This is like an epic chapter. Hope you enjoy, it is a nice loooong one. The next chapter will take the story up to an M rating most likely. And when I say Reid whump is coming, I mean Reid whump is coming (no, not like the soft, fluffy stuff in chapters 3 or 4 ;) )
Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, please keep them coming! x
Morgan stood unmoving, completely in shock. The team stared at Morgan, torn between disbelief and disgust. Reid was just staring at the gun he had dropped onto the desk, Morgan's arm still wrapped loosely around his neck.
Reid shook himself free of the older man's grip, lightly pushing him backwards. He collapsed into Morgan's chair. He couldn't stop staring at the gun. Finally he shook his head, bringing himself out of the trance. He still didn't look at Morgan.
"How could you?" He asked, voice shaking.
Desperately, Morgan stepped forwards.
"Reid, I swear. I didn't." He darted his gaze to Hotch and Rossi hoping for support. He received little. "You can't seriously believe I would do this to you Reid? After how upset you've been about losing stuff. Honestly?"
"Bet that was all part of your plan." Reid said, hopelessly. "Make me think I'm going mad."
"Reid-" Morgan tried to cut in, reaching to Reid's shoulder.
Reid flipped, standing up so fast he felt like his head was going to explode, he picked up his gun and reflexively put it his pocket.
"Get off me!" He squared up to Morgan, who surprisingly, took a step back. His eyes were wide with the fear that he might lose his friend. "Well done, Morgan. You well and truly win this round. I'm exhausted." He whispered, the last bit, tears gathering slightly in his eyes. He looked as though he was going to say something else, then gave up. Letting out a sigh, he dropped his gaze and walked around Morgan. He then collapsed back into his own chair, dropping his head into his hands as the pain from his head radiated behind the eyes.
Morgan was stood in devastated shock. He didn't know what to say. The rest of the team eyed each other, unsure how to proceed. Rossi approached Reid.
"Reid," he put a hand on his back. "You can go in my office for a while. Have a lie down on the couch. I'll close the blinds." Reid didn't argue. He allowed Rossi to lead him up the stairs and into the relaxing office. The team watched as Rossi closed the blinds and then the door as he exited the space. He nodded to Hotch that all was clear.
"Right, everyone in the conference room now. Get JJ and Garcia." Hotch spoke firmly. He didn't look at Morgan, nor did anyone else. Although other staff whispered about him as he moved through the bullpen, he could hardly care. The fact that Reid could believe he would do such a thing had deeply upset him. He wanted desperately to explain his lack of involvement but the words wouldn't come out. He had never found himself in a position where he had been accused of something so serious by such a close friend. The whole situation had shocked him to the core. And now he was going to have to defend himself in front of his trusted colleagues. He followed them quietly into the room.
"The gun was in your drawer?" JJ asked, shocked.
Morgan held his head in his hands. He didn't respond.
"Tell me this is not happening." Garcia muttered, extremely worried.
"What was it doing in there?" JJ asked again.
"That's enough." Hotch ordered. "Now everybody sit down." Those who were stood obeyed silently. Hotch lifted his gaze to Morgan who was across the table from him. "Derek, what's going on?"
Waiting to see if anyone was going to interrupt, Morgan lifted his head and quickly glanced around. He was met with silence. He finally felt able to speak.
"I don't know, Hotch. I honestly don't." He said calmly and rationally.
"How did Reid's gun get into your desk drawer?" Hotch asked, equally calmly.
"Search me, man. I dunno!" Morgan was clearly confused, innocence was written all over his face. "The only thing I know, is that it damn sure wasn't me who put it there."
Hotch stared searchingly at Morgan for a few moments. Coming to a realisation, he looked to the rest of the team.
"Right, then we have a big problem."
"Either someone is doing this to him or..." Prentiss paused not wanting to finish that sentence.
"He's doing it to himself." Rossi understood where she was going.
Garcia looked to Rossi, confused.
"What do you mean 'he's doing it to himself'? How would that work?"
"Baby girl, if Reid is suffering a psychological break, he may be doing things without actually realising it."
"Like planting a phone in your drawer? That seems pretty calculated for someone suffering a psychological break, doesn't it?" JJ questioned. Hotch turned to her.
"Yes. But just because he might be doing these things, it doesn't mean that there is any rationale behind them."
"No, but he would have to get by Morgan's desk without anyone noticing him going in there." Prentiss added.
"This is where it starts to get confusing." Morgan admitted. "I've barely been away from my desk today. I mean, Reid's been near it but not long enough to dispense a gun into my bottom drawer."
