During the early months of the pandemic lockdown, the horrors Reid endured haunt him. When his mother dies, it all becomes too much and he is ready to die. But the Multiverse has other plans.
Curtain
Reid is out of coffee. And sugar. Is that enough of a reason to choose to die? He looks in the lower cabinet where sometimes kept extra cans. Maeve's bloody skull appears with her eyes closed. Reid snaps it shut. His mind feels surprisingly blank because he has seen this before.
The beeping of his phone interrupts his musing. His phone is on the coffee table. Nadine Ramos is lying with stab wounds in front of his kitchen threshold. He stepped over her as he had many times before.
It's J.J.: Care for a Scrabble rematch? This time you and Emily can't use foreign words.
Reid smiled peacefully and typed a response: Sorry, I'm Zooming with my mom. She doesn't know who I am but she still comes with five moves of beating me at chess.
J.J. responded quickly: Tell her some friends care about her!
Will do!
He hadn't told the team his mom had died a week ago. Everyone was dealing with some issues of their own. J.J.'s mother had her car stolen and couldn't sleep. Prentiss was having a hard time getting ahold of her mother. Morgan had to disinfect every surface when his wife came home. Their problems seemed so much bigger than his.
Tobias Hankel was now lying with a bullet wound in his chest on the coffee table. He locked eyes with him. Reid shook his head. Enough was enough.
Reid went to his bathroom. Luis was lying in the bathtub with his throat slit. Reid opened the cabinet behind his mirror to block his view. He pulled out his ant-seizure medication. Not ideal for the task, but he'd had enough pills that it would do the job. He had been planning for this long, at least subconsciously.
After filling a glass of water to the top, he went to his bedroom where Gideon lay. Reid was glad he left some room for him. Sitting up against the headboard, he unscrewed the cap.
"Arret."
Reid looked at the bottle and then at the figure at the foot of his bed. A man with a bowler hat dressed in a black smoking jacket was standing there. He had a thick handlebar mustache. Reid could only assume he was meant to be Hercule Poirot.
"But I haven't taken any pills."
"Non. You don't need to take pills to go where you're going."
Reid decided to play along. "Where am I going?"
Hercule walked over to Gideon. "Some people suffer too much during their lifetime. It is as though the writers have run out of ideas. It is as though bonheur est boring."
"Are you saying I am a character in someone's book?" Reid said with amusement.
"You like Star Trek non? Maybe the implication that we're all characters in someone's world is correct."
"Sure," Reid said.
"You don't believe me."
"Why would I? I think you're another example of me losing my mind."
"Possibly. What if I could offer you another life? Are you really that tired of living you wouldn't consider another path?
Reid looked at Gideon. "I'm so tired of crying. Every bullet wound hurts more. I'm afraid of the pandemic. Wondering every day if I'm going to give in to my addiction. I am really tired."
"And yet so jeune," Poirot said. "This is just one interpretation of me. How would you like to see a new interpretation of yourself? You're a little more arrogant but equally smart. There will be less pain, in your life."
"But I won't remember my friends or my mom, will I?" Reid said looking at the picture on his nightstand.
"Not in a way that others can see. Who we were stays with us in our dreams and keeps us comfortable when the world goes dark."
Reid looked at the bottle of pills. Poirot frowned.
"Spencer, if you choose to die, your friends will mourn you. Guilt will consume them as they wish they had seen the signs of your tristesse. Come with me and while you are gone from their lives, they will know wherever you are, you are happy."
"How is it different from death?"
"The idea of your character will live in this world. You may even visit someday."
"I actually have a choice?" Reid said in disbelief.
"Ideas like you do."
"I have so many questions."
"I know, but we have places to go."
Reid took a deep breath. This all sounded completely crazy but also right for some reason.
"If I can live with less pain, then I choose to go with you."
"Tres bien."
Poirot offered his hand. Reid stood up and took one last look at the picture of his mom and the group photo of the birth of the team with Morgan Spencer Reid.
"I love you all. I won't forget you."
Reid took Poirot's hand and a blinding white light engulfed them.
…
He recognized the hall immediately. This was the physics wing at Princeton. They were standing outside a door with the name "Dr. Lew Einstein" on the door.
"Open that door, and you will remember nothing of your former life except when you dream," Poirot said.
"Tell my team, that, I'm finally at peace."
Poirot nodded. "I will." He turned his back and walked down the hall. He faded into nothing.
Reid turned the doorknob and felt all of the memories of torture, grief, and pain fade away. He also said one last goodbye to his friends.
A woman with a serious look on his face was standing in his office. He caught a glimpse of a badge on her belt.
"Professor Einstein, I have some questions for you."
Lew smiled. This promised to be an interesting beginning.
…
J.J. found herself staring at Reid's desk for the millionth time. She imagined him placing his cup of coffee on the desk and taking a seat.
She felt a smile come across her face at that moment for what seemed like no reason.
"I know you'll be back."
Behind her, the door to the BAU opened.
THE END… FOR NOW
Author's Note:
I am a religious reader of TVline. Every time I enter that web address, I've been hoping to see news of Matthew Gray Gubler's return to Criminal Minds. I haven't felt the inclination to get into the revival until his character appears. Imagine my surprise when his face appeared in a headline for a completely different reason. Google his name to learn more.
What I've been up to: It's been a miserable summer for me. I was in and out of the ER with pain no doctor could properly diagnose. My brother got in some minor trouble with the law that I saw coming from a mile away. I had to delay a trip to France for a year because I had to have my gallbladder removed.
Writing: I have some ideas spinning in my head. I don't know what ideas I may return to. I just need to get back into the habit of writing to start. I know the tenses in this story are a little random. This is the first story I've written in a while.