Tuesday

Reid was in the dayroom deeply engrossed in his writing, even though he kept a sharp eye out so no one would see what he wrote. Over the dim in the room he heard Nurse Grace come in.

"He'll be so glad to see you, I'm sure. He doesn't get many visitors… Spencer, you brother is here," she called cheerily.

Brother? He turned around and saw Hotchner coming towards him, smiling.

"Hey Spencer."

"Hi…uh… Aaron." Wow, that felt odd.

Hotchner pulled him into a brief hug as a long lost brother would do and then held him at arm's length, his eyes darkening dangerously when he took in the dark bruising around his neck.

"What happened to you? What happened to him?" he turned to Nurse Grace, accusingly.

"It's okay H… Aaron. I'm okay," Reid said, wanting to move on to more important things.

But Nurse Grace fluttered around nervously, wanting to make things right. "We had a little incident at group yesterday. One of the other patients got a little violent, but he was properly taken care of. Spencer was looked at by our doctors and spent the night in the infirmary, but he is fine now. A sore throat, that's all. We've already started an investigation according to protocol, to prevent similar incidents in the future. You have nothing to worry about. We take the best care of Spencer here."

Hotchner tilted Reid's chin up and prodded his neck gently, feeling the swelling, seeing the black and blue where there should be only pink. His fingers ghosted over the angrily red marks Reid's fingernails had made as he had clawed at the chain. His eyes sought Reid's, seeking confirmation.

"I'm fine," Reid said again.

Hotchner dismissed Nurse Grace with a smile and a nod and sat down with Reid.

"Are you okay? Really?"

"Yes, I'm okay. I'm ready to get out though. Really, really ready. I think I have enough for you to pull me now."

"Gladly," Hotchner said. "What have you got?"

"Dr. Lux has a relationship with one of the patients."

"A relationship as in…"

"A romantic one. With a convicted serial killer, RJ Lawson, who was a doctor who liked to perform Mengele-like experiments on his victims. Nurse Frank is in on it too somehow, but I don't know how."

"A doctor in liege with a patient?" Hotchner sounded doubtful.

Reid immediately pulled back. "I'm not crazy," he said. "I know what I saw."

"I know," Hotchner said, patting his hand. "I believe you."

But Reid pulled his hand away and wouldn't look at him.

"So, what did you see? What are they doing to the patients?" Hotchner asked.

"I don't know exactly. I followed them last night. Dr. Lux and Frank let RJ out of his cell and they disappeared down into the basement. I lost them in a storage room, but I'm pretty sure one of the shelves in there is a hidden door to something. I saw scrape marks on the floor as if it had been moved a lot. But I didn't dare open it while they were still in there."

"Wise move."

Hotchner was quiet for a long time, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. It made Reid nervous.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Hotchner looked up. "I'm sorry, I… umm… I'll go to court and get a search warrant and arrest warrants on Lux, Lawson and Frank. It might take awhile though. Will you be okay here until morning?" He looked searchingly at him.

Reid sighed, looking away. "I guess… Yeah, I can do one more night."

"Reid?" Hotchner's voice was guarded.

"No, I'll be okay. Just… just hurry, okay?"

"We will. Be careful tonight, okay? Lay low. You've done your part, leave the rest to us. We'll come get you before breakfast. I promise."

He hugged him again before leaving, Reid's notes safely tucked into his pocket.

Reid looked longingly after him, envying how easy it was for him to go through the door, and then the next, no one stopping him. He envisioned him walking through the corridors, down to the first floor. How he checked out with the guard, how he opened the large front doors and stepped out into the sunshine. He looked out the window and corrected himself, how he stepped out into the rain. Reid went over to the window and waited and watched as Hotchner came out, holding out a hand to test if he needed an umbrella or not. He then walked hurriedly over to the visitor's parking lot and got into his car. Reid watched as he drove away, leaving him behind. He felt a strong sense of abandonment, but shook it off. 'It'll be you soon enough,' he thought. 'Just one more night, then you'll be in that car with Hotch. Get a grip.'

"Your brother didn't stay long. Such a shame. Is he a business man? A lawyer perhaps? He looked very smart and well dressed." Nurse Grace's curiosity was almost as big as her love of gossip.

But Reid donned on his sullen face and ignored her.

Hotchner barely noticed the way out of the hospital, he was too deep in thought. What had this place done to Reid? He came out into the bleak, overcast daylight and felt an overpowering urge to get away from this place as soon as possible. But when he sat in his car, he suddenly couldn't move. His hands clamped around the steering wheel he leaned forward and rested his forehead on his hands. Had he made the biggest mistake of his life, sending Reid here?

Slowly turning the key in the ignition he got the car moving, but his mind was not on his driving. Instead he was analyzing the day he had had. The papers were burning in his pocket. Not Reid's notes, but the other papers. The ones that were meant to discharge Reid.

They had all driven here and set up operations at the local sheriff's office when they got the news about Anthony. This morning they had been sitting around a table pouring over old records as they waited for Anthony's autopsy report when Gideon's cell phone suddenly rang.

"Gideon," he'd answered. He'd listened for a minute. "Thank you for calling."

Pushing the off-button he'd said, "That was Isaiah, Reid wants contact. I'll go." He was already out of his chair and moving towards the door when Hotchner had stopped him.

"No, it's too risky. Who knows what stories Matthews has told about his college days, or what photos he might have laying around. Someone could make you. I'll go."

Gideon had looked at him, wanting to protest that any such chances would be really small, but he knew that Hotchner wouldn't take even the smallest risk when it came to Reid's safety. As much as he wanted to see his friend, he'd let Hotchner do it his way.

