Reid's Miracle Chapter 1: The Watching Eyes, a criminal minds fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. It is the property of Mark R. Gordon and CBS.

Note: This is my first attempt at a Criminal Minds fanfic, and the first piece of fan fiction I've written in a couple of years. Any feedback on the characters (particularly how realistic they seem) and the story would be greatly appreciated.

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Reid's Miracle

Chapter One: The Watching Eyes

By Ann Parker

Simone Weil once said, "The capacity to give one's attention to a sufferer is a very rare and difficult thing; it is almost a miracle; it is a miracle."

As he exited the elevator, Reid wondered if anyone would notice. It was his first day back since those two horrendous days in that cabin in Georgia. He had been ordered to take a few days off to recover, although he knew in his mind that he had actually gotten worse. He had tried to stop himself, but the pull of Dilaudid – his present from Tibias – was just too strong. A part of him didn't want the team to figure it out; he didn't want them to see him as weak. Another part of him wanted their help. Why had he grabbed those two little vials? Why couldn't have just walked away?

"Hey Reid, my man, how are you feeling?" Morgan's greeting snapped him out his train of thought and he attempted to smile at the man he had begun to think of as a brother.

"Still a little sore, but nothing I can't handle. Had any new cases while I was gone?" he asked while they walked to their desks. Reid set his book bag down on his desk.

Morgan shook his head, "no, it's actually been quiet since we came back. The killers must be taking a holiday."

"Either that or they wanted our resident genius to track them down," replied JJ as she walked up to the boys with her cup of coffee. "Good to have you back, Reid," she said smiling at him as she propped up against Morgan's desk.

"Thanks, JJ. How have you been doing?" Reid asked.

JJ slightly looked down at her coffee, "I'm okay. I'm just glad that you are." Reid attempted to offer her a sad smile. He had forgotten what she had gone through; Hotch had told him during their flight back to the BAU when he was discharged from the hospital. JJ slightly smiled back before heading to her desk. Reid spun in his chair and turned on his computer, unaware of two sets of eyes in the distance watching his every move.

"Do you think he's using it?" Hotch asked Gideon. While Reid had been checked out at the hospital, the doctor's informed both of them about the presence of the drug in his system. Gideon immediately realized why the young man had gone back to the corpse of his capturer. What he didn't know was if he intending on using it or just didn't want them to know about it. So after much discussion, they decided to not press him on the issue, at least not for now. He had been through enough; the third degree wasn't the right course of action at the moment.

"I can't tell. No doubt, he's smart enough to hide it well. At least for now. He won't be able to hide it too long, but I'm not comfortable with waiting for that to happen," replied the older man.

"What do you suggest we do? I don't want to push him," replied Hotch. He was still trying to bury his guilt for sending JJ and Reid to that house in the first place. He'd be damned if he let that psycho continue to hurt his team, particularly their youngest member.

"I don't think we should talk to him at all, actually." Gideon immediately raised his hand when Hotch opened his mouth to protest. "I don't think he is going to want to talk to any of us about it. We both know that Reid doesn't like to talk about his personal life that much. That's why he brings up random facts in conversations."

"Then what do you want to do? We can't let him self destruct," countered Hotch, not really sure where the older man next to him was going with this.

"I might know someone that can get him to open up. Someone that at the same time can probably tell if he's using the drugs," stated Gideon, walking back into his office. He reached for his address book and flipped it open.

"Are you talking about a shrink? We both know that he'd be able to lie through any session if he wanted to," Hotch stated as he sat down in one of the chairs across from Gideon's desk.

"God no. He's going to have to do that for the Bureau before being cleared for the field again, I don't want him to have anymore of that then he's required to. No, this person someone I've known…wow, at least five years now. She's actually a former victim of a case I had before any of you got here. She went through something…similar. Ah, there's her new number!" Hotch just stared at Gideon.

"Wait, how is she supposed to help Reid?"

"She's really close to his age, closer than any of us, and I think she might be able to get him to come out of his shell a little. Plus, since she has experience with Dilaudid, she'll be much more in tune with his behavior and can tell us of his using it." Gideon reached for his phone before looking back up at Hotch, who still had a slightly skeptical look on his face. "Just trust me on this. Besides, the worse thing that can happen is that she can't help us. She certainly won't hurt the situation." Hotch stood up as Gideon called this woman and looked back out at his youngest team member.

"I sure hope you're right Gideon," he said to himself. "I sure hope you're right."