A/N: (chuckles) After reading through your reviews and doing some soul-searching, I decided that perhaps this story needs to continue. What do you say if I made a five shot out of this?
Before letting you get to the second chapter… THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for all those incredibly inspiring reviews! You've done miracles to my inspiration, so thank you! (hugs)
Awkay. (takes a deep breath) Let's get on with the story, shall we? I really hope you'll enjoy the ride!
CHAPTER 1: Damages
One Month Later
Reid had always hated the medical inspections that were a necessary yet very unpleasant part of his job. He rarely got any lectures from the doctor, though. His heart and lungs were fine, his eyesight and hearing left nothing to be desired. (They were happy as long as he swore to use contacts or glasses whenever necessary.) His bloodwork also always came back okay (what now his hemoglobin was a bit on the lower side). The one thing doctors always complained about was his weight, which – as he was willing to admit – could've been several pounds more. There was no use in trying to explain that no matter how much he ate he just couldn't put any 'flesh on his bones', as one doctor put it.
This time, however, weighing wasn't Reid's greatest concern. He swallowed thickly as the rather young female doctor with long, neatly tied red hair and brown, eye-glass covered eyes wrote down something before focusing on him. "I'm sure you know how this goes, Dr. Reid." Without a doubt seeing the look in his eyes and misreading the reason she tried to hide a smile. "Trust me, you won't be able to show me anything I haven't seen before."
Reid took a deep breath and wasted a moment on praying that something would stop this before surrendering under his fate. His movements slow and awkward, he started getting undressed.
Before this inevitable moment Reid had been hoping – quite childishly – that the doctor would be too busy or uncaring to notice what he'd fought to hide. He didn't have such luck, not with Dr. Prue Thompson. The frown on her face grew deeper and deeper as her eyes scanned through the bruises on his bare upper body. There was one decorating the left side of his chest (from a harsh shove that'd sent him against the wall), another two even less subtle ones glowing on the pale skin of his side and stomach (from kicks that'd left him breathless for several moments) and some more bruising circling his left arm, right below elbow (from when Lucas had held him and begged him not to leave).
Time stood as Dr. Thompson stared, then looked up at his face from which he'd been careful to hide the traces of damage. "Have you… had a harsh mission recently?"
Reid was almost ridiculously relieved about the loophole. He tried to smile and nodded, slightly more eagerly than he'd meant to. Sometimes he forgot how careful he had to be, how fragile the disguise around his secret was. "I attract psychopaths, I guess."
Dr. Thompson nodded slowly, and even with the best of wills he couldn't tell her if she believed him or not. He'd always been a bad liar. "Have you been examined afterwards? I'm worried about the chance of fractured or broken bones."
"I'm fine", he assured her quickly, praying that this torture would be over soon. "They don't even hurt anymore." It was a lie, and he was much too sure neither bought it.
Dr. Thompson looked at him for a couple of moments, then took a hold of her stethoscope. "Let me listen to your breathing, okay?"
Feeling wary and self-conscious Reid leaned forward reluctantly. He was much too aware of the bruises marring his back. And sure enough the other doctor surveyed the damage for a mighty while before starting her work.
After much too long Dr. Thompson was finally finished. Reid observed her like a wild animal keeping an eye on a possible predator as she made her way to her desk. "I don't think you have any broken ribs and your breathing's fine, but that bruising looks pretty nasty. If you have difficulties with breathing go to a doctor right away, understood?" Receiving a slightly guarded nod from him she started typing something to her computer. "I'm giving you a prescription for some painkillers, because I don't believe you're not in any pain." As soon as she handed the prescription to Reid and he accepted it he knew he'd never take that medication. It'd only cause problems.
For the rest of the appointment Reid felt detached, like it'd been somebody else's body Dr. Thompson examined, like it'd been someone else answering to her endless questions.
And then it was over. As soon as he had the permission to Reid got dressed properly, grabbed his bag and all but dashed towards the door.
Just before he made it out and to safety Dr. Thompson spoke once more. "Oh, and Dr. Reid?" Her eyes were very serious. "Be careful. You're one of my favorite patients. I'd hate to see even more bruises on you."
