Chapter Fourteen: Even Genii get Ill

Sorry, it is a little late! I wasn't well yesterday. See you next week! Enjoy!

When Reid awoke with a fever and the migraine to end all migraines, he barely registered the fact that it was morning let alone the fact that it was a Wednesday. The middle of the working week had been interrupted by his illness. Unlike most people, Reid enjoyed his job so when he got sick during the week he hated it. However, his mind, too cloudy to focus on anything except pain did not think about this. Instead, he rolled over and tried to get some more sleep. It was a while before he was successful but when he was he welcomed the darkness of sleep readily.

Persephone was nervous. Of course, she wouldn't admit that to anyone who asked. As always she arrived at the BAU early. She'd done a quick search to see if any of her co-workers had arrived yet and was not completely surprised when she noted she was the first to arrive. She had expected Reid to be there, the genius was almost as anal when it came to timekeeping as she was but there was still time for the young genius to turn up and still be early so she didn't think much of it. Then when the others started arriving she started getting nervous. First Hotch came in nodding at Persephone before going to his office. He had stopped being surprised at her early arrival months ago. Judging by the time he came in, the situation with Jack was getting better. Persephone was glad; she cared about that boy deeply.

Her nervous demeanour increased after JJ and Prentiss came in followed quickly by Rossi. By the time Morgan came in, dashing in with a glance to Hotch's office hoping the unit Chief didn't spot that he was a few minutes late, Persephone knew there was something wrong. She glanced around checking the room for any sign that her friend was there and that she just missed his arrival somehow. She knew it was a long shot. She'd been staring intently at the door since she had entered the ball pen and she hadn't spotted him come in. His car was not in the car park when she parked her car. Maybe someone had given him a lift and he was in the library or at the shooting range. No. There was no sign that Reid had arrived. So where was he?

"Does anyone know where Reid is?" Persephone asked. Maybe he'd been put on a special assignment or maybe he'd been asked to lecture somewhere. She knew that Reid was forever getting requests for things like that. Hotch always tried to refuse them unless Reid himself decided that he wanted to do it. Sometimes though, that wasn't possible, and Reid had to go. But surely if that was the case then Spen would have texted.

"No, I haven't heard anything," Morgan replied casting glances at Prentiss who also shook her head.

"Nor me," Prentiss admitted.

"Well, I never thought I would see the day where Pretty Boy was late." Morgan laughed.

Persephone scowled. In her mind, Reid being late was far from funny. It wasn't like him. It certainly wasn't like him to not call and inform anyone. Morgan's smile vanished when he remembered that the last time Reid was late was when he was on Dilaudid. He didn't think that Reid had relapsed, other than being late the signs were not there but it did make him think that something had happened.

"You're right," Morgan agreed "It's unlike him."

"And he's been ignoring my calls and texts," Persephone informed them prompting her fellow team members to start calling Reid too. They all had the same response. That is, they didn't have any.

"That it!" Persephone decided to get out of her seat "I'm going to Hotch to ask for permission to leave."

Persephone knocked on Hotch's door and poked her head around it. The boss still made her a little nervous especially when they were in a formal setting.

"Sir?" She asked as a way of greeting. She glanced down at the pile of paperwork and winced regretfully. "Sorry to disturb you, sir."

"Not at Persephone, my door is always open. Is everything all right?"

"Well sir that's the thing, I'm not sure."

Hotch raised his eyebrows in intrigue. "Well, why don't you explain everything? And Persephone, remember it's Hotch."

"Right, sorry sir, I mean Hotch. It's Reid. He's not turned up to work and he's not answering any texts or phone calls."

"That's not like him."

"No. I was thinking of going over to check on him. Do I have your permission?"

After a quick chat with Hotch, her boss told her that not only she did she have permission to leave to check on Reid, that he was ordering her to and to keep him informed of any updates. Persephone was soon cursing down the road to Reid's apartment block while taking a rather flexible approach to the highway code. Persephone was half tempted to turn on her sirens but decided that maybe it wasn't the best abuse of her power. It was like Reid was in mortal danger. Or at least she hoped so.

When she got to Reid's apartment she ran into a problem. He wasn't answering despite her rather enthusiastic knocking. True, she could check with the desk clerk, flash her badge, and ask for a spare but Persephone has noticed a distinct lack of the gentleman in question. She also didn't trust that man. The last thing she needed was their enemies to be alerted to the ease of access to Spen's flat. How that information would get into the wrong hands Persephone wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to take any chances when it came to Spen's safety. That left one option, she would have to pick the lock. So, glancing to check she wasn't being watched she quickly and effortlessly let herself in.

