I changed this chapter a lot but I think it's better now.

Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. I appreciate it greatly.

Seth's limbs acted before his brain had fully caught up, something inside him just snapping at the scene in front of him. He dropped his keys to the floor and practically lunged for his brother, grabbing and hauling him backwards with so much strength it sent him sprawling to the floor.

Richie's face crunched up first in pain from the impact, then in unrestrained rage against his unknown attacker. Seth actually saw him adjusting his grip on his knife, ready to attack him, just before he recognized him and stilled, immediately morphing from a deadly predator to looking like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar.

He looked away, already feeling rage rise inside him at that faux expression.

Instead his eyes flitted to Reid who pushed himself up and staggered backwards, against the desk, clutching at his throat and shirt. There were fresh bloodstains on his collar and he didn't appear to be breathing as he stared at Richard, his lips pressed into a thin white line, his face ghostly pale.

The image did something to Seth that forced him to look away again –it caused a sharp pull in his chest, turning his stomach as he thought about how this would have ended had he not come back when he did, about seeing that face ashen with dead eyes…it made him want to reach out, touch him to convince himself that nothing had happened…

No. Stop.

Just as quickly as that thought had come he clamped down on it, grinding his teeth in frustration.

Thoughts like that were dangerous and he had sworn to himself to stop just two minutes ago. He knew he couldn't personalize the kid like that; he couldn't –and especially not openly- be so bothered by possible collateral damage.

No, the only thing he should worry about in this situation was Richard screwing with his plans. Rational things.

Resolutely, he turned his face away from his hostage, instead focusing on Richie again.

This wasn't about Reid in particular. It was about Richard's behavior. He didn't think any longer about what it meant that this disturbed him so much more than usually, all he knew was that he was fucking furious about the situation and he'd have to let it out on someone.

His brother was still looking at him like he always did in situations like these. He just sat on the floor like a kicked dog, like he didn't understand what had gotten his brother so angry. Like he hadn't meant any harm, like the 13-year old kid he'd once been, reprimanded for seemingly unjust reasons.

Seth barely suppressed a growl at that. He was painfully familiar with those two sides of the coin, with playing the same old game for years and years only to be the one who had the remaining mess to deal with, just so they could go back to pretending it had never happened.

Ultimately, it never failed to send him into a fit –but this time he felt more furious than he had ever been.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed, his voice deadly quiet.

Richie looked a little surprised at the amount of rage he was confronted with. Usually, Seth didn't go into a full-fledged fit unless someone lost at least a limb.

"He tried to knock me out and run off," he shrugged, "I stopped him."

At the blatant lie, Seth was barely able to keep his temper in check. He should have fucking known. Richard always managed to fuck up everything, especially anything concerning his plans. He was about to grab him again, maybe to punch him or something, he didn't know -but stopped himself at the last second.

He closed his eyes briefly, trying to stay rational. What good would it do to flip out now? It wasn't like Richie understood or cared about what he was doing wrong.

No, the rational thing to do here was to make sure this situation wouldn't escalate any further. Richie was under control now that he was back. Which left…

He looked back over at their hostage, the way his chest moved with his irrational breathing, the way his eyes darted from place to place, the shaking – whatever Richie had done or said, exactly, he looked closer to snapping than in all the hours they'd spent together so far.

Shit.

He had seen enough people in this sort of state to know this could turn dangerous any second. Who knew how Reid would react once he found it in him to move?

On instinct, he quickly reached out, about to grab Reid's upper arm to reassure his control of the situation, to make sure he wouldn't flip, or run or something similar - but stopped in his tracks when the younger man recoiled violently, an expression of terror still etched into his features.

Seth froze, feeling a sudden unwelcome pang in his chest when he realized the expression was no longer only caused by Richard but also by him now.

In that moment he really wanted to punch his brother in the face. Or scream. Or both.

Fuck, this was all getting out of control…

Seth took a deep breath to collect himself.

"Richard, out. Now," he then dismissed his brother coolly. There was silence for a moment, then the sound of Richard getting up and a door slamming.

Seth didn't look after him. He would deal with him later -but he couldn't be in here now, not if he was somehow going to fix this.

The door slammed shut, and Reid flinched. Seth frowned, more and more realizing how bad this was as he really looked at his hostage.

