I was super excited about writing about Minimal loss, but during my rewatch I noticed that they really relied solely on Reid during the Angel Maker. He did all the coding work by hand and at one point told Rossi that he felt like he needed a clone of himself and a year's supply of Adderall to successfully do all the work, so I figured I'd throw in another lil exhausted Reid fic. Since Hotch was having his own problems and I have kinda been ignoring Rossi, I thought I'd have ol' papa pasta step in to help.

S4 E2

Reid was wound up fairly tight. He hadn't slept in two days, working purely off of coffee and a minimal amount of food. He was stressed from the case, the constant pressure he'd been under to decode the letters became a bit too much. He was starting to crack, but the case was more important.

Then, when Hotch bent over in pain at the loud gunshot, he felt even more anxiety. He hadn't even realized how much the man had been suffering and he felt horribly guilty. Hotch had always looked out for him, yet here he was, ignoring the man's problems.

He didn't get a chance to apologize for his ignorance either. He'd planned on doing it on the plane, but the man stayed behind, deciding to drive instead. Reid thought about volunteering to drive with him, but he wasn't sure he'd be great company, knowing he'd probably pass out fairly soon.

When they arrived on the plane though, he couldn't rest. His stomach was twisted with shame. Not only about Hotch, but also about the case. If he could've worked a little faster, realized there was code sooner, he might have been able to save more people and, possibly, save the unsub as well.

Reid sat across from a sleeping Derek, staring intently out the window. When he was certain everyone was asleep, he quietly stood, sneaking into the bathroom. There, he let himself break.

He cried silently, sitting on the floor. He ended up making himself sick due to his guilt, expelling mostly coffee into the toilet.

When Reid had calmed down a bit, he wiped his eyes, checking himself in the mirror.

He looked like a wreck. His under-eyes looked bruised and hair was limp. His face looked a little too gaunt and his eyes were red from tears.

Reid rinsed his mouth with water and splashed his face a bit, hoping to wake himself up. He stood, clutching the sink for a few more minutes, attempting to eliminate his feelings of shame, but to no avail.

Eventually he surrendered to them, walking out of the bathroom in despair. He immediately plopped back into his seat, relieved to see Morgan was still asleep. He wouldn't suspect a thing.

Reid quickly closed his eyes, feigning rest, attempting to bury his guilt.

Little did he know a concerned Rossi had watched him from across the jet.

When the jet landed, the team quietly walked to the car, everyone exhausted from the last few days. They quickly drove to the office, everyone wanting to part ways and sleep for the next 24 hours.

When they arrived back at the BAU, the team dispersed, most people grabbing their things and immediately leaving. Rossi walked up to his office, carefully watching the team, eyes mostly focused on the youngest member. He wasn't certain what was going on with the young man, but he knew something was wrong. It wasn't just exhaustion, there was something else hiding behind his eyes.

Reid slowly made his way to his desk, sitting down with a huff. As much as he wanted to go home and sleep, he thought he might be better off just hanging at the office and burying himself in paperwork for a few hours first.

He sat, thinking, for longer than he realized, and he flinched when a hand appeared on his shoulder.

"Reid. Go home. Get some rest." Rossi stated softly.

Reid looked up at the man and shook his head. "I'm alright," he quirked a small unconvincing smile, "I'll head out in a few minutes, see you tomorrow." Reid turned back towards his work, dismissing the conversation, but Rossi was not done.

The man placed his hands on the chairback, physically turning Reid around. The kid stared at him with slight shock and confusion as Rossi picked up Reid's satchel and threw it gently in his lap.

"Come on. You can come to my place." Reid looked unsure, but Rossi further enticed him; "I'll make you Tonnarelli a Cacio e Pepe"

Reid's face softened a bit at this, and immediately his stomach growled. It was loud enough that Rossi smirked, and Reid hung his head a bit, surrendering.

He stood, following the older agent out to the parking garage. They loaded in his car and rode in a comfortable silence. Reid was blinking lethargically but did not fall asleep.

When they arrived at Rossi's, Reid smiled. It had been a while since he'd been over, he didn't realize how much he'd missed their family gatherings. He opened the door, stumbling slightly out of the car, but he righted himself quickly.

