Guilt


!!A/N: I support the 2007 WGA STRIKE!!


Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

Hotch took another quick look around the room. CSU will have a field day in here. It hurt to leave the pictures of the abused hurt Reid on the walls, but with the DVD safely in his pocket he turned and left the room. Morgan had Flanders, so where the hell was Reid. Somewhere locked in the dark in one of these rooms? The thought of the fear Reid must be feeling alone tied up in the dark made Aaron run faster. He leapt down the stairs to the basement and stood looking at Morgan standing above a prone Floyd. A puddle of deep red slowly spreading out from behind his head.

"Morgan."

"He's not dead. I don't know how, but he's not. Hotch I swear I tried to kill the son of a bitch. Where's Reid?" As Morgan said the words he was reminded of another time they had lost their agent.

Hotch shook his head. "I don't know. They were up in that room, but Reid's not there now. We need him alive Derek." Hotch leant over him to feel his pulse and as he did Flanders' eyes opened and locked onto Aaron's.

"You need me Aaron." A whispered voice from somewhere deep inside where a soul should be and a hand reached over and grabbed Hotch's. "They have him."

Hotch jumped back out of his reach and slapped his hand away. "Who has him? What are you talking about?"

"How the hell is he still talking!?" Derek added.

They watched as slowly Flanders lifted his head from the floor. It made a sickly slurping noise and for a second or two his eyes rolled back and he shuddered. Then he continued to sit. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them tightly. "I suppose I deserved that." His voice shaky and low. "But you are going to be begging me for your help. If you want him back." He leaned forwards and rested his forehead on his knees.

Hotch stood and looked down at him. There was blood running down his back from the back of his head. "What is on the disc?"

He looked sidelong at Hotch from the place he was resting his head. "You might want to get Garcia to look at that." He lifted his head and shook it quickly a few times. Blood sprayed off and splattered Hotch and Morgan. "Actually, no, don't show it to Pen. I think it might upset her. Watch it yourself first Aaron. Either way I am not sorry. I am just pissed he was taken."

"That didn't answer my question."

Morgan had begun to walk in slow circles around Floyd.

"I apologise for that Aaron. It's hard to think straight right now – can't for the life of me think why. Morgan for the love of the gods stop that."

"You still haven't answered my question. What is on the disc?"

"It's kind of a video diary I suppose. Morgan stop that or I will bleed on you."

……………….

Reid slowly turned over and got to his knees. The room was huge – the walls being so far away he couldn't see them. It was like he was in a vast black void. The ceiling angels looked down at him. directly overhead they were clumped together but gradually the paintings became less detailed and in places appeared unfinished. He stood up and looked down at the floor. It was black mirrored something. Stone or glass or something man made, he wasn't sure. He could feel something dripping down the back of his neck but the pain had gone as quickly as it had started. Floyd had to be here somewhere.

"Floyd!"

Nothing – no answer – no echo – just the word sounding dead and empty hanging in the air in front of him. He almost felt if he put his hand out he would feel the word sitting there in the darkness mocking him. He started walking. He locked his eyes on a distant bit of extra darkness, something which seemed even darker than this he was already in and moved cautiously towards it. God how he hated the dark! He turned around and looked back at where he had walked from. The place he had awoken and saw it glinting in the darkness. Maybe he should go back? Go back whilst he could still see it? He turned back to find that spot he had been walked towards but couldn't find it now. He sighed deeply and turned back to walk to where he had started from and that had gone too. Just darkness – no comforting light in the distance, no frescos looking down at him. Nothing. He crouched down on the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his forehead on his knees. He could feel he was shaking – he could feel the fear welling up inside.

………………

They decided to haul Flanders back to BAU and see what was on the disc. They really didn't want him disappearing into the local precinct and not be able to question him properly. Floyd didn't seem to have a problem with this.

They rode the elevator up. Morgan standing guard at the doors so if they pinged open he could advise they waiting for the next car. The back of Flanders' head was encrusted with blood and the blood on his shirt had started to dry to a dark brown.

