Verdict
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
'It is loneliness that makes the loudest is as true of men as it is of dogs' ~ Eric Hoffer.
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Hotch stared at the old man seated fefore him. It didn't take a profiler to realize that this man had given up. He was slowly killing himself. There was no point in asking him anymore questions. He sat and stared at the tv as if Hotch wasn't even in the room.
He heard the floorboards creak above him. Reid was upstairs and had yet to yell 'clear' that alone was enough reason to draw his gun and hurry to the second floor. He heard Reid's startled yell. Hotch found himself in the doorway of a bedroom with the unsub holding on to a barely conscious Reid with one hand and holding a gun to the agents temple with the other.
"Drop the weapon," Hotch ordered as he pointed his gun directly at the man
The man practically bared his teeth at the agent and grasped his semi conscious hostage even tighter.
"No, you drop your gun or I will blow your buddy's head clean open" he threatened. His hands were beginning to shake and Hotch recognized the desperate look in the man's eyes. He wore the expression of a trapped animal. He was ten times more dangerous if he felt he had nothing to lose.
"And I will shoot you dead," Hotch replied, his voice stony cold.
Hotch barely moved a muscle. Reid's eyes were closed; Hotch could tell the unsub was having difficulty hanging on to him.
"It's over, in a few minutes this house will be filled with police and FBI. Let the agent go and we'll get you some help," Hotch said.
The man laughed "Help, are you kidding ? Nobody helps me. Not you, not my sister, not that bastard downstairs,"
"Your father?" Hotch asked.
"Yes, if you can call him that. Our mother dies and he stops taking his insulin. She always took care of him. He lost his legs, his medical practice half his sight, I was in medical school, I had to drop out to care for him while my sister is sitting pretty up north with her education paid for and her own practice so I..." he stopped to look down at Reid.
Reid struggled slightly. The unsub gripped him tighter. "Either you let me out of here or this guy is dead." he threatened.
"That's not going to happen. You don't have to do this; he has done nothing to you," Hotch tried to reason, but he was really stalling for time. He could hear sirens in the distance.
"I do have to do this," the man whispered. His expression took on a vacant look as the sirens became louder and finally stopped. He pressed the revolver under Spencer's chin.
Hotch saw his chance, with a steady and sure aim he fired his gun.
The man did not make a sound as the bullet lodged in his right upper chest. The gun fell from his hands, he toppled over and landed on top of Reid.
Hotch rushed over, grabbed the unsub's gun and pulled the screaming man off of Spencer. Reid had been hit quite hard on the head, he did not awaken or move as Hotch tried to rouse him into consciousness.
"Reid, it's over, wake up."
There was no response.
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Reid felt he was climbing a ladder in his efforts to awaken. One moment he could hear Hotch's steady cool voice and then he couldn't. Another moment he felt strong arms gripping him hard enough to hurt and he struggled to be free of them til the arms gripped him tighter and he could feel himself slipping further down this particular dark hole he seemed to be trapped in. Finally he heard a loud bang, he was dropped to the ground and a heavy weight fell on him, taking his breath away.
The next time he tried to climb back up he was in a moving vehicle. He could see Morgan sitting off to the side. Derek saw Spencer's eyes open to slits. He took Reid's hand in both his own and spoke softly to him.
"That's it pretty boy, wake up, we're getting you help. It's going to be ok," Derek soothed.
Reid tried to nod but the pain in his head was too great and the effort of staying awake impossible. He slid down into the darkness again.
The ladder was easier this time. The pain had subsided and when he opened his eyes he was lying down on a fast moving table. The bright lights above him hurt his eyes as he was quickly wheeled down a strange off white corridor. He saw many people this time. They were leaning over him, talking to him, saying his name even though he couldn't answer back. He saw the faces of Rossi, Morgan and they would smile and speak to him. He wanted to smile back and touch them.
The moving table he was on turned a corner and he was taken into a room. His team disappeared from his sight. Now there were strangers hovering above him. They spoke quickly and only to each other. He wanted his friends back, these people scared him and he wondered if they mean't to hurt him in someway. The things they were doing were painful and he wanted them to stop. He began to struggle and when he saw a man coming at him with a large syringe. He began to scream.
"No, Tobias no please, I dont' want it I don't want it." He pleaded. "Ethan, Gideon, help me help me!,"
He stopped cold; It was if the fear and pain had evaporated into thin air. He felt a familiar delicious warmth filling his entire body. How he missed this feeling and before he lost consciousness he wondered how he ever could have stopped wanting it. It's absence now made the sensations all that much sweeter.
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The team once again found themselves in an all too familiar setting. The hospital waiting room. Here they sat once again as one of ther own lay injured in the next room. The waiting was almost the worst part..They were helpless because the only thing they could do was wait.
Hotch walked in and a sense of deja vue washed over him as he saw his teammates gathered, sitting on hard chairs and drinking bad vending machine coffee. They all looked up at him at the same time.
"How is he?" was the first thing out of Hotch's mouth.
Derek sighed, "We don't know, he seemed to be waking up a bit in the ambulance and in the hallway but when they took him into the exam room well..." He had a hard time finishing his sentence, he felt like he was betraying Reid.
