Chapter Text
Reid hadn’t really cared — he was excited, at first, when he was told about a new member, but he wasn’t as excited after he met him. The boy was nice, same age as Reid, and they actually share a mutual love for Star Trek, which would’ve been a clear indicator they were going to get along greatly, until enter Penelope Garcia.
They had clicked immediately. Penelope had adored the way the newbie had his nails done, and she had flocked to him.
Reid wasn’t jealous. Not at all.
“Stupid,” Reid cursed, banging the nail polish on the table. His hands were splattered with purple. His caffeine hopped body couldn’t stay still without a tremor, and he had failed terribly.
His phone dinged with a text.
New case, the text read.
He sighed and started to wipe at his hands to get rid of the purple when it dinged again.
He scrubbed the polish off of his hands, but he kept it on his nails.
The team filed into the round-table room. Reid sat directly across from the new rookie, Merle. He fiddled with his coffee cup. “I love the color,” Merle said, grinning. “We should get our nails done together sometime.”
His chest tightened. “Yeah,” he almost snarled. He couldn’t stand to look at him any longer so he turned away.
The door opened, and Reid turned, excited to see Garcia, but his face dropped when Kevin entered. “Where’s Garcia?” he asked anxiously.
“She’s attending personal business today,” Kevin disclosed, and they moved on. Reid let out a small huff as Kevin debriefed them instead.
This case was a bit weird. The first victim, a white male in his early 30s had been kidnapped, and his body was never found. However, a few years after he was stolen, a young child resembling the first victim was found along side of the road.
“This unsub returns young kids in exchange for every man he takes,” Kevin explained. “All of the survivors have amnesia.”
Five kids are up on the screen. Two of them are alive, while the others suffered from a COD of strangulation.
“The children share similar DNA to the victims,” Merle notes. “It’s possible the unsub is forcing them to copulate.” Merle started to go into a ramble, similar to ones Reid had a tendency to go off on, but no one cuts him off. Jealousy flared inside Reid.
“Wheels up in thirty.”
Sitting around a table in the PD, the team discussed the case over food. Reid was the last to arrive, just returning from one of the dump sites, to find them all listening intently to Merle. “She didn’t even know she was pregnant,” Merle was explaining, laughing. “She was very athletic, way more than me.”
I’m the non-athletic one, Reid thought bitterly. Merle continued, “So we had just reached this guy’s house, he was holding a girl in a hostage situation, and she just went into labor right there! The guy had been a doctor, hence his hero complex, and he helped deliver her baby.”
JJ laughed, and Morgan was grinning. “I delivered a baby once,” Spencer mumbled under his breath, but his team hadn’t heard him. Only Merle had acknowledged it. He glanced up suddenly and glared at Spencer. Hotch noticed his intense glare and followed his eyes to see Spencer. “I have to use the bathroom.” He bolted out of the room, and Merle followed.
“You have a problem with me?” Merle said, pushing him up against the wall. “Something you need to tell me?”
“No,” Reid spat. “Get off me.”
“Not until you stop being petty. What did I do?” Merle profiles him. “Oh, you’re jealous. I’m stealing your spotlight, am I? That’s so pathetic.”
“I’m not jealous,” managed Reid, and Merle smiled.
“Yeah, you are. I read up on you, Dr. Reid. Daddy walked on you, and your mother tried to kill you.” Reid shivered at the mention of his mother because it wasn’t her fault, and he wanted to defend her but it was pointless. “Your uncle gave you enough attention though, didn’t he?”
No.
He can’t know about that.
“Oh, I was right,” Merle said, clapping his hands. “I asked Morgan why you never shook hands, and he had told me you were a germaphobe. But, you didn’t even flinch touching the victim from our last case, and she was covered in blood and semen. You didn’t even hesitate. You were raped.” His smile fades. “Your team doesn’t know about it. They’re profilers, and they can’t even figure that out? I find that hard to believe… Maybe they know.”
“They don’t,” Reid spat softly. “And they won’t ever.”
“I think they do know,” Merle said, and Reid knew it was bullshit. “They just don’t care.”
No.
That can’t be it. It’s impossible… But it’s not. His team isn’t stupid. They could figure that out, if they wanted to. But they never said anything. Merle was right about that.
“We should be getting back,” Merle said. “Or they’re going to think we’re shitting in here.” He scrunched his nose. “You look like you shit yourself.”
Merle left him in the bathroom. Reid stared at his reflection in the mirror and washed his face with cold water.
What’s wrong with me?
When Reid returned, his team was engulfed in the case. “A new body was just found,” Hotch informed him. “Merle and I are going to check it out.”
“Hotch--”
“You stay here with JJ,” Hotch said.