Considering his situation, he had looked afraid before too, tense and nervous and intimidated around them –and as much as he had been sure that at least part of that was authentic he had known from the very beginning that this slip of an agent had a lot more guts and self-control than he let on. He had found himself confronted with it during every conversation they'd had so far but only now that it was suddenly gone did he really notice how big a difference it made.

Now, he looked so rattled that it made him appear younger than ever, true fear in his eyes as he looked at Seth.

He hated it immediately, could feel it affecting him despite his best efforts. If it had seemed hard to distance himself before, this was making it impossible. Had it really only been ten minutes before that he had been planning on being less soft from now on?

"Breathe, kid," he said the first thing that came to mind, trying his best do look and sound non-threatening, "I don't know what the hell happened here, but it's over now, so calm down, ok?"

It wasn't the brightest thing to say, granted. He was pretty sure that what he had walked in on was a potential rape-and murder-scenario.

Consequently, he wasn't very surprised to find that his words had little effect, also because he didn't do non-threatening very well in general. Instead of relaxing, Reid inched back along the desk the closer Seth came, eyes flickering between him and the door. . .

He needed a moment to breathe, to realize that the danger was contained now, Seth figured. Unfortunately though, he couldn't take the chance that that would work, especially since Richie had apparently been dumb enough to untie the agent.

Holding up both hand in what he hoped looked like an appeasing gesture he took another step closer, now almost close enough to at least grab a hold of the other's arm.

He saw the flash of determination in Reid's eyes too late, only realizing his mistake when his hand on the desk suddenly moved and then darted forward, silver flashing in the corner of his eye.

Seth recoiled just in time, suddenly finding himself on the pointy end of a letter opener that he had so far neglected to notice. He stood frozen for a moment, stunned by sheer surprise as Reid brought the improvised weapon in front of him protectively, looking no less terrified but just as determined as he pointed it at Seth, knuckles white.

"Stay away from me."

Reid grabbed the metal in his hand so tightly it cut into his palm.

He hardly noticed the sting over the pounding of his heart, pumping adrenaline through his body. This was how a shrew must feel, he thought disjointedly, nearly 1200 heartbeats per minute, living in incessant distress.

He pushed the random thought aside, trying to stay focused. So much had happened in the last five minutes that his instincts were far ahead of his brain action wise, something that couldn't be beneficial. The terror of being completely helpless during Richard's attack sat deep, was just as real as if he were pinned on the floor still, just an inch away from death.

And with Seth standing there, he didn't even try to calm himself, knowing that nothing but this undiluted panic he felt would be an appropriate reaction, especially now that he was certain rational thought wouldn't help in this situation.

There was no way to talk himself out of this; he had been foolish to hope for that. Richard had shown him that by attacking him and Seth had shown him by letting it happen. He had actually made do on his threat, he had shown him how bad his situation actually was, that there would be no talking himself out of it. They were cold blooded killers, the both of them and if he didn't get out of here now, he knew he never would.

He grabbed the makeshift weapon in his hand tighter, unprepared for this but going with the flow. He knew his chances of winning an open fight were infinitesimal –but he had to try.

His eyes never left Seth, who looked just as shocked as he by this sudden action, hands empty and raised for now but overall still terribly tall and broad and muscular. He was saying something about him calming down but Reid wasn't listening; he knew it was all lies. Seth had a gun, as did Richard outside and if he only so much as blinked he knew he would find himself at the business end of it immediately.

"Hey, what are you doing, kid?" Seth's voice was deceptively calm, almost none of his usual threatening expression remaining. Reid could see his mind working behind it though, knew he was thinking just as frantically as he. He was certainly hiding it better though. "What do you think you're gonna accomplish here, huh?"

Reid didn't answer, keeping his grip steady and the man at a distance as his thoughts raced. If he could get past Seth, get Hazel, get to the car somehow…

"Are you listening to me, kid?" It was almost comical the way the whole situation suddenly seemed reversed with Seth trying to talk him down. Well, he would have just as little success as Reid had with him. Not that it stopped him from trying.

"I know what you're thinking and it's not gonna work," his kidnapped inched another step closer, black eyes fixating him intently, "Now why don't you hand that thing over and I forget this happened? We go back to cooperating rationally and nothing will happen to you."

