Keep Me Sane, a criminal minds fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters.

A/N I was bored and I saw the Rod Stewart CD sitting on the desk, with the cover being Rod sitting on a balcony. Then all of a sudden, this happened…..

The young doctor sat silently and unmoving on the balcony, staring out into the distance but not really seeing anything at all. He was completely oblivious to the wind that ruffled his curly hair, to the bird that sat perched only metres from him on the railings. The enormous buildings before him meant nothing, the clouds were mere and unused distractions, and even the blaring horns beneath him bypassed his recognition. All of the sounds together made a sort of music that Spencer Reid ignored expertly, for his complicated mind was elsewhere. To an outsider, one might be utterly confused as to where the young man's mind was, after all, he was far too innocent to be dealing with anything grave. But to a friend of Reid's, they would know that his mind is a private getaway and when he retreats there, it is best to let him be.

This was one of those times where Reid had escaped to the comforting walls of his mind. It was within these walls that Reid could easily manage his thoughts and reassure himself that humanity was worth all of the trouble, because often he found it hard to believe. It was hard to understand how a criminal's mind functions, and yet that was what Reid's job called for. It was hard to sympathise with someone whose actions had ruined so many lives, and yet that is the position Reid often found himself in. And it was especially difficult to return to an individual life after experiencing horrors ordinary civilians would not be able to imagine, and yet this was the challenge Reid found himself in all too often. He often wondered to himself if it was worth it, because the emotional toll his job had on him often became too much. But as this thought once again invaded his mind, a small smile appeared on his face, rare but meaningful all the same. Reaching into his carry bag, Reid pulled out a small laptop and DVD, marked When I need a helping hand.

As the small movie began, Reid settled back into the sturdy railings of the balcony and waited impatiently. The usual prompts and options about the movie popped up, which Reid quickly got rid of and pressed the large play button. Almost instantly a recorded version of his voice began speaking, and as it spoke, pictures flashed across the screen of mountains, waterfalls, and oceans.

"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order…. Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people…. Women blink almost twice as much as men…. Coca – Cola would be green if colouring weren't added to it…. Earth is the only planet not named after a god…. Dolphins sleep with one eye open…."

The useless facts Reid had learnt over the years played over and over, calming Reid to the point of his eyes closing. Some people listened to music to calm down, some read jokes, but Reid preferred to lose himself in the undoubtable certainties of the world. These were the things he could trust and not question, these facts were free of the tainted human beings he saw everyday. These facts were….his.

"Bees have hair on their eyes….The average ear of corn has eight-hundred kernels arranged in sixteen rows….The English Alphabet originally only had 24 letters, missing J and U….Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell….A full moon always rises at sunset….Giraffes can't cough…."

And so the pointless facts went on, and on….and on. Reid shut his eyes without realising it, and slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep. Had fate not played its part, the young doctor would have slept through the remainder of the day, and then on through the night listening to the facts and breathing peacefully and evenly. But fate is a part of the human world and is not to be escaped for long. For just as Reid was slipping deeper and deeper under the comforting blankets of sleep, one fact made itself known and woke the man faster than a cold bucket of water would have.

At any one time, 51 million people suffer from schizophrenia worldwide….

Reid was gasping, at both the shock of this fact, the relevance to his family and the action of waking so suddenly, when he nearly fainted from farther shock.

"For the love of all things good, what are you doing staring at me while I sleep, you complete idiot Morgan!" He growled.

"Hey, kid, calm down. You need to breathe before your head resembles a tomato, man." Morgan said from where he was sitting barely 3 metres away from the gasping young doctor.

"Well, I wouldn't be so worked up if you hadn't just scared me to the point of nearly fainting!"

Reid's head was spinning and he could not stop the unwanted mantra in his mind.

At any one time, 51 million people suffer from schizophrenia worldwide….

"Arrgghh" he yelled in frustration.

"Kid, what's going on with you? You left the bar before anyone else this afternoon, and when you didn't answer your phone or door I literally broke in to find you asleep on the balcony! What is wrong?" There was a slight pause, in which Morgan figured that Reid was going to remain silent. He continued "You can talk to me man. I won't bite."

Reid stood up and waited for the older agent to follow suite before he replied.

"Morgan, I am fine. Sometimes it is just hard for me to sort out my thoughts because I never forget anything. But everything is normal now, thanks for being there for me Morgan."

Morgan stared at Reid, noticing straight away that he rushed through that statement without putting an ounce of truth into his words.

"Are you sure you're ok, kid?"

"Brilliantly perfect." Reid lied before taking the lead and walking towards the door that lead inside. "Did you know that bees have hair on their eyes?"

"No man, I did not. But thanks for telling me, I am sure it will impact my future greatly." Morgan teased his voice heavy with sarcasm and happiness. He shook his head one more time in confusion at the young man's behaviour, before following his footsteps into the warm apartment, content for now.

So I hope you like it, please review. If people want me to continue, I am happy to. But for now, it is just a one-shot. Thanks!