Welcome back to another chapter! Whoever decides to actually read this... Anyways, if anyone has any tips on how to draw in readers, please let me know. It's weird, it's like with every other story I draw in readers. I don't know how to fix it. Is it the summary? The prologue/first chapter? It's frustrating. Hopefully you enjoy this, to whoever reads it.
Summary-His life had been ripped from his heart right then and there. The second he saw the love of his life fall to the floor, his whole world shattered. But let's start at the beginning, shall we? Where the first hopes of love started blossoming, becoming real instead of dreams. Back to that case where it all began, where it all ended. Right before their eyes.
Relationships- Reid/Morgan, JJ/Will, Garcia/Kevin, pretty much all the canon relationships (except for R/M).
Rated: M, just to be safe
WARNING: THERE IS DETAILS ABOUT SELF HARM, MINOR DETAILS ABOUT RAPE, TORTURE, ABUSE, ADULT LANGUAGE, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds!
Chapter 1: One After Another
Reid jolted awake from where he lay on the cold floor. The sound of the slamming front door rang throughout the quiet apartment, sending shivers up Reid's spine as his breath catches in his throat. He lay completely still, unsure of what to do or what had even happened that night. So, going back on his training, he decides to shut his eyes and try to remember.
It had been a long case, about two weeks and one day to be exact. They had gotten back to Quantico at around ten at night, and they were all more than ready to go home. Especially Reid, since he knew that his boyfriend had wanted him home two weeks and one day ago. He knew that James would be angry.
The others had asked if he was okay, though he brushed them off saying that he was tired and that he just wanted to see James. None of them knew about the harsh abuse he goes through almost daily, though it isn't their fault. Reid doesn't tell.
When he had gotten home James had instantly shoved him against the wall, slamming the door shut. He had slapped Reid around a little bit before calling over his 'friends', though they weren't really considered friends. Just some druggies he had picked off the street to get high with, he stayed in touch with them.
It had been loud and the neighbors had complained constantly, even threatened to call the cops. That didn't stop James and his druggie friends as they went at it almost all night, abusing Reid's already exhausted body to the point of passing out. He didn't know what they did to him after passing out, though from the feeling of sore muscles, it wasn't good.
"Whore!" An angry voice shouts from the bedroom making Reid let out a quiet whimper of surprise. Despite the soreness of his body, and a few probably cracked ribs, he stands up. The cold air makes him shiver as he slightly limps down the hallway to see James sitting on the edge of the bed, naked. Just like Reid was.
"Y-yes?" Reid stutters, looking down at the floor, at the walls, anywhere but James. He couldn't, looking at James terrified him. James would most likely take it as a threat to his power over Reid, and then all hell would break lose. It had happened three times already. And those three times Reid had to go to one of those hospitals who doesn't report things. Where all the other abused victims go.
"When are you going to work?" James asks as he stands up, walking over to Reid.
"A few...a few hours."
"Good, then we have some time." James says as he stops just a few inches from Reid. He pushes the other against the wall, smirking at the grunt of pain from Reid as his bruised back his hit against the wall. He tenses when he feels a strong grip on his jaw, though not strong enough to bruise. James is smart, not as smart as Reid, but smart. At least when it comes to abuse. He doesn't hurt Reid anywhere where it's visible. Except for the three times Reid had been to the hospital.
Reid feels his stomach twist as James leans forwards, biting down on the side of his neck. This sends little pinpricks of pain down Reid's neck and shoulder, making him shudder. He feels James's hands roaming his body, almost greedily as James rubs up against him.
He fights back the disgust as he hears James moan in his hear. He winces as James grabs his hips, squeezing the already bruised area, adding to the bruises. But he can't protest, that'll get him beat. A lot. And he already has a limp, he doesn't need to intensify it.
So he goes along, giving James whatever he wants. He feels disgusted with himself for even letting it get this far. And really, there isn't any good explanation for this. No reason this should have ever happened. He was the one who chose to stay, that's on him. That makes Reid feel even worse.
The pressure from James is what brings him back from his mind. He glances down to see James trying to melt into Reid as he is getting more and more intimate about the whole thing. Meanwhile Reid is just standing there, looking dumb as he allows James to bite at his neck.
"You better start doing something or else I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able to walk for weeks." James hisses heavily in Reid's ear, biting on his earlobe. Reid lets out a whimper as he reaches out and strokes James's hard member, tears welling up in his eyes as he tries not to push James away.
The bile rises in his throat but he pushes it away and continues what he's doing, earning moans from James. At least he's busy with this instead of abusing Reid, that's...something. It isn't good, but it's at least...something other than the abuse Reid is normally put through the morning after an intense night light last night.
"Let's take this to the bedroom," James growls as he pulls Reid from the wall. He pushes Reid forwards, causing the other to stumble but he quickly catches himself. He walks into the bedroom, watching as James shuts the door. He then stands still as James walks towards him, pushing him back onto the bed with such force that Reid feels his head jerk slightly.
