Childish Act
Summary: After being kidnapped Reid is having trouble adjusting. His teammates are more then willing to ignore his erratic behavior…until now.
A/N: Ok, so please be nice when reviewing! My stomach is in knots and I'm seriously wondering if my brain is fried…I just had to write a Criminal Minds fanfic though…tell me what you think.
A/N2: Ok, so I don't know JJ's last name or Prentiss' first name...sorry!
PROLOGUE:
It had been a hard year for the team of the BAU, or Behavioral Analysis Unit. The team consisted of, Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Jason Gideon, SSA Aaron Hotchner, Special Agent (SA) Derrick Morgan, SA Prentiss, SA JJ, and SA Doctor Spencer Reid.
First, Agent Elle Greenway had been shot in her home by a suspect, she had physically recovered but on her first undercover mission she'd panicked and later killed the suspect; she quit the BAU. Then Reid had been kidnapped...
Reid was the youngest member of the team...the most innocent member of the team. He'd been attached to the team since he'd first joined the FBI. He was quiet literally a genius. What threw people was that he never looked at himself as a genius...to himself, he was simply a guy in his early twenties who some how got lucky.
It had been less the six months since Reid, or boy genius as Morgan liked to call him, had been kidnapped by Tobias Hinkle. Reid had taken the required time off and was soon back to work. Everyone thought he was ok but the truth was the Reid they'd known was gone. The new Reid was more nervous, would snap at the smallest thing, and his behavior was erratic.
The new case the team got sent them to New Orleans. When they got to New Orleans it was easy to see the case was a tad weirder then they'd originally thought...half way through it was more the just a tad weird.
Gideon ordered Morgan, Reid, and Prentiss to go to Texas to interview a fiancée of one of the deceased victims. Morgan was the first to show and then Prentiss who was five minutes late. Morgan looked up at her, confusion clearly etched on his face.
"Where's Reid?"
"He isn't with you?"
The two stared at each other. Morgan tried to call him one last time before deciding they had no choice but to take off. Prentiss gave him a smile before going to the back for some coffee. With her gone, Morgan got out his phone and placed a call...
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"Do you know where Reid is?"
Agent Aaron Hotchner looked at JJ trying not to snap at her. JJ looked up startled and shook her head. "Do you know where Gideon is?"
"Talking with Junior; should be out in a sec."
"Thanks JJ."
Hotchner stood by the cop's desk, waiting for his partner to finish his discussion. Gideon, upon seeing the younger supervisor's expression, quickly excused himself away from Detective Bill LaMontagne, Jr.
"What's the matter?"
"I just got a call from Morgan…Reid never showed up."
"What do you mean?"
"Morgan said he left a message on Reid's cell phone that they were leaving but Reid never showed up. They ended up leaving without him; no one knows where he is."
"Have you tried to call him?"
"His phone's off. Gideon, you have to do something."
"Why? He'll be fine Hotch."
"No, he won't. He's late for meetings…when he bothers to show up at all; he's more of a scatter brain now; he's taking risks both professionally and personally, drinking more. Gideon, he's begging for help. You're the closest thing he has to a father."
Gideon took a deep breathe and ran a hand over his face. "Let's finish the case and then I'll talk to him."
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"Good work on the case everyone."
The team smiled at Hotch, the case had been hard but it was over. Morgan stared at Reid wondering if anyone had said anything to him. Reid met his eyes briefly before looking away; he had the presents of mind to at least look a tad ashamed. Morgan shook his head and turned his attention back to Hotch.
"Ok, guys, lets call the case complete and go home. You have two hours until we meet at the airport. We fly straight home from there."
The group disbursed, JJ and Detective LaMontagne went to eat and talk, Prentiss to talk with another member of the New Orleans Police department, Reid, Hotch, and Gideon went back to the hotel.
When the three got to the hotel Gideon turned to Reid, "Make sure you're packed and ready to leave within the hour. We'll eat and go straight to the jet from there."
Reid nodded and left the two older men alone. "What are you going say to him?"
"I don't know."
"Jason, he has to know that we care. He also has to know that we simply can not keep covering for his behavior."
"I know. I'm gonna go pack then I'll talk to him."
The two men parted ways. Forty Five minutes later an irate Gideon was pounding on Hotch's door. "Reid's not in his room; I think I know where he is. You might want to go on without us."
"I'll pick you guys up something."
"Thank you"
Gideon took off in one of the borrowed SUV's that the team had. He knew exactly where to find his wayward team member. On the ride over, Reid had mentioned a man he knew by the name Ethan; he also mentioned Ethan again when he found out where he worked. Gideon frowned at himself, 'looks like Reid was asking for help all along'.
When he got to the club where Reid was he had to show his FBI credentials to get in. (It was private club!) He saw Reid sitting, staring at the stage, and went to sit beside him.
