A.N. Dun dun dun... Guess what? I did it! Here is the first alternate ending for Of Beasts and Men, it is meant to be read between Chapter 12 and the Epilogue of the original story.

Author: TemporaryUniverse

Character(s): Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Jack Hotchner, Jessica Brooks, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia, Tara Lewis, OC (Kai Chung)

Summary: An alternate, less ambiguous ending to my story, Of Beasts and Men.

Words: 4,670

Disclaimer: Still don't actually own Criminal Minds. Not that I haven't tried.

Chapter 13 (Alternate Ending #1):

The fox approached the door nervously. His mind may have been certain, but now that he was about to go through with it, doubts plagued him. Hotch was with him, Reid honestly hadn't wanted any of his friends to come, but he had been unable to sway Hotch's determination to support him. He knew the man still felt guilty about Reid's second abduction, so the fox let Hotch accompany him.

The pair were let into the room by a stereotypical white lab-coated doctor. Reid thanked whoever had been considerate enough to assign a female veterinarian to this task. She bustled around Reid and the room, checking his vitals and prepping for the procedure. If everything went right, Reid would most likely be spending the next few days here at the hospital. If not, well, he had spent all night painstakingly typing out letters to his team and his mom.

The vet, Reid realized suddenly that he didn't know her name, finally pulled out a syringe. The one that they had taken from Hatfield that supposedly contained a cure for Reid's foxy state. He was mesmerized by the yellow-tinged liquid in that small tube.

"-cer. Spencer." Reid abruptly became aware of Hotch's voice calling his name. He looked up at the man, still a bit dazed, wondering absently if Hotch had been talking this entire time. "Are you okay, Spencer? You can still back out, this doesn't have to happen." The fox shook his head vigorously. No! He was doing this! He wanted so badly to be human again.

"Alright, Spencer. We're ready to begin," the vet told him. He nodded at her. He knew that she had been sworn to secrecy by the higher-ups in the Bureau. So had the doctor and a nurse that would give his care once he was human again. As much as Hatfield's technology could potentially be used for good, people had died so that it could be developed. He was the only successful case. The serum was far too unpredictable and dangerous to ever be used. Reid would be the first and the last.

The doctor found a vein and stabbed the needle in. Hotch smiled at him, trying to hide his worry. "See you on the other side, Spencer." The vet depressed the plunger, and the serum quickly began to flow through his body, speeding into his cells and, hopefully, changing them. Reid flashed his teeth at Hotch in a facsimile of a grin.

Suddenly, he started to feel achy and tired. He blinked slowly, and decided it was a good idea to lie down. With that thought, his legs crumpled, landing him on the thin mattress of a hospital bed. The fox curled up as the world around him began to blur and fade. He closed his eyes and slept.

When he woke it was without preamble. Between one thought to the next, he was asleep, and then he wasn't. It took his brain a moment to process. Hotch was reclined in one of the hospital's hard, plastic chairs, fast asleep and snoring slightly. Reid tried to call out the man's name, but all that came out was a soft whine, the sound of it sending a pang of disappointment through his heart. No! It was supposed to work! His whimpers roused the sleeping Hotch, who swiftly made his way over to the fox's side. Reid knew he probably looked pitiful, curled up in a small, orange ball on the starched sheets of the hospital bed, ears folded flat against his skull and miserable noises escaping his throat.

Hotch sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled the animal into his lap. Reid could feel the calloused hand stroking his fur and hear the soothing reassurances the man was murmuring, but the exact words were lost to him. They remained like that for a long while, until Reid felt a sudden stab of pain in his chest, making his muscles spasm. He yelped, or at least he tried to, all that came out was a strangled squeak.

He felt more than saw Hotch look down at him in alarm, but he didn't know what happened next, because it was then that he stopped breathing.

Hotch was immediately scrambling for the call button. He could see that the fox's chest was no longer rising, and the poor creature was straining to pull in oxygen, his eyes blown wide in terror. The few seconds it took for the vet and the nurse to appear felt like an eternity. They pulled the limp fox out of his arms and a Hotch forced himself to get out of the way to let them work, although every panicked cell in his body was screaming at him to stay with Reid.

It didn't hit him that Reid was actually dying until the vet began chest compressions. Then the fox was being wheeled out of the room and Hotch heard the words "crash cart" before the door shut. The shocked agent was left behind, frozen to the spot he was standing as his brain tried to process the sudden whirlwind of events. He forced himself to take a deep breath, dreading the call he would have to make to his team.

"Aaron?" Rossi picked up after less than half a ring, he'd probably been watching his phone, anxious for news.

