Reid's Gift To Himself – Chapter 3
A/N: This is for the CCOAC 17th Challenge – New Year's Resolution. PLEASE REVIEW … so I can improve this story before the deadline of 1/31/12. Thank you again, to those of you who review, and to those who are following my story. I've been assigned David Rossi as my second main character. This is going to challenge me a lot. I like Rossi, but I never would have thought I could write him. This is a long chapter, but I think it flows well. Read on, and be the judge!
*** Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Criminal Minds. This story is only for entertainment and for improving my writing skills. ***
December 16th
Reid was still hopeful and determined that he could do this. He still had time to work out some more minute details to ensure his plan worked. He'd accomplished a lot over the last two weeks. He was almost ready to do this thing. Reid was sure of it.
Rossi had left the office about an hour ago. He said he had to attend to some personal business. That had been a bit unusual, thought the rest of the team. But no one said anything, or discussed it after Rossi left. Reid noticed Rossi heading into the kitchen. He looked a bit stressed? Distressed? Something! So Reid got up from his desk and went to try to talk to Rossi.
Rossi and Reid worked well together, though Rossi never initiated chit chat with Reid. Either Rossi would ask a direct question, and/or Reid would be rambling out knowledge on one subject or another. But there was no animosity between them. That's just how it worked out. Reid didn't take it personally because Rossi was never as chit chatty and sociable as Morgan, Prentiss, Garcia, and JJ. It was as if the two oldest agents, Hotch and Rossi, bore a lot more on their shoulders and their consciences than the younger agents. Everyone understood that, so no one took it personally that Hotch and Rossi didn't usually joke around. And it made it all the more exceptional when they did join in.
Reid would have asked Morgan or Prentiss to go and try to talk to Rossi, but they weren't in the bullpen. Reid didn't know what to say to Rossi, or how to get him to reveal anything. Reid decided he'd just go an make himself a cup of coffee and say the first thing that came to mind. Regardless of how the conversation worked out, he would have more data to build into his resolution plan as to what worked, and what didn't.
When Reid approached the kitchen doorway, he saw Rossi standing at the counter frowning and staring into the mug he was holding. Reid grabbed his mug and slowly started preparing himself a cup of coffee. Rossi didn't seem to register that Reid was even in the kitchen.
"Hey, Rossi." Reid said, quietly.
"Hey, Kid! How's it going?" Rossi responded, trying to smile and sound upbeat as if nothing was bothering him.
"I don't know if I can … but I'd like to … ask you if there's anything I can do to help you." Reid stuttered out, as he tried to maintain eye contact with Rossi. He did the best he could. Reid couldn't maintain the eye contact and ended up frowning and staring into his own cup of coffee.
At first, Rossi wondered what Reid was getting at, as he stood there watching Reid trying to offer assistance to him. Rossi knew that Reid had stepped way out of his comfort zone. So, Rossi dropped his false bravado. He was so touched by Reid's concern. A few slightly awkward seconds passed, and Reid sighed loudly. He was about to turn and walk away, thinking that he had made another fool of himself.
Rossi put his hand on Reid's shoulder to stop him from leaving. He tilted his head, and looked up into Reid's downcast eyes and said, "Thank you, Reid. I'm not used to asking for help, but I really could use your help." Rossi smiled gently at Reid.
Reid was suddenly ecstatic. His eyes lit up and his smile was as wide as a mile. "Anything. Anything you need, Rossi. I don't know exactly what I can do … or what I can't do … but Anything!" Reid finished, almost breathlessly, grinning from ear to ear.
Rossi had to chuckle. He was always amazed by Reid. That was the main reason he never really said much to Reid, because he usually felt dumbfounded around him, socially. During actual profiling, Rossi had no problems talking to Reid. But socially, Rossi wasn't used to listening to so much rambling information. It tended to overwhelm him. How in the world could the world's knowledge be wrapped up in such a young brain? It never ceased to amaze Rossi.
"Reid, I'd like your help on a very private and personal matter. But first, you have to promise me that you won't divulge anything to the rest of the team … or to anyone else." Rossi said, earnestly.
"Of course not. I promise Rossi. I won't say anything to anyone. I'll only discuss it with you. I promise." Reid said. This time he did maintain eye contact.
