Disclaimer

I do not own Criminal Minds The Listener or their characters

Criminal minds listener cross over
great minds good friends

Summer 1996 us/Canada boarder

15 year old Reid sat at a table in a café sipping coffee. He had been there for hours. He was think of the past few days that got him here. Reid was so lost in thought he almost didn't see the rugged teen that entered, and sat down with him.

Toby was tired. He had been on the streets for months. He had run away when the voices and life had gotten too much. He had made it past the boarder and to the cafe. When he entered he "heard" and saw a kid in about the same state as him and sat down. He looked at the boy and said "hi, I'm toby"

"Hi I'm spencer" said Reid. He normally would have just left but something about toby stopped him.
"What are u doing here?"

"I ran away. You."

"Same, Want to talk about it"

"Sure, I left because I couldn't take my foster home anymore, I ran south and didn't stop. You"

"School is hard, my mom is worse. I'm at my limit. I can see why my dad left. Where are you from?"

"Toronto"

"Las Vegas"

"Why did your dad leave?"

"My mom"

Toby "saw" a man and woman (who toby guessed were the parents) fighting and young Reid in the room. The dad saying he couldn't take care of the mom and leave.

"What's wrong with your mom?"

"Personal" spencer replied agitated.

Toby again couldn't help but read him. He saw images of Reid trying to get a woman he guessed was his mom out of bed, and of him trying to calm her. It was bad.

"Is she sick?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You couldn't take care of her, it's not your fault, your dad left you when you were a kid, you still are a kid,"

"How do you know that I never said when my dad left, it could have been yesterday. How did you know?!"

"It was a guess, deductive reasoning" toby tried

"Don't lie to me. I'm not in the mood. Tell me the truth now or I'll bust you as being here illegally and you can go back to your home." Reid glared.

Seeing no other way out, and feeling he could trust him toby told the truth. "Ok you probably won't believe me but here is the truth, I can read minds. I know it sounds crazy but just listen to me. Ok. I have had this gift all my life, sometimes I can control it sometimes not. It's why I left. I know it's scary but I can prove it. It's not impossible"

Reid quickly got over the shock and thought about it. Intrigued he thought it may be possible, just improbable. I might give him a chance. "So how will you prove it?"

Smiling toby said "think of something only you would know, got it? Ok"

Reid thought of his three big fears, no one could know all three,

"You are scared of the dark, of getting schizophrenia, and being like your dad. Am I right?"

"Yes, now I believe you" said Reid.

"That's what's wrong with your mom "Toby concluded.

"Yes my dad couldn't take it so he left when I was ten. Now I am frustrated with it. I left just like him. It's hard to take care of her, me and go to school all at once."

"Where do you go to school?"

"Collage"

"So you're smart, when did you graduate?"

"At 12, I have an IQ of 187 and can read 20,000 words per minute"

"So you are a genius"

"I guess you could say that. Even so with all my genius I can't take care of my mom and do everything else"

"I don't know you seem to have been doing ok"

"so what about you" Reid said changing topics.

"What about me?" said Toby.

"What's your story? I told you about me so your turn"

"Well mine is sad, botched and short, I honestly don't remember it all"

"Fine what do you know?"

"Ok I was born with this gift. I lived with my mom till I was 5 and taken from her, my name was changed, and I was put in foster care. I have bounced from home to home. I was in juvenile hall, the only other person who knows my gift is the doc I see, don't know my dad, and foster care sucks so when it and the voices get to much I ran and here I am. That's the story of toby Logan"

"So what was your name before?"

"I don't know, I don't remember much before being put in foster care, that was 10 years ago"

"So you don't remember your mom"

"No"

"That sucks"

"I guess so"

"So why were you in jail?"

"Actually it should have been twice. The one time I was in was because I ran with some bad kids, inside I changed, got back to being good."

"What was the other time?"

"Oh in my third home I couldn't control my gift and the guy who ran the place was a pervert. As he tucked me in every night I heard what he wanted to do to me. Never did but I knew he would, so one night when I couldn't take it anymore I burned down his grudge and was put in the system"

"Whoa. Want some coffee" that was all Reid could say.

"sure, will you pay I don't have any US bills"

"Sure"

After that the two just sat there talking about their lives. After hours they neared the end of their talk.

"So what do u want to be when you are older?" Asked Reid

"I think I'll be a paramedic, you know to help people, but first I think I'll have fun. You?"

"I've been thinking about it and I think I'll be a profiler at the BAU in the FBI, I'll study killers, and save people."

"Cool. So you going to go home? You only have to do it for three more years." Said toby

"Yeah I'm not big on the institutionalizing thing but I'll think about it. But I will go home. You?"

"Yeah me too, hey I only have three more years to go. Hope to see you again sometime."

"That would be fun. Hey if you ever need anything just call me."

"You don't have a number"

"Call my house, if my number changes I'll call you."

"Fine, but when we get phones we just call each other's cell. Okay"

"Deal."

"see you Reid, nice meeting you"

"You too Logan"
The end