"What made you think it'd be a good idea to run after a face stealing psychopath?" Elle demanded of Derek, who was sitting in the aisle next to her, trying his best to drown her out, but the need to argue back was too great. "I told you the plan-"

"And I told you about my plan," Morgan snapped back at her, practically slamming the magazine he was reading to occupy his mind on the events that unfolded back in Chadron, Nebraska. "It's suddenly my fault that you didn't follow through?"

Elle scoffed, folding her arms over her chest in disbelief. Were they really having this conversation again? Why couldn't he accept the fact that his plan was stupid and dangerous while hers would have been foolproof? If they weren't careful back there, then either Hotch or Reid could have gotten hurt, as the suspect had the perfect opportunity to slash at either of them if anyone was deemed as a threat to him.

"Do you hear this?" Elle questioned aloud, mainly to JJ who was reading a book to try to drown them out.

"I'm not getting involved," she said simply, flipping to the next page.

"But-"

"All that matters is that we got the job done and none of us got hurt," she said firmly, hoping that would be enough for both of them to drop it.

Of course, it never was.

The two of them kept going back and forth at it, totally unaware of the growing tension that was suffocating everyone in the jet. Hearing them both so angry was causing everybody else to feel the same emotion, it even began to affect Reid who had moved to the furthest corner of the plane to sit away from everybody. He wasn't sure how to process what he was feeling or even why he was feeling so upset, but he knew for sure he wanted to get away from it.

Gideon let out a long, frustrated sigh, he wasn't the type of person to get in the middle of his team's squabbling, he figured that he could let them work it out themselves and decide that what they were arguing about was pointless. He looked up when he felt someone staring at him, no surprise that Hotch was giving him a glare as if to tell him to tell the team to knock it off. Gideon only shrugged in response, going back to the puzzle he was working on. They were all adults here, they could solve their own problems.

Everyone was either busy arguing or trying so hard to ignore the argument that nobody realized the silent meltdown that Reid was having in the back of the jet. He was stuck in a confined space with no quiet space for him to calm down in with too many sounds and no possible way for him to think. Why couldn't they accept that they should have communicated with each other better and this argument was pointless? The ordeal was over now, that's all that mattered. Reid let out a small whine that nobody else could hear, covering his head and upper body with the damp FBI jacket that sat next to him to hopefully try to get some peace and quiet. With the lights, more or less trapped in a small corner, the slight movements of the jet and the constant talking over each other wasn't helping, in fact, Reid was beginning to feel overstimulated with no way to stop it.

"How much do I have to pay to make you all shut up about it?" Hotch finally snapped, throwing down the puzzle book he'd been working on, no longer able to focus on it. For a moment, everyone was silent, not expecting him to snap at them like that, it wasn't often that Hotch used that tone with them. Unfortunately, the silence didn't last long when they began bickering about it again, Hotch let out a defeated sigh, running his hands down his face.

Gideon's eyes shifted from Hotch to over his shoulder, this was the first time he truly realized that Reid wasn't sitting with them anymore, but now balled up in the corner with the jacket still over his head. It wasn't the first time Gideon was a witness to one of Reid's silent meltdowns, he's done his fair share to help calm him down over the past couple of years.

Nobody batted an eye when Gideon stood up from his seat, carefully and cautiously making his way down the aisle to where Reid was sitting. Even with the familiar footsteps, Reid didn't look up from underneath the jacket, why couldn't he be alone?

"Hey, kid," Gideon greeted him in a calm tone, shoving his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. He didn't want to sit across from him or touch him in case that would startle him or make the situation worse. "How're you feeling?"

Even though Reid was still underneath the jacket Gideon could tell that he only shook his head in response to the question. Gideon was trying to plan the chess pieces three moves ahead so he was able to steer his meltdown away or somehow make him comfortable enough to go to sleep. He didn't blame the kid, the tight tension on the plane was enough to set anybody on edge, Gideon just wished that they would be more mindful about how petty they were being. Gideon wouldn't even go as far as to say there was a time and a place for this argument, but it was too absurd to even say that. Dropping it completely would be preferred, but at this point, he would take any form of silence he could get his hands on.

"Can I sit?" Gideon asked Reid, gesturing towards the empty spot that sat across from him even though he knew he couldn't see the motion from underneath the jacket. "If you want me to go away just let me know."

"Don't," was all Reid was able to squeak out from his hiding place. The shortness of the sentence was enough for Gideon to pick up on the fact he was getting close to going non-verbal.

"Don't sit, or don't leave?" Gideon questioned, hoping to get more out of him.

"Don't leave," Reid repeated. "Sit."

Silently Gideon sat in the empty space across from him, holding off on saying anything hoping that Reid would break the ice first. Not like he actually would, but it would have made the conversation go a bit smoother for both of them.

