Opposition

A hug a day keeps the demons at bay: - Proverb

A/N: Slight light slash warning.

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

"Thank you."

"Welcome."

"About earlier. I will let you off this time – but I'm not happy about it."

"I was freaking out. That doll you gave me. Christ Floyd what were you thinking of?"

"The doll? I thought you would like it. A reminder."

"A reminder of what?"

"The one that got away." A smirk.

"That's not funny."

"Spence – see that by your hand? Pass it to me."

"This?" Waving something around and grinning.

"Yes that. Give. I want to play."

A howl of laughter from Spencer.

"You're not meant to laugh!"

"It was cold!"

"Nice to hear you laugh. Now concentrate on the matter in hand will you."

"Uh."

"Not laughing now are you?"

"UH!"

"What was that?"

"NO! OH UH!"

-o-o-o-

She stood with her hands on her hips. "You can't find someone else sir?"

Emily looked less than pleased.

"We need Flanders help and it was you he requested."

"Fabulous. You know sir I really don't get on too well with Reid. Can you please ask Flanders to find someone else?"

"The quicker we let him do this the quicker we will know if he is involved."

"You are doubting his involvement?

"Until we have proof. The dolls are just not good enough evidence. Because he makes something along the same lines does not condemn him."

"And so I have to stay in the house when he isn't there. Great."

"Prentiss it is all part of the investigation."

"I realise that Hotch, but why did he ask for me?"

Hotch knew the answer but wasn't about to say 'because he knows Spencer wont want to screw you.'

-o-o-o-

He stood on the porch and hugged him tightly. "Don't annoy her Spence. Just read or something and pretend she's not there."

"I don't need a baby sitter. I need to come with you."

A kiss to keep him quiet. "No you don't need to come with me. I need to be alone for this."

"Then be careful." Spencer placed a hand one on each of Floyd's cheeks. "Please be careful."

"I promise. Now go back inside and be a good host to your wonderful guest."

A sigh.

Floyd backed away and waited until Reid was behind the door and then turned and walked to the bike.

"You bastards. This is completely against the rules of the game. You won't win." He got on the bike and cocked his head to one side. "Well we shall see about that. I'm on my way." He started the bike and drove out of the driveway and down the road with his lights off and no helm.

-o-o-o-

Spencer stood leaning on the front door wondering what he was going to do or say.

"Coffee?" He finally said in a voice that sounded a bit nervous.

"I'll make it." She turned and walked to the kitchen. Spencer followed her and stood in the door way.

"Emily – I didn't know."

"Drop it Reid. I am here to make sure you don't do anything stupid. I'm not here to be your friend."

"I know." He leaned on the door frame with his arms crossed. Emily turned to him and wondered why she hand never noticed how camp he sometimes was. Standing there right now he looked just so – gay!

"You know what?" She was staring at him – she knew she was – but this was a Spencer she had never noticed before.

"That you fancy Floyd." He tucked his hair behind his ear and stared off at the cabinet behind her head.

Emily slammed some mugs on the counter top. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"I was a profiler too once Emily." Now still leaning on the door frame he slid his hands into his pockets. "It's alright, you can say you do. It doesn't bother me."

"Well I am glad it wouldn't bother you Reid, but you are wrong." She poured in the coffee.

"If you say so." He smiled a tight smile at her. "But he thinks otherwise, so you best set him straight."

"Yes I will have to do that."

"Chess?"

"No. I have book to read and something on my laptop to do."

"Emily….."

"Look Reid I am sorry – I don't really want to be here. I am here because I was told to be. Just – just don't expect a conversation out of me."

A sigh.

"Cheese and crackers?"

"No thank you."

Another sigh.

Spencer sat on the couch and picked up a book.

And they sat in silence. The only sound was the turning of pages of their books. Spencer's turning faster than Emily's.

"Em."

"I'm reading."

"No – listen – what is that?" Spencer put his book down and looked around the room. The sound was familiar. He put his hands to his ears and looked at Emily who was shaking her head.

"I can't hear anything." But she too put down her book.

Spencer stood up and looked up at the ceiling. "It's outside. Something is out there."

Prentiss sat looking around the room trying to hear what it was Reid could hear, but there was nothing. "What can you hear?" She stood up but now was looking at Spencer who was walking in a circle around the room looking upwards.

"Wings – something with big wings. Something flying." Something familiar.

"I can't hear anything."

