Epilogue

Even half conscious as he was, Reid was sure that something didn't feel quite right.

It wasn't the ache that seemed to be present in every inch of his body, or the feeling of utter exhaustion trying to pull him back under, into the darkness.

It was warmth.

Brilliant light shining into his face, a mild breeze ruffling his hair and clothes. He was outside, he realized.

Reid blinked, cringing when the sudden brightness hurt his eyes, sending a splitting headache through his brain. He struggled back into consciousness bit by frazzled bit, trying to orientate. It wasn't easy with his head buzzing like a bee hive, thoughts sticky like honey.

He shifted and reached out, felt sand underneath his fingers. Sand…?

He tried to move but his limbs didn't seem to want to cooperate and he sank back down; instead he tried to listen to his surroundings, to get an idea of what was happening. At first he only heard the wind but after a while he could make out the sounds of something, someone moving close by, walking and moving things around.

Reid groaned as he tried to sit up again, his voice sounding foreign to his ears. The steps halted, then approached. A shadow fell over his face seconds later, fingers pressed to his neck as if to feel his pulse.

Reid's eyes fluttered open and he blinked, looking into a handsome, tanned face with eyes that were almost black, looking down at him with concern.

"You okay?" the man asked, looking slightly wary, guarded even for some reason as he waited for him to answer. He seemed familiar…

Reid tried focusing once more, but found that the memories seemed to slip through his fingers as he tried holding on to them to get a look. All there was were faint shapes and colors, voices calling things he couldn't understand, eyes looking at him that he knew but couldn't place.

For some reason, he suddenly felt scared, a chill creeping up his spine despite the sun and he shook his head to chase the rising images away. He didn't want to be scared.

He struggled to sit up, and almost immediately there were hands on his back, supporting him. A hand brushed over his temple, a gesture that felt unexpected but familiar enough that he didn't move away, just looked up at him with questioning eyes.

"Scared me there, kid," the man said, crease lines on his forehead undermining his words. "Can you stand?"

Reid wasn't sure he could but tried anyways.

He was barely on his feet when his vision faded for what seemed like only a second but when he blinked again, he was pressed to the guy's chest, strong arms holding him upright.

"I'm fine," he murmured, not feeling like it though.

His head was still spinning and he was confused about his whereabouts –about everything to be precise. He knew that he was missing some answers but every time he tried to reach for them his head ache just worsened and he felt more like sleeping.

Trying to focus, he looked around, eyes widening when he realized they were standing in the desert, on the roadside of what looked like a bar to be precise. On the roadside of a bar that was currently going up in flames to be very precise.

He squinted, realizing the fire was just adding to the brightness and turned away. He didn't want to look anymore.

"They're not gonna fucking bother anyone else," the guy next to him said cryptically, sounding like Reid should know what he was talking about. He was holding a lighter in one hand, a bitter smirk on his face.

Slowly, Reid nodded, somehow sure that this bar burning was a good thing. What he didn't know was why he felt the urge to run back inside, felt this pull like there was something in there he still needed to get…

He groaned softly, pressing a hand over his eyes. The arms around his waist disappeared, wandering to his upper arms and when Reid looked up black eyes were watching him worriedly.

"I'm gonna need you to say something here," the man said, a brief shadow that looked like discomfort or guilt maybe flashing over his face as his voice dropped, "Anything."

Reid felt a shiver at the intent gaze he was being subjected to, flinching when a memory fragment hit him out of nothing. The same guy, holding him by his arms, only it was dark and cold around them, pain in his eyes.

´Why are you so quiet? Say something.´

He blinked, trying to put it into context when the next fragment found him. Another wall, lips pressed to his in the throes of passion.

´My name. Say it.´

He shuddered, feeling his face heating up as he blinked but the face in front of him remained the same.

"Seth," he whispered, the name coming to him automatically.

The man –Seth- nodded, looking worried now as he reached out almost hesitantly, grabbing hold of his chin and examining his face. Reid let him, feeling reassured in the knowledge that Seth apparently knew him well, that they were close. A calloused thumb brushed over his cheek bone and he leaned into the touch tiredly, seeking any sort of support.

"My head…hurts," he admitted quietly, face crunching up in discomfort, "I…everything hurts…"

Seth was quiet for a long moment, his expression carefully guarded, then he nodded silently.

"The heat," he said offhandedly, "let's get you out of the sun, the car is right over there."

The arm found its way back around his waist and Reid let himself be ushered over to where a couple of cars were parked. There were two black SUVs, a red truck and a grey Plymouth but no one else insight. Seth lead him over to the Plymouth, opening the passenger door for him and helping him sit on it sideways, his legs hanging out the door. Sitting up suddenly seemed extremely exhausting and he sunk against the seat, resting his cheek on the head rest to fight the dizziness.

"Hold on, I'll be right back."

With that Seth turned around, walking over to one of the SUVs and opening first the trunk, then the backdoor.

When he came back it was with a large black briefcase under one arm, and an assembly of other things on the other. He opened the back door, throwing what looked like a blanket, some files, handcuffs and a holstered Glock 17 into it before slamming the door back shut and walking around to the driver's side, getting in.

Reid barely had time to worry about the last item, or about how he knew so exactly which kind of weapon it was when something cold touched his cheek and he jumped in surprise. Seth handed him a bottle of water.

"Drink something, it might be a while before we stop again."

He turned around, buckling up and starting the car with an assertiveness that left no room for questions. Reid wrecked his brain, trying to remember coming here with Seth in this car, travelling anywhere really -but he came up blank.

He blinked tiredly, too drowsy to keep thinking.

Seth seemed to know who he was, who they were and he seemed calm enough so he guessed everything was probably under control…but why couldn't he remember? And why was he in this condition while Seth was this calm? It didn't seem to fit.

He looked over at Seth, only now noticing that his black suit was torn and dusty, dark stains coating the fabric. A a closer look the man looked pretty battered as well, just not nearly as shaken...

With enormous effort it seemed, he lifted his own hands, finding them stained in dark brown, along with the remains of a T-Shirt that clung to his body in shreds.

"What…happened-?" he managed to form the words after a long moment, trying to focus on his hands but his eye lids kept drooping, incredibly heavy somehow. "Where are we…going?"

Seth didn't say anything for a long moment. Then he turned his head to look at him. His dark eyes held an intensity that made Reid shudder involuntarily, a black torrent pulling him under.

"Away, baby. Far, far away."

He turned back towards the street before Reid could make any sense of his expression or his words. Finally losing to his muddled thought processes, Reid sank back into the seat boneless, the words echoing in his mind without catching on. He tried to focus but it was just too hard.

He closed his eyes as Seth turned on the radio, the quiet, melancholy voices of a vaguely familiar song the last thing he heard before he drifted off into unconsciousness again.

l

*Staring at the loss
Looking for the cause
And never really sure

I can tell you why
People go insane
I can show you how
You could do the same

Shapes of every size
Move behind my eyes
Doors inside my head
Bolted from within
Every drop of flame
Lights a candle in
Memory of the one
Who lived inside my skin

x

Once upon a time
I was of the mind to lay your burden down
And leave you where you stood
You believed I could
You'd seen it done before

But now all that is gone
Over with and done
And never to return*

I

THE END

I

Right, this is it. Finally :D

Thanks so much for going through all of this with me again and for the encouraging notes and comments! Hope it was worth it :)

Now I will start on the sequel, yay! I do have a plan but like I said before, if you have any great ideas or things you'd like to see adressed, scenarios played out, don't hesitate to let me know by review or pm.

Okay? Okay. I will try to hurry with it, just gimme a week or two, okay?

Bye :-*