Spencer walked into the office and went straight for the coffee. The twins were both teething and it meant sleepless nights.

"I can't believe I'm single on Valentine's Day," Emily sighed.

"Valentine's Day is just an attempt to Christianize the pagan holiday Lupercalia," Spencer said. "At the ides of February an order of Roman priests called Luperci would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and begin slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. All the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn and the city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage which I guess is why it's celebrated as romantic now."

"Poor Ava," J.J. said, shaking her head and laughing.

"What? Ava doesn't care about Valentine's Day. She knows I love her," Spencer said. He looked to Morgan and Rossi to back him up but they just cringed as well.

"Wait, I was just joking but...you actually don't..." J.J. seemed genuinely surprised, in fact everyone did.

Garcia walked into the office. "Why is everyone looking at Reid?"

"He doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day," Prentiss said.

Garcia gasped and put her hand over her heart. "Oh, we have to fix this," she said. "You've got five years to make up for."

Spencer shook his head and sipped his coffee. "She doesn't care."

"I can almost guarantee she does and if she doesn't care then you'll just get mega points for romance," Garcia said. "I can pull some strings to get you a dinner reservation. You can thank me later."

"This is just an elaborate ruse to get to babysit the kids, isn't it?" Spencer asked.

Garcia smirked and flounced off to her office.

"Just let her handle it," Morgan advised. "A romantic gesture is always a smart move."

Reid shrugged and conceded, "Yeah, you're right. Plus Ava has been really stressed out by the bullying situation at Matt's old school. She's determined to make them answer for their inaction."

"She should be," Morgan said. "I can't believe it got to that point. Is Matt doing better?"

"He really enjoys his new school," Spencer said. "We had talked about switching the kids to private school next year anyway."

"Well, at least some good came out of it," Morgan said. He looked over to the conference room, where J.J. was setting their tablets and Reid's paper files on the table. "Looks like we got a case. Let's get in there."

Once the team was assembled, J.J. began to explain the case. "On January 18th, Anthony Shore was executed at the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas. He received the death penalty because in 1986 Shore kidnapped fifteen year old Kelsey Briton and strangled her to death with a cord. In 1992 Shore kidnapped twenty-one year old Dayanara Gomez, sexually assaulted her and strangled her to death with a cord. Then in 1993 Shore entered the home of fourteen year old Amberly Dixon, bound and sexually assaulted her, and strangled her to death. In 1994, he kidnapped and sexually assaulted nine year old Lily Steele and the rape caused her death. Finally, in 1995 Shore kidnapped sixteen year old Geneva Ramirez and sexually assaulted her causing her death. Those are the known victims, but his own family suspects there may have been more." Pictures of each victim appeared as she spoke.

The entire team was grim as they listened to the details of the murders. Morgan spoke up, "So if this guy is dead, what's the case?"

A new picture appeared. "Two weeks ago, the body of Sarah Monk was found. She was fifteen. She had been strangled with a cord. Five days later, twenty one year old Marisol Ortiz was found..."

"Someone is repeating Shore's murders," Spencer said.

J.J. nodded. "Last night someone broke into the home of the Warner family. Their fourteen year old daughter, Lana, was sexually assaulted and the unsub attempted to strangle her, but her father interrupted and the unsub fled."

"This disruption in his attempt to recreate Shore's crimes could send him into a tailspin," Hotch said. "Wheels up in 30."

::::::

Ava was taking her time walking through the aisles of Target. Every once in a while she liked to hire a babysitter and escape for a bit of shopping. After a quick stop in the Starbucks for an iced mocha she was ready to go. She could usually do some real damage in the clearance section but so close to Valentine's Day it was all pinks and purples and hearts. She only ended up getting a water bottle for Katherine.

She spent nearly an hour in the children's clothing section, finding a few new things for all four kids. She walked over to the men's section and found a few things for Spencer.

Valentine's Day confronted her again when she got to the women's section and saw all the frills and lace of lingerie. She ran her hand along the satiny material on one. She didn't usually buy stuff like this, but it could be fun. She moved along and found one she really liked. She found her size and threw it in her cart then wandered through the rest of the store.

::::::

"I can't believe I didn't hear him...doing that..." Robert Warner's voice was hollow and despondent. His eyes were red rimmed and he stared at the table as if he didn't see it.

Spencer could imagine what the man was feeling. Guilt, regret, self-hatred... "I'm a father too. I understand this is hard for you, but the best thing you can do to help us catch the man who hurt your daughter is to walk us through what happened."

