Okay, here is a fairly fast update for you :) Hope you enjoy it. Once again, thank you so much for all of your reviews. I'm loving the support I'm getting from all of you lovely readers. This feels like a Golden Globe speech or something... I'd like to thank my Mum, my Dad, God (perhaps not)... Anyway, I digress. Thank you to in particular to CMSP for your reviews, which are always almost as long as my chapters! I love reading your reviews and it's nice to see that you dissect the story so much and pick out bits you really like and other bits you don't. I love how annoyed you are with Morgan too :P
Please, please keep reviewing! They make me all happy and warm inside.
WARNINGS: Usual warnings apply. Mentions of sexual assault, swearing, violence, etc etc. ENJOY!
P.S. I haven't read through this is one go. It's 20 pages long and I can't keep my eyes open for long enough. So please let me know about any issues. Ta!
Hotch and Prentiss walked into the BAU bull pen. The atmosphere was beyond miserable. The remaining members of Lewis' team were gathered around one desk comforting each other. Prentiss looked sadly to Hotch. They both deeply sympathised with the team. They knew how they felt when Reid went missing. But to lose two members of your team by the hand of another team member must have been unbearable.
Hotch and Prentiss approached the desk.
"We're sorry to hear about Lewis and Howard. They were great guys." Prentiss nodded to the team.
They looked up, their eyes clouded with tears. Agent Pearson wiped the tears from his eyes and sniffled.
"Thanks." He looked to Hotch. "How's your agent?"
Prentiss and Hotch were touched that he would even ask.
"He's okay." Hotch answered. "Well, as okay as he's going to be."
"I can't believe all of this." Agent Newton said, completely in shock. As far as Hotch knew, she was the newest member of the team and would most likely take the situation badly. "You would think you'd be safe around your work colleagues." She continued.
"Talking of colleagues," Pearson interjected, "Strauss is in your office."
A look of disappointed frustration crossed Hotch's face. He really wasn't in the mood for this, and it was quite clear to everyone else.
"I'll get you that coffee." Prentiss said, patting her boss on the shoulder.
Exhaling moodily, Hotch approached his office and greeted the woman waiting inside.
"Morning Erin." Hotch closed the door behind him.
"Aaron, what on earth has been going on? I go away for a few days and come back to a disaster zone. There's been people evacuated from the building, one of our analysts has killed two of our agents and held a third hostage. All of your team is no where to be seen and you're all supposed to be on a rest week. This is just ridiculous."
"I don't know what I can say." Hotch responded tiredly. He rubbed his hand across his eyes.
"Well you can start by telling me how the hell this happened." Strauss confronted him angrily.
"I don't know how it happened." Hotch shrugged his shoulders and dropped into the nearest chair. "Jason Turner was obsessed with one of my agents, he kidnapped him, when we found him, Lewis and Howard took Jason to the hospital. He killed them... I really don't know what else to tell you."
Strauss stared at Hotch for a few moments, her gaze hard and unsympathetic. When Hotch brought his forehead down to rest in his hand, however, Strauss' expression softened.
"How is your agent?" She asked, clearly realising that Hotch was struggling to keep it all together.
"He's not good." Hotch shook his head. "It's going to take a long time for him to get over it."
Strauss furrowed her brows with slight concern.
"Which agent was it Aaron?" The other team, clearly out of respect for Reid had not given her any details.
"It was Dr. Reid."
Strauss dropped her gaze. She knew he had been kidnapped once before. She also knew that the team were very protective of him. Sometimes she felt it unnecessary, the young man had matured a lot over the years she had been in charge. However, it was clear that people saw him as an easy target.
"I'm sorry Aaron. Please let me know if there is anything I can do." Hotch nodded back gratefully. "Where is Dr. Reid now?" She asked seriously.
"He is in the hospital. He has two armed officers guarding his room. Jason Turner cannot go near him again. I don't think Reid would survive it." Hotch looked up at his boss.
"Is his condition so severe?" Strauss asked, feeling sorry for the team, they had been through a lot recently.
"Physically, no. He'll recover. But mentally... I'm not so sure. He trusted Jason and I don't think he'll get over this easily."
"He'll be fine I'm sure. He's stronger than he looks, even I know that."
"He was assaulted, Erin. Sexually." She grimaced. "He's going to need a lot of time off if he's going to recover. That's if he wants to return to work at all."
"I wouldn't blame him if he didn't." Strauss mumbled. "Anyway, you and your team, take the next three days off. Dr. Reid can have as long as he needs. I'll keep his job open." Hotch looked at her, surprised by her act of kindness. "What?" She said, confronting him over his stare. "I'm not heartless you know."
Hotch gave a small smile. Underneath the criticism that they often threw at each other, Hotch didn't completely dislike Strauss. He knew there was a good person in there somewhere.
"Thanks." He said.
"Let me know if there is anything I can do. Your team can work on finding Mr. Turner for the rest of the week. But once that time is up, I'm afraid you will have to get back to your usual work and this case will be passed on to local police." Hotch nodded, not overly happy about that prospect. "I now have two incomplete teams. I will take the lead of Lewis' team until we can find a replacement." She looked at Hotch for a couple of seconds. "And go home Aaron. Get some sleep." She walked around him and towards the door.
