The day Spencer Reid walked into the BAU supporting a black eye and bruised neck was the day everyone started worrying. Spencer kept his head low, hoping his slightly long hair would cover his face enough for no one to notice. He had picked out a slightly higher collared shirt than normal to put under his sweater vest to hide the angry purple bruises that blossomed on his neck, above the collar bone. He set his bag down on the top of his chair gently and then sat down. Getting a pen ready and holding it in his slightly shaky hand. Spencer Reid's hands were always cold or shaky. When he talked in front of anyone besides his friends or mother, his hands shook wildly, even sometimes talking in front of his friends made him shake. The temperature of his hands however always seemed to be as cold as if he had spend all day outside in the snow. Derek took his spot across from Reid. "Hey Reid, how are ya? What'd you do over the weekend?"

Spencer continued to look down, he didn't want to come off as rude but he didn't look at Derek as he spoke "Im fine, over the weekend I really just read and stayed home.. " He ended with a shrug. "What did you do?" He asked as put another paper on top of a pile.

Derek pursed his lips, looking at Reid with a curious expression "Well, if you must know I may have hit up a few bars, got a pretty girl to come with me home" He winked to no one in particular since Reid wasn't looking at him.

Prentiss walked by as Derek said what he did and stopped "huh, what color was her hair Derek?"

Derek stopped for half a second. Glancing between his hand and Prentiss, "uh, brown..?" He asked questioningly, unsure if it was brown or black.

Emily grinned, "wow Derek. So what about you spence? You look down?" She shared a worried look with Derek for a second.

"Oh, um I'm good. I'm gonna go get some coffee now.. " When Spencer stood up he noticed he had tucked his hair behind his ear, before he could bow his head agin Emily gasped.

"Reid! What happened to your face?" She asked urgently, tilting his chin to get a better look at the purple and blue side of his face. Derek stopped grinning at Prentiss and stood up to look at Reid's bruised face.

Spencer looked away from Emily, trying to think of an excuse fast. "Well I, uh, fell down the stairs of my apartment building.? Yeah, yeah, I fell down the stairs and hit my hit on the banister I think" He ended, swallowing thickly.

Tilting her head to the side Emily looked at Reid concerned "for real? Your not lying?"

Giving her and Derek a nervous laugh he nodded, "yeah, you know me, I was born with two left feet as cliche as that may sound"

Derek smiled, reluctantly accepting Spencer's answer. "Yeah, you are the clumsiest person I know". Emily smiled, but the commotion had caused JJ and garcia, who were chating by the coffee machine, to come over to get a look at Reid.

"Oh gosh honey! What happened Reid? " Garcia asked, her earings jingling softly as she titled her head and frowned.

Derek leaned against Reid's desk "He fell down the stairs in his apartment complex, said he might've hit his head on the banister" JJ gasped and looked at the side of his head for bruises.

"Well, no bruises there, you know, you worry me sometimes Spence" JJ told him, ruffling his hair playfully. Reid gave a forced laugh and smiled.

"Hah, I'll try to be more careful going.. Down the steps hah" He moved around JJ akwardly towards the coffee machine. Derek followed him there.

"So your okay? Doesn't hurt still?" He asked, tapping his fingers on the countertop. Spencer rolled his eyes and craned his neck to look at Derek.

"Yeah, Derek, I'm completely fine" Spencer smiled, pouring lots of sugar in his coffee. As Derek watched Spencer he couldn't help but notice the way his hands shook, or the way he would lightly, not very severely, flinch whenever someone as much as raised their arms next to him. To test his theory, Derek waited until Spencer had set his coffee down to get the milk, until he put a hand on his shoulder, sure enough Spencer flinched, his breath hitching and twirling around. "Ah- uh- s-sorry you. Um. Scared me" He stuttered, playing with the bottom bottom of his shirt.

Derek raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders in a slightly sorry manner. He was determined to find out why Spencer was flinching so much. It wasn't that he was back on dilaudid was it? No, if he were on dilaudid he would be snappy and couldn't focus, and always fidgeting or scratching his chin.

"Sorry, just wanted to ask what you were doing tonight? The team is going to some fancy restaurant that Rossi likes, we'd like you to come with" Derek told spencer, in all honesty he really did want him to come, dinners without the BAU's resident genius were kinda boring, actually.

Spencer nodded, threading his trembling fingers around the coffee mugs handle. "I'll see, I think I will be able to though" Derek smiled at him.

"Great, tell me what you find out." And with that Derek left to go back to his desk and tackle his mountain of paperwork.

Spencer sulked by the coffee pot and pulled out his phone, setting his mug down and heading into the bathroom to call his boyfriend, Lucas.

Rossi had unintentionally been near the bathroom doors when he saw Spencer walk in, even though he knew it was wrong, he had a thing for listening to people's phone calls. Yeah, he knew it was weird. Rossi held his ear up to the door and caught tid-bits of Reid's conversation.

"Hello... Yeah slow day... Going... Restaurant?... Sorry... I know... Make it up to you... See you... I'm sorry... Bye. " With that Rossi heard the end dial tone and Spencer put his phone back into his pocket. Rossi backed away from the bathroom doors to not look suspicious and started pouring himself some coffee. Spencer walked out "Oh hey Rossi, I'm going with you guys to that restaurant after work by the way" Spencer smiled lightly even though Rossi could tell he seemed guilty or nervous about something.

"That's great, I can give you a ride since I think we're all carpooling between me and hotch" Rossi told him, taking a long drink of his coffee. Spencer nodded duly and told him thank you, grabbing his coffee.

