The End and What It's Worth- Chapter 8

Second Strike

"...............darn. I'm still pushing myself to write this. I'm SO close to just deleting it..........Please R&R and tell me what u think......"

Garcia smiled as her team gathered around her- everyone except Hotch, that is. "Is he still missing?" Garcia asked. The team nodded.

"Are you sure you didn't get a look at the UnSub?" Prentiss asked.

"No, I didn't see Foyet." Garcia answered.

"I didn't, either." Reid said- the first thing she had heard Reid say since they had entered the hospital.

"Are you okay, Reid?" she asked. Reid nodded. But truth be told, he wasn't okay. His head and heart were pounding, he felt nauseated, and was afraid that he'd pass out any minute. He had thought he'd done a good job at hiding it, but apparently he was a worse actor than he thought he was.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Reid mumbled- suddenly feeling very tired. Morgan put a hand on Reid's shoulder- steadying his young colleague. Unfortunately, that didn't help much. Reid collapsed on to the ground- just in time for Morgan to grab Reid's head before hitting the floor.

"Reid!"Morgan shouted. But Reid didn't answer. "damn it." he mumbled.

"Well, at least we're in a hospital this time." Garcia mumbled.

"We need some help in here!" Prentiss shouted..........

Morgan and Prentiss were ordered by Rossi to search Reid's apartment in hope that the UnSub had poisoned him there, and had left something they could track him by. Morgan pulled out his spare key to the apartment, and opened the door. Prentiss and Morgan walked in, and immediately dropped their jaws. "Wow- that's A LOT of books." Prentiss said.

"What did you expect- its Reid?" Morgan smirked. Reid's apartment was small. The living room was about ΒΌ of a regular room, and was connected to the kitchen- which was even smaller. The kitchen was clean, and a small stove that looked like it hadn't been used in a while, a microwave, and a sink. Everything was very clean- even Adrian Monk would approve of it!the hall way was about a foot long- if not smaller. There was a small room that looked like it was originally a bathroom due to the duck wallpaper, a few odd tubes, and the tiled floor- considering the rest of the house was either wood or carpet. Now, the room was full of books scattered on the floor and book selves- along with a desk- which had books piled on top of it. Reid's bedroom also had a book shelf- but it was much smaller. There was a king-sized bed in the middle of the room with a bed desk on either side of the bed, and a small lamp on top of each. So far, no sign that the UnSub- or Foyet- had been there. In fact, it looked like it had been a while since ANYONE had been in Reid's apartment for a while!

"Damn- this is one strange place." Prentiss mumbled.

"What do you mean by that?" Morgan asked.

"Well, it's just so..........neat. And organized. It's the complete opposite of his desk!" Prentiss explained. Morgan laughed.

"I don't know about that- in every room I've been in, I found a cup of coffee." Prentiss smiled.

"And it's not like he's here much. Half the time he's on a case, or at the BAU reading at his desk. You know, when I first got here, I was beginning to think he lived at work!"

"I've known Reid a while, and trust me when I say he's changed- a lot."

"What do you mean?" Prentiss asked- curious. Morgan sat down the book he was looking at, and gave his attention to Prentiss.

"This job changes us- makes us different. Reid's no exception. He used to leave the BAU when every one else would, he used to be even more shy and unsocial. He was from Vegas, man. He lived with his schizophrenic mother." Prentiss still looked confused. Morgan rolled his eyes, and explained it more bluntly. "Reid used to be this sweet innocent little boy with a book in his hands 24/7. and now? Now he's a FBI agent who's shot some one dead before. He jumped from two different lives the day he walked in to the BAU. This evil we see? It makes us different. And god, I just hope that kid doesn't come as desensitized to it as I have." Morgan explained. Prentiss nodded- understanding.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." she mumbled.

"I don't think there's anything here." Morgan said.

"I agree. Let's get out of here- it feels like I'm invading Reid's personal space." Morgan laughed.

"Well, he should be used to it by now. He's a FBI profiler-and even though we have a no profiling rule for the team, EVERYONE has broken it." he laughed. Prentiss offered Morgan a slight smile.

"Well, with the exception of Garcia." Morgan nodded.

"Alright- you got me there." With that, he turned to open the door, but Prentiss stopped him.

"Wait- do you smell that?" she asked.

"Smell what?" But Morgan never did have the chance to answer. Because before they knew it, Morgan and Prentiss were knocked out cold and being dragged from Reid's apartment...........

"..............sorry its so short! And expect either very short chaps or less frequent updates come September! Please R&R!"