When the Truth Comes Out
Disclaimer- Criminal Minds does not belong to me and I am making no money by playing with its characters.
Summary- Not long after Rossi joins the team they all go out for some drinks and someone betrays a secret of Reid's. Whole team involved, but Reid-centric.
Rossi POV
I had to admit that I wasn't exactly excited about going out to the bar with the team. Not that there was anything wrong with them, but I wasn't too keen on socializing with most of them outside of work. I had only come back a month or so ago, but I found the amount of time that we spent together bordering on the obscene. Before I had retired I had worked alone, apart from my dealings with the local law enforcement. My job had entailed countless hours on my own in the car travelling to wherever it was I was going, and while I did have some interaction with the other profilers like Hotch and Gideon, we never spent that much time together.
But now I was with this group of people constantly, and I was finding it difficult to adjust. I didn't know how they had managed to do it for so long. Hotch had started out the same as me, working alone, and I thought that at least he would understand my point of view, but now he seemed to find value in working with a team. I wasn't certain he was wrong, but I also wasn't certain that is was something I was terribly comfortable with.
The team was an odd group of people to begin with. I could never imagine seeing most of them in the Bureau 30 years ago. Hotch was the only one I had ever met before, and I was comfortable enough around him, but even though the rest of them were good at their jobs they didn't really seem to belong. Still, part of me was becoming aware of the fact that they were growing on me.
Derek Morgan was someone I first saw as the muscle of the team. I knew he had been a cop before joining the FBI, and at first I thought that that job had probably suited him better. I had been uncertain when I discovered that he was the team's expert on obsessional crimes. I admittedly thought initially that maybe that was just a title, and it was just a way of integrating him into a team that so obviously needed him for backup. Other than Aaron I had expected him to be the only one capable of wielding a gun. Yet he had managed to surprise me. Not only was he good at the physical aspect of the job, but he actually knew what he was doing when it came to profiling too.
Emily Prentiss was someone I had expected had managed to talk her way onto the team because of her family. I wasn't much for office politics, and hadn't been interested with working with an amateur just because she was the daughter of a bureaucrat. She too had surprised me by showing that she knew the job.
Jenifer Jareau had at first seemed to me like just a pretty face to reassure the public. Not someone we would have needed in the past, but she was surprisingly good at her job. Not only that, but she also knew how to use a gun, and though she wasn't a profiler. She seemed to know a quite a bit about it anyway.
Penelope Garcia had been incredibly overwhelming at first. She still was, but everyone else on the team never seemed to be surprised by her antics, so I supposed she just took some getting used to. At first glance I had had no idea how she had managed to talk her way into the FBI, but she obviously was something of a genius when it came to computers, so certain allowances could be made for her eccentricities I supposed.
The only member of the team that hadn't been able to get me to disregard my initial reaction of him was Dr. Spencer Reid. Obviously too smart for his own good, he had to be to get three Doctorates by the age of 22. I knew he was 26 now, but honestly the kid looked about 14. He was the team's walking computer. The gun on his belt looked ridiculously out of place, and I doubted he had fired it outside of training. He had his place on the team, of course, but it was obvious he didn't belong in the field. I didn't really have any interest in getting to know him any better. In the amount of time we had had to spend alone he had already managed to start to get annoying. The others on the team seemed unfazed by his ramblings and complete lack of social skills, and even seemed to get along with his, but I doubted I would ever be able to be anything other than professional to him.
I was pulled from my thoughts as I reached the bar we were meeting at. We had all drove separately, so as not to have to go back for our cars, except for Reid, who didn't drive, and always took the subway. He had ridden with Garcia, who argued that he had only been in her convertible once before and that had 'not been a good day, so it didn't count.' Whatever that meant.
I sighed and parked my car and went into the bar. Of course I was the last one there, so all attention turned to me as I came in the door. I weaved through the bar that was much too crowded for my taste and went to the two pushed together tables they were seated at. There was only one seat left, right at the end of the table, between Morgan and Reid. Just my luck. The kid would probably try to talk to me all night.
