I think the title was inspired by a CM ep... the problem is that I wanna go watch it now! :L this one WILL be the final chapter. I think this chapter is possibly the longest I have ever taken to plan... as there were a lot of things I had to put in this thirteenth instalment. XD
This may be a bit OOC, because I haven't written Rossi ever (plus I don't really like him) and have barely written Hotch, Prentiss or JJ. I think my Garcia and Morgan are fine though, because I'm used to using them in my drabbles. XD
Chapter 13- Homecoming
Reid was dreading going back to the BAU; he was especially dreading the questions they would ask him. They were profilers, so it would be hard to lie to them- this was the worst part. Worse than being attacked b y a Ghoul and Demon combined. Even worse than being chased down an alley-way by a hoard of angry... you get the idea. It would not be the best thing Reid would have to go through. His team wanted to know everything, their concern was endearing and infuriating at the same time.
Reid had set everything straight before he even had to get to work. He had called everyone saying he would be coming to work, and would not need a lift (Morgan had asked, probably wanting to question him first). He had told Hotch that he would be out of the field for weeks and would explain in detail what really happened when he got there.
Reid was on time when he got to work the first day (he had planned to be early but it was hard with crutches at the best of times). He awkwardly adjusted his bag (a nervous habit he had) as he travelled up the lift. Carefully he tried to brush his hair over the cut over one side of his face. There was not enough to cover it up, as it did look a lot worse than it actually was. The problem was since Dean and Sam had pushed him in that chair to have a hair cut his hair was too short, and barely covered any of it.
As the bell chimed Reid stepped out, adjusting his crutches and still cursing himself for needing them once again... Although last time it was this side of his life, not the side with Dean and Sammy (yes, he picked up that from Dean). At least it was the other leg- was he trying to even it up?
He was really dreading walking to his desk, where everyone was probably waiting, but it had to be done at some time, and it was pretty much now or never. As Reid had already missed quite a lot of work without a proper explanation, he hadn't even seen any of the team- which was quite out of character for him especially. Except from calling them, they hadn't heard from him properly for quite a while. They had no idea what state he was coming back in. Reid supposed they thought he would be a bit banged up... this was probably a bit worse.
The call to Hotch might have made them worry more, making them think he could be in worse shape than they'd originally thought...
Reid quietly made his way towards the coffee machine, trying to avoid attention even though he was on crutches and sticking out like a sore thumb. He knew keeping a low profile wouldn't last long, as Garcia was probably at her computers keeping track of when Reid would get inside so she could envelope him in a hug. But this was not his morning and it wasn't meant to be...
As Morgan had already spotted him- and it was only time until the vultures appeared to take him apart..."Hey, Pretty Boy! Your back!" Morgan cried making his way over to Reid. Reid turned slightly trying to hide the right side of his face in shadow. "What happened?" Morgan asked genially worried as he looked at the state of Reid.
Reid sighed in exasperation, he knew he would be asked that question today and it wasn't even lunchtime... "I fell out of a window after a bar fight, it was a higher story so it didn't end that well," Reid explained making his way to the coffee machine and hastily preparing a cup and adding as much sugar as he would probably need. Plus the fact Sam and Dean hadn't let him have much caffeine because apparently it made him 'a right pain in the arse'. It was more like he was adding coffee to the sugar, than the other way round and for once Reid thought he deserved doing things the way he wanted. At least Morgan was being quiet so Reid didn't manage to burn himself.
Morgan spluttered something, probably complaining about the coffee consumption... Reid just turned and glared at Morgan, stopping suddenly as he saw Morgan's face. "Your face man," Morgan stated, the emotion obvious from his voice.
Morgan grabbed Reid and gently turned him so he was facing the light. "No kidding them, I knew Hotch was worried about you," Morgan murmured, making Reid feel quite guilty. Morgan stared at the series of cuts covering part of Reid's face and peered at the stitches right at the epi-centre of the wound.
Reid flinched away slightly and wormed away from Morgan picking up his drink, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. "I should go tell Hotch that I'm back," Reid stated taking a tentative step away from Morgan.
Reid waited a few minutes, finishing off his drink and placing it on his desk. He wanted to wait for Hotch to call him up there, but he doubted that that would happen soon. Hotch wasn't the type to peer from his blinds down at them. Reid hesitantly made his way up to Hotch's office, passing a rather startled Prentiss who was looking at him oddly, she was about to ask him something but Reid tapped on the door.
After a few seconds Hotch called from him to enter and Reid did so, glancing back across the bull-pin where Morgan was in deep conversation with JJ. Hotch continued writing notes on the open file before him and Reid awkwardly cleared his throat, hating the tension that the silence was causing.