Without any warning James turns Reid over onto his stomach and pulls him up so that his behind his raised, legs spread. Reid bites his lip as he grips the sheets, feeling James rub him. He lets out another whimper as James enters him, staying still as James begins to thrust. Painfully fast.
Reid only shuts his eyes and bites his tongue, keeping quiet. Just waiting for it to be over with. Desperately wanting to leave and just get to the BAU, to get away from James.
"Hey Morgan?" Prentiss asks as she stops beside his desk. Morgan had been glaring down at a file and hadn't noticed her standing there until she had decided to say something.
"Something up?" Morgan asks as he looks up at her, a troubled frown pulling at her lips, eyebrows slightly furrowed as she looks at something else ahead of her.
"Yeah, look at Reid," she says, gesturing with her head towards the glass doors. Morgan turns in his swivel chair to see Reid approach the glass doors, pushing one open.
At first Morgan can't see what Prentiss is concerned about, Reid looks normal. But as the young genius gets closer, Morgan can see the small changes, that aren't actually small at all.
Reid has a small limp. Not very noticeable, if you aren't looking. The normal darkness around his eyes is even more defined, and he looks like he hadn't slept for weeks. His hair is wet, probably from a shower, and his clothes are slightly ruffled, wrinkled. His eyes look haunted, lost, but they also held an unfamiliar fear. Something that Morgan wasn't used to seeing, since Reid is a pretty strong person.
"Reid?" Morgan asks as the genius sits down at his own desk with a wince. Something was definitely up, and he was determined to figure out what was bothering Reid so much. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Reid answers briskly, not looking up at the two who just stare at him with a raised eyebrow. Reid wasn't a very good liar, he never had been and never will. The way his voice slightly shook, the lack of eye contact, the shifting of weight in his seat, it spoke lie all over the I'm fine.
"Rough night?" Prentiss asks as she walks back over to her own desk, sitting down. Reid doesn't respond, he just flips through a file that he's looking through. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Ooh, pretty boy had some lovin'-" Morgan starts but one sharp glare from Reid shuts him up. It's surprising, to say the least. Usually Reid just brushes off their teasing, even laughing along with them a couple times. Morgan never expected to be glared at, especially by Reid. The least most aggressive person on the team.
Before Morgan could look into it, a familiar clicking of heels against carpet alert them of Garcia walking across the balcony that overlooked the bull pin. The three look up to see her quickly walking by.
"We've got a case," she calls out as she continues walking, not even stopping.
"Already?" Prentiss asks, raising an eyebrow. "That was fast. Especially since we literally just got back from another one."
"You aren't growing soft, now are you Prentiss?" Morgan jokes as the three stand up.
"You wish," Prentiss laughs as they head to the conference room where Rossi, Hotch, JJ, and Garcia are all waiting. They all have serious looks on their faces, even JJ.
"Everyone have a seat," Hotch says as he stands beside Garcia, next to the large monitor that already supported four people. All of them male, with bright smiles on their faces. All of them white.
"What's goin' on?" Morgan asks as he sits down beside Reid. He wanted to keep an eye on the younger profiler, to make sure that everything was okay. Reid seems annoyed by this and shifts away from Morgan, which only causes Morgan to feel even more confused, and a little hurt.
"The Local Portland Police department called me this morning," Hotch says calmly though his voice has a hint of authority to it. "There is a serial killer who has killed four people within the last three weeks. The latest victim was killed forty eight hours ago."
"The first victim was named Kyle Jennings," Garcia says, taking over for Hotch. "He was a twenty three year old going to collage. He had good grades, a good history, a good life in general. His boyfriend reported him missing twenty four hours before he was killed."
"The second victim was named Tommie Nickson, a twenty eight year old fast food worker. He had just recently hit his one year mark of being clean from drugs. And, like the first one, his boyfriend reported him missing twenty four hours before he showed up dead."
"The third victim was named Luke Jackson, a twenty seven year old teacher. He's had a few tickets for speeding, but other than that his record is clean. He was going to get married to his fiance, Robert Thomas, but he was reported missing by Robert twenty four hours before he turned up dead. Like the first two."
"The last victim was named Martin Kennings, a twenty seven year old mechanic. A drinker, having a few charges for boyfriend abuse. His current boyfriend reported him missing forty eight hours after being found dead at a park bench."
"So all of them were gay?" Prentiss asks, looking up from the files.
"Yes, all four victims were gay." Hotch answers as Garcia pulls up the crime scene photos of all four men. "The MO is consistently the same, as well. Harsh beatings before a fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen. Each victim had bled out within minutes."
"That's harsh," Morgan comments as he looks at the pictures. "Definitely the same guy. So when do we leave?"
"That's the thing," Rossi says as he gets their attention. Throughout the whole thing JJ and Rossi had been quiet, as if they knew something. Reid had been quiet to, though Morgan doubted it was because of the case. "That's going to be a little...curious."