"Erin." Hotch called, suddenly turning. "Have we got any evidence back from the gym yet?"
"No. It won't be back here for a couple of hours yet. You know that." She raised her eyebrows at him. "Go to bed. That's an order." She smiled, knowing he was terrible at following commands. She then opened the door and left.
Hotch sat for a short while in silence. He couldn't even be bothered to lift his head up from the support of his hand. The events of the last 24 hours had exhausted him. He didn't know how much more he could take. He had come back to the BAU with the intention of carrying on profiling Jason and figuring out exactly what he was up to. But right now, all his mind was capable of thinking about was sleep. He sighed.
He also wanted to make sure that the crime scene investigators had recovered all of the tapes from Jason's camera. As much as he didn't want to watch them, he knew that it was the quickest and easiest way of profiling Jason. Predicting his next move would be instrumental in keeping Reid safe.
There was a soft knock at his door. He turned to see Prentiss holding a steaming cup of coffee, a small smile on her face.
"Coffee makes all things better." She moved in, handing the mug to her boss.
"Thanks." He said quietly.
She pulled up a chair and sat down opposite him.
"Strauss appeared quite supportive today." Hotch raised his eyebrows, clearly not wanting to comment for fear of saying something he shouldn't. "Take it she's off the bottle now." She said with a slight laugh. Hotch shot Prentiss a warning look. Emily quickly looked to the floor apologetically. "Sorry. This is what I do. Inappropriate jokes." She shrugged her shoulders, breathing out uncomfortably as her boss' gaze was on her.
"We've been given the rest of the week to find Jason." Hotch said simply.
"The end of the week? Seriously?" Prentiss did not sound too satisfied.
"Well technically she's two teams down. There are just too many cases." Hotch found himself defending her position for once. This situation wasn't kind to any of them.
"Oh." Prentiss looked downcast. "So what are we going to do now?"
"Sleep." Hotch turned to her. "If we want any chance of finding Jason then we are going to need our brains working at full capacity."
"But I thought you didn't want to sleep." Prentiss mentioned. "I would be happy to start profiling Jason with you if you like? See if we can figure out where he might go?"
"No. I've been ordered." Hotch said, pulling his face. A slight smile graced Prentiss' lips.
"Ah." She nodded. "Well, women know best of course."
"Had a feeling you might say that." Hotch said a hint of humour laced in his voice. "I'm going to get a couple of hours. I will meet you back here at 11am."
"No problem." Prentiss stood and walked towards the door. Then she turned to look at Hotch. "Take care." She smiled. "Don't dwell on things. We'll get him." She said confidently. Then she turned and left.
"I wish I could believe you." Hotch muttered cynically.
It was 11am and Morgan was sat in the BAU conference room. He had received a message from Hotch at 7.30am telling him to meet him in work at 11am. So far there was no sign of anyone. He sat staring through the blinds into the bull pen, observing the behaviour of those still working. The mood was clearly low. Occasionally he would see someone glance across to the conference room, clearly talking about him or one of his team.
Lewis' team had been sent home on the advice of Strauss. This relieved him slightly. The last thing they needed was a group of overly emotional, grieving colleagues muscling in on their investigation.
Morgan desperately wanted to call the officers who were safeguarding Reid, just to make sure they hadn't encountered any issues over the last few hours. But common sense told him that Hotch would have contacted him if anything had arisen. Impatience was getting the better of Morgan and he stood up, pacing around the room.
"You'll drive yourself mad doing that." Rossi entered the room, two cups of coffee in hand. How had Morgan not noticed him?
"It's better than sitting around doing nothing, Rossi." The older man handed him a cup, Morgan took it gratefully.
He took a sip of the hot liquid, wincing as he swallowed.
"Thought you could do with a strong one." Rossi smiled.
"You tryin' to kill me?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at his colleague.
"If he was you'd know about it." Prentiss remarked as she entered the room, placing her bag on the chair in front of her. JJ and Garcia followed close behind.
"Where's Hotch?" JJ asked.
"I dunno, I got a message from him saying to meet him here at 11am, but I've seen no sign of him." Morgan replied, sitting back down in his chair.
"He'll be here soon." Rossi reassured them.
"I hope Reid's okay." Garcia mused. "You know, with everything..."
"Reid will be fine, Garcia." Morgan snapped slightly. "He's safe where he is right now. A hell of a lot safer than he was with us!" They all turned to look at him, taken a back. The room went silent and Morgan instantly felt uncomfortable. He turned to look through the blinds again to see Hotch entering the bull pen. " 'Bout time." He sighed.
The others exchanged wide eyed glances. They weren't used to Morgan being moody. It just wasn't his way. He was never the passive aggressive type, if he had something to say he would normally come straight out and say it.
Hotch entered the conference room.
"Morning. Hope you all feel a bit more rested." He clearly didn't. He had dark circles around his eyes, he hadn't even bothered to dress in a suit, opting instead for a dark blue t-shirt and smart jeans. "Sit down please." He motioned to the table. His team all sat, he remained standing. "I know the last day or two has been difficult and it's hard to keep up morale, but we have been given 'til the end of the week to find Jason, then the case gets passed on to local police."