Rossi sunk into passenger seat. Morgan and Merle were packed into the other car. “When you told Reid to stay with JJ, he looked like a kicked puppy,” Rossi said, breaking the silence. “You know he hates it when we baby him.”
“He hasn’t slept good in weeks,” Hotch said, making a turn. “He could stand to rest a bit. Besides, kid’s a genius. He knows it’s not a punishment.”
Reid was fuming.
Merle got to go, but he was stuck here with the victim’s family. They didn’t know anything! The two moms here hadn’t spoken to their 25 and 27 year old sons, as they’ve both moved out. It was a dead end.
Reid had to step outside to take a breather.
He started to walk outside in the dark to get his thoughts together. However, he was too sucked into his head to realize he had wandered miles away from the police station. By the time he realized he was too far out, a blunt object smacked him in the back of his head.
When Reid awoke, he was strapped to a chair. His legs were spread, way too far to be comfortable.
None of the men his age were recovered.
“You’re awake,” a soft voice came, and Reid craned his neck to see a girl in an oversized lab coat. “How are you feeling?”
She brushed the hair out of his face. She brought a wet rag up and started to dab at the blood. “I can’t,” Reid started to speak, but his voice was hoarse. It hurt to speak. “I can’t give you what you want.”
“You are what I want,” she said, and it didn’t match their profile. She was after the kids, not the men. “Not yet, but you will be soon.” She grabbed his cheek. “I’ll give you the care you need, don’t you worry.”
She picked up a syringe. Flashbacks to Hankel had Reid shaking against the bonds. “Shh,” she hushed. “It’ll make the change easier.” She injected the serum into Reid, and sleep caught over him.
***
“Reid’s gone,” JJ said, out of breath. Hotch hadn’t even got out of the car. “He matches the victimology. She took him.”
Morgan’s phone rang suddenly. His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “Babygirl, there’s not a day I question your skills, but how did you--”
“Reid’s phone might’ve been disabled, but the unsub didn’t know about the Reid’s watch.” Everyone’s phone dinged from her text. “Sending you his location now. And, Morgan, I’m flattered, but I’m a man.”
Kevin. Great.
Having each member carry one of Garcia’s homemade trackers was an excellent idea.
Heading towards Reid’s location, every one of them had hoped they wouldn’t be too late.
“How long was Reid gone?” Morgan asked, and Kevin had hummed as he scrolled to get the answer.
“Two hours,” Kevin said, sounding shocked. “He went away for two hours and you didn’t even question it?”
“He told me he was going for a walk,” JJ replied, blaming herself.
They got there, and they loaded out of the car. “FBI!” Hotch roared, and Morgan kicked in the door.
“Clear,” JJ shouted, finding nothing in the first rooms.
“Clear!” Rossi shouted from the upstairs.
“Guys?” Merle knelt down on the ground and picked up his watch. “These are Reid’s clothes.”
“There’s a car out front,” Morgan says, “So the unsub has to be here.”
“Her name is Katherine Doves,” Merle informed. “Kevin looked it up. I’ll have him track her phone.” Merle returns. “She’s here.”
“Check behind the house,” Hotch says, and Morgan is already out the door.
They throw open the cellar door and creak down to find Katherine’s shaking body on the floor. “Where is he?” Morgan asked, grabbing her collar. “Where?”
“Reid shot her,” Rossi said. “He’s okay. Maybe he got away.”
JJ ran up the stairs to search.
The woman was struggling to speak. “Where is he?” Morgan asked again.
“I couldn’t finish,” she stammered. “I, he, he isn’t… He’s not done. I’m not done with him yet!”
Hotch was searching the room when he stumbled across an intrusion in a blanket. “I’m with the FBI,” he said softly. He picked up his mouthpiece and spoke into it. “We missed a male victim. There’s a kid here.”
He grabs the blanket. “I’m going to take it off now,” he said, ripping it off.
The boy was curled up into a ball. His knees were pressed into his chest. “Don’t look at me,” he snarled.
Morgan stood up. The woman at his feet had died. “He’s older than the others we found. Maybe five?” he spoke into the piece. “This could be from our first victim.”
Morgan walked up next to Hotch. “My name is Aaron. Can you tell me yours?”
The kid wouldn’t move his head from between his legs. “Don’t be mad at me,” the child whispered, shaking. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“He’s not hurt,” Morgan continued to speak. “Maybe malnourished.”
“You’re okay,” Hotch consoled. “I won’t hurt you.”
Hotch touched him, and the kid, repulsed, slapped him. “Don’t hurt me!” he yelped, reaching to cover his ears. “Don’t hurt me!”
His eyes were squeezed shut.
Hotch was stunned. “He hit you that hard, Hotch?” Morgan teased, looking down, but he followed his gaze. He was hoping his light tease would help the child, but he shared the same horrified look at soon as he saw the child. “Reid?”