"Where?"

"A casino," Spencer breathed out, his voice hoarse from all of the crying.

"Reid, you're on speaker," said Hotch. "Are we sure on this? How'd you come to this conclusion?"

"We established that the poems he's writing explain his steps of abduction. The first poem talks about the actual abduction, the second poem talks about what he does with them afterwards, which leaves the third poem to tell us where he's keeping them. Garcia, pull the poems up on the board for them."

Through the phone, Spencer could hear the clicking of Garcia's keyboard and the sound effect from showing the team a picture.

"Thanks, Garcia. Now, to the rest of you, I want you to look at the third and fourth line of the poem," Spencer directs.

"...but I look at it as a lucky toss

or that cards that were given a good shuffle," Morgan's deep voice reads.

"Think about it," Spencer responds, "where in the world are cards shuffled and things, most likely dice, are tossed?"

"A casino. The kid's got it," Rossi answered, still examining the poem.

"But there are a million casinos in the area," Prentiss interjected. "Our UnSub could work at any of them."

"I got stumped there, too, until I kept reading the poem. Look at the fifth and sixth line of the poem," instructed Spencer.

"What are the chances that I could take

what belonged to you?" Morgan read once again. The line stays silent before that same voice asks, "What does that have to do with the Whisperer?"

"Stealing. If you also closely read the other two poems, they also talk about stealing something, whether it be his actual victims or their humane attributes. This guy was a robber. Garcia," Spencer called, "look up casino employees that have a background of robberies. Make sure that these employees work at a casino in our UnSub's comfort zone."

"Roger that, Wonder Boy number one-eight-seven," Garcia said in a sing-songy voice. "And we have a winner! Name is Edgar Lou, he is twenty-six years of age, he's been working at a local casino called Whose Money is it Anyway? for about five years, he's got lots of robbery and aggravated battery charges, which most of said charges were dropped, and... oh."

"What did you find?" asked JJ.

"When Edgar was six, which was twenty years ago, his house was robbed at midnight. He woke up and his mom was gone..." Garcia said as her voice softened. "His father took him to see a therapist who suggested writing poetry as an escape. Most of his poems were about caged animals."

"That explains the poetry and the cages," Prentiss stated. "Garcia, do you have a picture of Edgar's mother?"

"Of course I do," she said and pulled up a picture.

"That looks just like (Y/N)," Morgan muttered, but it was loud enough for Spencer to hear through the phone and frown a little.

"This is definitely our UnSub," Hotch started. "Garcia, we need-"

"Already sent to your tablets. Good luck my lovelies!" Garcia's voice chirped.

"Reid," Hotch said, "JJ and Morgan will be there to pick you up. You guys are going to the casino. They'll bring your vest."

Spencer noticed how good it felt to finally smile. "I'll be ready."

Riding in the black Suburban was something Spencer missed, strangely, even though he wasn't really gone for long.

"So this guy is keeping his victims in the casino?" JJ asked openly.

Spencer was the first to answer with, "Most likely. If he was keeping the girls at his house, his poems would reflect that."

"That brain of yours shocks me, Pretty Boy," Morgan said. "I'm glad you're back."

Spencer just nodded, deciding it was a good idea to not bring up what happened once Morgan left last night. If he did, Lord knows the kind of lecture that would be chucked at him. Additionally, Spencer didn't need anyone distracting him from finding (Y/N).

Once the Suburban pulled up to the casino, Spencer practically jumped out of the passenger seat.

"If this guy is keeping the girls here, there's probably a downstairs area that he keeps them in. Reid, go down there and wait for him. The Whisperer might try to escape," Morgan instructed, pulling out his gun.

Spencer nodded and ran to the back of the building, where he was greeted by a back door.

"He's not home," Rossi's voice said to the team. "But he definitely works at a casino. This guy's got dice and cards everywhere."

"Morgan and I are going in," JJ informed, "in three... two..."

That's where the line cut off.

