A/N: I realize Reid might seem a little OOC in this chapter, but I figured seeing his dad might have that effect and the Reid in these stories has been changed by Sarah anyway so…
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Through Thick and Thin
Chapter Eleven: The Confrontation
By Ann Parker
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Charles R. Swindoll once said, "We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude."
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"Sp-Sp-Spencer?" William sputtered. He couldn't believe his eyes. This was one of those rare occasions where he was caught off guard.
"What's the matter, dad, cat got your tongue?" The amount of venom dripping off of each word even caught Gideon by surprise. Never in his life had he heard that tone in Reid's usually kind, soft-spoken voice. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. Reid didn't notice the concern in Gideon's eyes, however. He was too focused at staring down the man that abandoned him. That made him become an adult when he should have still been a child.
William cleared his throat, determined to not let this get the best of him. "No, no, I'm just shocked you're still walking the sheets."
Reid let out a slight laugh as he took a seat across from his father, setting down the folder he had brought in with him. "Funny, considering you're the one under investigation."
William leaned forward beginning to enjoy the cat and mouse game that was developing. "Of which I'm completely innocent of and you know it. You just got your buddies to humiliate me and damage my reputation out of spite. Although how you got a job in the FBI is beyond me. Did you lie about your family history? How is your schizo mother, by the way?"
Reid slammed his fist down on the table. "The wife you abandoned is fine, no thanks to you. The 10-year-old boy you abandoned is part of an elite group of profilers for the FBI and has a wife and child despite how his father treated him. We made it without you, dad. You were weak. You couldn't handle that the perfect little family you wanted wasn't to be. You didn't want to handle your wife's illness and your genius son intimidated you. So you sulked away and tired to find the perfect family to replace the one you left. Did you find it? Do they know about the one you left behind? Do you think they will still love you when they find out?"
Now William was just angry. "You leave them alone! They have nothing to do with this!"
Reid smirked; he had control of the situation. He could tell he had hit a nerve with the last question. "Oh, but they have everything to do with this. When did your new wife stop doing it for you? Two years ago? One year?"
"What are you talking about?" William looked at Gideon. "What is he talking about?" Gideon played dumb and simply shrugged.
Reid stood up quickly, causing his chair to make a screeching sound against the floor. "How long did it take you before you needed to go after innocent teenage girls?
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Sarah could see the look of terror in Erin's eyes as she looked at the photo. "I know this is really hard, but I need you to vocalize if this is the man that attacked you or not," she stated gently.
Erin nodded, "That's him." Sarah quickly handed Morgan his phone back and he left the room to call Hotch. When she made eye contact with Erin again, it was as if the flood gates opened for the teenager. "He's into witchcraft and things liked that. I met him at the bowling alley and he asked me if I wanted to go up to some cabin his dad used to own where he practices the craft. I knew I shouldn't go, but he was cute and different from the other guys at my school. All they ever care about is football and hunting. So I told my friends that I wasn't feeling well and was going home. When we got to the cabin he offered me a soda." Erin paused, catching her breath.
"Did you drink it?" Sarah asked, urging her to continue.
"Only a few sips. It tasted really weird, like flat or something. He showed me a few things and then I started to feel really tired. I told him I needed to go home. He seemed fine and said he'd walk me home. Only we took this really weird way through the woods and I wasn't really sure how close to town we were. That's when he…"
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"I didn't attack those girls!" William exclaimed.
Reid silently opened the folder and set down photos of each of the victims - Melissa and Tiffany's bodies and then Erin's photo after she arrived at the hospital. "They were only sixteen, dad. They had their whole lives ahead of them. You had to take that away from them, didn't you?" Gideon and Reid both watched William turn away from the photos in disgust.
"I didn't do that," he stated, much quieter now, almost broken.
"But you know who did, don't you? Is that why you attacked Erin and my wife? You didn't want Erin to tell her who raped her, who tried to kill her, so you had to take them both out?" Reid asked; his voice much quieter now, an eerie quiet.
William looked up at him. "You're married to Agent Riverson?" Reid nodded and William turned away, now talking to himself. "That's why she reacted that way. I thought she didn't like me because I was doing my job."
Now Reid was confused, "You attacked her because she didn't like you?"
William shook his head, looking at his son once more. "No. I didn't attack her or Erin, Spencer. I honestly don't know who did this." His façade of a cocky, know-it-all was crumbling before them. The tone in his voice reminded Reid of that fateful day when he said he was sorry before walking out of room and out of his life. All the pain from that moment came rushing back to him.
"Why should I believe you? After everything you've done, why should I believe that didn't do this?" His voice wobbled a little bit, the interrogation starting to turn to another topic. The topic that Reid had wanted to discuss for seventeen years. Unfortunately, it was cut short when Hotch busted through the door.
"I don't," he stated, setting down a copy of the photo Morgan had sent him. William looked down at it and his jaw dropped open.
"Gregory? You think he did this?" he asked, looking back up at Hotch.
"We know he did. Erin Jonas just told Agent Riverson. We know he took her up to a cabin in the woods. A cabin his father used to own. Where is it?" Hotch demanded.
William cleared his throat, trying to regain control of the situation, and his façade started to build back up. "She must be mistaken. He couldn't have done this and I won't help you persecute my family because of the grudge Spencer has against me."
Reid refocused and pulled out more photos of the girls, showing their numerous bruises and wounds. "This has nothing to do with me. This has to do with finding the person that did this to these girls. It's about Erin, a 16-year old girl, who had her innocence taken away from her. She watched the agent trying to protect her get hurt and almost lost her life a second time, but still has the strength to speak out against her attacker. She's the one that has identified your step-son. Help her."
William straightened his tie and stood up. "It is a shame what happened to those girls, to Erin. But I don't believe Gregory is capable of such an act. I will not help you. Now, I don't believe you have anything to keep me here, so if you'll excuse me." He walked right past Hotch and headed for the door. He paused at the doorway, turned and looked at Spencer. For a moment, Gideon thought he was going to finally say what he knew the young man needed to hear, but instead he simply turned back around and left.
For Reid, it was too much. He slowly sat back down in his chair and put his head in his hands. The feeling of abandonment, again, was starting to overwhelm him and Hotch and Gideon could both see it. This confrontation was completely backfiring on them in the worse possible way.
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