The Lion hunts tonight
Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter.
EDITED 02/01/2018 (FIVE YEARS SINCE FIRST POST)
Bella awoke to the familiar feeling of an arm wrapped around her waist, loose but still protective. Looking over her shoulder to see her boyfriend peacefully asleep in the bed next to her. Of course they hadn't done anything. Not with her father just down the hall. However the reassuring form of the man she loved lying next to her kept the nightmares at bay. She hadn't had them in years since leaving Forks, but Bella always felt safer with Spence by her side. A loaded gun on her bed side helped too. But a gun couldn't stop the sort of monsters she was scared of. She twirled in his arms to face him, his hand sliding from her stomach to her side, unconsciously pulling her into him with a firmness that made her heart melt. Her smile was beaming as she watched him sleep, tightly guarded in his surprisingly strong arms.
His short hair was messy against the pillow; brown strands hiding most of his eyes. "You know it's really creepy to watch people sleep." He whispered, eyes still shut. His comment raised more memories than he would think possible, but they melted away as she snuggled up and brushed the hair from Spence's eyes.
"It's romantic and you know it." She insisted playfully. His eyes still didn't open as she moved to kiss him softly on the lips, nor when he brought his hand up to her neck and deepened the kiss. She could feel all of herself just melting into him.
They parted with a sigh when their oxygen ran out, "Good morning to you too." Bella grinned. Reid's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
"Morning Bells." He beamed, finally opening his eyes. He runs up her neck, over to her chin, then along her jawline, crossing to her lips. Her lips part, her eyes watching him stare at his thumb. His nail pulls lightly at her bottom lip. Flattening his hand to lightly cup her face, she leans her check into his palm, closing her eyes. "You're more than I could have ever asked for," He whispers. Before she can open her eyes, before she can respond, he leans forward and kisses her. Soft at first, but she's too much for him, and he rolls them over, placing a hand on either side of her head. Bella moans into his mouth, legs coming up to hitch around his lower back. He groans, feeling himself grow hard against her. He breaks their kiss, moving down to graze her neck with the tip of his nose, making her moan more.
"Reid...Reid..." She struggles get out her words. His hand snakes under her neck, arching it up slightly as he kisses down it. "You know the team are just behind that door, and a few walls." She panted. She felt him smile against her neck. That's not all she could feel against her.
"Oh really?" He asked, placing a kiss in the crook of her neck before coming back up to face level. Spencer's eyes were full of smugness. Bella doubted anyone, especially anyone in their team could image just how playful this man could truly be. What he knew, how to do to her. What he had done, and what she knew he wanted to do to her. His mind wasn't just full of needed and unneeded knowledge, he had smutty fantasies to.
"Yes." She insisted. "They're all here: Morgan, Emily, J.J. My father!" She whispered. He ground himself into her, causing her to bit her lip to stop from moaning to loud. "Very thin walls may I add."
"Well, actually..." He said, planting a quick kiss on her lips. "You forgot Garcia, who is back in Quantico. So not all the team is outside that door, possibly hearing us right now."
Bella rolled her eyes, "No. But it's still a fair amount." He nodded, conceding, and kissing her once more. At which moment there was a knock on the door. Bella and Reid froze.
"Bella? We're about to have breakfast if you want to join us? We have to get going by nine-thirty." Emily called through the door. Both of them zeroed in on the alarm clock that read '8:05'.
"Ok, I'll be out soon." Bella called back.
"Great. I don't think Reid's up yet. We all know he needs at least half an hour for his hair." Emily said matter-of-factly. Her comment sent Bella snickering silently into Spencer's chest. He stared down at her opened mouthed.
"I'm sure he'll be up soon." Bella coughed out between giggles. They heard her footsteps travel down the hall towards the kitchen.
"Seriously?" Reid asked. Bella just shrugged and smiled up at him.
"You have to get back to your room while I shower and get dressed." Bella ordered. Reid nodded and climbed out of bed. He began collecting his clothes from the floor where he had dropped them last night. He pulled on his shirt and reached for his trousers. In his rush he began hopping around to get his leg in, losing his balance, and crashing into the armchair by the floor length window in epic fashion. The laughter from the bed was uncontrollable. Reid looked up shocked at his girlfriend, who had half her face in one of the white plush pillows, desperate to hush her laughter.
The loud noise must have caught attention as three sets of footsteps rushed outside her door. "Bella are you okay?" Hotch shouted through the door. The sound of her father's voice shocked the laughter right out of her.
"Yeah dad I'm fine, just tripped." Bella answered, sending Spence an amused grin. There were three sighs that filled the hall before retreating footsteps could be heard. "Get up." Bella ordered softly. He did as he was told and made his way to the door. Pulling his trousers on pointedly.
Isabella climbed out of bed dressed only in an over-sized sleep shirt. She reached for the door and opened it, peaking out to check the coast was clear. The hall way was empty; Spencer's room was only down the hall across from hers. "Clear." She whispered. As he stepped into the hall, he quickly lent down to kiss her.
