DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds. I am not making any money from this story.
A/N: Kinda a missing scene from ''The Fisher King Pt 2". Guess it's kinda an alternative ending with Reid and his Mom. It popped into my head a few days ago and I decided I'd just go for it! Hope you enjoy!
BE FRIENDS WITH YOU.
The rest of the team were on there way home. It had been a gruelling case to say the least. Gideon was at the hospital with Elle. She was out of surgery and going to be ok. Hotch wasn't sure what would have happened if the news hadn't been good. Would Gideon have forgiven himself? Would Hotch himself have been able to?
He walked past the round room and caught a glimpse of Reid and his Mother still in there. He smiled a little. It had been strange seeing the younger man with her. Reid was undeniable the baby of the group, to see him take care of someone else seemed odd.
He stopped in his tracks when he heard a loud smash come from the room. He looked around the bull pen quickly to see if anyone else had heard it, but realised there was only himself, Reid and Mrs Reid left. He headed to the door but stopped at the window, unsure of how to proceed. Would Reid be grateful of the intrusion, or upset? He watched through the window as Mrs Reid continued to throw mugs and pens at her son, narrowly missing him and hitting the wall behind.
"Mom!" Reid shouted, "It's me, ok? Calm down!" he said, ducking as she through another mug his way.
"Liar!" Mrs Reid shouted, tears streaming down her face. "What have you done with my Son!" she shouted at the ceiling, as if talking to someone who only she knew was there.
"They've not done anything!" Reid said, making his way slowly from where he stood at the other side of the table to her. He held his hands up slightly as if you show he had nothing in them. "It's me, Mom. You're ok. You came to help me with work, remember?" he said, as if trying to jog her memory.
Hotch wasn't sure what had happened. He guessed Mrs Reid must have fallen asleep, and woken up confused as to where she was. He knew he should leave the two alone, but he couldn't leave. Whether it was the profiler in him keen to see how the Paranoid Schizophrenia would play out, or the friend in him worried to leave the young man alone, he wasn't sure.
"How did I get here?" She asked. She had picked up a book off the table to throw at her Son but was now clutching it to her chest.
"On a plane, remember?" Reid asked, now standing in front of his mother.
She wiped a tear away from her eye. "I don't like to fly." She said, looking at the floor. "Spencer wouldn't make me fly." She said, her voice sounding angry." Spencer wouldn't make me fly!"
Reid gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's me Mom." He said gently. "It's Spencer, ok?"
She looked up at him as if seeing him for the first time. "Spencer?" She asked. Reid nodded. She looked at him for a few more seconds before shaking her head. She let out a scream and suddenly, without hesitation or warning, lifted up the book and used it to hit Reid around the face.
Reid stumbled back a little, lifting his hand to his split and bleeding lip.
Hotch forced himself not to go in. He knew he shouldn't be watching, that he should leave them alone. He knew how embarrassed Reid would be if he knew they were being watched, but still, he couldn't walk away.
Mrs Reid stood there looking at her own Son as if he were a complete stranger. "Where's Spencer!" She demanded.
"Mom," Reid tried again. Hotch could tell from the tone of Reid's voice that he was angry and upset. "It is Spencer." He said, looking at her, the back of his hand pressed to his still bleeding lip. "Please, Mom." He said, approaching her again.
Mrs Reid looked around the room as if realising where she was. "Spencer?" She asked, her voice sounded as if she was going to cry. Reid nodded and took another step towards her. Before he reached her though, she cried out. "No!" She shouted, picking up the last remaining mug from the round table, bringing it down with full force on Reid's head.
He stumbled backwards again, blood pouring from a cut above his left eyebrow. "For God's sake," he said to himself. "Mom!" he said, looking up at her. "It's me, ok!"
Hotch knew he should go and help. But he was stuck to the spot.
Mrs Reid began shouting again. "No!"She said, over and over, hitting her head with her fists. "No! No!"
"Mom!" Reid shouted, moving forward to grab her arms in an attempt to stop her from hurting herself. "Mom, Stop it!" He said, she continued. "Stop!" He shouted, this time in a more commanding tone.
She stopped struggling but continued to shout.
That's when Hotch saw something he never imagined her would. Reid continued to hold his Mother's wrists, her fists still balled up by her head. Reid looked around the room briefly before sighing. It was then that he began singing to his mother. It was low and hushed, but Hotch could still make out the words.
"I ain't lookin' to fight with you, frighten you or tighten you, drag you down or drain you down, chain you down or bring you down, All I really want to do, is baby be friends with you."
Mrs. Reid mouth dropped slightly, and she looked away and to the side, as if working something out. Reid continued.
