Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, other than River Constantine. I am not making money from these stories. I like writing and this is a terrific distraction for me.
Chapter Four
The plane had just landed, and the team was making their way out. Agent Hotchner noticed River seemed a little calmer than she had been during the flight. As they were walking through the airport in Austin, Hotch slowed down his pace so that he was next to Dr. Constantine as they were walking. "You don't like planes, do you?" he asked.
"Not really. I don't like being trapped in such a small area, with nowhere to go if something happens," she responded, relieved. He probably thought that the way she had acted on the plane was because she didn't like flying. Spencer Reid knew different, but he would also most likely not tell anyone. She had gone to school with Spencer. They had practically grown up together. River was his first crush, and judging by her first day on the job, that crush had been renewed the second she walked through the door.
They were outside the airport now, and there were three FBI agents from Houston standing there, next to two SUVs. Hotch walked over to the agents, signed for the SUVs, and shook hands with the agents. He came back with two sets of keys, tossed one set to Derek, and everyone started loading their go-bags into the back of the SUVs, and got into their respective vehicles. Derek was driving the SUV with Spencer, River, and Emily riding along. Hotch was driving with Rossi and JJ in the back. They were all headed to 7th Street and IH 35, Austin Police Department headquarters. It was an easy drive, and only lasted about 20 minutes. They were inside and setting up in what was going to be their conference room for the next few days in a matter of minutes.
The first day went by quickly, going over all of the reports and evidence that the Austin police had gathered. By 6pm, the agents were getting prepared to start canvassing 6th Street, just in case the attacker was out again that night. They weren't sure whether he would, seeing as he had attacked three women the previous night, but they didn't want to risk it.
At around 4 am, after the club district had cleared out for the most part, the BAU team finally headed to their hotel. It was right on the Colorado River, just south of downtown, walking distance from 6th street and the police station. They had three rooms. Emily, JJ and River were sharing one, as were Morgan and Reid, and Rossi and Hotch.
As they were going to their respective rooms, Reid touched River's arm. She stopped and turned toward him. "Yes?" she asked.
"I was wondering if you would like to join me for a quick cup of coffee." Spencer seemed a little uncomfortable asking the question, especially since everyone was still in the hallway, pretending not to listen.
"Sure," River responded, trying to stay calm.
The two young geniuses headed to the restaurant on the main floor of the hotel. Once they had their coffee, Spencer got to the point. "How are you?" he asked, calmly, quietly.
"Okay. It was hard, being around all of those clubs… I just want to get back to Virginia, and start working on another case. I don't think I am quite ready to be thrown into this kind of thing. I am just holding on by my fingernails right now. It's hard, really hard."
"I know the feeling…" Spencer said, quietly, almost too quiet.
"What do you mean, Spence?"
"What?" he asked, surprised. He thought he hadn't said the words out loud, but apparently he had, and she had heard him. "I know the feeling. I've been there. Eight months ago. I was ten months clean at that point… Dilaudid. I've got a little over a year and a half now." He paused, trying to decide if he should go any further. "I never thought I would be an addict, but circumstances changed that. I was taken hostage by a man with multiple personalities. One of the personalities gave me Dilaudid, because the others had hurt me. After the incident, I couldn't control it. I had to have it; I couldn't stop. Hotchner and Gideon, another agent at the time, knew that I was having issues and they knew about the drugs. They helped me, they taught me that I wasn't alone, and they showed me that people can actually care about others. I didn't know at the time that they knew. They never asked about it, and they never really gave any signs that they knew. You are not alone, I am here. I know it may not be the right time, but I can introduce you to other people. Alcoholics and addicts who are clean and sober. Whenever you are ready, I will take you to meet them. You just need to say the word." He had been speaking quickly, but still quietly, and in a caring manner.
Everything he had said had taken River off guard. She didn't know what to say.
"It's okay. I know it is a lot to process right now, why don't we go to bed. We can talk tomorrow. We need to get some sleep, seeing as we don't know when we will be able to after tonight. Come on, let's go."
"Thank you, Spence."
He just smiled, and as they were walking, he put his arm around her shoulders. It was just like the old days, when they were walking through campus, being goofy teenagers, before life had gotten complicated for either of them.
