countless of people for the sake of Mother and had been one of the precious few to be her chosen servant.

He'd like to see the police officers even try to accomplish what he had.

Then these silly FBI agents came walking into his forest earlier that day. They were especially unfit for the forest with their lanky forms and high fancy talk about the weather and such. Wolf smiled as he listened to them try and figure him out.

He was much more complex than any of these FBI agents. He was not just some run of the mill killer. He was a warrior for justice, a servant of Mother, a guardian of the majestic trees and their secrets. Wolf was chosen as this forest's protector, he'd like to see any FBI agent figure that out.

Wolf hadn't felt any guilt about killing the Ranger. He had managed to find a gun from a police officer a few days before. It wasn't his fault that the stupid man just left his deadly weapons lying around where anyone could take them.

Wolf remembered being taught how to shoot a gun when he was a young child. His ignorant father had taught him and he remembered loathing the lessons, mostly because even as a child Wolf didn't like stupid, careless people like his father.

But they had come in handy as he killed the stupid Ranger who had started this whole mess with one bullet.

He remembered watching with a glee filled grin as the lanky agent stumble through the forest. Wolf knew the agent would surely get lost and make a mess doing so. All he had to do was go after the tracks and finish the job later.

The other agent was trickier. He avoided Wolf's gunshots and took off in a completely different direction before Wolf could finish the job.

Wolf had decided to follow the lanky agent and kill the black one at another date. It didn't really matter to him for he knew that neither man was going to find their way out of the forest. It was like watching the mice scramble through the maze and he was the scientist who knew the way out and laughed as he watched them scramble for an exit route.

So here he stood now in the forest with the perfect opportunity to kill the FBI agent. Wolf had been following him for some while and couldn't help but feel somewhat interested by the man and the way he reasoned everything out with himself.

He hadn't seen many people do that before. Wolf knew that this agent was different than the others. He didn't seem as stupid as the others Wolf had killed before and he had even managed to survive the bear.

But still, he must die. Mother would not like to see her most loyal and faithful servant fall back on his duties that he sworn he would complete to her. No matter how smart this man may be, Mother was always better than all else.

Wolf approached the sleeping agent with the knife raised. He didn't think he would spend much time with the body, possibly only a few swings and one fatal swipe. He would spend more time on the other agent who seemed much more ignorant than his partner.

Wolf was about to give the first stab with his trusty knife when a voice rang out across the still forest:

"Reid!"

**Author's Note: I actually met someone named Wolf. I apologize for forgetting about Reid's gun last chapter that was quite embarrassing of me. I've been really sick, but I went to kickboxing and got it all out of me so no worries. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to respond to you all, I'll try hard to do it this time. **

**Tell me which Disney Princess is your favorite in your review, mine's Mulan.**


	4. Chapter 4

Reid was actually having a pleasant dream for a change. It wasn't a very complex dream, just him floating along through space with the whole universe out before him. He could faintly hear his mother reading one of her favorite's in the background.

It was simply peace, and Reid hadn't felt peace in a much too long time.

But he should know that all things must come to an end for he woke with a loud scream of his name. Somewhere in his subconscious, Reid recognized the name of the voice, but it didn't seem important as he awoke to a knife in his face.

The man wielding the knife must be their Unsub for Reid found it highly improbable that there were two serial killers running wild through the wilderness of Alaska.

The Unsub was unkempt for a general description. His face was cut in a variety of places, some of them still bleeding. His hair was almost to his elbows and had sticks and leaves stuck in its tangles. Not an inch of the Unsub's skin was clean and Reid found himself scrambling away from the dirt alone.

With the scream of Reid's name, the Unsub directed his attention to the trees where the voice had come from. The young genius saw his one and only opportunity, and he took it.

Ignoring his injuries, Reid kicked out at the Unsub and managed to hit the man in his stomach. The killer doubled over and clutched his stomach, but never once losing grip of his impressively sized knife.

The solid weight of his gun in his hands reminded Reid to use it this time and not like himself get attacked again like with the bear. He raised the gun and took aim at the currently preoccupied Unsub. The words of Hotch rang through his mind after all their hours training together, but Reid ignored them.

He knew how to shoot a gun much better now than he did two years ago.

Just as Reid was about to fire, someone else ran from the forest and tackled the Unsub to the ground. Recognizing the man immediately, Reid couldn't help but call out:

"Morgan!"

