Parker woke up before their alarm could even get a chance to wake them.

Spencer was still sound asleep and looked even younger than he already was.

Parker kissed him first on the cheek and then on the nose. The young man woke up this and wrinkled his nose

"Happy Birthday", Parker murmured and gave their boyfriend another kiss on the cheek.

"Can I always be woken up like this from now on?" Spencer asked sleepily.

Parker's smile widened. They loved that cute, childish side of him. Spencer was the smartest man they knew and despite his vast knowledge he was just a young man still trying to find his place in the world.

"Maybe," Parker replied, standing up.

They stopped at the door and turned back to Spencer.

"What do you think of birthday–pancakes?"

"I think, that sounds great," Spencer replied, sitting up.

Parker shuffled into the kitchen, made the pancakes, and set the table.

"Sit down," they said to Spencer, when he walked into the kitchen and put two plates with pancakes on the table.

After the couple had breakfast, Spencer opened his gifts, which included an Egar Allan Poe anthology and a Doctor Who collectible figure.

But Parker wasn't the only one thinking about Spencer's birthday.

The team had a cake and a hat in a shape of a birthday cake. Parker remembered that they had one like this in elementary school– they hated it.

"Make a wish," Elle said as Spencer tried to blow out the candles. But they kept igniting on their own.

"I thought you were full of hot air, Reid," Elle joked.

Elle, JJ, Morgan and Parker stood behind Spencer and chuckled.

"Come on, Reid!"

"They're trick candles, Spence, okay? They... They're going to come back on every time," Parker resolved the situation when Spencer kept trying to blow out the candles.

Gideon and Hotch stood a few steps away, watching the scene.

"Isn't it amazing he knows what he knows, and he's only twenty-four?" said Hotch.

"Imagine what he'll know by fifty," Gideon replied.

The agents looked back at their team and at the same moment Parker gave Spencer a small kiss on the cheek.

"Do you think the two of them will still be together?" Hotch wanted to know from his colleague and pointed to Parker and Spencer.

"Those two? 100 percent. Or can you imagine the two separated?" Gideon replied.

Hotch thought for a moment and looked over at the two.

He was a rational person and knew that any couple could break up—an unspoken rule.

But even Aaron Hotchner couldn't imagine Parker Gallagher and Spencer Reid ever not being together.

"No," Hotch answered and was called to a phone call at the same moment.

He passed his colleagues who were trying to carefully pull the candles out of the cake.

Spencer got up and joined Gideon.

"You having fun?" the older agent wanted to know.

"Yes. Definitely," Spencer didn't really answer the question truthfully. "I'm definitely having fun."

"Make a wish?"

"Can I take this hat off?" Spencer asked.

"I wouldn't."

"Spence, sweetie. First piece for the birthday boy," Parker said.

The young agent held out a plate with a piece of cake to their boyfriend.

Spencer automatically smiled and walked towards Parker. After two steps, however, he turned back to Gideon.

"Did you know, they get up earlier every year and make birthday–pancakes," Spencer told him. "Just for me."

The young man had this sparkle in his eyes – he was head over heels in love.

Gideon was happy for him. The job was far from easy, and every agent needed something good in their life.

Unfortunately, the little party was interrupted because the team had a new case.

~~

"We're going to San Diego," Hotch began as the team gathered in the small briefing room.

They all sat down at the round table.

"But not for the surfing, huh?"

"They're calling him the 'Tommy Killer.'" JJ said.

She gave everyone a case file. Parker took their file and gave JJ a nod of thanks.

"Six women raped and murdered in their homes in the last three weeks."

"Six in three weeks?" Parker repeated. "That's a short fuse."

"And getting shorter. First two were eight days apart, then the next four in two weeks."

"Rapid escalation. You think he's regressing to a psychopathic frenzy?"

"No, he's too controlled for that," Hotch replied. "See you on the plane."

The black-haired agent got up and left the room.

"Why the "Tommy Killer"?" Derek wanted to know.

Hotch stopped at the door and half turned back to the team.

"You know the rock opera? Well, this unsub glues his victims' eyes wide open."

With that, Hotch turned around and walked out of the door.

"He wants them to see him."

"And feel him."

~~

French poet Jacques Rigaut said,

"Don't forget that I cannot see myself, that my role is limited to being the one who looks in the mirror." 

"Brenda Samms was found yesterday by her children when they got home from school," Hotch said.

The team was now on the jet and started discussing the profile.

"She had been strangled with a thin ligature, possibly a wire. No weapon left at the scene. Residue on the wrists and mouth indicate that duct tape was used, then removed."

