Don't own anything but my original characters like Christopher Drake. Time for some fun things to talk about. With this chapter combining Memoriam, I think it's safe to say that Max will be introduced in the next couple of chapters. Of course, she's not going to be with Reid immediately. Got a fun little segue for it to start.
So, I've gotta get a few things out of the way. The Survivor's Guilt will flare up next story, which is why I have Drake pushing Reid during the aftermath. In a sense, I have it planned to be the way to show how Doyle changed Reid. But to really kick it off, I'm including a story about Veronica and her lasting effect on Drake.
Speaking of them, the whole phone call for hearing her death was always the plan. It was what made me consider changing 100 in the first place. That said, I believe that the best way to describe the main difference is that Foyet used the call to exude power over Hotch. The Sicario, Eric Harper, used it to taunt Drake with helplessness. Which is something he struggles with.
On to more fun topics. So, I'm confirming three things right now for the story. The first is that the episodes where there's not a lot going for progression will be doubled up. This will actually affect how I label certain chapters. To explain, this is called Forgiveness and will end in about three or four chapters at most. But if the episodes can't carry a chapter, I'll double them up and remove a chapter from the expected length.
As I'm making perfectly obvious, I'm planning on doing sequels for the story. But I'm also doing a story that starts in season 1. The reason is that I've been thinking more on it, and there's a few things that I would like to tackle from the early seasons.
Also, because of my plans for the season 1 story(the start would be episode 6 of it), I can honestly say that I've still got no clue as to who Drake will get with. I'm leaning towards Elle, but I'm not confirming anything until Omnivore. What I can(and will) confirm is that this chapter has The Instincts and Memoriam wrapped up together.
Oh, and I've safely penciled in Relapse for the name of the Doyle arc. But it's not for what you guys would expect. It will be made clear in the bottom note, and I think it might be the perfect representative of how I felt it should've gone.
John Edmund let out a growl of frustration as he read the latest reports and offers for certain personnel from the Alpha team. During his unofficial run as the Unit Supervisor during the fallout from Bale, he saw a lot of requests to hire the grief stricken agents not even five minutes after the blast. And that was just from the intelligence and defense communities.
Now? Now he had to deal with the goddamned Pentagon trying to force themselves into the hunt for any spare agents that might be laying around. All for what? A mission that, if he was being brutally honest, sounded less like an official one and more like wishful thinking?
But he couldn't come out and say that. No, they'd vehemently deny such accusations. They would paint him in the light of a man willingly denying them the opportunity to get vengeance upon Bin Laden. A man who's in charge of the BAU. How can the American people trust such a unit if their leader is that big of a coward?
He picked up his phone and dialed a number he never wanted to use.
"King here."
"Mason, it's John. I need a meeting with you and your Marine friend. Tomorrow morning, same place as my bachelor party." He knows that if he's going to fight the poaching of great agents, he was going to have to lay with the devil. And, in his eyes, there's no better devil in this situation than Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Drake yawned as he closed a file. His latest one was a consult for the field office in Seattle. The case was convoluted, with different MOs on each victim, yet they were always drugged with Dilaudid. He asked Reid about the drug, earning a gruff 'dime store heroin' and a tangent about how it was readily available in most hospitals.
That was the thing needed for Drake to finish piecing the puzzle together. A local hospital had a nurse selling some on the side, raking in a cool six figures. Finding the nurse would lead to finding the Unsub. A doctor who had been sued for malpractice at least six times.
Nobody knew how he kept getting jobs, but his background explained it. He had been serving in the French Foreign Legion, leaving after almost losing his hearing and sight during a routine training exercise. From there, his nerves slowly frayed until he snapped.
He killed his first victim by beating her with a lead pipe, all because she smiled at him. She didn't mean anything by it, save to be nice, and he saw it as a sign that he was going to be attacked. From there, he went in any and every direction. Drowning, exsanguation, shooting, stabbing, and finally, an overdose.
All because nobody tried getting him some therapy.
"You okay?" The soft, dulcet voice of one of the BAU founders drew him out of the disparaging thoughts.