Spencer pulled out his gun and pointed it at the door. His hands found themselves to be sweaty. He was a little nervous. But now wasn't the time to get nervous. (Y/N) had to walk out of there alive if Spencer were to maintain his sanity.

It seemed like forever until Morgan's voice started blabbing in Spencer's ear. "He's going downstairs, Reid, open that door and keep your gun at the ready."

"Copy that," Spencer answered as he quietly opened the door and walked through. His quiet act wasn't maintained for long as he made his way to the main part of the dark room. The room wasn't even a room - it was a torture chamber with cages littered everywhere. In that chamber was the Whisperer. Once the Whisperer made eye contact with Spencer, he held a knife to (Y/N)'s throat, who was tied to a chair.

"FBI, drop the weapon!" shouted Spencer. He looked at (Y/N), whose eyes were filled with fear.

"You shoot me," the Whisperer responds, "and I kill her. I'll kill her right now."

"Spencer, just shoot him!" (Y/N)'s hurt voice yelled, but the Whisperer brought the knife closer to her throat, shutting her up.

"Edgar, I know about your mom."

The Whisperer looked up at Spencer, his eyes wide. "You what?"

"Your mother... she was taken by some man who robbed your house twenty years ago," Spencer said, slowly putting away his gun.

"They didn't know..." the Whisperer said, seemingly lost in thought. "I felt like-"

"An animal trapped in a cage," finished Spencer. "No one knew... but I know, and so did your mother. Do you think that she would want this?"

The realization seemed to wash over Edgar like a wave. "No..."

"Honor her," Spencer said, his voice soft. "Make her proud and do the right thing."

The Whisperer stood still for a long time, still holding the knife to (Y/N)'s neck. Once it all clicked, the Whisperer dropped the knife and fell to his knees, crying and whimpering.

Morgan, who apparently was behind Spencer the entire time, ran up to the Whisperer to put him in handcuffs. Spencer ran to (Y/N) and enveloped her into a big hug, a hug that he needed. To Spencer's delight, (Y/N) wrapped her arms around him.

"Spencer... Spencer, he... he..." she stammered, but Spencer shushed her.

"Don't talk," he said. "Just stay silent."

(Y/N) listened to him, not moving from that hug until the two of them had to jump into the Suburban.

You were taken to the hospital so your cuts and other torture marks could be inspected. The Whisperer has broken your left wrist and your left forearm, which was a pain in the butt, but otherwise, everything was okay. You were lying in your hospital bed when he walked in.

Spencer Reid.

"Hey," his soft voice cooed. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright," you responded with a smile. "Could be better, but with the given circumstances, I'm doing pretty good."

A chuckle escaped Spencer's lips, which made your heart flutter. "Listen, I have to tell you something," he said.

You nodded and began to listen.

Spencer took a deep breath before saying, "The team tried to keep your abduction a secret from me at first. When I found this out, all I could think was 'Why? Why would they not tell me?' and after some thought, I think I know why."

Your eyebrows raise as you ask, "Why?"

"They knew I loved you," he said. "They knew how I felt about you before I even knew what I felt about you. It was only when I found out you were gone that I realized that I love you."

You look at the attractive genius sitting at the foot of your bed. "It's funny..." you started, "because when I was in the cage and in pain from the Whisperer's... you know, all I could think about was you telling me that everything would be okay. And somehow, the thought of you kept me company."

You didn't really know who initiated it, but you and Spencer ended up in a kiss. This kiss was full of every emotion ever: happiness, sadness, passion, love, anxiety: the whole nine. Just his minty taste was enough to keep you intrigued.

Similar to how it started, you didn't know who ended it. You two got lost in each other's eyes, looking at each other lovingly before Spencer whispered, "I love you, (Y/N). I loved you and I always will love you, until the day I die."

Your lips curled into a small, sweet smile. "I love you, Dr. Spencer Reid. I always have, and I will never stop reminding you that I am in love with you every single day, and nothing will ever change that."