"Also not found at the scene."

"Brought it with him, took it with him", spoke Elle.

"He also started leaving messages at the fourth scene, this was on the mirrors.

"Fair lady, throw those costly robes aside,

No longer may you glory in your pride,

Take leave of all your carnal vain delight..."

"I've come to summon you away this night," Spencer finished the verse without seeing the photo with the message.

"What bold attempt is this? Pray let me know

From whence you come, and whither I must go.

Shall I, who am a lady, stoop or bow

To such a pale-faced visage? Who art thou?'", Parker mumbled and most looked at them in surprise.

"It's a ballad from the late 1600s. A Dialogue Betwixt Death and a Lady," Spencer explained.

"A seventeenth-century ballad?"

"Yeah, essentially a woman begging Death to live."

"What kind of person knows this ballad? Are we looking for a literature professor?"

"I know this ballad. Wrote an essay about it," Parker replied. "But, we are looking for anyone with an Internet connection, actually."

"Yeah, you should see what comes in when you type the word "death" into a search engine," Spencer agreed.

"No wonder you two date," said Derek.

Parker and Spencer exchanged confused looks.

"Reid, Parker, you stay on the messages. See if there's a deeper meaning," Gideon said.

"Well, it definitely looks like he ransacked the crime scene pretty well."

"A lot of damage, nothing taken."

"Well, the eyes are the thing. The signature. The behavior that isn't necessary for the murder, but necessary for the emotional release. That's what he's there for."

"There used to be a widely held belief that the eyes record a snapshot of the last thing a person sees before they die," Spencer explained.

"Yeah, that's right. People used to write poems about talking to Death."

"Ballads," Parker corrected Derek.

"Whatever."

"You think they'll ever run out of new things to do to their victims?" Elle asked.

