A/N: I love the soft side of Reid, it makes me want to cuddle him like a teddy bear... :)

Chapter 08: Different

Reid laid awake that night, after she had gone back to sleep he didn't want to leave her bed, but knew that it would look suspicious when the nurses came in the following morning to check on them. He barely got any sleep when he felt the need to call someone.

He waited for the person on the other line to answer the phone, "Hello?" A drowsy voice came.

"Tyler," His best friend's name slipped out of his mouth.

"Reid," The voice was fully awake now. "Are you ok? Did something happen?" His best friend questioned.

Reid felt a small smile tug at his lips at the sound of his best friend's worried tone. They did care for him. He told himself. They always had.

"Ty, I'm fine… but I kind of need your help with something,"

Ten minutes later he shut his phone and rested back in his bed. His blue eyes focused in on the clock above the door and he shook his head. He probably got a total of an hour of sleep, maybe, but he couldn't sleep. Not knowing that there were people out there like Isobel's parents.

He had to get to the bottom of it and he was going to.

The door opened and a familiar face came in, it was their usual morning nurse. She gave Reid a grin before checking out Isobel first. She inspected her cuts, bandaged them back up and did most of this without disturbing the young girls sleep.

Reid sat up as she took his vitals, checked out his cuts and cleaned them out, "You have a morning session in about a half hour, do you want some breakfast first?" She asked.

"Sure," He nodded his head slowly.

He glanced over at his roommate as the nurse left and felt a small tug internally. He hadn't ever felt that tug before. It was different, and he liked it.

He had enjoyed the kiss that they shared the night before, and he hoped that it wouldn't end. She had pulled away first, and he was disappointed. He had never wanted to just kiss a girl before, but last night. That's all he wanted to do.

After eating breakfast he was ushered down the hall to meet with the Doctor again. The doctor gave him a warming smile and Reid felt a bit more at ease than he had the last time.

"How are you feeling today, Reid?" He questioned.

"Pretty good," The blonde responded with a genuine smile.

"I think that's the first real smile I've seen on your face Mr. Garwin," The aging man grinned.

"You're probably right," He nodded his head.

"Anything new happen since yesterday?"

"Quite a few things," Reid stated.

"Would this have anything to do with Miss Brady?" He questioned further.

"Yes, it would,"

Evasive, truthful answers. The doctor thought with a grin on his face. They were getting somewhere, slowly but surely.

"Would you like to talk about anything in particular, Reid?"

"As a matter of fact, I would," Reid stated carefully.

"Alright, I'll let you lead the conversation,"

Reid took a deep breath and as soon as he opened his mouth he let all of his thoughts and feelings about what Isobel had told him over the last day and half out on the floor. The doctor jotted down as much as he could, trying to remember the looks on Reid's face as he explained everything, the way he said them.

"Wow," The doctor glanced up at the clock. "Reid, I have to say that you have come a long way in a short time…"

"I'm not usually up for this psychoanalysis bullshit Doc…" Reid cleared his throat. "Not to mean any disrespect, but I always thought you guys were the crazy ones,"

"None taken," The doctor smiled.

"I realized that I care about this girl," He laughed at the thought. "Like I really like her, y'know?" He questioned the doctor.

"That's not surprising, Reid… Isobel is a charming young woman,"

"No shit," He shook his head. "But for me to actually like a girl," Reid whistled. "That's saying a lot about her,"

"Why do you say that Mr. Garwin?"

"I'm kind of known at my school as the playboy. I like sex and I like women… and I love having sex with women…" He shrugged his shoulders. "And at times I can be quite narcissistic,"

"I hadn't noticed," The doctor smirked glancing down at his notes.

"Was that sarcasm I detect there Doc?" Reid quirked, raising an eyebrow at the man.