"I'll go in as his brother and visit. The paperwork for his discharge will be ready in a half-hour. If everything goes all right, I'll be able to bring him back with me. This has gone on long enough."

When he'd stepped out of the car and seen the impressing building that was The Berkview Institute for the Criminally Insane for the first time, he'd shuddered at the thought of being imprisoned there. The large stone building had seemed to loom over him, blanketed by the gray sky.

He'd entered through the imposing wooden front doors and stepped up to the security guard. "I'm Aaron Reid. I'm here to visit my brother, Spencer Reid."

The security guard had barely glanced at him as he pushed a sign-in sheet over the table and tiredly asked for ID. Hotchner had handed him his new driver's license, not even two hours old, that supported his claim of being a proud member of the Reid family. The security guard had glanced at it briefly and pointed to a long couch.

"Someone will be down to get you soon. Please have a seat, sir."

He had, and only his long years as an agent had kept him from bouncing his foot nervously. This place gave him cold chills, and he was only in the lobby yet.

Some time later a peppy brown-haired nurse had come to fetch him. Her nametag said 'Grace'. She'd talked the whole way through the meandering corridors and elevator rides. Hotchner had mostly hmmed and nodded, but she'd seemed perfectly happy with the one-sided conversation, until they came to the dayroom.

Hotchner had heard Nurse Grace say something, but he hadn't heard the words. His eyes had been on Reid. From behind, he hardly even recognized him. His hair had grown while he'd been in here, and his posture was so hunched and guarded. He looked impossibly small. And then he had turned around and Hotchner had been taken aback by the haunted expression in his eyes. He'd had to force himself to smile, when he really just wanted to weep.

"Hey Spencer."

"Hi…uh… Aaron."

It had sounded odd in Hotchner's ears. Had Reid ever called him Aaron before? He'd crossed the distance between them and caught him in a brotherly embrace, frowning. The cheek against his had been chilled, and the sharp, protruding shoulder blades had bit into his arm through Reid's thin t-shirt.

This ended here, he had decided. One way or another, Reid was coming out, as soon as possible. But then he'd decided to wait and hear why Reid had called him here. Had Reid already come to the decision to quit, then there was no use in saying something right now that would only hurt his pride.

He'd pulled away from the embrace, but had kept his hands on Reid's shoulders, looking him over more thoroughly. He'd gasped when he noticed the ugly discoloration of his throat.

"What happened to you? What happened to him?" he had turned to Nurse Grace, wanting someone to step up and take responsibility.

"It's okay H… Aaron. I'm okay,"Reid'd said, but now Hotchner had been acutely aware of the raspy edges in his voice. The nurse had started defending the hospital, and had the audacity to claim that they were taking the best care of his agent. He'd wanted to scream at her, yell at someone. How could she say that they were taking care of him, when his eyes told him different? People who were taken care of did not lose 25 pounds in a month, and they did not look like they wanted to run away from the world.

He hadn't been able to stop himself from running his fingers over Reid's damaged neck, wondering how bad it really was and how close he'd been to death, all alone in here. Reid had stood there and let him prod what must have been his very sore skin. But he had claimed that he was fine, and of course Hotchner wouldn't have expected him to say anything else, and he had decided to let it be for the moment. They could talk about it when they were on the other side of the doors. For now they were still undercover.

He'd been so happy when Reid said that he wanted to be pulled, but when he'd said that one of the doctors was having a relationship with a serial killer psychopath, he'd had his doubts. It'd sounded too farfetched. And of course Reid had picked up on it immediately and had pulled back from him, withdrawn what little emotions he'd been showing. Hotchner had berated himself and tried to placate him, but to no avail. Reid had shut him out. He'd told him about how he'd followed the doctor last night, and Hotchner had been relieved to hear that he hadn't taken any unnecessary risks. That meant he still had the logic thinking of a good FBI agent, and it made Hotchner trust his information even more.

And then he had wondered. He'd thought about the papers in his pocket. All he had had to do was to go up to Matthews and get his signature, and then he could've taken Reid away from there. But would their cover story about Reid being granted a leave to visit his father's funeral have been believable enough? Or would it have been be suspicious? Dr. Lux was a smart woman and it had only been two days since the police had been all over the hospital. The best way to avoid suspicion was to leave things the way they were. He had felt so torn. Should he or shouldn't he? Yesterday he had wondered what could happen in 24 hours, and Reid had almost been strangled. But Dr. Lux was Reid's primary caregiver; it would've seemed odd for Matthews to grant him leave without consulting her. And now that they knew she was one of their unsubs, it would've been foolish to rock the boat. So he had made his decision. He would have to leave Reid in the institution for now.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Reid's question had awoken him from his pondering, and he had decided not to tell him that he had the means to pull him right now. Instead he had asked if he would be okay one more night. Reid's answer had been more hesitant than he would have liked, but he was forced to accept it.

When he'd hugged him again before leaving, Reid hadn't hugged him back.

Hotchner drove up to the sheriff's office, but waited a few minutes to get out of the car to collect himself. The others would be very disappointed to see that he was alone.

Tuesdays were movie nights, and Reid had sat through yet another black-and-white Spencer Tracy movie. There seemed to be an infinite supply of those. 10 p.m. and automatic lock-down was just a minute away as he hurried from the shower room to his room, having just brushed his teeth.

He walked into his room, elated by the fact that this would be his last night here, but then he stopped cold. Dr. Lux was sitting on his bed.

"Hello, Spencer," she said softly.

TBC