This is the second chapter of what has become anincredibly well received story. I am overjoyed to have received 16 reviews in such a short period. Sadlythe story has received about180 hits so that means thatonly about 10 of you arereviewing. I would love for that total to bemuch much higher. I love Criminal Minds and I want to know that there are people out there who love it as much as I do. I also want to know whatI'm doing right and especially what I'm doing wrong. If I have a character's personality off a little bit I want to hear about it. The chapterscanonly be written faster if I receive a good stream of continued interest. If Ihave not responded to your review yet don't worry I will get to them. I have done over half of themso far and the only ones I haven't responded to are the ones Ihavegotten in the last two days.:D
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After Reid had gone home Gideon quickly returned to his apartment and gathered his things. One of the difficulties with the cases they covered was never knowing exactly how long they would be gone. Their shortest cases had lasted less then a day but longer cases could last more then a week. Never knowing made packing difficult and he had learned years ago to pack clothing that was easy to care for and matched with everything else.
He packed quickly and even though he had been the last to leave the office he was the first one to get back. As he waited he reread the case and reviewed the crime scene photos. Elle was the first to show up. As she entered the office he acknowledged her as she took a seat at her desk. They remained in a companionable silence for a few minutes before Elle spoke.
"How is Reid?" Gideon looked up from his report to meet her eyes.
"Reid is acting like he always does. He doesn't want to admit if he has a problem. He doesn't want us to think he can't handle something and he going to try to prove that he can by handling whatever is bothering him by himself." Elle nodded.
"So what you are saying is to keep an eye on him but let him work it out on his own?" Gideon nodded.
"Yeah I'm not to worried about him right now. He's stronger than we give him credit for so just let him work it out on his own. If it becomes clear that he can't handle things we will worry about that when it happens."
As Gideon finished Hotch and Morgan walked into the office. Morgan was still complaining about the short notice of their newest assignment while Hotch seemed to be listening and indulging the younger man as necessary.
"When are we leaving?" Gideon shifted his gaze from Elle to Hotch, leave it to Hotch to be all business.
"As soon as Reid gets back. I want to get to California find this the killer and get back here. We all need a rest."
"You've got that right Gideon." The older profiler turned to look at Morgan who had practically thrown himself into the chair behind his desk and was now resting with one foot propped upon it. "I can't believe we have to go back out this soon. We deserve a break sometimes too."
"I'm not any happier about this then you are but we all just have to deal with it and make sure we don't get sloppy. I want to wrap this up as fast as possible so everybody needs to stay sharp." The other three nodded and went about their own devices as they waited for Reid to show up. When he did show up he looked a little flustered and slightly out of breath. When he realized that the others had been waiting on him he looked a little ashamed. It was clear to Gideon that Reid felt that he was holding the team back. This wasn't new for Reid. He was the youngest of the team and he constantly worked hard to prove that he was worth their time. Gideon has reassured him numerous times that he doing fine but it never really seemed to pacify Reid.
The rest of the preparations for their trip passed quickly from that point and as the others were getting their luggage together to take it to the plane Gideon caught up with Reid and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. The young man flinched slightly but Gideon had expected that. He knew that no matter how comfortable Reid appeared around the team we was still uncomfortable when one of them touched him. It was an ingrained reflex and Gideon wondered what had happened in the young man's past to make him so adverse to gentle contact. Despite his curiosity he respected Reid's privacy too much to ask. He figured that Reid would talk about it when he was ready to talk about it and not before. It was not an issue he was going to push.
Knowing that he had Reid's attention he removed his hand and watched as the young man seemed to relax once again.
"What do you need?" Gideon was surprised when Reid actually spoke first. On occasions like this he usually waited for Gideon to speak to him. He only spoke first when he was irritated about something and that didn't happen often.
"You don't have to prove anything to us Reid. You are a good agent and we all respect that so don't worry about trying to impress us. Just do your job, that's all I'm asking." Reid didn't look at him but he nodded and Gideon left it at that. He had made his point and hopefully that would put Reid at ease for the flight to California.
The flight was as quiet as Gideon had expected it to be. Like he had expected the others on his team slept for most of the flight and he took the time to observe them. Elle and Hotch were sitting together near the front of the passenger compartment. They had been talking quietly earlier in the flight but had chosen to get some rest while they could.
Morgan was sitting near the middle of the plane with his feet propped on the seat in front of him. His tie was loose and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows and he had his copy of the case was spread out around him from where he had been reading it earlier and trying to catch any detail he had missed earlier. At some point that Gideon had missed he had passed into what appeared to be a peaceful slumber.
Reid was the only member of the team besides Gideon that was still awake. This didn't surprise Gideon. Reid was usually the one to be awake when all the others were asleep. At first the minimal amount of sleep that the young genius seemed to get had amazed Gideon. He hadn't thought it possible for anyone to go with so little sleep but Reid did it on a regular basis.
Without giving further thought to Reid's ability to avoid sleeping Gideon picked up the box that held the team's chess board and pieces and walked toward the back of the plane where Reid usually sat. The young man looked up as he approached and Gideon held up the game.
"Want to play a game or two? The others are asleep and it is going to be a long flight." Reid nodded and Gideon took a seat across from the young man. As he pulled out the pieces he glanced up at Reid. "White or black?" He figured Reid would take white like he normally did but was surprised when Reid turned the tables on him.
"Black this time around." Gideon gave him a quizzical look that Reid didn't respond to before passing the box with the remaining pieces over to Reid. The young man set up his side of the board and they began to play. It quickly became obvious to Gideon that Reid's mind was not on the game. When he had beaten him for the second time in less than a half an hour he finally gave up and looked up at Reid.
"Are you okay?" Reid stared at the chessboard for a few more seconds before sighing in frustration and leaning back in his seat.
"I will be when this case is over. I don't really know why it bothers me so much and I've been trying to figure it out."
"We all have cases that bother us more than others. It goes with the job. Certain things strike closer to home than others do. Believe me I've had cases that still bother me even years later. It happens to all of us. Does that make sense?" Reid nodded wearily and leaned his head against the seat.
"It bothers me though, I feel that I shouldn't feel anything, like it is my job to remain apart from all of it even though I'm directly involved." Gideon sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Pushing our emotions away is the worst thing we can do because eventually they build up to the point that we can't deal with them. You also can't be too emotional when dealing with a case. Just be careful not to build your walls too high." He stood up and grabbed a blanket from the seat beside him which he then threw to Reid. "Try and get some sleep, if you need to talk I'll listen. You can trust me and I'll help you through it as best I can." Reid nodded and slowly wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. When Gideon was sure that Reid had fallen asleep he turned down the lights surrounding the youth.
In that instant Gideon saw a kid who was way too young to have so much responsibility on his shoulders. Reid had never looked so young to him before and Gideon wondered if he really had the right to expect so much from one so young. He pushed the thoughts away as quickly as they formed. Reid was a good profiler, one of the best he had ever seen and he would only get better as he got more experience. It was his job as a senior profiler to make sure that Reid, and the rest of the team, learned as much from him as possible. With those thoughts in mind Gideon packed up the chessboard and made his way toward the seat he had occupied before. When he reached it he turned down the cabin lights that surrounded his own area of the plane and drifted into sleep.
That is the second chapter, I hope everyone chooses to tell me how good, or bad, it was in a review. Everyone needs to review, I want to have more than a 10 review rate. PLEASE help me do that. Please be sure to sign in when you do review. I want to reply to my reviews and thank each of you for reviewing. Thanks in advance guys and I will try to have the next chapter up in a couple days.