Happy New Year! You're getting two today!

Chapter Thirty-Six:

One evening, Reid and Iris sat on a blanket on the roof with a couple beers Iris managed to procure. He didn't like beer but didn't feel like interrupting the moment of peace.

"Remember the first time I met you up here?" she asked.

"Like I could forget," he said. "We've both come a long way and you're not smoking anymore."

"Yeah, the patch is working nicely," she said. "Do you still hear his voice?"

"Occasionally," he said. "But it isn't as loud and I can tune him out."

"That is real progress for you," she said.

"What about you, Iris? Do you still think someone is going to grab you when you leave?"

"Sometimes," she said. "But like with you, it doesn't send me into a panic the way it used to."

Reid stared out into the fading sun.

"Do you really think we're going to be okay out there?" he asked.

"It depends on how you define okay," she said. "Will we have flashbacks? Probably. Will be able to live meaningful lives? That too."

"What is meaningful after all of this?" he asked. "Kids? A career? Relationships?"

"It can be anything," she said. "It can be sleeping on the couch all Saturday and eating nothing but junk food. It can be saving a life, or just having a life. The sky is the limit."

"I don't know what I want anymore," he said. "I want a life with Gwen, but I'm not sure what else. What has meaning for me?"

"You'll decide that on the outside," Iris said. "You don't like beer, do you?"

"No," he said.

"God, you're weird."

"I was forced to do drugs, now I am hypersensitive about what inhibitors I put in my system. We really shouldn't be drinking while on anti-depressants anyway."

"I was told a single drink wouldn't hurt," she said. "So long as someone was with me. You're someone."

"Thanks," he said.

"Do you think we'd be friends, if we didn't meet here?" she asked.

"Honestly, no, but I wouldn't rule it out. I've made friends in stranger places."

She suddenly kissed him on the lips.

"Nope," she said as she let go quickly. "Like I thought, no sparks."

"That was kind of gross," he said. "I see you as a younger sister to me, Iris."

"You're not bad looking," she said. "I thought I'd give it a whirl."

"Don't do it again," he said.

"You're right," she said. "It was gross."

That sat and watched the sun set and decided to go back down. Reid hoped they would never speak of the kiss again.

…

Reid took a deep breath as he got behind the wheel of the car.

"Remember Dr. Reid, this isn't a test," Juno said. "This is a just a way of getting used to a different setting. It is just like the simulation."

"Okay," he said.

"Ready?" she asked as she handed him the keys.

"Ready," he said as he put them in the ignition.

The car burst to life. Reid took another calming breath before putting the car in drive.

"Just a circle around the parking lot as we discussed," she said.

After driving about ten feet, he realized it felt good to be in control of a vehicle. He relaxed and made a tight turn, followed by two more before steering it back into the space to park. Reid felt oddly calm as he turned off the ignition.

"You did well," Juno said. "Very good. How did it feel?"

"It felt…great? I was never much of a driver in the BAU and took the subway often, but this felt good. I liked being in control."

"That was the point of this exercise," she said. "You're doing very well at this point."

"Thanks," he said and got out of the car. It was another thing to think about in the future.

…

Reid was reading a medical text in his room in the evening when he heard a knock. He opened to see Iris looking positively scared.

"Blake has gone berserk in the rec. room," she said. "He has already knocked one counselor unconscious and is holding Lola and Darleen hostage. If another person who looks like a medical professional comes near, he'll hurt them."

"What are his demands?" he asked.

"He wants out," she said. "Please, do something."

"I'll do my best," he said as he left with Iris. "If I rub my right eye, move the hostages. If I make a fist, with my left hand, set off the fire alarm."

"Setting off the alarm could agitate him more," she said.

"That's why I'll try reason first."

They walked to the room. The counselor was on the ground with a pool of blood under her head.

"Blake," he said calmly. "She needs medical attention."

"I DON'T CARE!" Blake roared. "I WANT OUT!"

Blake outweighed him by at least fifty pounds with a wide girth and powerful muscles.

"It isn't fun feeling like a caged animal," he said. "Like something that is too dangerous to be let out in the open."

Blake looked like he was listening.

"The world is so big," he said in a calm, even, tone. "It is filled with oceans, wildlife, and many wonderous things."

Blake started to grow bored. Reid racked his brain for information about Blake.

"The New York Jets had a winning season this past year. Their rookie quarterback took them to the AFC championship. They only lost to the Saints in the fourth quarter."

"It was a bad call!" Blake shouted. "They should have ruled that an interception instead of an incomplete pass."

Reid moved and Blake carefully followed gaze.

"A cow only has a one is seventeen million chance of being used as a football in a Superbowl game."

Blake looked confused.

"I thought footballs were made of pigskin?"

Reid rubbed his right eye.

"Before the NFL was created in the eighteen sixties, animal bladders were blown up to be used as footballs. Now they are made of cowhide. Eight footballs can come from a single hide."

"How do you know all this stuff?" he asked. "I thought you only liked to play chess."

"I'm a trivia champion," Reid said. "I like to know something about everything."

Blake suddenly turned and saw Lola and Darleen were gone. He screamed, and proceeded swing his fist at Reid.

Reid dodged it and raised his left fist. The air was filled with a cacophony of noise. Patients began screaming.

Blake made contact with his jaw. He managed to stay on his feet. Amid the flashing lights, Blake became Uris.

'YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

"I won't!" Reid screamed back.

Uris easily picked him up and raised him high. Reid slammed his fists on his arms hard. This loosened his grip and he fell to the ground. Uris leaned over him and aimed his fist. He rolled away from him. Just as he tried to get up, Uris punched him the chest, and he felt bones break. Reid was having trouble breathing.

"The sun sets over the mall," Reid said weakly. "Tourists wander about, admiring the monuments. Birds chirp mildly amid the chatter of people."

Uris became Blake again just as he hit him hard in the center of the forehead.

Reid saw nothing.