Disclaimer: As I'm sure you may have figured out, I do not own Criminal Minds.
The team sat on the jet on their way back to Virginia. They had been eager to leave as soon as Reid was cleared to fly, which was sooner than anyone had originally anticipated. Reid was stretched out on the couch, reading, with his legs draped across JJ's lap. Morgan sat on one of the chairs across from him as he tried to find a good song on his playlist. Prentiss, who was occupying the seat next to him, smiled at her cell phone.
"Ooh, who's the special guy?" Morgan asked as he leaned closer, hoping to catch a peak. She pulled it away from him as Reid snorted.
"What?" Morgan directed the question at Reid but looked between them as Prentiss smirked. "What's so funny?" He asked again.
"If we wait for him to guess, we might be here all day." Rossin stage-whispered, and Morgan glared.
"Children, behave," JJ said without looking up.
"She sure is special, Morgan." Prentiss drawled, and realization dawned on him.
"You're-" he cut himself off, shaking his head. "Of course you are."
…
The team was filing off the plane when a rental car with tinted windows pulled up next to the government issue SUV's. Reid smiled widely at the sight of it, knowing exactly who it would be. Not many people would rent out a car with tinted windows out of habit.
"Lila!" Reid exclaimed as she opened the door and stepped out. She spotted him in an instant, and a huge grin broke out on her face. She pulled him into a hug, mindful of his injured shoulder. He wrapped his arm that wasn't in a sling around her waist, bending slightly to compensate for the height difference.
"I've missed you," she whispered into his ear before he pulled away. He realized that the team was looking at them, probably waiting to be introduced.
"Guys, um, this is Lila Archer," he said, motioning to her as she waved. "Lila, this is my team. JJ, Morgan, Prentiss, Rossi, Hotch, and Gideon."
"It's nice to meet you all." She said sincerely. It was nice to finally meet the people she had been hearing so much about. Just then, the passenger door opened and Garcia stepped out. Reid blinked, not sure that he was seeing right.
"You're okay!" She cried, pulling him into a hug. He barely suppressed a wince that the sudden movement caused.
"What are you… why are you two…?" He couldn't quite articulate the question, but Lila knew what he meant.
"She is as great as you described." She said, and Penelope beamed. "She heard that I was on my way, and she found my flight number and my phone number with her hacker skills so she could pick me up and bring me here."
"Oh, wow, thank you, Garcia." Was all he could think to say. It was just such a Garcia thing to do.
"I just had to meet her, you know? The way you described her, I just knew we would be awesome friends."
"And you wanted to meet a Hollywood actress." Morgan teased with a smirk, and she pushed his arm. Gideon moved forward to stand in front of Lila, tilting his head slightly.
"I'm having a hard time pinning down what exactly your power is." He said and held out a hand. "May I?" He asked, and she nodded, glancing at Reid for a split second.
"Yeah, go ahead." She permitted. He took hold of her hand for a second before releasing it.
"You were close Reid, but not quite right. She can actually astral project." He informed them. She blinked.
"Care to explain?" She asked in the wake of his semi-dramatic announcement.
"Astral projection or 'astral traveling' is a term used to describe the phenomenon that occurs when a person wills their consciousness to leave their body while still tethered to their physical form. There are many theories as to why this is possible, but as far as we-" He stopped when she poked his face. He blinked and looked at her. "I was rambling?" He asked and she nodded.
"A little." She chuckled.
"Is it safe?" JJ asked.
"Well, he hasn't spontaneously combusted yet-" Prentiss said, but JJ cut her off.
"No, I mean is astral projection safe? It sounds like you could just kind of… float away."
"It's as safe as any of our powers are. You can't 'float away' because you are tethered to the energy your body gives you. As far as I'm aware, you can't cross oceans in your astral form because you would be cut off from your energy source." Reid said.
"So… I can leave my body and walk around?" She asked.
"Essentially? Yes."
"Sounds like a cool power to have," Morgan commented as he walked towards one of the SUV's. "Who's riding with me?"
As the team separated into the groups that they would be riding with (Morgan, Rossi, and JJ in one, and Hotch, Gideon, and Prentiss in the other, with Reid and Garcia riding with Lila.) Gideon walked with Reid near the back of the group. He set a hand on Reid's shoulder, and Reid spun around.
"No." He said with finality. Gideon had forgotten that Reid could read minds if touched, and quickly backtracked.
"Reid, it's not-"
"You will not even try to recruit her." He growled, and Gideon was taken slightly aback by the fierceness. "She is not cut out for this work, and her acting background would not 'make her perfect for undercover work.'" he quoted Gideons stray thought.
"Okay." He said simply. He wouldn't fight the young agent on this. Yet. Reid nodded, satisfied with the answer, and got into the car. He didn't need precognition to know that convincing Reid to let him talk to her about this would not be easy.
A/N: Hey guys! Just an FYI, I really don't like Gideon as a character. I really only meant for him to be in the first few chapters, but he kinda took on a life of his own. That doesn't mean he will be evil in this story or anything, but it might show a little. Thank you to all who have read, followed, faved, or reviewed and I hope you enjoyed!