The doctor gave him a slight nod and smile as Reid continued, "I really had issues with my feelings for women, I don't really know why…"

"You are afraid of abandonment," The doctor detected. "You're father left you at a young age, your mother as you stated was 'comatose' most of your teen-life, which can affect a young boy more than you can imagine…"

"I think what I worried about most was them finding out the truth," He stated his voice lowering. "You know, finding out about my cutting, and my depression and my family…" He bit his bottom lip and looked up at the man. "I didn't want to be seen as different, just normal…"

"And with Isobel?" The doctor urged him to continue.

"She understands me, she knows about what it feels like… I don't have to fake it with her…"

Reid finished up with his session and returned back to his room to find Isobel missing. He didn't worry this time because there was someone else waiting in his room for him. A tall, dark haired young man with a charming grin on his face.

"Caleb," Reid smiled brightly seeing his friend.

"What happened to the guy I talked to on the phone yesterday?" Caleb laughed as Reid hugged him closely.

"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday, I was being a complete ass…" The blonde stated pulling away from his dark haired friend.

"I know man, it's cool…" Caleb grinned. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Do you really have that kind of time?

"I've got all the time in the world for my brother," Caleb retorted, Reid licked his lips carefully looking at the empty bed and then back to his brother. "The nurse said she was going to her session, Tyler tells me you like her…"

"That's all part of this long, complicated story," Reid laid back in to his bed.

"I told you, I've got all the time in the world for you, man…."

Isobel nervously sat looking at the doctor, she tilted her head to the side and saw Reid's name on a file near his foot. She strained to see what it said and noticed the doctor's scribbling hand writing, trying to make out the writing she nearly fell out of her chair.

"Miss Brady," The doctor looked up from her file, a grin on his face.

"Sorry," She whispered and situated herself back in her seat.

"Mr. Garwin tells me you guys have bonded,"

"We have," She nodded her head in agreement to his words.

"I heard his side of everything, I'd like to hear yours if you don't mind sharing,"

Isobel looked at the man nervously and nodded her head swallowing hard, "Where would you like me to start?" She asked him carefully.

"From the beginning, if you don't mind…" He grinned.

"Reid, I wish you would have told me this earlier, maybe we might have been able to avoid this…" Caleb's heart sank as he stared at the younger blonde man in front of him.

"I'm kind of glad it did happen," Reid shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, how else would I have run in to Isobel, she lives here in Gloucester, and goes to Florence Academy…"

"You really like her, huh?" Caleb asked with a large grin on his face.

"Like you wouldn't believe…" Reid admitted shaking his head. "She's all I can think about, y'know?"

"That's how it is with Sarah," Caleb nodded his head in agreement. "I know exactly what you mean…"

Reid felt his cheeks flush at the thought of actually liking a girl, he watched as a shit-eating grin formed on the dark haired boys face and he rose a pale eyebrow in question.

"I'm marking this date on the calendar," He mused. "Reid Garwin actually admits to liking a girl, and he blushes…" He laughed pulling out his phone as if he were going to document this very day.

"I hate you again, Caleb…" Reid muttered his attention pulling away from his friend and to the dark haired girl that was standing in the doorway, a faint smile on her lips.

"Hey Reid," She acknowledged him and pulled the gown tighter against her body. She noticed the dark haired guy, he was the monotone friend, the very one that Reid had gotten into an argument with the night before. "Hi, I'm Isobel Brady," She introduced herself.

"Caleb Danvers, Isobel it's nice to finally meet you," Caleb grinned standing up and shaking her hand.

He was at the perfect spot where Reid could elbow him aggressively and get a curt look in return.

"It's nice to finally meet you as well," She grinned giving Reid a wink.

Reid watched the interaction between the two and shook his head, "You know what, I'm starving…" He decided.

"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry myself…" She lifted a shoulder up slightly and Caleb stood up.

"I think Ty was going to come up for lunch, I'll call him and see if he'll pick us up some food…" He pulled out his cell and walked out in to the hall.

"Everything good with you guys?" She asked him carefully.

"Yeah, thanks to you…" He smiled pulling her closer to him.

"Sometimes you just need an outsider's interpretation…" Isobel shrugged and gave him a small smile.

