Hey guys, sorry haven't updated in a while, but schools a...(insert choice word here)
It seems that I am making more mistakes then I thought I was. Thank you for pointing that out! I will try much harder this time around. I see why I always fail spelling in LA. Really I appreciate all the help I keep receiving. Aside from the mistakes I hope the story was good.
Thank you guys for reviewing, and offering your opinions.
Please review, critique and ENJOY!
The team sat on the BAU jet heading to their newest case. They were headed to Salt Lake City, Utah were an unsub had claimed 3 victims in the past month. The Utah state police had identified these killings to have a pattern, and had requested the BAU's assistance, promoting them into immediate action. They had boarded the plane 30 minutes after the call, anxious. Though no one said it, they were all worried that they would screw this up and more people would die as a result.
Hotch, Gideon, Rossi, and Prentiss all sat together in the four center seats. The table between them was littered with photos of the 3 victims, all bloody and torn apart. Morgan, Garcia, and JJ sat along side them with Reid, who strangely hadn't spoken since the plane had taken off. He seemed oblivious to everything that was happening around him, something very unlike the old Reid. Garcia was sitting next to him, her hand in his, and was trying to ignore the blank look on his face. The unintelligent look in his eyes. Her junior G-man was clearly gone.
They should have been disguising the details, as their only knowledge was limited to JJ's short briefing before they had left. It would have been smart, very usual for the FBI to try to get a jump on things, but no one spoke and the plane remained silent.
Morgan was leaning back in his seat. He had his head phones over his ears and his eyes were closed. The grim look still hadn't disappeared. No one knew if it ever would. The four sitting together in the center were looking over the photos and the case file, but non of them spoke. JJ was looking at Reid.
"Reid?" She said gently trying not to attract the others attention. Slowly, his gaze settled on her face. She took this as a sign to continue to speak. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Reid didn't say anything for a moment but his brown eyes widened and his brow furrowed.
"Why wouldn't I be okay? What would I need?" He asked, a quizzical look on his face. JJ's whole body seemed to sigh in disappointment, as again Reid had answered in the same unintelligent way as before. A small part of her had hoped that something would have changed within the time she had waited before asking him again.
Garcia's face brightened suddenly as an idea seemed to came to her. She jumped from her seat, making the rest of the team look up, and made her way over to the small kitchenette at that back of the plane. She disappeared from view for a few minutes leaving them confused.
What is she doing?" Rossi asked JJ.
"I have no idea," she replied honestly. She waited for her to come back. A few minutes later, Garcia appeared with a big smile on her excited face. She was holding a large black mug in her hand. She made her way over to Reid, who looked at her with a confused expression. She sat down and held the cup out to him. Unmoving, Reid continued to stare.
"Garcia what are you doing?" Morgan asked. He had opened his eyes and was removing his headphones.
"Okay, so I have been curious ever since we got out little geni-baby boy back. I haven't had a chance to see for myself because everything has been so crazy and-Reid take the mug-I just really need to know." Garcia was rambling but the smile never left her face as she watched Reid gingerly take the mug from her hands. Still he looked confused.
"Garcia, what is this black thing?" He asked in a small voice. He stared at the mug like it was from outer space, something else he probably didn't know about.
" Thats a mug, Reid. Before you had your...accident, you used to love this drink. I want you to try it. Will you do that? For me?"
Reid leaned in and whispered softly, "Does the brown color mean it's safe?" He gave the liquid a quick look.
Garcia chuckled slightly, "Yes the brown color means it's safe. Now try it." Reids face was clouded with hesitation, but slowly he brought the mug to his lips and took a big sip.
"EWWW!" Reid whined. "What is this stuff?"
The hope that had just sparked inside Garcia fizzled out. He continued to talk before she could say anything.
"This stuff tastes like, like..." His voice trailed off making the team wonder what was going on inside that brain of his. His voice had changed from that high pitched clamor to a more serious and steady tone, very unlike the new Reid. "It, it tastes like..."
Hotch leaned forward, his eyes starting hard, "Reid think. What does it taste like?" Reid pursed his lips, and looked up toward the planes ceiling. The team waited patiently for him to respond. He returned his focus back to them a couple minutes later and blinked.
"Hi guys! Whats going on?" His confusion being replaced with his recurring look of stupidity. He looked down to the cup that was in his hands and frowned. He again brought it up to his mouth and took a big sip. "Oh my gosh! What is that stuff?!" Reid cried as, again, he ingested the liquids sour taste. "Eww!" He jumped from his seat and limped towards the bathroom, the coffee spilling all over the floor. They watched him disappear through the narrow opening.
"Well so much for that," Emily said, the disappointment was clear.
Morgan scuffed, "Man he doesn't even remember his favorite drink." He slumped back into his seat. Garcia felt bad for what she had done. In a way, her plan had given the team a temporary feeling of hope, something they didn't have to spare. Now they were left feeling emptier then before.
"Guys Im sorry," Garcia said softly. "I just-" She was interrupted by Reid's screaming voice.
"Boy do I hate coffee!"
Morgan jumped up, "Did he...?" He couldn't hide the smile that had appeared on his face.
A few minutes later Reid returned like nothing had happened and sat down by a jovial Garcia. She wrapped him in a big hug before he even knew what was happening. He squealed and squirmed through her embrace, but remained trapped until, finally, she released.
"Reid, you remembered what the name of that drink was?" Morgan couldn't hide the excitement in his voice. "What did you just call it?"
"Ohh that brown stuff, I didn't like it," Reid made a scrunched up face, and exaggerated a gag. He hadn't answered Morgans question.
"Reid, listen. What did you call the liquid that you just drank? You just said the name before. Don't you remember?" Morgan looked at his friend with what seemed like pleading eyes. The team knew that Reid's accident had changed Morgan. They knew from the way his smile didn't reach his eyes, the slump in his shoulders, the sag in his step. Morgan needed hope, even if something as stupid as remembering the name 'coffee' would give it to him. "Please, try."
Reid let out a small sigh, "Uhhh, don't see why it's important. It was really bad, and now I feel like Im going to like puke all over the place. So..." He looked over to a grinning Garcia, "Thanks a lot for the stupid drink." He wasn't angry, his tone was similar to a whine. His struggle over the bad taste brought a small smile to Rossi's face. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but Reid's awkward state of anger had not disappeared.
"Yes, but what is the drink called?" Morgan's voice had dimmed and was laced with frustration. Reid didn't seem to notice. Hotch gave Morgan a warning glance. He understood how his friend was feeling, the frustration that was building, but Morgan needed to stay in line. For Reid's sake.
"Morgan he doesn't remember. Don't push him. Whether or not he remembers what it is, it's not going to change the situation. Just let it go." Hotch gave Morgan a sympathetic-for-Hotch look and pulled his hand back.
Morgan slummed back in his seat and sighed, "Man, It's just the real Reid would never forget; he used to love coffee."
Gideon spoke up, "This is still the same Reid, Morgan. Coffee or-" He was cut off, unexpectedly.
"Did you know that in 1675 the King of England banned coffee houses, because he thought that was where people went to conspire against him?"
I did not know that.
Hope you enjoyed! Please comment, critique, and review!
Till next time...