It was a horrible day, Reid thought as he rubbed the sockets of his eyes trying to chase his headache away. This had been the first coherent thought Reid developed during the five minutes he had been standing in front of the sink in the men's bathroom. He ceased his massaging and slowly opened his eyes to the blinding white lights. It was like someone was taking his eyes and squeezing them. His head throbbed incessantly, sending an extremely painful pulse through out his brain. He was at the point where no medication was assisting him or any other techniques he usually tried to chase his headaches away. He knew the only thing that would cure it would be sleep and right now he was working. Right now, he was only beginning the very long night he was about to face. He was going to be stuck with the victim in their hotel, protecting her. He knew standing here wouldn't cure his headache and anything else he did besides sleep wouldn't either.
He left the bathroom and joined the team back in the small area the police office was allowing them to work in. He felt like putting his sunglasses on inside but that would be a dead give away for his team to begin being concerned about him. He appreciated that they cared but he just wasn't used to being fussed over like this. They thought he was just trying to be strong or 'be a man' but he was honestly unsure of how to receive such overbearing, protective treatment from people. He'd been alone pretty much most of his life and he wasn't used to having family like this. His mother and father were his family but only biologically. His father had left when he was a boy and his mom could barely take care of herself. This was his family in the figurative meaning of the word.
"Hey, kid, you alright?" Morgan appeared in his line of sight, putting a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring manner. Everyone else on the team ceased their work momentarily, looking over at their young colleague. They all knew with one glance that Reid was probably suffering from another one of his intense migraines which had worried them all when they first found out about it. Reid hadn't told them directly but secrets did not remain hidden for long on this close-knit team.
"Yeah, I'm fine Morgan. Just a little tired." he replied slowly. Morgan's eyebrows raised up slightly in disbelief but decided to just accept his answer.
"Alright, but you know if you're having trouble you can take a break" Reid nodded in response even though the only way he could take a break(which actually meant sleep) was if he was at his own home. He couldn't risk having a nightmare again and possibly saying something he wanted to have kept secret. He even recorded himself one night and went through it the next day to confirm his suspicions of his sleep talking. Reid gathered his things and followed Morgan out to the car when he told him he was ready to leave. This was going to be the longest day of his life.
Morgan and Reid walked through the door of their hotel room to find a young woman in her 20s sitting on the couch. She was average height, light-skinned, had dark hair, but had the most beautiful green eyes that were framed by some stylish glasses. She looked up in response to the door opening. Morgan walked up to her to shake her hand.
"You must be Dr. River" he said.
"Please, call me Sam" she corrected. She smiled at him and glanced at Reid.
"Oh, and this is Dr. Reid" Morgan introduced him.
"Dr.?" Sam said surprised while shaking his hand as well. "You're quite young to be a doctor."
"I skipped quite a few grades" Reid explained quickly. She nodded her head in a surprised understanding.
"Well, I brought your things that you asked for so I hope you can get more comfortable." Morgan indicated the suit case that he had lugged in.
"Thank you. I can finally change my clothes."
"No problem, if you need anything Reid will be here with you the entire night." She grimaced at this. "It's just for your protection ma'am" Morgan consoled. "I'll see you guys later" he left, leaving them in a awkward silence.
"Well, I'll just be out here reading if you need me" Reid finally said before she moved around the coffee table to grab her suit case.
"Thank you" she said again quietly. Reid nodded his head and sat down on the couch as well. He turned the TV off and opened some of the case files he had brought with him. Morgan said he could sleep but he felt like he couldn't fall asleep even if he tried. His head was pounding even worse than before now he was all settled down. He heard the shower running and put his head in his hands. He hadn't realized how long he had been sitting like that until he heard a small voice behind him.
"Dr. Reid? Are you alright?" Sam asked. Reid's head snapped up in surprise and saw her standing in the entrance of the hallway. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"No, it's alright. And you don't have to call me doctor" Reid assured her.
"Do you have a headache?" she asked. Her specialty involved the brain so she knew what it looked like when someone was having a migraine or a headache.
"Um, yeah but I'm fine. Thank you, anyways."
"How often do you get them?" She sat on the chair next the couch.
"What?" Reid asked, surprised.
"How often do you get severe migraines?"
"How do you know...?"
"I'm a neurosurgeon"
"Oh" Reid said.
"So how often?" she probed again.
"Maybe once or twice a week. Sometimes everyday of the week if I'm unlucky" he answered.
"Do you experience light sensitivity?"
"Yes, every time I have a headache actually" he replied. He didn't know why he was talking to this about her, he had a hopeful feeling that she could help him.
"I can already guess why you experience these headaches so often Dr. Reid and it's most likely because of stress. Your job is very demanding so you probably don't sleep or eat enough." He stared at her like she was a godsend. Finally, someone who didn't think he was going crazy.
"You know, one doctor tried to tell me I was experiencing these due to a psychological reason."
"What did you tell him?" she asked, smirking slightly.
