Return from the Edge

Ahmose Inarus

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

SLASH WARNING! Hotch/Reid

Chapter 2

Rossi walked into the hotel's restaurant, where the team was meeting for breakfast. At two in the afternoon…

Hotch was already there, and he was on his cell phone.

"Oh yeah?" He was saying, smiling. "Okay then. Sounds good. The storage area is mostly cleared out then, I take it? Heh. Yeah. He likes to read… okay. Okay… Well… see if you can talk them down… if you can't, I'll pay it, but… thanks. Thank you. I'll let you know when. Thank you Ms. Newkirk. You too. Bye." And he hung up. "Morning."

"Good morning. Who is Ms. Newkirk."

"Oh. My uh… My Realtor."

"… Realtor?" Rossi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I uh… I bought a house."

"Flipping houses like Morgan now, eh?"

"Uh… no. It's uh… it's for me and Spencer."

"… Really…?"

"Really."

"Does he know?"

"Not yet." Hotch said. "It's a surprise."

"When are you telling him?"

"On our anniversary." Hotch said with a smile. And the conversation ended when Emily, JJ and Garcia arrived and joined them, followed shortly by Reid and then Morgan. Reid and Garcia spent their meal with their heads together over some papers.

"Okay." Reid finally announced towards the end of the meal. "We're in agreement about which party she'll hit tonight."

"Listen, kiddo." Garcia said. "Why don't I head this one up. You go see your mom." Reid blinked at her. "You haven't seen her in months. And you've had such a rough time… you should see her."

"But—"

"I agree with Garcia." Hotch said. Reid looked at him. Hotch reached out and covered Reid's hand with his own. "Go see your mother, Spencer. I'm sure she's worried about you." Reid stared, then slowly nodded. And as soon as he was finished eating he and Rossi headed out, the man insisting on coming with him.

Rossi drove, knowing that Reid was nervous. And sure enough, by the time they got to Bennington, Reid was chewing his nails, tapping his fingers on his knee, and bouncing his leg nervously. When Rossi pulled into a parking spot, he simply turned off the motor and put the car into park. Then, they just sat there. When Reid finally sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt, Rossi mimicked him. He wasn't going to push Reid… he was going to let the boy genius set the pace. After another pause, Reid opened and door and stepped out. He headed to the front doors of Bennington and stepped in. He didn't even notice the greeting of the woman at the front desk as she signed in, he just headed upstairs.

Rossi followed at a distance. He caught up with Reid when the boy stopped at the doorway into the day room. Rossi noticed a balding man hurrying towards Reid, a look of amazement and relieved gratefulness on his face. Rossi stuck his arm out and caught the man, shaking his head.

"Let him alone." Rossi growled. The man blinked, but then nodded. The pair watched Reid stand there and watch his mother read before the window… Rossi watched Reid take a deep breath and he noticed that he young man was trembling…

But then Diana stirred. She frowned slightly and looked up and out the window. She twitched. But then she turned and looked towards the doorway. And she saw him. Her son stood there, looking absolutely terrified and miserable all at once.

Her eyes widened. Her mouth fell open. Tears welled up in her eyes and her book slipped from her hands and fell to the floor. All eyes turned… Diana Reid NEVER let a book fall to the floor!

Slowly, the woman rose.

"… Spencer…?" She gasped. "Oh my… Oh… Oh God… Spencer, you're alive! Oh Spencer!" And she bolted from where she stood, crying wordlessly. She ran across the room. Reid finally was able to move. He took three long strides and met his mother. She crashed into his chest and his arms fell around her, holding her tightly. The woman sobbed into his shirt and he bowed his head and wept into her hair. But then, slowly, his legs collapsed beneath him and he fell to his knees, his hands gripping his mother's elbows. She stood and stared down at him, running her hands over his face and hair, as if trying to assure herself that he really was there.

"Oh, Spencer."

