Author's Note!

I told you I would be back! And, yes, there is torture in this chapter! But it's not that graphic since it's only the beginning. And thank you for all the nice reviews! Be warned with this chapter, I almost cried while writing the ending :,( It's a bit longer than all my other chapters but I wanted it to be really good.

I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters. There are spoilers in this one since alot of this chapter is flashbacks. Enjoy!


Reid froze and felt a wave of nausea. Starson grinned at his reaction and leisurely walked closer and closer until his lower stomach was pressed up against the side of the table. "Was it his father who branded Tobias with the cross?" Starson asked in a casual tone. Reid felt sick. How much did he know about him? Did he know this much about the rest of the team?

Starson smiled even wider, "You know," he began as he took a lighter out of his pocket, "Some people brand themselves believing it to be art. What do you think?" Starson twirled the end of the metal rod over the flame of the lighter.

Reid swallowed but his throat remained dry, "Uh… branding result in third-degree burns and nerve death to the area," he said lamely, "I don't really see the art in it." Starson continued to spin the cross in the flames. He stared at the intricate twists of red and blue twirl around the dark metal.

"How did you know that?" Reid finally asked. Starson looked up from the flames and stared at him, confused, "Know what?"

Reid cleared his throat and elaborated, "That Tobias' father branded him with a cross. I mean, how did you get that information? That's supposed to be confidential."

Starson smirked, "Let's just say that I'm a man of many connections. I know things about you that even Agent Morgan doesn't know."

"Like what?"

Starson shook his head, "You'll just have to wait and see. Oh! It seems to be hot enough now." Starson flipped his lighter shut and stuffed it back into his jacket pocket. The cross was now red hot and it glared at Reid's frightened eyes. Don't beg for mercy, he told himself, it's what he wants.

Reid pressed his lips tightly together as Starson began unbuttoning the top buttons on Reid shirt. "I'm not going to lie, this is going to be very painful," Starson said in a gleeful tone.

Don't beg, don't beg, don't beg, you ARE stronger than him…

Starson finished with the buttons on Reid's shirt and pushed it open revealing Reid's pale chest. Starson raised the brand up and positioned the cross just above Reid's bellybutton. Don't beg, don't beg… damn, this is gonna hurt… shut up!

Starson paused for dramatic effect and then pushed the metal down. Pain shot from his skin all through his body and he screamed louder than he has ever before. He didn't know he long it lasted, all he was aware of was the white hot pain searing inside him. His body began numbing and he felt himself slipping away to the darkness.

Starson raised the metal off his chest just before he blacked out. Reid lay there, unmoving, and let the pain engulf him. His eyes were screwed shut and his heart beat was erratic. Starson was speaking to him but Reid could't understand what he was saying. All sounds were blocked out by the sound of his heart beating in his ears.

The pain slowly lowered a bit and Reid slowly pried his eyes open. Starson was staring at his face, grinning. The metal rod was gone from his hands and was replaced by a sharp hunting knife. "For a moment there, I thought you were gonna pass out. But I couldn't let you off that easy."

Reid groaned and shut his eyes again. He just wanted to go home and curl up on his couch with a good book and some overly sweet coffee. "Go…to…hell," Reid said between gasps for air. As soon as the words left his mouth, a sharp pain exploded from his arm.

Reid cried out and his eyes flew open. Starson brought the bloodied knife away from Reid's arm and sighed sadly, "I will not tolerate rudeness from you, Dr. Reid." Reid strained his eyes to look down at his arms. A large cut, about an inch and a half across, was just above the crook of his arm and was gushing blood.

Reid looked back up to Starson who was studying his face curiously. Starson looked back over Reid body and then brought his gaze back up to Reid's face and then asked curiously, "How many times did Foyet stab Agent Hotchner?"

Reid's breathing hitched and his body suddenly felt cold. Starson was still staring at him and appeared to become impatient, "Well?"

"Uh…" Reid's mind was slowly shutting down on him, "I… I'm not sure."

To his surprise, Starson threw back his head and laughed. "You don't know? Is that the best you could come up with? You have an eidetic memory for God's sake!"

Reid frowned and stared at Starson, who was struggling to catch his breath. "Now, seriously, how many times was he stabbed?" he asked. Reid swallowed hard. Shouldn't Starson already know how many times? Of course he does, you idiot, he scolded himself, it's called psychological torture.

"He, ah… nine times." Reid finally said.

Starson smiled and Reid felt his stomach turn, "Well, let's see if we can beat that. Shall we?" Reid's chest tightened, don't beg, don't beg… fuck it! He's going to kill you!

"You... you don't have to do this," Reid pathetically said.

This caused Starson to smile wider, "Oh, Dr. Reid, you know I do." With that, Starson raised the blade and aimed to strike. Reid snapped.

"No!" he shouted; his voice on the edge of hysteria, "Please! Don't! I'll… I'll be quiet if you just let me go! Please!"

Starson smiled but didn't say anything. For a split second, Reid thought he wasn't going to do it. But those thoughts were killed the moment the blade began to fall.

Morgan sighed angrily, "Man, I hate not having a plan. We're looking for a needle in a haystack."

