Author's note: This story was originally by queenofthelooneybin, however she gave up on it in favor of an alternate redux version. She graciously allowed me pick up where she left off (chapter 14) because I just couldn't let this story go. This is her work with only minor alteration by myself. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

There were only six little soldiers left in the pack. Cutler stared at the crumpled cigarette packet at the bottom of her purse. Which had a Guns and Roses pin on it. She took it off and threw it in the trash bin. Back in Phoenix, they didn't care that she smoked, cursed at suspects and listened to Nirvana and Guns and Roses while they drove from scene to scene. Yet again, Quantico was an entirely different animal. It had been what…five years since she had been here. Yeah, five. Her training days, then she had demanded to be sent right back home. Then, she had decided to join the BAU. It made her feel smarter already. She thought that learning the whys of depravity would help her sleep. She had been for a new record this time. 36 hours without sleep. Makeup covered the dark circles under her eyes and she wanted to be clutching a cup of coffee almost as big as her leg. Cutler knew she looked like she was sixteen, seventeen on a good day. In reality she was twenty-seven. Today she hoped it was a bad day. In the past, she had been mistaken for a Girl Scout, intern and on one really weird day, a hooker. Yet again, she had been undercover. Still, being mistaken for a desert whore made any day a bad/weird day.

"Hey," her bedfellow said softly. "You're up early."

"I know," Cutler whispered and looked down at him. She swept a strand of his hair behind his ear. He was so sweet; it made her want to cry. After over a year of dancing around each other, they had fallen into his bed. No sex, but just lying wrapped up in each other, muttering sweet, drunken nothings. "I have to go home."

"Cutler, you have some clothes here," Reid said.

"I need to shower," Cutler found another reason.

"I have a shower."

"I want to go."

"Why?"

"Because. This never happened."

"But it did." Reid stared at his quasi-lover, who wore only a skirt and her white and purple bra, since her shirt was under his pillow. Cutler had joined their team a year and a half ago, just after the case in New York City, where Hotch had nearly been blown up. Cutler was pretty much 'Reid with boobs and rocker girl flair' as Garcia had put it. Her iPod was pretty much her child and Reid had listened to it with her a couple dozen times, and grew to enjoy those moments on the plane where it was just them awake and they were listening to Nirvana or Janis Joplin. She would fall asleep on his shoulder and he would rest his head on hers as he drifted off.

Garcia wanted this to happen, bad. She thought they were cuter than a basket of puppies. So, everyone but JJ, Rossi and Hotch had gone for drinks the night before and after a lot of shots, Cutler had been no shape to go home.

So, Reid had taken her to his.

At the bar, they had played a drinking game that revolved around Cutler. The only people who knew her first name were Hotch, JJ and Strauss. For some reason, Cutler wouldn't admit it. So, they guessed and did shots. Not the most complex game, but it was fun. Reid had chosen to not play and read a book instead. Not that he had planned to drag a drunk, singing Cutler into his car and apartment. His neighbor had yelled at him as while Reid searched for his key, Cutler sang 'I Wanna Be Sedated'. Except she only knew the chorus and was focused on the 'bam' bits.

"Cutler," he reached for her and she grabbed her shirt.

"Reid. We can't. I'm sorry." She bent down to kiss him on the forehead. Another one of her quirks was that she never undid her low ponytail, her almost white hair tied behind her ears. "You're amazing Spence." Her dark gray eyes glittered for a moment. "But, the job takes priority."

"So? We can still do our jobs." Reid pointed out.

"Whatever this is, it can be used to hurt us," Cutler retorted.

"I won't let anyone hurt you."

"You were shot less than a year ago Reid! I was there!"

"That's not the point!"

"Yes it is! If I lose you, then what I do have left?"

Cutler jerked on her shoes and almost fell over the sheets. Reid watched her leave, his heart heavy. Then he remembered the worst part.

He had to see her again in two hours.