"I'm sorry, mom." Reid managed to get out, his voice choked with the tears that were streaming down his face. "I'm so sorry."

Rossi turned to the balding man. "Can we move this to a place where they can have privacy?" He asked.

"Of course." The man said, and walked over. "Diana… Dr. Reid… Why don't we go somewhere more quiet…" Rossi knelt and helped Reid to his feet. Then he and the man backed off and watched as Spencer and Diana Reid toddled down the hall, clinging tightly to one another.

They ended up in Diana's room on the bed. Diana was reclining, leaning into the pillows stacked against the headboard. Her son was curled up next to her, his head in her lap.

"Baby…" Diana said softly, combing her fingers through Reid's hair.

"Hm?"

"What happened to you, Spencer?" She asked. "I haven't heard from you in months… I knew something had to be wrong… you were hurt or…" She trailed off as she stared down at her son's face. For a moment, he was a completely different person… for a moment, he was consumed in fear, despair, helpless distress, hopeless agony and endless suffering.

"I'm sorry, mom." Reid whispered, feeling his mother wipe away his tears. "I have… been to Hell, Purgatory and beyond… I've been through things that were… even worse than my worst nightmares… I don't know how I came through it… I… I almost didn't."

"I can see it in your eyes." Diana said softly. "Oh, Spencer… Oh, my poor baby… tell me…"

"I was kidnapped." Reid began, closing his eyes. "Back in the late Spring. I was kidnapped and… sold over the internet as… as a sex slave." Reid felt his mother tense. "I was thrown into the trunk of a car and driven to the Texas Gulf Coast and taken out into the Gulf… where I was handed over to the… buyer. He… abused me. But my team got me back within hours. Before he did… too much. But… but he wasn't ready to let me go. He took me back… four months ago. And left the country. He took me away… to Brazil. He… he starved me… beat me… tortured me… He… he raped me…" The last three words were whispered. He slowly opened his eyes and stared off into space, tears silently trailing down his face. Diana sat frozen. "And he… he kept me. For a month. When my team finally found me… he tried to kill Aaron. And so… I killed him."

"Spencer." Diana gasped.

"He had other slaves. And… he made them rape me, too. But Hotch… he found me. And he brought me home. He helped me heal…"

"But?"

"… But one of the other slaves… her name was Paloma… She hated me. She lover her Master. And I had killed him. And she wanted revenge. She… threatened, blackmailed and paid off doctors… I was… falsely diagnosed as… as Schizophrenic." He winced as he felt his mother's fingers curl and dig into him. His eyes filled with tears. "They took me away." He whimpered. "They sedated me… they put me restraints… and they took me away!" He shook with suppressed sobs.

"I was so scared… Even more than when I was being held by that man who wanted to make me his sex slave… They gave me depressants, telling me that they were medications to stabilize me and… and I started to lose myself. I couldn't eat… I wouldn't speak… and I hurt myself. Several times. Until… I broke.

"I don't remember much after that. All I know is I stopped eating completely… I stopped speaking completely. I felt like a ghost… and I wanted to die. I was slowly going mad. I know I was…

"When I woke from it… SHE was there. Paloma. She had a knife. She took me up to the roof. She hit me… she screamed at me… belittled me… And then she forced me to my knees and took the knife and… then Hotch was there. And he shot her. And I passed out. When I woke up, I was still there. In the infirmary. And I was alone. I thought that… it had all been a hallucination. I didn't think it had actually happened. I thought I was crazy. And I couldn't take it anymore.

"I smashed a window and stood out on the ledge. I was going to jump. And Aaron was there… and he was begging me not to. But I couldn't stand it anymore… I wanted to die. But then I found out that Jack was there. Aaron's son. And I couldn't. Not in front of him. I let Hotch take me inside. And he took me away from that place. But by then, I was really messed up. So he got me help. REAL help. And… now I'm recovering, mom. It's been a long… very hard four months… but that's no excuse for me not to contact you… I am SO sorry."