"What? You can't be serious, man!" Morgan interrupted.
"Morgan, it's non-negotiable. Strauss discussed it with me earlier today."
"She can't do that Hotch!" Morgan snapped.
"Yes she can." Hotch said slowly. "And she has."
"Jason could be anywhere, man! What if he vanishes into the woodwork?" Morgan asked, panicking.
"We won't let that happen." Hotch said simply.
"How can we stop it? We had our profile! None of us predicted that he would kill Lewis and Howard so how the hell can we expect to get it right this time?"
Hotch looked to Rossi then cleared his throat. It was clear they knew something the others didn't. Prentiss' eyes opened wide as she glanced between the pair.
"What?... What is it?"
Hotch took a deep breath, exhaling it quickly and Rossi rubbed his beard uncomfortably.
"Tell us." JJ said, now looking concerned.
"After Reid was rescued, we found something." Rossi started. The team stared at him hard, hating how he was drawing it out.
"What?... What was it, Rossi?" Morgan leaned in, extremely frustrated.
"A camera." Hotch's voice broke slightly as he said it.
The team stared at him, horrified.
"A camera?" Garcia's mouth was wide open in shock.
"It was in the corner of the room, disguised by a wall panel." Hotch said.
"In that light, Reid never would have seen it." Rossi added.
"Oh my god," JJ rubbed her hand down her face.
"So you're tellin' me, that not only did that bastard... rape Reid" They all flinched. "... you're sayin' he fuckin' taped it too?"
"I don't know." Hotch said matter of factly. "But whatever is on that tape will help us to build a solid profile." He was trying to take the positives out of the situation.
"You're going to watch it?" Garcia said with a gasp.
"Unless you have any better ideas." Rossi questioned.
Agent Anderson suddenly entered the room. He was carrying a large box.
"Excuse me sir." He spoke to Hotch. "You asked for these. They were found behind the false wall in the building."
"Thank you." Hotch nodded to his subordinate.
They all stared at the box on the table. Knowing that once they opened it, there was no going back.
"Are you sure about this Hotch?" Morgan asked, fear in his eyes.
Hotch looked at him for a couple of moments, tempted to back away. But then he thought about Reid, lying in a hospital bed and how vulnerable he was at that very moment. Suddenly he found his hands moving towards the box's lid and removing it. Morgan sighed, running a hand down his face.
His brows furrowed as he looked in. The other team members stood to get a better vantage point.
"Oh my god, how many are there?" Garcia was aghast.
"They all have Reid's name on them." Rossi picked up two tapes to use as an example. "This explains something." He showed the tapes to JJ. They had two large white stickers running down the side and in big black capital letters was the name 'SPENCE'
She shook her head angrily. Her term of endearment had now been forever tainted. Jason really didn't realise how much he'd taken.
"What are all of these?" Prentiss questioned. She had a stack of five tapes in front of her. "He can't have recorded all of these within the 14 hours."
"This doesn't make sense." Something had been bugging Morgan about this since Hotch mentioned it. "We profiled that he would be expecting us, waiting for the showdown, right?"
"Yeah." Rossi urged him to continue.
"So if he knew we were going to turn up at some point, why did he leave us all of this evidence to convict him with?"
"Yeah, Morgan's right." JJ agreed. "Why would he set himself up like that?"
"Well he clearly wasn't ready for us. Like we said before, he hadn't had the time to get Reid completely under his control. We caught him off guard. Maybe removing the tapes was something he planned to do but didn't get round to." Prentiss suggested.
"Yeah, but why keep them there at all? I mean, this is a hell of a lot of tapes to leave lying around." Morgan emphasised his point by lifting a pile out of the box and placing them on the table.
"He wanted us to find them." Hotch realised. The team were also quickly coming to the same conclusion. "He knew he wouldn't get away with attacking a federal agent. This is all part of his sick game of revenge. He wants us to watch these tapes, to show us what he did."
"Then it becomes doubly important that Reid never finds out about them. Jason's clever, he knows the effect that would have on Reid." Rossi stated.
"And it's doubly important that we don't watch them!" Morgan banged his hand on the table.
"Morgan, if we had any other choice-" Hotch was interrupted.
"No Hotch, don't give me that! There is always another choice." Morgan was deeply frustrated right now.
"Like what, Morgan?" Hotch threw his arms out in a desperate gesture. This whole situation was exhausting.
"Let me talk to him. See if there is any information I can get. The kid's a profiler. If anybody will have an accurate profile of Jason, then it's Reid." Hotch didn't look convinced.
"No Morgan, I can't let you do that." Hotch said sternly.
"Reid will know something is wrong. As far as he knows, Jason is in custody." Rossi agreed.
"And that's what I'll tell him. I'm presuming he doesn't know about the camera. So he'll assume at some point he will have to give a statement about what happened. Let me take his statement."
"I don't know." Hotch sounded sceptical.
"What have we got to lose, Hotch? Come on, man! Reid would never want you watching those tapes. Whether he knows or not... I just feel like we're betrayin' him."
"Yeah, Morgan's right." JJ interjected. "Reid's such a private person. I at least think we should try talking to him before we resort to watching those tapes."