When the waitress came over I ordered a scotch, then after a moment's pause I asked her to make it a double. Most everyone were drinking beer except Garcia, who was drinking some sort of colorful mix drink, and Reid who was drinking what looked to just be a coke. It could have been a mixed drink like jack and coke, but I expected not.
I had planned to only stay for a short time, and was surprised to find that I was actually enjoying myself. Thankfully Reid seemed even more uncomfortable to be there than I was when I first arrived, and didn't seem too interested in making conversation. When I looked at my watch I couldn't believe that I had been there for almost an hour and a half. Though I had only intended to have one drink, I was on my third and getting quite buzzed. Many of the others seemed to be too. Morgan, in particular, seemed well on his way to being drunk, and I expected was not going to be able to drive himself home.
"I've got the next round," Morgan declared as the waitress approached again.
I ordered one more scotch, saying it would have to be my last. Everyone else got another drink as well. Reid got his first refill since I had gotten there, and it was indeed just soda.
"You need to cut loose once in a while, pretty boy," Morgan told Reid as the waitress walked away. "One drink wouldn't kill you."
"I don't drink," Reid mumbled as his eyes locked on the table and his hands found a napkin to toy with.
"Come on, kid," Morgan cajoled. "One beer. I'm buying. You can have one beer."
"Reid doesn't have to drink, Morgan. Leave him alone," Hotch said from the other end of the table. And did I imagine it, or did Reid blush at having Hotch step in and rescue him? Maybe he just didn't like being the center of attention.
Morgan scoffed and continued anyway. "You used to drink."
That got my interest. Did boy genius used to be an alcoholic? He didn't seem the type, but it defiantly got me paying attention to the conversation.
"Leave it alone, Morgan. I'm not going to drink," Reid muttered.
I knew I hadn't imagined the irritation that had crept into the kid's voice. I knew it was wrong, but I found myself interested at the prospect of being angry. To be fair, I did have several drinks in me and wasn't thinking as clearly as usual. I glanced to the rest of the table and saw that their discussion had got the attention of the rest of the table. Garcia was sitting next to Morgan and wore an expression of worry on her face.
"Hey, Derek," Garcia touched Morgan's arm, trying to distract him. "Why don't-"
"I just don't get it," Morgan cut her off, not to be deterred. "You think one drink is such a problem now, when half a year ago you didn't have a problem shooting up."
"Morgan!" Hotch snapped.
I couldn't keep the shock off my face when I looked at Reid, who seemed to be frozen in place like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Oh come on," Morgan scoffed, his words slightly slurred. "It's not like you all didn't know." He glanced at me and seemed to reconsider. "Well, except you, Rossi. I'll bet you didn't- Hey!" he exclaimed when Garcia hit him on the arm hard. "What was that for?"
Hotch had gotten up and circled the table. He pulled Morgan up from his seat less than gently. "You're drunk," he said with a steely edge to his voice. "I'm driving you home." He pushed Morgan ahead, ignoring his protests. "See you all tomorrow."
I watched them go then looked back to Reid who still sat unmoving. A thousand questions ran through my mind, but the look on his face kept me from saying anything.
"Spence?" JJ asked from her seat next to Reid. When he didn't respond she touched his arm and he slowly looked at her. She gave him a small smile. "How about I take you home now?"
Reid swallowed hard and nodded. They both stood and exited the bar, JJ giving those of us remaining a small wave before they left.
A former drug addiction? I almost wouldn't have believed it, except Reid's reaction when it came out left little room for doubt.
"Damn it," Prentiss said from down the table, drinking the last of her beer. Her entire body was tense and she looked like she wanted to break something.
In contrast, Garcia looked like she was about to cry. "I have never been so mad at Derek in my life," she said softly, pulling on her coat. "I'm going home."
