A/N: Here I am! Thank you all so much for the great reviews, you are amazing and I am really (really really) proud of being able to write for such great people! (no kidding, no exaggerating) So, here we go with the next chap! :D I really hope you will like it and leave me a review 3:)
"Hotch, do you mind if I talked to you for a second?" Morgan asked worriedly after they landed and were going to their SUV's. Aaron looked at him for a moment and, seeing the look in his eyes, agreed momentarily. Hotch decided that he and Morgan would go together (as much as he wanted to keep an eye on Reid, he couldn't do it while speaking to Morgan in private) and get ready at the station, Rossi and Emily would go to the victim's families to gather information and JJ and Reid would go to the crime scenes. When it was all set, Morgan and Hotch began the awkward ride to the police station.
"So... What did you want to talk about?" Hotch asked, breaking the tension in the car which was, not clear as to why, building up faster and faster.
"I noticed that you were staring at Reid all the time. What's on your mind?" Morgan asked curiously. Hotch looked at him for a moment, thinking about a lie he could possibly sell to the darker man. Because, if he was right about the thing with Spencer, he should talk to him about it first, not with Derek. And it wouldn't be right to tell Morgan something that doesn't concern him. (It's not that Hotch wanted to share a secret with Reid and Reid only, not at all!)
"I don't want to sound impolite, Morgan, but I don't think it concerns you, so you don't have to worry about it." Hotch stated. He was so good at lying when he was a teenager, what happened with that blessed ability!?
"Yeah, sure, but you see, the thing is, Reid is like a brother to me. So whatever concerns him, concerns me as well. And you were staring at him. That means, whatever bothers you concerns him. And I've already said the last part." Morgan said, trying not to sound like an overprotective mother. Hotch laughed a little at that.
"Morgan, whatever is going on with me or Reid, I haven't really figured it out yet. Reid doesn't know anything though, so I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't tell him that I was 'staring at him' as you said. Also, as fast as I figure this out, I will speak to Reid about it first. Then, I will talk to you. Because it doesn't matter how much you think you have the right to know, he deserves to know first and agree to you even being concerned." Hotch tried to sound confidentially and, apparently, Morgan did buy it. Not bad,Hotch thought to himself. Derek gave him a nod as an answer and they both rode to the station in complete, respective silence.
"Hello, this is SSA Derek Morgan, I am SSA Aaron Hotchner and you have spoken to our media liaison on the phone. The rest of the team is already investigating and I will introduce them later to you." Hotch spoke slowly, shaking the sheriff's hand firmly.
"Nice to meet you folks. I am Sheriff Theodore Baxter. Come with me, I'll show you the room we've prepared for your team." the sheriff spoke as he walked the two FBI agents into the room. "So, this is where you will be investigating. Here you have the board you've asked us to prepare, and those two boxes contain all the documents we've managed to lay our hands on that might concern the case. Hope you'll catch the bastard as soon as possible, I've known the last boy, he was a really nice and kind kid. I won't sleep until we find that son of a bitch." the sheriff said before he left, shutting the door quite loudly behind himself.
"Well, no pressure, not at all, bro." Morgan muttered under his breath, causing Hotch to smirk.
"Well, let's get to work. We'll get the board ready and maybe start with the documents. As soon as everyone is here, we'll know more." Aaron stated, getting the first box open and clipping some of the photos and the map to the board.
"Spencer, get over here!" Micheal yelled after him, running through the garden, chasing the hyperactive kid.
"You said you could catch me! Let's try!" Spencer laughed. He had told Micheal that smoking will make him move slower and run out of breath faster. They'd decided to bet but Spencer was winning so far.
"That ain't fair dude. I bet you were cheating." Micheal said afterwards, trying to take a deep breath and not to collapse. Spencer laughed and handed his friend a glass of water.
"So you say but I am the one that is more than three years younger and have shorter legs. I also am considered the geeky one, which would lead us to the suspicion that I really am not as fast as you think I am. Moreover, there is no way I could be cheating because all we did was running on the road. You saw me all the time." Spencer rambled, laughing at the tired expression on his best friend's face.
"Shut it kiddo. Let's sit down, I'm gonna faint..." Micheal mumbled under his breath and proceed to sit on the coach.
"Oh, I hate that part of our job..." Emily sighed when they neared to the family of the first victim's house.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone does. Unless you're a sadistic bastard. Then you just might be enjoying the sight of the broken family crying over the loss." Rossi added slowly, knocking on the door. They waited in silence for a moment and then they heard the sound of the door being unlocked and prepared to speak with the victim number one's family.
"Hello?" asked the small voice of a twelve-year-old girl. She looked up at them and started speaking again. "Mom and Dad are in the living room, they've asked me to open the door and let you two in, so come on." she smiled and opened the door wider so that the two agents could get into the house.