"But how long would it take someone like Reid to do that, Morgan? Realistically?" Rossi questioned. He continued, "I've seen guys standing in full view of another person, stealing the ties from around their necks in mid-conversation."
"You're thinking sleight of hand?" Prentiss looked to him.
"It's a possibility." Hotch added.
"But again, that would require a certain level of premeditation. We know Reid would never do that with a healthy mind, but with an unhealthy mind wouldn't that kind of organised thinking be just too... organised?"
"Organisation and psychological breaks are often mutually exclusive." Rossi added, justifying what Morgan had just said.
"Okay, well ignoring his behaviour today, has he been showing any other signs of a psychological break?" Hotch asked.
"He's been pretty moody the last few weeks." JJ admitted. "But then, I would be if I were going through what he's going through."
"Okay, what else?"
"He's less organised, less focused." Morgan added. "His desk has been a mess for 5 days now. And this morning he was reading the same file for 15 minutes."
"Really?" Garcia looked up, concerned. "My poor baby." She whispered.
"Anything else?" Hotch kept probing. Prentiss shifted uncomfortably, drawing Hotch's attention. "Something to add, Emily?"
Taking a deep breath and then sighing, she looked torn as to whether to release the information.
"Mm... Before I... went off... for those months. Reid told me that he had been suffering from severe headaches. He said he had been to a few doctors and none of them could tell him what it was."
JJ opened her mouth in shock.
"He kept that from us?"
"He said you guys would only worry. He didn't want to be... treated like a baby." Prentiss thought about what the future would hold for Reid if he was indeed, mentally ill. It would be his worst nightmare come true. "If he is suffering from a psychological break of some form, then it's no wonder he reacted as violently as he did. He is probably terrified."
"He's going through hell right now." Morgan stated.
"I've got to say, it's not looking good." Hotch summed up. "All of these behaviours and symptoms are consistent with Schizophrenia. In which case, he wouldn't need an initial reason for putting his gun in your drawer. All he would need is enough of a suggestion from his subconscious that the gun is in your drawer, fuelled by the earlier dissociative state he was in when he actually planted the gun on you to actually accuse you."
"You mean that he doesn't remember putting the gun in the drawer, but his subconscious does and when his paranoia takes over, his brain tells him the gun is in a drawer, so he accuses someone?" JJ's brows were furrowed with confusion.
"It's possible." Answered Rossi. "Although, I would quite like to speak to his new friend. Is it just me, or is something not right about him?"
Garcia quickly turned to Rossi.
"Who? ….Jason?... He wouldn't have anything to do with this, Agent Rossi. He's a good man. He looks out for Reid. He wouldn't hurt him."
"I'm not saying he would. I'm just saying I'd like to speak with him."
"Why am I here?" Jason shifted awkwardly in his chair, feeling incredibly uncomfortable under the scrutinising gaze of Reid's work colleagues.
"I think you know." Rossi said, a hint of accusation in his voice.
Jason darted his gaze around the room conference room. Biting his lip, he tried he steady his nerves.
"Is this about Spencer?" He questioned, his voice shaking slightly.
"Yes." Hotch answered simply. "How has he been behaving around you?"
Taking a deep breath, Jason didn't look happy to be sharing this information.
"He hasn't been great. But I don't know him all that well. I just took him for being quirky."
"What kind of quirky?" Asked Morgan.
"What kind of quirky?" Jason repeated it back in confusion.
"What was he doing to make you think he was quirky?" Morgan rephrased.
"Oh... well... uh, everything about him is quirky." Jason replied with a smile.
"That's true." Garcia mouthed under her breath.
"But I suppose he's been losing things, but you guys know all about that... he's having dreadful headaches too though. He told me none of you knew about that."
"He told me." Prentiss chipped in. Jason frowned slightly.
"He did?" Prentiss nodded. "Oh. Well, I guess that's all I can tell you. I mean, I'm assuming you know about his mother and her situation."
"We do." Hotch replied.
"Well there's not much more I can say really." Jason smiled.
"Why is it that he trusts you so much?" Rossi asked, forcefully.
Slightly taken aback, Jason took a few moments to respond.
"I don't know. We're friends. We just kind of... clicked." Jason spoke carefully, nerves were evident in his voice. "Why does anyone trust people they are close to? I dunno, I guess that's something you gotta ask him."
Hotch's phone rang. He cancelled it.
"If there is anything else at all you can think of that might help us get to the bottom of this, then we'd be grateful if you could have a quick think." Prentiss suggested.
Hotch's phone rang again, and again he cancelled it.
"I really don't think there is anything."
"Are you quite sure about that, Jason?" Rossi eyed him carefully. Jason nodded, slightly scared.