There was no sign of a struggle. The flat looked just like the way she had entered it last time. A glance to the peg and Persephone spotted Spen's messenger bag. Everything seemed fine- so where was Reid? She pulled out her gun, not likely to eery silence she was met with. She crept towards Reid's bedroom and opened the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted that Reid was asleep. He was clearly in pain and judging by the sweat on his forehead he had a fever, but his condition was not serious. He would be okay.

Satisfied that her friend was not dead, kidnapped or otherwise in danger, she entered Reid's kitchen. After a phone call to inform Hotch that she was taking the day to look after Reid who was ill, Persephone set about looking around the kitchen for ingredients to cook up something for Spen when he finally awoke. She was quite lucky; Reid had the ingredients needed for a full English and a quick check of his pantry and told her he also hand ginger and honey.

Reid wasn't sure what time it was when he awoke but the clock told him it was nearing lunchtime. With horror, he realised how late he was. This was very not good. He prided himself on being on time and now… Well, Hotch would be pissed and Morgan would never let him lie down. It was practically lunchtime and he hadn't even shown up or called.

Wait. Speaking of lunch – was that bacon? It was. Someone was cooking bacon. Reid jumped out of bed and charged for his gun safe. His head made him pay for that, but Reid forced himself to put ignore it. Of course, he knew it was very unlikely for an un-sub to break into his apartment for the express purpose of cooking him bacon but when you dealt with the kind of people he dealt with you learnt to expect to unexpected. So, with well-trained movements, he raised his gun and stealthily crept to the bedroom door. He poked his head around the door and after counting to three in his head he started heading towards to kitchen. When he saw that it was Persephone and not an un-sub here to kill him, he put his gun down and let out an exasperated groan.

"What the hell are you going here?" Reid demanded wincing when his own raised voice made his headache worse.

"Spen! You're awake! Come, sit. I've made you a full English and ginger and honey tea. It'll make you feel better."

"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you here?"

"Looking after you. I've called Hotch, we've both got the day off." Persephone explained guiding Reid into a chair and plating up the finished dish and placing it in front of her friend. Then she placed the tea on the table.

"The door was locked." Reid pointed out. Glancing down at the plate he had to admit it seemed appealing. The tea smelt nice and Reid knew the healing benefits of ginger and honey, so he picked up the fork.

"Was being the operative word. There aren't many locked doors when I'm around." Persephone told him taking a sip of her cup of tea. She watched as Reid's face morphed from surprised to annoyance to amusement and back to surprise again.

Reid raised his eyebrows at that. "So, you can cook, you can paint, and you can pick locks. Do you have any other talents I should be aware of or is that it?"

"I can juggle."

"Really?" Reid questioned drinking the rest of his tea. It was making feel him feel a lot better. He was trying to picture Persephone throwing balls in the air and catching them. The sight was not one that he could picture. If Persephone could juggle then he would ask for a demonstration. Well, maybe when movement didn't make him feel so… sick.

"No," Persephone deadpanned. "That's it. I don't have any more hidden talents. You're the first to learn them all."

"I'm honoured," Reid responded only partly sarcastically. "Thanks for this by the way."

Persephone took the empty plate and mug before she quickly but methodically cleaned up the dishes. Then she poured a cool glass of water and gently ushered Reid back to the bedroom.

"Come on, back to bed. I'll put this glass next to you, I suggest you sip it over the next few hours you need to keep your fluids up. I can bring you a book if you want."

Reid did not have the energy to argue so he let Persephone guide him back to bed. The idea of reading something was not pleasant, his head was too painful to even consider that.

"No book. Can I have some painkillers? I should have some in the bathroom cabinet."

"Headache?" Persephone asked.

"Migraine." Reid corrected.

Persephone nodded and left to check Reid's bathroom cabinet. Luckily Reid was right, she took two paracetamol tablets from the packet and took them back to her patient. After closing the curtains and shutting the door she left Reid to sleep while she went back to the living room to check on the team.

After speaking to JJ, the blonde agreed to come over and bring her paperwork. She was also bringing some supplies over for Reid. She didn't take long to arrive at Reid flat.

"How is he?" JJ asked glancing at Reid's bedroom door.

"He's sleeping last time I checked. I have managed to feed him and get some honey and ginger tea into him. He's got a glass of water too. Did you bring the thermometer?" Persephone updated her. She hadn't been able to check Reid's temperature so other than estimating by placing the back of her hand against his forehead, she didn't know how bad his fever was.

"I sure did," JJ informed her. "Are you ok to look after him? Because I can always stay instead."

"No, I'm good. If it's contagious I've already been exposed. No sense in you risking passing this on the Henry now that I'm here."