Rossi clapped Reid on his shoulder and smiled. He said, "Let's go to my office."
Rossi and Reid left the kitchen and headed to Rossi's office. They were both smiling and Rossi still had his hand on Reid's shoulder. Morgan and Prentiss were sitting in the bullpen and saw them. Prentiss' eyebrows shot up really high, while Morgan's sunk down really low. Morgan and Prentiss looked at each other, and then continued to watch Rossi and Reid enter Rossi's office and close the door.
"What's that about?" Morgan asked Prentiss. It wasn't so much that he was angry. He was just very confused about what looked like bonding between Rossi and Reid. Morgan enjoyed his big brother role to Reid. And he didn't want anything coming between them, even if it was another male teammate. He couldn't believe how jealous he was feeling. He looked back at Prentiss with his mouth hanging open.
Prentiss had been surprised to see Rossi and Reid walking together like that. But, so what? Who cared? Prentiss just thought it was a little odd. But Morgan was absolutely flabbergasted! Prentiss laughed out loud when she looked at Morgan and said, "Don't ask me! I'm sitting here just like you. I don't know anything." She just kept laughing to herself as she went back to work. Morgan just punched his desk and sat sulking as he stared at Rossi's closed office door. He wanted to know what was going on. What were they talking about? Why would Reid go to Rossi instead of coming to him. And every time that Prentiss giggled, Morgan just growled to himself.
Reid took a seat as Rossi closed his office door, and then sat behind his desk. Rossi really didn't know how to start the conversation with Reid. He had never thought that he would actually be talking to anyone about this matter. Rossi was grateful that Reid sat patiently, waiting him out. After taking a deep breath, Rossi said, "I just need a minute, Reid." He closed his eyes, took a few more deep breaths, and pulled up his courage to reveal something to this very young genius who sat before him. If anyone in the world could possibly help Rossi, it indeed would be Reid. There wasn't much that Reid didn't know about, whether he actually took advantage of his own knowledge or not.
While Rossi was sitting there with his eyes closed and breathing deeply, he hadn't realized that he was fingering the little black resolutions book that was on his desk. Reid noticed. Reid knew how hard it always was when he wanted to ask, or tell, Morgan anything personal. And he and Morgan were a lot closer than he and Rossi ever were. Reid couldn't bring himself to make any of the opening statements that Morgan usually used on him, such as, "What's going on in that big brain of yours?" or "Come on, Kid. Open up. What's bothering you?" That's just who Morgan was.
So, Reid figured he should just be himself, and use a few of his own skills: his verbal recall and his analytical study of Jung. Rossi had said, quite a few times, the words private and personal. Rossi was feeling out of his comfort zone by revealing whatever was bother him. Watching Rossi repeatedly fingering the resolution book, Reid recalled (word for word) Garcia's handwritten note. Especially the 'Keep it Private' instruction.
Reid took a deep breath, cleared his throat and said, "I understand about private feelings, Rossi. I've never had anyone I could just share my feeling with comfortably. Morgan helps me a lot, but it's still not easy for me to ask or tell him anything. I'm really honoured to even have the chance to help you with something so close to your heart and your mind. I notice you keep touching the resolutions book. Would you like some help with healing a hurt, like Garcia wrote about?" Reid had made sure to keep his eyes focused only on the little resolution book. He didn't want to embarrass Rossi any more than necessary. A few seconds passed by and Reid was beginning to wish he hadn't said anything. Now he wondered what Rossi was thinking. He just wanted Rossi to start the conversation or to kick him out of his office. Something! Anything!
Rossi had kept his eyes closed tightly when Reid began speaking. But when Reid said how honoured he was, a smile broke from Rossi's heart. He opened his eyes and looked at Reid, in awe. He was such a shy, and gentle man. An innocent and an old soul both at the same time. Rossi waited a few seconds after Reid stopped speaking. He wanted Reid to look him in the eyes. When Reid didn't raise his eyes from the book, Rossi picked up the book and handed it to Reid.
Reid looked from the book to Rossi, questioningly. He didn't know why Rossi would give him the book when he already had one from Garcia.