"Well, finding new ways to hurt each other is what we're good at."

~~~~

Task Force Headquarters

SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT

Parker and Spencer first looked at the messages left at the crime scenes.

It wasn't long before the two joined Hotch and Elle to share their thoughts.

"It looks like what he's written at the scenes are most of the first three verses of the same ballad," Spencer explained.

"Most of?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah, it's only one part of the conversation. There's no "betwixt." So, Death speaks, but the lady never answers," Parker explained.

"Maybe he feels like their bodies are answer enough."

~~

Parker continued to work at the verses with Spencer to make sure they hadn't missed anything.

Some time later, Derek and Gideon returned from the last crime scene.

"The verses," Parker spoke to Gideon.

They had the text in their hands, even though they knew it by heart.

Gideon and Morgan stopped.

"Found something?"

"Uh, not an answer, a question–"

"The text..." Parker said. "He's pretty much following it to a tee, at least the Death side of the conversation."

"But?"

"Why didn't he leave them at the first three murders?" Parker wanted to know.

"I mean, this ballad is ten verses long, just on the Death side. He's got plenty to work with. But if it's not a part of his signature, if it isn't something that he has to do for an emotional reason, then, I mean, why start?"

Gideon looked at Parker silently for a few moments.

"JJ," he addressed the blond woman.

She sat at a desk a few feet away from the others.

"–find out when the press ran the first story on this UnSub."

Parker's brows drew together.

They looked at Spencer, who also looked confused.

"When?" JJ inquired.

"After which victim."

"Yeah, you got it."

"What are you thinking?" Derek wanted to know.

"He wasn't getting enough attention," Gideon replied.

Of course, Parker thought. Why hadn't they thought of that?

"Police departments sometimes don't even realize they're looking at a pattern."

"Yeah, until somebody tells them," Derek commented.

"The first story ran the morning after the fourth victim was found," JJ said, still holding the phone to his ear.

Derek opened the case file and searched for something.

"The increased patrols didn't begin until after the fourth victim, either."

"Yeah, the police didn't realize what was happening. He writes his verse..."

"Everyone knows that he was there."

~~

"The UnSub brought his weapons with him", Gideon started to present the profile. "Tape, glue, wire. He did not leave them at the scene. He took them when he left. He has a kind of killing kit that he carries."

"Organized killers usually have a skilled job, likely technology related, which may involve the use of the hands. The crime scenes are far enough apart that he needs a vehicle. This will be well-kept, obsessively clean, as will be his home. He's diurnal, the attacks occur during the day, so the vehicle may be related to his work, possibly a company car or truck", Hotch explained further.

"We believe he watches the victims for a time, learns the rhythms of the home, knows his time frame", Derek added.

"You're not going to catch him accidentally."

"He destroys symbols of wealth in the victims' homes. He harbors envy of and hatred toward people of a higher social class. He feels invisible around them."

"Class is the theme of the poem which he left at the various crime scenes", said Parker. "At one point in the poem, the woman attempts to bribe Death, but he doesn't accept it. He says this is the one moment when riches mean nothing. When Death comes, poor and the rich are exactly alike."

"So he's poor?", one of the police officers wanted to know.

"Probably middle-class", Hotch answered. "A decidedly lower-class person would stick out in a highly patrolled neighborhood. This guy appears to belong there. He blends in."

"Why does he glue the eyes open?"

"The UnSub is an exploitative rapist", Elle explained. "Most rape victims close their eyes during the attack, turn their heads. For some rapists, this ruins the fantasy. For this type of rapist, the goal is more related to the victim watching him than the act itself."

"The verses, the staging, the aggressive language, "I am Death." This is a guy who, while being in control at the crime scene, almost certainly feels inadequate in the rest of his life."

"That's why he couldn't wait for you to figure out what he'd done. Why he needed to make sure all his crimes were counted. His victims. They represent whatever it is that's controlling him, and he wants that control back. He is under the thumb of a powerful woman who frightens him. And a final point, he is white."

"We have witnesses that identify him as a black male", one of the police officers pointed out.

"The attacker was black. He is not the Tommy Killer."

"Mrs. Gordon's husband came home at the same time that he always does. The Tommy Killer would have known that."

"And Mrs. Gordon's attacker wore a ski mask. The UnSub knows when he walks into a house he's going to kill the woman who lives there. If you're not leaving any witnesses, why wear a ski mask?", Elle pointed out.

"And he wants the victim to see him anyway."

"Your attempted rapist is a garden-variety, disorganized young man", Hotch said.

"As the victim's age goes up, generally the attacker's age goes down. Mrs. Gordon is about sixty, which puts her rapist at about twenty. And it takes years to develop the level of calm and sophistication that Tommy displays at a crime scene. And the rapist is far too young for that."

"Mrs. Gordon told me that there's a young man who delivers groceries to their home. He fits a lot of what we're describing here".

"Great", spoke Captain Griffith. "So we're back to zero on Tommy."

"Not at all", Hotch assured. "May I see you in your office for a moment?"

~~

They had arrested Mrs Gordon's attacker and put it on the news. And that would make the Tommy Killer mad – so mad he had to call.

The team sat at their desks and waited.

Spencer and Parker sat together at a desk. Spencer solved a Rubik's Cube and Parker flipped through a comic.

"Do you think it's weird that I knew the ballad?" Parker broke the silence.

Their boyfriend looked up in surprise and saw Parker put the comic away.

"No. I mean, I know a lot of things that others would consider weird. So I'm not a good person to ask that. But I would say you're the normal part of this relationship."

Parker scoffed.

"Spence, I'm definitely not normal–"

"You are weird, I am weird. Your weird matches my weird. That makes us a great couple."

The conversation was interrupted when Detective Martin indicated that he had the Tommy Killer on the phone.

JJ told Garcia, the technical analyst, which line (6) he was calling.

As the team gathered around a desk, Elle turned on the loudspeaker.

"You stupid incompetent sons of bitches," the man yelled into the phone. "I don't make mistakes! I am Death! You hear me? I am Death! You'll see now. Tomorrow. Mark my words, you will see! And while I'm taking her, I'm going to be thinking of you!"

Without another word he hung up.

"Anything?" JJ inquired.

The team eagerly awaited news. Parker tugged at the end of the sleeve of their sweater.

"She said she got nothing," JJ said after a few moments.

"Nothing?"

"We missed him?"

~~~~

The team split up to check the neighborhood the next morning.

Gideon and Elle teamed up together, Derek and Spencer and Hotch and Parker.

Parker and Hotch had been in the car for some time, watching the road.

The young agent tapped the dashboard with his fingers.

Parker didn't think about what rhythm it was, but subconsciously they started humming along with the rhythm.

"Parker."

The older agent gave Parker an annoyed look.

"Sorry," Parker mumbled.

They sank a bit into the seat and looked out of the window.

Then something caught Parker's eye, an elderly lady with a dog.

"I'll be right back," assured Parker and got out of the car.

Hotch saw Parker approach the woman and speak to her.

Parker petted the little dog named Sir. Pawcelot.

"You're not from around here, are you? I've never seen you around here," said Mrs. Lockwood skeptically.

"I heard that there is a house for sale, but I think I'm lost. I was about to meet with the estate agent and my uncle is so kindly to accompanying me."