As Spencer made his way back to his desk to get started on his paperwork, JJ came up to him frowning. "We've got a case spence. Hotch says we dont have to leave until tomorrow but we're doing the briefing right now. "

JJ grasped Reid's wrists with more force than she intended, getting a flinch, wince, and gasp from Reid. He tugged his wrist back, looking at his feet. JJ opened her mouth to say something but decided not too, because she didn't wanna put more stress on the already looking stressed Reid. "Sorry, my fault" Reid mumbled to her, his face full of sorrow.

"Ah- no it's fine Spence, really it's my fault" Spencer shakes his head and sighs, sitting in his usual seat once they get the the briefing room. JJ nods to herself and starts telling the team about the case. "3 young women we're killed in Little Rock, Arkansas, by what looks like a sadist. Each body was heavily mutilated, one even had two missing fingers. More destruction was focused on the face than the rest of the body, each of the women worked at local bars, had green eyes and brown hair, and were working shifts once in a while at the local strip club. " She concluded, showing the team images of the bodies.

Hotch noticed something "they're all posed in the same fetal position, and their eyes are closed... Are those the same clothes they were abducted in?"

JJ looked in the file, "No, he must have changed them, and looks like he did after he killed them, since there's little to no blood on the clothing. Also, each of the women's hair were pulled back in neat buns, with blue scrunchies. "

After eyeing the board Morgan asked "Childhood rejection? Scrunchies aren't very popular nowadays, and the clothes look a bit older too" Rossi and JJ nodded along.

"Exactly what I was thinking, because other than looks, these women haven't even known each other existed" JJ said, calling Garcia.

Garcia picked up "Speak and be recognized,"

"Yeah, baby girl were gonna need to know if there was any fibers on the clothes or scrunchies." Derek said.

Garcia tapped some keys on her keyboard and frowned "Nope, sorry. "

Derek shrugged, "expected it. Can you tell us what brand makes the clothes they were in? And how long ago those clothes we're made? "

Garcia smiled, "yep, I'll get right back to you" She ended the call, getting to work.

Hotch stood up in front of the team, "okay, go work on whatever you were before, we will leave first thing tomorrow. I'll see you all at Rossi's restaurant he picked out. Also, Reid can you stay for a minute? "

Reid mentally screamed but nodded.

Everyone started filing out of the room. Sighing Reid took a seat across from hotch. "Are you okay? What's with your eye?"

Reid nodded, "yeah I'm fine, I fell down the stairs and hit my head on the banister in the hallway. " Reid said, feeling like he had explained that a hundred times today. Pulling on his collar as a nervous tick he always did in front of his boss, he accidentally showed the bruises on his neck.

Hotch took them in and nodded, "and.. On your neck? Almost looks like a hand print.. Reid" He said, tensing up and waiting for Reid's answer.

Reid froze, unsure of what to make up on the spot. "Ah- I- Um... I-I " He started trembling. "Som-someone... Um" Spencer stood up, running out of the room and towards the bathroom so hotch couldn't continue talking to him.

Hotch followed after him, grabbing his wrists harshly and slamming the door. Spencer yelped, as his wrists felt like they were about to break. "You will tell me what happened Reid. " Hotch said as menacing as he could.

Reid began to hyperventilate, "I'm sorry! I-I-! I'm so so-sorry-y! G-god I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It's my fault! " Reid sunk to his knees, on the verge of crying.

When Reid sunk down, he brought hotch with him because of how hard hotch was grabbing his wrists. Hotch began to panic "It's fine reid! Your okay! It's okay!" Hotch quickly let go of Reid's wrists, gasping at how deeply purple and black they were.

Reid looked down and ran out the door, not stopping to look back at hotch. He closed and locked the bathroom door then sank to his knees again, sniffling. He heard a knock.

"Kid..? It's me and JJ... Are you alright? We heard hotch slam the door and yell at you.." Derek said slowly, willing Reid to open the door before he kicked it down.

JJ heard the lock click and the door open, standing there was a disheveled, tear streaked Reid. Derek and JJ looked at his wrists which he had not pulled his sleeves over and gasped at the fresh purple and black marks.

Derek fumed, "Reid, did hotch do that?" He asked, gesturing to Reid's wrists. Reid nodded slowly and Derek gasped, "I'm gonna kill him JJ"

"Me too" She responded, grabbing Reid's elbow lightly to drag him along and started marching with Derek to hotch's office.

Derek flung open the door and everyone, including Garcia, watched the scene unfold. "What the hell hotch? What did Reid do that made you so mad you turned his wrists black and purple?!" He yelled, holding up Reid's wrists for hotch to stare at. Prentiss and Garcia gasped when they saw the horrendous state Reid's wrists we're in. Rossi mentally gasped but on the outside only raised an eyebrow, wondering what hotch would say to justify it. Reid turned his head to the side to look down.

Since hotch had had time to compose himself after Reid running, his tone was hard. "He wasnt telling me something, and tried to run away when I confronted him. "

Reid bit his lip, wishing the earth would swallow him whole. Derek fumed again "And that gave you the right to do this?! I could tell Strauss right now that you physically assaulted someone in the workplace and you could get fired! "

Hotch backed down slightly. "Look at his neck, I questioned him about it and he wouldn't tell me" Derek pulled down Reid's collar and furrowed his eyebrows.

Garcia and Prentiss gasped again, wondering who would've done such a thing to Reid. Derek softened has voice "Reid, please tell us what happened. "

Reid sighed, "nothing really. Can we drop this, I don't care what hotch did. I don't blame him, I was being dumb so be got mad, honestly it's nothing. "

Prentiss narrowed her eyes "okay... Hotch, if you ever touch Spencer again your getting fired. Reid... I don't know" Reid was thankful for Prentiss dropping it. He pulled down his sleeves and up his collar, sighing as he made his way back to his desk.