She left, leaving Prentiss and myself. The waitress returned, holding a tray of our drinks, wearing a look of confusion on her face. "Are… you not going to be needing these?"
Emily looked at me. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to be needing mine."
I nodded, and were given our drinks. I paid for all of them, but the waitress left with the drinks that were meant for everyone else.
Emily moved from the other side of the table, taking the seat that Reid had occupied. "Now, I'm not telling you everything, because it's not my story to tell, but after that I guess someone has to tell you something," she took a long drink and then set her glass down. "Don't go thinking the worst of him now," she said, her eyes flashing a bit. "It wasn't his fault.
I nodded.
"The short version is that last year Reid was taken captive by an unsub named Tobias Hankel, who had multiple personalities. Two of the personalities tortured him in different ways while Tobias tried to help him by drugging him with Dilauded. It took us two days to find him. We never would have found him at all, but one of the personalities sent us streaming video part of the time, and Reid was able to give us some hints as to where he was. Even with that, when we got there he had already managed to save himself. He got ahold of his gun, and when the personality of Charles came at him with a knife he fired and killed him. He really struggled after coming home, and I think a lot of the reason was that he felt guilty. He took a long time to come to terms with the fact that what happened there wasn't his fault." Emily sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "He had a really hard time after everything that happened, and he kept using Dilauded for a few months. But he did stop, and he has been clean for six months. It's not something we talk about. If Strauss were to find out Reid used to be an addict he would be fired, and Hotch would be fired for not reporting it. I hope you don't plan on saying anything," she said with a dangerous edge to her voice.
"Of course not."
"Good," Emily said with a degree of finality in her voice. She took another drink, then pushed her glass aside. "I think it's time for me to head home."
"That sounds like a good idea," I said. We both got our coats on and headed out the door. I got in my car and started it, but didn't leave right away. My brain was on overload trying to process everything I had learned that night. I had been proven wrong again, it seemed. Not only was there more to the kid than being the team's walking computer, but he also was a hell of a lot stronger than I had given him credit for. Would wonders never cease.
JJ POV
I lead Spencer to my car and we got in. I had figured it best to give him a ride home before he came out of the shock of being betrayed by his best friend. Knowing Spence he probably would have taken off and who knew how long it would be before he let one of us talk to him. Better to get him in my car and when the shock wore off I would be able to talk to him right away. He wasn't going to run away from me.
"You okay, Spence?" I asked after giving him about ten minutes to get himself together.
"I'm fine," he said softly, his voice telling me he was anything but.
"I wouldn't be," I told him, watching him out of the corner of my eye. "Morgan was a jerk. He's gonna be on a lot of people's shit-lists for a while."
Reid actually laughed a little at that. "He was drunk. He wouldn't have said it if he was sober."
It took me a moment to formulate a reply. "That's… remarkably understanding of you."
He shrugged. "He was right. Maybe no one ever talks about it, but it's not as if everyone didn't know. Except Rossi, and he already thinks I'm weird."
I shook my head a little. "You're a better person than I am. I would have taken a long time to forgive him."
"I wouldn't say I've forgiven him, exactly. Yeah, I'm mad, but I also know better than most people that when you're under the influence you can say a lot of things you'll regret."
This was the closest he had come to talking to me about his drug use, and I wanted to tread carefully. "Well, I say you should milk it for all it's worth. He's gonna feel bad, and you'll be able to get him to do whatever you want for a long time," I said, opting for keeping it light.
He laughed again, a little stronger this time. "Think I could get him to go to comic-con with me?"
I mock-cringed. "I don't know, you might have to wait for him to accidently shoot you to get something like that," I said as I pulled up in front of his apartment.
"Comic-con is fun," Reid said indignantly, but I could tell he was amused.
"For you, maybe."
Reid grabbed his bag and started to open the door, but stopped when I grabbed his wrist. "You're sure you're alright? We could get some coffee if you want."