But his friend and colleague didn't respond for he was currently in the midst of a struggle with the Unsub. Morgan had straddled the killer and was attempting to pin down the hand that held the knife.

"You'll never stop me," the Unsub hissed, revealing sickening yellow teeth as his lips curled up in a smile.

"Watch me," Morgan only growled in response.

The Unsub's other hand raised up and he got a punch in directly at Morgan's face. Reid was sure he heard a sickening crack and there was blood now splattered on Morgan's face and on the Unsub's tattered shirt.

Morgan's steel tight grip released and the Unsub got the upper hand. He flipped the FBI agent off him and stood to his full height. Morgan had stopped clutching his nose by now and was trying to stand as well, but was stopped when the Unsub landed two solid kicks to Morgan's ribcage.

Reid decided he had had enough of simply sitting and watching his friends get hurt. He ignored his pulsating injuries and raised his gun. He now had a solid aim as the killer stood above his friend, and what limited light that remained gave him a clear look.

Reid released the safety and shot once. The bang of the shot rang out through the forest, echoing throughout the trees and a few birds took off from their safety in the branches.

The Unsub had moved at the last second, but the bullet still managed to lodge itself in his upper left shoulder. He let out a cry of anguish and grasped his steadily bleeding shoulder.

"Mother will make you pay!" he shouted at both FBI agents and took off into the forest, disappearing only seconds later into the shadows of the night.

Morgan stood quickly to his feet and looked as though he wanted to chase after the Unsub, but then turned back to his friend. There was blood still trickling down from Morgan's nose and Reid knew that his friend's ribs had to be at least bruised, but that didn't seem to matter to Morgan.

His only concern was Reid.

"You alright?" he asked, carefully examining Reid's two injuries. They had finally clotted, but the remains of the parka bandaging the wounds weren't doing much good for they were soaked in blood.

"I'll live."

"You know you're supposed to use this as a jacket," Morgan said with a grin, gesturing to the remains of the parka.

"It was all I had," Reid said as his friend poked and prodded. "How did you find me?"

"You could hear that bear roaring for miles in the forest. I was walking around trying to find you when I heard it and ran off towards the noise. Figured if anyone could make a bear that made it would be you. Guess the 'Reid Effect' also applies to killer bears."

"It was huge!"

"And you have gun which can kill bears," Morgan replied, taking a seat against the trunk.

"I forgot about it…" Reid said, feeling a flush of embarrassment coming over him.

"You mean the kid who never forgets anything, forgot he had a gun? Oh this is just fantastic." Morgan's laugh rang out in the silence of the trees and Reid couldn't help but smile.

He would rather have a Morgan who teased him than be by himself again.

"What happened back at the grave site…after you told me to run off?" Reid asked after he had sat for several seconds with his friend.

Morgan sighed, "Well, the Unsub was pretty smart. He didn't come out from the shadows and kept firing his gun at me. I got in a few shots as well, but neither of us hit each other. Then he ran off into the forest and I ran after you."

"What about Ranger Marks? What did you do with him?"

"Left him there. I'm not going to drag a dead body around with me when it's hard enough to get through in this forest already."

Reid felt a slight chill go through him that had nothing to do with the dropping temperature. Even after several years of being in the FBI, he still didn't feel comfortable talking about deceased human beings like they were just inanimate objects.

"So, he is dead…correct?" Reid asked, just wanting someone to confirm it before he officially gave up on the Ranger who had been so kind to show them around in the forest and now was dead for his kindness.

"Reid, he got shot in the head. You can't survive that."

"I know."

Morgan had always seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to Reid's pain, whether physical or emotional. His colleague didn't ask any more questions and Reid couldn't decide how he felt about that.

"You got any statistics on bear attacks?" Morgan asked and in the dying light Reid couldn't see his friend's smile, but he could hear it in Morgan's voice.

"Well, they are very unlikely. You're actually more likely to be killed by a bee sting than an actual bear attack and ten times more likely to be killed by a dog than a bear. And 1 out of 16,000 people will commit a murder, but only 1 bear out of 50,000 has killed someone, so in truth, we're more frightening than bears," Reid explained, gesturing with his good arm. Using knowledge and numbers helped him to escape from the throbbing pain or the bitter cold.

"So why did you get attacked?"

"It was a mother bear and they're much more aggressive than any other bear. Her cub was pretty close by so she was even more aggressive than usual. If it was any other bear, I would have gotten off without any scratches."

"What about people getting lost, got any statistics about that?"

