Lost In The Shadows

Hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor do I make any profit off of writing this.

SLASH WARNING : Hotch/Reid pairing

Chapter 2

It took the team a long time to soothe Reid enough to get him to sleep. But he woke a few hours later, demanding to know what time it was, and wanting to know when he could go home.

"Oh, shut UP!" Morgan groaned. "It's four forty, man! Go back to sleep!" Reid pouted, but flopped back down. A moment later, there was a warm breath on his cheek, followed by a gentle kiss.

"Shhh… Get some rest, Spencer." Hotch murmured, gently. And the man's hand gently stroked his hair. "I'll let you know the moment you can leave." Reid nodded and forced himself to relax. With Hotch stroking his hair lovingly, he drifted off to sleep again. When dawn arrived, the team moved about as silently as possible, wanting Reid to sleep as much as possible. But of course, all Hotch had to do was shift slightly in his chair and Reid was awake, hearing the team moving about and immediately demanding to know if he could go home yet.

Tired of hearing the question, Emily went to find the doctor. As soon as Dr. Morales came in for the day, he made Reid his first stop, and taking in the harassed looks of the agents, he pronounced Reid good to go. And so by nine am, Reid was sliding out of the bed, taking Hotch's hands and allowing the man to help him dress, change the bandages on his eyes and apply the eye drops. And finally, he stepped out of the hospital. He immediately sighed in relief as he felt the sun on his face and the wind in his hair. Hotch just smiled. He had his arm around the boy's waist to keep track of him and they were walking hip to hip. Reid pressed against the man as he took small, nervous steps.

"The car is about fifteen feet directly in front of you." Reid heard Rossi call. Grateful, the youngest of the team nodded and allowed Hotch to guide him.

"How's he doing?" Morgan called from the driver's seat.

"Hasn't stopped shaking since he got out of bed." Hotch replied. Reid frowned.

"What?"

"You're trembling."

"… I am?"

"Okay you're there." Rossi said, and he and Hotch assisted Reid in sliding into he SUV. Once they got him settled they were off, and within the hour they were piling out of the elevator and walking into the BAU.

"Hey guys!" JJ called. "Hey Spence!"

"Hi JJ." Reid smiled, turning his head in her direction. A moment later, there was a hand on his arm, warning him, and then she was hugging him.

"Are we playing pin the tail on the donkey? Or piñata?" A voice asked. Reid raised an eyebrow.

"Hi Kevin." He said to the Technical Analyst.

"OW!" Was Kevin's reply.

"No, we are NOT playing games." Garcia snapped, viciously. "Reid's hurt!" And Reid was briefly over washed by the scent of hairspray and perfume before he was enveloped in a great big Penelope Garcia Hug.

"Hi, Garcia." He mumbled into her blonde curls, grinning.

"Oh, baby…" She cooed, letting go and reaching out, placing her hand on his cheeks. "Your poor big beautiful brown eyes…" And she pulled his head down and kissed his forehead.

"Come on, Spence." JJ said, smiling and taking Reid's arm. "Help me go through some cases and pick one for the team. Always goes faster with help. I'll read them to you." And Reid smiled and nodded, allowing JJ to guide him down the hall and into her office.

"… Will he be okay?" Kevin asked, softly.

"Doctors say he has an 85% chance of a full recovery. But it will take a week or so." Hotch said.

"Oh. That's good. Right?"

Hotch poked his head into JJ's office and smiled. She was opening case files, telling Reid which case it was, and Reid would spout off a number between one and five, with one being the most pressing, five being the least. Judging by the stacks, it's looked like they had gone through all the files like this, and were now going through the stack of number ones, narrowing THOSE down even more with the same number scale.

"The Cotter family murders?" JJ asked. Hotch assumed that he had already heard the summaries of all of the cases and knew which ones she was talking about.

"… Three." Reid said calmly, then turned his head. "Someone's here." JJ looked up and smiled.

"Hey Hotch."

"Good afternoon. Lunch time."

"JJ." Reid said as if Hotch hadn't said anything. "I think we should present the Austin Serial case to the team." Hotch blinked.

"… I'll call in lunch then. We'll look it over while we eat."

"So… Wheels up in two, three hours?" Reid asked, smiling slightly. Hotch chuckled.

"Reid… Do you have a secret plan to undermine me and steal my position?" He asked. Reid grinned and stood, taking hesitant steps across the office towards Hotch's voice. Hotch smiled and moved to meet him, reaching out and laying a hand on Reid's face, giving the boy the silent signal to stop walking. Reid reached up and wrapped his arms around Hotch's neck, kissing him gently.