The three of them moved quickly to Hotch's office. They entered and locked the door behind them. Morgan cuffed Flanders to a chair and Hotch sat at his desk looking at the DVD he had taken from the wall in the old apartment block.

"I guess we don't get popcorn?" Flanders comment was answered with a clip around his ear.

"You be quiet Flanders."

Hotch put the disc into this laptop.

…………….

The screen flickered for a few seconds and then a voice over the static.

"I want you to know how I did it. I want you to see how broken he is. I want you to see him beg."

The words were accompanied by a couple of very grainy shots of Reid restrained and laying on the floor.

"He called you, Hotch, he called you to help him, but you ignored him. He was crying out for help from you all, and you all ignored it. You Hotchner so tied up with Haley so shallow in your love for your boy that you were able to just walk away from him and leave him."

Morgan looked from Flanders to Hotch then back again.

"I drugged him and twisted him, and you just accused him of being an alcoholic. Do you know how much you were hurting him? All of you. The only one who seemed willing to constantly have her arms open to help was JJ, and she was the only one he wouldn't turn to."

Flanders was rocking back and forth in the chair with his eyes closed, smiling.

"Derek Morgan, you knew full well what was going on in the men's room, but you never reported it. Why is that? Why did you allow me to keep taking him and breaking him down bit by bit? Where are your loyalties Derek Morgan?

And Hotchner, you even tried to set the two of us up together, you knew what I was like. You have very personal experience of me. You knew, so why did you do that? Can you even remember? Was it so you could escape Spence and run back to Haley – to play happy families?"

Some clips now came up of Reid in various uncomfortable situations. Morgan and Hotch sat and watched Reid's silent screams as his shoulders were dislocated. They sat and listened to him calling out for help. Hotch felt tears of anger and hurt prickling behind his eyes. Morgan just felt the over whelming need to kill Flanders – again.

He did keep coming to you for help, but in the end he turned to me, because you just couldn't see what was happening could you. You couldn't see the pain in his eyes, and you didn't care that once again he had been discarded. His father, his mother, his guardian, and his lover, all just tossed him aside when something else came along more important. You couldn't see beyond Haley.

You didn't hear him calling your name in his sleep, you didn't hear how many times it was Aaron he called for when I was inflicting those torments. You just didn't see it did you and now its going to be too late. Now there is nothing you can do.

A few stills now on the screen of Reid's injuries.

"That last bit obviously has now changed. There is something you can do. But you will need my help." Flanders was trying not to laugh.

The disc now just showed different moving and stills of Reid being tortured and crying out in pain.

"You are a total bastard." Morgan was looking down at the man who should really be dead, or at least in hospital. He shouldn't be here still tormenting them.

"Actually yes I am. But my parentage is not what we are talking about here. We need to get Spence back, and I am still not totally sure how to go about doing that."

…………

They sat and with their eyes they watched the new boy quaking in fear.

"Shall we give him some light?" A voice made of a million whispers.

"Shall we give him some hope?" A voice full of thick sticky darkness.

"Shall we deliver unto him that which he should have had as child?" A voice with the consistency of glass and laughter.

…………….

"Spencer?" a voice he recognised. "Spencer dear what are you doing?"

Reid looked up and saw his mother. Her hair long and brushed and beautiful and smile on her face.

"Mum?" He stood up and looked at her. Something was different. Something was wrong, but in a good way wrong.

"What are you doing playing in the dirt at your age?" And the laughter he thought he had forgotten.

"Mum?" He walked slowly towards her and put out his hands. She reached out and grasped his fingers in her own and pulled him close.

"What's wrong Spencer? Give your mum a hug- it's been a long time."

Reid knew this couldn't be real. His mum was sick. His mum didn't look like this anymore. His mum wasn't this person, but the smell was right, and the touch was right and the need to have his mum hold him and make everything better was over powering. He pulled her close and hugged her tight

And she was gone.

…………………


!!A/N: I support the 2007 WGA STRIKE!!