Diana said nothing. Reid tensed, and slowly sat up. He stared at his mother. She stared back. A look of grief had completely overcome her, and tears flooded from her red eyes. She lifted her hands and placed them on her child's cheeks, and drew him close. Reid closed his eyes as she gently kissed his brow, then pressed their foreheads together.

"I'm so sorry…" He whispered to her. "I'm so sorry…"

"No…" Diana said gently. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Spencer…" She hugged him close, stroking his hair. "My poor baby… My poor baby…"

When Rossi looked in on them fifteen minutes later, Diana was still sitting against the pillows, staring down at her son's face as she continues to stroke his hair… Reid seemed to be sleeping, his head resting on his mother's breast. Rossi smiled; they both looked at peace. He pulled out his phone and snapped a quick picture, then sent it to Hotch.

Hotch texted back. 'Tell him to spend the night with his mom. He needs this. We can handle tonight without him.'

'Will do.' Rossi texted back, then turned and went to find the man he now knew was Dr. Norman.

"Listen… Dr. Reid has been through… a harrowing experience these past few months. He's still healing. I think it would do him good to spend time with his mother. Can he stay the night?"

"Of course." Dr. Norman said, nodding.

"Alright. I'm going to go to our hotel and get him some of his things. If he wakes, let him know."

"I will." Dr. Norman said, and Rossi left Bennington.

Reid awoke to gentle fingers in his hair and a soft, soothing voice. It was singing.

"—to cast me off discourteously. For I have loved for so long, delighting in your company. Greensleeves was my—"

"Mom?"

"… Spencer." Reid opened his eyes and looked up into his mother's eyes, and he smiled.

"I haven't heard you sing since I was little…" Reid murmured. She smiled down at him.

"You haven't given me the chance to sing to you since you went to college." She pointed out, and Reid suddenly looked guilty. "I love you, Spencer."

"Love you too, mom." Reid replied with a smile, then frowned. "What time is it?"

"Seven thirty. They're holding dinner for us."

"Seven thirty? I have to get going!"

"Your friend, Agent Rossi, brought your bag. Your Agent Hotchner has ordered you to take the night off and stay with me."

"But we're on a case! I need to—"

"You need to let them handle it. They'll be fine, Spencer. Now let's have some dinner." Reid blinked, then slowly smiled and nodded, finding that he really didn't want to leave, after all. He chuckled to himself… Hotch knew him a little too well… he knew that his young lover needed this.

And so mother and son had dinner together, and then sat together in the bed late into the night, talking, reading and reciting poetry to one another, until they had talked themselves out. In the morning, Dr. Norman told the staff to let Diana Reid and her son sleep as late as they wanted. And at one in the afternoon, Agent Hotchner arrived and was shown to Diana's room. He stood in the doorway and smiled. Reid and his mother were still sleeping, both in their pajamas. Reid's head was resting on his mother's shoulder, and the bed around them was COVERED in books and journals.

"I'll wake them." Hotch said with a smile, and Dr. Norman nodded and walked away. Hotch stepped into the room and over to the bed, sitting down on the edge.

"Spencer?" He called. "Mrs. Reid?" The pair of them made an identical face of annoyance at being disturbed, and blinked open their eyes. But there, the identical faces stopped; Diana scowled at Hotch, and Spencer smiled.

"Aaron…" He cooed, and sat up to receive a hug. Hotch smiled and kissed his head.

"Have a good night with your mom?"

"Yeah." Reid sighed. "Thanks. How did last night go?"

"… We stopped her from killing another man… but she got away." Hotch sighed. "So she went to another party and took another victim there…" Reid deflated. "But… the man we saved got a look at her… we have him with a sketch artist."

"… Well… that's something, I guess…" Reid mumbled. Hotch nodded, then turned and looked at Diana Reid.

"It's good to see you again, Mrs. Reid." He said.

