The team looked at each other but no one said a word and no one touched the food or drink; they all avoided looking at Reid lying still as death on the bed. After a minute Hotch got up and started digging through the dresser
"Hotch what are you doing?" Morgan asked as Hotch went through Morgan and Reid's clothes
"I'm making sure Reid doesn't have any more knives or opium. We need to do a thorough search of the entire room." Hotch said not pausing at Morgan's words
"He's right Derek; we can't let Reid have anything he could use to hurt himself." Rossi said
Everyone got up and spread out, it only took ten minutes to search the room
"We found a knife sheath, a notebook, and duck tape for the bag of opium under the sink. Along with blood stains in the grout and on the baseboards, I'll clean the blood up before I leave." JJ reported handing Hotch the sheath and the notebook
"I found a hunting knife buried in Reid's clothes; along with a lighter and matches in each pair of pants." Morgan reported
"I didn't find anything in his suitcase or Morgan's bed. Morgan I need you to move Reid to your bed. Hotch said
Morgan carefully lifted Reid up and moved him to the second bed. Garcia pulled back the covers and Rossi took off Reid's shoe. Morgan and Garcia tucked him in careful to keep his arms free of the covers. Hotch searched Reid's bed and discovered a military knife almost identical to the one he had in the cabin under Reid's pillow along with a small bottle of pain relievers. Hotch then went and picked up Reid's messenger but hesitated, the team rarely even picked up Reid's bag. Hotch went and carefully took out the contents and put them on the bed they were heartbreaking to the agents who saw them. Reid had carefully stowed away survival gear in case he was stranded again: A half dozen boxes of matches, a dozen lighters, five bags of jerky, four bags of assorted nuts, four bags of dried fruit, packages of freeze dried food, a handheld ice pick, a portable radio, a water purifying kit, a heavy duty slingshot, four hunting knives and other miscellaneous things. Hotch sat down heavily on the bed when he pulled out a piece of paper carefully tucked away in a side pouch in a waterproof, fire retardant envelope.
"Aaron what is it?" Rossi asked
"It's a note from Spencer ripped from his old notebook it says; My name is Spencer William Reid if you find this bag please inform FBI Special Agent Aaron Hotchner and Diana Reid of my death."
Garcia gasped and stepped over to Reid protectively. Morgan put an arm around her, JJ said "Spence" and Rossi put a hand on Hotch's shoulder.
"Everyone take your food and go to bed we've still got a case in the morning. Morgan take my room I'm going to stay here tonight." Hotch said breaking the tension after a minute of complete silence
"Hotch I'm not leaving Reid I've been taking care of him the entire time." Morgan protested
"Go, I'm responsible for what happened he's my responsibility." Hotch said in a tone that brooked no argument.
JJ grabbed the food, Rossi the drinks and everyone left. The next morning Reid and Hotch came down looking exhausted. Well Reid looked exhausted and worn out, Hotch you could only tell if you had known him for years. Reid was having trouble on his crutches due to his wounded arm
"Kid here" Morgan took Reid's left crutch and slipped an arm around his waist "lean on me."
"Give me my crutch I'm fine."
"Spencer remember what Hotch said last night, we are here for you and you need to let us help you." Morgan said
"Fine." Reid said slipping an arm around Morgan's shoulder "Thank you" he said softly
Hotch took Reid's crutch and they went to the cars and then to a nearby diner. Hotch ordered Reid scrambled eggs, sausage, pancake and fruit
"Eat up you lost a fair amount of blood yesterday." Rossi said when the food arrived
Reid managed to eat everything but he ate slow and at times seemed to force himself to eat. After they were done Hotch laid out his plan for the day
"Spencer you are going to go wherever you want to in Philadelphia today accompanied by Morgan and someone else from the team except Garcia I need her. Tonight you will meet with Gideon. For the entire day you are not to speak of the case or Gideon and no one will tell you anything about the case. When you meet with Gideon I want the focus to be on the past when he left not the cabin." Hotch said
"The Franklin Institute and JJ." Reid said after a long searching look at Hotch
"Okay kid, but you are going to be in a wheelchair completely at my mercy." Morgan said jokingly
Reid flinched, and jerked back in his chair.
"I'm sorry Spencer; I won't make any more of those jokes." Morgan said
They left for the museum and the others went to the station. It was nine AM, Hotch had Tory Gilbert brought to the interrogation room with a lawyer
"Tory Gilbert you are in a lot of trouble. You kidnapped a Federal Agent and tried to kill him. You are looking at twenty years in jail. Tell us who hired you and you'll only be charged as an accessory: no more than five years."
"I'm not a snitch." Gilbert boasted
"You are a snitch, a drug addict and a petty thug. Tell us who hired you we have enough evidence to convict you. Do you really want to waste twenty years of your life in jail."