Hotch furrowed his brows. He was so tempted to crack open the tapes, knowing that what was on them would be a profiler's dream come true, it would save Reid any discomfort and would have them well on their way to having a complete and accurate profile. However, what they would have to endure to gain that information would be unbearable. He knew Morgan was right but he couldn't help thinking that saving time was their main priority right now.
"Okay, you have two hours. If you haven't got him talking by then, we will have to watch the tapes."
Morgan nodded in understanding, very satisfied with the reprieve. All he had to do now was gain Reid's trust. Which would be easier said than done.
"Agent Morgan. How can I help you?" Dr. Marston greeted him kindly.
"I'm just wondering how he's been since we left this morning." Morgan glanced over to Reid's side room where he was seemingly asleep. Two officers standing outside, either side of the door frame.
"He's been very quiet. Which is understandable. He's been to sleep a couple of times, but he's woken up both times through bad dreams. He finally got off to sleep properly about an hour ago and he's barely moved since."
"Have you been able to keep the officers a secret?"
"Yes of course." Dr. Marston smiled. Then her pager bleeped. "I'm really sorry, I have to go. But feel free to go and see him. If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to contact my secretary, Julie." She handed him a card.
"Thanks." Morgan nodded.
The doctor promptly left the ward and Morgan began approaching Reid's room.
He walked through the doorway and closed it behind him. Reid's eyes opened slightly when he heard the door click.
"Hey kid." Morgan said gently, moving towards Reid and sitting on the chair closest to him.
Reid blinked away the tiredness and let out a yawn. He then looked to Morgan sheepishly.
"Hey." He answered quietly. Not maintaining eye contact.
"How you feeling?" Morgan asked softly. Reid simply nodded to say he was doing okay. "You look tired, kid. The doctor tells me you've been having some bad dreams."
"Nothing I can't handle." Reid brushed off Morgan's concern, clearly uncomfortable with Morgan knowing.
"You know..." Morgan shuffled closer to Reid. "I used to have bad dreams all the time. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I'm not ashamed." Reid retorted again, trying to look nonchalant.
Morgan sighed. This was going to be difficult.
Suddenly a man entered the room in a nurse's uniform and gave a loud knock on the door. Morgan jumped at the sound.
"Come to take some blood." He said simply. He wasn't particularly friendly.
The man pushed a trolley around the bed, it had various colour coded bottles and syringes.
Reid simply nodded. Morgan noticed his eyes gave away his nervousness as the man moved quickly towards him. To anyone else, they probably wouldn't notice. But Morgan knew Reid well. Probably more than either of them actually realised.
"Well?" The male nurse said. Reid looked up at him, brows furrowed. "I need an arm." He said sharply.
Reid suddenly went red as he realised that he hadn't given the man access to his arm. His mind had clearly been elsewhere.
"Sorry." He said with an embarrassed smile, straightening out his arm for the test. The nurse didn't respond, simply applying the tourniquet to his patient's arm.
"Squeeze your hand tight." He ordered, then went to finding a vein with the needle. "Relax your hand. That's it." Once he had filled all of the sample bottles, he stopped the bleeding with a piece of cotton wool. Took his trolley and simply walked out of the room.
"You're welcome." Reid said dryly. Morgan grinned at him.
"He was nice." Morgan retorted sarcastically. Reid simply raised his eyebrows. "Do you get on with the staff?"
"Does it matter?" Reid looked at Morgan like he was stupid.
"Just makin' conversation." Morgan defended himself, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Reid felt a bit guilty.
"Yeah, they're nice enough." He shrugged his shoulders.
"He's not your nurse is he?" Morgan looked after the man who had taken the blood.
"Must be." Reid shrugged his shoulders again. "They don't talk much."
"I can see." Morgan glanced over his shoulder again. An uncomfortable silence took over the pair and Morgan found himself trying to fill it. "So, have they said when you'll be getting out of here?"
"You know as much as I do... Probably more." Reid said with a smile, it didn't reach his eyes.
"Well that's a first." Morgan grinned. Reid didn't.
Again a silence overtook the pair and Reid found himself feeling slightly frustrated.
"Morgan, why are you here?" Reid's gaze was firmly locked with Morgan's. When he was irritated seemed to be the only time he could actually look people in the eye. Morgan was completely taken a back. He found himself stuttering.
"Wh- What do you mean? Why am I here?" Morgan tried to laugh it off as if it was a stupid question.
"I mean what I said – why are you here?" Reid's eyes were cold and unfeeling.
Morgan found himself feeling more upset by this than he would have expected.
"Because I wanna make sure you're okay, kid." He said firmly.
"Bit late." Reid retorted under his breath. Morgan shot Reid a warning look.
"I know you're angry, Reid. I get that. But you can't keep doing this to us. You're gonna push everyone away."
"Who exactly am I pushing away, Morgan?" Reid said, getting very tense. His speech had speeded up rapidly.
"Us, Reid, your colleagues... your friends!" Morgan desperately tried to get through to him.
"What? Friends who, when push came to shove, were quicker to believe that I was going crazy than they were to think that something else might have been going on." Reid spat out.
