Title: It's Not Too Late

Author: heyya15965

Rating: T

Warnings: Drug use

Pairings: None

Note: This story popped in to my head while I was atching...I believe the episode was Ashes and Dust. Reid talks about how the arsonist is like a drug addic and won't be able to stop without help. This is my very first time publishing a story. Please review and tell me if you liked it. I hope you do. I had fun writing it.

It's Not Too Late

It was late and the bullpen of the BAU was fairly quiet. Everyone who was there was silently working on their paperwork. Morgan sat back with a sigh, rubbing his hands over his head. He looked over at Reid's desk and chuckled. That kid had been gone for about an hour already.

"I wish I could get through my files as fast as him. I even slipped a few of mine in to his pile!" he exclaimed.

Prentiss laughed as she stood up, "I know. I gave him some of mine too. But I'm done, so I'm going home. Have a good night.

"You too. See you tomorrow."

Prentiss waved, and then was gone. Morgan groaned and bent to his work again.

"Dang it!" he cried.

His pen had run out of in. He glanced around, stood up, and walked to Reid's desk looking for another pen. He pulled open the top drawer of the desk. The first thing he noticed was a folded piece of paper that looked like it had seen better days. It was wrinkled, stained, and seemed to have been crumpled many times.

It's none of my business. Morgan thought. I shouldn't violate Reid's privacy like that.

He stood staring at the paper for a few minutes. There was something about it that seemed important. It was almost as if it was calling to him. He looked around once more. Everyone in the bullpen was gone. He remembered seeing JJ leave earlier. Hotch and Giddeon were still there, of course, but they were holed up in their offices. He slowly pulled the folded paper out of Reid's desk and opened it up. His eyes went over the words as he felt panic rising in his chest. He ran to Hotch's office and barged in. Hotch looked up, slightly annoyed. Morgan waved the paper in front of him.

"I'm going to Reid's." he said.

"Ok?" Hotch asked.

"He's not ok, Hotch. He asked for help. We ignored him or told him he could handle it. He couldn't and he knew it."

Morgan sat the paper on Hotch's desk.

"I'll call you when I get there" Morgan called over his shoulder as he left.

The drive to Reid's seemed to take forever His mind couldn't stop re-reading Reid's letter – his suicide note.

I'm sorry. I tried. I really tried. I asked for help.
No one would help me. I said I was struggling.
I was told I could handle it. I even went to meetings,
but it wasn't the support I needed. I tried to be strong.
I wasn't strong enough. I always needed more. I knew
that eventually I would take too much, and that would
be it. I'm so sorry. I was never strong enough. Please
don't blame yourselves. This was my problem. Know
that I do love you – all of you. You are my family.
Again, I'm so sorry I failed you.

Spencer

"Damn it!" Morgan said, hitting the steering wheel.

He knew Reid was struggling. He had seen the signs. He even tried to talk to him about it. He should have tried harder. If he had pushed hard enough Reid would've talked, but he didn't. Now it might be too late.

"Please, don't let it be too late" he prayed.

He pulled his car in to the parking lot of Reid's apartment complex and bolted to the third floor, stopping in front of Reid's door. He knocked loudly. No response.

"Reid?" he asked, knocking harder. "It's Morgan"

Still nothing.

"Morgan frantically pounded on the door, yelling "Reid! Come on, kid, open up. I know you're in there, man."

Absolutely nothing. He fumbled with his keys, looking for the key to Reid's apartment. Finding it, he burst in to the living room. A lamp was on, along with the TV, but no Reid.

"Reid?" he called, walking further in to the room.

Reid didn't answer. Complete silence. So much silence, in fact, that it was overwhelming. Morgan could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

Please, God, don't let me find him gone.

He noticed a light coming from a room down the hall. He quickly moved toward it. Finally, he stood in the doorway of the bathroom. The sight before him was paralyzing.

"No" he whispered.

Reid was slumped against the wall, completely out. The tourniquet still tied tightly around his arm. The syringe had rolled out of his hand and across the tile floor. The vial of Dilaudid sat next to his leg, empty.