Reid almost laughed at how ridiculous that statement sounded. He had no idea why Seth insisted on repeating that same empty statement over and over when it was obvious that it was a lie. It seemed he really was a sociopath.

That made it clear he had to do this. He knew he only had one chance. If Seth got a hold of him, he was finished; there was simply no comparison in physical strength.

"Keep your hands up," he demanded, voice shaking but hands steady, "and turn around slowly."

He knew the man's gun was tucked into the back of his pants. If he could get to it, he had a chance of getting the situation under control. If Seth complied.

For now, he didn't move, still disturbingly collected. He raised an eyebrow, his dark gaze calculating, testing, "And if I don't? You gonna stab me, Spencer? Coz otherwise we're stuck in this situation."

He didn't repeat the line about not hurting him again. Maybe he had given up on trying to win him over with lies; at least it seemed he was moving on to scare tactics instead. He stepped closer still, leaving only about two feet of space between them so that his chest was almost touching the blade of the letter opener.

Reid drew back, unable to help it. His heart picked up in speed even more and he was starting to feel like he was going to hyperventilate. He forced himself to stay steady, to not sway for even a second.

"Don't think I won't," he hoped he at least looked convincing.

Seth didn't take his eyes off of his as he advanced by another inch, showing him clearly that he didn't. He seemed poised to pounce at the tiniest opening, just waiting for him to make a mistake. Their eyes were boring into each other, a battle of wills.

"See, the problem is I do," Seth slowly shook his head, "I don't think you have it in you to murder someone in cold blood."

"It's self-defense," Reid hissed, refusing to let that man get to him, or make him feel guilty about what needed to be done, "If you honestly think I'm not going to fight us getting raped and murdered, you're crazy."

At the accusation, an odd expression suddenly broke Seth's expression and it seemed his intent faltered momentarily, morphing into one that was somewhere between anger and indignation. He looked hesitant for a moment, then he shook his head, jaw tense.

"No one's gonna…" he took a deep breath, "Look, Richie is-"

"Don't!" Reid interrupted him, his voice cracking. Anger was only going to make him lose more of his sparse control, but he couldn't help it as it boiled up in him, "We both know what he is, how this is going to end!"

x

Seth stopped in his advance momentarily.

He kept his face blank even though his mind was racing. This situation had gotten so terribly out of hand and he needed to do something about it as soon as possible. Reid had clearly given up on trying to cooperate and now seemed prepared to do anything to get out of here. But for whatever reason that was –Seth knew he couldn't let that happen. He had to stop him. Technically, he was sure that overpowering his hostage wouldn't be much of a challenge –but then, he had already underestimated him too often today, their current situation was enough proof of that.

He had tried to calm the kid down with words, make him give up by himself but it hadn't worked. He had been about to change his tactic to a more physical one when Reid's last accusation made him hesitate.

So that was it.

Reid thought he had lied about them being safe as long as they complied. He thought that they were going to die. That was why he had suddenly decided to fight.

Seth grimaced. Well, no wonder really, it hadn't taken Richard much longer than an hour to prove him a liar. This answered his question of how much the agent knew about what Richard had done in the past. He had probably seen the crime scene photos, images that were grueling enough to even turn Seth's strong stomach.

So it was understandable that he was frightened.

But…even if that was a misfortunate turn of events, he had saved Reid, hadn't he? Didn't that prove that he wasn't okay with what Richard had done?

Apparently not. The kid looked absolutely terrified, like he was sure Seth would just stand by and let Richie have at them, or maybe that he might even join his brother in the assault...

The generalization made him so angry for a moment that he saw red, only realizing his shift in expression and posture when Reid tensed, drawing back even further.

He blinked very slowly, trying to calm himself, to think about all of this rationally. In Reid's defense, he didn't know him, he had no reason to trust in his morals or promises, especially not after he had left him alone with Richard and let that happen...and he probably really couldn't expect him to calm down with the way he was cornering him now…

"Nothing's going to happen," he found himself saying, relaxing his stance and letting his features soften slightly. He made sure to look Reid straight in the eye as he continued, to look honest, "Because I'm here, too. That…that is not how it works, ok? It's not what I do. Richard is...unstable. I thought we were past it but now that I know differently I'll make sure not to leave him alone with you anymore."

He surprised himself by uttering those words. It was unusually hard to say them, making him feel like he was admitting a personal failure, leaving him open for attacks. He did it anyway, because the kid looked so terrified, somehow hoping to get him to understand, to at least believe the utter truth when he heard it.