Hotch glanced up, realising that it was Reid standing there and he began to frown slightly. "Are you okay?" he asked peering at Reid with slight concern. Apparently that phrase was the only one people could come up with... or maybe they had agreed on it earlier.
Reid nodded and smiled hesitantly. "Yeah, I'm fine," he explained moving uncomfortably to place more weight onto his other leg.
Hotch sighed, clearly disbelieving Reid. "What happened?" he inquired looking at every aspect of Reid's attire and stance. It was definitely more original than the first question.
Reid shifted uncomfortably under the gaze and fiddled with the cuff of his shirt. Unsure of what he should tell Hotch at this point. "Sam did call you, but he wasn't really being very helpful. We were involved in a bar fight... and I was chucked out of the window in the process," Reid explained meeting Hotch's gaze and pretending that he felt guilty for making the team feel this worried. Reid shifted his weight onto the crutches and cringed as his hip banged slightly against them.
Hotch glanced at him sighing slightly, probably worried about Reid being such a danger-magnet. Hotch motioned for Reid to sit, and he did so quickly, obviously tired for standing up for so long. "Maybe you have the wrong group of friends," he began glancing at Reid and noticing Reid's irritated and annoyed reaction at that statement. "I did not expect this from you Reid," he finished, believing the story hook line and sinker, as Reid looked so upset and concerned even though he was the hurt one.
Reid sighed and looked at Hotch. "I'm sorry I disappointed you Hotch. But it wasn't my fault. I was just trying to help Sammy. They were quite drunk... as was I. I don't think we were thinking straight," Reid explained looking rather embarrassed with his made-up story.
Hotch just raised an eyebrow, surprised that Reid had got drunk and involved in a fight. But it was just like Reid to try and help others. Anyway, their private lives were kept private so he couldn't even guess what Reid was like out of this job. Maybe he was more social with people he had known for longer? These two men, Sam and the other one, certainly sounded like very close friends. Maybe that was why he could have more fun and open up more to them. It was good he had someone like that to talk to. This job drained a person and it was often quite hard to sustain good friends. Even if they got him involved in a fight- they were still friends and that was all that really mattered. Well; sort of.
Hotch nodded, accepting Reid's explanation and stood up walking over to the door. He turned back before he opened it and addressed Reid. "At least you won. You will be doing strictly paperwork until you can go back on the field, and try not to annoy Garcia this time," Hotch explained slowly pushing the door open and watching as Reid made his steady way back to his desk.
Rossi was standing at the bottom of the ramp and was peering at Reid. "Next time you're in a bar fight, don't stand by a window, it isn't the wisest choice," he murmured making Reid blush slightly and continue on his way to his desk. Rossi had probably been listening in, either that or the walls were really that thin.
As Reid made his way back he knew that Rossi was probably watching him go, he was probably going to talk to Hotch about what he had noticed... Plus, he was probably just checking to make sure Reid was okay. Yes, Rossi barely showed much emotion towards the rest of the team but he was still human, and still felt concern for them even if he didn't show it.
As soon as Reid was close to his desk Prentiss and JJ swarmed around him, prodding and muttering random comments. Suddenly Garcia burst into the group from out of nowhere, enveloping Reid in a hug. "Oh, my poor baby. Who did this? I will get my revenge!" Garcia stated beckoning the others to join the hug.
Prentiss just shook her head slowly looking at Reid who looked really uncomfortable and was giving seething glances at Morgan who was laughing a few feet away. "Garcia... ow," Reid grumbled and he was pushed carefully into his chair, the whole group crowding around him.
"So... tell me, what happened?" Garcia inquired looking at Reid protectively and sitting as closely as possible. Reid had missed this (sort of) he had missed the bold colour, the way JJ was standing there looking at him as if any second he would break. He liked the way Prentiss was peering at him closely trying to work out where he had been...
Reid sighed and leant back a little bit further in his chair. "It's kind of hard to explain," he stated looking around at the three women who would now invading his personal space.
Prentiss sighed and glanced at Morgan. "Was it a bar fight after Morgan was texting you?" she asked glancing at Reid who nodded slightly and glanced back at Morgan.
Reid shifted uncomfortably in his chair and wished that he had more coffee or something to fiddle with, as he was unsure whether these lies would be seen through. He really hoped that- he really didn't want to live a hunter's hectic lifestyle. "Wait, you say you were drunk, but you didn't sound it," Morgan stated grabbing Reid's attention as he slowly walked forward and leant on the partition.