Reid knew he shouldn't try to correct him but he couldn't help himself, "Actually, it's more like looking for a needle in a pile of needles."

Morgan looked over at him, "What?" Reid shrugged, "A needle would stand out in a haystack."

The blade sunk into Reid's flesh and Reid screamed his lungs out. "One," Starson began counting and slowly pulled the now crimson blade out of his chest.

Everyone stood from the table and Hotch tossed something at him.

"What's this?" Reid asked as he grabbed for the manila folder lying on the table. His team stopped what they were doing and watched the interaction with amused eyes.

Hotch sighed angrily, "You told me you were clear to travel. You lied." Oh, crap.

"Naughty boy," Prentiss commented.

Reid cleared his throat and began to defend himself, "No, I didn't. I am a doctor so, technically, it wasn't a lie." Hotch stared at him a second before walking away, clearly in no mood to argue.

"What was it, then?" Garcia asked form over by then door.

"Uh… Second opinion?" Reid said feebly. Garcia looked over him, amused, and then said, "You're my bitch now."

He heard Morgan laugh at the horrified expression on his face.

Starson brought the blade down again. Reid tried to hold in his cry, so it came out as a strangled yell.

"Two."

Reid walked down the hall to his hotel room. He reached the door and began to pull out his key when he realized the television was on inside. Slowly, he pushed the door open to find Rossi and Morgan lounged out on his couch.

"What are you guys doing here?" Reid walks into the room and sets the evidence box down on the table. They glance up at him and Morgan says, "Hey. What's it look like we're doing?"

Reid looks at the television and then back at them, "Uh, breaking into my room and watching Days of Our Lives?"

Rossi looks up from the TV screen, "The Young and the Restless."

The knife sunk into his skin again and Reid felt as if his life was slowly draining away from him.

"Three."

"Please..."

Morgan walked over to where Reid was standing at the coffee maker, "Easy there tough guy. Have some coffee with your sugar."

Reid sighed, "I need something to wake me up."

"Oh," Morgan said and drawled out the 'o', "Late night?"

Reid nodded, "Very."

Morgan laughed and exclaimed, "My man!"

"Not that kind of late night!" Reid said.

"Four."

Reid looked up from what he was doing to see Emily fiddling with some type of toy.

"What's that?" he asked her.

Prentiss looked up at him and smiled slightly, "It's a star puzzle. It's impossible to put together. There's actually a romantic tale behind it. There was this prince who loved this princess and he wanted to show her how much he loved her. So he caught a falling star, but he was so excited he dropped it, and it broke into all those little pieces. He frantically put the pieces back together to show him his undying love for her."

Reid stared at her for a moment before saying, "That makes no sense. You can't catch a falling star, it would burn up in the atmosphere."

Emily visibly deflated little bit, "Well, it's a fable. It doesn't have to make sense."

Reid shook his head, "But fables have morals. That didn't have a moral."

Emily sighed, "Ok, well it's just a little romantic tale. The point is the puzzle is impossible…" she trailed off as she watched Reid put the puzzle together and set it down on the table in front of her. She stared at him and then to the star puzzle.

She sighed and shook her head, "There's a lot to hate about you, Dr. Reid."

"Five," Starson said in a gleeful voice but Reid was already too far gone to hear. He couldn't scream anymore; only slip himself back into happy memories and hope to be saved.

Reid looked over Garcia's shoulder in shock, "Are you hacking the government HMO database? Is that legal?"

Garcia laughed slightly and shook her head, "Of course not. We'll go to prison and you'll become somebody's bitch."

"Really?"

"Six."

Garcia, Reid, Morgan, and Seaver all walked out of the movie theater together.

"There was too much blood and gore and uggg…." A very disgusted Garcia said.

"Garcia, it's a slasher film. How do you do a slacer film without violence." Reid said.

"You imply it," Garcia said.

Morgan sighed, "Baby, the movie was called "Slice 6". What were you expecting?"

"A refreshing beverage with a twist of comedy. I'm going to have nightmares for a week!"Garcia exclaimed and they all laughed.

"Seven."

Morgan and Reid walked through the garage of the apartment building complex of the latest victim.

"You know, I rode a bike in college," Reid said thoughtfully.

"That's because you weren't old enough to drive, Einstein," Morgan shot back.

Reid shook his head, "I could drive but the state wouldn't issue me a license since I was fourteen."

"Eight."

Gideon sighed and leaned forward in his seat, "This is going to hit you, and when it does, there's only three facts you need to know. You did what you had to do, and a lot of good people are alive because of what you did."

Reid smiled slightly, "What's the third?."

"I'm proud of you."

"Nine."

"It has been said that time heals all wounds. I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue, and the pain lessens, but it is never gone."

"Ten."


I have to say, I'm super happy with the way this chapter turned out! It isn't like the stuff I usually write... It's better! So, yeah, PLEASE REVIEW! I spent like two hours on this chapter xD I'll TRY to post tomorrow but I can't promise that I will. But I shall try!

Oh! By the way, I'm starting to more and more like the idea of a character death. (Not that I WANT to kill off a character, I just want the drama that goes with it) So comment which character you DEFFINATELY DON'T want me to kill off. Or if you want to be evil, you can tell me which character you WANT to be killed off.

Review!