"What were we supposed to think Reid? You didn't suspect him either until the whole Bennington thing! And even then you still let him into your apartment!"
"Oh what? So this is my fault now?" Reid was seriously raising his voice. Morgan glanced over his shoulder to the open door, standing up quickly, he closed it and sat back down, leaning into Reid with a half whisper.
"No, Reid! I never said that."
"You didn't need to." Reid spat back.
"Yeah, you're right. I don't need to, 'cause that isn't what I think. He's got in your head, kid!"
"Don't tell me what he has and hasn't done! You know nothing!" Reid shouted angrily, his chest rising and falling quickly as he regained his breath.
Morgan stared him straight in the eyes. He couldn't believe this was Reid shouting at him. Even after Tobias he had never lost his temper with him. He knew that Emily had taken the brunt of it, but even then, Morgan didn't think Reid had quite been like this, even through his withdrawal.
Morgan kept staring at Reid until he looked away. Even when he was in a mood like this, he was still submissive.
"Well why don't you tell me, Reid. What has he done?" Morgan said calmly but firmly. Reid's brows furrowed and he shook his head. "What did he do, Reid?" Morgan kept pushing. Reid gritted his teeth, nausea rising through his body. "You tell me, because apparently I don't know. What. Did. He. Do?"
Reid squeezed his eyes tightly shut, Morgan finally getting the better of him.
"He raped me! Okay?" And then his voice broke. "He raped me." He repeated, no more than a whisper.
Morgan exhaled and leaned forward, nodding.
"I know, kid." He felt awful pushing him like that, but Reid couldn't remain in a state of denial, it was doing him no good. He needed a way in, and pushing Reid to this admission, Morgan felt, was a break through. He put his hand on Reid's back. Morgan was thankful that Reid didn't tense up at this. "I know." He said in a comforting voice.
Reid was covering his face with shaking hands but he still didn't cry. After a minute, he started to pull himself back together.
"I'm sorry." He said, wiping his tired eyes. His colleague looked at him sympathetically.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Morgan asked carefully.
"I don't know." Reid said, equally as careful. "I don't know what to think, or do, or say! I'm lost Morgan." He sighed, knowing that because of the way his mind works, it was going to make getting over this even harder.
"Well, why don't you start from the beginning?" Morgan prompted. "He came round to your apartment..." He started the sentence for Reid to finish. Reid shook his head, unsure about what to do. He didn't think he could do this. Noticing Reid's reluctance, Morgan tried to encourage him. "He knocked on the door, you answered. Right?" Reid nodded. A nod was better than nothing, at least. "You both had a drink? What were you drinking?" Morgan continued.
"Whisky." Reid ground out with a raspy voice.
"Okay, good. Where were you both sat?" Morgan continued pressing him with questions.
"On the couch." Reid nodded.
"Was there anything unusual about his behaviour?"
Reid furrowed his brows.
"He kept making me drink faster. Like, literally pushing the glass to my mouth... He kept telling me to relax." He sighed deeply. "I thought he was trying to help me." His voice broke slightly.
Morgan looked sadly at his younger colleague. Reid really didn't deserve all of this guilt.
"What happened next?"
Reid shifted uncomfortably in his bed, trying to remember the event. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.
"He shoved my glass up to my mouth... it caught me off guard and some of it went down my sweater. So he went and got a towel... That must have been when he got the knife."
"The knife was yours?" Morgan asked, surprised.
"Yeah." Reid gave an ironic smile.
"Okay, so what did he do when he'd got the knife?"
"He just kept pushing me to drink." Reid looked embarrassed. "I was starting to feel intoxicated... I'm not much of a drinker."
"I know." Morgan nodded.
"But... um... the first spillage I cleaned up. Then the glass slipped in my hand and I spilled some more." Reid closed his eyes. "He took the towel and started patting at the stain." Reid rolled his eyes, clearly wondering how he could have been so stupid.
"Reid," Morgan interrupted softly. "He's very clever. He gave you the drink so you would let that happen. It's not your fault."
"Yeah well I played right into his hands didn't I?" Reid snapped, clearly angry with himself. "I'm supposed to be a genius. That was just plain stupid."
"Reid, stay with me." Morgan locked gazes with Reid and nodded. "He cleaned you up... and then what?"
Reid thought about Jason patting on his chest with the towel, then the movement stopped. He thought about how Jason was staring at him, and how he suddenly leapt towards him with his lips. He thought about how he'd shoved him off but then found himself pressed into the corner of the couch unable to shift the bigger man's weight.
Suddenly Reid's heart started pounding and the colour drained out of his face. Morgan leaned towards him. "Reid? You okay?" Reid didn't respond, he was clearly stuck in a flashback. "Reid? Talk to me!" Morgan took his hand and held it, Reid's grip suddenly tightened around his.
Reid's eyes were lost somewhere far away and Morgan dreaded to think what they were seeing at that moment.
"No." Reid whispered.
"Reid, it's Morgan. You're safe, kid." He squeezed Reid's hand. "Reid." He tugged on his shoulder. "Reid, focus on my hand, I'm here with you man. Come on."
Reid's breathing was getting erratic now and the grip on Morgan's hand was almost bruising.