"Thank you sweetheart." Emily smiled at her as she and Rossi got to the room, where the parents were waiting. "Hello, we are Emily Prentiss and David Rossi, we're here to investigate the case." she spoke up to the two people sitting on the coach, as close to each other as possible.
"Hello. Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Tea?" the woman asked.
"Yes, coffee, please." Rossi answered politely as they were gestured to sit down on the two armchairs. The man waited until his wife went to the kitchen to prepare the drinks.
"So what do you want to know?" he asked as soon as he'd heard the sound of the pot being turned on. Both FBI agents looked at each other before giving the man a sympathetic smile.
"First, we'd like to know if your son knew the other victims." Emily started slowly. They both watched closely the behaviour of the man in front of them. He was still in shock after what had happened with his son.
"No, he only knew Peter but that was because they were going to the same school." the man shook his head, sighing.
"Okay. Did he have any enemies?" Rossi supported.
"Well, not enemies but... I mean, he was tall and thin, there were bullies that liked to pick on him but he was always nice to everyone as far as I'm concerned." the man visibly shuddered at the thought of his son being bullied. "I just wish there was something I could do to stop those kids from making him suffer when just before he died he... got through something this terrible..." he added, sniffling and wiping the tear from his cheek. The two agents gave him a moment to calm down as they saw the woman reentering the room with the tray filled with five cups.
"Annie, darling, come, I've made you some tea! It's your favourite flavour!" she yelled softly for her daughter and smiled at her when the girl entered the room with a happy expression on her face. She mumbled a 'thank you' and ran out of the room, happily jumping up after taking a sip of the drink. As soon as the child was out of the hearing range, the woman let her smile slip.
"She doesn't know that Scott is dead. She doesn't know a thing about what has happened to her beloved brother. How will I ever explain to her that he's not coming back? How will she take it? She's just a twelve-year-old child who loved her brother more than anything in the world and he loved her just as much. Soon, she will understand. She's not stupid. What should I tell her? How will I explain?" the woman asked softly, looking after her daughter. "excuse me, I'm not feeling well." she suddenly said and immediately sat down. Her husband jumped up to his feet and ran to the kitchen. Rossi sent Emily a look and they both watched closely what was happening in front of their eyes.
"Honey, have you forgotten to align your insulin and sugar level again?" the man asked, handing the the cup of water and a diabetes device to his wife. She just nodded and proceeded to pump her body with the right amount of sugar by eating a chocolate bar.
"Do you have any health problems?" Emily asked gently.
"Yes, it's nothing too serious though. I am diabetic. I just have to watch what I eat and... I'm forgetting about that lately..." she smiled softly.
"Okay, thank you very much for your cooperation. We'll do everything we can to find a person who did this. And about your daughter, ma'am." Rossi said standing up. "She already knows the truth. She's really smart. She didn't want to bother you with that because she probably figured out it would upset you even more. Children are the best profilers in the world, you really have to watch yourself not to show them what you're really feeling inside." he said and they both walked out of the house.
"Well, wasn't that intense..?" Emily said as they entered the car.
"Yeah, I wonder if in every victim's family is at least one person with health problems. It would be another add to our pattern." Rossi said, making a call to Hotch to inform him about their discovery.
"You can't stop thinking about her, can you..?" Micheal asked the sad boy on his coach, handing him his drink. He just received a nod and nothing else. He sighed and sat down next to his friend.
"Look, she acted like a total bitch. You can't keep hating yourself because of the way she is. That would be unfair." he added, hugging his best friend.
"She told everyone about my mom being a schizophrenic and my dad leaving us. How could she..? I trusted her... You don't-" he sobbed "You don't just go out and tell people things like that... I had been working that courage up our whole relationship..." he buried his face in Micheal's chest and cried once again and once too many that week.
"Are the bullies attacking you more because of that?" the older boy asked softly. He cursed when he received a nod in response. Spencer had been coming to him more often lately, showing up with more bruises littering his body, always crying himself to sleep in his best friend's arms.
That time was no different. Spencer was asleep when Micheal's parents came home from work. They eyed the kid and sighed sadly.
"Poor boy..." the mother whispered, covering Reid with a warm blanket.
"I'll go to Diana's make sure she eats, takes her medicine, cleans herself and goes to sleep. Spencer is staying over. I'll bring him clothes. Honey, you make sure he stays at home tomorrow." Theodore said softly, receiving an approving hum and going out of the house. Sabina, the mother of Micheal's, went to the kitchen and prepared a meal for them all. She wiped the tear that threatened to fall from her eye and started cutting vegetables. She treated Spencer like his own son, it hurt her to see him in such an enormous amount of pain. She took a calming breath and brought the tray full of sandwiches to the living room, where Spencer was sitting, wide awake, smiling at her gratefully. How could she not love the boy sitting in front of her when he had a smile that could lighten even the darkest corners of anyone's soul?
"It doesn't look like any of our crime scenes have anything interesting in them." JJ started as she and Reid got into their SUV after investigating all the crime scenes.
