Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Shorter chapter this time, because I'm a little stuck. Having issues staying in-character.

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Hotch stared blankly at Reid, his expression the usually dark frown, but inside his mind was spinning wildly. Reid leaned back against the window frame, his expression expectant, but not upset, or angry. Which worried Hotch…he couldn't start a relationship with Reid, even if Reid were open to it. He couldn't be enough for Reid, like he wasn't enough for Haley. Reid deserved someone who could focus their full attention on him, and as the SAC, Hotch couldn't do that. But, seeing the expression on Reid's face, Hotch knew he couldn't just skirt around the issue. Slumping into a chair, Hotch put his palm against his temple, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Reid, I didn't know you could hear me."

Reid's eyebrows shot up again. "So you really…you're attracted to me?" Reid asked, sounding unsure of himself. He frowned, folding his arms across his chest. Hotch looked up and found Reid looking at him, analyzing him like a complex problem he was determined to solve. With a sigh, Hotch shook his head, looking over at the door, contemplating simply leaving. He couldn't bring himself to admit his feelings to Reid, they seemed too inappropriate. He wondered what kind of man he was, to be drawn to such a vulnerable young man, after being married with a kid. Hotch wasn't homophobic, and Reid wasn't the first man he'd felt drawn to, but he had never acted on those feelings…and Reid was just too young, and he was a co-worker.

When he couldn't find something to say, he simply shook his head, staring down at the table. Reid obviously wasn't done talking about it though. "I guess I should have known, it explains what Rossi did in the bullpen. At first I thought he was just being discourteous." When Hotch still didn't answer, Reid persisted, sounding determined. "I could…I wouldn't tell anyone…if, you know, you do…" Reid's voice trailed off as he became more and more insecure. Hotch rubbed his face, sighing loudly.

"Reid, relationships in the workplace are highly inappropriate."

Reid nodded, biting his lips together momentarily, sitting down across from Hotch, looking at him with puppy-dog eyes through his bangs. "So….that's a no?" Reid looked suddenly miserable, and Hotch had to resist the urge to get up and simply hug him. But Hotch assured himself that it was for the best, and nodded.

"Do you really think now is a good time for you to start a new relationship?" Hotch asked gently, still skirting around the issue of his attraction to Reid; he couldn't admit it, but he didn't want to hurt Reid's feelings by denying it either, not now that Reid had heard him talking to Dave. A flurry of emotions passed over Reid's face; hurt, uncertainty, doubt, fear…Hotch couldn't tell what they all were.

"I wasn't…he didn't abuse me, Hotch." Reid's voice was harsh, and quiet, and he paused to swallow. "A-and you wouldn't…"

Hotch felt his chest tighten. "I would never hurt you…." Hotch started, staring right at Reid. He cleared his throat, and waited a second to calm down before he spoke again. "I'll be here for you, not matter what you need…but not like that."

"But…I heard you…Hotch, I trust you, I really do, I just don't like talking about Shawn," Reid's voice rose in pitch and sped up. Hotch kept his expression firm, and shook his head.

"It would be unprofessional of me to allow-" Hotch began, but Reid interrupted him, sounding incredulous.

"Fine, don't admit that you like me! I'll just go to bed." Reid emphasized his point by getting up and noisily crawling into the bed, pulling the covers over his head. Sighing, Hotch got up and turned off the lights before getting into his own bed, hoping Reid would realize the ridiculousness of the situation in the morning and drop the subject.

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Of course, Reid didn't bring up the topic the next day as they got ready for the conference, and he definitely didn't say anything while they were in the police station, nor did he say anything once they'd finished. In fact, he didn't say anything that didn't pertain to the case they'd helped the police with. As they drove back to the hotel to grab their bags and check out, Reid stopped talking entirely, reading a book he'd bought at the gas station. Once at the hotel, Reid simply shut the book and jumped out, leaving the book on the seat as he walked into the hotel. Hotch followed him in, but stopped at the front desk to check out. Just as he was finishing up, Reid came out, carrying both of their bags. He set the bags down and handed Hotch the keys before picking the bags back up and heading out. Hotch gave the receptionist the keys, thanked her, and then followed Reid out.

"You're back to talking to me as little as possible?" Hotch asked, going for a light tone.

"Mm-hm," Reid answered, staring blankly out of the window.

Hotch didn't push him further, and focused on his driving once more. However, after ten minutes of silence, Reid spoke up.

"Why don't you let me drive?"

A little startled, it took Hotch a few seconds to process the question. "Well…you drive like Gideon. If you start thinking too much, you pretty much stop paying attention to the road."

"I do that?"

"Yes."

"So you don't trust my driving?" Hotch frowned at the road, unsure of where Reid was going with all of this.

"Well…I guess so."

"So I'm a hopeless case when it comes to being in a relationship because I can't be trusted while driving?"

If he hadn't been driving, Hotch would have found the nearest hard surface, and simply began to bang his head against it. "Reid…you know that's not the same thing."

"I told you I trust you, but you still don't think I can handle a relationship."

"That's not what I said. Reid, I'm the SAC, I can't start a relationship with a subordinate."

"What if I'm persistent?"

"No."

"Is this what they're talking about when they say someone is 'hard to get'?" Hotch knew Reid was asking a serious question, that he didn't mean it as a joke, but it was still slightly comical, and Hotch had to take a deep breath and count to ten to keep himself from laughing. Before he could answer, though, Reid continued. "Should I be playing along? I could get you chocolate and you could turn me down. That's how it's supposed to go, right?"

"No, I'm not playing hard to get, and I don't want you to try to…catch me, or whatever it is you're supposed to do."

"Okay…most relationship therapists actually think that playing hard to get starts a relationship off on a deceptive note, so we shouldn't do that."

"Reid, I'm not talking about this anymore, so just drop it." Hotch glanced at Reid, just as Reid slumped in his seat, a frown darkening his features. His sudden determination to start a relationship was strange, after all, Reid had never made a move towards him before. Hotch figured it was a combination of finding out that Hotch was attracted to him, and the need to have someone who would care about him now that his 'questionable' relationship with Shawn was over. Reid picked up the case file for their consult in Philadelphia, and went through it as they drove.

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TBC….

A/N: Hmmm…not my favorite chapter. Also, it's late, so my vocabulary shrunk a little, I didn't use a lot of big, fancy words.