Title: I Get By With A Little Help From My Friend
Author: wildwordwomyn
Word Count: 689
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Morgan/Reid
Rating: PG for (non sexual) adult content
Author's Notes: Only one. This is my first post here. I wanted a "starter" story since I'm new to this fandom so there's only established friendship between the guys. No sex but that doesn't mean I won't be adding companion pieces at a later date...Btw, feedback is more than welcome!
Disclaimer: I think it's clear if CBS and the show's creators knew about this story I would be writing for them and not you guys. *snickers* But seriously, it's free, meaning I'm not getting a dime from posting it, and crazy since I know none of these people. Carry on.
Summary: Spencer is having a bad day until Derek makes it better.
Carrying a gun is a serious thing. Spencer Reid can attest to this. He doesn't like them but the work that he does with the BAU requires him to be armed at all times. It's come in handy more often than not, although he hates to admit it. Yet when he visits his mother in the mental hospital he feels naked without it. Any other place he's fine. With her there are times when his fingers itch to curl around the handle, just to feel safe. Not from other patients housed there. From his mother. His index finger almost pulls the trigger in defense when she's between meds and her schizophrenia is in full swing. If he was allowed to have it during the visits she might not be around anymore...
Every day at noon he pulls out his cell phone, then has to remind himself he can't call to check up on her. He used to. Before Gideon found him. Before the BAU and Morgan and Garcia. Before Hotch got drunk one night after an Un Sub escaped and an innocent bystander was killed and he'd told him a little about his childhood. About the abuse. Spencer had felt sorry for him. Until the next day when he visited his mother and she attacked him with a plastic knife. Now he just looks at his cell, thumb poised over the number keys, breathing because it's all he can do.
"Reid?" Derek calls, perched on the edge of his desk. "Earth to Dr. Spencer Reid…" He waves a smooth, strong hand in front of Spencer's face to get his attention. "You in there?"
"What?" He jumps a fraction and puts his cell back in his pocket but Derek's kind enough not to draw attention to it.
"Everyone else is gone for the night. You leavin' or you gonna gather wool a little longer?"
"Hey, you know that saying-" Spencer can drop unknown, unfunny, usually unwanted facts at the drop of a hat and Derek knows it. He waves his hand again to shut Spencer up.
"Yeah, I know. And even if I don't know, I still know." Derek smiles softly down at Spencer. "Go home, kid. Try to get some sleep. You look like you need it. And eat something, okay? You're too damn skinny!" He smiles to let Spencer see he doesn't mean it as an insult.
"...I..." That's as far as Spencer gets before he gets lost in Derek's gaze. He can't think of anything to say, and he has no one to go home to except a beta fish named Bart. Spencer's lonelier than he's been in a long time, and the thought of being away from the BAU, from Derek or any of his other colleagues, scares and depresses him.
"Come on," Derek calls affectionately, pulling Spencer up by his arm. "You need a drink!"
It doesn't matter that Spencer has never really developed a taste for alcohol. Nor does it matter that he's also never developed a taste for bars. He doesn't drive (being behind the wheel makes him nervous) and conveniently missed the last bus so he's stuck without a ride home. He protests only a little when the other man puts him in a loose headlock and rubs his head. The physical contact, the camaraderie, soothes him. He smiles, not that Derek can see it with his face pressed against a well-toned pectoral muscle. Derek just laughs and half drags him out of the office. When they pass the security guard on their way they both wave and tell him to be careful. The routine that Derek follows never changes. He releases Spencer, unlocks the doors and waits for any unusual noises, checks his Explorer inside and out, then slides gingerly into his seat.
Spencer feels safe with Derek, although he's never told him so. Once he buckles up and Derek pulls out of his parking spot Spencer lets a small smile escape. This time Derek catches it and smiles back. Carrying a gun makes Spencer feel real enough sometimes, but being around Derek Morgan makes him feel alive all the time.