"Be quiet." Still looking upwards he started to walk towards the door.

"Reid – you can't go out there." She walked forwards and grabbed his arm just as the hammering at the door started.

He turned and looked at her hand then up into her dark eyes. "Emily – It's here. Oh god." He put his hand over her's and gripped it tightly backing away from the door.

"What is it Reid? What the hell is it out there?"

Wind suddenly started to howl down the chimney, blowing soot and ash around the room in a big swirling mess. Prentiss still holding onto Spencer began to move. "Bathroom. Now!" she shouted.

But Reid was stuck to the spot looking at the door.

As the filth carried on its strange swirlings around the room and the hammering on the door became so severe that it looked like the wood was splitting glasses and mugs and pottery and anything breakable began to pop and explode. Emily howled as a bit of glass flew and embedded its self into her upper arm but still she couldn't get Reid to move.

"REID! Move it now!"

The windows began to rattle in the frames as Spencer tired to pull away again. The huge explosive sound as all the windows gave at the same time was deafening. Spencer yelled out in pain as glass shards hit him in the face and finally Prentiss was able to get him to move. He put his hands to his face with and let he pull him in the direction of the bathroom.

"Quickly Reid…faster."

The only sound she got back was a strange whimpering noise. She dragged him to the bathroom which had no windows and pushed him down onto the floor. She slammed the door closed and bolted it. She looked at Reid seeing the blood seeping from between his fingers and pulled out her cell phone.

Spencer sat with his hands over his face and the noise of the wings rushing in his ears. He could feel something pulling at him. Something inside trying to get him to leave the bathroom and get out of the house. At first he thought it was Floyd, but this pull was different and wrong. He carefully pulled chunks of glass out of his face. It had hit him mainly over the right side of his face and neck. He could see Emily throwing her phone down in anger and saying something to him, but everything was drowned out my the sound of the wings getting closer.

On his hands and knees he started a slow crawl towards the door. Again out of the corner of his eye he could see someone and his person was shouting at him, but now the face was a blur and all he knew was he had to escape and to towards where he was being pulled. He felt someone pulling him back again. Dragging at his clothes and stopping him from getting to the door.

And now pounding on the door and the person behind him was laying across his back and shouting again something he couldn't hear. Spencer writhed and kicked and tried to grab at what was holding him down and then the tightness around his brain and the flashing lights.

-o-o-

Emily lay on top of Spencer to try to get him to stop moving towards the door. She had tried the cell phone but the batteries had been drained. She lay on him as he howled and screamed and kicked and wriggled.

Then as suddenly as he started his weirdness he stopped. He lay still for about ten seconds before his back arched and his body started to seizure.

"Spencer! God what the hell is going on?"

She could hear the sounds of something moving through the house. Something big…Scraping along the walls…hissing and barking and calling in a language she didn't know. Prentiss grabbed a towel and tried to lay in under Reid's head to stop him smacking him head on the floor but there was already a small puddle of blood forming – if from his face or from his head she didn't know. As the seizure stopped she dragged him back and sitting on the floor pulled Reid onto her lap and pulled her gun. She sat listening to the screams and howls from the other side of the door with her hand shaking and the firearm pointing forwards.

Prentiss could feel the rushed panicky breaths coming from Reid. She glanced down and saw where glass had sliced into his face and there was a big bruise forming over his brow. Gradually the noise died down. The sounds didn't fade away they just slowly stopped. Emily had no idea if they – whoever the hell they were – were still out there, or if they had gone - and right now she had no intention of finding out.

She sat and nursed the now silent Spencer. She pushed the hair which was stuck to the blood on his face away with her free hand, but didn't take her eyes off the door.

How long she sat on the bathroom floor she had no idea – but Spencer was still in his post seizure sleep and she had no intention of leaving him. It was the distant sounds of emergency sirens which finally let her lower her pistol slightly and take a deep breath.

She looked down at Spencer. "Reid – help in on it's way. I'm going to stay right here with you."

"I'm OK Emily – but thank you." His voice muttered and slurred. He didn't sound OK to her. But a voice out there – a voice she knew was such a relief she almost started to laugh.

"Sir! We are in the bathroom." She holstered her gun and took her hands off Spencer but left him laying across her. She watched the door buckle slightly and Morgan burst into the room closely followed by Hotch.

"What the hell happened? There were reports of an explosion. The house is a total mess."

