OKAY! The last chapter of this revamped version of Chain Reaction! So I've got this out of the way and I've only got my other... whatever-number of fics to finish off :P
I hope everyone who's been reading this is happy with the revamp and that you've enjoyed my other fics too.
KaseyKC
12:21pm, Storage room, Atlanta City
Reid rested his head against his torn and bleeding chest as he listened to the sounds of Sarah and Michael arguing; he remembered how they used to argue over the merest of things when they were younger and he didn't exactly like the idea that they were now arguing over him. He didn't want to be fought over by either of them but he didn't have the strength anymore, he couldn't even find the energy to raise his head and face his executioners and he'd managed that with Hankel.
The arguing subsided after a moment or two and the sound of the door opening alerted Reid to the fact that they were now in the same room as him; he listened intently as the sound of footsteps made their way towards him and his head was suddenly jolted up in a harsh grip by none other than Sarah.
She smiled at Reid and tapped his nose non-too-gently as she leaned in and whispered tantalisingly seductively in his ear, "do you want to die Spence?" she giggled slightly and ran her tongue over the length of Reid's ear before nipping it hard and stepping back to stand next to Michael.
Reid managed to somehow find enough energy to move his head slightly and looked at her and Michael standing together looking every bit the crazy-siblings that Reid now knew they were. He smiled lopsidedly and Sarah raised an eyebrow, she hadn't been expecting him to smile, as he answered in a thin papery voice, "not really... but what... do you care about what I... want Sarah? It's always... been about you... ever since we... were kids... you never gave a damn... about me... beyond saving you life... all you ever saw... was yourself... and your problems... so why change now?"
Sarah glared at Reid and he felt a grim sense of satisfaction since if he was going to die then he might as well piss them off as much as he possibly could; to leave a legacy of sorts to whoever took his place on the team, something that Morgan, Hotch and Gideon could be proud of...
As Sarah made a move towards Reid Michael gripped her wrist and pulled her back towards him, wrapping his arms around her protectively, and whispered words that Reid couldn't hear which seemed to calm Sarah down. Michael nuzzled her neck as he continued to whisper words into Sarah's ear and slowly but surely Sarah ended up smiling at Reid with her impish smile which unsettled Reid more than the prospect of dying did.
"Naughty naughty Spence... you shouldn't tell lies and you shouldn't insult people... didn't your mommy teach you manners?" Sarah disentangled herself from Michael's embrace and walked over to stand in front of Reid; she leaned down, placing her hands on Reid's knees, and laughed as her face came incredibly close to Reid's own, "oh yeah I forgot... your mommy couldn't teach you anything because she's a fruit-basket isn't she?"
Michael smiled as he watched Reid tense up and glare at Sarah with a deadly look of intent to cause bodily harm; he was always so predictable when it came to his mother. Sarah giggled and leaned in closer to Reid's face as she breathed softly into his ear, "I guess that's why your dad fucked off isn't it? He couldn't handle being in a house with two psychos!"
Reid licked his lips as he tried desperately to calm himself down enough to speak without wanting to tear Sarah's head off, he took a breath and said maliciously, "at least I know who my father is Sarah and I'd rather have a psycho for a mother than a half-wit slut like yours was."
Bingo...
"You bastard!" Sarah screamed as she slapped Reid hard across the face and pulled the dagger from its sheath on the table, "you fucking bastard!" she screeched as she dived at him, quicker than Michael could stop her, and held the blade at his throat, "you take that back! You take it back! TAKE IT BACK!"
Reid stared directly into Sarah's eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "no."
"BASTARD!" She screamed as she began to draw the blade across his throat only to stop when the two doors into the room exploded open and several S.W.A.T officers came pouring in shouting this and that; but Reid didn't care for them, he only cared for the voices of the people he knew, his team...
"Put the knife down!"
"Don't move! On the ground!"
"Michael Clarkson you're-"
"No!"
It was getting dark, there's a pain in his neck, he can hear dim voices, he can see blurred figures, but he can't stop himself from going towards the darkness. The last thing Reid heard before he succumbed to the darkness was his own name.
"REID..."
21:24pm, Atlanta Hospital, three days later
Everything was a weird sort of dark shade of a muted, pewter grey and it was strange; it reminded him of the feeling that someone had turned off a child's nightlight and the only type of illumination was that of a full moon and twinkling stars, there were only silhouettes. His entire body, yes he had a body, felt like lead and weighted down; it felt like he was being slowly suffocated but he could breathe just fine and he didn't understand it.
He didn't want to understand it though... understanding meant waking up and he didn't want to wake up just yet... not when he felt so tired and weak...
'Just a few more minutes...' he thought as he let go of the thin thread that was attached to consciousness and slipped back into the world of blissful slumber.
16:09pm, Atlanta Hospital, six days later
He slowly opened his eyes, blinking rapidly at the sudden change in brightness, and slowly looked around himself; he was in a hospital room, another one, and he wasn't alone. In the chair next to his bed there was Gideon who was reading a sixteenth century novel which Reid remembered his mother reading to him when he'd been ill at the age of nine.
He felt heavy but not as weighed down as he had done the last time he recalled he'd been awake. Swallowing he winced as he throat felt tender and raw; what on earth had happened to him?
He closed his eyes and thought back to the last thing he clearly remembered; a room... a chair... he was tired up... Sarah... Michael... and-
'A knife! Oh God!' Reid's eyes snapped open as he flailed his arms and looked around himself, frantically searching for Sarah and the ever-present knife, but there was only him and Gideon in the room.
When Reid had started to flail Gideon had dropped the book on the floor and reached over to grasp Reid's hands gently but firmly as he tried to get Reid's attention, "Reid... Reid... Spencer... look at me Spencer."
Reid heard him calling him, ordering him, and focused his attention on Gideon who smiled and said softly, "it's alright Spencer... you're safe... you're in the hospital..."
Slowly but surely Reid's heartbeat slowed down and he relaxed enough for Gideon to feel it was safe for him to let go of Reid's wrists. Reid's arms dropped to land on the bed with an audible 'thump' and Gideon winced inwardly at the sight of the chafed skin which was red and raw but the doctors had said it was healing and it didn't need bandages as long as Reid didn't do too much too quickly.
Reid opened his mouth to speak and winced at the twinge in his throat that it caused, he frowned and managed to whisper, "Gideon... how long?"
Gideon looked at Reid and answered quietly as he picked up the glass of water and put a straw in it; he helped Reid drink some of it as he spoke, "it's been six days since we found you Spencer... but you woke up for a moment three days ago."
"Oh" Reid whispered as he winced at the pain in his throat again and Gideon smiled sadly and patted him on the arm.
"Go to sleep Reid; you need as much rest as possible," Gideon ordered softly and he thought Reid was going to do as he said but Reid had other ideas.
Reid whispered softly, "I thought I..." he swallowed slowly and winced again at the pain in his throat, "was going to die there..." he swallowed again and winced again, "I was so scared that I was going to die..."
"It's alright Spencer, you're alright now," Gideon said softly and he held onto Reid's forearm with a semi-tight grip which served to comfort them both, "you're safe now... so sleep, I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Reid minutely nodded his head as he closed his eyes and drifted off back to the land of nod, foregoing the nightmares and the monsters of his sleep as he fully believed he was safe now that Gideon was protecting him; and he was pretty sure the rest of the team would be there when he next woke up.
Gideon leaned back in his chair and picked up the book he'd dropped when Reid had woken; he smiled and found the page he'd been at and began to read out loud in a low monotone voice which he knew would relax Reid even in his sleep.
END
