Hi Friends!
I've been a busy little bee this weekend, churning out a new chapter for ya'll.
You guys made me feel so loved with all of your awesome reviews that I couldn't help but free you from the cliffy I left you with last time. So thanks for all your comments, follows, and favorites! They are always welcome!
Now I can't promise the next chapter will be out anywhere near as fast as this one. I've got a big test that I need to study for next week...see I'm trying to get my license to become an insurance agent. Yeah, I know, total career change! Scary! Anyways between studying for that and my darling daughter (who just turned 6 months yesterday) I'm going to be a bit busy. I will try to update again sometime next weekend.
Please forgive my mistakes!
Enjoy!
"Reid?" Morgan asked with disbelief in his eyes.
Hotch was watching the genius with a critical eye while Rossi fixed his stare on Damien. The three alpha males could feel the sudden buildup of tension in the room and they knew that something was about to go down.
The genius, not once breaking his steady gaze from the other man, held out his hand. "Please, my head is killing me."
Damien's fingers started pushing the box deeper into the pocket of his pants. "I…um…ah…I don't have them with me."
"Yes you do. I see them right there," Reid said, nodding toward the box.
At this point the other profilers were catching on to the new agent's strange behavior. Hotch was the first to lend his help, "West, if you're worried about sharing I can assure you I'll reimburse you the cost of the pills."
West's head jerked toward his superior's voice, "No…it's not that. I just…I just don't like handing out drugs. You know…those types of things can get you into trouble."
Rossi decided to step in now too, "Really, when was the last time you've heard about someone on the news getting fired for handing out Tylenol?"
"You can n-never be t-to careful," Damien stammered, stepping back in order to put some distance between him and the profilers.
JJ chose that moment to come in with the cool rag. She handed it off to Reid before she noticed anything was wrong. "What's going on guys?"
"Reid just asked West for some of his aspirin," Morgan said with emphasis on the word aspirin.
The blonde looked back and forth between the two men, "Reid? Since when do you take medicine?"
"Since now. This migraine is killing me," the agent said, frustrated that she chose to bring up his aversion to medication.
"Look kid, if your headache is that bad I doubt that my medicine is going to help. I only buy the weak stuff. I'd be more than happy to run out and buy you some migraine strength stuff. Th-that is if you want me to," Damien offered, backing all the way to the door.
Hotch, tired of this game his two agents seemed to be playing, stepped forth and put a stop to it, "West, just give Reid some of your medicine so we can get back to work. We have more important things to do than worry about the strength of your pills."
"Sir, I'd rather not," Damien protested lamely one last time.
"And why is that?" Hotch asked harshly.
"Because he doesn't have any aspirin in his pocket," Reid supplied. "They're sleeping pills."
Confusion overtook the faces of his fellow agents while Agent West let out a nervous laugh.
"Okay, what is going on here? Reid, start talking," Hotch said with finality.
The doctor pushed himself up out of his seat and glared at his nemesis, "Earlier before we went to the coroner's office West stopped off at the drug store. He claimed he had a headache and needed to get some aspirin to help quell it. I told him I didn't think it was a good idea to stop but he insisted and offered to get us some coffee from the local diner on his way back." Reid halted his soliloquy to grab the coffee cup that was the star of his story. "I took a sip and noticed that it tasted strange. There was an unusual bitter aftertaste present –"
"And I told you that all coffee has an aftertaste. You of all people should know that," Damien argued.
"Let him finish," Hotch admonished the interrupting agent.
Knowing that he was on the right track, Reid picked up where he had been rudely disrupted. "I only drank about half the cup before I couldn't take it anymore, the taste was just too strange. Since then I've been feeling incredibly drowsy and lethargic, unnaturally so. At first I thought that maybe it was due to my restless night, but I've dealt with that before without feeling this way. It wasn't until a few minutes ago that it all made sense. He drugged me."
A mixture of emotions rolled through the room at the genius's last words. Morgan looked ready to pound the other man into the ground, and JJ gasped in shock while the cooler heads, Rossi and Hotch, just narrowed their gazes on the accused agent.