"Take the book, Reid." Rossi said, as he handed the book to Reid. He saw Reid's mouth start to question, but he cut him off. "Open it. Read what I've written on the first page."
Reid opened the book and rapidly read the first page. Then he read it again, as tears filled his eyes. "Oh, Rossi." Reid said.
Rossi eyes started to flood, so he cleared his throat and asked, "Do you still want to help me?"
"Anything, Rossi. Anything at all." Reid said, as his voice faltered a little.
Rossi and Reid agreed that they would not discuss this matter any further at work. They agreed to meet at Rossi's house at 8:00 pm, where they could be assured privacy. They pulled themselves together and wiped away their man-tears as they chuckled about crying. Rossi said, "I for one, love quiche!"
They were still laughing as Reid exited from Rossi's office and closed the door behind him. He was all caught up in what had just happened, and what would be talked about later on at Rossi's house. He didn't notice that Morgan had been staring at him from the moment he had opened Rossi's door. He walked right passed the bullpen into the kitchen to get some coffee.
"What the hell?" Morgan said, under his breath, as Reid seemed to absolutely ignore him when he walked passed.
"For such a dog, I can't believe you! Mister one is never enough. Mister I need variety in my life. You're jealous because Reid talked to another man!" Prentiss gaffawed. She laughed so hard she had to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"Shut up, Prentiss!" Morgan growled, as he headed towards the kitchen. He stormed right passed Garcia without any word play. This only made Prentiss lower her head to her desk and laugh even louder.
Garcia stormed over to Prentiss's desk and asked, "What happened to my Chocolate God? What did you do to him? He didn't even speak to me just now?" Garcia had raised her voice and put her hands on her hips as she scowled at Prentiss. This only made Prentiss laugh even harder, as she tried to catch her breath to speak.
"Well, I'm waiting! What did you do to him?" Garcia demanded again.
"Oh, God! Garcia … I need a moment … I can't breathe … just wait. Wait a moment. I need to calm down. It's nothing bad, I promise." Prentiss pleaded, earnestly.
"I'll get you some water." Garcia offered.
"No! Don't go into the kitchen! Morgan's trying to talk to Reid. I'll be alright. Let's go to your office. I'll tell you when we get there." Prentiss said, slowly calming herself down.
As soon as Garcia's door closed, Prentiss told everything. Garcia howled out loud with laughter, and Prentiss joined her full force. JJ was passing down the hallway and heard all the commotion. She knocked and opened Garcia's door, "What's going on in here?"
A few seconds later, all three ladies of the BAU were howling with laughter. As other personnel on that floor passed Garcia's office, they just shook their heads and smiled.
Morgan stomped into the kitchen and stopped abruptly. He stared at Reid, who was sitting at one of the tables … looking very relaxed … deep in thought … and smiling. Reid didn't even look up when Morgan entered the kitchen so loudly. This pissed off Morgan, even more. But he realized that if he wanted to get any information out of Reid, he couldn't approach him angrily. He didn't want to upset Reid. He wasn't angry at Reid. He was angry at Rossi. He knew he was overreacting, but too bad.
Morgan took a few deep breaths, counted to ten, and then casually walked over to the coffee maker. As he made himself a cup of coffee, he lightened up his voice, smiled, and said, "Hey, Kid! What's going on?"
Reid jumped a little because he hadn't noticed Morgan before he heard him speaking. Morgan didn't like that Reid jumped. He thought it was guilt that made Reid so jumpy.
"What?" Reid asked, as he finally looked at Morgan.
Morgan sucked in his cheeks, as he walked over to the table and sat down opposite Reid. He eye-balled Reid for a few seconds. This usually worked. Reid usually crumbled and revealed whatever Morgan wanted to know, but not this time. Reid just sat there looking at Morgan and wearing that little smile.
"I said … Hey, Kid! What's going on?" Morgan watched Reid closely. He was looking for Reid's usual fidgeting moves when he was nervous. There weren't any. This wasn't good. It wasn't that he wanted to make Reid uncomfortable. He hated when Reid was upset, embarrassed, or uncomfortable in any manner. Now, Morgan was confused. How was he going to help Reid, if Reid didn't seem to need his help. Damn that Rossi, trying to replace him.