Once more Reid fought to maintain a relatively happy expression as he waved a bit, then escaped from the office.
Ever since the beginning of his career Hotch had been quick to answer his phone. He made no exception that Tuesday afternoon. "Yes?"
"You've asked me report if I have any… concerns regarding one of your team-members." Dr. Thompson's voice was stiff, gave him a warning long before the words. "I can't tell you anything about what I've seen or heard in my office. But… Lately, I've been paying attention to Dr. Reid. Based on what I've put together, I'd say it's wise to keep a closer eye on him, for now."
Hotch's blood ran cold, and he wrapped one arm around himself while his expression darkened. "I see."
"I just thought you'd like to know. I know how much you care about your team."
Hotch finished the phone-call, then drifted deep into his thoughts while staring at the opposite wall of his office like it'd been the soul cause of all his troubles.
What, exactly, had Reid gotten himself into? And how deep into the mess had the youngest member of his team fallen?
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock. Only years of experience on liars hinted Hotch that there was something wrong with the look in Reid's eyes as the young man entered. "I took care of the paperwork", the younger man explained, showing him a file.
Hotch blinked once, then accepted the offering with a nod of appreciation. "We only just came home from the mission yesterday", he pointed out. "It could've waited."
Reid's smile was skillfully created, but not quite enough. "I just… needed something for my head to work on."
Hotch didn't know how to comment that, how to voice his thoughts without startling the young genius even deeper into his shell. And so he squeezed his mouth into a tight line, watching as Reid prepared to leave.
Just before the younger man left he spoke. "Reid." He waited until the brunet turned towards him. "If there's anything wrong, at all, you can tell me. You know that, right?"
The look that appeared to Reid's face was almost enough to fool him. Almost. "Why would anything be wrong?" The young man waved curtly. "See you tomorrow." In a matter of seconds the door opened and closed between them.
Looking at the closed door Hotch breathed in deeply, his eyes darkening.
He'd always relied on his instincts. Today he hated the fact that most often his assumptions were correct.
Morgan was sending his date a text message to say just how happy he was about the very romantic meeting that'd take place in a couple of hours when he spotted Reid. A frown appeared to his face when he watched how the younger man slumped behind his own desk with a soft groan. The brunet was rubbing the bridge of his nose and appeared rather tired. "You work way too much for your own good", he commented. "You're turning into Hotch."
Reid shrugged and sunk deeper into his chair. The brunet kept rubbing the bridge of his nose persistently, almost desperately. Clearly it wasn't helping any. "I'm… not in a hurry to get anywhere, so I thought I should get rid of some unfinished work."
Morgan felt some worry-mixed sympathy as he looked at the poor kid. "If the headache's that bad one Aspirin wouldn't do any harm."
Reid shook his head quickly, far too quickly. "It's okay – I've already dealt with this since the morning. Besides, the medication may cause nausea and it's not good for the stomach, either. So I'll pass."
Despite everything Morgan felt tempted to smile. Trust Reid to shoot out facts and statistics even when he was in pain. A jolt of alarm, however, rapidly wiped away everything else as the young genius swayed slightly.
Morgan was up faster than his head would've liked. Even in the current situation he noticed with surprise how Reid stiffened as he put a hand to the younger man's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" It was then he noticed something the brunet's hair almost managed to disguise. A bump, right in the back of Reid'd head. A shiver that also held rage shot through him. Another injury they'd failed to protect their youngest from. When the hell had this even happened? "Where the heck did you get this from?"
"I ran into a kitchen closet." Reid managed to flash him a tiny, brave smile. "I'm fine."
'Damn, Pretty Boy, you should've at least tried to come up with something a bit more convincing', Morgan felt tempted to snarl. It took his all to control his tongue and temper. He grit his teeth before speaking out loud. "I'm taking you home – there's no way in hell I'm letting you drive." He went on as soon as Reid's mouth opened. "And I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."
Accepting his defeat with a soundless yet visible sigh, Reid took his bag.
