"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Reid asked hesitance evident in his voice. The idea of watching Jade confront her dead boyfriend's parents made him want to jump out of his skin but he would follow her off of a cliff if she asked.
"No I probably should do this on my own. There's nothing I enjoy more than facing past demons and the potential for excessive crying." Jade muttered as she grabbed at her necklace like it was cutting off her oxygen.
Reid suspected that was sarcasm and her body language suggested she was considering running but he knew she wouldn't. It wasn't in Jade's character to shy away from any confrontation she saw necessary, no matter the ramifications. She left her hand on the SUV's door for longer than necessary to open it.
"Everything will be ok." Reid assured her.
She turned to face him as her eyes became glassy. "I know."
She made her way through the tall grass to the front door of the old farm house. If Reid didn't know any better he would have assumed this house uninhabited. Broken down cars and various other mechanical parts littered the yard. The house was shrouded with overgrowth and didn't look to have been painted for a few decades. The people who lived here should be quick tempered and highly unorganized but from what Jade told him about Ian's parents that didn't fit. She may have found a home with people who were as difficult to understand and remarkable as she was.
Jade had opened up to him more recently and told him stories of the short time she lived in this house. The details didn't matter as much but each memory she chose to share with him reverberated warmth and belonging. Something Reid pieced together she never had growing up. He understood now the dread she felt coming here wasn't just seeing them again after she had survived and their son didn't but seeing everything else she lost along with it.
He remembered Jade telling him about the horses they had up on the field behind the house that she had broke for them. One of the scars on her arm wasn't from her months held prisoner but when she was thrown from the horse and sliced it open on a rock hidden by weeds. The horse ran all the way to the neighbor's yard three houses down and began harassing their dogs. The image of Jade profusely apologizing to a senile old man for her horse tearing up their yard brought a smile to his face.
It had been over a half hour now and he still hadn't seen anyone exit the house. He was becoming restless but didn't want to intrude. Hopefully they didn't mind if a stranger took a stroll around their property. He probably didn't have to worry about being seen, all of the junk scattered in the yard could obscure him. Reid got out of the truck absentmindedly locking it and shoving the keys in his pocket. He wondered if the horses she spoke about were still there so he started on his way towards the back of the house. A black and white cat ran out from under an old Plymouth and took off after a fleeing rodent. A barn came into view with a dark bay horse grazing behind a fence.
Reid should have known she would have wandered here too. Jade stood with her arms resting on the top fence staring down at her feet. She appeared relaxed from a distance but as he got closer he noticed her breathing was uneven and her hands tense. His heart sank. Reid wasn't sure he wanted to know what happened. She spoke before he could get any closer.
"They should hate me." Jade said without changing her position.
Reid was a somewhat taken aback by her words and couldn't think of anything appropriate to say in that moment.
"I don't deserve anything less than that. I don't get to be welcomed back by them and offered tea and pie like everything didn't completely go to shit." Her voice became louder and more forceful.
"What do you mean, you have nothing to feel guilty for." Reid attempted to calm her but only seemed to make it worse.
She took her arms off the fence and turned to face him, anger evident in every inch of her. Reid braced for the oncoming assault.
"I killed him!" Jade screamed those three words loud enough for every God fearing resident within two miles to hear her and judge her for her sins.
That small detail had disappeared from the reports. Reid had often wondered more of Ian's demise but never pried for her sake.
Her voice dropped down to a lower range and began to quiver. "They put us in the room together forcing one us to kill the other. He was already in bad shape and could barely lift a finger let alone..."
She trailed off but continued. "The one kept beating him with a bat, they had no intention of letting him leave there. I had to stop it. I had to..." Her voice cracked and she started wandering back towards the fence.
"I put my hands on his throat and he had no strength to stop me. They would have done much worse..."
Tears streamed down her face and she made no effort to stop them. Reid hadn't ever seen her cry before. It was like watching someone you thought of as invincible take a fatal blow. The sight was far more than devastating. He thought no different of her and he desperately wanted her to know that. Unfortunately none of the words in his extensive vocabulary would serve him well now. He watched helplessly as she continued to weep with her face in her hands and her body quivering.
Reid dared to take a few steps towards her closing the distance to no more than an arm's length away. It was just short of an eternity before either even flinched, holding their ground preparing for the worst. Jade managed a second of composure to gather what strength she had left to lift her head and look him in the eyes. He thought he saw something more there than utter devastation but before he could analyze the situation further Jade closed the gap between them wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his neck. She lost what little balance was keeping her upright bringing them both to their knees. Reid tightened his arms around her as her sobs quieted and her breathing began to return to normal.