"Not really, did you see the way he dumped the bodies? They all had their faces up, which means that the UnSub respects them in his own, crazy way. Their eyes were closed, there was no sign of torture. He doesn't want them to suffer, he's replaying a memory of his own. Maybe when he was younger, fifteen-year-old kid, he was raped in a similar way but wasn't killed and now he corrects the mistake of his rapist." Spencer muttered, sipping his over-sugared coffee.
"Or, as you've said earlier, he might had been the rapist and regrets that. He might have come to know the amount of suffering the rape victims go through afterwards and now he wants to compensate it to his first victim so he plays the memory over and over until his conscience is satisfied." JJ supported, taking her eyes off the road and looking at Reid. She was a little surprised to see him not looking at her but outside the window instead. "Reid?" she asked softly. He wouldn't be himself if he didn't space out once in a while but that wasn't his first time that day. She was starting to get worried about his brother-like friend. He looked at her with wide eyes, completely disoriented.
"Huh? Did you say something, JJ?" he asked her, running a hand through is hair. She looked at him strangely.
"Are you OK?" she started, concerned about his friend's good. He wouldn't be taking dilaudid again... would he?
"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking. You might be right, I mean, you might be right that I was right, I mean..." he sighed frustrated and ran a hand through his hair once again. It seemed that the young genius had developed a new nervous tick of his. "What you were saying might be true and probably is..." he said and stopped the conversation at that point, continuing to look out of the window and leaving JJ to her thoughts.
"Hey, Reid, look, if you have any problems, you know you can talk to me about them, right?" she started yet again. She wouldn't let it go because his best friend's health might have had been depending on it. If it was drugs again, she wouldn't let him take care of this alone. Not again.
"I know, thanks JJ." he smiled at her warmly and hoped that they would spend the rest of the ride in silence. If only he knew how wrong he had been. Just before the station, JJ decided that it was okay for her to push the subject further.
"Reid-Spencer..." JJ took the conversation up again, trying to get through Reid by using his first name. She drove into the police station's parking lot. "Are you... Are you having problems with dilaudid aga-" she stopped immediately when she saw the look on his face, in his eyes. They were sparking with anger, but underneath she could see the well-hidden hurt, betrayal and sadness. His whole thoughtful expression disappeared just to be replaced with agonising pain.
"How... How could you..?" he asked, trying to sound angry but failing and hearing his own voice breaking. He took a deep breath, wiped at his eyes and got out of the car before JJ had the time to turn the engine off.
"Reid, wait!" she yelled after him getting out of the vehicle and running after him. "Spencer, I'm sorry!" she yelled just before he got into the police station and met with the others. Hotch eyed them both suspiciously but decided not to ask what was wrong, because, obviously, something was really wrong if Reid had red eyes, his body language was screaming of hurt and distrust and JJ was standing right behind him, looking like a kicked puppy.
"Let's go, I'll introduce you to the local sheriff and then you'll tell me what you have." he said shortly, turning in the right direction and guiding the pair after him.
"Sheriff, those are the last two of our team. This is our media liaison Jennifer Jerrau, you two spoke on the phone" he started, introducing JJ first and waiting for the sheriff to shake hands with her. "And this is our resident genius, Spencer Reid." Hotch added proudly, waiting for the sheriff to shake his hand but instead saw the shocked expression lightening up all the Baxter's features.
"Kid, did you really join the FBI?" he asked, smiling brightly at Spencer. He nodded shyly and crossed his arms over his chest. Theodore just sighed and hugged him closely. "Whatever, it's no nice to see you again. Micheal still talks about you! At least he was, until the first murder... It's such a shame you stopped coming over, though. What happened?" he asked, patting Reid on the head. The genius visibly flinched at the mention of 'Micheal' but nobody said anything about it. He smiled and patted the man's back.
"Yeah... I had a lot of work to do and Micheal really had to get a job." Spencer laughed, though the profilers could see the lie underneath.
"Well, I'm happy you will be working on that case. As long as we have you, the bastard will be caught sooner than we've originally thought!" the sheriff smiled brightly and walked out, leaving the three FBI agents to themselves.
"I don't want to hear about whatever argument you two had." Hotch started bluntly. "But if that same argument will make you two work less effective, I'll have to put my hands on it. Do we understand each other?" he asked, looking at both agents and noticing the pale face and scared look on Spencer's face. "On the second thought... Reid, you will come with me." he said and dismissed JJ to go to the rest of the team. Which, of course, left the two of them alone.
A/N: Oh my, I've missed writing this fic! Unfortunately, I'm going on holiday tomorrow and won't be back for two weeks. I don't know if I will be able to write anything there, forget posting fics. So I'm giving you the chapter that is longer than anything I've written so far as a compensate for a long wait! I'll update as soon as I can. I hope you liked the chapter, let me know in the reviews! Kisses, love you all! :*