"Yeah. Thanks for asking." Drake internally winced at the casual dismissal, but this was his coping mechanism. Wait until he's home and hit the nearby gym or bar and drown his sorrows. Alcohol or pain worked for him.
"Sure you are. And I'm the Queen of England." Rossi snorted before turning serious. "Chris, I can tell what you're thinking. That you should have died with your squad, but you have friendly ears here. Hotch wouldn't have agreed to a transfer had he not seen your record. Morgan trusts you enough to partner with you. Don't keep it bottled."
"The consult for Seattle." He acquiesced to Rossi's plea. Partially because he remembered that the last time he bottled something important up, he lost his will to continue.
"What about it?"
"The Unsub was a member of the French Foreign Legion. He almost lost his sight and hearing during an exercise, yet nobody tried to get him counselling. I was in the same position as him after my first tour. Nineteen years old, saw men, women, and children die in front of my eyes. He saw the same. How is it that I came away relatively normal, yet he lost himself?"
"Sometimes, it's better to not know than to know and obsess over it."
"That's the problem. I always obsess over it. Had I died, Veronica would still be here, with her family. Watching her brothers and sisters become parents themselves. Watching as her father falls in love with her mother every time he sees her."
"She might be," Rossi agreed, "but at what cost? From what I've heard, it sounds like she was head over heels in love with you. So your death might've destroyed her, having her become catatonic." Drake sneered angrily.
"Better an angel like her is here over me."
"Drake….." Rossi got cut off by the man in question, smiling a bitter smile.
"I'm not suicidal. Far from it. I'm just angry at the fact that when she needed me the most, I failed her. I hate being that helpless."
"Everybody hates that. But you seem to take it more personal. Why is that?"
"Because my first three tours lasted around a year each. I turned nineteen in Germany, where I couldn't speak their language. Twenty in England, forced to drink either Guinness or Heineken if I wanted to save money, and twenty-one in Afghanistan. After I met Veronica, I finally understood why people claimed that their lovers arms were home."
"When did you meet her?" A whimsical smile formed on Drake's face. It told Rossi all he needed to know, and then some.
"A few months before my twenty-third birthday. I returned home broken. Unable to function in civilian life. I was in the hospital for some blood work so I could transfer to the CID when she walked by. Her patient was two rooms down from me, but she stopped and talked with me. The doctor didn't disturb us until he finished with Veronica's patient. He laughed at our rosy faces, before introducing us."
"Seems like he was trying to ease your burden."
"He was. When I was approved for the transfer, I was told I'd spend time working on the international teams, which led to me being used for UN taskforces. While I was a Sergeant, the taskforces always called me a private. To try and make sure there wasn't any confusion."
"Where would the confusion be?"
"The biggest was from the fact that I was relatively young. It's not impossible to become a Sergeant in a couple of years, but it is tough to do. So whenever they had to create a chain of command, I was usually towards the bottom." He nodded, letting him continue at his own pace. "It was rare for the UN to request anyone from the CID, but the situations do arise."
"Was Veronica upset with that?" He was slowly getting a better picture of the type of person she was.
"She was only upset when it forced me to stay away for longer. But when I was Stateside, I was able to head up a small field office in Des Moines. Four months later, it was closed so I could go hunt down gun runners."
"How did Veronica react to that?"
"With sadness. Her birthday was the month after I left. I had a ring picked out, with the inscription on either side of the turquoise gem. When held up to the light, she would have seen the gem light up both of them." Rossi found himself grimacing. Drake seemed hung up on the woman, but he wasn't sure if it was due to her death or not.
"Tell me about the transfer to the FBI."
"When we busted up the operation, I was sent do take care of a start up front in Mexico. There, I met Sam Cooper. He was on vacation, but still gave me help with dismantling it. The IRT team joined us, and that was the first time I met Eric Harper."
"Was he an agent?" Rossi was horrified at the implication. If it was true, who else could be an Unsub within the Bureau? He shuddered at the thought of any member of the team becoming the evil they hunted.
"No. He was living in Mexico with his sister Teresa. We didn't know that they had friends in the Mexican government, which meant we never realized they were released. Not until Teresa became La Llorona and forced our hand."