"Dave, is the team there with you?" Hotch was pacing back and forth in the hallway, the only sign of his distress. He understood now why Reid insisted that the team not be with him in the hospital. He'd known the risk, had watched those odds play out for an entire year. If, or when, something went wrong, he hadn't wanted his friends to be witness to it.

"They're in the other room, do you want me to–"

"No," Hotch said, sharper than he meant, and he tried to compose himself, "I just… I'd rather you tell them. I can't stay on the phone long, I need to find someone who can tell me what's going on."

"And what is going on?" Concern seeped through the connection, Hotch could practically see the look Rossi would have on his face.

"Reid's in surgery." Somehow, his voice sounded much calmer than he felt it should. His agent and friend was possibly dying, if there was a time to panic it would be now. But Hotch had to stay strong and level for the rest of his team, at least until there was no one around to see him break down.

"I thought the doctor said surgery wouldn't be needed?"

"She did. He stopped breathing, Dave." There was a startled intake of breath from the other man. "I don't know exactly what happened, but I need the team to be prepared, just in case…"

Rossi sighed heavily. "Alright. You'll call back once you know more?"

"Of course." He hung up, knowing no goodbye was needed, and allowed a brief moment of distress to overtake him. A minute later, he lifted his chin and squared his shoulders, slipping the mask back into place. Time to find some answers.

Three long hours later and Hotch was still waiting.

"Agent Hotchner?" Hotch had seen the door open and was already heading over to meet the veterinarian and the serious looking man standing beside her. Neither of them appeared to be overly grim, despite their obvious fatigue. Hotch allowed the hope to bubble in his chest. The veterinarian, he remembered her name was Dr. Rawlings, smiled genuinely at him and the wave of relief nearly made him stumble.

"He's okay."

"Spencer is fine. The operation went well and he's resting in a private room."

"What happened?"

"If I may?" The unfamiliar man stepped forward, "Jim Godschalx, I was the primary surgeon. We're still unclear on the cause, but it seems that Spencer suffered from a tension pneumothorax. There was buildup of air in the pleural cavity and the pressure it put on his lung caused it to collapse. The pneumothorax also put pressure on his heart resulting in ventricular fibrillation and eventually he went into cardiac arrest.

"Luckily, the response was quick enough and CPR was effective. We drained the air and inserted a chest tube to keep the pressure down and prevent another pneumothorax. We'll be monitoring him carefully for the next twelve or so hours to make sure there aren't any complications. Given the nature of cardiac arrest, we also plan to run some diagnostic tests once Spencer wakes up to assess any possible damage it might have caused."

Some of the tension in Hotch's chest eased. "Can I see him?"

"Follow me," the vet replied. Hotch thanked the both of them, but waited until he was out of earshot of Dr. Godschalx before turning to his guide.

"Not that I'm ungrateful for his help, but no one outside of you, Dr. Lee, and Nurse Milner was supposed to know about Spencer's situation." While Bureau politics was not something he wanted to think about at this time, he considered Reid's safety to be his priority, and that meant making sure his secret wasn't exposed. "You swore not to tell anyone."

Dr. Rawlings nodded, "That I did, Agent Hotchner. I can assure you that I did not tell Jim any more information than was needed for him to save his patient. As far as he is concerned, a fox by the name of Spencer was admitted with his owner after an accident, because he refused to leave the man's side."

Hotch watched her carefully for signs of deceit and found none. "Thank you," he sighed.

"If you need anything, just give me a buzz," the vet said as Hotch reached the door to Reid's room. He inclined his head at her to show he had heard and went in.

The hospital bed Reid was lying on dwarfed him considerably, the fox looked even smaller than usual. At first glance, the canine was almost corpse-like in his stillness. If it hadn't been for the steady beep of a heart monitor and the faint rise and fall of his chest, Hotch might have panicked. Instead he just heaved a sigh and sat in the chair by Reid's bedside.

After a few minutes, Hotch pulled out his phone and speed-dialed Rossi. As they talked, Hotch gently stroked the orange fur of his friend, reassuring himself that, yes, Reid was there, and yes, he was still alive. He finished his conversation and hung up.

"What are we gonna do with you, Spencer?" He teased the sleeping animal. Seeing as his charge wasn't going to wake up for a while, it wasn't long before Hotch allowed himself to nod off as well.

Hotch woke with a small gasp from his nightmare, still feeling the cold horror that came after watching the man he loved as a son dying in his arms. He chanced a glance at the bed and relaxed when he found a pair of tired amber eyes looking back at him.