Jason pressed Reid into the mattress, kissing the side of his face. His hands were exploring every inch of Reid's body. Leather straps were tightened around his hands, completely restricting the movement of his arms.
"Reid." Morgan kept calling his name.
Another strap was around his midsection. He couldn't move his body away from Jason. He wanted to scream. Then his legs were being strapped. Jason was on top of him again.
"No, no, no..." Reid squeezed his eyes shut. "Please, stop." Reid kept whispering.
Desperate tears were starting to well up in Morgan's eyes. He looked to the nurse call button on the wall and pressed it.
Jason pressed into Reid, a hand tightly around his face keeping him from crying out. The pain was unbearable.
Sweat was now pouring down Reid's face. His hair was sticking lightly to his forehead. A nurse still hadn't come.
"Where the hell are you?" Morgan shouted, making a point. Suddenly, the armed police came rushing into the room, followed by a nurse.
"What's going on?" A female nurse asked, rushing towards the other side of Reid's bed.
"I think it's a flashback." Morgan answered quickly. "What the hell should I do?"
The nurse looked at the horrified expression on Reid's face and then to Morgan, who was staring at her, desperately searching for some professional help.
"Let me get a doctor." The nurse replied and shot out of the room. It was clear, she had no idea what to do either.
Tears were now running down Reid's face, the two armed police men were looking at him with shocked expressions.
Suddenly, Reid held his breath and his eyes refocused. Almost as if someone had taken him out of hypnosis. He instinctively went to fight against Morgan's supportive hands in a panic.
"Get off me! Get off!"
Morgan stood up, grabbing Reid's hand again, trying to get him to calm down.
"Reid, Reid! It's me. It's Morgan, it's alright!"
Reid's fight suddenly deserted him and he found his distraught eyes staring up at his close friend's. Then he finally broke down.
Morgan pulled Reid's head into a hug and his younger colleague cried into him. Completely distressed. Morgan felt his eyes watering up. He nodded to the two armed police officers to leave the room, they closed the door behind them.
Morgan patted Reid's head, soothingly. The young agent relaxed into the comforting gesture, but Morgan then felt him tense. Reid's hands then came up and started pushing him away.
"Please Morgan, just go." He said sniffling. Morgan being there at his most vulnerable moment was just too much for him. He gently pushed the older man away from him and turned his face away, covering his eyes with his hand.
Morgan let himself be pushed back. He was so confused. He moved to put his hand on Reid's shoulder.
"Reid, please." Morgan only wanted to help.
Reid shrugged the older man's hand off his shoulder, turning round violently.
"Just go, Morgan!" He shouted, this time his tear filled eyes stared right at Morgan, the older agent stared right back in shock.
They were both silent for a few seconds, locked in a battle of wills.
Suddenly the door opened and Dr. Marston walked in, Morgan and Reid broke their stand off to look at her. She noticed the tension in the room straight away.
"Everything alright in here?"
Morgan quickly turned his back to her and wiped a tear away from his eye, then turned back.
"Yeah. Fine... I'm gonna go." He gestured uncomfortably to the door.
Dr. Marston watched the pair carefully. They didn't even look at each other.
Morgan nodded to the doctor, then tried a glance towards Reid.
"Bye, kid." When Reid didn't look up, or answer. Morgan dropped his gaze to the floor, manoeuvred his way around the doctor and left.
Dr. Marston stared at her patient for a couple of moments then moved towards his bedside.
"You okay?" She sat down next to him. Reid wiped the stray tears away from his eyes.
"I really wish people would stop asking me that." Reid was looking straight ahead, he didn't give the doctor any eye contact either.
The doctor remained quiet for a few moments until Reid's discomfort got the better of him and he turned to look at her.
"Spencer-"
"Reid." He quickly corrected her.
"Sorry... Reid... do you feel that talking to someone... professional... might help you deal with this?"
Reid looked offended.
"Why?"
"I just thought maybe if you could talk to someone who doesn't know you personally, then maybe you could speak more openly about what you went through." Dr. Marston spoken calmly and rationally.
"What? So they can tell me I'm crazy?" Reid furrowed his brows.
"No, not at all." Dr. Marston almost laughed.
"What's so funny?" Reid picked up on it straight away.
"I'm sorry.. nothing. It's just that's not how it works."
"I know how it works." Reid said simply, cutting her off.
She looked at him for a couple of moments. Then she sighed and stood up.
"Get some rest. I will talk to you about this another day."
Then she moved to the door and left. Reid stared after her for a short while, suddenly feeling incredibly alone. He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes begging for tiredness to overtake him.
Morgan walked back into the BAU offices. He looked exhausted. He was frowning deeply and his eyes appeared quite bloodshot. He glanced across the bull pen to the conference room where the rest of the team were still sat. They had noticed his arrival and were watching him eagerly.
He made his way across the bull pen with his head down, trying not to draw attention to himself, but this was near impossible. At this point, the whole team were the talk of the office. The room suddenly went very quiet and he could hear the odd whisper from different areas of the room.
He felt highly irritated at this. He had an overwhelming urge to just tell them all to 'fuck off', but he thought better of it. He knew that wouldn't help matters and would only serve to draw further attention to himself. So he kept walking, knowing that they would be old news in a week or so.