Reid didn't register much of the drive towards his home. There was atypically lot of traffic, so the journey took longer than it should've. Morgan did most of the talking, which was a surprising twist. Usually Reid was the most talkative member of their team.
Morgan gave him a very evaluative, almost worried look when the car jolted to a stop before a block of flats. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
For a moment – just a moment – Reid felt eager to confess that he wasn't okay. That the last thing he wanted was to go home, to face the shadows lurking there. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from asking the older man to take him elsewhere, anywhere.
But in the end he smiled, or at least tried to. "Yeah. After some coffee I'll be as good as new."
Morgan didn't appear fully convinced. "You can call me anytime, okay?"
Once again Reid was reminded of just how protective of him Morgan could be. He had no idea how to feel about it. "Yeah. I know." So saying he climbed out of the car with unexpected difficulty. "See you tomorrow."
Reid watched as Morgan drove away suspiciously slowly, and for a moment felt the need to signal the man to stop. This would've been the perfect opportunity to fix things. His whole reason begged him to stop this.
But nonetheless Reid took a deep breath, then turned and walked into the house, starting to make his way towards the dreaded door.
Lucas was sitting on the couch as he walked in. It wouldn't have required Reid's IQ or FBI-training to consider the look in the other man's eyes dangerous. "Weren't you supposed to be home two hours ago?"
Reid shrugged and attempted to keep his expression neutral despite the fact that his heart was racing as it knew to expect what was to come. "I had paperwork."
Lucas shook his head while getting up. The man's eyes almost narrowed. "Bullshit. You didn't want to come home, did you?"
For once, for just this once, Reid wished he would've been able to lie properly. Instead he kept his mouth tightly shut and stared at Lucas with such feral terror that can sometimes be seen in the animals of the wild.
And then, for once that day, something happened quickly. Before Reid could do more than pull in a hasty gasp he'd been hurled against the wall and Lucas' hands were around his throat. The other man's hold was so tight that for a moment the brunet feared his windpipe might be damaged.
Once again Reid's horrified mind assaulted him with facts.
Depending on how the strangling is performed, it may compress the airway, interfere with the flow of blood in the neck, or work as a combination of the two. As a result manual strangulation may damage the larynx and fracture the hyoid or other bones in the neck.
In cases of airway compression, manual strangling leads to the frightening sensation of air hunger and may induce violent struggling.
Unconsciousness occurs approximately 10 seconds after choking.
It took a long moment before Reid's chaotic head took in that the horrendous, wheezing noise was actually coming from him, along with the feeble, barely audible pants. "'ease…!" He fought, tried to push away the hands squashing his throat, but his efforts were futile.
It was hard to think straight, let alone count, but Reid was fairly sure he had around five seconds left. The way everything was starting to spin suggested even less.
His eyes – wide, clouded and filled with sheer terror for his life – locked with Lucas' once more, crying out when his voice couldn't.
And then the world turned dark.
Lucas didn't even blink until Reid's eyes closed and the brunet went completely limp in his hold. He unleashed a barely human cry, instantly releasing his hold on the younger man as though the other's skin had burned. He watched with wide, rapidly tearing up eyes as Reid fell down and lay absolutely still.
For a second or two Lucas just stared, a couple of tears rolling down his cheeks. Then he bolted into the bathroom and threw up violently, leaving Reid to the floor.
As Reid opened his eyes slowly, weighed down by exhaustion, the very first sensation that came over him was pain. His throat had never been as sore as it was then and a light whimper escaped when he brought a gentle hand to his Adam's apple.
Was something broken? Was that why his breathing still wheezed?
Carefully, still not trusting his head, Reid pushed himself into a sitting position. He felt a hint of relief upon discovering that Lucas had left. It was quite often the other man headed to a bar after… confrontations like this.
Right now he wasn't ready to face Lucas.
Still moving cautiously Reid pushed himself up and grabbed the side of the sofa when the world spun uncomfortably for a few moments. Just when the view around him refocused the doorbell chimed loudly, the sound echoing through the apartment.
Reid stiffened, his eyes widening slightly. Lucas never forgot his keys, and Reid really wasn't in the mood for seeing anyone.