"What do you mean 'curious'?" Morgan asks, raising an eyebrow. Reid glances up at Rossi for a split second before looking back down, almost as if he was afraid of making eye contact. Morgan pretended not to notice, and he could tell the others had as well. Even Garcia, who was frowning slightly.
"The only way to catch this guy is in the act," Hotch says, taking the lead in the explanation again. "He's too good, even the first time. So, two people have to go undercover and pretend to be a gay couple to catch this guy's attention."
"Who?" Prentiss asks as she looks around at the faces.
"One of us."
Reid's eyes snap up and he stares at Hotch's face, almost scared. He clears his throat and tries to speak as calmly as possible. "I guess it makes sense, since we are skilled at noticing if we're being stalked."
"That's exactly the reason," Hotch says with a nod. "Which is why I've decided to send both you and Morgan."
Reid choked on his spit. His eyes widened and he felt his chest burn in a mix between guilty excitement and fear. Him, pretending to be Morgan's boyfriend? Now that was just asking too much.
Of course, half of it was because he was dating James. He doesn't want to anger him, but the other part of him is because he actually has feelings for Morgan. Feelings that have been there for a long, long time. Ever since he had first seen Morgan.
"Excuse me?" Morgan asks, leaning forwards. "You want both me and Reid to go undercover as a couple?"
"Yes," Hotch answers with a nod. "Prentiss and JJ can't go, they're women. The unsub is looking for males. That leaves out Rossi and I since we are over the age limit of this unsub. That leaves you and Reid."
"Spence? You okay?" JJ asks, noticing the severe uncomfortable look on Reid's face. He looked like he had paled even more, if it was possible.
"Yeah-yeah I'm fine." Reid answers as he looks down at his lap. "Just...does it have to be Morgan? I get why you're sending me, I'm the closes to his age range. But can't you send someone else? Someone from the police force? Another agent perhaps?"
"Reid, you'll be safe with Morgan," Rossi points out. "Besides, it'll bring more attention to you since, you know, the different races and all."
"I can care for myself," Reid snaps heatedly as he shoots a glare at Rossi. "I don't need to be protected, I'm more than capable-"
"That's not what Rossi meant," Garcia quickly says, stopping Reid from any more ranting. "It's just that we would be more comfortable if you were with one of us than some...person we don't know."
"Besides, you'll be protecting Morgan as well." Hotch adds, noticing the tensing of Reid's shoulders. "Both of you will be looking out for each other."
"This'll be fun," Morgan comments with a smirk shot at Reid. "Come on pretty boy, it can't be too bad. It's just going to be-how long are we going to be a 'couple'?"
"Half a month to a month." JJ answers, glancing at Hotch who nodded. "Give or take."
Reid felt his stomach twist painfully with anxiety. It was hard enough being away from James for more than a day, a whole month would definitely get him another hospital visit. Or it might just send James over the edge to the breaking point.
"When...when do we start?" Reid asks after taking a deep breath to calm his racing thoughts. He can't have the others thinking that something is wrong, they would get suspicious. And that's the last thing he wants.
"Tomorrow," Hotch answers stoically. "The rest of us will all take the jet today, while Reid and Morgan, you will take a normal flight. We don't want to risk anything."
"Lucky us," Morgan groans as he leans back in his chair. "So, how are we gonna draw this guy out?"
"By being gay," Garcia comments with a stifled giggle. "How else?"
"So we act all lovey dovey to one another and it'll draw him out?" Morgan asks, raising an eyebrow as he glances at Reid who was looking around the room.
"It should," Hotch answers with a nod. "All of us will be keeping a close eye on you. There are cameras set up on the outside of the house so Garcia can see who gets too close."
"And on the inside of the house?" Reid asks, clearing his throat as he sits up. He had to act professional, now was not the time to be worrying about James.
"The unsub has that covered." Rossi replies sarcastically as he takes a sip from his coffee. Garcia has access though, so don't worry too much."
"Now, about what you will be doing." Hotch says as he looks back at Reid and Morgan. "You will have fake names, though we decided to let you keep your first names. Morgan, you will be Derek Thomson. Reid, you will be Spencer Hillman. You two have been dating for a year now and you've decided to move to Portland to get a fresh start."
"Jobs?" Morgan asks, glancing at Reid again to see him looking down at the file again. "Or are we going to be collage students?"
"You won't have jobs," Hotch answers calmly. "You will do volunteer work. Meaning that you will help out at the animal shelters, give homeless people money, things like that. We want to catch this guy's attention."
"And I'm guessing that we'll need to go out a lot?" Morgan asks with amusement sparkling in his eyes.
"Yes."
"Anything...anything else?" Reid asks as he glances up at Hotch.
"No, but watch out for one another." Hotch answers as his gaze sweeps around the room. "This guy strikes when the couples are split up. That means you can't let each other out of your sight at all for more than a few minutes. This way the unsub might get angry and lash out. That's how we'll catch him. Wheels up in thirty."