"How'd you know where to find me?"
"You're not all that hard to profile."
"I'm sorry."
"For what…?"
"I just...I had to see if I could leave it."
"And..."
"I'll never ignore my phone again."
Gideon nodded his head and together the two watched Reid's friend, Ethan, play. When the song was over, Gideon stood up and firmly gripped Reid's upper arm and pulled him out of the seat. "Say good bye to your friend and let's go."
Used to being ushered and lead Reid was shocked to find himself being dragged around.
"Let me go."
"Go say goodbye Reid."
Reid gave his supervisor and friend a look of utter confusion before working his way to the front of the room.
"You leaving, kid?"
"Yeah Ethan, I'll talk to you later."
Ethan nodded and with a final handshake the two parted...Ethan to keep playing and Reid to follow Gideon. Reid was surprised when, instead of going straight to the team's jet, they went instead into a private conference room at the club.
"What's going on Gideon?"
"I understand your reason behind not answering your phone; I do. What I want to know is why you're either missing meetings or are late to them. You know they're important. This is the second time you've disappeared on us; why?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"No? You were supposed to go get Hotch the autopsy report and you disappeared for a half hour…you were supposed to be getting packed but you weren't in your room. Want to explain?"
"Not really." Reid gave Gideon another confused look before trying to leave the room. He was stopped by the older man.
"We're not done."
"I am. You know what Jason, screw you. You had a nervous breakdown and everyone gave you a second chance so you know what, lay off."
Reid walked straight into Gideon not caring about pushing the older man. Gideon on the other hand wasn't going to allow it. Grabbing Reid by his upper arm Gideon led them to a couch that was against the wall. He unceremoniously dumped the younger man into his lap.
"You know what I think? I think you need someone to come and step in and make all the decisions for you so that you don't have too. I think you're tired of feeling scared and guilty. Yes, I know you feel guilty because you told JJ to split up from you which ended in her getting attacked by dogs and you getting kidnapped. You know what though Spencer? It wasn't your fault and this childish behavior you're so intent on showing had better stop...NOW!"
Gideon punctured his last word with a hard swat to Reid's backside. Shocked at the swat Reid couldn't hold back the yelp that came to his lips.
"Let me go! Jason..."
"Not gonna happen Spencer. You want to act like a child then I will treat you like one every time."
Gideon soon found a rhythm in which to spank the youngest member of his team. It didn't take long before Reid tried to throw a hand to cover his backside. It didn't face the man spanking him though; the hand was caught and held firmly in the small of his back.
"Gideon...Screw you! Let me go!"
With a heavy sigh Gideon reached up and pulled Reid's loose pants to his knees; he allowed the boy the dignity of keeping his boxers up; not that it helped much.
"Get it through your head Spencer, we all care about you too much to let you self destruct. You wanted my attention, well, you got it."
It only took about a dozen swats before Reid started to protest.
"I'm sorry!" swat, swat, swat "Gideon please...OW!" swat, swat, swat "I'll act my age...Ahh!" swat, swat, swat "I swear...OW!" swat, swat, swat
Reid began to cry in earnest by now; if he ever thought that no one cared before the thought was long gone by now.
"Is the attitude going to stop?" swat
"Yes, sir"
"When we get to the plane, you will apologize to Morgan and Prentiss. You will lie down and try to get some sleep. I know you haven't been sleeping well. When we get back to the office you will apologize to JJ and Hotch. When you're done you'll stay with me for a while. Do I make myself clear?"
"Y-Yesss, s-sir"
With a final two swats, each causing Reid to yelp, Gideon ended the spanking. Reid was sobbing hard so Gideon began to rub the younger man's back. "It's ok son. I've got you, I'm not going anywhere."
When Reid's sobs quieted Gideon helped him to stand and straighten his clothes. Reid stood, not wanting to sit, and stared at the floor, silent tears falling down his face. Gideon looked at him and held out his arms…Reid rushed to him.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean what I said…honest."
"I know you didn't Reid."
"It's just so hard Gideon. I look over my shoulder all the time, the slightest shadow makes me about scream, I was almost over my fear of the dark but it's back and I can't stop it…I don't want to be scared anymore."
"It'll end in time Spencer but first you have to give it time. Shh…it's ok son. You're gonna stay with me for as long as you want. We'll work on it together; ok?"
Reid could nod. It was almost a full twenty minutes before he could stop himself from crying. When he was done Gideon led the way to the bathroom where Reid washed his face.
"Ready?"
"Yes, sir"
With an arm around the young man's shoulders Gideon led the way to the jet that would take them home.
THE END
A/N3: The autopsy report incident is from another episode. In reality, Reid was only gone maybe 5 – 10 minutes. I changed it to fit my story.