"Iz," He pushed her bangs out of her face and looked her square in the eye.

"Reid, don't…" She whispered pulling out of his vice-like grip.

"Don't what?" He asked holding on to her forearms.

"Don't do this, please…" Her brown eyes pulled him in and he swallowed hard.

"Why not?" He asked, he glanced to the window seeing Caleb pacing the hallway on the phone. "Caleb won't mind… trust me…"

"It's not Caleb," She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and felt the tears brimming her eyes. "I realized something when I was in my session today…" She cleared her throat and looked away from the handsome blonde boy that was sitting in front of her.

"Me too," Reid stated calmly, he shifted himself so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his bare pale legs hanging over the side.

"This isn't right," She shook her head violently.

"That's just it…" Reid pulled her to him. "This is right; it's really, really right…"

"No," She whispered hoarsely, her head still shaking. "It's not… it's wrong…"

"That is everything it's not…" Reid stated his fair eyebrows shooting up desperately.

"Reid, after tomorrow you're not going to be here anymore," Isobel stated her eyes narrowed. "You're going to leave my life, just as quickly as you were thrown in to it…"

Reid felt an impossible tear internally. How could he let this happen? He wouldn't, he couldn't. He wasn't going to throw this away. He had never felt like this about any woman, he wasn't about to let it get away.

"That's where you're wrong, Iz…" Reid whispered stroking her face. "I'm not going to just leave and never be heard from again," He shook his head.

Isobel watched his mouth opened as he was about to say something, but Caleb's voice pulled him out of it.

"Just got a hold of Ty." He came in to the room and looked between the two. "I'm sorry, I should have knocked,"

"It's ok," Isobel pulled away from Reid and walked back to her bed.

"I can come back…" Caleb pointed to the door.

"No, its fine Caleb," Isobel fidgeted as she climbed back on to her bed.

Reid opened his mouth to object but Isobel shook her head pulling the covers over her legs. She sat there quietly for most of the afternoon writing in her journal. Reid tried to pay as much attention to Caleb as he possibly could, and figured maybe he needed to walk around with Caleb, to get away from her for a few minutes.

Caleb talked to the security guard and he OKed them going for a short walk around the hospital.

Isobel put her notebook away and leaned back in her chair wondering if she could believe Reid. She had come to the realization during her session that Reid was going to leave tomorrow afternoon. He was going to head back to Ipswich and forget all about his freak show of a roommate at Gloucester Memorial Hospital.

She talked to the psychiatrist about her feelings; she really opened up to him, and he had been a bit surprised with this. He had told her that Reid had opened up, shared himself much like she had. He told her that maybe then needed to talk before she jumped the gun about detaching herself from him.

He told her that maybe they were just what the other needed.

Maybe she could save him, maybe he could save her.

The thought had crossed her mind, and when she stopped him from kissing her earlier, she could see it in his eyes. She could see the difference than when he first spoke to her, from the very first day, things were so different.

"So what are you going to do about this?" Caleb hoisted a finger in the direction they had just left minutes ago.

"I don't know what I'm going to do yet," Reid cleared his throat. "I have these feelings for her that I've never felt for a girl before,"

"Are you willing to give a long distance relationship a shot?" Caleb questioned. "Can you handle that kind of commitment?"

Reid nearly choked at the sound of the words Caleb was saying, he really hadn't thought it all out. He wanted to be with her. He knew that as soon as he left the doctor's session this morning, but did he want to be with her in a long distance relationship, could he handle something like that… when he wasn't even sure if he could handle an actual relationship?

"Reid?" Caleb said his name and the blonde boy's head snapped up to look in to those concerned brown eyes. "You zoned out for a minute man, you alright?"

"Caleb, I've never actually had a relationship" Reid pointed out. "I mean, I don't know the first thing about them…"

"That's what you've got your friends for," The dark haired boy clapped his hand on his friends back and grinned. "We're here to help you out, even when you don't think we are… we're there…"

Reid smirked and nodded his head, this was definitely going to be different for him. Difficult and very, very different.

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