Family

I cant work out what exactly it is going on here. My mind is usually so organised and in place but when I am near this man everything just seems to fall apart.

I know….

I know he isn't interested in me in that way. I know it is Reid he wants and lusts after. Not me. But still I have this over powering need to touch him. Just to place my hand on him and feel the warmth of his body radiate through his clothing and onto my hand.

I know….

I know Hotch is watching and there is nothing I can do to stop this. I feel light headed and drugged but I've not touched anything since we found him lying here in a puddle of his own – for a change – blood.

'Where is Spencer?'

I ask it in not much more than a whisper even though he said he didn't know. I am asking again. His fingers grip my hand tighter and his nails start to dig into the back of my hand.

'I don't know. Taki has him. They – they left together.' He turns his face away from me but I catch the look on his face. The pain. The anguish.

'You can track him?'

and he turns and looks at me again. 'Not like this I can't. Are you guys going to give me time to heal up?'

I look around at the others who are all just standing looking at me. 'Prentiss a word.' And Hotch is backing away from the ground and giving me a gesture with his hand. I remove my hands from his warmth and stand up. I watch as he curls up tighter into himself and wraps his arms around his head and then I look over at Hotch who is staring back at me. I glance down at Flanders and there is a terrible pull, and urge to lay down with him and hold him and keep him safe but I shake the feeling off me and take a step back. I look at my hands and see that I am shaking. This is ridiculous. Flanders cannot possibly have this effect on me. I have no interest in him. Not in that way. Yes he fascinates me, but only because he is so complicated and full. I want to study him and I am reminded that Rossi once tried to do that, but didn't get very far. A hand on my arm pulls me back to now and Hotch is guiding me away.

'Care to explain?' He asks.

I look at his hand then up at his dark eyes. 'Explain?'

'What is going on between yourself and Flanders. What that was all about.' He gestures towards the curled up bloodied form on the ground and I almost run back over to him.

'Nothing.' I tell him, forcing myself to look away from Flanders and back at Hotch. 'I just know he can track. He can help us find Reid.'

'That is not what I meant and you know it. What is going on between the two of you?' He pulls me further away as Derek moves in towards Floyd.

'Between us? Absolutely nothing!' I give him a look of surprised horror, but I don't know how convincing it is.

'Then I will suggest you keep away from him.' I look back over at Morgan who is pushing Floyd back onto his back and taking something from a first aid kit. I want to go over there and help. I need to…no….no I want to…no…it is a need…I need to go back and take care of him. 'Prentiss!' and the hand is squeezing my arm. 'Have you listened to a word I just said?' I try to take my eyes off Morgan and Floyd but it is too hard. I have to get back there.

'I just thought I could help.' And I am looking at Hotch's hand. 'With the first aid.'

'Morgan has it. I want you to keep away from Flanders. I don't know exactly what the devil is going on here but something is not right.'

I turn so my back is to Floyd. That helps me to concentrate on what Hotch is saying to me. 'We found Reid's bloodied clothing. We found evidence that at least some of what Flanders is saying is true.' And now I am being escorted right away from the small stream with Hotch's hand firmly on my arm.

'What we have is all circumstantial. As it stands it doesn't look good for Reid but I really don't think Spencer would walk off with a virtual stranger unless he had good reason to.'

'I worry about his mental health sir.' I tell Hotch and the hand tightens all the more letting me know that this is a worry of his too. 'If he snapped, well we don't really know what he is capable of and although I am aware that we cant trust Flanders I also think it a mistake to ignore what he is saying.'

'The man is a liar.' At last he lets go of me. 'and I want you to remember that. We will be staying here for the night, maybe in the morning he can help us track.' I turn now and look back at Morgan and Flanders. Derek is standing back with his arms crossed over his chest and a look of disgust on his face. He is saying something to Floyd, but I can't catch what it is.

-o-o-o-

Soft footfalls let me know that he has returned. I've drunk the water but left the food and now I am thinking that was a mistake. I am light headed and any clear thoughts I might have had have now gone. I watch him pick up the container of rice and empty it down the drain. I want to stand up now that I have the chance but I don't. I lie there and watch him through half open eyes.

'You will eat eventually.' He tells me, but I don't answer him. I just watch. There is something beguiling about him. A lure of sorts and I am trying to figure it out. Maybe he is like Floyd. Maybe there is something he uses to pull me to him. I don't know, but I do know I can feel a want for him. 'If you don't eat, then she doesn't eat.' He tells me and had he told me that before I might have eaten it, but now the child will go hungry.

'I'm not giving in to your threats.' I tell him. Though that is a complete fabrication as I have already given into them. More than once. And would do again now if that is what he wanted.

'Then she will die. It really doesn't bother me Reid, but it will bother Floyd.'

And my half open eyes drop to tight slits as I watch him walk around my room. Still I want to get up. I could. I could get up and fight this. I'm not afraid of being hurt, but I don't. I just lay here and do nothing and I wonder what was in the water.

A new determination.

I'm not going to continue to let him do this. It is to get at Floyd. That is all this is about and if I don't comply then his plan carries less weight. I want to ask who the little girl is. She is obviously someone who means something to Floyd but I don't know who she is. He wouldn't bring her to me and show me her if she was nothing.

I don't think.

He has slowed me down by giving me whatever it was in the water but he's not stopped me, and I can see that thought running through his mind. I can see he is trying to calculate how much resistance he will get from me.

