Reid placed a spidery hand on his forehead, pressing lightly in a feeble attempt to ebb the pain. It was two o'clock in the morning and he was still at the office completing paperwork. Usually, he was the first to finish and leave but today, every time he'd stared too long at seemingly meaningless words on a document, the letters had begun to shift around on the paper, eventually converging and morphing into a living, breathing entity that popped from the flat surface. Reid was reminded of kindergarten when he would wear special glasses to view 3D illustrations in science books. Back then, the images were dinosaurs and sea life and such; however, what was standing in front of him now, staring at him with cold, dark eyes, was a familiar face – a human face. Reid blinked a few times and glanced down only to be stunned by the fact that Hotch's face was no longer floating in the air, but attached to a tall, strong, suit-clad body.
"H-Hotch," Reid squeaked, rubbing his eyes furiously then gazing up to see if the vision was still there, "I'm sorry. I know I should be done by now, but…" Reid stopped mid-sentence, mouth agape, because now that he was glaring down at his paperwork, all he saw were blank sheets of white.
"What are you doing with the printer paper?" Hotch's voice boomed, and Reid threw a hand up over his eyes.
"Don't shout, Hotch. Please don't shout."
"Reid, what's the matter? Are you okay?" There was a trace of concern in Hotch's tone.
"I… Yeah, I'm fine," Reid lied, massaging his temples and forcing a small smile. "I got fined once for a late library book. It's kind of late for you to be here, isn't it?"
Hotch's face rearranged into an even deeper frown. He walked around the table towards his subordinate and as he did so, Reid observed how the older man's limbs blurred as they moved and how the dim artificial light played off of Hotch's features and distorted his half-shadowed face.
"I've been worrying about you lately, Reid. I feel somewhat responsible for the well-being of everyone on this team."
Reid remained silent. He could feel Hotch's gaze boring into him and avoided eye contact.
"Do you need to catch another movie?" Hotch asked, and Reid knew immediately he was talking about Narcotics Anonymous.
"I'm not having a relapse," he said quickly, licking his lips and leaning back in his chair.
Hotch grabbed a nearby chair and set it next to Reid. "I'm all ears, Doctor," he flat lined, tugging the pants fabric covering his thighs as he sat, as to be more comfortable, like he was expecting Reid to talk for a long time…
"I'm not going to do this again," Reid snapped, rising from his chair in one fluid motion. "I'm not going to sit here and talk to myself."
In a flash, Hotch too was on his feet. "Sit down," he ordered, voice deathly calm.
"I'm not going to listen to you, either!" Reid shouted. Inside his chest, his heart was popping ping-pong balls like the pick four lottery. He was certainly taking a chance here.
Hotch's eyes flashed dangerously. Reid turned around and was walking briskly towards the door.
"Don't move," Hotch's voice hissed in his ear. Reid jumped and whipped around. Hotch's body was still standing by the table.
"Stop fucking with me!" Reid cried hysterically, closing his eyes and covering his ears, running blindly in an unknown direction.
Something large and mobile collided with Reid's side, bruising his ribs and sending him crashing to the floor. Reid opened his eyes to find Hotch on hands and knees, leaning over him, panting. The florescent light was directly behind Hotch, haloing his head. His face was completely shrouded in darkness except for a pair of blood red lips. Reid held his breath in horror as an evil smirk tugged at the corners of Hotch's mouth.
Reid opened his mouth and screamed.
