Three Little Words Chapter 9: A Decision, a criminal minds fanfic

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Three Little Words

Chapter Nine: A Decision

By Ann Parker

Morgan took a sip of his coffee, studying the young man asleep on his couch. Boy how he had changed in such a short time. Prior to Tobias, he had still seen Reid as pretty much a child, an innocent. Then he became a tormented man, letting his demons eat away at his soul. Now he was a grown man that had learned to deal with his demons, only to end up with his heart broken. Morgan sighed; he sure hoped Penelope had been right last night. Reid deserved some happiness and he knew that until yesterday Michelle had been just that.

His cell phone rang and he quickly dug it out. "Morgan. Yeah, I'll be right there. No, I'll get Reid." He hung up from Hotch and stood up. He lightly nudged Reid and got a groan in response. "Reid, man, wake up."

Reid fluttered his eyes open, disoriented. It took him a minute to realize where he was; he was so used to waking up next to Cooter or Michelle. Michelle…he sighed slightly as the night came back to him. He sat up and Morgan handed him a cup of coffee.

"Black with tons of sugar, just the way you like it," Morgan offered. Reid smiled slightly as he took a sip. "Hotch just called. Gideon got a location of where the terrorist's workshop is. We need to check it out." Reid nodded as he continued to drink his much needed caffeine. "I got your overnight bag out of your car. Go change and lets get moving."

Reid set down his cup and stood up, walking over to the bag. Without a word he grabbed it and went to the bathroom. He quickly changed, ran a comb through his hair, and brushed his teeth. He didn't have time to shower so he just washed his face. After he dried it off he looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't think he looked any worse for wear. Except in his eyes. Anyone that looked into his eyes would probably be able to see his sorrow. Sighing, he pushed that to the back of his mind and met Morgan at the front door. As they were leaving, the night and all its details came back to him. A slight smile crept across his face. Even though he was still dealing with his own problems, what he had probably interrupted last night hadn't escaped him the second time around.

"What are you smiling at?" asked Morgan as they reached their cars.

"What just was Garcia doing at your place last night at midnight?" he asked. Morgan shook his head and Reid thought he heard him mutter a swear word under his breath. "Thought I missed that, didn't you?"

"Get in the car, Reid," Morgan replied with a slight smile.

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Michelle woke up aching all over. She had cried herself to sleep in the middle of the floor in her living room. Cooter was curled up next to her. She sighed heavily as she let her surroundings sink in. There were photos of her and David and some of her and Spencer sprawled out all over the floor. She still couldn't believe this was happening. She had the man that had been her first love suddenly comes back from the dead and just about push himself on her now that she had finally picked up all the pieces. At the same time she had the man who was now in her life step back and give her space. She had spent the whole night, and part of the morning, crying and trying to decide what to do. She had even gone for a jog at two in the morning to try to work though the problem. She knew that she needed to make a decision, and soon, but just didn't know what to do. She had always been a logical person and was trying to use just that make her decision, but it wasn't getting her anywhere. Why she thought her brain could decide a matter of the heart, she didn't know.

Cooter woke up, looked at her briefly, and wondered off. "I know whom he'd pick," she muttered wryly. She picked up a photo of her and David from the prom. God, they were so young. Would they even still get along now that they've both grown up, changed? Could she still trust him? A lot of things had happened in those three years since he faked his death. Still, he had been there for her when her mom had died. Setting it down, she picked up one of her and Spencer at the dinner he had for his friends a few months back. Gideon had snapped a photo of them right after she had put some of the homemade whipped cream on the tip of Reid's nose. She couldn't stop the smile that crept across her face at that memory. Even then she felt so safe in his arms. Yet their relationship was still so new, so young, would it survive? Was it worth the risk?

Cooter barked loudly at her side, making her jump. "Geez, Cooter!" He kept going and started to jump around the room slightly, almost paniced. "What's wrong boy?" She stood up to try and calm the dog. He was large enough that his weight caused the remote control to fall on the floor. "What is it Cooter?" He continued to carry on until he stepped on the remote and the TV turned on. She glanced at the screen to see what looked like a large warehouse on fire.

"Reports are still sketchy at this time, but what we've gathered is that this building appeared to be a front for a group of terrorists planning an attack," the reporter stated as they showed the building. "A joint FBI and Army team had swarmed the building about twenty minutes ago. We do have a report of there being at least one casualty from that team."

At that precise moment, Michelle's heart made the decision for her.