A/N: This was essentially inspired by two things – firstly, the fact that I've had to read an Old English poem called 'The Dream of the Rood' which has an inanimate object telling the story. Also, as I was editing, I realised that I was reminded of the semi legendary Star Trek Voyager fanfiction 'I am Chakotay's Pillow' by LR Bowen. I thought I'd mention it in case someone else picked up on it and said that I didn't acknowledge my fanfiction superiors! So yes, that's what led to this rather strange interpretation of the David Rossi story…

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds – and at least by not owning it, I don't currently have to acknowledge what is happening in series 6!

It was all noise. Noise and red.

When someone wore me, I felt warm. All the time. I was only cold when the light went away into night and the Lady closed her eyes and was still for a while. She was my best friend. She was the reason I was warm and I loved her. I knew that even when I was cold in the dark, the light would come back and she would open her eyes, and I'd get to rest on her wrist and go wherever she did. I was the only one that she took places every day, apart from the Ring who rested on her finger. She was beautiful; a gold circle, with a white sparkling stone that sometimes caught the light and shone even more. I liked to look at her. We would wait together, at night, when the lady put us next to her. The Ring had a partner, that the Lady's Man wore. He was more plain, the same colour as me, and he'd wait on the other side. I sometimes felt bad that I got to be with the beautiful Ring and he couldn't be, but then there was nothing I could do to change it. I kept an eye on her, for him. It was all I could do.

I loved the Lady. Like I said, she would take me everywhere with her. I liked to look at things. We'd go in the Car and take the Little People to school or the place with lots of toys. I liked doing it because I could look at the trees. They always looked like they were waving and I couldn't work out what made them move. I still don't know actually. I used to wish that I could wave back at them, just in case they wanted me to, but then I didn't feel like it for a long time, not after – Well, after that day. I didn't feel like doing anything for a long time.

It had been a special day. The Little People were excited all day, running up and down the garden. The Lady pretended to be annoyed, but I knew she wasn't. I could always tell. She felt very hot when she was upset, almost too hot to touch. When the Man came home, he got in the Shower and then we all got in the Car. We didn't usually go out of the House at night and I got excited too. I couldn't help it. We stopped at a place full of noise and colours. It was amazing. Sometimes, when I think about it, I try to remember everything that happened. It's hard, because it all blurs into one big picture. I know that we went on lots of fast things, faster than the Car. I couldn't see very well after that and I was glad that I could hold onto the Lady. She made sure that I stayed safe. The Lady smiled lots, more than she had smiled for a long time. The Man held her hand tightly, squashing me between them, but I felt cosy rather than uncomfortable. Everyone ate lots of funny, bright coloured food. That place, that night, with the music and the colours, that's what I thought magic must be like.

It didn't end as well; that's something I can remember. The Lady had the biggest Little Person with her and they were watching a Clown make an animal from something green and bendy. I didn't like him, the Clown. There was something funny about his eyes. The animal looked all wrong but he smiled anyway. I wouldn't have smiled back but the Lady did, because she was lovely, and took it anyway. They walked away and I watched the Clown behind us. He did a funny thing; he stood very still, with his hand covering his eyes, and then he started to walk after us. How I wished I could tell the Lady! She didn't know for what felt like a long time but then, when the Little Person was sat in a giant teacup, she looked up and saw the Clown. I knew she was as annoyed as me, because she got very hot and I could feel the drumbeat that meant she was going to get mad. She went and quickly found the Man and whispered something in his ear, so that the Little People couldn't hear. He looked at the Clown, who was stood a little way off, and then told the Little People it was time to go. They must have been ready to close their eyes because they didn't say no. I watched the Clown again as we left. He looked sad and I felt a little bit bad for him. He hadn't actually done anything wrong. I thought that maybe the fast things had made him a bit silly too, like me, and he didn't have anyone to hold on to.

But then it was all noise.

Noise and red and cold.

So much noise.

So much red.

So much cold.

The light had gone away, and the Ring and I were waiting next to the Lady again. We were all tired from the magic place and so I didn't notice until it was too late. How I have wished that I noticed before. Very quietly, someone came into the Bedroom. I looked hard and realised it was the Clown! He wasn't dressed like a clown but he still had a funny face, so I knew it was him. He crept very quietly to the Bed and pulled back the covers. I was almost shaking, wanting to do something so badly. The Ring was pretending not to notice, she was so scared. The Clown pulled back the covers and then he made a funny noise. The Man opened his eyes and as soon as he saw, he jumped right up. The Lady opened her eyes too and made a little scared noise. I wanted to comfort her so badly.

I don't really remember what happened after that. The Man reached under the Bed and picked up a sharp thing that he had hidden there from the Little People. He didn't use the sharp bit though. He turned it around and hit the Clown with the wood bit. Served him right. Nasty, sneaking Clown. How dare he come into our House? But then the Clown made an angry noise and before I could see what had happened, he had the sharp thing and he was hitting the Man with it.

So much red.

The Lady tried to scream but before she could, the Clown had hit her too. My poor, innocent Lady! She hadn't hurt him. He just hit her. And then he kept hitting, her and the Man. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. I had to watch. He kept hitting, and I could hear the noise of every hit and see the way that there was more and more red in the room.

So much red.

When he stopped, there was so much mess. He sat down, the Clown, and he started to cry. I didn't understand and I didn't know if I should feel bad for him or not. He picked them up from the floor and put them back in Bed. Then there was another person, an Old Man. He cried too, for a little while, and then he started to clean up the red. He didn't do a very good job. There was so much. Then, him and the Clown ran away. That was it. They were gone.

I watched the Man and the Lady all night. They didn't move.

When the light came again, I waited for them to open their eyes and clean up the red. They didn't. I wanted so call out, to try and make them open their eyes, but I couldn't. I had to wait. Soon, the biggest Little Person came in. Good, I thought, they don't keep their eyes shut when the Little People are here. When the Little Person saw the red, she started to cry. I wanted to cry too. The mess was horrible. She went to the Man and the Lady and tried to make them open their eyes. I waited.

They didn't open their eyes.

The Little Person opened her mouth and she started to scream. The other Little People came running in and then they started to scream too. It was a horrible noise and it made me want to shiver. They screamed for a long time before someone came. The Man and the Lady still didn't open their eyes and I got a funny feeling that they wouldn't ever open them. They were gone, because of the Clown! The Clown that I should have warned them about. He'd done it to them. The horrible Clown with the funny eyes who couldn't make animals look right. The Lady had been nice to him, even though he got it wrong, and then he'd followed them. I understood why the Little People were screaming. If I could have screamed, I would have done too. I would have screamed for my beautiful Lady, my best friend. How I loved her. How I still love her.

Soon, there was more noise outside, adding to the noise that the Little People were making. I couldn't think with all the noise. People came in downstairs and running up the stairs. Thank goodness they had come to help the Little People. Two men came in first, looking around them very fast. One was dressed in blue and another one in a suit. They looked at the Bed with wide eyes and then at the Little People. The one in the suit moved first, putting his arms around the two smallest Little People and picking them up. He held them tight to him and whispered words I couldn't hear. They still screamed, holding tight to him. He left the room quickly, followed by the man in blue with the biggest Little Person. It was quiet for a minute. Just a minute. Then there were lots of people, and I didn't get a moment alone for a long time.

A/N: To be continued…