"What are you saying, Dave?" Morgan asked.
"I'm just testing out a theory. I put it to you, Jason, that you, for whatever reason, are making Reid think that he is losing his mind."
Jason's mouth dropped open in complete shock.
"You can't be serious." He shook his head in disbelief.
"Dave, you've got no proof of that." Hotch warned him.
Hotch's phone rang again. He looked at the screen, irritated.
"Sorry." He apologised as he went to answer. The room settled into an uncomfortable silence. "Agent Hotchner..." He looked confused as the voice on the end of the phone answered him. He put his cell on loud speaker so all could hear. "Sorry, where did you say you were calling from again?"
The lady on the end of the phone was quite friendly, sounded to be older.
"Bennington Sanitarium in Las Vegas, sir." The team all exchanged perplexed glances. "Are you Dr. Spencer Reid's boss?"
"Yes, I am." Hotch replied. Too confused to ask questions.
"Excellent. Could you please pass a message on to Dr. Reid?"
"Yes, of course... But have you not tried contacting him directly?" Hotch furrowed his brows.
"Yes. I have rang him on numerous occasions over the last three days. I have yet to come into contact with him. But I was given your name as a back-up in case I couldn't get through."
"Right... would you like to speak with him?"
"Oh, well, yes. That would be much better!" The lady sounded relieved to have finally gotten somewhere. Hotch nodded to Rossi to fetch Reid.
A minute later, Reid entered the room. His eyes slightly squinted and his face bruised and cut. He did not look well. Taking the cell off speaker phone, Hotch handed Reid the phone.
"Hello?" He said in a slightly croaky voice. The team watched him intently. "Oh yeah... what? You couldn't?" Reid pulled his cell out of his pocket, clearly checking for missed calls. "Well I've not had any missed calls on my cell..." Reid then read out his cell number. "Yes... no... that's my current number. You don't have it?... Really?... What number do you have?..." Reid looked to Jason. "Oh really? Well that just doesn't make any sense..." He looked confused. "I did?... I haven't called you guys for over 4 weeks now..." He rolled his eyes. "I have an eidetic memory, Susan. I think I would remember something like that... yes, well I suggest you change it back! Yes now! Please do not ring my colleagues again... Bye." He put the cell down clearly frustrated.
All the team were interested in what he had to say next.
"Everything alright, Spence?"
"No, no, not really." He looked up at Jason. "Someone has rang Bennington pretending to be me! I have apparently provided them with a new cell number andapparently given permission for them to call you if I am unavailable." At that he gestured to Hotch.
"And you didn't?" Rossi questioned.
"No." Reid spat out. "But I know exactly who's number it was that was given." He turned to Jason. "It was yours!"
Jason's eyes opened wide, slightly frightened. He stuttered.
"W- what?"
"They had your number at Bennington! Why?" Reid was once again getting annoyed.
"I don't know! That doesn't mean anything!" Jason argued, desperately.
Morgan noticed Reid was getting into the habit of squaring up to people. He was now leaning towards Jason, taking a completely dominant position. That in itself was out of character.
"Well isn't it convenient that just as I'm 'starting to go crazy', you turn up and befriend me... What is it you want?" Hotch looked between the two men. He honestly didn't know what to believe now. "What is it Jason?... You been hiding everything too?" Reid said with an arrogant smirk.
Rossi looked between the two men. Reid was uncharacteristically aggressive, his appearance was in disarray, he looked exhausted and he was clearly severely paranoid. On the other hand, Jason was submitting to Reid's dominance, also uncharacteristically, Rossi predicted. But aside from that, there was nothing suspicious about the man's demeanour. As much as it frustrated him to admit it, he did think that Jason was actually on the straight and narrow. However, this phone call was deeply suspicious.
"I haven't hidden anything Spence, please!" Jason begged. "Don't push me away. All I want to do is help you!" He stood trying to get Spencer to look at him. For his efforts, he received a hard shove to the floor.
"I can't believe I trusted you!" Reid rubbed his head hard as another painful burst spread through his forehead and eyes.
"Reid!" Hotch shouted. "Enough is enough! Go home."
Reid stared at him in shock, his mouth hung open.
"W- what?"
"I said go home. You are temporarily suspended from duty." The rest of the team exchanged sympathetic glances. "You will return to work subject to a psychological evaluation at the end of the week."
Reid stood stock still for a few moments, not quite believing what he was hearing. Then he started mumbling.
"Right... right... yeah." Running his hand through his hair, he turned slowly towards the door, his movements were jerking.
"Reid..." Hotch caught his attention once again. "Your credentials and your gun."