"Never, Aaron." The boy sighed.

"You two are so sweet…" JJ cooed, grinning.

"I'll have Garcia order in lunch." Hotch murmured.

The team sat around the table in the meeting room, all happily eating their lunches. Hotch and Garcia had parked themselves on either side of Reid. Hotch had intended to assist Reid with his lunch, but now he found himself fending off an over protective mothering Garcia, who at this particular moment seemed to find it necessary to wipe Reid's chin with a napkin when he got a bit of mayonnaise on himself, courtesy of the overly large bite he had just taken of his chicken salad sandwich. Embarrassed, Reid protested Garcia's coddling loudly, but no one could understand him with so much food in his mouth.

"Penelope…" Morgan finally sighed, grinning. "He's blind, not paralyzed! Let the man alone!" JJ and Emily exchanged amused glances as Garcia pouted, and Reid scooted his chair closer to Hotch so that they were shoulder to shoulder. Hotch smirked and took another bite of his Peppercorn Roast Beef sandwich, glancing at Garcia poking at her own Deviled Egg Salad. She was still watching Reid like a hawk through the corner of her eyes, ready to leap to his assistance should he need it.

"Okay." JJ said after they had all taken the edge off of their hunger and could focus on more than just food. "So, Spence and I both think that this case warrants our immediate attention. Austin, Texas. We have a serial killer with seven victims already. He's abducting women from relatively public places, taking them to an unknown location and rapes them repeatedly over a course of two to three days. Then he kills them by strangulation and dumps the bodies." There was a loud, crisp crunch as Reid bit into his pickle. The group stared at him. He paused and cocked his head slightly… it was as though he could feel their attention on him. He swallowed and casually waved his hand.

"This UnSub is able to get these women into his vehicle. There's no sign of any kind of blitz attack." He explained. JJ nodded to the team when they looked to her for confirmation of this. "I think he's a cop." Reid announced, suddenly.

"Why do you think that?" Rossi asked.

"Because two of the victims' cars were found abandoned on the side of the interstate." Reid explained. "He could be pulling them over. Flash the lights, they pull over, turn off the car… they'll get out of the car if they're told to do so. But all of the victims were out and about when they went missing. Their cars have all been located in parking lots that have NO security cameras. So he does his homework. He knows where and how to abduct women without being caught, or generating suspicion.

"Here's where we could get a break, though…" Reid continued. "Austin has traffic cameras. Garcia, could you check the areas around the abduction sites around the time of the abductions? See if you can find and identify any police vehicles."

"Sure thing, Junior G Man." She said, and Reid nodded, finishing his pickle and then blindly feeling around his takeout container. He perked up when he found another one, which Garcia had put there. Hotch raised an eyebrow when Morgan began to silently gesture, grinning, and one by one, the team passed over their pickles. Morgan reached over Garcia and silently deposited them before Reid.

"It should also be noted that all of the victims had marks around their wrists… they were handcuffed." Reid added, waving his hand again. Hotch leaned back as Reid's new pickle sailed by his ear.

"This UnSub has a type." JJ announced over the crunching of the pickle. "Women in their mid to late twenties, brunettes."

"And all of them were engaged." Reid chimed in, locating the pile of pickles. He frowned. "What the…? Oh, very funny." Morgan, Emily and JJ burst out laughing. Rossi and Hotch chuckled and Garcia pet Reid's hair.

"Sorry, kiddo." She cooed, giggling.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up." Reid snorted, batting at her hand. "I hope you don't expect me to give them back." And he snatched a pickle and crunched into it.

Rossi looked amused at that. "Anyway…" The man said, trying to get the team back on track.

Emily pulled the case file closer and looked over it. "So we're looking for a cop who probably was once engaged to a brunette in her mid twenties…"

"But the marriage never happened." Morgan mumbled around his sandwich. "The question is why."

"She could have died…" JJ offered. Morgan shook his head.

"I don't see this guy becoming a rapist and murderer over that. Suicidal, yeah, but…"

"If she was sick…" Rossi offered, "He would have known that it was coming and probably been at least a bit prepared mentally. If it happened suddenly, like an accident, I don't think he would got after a victim that resembles the one he lost. If she were, say, hit by a car, he would go after someone who had something in common with the one that hit her. Like target someone with a specific car type, or someone who shared physical characteristics… No, for him to go after this type of victim, his anger is directed AT his ex."

"… She probably dumped him, then." Emily agreed, nodding. "Maybe… called off the engagement and broke up with him. And she probably cut him off." JJ blinked and looked down when her phone buzzed.

