A/N : Alright. so this is a Criminal Minds and Women of the Other World crossover. Yes, I said it. A crossover. I told myself that I would never write one of these, because I personally hate crossovers. But lately I have been reading some AMAZING crossovers, and they have inspired me to give it a go. So, please bare with me, because this is my first crossover. I hope you like it ^-^
Disclaimer : I do not own Criminal Minds, or the book series Women of the Otherworld. Criminal Minds belongs to CBS and Women of the Otherworld belongs to Kelley Armstrong.
Full Summary : For as long as Dr Spencer Reid can remember, his mother has been taking anti-psychotic medicine to quiet the voices she hears. It began in her late teens and now, the same fate has fallen on Reid. But, with the arrivial of a new and strange team member, Reid will slowly come to find that maybe, just maybe, his mother was never crazy at all.
Reid looked up as his mother's doctor came into the waiting area. He slipped his book into his bag and stood, shaking the doctor's hand as they made small talk. The doctor updated him on his mother's condition, and laughed at Reid's unusual ability to remember everything he said. He commented on how Reid looked very good in his new haircut, and asked about the cases he had been working on. Reid smiled and replied, just as they made it to his mother's room. She sat in her old rocking chair, a book in her lap, and her lips moving soundlessly as she babbled on with herself. The doctor patted Reid's shoulder and left the room quietly.
"Hello Mother. How are you today?" Reid sat at the end of her bed and set his book bag on the floor. His mother shook her head and covered her ears with her shaking hands. Her eyes darted around the room, before landing on her son, and widening in surprise.
"Spencer. When did you get here? They didn't tell me you were coming. They always tell me when you're coming." Diana Reid was a strange woman. She rocked slowly in her rocking chair as she began to chide the voices for not warning her of Spencer's arrival. Reid sighed and slowly shook his head; reaching out and taking his mother's hands in his.
"Mother, I need you to tell me something. How long have you been hearing them? The voices?" He spoke to her in hushed tones, trying to sound reassuring.
"Spencer, you know how long. You know that. Have they come to you? Have you seen them? They'll get you too. You have to-" Diana's eyes widened in shock as she turned her head to the left side of her room, and screamed at something that only she could see. "No! You stay away from him! He isn't ready for this!"
Reid sighed again and stood, leaning over his mother to kiss her temple. The heat of her skin startled him. "Mother, you're burning up. I should get the doctor." He straightened and moved towards the door; but Diana gripped his arm tightly.
"No! I have something to tell you Spencer. They can't know. You have to know before they get to you. You'll end up in here like me!" She gripped his wrist, pulling him close, pressing her face against his. "You have to understand Spencer, I never wanted this for you! But I can't stop it. Its our bloodline! You have to find a way to stop it!"
"Mother, stop this. You're hurting me." His eyes were wide with fear, as he attempted to pull his mother's hands from his arm. She must have been having another episode. She obviously hadn't been taking her medications. Reid finally removed his arm from her grasp; with one final burst of strength. Her nails raked across his skin, tearing into his arm and leaving several gashes behind. Reid cradled his arm as he rushed to the door, pressing the nurse's button.
The door opened and three nurses rushed in, taking Diana by the arm as they gave her a sedative. Reid watched as they laid his mother's form on the bed, and then ushered him from the room. He would have to visit again another day. Reid looked down at the damage to his arm and sighed, slowly wiping the tiny beads of blood away. He'd ask her again when she was feeling better.
"Hey, where ya been?" Derek Morgan greeted the boy wonder as he entered the office the next morning. Reid set his book bag down on his desk, taking off his sunglasses as well and made his way over to the coffee station, where Morgan stood with his mug in hand.
"I went to visit my mother again." Reid sighed yet again, for what had to be the twentieth time that day, and poured himself a cup of black coffee. Morgan watched in surprise as Reid didn't add any sugar like he usually did, and took his mug back to his desk. He followed the boy genius and settled in his chair, all the while, watching Reid closely.