"Nothing … Nothing's going on … Nothing at all. I'm just sitting here for a moment. I was thinking about something … that's all." Reid stated, haltingly. Suddenly, he was feeling nervous about the way Morgan was trying to stare into his soul. Morgan was trying to get him to tell him something. He didn't have anything to tell this time, except about Rossi. That was definitely NOT going to happen. He promised Rossi, and he kept his promises. Always.
"What did Rossi want? You were in his office for a while?" Morgan asked. He knew Reid was awful at lying. If he didn't find out what the truth was, he would know that Reid was lying to him. That was going to suck.
Reid frowned and stared into his coffee cup. He hated lying. He thought it was dishonourable, and beneath him. Plus, he wasn't any good at it. Reid's mouth started watering, and he made a few strong swallows. Morgan saw Reid's adam's apple bobbing up and down and knew he was going to be told a lie. Morgan sat there, determined to wait Reid out.
Rossi left his office. He stopped by Hotch's office and asked if he wanted to join him for a cup of coffee. Hotch agreed and they both made their way to the kitchen. They both noticed that the bullpen was empty. "Where is everybody?" Rossi asked. Hotch just shook his head as they continued towards the kitchen. Just before they turned into the doorway, they heard Reid's voice faltering as he said, "That's all." Rossi put his hand on Hotch's arm to stop him, and they listened for a moment. Then they heard Morgan demanding to know what Rossi had wanted, and why Reid had been in his office. Reid's continued silence bothered both Hotch and Rossi. For different reasons, of course. Rossi didn't want his private conversation revealed, and Hotch didn't want Morgan badgering Reid, if Reid didn't want to talk about it. Hotch didn't know anything about Reid talking to Rossi, and he didn't care. That wasn't the point.
"Morgan!" Hotch called out, as soon as he and Rossi entered the kitchen. This time Morgan and Reid jumped. Hotch walked right up to the table and said, "Leave Reid alone. Whatever he and Rossi discussed, didn't involve you … did it?" Hotch looked directly into Morgan's eyes as he spoke.
Now it was Morgan who's mouth watered, and who's adam's apple bobbed. He wasn't physically scared of Hotch. Hotch just had a way of putting, and keeping, everybody in their place. Stoic wasn't a strong enough word for the power Hotch wielded from within. "No, Sir." Morgan replied as he lowered his eyes from Hotch's and stood up from the table to leave.
After Morgan passed Hotch, he blatantly glared at Rossi on his way out of the kitchen. Rossi looked at Reid's saddened expression. He knew that Morgan and Reid were close. He didn't want to be the cause of any problems between the brotherly friends.
"Morgan, I was having trouble recalling certain details about that case in Buffalo, a couple of months ago. You know, the one about the UnSub who obsessed and stalked all of his victims. Reid's perfect recall helped me out a lot, but I need a little more help with comprehending the true depths of that UnSub's obsessions. I'm giving a lecture in two months, and thought that case would cover a lot of ground for the students." Rossi said, as Morgan dropped his glare. Hotch continued making his coffee. And Reid looked so thoroughly grateful for Rossi's capacity to lie, when needed.
"Sure, Rossi. Whenever you're ready, just let me know. That UnSub really was a classic example of how wide a range obsessions cover." Morgan said, happily. He was so glad that was what Reid and Rossi had been talking about. And only that. He still had his little brother that would come to him. "Sorry about that, Pretty Boy. I can't believe I felt so left out and jealous. I like being your big brother, the one you go to for help. Are we cool?" Morgan said, earnestly.
Reid thought it was funny that Morgan was clueless to the fact that Rossi had lied. He was so grateful that Morgan was satisfied and wouldn't be harassing him about it anymore. "Of course, we're cool!" Reid replied, grinning widely. Thank goodness he and Rossi would be meeting only after hours at Rossi's house. He really didn't like being the cause of Morgan's anxiety, or anger. He appreciated how Morgan looked out for him. He appreciated it very much.
A/N: The next chapter will be December 31st. Don't worry details will be revealed about Rossi's private matter. Please leave me a review and tell me how I did writing Rossi's and Reid's characters. And tell me what you think about this story as a whole. Thank you.