Hi everyone! I'm on top of my report so I thought I might add the next chapter.
Before I say anything else though, first episode of season 3… Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! OMFG!!! Gideon nooooooo! I thought I was being nasty was my cliffie. Do they want me to have a stroke?!
Also just a quick wooooo-hooooo GO CATS! Totally kicked Port Adelaide's sorry behind in the Grand Final does the happy dance
Anyways back to the story…
Foxyladyhubbards: Yeah I know I'm so mean which is bad coz I wuv Reid soooo much. Don't stress though, even though he aint out of the woods yet things'll get better. Cross my heart.
Hope06: Awww you always make me smile :-D
Tearbos: Yep Reid can't hide it anymore. Did you like the premiere? I think you can tell what I thought from my reaction above huh?
brihana25: Thank-you :-) It's great to hear that you like both Evie and the plot. I feel the same way about original characters so I was a bit worried about putting her in, she was a character that I just needed to get written down though. Thanks!
LestatHughLover: Ahh don't die! I'm sorry I had to leave it there, I hope I didn't give you a stroke! As soon as I wrote that bit between Evie and Reid I went 'yeah that's cool'. I'm doing my best to keep Reid's habit quiet but as realistically as possible so unfortunately yeah people are gonna find out.
Ryuzaki: Don't worry even in my twisted little mind I could never bring myself to kill Reid hugs Reid never ever ever!
blackpanther2288: yup a few people find out this chapter, hope you enjoy it :-)
And so on with the show!
It was a strange sensation.
It was like floating.
No.
More like falling, tumbling through space slowly.
It was like the feeling one gets when they're finally drifting off to sleep.
The feeling of suddenly falling, crashing into the bed, only this was slower.
A slow motion hypnagogic jerk.
He fell until he found himself settled softly on something that was stiff and perhaps not as soft as he would have liked.
The strands of fog around his mind began to dissipate and sounds could be heard.
As the mist cleared he could distinguish words.
"… a young Squire,
A lover and a lusty bachelor;
With locks curled, as they were laid in press.
Of twenty year of age he was, I guess.
Of his stature he was of even length,
And wonderly delyvere, and of greet strength.
And he had been sometime in chivalry
In Flanders, in Artois, and Picardy
And born him well, as of so little space,
In hope to stand in his lady's grace…"
Spencer Reid slowly opened his eyes, the melodic prose stopped.
He turned his head and tried to ignore the thudding pain that had come with it.
Evie Vimes looked sat beside him a concerned look on her face, a heavy book that he had seen in her car earlier that day lay on her lap.
"Chaucer" he murmured.
"Canterbury Tales" she said with a gentle smile.
"My Mom used to read Chaucer to me" he croaked, his throat felt tacky.
"I know" Vimes nodded, "the Squire, he almost sounds a bit like you does he not?"
"I've been mistaken for a Knight of the Round Table too".
"…okaaay."
"Long story".
"I'll bet" Vimes smiled a little.
"Where am I?" Reid asked.
"The hospital"
"Did I…" he trailed off.
"Yeah you overdosed" came the quiet reply.
Reid shut his eyes "you brought me here?"
"Yeah"
"Thank-you."
"I had help" Vimes said.
Reid opened his eyes to look at her again.
"Agent Hotchner- he was still awake. He heard me scream".
Reid winced.
"Yeah it's that bad" Vimes nodded, "you're a stupid git you know that?"
"I know" he replied wondering what a 'git' was, he had a feeling it meant that he was an idiot.
"You could have died" her voice trembled, it was obvious she was still shaken up.
"I'm sorry" Reid whimpered.
"Yeah everyone's bloody sorry! But it doesn't change things does it? You can't undo the damage you've caused!" Vimes clenched her fists in anger.
"Are we still talking about me?" Reid enquired.
"Yes and no".
"Your Mom" Reid guessed.
"Yeah" Vimes ran her fingers through her hair, "sometimes I just wish my mother didn't regret what she had done. It would make it so much easier to accept what happened, eliminate the 'what if?' I suppose".
Reid nodded sympathetically and winced as the slight movement sent another wave of pain raging through his head.
"You okay?"
"Ugh I feel awful" Reid moaned.
"Serves you right" Vimes said trying to sound stern, "I don't know what possessed you to put that junk in your system".
"I started using-" Reid began
"You don't have to tell me" Vimes interrupted, "I don't care so long as you stop".
"No Evie please" Reid's voice cracked, "I need you to understand why".
"Good night"
"Yeah good night" Morgan nodded as Emily Prentiss shut her hotel door.
He wandered down the hall to his hotel room then stopped.