"If these victims are a substitute," Rossi sighed, leaning back, "It's only a matter of time before he goes after the real thing."

"I agree." Hotch finally spoke up. "JJ, tell Austin PD we're coming."

"Good." JJ said, looking up at the team with a grim look. "They just found another body this morning. And another woman fitting the victim type has already gone missing."

Hotch's eyes darkened. "Wheels up in thirty."

Morgan sat with his head in his headphones, staring across the plane and watching Hotch and Reid. Hotch was looking over the case file, studying everything. Reid, frustrated that he couldn't examine the crime scene photos, had flopped down across the couch and lounged with his head in Hotch's lap. Hotch had his hand gently rubbing circles over Reid's back, and with this simple gesture he had managed to lull the pouting boy to sleep.

"He's gonna be spending a lot of time sleeping, isn't he?" JJ said, turning to Emily. Emily smiled sadly, looking over Reid.

"For lack of anything better to do, yeah. Probably."

"Being blind doesn't mean that he can't… I dunno… LIVE." JJ pointed out.

"It just happened, JJ." Emily replied. "He's frustrated and upset and doesn't know what do with himself. And I would rather listen to those cute little noises he makes in his sleep that listen to him bitch when he's awake."

"Emily!" JJ gasped in mock horror. Emily just shrugged and Morgan lowered his headphones, grinning.

"Sorry JJ, but the boy WHINES." Morgan confirmed, and Rossi chuckled.

Hotch glanced at the women and smirked, before glancing down at Reid. His amused smile faded. Reid's brow was furrowed and he was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists; he was awake. And he had heard what the others were saying.

A moment later, they heard a beep from the laptop set up on the card table and Garcia appeared.

"Garcia, you have something for us?" Rossi asked, turning to look at her.

"I'm not sure." The woman said, sounding disappointed… like she didn't want to let them down. "So, I checked the footage on the streets around the assumed times of the abductions. Problem is… we don't HAVE an exact time on any of them. Smallest window is about an hour. Largest is almost twenty four hours. I have… a LOT of cops on camera. Some of the cars I can get an identifying feature on, some I couldn't. There are four cars that I saw more than once, but not ONE of them appeared more than twice. So I really didn't find you anything. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, gorgeous." Morgan said, smiling at her. "Just send us what you DID get."

"Faxing it to you right now." Garcia said, hitting a button on her keyboard and looking at Morgan with a pout. A moment later, she disappeared from the screen as the connection was terminated.

"Well, hopefully we'll be able to get more information when we get set up." Hotch sighed, looking down at Reid and beginning to rub the boy's back once more, trying to soothe him into sleep again…

Police Chief Joelle Sansonne stood leaning against the front of the black SUV, watching the small jet carrying the Behavioral Analysis Unit taxi across the tarmac towards her. It slowed to a stop and sat there, still and silent. A moment later, the door opened and the stairs folded down and a young blonde stepped off of the plane, followed by an older man with a beard. He was followed by a smiling brunette, who looked over her shoulder at a laughing dark skinned man.

"Derek Morgan, I swear!" She was all but shouting.

"I ain't tellin' you, Prentiss, leave it alone!" The man laughed. A moment later, another man slowly stepped out of the plane backwards. Agent Sansonne frowned and watched the man back down the steps, leading a tall lanky young man by the hands. The boy's eyes were bandaged. Once his feet were on the ground, the boy reached out and laid a hand on the shoulder of the man, and with this as his guide he followed him over to the SUV.

"Chief Sansonne?" JJ called as the group walked over. Chief Sansonne smiled and nodded, reaching out and shaking JJ's hand.

"I'm Agent Jareau." JJ said. "Thank you for coming to pick us up."

"I thought you would want to go straight to the crime scene." Chief Sansonne said.

"Please." Rossi responded.

"This is SSA David Rossi." JJ announced, beginning introductions. "SSA Derek Morgan, SSA Emily Prentiss, Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner, and that is Dr. Spencer Reid." Chief Sansonne watched as Dr. Reid bowed his head slightly, and almost seemed to try and hide behind the Unit Chief. The woman couldn't help but smile at the nervous young man.

"If it would be alright," Agent Hotchner said, "I want Agents Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi to go to the crime scene with you. I would like to take JJ and Dr. Reid with me to get set up at the station."

"Officer Cote will take you." She said gesturing to the man standing by the other car. The man nodded.