"… You're supposed to protect him." Diana said, coldly.

"Mom!" Reid cried, eyes wide in dread; he knew this would happen.

"How could you let that happen to him?"

"… I've asked myself that every day since the first time he was EVER hurt on a case." Hotch said, matching her stare.

"Mom… there's nothing Aaron could have done." Reid said, desperately. "The first time Coronado got me, it's because a truck slammed into the driver side of Aaron's car. They dragged me out, and Hotch was hurt, and pinned. He couldn't stop them. The second time, the entire team was in Oklahoma! I had to stay behind to give evidence at a trial. Coronado forced my plane down and took me off of it. Hotch was over a hundred miles away."

"Explain why he let you stay with that man for a month!" Diana demanded, angrily.

"Coronado had a head start. So much that they couldn't catch up with him before he left the country. After that, they had to wait for the co-operation of the Brazilian government to enter their country to recover me. If they had gone in without that, they wouldn't have had the man power. If anything had gone wrong, they all would have been arrested. God knows what would have happened from there. They did the best they could within the law." Reid said, firmly.

"But he didn't stop them from taking you away and locking you up!" Diana cried. It was obvious that this upset her more than anything.

"And what could he have done?" Reid asked, gently. "Help me run? Spend the rest of our lives as fugitives, always looking over our shoulders? If he had stopped them, he could have lost his job… possibly been arrested. He has a son to take care of, mom… I'm not the only person he has to worry about. Aaron must ALWAYS put himself first because Jack needs him." Reid took his mother's hands.

"Jack must ALWAYS have Aaron… like I wish I'd had dad… I have always told Aaron that if ANY thing ever happens that may mean a choice between me and Jack, just must always… ALWAYS choose Jack. And I have promised him that should he have to make that decision, I will bear him no ill will. Hotch did everything he could within the boundaries he had to operate within. Honestly… he even kind of pushed them a bit… but the fact is, mom… he saved me, each and every time. He can't keep me safe from everything. He's not Superman."

Reid and Diana stared at each other for a long time. "Please don't be angry with him, mom." Diana frowned and looked away. "Please, mom…? Remember our next door neighbor? Remember how miserable she was with her mother and husband always at each other's throats?"

"Spencer…" Diana scolded, fighting back a smile at that.

"Would it make you feel better to rip out my spleen with your teeth?" Hotch asked.

Diana turned and stared at him, startled. Her mind drifted back to the conversation back at Christmas, when she had met her son's lover for the first time…

Suddenly, Reid stood. "I'll be right back!" And he trotted off. Leaving Hotch with his parents. Alone. The man blinked and tuned to look at the Reids. Diana was glaring at him. He blinked again.

"If you ever do anything to hurt Spencer, I'll rip out your spleen with my teeth." She snarled.

"Diana!" William cried. Hotch stared at her, not breaking eye contact. Then, he smiled.

"Hmm… 'Helps if they think you're crazy; they don't argue.' Right?" Hotch asked. Diana stared at him, then smiled slightly.

"Exactly." She affirmed. Hotch nodded.

"Rip out my spleen with your teeth." The man mused. "Got it. I shall consider myself warned." Diana paused, then grinned.

"Good."

"Okay." Hotch said, then reached out and took her hand. "Aaron."

"Diana." She replied. "Welcome to the family."

Slowly, Diana smiled, and then laughed. Hotch grinned. Reid just looked back and forth between them, confused.

"Am I forgiven?" Hotch asked.

"You're on probation." Diana snorted.

"… I'll settle for that." Hotch said smirking.

"Riiiight… I'm gonna go get dressed…" Reid drawled, and scuttled out of the room, trusting his mother and lover not to try and kill each other.

"Mrs. Reid… there's something I want to talk to you about." Hotch said, standing and moving around to the other side of the bed, sitting close to her. She eyed him. "I don't know if Spencer has told you, but our anniversary is in about a week…"

"And you have something planned?" Diana asked.