They stayed like that for an hour or so or maybe it was only a minute, time didn't really matter. The sky would become darker, people would continue on their day and he would have remained their still if she needed it. Jade finally lifted her head to look at him and let her hand graze the side of his face. Reid's contentment was short lived when she drew her hand back abruptly like he was on fire. She may have thought she went too far but he longed for her touch for even a second longer.
Jade spoke up first. "I'm sure we've been gone for an inappropriate amount of time maybe we should get up out of the grass."
"I'm not really sure I want to." Reid said without thinking, something he didn't normally do.
Jade looked at him like that was the most rational response to her suggestion.
"Me either."
They left Pennsylvania 2 days later. The sun was only just beginning to rise and cast an orange glow over the mountain streaming in through the small windows of the jet the team often called home. Reid had followed Jade around like a guard dog until the case was over and she only showed a minor annoyance when he started telling her about the intricacies of antiquity dealing. Jade had fallen asleep on his shoulder minutes after they had entered the jet. She had muttered random nonsense before her eyes drifted close and she entwined her arms into his. Reid maintained a ridged posture in an effort to avoid JJ's judging glances from two seats back. He kept his free arm at his side in agony resisting the urge to brush Jade's hair out of her face. The heat of her body next to his consumed him and made him wonder how he would ever survive if she chose to entice him any further.
A wave of panic washed over him when Hotch emerged seemingly from nowhere and took the seat opposite of them. Reid didn't start to breathe again until it was clear that Hotch was going to pretend to not see the sight in front of him. After 5 minutes of excruciating silence Hotch finally looked up from his paperwork and decided to speak.
"You two worked well together. I know this one was personal for her but you kept her focused."
You didn't need to be a profiler to suspect hidden meaning there. Reid wasn't sure if Hotch was bringing Reid's feelings to light or showing some kind of strange approval for their unconventional working relationship. Either way it made him wriggle uncomfortably.
Reid sublimated his burning admiration for Jade for a more appropriate response.
"She seems to fit in well with all of us. This team hadn't seemed whole for a while."
Hotch had moved his attention back the paperwork in front of him and only nodded in approval.
"Well let's keep it that way. Take her home please."
She caught the boy off guard and took him to his knees in one swift blow. He couldn't have been more than 20 and already displayed an animalistic stance after only being held captive more than a month. Her vision was blurred after the boy had slashed her face just missing her left eye. Blood streamed down her neck and continued to obscure her vision. She didn't really need to see anymore. She had taken down many before him using only her hearing to pinpoint their location in the ring. They liked to dim the lights during these types of matches to get some sort of sick pleasure out of stealing one of the adversaries' senses momentarily.
She knew he wouldn't walk out of here but refused to give them a good show of his death. This boy didn't deserve to die in a moldy roach infested room but no god had ever been fair to anyone in here. He was small and slender enough that she was able to snap his neck before the boy's brain could process what was happening. His limp frame fell to the ground but his eyes remained open and fixed on her. He wouldn't be the last one that would lie motionless in this room as she tried to not imagine the future they would never have. Maybe he would have graduated college and went to law school or maybe he would have failed out and disappointed his overly strict parents. He should have been able to make mistakes and feel sorrow and guilt for not living up to expectations. He should still be alive to overcome these pitfalls and prove all of his naysayers wrong by graduating at the top of his class. Instead all he was now was victim number 15 whose lifeless form would be dragged from the sullen room before she could repent for taking it all away. He would be thrown down the old elevator shaft to join the rest of the bodies with stolen futures and untimely ends.
She was left alone in that room for an hour with not even a corpse to keep her company. She thought they only did this to let the adrenaline diminish to ensure she would put up less of fight when they returned to cuff her and drag her back to the cell. Or possibly this operation had become too large and there wasn't enough henchman to control the population in an organized fashion anymore. Their greed had become their undoing. They had kidnapped an unprecedented number in the last outing almost losing a young man who had writhed free from his captor. She would observe their operations for a month longer before finding an opportunity to make her move.
Reid heeded his supervisor's command and grabbed Jade's keys from her purse while she was still nestled into his side. He foresaw an inevitable struggle already as her sometimes stubborn demeanor didn't allow for another's help. However she was still too exhausted to put up a good fight and gave in to Reid driving her home. They drove in a comfortable silence to her apartment 10 miles from then agency headquarters. She may be more sluggish than usual but still managed to gather all of her bags and make her way to the door before Reid had the opportunity to assist. He followed her inside, closing the door soft enough to not pull him from his reverie. He watched her in fascination as she fussed with her cat and almost tripped on it as she made her way into the kitchen. Jade was still completely at ease with Reid's intrusion as she busied herself with monotonous tasks. Once she ran out of apparent things to do when one returns home from a trip she turned her attention to Reid.