"Not really, I mean people get lost all the time…in malls, theme parks, museums and forests like we are, but there aren't exactly statistics for there are too many variables I suppose. I guess if you have a bad sense of direction and get distracted easily it is very likely you will get lost," Reid said, his voice growing softer.

"You alright there kid? Not going to pass out on me are you?"

"No…but we're really lost aren't we."

Morgan sighed, "Kid let's not talk about this right now."

"Morgan seriously, we're completely and totally lost right now. And are we even sure that Hotch or anyone is looking for us? How are they going to find us even if they do? There are seventeen million acres in this forest and we're just two people," Reid couldn't keep the panic from rising up in his voice now that he finally had someone to voice his fears to.

"Hey, we lost you once and had the entire state of Georgia and beyond to look for you. But we did look for you and we did find you," Morgan said and placed a comforting hand on Reid's forearm.

"And that didn't turn out to be one of my best adventures now did it?" Reid's voice grew softer, "I don't want that again."

"Reid, has Hotch ever let us down before?"

"No…"

"And he won't let us down now. Because let's face it, you and me…we're practically the entire team. You're all the brains, I'm all the handsomeness and everyone else is there because we need normal people to balance out our awesomeness," Morgan said.

The sun had completely set by now, enveloping the two FBI agents in complete darkness. Morgan's hand never left Reid's forearm which the younger agent was extremely grateful for. He was worried that if Morgan let go, he might not be able to find his friend again in the darkness.

It was a childish fear, but then again most of Reid's fears were quite childish. All fears were.

"I guess you're right," Reid mumbled, trying to ignore how his heartbeat sped up with the darkness descending. He had never gotten over his fear of the dark and now here he sat with a forest full of dangerous animals and no light to give him hope or protection.

"Reid, you're not still scared of the dark, are you?" Morgan asked as he sensed how tense his friend had gotten.

"So what if I am?" Reid asked, not wanting to hear his friend's teasing over being afraid of something that couldn't even harm you.

"It's alright if you are. You know, I used to be scared of snakes."

"Really," Reid said, though his voice was shaky with fear.

"Yeah, when I was little I was terrified to go near one. I saw this movie where this guy got swallowed whole by a snake and ever since they have freaked the crap out of me. A kid in my class brought one for Show N' Tell and I nearly fainted," Morgan said and laughed softly at the memory.

"How'd you get over it?"

"Faced my fear. I went to the zoo once with my sisters and they had this guy showing all the snakes. He had them out of their cages and everything. I was petrified, but I didn't want to seem like a wimp in front of my sisters. So I went up there and held one of them and I've been fine ever since."

"I've faced my fear plenty of times…doing it right now…but nothing ever seems to work," Reid said, trying to keep his voice stable.

Morgan gave his friend a soft squeeze. "Well you're doing just great so far."

"You know the number one fear is fear of public speaking."

"No I did not."

"Kind of silly actually…but then again most fears are."

Morgan didn't respond, he only tightened his grip on Reid's forearm to anchor his friend to reality and not let him loose in the imagination and fears of his mind.

A few minutes later, Reid drifted off to sleep.

Morgan followed soon after.


	5. Chapter 5

While the two FBI agents slept on, a blanket of fresh snow had fallen around them. The whole Alaskan wilderness now resembled a Winter Wonderland with almost every inch being coated with the white powder.

Morgan was tempted to squint when he awoke from his slumber. The white snow reflected the early morning sun harshly into his eyes, making them slightly burn. It took a few moments for Morgan to get used to the new lighting and actually be able to see.

He couldn't help but smile at his surroundings. The agent had fond memories from his childhood of running out into the freshly fallen snow with his siblings and playing for hours in it. He remembered building snowmen and having snowball fights that actually managed to leave bruises.

But now there was no time for fun and games.

Shaking himself even more awake, Morgan cursed softly to himself when he realized that he and Reid had fallen asleep while there was still an Unsub prowling the very same forest they were in. He quickly glanced down and breathed a sigh of relief to see that Reid was still right by his side.

Morgan placed a hand on Reid's cheek and cursed once again at how cold his friend was. He knew that Reid didn't have a heavy weighed jacket and with his small body fat he would be prone to hypothermia, but yet Morgan hadn't done anything about it last night.

He quickly removed his own large jacket and placed it over his freezing friend. Reid hadn't stirred once while Morgan had been moving about and that worried the profiler. With the cold and Reid's injuries from the bear, they would be lucky if Reid managed to survive another night unprotected in the bitter cold.