"Thank you." Hotch said, and he and JJ walked over to the vehicle. JJ slid into the front seat and Hotch helped Reid into the back. The officer drove them to the station in downtown Austin and the officers all paused their work, looking up and watching JJ walk in with Agent Cote. Behind them came Hotch, Reid following closely with his hand his superior's shoulder. The cops all looked confused at that… a blind FBI Agent? There must have been exceptional circumstances… maybe there was more to profiling than they thought. Wait… Holy SHIT! The blind kid was carrying a GUN?

Reid shuffled after Hotch, keeping his head down. He could feel the stares of the officers around him… A moment later, he sensed passing through a doorway and into a room. He liked it here. It was quiet here. Hotch guided him over to a chair.

"You okay?" He asked. Reid nodded.

"A little upset, but…"

"Why?" JJ asked, walking over.

"We're in Austin!" Reid cried. "In the summer!"

"And?" JJ asked. "all that means to me is that it will be nauseatingly hot."

"I want to see the bats!" Reid cried.

"… The bats?" Hotch asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ever summer, a colony of Mexican Freetail Bats come and live here under the Congress Avenue Bridge over the Colorado River right in the middle of Downtown!" Reid announced. "The colony consists of over one and a half million bats! And at dusk, you can go down to the riverside and watch them come out to feed in this massive cloud! They consume anywhere from ten to thirty THOUSAND POUNDS of insects EVERY NIGHT! They're the largest urban population of bats in the world, and a huge tourist attraction! And Austin is the Live Music Capital of the United States! And I want to see the State Capitol!" Reid continued.

A couple of officers were standing in the doorway, watching Reid with amused looks on their faces, especially when they saw the affectionate grins on the faces of the other two agents. "It was completed in 1888 and it's architecture is based off of a Renaissance Revival, mimicking the architecture from 15th century Italy. And its construction was paid for in land, not money; Three MILLION acres in the panhandle, actually. Did you know that the Capitol Building in DC is BIGGER than the Texas State Capitol Building, but the Texas State Capitol Building is fifteen feet HIGHER? But the Texas Capitol is bigger than any other state Capitol. And did you know that the Texas Capitol Building is made out of sunset red granite quarried only fifty miles away? It's PINK! It's on one of the highest points in Austin, and there are actually state laws set up to prevent obscuring the view of the dome from certain vantage points around Austin." Reid stopped at a couple of snorts and snickers in the doorway. Hotch and JJ looked up at the numerous officers. The one in front was very young, and was on crutches.

"Sorry…" The young man gasped when Reid turned his head towards the door. He hobbled in and Reid cocked his head, listening to the sound of the crutches. "Uh… you know a lot about us for a non-Austinite."

"He knows a lot about EVERYTHING." JJ said with an affectionate grin. She reached out and ruffled Reid's hair. Hotch gripped his agent's shoulder.

"Well… when you get your eyesight back, maybe we can see those things." The man said, and Reid nodded slightly. "Right now we have to figure out how you're going to help us. With you out of commission, I'm going to need JJ out in the field doing interviews. I guess we can take turns coming in and reporting these things to you…"

"Could Garcia call in and read me some details?" Reid asked.

"I think I have a solution." A man called, walking in. "Officer Lestrap." He shook Hotch's hand. "Our Rookie here, my partner…" And he pat the shoulder of the young man on crutches, "broke his leg and has been going crazy. He needs something to do. Could he read information to your agent?"

"I can do that!" The young man blurted, nodding his head eagerly.

"Reid?" Hotch asked, looking down at his subordinate.

"Are you good at verbally describing crime scene photos?" Reid asked after a moment. The young officer blinked.

"I dunno. How about I describe a few to you and you tell me if I'm any good." He offered. Reid paused, then grinned.

"… Pull up a chair." The FBI genius said, and the young officer grinned and scrambled to do so. JJ smiled at Hotch.

"That solves that problem." She said.

"Reid, we're going out to join the others and check out the other dump sites." Hotch said.

"Okay!" Reid called, waving in their direction. JJ and Hotch left, listening to the young officer talk excitedly.

"I'm officer Singleton." He was saying. "Call me D.J. Where do you want to start?"

"… With a map of the city." Reid said. "Can you get me little stickers in different shapes or thumbtacks or something?"

"Sure!"

"Stickers?" JJ asked.

"I dunno…" Hotch shrugged.

Next time, the team gets to work and with DJ's help, Reid manages to do more to help than the team ever thought he could.

And check out the next chapter in 'Unexpectedly Expecting'!

And I'm trying to make some decisions about where to take them later down the road... And I want to know what you think! Check out the Poll I have up on my profile!

AND! Check out the teaser that's in my profile for the AU fic that will be coming up after 'Unexpectedly Expecting'!