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Good Friends
Chapter Three: Professor Reid
By Ann Parker
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Reid found himself actually having a good time, laughing even. The group of them had wandered out to the garage after eating. He was currently challenging Larry to a game of air hockey. He was winning at the moment, something which was annoying Larry.
"See, now, I think you have an unfair advantage," Larry commented as he picked up the puck from Reid's last goal.
"How so?" he asked, waiting for Larry to make his move.
"Because you can easily apply both geometry and physics," Larry countered as he struck the puck. Reid watched it move towards him and quickly struck it so it would bounce off the walls twice before slipping into the goal.
Reid smiled, "It's not like you can't do that either. You're just upset because I'm winning."
"Yeah, Larry, I've never seen you this off your game," teased Amita. Her and Charlie were sitting on the desk near the table watching the game. Charlie had his arm around her shoulder and Reid could tell that they weren't overly interested in the game. He was glad to see Charlie had found someone. He turned back to Larry when he mumbled something that none of them could make out and continued the game. They continued for a few more minutes, each scoring a few times, until Reid got the game winning point.
"That's it, I quit," stated Larry, setting down his mallet and walking away from the table. The others all chuckled slightly. Reid took a sip of his soda, electing not to drink anything harder tonight. He probably shouldn't since he was still taking a few pain pills for his foot and bruised ribs. When he got checked out after being rescued, the doctors had found the Diluadid in his system. After careful consideration, they had allowed him to take some mild painkillers after it was completely out of his system. Thankfully, his injuries actually weren't bothering him too much right now. It made it even less tempting to reach for the stronger drugs he carried with him. He leaned against the table and turned to the others.
"Any challengers?" he asked, taking another sip. A slight smile graced his features. It felt good to just relax and have a good time. He hadn't been able to do that in a long time. Sure, there were moments with the team, but it felt nice to not have that looming feeling of being called away on a case as well.
"Sure, let's go," replied Amita, hopping off the desk. Reid smiled, he really liked this woman; she was really friendly and sweet. She seemed like a good match for Charlie as well. "You know, I bet students at CalSci would really like you as professor." With that comment, she scored a point. Larry and Charlie watched as Reid picked up the puck and set it down on the table.
"I somehow doubt that," he replied softly before hitting the puck back in her direction. He had wondered about that himself, but didn't want to talk about it. At least not yet.
"What makes you say that?" continued Larry. He had always thought Reid would have made a good professor. And the field could always use someone with his brainpower working on current research. Reid hit the puck and scored.
"I'm not a very good communicator. Sometimes I wonder if my team even understands me," he replied as Amita hit the puck in his direction. So much for not talking about it.
Charlie chuckled slightly, "I think you'd be fine Spencer. I once had a student say I was fast-talking and disorganized." Amita scored another point and Reid paused, looking at the two men.
"Boring and intellectually inaccessible," stated Larry, tapping his lip with his left index finger. They turned to Amita.
"What? My students love me," she stated with a smile. They all laughed slightly.
"Just you wait," replied Charlie before turning back to Reid. "See?" Reid nodded and turned back to the game, choosing not to comment on it anymore. The others noticed this and let it be. They continued idle chitchat until Amita won the game. Shortly there after, Amita and Larry left, leaving Charlie and Reid in the backyard, studying the stars. They sat down on the lawn by the koi pond.
"You think CalSci would hire me?" Reid asked after a few minutes. He continued to look at the stars while Charlie studied him, startled by that question. He didn't think Reid was actually taking that conversation to heart.
"You're thinking about quitting the bureau?" asked Charlie. "But you always dreamed about working for the FBI."
Reid sighed. "I've…experienced some things. It makes me wonder if I wouldn't be better suited working in some lab somewhere."
Charlie wasn't really sure what to say. When he had learned of Reid's plans years ago, he didn't understand why he chose that path. But after working with Don on these cases the last few years and knowing the rewarding feeling you get, he understood. Now Reid just wanted to walk away? "What happened to you Spencer?"
Reid looked over at his friend. There was concern written all over his face. "I…I can't," he replied, looking away. He wasn't ready to talk about it just yet. A door slightly slamming behind them made him jump. It sounded just like the door at the cabin. Charlie looked behind them, noticing Reid shudder slightly, to see his dad standing on the porch.
"I'm sorry if I scared you," Alan stated. "I was just letting you know that I'm turning in."
"Okay," Charlie replied. "Night dad." Alan nodded and went back inside. Reid didn't jump at the sound of the door this time, prepared. Charlie looked at him and slightly sighed. He sometimes wondered if the job ever did this to Don, but he had a feeling Don hadn't experienced whatever Reid had. It had clearly scarred him deeply. "Hey, why don't we turn in too? You can come back to the office with me tomorrow. I'm sure you can find something to busy yourself with. We can talk when you're ready." Reid smiled slightly at that comment and nodded. Both rose to their feet and headed inside.
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JJ was the first off the plane when they landed in LA. Hotch had wanted her to take vacation like Reid, but didn't make it an order when she argued that she hadn't gone through what he had. Hotch had warned her though that if he felt like she needed it, he'd make in an order. She wanted desperately to prove that she was fine, even though she knew that she wasn't. It wasn't the dogs that still gave her nightmares; those she knew would go away. It was Reid. She felt so guilty for what happened to him, even though he told her it wasn't her fault. She wondered if she'd feel as guilty if she didn't love him. She had just come to terms with her feelings about her nerdy Dr. Reid before they had gotten called to that case in Georgia and all hell had broken loose. She wanted, no, needed to tell him, but now he wasn't even there. She hoped he was okay. She needed him to be okay.
As the team made their way down the stairs, JJ noticed three male agents waiting for them. When they had gotten the call last night there had been a terrible storm in the Midwest so they had to wait until the next morning to fly out. It had surprised her when Hotch had mentioned Megan's name. She was with the team briefly before Elle. Now it appeared her coworkers needed their assistance. The men nodded as the team reached them. The one with black hair with dark shades greeted them first.
"Agent Don Eppes," he greeted. "These are agents Sinclair and Granger. Thanks for coming."
JJ, being in front, shook his hand. "Not a problem. I'm Agent Jareau and these are agents Hotchner, Gideon, Morgan, and Prentiss." Once everyone got briefly introduced they headed over to the waiting SUVs.
"Don, were you going to see if Charlie could help us at all?" asked Agent Granger.
Don nodded, "Yeah, I was just about to call him."
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"Are you sure it's no problem?" asked Charlie and he entered the FBI offices with Reid. They had just about reached Charlie's office when Don called. Reid had agreed to tag along; he was intrigued to see how Charlie applied his math to helping his brother. It certainly wasn't the same way he did. He also knew that with Megan gone they might need assistance and just because he wasn't sure if he wanted to do this anymore didn't mean he wouldn't help if needed.
"It's fine Charlie. Maybe you'll offer some insight on how I can use my doctorate better," he replied with a smile. Charlie smiled back as he steered him over to the conference room.
"Hey Charlie," someone greeted. "Who'd you bring with?"
"David, this is Dr. Reid, a friend of mine. He actually works for the bureau on the east coast. Spencer, this is Agent Sinclair," replied Charlie. Reid nodded at the agent as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Alright then," replied David with a smile. "They are in here." The pair followed David into the conference room. "Charlie's here," he stated, causing the group to turn around. Reid, who had been taking another sip of his coffee and thus looking at the cup in his hand and not the people, nearly choked when he heard a familiar voice.
"Reid?" asked Hotch.
Reid coughed for a second and looked up to see his team staring back at him with very confused expressions on their faces. "Uh…hey guys."
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