Hey guys! I am really really really sorry that it has been so long since I last posted a chapter! I wasn't in a writing mood for a long time and I shared a computer with my brother so that made it more difficult. Thankfully I have my own laptop now so I promise I will update a lot more frequently! Promise promise promise! If you're still with me, thank you so much I really appreciate your patience and I hope this story isn't too awful!
It had been so long since Reid had waited in an airport that he had almost forgotten how horrible of an experience it was. He had only been waiting for two minutes, and already his patience was wearing thin. Once he had paid for his plane ticket, he had made his way to the waiting area and looked around. The only seat that didn't have either a person, or a bag (that for some god forsaken reason needed its own seat), was unfortunately located in between a large, hairy man in a sleeveless vest and shorts, and a small child who had decided to see how far he could shove a toy car up his nose. Reid shuffled in between people, bags, and chairs, managing to make it to the seat without stepping on or tripping over anything, and dropped his bag onto the floor next to him. Thankfully his hand luggage was only small, and had nothing of any significant value in it, so he didn't need to be too cautious. As he lowered himself into his seat, he realised just how bad the man sitting next to him smelled. How could one person smell so bad? He glanced towards the large man, seeing beads of salty sweat rolling down his forehead. His skin was shiny and red, and his hair clung to his forehead, making him look like he had just emerged from a swimming pool. Reid looked away quickly before the man noticed Reid gawking at him, and turned his attention to the little boy beside him. The boy had now removed the toy car from his nose, and had decided to see what it tasted like. Reid winced and went to turn away, but the little boy had spotted him. He pulled the toy car from his mouth, and held it up towards Reid's face, obviously willing him to take the dripping toy. Reid plastered on a small smile and politely shook his head hoping the young boy would get the message and go back to inserting the toy into various parts of his face. No such luck. For the remainder of Reid's ten minute wait, the small child had been poking prodding and talking to Reid, and by the time it was time to leave for his flight, Reid was verging on breakdown. As the announcement sounded over the loudspeaker, Reid jumped from his chair, causing the little boy to sit back in shock. Reid didn't care. He was free from the horrors of the waiting area. He picked up his bag that was on the floor by his feet, and began to make his way to the gate, praying that his seat on the plane wasn't around any young children. He was nearly at the gate when he spotted something that made his heart pound. Over by the doors that led onto the tarmac, was his team. They all looked tired and worn out, especially Morgan, who had dark circles under his eyes. Reid really didn't want to deal with them right now, and he knew that if they spotted him they would bombard him with questions, so he started walking towards the gate, keeping his eyes on the team just in case. He was a couple of feet away from the gate when Hotch whipped his head round. Reid didn't know what gave him away. Maybe Hotch just felt someone looking at him. Reid was staring right into his eyes now, fear freezing him to the spot. He had no idea why he was scared. It wasn't like he cared what Hotch or any of the team thought of him anymore. Reid watched at hotche's eyebrows shot up and then return to normal. Of course, the professional, cold Aaron Hotchner couldn't show any emotion. He couldn't let anyone see how he really felt. As this thought occurred to Reid, he felt the anger bubble up and threaten to boil over. Why can't he confide in and trust his team. This time it was Reid's turn to frown, and as he focused on Hotch again he realised that the rest of the team had noticed him now, and were making their way over, Morgan jogging and the rest of the team speed walking. Reid made sure the team could see the scowl that had taken over his face before he turned and headed towards the gate once more. He threw his ticket onto the desk outside the gate and passed through the entrance and onto the bridge leading to the airplane.
Hotch:
It was 11, and the team were waiting by the doors leading to the tarmac to board their plane. He was at the front of the group, separated from the other team members. He needed to think. He kept replaying Morgan's outburst over and over in his head. One moment he was driving along the highway, trying to be as quiet as possible because Morgan was sleeping, the next he was on the hard shoulder trying to hold down his thrashing colleague. He knew it was odd for Morgan to take naps on short car journeys, but he quickly put that out of his head, thinking that it was probably because he hadn't gotten enough sleep due to Reid's unknown whereabouts. Everyone on the team knew how much Morgan cared about Reid. They were practically brothers. The whole team was one small family. Or at least it used to be. Hotch couldn't help but feel guilty for his role in driving the genius away. In fact it was nearly all his fault, and that thought wouldn't go away until Reid returned. Hotch would never admit it to anyone, but he already missed Reid. He wanted to know what had happened to him because the worry and concern that encased him at the moment was nearly unbearable. Reid was like his son. Hotche's eyes began to tingle and itch and he knew that if he didn't do anything about it, tears would start to make an appearance. He blinked furiously, and turned his head sideways, which almost always helped get rid of any unwanted tears. As Hotch turned his head he caught sight of someone staring at him. He went to look away from the man, but realised just in time that he was staring into the eyes of a familiar face. His eyebrows shot up into his hairline as he took in the awkward stance and ratty messenger bag of his youngest agent. Quickly restoring his famous composed expression, he turned to the team, but realised that they were already looking in the direction of their team mate. Morgan began to walk quickly towards Reid before Hotch could stop him, the rest of the team following closely behind. Hotch decided to go after them, scrapping the plan to give him time and space. Hotch was worried, and he now wanted to know why his agent was getting on a plane instead of being at work. Morgan was jogging now, and didn't seem to be taken back by the fierce and angry twist to Reid's face, but Hotch hesitated. He understood how angry Reid was, but his expression was almost scary. Hotch noticed as Reid turned and hurried off towards a gate, and he quickened his pace. He threw something onto the desk and disappeared from sight. Hotch couldn't help but feel disappointed as he saw the flight attendant blocking Morgan from following Reid any further. He knew that they wouldn't get onto the plane without a ticket but he had hoped they could at least catch up with their youngest. Morgan refrained from punching a wall as he made his way back to the rest of the team, who had stopped when Reid ran through the gateway. Hotch heard him curse under his breath, and decided to push his feelings aside and switch back to leader mode. "We have to be on the jet in 10! I know that you all wanted to talk to Reid but he obviously still wants to be away from us at the moment so we will just have to leave it until the case is finished. I want you all over by the doors now!" Hotch watched again as the team passed him, tired and defeated looks on their faces. He couldn't help but feel bad for them. As his team waited at the doors, Hotch went over to the woman at the desk by the gate that Reid had just escaped through. He asked her a question, and allowed confusion to flood through him at the answer he received. When he got back to the doors, J.J was looking at him.
"What's up?" she asked. She knew his confusion was to do with Reid.
Hotch frowned. "Reid's going to new York. I just can't figure out why he would go there".
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