"Eric didn't take too kindly to that, did he?"
"That's putting it mildly." Drake sighed. "When my sister died, I was a wreck. He could've killed me then. But he wouldn't have had any fun. When I bought the ring, I was forced to head up the case against him. The day I was going to propose to Veronica, he surfaced."
"He toyed with you by destroying your chances?"
"Yes. Up until the time we thought he was dead. He tried killing her in the hospital, straying away from his usual pattern." Drake derisively snorted. "Should've seen it coming. I propose, we set a date for the following year, and the son of a fucker rose from the dead."
"Bet you regret not going for the head."
"Yeah. Especially after finding out that he became a LDSK during his death. Just like he was in Mexico, and the same casings. He knew everything about my wedding. Down to the goddamned cake. He went against his code for me."
"Code?" Rossi found himself being skeptical about the word. From what he understands, Harper should be the type of guy who only thinks about torturing Drake and money.
"Yeah. He never went after children, going so far as to kill his client if they didn't respect that rule. Pedophiles were targeted with extreme prejudice, and if they had a kid with them, he made sure the kid would be close to people to get help. If he discovered a human trafficking ring, he alerted the authorities with payphones or burners."
"That….. Sounds like he wanted to be a vigilante." Rossi admitted. He wasn't exactly the best to talk about vigilantes, but it was hard not to describe Eric Harper as such.
"Exactly. It's the perfect cover for a dead man walking. Nobody suspects a thing until it is too late, and by then, he damaged my trust in my Unit Chief, Section Chief, and the people who were supposed to be on my team. I shut down, rarely going out with them and only interacting during cases when I wasn't undercover. The transfer to the BAU came at the perfect time."
"Why?"
"I was close to resigning. While I tried to minimize the affect her death had on my work, it was getting harder and harder to go into work. They weren't looking for the bastard, and my inquiries into the case was a point of contention between the Director of the Field Office and my Section Chief. Another six months and I would've been fired." Before any more words could be said, JJ strolled towards the conference room with a purpose. Rossi and Drake made their way to the round table, eyes fixated on the screen.
The team watched as Michael was reunited with his parents, tears flowing freely. Drake watched the scene with exhaustion. Cases with children were always the worst. Yet he watched as the other's shoulders sagged with relief. Drake just smiled and said a small prayer. He may not be religious, but he did believe in the Universe.
And he knew that the Universe believed in one unavoidable truth; the worst can come at the worst time, but you can count on the best giving you a reason to keep fighting.
"Let's head back to the hotel." Hotch softly ordered, his voice conveying a mixture of pain and relief. Drake just raised an eyebrow at it. He knows Hotch has a son, but why did he look so defeated? Wouldn't he be able to see his son tomorrow?
Rossi just laid a hand on Drake's shoulder, subtly shaking his head. He knew the thoughts running through the new guy's head, and he wasn't going to let him open up an old wound for his old friend and protégé.
"Hotch, do you mind if I visit my mom?" Reid asked, his eyes raging with fear and anger. Morgan read it clear as day, but didn't say anything. He was going to be there for him no matter what. No chance he'd face his demons alone again. Rossi was interested in helping out the youngest, but would have to wait until he knew more.
"Go ahead. Just meet us in the hotel lobby by eight thirty." Hotch responded. Reid gave an acknowledging nod, hoping that his problems wouldn't force him to miss the birth of JJ's child. While they weren't together, he wanted to be there for her no matter what.
When the team, minus Reid, reached the hotel, Emily, Elle, Aaron, David, and Chris broke off towards the bar. Derek and JJ went to their rooms, exhausted from the case. Emily and Elle were competing with Aaron to see who could drink the most. David and Chris sat in a booth near the back of the establishment.
"So, what did Erin tell you about the team?" David asked after their drinks were delivered. Chris just smiled, taking a sip of whiskey in front of him. Not his preferred drink, but he'd deal with it.