He looked past his room to the end of the hall.
He wasn't tired.
Maybe he should go check on Reid, see if he could get the kid to let him in on what was wrong.
Morgan walked to Reid's room and frowned.
The door was wide open.
He stepped in and looked around, not a soul present.
Backing out of the room he quickly made his way to Hotch's door.
He knocked twice and after no answer he took out his cell.
"Hotchner".
"Reid's gone" Morgan said, "please tell me you're with him".
"Yeah I am" his voice sounded strained.
"What's going on?" Morgan felt his pulse quicken, something was very wrong.
There was silence on the other line.
"Hotch" Morgan pressed.
"I can't really talk right now Morgan".
"Is Reid alright?" Morgan demanded,
"He will be" was the curt reply.
"Where are you?" Morgan said walking back to his own room and lowering his voice, "I am sick of everybody cutting me out".
"…the hospital" Hotch admitted. He knew he could trust Morgan with this.
Derek Morgan stiffened and felt his blood run cold, a million reasons for why they were at the hospital ran through his mind.
"What happened?" Morgan whispered.
There was a sigh "accidental overdose".
Morgan flinched but felt relieved at the 'accidental', "oh man. How do I get there?"
"You don't" Hotch said in a gentler tone, "he's going to be fine, just get some sleep. Don't tell anyone" he added as an afterthought.
There was a click and Morgan gently placed the phone on the bedside table.
Quietly Morgan opened the hotel room door and walked back to Reid's room.
He knelt down beside the suitcase which had various items of clothing poking out of it.
Then Morgan turned his head and saw something he had not seen before.
A small kit lay on the floor, it had been hidden from view by the bed.
He opened the kit and held up the small vial as if to study it.
He threw it down and stood back up.
With a pained and frustrated cry he slammed his fist into the door.
Aaron Hotchner stood in the visitor's bathroom of the hospital.
He splashed water on his face and stared at himself in the mirror watching the water drip down his weary features.
How could he not have seen this?
Of course part of him had suspected… but it was Reid, he'd never thought…but he should have. He should have been prepared for anything.
'Everybody reacts to trauma in an individual way' he thought, 'of course PTSD has it's symptoms but you cannot predict every part of a person's behaviour'.
He flinched as he remembered bursting into Reid's room when he had heard Vimes' scream.
The girl had tried her best to put Reid in the recovery position but she was only tiny and the gangly Reid had gone completely limp.
He had been so still…
Hotch hadn't panicked.
Oh yes he had felt the terror rise in the pit of his stomach but he had pushed it down. There would be time for that later.
Instead he had scooped up the unconscious boy in his arms and said bluntly to Vimes "car. Now".
Vimes had coped well under the pressure he thought, she was extremely distressed but with careful haste she had driven to the hospital.
Pushing the door open he walked back out into the corridor giving a grateful nod to the doctor who walked past.
It was the woman who was treating Reid.
Hotch had stared at the doctor in disbelief when she had informed him that as overdoses go, it wasn't a bad one.
His agent would be discharged by morning.
It had taken a while for the news to sink in. When it did, Hotch had felt a wave of relief wash over him and had made a silent prayer that Jack never do anything like this in years to come.
He wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle that.
"Here" a voice said behind him, "you look like you need it".
Hotch turned and took the coffee from Detective Inspector Jacobson with a weak smile "thank-you".
Vimes had contacted the man when they had gotten to the hospital "we'll need his help to keep it quiet" she explained.
Hotch was grateful for this, if it somehow got back to the bureau Reid would almost certainly loose his job.
"I'm sorry" Hotch felt he should take responsibility, "this won't affect the case. I promise you".
Jacobson gave an understanding nod "so long as the young fella gets back on his feet I'm not fussed".
Hotch rubbed his face "I should have known he was…"
"Oh we all think that in hindsight" Jacobson dismissed the thought with a wave, "it's the curse of a parent".
"As a profiler I should have seen it".
"Aaron" Jacobson said leaning against the corridor wall, "I have been a Police Officer for 35 years and a father for 32. I have seen drug overdoses, suicide attempts, marriages, break ups, fights, murder, manslaughter, recklessness, misery and a damn lot more from kids Reid's age and younger, including my own. You have no idea the amount of grief Evie's given me and don't even get me started on the twins".
Hotch looked at him.
"The one thing I've discovered" Jacobson continued, "is that some of them are bloody good at hiding things. You might think everything's just fine and dandy then you're being called into the police station because your son's been shoplifting or the school counsellor tells you that your daughter is anorexic. That's when you find out just how far they've fallen".