Just as Morgan was leaving his room.
Both froze mid-kiss and turned slowly to look at him, their expressions a mix of shock and horror. Morgan's was quite similar. "Oh, my God" He gaped.
Bella turned to Spence. "Damm it." She whispered, letting her head fall to his chest. Reid's hand comes up to hold her head to him. They didn't know how to tell the team about their relationship, especially her father. Reid was unsure if Hotch would be happy with her choice.
Morgan moved in closer. "Are you two...?" He asked, motioning to them both.
"What do you think, Morgan?" Bella asked twisting to face him, still resting against her boyfriend.
"Well, looking at your outfit, I wouldn't rule out it just being about sex." Morgan stated. Both rolled their eyes. "How long have you been keeping this from us? Your father?" He asked stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Eight months?" Bella offered up with a shrug. She looked up to Spence for confimation. He nodded.
"Eight months, twenty-two days-" Reid amended looking to Morgan who stared him down. "Eleven hours." Reid whispered, looking to the floor.
Morgan's eyes feel to Bella, "So you're telling me; you and him have been sneaking around behind our backs for eight months?" He asked.
"It's not that hard." Reid answered.
Morgan frowned at him, ignoring his words, "Does anyone know?"
"Nope"
"Well, were you ever going to tell us? Ever?!" He seemed more than a little miffed.
"Not until we were sure about it. We didn't want it to become awkward if we broke up. That's why we thought long and hard about even doing this." Bella explained.
"So this is real? You're dating?" Morgan asked.
Bella and Reid looked at each other for a second. Together they replied, "Yep."
"Then we're telling everyone." He began walking down the hall towards the kitchen and living room area. "Now!"
"Morgan." Bella hissed, "Morgan!" She yelled, motioning for Reid to follow him. She bolted into her room, pulled on some jeans and legged it out the door and down the corridor. Morgan was arguing with Reid, loudly.
"What's going on?" JJ asked from the kitchen table. Her, Emily and Hotch sat with bowls of cereal, toast and juice. Bella looked between them and Morgan and Reid. Her expression turned sheepish.
"Bella?" Hotch asked alarmed. She looked to Reid, who for once in his life was speechless in front of the team, then to Morgan who raised his eyebrows, challenging her to speak before he did. "Bella?!" Her father asked again, now growing impatient. "What is going on?"
"She has something to tell you Hotch." Morgan answered. "Both her and Reid have something to tell you." She sent him a look of death.
"Which is?" Hotch asked expectantly.
Bella took a deep breath, and pulled Reid to her side. "Dad, J.J, Emily..." The words didn't come.
"We're dating." Reid finished impulsively. Emily, having just taken a swig of juice, promptly sprayed it across the table and choked lightly.
"What?!" J.J said, mouth agape.
"For eight months now." Bella added quickly. Hotch stayed silent. His ever present frown never faltering.
"And you didn't think to tell us?" Emily asked.
"That's what I said." Morgan interjected. The newcomers to this little secret all turned to him.
"Oh and how long have you known about this?" Emily asked. "Have you known all this time?"
"Are you kidding? I just found out. Found them kissing in the hallway outside her room." Morgan gestured with his hand.
"What?" J.J screeched. Bella's eyes instinctively screwed up at the awkwardness. Her fathers voice made her open them again.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asks looking at her sadly. Everyone looks to him, then to her.
"I didn't know what you would say. What you would think about...this." She gestured between her and Spence. "Please don't be mad." When he didn't answer she looked to her team. "Are you guys mad?"
"No of course not Honey. We're happy for you! It's just the shock that's all." Emily said earnestly, coming to hug Bella. J.J soon followed.
"You know, I always thought you two would get together." J.J mused. "It's just such a shock right now," She smiles.
Morgan comes to clap Reid on the back and grasp his shoulder for a moment. "Congrats man." He beams. Reid smiles at him awkwardly. "Oh, I gotta tell Babygirl! She'll be so mad she missed this." He laughs, as does everyone else.
Everyone except Hotch, who is still sat down, frozen. Bella looks across to him worried, "Dad?"
Hotch frowns deeper, and without a word, stands and leaves the room, not looking at any of them. The room falls silent.
LATER: FORKS WOODLAND PARK
"So, you and Reid?" He says, lightly. They've spent hours hiking, the dumpsites are quite close together, but the terrain is steep and covered in exposed roots.
"Yeah Morgan. Me and Reid." She replies, rolling her eyes.
"Exactly how did that come about?" He circles around a tree and leans against it to face her.
"He asked me to go to the movies, and it went on from there." She answered truthfully, walking over to lean against the same tree.
"And what I saw this morning, that's where it led to?"
"Seriously Morgan? You're asking about that?" She stared at him incredulously, screwing up her nose and pushing off from the tree to carry on hiking.
"Oh come on. It's an innocent enough question. I always thought Reid was asexual." Morgan quickly catches up to her.