"Nothing really. She's not a fan of Hotch, something about a loose cannon or something like that was her excuse. She knows that Reid pissed hot during a regular drug test, but wasn't able to fire him. Edmund took care of it. I think she was hoping I'd be a supporter of hers, but I was kinda ignoring certain topics." David laughed at the casual tone. He figured Erin would've tried something, but Drake seemed to care about other things.
"So you got the good stuff. Well, Hotch and his wife got a divorce, which means that he's only able to see his son every weekend and when he's still in town. She gave him an ultimatum, the job or his family, and he chose the job. He wants to make the world a better place for Jack, his son."
"And the reaction probably forced him to think of all of the missed moments, right?"
"Yeah." Both men downed the rest of their drinks and ordered another round. Only, Chris went with bourbon instead of whiskey. A pained look in his eyes.
"Tomorrow's the day when I found out my grandfather had stage four lung cancer. He loved drinking bourbon, but stopped after becoming a father. Said that he wanted his children to have fond memories of him instead of growing up and resenting him and his vices." Chris explained.
"Must have been hard on you."
"Yeah. Pushed me to try and enlist. The recruiter told me to try again when I was seventeen, and I did. My anger at my parents for leaving me, at cancer, at my friends, and at myself forced me to become a man possessed. It almost got me killed during my first taste of combat."
"How?"
"We were assigned to hunt down a local leader who had ties to the man behind an ambush that led to the deaths of thirteen brothers in arms. When we moved in, we were pinned down by heavy fire. Our radio operator wasn't able to get word to our reinforcements without being in jeopardy. I stayed outside, preparing myself to charge the buildings. I rationalized it as a chance to buy my squad some time. Nichols, my corporal at the time, remained downstairs with two others. An explosion sent me flying back into the house as far as I know."
"What do you mean by 'as far as you know?'"
"I blacked out for a minute. I was thrown aside thanks to them zeroing with mortars. The fact that I didn't suffer any type of shrapnel wounds told me that something, or someone, was looking out for me."
"No lasting damage?"
"Not until I was threatened with a discharge. At that point, I had to let my anger go. And it started with my parents." The topic was laid to rest as they paid their bill and headed up to their rooms. As they passed by the rest, Rossi smiled as the drinking contest ended with Hotch being declared the victor.
"You remember Agent Todd." JJ announced. She was going on maternity leave now, and was going to train her. Morgan, Reid, and Rossi remained in Vegas, trying to put an end to the case that had been haunting Reid.
"Pleasure to officially make your acquaintance" Drake introduced himself, earning a soft laugh from the temporary liaison. When she left with JJ, he got to work on checking his emails. King was in town and wanted to catch up, so he decided to see if he could take a long lunch.
"Enter." Hotch said as Drake lifted his knuckles to rap on the door. Entering the office, Drake offered up a small smile. "What can I help you with Drake?"
"I was wondering if I could have a long lunch? King is in town and I'd like to catch up with him."
"Did you finish your after action?"
"All I need to do is sign it and send it for approval."
"Do that and then go ahead. Edmund is allowing us a week of local responses." He nodded his thanks and followed the order. He couldn't wait to see King again.
"So, how's the BAU treating you?" King asked in lieu of a normal greeting. Drake smiled, remembering the times he worked alongside him
"Pretty good. Been trying to curb my lone wolf ways, but haven't been very successful."
"Glad to hear that. You're a good agent, but you always seemed to have trouble opening up."
"Hard to open up after watching as Molotov cocktails immolate the bodies of good friends."
"Your team doesn't know about that, do they?" Drake shook his head in the negative, earning a sigh. "Of course they don't. My main point was actually about the fact that you shut down after Veronica. We never talked unless it was about the lack of leads to find Harper or you wanting to vent." Drake groaned in anger, remembering how many people tried to help him get over her death.
"They never cared-"
"There you go again!" King exclaimed. "Seriously. You can't keep looking back on her death. Otherwise you're going to die, letting Harper win. You were the one person who he knew that could've caught him. He took your reason to live away to protect himself."
"I know. Believe me, he's told me that much! But it's hard to keep going!"
"No. You're just hung up on him taking away your anchor. But you can use that to sail into a new port. One where you're able to beat him without death."
"What if I can't?" Drake asked brokenly.
