The Lies of Life

Ahmose Inarus

SLASH Hotch/ Reid

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

Chapter 7

After remembering Aaron Hotchner, Reid had fallen into another memory recovering trance. He collapsed onto the bed, eyes falling closed and groaning. After a bit, he began to squirm and moan, as if in pain. Hotch frowned and leaned over Reid.

"Reid? Are you okay?" He called. Beads of perspiration began to pop up across his brow and trickle down his face… Reid became flushed… His eyes fluttered and he whimpered, lip trembling.

"… That doesn't look good." Morgan blurted. "He must be remembering something bad…" Hotch's mind was racing. He didn't agree with Morgan. He had a feeling that Reid was remembering something very good. And VERY intimate. Shit!

"… Get the doctor!" Hotch blurted, moving closer to Reid. "Go!" Morgan nodded and ran, and Rossi herded the girls out of the room. He had a feeling he knew what was going on.

"Reid…" Hotch called again. "… Spencer?" Reid was beginning to pant. Hotch gripped his shoulders and shook them lightly. "Reid, wake up! Come on, baby… Bad timing, here…"

"A-Aaronnnn…" Reid groaned. Hotch winced and looked around, then dove for the water glass and emptied it over Reid's face. The boy jerked and gasped, struggling to sit up, face filled with surprise. "Hotch!"

"… I had to snap you out of it." Hotch said, weakly. Reid stared at him, pushing his sopping wet hair out of his face.

"… Hotch." He gasped. Hotch stared back, slowly lifting a hand and laying it on Reid's cheek. "… Aaron." The man smiled and nodded, and Reid smiled back. Then Hotch leaned close, and covered Reid's lips with his own. Reid's breath hitched, and then he mewled softly and melted into Hotch's embrace. As Hotch kissed him, the flood of memories returned. His mind spun and his body tingled as he remembered every touch… every kiss…

Passionate lovemaking on a snowy night by the fireplace… buying matching rings in a small shop… lying on the sofa together watching TV and reading… at the firing range, just practicing… the thrill of a quick tumble in Hotch's office with the team on the other side of the door… The nightmare with Shane Harvey… Meeting Hotch's brother…

God… so much to remember.

Hotch moved back and Reid stared at him, and smiled. "I remember this…" He purred, and Hotch grinned.

"… Good." Hotch said, and hugged Reid, tightly. "God, I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry, Aaron."

"Don't be… it's not your fault."

And less than a week later, Reid found himself boarding the familiar airplane. He sat between Hotch and Morgan, across from Rossi, JJ and Emily, and the group spent the entire flight home reminiscing and watching the playful antics of Reid's kittens, newly christened Apollo and Artemis.

Before they knew it, they were back at Quantico. The team silently followed Reid, watching him slowly meander through the building, drinking in every sight and sound, a smile of childlike innocence and delight on his face as memories flooded back. Everything triggered SOME memory or another… a woman at a drinking fountain… the smell of coffee… the elevator reminded him of another incident that led to everyone laughing at Morgan's expense.

The elevator opened, and they all stepped out.

"Agent Hotchner." And they all froze and turned. Reid's eyes widened as Section Chief Strauss headed towards them. He squeaked and stepped behind Hotch.

"… I don't like her, do I?" He gasped, and all but Hotchner struggled not to laugh.

"Agent Reid is okay?" She asked.

"… He will be." Hotch said. "It will still be some weeks before his mind is ready for the job again. We've brought him here to aid in his recovery. The doctors advised that we surround him with familiar people and places."

"So he DOES have amnesia?" She asked.

"Chemically induced and temporary. He's already regaining memories rapidly. We spent a couple of days in Las Vegas and helped him get back a lot from his childhood. We're going to take him to the Academy later. But for now, we're going to visit Penelope Garcia." Hotch said. Strauss nodded and leaned to the side, trying to see more of Reid than just his eyes over Hotch's shoulder. "He doesn't remember you yet, ma'am." Hotch sighed. "Give him time." And he placed a hand on Reid's shoulder and steered him down the hall towards Garcia's office. He knocked on the door.

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!" Garcia called. Hotch rolled his eyes, but Reid blinked, then grinned and stepped around Hotch, pushing the door open. Garcia turned and stared, then stood. "… Reid!" Reid just grinned at her.

"… I know you." He announced.

"Oh, baby, you're okay!" Garcia cried. She took the two steps over to Reid and flung her arms around him. Reid grinned and hugged her back. "I've been feeding your fish for you."

