Sometime after four, he'd fallen asleep. Reid awoke to the familiar feel of fingers stroking through his hair. He opened his eyes and found himself slumped over the edge of the couch. Riley was lying next to him with messy hair and a smile on her face.
"You don't look very comfortable." She mentioned as he sat up.
Reid wished they were at home in bed. He wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep for awhile. He was exhausted. But a few hours would have to do. He reached up and gave Riley a kiss.
"What time is it?" He moaned, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"Almost seven." She answered. "Hotch came in a few minutes ago. Said you're parents were delayed and will be here in about an hour. Nothing to worry about, they… just had some trouble getting your mother on the plane."
That was no surprise. He should have ordered his mother be sedated, but he hated to do that to her. She was already on enough medication. Some of it, Reid suspected, was unnecessary. He considered asking Riley to go over her file and making any possible adjustments, but first he would check with Dr. Norman.
Riley was still admiring him. Her fingertips lingered on the end of his hair, hanging just below his ear. He normally felt so content when she did that… but today he felt guilt.
It had been one kiss. It didn't mean anything. He had explained to Lila his feelings for her. And she had only kissed him out of gratitude. Reid shouldn't feel guilty. He hadn't initiated it, and while it was a nice kiss, he felt no desire for her. A kiss from a gorgeous movie star did nothing for him, and staring at sleeping Riley filled his stomach with butterflies. There was no reason for him to feel guilty.
"How about I get you some coffee?" She said, her hand going onto his face. "You need your strength so you can protect me from your mother."
Reid smiled and stood up, feeling unsure. Regardless whether the guilt was justified, he wondered if he should tell Riley about it. They had enough to be concerned with right now, and Lila would be around for at least the next couple of days, if he were to tell her now, wouldn't it just upset her? But if he waited until this was all over, she might be angry he kept it from her. And if he decided not to tell her at all and she found out, Riley was certain to be hurt and disturbed again; rekindling her concerns Reid did in fact have feelings for Lila.
"Spencer?" she asked. "Did you hear me?"
"Yes!" he exclaimed. It was loud. "Yes, I would… love coffee. In fact, I wouldn't mind your battery acid, that's how tired I am."
"Are you okay?" She stepped forward and brushed his arm. She was checking over his eyes, as if looking for a symptom of illness.
"As much as I can be." He explained. "I just want to find who's doing this and find out what he wants."
Riley had a suspicion what this unsub wanted. She wasn't so sure about the prostitutes, but if Ethan's murder were connected, this killer was working his way and removing people from a line that ended with Spencer. He was in danger and that frightened her in ways her own peril never could.
The last thing he needed, though, was for Riley to be upset. She reached up and kissed his cheek. "It'll be over soon. Things are never as bad as they seem when you're stuck in the middle, you know that. You'll catch this guy and everything will be fine. And when it's over, you and me will go away somewhere and relax… make up for the romantic weekend we lost."
His arms wrapped her tightly. Reid held onto her like he was clinging to his life. "I love you," he muttered into her sweater on her shoulder.
"I love you, too." With a reassuring smile, Riley pulled away. Her hand pushed his long hair aside to see his face, "I'll get that coffee for you."
Reid went to clean up the mess of papers that had been abandoned when he fell asleep. Riley stopped before she reached the door. "Hey… I just have one question… what did you have planned for this weekend?"
He looked to her from the floor, giving her a small clandestine smile. "It was… nothing,"
Unconvinced but satisfied, Riley gave him a friendly scowl, pretending to be annoyed and headed off to the break room.
…
The agents knocked several times on the door of room 804. It was time for the shift change and no one could go home until she was introduced to the replacements. It was important she know who was watching her, just in case someone would try something.
"Ms. Archer?" The head of the order called, knocking harder. "Ms. Archer, I know it's early, but we just need to speak to you for a moment."
It was very possible she took a sleeping pill or had a few drinks before she went to bed. This was a traumatic situation and the last thing a person would wanted to do was toss and turn, thinking of the monsters trying to get to you.
Enough was enough, though. The manager of the hotel came up from the elevator, key card in hand. The agents stepped aside to allow him to unlock the door. It opened with a mechanical click. Inside the blinds were drawn; the only light came from the TV, turned so low it was almost silent.
The graceful form of Lila Archer lay on her bed, her back to the door. The noise of the agents entering didn't disturb her. The head walked over and jostled her gently.
"Ms. Archer." He hissed. "Ms. Archer, we're ready to change shifts." He shook her again, a little more forceful this time.
The body was cold.
…
Riley waited for the fresh coffee to finish brewing. The rest of the team filtered in one by one, getting set up in the bull pen. Everyone's weekend was officially ruined.
Emily came over to the break room. "Hey… feeling better?" she asked.