He finally reached the door of the conference room, pushed it open and closed it behind him. Hotch was stood, awaiting his arrival. Morgan sighed as he entered the room.
"So, how did it go?" Hotch asked.
Morgan just shook his head.
"What happened?" JJ asked, the concern clearly in her eyes.
Morgan sat down, all energy leaving his body. The team noticed he had been crying.
"He can't do it." Morgan looked to Hotch. "We're gonna have to watch the tapes."
"Derek, what happened?" Hotch asked firmly.
"He had a flashback and broke down. He didn't even want me near him. He hates me for letting him down." Morgan put his head in his hands.
"I'm sure that's not true." Prentiss reassured him.
"Oh it's true, Emily. He's seriously pissed at all of us. He blames us for what happened."
The team all exchanged glances.
"He'll come round." Rossi interjected. "He's got to come to terms with it first."
"Yeah, well how's he gonna do that if he can't even talk about it?" Morgan snapped.
"He has no choice." Rossi stated simply. He didn't want a debate on this. He was seriously worried about Reid's mental state, but right now, he was concerned with preventing any further harm to his young colleague. This meant finding Jason.
Hotch turned to the team.
"I understand if none of you want to watch this, but you need to understand why I am."
"Hotch, we know." Prentiss interrupted. He really had no need to explain himself. He looked to JJ and Garcia, they both nodded in understanding. The profile was so important and if there was anything they could find in these tapes to help them pinpoint Jason's next move, then it had to be done.
"Okay." He moved to the box in the centre of the table and pulled out the first of the tapes labelled 'SPENCE: ******' Inserting it into the player. The tape started. It showed the bed near one corner of the room and Jason sat on a chair in the other corner.
Reid was lay unmoving on the bed. He was flat on his back, one arm sprawled out at his side, the other was bent up by his head. His right leg was chained to the corner bed post. Jason was just sat staring intensely at Reid.
The team watched Jason watching Reid for a good five minutes. Nothing was happening.
"Fast forward." Rossi nodded to Hotch.
Hotch grabbed the remote and pressed 'fast forward'. The tape sped up, but still Jason didn't move. He was still sat in that exact same position, watching Reid;.
"Wow." Prentiss commented. "Fifteen minutes of tape and he's not even moved. That's some obsession."
"He must have hit Reid's head pretty damn hard." Rossi added.
"Or he sedated him." Hotch suggested.
"He's moving." Rossi said quickly, leaning forwards. "Press play."
Hotch pressed the 'play' button as soon as Reid started moving.
Reid moaned and rolled over onto his side slightly. The team noticed him freeze as he realised he wasn't at home. His gaze shot over to Jason who had just stood up and moved towards the bed. The team could tell Reid was nervous. He went to sit up, wincing as he did so and Jason quickly moved in behind him.
Garcia instinctively grabbed onto Morgan's hand.
"Easy, easy." They heard Jason say, kindly. As he moved himself behind Reid. "I didn't want to hit you, but you were calling that bastard, Morgan. He would have taken you away from me." Everyone quickly stole a glance at Morgan who looked devastated.
"So that call was Reid... I thought it was Jason taunting us." Garcia squeezed his hand.
The team watched through sickened eyes as Reid realised he was chained and was closer to Jason by two arms secured around his body. He looked terrified.
Hotch and Rossi exchanged disgusted glances when Jason started nuzzling Reid's neck as Reid desperately tried to distract him with various questions. Reid tried to pull himself away and Jason kept commanding him to stay still and relax.
"How the fuck is he supposed to relax?" Morgan snapped at the TV screen.
"I'm sorry, this is all just happening very quickly." They heard Reid say.
"Well done." Commented Rossi, impressed that he was keeping his head and playing along.
Jason then leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. The team all flinched, JJ and Garcia looked away.
"I can't watch this, Garcia said quickly, standing up and blocking her vision with her hand. "I'm sorry, I just can't."
"It's fine Garcia." Hotch reassured her. "Just keep doing some searches on Jason. See if there is anything that has been missed."
"Yes sir." Garcia then quickly left the room.
When Hotch turned back, Reid's face was turned to Jason's and he was locked in another kiss, this time on his lips.
"What did Jason say then?" Hotch asked, realising he had missed something.
Morgan was turned away from the screen slightly, he looked sickened.
"Open your eyes, I wanna see your eyes." Morgan repeated Jason's words. Hotch didn't respond.
They watched Jason move away from Reid and produce a bottle of whisky from underneath his chair. He poured a glass and tried to convince Reid to drink it.
"Don't drink it, Reid." Hotch muttered, as if the video was happening in real time.
"He's trying to make him lose his senses." Rossi commented.
"Drink it". They watched Jason force the glass into Reid's hand.
Their hearts broke as Reid stared up at Jason with large pleading eyes and spoke.
"Please, Jay. Don't do this to me." Then they watched him smile.
"He's trying to get him on side." Prentiss pointed out.
I'm doing you a favour, Spence." Jason stroked Reid's face. "I don't want you to hate me, it'll make things easier to start with. Trust me."
"Oh god." Morgan ran a hand over his head. "Why doesn't he just drink it?"
