Gentle Readers,
I feel it is time to reiterate my warning from the beginning of chapter 2. This story takes the Dominant/submissive relationship already present on CM and pushes it to a new level. Reid is a natural submissive who is in need of help, and thankfully, he's surrounded by alpha males who care about him. Hotch and Morgan's disciplinarian roles will only escalate from here. If you do not understand this dynamic, for your own emotional safety I urge you to discontinue reading. What this story is NOT: 1) Hard core S/M (though some disciplinary spanking will ensue shortly); 2) Slash.
I love Criminal Minds, I live Criminal Minds, I run the Colorado rapids with Criminal Minds, but sadly, I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.
And without further ado, chapter six . . .
XOXOXOXOXO
Morgan was worried about Reid. This kid, who normally couldn't shut up, had been way too quiet on the walk to the parking lot. He settled in behind the wheel of his Toyota Tundra 4X4 while Reid climbed into the passenger's seat. As Morgan prepared to pull out onto the street he glanced at his passenger rubbing his temples and frowning, "What's on your mind, kid?"
Discontinuing his massaging, but keeping his hands at his temples, Reid peeked through his fingers at the older man, "I – I'm not sure what's happening." Reid's hands dropped and he wrapped his arms around his midsection in a gesture Morgan recognized well. This was a self-comforting gesture Reid used when he was distressed. It always pained Morgan to see it, but even more so when the kid should be feeling safe in his company.
"Relax, man. Talk to me."
Reid's mouth opened, but no words came. This in itself was worrying. He was never at a loss for words. Carefully studying his knees, he tried again and was able to softly stammer out, "Wh-why am I g-going to stay with Hotch? What does he want?"
Morgan knew Reid could figure this one out for himself, he was simply too scared to think it through at the moment. Gently, he asked, "What do you think he wants?"
Reid took a few moments to calm himself and consider the situation. When he spoke again, he was too embarrassed by what he hoped would be true to get the thought out. Instead he tentatively asked, "H-he wants to make sure I'm safe?"
Morgan let out a quiet chuckle at the simplicity of that statement. It was so much more than that, but Reid had managed to dilute it down to Hotch keeping him safe, "Yeah, that's part of it. Why do you think he wants to keep you safe?"
For the life of him Reid could not find an answer that made sense to him. Hotch was an excellent boss and a shrewd profiler. He was clearly perceptive enough to figure out that Reid was suffering. However, Reid couldn't make the emotional jump to the idea that Hotch actually cared not only about his safety, but about his overall well-being and happiness. Reid's mouth opened and closed like a guppy, and his brow knitted while he tried to work out the answer to Morgan's question. In the end he simply shook his head and gave up. It made Morgan sad that his friend obviously couldn't understand he was cared about. Sighing, Morgan reached up and gently patted the young man on the shoulder. Maybe Hotch could help him to understand.
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Driving toward the grocery store, Hotch thought about what he was doing. About what he was going to do. It surprised him how quickly this all happened. He hoped he was ready, but ready or not, he knew he would have to take total control of the situation if Reid was going to get through this unharmed. This thought worried him. What if he did more harm than good? He'd been a leader his entire life, and he was good at it – at work. This was different. He was about to take a very personal role in the life of one of his employees. He wasn't even sure how to take the next step. Think! What would Gideon do? Hotch knew the answer to that. But could he do everything that was required to follow his lead?
XOXOXOXOXOXO
Arriving at Reid's apartment, the younger man made a bee-line toward the bedroom. Morgan looked around. It always astounded him how strange Reid's home was. There was no television and with the exception of a single rolling swivel chair in the living room there was no place to sit. The center of the room was bare, which evidently gave the chair an area to roll. To the left was a table scattered with cards, coins and other baubles needed for magic tricks. Directly across from the door was an old turn table surrounded by record albums from the 1940's to the 1970's. The far left corner of the room contained a desk with maps of every kind spread across the surface and tacked to the wall above. His computer, printer and a small framed picture of his mother sat on a second smaller desk in the far right corner beside the kitchen. The most striking aspect was how few books he had laying around. Before he'd been to this apartment, Morgan had pictured it filled so full of books it would be difficult to move without knocking over a stack of tomes. When he'd asked Reid about this, the young man had shrugged and said, "I have an eidetic memory. Once I finish one, I donate it to the library."