"I don't want to straight-face you, race or chase you, track or trace you. Or disgrace you or displace you, or define you or confine you. All I really want to do, is baby, be friends with you."
Mrs Reid looked her Son in the eye and smiled, before quietly singing along to the song herself.
"I don't want to fake you out, take or shake or forsake you out. I ain't lookin' for you to feel like me, see like me or be like me. All I really want to do is baby, be friends with you."
Hotch recognised the song as one of Bob Dylan's. He continued to watch, rooted to the spot.
Mrs Reid looked at her son and smiled. "Spencer?" She asked, smiling. Her smile faded when she saw the blood on his face. "Oh my God, what did they do to you?" She asked, inspecting the wounds as a mother would. "Baby, did they hurt you?" She asked, concern and care in her voice.
The change in persona amazed Hotch. He winced at the though of him being so callous. Reid was a team mate, a friend. And here he was thinking about him and his mother as if they were here for him to study.
He watched as Reid guided his mother over to the sofa and sat her down. "I'm fine, Mom." He said, as if nothing had happened. "You just get some rest. I'll take you back home soon." He said, kissing her on the forehead as she lay down and started to drift off to sleep.
"I love you, Spencer." She said, her voice heavy and weary.
"I love you too, Mom." Reid said, standing. He wiped a trail of blood from his forehead and looked at his hand, sighing. He watched his Mother for a few seconds before heading to the door.
Hotch quickly turned and pretended to be reading the Randall file he had in his hands.
"Hey." Reid said, as he saw his boss. He knew Hotch had witnessed the whole thing, but he was strangely grateful that he pretended he hadn't.
"Hey." Hotch said in return. "You ok?" He asked. Looking at Reid's split lip and cut forehead.
Reid nodded. "This is nothing." He said, turning to look at his sleeping mother through the window. "When I was seventeen, she attacked me with a baseball bat and broke my arm." He said, smiling sadly. "The year after that she tried to stab me with a carving knife." He turned to look at Hotch." I guess that's when I realised I couldn't really look after her anymore." He turned back to look at his Mom. He'd never told anyone on the team about his Mother's illness, let alone things that had happened because of it.
Hotch watched him in silence, not sure what to say. He'd always had issues with his own father, but the idea of one of his parents attacking him because they didn't know who he was scared and saddened him a little.
"She doesn't mean it, though." Reid continued. "Sometimes she forgets who she is, or where she is, or who I am." He sighed, "or thinks people are trying to trick her." He turned to look at Hotch, then back through the window. "I know she loves me, she just gets confused sometimes." He smiled sadly, turning back to look at the older man. "Sorry you had to see that." He said, almost embarrassed.
"Don't be." Hotch said, himself turning to look at the sleeping woman. "Bob Dylan?" he asked, referring to the song Reid had sung.
Reid shrugged and laughed lightly. "I don't know why but that song had always calmed her down." He explained. "But only that one," he continued. "As I have learnt from experience." He smiled. "She's not a fan of Neil Young." He said, laughing a little again.
"I can't even imagine what it must have been like." Hotch said, shaking his head a little.
"It was actually ok." Reid said, not looking away from the window. "When she was lucid, she was a great Mom. When I was little, sometimes it was even fun when she was sick. We'd build dens together and hide from them for hours. I didn't realise at the time that she thought they were really, I though we were just playing." He looked at Hotch again. "She's a good Mom." He said. "She just, sometimes gets a little lost."
Hotch smiled, looking from Reid to his sleeping Mother. He couldn't imagine or understand what Reid had gone through when he was younger, but Reid seemed to have accepted the fact that he wouldn't be who he was today without it. And it was obvious, despite all he had seen, that they loved each other very much.
"Come on," Hotch said, placing the case file he had been pretending to read down. "Let's get those cuts checked."
Reid began to protest about leaving his Mother but Hotch interrupted.
"She'll be here when we get back." Hotch said, "We're only going to my office. I have a first aid kit in there."
Reid cast one last look at his Mom before following Hotch. "Thanks, Hotch." He said, quietly.
Hotch looked at the younger man and showed him and rare and genuine smile.
(((((())))))
The End.
Ok, so it ends a little odd, but I ran out of plot I know it's a little odd Hotch just watching it, and not having Reid tell the story, but I though that could get a little complex with all Reid's thoughts and emotions and I hadn't really got any of that stuff planned in my head! Hope you enjoyed anyway! Thanks for reading!
PS – Bob Dylan, 'All I wanna Do' is not owned by me either! But I liked the lyrics and thought they were fitting (plus, Reid mentioned in S4 that his Mom liked Bob Dylan : ) )