"And then what?" Hotch asked.
"Then you find a way to help them" Jacobson said, "because they need you".
"He tried to make me dig but I was too weak, so he took his coat off, threw it on the ground. I could see the flashlights behind him, when he turned around to see what I was looking at I grabbed the gun from his coat…"
Vimes sat still, her face growing whiter and whiter as Reid told her what had happened with Tobias Hankel and everything that had followed.
When he finished he saw that Vimes' eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"Please don't cry" Reid said to her but this only made the silent tears begin to flow.
"Oh God" she finally whispered and clutched his hand, "Spence. I wish I could've been there to help you".
"You're helping me now" Reid managed a small smile, "at least I'm asking you to".
"Then say it".
"I want to quit" Reid replied firmly, "for good this time"
Vimes wiped away her tears "I'm here for you".
The curtain was pushed back and Hotch walked through.
He gave Vimes a look that clearly said "leave", she turned to Reid who gave a slight nod.
Vimes got up and left after giving Reid's hand an encouraging squeeze.
Hotch stepped out from behind the curtain and gently held her wrist "we both know what would have happened it you weren't there" he whispered, "thank-you".
Vimes nodded with a brave smile and he released her.
Hotch slowly lowered himself into Vimes' recently vacated chair and stared straight ahead, a stony expression on his face.
"It's worse when you don't say anything" Reid said quietly.
"How long?" Hotch asked curtly
"Since Georgia" Reid replied. There was no point evading answers now.
Hotch nodded "I suppose that explains a lot" he closed his eyes for a moment, "and Gideon knew?"
"I told him after New Orleans" Reid said, "he helped me quit. I started using again after he left"
"Why?" Hotch managed to keep the desperation out of his voice.
Reid turned away for a moment "it hurt. I felt so alone".
"You should have told me".
"No I couldn't tell you" Reid said with a pained expression "you can't imagine the shame I felt Hotch, and I couldn't bear to see you disappointed in me".
"Why didn't you tell anybody else?" Hotch asked, "like Morgan or J.J?"
"They might have walked away as well" Reid said bitterly.
Hotch nodded again. Reid was upset but this was progress, he was opening up.
"Evie said I should tell you" Reid said quietly.
"Well I know now" Hotch said patiently, "so talk to me".
"Do the others know?"
"Morgan does, Jacobson too".
Reid cringed, already dreading the next time he saw Morgan.
"Does anybody else on the team have to know?" Reid asked quietly.
"This can't be a secret any longer Reid" Hotch told him gently, "you won't recover if you hide it away".
"Please don't tell anybody else. At least wait until this case is finished" Reid begged, 'I won't touch the Dilaudid again I promise".
Hotch sighed "Reid you're bargaining".
Reid turned his gaze to the ceiling and a tear rolled down his cheek.
Hotch's shoulders sagged, if he lost Reid's trust now he would have no hope of helping him.
"Alright" Hotch finally gave in, "but when you're discharged in the morning, we destroy the Dilaudid understood?"
Reid nodded gratefully.
"Try and get some rest" Hotch said rising, "I won't be far away. I can send Evie back in here if you like"
Reid nodded and winced at the pain, he really had to stop moving his head "thanks Hotch".
Hotch's reply was terse but had a tinge of affection, "don't ever scare me like that again".
It was early morning and the sun was yet to rise.
Keith Cooper drove along the Hume on his way to market.
Cooper had been a produce farmer his whole life, his family had been growing vegetables for generations.
Now with the drought things were getting tough, the crop that sat in his Ute was pitiful compared to what his father had used to grow.
Still it was all he had, Cooper wondered if perhaps he should sell the farm and start anew.
All of a sudden there was an almighty bang and the Ute swerved to the side of the road, Cooper slammed on the breaks with a cry of surprise.
Pulling into the rest stop Cooper hopped out and examined his Ute, the front left tyre had burst. He kicked it with frustration and went to get the spare tyre.
In the passenger seat Cooper's Blue Heeler, the unimaginatively named Bluey began to whine and scratch at the door.
"Bloody dog" Cooper growled, he opened the passenger side door and the dog jumped out, bolting into the bushes.
Cooper had almost finished changing the tyre when Bluey began to bark.
Cooper whistled for his dog to return but it kept barking.
Concerned he grabbed the shovel he kept in his Ute and jogged over in the direction of the barking, it could be a snake and he didn't want it to hurt Bluey.
When Cooper found his dog he saw it nosing a patch of earth "what are you doing?"
Then he saw what it had uncovered "oh my God".
So Reid's gonna be okay people yay!
Tune in next time for another exciting installment :-)