Morgan lied to himself that Reid was going to be just fine even as he saw the slight blue shade to Reid's lips.

The profiler stood up and shook the snow that had accumulated on his body while he had slept. He paced back and forth, attempting to get the blood flowing again in his body. The snow crunched underneath his shoes as he paced, but still Reid never stirred.

Morgan couldn't fight it any longer. He crouched down next to his sleeping friend and placed two fingers up to Reid's throat. It took a few seconds, but it was there…a steady _thump thump _that was keeping the young doctor alive.

"Thank you," Morgan said, casting a quick glance to the Man Upstairs. He wasn't sure if he could handle the thought that his best friend had passed away while sleeping against him in the middle of a forest.

After making sure his friend was still alive and breathing, Morgan set to work at figuring out where exactly they were in the forest. He remembered going over maps of the forest with the team back at the station, but didn't remember all of the details. He had been a little distracted with talking to one of the police officers and couldn't really be bothered with the maps.

Oh how he wished he had paid a little more attention.

"You probably remembered everything," Morgan whispered, looking at his friend who slept on.

He paced for a few more minutes, glancing around trees and into the depths of the forest, but his searches turned up nothing. Morgan's searchings were disrupted by the sound of a soft groan coming from the direction of his friend. He was at Reid's side in a second.

"How you feeling pretty boy?" he asked and put a slightly strained smile on his face.

Reid opened his eyes and blinked a few times before finally focusing in on Morgan's face. "We still in the forest?" he asked and attempted to push himself up, but stopped when his injuries prevented him from doing so. Reid's face scrunched up in pain as he did so.

"Take it easy there," Morgan said and placed a hand on Reid's chest to pause him from moving any further. "And yeah, we're still here. And look, it snowed while we were sleeping. Bet you didn't get much of that in Vegas growing up." He tried to keep things light, but in his head he was panicking.

If Reid was having pain just sitting up, then how were they ever going to be able to walk the miles out of the forest? He shook the thought from his head. They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

Reid didn't reply, but simply looked down at the jacket that was lying over his thin frame. He picked at it with a slender, pale hand. "This belongs to you?" he asked, not bothering to look up at his colleague.

"Yeah kiddo. Since you used your jacket as a bandage, figured you needed something to keep your skinny self warm," Morgan replied.

"Aren't you cold?"

"I'm from Chicago; this is practically summer for me."

"Take it," Reid said and pushed it back towards Morgan who immediately rejected it with a shake of his head.

"No way kid. You're injured and look like a gust of wind could blow you over any second right about now. You need it way more than I do. Keep it." The tone in Morgan's voice left no room for any counter argument.

"Okay," Reid said softly and pulled the jacket back to cover himself up more. He tried to hide it, but Morgan still saw the brief look of relief on Reid's face that he got to keep the only source of warmth for his own need.

"So I was thinking we can't just sit around and wait for the team to come and find us. We have to do something that will help them find us."

"Hotch will find us," Reid said with total trust in his voice.

Morgan nodded and placed a hand on Reid's shoulder, but Reid only shied away from it. Morgan frowned slightly and removed his hand, "I know that kid, but this is a big forest and it might take him a while."

"It's seventeen million acres," Reid explained.

"You looked at the maps before we left right, like you always do?"

"Well, not as much as I usually would. We had only been at the station for a few hours before you and I took off for the burial site, so I didn't have as much time as I would have preferred to study all the sites and maps."

"But you still looked at them, you remember them?"

"Of course I do."

"So, do you think you would be able to tell me where we are in this forest?" Morgan asked and looked around them. "Because I tried figuring it out, but I only came up with the fact that you and me kid are totally lost."

"We might not be totally lost, I mean…I've tried to figure it out, but all I came come up with is that we are at least four or five miles inwards, possibly even more. But other than that, without a compass I can't give anything else…"

"Can't you use the sun or something to tell where we are?" Morgan asked, standing up and looking at the rising sun. He couldn't keep the desperation out of his voice now that the seriousness of their situation was finally settling in.

Reid slowly raised his head, "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west-"

"Yes yes I know," Morgan cut his friend off. He gripped his head and clenched his teeth to try and control his anger. Last thing he wanted was to yell at Reid who always flinched away from people getting angry at him, especially his best friends. "Sorry Reid."