There was gratitude in Reid's eyes, "Thanks JJ, but I really am alright. And we both need to get some sleep. It's pretty late," he opened the door the rest of the way and climbed out, but paused, and leaned back in a bit. "Don't give him too hard of a time tomorrow, alright?"
I felt my nose wrinkle in disgust a bit. "Like I said, he's on a lot of shit lists, and mine is one of them."
"I'm not saying to let it slide. Just don't be too hard on him. See you tomorrow," he closed the door and waved over his shoulder as he headed for his apartment.
A smile tugged at my mouth as I pulled away and headed home. It would never cease to amaze me how Reid was able to let things roll of his back. Obviously he did get upset of irritated sometimes, but more often than not he was able to just let things go.
Reid POV
I got into the office half an hour early, even having stopped to get coffee. I had wanted to get there before everyone else so that when Morgan arrived I would be working and maybe that would put off the heart-to-heart talk he was going to want to have. I really wasn't too upset with him, but I really didn't want to talk to him about it. JJ was surprised how little I had been bothered last night, and to be honest I was surprised myself. Yeah, I was a little embarrassed, but everyone did know, and Rossi finding out didn't upset me as much as I thought it would. I guess I had assumed that he would find out sooner or later, and I was a little glad it was sooner.
I had been working for about fifteen minutes when the rest of the team started arriving. Hotch was first, giving me an acknowledging nod as usual. Apparently he was going to act like last night hadn't happened, and I was glad for that. Rossi came in next and said nothing but, "good morning," as he walked by my desk. The small feeling of unease that had been coiled in my stomach lessened.
JJ and Emily came in at the same time, and we exchanged pleasantries. JJ waited for Emily to go to her desk. "Now don't go to easy on him," she said softly, then left.
When Garcia came in she rushed to me and gave me a tin of penutbutter-chocolate chip cookies and a quick hug "Don't worry, I've got plans for revenge," she whispered in my ear. "It involves Photoshop," she added before heading for her office.
I smiled a bit. Though I had been hoping to get no attention for what had happened last night that had been subtle as far as Garcia went. And I how could I be irritated with attention when it came with cookies? I slid my chair up to Emily's desk and offered her one of the cookies.
"Oh, lucky!" Emily said as she grabbed one. "I haven't had any of Garcia's cookies since Christmas."
I was just pulling out a cookie for myself when Morgan entered. I slid back to my desk, but not before I noticed the glare Emily sent in his direction. I turned my attention back to my paperwork, hoping that would keep Morgan from coming to talk to me, but after he dropped his stuff off at his desk he pulled his chair over and sat next to me.
"Reid-" he began.
"Morgan, I'm kind of busy right now. Can we talk later?" I interrupted. I just wasn't ready for this conversation.
"No, I really need to say this. I am so sorry. What I did was inexcusable, and I have no right to ask you to forgive me-…" he trailed off, seeming to be unsure of where to go from there. He struggled to continue.
"I'm not mad at you," I finally took pity on him after almost a minute of him trying to find the words to say. "At least not as mad as everyone else seems to be."
Morgan ran his hand over his head. "You should hate me."
"Well I don't. Let's just say you owe me. Seems like I've got other people who are seeking revenge for me anyway."
Morgan sighed in relief, and when he still couldn't find anything else to say he moved back to his desk. I waited for a minute, then called over to him. "Morgan?"
"Yeah?" he looked uneasy.
"Watch out, because Garcia really is planning something."
He groaned and dropped his head to his desk. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. Maybe I wasn't really mad, or the type to seek revenge, but I wasn't going to complain that someone else was going to do it on my behalf. I couldn't wait to see what she had planned.
The End
E/N- I struggle a bit with first person narratives, but I think that this ended up alright. It was meant to just be Rossi's part of finding out that Reid used to do drugs, but then I realized that I had to write Reid's reaction, and there had to be some repercussions for Morgan. Hope you liked!