A/N:Wow, I'm happy that you seemed to like the first chapter so much and I really hope you do like the second too, even if it turned out totally different than I wanted it to turn out... it's a little rushed and maybe I'm going to redo it later, but it needed to be written so that I could continue or I would have dropped the story... I still hope it's not too bad and you will enjoy reading it *smiles*

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Comments would of course be most appreciated *nervous smile*

And please remember that English isn't my native language *smile*

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Thank you to everybody for your kind reviews *hugs*

Fai'swingedchronicles:I didn't mention any titles, because I didn't really have any particular stories in mind. I don't have much time to read stories on here right now, but I browse through the summaries occasionally, so I realized that there are a lot of stories with this topic, so sorry I didn't post any links or titles to other stories *apologetic smile*

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Disclaimer: None of the CM characters belong to me… I just borrowed them for this little story… my OC'S do belong to me though… this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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Chapter 2


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"Looks nice, maybe we can catch a drink here after a hard case."

Morgan looked around in the bar they had just entered, the last place Jason Smalling had been seen alive.

Rossi, who had entered shortly after the younger man, nodded.

"Yeah, I wonder why we haven't found this place earlier," he agreed and pulled off his sunglasses he had worn during the drive.

"Because we always go to our local bar and didn't feel the need to find a new place," Morgan replied and he was about to walk through the empty room towards the bar where a lone man was busy polishing glasses.

But suddenly he saw that Reid, who had been assigned to them by Hotch, stood in the doorway and looked even paler than he had done during the drive over here.

"Reid? Are you okay?" Morgan questioned, trying not to sound too concerned, because he knew how much Spencer hated to be babied.

And in addition to that, Derek still felt a little awkward to talk to Reid about feelings, no matter what kind.

Morgan also avoided calling Spencer "pretty boy", even though it had been on the tip of his tongue more than once in the last days, but it somehow felt wrong to call him that now.

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Rossi had also stopped and frowned when he saw that Reid was still standing in the entrance to the bar, a haunted look on his face.

Morgan's words, however, seemed to have an effect on the young genius, because Spencer straightened his shoulders and his face lost that haunted look.

"I'm okay, I just needed to get used to the dim light in here," he said, but Rossi and Morgan could both easily tell that it was a lie, since, yeah, the light wasn't as bright as it was outside, but it wasn't nearly as dark as it had to be for the eyes to need time to adjust.

Both, however, decided not to comment on it for now, because they were here to question a suspect.

The barkeeper, Brian Wilson, was watching them curiously while still cleaning glasses.

Morgan, Reid and Rossi finally made their way over to the man at the bar and they flashed their badges.

"Mr. Wilson, I'm Agent Rossi, this is Agent Morgan, and Dr. Reid," Dave introduced the three of them and Wilson, who had obviously expected them, nodded slowly, before his eyes focused on Spencer.

The young genius shifted uncomfortably and he just hoped that the barkeeper wouldn't say anything.

And Brian seemed to realize Reid's uneasiness, because his eyes left the young man and focused on Rossi again.

"I'm Brian Wilson. You're here because of Jason, aren't you?"

Rossi nodded.

"Yes, we are. Did you know him well?" he asked, a little irritated that Wilson called their victim by his first name.

Brian only shrugged.

"Well, he was a regular here, so I guess I knew quite a bit about him. Drunks can be very talkative," he said and shot Spencer a meaningful look.

The young man blushed and was glad that Rossi and Morgan were focused on Wilson and not on him, because they were profilers and would immediately realize that there was a story behind their words.

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But Rossi and Morgan were already asking further questions.

"So Jason Smalling told you a lot about his private life?" Morgan asked while Rossi took notes on his little notepad.

Brian shrugged his shoulders again.

"Well, not much, but I could probably tell you everything about his love life," he informed and Rossi and Morgan were a little relieved that Brian seemed to want to cooperate with them, because they had learned that some barkeepers didn't like to betray the things they were told.

"Then please do so, especially the recent love affairs," Rossi encouraged, hoping to get some names.

Brian tilted his head a little to his side.

"Actually, it didn't look like Jason had a steady relationship. I've seen him with six different guys during the last two weeks," he explained after thinking about it for a moment.

"So he was gay?" Rossi wanted to know, even though they had been pretty sure that Jason Smalling was, but they needed to be sure.

Wilson only nodded.

"Do you know any names of his bed partners?" Morgan questioned, this time glancing at Spencer for a second.

The young man hadn't even asked a single question and was looking really uncomfortable, his eyes darting around the empty bar, as if he didn't dare to look at the barkeeper for too long.

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But then he refocused his attention on Brian.

The man was looking deep in thought, probably raking his brain if he knew any of Jason Smalling's latest conquests.

"Well, only one is a regular here, the others were only here once or twice, so I don't really have any names, sorry," Brian apologized.

Dave gave him an assuring smile.

"That's okay, maybe you could come to the police station and at least describe the men to a sketch artist," he suggested.

Wilson nodded again.

"Of course I can, but only tomorrow morning, because my shift starts soon. Do you want the name of the regular here at the bar, even though I don't think that he has anything to do with Jason's murder," he explained, because he knew about what had happened from the police that had been here earlier and had told him to expect some FBI agents coming to talk to him.