Go away, he begged mentally, almost holding his breath to avoid making a sound. Please, just go away.
The doorbell rang once more, and several moments passed before the persistent intruder finally gave up and walked away. As the sounds of steps died out Spencer let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and slumped to the couch.
At the moment he was utterly exhausted, and the pain in his throat seemed to grow stubbornly instead of fading away. And only one thought fit into Reid's head.
When, exactly, did his life turn out this way?
In the hallway Morgan glanced towards Reid's door once more with a frown on his face. As much as he hated it, it looked like he'd been right.
Something was wrong. Badly.
That thought echoing in his head he took his cell-phone and dialed numbers. The answer came rapidly. "We need to talk."
Late evening stretched to night. Reid stayed up until close to midnight, his thoughts spinning in a mess he couldn't make any sense to. Eventually the headache he'd been suffering from earlier returned tenfold, and he decided to go to bed.
Although he wasn't quite ready to admit it to himself he was glad Lucas didn't come home. He wasn't ready to face the man, to process the newest humiliation, just yet.
It was almost three in the morning when Reid woke up to the sound of the door opening. For some reason he felt incredibly cold as he lay absolutely still, careful not to give any signs that would've suggested he was awake.
He was scared, fed up, angry and confused. He did not want the talk Lucas was most likely craving. He wasn't ready to say 'It's okay' and 'I'm fine', not yet.
Lucas stumbled, and Reid felt his stomach knot with disgust when the reek of alcohol found him. The bed dipped as Lucas sat, and it took all Reid had not to stiffen when the other man ran a clumsy hand from his hair down to his bruised cheek. "I'm sorry." The slurred words were barely audible. Something that sounded suspiciously lot like a sob followed. "Fuck, Spence… I'm so sorry."
Reid felt a shockwave of revulsion, and feared it could be seen from his face.
Couldn't Lucas understand that he wasn't ready to listen to those words? That he just didn't have the strength to carry both their emotional load? That he was sick and tired of all this? Tonight even the usual lies both he and Lucas whispered ('This was the last time', 'Everything's going to work out', 'We´ll be fine') didn't bring him comfort.
Lay there with Lucas touching him, Reid was somewhat confused to discover that he was completely, utterly numb. It was a surprise after all the overwhelmingly strong emotions he'd felt earlier that day.
He didn't know how long Lucas sat there looking at him until the man finally took his place on the other side of the bed and lay down. In a few moments light snoring announced that the older man was fast asleep.
Reid lay down as well, listening to the sounds coming from Lucas, until something close to a desperate need washed over him. Inhaling sharply he pushed himself into a sitting position, then took his cell-phone that'd been abandoned to a nearby nightstand. In a matter of seconds Reid found himself face to face with something he hadn't expected.
Morgan's name and number stared back at him from the screen, as though screaming at him. His finger twitched with anticipation to press 'call'.
Just a simple press of a button, and this nightmare would be all over. Just one phone-call. It sounded so easy.
At least a full minute passed before Reid finally made his decision. Taking a deep breath he put the cell-phone away and lay down once more, fighting against the stinging sensation in his eyes. As soon as sleeping Lucas sensed his warmth the man shifted and wrapped one arm around him. Reid accepted the embrace although it made him shiver.
Reid didn't get any sleep that night.
TBC, or not?
POLL (because I'd love it if you decided this one – I can't, and I want to hear you out on a matter this… big): What do you think – should there be… romantic vibrations between Reid and Morgan? I'm not saying it'd even go as far as kissing or holding hands romantically, but still. More romance, or not? I'm comfortable either way, so it's honestly your call! VOTE NOW THAT YOU'VE GOT THE CHANCE TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!
A/N: So, that's how the story went on. (takes a deep breath)
What do you say, guys? I've got a plan for three more chapters. Would you like to read them, or should I leave the story here?
PLEASE, share your thoughts with me! This story is a touch to a land less explored for me, so hearing from you would mean the world to me. (gives puppy's eyes)
Until next time, I hope!
Take care!