A/N: Yay! Back with a new chapter! Just so you aren't confused, about halfway through there is a switch to Reid's perspective. Enjoy!
I looked back and forth down the street before I gathered the nerve to knock on the door. I made Angie stand against the wall to the left so she couldn't be seen from inside. She complained at having to stand against the ivy that trailed up the side of the building but she hushed when I gave her a warning glance.
It was a long time before he opened the door but I'll tell you that I really didn't mind. The funny thing is, this was the last place I wanted to be but also my only choice. He was the only person who would take me in off the record, and for good reason.
When I saw him, an involuntary shudder rippled up my spine. Seeing him did not exactly bring up pleasant memories. His hair was straggly but shiny black like he had just washed it and not bothered to brush it.
His face changed several times before he spoke. It went from surprise to confusion and then to being pleased. His dark eyes were fixated on mine.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. He didn't altogether too bad. When I first met him, he drank with my dad all the time. He was my first paid client. Then he started to slow it down with the booze. Last I saw him he had been sober for almost a year.
"I need a place to crash for a while." I said audaciously. He leaned back and laughed heartily. "Do I come across as a generous man to you?" My request was not as ridiculous as he made it out to be. I had stayed with him a couple times in the past few years when things with my parents heated up. It was a simple arrangement.
"You get a free hour each night until I leave." He stopped laughing and just gave me an appraising look. He shook his head. "You're crazy but I'm game. Just go to one of them group homes and they'll keep you for free." I shook my head. He studied me over his long nose and shrugged.
"Fine." He stepped aside to let me in. I didn't move. "Another thing, my sister is staying too and you won't touch her or I'll call the cops on you." He held up his hands. "Geez, you drive a hard bargain." He mocked. I popped my hip and waited for him to cave.
He waved me in. "Whatever, get in." I shoved my hand toward him and waited for him to shake it. I wasn't budging until he did. He laughed me off but shook my hand anyway. Men like him don't think a girl's word is worth anything. I'd show him if he tried to weasel out of the deal.
At the Bureau: Reid
"Did you sleep at all last night?" Morgan asked, raising his eyebrows at my yawning.
"I did, actually." I said. I gulped down the last bit of coffee in my mug.
"Yeah? For how long?"
"Three hours." Morgan rolled his eyes. He went to spoon sugar into his own coffee but stopped when he realized the bowl was empty. "Seriously? That can't be healthy."
"Ostriches only sleep for 15 minutes at a time and 5 hours in a day. If you count the hours of sleep I'll get by the end of the day, I'm really not far behind." He threw his hands up in surrender and backed away. He turned to the counter and poured honey into his coffee instead of sugar.
"So you were up with that girl? It's kind of funny that she latched on to you of all people." I opened my mouth wide in mock offense. "I guess I'm just more approachable than you or Hotch."
"Or Emily and JJ?" I shrugged. He had a point. "She never really talked to them." Morgan nodded like he was totally convinced. "Speaking of which, where is she?" Morgan asked.
"She's talking to the social worker. They're probably going to place her in another home." Morgan frowned and looked down from over the railing. "The door is open and I don't see anybody in there." I took a look for myself and saw that he was right. Neither Alex nor her sister were anywhere to be seen. The social worker was storming back and forth down the office.
Morgan and exchanged a glance and I quickly made my way down the stairs. The social worker was young and looked frustrated. Her dark ponytail swung side to side as strode toward me.
"Do you know where that girl is?" She demanded. I shook my head. "I thought she was with you." I said. JJ made her way over when she saw the distraught social worker talking to me.
"Excuse me, is everything alright?" JJ asked in her ridiculously calm voice. The social worker twirled the ends of her hair with her finger and avoided JJ's eyes like she had done something wrong.
"I just told her to go get her sister. Now she's gone. She needs to go to the hospital before any remaining evidence is contaminated." I opened my mouth furiously to tell her off for treating Alex like evidence but I felt Morgan's hand on my arm and shut up.
"Ok." JJ said reasonably, "We'll just have to find her."
Two Days Later
It was only as a favor to me that Hotch agreed to let the team try to locate her. She was a runaway, this countries had millions of runaways, but I felt I had an obligation to her. She came to me when she needed help. She trusted me enough to do that. Now it was my turn to return the favor.
The past two days had been nearly as restless as the one just prior to her disappearance. Garcia deserved the credit for much of the work. I sat with her for hours while she watched the endless footage of surveillance cameras from the lobby and nearby businesses but even after I left, she kept working. We saw Alex and her sister last on the cameras of a bank a few streets down and then lost track of her.
She didn't want our help. She wanted to just do things her way like she had all her life; by herself. So in a way, my "favor" was in vain. She didn't want it. But I couldn't let her go and get herself hurt.
Garcia checked the records on all the shelters and group homes in the city but Alex's name never showed up. She didn't have a car, credit card, or even any ID on her so she would be as hard to trace as a homeless person. The only thing is, she hadn't been on the street long enough for anyone to be able to recognize her.
The fact that she had her sister with her made it all even more confusing. I knew from the night that she came to me with Angie, her cheeks tearstained, that she would never risk her little sister's safety. I knew that she didn't trust the system (how could she after everything that she had been through?) but she had to realize that almost anything was safer than being two young girls on the street.
It was on the third day that we finally made a break through. It was on no account of mine or anyone else's on the team that we found her. It was sheer luck. I was sitting on a chair beside Garcia's, staring over her shoulder and rotating lightly back and forth, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I answered.
"Hello? This is Dr. Reid speaking." I said. There was a pause on the other end of the line and then a woman's voice came through over the phone. "Hi Dr. Reid." She said kindly. "A young girl and her sister came into the clinic a few hours ago. The older one wouldn't talk to us but she gave us this number to call. Are you family?"
I was completely frozen. I gaped into the phone. Garcia was now watching me, her fingers running over her feather pen anxiously. "What is it?" Garcia hissed. I shook my head. "Is her name Alex? Blond hair, about 5'4?" Garcia's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. There was a crinkling of paper in my ear. "Uh, yes, that matches the description. She hasn't given us her name. The younger one's name is Angie. She's talking plenty but we aren't getting anything coherent from her. What is your relation?"
I didn't know what to say. I choked on my words. "I'm with the FBI. The girl is a friend of mine. She's been missing for several days. Is she alright?" The woman sounded surprised. "Oh, my. Well, she is at the St Anne's hospital. I'd rather talk to you in person. She will have to stay overnight but please do come by. Poor girl needs a friend." I nodded anxiously before realizing that the woman couldn't see me. "Right, of course. I'll be there soon."
I hung up and looked at Penelope, still in shock. "She's at the hospital."
A/N: So what do you think? Was Reid's perspective OK? I know the ending there was a little cruel but don't worry, I'll update soon. Thanks for the comments and follows guys! It means a lot:)