"Yeah," Riley replied, not having divulged her conversation with Reid before they left. "We talked…" Her tired face presented a pleasant smile. "…we're okay."
"I told you that you had nothing to worry about." Emily explained, giving her a nudge as she stood next to her. The coffee pot only still had halfway to go. "Did you sleep here?"
JJ walked in that moment. Instead of grabbing coffee, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. The poor girl looked ready to be sick.
"Yeah," Riley replied. "In the conference room. My neck is really stiff now."
"JJ… are you okay?" Emily asked with concern.
JJ opened her mouth to speak, but closed it immediately. Fighting off the urge to vomit, she gave a nod, covering her mouth with her hand.
"If you're sick, why don't you go home?" Riley suggested. "Hotch will understand. And you know Spencer wouldn't want you here if you don't feel well."
"No… I have to… I have to stick to my regular routine." JJ explained. "I'm okay."
That was odd. Regular routine? As she flinched back another urge, Emily and Riley glanced at each other. But the inquiry was cut short as Morgan walked in. "Morning."
"What's good about it?" Emily muttered.
"I didn't say 'good', Princess." He retorted, flashing her a smile, which she returned. "Did I interrupt girl talk?"
That was it. JJ couldn't hold it back any longer. Covering her mouth, she quickly headed out of the break room out of the unit doors and over to the restroom. "She sick?"
"She's pretending she's not." Emily explained. "We should check on her-"
"I knew it." A voice cried. The group turned to see. "I knew you would be behind this."
It was Diana Reid. She was surrounded by several agents. If looks could kill, Riley would be in mortal danger right now. Her blue eyes glared at the young girl, and for a brief moment, Riley thought she would make a beeline across the room and attack her. She wanted to conceal herself behind the others, but tried to act brave.
"Diana," another voice cried, and Will Reid stepped into the unit. He tried to usher her focus away from Riley. "It's okay. She's trying to help us."
"The government always thinks they're helping us! Acting like they know what's best for everyone when they shut them away from the outside world!" She cried.
It was not wonderful that the unit suddenly became very active. JJ had returned from the restroom, standing in the doorway. Garcia, on her way to her office, had stopped. It was a car wreck; no one was able to look away.
Like a knight in a fairy tale, Reid, having heard the commotion, hurried from the conference room. "Mom," he called. "It's okay, I'm here."
"You put me on a plane." She whined as he walked over. "You know how much I hate to fly! You had me taken away by these… communist tyrants. And your father, whom I haven't seen in almost twenty years!"
Will looked confused. "Guys, you can go, I've got them." He informed the agents; they took their leave. The team wasn't sure whether to go about their business or stay and be supportive.
Rossi had a better idea what to do. He came down from the walkway and greeted Reid's parents. "Hi, Mr. Reid. Do you remember me?"
"Of course, Agent Rossi." Will said, accepting his hand. "Good to see you again."
"I'm sorry it's under these circumstances." He added.
"Will… you know these people?" Diana asked, confused.
Reid cleared his throat, feeling a bit embarrassed, even around his friends. "Rossi… would you take them to the conference room?"
"Sure," he said, beginning to lead them forward.
Before he walked off, Will leaned closer to his son and whispered. "Twenty years?"
"She doesn't remember." Reid explained.
Will and Diana disappeared and the room was quiet again. Reid went into the break room with the others. Garcia and JJ joined them.
"The last time she was here, they were fascists." An attempt to lighten the mood.
"You okay, kid?" Morgan asked.
"Yeah. I'm used to it." He said with a small twitch of a smile. "Uh… Garcia, I never got those search results off of you."
"Oh, yeah, they're in my office." Garcia said sweetly. "Though I'm not sure how much help they'll be. I'll bring them to you."
"Actually… I'll meet you in your office and go over them. I just want to get some coffee." Reid explained. "Morgan… maybe you could help me look over the results?"
"Sure, kid," Morgan agreed. Everyone in the group knew it was just an excuse to avoid his parents, but if they were in his shoes, they wouldn't be in a hurry to go up there either.
Morgan and Garcia took their leave. Reid moved to the coffee pot, the three women watching them. Riley stepped forward, gently stroking his arm. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Reid turned, beverage in hand. "Yes, I'm fine." Despite everything, he still had a feeling of guilt. "Are you?"
"Oh, please," she said with a smile. "She's not the first mother to hate me."
Reid quickly kissed her cheek. "I won't be long." He made his way to Garcia's office.
JJ and Emily watched her cautiously, like she would break down and start crying. She felt like it, but that wasn't something she were about to admit. "Trust me, I'm fine." She assured.
At least she was. JJ, however, felt another wave coming over her. There wasn't even time to excuse herself. She covered her mouth once again and hurried to the Ladies'. This time, Emily and Riley followed.