Parker pointed toward the car where Hotch was sitting.

Mrs. Lockwood gave him a friendly wave, and Hotch responded with a little wave with his hand.

A few moments later, Parker came back to the car and flopped back into the passenger seat.

"Did you have a nice chat?" Hotch asked.

"Yes, thanks for asking. Mrs. Lockwood said that the phone was turned off yesterday while the phone lines being worked on. I mean, it can't be a coincidence that there's work on said wiring in the area where the murders happen."

"No, it's not", the older profiler agreed. "And no one would notice a man working the telephone poles."

"Exactly," Parker confirmed.

"How did you know you would get a helpful Information?"

"An elderly woman walking her dog? He knows surely every what's going on here and I just guessed she needed someone to talk."

If they didn't know better, they could have sworn the corners of Hotch's mouth twitched.

At the same moment, Hotch's cell phone rang – Gideon called.

Hotch took the call and put it on speakerphone.

"He's a phone technician," Hotch and Gideon began at the same time.

"The police are looking for someone walking around a neighborhood in broad daylight. Who notices a phone guy up on a pole?" Gideon said.

"He can watch for husbands leaving for work, watch for police patrols, knows when the neighborhood's quiet."

"He knows when he will have plenty of time. He can even tap into a phone line to make sure someone's home. How about routing a call through twenty-five substations? Backyard, hey, he's just looking for a pole. Got tape? Of course he does. Wire? He's a repairman."

"Sounds right, Jason."

"It's right. And we have his name."

~~~~

Now everyone was looking for the truck that the guy was probably driving.

Gideon and Elle found him first. When Parker and Hotch arrived, Gideon was already in the house where he was.

Elle, who had been checking on another house, went towards them.

The three agents drew their guns and entered the kitchen through the back door.

A little boy sat crying in his high chair and yelled for his mother.

Parker gestured to their colleagues that they would check on the kid. The young agent put the gun away while Hotch and Elle walked on.

"Hey little man. Is it ok if I pick you up?"

The little boy nodded. Parker got him out of the high chair and walked him into the living room. So the boy didn't see Franklin Graney being taken away by Hotch.

It wasn't long before paramedics checked on the mother and Parker was able to place the boy back in his mother's care.

"Thank you so much," said the woman as she hugged her son in relief.

"No problem," assured Parker. "We are here to help."

They turned away and made their way to the car.

"Hotch told me about your conversation with the older lady," Gideon spoke to them.

Parker stopped and looked uncertainly at Gideon.

"Did he?"

"He did," confirmed the older agent.

Parker had used a simple method to gather useful information.

The same information he and Elle found out.

Of course, the agents knew that the police had questioned the residents, but it also depends on what questions are asked.

And Parker had proved they knew what they were doing.

"Good job kid."

~~~~

Rose Kennedy once said,

"Birds sing after a storm, why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?"

On the return flight, the team spread out in the jet.

Elle layed on the couch and slept. Gideon and Spencer played chess and the rest read or listened to music.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you," Gideon said.

He reached into his bag, pulled out a small gift and handed it to Spencer.

"I forgot to give it to you at the party."

"But you don't give birthday presents," Spencer pointed out.

The young man opened the small box and two cinema tickets for a 'Trash Movie Festival' were revealed.

"Wow, Movie Tickets, thank you so much," Spencer tried to cheer.

Only he was a bit confused. He doesn't watch those movies, so why did Gideon give him this as a gift?

Then it clicked.

Spencer only knew one person who enjoyed watching movies like this. The corners of his mouth twitched up and he turned to Parker.

They had made themselves comfortable in one of the seats and were listening to music.

Then he turned to Gideon again.

"What should I say?" Spencer asked.

Gideon gave Spencer a confused look and said, "You asked Parker out before."

Spencer responded with a 'Well... you see... not really' look.

Most of the time, he and Parker would just go out to eat or do things together – most of the time, Parker would take care of it.

"Just ask them," Gideon suggested.

Spencer nodded and stood up. His gaze fell on the chess board. He made another move and then stood up.

"Checkmate."

The young genius sat down next to his partner and tapped them. Parker put down the headphones and looked at her boyfriend.

"What is it?" they wanted to know.

Spencer showed them the cards.

"Where did you get that from?" Parker asked in surprise.

"Gideon gave it to me. Would you like to come with me?" Spencer wanted to know.

Parker smiled in surprise.

Spencer had only asked them out once – no, sorry – twice.

First on their very first date and the second at Parker's prom.

"Like a date?" they asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, like a date."