He nervously followed Rossi inside, feeling weary that he'd been invited over alone. He and Rossi got along well, but they didn't often do things just the two of them outside of cases, which made him feel slightly awkward. He also knew that Rossi had probably been worried about his lack of sleep as he had been the one retrieving him coffee while he was translating code.

The man immediately went to the kitchen and began cooking. Reid sat down in the living room, sinking into the comfortable chair. He closed his eyes, worries forgotten.

He sat in peace for a few minutes before the guilt made its way back into his mind. He thought back to Hotch, all the obvious signs that he'd displayed during the case of not being back to 100% yet.

Reid should've said something.

He should've offered some advice, or at the very least some support. Instead he just ignored the man's pain, invested in the code. The stupid code. The ridiculously brilliant code that took him far too long to figure out. His brain wasn't fast enough, and they'd ended up losing two more people because of him.

Reid felt shame pool in his stomach once more, pain in his heart. This must've been what Gideon felt like too. This was why the man carried pictures of the people he saved, because the guilt of those he couldn't get to was too much.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Rossi shook him lightly. His eyes snapped open in surprise, the man was standing above him, hints of concern on his face.

"Food's ready." He said simply, turning back towards the kitchen.

Reid shook his head, clearing his mind. He stood shakily and made his way to the kitchen.

He took a seat at the small table Rossi had set up, smiling as the man served him some pasta. He instantly smiled at the smell, Tonnarelli a Cacio e Pepe was his favorite. It was simple, yet delicious, and Rossi made it better than anyone.

He began digging in, quickly filling his empty stomach. It only took him a few minutes to clear his plate, and he was ready to slide into a food coma.

However, Rossi pointedly looked at him, giving him the 'I'm about to lecture you for some reason because I'm your parent' face.

Reid sighed, sitting up a little taller, making eye contact.

"Hotch is gunna be okay, you know that, right?" Reid was taken aback. He was expecting something along the lines of 'stop running yourself into the ground, you need to take better care of yourself, blah blah blah'. That was a lecture he frequented with Hotch.

He didn't expect Rossi to bring up his guilt about Hotch. He thought he hid that one pretty well.

'The plane' he thought, mentally face palming. 'he must've seen me on the plane. Shit'

Reid nodded, dropping his eyes.

"His ear will heal, and he'll be back in the field in no time. He just came back a little premature, something I know you're familiar with doing." Reid blushed at this but didn't comment. "He'll be okay." Rossi placed his hand on Reid's offering reassurance.

"I should've n-noticed." Reid said, sadly looking up at Rossi. "Hotch always looks out for me but when he needed someone to look out for him I-…" Reid trailed off, swallowing the lump in his throat. He clenched his jaw, fighting off tears. "I let him down. I should've realized-… I should've done something… I was so caught up with the case and… but he would've noticed" Reid finished his convoluted statement, shaking his head.

Rossi tilted his head, leaning forward a bit, "He would have, you're right, because Hotch is the leader of our group. It's his job to make sure that everyone's head is in the game. I know your relationship goes deeper than that, but still… I know he doesn't blame you, in fact I'm sure he'd be upset to find out that you were upset for not saying anything to him when he was trying to hide his injury from you."

Reid looked up as Rossi continued, "You did your job during this case, and you did a damned good job. None of the rest of us could have accomplished what you did, and we wouldn't have been able to save the last victim if it weren't for you. You sacrificed your own health, which I don't fully condone, for this case. I'm proud of you, and so is the rest of the team, including Hotch."

Reid nodded at Rossi, giving a small smile. He felt much better, guilt washing away slowly.

"Now let's get you to bed, okay?"

Reid stood slowly, body shaking from effort. He was feeling the exhaustion now, ready to collapse in a warm bed.

Rossi made his way over to the kid who was looking like he might pass out at any second. He placed the kid's arm around his own shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist, guiding him to the guest bedroom. He sat the kid on the bed and left to get his Go-bag.

Rossi fished out the kid's pjs and handed them to him. He lethargically changed, exhaustion in his every move. When he finished, he quickly plopped back on the mattress.

"G'night Rossi. Thank you."

Rossi smiled, shutting off the light.

"You're welcome, kid."