Mr. Warner regained his composure and began to recount exactly what happened. A sketch artist came to make a picture based on what Mr. Warner has seen. When he finished, Morgan walked him out.

Spencer stood, staring at the sketch. Morgan returned and found him still looking. "What's going through that brain of yours?"

Spencer took the sketch to the bulletin boards that displayed the details of the case so far. He held the sketch up next to the picture of Anthony Shore. "There's a striking similarity."

Morgan peered closer at the two photos. "You're right."

Spencer pulled out his phone and made a call. Garcia answered, "Yes, my darling?"

"Garcia, test the DNA left by our killer against Shore's DNA."

"Requesting it as we speak."

Spencer called the rest of the team. When they were all assembled he put Garcia on speaker phone and voiced his theory. "During the briefing, J.J. said Shore's family suspected he had more victims. What if one of them lived and got pregnant from rape?"

Rossi nodded. "It's entirely possible. Shore may have started as a serial rapist before he escalated to murder."

"Garcia, can you make a list of women in this county who gave birth in the early eighties without a father listed," Hotch said. "We know he targeted younger women so she would be under 25."

"That could be a freaky long list," she said.

"He targeted white and Hispanic women, so that could narrow it down," Morgan said.

"Being so young and to be pregnant from rape...his mother may have resented him," Prentiss said. "Maybe she was even abusive toward him."

Garcia spoke up. "It looks like Reid was on to something. The DNA shows Shore is our unsub's father."

With his suspicions confirmed, Spencer became more animated as he built on his theory. "It's entirely possible that the unsub's mother was abusive. She may have taken her anger out on him and blamed him for the trauma she went through. Garcia, add reports to child services to the criteria."

"Shore's case was all over the news both when he was convicted and when he was executed. The mother may have told the unsub Shore was his father," Morgan said. "Maybe she even used that fact to justify her abuse."

"The unsub would have resented his mother. Perhaps he began to idolize Shore," Rossi said.

"He couldn't get love and approval from his mother, he began to imagine he could get it from his father," Prentiss added.

"He wants to be like his father," J.J. said grimly. "His father was able to hurt his mother when he wasn't able."

Garcia chimed in. "Alright, I've got three possibilities. Their info is coming to your tablets."

Hotch quickly gave orders. "Reid and Morgan, take the first one. Prentiss and J.J. take the second. Rossi, you and I will take the third. We need to move fast. If the unsub is trying to replicate Shore's crimes, he will try again after his failed attempt."

:::::

The plane ride home was a quiet one. The unsub had been caught but ultimately went down fighting. Rossi had been the one to fire the fatal shot and though he had absolutely done the right thing, his eyes seemed full of turmoil.

Arriving home was a relief for everyone. They could take comfort in knowing that the unsub was no longer a threat.

:::::

Ava was a bit confused by the ringing of the doorbell. She wasn't expecting anything. She glanced through the peephole and opened the door. "Penelope?" Ava moved aside as Penelope bustled in, a garment bag in her arms.

"Alright, Cinderella. Your fairy godmother is here and you have an hour to get ready," Penelope said, waving her hand over the item she'd brought in.

Ava unzipped the black bag and saw a beautiful plum colored dress. "What..." She was grinning. "Is this...Spencer?"

"Prince Charming is on his way," Penelope said tapping the imaginary watch on her wrist to convey urgency.

Ava took the dress and hurried up the stairs. After a quick shower she blow dried her hair and curled it into loose waves. She put on the dress and finished her makeup just as Spencer's arrival was announced by the puppy barking and the kids' chorus of "Daddy!" She slipped on her shoes and went down the stairs.

Spencer had knelt down to hug Katherine but he stood when he saw Ava. Ava blushed a bit, like she always did when he looked at her like that, like it was their first date again and he couldn't believe how lucky he was.

The happy couple kissed all four children and headed out the door. Spencer opened the car door and a white rose was sitting on Ava's seat. She picked it up and smelled it as she sat down and buckled her seatbelt.

"I can't believe you did all this," Ava said. "You didn't have to just because of a holiday."

Spencer reached over to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I know that, but I realized I should. I love you, more than anything or anyone else. I never want to stop showing you that."

Ava leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Spencer Reid."

He smiled as he started to drive toward the restaurant. It was a nice steakhouse called 1836. Garcia knew one of the chefs there and had managed the last minute reservation.

They ate a delicious meal and spent the evening laughing together. It felt good to be together like this, just the two of them. With the day to day chaos off their minds for the moment, they were able to just enjoy one another.