Reid sighed and looked at Morgan sceptically. "When you're drunk your texts make no sense. But mine always do... I don't ever misspell. You need to understand- don't ever trust the text message Morgan," Reid began looking across at Morgan, a small smile on his face. "Plus, my bad texting is just before I pass out, and that's statistics or some random facts about something... that was embracing..."Reid murmured rambling off before he gave away too much information. The others in the circle looked at Reid and tried not to laugh at that. The fact that Reid would ramble statistics was totally plausible and something they found quite funny.
Suddenly Reid blushed and looked at the others. "That only happened twice. Sammy thought it was adorable and Dean sent it to everyone who knew me..." he stated looking slightly awkward. Then Reid chuckled slightly, remembering what people had asked him after that night. Not cool...
Then Garcia came into his line of sight, she carefully touched the stitching on Reid's face and saw the confusion spread on Reid's face. "Is my baby boy okay?" she asked worriedly trying not to hug him this time.
Reid just smiled back up at her and patted her hand gently. "I'm okay, honest," he replied looking intently at Morgan. "Morgan," he drawled. "Can you get me some coffee?" he asked, liking the way that Garcia would probably force Morgan to get him some.
In a matter of seconds Garcia was pointing Morgan in the direction of the machine telling him to "Add as much sugar as coffee, then add bit more," she explained turning back to Reid as if Morgan shouldn't even try to get his way out of this one.
In a matter of seconds Morgan huffed and made his way over to get Reid's drink. "Do you know who did this?" JJ asked looking at the crutches and looking back at Reid's face.
Reid just frowned and looked back at her. "I'm not really sure, I was in-front of Sammy, and then I was flying backward out the window!" Reid stated, changing the story so he wouldn't have to be forced to recount it later. As he knew that they would probably want to find the culprit, and this way they would let it go in time.
Garcia nodded slightly. "Do you want me to find out? I can find cameras anywhere," she asked looking imploringly at Reid, hoping to blame this on someone. Reid just frowned and shook his head.
Then Morgan reappeared placing the coffee down, which Reid immediately picked up. "Before you ask I was with my two close friends Dean and Sammy," Reid explained answering the question before it even was said by Prentiss.
Garcia sighed and looked at Reid, guessing that he wasn't going to tell her any more about these mysterious men. "Why didn't you come home?" she asked calmly watching Reid as he took a long swig of his drink.
Reid sighed contently and grinned across at Morgan, thankful for this drink. "Well, they felt responsible, so they wanted me to stay until I could walk in a straight line without bumping into things," Reid explained already downing half of his coffee, a smile now plastered on his face.
Garcia seemed content with that answer until she realised that Reid would be staying behind with her while the others were on a case. She sighed remembering last time and how much he had got on her nerves. But it was fun last time though; all that she managed to teach him... the prank they had pulled on Morgan...
They continued to ask questions for a few minutes longer, and finally broke away to finish their work when Hotch reappeared and told them to leave Reid alone.
Morgan had been checking up on him constantly, and Prentiss didn't add any folders to his pile, this time she actually took some. JJ was constantly there being her normal friendly self, cheering him up with little stories about Henry and what happened over her few days off. Rossi had been passed him more times than usual, and Reid had caught Hotch peering through the window looking directly at him. Then there was Garcia and her sweets, she had given him a box of cookies and a few lollies, and even piled a few fuzzy toys onto his desk.
Reid smiled at lunchtime when the called buzzed up on his mobile, he looked down at it and accepted it grinning profusely.
"Hey Dean," he stated smiling as he picked up another cookie and listened to the ramblings on the other end of the line. "No, I haven't changed my voicemail, and I am not using my nickname dumbass," Reid answered. "I am not telling people to call me 'Spency'," Reid continued.
He glanced around his desk and could see Morgan looking at him strangely. 'Spency' Morgan mouthed chuckling slightly to himself.
Reid just sighed and stood up, hoping to find a more private location. "So... where are you now..." he asked.
Reid never wanted the team to know unless it was vital. Even though one day they would probably find out. But today is definitely not the day. Reid would much rather do it on his own terms; not theirs. And even if they sometimes manage to doubt him at times. They are way too trusting to work out this side of his life is built up of lies.
But Reid was looking forward to being with the Winchesters -his brothers- again soon...
My hand hurts... 2'835 words... I wonder why?
I actually feel really sad now this is done with...
By the way, there will be a prequel with the BAU's side (inspired by Loopyloo720 who wanted their side of the phone call). As well as different stories about how the team find out. (There will a Garcia one really soon!)
Keep posted! And thankx so much for sticking by this.
Please review and tell me what you thought.