"Yes, Mom. I'm done working for the day and Spence and I are heading out soon," Parker assured.

The whole team had two weeks off and Parker and their colleagues were looking forward to their well-deserved vacation.

"Perfect," said Caroline Gallagher. "Tell Spencer I'll cook his favorite meal."

"You know I don't like it that–"

"I'll make your favorite cake and I've already reserved a table at your favorite restaurant for Sunday."

This is even better, Parker thought. The young profiler suddenly couldn't wait to get to Las Vegas. Their Mom knew how to make her child happy.

"And don't forget to let us know when you know when you'll be landing. We'll send Robert to pick you up."

"Mom, you don't need to–" the young adult started, slightly annoyed.

They stopped as Derek and Elle returned to their desks with coffee and Parker didn't want everyone to hear what they said next.

"You don't need to send your chauffeur to pick us up."

"It didn't bother you before," Caroline replied.

"Whatever," Parker muttered, grabbing the processed files. "I have to hang up, I'll call you later. Love you, Mom."

"I love you too, my little bean."

Suddenly two weeks on their own couch seemed very tempting. They ended the conversation and put the cell phone on the desk next to the files.

"Oh, there he is. Pretty boy," Parker heard Derek's voice.

They looked up and saw that Spencer was also packing up his things.

"Last chance. I can get my man to swing you and Parker a hotel room for practically nothing."

"Thanks anyway," Spencer declined.

"Oh, come on, Reid, live a little, huh? Parker, talk to him."

"Sorry Derek, no chance of plans."

"We have to go. Going home. Parker, are you done?"

"Give me two minutes."

"Okay, I'll wait outside. Have a good one, guys," Spencer said goodbye and left the office.

"Bye."

"He looks okay to you?", Derek asked. "Parker, is he okay?"

Parker, who had just put on their jacket (one of Spencer's jackets), shrugged.

"He looks about the way I would if I was going to spend two weeks with my family," said Elle.

"Hey, don't knock family," Hotch said as he left his office. "I'm going to get nothing but for the next 336 hours."

"Good for you."

"Haley's got a list of chores a mile long and I can't wait. The biggest decision I gotta make is what I'm gonna do first."

"I bet you she has a thought or two about that as well."

"Say hi to her and Jack from me," Parker asked as they walked past Hotch.

"Will do."

"Bring it on. I'll be lost in a cabin in the woods for the next two weeks," said Gideon, who rushed past the others to the entrance without stopping.

"Don't call me for anything. Have a great time. You all deserve a break. Seriously, don't call."