"They're loud, I know," Gideon started, resting his elbow on the armrest, pressing his cheek against the palm of his hand. He was hoping that the small talk would be enough to at least get Reid out of hiding, so far, no luck. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Reid shook his head.

"Chess?" Gideon asked him, trying to shift the mood.

"No thanks," Reid mumbled, lowering the jacket from his face. Gideon was hoping he was starting to come back around. "Tired. Can't think."

"Yeah… me too."

Things in the jet were starting to calm down a bit, the last thing Gideon heard of his team's conversation was that something Elle said hit one of Morgan's nerves. As long as their arguments stopped who was Gideon to complain? Everybody was on edge for no reason, there wasn't a case going on right now, they just finished one and were heading home. The remainder of the eight-hour flight couldn't pass by quick enough, the tension was still high with no chance of it coming down any time soon.

"You did-" Before Gideon could finish his sentence, another commotion erupted behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder.

"Asshole!" Elle shouted at Morgan as she was walking back to her seat after grabbing a drink.

As she was about to sit back down, Morgan purposely stuck his foot out slightly, not to trip her but to startle her. Morgan could admit it was a bad joke, especially since everyone was so on edge, but he couldn't help himself, he saw a chance and he took it. What they didn't take into consideration was the sudden rise of tone hit Reid hard, causing the younger agent to clamp the palms of his hands over his ears.

"It's okay," Gideon told him quietly, seeing that he was beginning to struggle again, "it'll pass."

"Soon?" He practically whimpered, finally looking up at him, only making eye contact for a split second before casting his eye down to the jacket that was still draped over him.

Gideon was silent for a moment, pondering his options before making a quick decision. He stood up slowly as not to startle Reid, mumbling that he would be right back. Hotch looked over his shoulder as Gideon stood before the rest of his team, the look on his face was one they've not seen towards them before which caused them to instantly shut up.

"I need all of you to stop it. Now," Gideon told everyone in a tone with much authority, yet not loud enough for Reid to hear, careful not to signal anybody out. "I don't want to hear another word out of anyone for…" He checked his watch. "The next hour and a half. Got it?" Everyone nodded in agreement, too scared to say anything. "Thank you." He turned back, going back to his seat to check on his agent who was only covering half of his face now, worried that the team would blame him for how Gideon reacted.

"Is that soon enough for ya?" Gideon asked Reid playfully with a small smirk on his face. Even though he couldn't see, Gideon had a feeling that Reid had a small smile underneath the jacket.

The rest of the plane ride was extremely quiet except for the quiet chatter of Gideon and Reid who still sat in the back of the plane. Eventually, the remainder of the team understood that the reason Gideon told them to zip it was because of Reid's meltdown, one that none of them noticed was happening. Truth be told they felt bad about that, they should have taken Spencer's feelings into consideration, but the need to be right overtook them. Apologizing to him directly would only make him feel bad, the entire BAU knew about Reid's meltdowns but kept that to themselves, the only people who could fully bring him back was Gideon or Hotch, sure, the others could help them out, but they weren't equipped to handle it themselves.

Elle and Morgan glanced at each other, silently apologizing to each other yet not brave enough to say it out loud in the chance that Gideon would snap at them. It took them this long to come to the conclusion that their arguments were completely pointless and should have been dropped immediately. The team's been around each other too long, so it only made sense that they were becoming increasingly irritated with one another.

Maybe tomorrow would be better.

Or maybe not at all…

Gideon's kept up in his office most of the morning, so he wasn't aware of the once again rising tension between the BAU agents in the bullpen below. The other agents were chatting amongst themselves, not realizing the strain between the BAU. Sure, they would have playful or minor disagreements, but nothing like this. Gideon, Hotch, and Reid were hoping that it would all blow over by the next shift, but obviously not.

Hotch began walking back to his office from the printer in the bullpen as his office printer was still busted with no fix in sight. Shuffling through the warm papers, Hotch looked up, his eyes falling on his agent's desks. Elle and JJ were now bickering back and forth, just as Elle and Morgan did the previous night. Morgan let out a defeated sigh as he rubbed his forehead, all he wanted to do was get these reports filled out so he could move on to the next project, with the constant back and forth he couldn't think.

"Oh my god…" Morgan sighed. "Would you guys shut it?" He snapped at the girls.

JJ scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "Now you see how I felt last night?" She shook her head, dropping whatever papers she was holding onto Elle's desk before turning and walking back to her desk. "And I'm supposed to be the adult here…" She mumbled, purposely saying it loud enough for them to just barely hear.

"Sorry?" Elle questioned.

"Oh… nothing."

Reid let out a quiet yet distressed whine, not happy that he had to sit through the arguments once again, not only that, but he had to listen to the chatter of the other agents. Trying to process what everyone was saying was beginning to become too much that it felt as though Reid's brain was overflowing with information, unfortunately, he seemed to lack the ability to tune out background noise as most people could. It wasn't fair, why didn't they have to do a force stop like he had to when things began to become too much?

