With help from Hotch and the nurse, Reid was able to change into some of the clothes Garcia brought him. He was thankful she was thoughtful enough to not only bring something to change into, but multiple options of soft clothing. Reid layered up with sweat pants, a long sleeved shirt, and an oversized sweatshirt. Everything had to be covered, even his feet which he dressed with a pair of mix matched socks and his Converse shoes.

Despite the fresh clothes, Reid's skin is still crawling. He is in desperate need of a shower. It will take ages to wash every feeling off of him. Rossi had told him he was free to use the shower or anything in the house for that matter, once they got back.

Before leaving the hospital, the doctor gave Reid a prescription of Valium.

"It will help you stay calm," she said.

As he took the bottle, Reid looked at Hotch. He could tell by the look on his boss' face that was worried about the same thing; that his drug addiction will come back.

"I don't have to take it," Reid whispered once the doctor had left.

"You'll be fine. I trust you."

Once he was finally cleared to leave Hotch drove Reid and Rossi to the senior profiler's home. Hotch helps Reid get inside, leaving Rossi to take care of what little luggage he had. "There will be an agent outside on watch," Hotch says to Reid as they walk inside. "And Dave will be here, of course. You're going to be fine."

"Okay."

"And you can call or text me at any time."

"Okay."

Hotch stares at Reid for a moment. He can feel himself starting to tear up. He knows they are lucky to even get Reid back alive, but seeing him in such pain from both the physical and emotional trauma is far too difficult. Despite himself, Hotch hugs Reid.

"You're going to be fine, Spencer" he says again, partly to reassure himself.

"I know."

"Try to get some sleep."

"I know. I will." Reid pulls himself away from the embrace. "I think I'm going to go shower now."

"Alright. Good night, Spencer. I'll check in on you in the morning."

"Yeah. Night."

Rossi and Hotch watch as the young agent disappears up the stairs. "How do you think he seems?" Rossi asks.

"I don't think he's realized it all yet," Hotch answers. "At least not the full gravity of it. I'm afraid for when it starts sinking in."

"Are you afraid of having him stay here with me?"

Hotch frown. "No. Why?"

"You seem like you don't want to leave him. Is that because you're just afraid for him or that you don't trust me to take care of him?"

"Dave," Hotch says, his tone serious, "I would trust not only my life but everyone on the teams' life with you. I know that you're not going to let anyone hurt Reid, and I don't believe you have any fault in what happened to him, in case you are getting at that too. But I've seen him get hurt so many times in the past years I've known him. I've actually watched him die, and there was nothing I could do about it. He's been through so much already and he's not even thirty yet. I don't know how much more he's going to be able to take before we lose him."

Hotch's voice cracks with emotion, and Rossi knows better than to interrupt him. "A few years ago, after he was taken by one of the killers we were looking for, he started a drug addiction."

Rossi nods. He knows this, at least part of the story. Both Reid and Hotch and briefly mentioned what happened in the shed before, but neither went into great detail. It was Reid who brought up the addiction in a vague offhand comment during an investigation, and Rossi was able to fill in the rest on his own.

"What if he starts again?" Hotch asks with genuine concern. He seems borderline hopeless.

"We'll get him help."

"What if it's not enough anymore? What if he can't do this again?"

"Aaron," Rossi says. "I know you won't allow that to happen. I won't either. None of us will."

Hotch wipes a stray tear from his eye. "Right."

"We will find this son of a bitch, and when we do we will make him pay."

"You know that there's no way Strauss is letting us back on the case."

"She'll have to," Rossi says. "I'm not going to give her any other option?"

"But who is going to watch Reid then?"

"Aaron, don't worry. He will be perfectly safe here."

"What if that man comes here?" Hotch asks.

"Easy. I'll kill him."

Reid sits on the floor of the shower. The water was turned to as hot has he could bear, and already his skin has changed to a fuming red. He watches the water drip from his body and run through the cracks of the shower in paled pink streams. There is so much blood everywhere, so much so that the even the doctor who examined him was alarmed. It will take some work to get rid of it all, and Reid isn't sure if he is up to the challenge. Walking up the stairs to the bathroom was painful enough. Reid briefly considered asking Rossi for help, but he has already had his fare share of embarrassment for the day.

The water falls down onto his head, trickling over the stitches. It's incredibly irritating. Just knowing of their existence annoys Reid. He would tear them out right there if he could. Reid imagines himself picking out each and every one of them until his scalp begins to unravel like a sweater. His brains would fall onto the tile in a pink sloppy mess. No more itching and no more thinking. That would be the end of it.

Reid tilts his face up towards the water. Despite the medication he was given at the hospital, his injuries still sting quite badly. He has yet to look at himself in the mirror. He avoided looking at the large one that hung against the wall out of fear of what he would see. Judging by some of the reactions his teammates had, it must be bad.

