The Little Scrubber

The fellow that agrees with everything you say is either a fool or he is getting ready to skin you: - Kin Hubbard

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is not mine.

A/N: very very slight almost un-noticeable slash might be in this chapter if you look carefully and have a good imagination.

The two of them sat and massaged and washed Reid until the water ran cold. Floyd helped him walk to the bed room and Hotch followed with a couple of towels in his hands.

For a while they sat in silence shivering with fluffy towels wrapped around their shoulders.

"I'm staying the night." Hotch said to no one in particular. "I need to go and get a change of clothes."

Floyd pushed Reid back so he was laying on the bed. "You can borrow something of mine."

"I don't think so Floyd, though thank you for the offer. You can leave Spencer to sleep and make up the spare room for me."

Aaron watched Reid curl up on his side and pull the blanket over himself.

"You trust me with him?" Floyd stood and started to walk towards Hotch. "And we don't need to make up the spare room – this bed is huge."

"My terms Floyd. My way or nothing. Up to you. If the room isn't ready when I get back, I turn around and go back to my place – with Spencer."

"If that's what you want. You won't be taking Spencer though." Again noses almost touching.

Hotch brought up a hand and touched Floyd on the lips gently. "You don't intimidate me anymore and one, I trust you – only because if you hit him again it will most likely kill him and I know you don't want to do that. You have shown that over again. So yes I trust that you won't be hurting him again tonight. Not with your fists anyway. Make up the bed for me. I won't be sharing your bed and I won't be eating anything you prepare." Pause. "I will bring sandwiches." Pause. "I have leave owing. I will arrange that and I will sort out the house. In the meantime I will be staying here merely as a protector for what small amount of Spencer there is left."

"Whatever Aaron." Floyd walked around to Reid and made sure that he was warming up. "Go then. I will sort out the spare room."

Aaron watched the sleeping form on the bed and then left. He really didn't think anything else would happen to Reid this day. For all Floyd was he did seem to know when he had gone too far.

He had been gone about ten minutes when someone knocked on Floyd's front door. He threw down the sheets he had in his hand and walked to the door. He thought it would be Aaron or one of the annoying neighbours. It wasn't. Floyd stood and stared.

"Can I come in?"

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to see Reid."

"He is sleeping. Go away."

"I really need to see him."

"He doesn't want you."

She shrugged. "I just want to see if he is alright. I miss him."

Floyd smiled a big toothy smile and nodded. "I can understand that. Come in."

She stepped into the dim house. It still smelt funny. A musty sort of smell of dirt and sweat. She pulled a face which didn't go un-noticed.

"This way." He led her through the kitchen to a door going out to where he had the extension built. "He is in the annex. Can I get you a coffee?"

She frowned at him and shook her head. "Why is he sleeping in the annex?"

"It's where his room is. Go ahead. I need a coffee even if you don't."

He watched her hand go the door handle. He watched those little white fingers turn the knob. He looked at her hair and then he looked at the way she collapsed into his arms. Her neck snapped. She wouldn't have felt it. Floyd drank from her and used her and then dragged her through the door she had been about to open and to his workshop. Floyd opened the big chest freezer and dumped the body in it. He closed and locked it and put a few items on the lid. He stood and smirked until he remembered the car which was probably standing in his driveway.

"Shit."

He was running out of time. Opening the freezer lid again and grabbing a serrated edged saw he began to cut. He knew all the best places and so it didn't take him too long. A short bit of hacking later and he was dragging a bloody headless and partially skinned lump out of the freezer and onto a sheet of plastic. Floyd dragged his bundle out of the house and pushed it onto the backseat of the woman's car and then drove to the rail crossing. He turned off the car lights and slowly drove onto the tracks. Floyd slid out of the drivers side and moved to the back pulling out his bundle. He pulled the door open wide and opened the window. Then carefully unwrapping her he stood her between the car and the door, pushing the door tightly against her and so wedging her into place. Next he pulled her shoulders forwards so she was draped outside the vehicle. Floyd smiled and kissed the back of what was left of her neck. "You really should have known better."

He stood there until he heard the train and then stepped right back out of the way. He wanted to make sure his idea worked. He had never tried this before.

It tried to stop. He could see the smoke rising from the rails as the train attempted not the hit the car sitting on the rails. Floyd watched it smack the side of the car and shunt it down the tracks out of sight. This time his smile was genuine. Now all he had to worry about was getting back home and hopefully before Hotch got back. Though he had a suspicion that Hotch would have been back long ago. Floyd had lost all sense of time.

