Author's Note:

I really shouldn't be starting another story when I have three others in the process but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone and I was compelled to write it. I'm not sure how often this will get updated, since as stated before I have three that still need finished. I'll try to update at least once a week, but no promises. Slight AU in later chapters. Takes place after 6X12, Corazon but before 6X16, Coda.

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family." - Anthony Brandt

Spencer Reid was awoken by his cell phone ringing. He squinted at the caller ID. Confusion then a sense of urgency as he recognized the number. He glanced at the clock on his night stand, 3:04am. Only an emergency would warrant a phone call this early in the morning. "Hello?" He asked, as he slowly sat up in his bed.

"Dr. Reid?"

"Yes. Who is this?" Although he already knew the answer.

"I'm a nurse at your mother's institute. I'm sorry to say Sir, but she's gone missing."

Suddenly he was wide awake at the alarming news. "Missing? What do you mean missing?" The news was worse than he thought. He thought maybe she had had a psychotic break or something but not this.

"When we went to do bed checks tonight, she wasn't there. We checked the entire hospital and we can't find her."

Reid took a deep breath. His heart and mind were racing. He needed to calm down so he think more clearly. "How long has she been missing?"

"Six hours, maybe longer."

Anger washed over Reid like a tidal wave. "Six hours? And you are just now getting around to calling me and telling me? I want to talk to her doctor immediately." So much for thinking clearly. He had flicked on a lamp by his bed and was already hastily putting clothes on. He hopped around the room as he attempted to put a sock on and talk on the phone at the same time.

"I'm sorry Sir, she's gone for the evening."

"Well, who's in charge then?"

"I am."

Of course, he thought bitterly. He wasn't used to being this livid but his mother was missing and there was nothing he could to stop the panic that was overwhelming him. He almost fell over on his face when he tried to get pants on but caught himself on his dresser. "Okay. Fine. Look, I'll be there as soon as I can. Have you called the police?"

"Someone else is doing that now Sir."

"Good." He shut his phone and threw it on the bed to free his other hand so he could finish dressing himself. Fear gripped him as scenarios of what could have happened flashed through his head. Get it together Spencer. Maybe she just went for a nightly stroll and then went back to bed and no one noticed. He partially calmed himself and he picked up his cell phone once more. He felt bad about calling at such an unseemly hour but this was important. It rang several times but finally the other end picked up. "Garcia, it's me. Can you do me a favor and meet me at the office as soon as possible?"

Confusion clearly overtook her and then a hint of panic. "Reid? The office? What? Why? Oh my God, what happened?"

"I'll explain when I see you. Another favor, keep this between us?"

"Okay Sweetie but you have the divine absolute paradigm of knowledge perplexed."

"Thanks! I'll owe you!" He closed the phone once more and sat down on his bed, hoping his mind would slow down just a little bit so that the rest of him could keep up. Reid knew he needed to calm down if he wanted to be effective. Something in the back of his mind was tugging at his subconscious but he couldn't seem to decipher what it was trying to tell him. He felt like he was missing something. Something he would have noticed if he hadn't been so panic stricken. He'd worry about it later. He got up off the bed and rushed to the BAU headquarters.

It didn't surprise him that he got there before Garcia. Reid got online at the computer on his desk and looked to see when the next flight to Vegas was. Not until the afternoon. He booked it immediately and then walked downstairs. He paced outside the locked door that lead to Garcia's office while he waited.

Eventually she showed up, in a flurry of colors that on anyone else wouldn't have matched at all. She lacked her usual make-up, but despite being woken up in the wee hours she still had an air of pluck about her. "Hope you haven't been waiting too long Cutie." She unlocked the door and glanced to him worriedly, "Now you going to tell me what's going on?"

"It's my mother, she's gone missing. I'm hoping maybe the nurses and orderlies just missed her somehow and that she is still in the building. I was hoping, you could hack into some files and look up the blueprints. If I could get a look at them, I might be able to see a place she'd go that they could have missed." Reid explained hurriedly. It wasn't the most logical approach but right now logic didn't matter to him. He needed to be doing something to find her since he couldn't fly out there right away.

"My poor baby!" Garcia exclaimed. She turned on her computers and began to type quickly.

The nagging in his head came back and this time Reid forced himself to listen to it. "Wait Garcia, forget the blueprints. Can you bring up newspaper articles from Vegas spanning back to three weeks?"

"Sure. What are you thinking Boy Genius?"

Reid's heart sank as he watched the articles pop up. He had known all along what had happened and that's why the panic overtook him so quickly. His mind had tried to protect him but now the truth was hard to ignore when it was staring right at him.

"You don't think…" Garcia trailed off and looked up to him.

"Most likely." Reid said, trying to go for a detached approach but he heard his voice crack. He cleared his throat. "I'm calling Hotch. We need get to Vegas."

"We can't just barge in on the local authorities, you know that right?"

Reid wasn't very popular with the local law enforcement there after his last endeavor in Vegas but that really didn't matter to him right now. If what he guessed was correct, then an unsub who's been kidnapping mentally ill people had his mother. The bodies were found one week later. That meant she had six days and sixteen hours left to live, give or take an hour or two. Three people had already been killed. It had been nagging at him because he had just read an article about it a week ago.

"Reid Sweetie, are you with me?" Garcia touched his arm lightly, a frown sketched on her lips.

"Yeah. Can you get all the information on the other three cases? Even if the team isn't accepted on this case, I'm still going to Vegas."

"Sure but you have to know that if you are going to Vegas, then we all are."

Reid gave a slight nod of his head distractedly. Already his mind was going over the facts of what he had read in the articles. Of course they were nowhere near as detailed as the police reports but he'd have those shortly. He heard the sound of papers printing off and walked over to get them but Garcia intercepted him.

"Listen to me tall, pale and awkward. Maybe you should take a minute to yourself before jumping right into this thing."

"I don't have time. My mother doesn't have time. I'll take time for myself after my mom is safe. Will you call Hotch instead? I'm going to see if I can start building a profile."

"On your own?"

Reid shrugged. "No one else is here to start it or do it with, so yeah." He snatched the print outs and walked out of Garcia's office. He was faintly aware he was being rude and abrupt but every second counted right now. He could always apologize to her later. He made his way upstairs and he went into the Round Table Room. He turned the lights on and took a seat. He spread out the different cases and went over each of them.

The adrenaline that had kick started him fully awake was beginning to wear off. The files in front of him became blurry as the weariness took its toll. He hadn't intended to, but he ended up falling asleep in the chair.