May 12, 2014

Simple Design—Breaking Benjamin (4:15)

Criminal Minds

Hotch and Reid

Hotch had watched Reid's face as the Unsub had ranted at them. As he'd called them all on what he saw as their faults and weaknesses. Reid had looked completely unaffected by the Unsub calling him autistic. His explanation of the Unsub's profiling skills set off alarm bells in Hotch's head.

Reid's lack of babble about facts and statistics for the rest of the case made him uneasy. Even though they were all busy he still noted the lack of Reid's voice. He stood back as they loaded Patricia onto the ambulance and watched Reid standing next to Gideon.

Reid reached out to grasp Gideon's elbow and the older man brushed him off with a few words as he held up his hands in stop gesture. His body language screamed irritation and defensiveness.

Hotch sighed. Gideon was supposed to be the kid's mentor. Gideon was supposed to be reassuring and fatherly while Hotch, as Reid's supervisory agent, was supposed to be demanding and protective. Looked like he was going to have to fill both roles…again.

"You're not, you know?" Hotch told him as they walked away from the jet and towards the SUVs that would take them back to Quantico.

"Not what?" Reid threw at him with a confused expression.

"Autistic," Hotch said seriously. "You get more comfortable with us every day, too. You're a valuable member of this team and don't ever doubt that, Spencer." He gently reached over and squeezed Reid's shoulder.

Reid's eyes flitted to Gideon and then his shoulders lifted and he grinned over at Hotch. "Yeah," he agreed. "I know." His grin dropped and he chewed at his lip. "Just…I forget sometimes. This feeling…of…family, I guess. It's not a natural feeling for me. I like it but sometimes I get scared that I'll lose it all."

Hotch used his hold on the younger man to turn him to face him fully. "No matter what happens, Reid, one of us will always be around to help you with anything you need. Anything."

Wide shocked brown eyes met his and then a smile curled the young man's lips. "Thanks," Reid breathed out. Then those eyes gained a bit of sparkle. "Really. Cuz I, uh…I'm out of ice cream at home so if you wouldn't mind…"

Hotch lightly cuffed the back of Reid's head and chuckled. "Such a joker, genius. Get your own ice cream. You have a car."

Reid let out a laugh and then jogged ahead to catch up to the rest of the team.