"Morgan, tell me what happened" Hotch said
Morgan lowered his voice as he walked Hotch away from the others. "He was screaming, he was screaming at Tobias and then he started screaming for his friend Ethan and for Gideon."
Hotch frowned. "It has to be the hit he took on the head, it's confused him." Hotch reasoned.
"I sure hope so," Morgan mumbled. Before Hotch could respond, a doctor came out of the exam room.
"Spencer Reid?" he said.
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Reid was waking up, He groaned when he felt the pain in his head. He struggled to focus his vision. He could see he was in a hospital room and several people were sitting around the room. He tried to lift his head when a gentle voice scolded him
"Hey you, not so fast."
He looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Emily. She brushed the hair out of his face with her hand and smiled at him
"Kid, we were wondering when you going to wake up," said a male voice he recognized as Morgan.
The fog began to clear, he saw that Rossi and Hotch were also there. He touched a tender spot on the back of his head and winced. He remembered what happened in the house
"The unsub?", he said to Hotch.
Hotch stepped in closer
They have him in custody. You were right Reid. Jeff Allan was dumping off the bodies using the rolling chairs. He was completely delusional. His father a diabetic had stopped looking after himself after his wife died. He blamed his father for ruining his life He used his fathers home office as a front. and had access to medical files. He posed as a specialist, convincing these men to go off their insulin treatment, promising them he had a cure. Allan was killing men he thought were like his father.
"It doesn't make a lot of sense," Morgan added
"It only had to make sense to him," Hotch said.
"How long have I been here? " Spencer asked.
"Just a couple of days. You had a severe concussion plus they had to sew up the cut on the back of your head." Rossi told him." You were pretty confused for the first day or so."
"I was?" said Spencer, slightly worried what he might have said or done.
Hotch read the look on his face and hastened to reassure him "The doctor said you're going to be fine, though he said to expect headaches and maybe some dizzyness or confusion,"
"Yes, I know, post concussion symdrome may last days or even weeks." Reid supplied.
"You're talking to a guy who probably knows more about it than most head specialists ." Rossi said to Hotch with a wink.
"Reid blinked "That's true,"
The team laughed.
"Well there's another thing, until you're cleared by a Bureau doctor it's desk duty for you and since it's not advisable for you to be flying, Morgan has volunteered to drive you home," said Hotch.
"Road trip kid!" Morgan said with a grin.
Spencer felt his head beginning to ache already.
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A stern faced nurse had ushered most of the team out of Spencer's room with the exception of Hotch. Hotch wanted to talk to Reid privately.
Spencer sat expecting to get a lecture on going upstairs looking for the unsub without backup instead Hotch went over to a chair, picked up Reid's messenger bag and and placed it on Reid's bed.
Spencer felt his mouth go dry, Hotch knew about the syringe inside the bag. Reid said nothing and for a minute the two men just stared at each other.
Finally Hotch spoke, "Reid, the entire time we've been here your behavior has been pretty odd and it's worried me. They did a full blood workup on you here, It was perfect. Is there anything in this bag that could change those results?" Hotch fixed his gaze upon him as if looking for the slightist sign of a lie.
Reid took a deep breath, "No Hotch there isn't and there wont be," He looked up at the unit chief. "Sometimes I like to test myself, to have things that can hurt me close to me. I need to know I can still function even when it's right in my face, That I'm strong enough."
Hotch nodded and Spencer could see the man visibly relax.
"I understand Reid, but as far as I'm concerned you passed your test a long time ago, and believe me, you're strong enough."
He dropped the bag on the chair again.
"Goodnight, you're going home tomorrow, get some rest" Hotch left the room. Reid felt something wet on his face; he hadn't realized he had started to cry.
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Reid awoke with a start. It was pitch black in his room. He could hear rain outside his window and the hum of machinery in the hall. He had been having a rather vivid dream. He dream't he and Lila Archer were making love in his hopital bed while the unsub sat in an armchair and watched . Then the unsub turned into Ethan and he found himself having sex with both Ethan and Lila.
He was more perplexed than aroused. Spencer wondered why he was having such erotic dreams. He really didn't believe in dream analysis. He guessed these people were just on his mind these days.
The darkness bothered him especially since he felt the presence of another person in the room. There was also that sickly sweet smell again.
"Gideon?" He whispered.
"Yes Reid. It's me," said the clear familiar voice. "Please don't turn on the light,"
"Jason, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, I read that you were hurt,"
"I'm fine, I'm going home tomorrow. Morgan's driving me,"
"Ah yes, Morgan. I'm not surprised," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"What do you mean?" Reid asked, curious to why Gideon was amused.
"Nothing, it's not important. I just wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you, for everything."
"Thank you Jason," he said softly. He felt tears running down his cheeks and was embarrassed by how emotional he was becoming. He closed his eyes and put his hands over his face. A moment later he opened them and blinked into the darkness; Gideon had left.
Reid snuggled under the thin hospital blankets and tried to make himself go back to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
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TBC.
AN: One or perhaps 2 chapters left. Not sure. Thanks for hanging in there. Please read and review. Next chapter Morgan and Reid's road trip.