"Are you okay kid? You didn't put any sugar in your coffee. We usually have to hide the sugar from ya." Morgan set his mug on his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. Reid didn't seem to have heard him at all. "Reid?"
Reid kept his eyes down as he held his steaming cup to his mouth, but didn't take a drink at all. His mind was elsewhere. Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jaruo walked into the bull pin, laughing happily, until they spotted Morgan staring down the boy across the way from him.
"Hey Morgan, what's up with Reid?" Emily set down her purse and peeled off her heavy winter jacket; laying it to the side. Morgan only shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. JJ had a quizzical look on her face as she passed them, and made her way up to her office. Reid was acting strange.. at least, stranger than usual. Normally, they couldn't get him to stop talking.
Reid blinked suddenly and shook his head, looking up at Emily and Morgan, who were whispering at her desk. He cleared his throat and set his mug down on his desk; just as Aaron Hotchner exited his office. JJ followed him from her office, several files in her hand, just as the main door to the bull pin opened. Penelope Garcia and a woman walked in. Reid blinked, his eyes following the unknown woman as she carried on a conversation with Garcia.
The woman had long curly burgundy hair, and bright emerald green eyes that sparkled when she laughed at something Garcia said. Her peachy pink lips formed a smile, causing her cheeks to apple. She wore a short black pencil skirt, a black sweetheart top, and a pair of ruby red high heels that clicked on the tiles as she walked. She pulled a tin of tea from her bag as she leaned against the coffee counter, handing it to Garcia, who grabbed two mugs down from the cupboard. Reid looked over to Morgan and Emily, who were watching the girl and Garcia as well. Morgan smirked and sauntered over.
"Why hello there. I don't believe we've met. Derek Morgan." Morgan held out his hand to the woman, as Garcia smiled and shook her head. The woman turned to face the ebony man with a smile on her lightly painted lips.
"Hello Derek. I'm Celeste. Penny has told me all about you." The woman took Morgan's hand and shook it softly. She had a heavy southern accent. Derek smiled back and licked his lips. Reid blinked. He knew what that meant. Morgan always did that when he liked a girl. Before he even knew what he was doing, Reid had shot from his chair and to the coffee station; holding out his hand for Celeste to shake next.
"I'm Reid." Celeste giggled softly and took his hand in hers, holding it there for a moment before shaking it slowly. Reid smiled brightly, feeling his cheeks heat with a blush.
"Doctor Spencer Reid. Yes, I've heard a lot about you too. You're very intelligent, aren't you." Celeste smiled again, just as Garcia handed her a bright red mug with steaming tea. "Oh, why thank you Penny."
"Please my dear, twas nothing. Now lets go introduce you to the rest of the team." Garcia threaded her free arm through Celeste's and escorted her into the center of the bull pin, where she introduced her to Emily, and David Rossi, who had just exited his office. She smiled and shook both of their hands, giggling at something Rossi had said. Reid was still smiling when Morgan came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, looks like our boy here has a crush." Reid felt his face heat more as he shrugged off Morgan's hand, and rushed to his desk, hiding his face behind a book. He could hear Morgan laughing in the distance as his thoughts wandered away from him, and onto the new woman he had just met. Was she a new member of the team? Or just a new Intern?
"Reid! Come on, Hotch wants us is the conference room." Reid blinked and looked up. Emily and JJ stood at his desk, their hands on their hips. He tilted his head to the side, and began to mouth something just as Celeste came up beside them.
"Hey, are you coming?" Celeste looked down at Reid, and he nodded wordlessly, before standing and gathering his mug and clipboard, and rushing past them into the conference room. He faintly heard the women giggle at him. He sighed and sat down in his usual spot next to Rossi and Morgan, who looked up at him with a smirk on their faces. Reid coughed and looked down at his coffee, not meeting anyone's eyes.