"Spencer," he sighed in relief. The fox twitched his ear and continued staring. A strange knot of apprehension twisted in Hotch's stomach. He reached out a hand and the fox shied away. "Reid?" The name sparked no hint of recognition in the canine's eyes. "Spencer, if you can hear me, just bark or something." There was nothing but silence. Hotch swore uncharacteristically and ran a hand through his dark hair. His heart sank to somewhere near his toes. Reid might not be dead, but it looked like they had lost him anyway.

Twelve hours later and Hotch was finally leaving the hospital, carefully carrying a bundle of blankets and orange fur. The vet had been confident that Reid had recovered enough and that no more air was building up in his chest. She'd instructed Hotch on the proper care for the stitched incision that had been made for the chest tube. She'd also given him her card with her number and the address of her clinic in case of emergency. Hotch would be monitoring Reid closely for the next few days for any sign that the fox was having trouble breathing. As soon as they got back to his apartment, Hotch would be calling Cruz to tell him that he would be taking a couple of days off, and to request that the team be put on stand-down for a week. Then he would be calling Rossi and inviting the team over once they got out of the office.

When he got home, Reid was fast asleep so Hotch made a nest of blankets for him on the bed and headed for his office. Once he was done, he sighed and collapsed on the sofa. He'd been at that damn hospital for nearly twenty hours and the only sleep he gotten had been a few hours snatched between the moments where he wasn't worrying too much about Reid. And those hours had been spent on a plastic chair that hadn't been made with comfort in mind. The soft cushions of the couch felt like heaven to his tired and cramped body. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

He opened his eyes and blinked in confusion. This was not the same place that he had gone to sleep in. He recognized the smell though, it was the much stronger scent of the nice man who had been there in the white room. This room was much nicer, it didn't stink of bitterness that made his nose twitch and left an acrid taste on his tongue.

There was a slight pain in his side so he turned his head to look. The little black lines pulling at his bare skin itched, but he had a strange feeling that he shouldn't try to scratch them. He yawned and stretched, enjoying the sensation of his muscles flexing. He was a bit wobbly standing up, but once he found his balance, he shook himself, ridding his body of lingering aches and settling his fur.

A quick scan of the room revealed nothing interesting other than an opening in the wall. He also realized that he was up off the ground, on a sort of soft, hill thing. Feeling exposed, he wandered to the edge and jumped down, wincing at the pull of the black lines. Stitches, his mind supplied. The black lines are called stitches.

Down here, the world looked a lot bigger. Even the hill thing, bed?, towered over him. And yet, it all felt familiar, he'd been in this place before, but he couldn't remember when.

The doorway tempted him, so, shaking off his confusion, he crossed the floor and peered out around the corner. The hall was empty, he chose a direction and slunk along the walls, bypassing a couple of closed doors. He briefly explored the apartment, until he found Nice Man lying on a couch. Nice Man's hand was hanging down. He crept forward and licked the fingers. Nice Man stirred slightly, mumbling in his sleep.

The sound of a key turning in a lock and the front door opening startled him, and he squeezed himself under the couch.

"Hi, Dad! We're home!" Nice Man sat up, he could hear the creak of the cushions above him. From his vantage point, he could watch as a small set of feet ran over to meet the socked feet of Nice Man.

"Hey, Jack, how was school?"

"Good, Ms. Collins gave us all candy 'cause we did well on our essays. Also, Kenny asked if I wanted to have a sleepover tomorrow, can I go?" This voice was much higher pitched than Nice Man's deep baritone. He peeked out to get a better look at the newcomers. There was a smaller human standing with Nice Man, so he assumed that was 'Jack'. The other person he didn't know had long blonde hair. She was hanging up her coat and bag in a closet.

"If it's alright with your Aunt Jess, I don't see why not." He ducked back under the sofa.

"Awesome! Thanks, Dad!" Jack ran off and he heard a door close further back in the apartment.

"Thanks for bringing him home, Jessica."

"Of course, Aaron." So now Nice Man and Blonde Hair had names.

"The team is coming over later to see Reid." Who?

"Do you need me to leave?"

"Actually, I'd rather you stay, there are a few decisions we have to make, and it would be better if you were here." The conversation moved into the kitchen, but he didn't follow. The under-couch was dark and the surfaces enclosed him snugly, but he didn't feel claustrophobic, quite the opposite, in fact. He felt safe in his small den, and that security lulled him to sleep.

Hotch headed to his room to check on Reid and his heart nearly stopped when the fox wasn't where he had left him.