"… I have fish?"

"Yeah! So… where's the kitty?"

"Shhh…" Reid hissed, grinning and reaching into his messenger bag.

"Ohhh…" Garcia cooed when Reid pulled the two kittens out.

"Reid." Hotch said, smiling. "We have work to do. You stay here with Garcia. Maybe go over our old cases. See what memories you can jog."

"Okay!" Reid said, smiling and pulling up a chair, sitting down beside the woman who was cuddling the kittens in her lap. Hotch smiled and closed the door, confident that Garcia would be very good for Reid…

The door to Garcia's office opened, and Kevin Lynch stepped in. He blinked. Garcia was leaning back in her chair, gently petting Agent Reid's hair as the boy rapidly scrolled down a screen on her computer, reading the text. She looked back at Kevin and smiled, waving, then pressing a finger to her lips. Kevin blinked and walked over, staring at the ball of fur in her lap, especially when it blinked at him.

"You got him back." Kevin whispered. "How is he?"

"… Remembering." Garcia replied.

"… You're Kevin Lynch." Reid said, suddenly. Kevin blinked at him.

"… I, uh… yeah. I am. Hello, Agent Reid. Good to see you back."

"Thanks!" Reid said, sitting back.

"What are you reading?"

"Our old cases."

"He's been at it all day." Garcia snorted.

"Has he?" Hotch said from the doorway. "How far did you get?"

"… I'm done!" Reid chirped, smiling. "My head is killing me!"

"… And you're smiling?" Kevin asked.

"I remember!" Reid announced. Hotch chuckled.

"Come on. I'll take you home." Reid nodded to Hotch and stood, collecting his kittens and cuddling them close. He smiled as Garcia kissed his cheek, then followed Hotch out. When they reached the elevator, Strauss was wearing her coat and waiting for it too. The elevator opened and they stepped in. A kitten mewed and she made a double take at the two Siamese in Reid's arms. Reid was smiling down at them, and tucked them into his coat. They poked their heads out curiously. Hotch glanced at Reid as he stuffed their heads back into his coat, and smiled in amusement.

He glanced at Strauss. She stepped closer.

"How is he doing?" She asked.

"He spent the day going through our case files." Hotch said with a small smile. "The doctor said that his mind is more… resilient than most. He's remembering much more much faster than a normal mind would."

"When can I come back to work?" Reid asked, suddenly. Hotch blinked and looked at him.

"When your doctors, AND I think you're ready." Hotch said, smiling. Reid nodded, looking a bit disappointed. The elevator opened and Hotch placed a hand on Reid's shoulder, steering him out. "Come on. I have a feeling that you haven't eaten today. We'll get you something on the way to your place."

Strauss watched Reid climb into the passenger seat of Hotch's car and fasten his seatbelt. Hotch started the engine, and they drove away.

About halfway to Reid's loft, Reid sat straight up. "Aaron! Pull over in here!" He cried, pointing. Hotch blinked and turned into the shopping center. "There." Reid said, pointing at PetSmart. Hotch blinked again.

"Oh. Good idea." He said. They parked and walked into the store, Reid grabbing a cart. He took of his coat and laid it in the basket and set the kittens in it, then began to push the thing around the store. Hotch followed, casually looking around. Hell, he had never been in the place. Reid picked up a litter box, litter, food dishes, an obscene number of toys, a pet carrier, kitty bed, and then spent several minutes looking over the different assortment of foods, checking their ingredients. Hotch had to hold back a smile when Reid went into lecture mode about how awful it was that so many of the popular brands were, nutritionally, crap, with most of the ingredients being corn, gluten and by-products. He rattled off the statistics of how common food allergies were in pets and how the most common food allergy was corn, and how unlike dogs, cats needed a diet that was very high in protein, so the first ingredient should ALWAYS be MEAT. He finally settled on a brand called Blue, picking up the pink bag labeled as a kitten diet.

After that he ended up in front of the fish wall, staring at the fish. Hotch knew that this was where Reid came to get his fish. He stared at them for a long time, thoughtful. When a Petsmart Associate moved to ask if Reid needed help with anything, Hotch held up a hand and shook his head. Reid was trying to remember things… The Associate blinked and moved away.

"… I keep these, don't I…?" Reid mused. "Barbs… gouramis… angel fish."

"… Yes." Hotch said, smiling. Reid nodded and stared for a few more minutes, then turned and pushed the cart away. Hotch sighed and followed.