A strangled chuckle emitted from the man's mouth, "That's preposterous! You're just pissed because you didn't get any sleep due to it being so dark and now you're taking it out on me."
Ried's jaw dropped at West's comment, "How-how did…wait, you knew?"
A smug smile appeared on Damien's face, "Yeah, I knew."
"And you purposefully…h-how did you-"
"JJ."
The doctor turned on a dime and looked at his fellow agent with wounded eyes. "Why did you…," he stopped and took a deep breath, "…you were talking about me?"
Guilt and shame shined in her big blue eyes, "Spence…I-I was intoxicated. It just came out. I'm so sorry."
Morgan, growling in anger, focused the conversation back on the other man. "You used that against him? I should have known a piece of shit like you couldn't be trusted."
Reid spun around and stared at his best friend disbelievingly, "You knew that she told him? Didn't you think that was something I should have been privy too?"
"Yeah Derek…why didn't you tell your best friend?" Damien taunted, loving the strife that was swallowing the room whole.
Hotch, sensing that this was getting out of control, reigned in the conversation, "Enough! That discussion will have to wait until later. Reid, why do you think that he drugged you?"
The genius tore his anguished eyes from his best friend and turned back toward his boss, "Because I saw the box peeking out of his pants a few minutes ago."
The unit chief walked over to the probationary agent and held out his hand, "Hand them over, West."
"Just because I have a box of sleeping pills doesn't mean I laced the kid's coffee with them," the man said, giving in and taking them out of his pocket. "In the end you have no proof. I brought those with me from home."
"And you just happen to be carrying them around with you during work hours? Were you planning on taking a siesta during the middle of this investigation?" Rossi quipped, taking the box from Hotch and ejecting the silver sleeve. He noted that there was only one pill pocket that had been popped open from the whole box.
"No…I just wanted to take them before heading to the hotel tonight. You know, give them some time to kick in before I went to bed," Damien defended, watching the older man inspect the pills.
"You do remember that we have a very good technical analyst too, right? If you were dumb enough to buy these with a credit card, and judging from your actions these last two weeks I would say you are, she can easily find out," Rossi said casually, raising an eyebrow in triumph.
"Besides, Agent Reid didn't drink all of his coffee. It'll be easy enough to have the remaining liquid tested for substances," Hotch cleverly added. "Or you could come clean now and we'll go easier on you."
Sufficiently backed into a corner, Damien's face crumpled in defeat. "Fine, I know when I'm fucked. I did it. I gave the brat two pills."
Reid, hearing the man's admission, clenched his fists in anger before pounding one down on the table, "Why? Why would you do that?"
"Because I needed you to get out of my way," Damien snarled, his lip curling up in fury.
"Out of your way? Why?" Reid asked, barely holding in all the emotions that were fighting to burst forth.
"So I could finally have an opportunity to show off my talents! Something that was becoming impossible with you always standing in my way and showing me up," West admitted viciously. "I figured if you were knocked out I could finally take over the geographic profile and put my skills to better use. God! You act like two harmless sleeping pills were going to kill you. What? Do you have a medication phobia that goes along with your fear of the dark? I would hate to see you in a blackout at the hospital, you'd have a total meltdown."
Mouth agape, Reid couldn't think of a response that would hide his medication fears.
"Besides can't you all admit that the only reason that the kid is even valuable to this team is because of his I.Q.? He offers nothing beneficial to this job besides his ability to solve puzzles and do math quickly. I can do both of those thing too and smoothly interact with LEOs and victims alike. I'm more of an asset than he is. Face it kid," he leered at the young man, "the only reason your still around is because of that brain."
The man's mocking hit home for the genius and without another word he pushed pass the other bodies in the room and out the door.
"You better start running West –" Morgan threatened as he took a step toward the pudgy agent.
"Morgan," Hotch said sternly.
"No Hotch, this jackass has been making Reid's life a living hell over the past week and I'm not going to stand for it anymore," the dark man argued, fists tightened in rage.
"Go check on Reid."
"But-"
"That's an order," the unit chief commanded.