Instead of appreciating this concession though, Reid looked at him incredulously.

"Do you actually expect me to believe that after everything?" he asked tonelessly, followed by a bitter scoff, "Just this morning you were very convincing about not caring whether we live or die." He glared. "Your word means nothing to me."

Seth was surprised at the amount of anger that simple statement caused in him; he had to ball his hands into fists, fighting not to let it get the best of him at that. The kid had been infuriating, pushing his buttons when he had been completely at his mercy already. Now that the scale was somewhat balanced, his words were sharp and cold and acidly, his face not hiding how exactly he felt about Seth. And he found he didn't like hearing it. At all.

Seth ground his teeth, swallowing his anger as he stepped closer yet again, trying to focus on what he was doing. "Well, it's all you have."

The sharp end of the letter opener came dangerously close to his collar as Reid made an unexpectedly, certainly desperate step forward. "No, it isn't. Now, back up and turn around or I will stab you."

Seth stood very still, assessing his hostages every movement. The whole situation had driven his pulse up as well, and his whole body was on alert in a way he always felt in tense situations. It might have been relieving after all the suppressing he'd done these past hours if there hadn't been so much at stake.

There was no way of telling what Reid would or would not do. With all restraint shed like this, it seemed to Seth like he was getting the first real look at everything this boy was, everything he could and would be if he had to. He'd seen people in the same situation break down well before this point, but it seemed they were just getting started and the fire he suddenly saw burning in those clear eyes, desperation as much as determination, certainly spoke against rash actions on his part. Seth found himself captivated by the expression for a moment, before realizing how completely inappropriate it was at the moment.

He shook his head.

"Don't be stupid now, Spencer," he drew closer again, crowding the agent, "even if I didn't have a gun, Richie's just outside."

"I said get back!"

The letter opener got dangerously close this time and Seth knew he would have to act now or never. Nodding slightly he made to comply, inwardly already planning a tackle of some kind, just waiting for the right angle and moment.

It turned out he didn't have to.

In that moment, by a stroke of luck, the door behind them suddenly opened and Reid's eyes darted across the room in alert. The second of distraction was all Seth needed.

In a flash, he darted to one side so he wouldn't risk being stabbed as he pounced, suddenly right by Reid's side. The young man gasped in shock as his wrist was grabbed and twisted, striking out blindly and missing Seth's face by inches.

Fight reflex taking over, Seth let go of restraint and quickly slung one arm around his neck, a choke hold that immobilized Reid at the same time, back pressed tightly to his chest. He held on tightly as the agent struggled in his grip, kicking and lashing out blindly. A sharp elbow missed his mouth just so, the surprisingly forceful movement almost making him lose his grip.

He grabbed the young man tighter, restraining him successfully, but he only had so many hands. The second Reid opened his mouth to scream he already knew it would be too late for him to stop it.

Before their hostage could get a single sound out though, Richard was suddenly right in front of them, having darted across the room, and slapped a large hand firmly over Reid's mouth. The agent's struggles renewed, his voice muffled but clearly panicked as he thrashed in their grip. Richard wordlessly stepped closer, trapping slender limbs between them effectively; he leaned in until his face was right in front of Reid's, eyes gleaming dark and dangerously as his fingers pressed down over both his nose and lips ruthlessly, cutting off his air supply.

Seth didn't move for the longest moment, merely staring at what was happening.

Suddenly he felt like his vision had been flipped around, like he was seeing this from a completely different, and very unsettling angle. He faintly felt nails clawing at his hands, a racing pulse thrumming against his bare arms where they pressed against Reid's body. He could feel every twist and tremble, lean muscles straining against his chest and arms, locks of hair pressing against his cheek from the way Reid was overstretching his neck, trying to get away from Richard. He suddenly felt much too fragile, like he would break under his bruising hands.

Seth felt his stomach drop at how wrong it felt, how sickening. He looked back at Richard, who still had that mad gleam in his eyes, not removing his hand, just fixating their hostage's face. It was the same he had worn as a teenager when torturing the neighbor's cat, curious, sadistic, completely bare of any sort of empathy. If he hadn't felt nauseous already, that expression would have done Seth in.