"Reid?" He called tentatively, even though the canine had stopped responded to that name since they had left the hospital. While he didn't expect a reply, most of him still hoped for one. Panic rising in his chest, Hotch hurriedly searched the room, checking all the places that Reid could be hiding in. Finding nothing, he moved to the next room, Jack's and asked his son if he had seen Reid. The boy answered in the negative, but readily joined in the quest.

Jack was checking the living room, behind the chairs, in the little alcove under the coffee table, and just as he was opening a cabinet that was typically empty, he heard a small whimper. He froze and turned his whole attention to listening. The whimper came again. Jack tried to pin down where it was coming from. His eyes landed on the couch and he crept over to it, another whimper, a bit louder than before. On his hands and knees, he peered into the dark space under the sofa and just barely made out the white shape of a tail tip and the suggestion of fur.

He smiled and pulled back. "Dad," he hissed, as loud as he dared. Hotch was quick to appear and he let out a relieved sigh when the boy indicated the fox's position.

"Thank you, Jack." A knock on the door startled them both. Jack ran over and stood on tiptoe to see through the peephole.

"It's Uncle Dave, Dad. Can I open it?" Hotch nodded.

"Hey, Jack," Rossi greeted as soon as the youth had flung open the door. The rest of the team was standing behind him. "How's it going?"

"Good!" Jack replied, hugging his honorary uncle. "Dad and Reid are home. You have to be quiet 'cause Reid's sleeping under the couch." He exchanged hugs with the other agents as they came in. Rossi gave Hotch a significant look, letting the younger man know he had some explaining to do.

"We brought dinner," Chung mentioned, lifting up the pizza boxes. Hotch directed them all to the kitchen where Jessica joined them. The pizza was passed out, most of the adults leaning against the counters to eat. Once everyone had consumed a few slices, Rossi turned to Hotch.

"Alright, Aaron, spill."

Hotch sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Jack, how about you go work on your lego project? The grown-ups need to talk."

"Okay, Dad." The boy ran off to his room, his father watching him go.

"You know I took Reid to the doctor so they could administer Hatfield's cure," he began. "I'm trusting that Dave told you about the complications. Reid seems to be recovering well, they wanted to keep him for observation which is why I'm so late getting back. Unfortunately, the cure didn't work, Reid is still a fox."

"Oh," Garcia looked heartbroken.

"That's not everything, though. Reid, when he woke up from the surgery, he…" Hotch trailed off at the sight of a small black nose peeking around the corner, followed by the rest of the wary canine. "I don't know if it's just amnesia or something worse, but he doesn't remember us."

The fox's nose twitched in the direction of the pizza, unconcerned with the sudden tension in the room. When Garcia grabbed a slice and slid a plate over to Reid, the fox skittered back in alarm. A long moment passed before he stretched out his neck to eat, rapidly devouring the meal. The humans looked on sadly.

It had been a month. A month of doing their best to gain the trust of a wary fox and a month of mourning the loss of a friend. Reid no longer accompanied them on cases, or pranced around the bullpen while they worked. He'd healed well, no more complications from either the surgery or the cure arising.

The canine had taken to Jack immediately, and Hotch had never been more grateful to Jessica. She'd gladly accepted the extra duty of caring for her nephew's new companion.

Life moved on, unconcerned with the loss of one of the greatest people Hotch had ever met. At least when he had been in the clutches of Hatfield, the team could still have hope that he was out there. That wasn't true now. Occasionally, the fox would do something that was just so Reid and the hope would flare in Hotch's chest with near suffocating power, and then he fox would start to chase his own tail and that spark would be crushed.

Tonight, when he got home, a grinning Reid bounded up to meet him, prancing around his legs and almost tripping him as he went to hang up his coat. It was becoming increasingly common for Reid to greet him this way, Hotch reached down to scratch the overeager canine between the ears.

"Hey, Jack?" He called. "Did you feed Reid?"

His son appeared in the hall. "Yeah, Dad. Aunt Jess and I also took him for a walk. I was waiting for you to get home to have dinner, though."

"Baked potatoes?"

"Yeah!"

Dinner was a relaxed affair, Hotch decided not to comment on Jack slipping bits of food to the fox lying on his feet.

The rest of the night was typical. The trio curled up on the couch to watch a movie, Jack showered and pulled on pajamas, Hotch read to his son as he fell asleep because he insisted he'd never be too old for bedtime stories. Hotch planted a kiss on his dreaming boy's forehead before he went through the motions of his own routine. Reid slipped onto the bed only moments after Hotch was under the sheets, having stayed with Jack until then. The father felt the same pang of sadness he always did at this. Since his rescue, the fox had stayed with Jack until the boy had drifted into a deep sleep, before coming to join Hotch. The action had carried over even though Reid was gone.