"I told him there was no possible way."
"It's highly unlikely." she agreed. "Well, I'm going to go to sleep now so you should probably try and rest as well. Good night".
"Good night" he replied. She hadn't given him a solution but she had given something much more valuable. An answer. He soon found himself drifting to sleep without realizing it. However, he did not expect the swarm of nightmares that was about to attack him.
Morgan entered the hotel room him and Reid were sharing with the victim and was surprised to find the lights off. He flicked the light on to see Reid fast asleep on the couch, he smiled at the sight. It faded though as he saw Reid wasn't sleeping peacefully and seemed to be having a nightmare. He knelt down next to him and saw that his forehead shined with sweat. He put his hand lightly to it and find it was alarmingly hot.
"Agent Morgan, is that you?" he heard Sam's voice. He looked up to see a very sleepy doctor, she slowly woke up as she saw how Agent Morgan was looking at Dr. Reid. "Is he alright?" she asked.
"No, I think he has a fever" Morgan replied with worry. He was surprised when she walked over and felt his forehead herself.
"We need to wake him up. He won't be able to cool down the fever if we don't treat the migraine first."
"Damn it, Reid" Morgan cursed slightly to himself.
"What is it?" she asked. Morgan sighed.
"Back at the station I thought he looked kind of sick so I asked him about it but he said he was fine." Morgan looked at Reid with worry and anger. He hated it when the kid did this. There was no problem with asking people for help if you needed it. "I guess I'll wake him up."
"Wait" she made him pause.
"Why?" he watched her in curiosity as she walked over to the light switch and flicked the lights off.
"The lights will hurt his eyes" she answered him. He nodded his head and shook Reid's shoulder gently.
"Reid, hey wake up" he said. Reid's brows furrowed and he mumbled incoherently. "Reid!" he shook his shoulder more. His eyes flashed open in shock and he breathed heavily. "Sh, it's ok." he calmed him. Reid slumped back into the couch and then he really looked at him.
"Morgan?"
"Hey there Pretty Boy" he said, making sure that Reid knew it was him. There was a long pause.
"What happened?" he asked slowly. He had never heard Reid like this before, he was so out of it.
"You fell asleep" he paused again studying his colleague. "Reid, why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" he asked confused.
"That you were sick!" he answered angrily. He took a deep breath. "You need to tell us when you're not feeling good kid, we can't help you if you don't talk to us."
"m' sorry" Reid slurred. Morgan felt bad instantly, the kid sounded so sad.
"It's alright." Morgan watched as Sam walked into the kitchen, filled a glass with water, and grabbed a pill from a bottle out of her purse. She came back and held them out for Reid to take.
"Here take this, it'll help" Morgan's worry doubled as he saw him begin to panic.
"No, I don't want it. Please, no!" Morgan had to hold him back to keep him from knocking the glass out of Dr. River's hand.
"Reid, Reid! Calm down! It's just me and Sam." he ceased thrashing and stared at him. "It's ok, it's just an aspirin to get rid of your headache, alright?" Morgan let go of him and he rubbed his face in his hands. When he looked up, he took the water and pill from Sam and swallowed it. Sam took this as a good sign and sat down next to him, knowing he knew who she was now. She was positive that he had just experienced a hallucination. He definitely needed to get his fever down.
"Agent Morgan, can you get a wet wash cloth?" he nodded and walked into the kitchen. "Make sure it's cold" she told him. He found one in one of the drawers and soaked it with the coldest water from the faucet. He wrung it out, making sure it wasn't dripping and handed it to her when he made his way back to the couch. She folded it in half and put a hand on Reid's shoulder. "You need to relax, alright? I'm just going to put this on your forehead to cool your head down. You can remain sitting if that makes you more comfortable" he nodded in understanding and let her put the wash cloth over his eyes. Reid leaned his head back onto the couch, they watched his body slack as his breathing slowed into a peaceful sleep. Morgan shook his head at his innocence and sat down in the chair closest to him.
"I don't know why he doesn't trust us" Morgan blurted out quietly. It was silent for a few moments as Sam thought of an answer.
"I don't think it's that he doesn't trust you, it's just that he doesn't want to be a burden" Sam said.
"He's never a burden. Ever" Morgan whispered.
"I know but maybe he just isn't used to being taken care of like this. Maybe he doesn't know to handle it because he's always had to take care of himself" she looked at Reid sadly.
"Maybe" Morgan knew that she was right though. Considering how Reid grew up the way he did, it made sense that he didn't come to them for help every time he had a problem. His mother couldn't have been there for him all the time so he had to make do with what he could. Now he was trying to adjust and it wasn't easy. Morgan understood that feeling perfectly. Sam watched Agent Morgan as he stared at Dr. Reid and smiled. She had nothing to worry about, this young man was in good hands.
"You should get some sleep Agent Morgan" she said quietly, breaking him out of his reverie. His head snapped up in surprise, he had forgotten she was there.
"I will, you should too" he replied.
