This is the first chapter of what I hope will be a well received story. I love Criminal Minds. It's an amazing show. Sadly there just isn't enough fanfiction centering on it yet. I'm helping to change that. :D
This is the necessary disclaimer. I don't own any part of Criminal Minds or the characters associated with the show.
I love reviews. I know there are a few Criminal Minds authors and fans out there so I expect everyone of you to review.
Gideon leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes before returning to rereading the newest case that had landed on his desk. He was exhausted and he knew that the rest of his team was exhausted as well. Unfortunately they would have to go out in the field again. He cursed and threw the file back on his desk. It wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't just gotten back from another case the night before.
The last week had been hell as they had struggled to find an unsub who was kidnapping and sexually abusing high school girls before killing them and dumping their bodies. The guy should have been easy to find but he hadn't been. There was no criminal record before the incidents started and all the team had to go on was the pattern of the victims. They had managed to narrow the search area and had found several girls who might be the unsub's next targets. From that point on it had become a waiting game to see which one of the potentials the unsub would try to kidnap. They had managed to catch him when he made his move.
The ordeal had left the whole team exhausted and Gideon knew that the others had been looking forward to catching up on their sleep in their own beds for a change. Now they would have to sleep on the plane as they flew to California to find their newest unsub. He picked up the case file and began flipping through it for the third time. He had a bad feeling about this case and for good reason.
The first two killings had been thought to be unrelated but when a third victim had been found dead the officials involved had noticed the pattern and had sent word to the FBI that they needed a higher level of expertise. The killer was clearly following a pattern and it was the profile of the various victims that made him nervous. All of the victims were males, between the ages of 22 and 26, and honor students enrolled in various graduate programs at UC Berkeley. Each of the victims had also been at or near the top of his class. In short the victims were too much like Reid. Spencer was the youngest member of his team and the older profiler was a little worried about how Reid would respond to the case. In a lot of ways he considered Spencer like a son. The younger man was enthusiastic and brilliant but clueless at the same time and his qualities had quickly endeared him to the rest of the team. With another sigh Gideon dropped his copy of the file back on top of the pile and scooped the pile into his arms in order to give it to the others. They wouldn't be happy but it couldn't be helped.
The second he walked into the main office with the stack of files the more vocal members of the team immediately started complaining.
"Gideon you have got to be kidding, we just got back last night. We can't have another case this soon." Gideon glared mildly at Morgan as he dropped one of the copies on his desk. When he had passed them all out he stood back to watch the reactions. They were exactly as he had expected. As they read through the profile the others cast quick glances at Reid to see how he was handling it. Reid, for his part, was oblivious as he started reading through the case for the second time.
Realizing that things would get uncomfortable if they remained silent for much longer he spoke. "I want to leave as soon as possible. You guys can head home and get your stuff." The others nodded and started collecting their things but Reid obviously hadn't heard him. Gideon waited by the door while Elle, Hotch, and JJ slipped past him into the hall. JJ would be staying on site to help them when they were in the field but Elle had silently indicated that she should leave for now as well. Gideon knew that Hotch wanted to spend a least a few minutes with his wife and son before they left again so his quick departure was understandable. Morgan took slightly longer to gather his things but he too left quickly and Reid still hadn't reacted. When it was only the two of them Gideon walked over and took a seat across from Reid. He could see that Reid was looking at some of the crime scene photos.
"Reid?" The younger man was torn from his thoughts by the sound of Gideon's voice.
"Huh?" Reid looked up and suddenly realized that the others had left. A slight blush immediately spread across his cheeks but just as quickly died as his eyes dropped back to the file on his desk. It was clear to Gideon that the case bothered him, just as he had expected it would.
"If you want to talk you know who to come to." Reid nodded silently as he started gathering his things. Gideon noticed that the younger man was making an effort not to look at him and that hurt. The idea that Reid might not trust him cut at him like a knife but he let it slide for now. He would just have to keep his eye on him for the duration of the case and if we noticed that Reid was having problems then he would have to intervene.
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