"Well call me if you change your mind then let me know. Ring if you need anything else."

Persephone promised that she would ring if there anything that either of them required and then JJ left. She settled down on the sofa and began the paperwork that she needed to do that day. Apart from the fact she needed to do the work despite having the day off, it would give her something to occupy her mind. Noticing that she had left out her lock pick set, the same one she had since she was 18, she quickly packed it away not wanting to risk losing it for even a second. She never went anywhere without her lockpick set. As Persephone secured it she remembered how exactly she came to learn that particular skill.

Persephone was sat outside basking in the warmth of the pleasant may sunshine. She closed her eyes and got ready to sunbathe. It made her almost sleepy, and had she not heard someone shouting she would have dozed off. As it was the shouting which was panicked as opposed to excited and it immediately set her on edge.

"Persephone!" William, a boy who lived two doors down from her came running up to her. He was panting and seemed to be seconds from a complete break-down.

"William. What's all this shouting? Are you hurt?" She asked.

"It's not me, it's Ignatius."

At the sound of Iggy's name, all sense of a peaceful morning went out of her head. The boy in front of her seemed unharmed so she focused on the one that evidently was not okay.

"Walk with me and explain. Take a breath Billy goat and relax."

The nickname that the children of the street came up with grounded the young boy and he took a breath and led Persephone down the road. About an hour ago, Iggy and Opie had gone to play with William and his neighbour Elizabeth. Persephone had been nervous about letting them go alone but they were supposed to be watched by an adult. Clearly not.

"He's locked in the garage," William explained.

"What?" Persephone bellowed making the boy jump. "I'm sorry I didn't to yell at you. I can tell you didn't lock him in."

"No that was Jeffery."

"This would be Jeffery Banks the same kid that's been terrorising the twins?"

"Yeah," William admitted. Jeffery Banks was your classic classroom bully. Part of Persephone felt angry the other half felt regretful for Jeffery.

It didn't matter right now. Nor did the apparent lack of adult supervision but that could be dealt with later. What was important was ensuring Iggy was all right and getting out of that garage before he overheated. On a warm day like this? It wouldn't take long for that to happen.

Persephone was ever thankful that William's house was nearby. It didn't take long for the two of them to make their way to the back garden where their garage was held. Unfortunately, the garage was not connected to the house so Persephone would have to break the door down or get a key.

"Where are your parents? Do they have the key?" Persephone questioned.

"They're next door."

"And why exactly have you not gone to them and asked for the key?"

"I didn't want to be in trouble and that lock's broken anyway. Dad hasn't got around to fixing it."

"You're going to be in more trouble when he finds out. Go and get them." Persephone ordered.

William seemed to realise the seriousness of the situation because he ran off. Persephone hugged Cassiopeia who had clung on the moment she had been spotted.

"Shh. It's ok Opie, I'm here now. Nay?" After comforting one twin Persephone turned to the other one trapped in the garage. Nay was not a nickname that she used often. It was reserved for when he was really scared.

"Sephy?" Ignatius begged.

"I'm here, Nay. Don't worry, I'm going to get you out."

"Hurry! I'm scared!"

Persephone's heart swelled at the petrified tone in Iggy's voice. She looked around and saw a metal pole resting on the side. It was really heavy which was good because it meant that it would be effective. She quickly analysed the side of the padlock to identify the weakest spot. Then she turned around and instructed everyone to step backwards. She raised the bar as high as she could and slammed it down on the padlock. After striking it a second time, it snapped, and Persephone immediately opened the door.

A second later Ignatius ran into Persephone wrapping her arms around her side and sobbing into her shirt. Persephone made comforting shushing noises and hugged the boy close.

"Everything is all right Nay. You're safe. I've got you." Persephone promised. "I'd better get the two of you home. And tomorrow, I will be having words with Mr and Mrs Banks."

"What's going on here?"

Persephone turned to see William's father running towards them with a key in hand.

"You broke my padlock."

"Cleverly observed Mr Peterson. Maybe if you had been observing the children more carefully this would never have happened I wouldn't have to break your stupid padlock!"

"How dare you! I will be speaking-"

"I dare because if your son hadn't come and got me, Ignatius could well have died in there. Now I'm taking the twins home. I suggest you keep a closer eye in future."

Persephone took the twins hand and lead them home. They had enough excitement for one day. It had taken a hot chocolate and lots of cuddles to get the two of them calm again. For weeks after Iggy had had nightmares.

The next day Persephone had taken out several books to teach herself how to pick locks. She never wanted to feel that fear again. She never knew when she might need to urgently open a door, so she was going to learn how to pick a lock just in case. She wasn't going to risk the twin's safety over a thing like that ever again.