Gilbert consulted with his lawyer
"Five years, in a minimum security facility, rehab and a half way house when he gets out."
"Only if his information leads to a conviction." Hotch stated
"Right so I'm sitting in Hogan bar drinking a beer when a man wearing a disguise takes a seat at my table and asks if I'm willing to do a job, I say it depends on the job. He tells me it's a simple kidnapping. All I have to do is go to some Podunk town, pretend to be from some guy called Jason Gideon, knock him out with a sedative and take him to a cabin. He paid two grand up front and paid me another five when I came back"
"So you willing left a man in the middle of the mountains with nothing but the clothes on his back?"
Seeing Gilbert's hesitation "You don't get anything if you withhold information."
"The guy in the crappy disguise gave me a hundred bucks and a list, told me to buy supplies; you know blankets, food, toilet paper, that kind of thing. I uh used the money to buy crack, but I did give him the knife I was told to give him."
"Do you have any proof?"
"Yeah I kept the receipts from my trip, the list, and the instructions he wrote down for me which is in my apartment."
"Thank you, for your cooperation." Hotch said and left
Hotch found Rossi in the observation room:
"When you searched Gilbert's apartment did you find receipts, lists, instructions?"
"I did find some receipts and other scraps of paper; let me check with the crime scene guys."Rossi said
Rossi left and Hotch went to check in with Garcia
"So the plane belonged to Miles Davis a hedge fund broker. He and wife disappeared a few years ago. Davis was in trouble with the IRS for tax fraud and other financial violations. It was thought that he and his wife Angela fled the country to avoid criminal charges. They just found human remains in the forest but animals had gotten them, the DNA is being checked against the Davis's."
"Would Gideon or Derek Hale know about them?"
"I don't know sir, I have been digging but Gideon worked and consulted on a lot of cases and Hale keeps his work contacts very private."
"Hale is going to come in at one so see what you can find out before then."
"On it sir." Garcia said and went back to work
Hotch went over the case files, but at noon received a call that jolted him out of his chair and had him almost running out the door.
"Aaron what is it what happened?" Rossi asked "Hotch what's going on?" Garcai asked as they both rushed over
"Agent Green the Agent I assigned to replace Emily just called: Gideon is heading to the Franklin Institute."
"Are you sure?" Garcia asked
"Yes, Rossi call Morgan and warn him but tell him not to tell Reid we don't want another breakdown." Hotch said as they exited the station and headed for the cars
Rossi complied; they drove as fast as they could to the museum. Garcia called Emily who had been sleeping and asked her to meet them. They got the museum and met JJ, Morgan, and Reid at the giant heart. It was a weekday, in the middle of the day in winter so there weren't a lot of visitors. Reid was sitting in a wheelchair his coat over his shoulders, his arm carefully concealed by a long sleeved shirt and sweater. Morgan had Reid's messenger bag over his shoulder; he was wearing his coat while JJ was carrying hers.
"What are you guys doing here?" Reid asked upon seeing them, Morgan turning his wheelchair so he could face them
"We needed a break from the case and wanted to spend some time with you after what happened last night." Hotch said
"Oh I'm sorry, I'm so sorry about that." Reid said putting a hand on his cut and looking down in shame
"Spence don't worry about it, we're just glad your okay." JJ said putting a hand over his
"Hey kid why don't we leave and get some lunch?" Rossi suggested
"No, I'm still trying to persuade Morgan to help me through the human heart. If we leave now he won't let me come back." Reid protested
Morgan looked at Hotch, but before they try and persuade Reid Gideon walked in to the exhibit. The team was slightly concealed by the entrance to the heart but Gideon spotted them and walked over. Garcia grabbed the wheelchair and started pulling Reid away, while the others gathered protectively in front of him
"What are you guys all doing here? I thought you were working on Reid's case." Gideon asked sounding forcefully cheerful as he walked over
"We're taking a break, decided to check out a local landmark." JJ said
Reid was protesting Garcia leading him off and demanded she stop. Gideon pushed past the agents and stopped directly in front of Reid who had put his foot on the ground to forcefully stop Garcia
"Gideon, I would say it's nice to see you again but under the circumstances it isn't." Reid said with forced calm
"I'm sorry for what happened to you, how are you feeling?" Gideon asked calmly and with compassion
Morgan and Hotch came over before Reid could answer and flanked him on either side; they both put a hand on Reid's shoulders to keep him in the wheelchair.
"Fine, except for the broken foot but you know what's that like." Reid
"I do I tried skydiving, not going to do that again. Could we speak in private, just the two of us?" Gideon asked
"Sure, if you'll help me through the human heart." Reid said
Gideon nodded and moved to help Reid. But Morgan and Hotch refused to move or take their hands off Reid.
A/N A much longer chapter, but I didn't want to leave the story without a Gideon Reid encounter. Please Review, Follow, Favorite.