"The only thing worse than seeing the person you love happy with someone else, is seeing them unhappy with you."
Ch. 1: Her Savior
Prentiss suppressed a yawn and stood up from the conference table, stretching her stiffened limbs. "Thank God, this case is over." she said.
Hotch nodded, taking down the last of the victim photos from the evidence board. Five men dead, but they had saved anyone else from falling victim to a brutal murderer. They had caught the unsub. Terrance Hawkins. That was something to celebrate, Hotch told himself. One killer behind bars, about twenty thousand more to go…he thought bitterly.
But he didn't say anything aloud. It was their job to hunt down the sickest minds on the planet. It was what he liked about his job, why he had let it nearly destroy his life at certain times. Catching the bad guys was who he was, a part of him he simply couldn't relinquish. Even after it had destroyed his marriage and taken Haley, the mother of his son and the woman he loved, away from him forever.
"Anybody up for a drink?" Morgan asked, pulling his jacket on and standing.
"I'm in." Prentiss immediately volunteered, happy for anything to get the pictures of mangled bodies and Hawkins' remorseless eyes out of her head.
"Me too," Garcia said quickly, grinning up at Morgan. She welcomed any normal activity that would take her away from all the blood and murder and gore. And for a chance to spend some time with Morgan, her best friend in the world. Plus, she like the way her boyfriend, Kevin, got jealous whenever she spent time with the more… statuesque FBI agent.
"Not me," Hotch said, "I've got to get home to Jack. If I leave now, I might be able to make it home before bedtime…" He glanced wearily at his watch, wincing inwardly at the time. He was determined to prove that he could be both good at his extremely demanding job and also be a good father to his son.
"Me neither," Rossi said. "I was supposed to have a date three hours ago, and I had to cancel. Maybe if I call her now and beg for mercy, she'll give me another chance."
Morgan grinned, "Trying to find another ex-wife, huh, Rossi?" he asked.
Rossi ignored him, shooting an annoyed look in his direction before leaving the round table room.
"I can't," JJ said to Morgan's question. "I haven't seen Henry in three days and Will said that he had another ear infection." she explained, following Rossi out.
"What about you, Reid?" Morgan asked, prodding the younger man in the shoulder to get his attention. "You up for a drink or two?"
"Or five." Prentiss put in, smiling while gathering her purse and putting her badge inside.
Reid looked up at them with tired eyes. "No, guys I'm really tired. I think I'm just gonna go home, get some sleep." he said, trying, unsuccessfully to hide the yawn that escaped.
"C'mon, kid, a couple of drinks won't kill you," Morgan pressed, determined to get Reid to do something normal and non-work related.
Reid shook his head, "No, thanks, really. I'm just going to go home. I'll see you guys in the morning." he said, taking his things and heading out to the parking lot.
As Reid was pulling into his driveway his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and frowned. Unknown? Who would be calling him so late? He flipped the phone open and answered, "Hello?"
"Dr. Reid?" a woman's voice was on the other end of the line.
Surprised to hear a feminine voice on the phone it took Reid a moment to answer. "Uh, yes." he said. "Who's this?"
"Abby Baker, you remember? Charles Riley's fiancée." she explained. "You gave me your card and told me to call you if… I needed anything, right?" she sounded somewhat nervous.
Thinking back, Reid nodded. Of course he remembered Abby Baker, she had been Charles Riley, Hawkins' third victim's fiancée. Reid and Morgan had been the ones to inform her of his murder. She had not taken it well at all.
She'd screamed and cried and demanded to see Charles' body, to prove it wasn't some hideous mistake. When they'd tried to leave she had clung to Reid, begging him to tell her that it wasn't true. It had taken nearly twenty minutes to calm the hysteric woman down. Reid had given her his card and told her to call if she needed anything. He'd never expected her to actually call, especially not so late.
"Yeah, of course I remember." Reid said. "Did you need something or…"
"Just someone to talk to." she said. "I… I was thinking, about Charles. Well, thinking and crying. And drinking." she admitted sheepishly. "And I… well, I thought, since I had your number and all… you might not mind… talking for a little while."
"Of course, sure. Yeah." Reid stuttered, lack of sleep making his brain more sluggish than usual. "But, um, if you're having trouble… letting go, there are support groups and therapists –"
"I don't need any of that," Abby interrupted. "I just needed to talk to someone who understands. Like you understand. You were so kind to me the other day, when I found out about Charles. And I acted like a fool. But you… you understood. You helped me."
"Uh, well, I'm glad that I… helped you, but you know, I was just doing my job, Miss Baker." Reid explained, desperately wanting to get off the phone and go to sleep. He was so tired he could feel his eyes drooping.
"Oh, but that's not true. It's your job to catch the criminals. It's not your job to understand and make things better for the victims' families. But you did. So, thank you. You were, well, my savior, really. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been there, Doctor, to remind me that there are still kind people out there who understand and that the world isn't full of people like the man who killed my Charles."
Reid nodded, "Well, um, I'm flattered, Miss Baker, but really, it's been a long day. I'm tired. Do you mind if we just… talk some other time."
"Oh, of course!" Abby said. "I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking about the time. I'll just call you later then," she said. "Goodbye."
"Bye." Reid said, hanging up the phone gratefully and heading inside for some well deserved rest. He didn't notice the small four door Mercury parked across the street from his house, where a woman sat, holding a cell phone, watching him from the shadows.