"It's fine," Reid mumbled. "So if the sun rises over there, that direction is east, but it might not be exactly east because of the changing seasons."

"That doesn't really matter if its exact or not, we can work off of guesses."

Reid once again attempted to sit up, "I remember that there is a tribe or little town somewhere to the west in these woods."

"A tribe?"

He nodded and tried to ignore the cold that seeped down into his bones and seemed to grasp every one of his organs and control his very being. Even with the jacket, Reid had never been colder and sitting on the snow wasn't doing him any good for now his legs were soaked.

"Yes. For years, Alaskans have come into the forest and made like villages for themselves. There are hundreds scattered throughout and it's another reason why the government wants to build roads through the forest," Reid explained.

"Alright, that sounds like our best bet. Do you know how far away the tribe or village thing is from us?"

"From the burial site we visited yesterday it was about ten or so miles. I don't know how far it is from here exactly…but we should be able to find it if we just keep walking in that direction," Reid said and shuddered at the thought of walking ten miles frozen and in pain.

Morgan rubbed a hand over his face, "It's not much of a plan."

"But it's all we have right now…until Hotch comes and finds us."

Morgan looked his friend's shaking form up and down, "Are you sure you can walk?"

Reid clenched his teeth as a wave of pain rolled over him as he moved his injured arm and brushed it against the tree trunk, "No, but we don't really have a choice do we?"

"I guess not," Morgan said and moved to crouch down by the young doctor. He felt his stomach grumble as he did so and placed a hand over his growling stomach. Now that they had somewhat of a plan, he was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger come over him.

"Hungry?" Reid asked with a slight smirk.

"Oh be quiet, not like you're not shaking with need for a cup of coffee right now," Morgan retorted, but he kept a light tone to his voice.

Reid nodded, "You have no idea."

Morgan laughed softly and then said with a much more comforting voice, "Do you think you can stand up now? Or do you want to wait?"

"Now, definitely now. The more we wait, the colder we'll be getting," Reid said with a determination in his voice.

Morgan helped Reid put the jacket on properly and ignored the soft hissing his friend made every time Reid moved his injured body parts that had been mauled. With the jacket securely on the doctor's thin frame, Morgan moved to help Reid stand up.

"This is going to suck," he said to the other profiler. Reid nodded, he already knew. Reid always knew.

Morgan placed Reid's non-injured arm over his own shoulders and grasped Reid's hand with his own. Morgan stood slowly from his crouching pose. Reid followed awkwardly after him, his face scrunched in pain as his nearly frozen body was forced out of the position it had been in for so long.

"You alright?" Morgan asked when the duo had finally stood. Reid had a fresh coating of sweat on his face and seemed to be three shades paler than he was before…if that was even possible for the already pale agent.

"Never been better," he said, panting slightly. "Let's go."

"Are you sure, I mean we can wait a second if you want to catch your breath."

"No, let's go now."

"Alright kid," Morgan said and took off with Reid right at his side. They moved slowly, their shoes sinking into the snow with every step they made in unison. Morgan could feel Reid shaking next to him, but whether it was in pain or cold he didn't know.

Morgan's entire lower half of his body was entirely soaked and he was beginning to feel the effects of the cold environment they were in. He was slowly losing feeling in his appendages and really hoped that the Unsub wouldn't come and attack right now.

He wasn't sure he would be able to fight off the killer with only feeling half of his body and supporting Reid.

There was a sound to their left and both FBI agents instantly froze. Morgan and Reid scanned the forest, but the underbrush was so thick it was hard to see anything beyond three feet in front of them.

Morgan was very tempted to call out who was there, but he knew that that was only done in cheap horror movies. A real serial killer would never answer that question.

Reid's breath hitched in fear next to Morgan and Morgan couldn't help but tighten his hold on the young doctor's hip.

Morgan released Reid's hand and reached slowly down for his gun. Just as he pulled his gun out of its holder, the unknown object let out a low growl.

"It's not the Unsub," Reid whispered next to Morgan, his voice thick with fear. "It's the bear."

**Author's Note: I apologize for the wait. I had a hard time getting my last chapter up which was very frustrating. And then an old family friend passed away this weekend from cancer, so that's really put me off. But otherwise, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend! And thank you for every review or alert or favorite! **


	6. Chapter 6

Reid was sure his heart stopped when he heard the growl come from the depths of the trees to his left. He knew that sound anywhere and he was sure it would join his nightmares in due time. He gripped Morgan tighter, ignoring how weak that seemed.