"…Reid? … Reid." Hotch stood next to his chair, taking note of how the younger agent was rocking back and forth in his seat with his knees pressed up against his chest, arms wrapped around his legs to bring them closer to his chest. "Spencer," Hotch said firmly to grab his attention.

"Hm?" Reid responded, scratching the side of his face.

"Doin' alright?"

He shrugged. Scattered across Reid's desk was a bunch of papers and files, none of which appeared to be recent, so if Hotch had to guess Reid was looking through a bunch of cold cases to pass the time.

"Y'know, you can always sit in my office if it becomes too much."

Reid looked up at Hotch, his eyes glazed over as if he was trying to hold back frustrated tears, or if he was forcing himself not to cry. It was a silent cry for help to get Hotch to hopefully get the other agents to quiet down, but it would be thrown to the void as there wasn't much Hotch could do about that. Reid didn't say anything, turning back to the papers on his desk to hopefully distract himself. Hotch let out a defeated sigh, patting the back of Reid's chair before heading back up the stairs to go back into his office.

At some point, Gideon left his office, leaning over the railing listening in on the conversations that were going on below at the bullpen. Nothing interesting, still just as petty as it was last night. Hotch stopped next to him, looking over the railing to try to see what Gideon was looking for.

Without saying anything, Gideon held up a folded-up piece of paper to Hotch, his eyes not moving.

"What's this?" Hotch questioned as he took it from him, assuming that it was going to be a part of a new case. The texture and the raised FBI logo jutting out from the back of the paper made him think otherwise.

"You don't know how this got on my desk?" Gideon questioned, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at Hotch.

Hotch didn't say anything as he unfolded the paper so he could read it thoroughly. From the first sentence, he knew exactly what this was, while he considered talking to Gideon about it eventually, he wasn't the one who put the pamphlet on his desk.

"I have no idea," Hotch told him.

"Hm…" Gideon took the paper back, skimming over it once more before tucking it in his shirt pocket. He was silent for a moment, was he seriously considering it? Throughout his years as an agent, Gideon's seen his fair share of teams falling apart, and he didn't want the same thing to happen to his team. "Grab Garcia, tell her to meet us in the conference room." Hotch nodded, heading back into his office to call her. "BAU agents: conference room," Gideon called down to the bullpen, his team looking up at him before standing up.

The four agents along with both Hotch and Gideon sat around the round table, nobody saying anything while they were waiting for Garcia to show up. Hotch didn't give her much information, surely, she was overthinking since she was never called into most types of meetings. The air around the team felt incredibly thin, almost like they were suffocating from the tension that was still high around only this team. The agents had pushed their chairs so they weren't sitting close to each other, not even gracing one another with glances. Reid was gnawing on his fingernails, once they were too short to continue he moved onto his fingertips, he wasn't sure what was going on but judging the situation it wasn't a case and that's what made him so anxious.

"Sorry, my lovelies! I'm here!" Garcia said happily, holding a large iced coffee. One step into the conference room and the almost miserable looks of her team made her face drop. "What's going on?" She questioned, taking a seat between JJ and Reid.

Gideon and Hotch glanced at each other, having a silent mental battle on who was going to be the one to break the news to them.

"There's obviously been some…" Gideon started, standing up from his chair so he could pace a bit while having this conversation, "harsh feelings going around the team lately. I've seen great teams crumble on each other 'cause they've been left unchecked." The agents were glancing around at each other as if they were blaming one another, while Reid was keeping his eyes focused on a section of the table in front of him. "I don't want that happening to us."

Hotch passed out similar pamphlets that Gideon showed him earlier, explaining what the program they were going in was and what they hoped to accomplish by going to it. Everyone began flipping through it, not believing what Gideon was suggesting was real.

"Your solution is camping?" Morgan questioned, holding the pamphlet up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Garcia said quickly, "why do I gotta go? I'm the angel, I've done nothing wrong."

"It's not punishment," Hotch reminded everyone.

"I'm a dweller, I'll die out there."

Reid looked at her. "The most common way people die while out camping is actually drowning, not like the wildlife like most people figure. So as long you don't go kayaking or be wary of rip currents you should be fine."

"Oh! That's so reassuring! If we starve out there we're eating you first."

Reid flashed her a nervous smile.

"Wait, we can't go on a retreat," JJ interrupted them, "what about work? It's not like we can drop everything and take a vacation."

"It's not a vacation," Gideon reminded her. "We have other teams that can take over while we're away."

"What's wrong, you guys scared of camping?" Elle asked sarcastically with a smirk, whether or not she was trying to start another argument was unclear.

Morgan scoffed. "No."

"It's a weeklong retreat," Gideon started to break off the conversation before it went any further, "we start on Monday. I don't want to hear any more arguments until then, understand?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Get back to work."