Categories > TV > Criminal Minds > Saving Spencer Reid

Chapter 8

by Nuada 0 reviews

Please refer to chapter 1.

Category: Criminal Minds - Rating: G - Genres:  - Published: 2013-08-09 - 939 words - Complete

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Morgan slept uneasily that night; he knew that in the morning Hotch would want to know what had been said between him and Reid. He would also want to know the impression that he got of Reid's mental state, how he'd been handling the situation that he was now in and if Morgan thought that Spencer would be better suited somewhere else. Morgan wasn't sure about the first three things but he knew that if they put Reid somewhere else; even if it was in another department, the secure network that Spencer had managed to forge around himself would be broken. And Morgan knew that when Reid was placed in a situation that he deemed threatening, usually, which involved strangers he tended to hide behind his intelligence, using it as a shield. If that happened Morgan wasn't sure that anyone would be able to reach him.

After fighting to sleep for more than an hour Derek decided that it was time to get up. He showered, dressed and made a cup of coffee. He was still sitting on the fence and trying to decide what in the hell he was going to tell Aaron. Finally he'd decided that he couldn't just sit there any longer, he left his house, got into his car and headed over to the BAU.

When he got into the Bullpen he was slightly relieved to see that it was empty. He was worried that Reid would be there or at the very least he would be just getting into the building at the same time as him. He put his bag under his desk and headed up the stairs to Hotch's office. He was relieved when he got in and the only person in Hotch's office was Hotch.

He looked up from the paper work and case files that he had already started. "Morgan, come in. I was hoping to see you this morning. Did you talk to Dr. Reid?"

Morgan stepped all the way into the office and sat down in front of Hotch's desk.
"Yeah I did. The kid is having a rough time of things. I don't think that he actually believes that Gideon's death had nothing to do with him. I think that he is blaming himself for not being stronger when it came to Tobias Hankel, but he is processing it and he is trying to deal with it the best that he can. I don't think that forcing him to resign, putting him under a temporary suspension or having him transferred to another department would be a good thing at this point."

Hotch couldn't help but smile. He knew that Derek was just doing his job, analyzing all of the angles that Aaron could take this and trying to cover all of his bases but he had made the entire conversation that much more complicated. "Derek, I never said anything about doing any of those things to Reid. So, unless you've talked to someone that I haven't or you know something that I don't.." He let his sentence trail.

Derek looked puzzled. "No, nothing like that. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that he was still capable of doing his job. Wait, you're not planning on suggesting that he have a transfer?"

Hotchner shook his head. "No. I know what Gideon was to him and I know what separating him from the team would do to him. I want him right here, the BAU is his family and we need to be here just in case he needs us."

Derek exhaled a breath that he had no idea that he'd been holding. This was going to be easier than he had first thought. "Okay, well as long as he isn't in any danger of being cast out, there are a couple of things that I noticed. He's drinking more. I had brought a bottle of Chardonnay when I visited him and he drank most of it himself, he looks exhausted and he's losing weight."

Aaron ran a hand through his hair and rested his left hand under his chin. "Reid has always been on the thin side, so if he's losing weight it would be noticeable. I'm not surprised that he looks tired; you know what he's like when he gets stressed. He's been showing up early and staying late. He's throwing himself into his work. And as long as his alcohol consumption doesn't interfere with work there isn't much that I can do."

Derek nodded. "I know but at the very least we can keep an eye on him. I mean he did show signs of having a highly addictive drug in his system when we got him back from Tobias. We have no idea if he is using that drug now."

Hotch nodded in agreement. He had known that the possibility for that was there. It wasn't something that he'd really wanted to admit to but it was there. "I know. Let's keep this between the two of us for right now. If it starts to get worse, then we'll hold a meeting with the rest of the team and if need be have an intervention with Reid."

"Yes sir." He knew that Aaron's solution wasn't perfect but it had been the best option. It wouldn't force Reid into the spotlight and for the most part Reid would be left alone…until he decided to do something drastic. Derek knew that both he and Hotch were probably thinking the same thing but neither one wanted to admit the possibility that they might lose their genius. Morgan left Hotch's office without saying another word.
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