"Good night" she called as she walked back to her room.
"Good night" he called back. He continued to study Reid sleep, still shocked by how young the guy was. He was practically still a boy. Morgan noticed the open blinds behind him and closed them so it wouldn't bother Reid when he woke up in the morning. He settled back in the chair and fell asleep watching Reid.
"Morgan?" a voice called. A knock at the door pulled Morgan from his sleep. He heard the voice again and realized it was Hotch. He jogged to the door and opened it. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and Hotch looked at him closely.
"Did you just wake up?" he asked, surprised.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Come on in."
"It's alright" Hotch made his way in as Morgan closed the door behind. "Why is it so dark in here?"
"Oh, I closed the blinds because Reid had a headache" he explained.
"Is he alright?" Hotch noticed the awkward position he was sleeping in and the cloth over his eyes.
"When I came in last night, he had a pretty bad fever but we gave him some aspirin for it" Morgan continued as he began making some coffee.
"Was he sick back at the station too?" Hotch said disapprovingly.
"Yeah" Morgan replied distastefully. They all shared the same feelings when it came to Reid hiding his problems.
"How come he didn't tell anyone?"
"I don't know, you know how Reid is."
"Good morning everyone" Dr. Rivers whispered as she entered the kitchen fully dressed. "How is he?" she asked Morgan as she made her way over to the coffee pot.
"Better, we'll know for sure when he wakes up" he replied.
"Oh, I don't think he'll wake up for another half-hour" she said. "That pill can make you quiet drowsy. I think I should probably prescribe some to him though so he can use them in the future." she pulled out a notepad from her purse and signed it with her doctors signature.
"You know, he may not take that medication again." Morgan said as he took the paper from her. She sighed, knowing where he was getting at. She also knew that people who suffered sever migraines may have manifested from an affect from withdrawal of drugs or alcohol.
"You have nothing to worry about and neither does Dr. Reid because these pills are simply just Tylenol with a little Rozerem which is not a narcotic if you're wondering" she saw both agents look down abashed as she sipped her coffee.
"Why does he need the medication though?" Hotch asked.
"Because he's stressed and a lot of people in the US who are stressed usually suffer from insomnia. I know that Dr. Reid may not suffer from insomnia but his job doesn't exactly allow him regular sleeping hours."
"What would you recommend?" he asked. Sam placed her coffee on the counter, thinking silently, and then looked up.
"I would recommend that he quit this job" she replied quietly. Both agents' heads snapped up in surprise. "Not only is he stressed physically by not sleeping or possibly eating enough but he is stressed emotionally by all of things you guys see in your average work day. Death, sadness, darkness..." she trailed off. "He probably has also suffered a trauma recently whether it was physically afflicted, emotionally, or both." Morgan and Hotch looked around awkwardly, thinking about Tobias Hankel. "However, I can not imagine Dr. Reid quitting his job anytime soon" she commented, bringing them out of whatever guilty thoughts they were pondering.
"Why do you say that?" Morgan questioned.
"How could he possibly leave you guys? Your his family" she smiled. "Besides, he loves doing what he does even though it's painful sometimes. He loves helping people and feeling useful. He's definitely one in a million, you're lucky to have him" she finished, leaving them staring at their colleague with slight admiration, pride, and most of all: love.
Half an hour later the rest of the team somehow all ended up in the room and talked while drinking coffee with the lights off. Morgan looked over at Reid as he noticed him stirring. Reid reached for the cloth and slipped it off his face revealing his hair sticking up in some places from being damp.
"Good morning Pretty Boy" Morgan called not too loudly from across the room. Reid looked around disoriented as the team watched him in slight amusement. The kid was too adorable for words.
"Why are you guys sitting in the dark?" he asked, confused. They couldn't help it anymore, they began snickering except Hotch who just smiled. JJ had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't laugh as she saw Reid get up slowly and stumble clumsily around the room over to the kitchen. She walked over to him, holding his coffee.
"Good morning Spence, I put extra sugar in it just like you like it" she handed him the cup. He took it appreciatively and whispered a small thanks. "Come here, you're hair is all a mess" his hair was short now but it was still curly. She ran her fingers through his hair on the side of his head where the wash cloth had made it damp and then finally the top. When she finished, it looked like it normally did when he came into the office. Satisfied, JJ went and sat at the table.
"Come sit down before you fall over Reid" Hotch said as they all saw him sway alarmingly. He nodded silently and slumped into the chair nearest to him sleepily.
"So is this how the famous Dr. Reid gets up every morning? How in the world do you get into work on time?" Reid was far too out of it to properly go against Morgan right now. The girls defended Reid receiving a flag of surrender from Morgan. Laughter was common in their banter which continued as they drank their coffee. Dr. Rivers watched the scene before her and could have easily painted the perfect family portrait.
"Kindness is loving people more than they deserve." ~Joseph Joubert
This has been my first criminal minds fanfiction so I hope you liked it : ) Please feel free to review!