He opened his mouth, about to tell Richard off, but just then the body in his arms went slack, all struggles ceasing. Seth instinctively caught the slender man as he dropped, unconscious, wrapping an arm around his waist to prevent him from hitting the ground.

"Back off," he snapped at Richie, simultaneously stepping back to disconnect Richard's hand from Reid face. Richard complied with an affronted expression.

Seth ignored it, trying to block out his brother as he sun to his knees, supporting Reid's weight. Unmoving and pliant, the body in his arms suddenly felt even more fragile. His arms tightened around it as he unsuccessfully tried to shake the horrid, dreadful feeling that had taken a hold of him these past seconds.

He didn't dare look down into the kid's face, sure that his expression was already betraying his emotions. Trying to cover it up, he glared at his brother extra angrily, not holding anything back, "I thought I told you to wait outside."

Richard didn't even seem fazed by what had just happened. His stare was blank for another moment, he looked like he was going to say something but then he just turned around and walked towards the door again without a word.

Seth stared after him, heart racing, speechless for a moment. One second he felt numb, stunned almost as he stared after his brother –then, suddenly the urge to get away from all this got overwhelming, forcing him to his feet. He slung one arm each around Reid's back and legs, lifting him into his arms effortlessly.

He didn't take the time to analyze what he was doing as he headed for the door of the motel room, opening it with some effort.

Richard was standing against the car when he walked outside, looking at him with an odd expression, somewhere between tense and curious. With a jerk of his head, Seth instructed his brother to open the passenger door, then slid the unconscious FBI agent into the vehicle.

He quickly checked the supplies they kept in the back seat now: A map, a blanket, the handcuffs he had taken off Reid. He grabbed those and closed them around the young man's wrists, securing them to the door handle. It didn't exactly make him feel better, but he knew his hostage wouldn't exactly be calm when he woke up and he could risk getting into a car accident.

Once he had closed the door, he walked back around the car, ready to give his brother a piece of his mind. Even now he was barely keeping down the rage boiling in his chest, the urge to physically make sure Richie understood what he had done wrong.

Richie looked at him in apprehension.

"Seth…" he started weakly, but was cut off immediately.

"Don't even fucking start!" Seth snapped, making his brother flinch, "We have three days tops to get through without any major screw-ups! Now, do you think you can do that? Do you think you can act normal for three freaking days?"

"Of course," Richie gave in, frowning like he was offended or something. Seth turned away before he got even madder.

How often had he heard Richie say that?

But not this time. Not…him. No, he would make sure of that –and right away.

"Great," he spat, "Now, I'm going to go make the call with the fed. Stay in the motel room and don't fucking move until we come back, you got it?"

It was the best he could do for now. Distance. Make Richard stay behind. He would deal with the long term solutions once he returned and wasn't quite so agitated anymore.

Richie looked a little surprised but didn't protest: "Yeah, Seth, I got it. How long's it gonna take?"

"I dunno. We'll have to evade the road blocks. Whatever happens, don't leave the room, don't do anything to get us caught, and for fuck's sake, leave the girl alone, got it? If you pull any shit like this again this side of my funeral, I'll make sure to make you wish for yours."

It was harsher than usually, but then the situation was worse, too. Richard didn't look too surprised though, he knew exactly how upset Seth got over issues like these. Seth waited until his brother finally nodded, looking at least a bit like he'd understood.

"Fine," he sighed, a little calmer, "Call me if you have any problems…and remember to take your pills."

Again, Richie nodded and Seth decided that he had to be satisfied with that. He looked down to where Reid was slumped into the car seat, strands of hair falling into his face. He was still unconscious. It was for the better because that way he didn't notice the two pairs of eyes glued to him, his hair, his neck, his collar.

Seth looked away quickly. Richard didn't.

Suddenly Seth couldn't get out of here fast enough.

"Don't fuck this up, Richie," he threatened darkly.

Then he turned around, quickly climbed into the driver's seat and started the motor, driving off.

He could almost feel Richie's gaze on the back of his neck and clenched his fingers around the steering wheel. He practically raced off the parking lot, not beginning to feel better until they were on the high way, rapidly speeding in the opposite direction of Richie's madness.

So how do you think this went? How will their further interaction go? And didn't they forget someone at the Motel?

Soon we'll see the BAU again (in case you were wondering where they are).

Please comment x