Scrunching his face in annoyance, Morgan stomped out of the room brushing against West on his way out, purposely causing the other man to stumble back into the wall.
Once the muscular agent had left hearing range, Hotch turned back to West, "We discussed yesterday your conduct and the consequences you would face if you messed up again."
West's nod was almost indiscernible.
"I said that if I even thought that you were impairing another investigation that you would lose your badge. I think this situation more than qualifies you for dismissal from the FBI," Hotch stated firmly.
"What? Why? They were just sleeping pills. Nothing hard, nothing addictive, just little pills intended to give the boy some much needed sleep. I had to do it. You guys weren't noticing my talents, I had to find a way to make you see-" Damien tried to explain.
"You know what I think? I think you are getting your ambition mixed up with jealousy," Rossi said, cutting the man off.
"Jealous? You think I'm jealous of that brat?"
"You will address Dr. Reid appropriately," Hotch ordered. "He has worked hard to earn his titles and you will not belittle his good name."
"This is ridiculous. Your team is down an agent. You need someone like me to help out."
"What we need is an agent we can trust and rely on, not one that is sabotaging our cases and trying to make a name for themselves," Hotch stated, shutting the man down. "Now Agent Rossi will escort you back to the hotel so you can gather your things. Garcia, are you still there?"
"Sir?" she questioned from the speaker on the center of the table.
"Book Agent West on the next commercial flight home."
"Yes, sir. Consider it done," she said, signing off.
"When you get home I suggest you go in to the office and clean out your desk. Agent Cruz will call you and inform you of your hearing date. That is all," Hotch proclaimed before he too walked out the door in silent fury.
"Well, let's get a move on. I haven't got all day," Rossi said wryly, gesturing toward the door.
"This isn't over," the man mumbled as walked out the door, marveling at how his brilliant plan had gone awry.
"Is because of that brain….because of that brain…"
West's words echoed through his skull as he made a beeline for the bathroom. How had the man hit upon the very phrase that had been haunting him for the past year?
The younger man burst into the bathroom barely holding himself together. He pushed the stalls open to make sure they were empty before he collapsed in the corner beside the sink.
The weight of what just happened came crashing down onto him as he sat in that cold little space. Drugs, manipulation, spilled secrets, and feelings of worthlessness swirled around him as a cacophony of vicious emotions assaulted his mind.
His so-called genius brain didn't even know how to start coping with everything that had occurred over the past few hours. He wanted to deal with the fact that he had been drugged unwillingly but feelings of betrayal from the people he had thought were his friends trumped his medication worries.
Why were they talking about him behind his back?
How could JJ even think it was okay to tell people about his fear of the dark?
Why didn't Morgan tell him that JJ disclosed one of his most embarrassing secrets to the other agent?
Had they drifted so far apart that his feelings were no longer important to the team?
His friends' deceit seemed to cover him like a blanket, except it wasn't the warm fuzzy type that kept you cozy on a cold winter's day, rather it was the threadbare worn out scrap of cloth that was riddled with holes. He could feel their betrayal assailing every pore of his body, fighting against his spongy barrier in an attempt to infiltrate his mind.
He brought his knees up and rested his elbows on top of them. Ducking his head into his hands he could feel angst ridden sobs trying to fight their way out of his throat.
"Reid?" came a soft voice cutting through his misery.
The genius, surprised at the presence of another, quickly sniffled his nose and wiped his face with his shirt sleeve. He looked down at the fabric and noticed that there were drops of moisture soaking into material, a fact that shocked him a little bit. When had he started crying?
"Reid? Is there anything I can do for you kid?" Morgan ventured, locking the main door to the room behind him as he stepped completely inside.
Shaking himself out of the haze of turmoil that had embraced him, the profiler cleared his throat and pushed himself up off the ground. "No. No, I'll be fine. Really."
"Reid." Morgan said with a slightly admonishing voice. "Come on man, I know that's not true."
The profiler ignored his friend's comment and started to wash his hands in the sink. He turned the water up as hot as it would go and scrubbed his skin raw. In the back of his mind he knew that he was inadvertently trying to wash away the betrayal that the man in the room represented.