The man approaches and crouches next to me and still I lay here and just watch and silently I prepare myself. I refuse to be abused by this person…and I know the way my body is reacting to this closeness is not how it would normally. I read his body language. I wait. As soon as he relaxes and his hands drop to a less defensive posture I move.

Granted my movements are clumsy and sluggish, but they take him by surprise and my nails are still long enough to dig into the soft flesh of his pretty face and draw blood. I dig and I scratch and I push him back as I use him for leverage to get up off the floor. I hear his surprised yelp and I swing my hand around and grab for the bucket handle. I need to be able to defend myself. The man carries swords but they don't seem to be with him. I wont get another chance.

The bucket I swing high and across the side of his head and it makes a grand sound as metal meets flesh and hopefully bone but I think it puts me off balance more than it does Taki. As I stumble to the side and try to stay upright he is taking hold of me and pulling me close. Much too close to be able to use my weapon as I did before. He has his hands in my hair and he is dragging me towards the grill on the floor.

'NO!' I shout at him. I don't want to be held here again. I will fight this. I drop the bucket and my hands are on his face again, but not for long. His fist in my kidneys has me bending over and then his knee in my face stops whatever else I might have been thinking about. I feel my legs buckle under me and I feel blood flowing from my mouth and nose.

I tried.

I didn't want to just give up.

I didn't want to go down without at least trying to fight back, but with whatever it is in my system and his greater strength and skills I didn't really stand a chance.

'She will pay for what you just did.' He snaps at me. I thought he would restrain me again, but he doesn't. He leaves me lying on the floor and exits the room. I am plunged into darkness again and I stay still and listen to things crawling under my skin and I feel those ice cold fingers probing me from the inside but I keep my eyes open. I keep them open and wait and I don't have to wait long until the child's screams start up again.

-o-o-o-

I'm not sure at what point in the night it happened.

Flanders is an attention seeking sonofabitch so likely it was when he was making a fuss about one thing or another. I've never known a grown man moan as much as him. I do know when I was on watch that he talked constantly to me. I told him to sleep and he told me to do something physically impossible. If it happened when I was on watch and then it could have happened then. I really have no idea. I just know that come morning Prentiss is gone. There is no sign of a struggle. Nothing. Like she'd never been with us. Hotch is pacing and the rangers have the dogs sniffing around but there doesn't even seem to be a scent to pick up on.

'It's like she was just teleported out of here.' One of them says. 'There is no way to tell which direction she's gone in. I've never seen anything quite like it.'

'There has to be something.' Hotch says, but I think it is just him thinking aloud. He turns to me and I shake my head. I am as clueless as Hotch. We turn almost as one unit to Flanders who is sitting now against a tree with his legs crossed and his arms wrapped tightly around him self.

'Screw you.' He looks between me and Hotch. 'You are happy to except my help when you need it and equally happy for me to be dead when you don't.'

'You said you could track.' I remind him

'Go fuck your self. If I do anything it will be because I want to do it and it will be on my terms. Right now I need a smoke and I need you to stop looking at me like it was me who did something wrong.'

'You are not in the position to demand terms.' Hotch tells him.

'And you're not in the position not to offer any. What do you think I did? Crawled over to her in the night and ate her when you weren't looking. How the hell can Emily being gone have anything to do with me? How the fuck did I do it? You want my help finding her and Spence then you…then you….you offer me something.'

We turn from him and walk away. There is no way that Hotch is going to offer him anything. However much we do actually need him right now.

-o-o-o-

I didn't realise I had fallen asleep. I don't know how long I'd been laying there when the light suddenly came on again. I squint open my eyes and look over at Taki and what he has with him. The little girl and Emily Prentiss. Both are battered and bloodied. Both are looking at me. I glance between the two of them but I avoid looking at Taki. This is going to be a test of sorts. I need to keep to his rules.

'I have something for you.' He is talking to me but I still don't look at him. 'Are you not going to say Thank You?'

I say it so quietly that probably only the thing living inside me can hear it. I know at least it does because I feel it move around inside me and I feel its icy fingers touching and probing.

'You need to speak up Reid. They can't hear you.'

I look at Emily and then I look at the child. 'Thank you.' I say again a bit louder this time but still very quietly.

'Now the games can really start. I'm looking forward to this. Spencer – I want you to choose one of them.' And now he pulls out a sword and he places it against the side of my neck. 'Choose one of them.' He says again.

'For what?' I still avoid looking at him.

'Well, I was originally going to ask you, no tell you, I was going to tell you to fuck one of them, but I don't think I can force you to do that.'

My eyes are flickering between Emily and the child. I see Emily gives me a slight nod of assent but that is just not something I would every consider. Ever.

'So I am going to kill one of them.'

And now I look at him. 'You can't make me choose.' I tell him. Damn the rules. I'm not playing his sick game.

He looks down at me and slides the weapon gently across my skin. I feel the sudden flow of blood and I hear the double intake of breaths from Emily and the girl. 'I'm not playing your game.' I tell him. I don't put my hand to the cut though I know it is deep. I can hear it dripping onto the floor and I watch it slide slowly down the drain.

'Which one?'

And I'm looking straight at him. I wont look at the girls. I wont do this. 'I'm not playing your sick game.' I tell him and now I put my hand to my neck and keep my eyes on his. I can see where my fingernails dug into his skin. I can see where it is scabbing over and he looks at me and he smiles.

'But you are playing my game Spencer. And you play it so nicely.'

He spins.

And he slices.

And I watch for a second not able to take in what he just did.

And I throw up down the drain with my blood and the thing inside me starts to scream.