Soft Spot
A/N: Hello, everyone! Yes, it's me again, and I've decided that Reid needs a cat. Every awkward bachelor needs a cat. In Reid's case, it'll have to be a sturdy cat, but a cat none the less! …Anyhow, I'm done rambling. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable thing; including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, a private jet… I do own a cat though… like, five of 'em, actually.
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Cats were put into the world to disprove the dogma that all things were created to serve man.
~Paul Gray
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The members of the BAU stood outside the latest unsub's apartment building, watching cat after cat be carried by. Along with women, the sadistic psychopath seemed to enjoy killing small animals, such as cats, in his down time. He had been picking up stray cats for some time now and the team had found about 20 of them in the apartment.
Having been caught by surprise, the unsub wasn't in much of position to hold off a horde of FBI agents and had gone relatively quietly. Animal services had been called and the cats were all being taken to the small town's only animal shelter.
As the last of the cats paraded by, the team began to take their leave, when Reid overheard the beginnings of an argument.
"That's it, I can't take any more cats."
"But there's just one left."
"I'm over capacity as it is! I just can't take this one. I'm sorry."
Reid watched the conversation between an animal services worker and the owner of the shelter with interest. "Excuse me." He cut in, walking over, "I heard you have an extra cat."
The two stared at him for a moment before the shelter owner spoke. "Yes. This is just too many animals for me to take." She told him. "Why? You looking for a cat?"
"Hey, Reid! You coming, or what?" Morgan called.
"I'll meet you at the airport before we leave!" Reid called back, watching as Morgan shrugged and his team drove off.
"Well? Do you want a cat, or not?" The shelter owner demanded, calling Reid's attention back.
The young doctor turned to look at the cat the animal services worker was holding. "Well…"
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Morgan checked his watch again, turning to look for their missing agent. He was cutting it close; the plane was set to take off in 15 minutes. He was about to call when he saw a familiar face making its way through the airport crowds. "There you are. Cutting close, aren't- what's that?" Morgan asked, gesturing to the small carrier in Reid's hands.
"A kitten." Reid told him.
"What do you mean, a kitten?" Emily asked, her interest piqued.
"A young cat. Generally referring to a cat under a year old or so, and this one is about four months, so…" Reid began to explain.
"We know what a kitten is, Reid." Morgan told him, trying to look inside the carrier.
"You adopted one of those stray cats?" Hotch asked, turning his attention on Reid.
"Well, yeah, I mean, they were just one cat over capacity and…"
"Reid, you can't save everything." Hotch told him firmly.
"I know that. But I've been looking for a pet, and I've always liked cats, and they had just one extra cat, and… come on," Reid said, holding up the carrier so everyone could see inside. "How could I say no?"
Everyone craned their necks to get a look at the tiny creature within. It was a calico kitten, so small it would have fit in any of their hands. "It is cute." JJ conceded.
Reid looked at Hotch, his eyes pleading, as though he was asking a parent if he could keep the stray that had followed him home. "As long as you don't make habit of it, I'm not going to stop you." Hotch told him simply.
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After the plane had taken off, Reid had released the kitten from its container and was petting it gently as it purred contentedly. "So, what are you going to name it?" JJ asked, coming over to look at the tiny creature.
"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it." Reid admitted.
JJ gently scooped up the kitten and had a look at it. "Girl or boy?"
"Girl."
"Hm… I like Alley. You know, like alley cat?" JJ said with smile, handing the cat back to Reid, who nodded.
"I dunno, isn't that a little clichéd?" Morgan asked.
"Well, what would you suggest?" JJ returned, looking up at the profiler.
"I don't know, I'm more of a dog person. One of my sisters has a cat named Belle…" Morgan told them.
"Belle is pretty good too." Reid said.
"What about Diana? I've always like that name." Emily piped up, looking over at the cat.
Her name did not receive the expected nodding and noncommittal answer. Instead, Reid was looking at her as though she had just suggested he shoot the cat rather than name it. She was about to ask what, exactly, was wrong with the name 'Diana' when Reid spoke. "I am not going to name a cat after my mother." He informed her.
Emily gasped, covering her mouth as Morgan burst out laughing and even Hotch had a small smile on his face. How could she have forgotten Diana was Reid's mother? Maybe that's where the name had come from in the first place. "Okay, what about Emerald? Like her eyes." Emily said, trying to keep both a blush and a grin off of her face.
"That's not bad." Reid admitted, turning the cat to look at her eyes.
No one put forth any more names and the cat slipped off of Reid's lap and began to poke around the plane, sniffing at everything with curiosity. Eventually, she made her way over to Rossi, who gently picked her up and set her in his lap. "You're a doll, aren't you?" He asked quietly, scratching behind the cat's ears.
"'Doll' wouldn't be bad…" JJ said, watching Rossi and the cat.
"When I was very young," Hotch said, startling everyone by speaking for the first time since getting on the plane, "I had a cat named Peanut."
Everyone struggled to keep the smiles off their faces at the thought of their gruff leader and a cat named Peanut. "So, what about you, Reid? You must have a name in mind." Emily said.
"I was thinking about Athena." Reid told them.
Everybody grinned at the predictable name. "That's too much of a mouthful for something so tiny." Rossi informed him, setting the cat down again.
Reid stared at the kitten pensively as it picked its' way around the plane. Who'd have thought coming up with a name would be so difficult?
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Once off the plane, most everyone went home, but Reid went to the office. Garcia had called shortly before they landed, insisting he stop by before going home. Reid suspected someone had informed her of the kitten and she wanted a chance to look at it before it disappeared into his apartment. Not that he minded, but he was tired…
"Alright, lemme see her." Garcia demanded when Reid showed up in the doorway of her tiny office.
The young man obliged, opening the carrier and handing the cat to the awaiting hands of Garcia. The excited woman held the kitten slightly above her head, turning to look at her before taking it down and holding it close. "Cleo." She announced.
"Excuse me?" Reid asked, staring at Garcia.
"Her name shall be Cleo. Y'know, like Cleopatra." Garcia insisted.
The kitten purred loudly and rubbed its' tiny face against Garcia affectionately. Reid smiled, shrugging slightly. "Cleo it is." After a pause, he added, "Did you know that the Egyptians revered cats as gods? When a family cat died, the family would go into mourning and shave off their eyebrows."
Garcia stared at Reid for a moment, narrowing her eyes, as if she were thinking about something very hard. "If you outlive this cat, I'm going to hold you to that." She said finally, handing Cleo back to Reid.
"But- I'm not Egyptian." Reid protested.
"Don't care. I just can't imagine you without eyebrows. You'll have to shave them off." Garcia told him firmly.
Reid stood in the doorway for a moment, attempting to find a good argument, but he was too tired to argue with Garcia, so he merely shrugged and left. "You'd better not die before I do." He told Cleo as he left the office.
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The cat has too much spirit to have no heart.
~Ernest Menaul
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A/N: A little while ago, I got the idea of Reid having a cat and someone suggesting he name it 'Diana' and that's where the whooole thing came from. Yay. I had fun coming up with the names… and yes, Egyptians really would shave their eyebrows off… Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed! Oh, by the way, I know they probably wouldn't allow a cat on the BAU plane, but… well, quite frankly, I don't care… sorry. If you want, review, please!