I get tired and frustrated when I can't find a plot thread I like. To those who have stuck by me, thanks, and I will return to my other stories in good time. I appreciate any and all input. Enjoy!

Three Wishes

To approach the stranger is to invite the unexpected, release a new force, let the genie out of the bottle. It is to start a new train of events that is beyond your control.

~T.S. Eliot

After the incident with the messiah, Prentiss told Reid to take some time off. Usually the comfort of being surrounded by his books was enough for him to destress after a traumatic event, but not this time. He chose to go for a walk.

Hearing Garcia scream for him to shoot someone while knowing it would end her life rattled him to the core. He loved his job, he loved the people he worked with, yet it was taking a toll on him mentally. Never did he raise question about whether a situation could be made worse, because the answer was always yes. This wouldn't be the first time Reid questioned whether his love of his job outweighed the damage it did to his psyche, but this was the first time it really reverberated through him.

Teaching was fun and fulfilling, but there was a certain mixture of anxiety and frustration that came from trying to keep a class interesting while hoping he was getting through to the students. He was used to an attentive audience in police precincts when attention spans varied among students. In the end, he didn't think teaching was a good long-term option as he wanted to be active in helping people.

He sighed. He just didn't know what he wanted anymore.

There was a bolt of lightning and it started to rain hard. It was odd as he had read the weather report and there wasn't supposed to be any rain today. He looked around for shelter and stepped into a shop called "Unique Antiques."

It was a small shop with a variety of plates, instruments, furniture, and other odd knickknacks that could be found in any other shop. He browsed around, but nothing really caught his interest.

"Can I help you?"

Reid turned around to see a short older woman with white hair in a bun and large round glasses.

"No, thank you," he said. "I came in to escape the rain. Your shop is nice though."

"Thank you," she said. "I think I might have something that you'd like."

Out of curiosity, Reid followed the woman to the corner of the shop. She presented him with a lamp old Arabic design. It had a long narrow spout on and large handle on the other end with a round top where the light came from.

"Interesting," Reid said.

"There's a little dust on it," she said. "Would you mind rubbing it off?"

Reid carefully used the edge of his thumb to wipe some dust away.

There was another lightning strike and the woman was gone. Standing in her place was a man in a sharp black suit with red dress shirt who appeared to be of Arabic descent.

"Do you know what I am?" the man said in a powerful booming voice.

"A genie?" Reid said incredulously.

"You only have three wishes," he said. "Use them wisely."

"Really?" Reid asked.

He wasn't sure if this was a dream or something else.

"Do you believe in genies, Spencer Reid?" he asked.

"No," he said. "They are of mythological origin dating back- "

"What do you want Spencer Reid?" the genie asked. "Wish for three things that you want, and they are yours."

He felt bold. His life wasn't going as well as he'd like. The idea of change appealed to him.

"I wish my mom never had schizophrenia and dementia, I wish Maeve Donovan was alive, I wish Stephen Walker was alive."

"Like in the movie," he said with smile. "Your wish is my command."

"What movie?" Reid asked as the genie clapped his hands above his head.

There was enormous clap of lightning and Reid was gone.