Emily shook her head. "It wasn't an explosion. I have not idea what it was – just get me out of this place quickly. She stood up and gently lowered Spencer to the floor – who groaned and put his hands to his face again. "The whole house was vibrating – things smashing, someone trying to get in the front door and then the windows all blew inwards. Windows don't implode in an explosion. I've never known anything like it. It was like something from a horror movie."

-o-o-o-

Floyd stood in the lawn looking at the mess the house was in. His stomach twisted in fearful knots as he looked over at the awaiting ambulances. Slowly he walked forwards. He wanted to run – he wanted to run screaming and yelling for Spencer, but he couldn't. The fear that again he had failed was too great.

"Excuse me sir this is a crime scene." A hand on his arm

"Touch me again and I will bite your sodding face off. This is my home."

"You can't go in there sir!" The police officer shouted after him as he walked through what used to be his front door.

He looked around the room. Everything was wrecked. Even Spencer's books were hurled around. He bent down and picked one up off the floor wiping the dirt gently off the ancient leather tome and as he stood saw the back of Hotch.

"Hotchner!" He put the book down again and walked forwards. Aaron slowly turned around. He looked grim.

"Flanders. For once I am glad to see you."

"Spencer? Emily?"

"Emily is in shock. Spencer has cuts and bruises. What happened?"

"What happened? How the hell should I know what happened – I was off tracking down Biff Newberry for you."

"Biff Newberry?"

Floyd pulled a bit of paper out of his pocket. There was fancy cursive writing on it…Floyd's handwriting – an address. "Biff Newberry – your child molester and UnSub. I thought that is what you wanted me to be doing. Now I need to find Spencer. Where is he?"

"Thank you Flanders for this." He put the paper in his pocket. "He is in the bathroom."

Floyd turned back quickly to Aaron. "The children aren't dead. He just removed bits of their skin. You might want to get over there and rescue them."

Again Floyd's feet wouldn't move as fast as he wanted them to. He walked and ran his hands down the deep grooves something had left in the walls. They looked like deep claw marks ripping through the plaster. There were marks on the ceiling and stuff on the floor he didn't want to think about. He stepped carefully into the bathroom. His first sight was blood on the white tiles and then a huddled form in the corner with a medic trying to look at the injuries. Floyd stepped forwards and touched her back. "I will deal with this now. Thank you."

She looked up and frowned and nodded and stood away. Maybe he would have more luck than she.

"Spence." He put his hand on the top of Spencer's head. "It's me. Let me have a look babes."

Slowly he lifted his head to show Floyd the bits of glass stuck in his skin. "It's going to be alright. Just little digs and scratches. I'm going to pull them out and then I am going to get you out of here and fix you up properly."

"What was it?"

"What was what? Though he knew full well.

"It was calling me."

"It's ok. Don't have to worry about it. It's all sorted. I sorted it." He tugged at bits of deeply embedded glass and picked other smaller bits out. "This wont scar – will make sure of that. Come on – stand up. Show them you won't be beaten down by this. The place is a wreck, but we can correct that and we can stay in a nice hotel for a week or so. Time to heal up and feel better again."

Spencer grabbed hold of Floyd and nodded. "We can talk about this later."

-o-o-o-

It took persuasion – but Floyd knew how to do that when he put his mind to it….and to night his mind was very to it! He looked at he mess on Spencer's face and wanted desperately to lick the blood off and clean him properly. The medics insisted on cleaning it properly and putting a dressing on it. Reid refused point blank to go to the hospital. Floyd stood up for him on this.

And so that is why they were in the suit of the exclusive hotel in the city.

Floyd was looking around the rooms and Spencer flopped back on the bed.

"Are you going to tell me what that was all about?"

Flanders came back again and looked at Spencer. "Not right now."

"You said you would explain it."

"Not right now."

Floyd knelt at the end of the bed and grabbed Reid by the ankles. "Come here."

A raised eyebrow. "I'm in pain."

"It will take your mind offa it."

"You really do think highly of yourself."

"Come here – let me help you with that pain." He started to pull Reid towards him.

Spencer didn't resist what Floyd was doing as he was dragged part ways off the bed. "I stink."

"I love your smell – but yes you stink. Don't worry about that babes. We can shower afterwards. If you can still stand."

"We shall see who the last man standing is."

Floyd gave Reid one more glance upwards and smiled. "Babes – I think you are going to win this contest."

They feel asleep twisted around each other in a slippery sweaty heap.