"Don't worry."

~~~~

Writer Elbert Hubbard said,

"No man needs a vacation as much as the man who just had one."

"Finally," Parker sighed.

Spencer paid the taxi driver before the couple walked up the grand staircase to the manor house.

"Won't your mom be wondering where Robert is?" the young genius wanted to know.

"Maybe," Parker shrugged. "I called him and gave him the day off."

"You can just do that?"

"Of course I can. He works for my parents," Parker replied and rang the bell.

Spencer scoffed, shook his head, and placed his suitcase on the second last step on the stairs.

It took a moment for Parker's mom to open the door.

"Hello kids, it's so nice to see you again," she greeted her child and their boyfriend.

Caroline pulled Parker into a loving hug. Even if Parker's parents could drive them crazy, they had to admit that they missed them both.

"Thanks mom, nice to be back too."

The two broke away and the young agent entered the house.

"Spencer, my boy–"

The middle-aged woman also pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Hello Mrs. Gallagher."

~~

The next day, while Spencer was visiting his mother, Parker met up with an old friend from school.

Amy was waiting for them when the young agent entered the cafe and waved Parker over.

"Parker, long time no see. How are you?"

Parker nodded in agreement and sat down opposite the young woman. It really had been a long time– four months to be exact.

Amy was in DC every now and then because of her job and the two of them didn't miss the chance to at least meet up for coffee. Same when Parker visited their parents in Las Vegas.

"I'm fine and you?"

It was good to talk to someone who didn't know anything about serial killers and all that stuff. Amy didn't want to hear about it either and the two friends talked for hours about old classmates and everyday matters.

"So I see that Spencer still hasn't had the courage to put a ring on your finger," Amy commented as she looked at Parker's ringless hand.

"Well, we're only 24. I don't expect him to ask me any time soon."

"But you want him to ask you sometime?"

The young adult shrugged and stirred their coffee with the spoon. Did they want to marry Spencer? Yes, definitely.

They also wanted Spencer to ask them. But Parker would take matters, and therefore the proposal, into his own hands, if necessary.

"You know, there was that moment," Parker murmured.

Amy raised an eyebrow, leaning her elbows on the table.

"Oh, do tell."

"One of my colleagues had a child a few months ago, a little boy. I was allowed to hold him and I thought it would be nice to have children of my own. I didn't tell Spencer because I know he is not ready yet."

"And you're ready?"

"For a child? No, god no," Parker replied.

Amy nodded and drank some coffee.

"Just so you know, I can see it, you as a parent."

~~

Spencer walked up the stairs of the care facility where his mother lived, followed by Parker.

The young man didn't dare go to his mother yesterday and turned around in the doorway. But today Parker was there and they wouldn't let it happen again.

The couple almost reached the lounge when they were stopped by the nurse at the information desk–

"Oh, Dr. Reid? Someone delivered this to the desk last night for you," said the nurse, holding up an envelope.

"What?"

"Who would send a letter for you to your mothers place?" Parker asked, confused. "And why?"

"I don't know," her boyfriend replied, equally irritated.

Spencer accepted the envelope. He opened it and revealed a smaller envelope with not only his name on it, but also Parker's name.

Inside was a key and a handwritten message.

'SHE WANTS THE UNLESS YOU BOTH SAVE HER. CALL GIDEON. HE KNOWS.'

"What?"

They wasted no time in finding out that they weren't the only ones being sent something strange.

Gideon got a Nellie Fox baseball card from 1963 and a head in a box. JJ got a rare butterfly in a shadow box. Hotch got repeated messages to "save her." And Elle the decapitated body.

On the way to the car, one of them received a message from Garcia that they had found the man who was responsible for the body.

But he had been murdered, too.

"'The hour will be none'," Parker heard Hotch's voice as they walked toward the room.

"Well, midnight is 0000 hours in 24-hour time. Would that be none?"

"Midnight wouldn't cast a shadow."

"'Hour be none.'"

"3:00 p.m.," Spencer called attention to himself and Parker.

The man's body was positioned on a bed in the middle of the room, pierced by a sword. And written in blood on the wall was 'THERE THY QUEST DOTH TRULY BEGIN'.

"Hey, guys."

"Garcia told us where to find you."

"–3:00 p.m.?"

"It's medieval," Parker explained. "The days used to be broken into hourly intervals, the canonical hours of the breviary. Prime, 6:00 a.m., terce, 9:00 a.m., sext, 12:00 noon, none, 3:00 p.m., and vespers, 6:00 p.m."

Hotch and Derek looked at them slightly surprised. And Gideon, who knew that the Milde ages were one of Parkers special interests as a Child, didn't even stopped looking around.

"You two, don't ever go away again," said Elle.

"Medieval. That's why the language changed. 'Doth.'"

"Everything this guy does is a clue."

"Okay, but, guys, it's 4:35. What do we do? Leave the blade in till 3:00 p.m. tomorrow?" asked Derek.

"Not if we can block that window out," said Spencer.

"Gina, do you have any spotlights in your car?" Parker asked the woman.

"Sure."

"Thanks."

With the spotlight, Spencer crouched in front of the window and simulated the path of the sun, causing the sword to cast a large shadow on the opposite wall.

"See, the sun is right here at 5:00 p.m. Morgan, follow the shadow as I move the light higher."

Derek quickly moved aside the small table that stood between him and the wall.

"Okay, and do what?"

"Tap."

The profiler knocked on the wall and followed the shadow of the sword's hilt.

"It's hollow."

"Definitely an Indiana Jones movie," commented Elle.

"Feels like the wallpaper's been replaced."

"Tear it open."

Derek tore off some of the wallpaper. There was a small cavity hidden behind it that contained a small object. Parker couldn't tell what it was.

"It's a box," Derek explained.

"Take it out," Hotch ordered.

"Wait, are we sure that's safe?" Spencer pointed out.

"What, you think it's a bomb? You think he'd be playing this game just to blow us up?" Hotch replied.

"He'd already done that as long as we've been standing here."

Parker's colleague took the box out of the wall, placed it on the small table and then tried unsuccessfully to open it.

"It's locked. You want me to break it?"

"No, we should process it first."

"'The youngest holding the key'," said Gideon.

Parker automatically reached into their pocket when they remembered that Spencer had the key.

Spencer took the small envelope and key out of his pocket, joined the others crouching around the box, and unlocked it.

His partner also joined in as he opened the box. This was empty except for one more piece of paper.

It wasn't a normal box either, but a music box. Parker knew the tune but couldn't remember the name of the piece.

"Schubert. The Trout Quintet," Gideon murmured.

"Thanks. I was trying to remember the name."

Spencer grabbed the message and read it out loud: "Never would it be night, but always clear day to any man's sight."

"Well, that was worth it."

"The lid. Little tab right under the lock," Gideon pointed out to his team.

A second bottom was installed on the lower side of the lid. There the team found a lock of blonde hair and a DVD with 'Thy quest' written on it.