"I'm not sure I would have made it through that if it wasn't for you. Thank you." Her voice had a soothing melody to it. She always thanked him for things but he didn't really think he had done anything worthy of her appreciation.
"I can't confirm that's the truth but you are more than welcome." Reid responded warmly.
He still hadn't learned to stop his heart from palpitating whenever she was close enough to touch. She had crossed the room and stood in front of him with a look in her eyes that either meant anguish or ecstasy, he could never really be sure. Before he had ample time to figure it out her lips had crushed against his and she snaked her arms around his neck. He met her impassioned kiss with a fervid yearning of his own. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and he thought he may die right there in her living room. He matched her building ferocity by pulling her lower lip into his mouth and biting it firmly before releasing. She let out a visceral moan and Reid knew they were too far gone to stop now. Jade had him up against the wall and had moved her attention from his mouth to the side of his neck. He let out a starved gasp of his own as she nipped at the smooth flesh near his Adam's apple. His response only spurred her on further as she peeled his body off the wall and dragged him to her bedroom.
They stood in front of each other assessing the other like long lost lovers reunited after years apart. Jade's long brown hair was messily gathered to the side and her lips were swollen from their current engagement. The predatory look in her eyes only seemed to intensify as she glanced down the length of him.
"Take off your pants." Jade commanded through heaving breaths.
Reid felt all the remaining blood in his body rush downward and knew he couldn't hide his arousal. He obediently obeyed her request and hurriedly began undoing his belt. Jade became inpatient pushing him onto the bed and finishing the job for him. Once she successfully removed the fabric keeping them apart she straddled his waist and lowered herself on top of him. Feeling emboldened he grabbed at her shirt undoing the buttons hastily and ripping it off of her. He let his hands graze the perfect skin of her breasts as she began undoing the clasp of her bra. Reid gasped in awe at the sight of her half naked form in front of him. The supple skin on her abdomen covered taunt muscles underneath. Reid traced his hand from the bottom of her torso and paused at the skin underneath her perfect breasts.
A coy smile crept onto Jade's lips. She grabbed Reid's hand placing it where his eyes didn't move from. He swallowed the lump in his throat as the stirring in his genitals intensified. Every rational thought of halting her onslaught on his senses was silenced by the insatiable urge to feel every inch of her. He grabbed at her waist forcing her downward and Jade responded by grinding further into his arousal. He didn't think he could possibly last much longer. Jade's resolve was also waning as she undid the button on her jeans pulling them off in a vigorous motion. Before she settled her hips back down onto his she positioned her hand on his inner thigh slowly moving inwards.
Reid had been right from the beginning, she would be the death of him. Only the fabric of his boxers separated her hand from his swollen cock. She massaged him gently before removing the barrier all together. She had somehow removed her only remaining undergarment in the next motion and resumed kissing him with the same passion as before. He moaned loudly and fervently as her felt her wet center against him. Before getting too carried away she leaned over grabbing a condom from her night stand and slipped it on his erection. In his next breath she has lowered herself onto him as he lurched underneath her. Reid was sure he no longer had any feeling in his legs. His hands grasped her hips as he moved in and out of her. He was completely intoxicated by the feeling of being inside her and each moan that escaped her mouth pushed him closer. He grabbed her shoulders forcibly so he could reach her lips again. Her body was quivering giving away she wasn't far from climaxing. The rhythmic motion of their bodies against each other became quickened. Reid thrust his hips up once more feeling the inferno that started in his lower abdomen course through all of his remaining extremities. Jade yelled out several expletives throwing his name in between them. She collapsed on top of him with him still inside her making no effort to move. Reid let his hands get tangled in her hair as he attempted to slow his breathing. He didn't know if he would be able to recover and never imagined anything could feel that euphoric and satisfying. Jade finally untangled herself from him kissing him once more and laying her head on his chest.
He refused to let his mind wander to the repercussions of their actions. He didn't know if she just ached for comfort or felt as strongly for him as he did for her. Reality could rear its ugly head in the morning for now Reid let himself indulge in the elation of that moment without fear of tomorrow.
**I had only meant for them to kiss at that last part but somehow it turned into complete smut and now I have to rate this thing M. Hope you enjoyed!