"You know why Morgan." Hotch said plainly.
"He called him Spence." JJ said quietly in saddened shock.
They watched in anticipation as Reid placed the glass of whisky down on the floor and Jason approached him. Suddenly Jason picked up the glass and smashed Reid across the face with it.
"Oh my god!" JJ shouted, her hands coming up to her mouth. Everyone in the room winced at that very moment. Blood poured down Reid's face as he clutched at it with his hands and Jason kept throwing pieces of glass at him. Jason was blaming Reid for angering him.
"I'm sorry!" They heard Reid shout desperately.
"You got nothin' to be sorry for, kid." Morgan spoke to the Reid on screen, whose hands were now shaking violently.
Suddenly, Jason was on his knees apologising, grabbing onto Reid's hands. He comforted the young agent as he cried.
"Get your hands off him, you sick bastard." Morgan ground out through his teeth.
"You've never been this close to a man before, have you?" Jason's hands were massaging Reid's back.
"Oh no." JJ said suddenly. "I don't know if I can watch this."
Hotch would have told her to leave, but he was too focused on the video right now. His heart was pounding. He was so nervous for his youngest team member.
They watched as Reid's hand came up as a barrier and were quickly snapped down to his sides by Jason's lethal grip. They watched Reid's futile attempts to get away from Jason's kissing.
Then they heard something that sickened them all.
"Oh god, the things you do to me. You're pure filth." As Reid was pushed down onto the bed and Jason got on top of him.
Hotch closed his eyes. He couldn't imagine anyone calling Reid pure filth. It was sickening that someone would view him like that. As an object. He was too innocent for that.
JJ suddenly stood up.
"I can't do this." She spoke quietly, clearly upset. She walked straight out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Reid was now begging Jason to leave him alone as he struggled to keep the man off him. Jason pulled Reid up the bed by his collar and Reid in response started hitting out. Jason then head butted him and Reid's arm feel limp. Again, the team winced. Morgan's chest rose and fell at a rapid rate as his breathing sped up. He really felt for Reid right now.
They watched as Jason chained Reid's left arm to the bed and Reid's complete panic as he came back to his senses and realised that he was stuck. He started begging again. Hotch's hand came up to his mouth, his face was set in a deep frown.
"God just leave him alone, you sick fuck." Morgan was talking to the TV again.
"Oh god." Jason moaned, the arousal clear in his voice. Rossi turned away, sickened.
Eventually they all turned away as Jason's hand ran up under Reid's shirt and then he leaned over into a deep kiss. Reid was still fighting against him.
"It's not use fighting, Spence." That was clearly heard over the tape, but then he leaned down and whispered something into Reid's ear. It was barely audible and most of the team missed it.
"What did he say?" Rossi asked no one in particular.
"We're meant to be together. You'll see that." Prentiss responded. Her face paler than usual.
Morgan almost laughed when Jason climbed off Reid and told him he would get him something to eat. Hotch understood where he was coming from.
"He does all that to him and then makes sure he has enough to eat." Hotch said thoughtfully.
They watched as Jason closed the door behind him and Reid let out his frustrations into the mattress and pulled desperately at his restraints. Then he broke down into tears.
Emily found herself wiping a tear away from her eye for a moment too. Hotch paused the video once Reid had settled down a little.
The team sat in shocked silence for a minute or so until Rossi started shaking his head.
"That Jason really is a piece of work." Rossi commented.
"He's a fuckin' bastard." Morgan corrected him. "And when we bring him in, he's gonna wish he'd never bee n born."
"Okay Morgan, let's keep the revenge plans for later please." Hotch shot him a warning look.
"That was worse than I expected." Prentiss said, running a hand over her face.
"What did you expect?" Rossi looked, slightly bemused.
"I don't know. I suppose I didn't think there would be any sound."
"He looked so scared." Morgan said, gutted that he couldn't help his younger colleague.
Hotch simply turned away. Tears were welling up in his eyes.
"Take ten." He said. "We'll fast forward to then next bit then."
Prentiss dropped her forehead to the table. Rossi just rested his head on his hand. He cared for Reid, a lot more than people would probably give him credit for.
Morgan was just sat brooding in his chair. Rossi couldn't help but wonder how suitable it was for Morgan to watching these tapes. Reid was a sensitive subject with Morgan. He treated him like a little brother. And if someone was doing that to his brother, he knew he couldn't be held responsible for his actions.
Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he patted Morgan on the shoulder and gestured for him to follow.
"Coffee." He said simply. Morgan understood his meaning and went with Rossi to the coffee pot.
Prentiss stared hard at Hotch's back.
"You okay?" She said softly.
Hotch nodded.
"I've never seen anything like that before." Prentiss added. Hotch eventually turned around and began fast forwarding, stopping every time Reid moved. An hour of tape later, there was still no movement from Jason and the tape was coming to an end.
Rossi entered with Morgan in tow.
"Coffee for all. Strong and full of sugar." Rossi announced
"It's going to be a long day." Hotch sighed, taking a sip of his hot coffee. He grabbed the second tape and pushed it into the video player. When the tape was just showing Reid still restrained on the bed, Hotch muttered again. "A very long day."