Set Fire to the Third Bar
A/N: This story was inspired the song Set Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol. Reviews are always appreciated. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: The only thing of Criminal Minds that I own is the first four seasons on DVD. Nor do I own the song mentioned above.
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Pain. It was nothing but pain and emptiness he felt.
Spencer Reid didn't know what to do with his life anymore. He didn't want to go back to the BAU, too many memories.
He remembered every detail of what had happened. He saw it every time he closed his eyes. It played in horrible slow motion, in his dreams, in his memory, whether he was asleep or awake it didn't matter.
"Morgan, Reid, I want you to go to the bar and see what else you can find."
Hotch had sent them there.
"Spencer, he's a classic arsonist. He doesn't want to hurt anyone." Morgan grabbed his hand.
"I don't know. There's something off about this one."
"Relax." Morgan smiled at Reid and gave his and a squeeze.
It had been almost three weeks and he had yet to leave their house, his house, Reid's friends came and went; he didn't seem to notice, he didn't really care.
"See there's nothing here." Morgan said confidently.
"Maybe you're right." Reid breathed a sigh of relief as Morgan smiled at him.
A smile he would remember forever.
He saw the change on Morgan's face before he registered the sound. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Morgan dropped to the ground, orange blazed all around him, and a second shot fired from his own gun resounded in the air.
Smoke. Smoke was all around him, choking him, stinging his eyes, blinding him. He tried to call out but the ash filled his lungs, his fingers searched blindly until they connected with the solid flesh they were looking for.
Morgan's eyes were barely open, blood seeped into his clothes making them darker. Reid grabbed his hands and somehow found the strength to pull until he felt fresh air on his face. He collapsed next to Morgan breathing heavily trying to catch his breath he could hear sirens.
Reid pulled himself to his knees and looked down at his Morgan putting his fingers to his lover's throat to find his almost non-existent pulse. "Hold on. You'll be okay. Derek! Derek, look at me!" his voice rose and he began to panic as Morgan's eyes slid closed.
Tears rained down, blurring Reid's vision, a dark hand caressed his cheek, a soft voice giving him words of comfort and love with a dying breath. The hand went limp and fell from his face as lights blinded him and shouts filled the air. He heard no sounds there was nothing but silence roaring in his ears. Mercifully everything went black.
He ran; it was dark and freezing the memories were too much. Reid collapsed on the cold ground and realized he was in the park where he and Derek often came so Derek could play with Clooney and he could people watch and sketch.
Reid wrapped his arms around his knees and finally let his tears flow. He hadn't cried since the night Derek died almost three months ago. He felt the tears hot on his cheeks, the wind biting at his skin. For the briefest second he thought he felt warm arms wrap around his own. A ghost of a whisper drifted on the wind; three words he felt he hadn't heard in a long time floated to his ears. Closing his eyes his whispered them back.
The feeling was gone as soon as it had come. The tears slowly stopped streaming down Reid's face until they stopped altogether. Reid stood and looked toward the sky. The heavy weight on his chest seemed a little less and the emptiness somehow filled a little. Morgan was who knew who knew how many miles away, but he was still with Reid watching over him. Reid put his freezing hands in his pockets and turned to start the journey home. This time he knew he wasn't completely alone.