"What if you can?" King sagely returned. "You would remove his strength, his power, and leave him vulnerable. Just let your new team in."
JJ had her baby, Henry William LaMontagne, and had asked Garcia to be his Godmother. Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked in, greeting her with a soft smile. His steel blue eyes softening at the sight of a woman who he had come to view as a daughter holding her son. He would never admit it, but the sight made him hopeful for DiNozzo and Ziva.
"Congrats Jenny" he muttered. She gave him a bright smile. He had gone to her sister's funeral, despite not talking to her father in years. He was always there for her, becoming enraged when her father came home drunk one day. That was when she started viewing him as an Uncle.
"Thanks Grandpa." She joked, causing him to give a half smile. His actions after Hankel made her see him as her father figure. When he took up vigil by Spence's side the hours after they found him, he forced the others to get some rest.
And then, they ignored the signs of PTSD and a drug addiction. Gibbs didn't. In a way, she was thankful for him. She felt extremely guilty, knowing that the reason she missed the signs was the father of her son. She would never forgive herself for ignoring her best friend.
"Sorry I'm late." Reid announced his presence. "Uncle Jethro! I didn't know you were already here!"
"Where else would I be?" He shot back. In his time knowing Spencer Reid, he had to admit one thing. The kid was more of a man than anyone could ever truly understand. A target for anyone who wanted easy prey, and yet, he still went out of his way to see the good in people. Even in the man who tortured him and drugged him.
He never asked for help because he viewed himself as a burden. That was the main reason he stayed with him as he detoxed. Why he drove him to that first meeting and stayed with him until he was certain he wouldn't relapse.
"I just thought you would've had a case. Tim was telling me that you were looking into a potential murder."
"We were, but I heard that Jennifer was having her baby. That's important enough for me to let DiNozzo lead. It's not like Vance will let him burn the building down." At that moment, Will asked about getting some coffee. The only two who stayed behind were Reid and Gibbs. And Gibbs couldn't help but laugh as Reid held Henry for the first time.
One day, Gibbs thought, he's going to be one hell of a dad. And when that day comes, I promise that he will understand the difference between a dad and a father. Lord knows his cowardly sperm donor wouldn't be able to tell him the difference.
"Mister Gibbs" Will drawled as the team left the hospital. Reid stated behind to talk with Gibbs about something important. He turned to face the Cajun detective. He didn't have to be a profiler to see the jealousy he had for Spencer.
"What is it?" He wasn't a fan of beating around the bush.
"You've known Spencer the longest, right?"
"Whatever you want to ask, ask."
"Do you know why Jen wants him to be Henry's Godfather? Nothin against the guy, it just seems to be a way to keep him close. And I'm worried that she cares more about him than me."
"The reason why is cause he's the perfect role model for Henry." Will looked down, seemingly accepting that he'd always be second best in JJ's eyes. "He's gone through hell the past couple of years, and yet, hasn't changed his outlook on things. He wants to see the best in people, even if it means being injured. You'll be a good dad, but you'd be mistaken if you think he's just going to idolize you. He'll have two men show him right from wrong, and if he can get a hundredth of your moral compass and Spencer's determination for justice, then you've got nothing to worry about."
"Still. It just-"
"Do you love Jennifer?" He cut off the excuse fiercely.
"Of course I do!? What man wouldn't love her?" Came the indignant response.
"Then stop worrying. If you're so concerned about her loving someone else, you wouldn't have been here. You wouldn't have given them privacy when you knew he was vulnerable and she would still have her hormones in overdrive. But you did because you love her." With Will being properly chastised, Gibbs saw Spencer walking towards them and nodded at Will. The ball was in his court now.
"What do you need to talk about kiddo?" Gibbs broke the silence as soon as he backed out of the parking spot. Reid found himself staring at his shoes with disdain.
"I was adopted." He couldn't keep the anger out of his voice. "He told me as such after admitting to helping burn evidence of a murder! And when everything was bad, he couldn't spare ten fucking minutes to come and check in on us!" Reid progressively raised his voice, until finally letting loose with the sobs.