~~~~

Back at Quantico, the first thing the profilers did was look at what was on the DVD.

The video started and a large old-fashioned desk was in focus of the image. Then a man sat down on the chair, which was also old-fashioned.

"He moves funny," Hotch noticed.

"It's like he's injured or something."

"I assure you, you will all understand in the end why it has to be this way," the man began. "You might even thank me."

"Don't hold your breath, scumbag."

"You know now you're on a quest. A young girl's life depends on the successful completion of it. As you can see, she is quite beautiful and in distress–"

There were shots of a young woman with blonde hair who was in some kind of old fashioned basement. The word dungeon popped up in Parkers Mind.

"Now please listen closely, for there is one rule and this rule must be followed. The one rule is, only the members of your team may participate in the quest: Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Elle Greenaway, Spencer Reid, Parker Gallagher, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia–"

A picture of each team member appears on the screen.

"A quest must be completed in the proper way or it isn't a quest, is it? That's it. One rule. Simple. Now, you will be receiving an item soon that will hold the final clue you will need to finish the quest. You will find you will also need a book which has inspired many an adventure like mine. Believe me when I tell you I truly hope to see you all soon. It will mean a successful end to this adventure for all of us."

That ended the video.

"This guy's got pictures of us?"

"Where did he get those? And why did he have to take the photo of me spilling coffee on my shirt."

"That's what's bothering you?" asked Elle, perplexed.

"Yes, of course", Parker replied.

"What do we do now?", Spencer wanted to know and changed the subject.

"Well, the lock of hair's being analyzed for DNA. There might be something on file."

"I'll get Video to enhance the shots of the girl."

"Let's get the clues up on the board. Maybe we can make some sense of something."

"Wait, we're going to play this guy's game?"

"Do we have a choice?"

While the rest of the team thought of a plan, Gideon left the room.

"Be right back. You guys keep working," Hotch apologized and followed the other profiler.

~~

Moments later, Haley showed up unexpectedly. An envelope had been sent to Hotch's address with the message that it was a matter of life and death.

Inside the envelope was a piece of paper with numbers.

"My eyes are so heavy I can barely see it," Elle murmured.

Since Parker had already tried to persuade her to go home several times and Elle had refused, Parker twisted their face into a neutral non-grin.

"I think it's a coded message of some sort. The UnSub said we needed a book, didn't he?"

"Yeah. 'A book that inspired many an adventure.'"

"You think it's a book code?" asked Parker.

"This is what I am thinking. Each one of these sets of numbers represents a particular word. For instance, page 118, line 30, word three. We need to figure out what the words are and fill in the blanks."

"Yeah, but from what book?" asked Elle.

"I don't know," Spencer muttered. "The trouble is, it has to be the exact same edition of the exact same book that he used."

As if on cue, JJ entered the room.

"Just got a DNA hit on the lock of hair. Rebecca Bryant. She's been missing out of Boston for two years."

"Two years?"

"Guys, how are we supposed to figure out which book this code was copied out of?"

"I have no idea."

"He said we have everything needed to complete the quest," Parker repeated.

The young agent had been staring at those damn numbers for ten minutes, remembering why he hated math back then.

"The answer's got to be up there somewhere."

Shortly afterwards, Gideon appeared in the doorway and told JJ to prepare a press conference. The team needed help finding the man who dropped off the envelope.

Meanwhile, Elle was sent home because she had already fallen asleep in the chair.

But none of them knew was that someone was waiting for Elle.