"We'll decide if he is a suspect or not," Morgan told him a little irritated.

Brian nodded.

"Of course you do. His name is Steven Mason," he informed, folding his arms in front of his chest, refusing to be intimidated by Derek's behavior.

Rossi wrote the name down and then he looked at Wilson again.

"Do those names mean anything to you," he questioned and handed him a folder with the pictures of the other victims and their names, hoping that the barkeeper would recognize any of them, because maybe that would help make the connection.

But Brian shook his head.

"If they have been here, then I didn't notice them or they were here on my days off. I can ask my colleagues if they do recognize any of these men," he said and handed the pictures back to Rossi.

"We will do that when we come back tonight," Morgan told him.

Brian raised an eyebrow.

"You want to come back tonight?" he asked, because that certainly wouldn't be too good for his business when three FBI agents would come snooping around in the bar.

Rossi seemed to sense the other man's thoughts and he assured: "Don't worry, we'll be discreet in asking around."

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"So, is that all for now? Because I need to get ready, we're opening in an hour," Brian wanted to know, his eyes traveling to Spencer once again.

Reid stood beside Rossi and still hadn't said a word and tried to look as if he didn't want to be here.

Morgan and Rossi either didn't seem to notice or decided not to say something in front of the barkeeper.

"Yeah, that's all for now," Morgan informed and then handed the other man a card.

"If you remember anything else, call us."

Even though it was a request it sounded more like an order, because Derek was suddenly in a bad mood and he didn't even have a real idea why.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Reid was not even making an effort in solving this case.

Instead the young man looked pale and shifted nervously from foot to foot and Derek really wanted to know now why Reid seemed to be so uncomfortable.

"I will," Brian nodded and then he started polishing glasses again.

Rossi frowned at the blatant dismissal, but then again, they wouldn't get much more information out of the barkeeper for now.

And they'd come back later anyway, so the three agents left the bar.

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As soon as they were outside, Rossi turned to Reid, his face showing concern.

"Reid, do you really feel okay?" he asked, wondering what was wrong with the normally talkative genius, because he had of course noticed that Spencer hadn't made an effort to ask questions of his own.

Reid glared at the older man and then at Derek too just for good measure.

"Would you please stop asking me that?" he snapped, suddenly angry and not looking timid in the least.

Morgan and Rossi looked at each other, both now sure that something was really wrong with their younger teammate, but before they could ask something, Brian Wilson suddenly came out of the bar.

"Agent Reid, wasn't it?" he questioned, giving Spencer a pointed look.

Reid nodded immediately.

"Yeah," he replied cautiously, not sure what the barkeeper might want from him.

"You dropped that in the bar," Brian said and held out the purple scarf to Reid and the young genius took it with shaking hands, because he knew that he hadn't dropped it today.

He hadn't found the scarf this morning and quickly realized that he must have lost it when he had been in the bar two days ago.

Reid just hoped that Morgan and Rossi hadn't noticed that he hadn't been wearing the scarf today.

"Thank you, Mr. Wilson," he said politely, relieved that Brian didn't tell on him and tell Morgan and Rossi that Spencer had been at that bar too just a day before Jason Smalling was killed.

"No problem, Agent, see you tonight."

And with that Brian was gone again.

Reid slung the purple scarf around his neck, ignoring the weird looks he got from Morgan and Rossi.

Without another word he climbed into the car and refused to say anything, even after Rossi shot him a look that told as much as "if you need someone to talk to, I'm here to listen".

So the ride back to the police station was made in silence and Reid pointedly ignored the worried glances he got from Morgan and Rossi and would most likely get from Hotch and the rest of the team as soon as Rossi had told them about his behavior.

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The young genius was glad when he was alone with some files and a map, working on a geographic profile, wondering if it would do their case any good.

But it also couldn't hurt in any way and he had an excuse not to be with the others.

His relief, however, was short-lived when the door to the small room opened and Derek entered.

He had obviously been sent by the others, because Spencer had of course noticed that Morgan had kept his distance from him ever since Reid had told him about his feelings.

And he could also see JJ and Emily peering through the glass door into the room while trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

"Reid?" Morgan questioned tentatively, obviously not sure how to best handle this situation.

"What?" Spencer questioned, not even trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.

But that obviously irritated Morgan, because the man crossed his arms in front of his chest and his voice was stern when he said: "Maybe you should tell me what the hell is going on with you, kid. You've been acting strange this whole day."

Reid looked up and glared at the other man.

"It's none of your business," he replied, standing up, so that he didn't have to look up at Morgan but was face to face with the other men.

Derek sighed a little.

"I know I haven't been the best friend lately, but you should know why I kept my distance," Morgan started, his worry growing when he finally looked closer at Spencer.

The young man was pale and had dark bags under his eyes and he still didn't seem to be able to sit comfortable and that made Derek believe that the young man was hurt in some way.

And as much as he was still insecure about his feelings towards the young genius and how to best act around him, Spencer was still his friend and Morgan cared about him.

"Pretty Boy," he started and wanted to say more, but he suddenly couldn't, because something he never expected to happen, suddenly did happen.

The left side of his face exploded with pain when Reid punched him... hard...

"Don't ever call me that again..."

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to be continued...