Reid's Miracle Chapter 10: Motivation, a criminal minds fanfic

Reid's Miracle

Chapter Ten: Motivation

By Ann Parker

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"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill

A short car drive later and the pair had reached the BAU offices. They headed immediately to Garcia's office, who handed Reid a copy of the file she had made while they were on route. He opted to spread the file out on the conference room table and had Garcia patch him through to the speakerphone on the airplane. As the team began to discuss the case, Sarah quietly studied the information on the table. She wasn't even sure if she could be looking at it, but her curiosity got the better of her. That's when she spotted something odd in the note sent to the latest victim.

"Huh," she said more to herself than Reid or the others, although it interrupted their conversation.

"Sarah?" asked Hotch, through the phone. She immediately felt like she was in trouble.

"What? Nothing, nothing. I'm not here, just ignore it," she rambled out. "I didn't just break federal law by looking at these did I?"

Gideon's chuckle could be heard over the phone, "Never mind that, what did you see?"

"Well, it's just that the wording of this note seems odd," she stated. She moved it in front of Reid so he could get a better look. "Doesn't 'take care' seem like an odd choice of words when threatening someone?" she asked.

"She right," commented Reid almost immediately. "That phrase is typically female. Also, the use of 'we' is unusual. Unsubs with these types of MOs don't usually defuse blame or credit, they want it all for themselves. I don't think this note was written by your killer, but by a young female just trying to scare the victim."

"Good work you two," replied Gideon. "We'll call you again shortly."

"Okay," replied Reid for the both of them.

"Oh, and Sarah?" Gideon continued. "Looks like your college education might have paid off."

"Yay, I'll remember to tell my student loan officer that," she replied with a hint of sarcasm. Laughter filled the conference room from the speakerphone and Reid before the others hung up. She always seemed to have a way to brighten the moment. Shaking his head, Reid looked back down at the file to see if he had missed anything important. Seeing their bodies lying in the leaves sent him back to digging his grave with Tobias. He had never felt so scared before, staring down at his own death. If he hadn't seen those flashlights he didn't know what he would have done. Never mind the fact that he got lucky with the shot.

"Spencer?" Sarah's hand on his arm pulled him back. He looked at her, the fear still in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I…I see myself in these photos," he whispered. She sat down in the chair next to him and turned so they were facing each other, remaining silent. It was his turn to speak. "I know what they felt right before they were killed. How all they wanted was for the pain to be over yet they wanted to live. How terror pulsed through every fiber of their beings, but so did the need to fight. The utter despair when they realized it was the end…" he stopped for a minute. "I don't know if I can do this job if I can't separate myself from the victims."

"You don't need to fully separate yourself, Spencer," she replied, taking hold of his hand. "I won't be able to if I ever work here, but that doesn't mean we can't help them. In fact, I'd prefer to think that we have an upper hand."

"How?" he questioned, furrowing his brow.

"Do you remember the feeling that night when the team finally showed up and rescued you?" she asked. He nodded; remembering the relief when he realized Hotch had understood his message. "So we can use that feeling of relief as motivation. Motivation to help provide the victims with that same feeling of knowing that everything is going to get better from that point on." She paused slightly, letting that sink in. "And, when that is unfortunately not an option, we can at least provide justice for those we couldn't reach like my mom and Lucas."

Reid squeezed her hand and smiled slightly, "You're right. You're right."

Sarah smiled and released her hand from his. She spun around in her chair, "So, now what are we going to do?" she asked, electing to change the subject for him. Reid couldn't stop himself from laughing at her slightly childlike behavior. He grabbed hold of the chair, stopping it so she faced him again.

"I could finish the tour I was supposed to give you," he offered.

"That is an excellent idea, my dear Doctor," she replied with a wink. Standing up, he offered his hand to her and she quickly accepted it.

"Well, first, this is the conference room where we meet to discuss new cases before heading to their locations," he started.

"Wow, it's so…big. The chairs were comfy," she replied with a laugh. Reid grinned as they walked out the door to finish their exciting tour until the team called again.