He ran. He thought of Spence alone in the house and he ran faster. Then he thought of what was in his freezer and let out a 'whoop' and sped along at a speed he could have outrun any Olympic runner.

-o-o-o-

Aaron collected clothing and a few things to use until he could sort something else out. He packed some sandwiches he had in the fridge and then wandered around the cold empty house for a while. He would have asked Spencer and Floyd to come and live here, but he needed to get away from this old life and start over. He needed to be sure Floyd – Spencer – not Floyd – he needed to be sure that they would stay. That Floyd would stay.

Hotch sat on the sofa looking down at the few things he had packed. He had left his suits behind for now and just thrown casual things in his bag. Aaron had no idea if this was going to work. He just knew that he wanted to protect Spencer and Floyd – well that was interesting – and all the time he felt he could control Floyd he could see no reason why this arrangement wouldn't work. He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes trying to recall the old Reid. The one he was determined to get back…if not fully then enough for him to be recognisable as a person and not some battered animal which he had slowly become.

He ran his fingers through his hair. He would leave it like this for now and get it cropped back again before he goes back to work. He could feel the short rough hair where he had it shaved not too long ago after the stoning. He thought of that day again. He thought of how Spencer lied to cover Floyd and again he felt that tearing feeling inside. Then he thought of what Floyd had done to him continuously over the time they had known each other. He pressed the heel of this hand into his eyes and tried to work out what was going on here. He was planning on moving in with the man who tortured the boy he thought he loved, but now he wondered if it was something else. Spencer didn't make him feel the way Floyd did – then again – what was this Floyd was making him feel?

Aaron got up and reached out for the decanter of whiskey. Briefly he thought of having a drink, but he wanted to get back and make sure his trust in Floyd was deserved. Trust in Floyd? What the hell had he been thinking?

He grabbed his bags and ran to the car.

-o-o-o-

Aaron wasn't back yet.

Spencer was still sleeping.

There was blood everywhere.

Floyd got the mop and bucket and disinfectant and a scrubbing brush. He started by doing a basic blood clearance. He followed that up with a mopping. The kitchen floor looked clean, but the parquet floor could do with a going over. He wasn't sure if there was blood on the floor out there. He had to clear the table too. He went over the floor firstly with the mop and then stood back looking at it.

On his hand and knees with bleach and floor cleaner he scrubbed the kitchen floor. He scrubbed the cupboard doors. He cleaned the grout with a small handy little brush. OK Reid's tooth brush – but he did clean it again afterwards. The work surfaces were covered in cleaning fluid and scrubbed with a scourer. Slowly he made his way out to the hall way outside the kitchen door and continued with the brush and bleach and the bottle of cleaning fluid. It seemed the harder he scrubbed the worse the floor looked. Floyd let out small noises of frustration as he pressed harder and harder into the wooden floor. In places he scraped and scratched at the wood with his fingernails.

He wasn't sure how long the door had been hammered on when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Floyd?" It was Reid.

"Uh – Spencer go to bed."

"The door."

"Ah OK. You go back to bed. You don't look well."

"I don't feel too good. Someone nailed me to the dining table."

Floyd stood up and put a hand on the side of Reid's face. "What a bastard." A smirk. "You should be wearing protection over that eye. You still need surgery on that." A thumb ran over Spencer's lips.

"The door Floyd."

Floyd nodded. "I'm going." He looked puzzled at Reid's face. There was a bloody smear on the side of his face. He turned from Reid calling back over his shoulder. "Don't use the kitchen. I just cleaned it." But Spencer was already walking back to his bedroom.

-o-o-o-

He knocked. He knocked again. And again. He stood and waited. Floyd's car in the drive. No answer. Aaron was getting cross now. He was thinking about kicking the door down when Floyd finally answered the door. The porch light reflected off the man standing in the door way. The was blood splatter over his face. His hands were covered in blood which was still dripping. He was breathing heavily. There was blood soaking up his still damp clothing.

"What the hell have you done?!" Aaron didn't wait for an answer. He pushed Floyd to one side and started to walk towards where he had last seen Reid. Floyds yell from behind him forced him to stop.

"NO! not there. Don't walk there." Aaron stopped and looked at the floor under his feet and then started walking again. "Aaron – stop!" He stopped again and turned around.

"What have you done to Spencer?"

"Nothing. I have hardly touched him. Just don't walk there." Hotch dropped his bags to the floor and started to walk back again. He could smell the cleaning fluid and bleach.

"Floyd – what's going on?" He looked at the blood dripping off Floyd's fingers. "Show me your hands."

"Screw you Hotchner."

"Show me your hands."

"Why do you always think it's something I did? I thought you were going to trust me."