"Spencer," Gibbs softly got his attention, "you do know that I'm proud of you, right?"
"How can you be? Apparently I wasn't good enough-"
"I'm proud of you because you found a family that cares about you. After everything that you went through, I'm sure you could give the exact percentage of how many others turn to violence. But you didn't. Not even after the goalpost incident. When you find your birth parents, remember that you have people that care about the real you and will fight with you."
"Drake here" Chris answered his phone, unaware of who was calling.
"Drake, it's Reid. Do you think we can talk?"
"Sure. There's a little café about five minutes out of the FBI building. I'll meet you there."
"Thank you." Spencer got dressed and went to the café to meet with Chris. It was the one place that JJ always talked about, but could never convince the others to go to.
"What's up?" Chris didn't want to wait for any distractions to appear.
"How did you forgive your parents? I'm struggling to forgive my adoptive father for abandoning me and his wife, and now I'm unsure of if I should." Chris let out a soft sigh. It was time to actually open up.
"I forgave them when I turned twenty-three. You know that I watched my friends in the service get slaughtered, but what you don't know is that the bastards responsible also threw Molotov cocktails onto them. Some were already dead, but some were still alive. The day I went back to the hospital, I was planning on getting high and drunk. And then I met Veronica. An angel who made it her life's mission to remind me of the beauty still in the world. She gave me the strength to forgive myself, and that carried into forgiving my parents "
"So, what? Am I supposed to wait until I meet someone who can help me do that?"
"Yes and no. It would be great to have someone there to soothe your fears and insecurities, but the first step begins with you. Holding on to the anger can be deadly. No matter what though, you'll have a support group behind you."
Okay, time for some news. The story starting from season 1 is more than likely going to start in the next week or two if I'm lucky. It will be relatively unchanged, with the exceptions of Frank and the Fisher King. I have ideas for them, but nothing concrete yet. Still throwing around a few things.
One of those things, ironically, ties into my indecision. Something I tend to avoid is using the same person for more than one long running series. The reason is because of the fact that I can get overwhelmed with trying to isolate the launching points without accidentally adding in gibberish to the other.
As for who I pair with Drake, well, it's tough. On one hand, I can use Elle and have that fun dynamic take center stage starting after Foyet. On the other, Seaver is going to be a stopgap, so I would be able to use it to my advantage.
As for Gibbs appearing, you can find so many stories where Gibbs is like a father to Spencer in the crossover section, and I used those stories to kind of create a reason for him to be Spencer and JJ's Uncle. Which does lead me to something else.
I know that I always go with Sergeant, and don't really expand on it even though there's plenty of variants of it, so let me explain it. When I began, my entire character formed from this Sergeant who had left the CID. His age was going to be between 28 and 32, and so I started building up from there. "Six years in the military and four years of police work before joining the Bureau."
In all honesty, I screwed up. He enlisted at 17, during the second semester of his senior year in High School, and his final tour before joining the CID was when he watched his squad mates get slaughtered. He was ordered to take up overwatch, even though he really wasn't a sniper, by his commanding officer.
CID ran until he was about 26. That was the age his grandfather married his grandmother, and Veronica had agreed to name their first son after him. His father is/was proud of him(not sure if I'm killing him off just yet. Give me another chapter or two). And I view it as a case of 'five plus years of police work before being considered for the BAU' to help explain the lack of new agents. I know, "why five years?"
To put it bluntly, it's the way to make sense. His birthday will be in the summer months, explaining his enlisting at seventeen. Finish the school year and go to basic. When he was 19, he was in Germany. 20, he was in England. 21 was Afghanistan. There's two years unaccounted for, with good reason. His first taste of combat was against a warlord in Africa, where he felt like he could do more than humanly possible.
Seaver was brought in to help on a case, which brings me to a fun little tidbit. When I began planning this story, I always envisioned using a case as my character's introduction. Even back when I wasn't really active in this fandom, I was plotting out how he'd be introduced. His name when I began? Mason King.
As for the discussions I promised to be added in author's notes, just pretend it wasn't promised. Completely forgot about it until I did some checking. I want to try and line everything up perfectly, and yeah.