Morgan watched his friend clean away the dirt from the bathroom floor and then some. "Uh…I think that West finally dug a grave deep enough that even he can't climb out of it."
Reid moved on to splashing water on his face in an attempt to remove the tear trails that had made paths down his angular cheeks. "Yeah…that's good."
"I'm willing to bet that he gets kicked out of the FBI for that stunt that he just pulled," Morgan said leadingly.
The boy's big brown eyes looked at the other man via his reflection in the mirror. He allowed a hint of a smile to grace his lips before quietly saying, "We are all victims of our own hubris at times."
"Aristotle?"
"Kevin Spacey," Reid said simply.
"Huh, I didn't think you knew about any actors besides the ones in Star Trek and Dr. Who," Morgan said jokingly.
Knowing that the other agent was trying to get him to lower his guard, Reid came out and confronted him, "What are you doing here, Morgan?"
"I'm trying to be there for my clearly distraught friend," Morgan answered, taken aback.
"Well as you can see, I'm doing alright. Now let's get back out there," Reid said as he tried to walk around his brick wall of a friend.
Morgan immediately held up his hand and halted Reid's progress, "Na-uh, there is no way you are anywhere near alright. You and I both know that what just happened out there has shaken you to your core and you are not going to hide that from me."
Reid's eyes flashed in anger, "You don't know what the hell you're talking about. I'm not hiding anything. This just isn't the time or the place for me to deal with it. There is still a vindictive woman out there killing innocent girls and we need to focus on that. Not me and my personal issues."
"So you admit that it is effecting you?" Derek asked gently.
"I'll admit that there are some things that I'm going to need to think about after this case is solved," Reid said stubbornly.
"Well, you know that we're all here for you," the black man uttered, remember the last time he had said that to Reid when he had failed his gun qualification exam.
He must not have been the only one to remember those famous words because a grimace crossed Reid's face before he murmured an almost inaudible reply.
"Right…like you've been around all year."
"What was that?"
"Nothing, just forget it. We've got to get back out there."
"No, wait…I heard you. Reid, I've been here the whole time. We all have. You could have leaned on any of us whenever you needed it."
"Yeah, and I would have fallen over from lack of support," Reid retorted, elbowing the other man aside.
Morgan reached out and grabbed the bony appendage, stopping the younger profiler in his tracks. "Where is all this coming from?"
The genius's orbs were a swirling mass of pain and anger. He gritted his teeth as he looked from the muscular man's hand to his worried visage, "Let me go."
Derek tightened his grip on the younger man's arm, "No way. Not until you start talking."
"Why should I start talking now? It's not like any of you have been listening to me at all this past year, let alone been around to hear me."
It was Morgan's turn to look hurt at the harsh analysis of his friendship, "I-we haven't gone anywhere. Look, I know that I've been a bit preoccupied with Savannah lately, but I'll always have time for you."
"You haven't had time for me since you've moved out of the bullpen. None of you have. Don't you see, Morgan? You guys have all moved on and cultivated other…better…relationships and left me way I've always been…alone," Reid professed with a hitch of emotion in his voice.
The senior profiler's heart cracked into pieces upon hearing the anguish his best friend had been hiding for quite some time. He released his firm grip from the younger man's arm and asked in a tender voice, "How long have you felt this way?"
Spencer's globular orbs started welling up with saltwater, "I –"
A severe knock sounded on the door, disrupting what was sure to have been an outpouring of all the emotions that the genius had bound up deep in his soul.
"Morgan? Reid? Why is the door locked?" sounded Hotch's voice through the door.
The moment of confession, having been sufficiently disrupted, was lost and Morgan watched as his friend threw up his emotional shields for protection.
"We'll be right out Hotch," Reid called, wiping his face once again. As soon as he was satisfied that he had gained his composure he turned the lock and started in on the knob.
"Reid," Morgan said pleadingly.
The brown haired boy turned slowly to face his friend with wide worried eyes, "Yeah?"
"Promise me that this conversation isn't over."
The younger man just nodded almost imperceptibly and walked out the door.