"Thank you for coming in early guys. We have a situation on our hands. Garcia, please." Aaron Hotchner came into the room, taking his usual spot at the head of the table. Garcia nodded and motioned for Celeste to sit down beside her and JJ.
"Alright my loves, you are flying to the wonderfully wet city of Vancouver, Washington. Four bodies have been found, all with fatal stab wounds and their hair chopped off. Alex Jaimes, age twenty-two. Shelly Molina, age twenty. Jessica Simons, age nineteen. And Amanda Matlock, age nineteen as well," Four separate pictures of the victims came up on the screen. Reid tapped his pen against his lower lip. None of them had any facial similarities. Their race could vary from none to any. He could see no connection between any of them. "From the autopsy report, the same knife was used on each one; to kill and cut the hair off. Alex and Shelly were dating, and living together."
"That's odd, two victims living together, but killed at separate times." Emily commented.
"And now, for the creep factor. All four bodies were stolen from the morgue a week after their respective deaths. The first stolen body was found in a graveyard in Battle Ground. He was found like this." Garcia pointed her remote at the screen, and showed the team a picture of a naked man surrounded by a ring of black candles. A smoking ceramic bowl sat beside the body, the remains of burned leaves inside. "He was also missing his left ear. In the bowl, they found the ashes of vervain and dogwood. Both are uncommon to the area." Reid watched as the screen moved to another picture, this one of a woman. Celeste suddenly cleared her throat.
"Dogwood is used to ward off evil spirits and demons. That could explain the alter." Reid blinked at the southern woman, being caught off guard by her knowledge. Garcia smiled and continued.
"Shelly Molina was found in the same park that she had been killed, in the same way the first body was found. Same M.O.; black candles and smoking bowl. This time, though, her big toe was taken. The same goes for the last two; each were taken from the morgue and then found in the same places where they were killed; each missing a part of their body. Amanda was missing her right index finger, and Jessica was missing her left hand."
"Were the body parts taken before or after the bodies had been taken to the morgue?" Rossi asked. Reid looked over at Celeste, expecting her to answer his question; though she only stared up at the screen, seeming uninterested.
"After. Each body had already been examined and at that time, had all their fingers and toes. And ears." Garcia turned off the screen and turned back to her team. Hotchner stood, buttoning back his suit jacket, and addressed the team.
"As you may have noticed, we have a new team member. I have asked her to join us on this case because of her specialty. Celeste, would you please." Hotch nodded at the woman.
Celeste stood and smoothed out her skirt. "I specialize in cases dealing with the Occult and supernatural; as you may have noticed. I have experience with these types of cases throughout Florida and New York. I hold degrees in Occult Study and Theory, Religious Study, and Criminology. And I'm very happy to join you all." She smiled and sat back down; though it was obvious her smile had been directed at Reid.
"Thank you. Now, the Vancouver Police invited Celeste in personally, and we are happy to have her with our team. Wheels up in thirty please." Aaron nodded to his team and left the room, a stack of case files under his arm. The team stood and prepared to leave. But Reid; he stayed sitting, staring at the spot where Celeste had been sitting.
He hadn't even the chance to wow her with his own knowledge of the Occult. He suddenly felt a hand stroke his cheek and looked up over his shoulder. No one was there. His eyes widened and he looked around the room frantically. He was alone. He scanned the room as he stood, and spotted Celeste, standing in the bull pin, watching him through the window of the conference room.
A/N : Alright, so I hope you like it so far. If you haven't read Women of the Otherworld, its okay. I will be explaining some of the series throughout the story, but I urge you to read it. Its an amazing series, about paranormal crime solving, and it has witches and sorcerers, werewolves and necromancers. Its amazing, and romantic. If you hadn't noticed, I'm trying something different here from my normal style of writing. I'm not just focusing on detail, but more of the story and thoughts of the characters.
So, please review. I really hope you all liked it!