The fox cuddled up to him and they gradually sank into the realm of dreams.

Hotch woke with a start. He glanced around the darkened room, unsure of what had interrupted his sleep. Nothing caught his eye at first, but when he shifted to get comfortable again, he brushed against flesh decidedly not covered in fur. He was sitting up in an instant, tense with shock.

"…Reid?" The sleeping man let out a strange keening noise, and Hotch realized he was curled into himself, muscles rigid, as if he was in pain. When a half-scream tore from his friend's throat, accompanied by the sound of tipping sheets as Reid clawed at them, it became obvious that he was in pain.

Hotch jumped up, reaching for his phone on the bedside table, but long fingers clamped around his wrist and Reid moaned his name.

"Hotch, its….its o-okay." Hotch made a noise of protest, but Reid held him firmly and as he watched, the tension slowly leeched out of the naked form beside him. Suddenly, the reality of the situation stuck him.

"Reid," he breathed, "you're alive. You're human."

Reid laughed and Hotch had never been more relieved to hear that sound.

"Yeah. I guess I am."

"Are you okay?"

"The transformation took about two hours. Not nearly as bad as the first time. I'm fine. Promise." He paused, "uh, can I get some clothes, though?"

Hotch scrambled off the bed to grab a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that looked like they would fit him, and politely turned away while Reid pulled them on.

"Let's go to the kitchen. I can make us some coffee." Reid's face lit up and he tried to follow Hotch out the door, only to collapse backwards when his legs buckled under him.

"Woah. That felt weird." He was grateful when Hotch appeared at his side to help him up. By the time they reached the kitchen, Reid had almost completely adjusted to walking on two legs, but he was still as wobbly as a newborn lamb.

He moaned in ecstasy at the first sip of the bitter caffeine drink. "Oh, coffee, how I've missed you." A thick eyebrow was raised at him. "So, what happened?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I…I don't know. The last thing I remember is the hospital, and not being able to breathe. I know that time has passed, obviously, we aren't at the hospital anymore, we're sitting in your kitchen, but, beyond that..."

"Reid…it's been a month since the hospital." The younger man gaped at him.

"A month?!"

"You went into cardiac arrest due to a pneumothorax and they had to perform surgery. When you woke up, you... weren't yourself anymore, you were just a fox." Reid scrubbed a fist over his face, looking pensive.

"The team?"

"Will be glad to have you back. You've been missed, Spencer." Hotch reached out to lay a supportive hand on the genius' shoulder and Reid responded with a grateful smile. They drained the rest of their coffees in silence. A glance at the clock told Hotch that it was almost the time when Jack would be getting up. "Are you tired?"

Reid shook his head, "um, not really." The blare of an alarm echoed through the apartment and made him jump. Hotch hurried to go shut if off.

"Jack'll be out soon, what would you like for breakfast?" He asked when he returned.

"Whatever's easiest," Reid shrugged, feeling just a bit overwhelmed. Hotch's reply was interrupted by a small voice from the hallway.

"Dad? What's for breakfast?" Jack shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. He caught sight of Reid and his mouth dropped open in surprise. "Spencer! You're back!" He rushed over and Reid leaned down to receive the massive hug. "You turned back."

Reid grinned, Jack's father just looked shell-shocked. He was laughed at by both of the younger males.

"You honestly expected Jack to not figure it out? He knew who I was from the first day I came home, Hotch. Even if he hadn't, I would have told him. He and Henry deserved to know." Hotch stared at him, then snorted and shook his head.

"Now I feel ridiculous."

"It's alright, Dad. No one can be as smart as Spencer," Jack said brightly, frowning in confusion when the adults burst into laughter.

"Thanks, Jack," Reid smiled, eyes aglow with amusement. His grin was distinctly fox-like.

The car ride to Quantico after dropping off Jack at school was plagued by silence, Hotch was quiet because he had no clue what to say, while Reid was trying to adjust to being human again. Walking into the bullpen, the team's reaction was instantaneous. JJ was the first to spot him and she raced over and planted a kiss on his cheek when she got close enough. Reid was swarmed by the mass of people, all smiling and hugging him fiercely, welcoming him back.

If Reid still had his tail, he'd be wagging it like mad.

A.N. And there we are! I hope it lived up to expectations, if not, well, there will be another alternate ending and hopefully a few deleted scenes to come. Leave a review if you liked it. Or even if you didn't, tell me what I could be doing better, I'd appreciate any feedback at all.