Suddenly, Morgan moved. He flipped open his phone, calling 911, as he knelt beside Reid .

"911, what's your emergency?"

"This is SSA Derek Morgan with the FBI. I am at the home of SSA Dr. Spencer Reid. He's overdosed on Dilaudid" Morgan said quickly.

"I'm sending help now. How old is he?"

"He – he's – ah – 25"

"Does he have a pulse, sir?"

Morgan placed two fingers on Reid's neck.

"Yes, barely, but yes, he does have one"

"Is he breathing?"

Morgan bent close.

"He's breathing. Short, erratic breaths"

"Alright, sir, thank you"

He didn't hear the medics come in. He didn't hear them asking him to move. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the nearly lifeless body of his baby brother.

"Sir! You need to move so we can help him!" the medic said loudly, pulling Morgan out of the way.

Suddenly, Morgan's phone rang, pulling him back to reality.

"Morgan" he answered, lifelessly.

"Did you find him?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah, I found him"

"And? Is he ok?"

"No, Hotch, he – he overdosed. The medics are working on him now"

"Morgan, I'll meet you at the hospital" Hotch said, hanging up.

By the time the phone call ended Reid had an oxygen mask on and an IV in his arm.

"Is he going to be ok?" Morgan asked.

"Hopefully. We won't know for sure until we get him to the hospital. He's quite skinny, so the drug would have worked faster" one of the medics replied.

Morgan nodded as they placed Reid on a stretcher and carried him out.

By the time Morgan got to the ER, the worried faces of Hotch, Giddeon, and Garcia were waiting for him.

"JJ and Prentiss are on their way" Hotch said when Morgan was near enough.

Morgan nodded.

"Hotch," he said, still scared. "The medics don't know if he'll make it. He was barely breathing. The vial was empty. It was horrible seeing him so broken – so lifeless"

JJ and Prentiss joined them, identical looks of worry on their faces.

"How is he?" Prentiss asked.

Morgan shook his head, "Not good"

"Why didn't we help him?" JJ asked, near tears. "We all knew something was wrong, but we just ignored it"

"The way we handled it was wrong" Hotch sighed. "Hopefully, we will have a chance to make it right. We'll be there to support him this time"

Everyone nodded, solemnly, in agreement

"We have to be there for our baby boy. He's part of our family" Garcia whispered.

"And no matter what," Hotch added, sternly. "This cannot get back to Strauss. He needs his job. His mom, us, and his job are the only things he has"

After an hour of waiting and pacing, a doctor finally called Reid's name.

"How is he?" Morgan asked.

"We flushed the majority of the Dilaudid out of his system. He should be fine for now. We're going to keep him overnight, though, for observation" the doctor said.

"Is – is he awake? Can we see him?" JJ wondered.

"Yes, he's awake. He's very tired, so don't stay too long. I think he'd like company, though"

The team gathered around Reid's hospital bed. He looked so weak sitting there.

"Hey, Pretty Boy. How ya doin'?" Morgan asked softly.

Reid stared at his hands as tears fell silently down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered.

"So are we, Spence. We weren't there for you when you needed us the most" JJ replied.

Reid shook his head, "How'd I get here?"

"Ambulance" Morgan answered. "I found your note in your desk, so I went to your house. I found you in your bathroom.

"Oh" was the only reply.

Reid's whole body tensed as he looked at Hotch. "I'm fired, aren't I?"

Hotch's face softened. "No. We're going to ignore this incident"

"But," Morgan cut in. "We're not going to ignore the fact that you have a serious problem, Reid. You could have died. We all realize that ignoring it was wrong. We're sorry, but we're here now. We'll help and support you like a family should if you'll let us. Is it too late to let us help you?"

Suddenly very tired, Reid lay down and closed his eyes. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't have to do this alone anymore. He smiled softly as tears began to fall again.

"Thank you" he said, as sleep threatened to take him. "It's not too late"

With that he fell in to a peaceful sleep. He knew he was going to be ok now. His family would be with him, supporting and helping him, every step of the way.

I am going to be ok.