He did not want to come face to face again with the bear that had already given his body enough pain. He wasn't sure he could take it and face the frozen tundra and walk another ten miles.

It was all too much for the young profiler.

Reid felt Morgan grab his gun out of its holster and held it at the ready. "You think you'll be fine to sit down?" Morgan asked, not taking his eyes away from the trees. The two agents heard the snapping of twigs and the growling grew louder as the beast approached.

"Yeah," Reid managed to whisper out. Morgan gently laid his friend down on the snow covered ground. If Reid still had feeling anywhere, he might have objected to getting wet once more, but he didn't mind now.

There were bigger things to deal with, such as the fierce Mother bear heading right for them.

Morgan stood his ground as the bear emerged from the shadows in the trees. Reid's heart skipped a beat as he got a good look at the brown bear. Yes, it was the same one that had attacked him just yesterday. His memory had never failed him yet and he was sure that even without an eidetic memory he would remember those sharp, deadly teeth.

The bear looked directly at Reid and the doctor could have sworn that he saw the bear smile at him as if it was saying, "You thought you could get away, didn't you, well too bad."

"Don't you even think about it," Morgan said and stepped right in front of Reid, efficiently blocking his injured friend from the bear's deadly gaze. "You're going to have to go through me, big ugly."

"Morgan…" Reid said hesitantly as the bear stood up its hind legs and let out a loud roar that seemed to shake the entire forest.

Reid saw Morgan clench his jaw and he didn't waver once from his stance with his gun out in front of him. The young profiler had to admit that he was slightly jealous of his friend's bravery, but then again, most would say that Reid was quite brave himself.

Morgan fired his gun once and the sound seemed to echo all through the forest. Reid couldn't help but flinch when he heard it, his nerves already on edge at the sight of the bear again.

The bullet buried itself in the bear's left shoulder and it let out a loud roar of pain. The bear returned to all fours and looked at Morgan with a look that could kill if that was even possible.

Once again, Morgan didn't even flinch.

Blood was coming out steadily from the bear's gunshot wound, but that didn't seem to faze it at all as it started to charge straight towards Morgan and Reid.

"Morgan…" Reid called out, more worried for his friend than for himself. He had already survived a bear attack, but if Morgan got himself injured as well than they were pretty much done for.

Morgan didn't move or acknowledge that he had heard his injured friend. He simply stared as the bear grew closer and closer.

"Morgan!" Reid screamed as the bear was only three or so yards away from them.

Another gunshot went off and the bear let out on more roar, but this one wasn't of pain. No, the bear seemed even angrier than before.

The bullet had barely grazed the bear.

Reid heard Morgan curse and desperately try to fire his gun once more, but before he could, the bear was on top of the FBI agent.

"Morgan!" Reid called out once again as he watched Morgan and the bear fight for dominance. The bear was obliviously winning and the young doctor couldn't help but close his eyes when he heard Morgan cry out in pain.

Reid searched desperately for his own gun, but he couldn't find it on his person. If he had left it back at the place they had just left than he knew that the universe was really out to get him. Giving up on his search for his own gun, Reid searched for Morgan's.

But then he realized that Morgan still held onto his gun and was trying to use it to unsuccessfully fight off the large Mother bear.

"I have to do something," the young genius whispered to himself, knowing that he couldn't just stand by and watch as his friend got mauled to death.

He saw an especially large rock sitting on top of the snow a few inches away from his right hand. Reid grabbed it and without even really thinking about what he was about to do, he threw it right at the brown bear's massive head.

"Get away from him!" Reid shouted as he did so.

The bear looked up from Morgan and growled as it locked its eyes back on Reid. The bear did exactly what Reid hoped it would; it left Morgan.

But unfortuntaltly the bear was now once again on Reid's already injured body and they seemed to resume their struggle from when they had been interrupted the day earlier.

Reid wasn't even sure what was happening anymore, he was lost in a world of pain as the bear clawed and bit at his half frozen body. He tried to fight off the bear, but his arms didn't seem to want to obey him.

Reid seemed to be worlds away when he heard a last gunshot go off . He vaguely realized that the bear had fallen off of him and that now someone else was leaning over him.

"Reid, Reid are you okay?" Morgan asked, his voice tinged with worry.

Reid could only let out a low groan.

Morgan cursed under his breath and he pushed Reid's long hair away from his face. "Hey, stay with me buddy. You're going to be fine, okay? Hotch is going to find us, you'll see. And we'll get you to a nice warm hospital and you'll be all fixed up."