Ten minutes have passed, and Reid has yet to move. Rossi would be worrying soon, if he has not started to already. Reid cannot take the risk of him breaking down the door and seeing him like this.

With a sigh, the young agent reaches up and takes a fresh bar of soap from a small ledge. He begins scrubbing away at his body. He works hard to remove as much of his skin as possible. New skin, new start. Everything must be washed away.

After the hot shower, Reid changes back into the clothes Garcia had brought him. The fabric of the sleeves clings a little too tightly to his arms. Reid picks at the material, agitated. Everything is too close.

As Reid exits the bathroom, he sees Rossi in the hall, standing and waiting for him. He stands in place, unsure of what the older agent is expecting from him.

"How are you feeling?" Rossi asks.

"Fine." This is at least the tenth time he has been asked within last few hours, and each time it has been the same answer. There is nothing more he can say.

Rossi eyes his friend. Ever since his return, Reid seems like he has been trying to avoid him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Reid replies. His eyes dart around, focusing from the floor to the walls. For some reason he is starting to feel nervous. "I-I think I'm going to bed now."

"Alright. I'll check in on you around two."

Reid frowns. "I'm fine."

"For your head," Rossi says. "The doctor gave orders to make sure your concussion is okay."

"Oh. Okay then."

The conversation pauses. Reid glances at the guest bedroom door. He is tired and ready to sleep, but still he hesitates.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Rossi asks.

"Yeah." Reid picks at the edge of his sleeve. "I'm good. It's just… I-."

"What's wrong, Spencer?"

"Nothing!" Reid exclaims, shaking his head. "I'm going to bed. Thanks for letting me stay here."

"It's no problem, ki-," Rossi begins to say, but then he catches himself. "I'll see you in a few hours. Let me know if you need anything before that."

"I will."

Without saying another word, Reid disappears into the guest bedroom. Rossi sighs. This is going to be a long night.

Strauss had not gone with the team to the hospital. As soon as she saw that Reid was safely taken away in the ambulance she got right back to work. It was not an easy decision switching teams, not when the first is the best they have, but in the end Strauss knew she that had no other choice. Hotchner's team was good, but it would be far too difficult for them to concentrate on the case, especially not that Reid is back in their care. They were worn down and pushed to their limits. There was little more they could do. The clock still ticks and there is no time to wait. Not when the unsub is still out there.

As she walks through the bullpen, a member of the newly assigned team stops her. "There is still a man in the interrogation room," the agent says.

Strauss scowls. She had forgotten about Lastine. "Still?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You would think he would have the common sense to call a lawyer by now," Strauss says, shaking her head. "Let him loose."

"Are you sure? Don't you think he could be any help?"

"I don't have the time or the patience to deal with that creep right now. He did not know anything about what happened to Agent Reid. I don't think he will be of any use."

"But the unsub did say he met Rossi at several lectures," the agent says. "It could have been at one of the professors. I can run Reid's description of the unsub by him and see if anyone comes to mind."

"Fine," Strauss says as she moves past the agent. "See if you can get anything useful out of him, and then let him go."

Rossi woke at two in the morning to the sound of his alarm going off. He was able to get a few hours of sleep before. Hopefully Reid has managed the same.

After a moment of hesitation, Rossi lightly raps on the door to the guest bedroom. There is no reply. Reid must be sleeping, he reasons. It will be a shame to wake him; he deserves the rest. With a sigh, Rossi slowly turns the knob and pushes open the door. He walks inside, careful to keep his steps as quiet as possible. As he approaches the bed he realizes that Reid is still very much awake. There is a faint sniffling sound coming from him.

"Spencer?"

Rossi reaches for the bedside lamp and turns it on. Reid has pulls the covers up closer to his face to help shield his eyes from the sudden change in light. "What?" he mumbles.

"I need to check you-."

"I'm fine."

"I know," Rossi says. "You've said so plenty of times. But I still have to. Hotch's orders."

Reid sighs loudly and pulls the covers back down. "I'm okay. Really."

"Did you get to sleep at all?"

"No," Reid replies weakly. "I can't."

"Did you take the medicine?"

"No, but-."

"Spencer, the doctor said that you-."

"Suggested," Reid cuts in. "She suggested it."

Rossi resists the urge to sigh. "Aren't you in pain?"

"I'm fine."

"You'll feel better if you do. You may even be able to sleep."

Reid bites his lower lip as he thinks this over. A spurt of metallic taste hits his tongue. He's bleeding again. He can't get away from it. "It's not that," Reid says quietly.

Rossi waits patiently for him to finish. Reid is quickly feeling overwhelmed again. He can't get past the taste of blood in his mouth. It's making it too difficult to talk. Unwanted tears begin to trickle down Reid's face. The dull pounding continues in his brain, keeping in time with his heartbeat. He looks at the ignored pills sitting on the bedside table. For a moment they almost seem worth the risk.

"Would you feel better if I left?" Rossi asks.

