A/N: Reid isn't in this chapter much. It's mostly what the team thinks of Reid unusual behavior.
Chapter 6:
The team exchanged glances for a moment before Morgan let out a loud sigh and ran his hand down his face.
"I don't know," he said, lightly shaking his head.
"Well, there's obviously something going on with the kid." Rossi stated.
There was a moment of silence before Prentiss bit her lip and voiced what she knew everyone else didn't want to ask. "You don't think he's…"
Everyone looked at her, and she knew she didn't have to finish her sentence for them to know exactly what she was asking. They all had the same look on their face, except Rossi who looked at each person in confusion.
"Think he's what?" The team looked at him and he knew there was something he didn't know. "What is it?"
"Maybe it isn't that." J.J. offered in an unconvincing manner.
"What else could it be, J?" Prentiss gave her a sympathetic.
"I don't know. Maybe he's just stressed or there could be something going on with his mother. Do we need to automatically assume it?"
"Assume what?!" The impatience was evident in Rossi's voice. "You keep saying 'that' and 'it'. What the hell are you talking about?"
The team exchanged glances again.
"Rossi…" Morgan sighed again and there was another moment of silence.
"Dave…" Hotch felt like he was betraying Reid, but Rossi needed to know. Besides, Rossi was part of the family now, so it would be okay to tell him, wouldn't it?
"What is it, Aaron? Tell me."
Hotch ignored his other team members and focused solely on Rossi. "You know about the case we had involving Tobias Hankel? In which Reid was abducted?" Everyone else closed their eyes in memory of that event.
"Yeah…" Rossi said cautiously. "What about it?"
"In the official report, it is stated that Reid was held for two days. During that time, Reid had been abused and drugged… …But there's something that wasn't included in the report."
Rossi sat up a bit straighter, suddenly feeling a bit regretful for prying. This was obviously a secret they ever talked about, not even with each other. Sometimes Rossi forgets that they were a family long before he came around. They've been through things he would never understand. The only things he knows about the team before he joined are what he has read in the official reports and the little information the team has shared with him. But if this is something that wasn't in the reports, who knows what else could have happened on that case? He gulped, not sure if he wanted to know but also knowing he needed to know.
Hotch sighed, suddenly looking very old. "Reid…developed a drug addiction."
Rossi blinked. Surely, Hotch was kidding. There's no possible way that Spencer Reid, kid genius, would allow himself to become a drug addict.
"It wasn't his fault." Hotch said, seemingly reading his co-worker's thoughts. "As was stated in the report, Reid was forced to take drugs. At some point during his captivity, he must have unwillingly begun to crave them. After the case, he was in a vulnerable position. He was damaged and traumatized." Hotch sighed again as a look of regret and self-criticism spread across his face, as well as the faces of the others profilers. "We knew he was taking drugs. But we never talked about it; we didn't confront him; we didn't do anything to help him. We just let him suffer on his own. In the end, he beat his addiction, by himself, without any help. But he was never the same after that case."
Rossi sat quietly in thought. He had seen pictures of Reid in his early years at the BAU. He was so young, so nerdy, so unconfident. He was still much of the same person, but he was different. You didn't have to know him to know he'd changed. Just by looking at the pictures of him then and him now, even a non-profiler would know Reid had been through an unimaginable trauma. But Rossi never knew what that trauma was, until now. Even so, he got the feeling that this is only one life-changing event Reid went through in his early years. The kid was a knack for trouble, even now.
"So…you think he's on drugs again?" The team was quiet for a long moment.
"If he is using again," Hotch said, looking at his team. "We are NOT going to make the same mistake we made last time. We're not just going to sit back and let him deal with it on his own." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"But we're not even sure he is using." All the profilers turned to J.J. "I mean, what evidence is there to prove, without any doubt, that he is?"
Silence.
"J.J…" Prentiss spoke softly. "Just look at him. Even when he's asleep, he can't stay still."
"And he's been moody, agitated, depressed, hot-tempered." Morgan added.
"Not to mention he's lost weight. Too much weight." Hotch looked critically at the slim figure.
"I've noticed he hasn't been rambling off facts like he usually does." Rossi was still having trouble believing this, but it was beginning to make a lot of sense.
"He was having trouble focusing on his paperwork." Morgan shook his head.
"He went into the bathroom and when he came out, he seemed more relaxed." Prentiss commented.
"And I saw him throwing up the other day when we all had lunch together. Also, he winced when I touched his arm."
"J.J., I'm sorry," Prentiss put a hand on her shoulder. "But all of these are signs that he's using. I've watched the same thing happen to a friend of mine before and I was there when this happened to Reid the first time. We can't deny it any longer. He needs our help."
J.J. nodded sadly. "So what do we do?"
Hotch held back another sigh. "We're going to have to wait until we get back to Quantico. If he becomes trouble, I'll take him off the case."
Rossi looked at him. "But we can't have him high while working the case. It could ruin everything."
"We'll make sure he's with someone at all times, so he won't have the chance to shoot up."
"I'll room with him." Morgan said with an air of finality.
"Good. Make sure to keep an eye on him."
Morgan gave a half-nod.
"Don't worry, J.J." Prentiss gave a small false smile while wrapping her arm around the blonde. "We'll help him." J.J placed her hand on Prentiss' and softly nodded.
The team sat without a word for the rest of the flight. The only sounds that could be heard were the noises of the plane and the soft snores of Spencer Reid.