Bella involuntarily snorted. It was Morgan's turn to look incredulous. They stopped hiking. "Just because he's extraordinary smart, and a little socially stunted, doesn't mean he's going to be asexual." Bella responded. "He is...sexual-" She cringed at her words, as did Morgan. "We kiss, we have sex."
"Okay." Morgan nodded, kind of wishing he hadn't brought it up, but also feeling like he understood better.
"Not to say that asexual people don't kiss or have sex...cause some of them do you know...the sex positive ones-"
"Okay, Princess. I know. I won't ask about you and Reid again."
FORKS POLICE DEPARTMENT
Reid and Hotch had spent the morning in silence. Except for when they were talking about the case.
"Sir?" Reid's voice cracked slightly. He kept his eyes down. "You're not angry at Bella are you?" His got quieter as he spoke.
Hotch gave him a hard look. It seemed to soften ever so slightly. "No. I'm not mad at her." He breathed. "Is she upset about what I did?" He asked in a rush. Reid looked up confused. "Walking out... behaving like an upset child."
Spencer had never heard Hotch speak about himself this way before.
"I don't know Sir." He answered. "You know we didn't mean to make anyone angry by keeping it a secret. Mostly I was scared of you." He admitted.
Hotch looked over at Reid, "And why would you have cause to be scared of me Reid?" His tone is harsh, and he seems to realise this once he's finshed. He voice is softer as he speaks again, "I sent Bella away for so long to protect her. I couldn't give up my job, because I needed to make this world safer for her."
"She knows that."
"I know I might come across a bit over-protective of her. We had her so young. She was my life before the BAU was." Hotch looks down at the floor, "Why were you scared of me? I wouldn't have hurt you, not unless you hurt her."
"I was afraid that you would be disappointed." Reid said, peaking up at Hotch, who stared at him with confusion. "I thought you would feel she had made the wrong choice. That I wasn't good enough, strong enough, brave enough, to protect her."
"Reid," Hotch stepped towards him, placing his hands on his shoulders. "You're a genius. You're responsible, respectable...loyal. I don't think I could find someone I would trust more with my daughter. I know that you would protect her with all you had. Like any of us would protect each other."
Reid smiled, "More than that Sir. I love her."
Hotch cringed slightly, "Okay. First of all, it's Hotch. I'm not going to make you call me Sir just because your dating my daughter," Reid nodded, "Second, though I'm happy to hear she has someone who loves her, I'm not ready to hear any lovey-dovey stuff between you two just yet," Reid nodded again.
Bella waited up for Reid to come to her room. Though she was aware that her father might be listening out for any sign of canoodling between the two, she had to hope he would respect their privacy. It was 11PM when Reid finally slipped into her room. "Bella?" He called into the moonlit room. The bed covers were all messed up, she had been sleeping. He turned to the bathroom door, expecting to see the light underneath. The bathroom door was open. The room within, pitch black. "Bella?" He called again, shuffling over to the wall and finding the light. He flicked the switch, the light came on, momentarily blinding him.
The room was like normal. Her bags were on the floor, open and still packed. She never unpacked her stuff, she wanted to be ready to leave whenever needed. He walked to the bathroom, and turned on the light; empty. He checked the kitchen and communal room, even went outside to check both cars were still there. She was nowhere. He sprinted back inside to her room, turning on every light on the way. Her shoes, bag and phone were still here. He looked to her bedside table and it's what he didn't see that had his stomach lurching.
Reid's heart was beating faster than it ever should. It was beating out of his chest. It was beating in his ears. He couldn't breathe. He stumbled into the hallway and threw himself against the nearest door, banging it over and over. He got a rush of energy then. He lunged to every door, banging it and moving onto the next. "Bella! It's Bella! Wake up!" He yelled. He heard movement behind the doors, heard yelling to match his own.
One by one the doors opened and his team appeared; sleepy eyed and groaning. Morgan was shirtless, looking pissed. "Reid? What's wrong?!" J.J mumbled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
Emily looked to her, squinting from the bright lights of the hallway, "Really? That's what you look like? What do you do, sleep completely still?" She asked, slightly irritated. J.J looked back at her confused, she opened her mouth to respond.
"Bella's missing." Reid said loudly. Everyone looked to him.
Hotch lunged forward, grabbing him by his shirt, "What?!"
"I went to Bella's room to-" Hotch gripped Reid's shirt tighter, "Check on her...and she was gone."
"You checked everywhere?" J.J asked.
"Everywhere." Reid repeated, "Bathroom, kitchen, outside. Her shoes, bag and phone are still here...but her gun is gone." He breathed out.
That lived everyone up.
"Reid, how many of the victims were taken from their homes?" Morgan groaned.
"Nine." Reid answered.
"We leave in NOW!" Hotch barked. Everyone dissappeared before he finished.
Well that's the chapter! It's very, very long for me though I bet it's really short on Fanfiction. Anyway if you are still reading then please review!