Feeling hopeless, Reid simply dropped them on the floor and stepped out of the conference room. They could see him go straight for his bag and quickly shove all of the items that were expelled from it earlier, back into it with little care. Then he went straight for the glass doors and left.
The team were in silent disbelief.
"I'm sorry." Hotch apologised, particularly to Jason. "I know there were better ways of handling this." He looked directly at Jason now. "And I'm sorry you had to become involved."
"Not your fault." Jason smiled sadly.
"We should have kept a closer eye on him." Rossi reflected. He was finally coming round to the idea that Reid was actually suffering from a psychological breakdown. He turned to Jason. "Sorry."
"Can't say I'm not slightly annoyed that you would believe Agent Morgan, but not me. But it is what it is. I just wish I could help him. But I think he's lost his trust in me now." He frowned.
"Join the club." Prentiss remarked.
"Jason. Take an early finish. My way of apology." Hotch smiled slightly.
"You sure?" Jason looked unconvinced.
"Yes. Of course. I'll speak to Lewis."
"Thank you, sir." Jason nodded to the team, then quickly ducked out of the room.
"What now?" JJ said, feeling incredibly melancholy.
"Have an hour's break from now. I think we all need it." Hotch replied in a sombre tone.
Hotch left the conference room and returned to his office to have some time alone.
"I have cookies." Garcia said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yes, please." Joked Prentiss, always first to get over the shock of events.
"Come on Jadje." Garcia said gently to her friend, pulling her to her office with Emily close behind.
Rossi and Morgan remained behind, sat in silence.
After almost 40 minutes of not speaking, Rossi and Morgan were finally talking things through.
"You know, for a split second, I thought you guys weren't gonna believe me." Morgan spoke honestly.
"For a split second – I didn't." Rossi replied, equally honest.
Morgan furrowed his brows.
"What is it about Reid that makes us abandon all senses?"
"I dunno. I guess it's sympathy." Rossi said bluntly.
"Sympathy?" Morgan didn't like the use of that word.
"Yeah, I mean the kid's grown up watching his mother suffer through Schizophrenia. We all know how scared he is of that. I mean, even Jason knows that, and he's only known him two minutes. It's Reid's greatest fear, so it's only natural for us to deny that it might be happening."
Morgan nodded, he couldn't disagree with that.
"What did you make of the whole Jason thing?"
"With Bennington?" Rossi replied.
"Yeah, I mean, if Reid has really given Jason's number to Bennington then he really is losing it."
"Hm..." Rossi looked deep in thought.
"Hm?" Morgan questioned Rossi's response.
"Just something doesn't feel right, still." Rossi was clearly deep in thought, Morgan eyed him carefully.
"This isn't more denial is it, Rossi?"
Sighing, Rossi shook his head.
"I don't know... But say someone was doing this to him."
"Like who?.. Jason?... Come on Rossi!" Morgan sat back in his chair, tired of covering the same ground.
"Ok, yeah. Say it's Jason. He gets close to Reid, convinces him he's going crazy – why?"
"Are we really doin' this?" Asked Morgan.
"Humour me." Rossi retorted dryly.
"Fine, fine. Okay, could want him out of the job? Perhaps professional jealousy."
"But he could never fill Reid's shoes. It's a pointless goal." Rossi dismissed the career idea.
"Okay, well perhaps he has some personal jealousy issues."
Rossi weighed the thought up and down.
"Possibly. But Reid isn't exactly the typical sort of person that inspires jealousy... If we were looking at you, that would be a more realistic issue. You're well-built, you can take care of yourself and you are a strong alpha male. Being jealous of people who are generally weaker or less 'alpha' than you are is generally not the done thing."
"Okay, so we're looking at control then? Out of the pair, Jason is the alpha male and sees a submission in Reid that makes him want to dominate him."
"So he removes the only obstacle standing in the way, his brain." Rossi felt as though they were starting to make progress.
"But Rossi, there's one problem with this. A relationship such as that relies on a certain level of trust. He had Reid's trust. Why would he throw it away by doing something so stupid as phoning up the sanitarium and giving himself away like that?"
Rossi sat in silence for a good minute or so. It was obvious to Morgan that Rossi felt he was onto something, and he wasn't completely unconvinced himself. The thought made him slightly queezy.
"What if it wasn't just about domination and control? What if it was about obsession? What if Jason is obsessed with Reid? If he believes he is in love with him then that would change everything."
"It wouldn't just be about control, it would be about getting Reid all to himself." Morgan continued the thought, his eyes opening wide in horror. "And he doesn't need Reid's trust to do that."
"He needs ours."