Hotch nodded. "I said it was on my terms. Show me your hands or I walk over your newly cleaned floor and then find where else you have been scrubbing and walk there too."

Floyd wiped the back of his hand over his mouth then held out his hands. They were raw and bleeding from the scrubbing and scratching and scraping he had been doing a couple of fingernails were bent back.

"Go and wash your hands and stop the bleeding. We are meant to be looking after Spencer. I don't have time for you."

Hotch went to the room he had left Reid in. He looked at Spencer laying curled up with his arms wrapped around himself and Aaron just wanted to go in there and comfort this damaged person. Not now though. Not until he had worked out what Floyd was up to. The cleaning sprees in the past seemed to follow on from something stressful. He walked over to Reid just to doubly make sure he was alright. He blinked and looked up at Hotch.

"Hi."

"Spencer – I didn't mean to wake you." Hotch pushed back a stray strand of hair laying over Spencer's forehead. "I was just making sure you were alright."

"I am tired – my hands hurt and my head aches." A small smile. "Nothing I can't cope with."

"I will be staying for a while. If you need me I will be in the house somewhere."

"Thank you Aaron." He closed his eyes again and was asleep again almost immediately.

"That's not the spare room." The voice was subdued and quiet. Something had happened when Hotch had been away, he just couldn't work out what it was. He frowned and turned to Floyd who was standing with toilet paper wrapped around his hands. The blood was soaking through the paper and staining it a bright red.

Hotch stepped out of the room and closed the door gently. "What happened?"

"When?" A surly expression crossed his blood splattered face.

"The blood. I don't believe it is all yours. Where has all this blood come from?"

Floyd scratched his ear and did half smile. "I had a nose bleed. I need to prepare some stuff. Are you OK to sort that room out? I kind of got distracted."

Hotch sorted the room and found the key. When he went to find Floyd he was standing in the kitchen. Blood had pooled on the work surface and was dripping off the edge onto the floor – falling in soft drips into the puddle. Flanders face was almost white. Aaron could see one of Floyd's hands holding tightly onto the edge of the counter – the other was at his side shaking. He was swaying slightly. Hotch walked in and stood behind Floyd. He put hands on his shoulders and squeezed gently.

"Let me help you. What do you need?"

No answer.

"Sit. Just sit on the floor."

A small nod. Hotch felt Floyd's weight suddenly against him. He slid down Aaron until he was sitting on the floor. His knees pulled up tightly to him and his arms holding tightly around them. It was a position he had seen Reid sitting in many times before. It showed Reid's insecurity. It was one of the times Aaron knew Reid needed to be held and comforted. Was this the same with Floyd? Did he also need comforting sometimes? He wasn't about to find out. Hotch stepped away from this strangeness and returned to his room. He locked the door and got ready to sleep. He set his watch and a small clock on the night stand and then lay back on the bed. Yes he could get used to staying here – he could protect Spencer and as for Floyd? Well he was going to have to wait and see.

-o-o-o-

Spencer felt Floyd lay down behind him and snuggle with him under the covers. He lay there thinking for a little while and then rolled over onto his back.

"Floyd – I've been thinking." A distracting hand was running over his chest. "I disgust you."

"Yes you do."

A tongue was torturing Reid's belly button making him squirm. "Well maybe if you didn't have to look at me. Would that be better?"

"I like to see what I am screwing and you don't like the dark. What is your idea?"

Reid put a hand on Floyd's shoulder and pushed gently. "Maybe if I was behind you for a change? Maybe if you didn't have to look at me."

Flanders smirked as he rolled over onto his front. "Do your worst Spence babes. I know I taught you well."

-o-o-o-

Floyd stood in the lounge smoking and smiling. That was the best time he had had in a while. Spence was learning well. He looked over at Hotch's bedroom door. Now for the next bit. Now he needed something from the house guest.

He dropped the glowing fag end on the floor and walked to the door Aaron was behind. Floyd put his hand on the door handle and twisted. The door was locked. He stood looking at the door for a while and wondered if he should just unlock it and go in but that was not what Hotch wanted. That was not playing to his terms. Floyd rested his forehead on the white painted door for a while and thought of Aaron on the other side. Keeping himself away. Taking control.

Floyd's expression changed from one of want to one of anger. He turned from the door and walked back to his bedroom.

He held a hand over Reid's mouth as he held him against the wall and pummelled his face. Paying particular care to get him in this bad eye.

"I told you to wear the patch. You will do what you are told. You won't disobey me again. Do you understand me Reid?"

But Spencer had blacked out long before Floyd's words reached his ears.