Reid's quiet tears breaks out into a full out sob. He shakes his head as he buries his face into the covers. He is so tired of crying, but there is no use trying to stop it any longer. There is no energy left for it. Rossi hurries over and kneels beside Reid. He places a hand on the younger agent's shoulder, but Reid immediately cringes.

"I'm sorry," Reid apologizes, his voice muffled by the comforter. "I d-don't mean to. I… I don't want to go to sleep."

Rossi frowns. "Why not?"

"I can't."

"You need to rest."

"But what if he comes back?" Reid asks quietly."

"Spencer-."

"He already knew how to find me. He can do it again. And he wants to talk to you, so he probably knows where you live."

"Will you feel safer somewhere else?"

Reid shakes his head.

"Strauss has someone outside," Rossi tries to reassure him. "And you know that I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again."

"But what if he already got inside before we came here?"

"He didn't."

"You don't know that."

"I always leave the house completely locked up. Even if he did somehow manage to get in here, I'd kill him before he'd do anything."

Reid sniffles. He wants to argue more, but decides against it.

"Here," Rossi says as he rises from the floor. "Let's get you cleaned up and settled down before you sleep."

Rossi leaves the room for a few minutes, and while he waits the anxiety inside Reid begins to grow. He looks over at the window. Outside, branches from the tall oak outside brush up against the glass. Reid has the sudden urge to get up and look out. There is something more than the tree on the outside; he can feel it.

With some struggle Reid manages to pull himself up. He slowly makes his way towards the window. The goal is to be done by the time Rossi gets back from wherever he had gone. He would likely not approve of Reid being up and around. Gritting his teeth, Reid rests his hands against the window pane and presses his forehead up against the glass. Its coolness is oddly comforting. He looks down below into the dark night. His eyes focus intently on the ground, searching for any signs of life. Reid holds his breath. A part of him is expecting to see his captor standing there out in the open, watching and waiting for him. But there is no one there.

"Spencer?"

Reid does not answer. He keeps his head pressed up again the glass, still searching.

"Spencer," Rossi repeats gently. In his hands are a dampened washcloth and a glass of water. He walks over and places the items on the bedside table. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm just checking."

Sighing, Rossi joins Reid at the window. "He's not out there, kid."

Reid glances over at the older agent.

"Spencer," he quickly corrects. "Sorry."

"You don't know that."

"I do. You have to trust me on this, Reid. He's not going to hurt you again. Now, come on." Rossi gently takes Reid's arm and begins to lead him back towards the bed. "You need to sleep."

"I can't." With some help, Reid lies back down in the bed. The process is painful, but it is more comfortable than standing. Rossi pulls the covers back over him.

"Try."

"No."

Rossi smiles. "I don't remember you sassing back before."

"I-I'm not trying to!"

"Spencer, calm down," Rossi says. He takes the washcloth and uses it to wash Reid's tear stained face, being careful around the bruised areas. Despite himself Reid begins to relax.

"You should take the medicine."

"I don't want to."

"I know. But you'll feel better if you do."

Reid looks at the pills. At this point, the ongoing battle is making his head hurt worse. No matter the outcome he will lose. "Fine," Reid mumbles. He reaches out for the pills, but Rossi gets to them first.

"Don't move."

"I'm not helpless you know," Reid says, scowling. "I can do things on my own."

Rossi hands him the pills along with the glass of water. "Of course." He watches Reid closely to make sure he actually keeps down the Valium. "You know," he continues to say, "if you think I'm being bad, you better start preparing yourself for when the others start their smothering. Penelope is dying to get her hands on you."

"I'm not a child."

"I know, and they know that too."

Reid's thoughts go back to the darkroom where his captor's thoughts continue to echo through his mind. The tears make another appearance and this time he doesn't even try to stop them."Right."

Rossi frowns. "Reid? What's wrong?"

"I-I just don't want… Nothing." Reid pulls the blankets up further and tightly wraps himself into them. "I don't want to talk about it."

A moment of silence passes through the room. Rossi remains kneeling by the bed, watching his friend closely. Reid stares blankly at the wall. He is far too lost in his thoughts now. It's been enough for the night. "Well," Rossi says as he rises from the floor, "I guess I should let you get some sleep now. Goodnight, Spencer."

Just as he is about to reach the door, Rossi is stopped.

"Wait!" Reid exclaims. The young agent pauses, feeling taken aback by his own sudden outburst. Then he weakly adds, "Can you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?"

"I… Are you sure?"

"I-I don't want to be alone."

The tone of Reid's voice makes him sound childish, almost pathetic. Even if he wanted to Rossi wouldn't have been able to say no. "If that's what will make you feel better."

Reid sniffles and nods. "Just until I fall asleep," he repeats.

Yeah, hi. I apologize for taking so long to update. This month has been difficult on me, and writing content/themes for this story isn't making it any easier. I'll try to make the next update sooner and hopefully longer. Thank you again to everyone who has read and reviewed! It really means a lot.