The kitchen, other than the well-used coffee maker, was barren. If he ever ate, it was carry-out. Morgan made a mental note to talk to Hotch about the kid's diet. Wandering into the bedroom, he found an unmade twin bed, an old dresser that now held Reid's gun and holster, and Reid, hands in his pockets, standing at the window staring at the street two stories below. He considered asking what Reid was thinking about, but decided he would let him try working it out himself for awhile. Besides, it was getting late and judging by the sound of the thunder, they were in for a storm soon. Morgan wanted to get this kid to Hotch, and get himself home, before the rain started.
Opening the closet, Morgan found a duffle bag that should be big enough for his purpose. Opening the top dresser drawer, he found Reid's multi-colored socks in disarray. He chuckled, and as he grabbed a handful to stuff in the duffle, said, "If you sorted your socks before putting them away, you might have a chance at a day with normal footwear." When he didn't get a response, Morgan turned to look at Reid still standing at the window, just staring out. This was not a good sign; the kid was getting too wrapped up in his thoughts. Morgan decided to jolt him out of it if he could. He walked over to stand face-to-face with the young man. "Where were you going?" he asked with a curious but authoritative voice.
The unexpected question combined with the vocal inflection had the desired effect, and Reid looked up in confusion. Morgan had his friend's attention now at least, "At the airport. Where was that taxi going to take you?"
The look of consternation Morgan received was unexpected. Reid had been deep in thought trying to figure out what it was Hotch wanted from him. He was fairly certain his boss' expectations of him were about to change, and this frightened the young man. Reid knew how to behave in the work environment, but because Hotch had changed, he knew he would have to make adjustments as well. His psychological background told him Hotch was using classic disruption of homeostasis, and it was designed to bring about change, but the process was generally very uncomfortable for everyone until new roles and rules were accepted. While Reid's intellect could reason this out, his emotions were roiling. He didn't know how to handle what was coming. He wasn't in control, and not being in control had always meant pain for Reid. Panic began to rise in the young man's chest, and he struggled not to show his emotions. Morgan's question had caught him off guard. He was embarrassed to tell the truth; he didn't feel he should even have to answer that question. Mostly, though, he was feeling a desire to run away, so he wasn't really even aware of how he answered the question when it happened, "That's none of your business!" He pushed past the muscular man and headed out the bedroom door.
Astonished at his friend's response, Morgan grimly asked, "Where do you think you're going?"
Something in the older man's tone made Reid change his mind about storming out the front door and down onto the street. Turning suddenly, he headed for the bathroom a few steps away, "I need to pack my toothbrush, if that's okay with you." And he disappeared into the next room.
Reid was acting like a full-fledged brat now and Morgan was dreading the ride to Hotch's place. He considered confronting the young man, but decided it was late and they both needed to get some rest. The sooner they got him packed, the sooner that would happen. By the sounds of the clanking and crashing coming from the bathroom, Reid was packing up the entire room. Morgan kept an ear toward the sounds making sure he wasn't hurting himself or doing too much damage. As the clattering began to quiet down, he turned his attention to gathering Reid's clothing, and once again thought about taking his friend to the mall to update his wardrobe. He dressed like a 70 year old man. No wonder he couldn't get a date.
When he thought he had a respectable assortment of items, Morgan headed out of the room and called, "You about ready to go, kid?" Silence. "Kid?" Hastening his step into the bathroom, he was shocked to find it empty. The window was wide open, and with a glace out at the fire escape, Morgan knew the kid had run away. Grabbing the packed duffle, he bolted out the front door and down the two flights of stairs growling all the way about how he was going to wring Reid's neck when he found him.
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Hope you enjoyed. Please, please, please review. It's the only paycheck I get for this labor of love.