Persephone felt a tear dripping down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. There was no sense in getting caught up with things like that. Anyway, she had more than enough work to occupy her mind. Right now, she needed to fill out the forms pertaining to the team's last class that took them to Florida. It had involved the murder of different emergency responders due to the fact the un-sub lost a family member due to a response time that was too long. As the local enforcement officers had lost two of their own, the paperwork was considered a priority.

"Persephone?" Reid greeted sleepily.

She didn't jump when she heard Reid's voice although she didn't hear him enter. It showed just how comfortable she was in her friend's presence. Instead, she got up and took the thermometer to him.

"Spen. How are you?" Persephone inquired softly, being mindful to ensure that she kept her voice quiet out of respect to her friend's headache.

"Better."

"Let me check your temperature," Persephone suggested. After Reid's nod of consent, she placed it in front of his head and pressed the button. She smiled when she saw the reading.

"37.8 °C or just over 100°F. It's still a little high but not dangerously so."

"Thanks for looking after me Percy. I'm sorry to drag you here."

"Don't worry about it. Even genii get ill."

"Genii?" Reid laughed taking a seat and relaxing back into it.

"Well that is one of the possible plurals for genius and I think it sounds better than the alternative."

"So, you can pick locks."

"I can picklock and I never go anywhere without my set. You never know when you might need to break in."

"You should put that on a tee-shirt."

"I don't think it would fit."

Reid and Persephone decided to watch a bit on tv now that the previous one was feeling a little better. The Sarah Jane Adventures seemed like a good option. They watched a few episodes and then Reid turned to Persephone.

"So why did you learn how to pick locks?"

"Someone I cared about got locked in a garage when he was a kid. I was terrified. I thought he'd die in that garage. It was a warm day and he was just a child. I'm sure you know about the dangers of locking a child in a car on a hot day."

Reid nodded. "Children can die in minutes."

"Exactly. Luckily I got him out before any ill effects happened. I smashed open the padlock with a pipe. I reamed out the boy responsible for locking him in. He was the school bully. After I was done with him he left them alone."

"Them?"

"The children at his school. He was a bully but not a bad kid at heart, just one that needed a little help seeing the error of his ways."

"And you helped him see that?"

"After what he did? I most certainly did. Not physically, of course, I would never lay a hand on a child, bully or not. But I did make it clear that bullying was not going to be tolerated any longer."

"You're a good person Percy."

"Thanks."

Reid and Persephone went back to watching tv. There were some classic episodes of Doctor Who on BBC America, so they decided to watch that. Persephone observed him and noticed that he looked a lot better when she first saw him that morning. A quick test of her temperature told her that his temperature was normal.

"You know if this whole profiler thing doesn't work out you could be a doctor," Reid commented.

"What?" Persephone tried to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"Not that I think for a second it will not work out. You're one of us and you always will be. You are a top-class profiler and a brilliant agent, don't forget that. I was just joking and complementing your medical skills."

Persephone should have known better than to think that Reid would be doubting her. The pair had grown very close in the last few months and she trusted that he wouldn't hurt her. One of these days she was going to explain everything, but that day wasn't here just yet.

"ACHOO!"

Persephone's loud sneeze startled them both. Reid opened his mouth to ask if she was all right but before he could, she sneezed several times. Urgh. She was beginning to feel a little unwell and who the hell put the thermostat on full whack? It was boiling!

"Percy are you all right?"

"Shh! Not so loud!"

Reid smiled as he picked up the thermometer and checked Persephone's temperature.

"It's official 102. That's 38.89. You're sick."

"No, I don't get sick."

"I thought you said even Genii get sick?"

"Not a genii- genius. Not a genius." Persephone murmured.

Reid guided Persephone to his spare room.

"Fine even Stubborn Ginger Haired Brits get sick." Reid amended.

"Not stubborn."

"That's exactly what a Stubborn Ginger Haired Brit would say." Reid pointed out. "But don't worry because I'll take care of you."

After ensuring Persephone was tucked up in bed, Reid rang Hotch to update him on the situation. He was remarkably understanding and gave them both the day off. After making sure Reid was better and asking the young genius to pass on his wishes to Persephone to get well soon, he hung up.

Reid went straight to the kitchen and began prepping some chicken soup. One good turn deserves another and while it may not be as good as Persephone's full English, it was one of the things Reid's culinary skills could stretch to. His mom always made him chicken soup when he was sick. They could talk about inherited cure later on, for now, though he was going to look after Percy. She was there for him and because of him, she was sick. She would be well looked after; he would see to that. They were family after all.