"I do." Hotch said, softly. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, and handed it to her. Diana blinked and took it, and slowly unfolded it. She stared down at the picture of the Old English Cottage style house.

"It's lovely." She said, and looked up at the man. "But… I don't understand."

"… I bought it." Hotch said softly. "For him. For us." Diana's eyes snapped up and she stared at the man, mouth agape.

"You… bought it? Why?"

"For us to be happy together. It's perfect for him… isn't it?" Diana looked back down at the picture again. Hotch smiled, slightly. "On our anniversary… I'm taking him home. There."

"Does he know?"

"No. It's a surprise." Hotch said with a smile. Diana stared up at him.

"… There's something else though, isn't there?" Diana asked.

"Yes." Hotch said. "There is. There's something I have to ask you…"

Reid was grateful when Dr. Norman allowed him to use the staff locker room to take a shower. It was soothing and therapeutic, and he left the locker room feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. He returned to his mother's room and stopped in the doorway.

Hotch and his mother were leaning in towards each other, and Diana was holding Hotch's hand in her own. They were both smiling.

"… Am I interrupting something?" Reid asked. The pair looked at him, then sat up. Diana put her hands in her lap, and Hotch slipped a piece of paper into his coat, standing and smiling.

"Not at all. Ready to go?" Hotch asked. Reid smiled and walked over to his mother and hugged her tightly.

"I promise I'll visit again before we leave town." Reid told her.

"Make sure you see your father, too."

"… I'll… think about it." Was all Reid gave her. She kissed his forehead and held his face in her hands for a moment, then sighed.

"I'm proud of you, Spencer. You're a fighter."

"Yes ma'am." Reid said with a smile.

"Keep fighting."

"Yes ma'am." Reid nodded, and waved at her as he followed Hotch out of the room.

"Have a good time with your mom?" Hotch asked him.

"Yeah." Reid said, nodding. "I did. Thanks, Hotch." Hotch just smiled and put an arm around Reid's shoulders, giving him an affectionate squeeze. They got to the car and headed away from Bennington. But to Reid's surprise, at the first curve in the road, Hotch pulled over.

"Why are we- mmmph!" Reid gasped, then closed his eyes and surrendered to the kiss. It was passionate and deep, and made his blood sing. When they finally broke the kiss, Reid was panting softly.

"… Wow… what was that for?"

"I love you." Hotch told him.

"… Wow. You really missed me last night, huh?"

"I did. The bed was cold and lonely."

"Hasn't the bed been cold and lonely on and off for the past four months?" Reid asked with a cocky smirk. "Or has Rossi been warming your bed in my absence?"

"… SPENCER!" Hotch howled, sounding both disgusted and disturbed.

Reid just sat back in his seat with a wicked chuckle.

"… Little brat." Hotch muttered, and Reid grinned.

First off, I am SO sorry for the late update... due to a slight shift in my work schedule, my updating schedule is going to change from Wednesdays and Sundays to Fridays and Mondays, I think...

However, this past Friday I did not update for a reason. I got home from work and found my 6 month old kitten dead. I still cannot talk about her cause of death, it makes me feel physically ill and I am still reeling from it. To make matters worse, my 1 1/2 year old cat has been wandering my home day and night, crying, searching for her little sister, which is just breaking my heart. I have been having trouble writing over the past several days, but I am finally settling back into things. While all sympathies are appreciated, I ask that you do not mention this tragedy in reviews, as this is not something I want to be reminded of at this time, or in the future. I just want to heal and get to a point where I can think of her without feeling sick. Doesn't help that today is my birthday and I just can't enjoy it with this hanging over me...

And on that note (sorry ^.^') Next Time!

Despite all instructions telling Reid to be EASED back into the Field, Reid dives in headfirst when the team decide to use him as bait for the UnSub...

Please review!