Enjoy! This is short, but not a line was wasted. Oh, and I saw the latest Doctor Who episode and it was glorious.

Chapter Thirty-Eight:

Reid sat in the basement curled up in a ball. He was wearing sweatshirt and sweatpants, from the institute. It felt safe here.

"What are you doing here?"

It was Uris. He looked awful. His face was bloody and his clothes were torn.

"You don't belong here anymore."

"I thought you wanted me here?" Reid said. "Would you like to strip me?"

"No," he said. "I'm done hurting you."

Reid snorted.

"Since when?"

"Do you know how time works in the afterlife? A single day can feel like an eternity here."

"Are you in Hell?" Reid asked curiously.

"That is one name for it," he said. "It is a place where you see the consequences of your actions and judged according. So, I guess it is Hell."

"Then what are you doing here? Or is this Hell?"

"It's part of my punishment. To get to you to leave."

Reid snorted again.

"Are you going to beat me to get me to leave? I don't care anymore."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to wake up and get hurt again eventually."

"That's part of life," he said. "It's all about wondering if it is worth it get up and risk getting hurt."

"I don't think it is," Reid said.

"Are you ready to die?"

"I'd prefer to stay here," Reid said as he held his knees. "This place actually grew on me over the years. Abuse was abuse. Now that I've seen the sun and had it taken away from me again so quickly, I'd rather stay here."

"You know during the three years you were with me I thought many things about you, but I never thought of you as a coward."

"Coward, animal, these names mean nothing to me anymore," Reid said. "Let me be. Let me stay here."

"You have a lot more to live for than you know," Uris said. "I can see your future and it is something."

"Will I get hurt again?"

"Everyone gets hurt eventually," he said.

"I'm tired of pain. Haven't I suffered enough?"

"I don't pretend to understand how the universe works. I just know that you will find what you're looking for if you choose to leave here."

"Do you feel guilty about what you did to me?" Reid asked.

"You know psychologically, I couldn't. Since I've been freed my mortal impairments, I can see where I was wrong in abusing you and all those other men."

"Why'd you do it?" Reid asked as tears fell. "Why did you hurt me?"

"I don't really know," he said. "I did when I was alive, but since I have been forced to reckon with my actions, I just don't anymore."

Reid held buried his face in his knees.

"I'm probably not the best person to convince you to do anything, but I think I was sent here to give you closure."

"How?" Reid asked out of curiosity.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore," he said. "I want you to live because I have been forced to see what my actions have caused. I want you to fight me."

Reid stood up.

"What happens next?"

"I can't say," he said. "I can only say, I know now you didn't deserve any of the pain I caused you."

"Can you say you're sorry?" Reid asked.

"Parts of my psyche are still intact, so I can't go that far. The words just won't stitch together."

"I don't want to be here with you anymore," Reid said. "I've spent enough of my life with you. Goodbye."

"Don't let me win," he said. "You have too much to live for. Don't ever let me win."

Reid unhooked the ladder and saw a young girl at the top. She had blond hair with streaks of brown in it.

"Who are you?" Reid asked.

"You'll find out," she said with a smile.

Reid turned back and saw Uris was gone. The girl offered her hand. He climbed up the ladder and took it.

…

He woke up holding Calvin's hand. She was asleep. Reid focused his eyes and saw it was two o'clock in the morning. His left side felt numb. He tried to move his left hand and managed to do so with a little extra effort. Slowly, his left leg moved also. It could have been much worse.

Reid squeezed Calvin's hand. She jumped and then smiled.

"You're awake," she said.

"I'm glad," Reid said in a whisper.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"My left side is numb and my ribs ache," he said.

"Let me get a doctor."

Reid held on to Calvin's hand.

"Thank you for being here for me."

"There's no other place I'd rather be," she said.