Darkness worked its way into his vision and Reid heard Morgan's voice growing softer and softer. He grew so very tired and wasn't sure he could stay awake another second.

"Reid, you stay awake! Don't you dare fall asleep on me now! Hey, hey come on kid…work with me."

But Reid knew he couldn't work with Morgan. He was too tired and he finally succumbed to the warm darkness that was so inviting.

_Reid had been out of the hospital for two days now. In reality, he didn't even think he needed to go to the hospital, much less stay there for three days while doctors and his team fussed over him. _

_He didn't particularly enjoy being the center of anyone's attention, especially when that attention was mostly out of pity and guilt._

_He saw it in all of their eyes, the guilt over what had happened. He tried telling them that it wasn't their fault that he had been stupid to go off by himself, but no one would have it._

_Nobody ever wanted to blame the victim._

_But now he was safely away from all of their gazes and "Are you okay?" questions. Reid had been given as long as he needed away from work to gather himself together and get ready for the field again._

_He didn't intend on taking too long off of work. He was sure that sitting around his apartment thinking about what had happened would be much worse than catching Unsubs. _

_And sitting around his apartment would just lead to the distraction of dilaudid and he wasn't sure he was strong enough to fight off the intoxicating drug just yet. _

_So here the young genius was, sitting across from his mother in Bennington Sanitarium. He hadn't seen her since the whole Fisher King incident and figured that now was as good of a time as ever to come back and visit._

_She wouldn't look at him with pity or guilt. She was too smart for that._

_Reid hadn't gotten the nerve to tell her what had happened just yet, slightly worried at how she would react. The doctors told him that she was having one of her better weeks, but he didn't want to ruin it with this news._

_She had been so happy to finally be able to see him. She didn't hug him, but she did give him a warm smile as he approached him._

_But Reid knew that she knew that something was wrong with him. His mother always knew, and Reid had never been especially good at keeping things from her._

_They had exchanged pleasantries and she had listened as he told her about life in Quantico and a recent book he had read. She talked about the doctors and the newest patient to join them._

_And Reid knew he couldn't keep avoiding it forever. He hadn't sent letters to her for the two days he had been captive and if that didn't set his mother off, than the fresh injury to the side of his face did._

_She had asked him about it when he first arrived, but Reid came up with some lame excuse about walking into a door or something like that._

_Diana Reid was too smart to buy something as lame as that._

_The mother and son duo lulled into a comfortable silence until Diana broke that by placing her hand on her son's knee and asking, "Spencer, what's wrong?"_

"_Nothing," he said, but he knew it sounded pathetic even to him._

"_A mother always knows when something is wrong with her child."_

_And Reid just couldn't help but allow a few tears to slip down his cheeks. His mother moved even closer to her son and wrapped her arms around him. She let go after a few moments, but kept a comforting hand on Reid's back as he went into his tale._

_He told her of Tobias, Charles and the archangel Raphael. He told her of the burning fish and how he wasn't sure he could ever eat fish again. He told her of the pain of the beatings, of how he had almost died, of how he was to confess the sins that he wasn't even sure he had committed._

_He skipped over the drugs for he did not want his mother to know how weak he was. To know how he couldn't fight them off and now he was too weak to not listen to their comforting Siren's call. _

_But he did tell his mother of how he dug his own grave and how he finally was found. He told her of how he could barely stand to be around his team anymore for their guilt was suffocating him._

_She simply listened the entire time and nodded in the correct places and encouraged him in other places. _

_At the end, Diana Reid had only a few words for her only child, "Spencer, you are so strong."_

_And it was this that convinced Reid that truly he could survive and that he could overcome that shack._

_He left the next day with a promise that he would try to be safer to his mother. He went home and two days later, he was back at work._

_Hotch tried to keep Reid away longer, but Reid wouldn't have any of it. He needed to work, he needed to be strong. _

_But of course, he couldn't be strong all the time and at night, when the shadows in his mind were too strong to ignore, was when Reid finally caved._

And now, almost a year later, Morgan was fighting to keep strong as he pushed down on his friend's bleeding shoulder and side in a desperate attempt to keep his best friend alive.

**Author's Note: I hoped you all had a fabulous Easter! I appreciate all the reviews and my Internet has been down almost all this weekend so I haven't been able to reply to any reviews. Have a great week!**


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