Reid picked up some information from the Pet Hospital in the store, specifically asking about getting the kittens spayed and neutered, then went to the checkout counter, paid, had little name tags engraved for the kittens, and they headed back to the car.

They stopped off and grabbed some dinner to go on the way, and then headed to Reid's home. Hotch parked the car and Reid stared up. "I live above the coffee shop." He mused to himself.

"That's right." Hotch said, and helped Reid carry everything upstairs. He unlocked the place and punched in the code on Reid's alarm system, disarming it. Reid flipped on the lights and looked around. The kittens began to explore. Hotch watched Reid slowly wander, touching and inspecting everything.

He spent a long time in front of the large 100 gallon fish tank that the team had given him this past Christmas, identifying every type… Tiger barb, rosy barb, dwarf gourami, blue gourami, green and gold gourami, striped gourami, a school of little neon tetras, several ghost shrimp marching around the bottom, annoying the algae eaters… Reid fed his fish.

Hotch just smiled and began to unpack everything. He set up the litter box in the bathroom and the pet dishes in the kitchen and filled them. The carrier went in the front closet and the little pet bed under the bedside table. Then he just sat down on the sofa and watched Reid meander about the loft, drinking in everything.

It was almost an hour before he got Reid to sit down and have dinner. They talked about a lot over their food. Reid would ask Hotch about holes in his memory, and Hotch did his best to fill them in. Eventually, after dinner, Reid was sitting before Hotch between the man's legs, his back leaning into Hotch's chest. After a bit, he asked something else…

"What happened to Jonathan Wilkes?" Reid asked. Hotch blinked and looked at him.

"Oh. Well, he pleaded guilty. To all charges. Twenty eight counts of kidnapping. Twenty seven counts of murder."

"But… he didn't actually kill anyone." Reid pointed out.

"He did. He drugged the boys and forced them to draw up the euthanasia chemical into the syringe and inject it. But they were all coerced." Hotch said. "He confessed to that. He made them do it. All of them. Except you."

"What?"

"Even drugged, you refused to touch the syringe. You panicked as soon as you saw it. He said so in his journals. And in interrogation."

"So… I didn't kill the one before me?" Reid gasped, eyes wide.

"No Spencer." Hotch said, reassuringly. "You didn't." Reid let out a sigh of relief and Hotch hugged him, smiling, then pulled something out of his pocket. Reid looked up when Hotch dangled something in front of his eyes.

"… Where did you find it?" Reid gasped, staring at the golden ring on a chain, the ruby glinting.

"Everything that was on you when you were kidnapped was found in a chest in Flint's stall." Hotch said, smiling and fastening it around Reid's neck. Reid smiled and cuddled back into Hotch's arms running his finger down the chain around Hoch's neck, and over the gleaming fire opal set into the band. A few minutes later, he grew restless.

"Aaron?"

"Yes?"

"I uh… I had this dream while I was there…" Reid said softly.

"Oh?"

"It was… you and me." Reid said. "In bed." Hotch raised an eyebrow when Reid shivered in his arms and moaned softly. "It felt so good…" Hotch watched as Reid squirmed before him and ran his hands down his own body. "I woke up and… God…" His hands slid over his own inner thighs, then brushed over the front of his pants which… seemed to be straining a bit. "I was so hard…" Reid hissed and Hotch watched the boy's fingers slip under the waistband of his own pants.

"Spencer…" Hotch breathed, feeling his blood quicken. He turned his head, burying his face in Reid's hair and inhaled, taking in the boy's scent. Then he lifted Reid into his arms and carried him over to the bed, laying him down. "What did I do?" He whispered, running his hands down Reid's side and slowly beginning to lift his shirt, exposing his stomach and chest to the air. Reid moaned. "Tell me… What did you dream?" Hotch asked, picking up Reid's scarf from the floor and gently tying it around his head, blindfolding him before removing the clothing from both of their bodies.

Reid ran his tongue over dry lips, and after watching that, Hotch mimicked the motion. Reid's lips parted and he began to speak, his voice hot and trembling in his lust.

"I felt your hands on me…" Reid breathed. "On my body…" He stopped and whimpered when suddenly, he did feel the hands on his body. "Oh God…"

"Shhh… keep going…" Hotch murmured.

"God… Aaron… I… I felt heat on my neck… a kiss…" He gasped when he felt his lover's breath at his throat, and a soft kiss. "And then you talked to me…"

"What did I say…?" Hotch asked.

"You said… 'Come on, baby… Let me in…'

Part of this scene has been removed due to explicit content

They lay there for a long time, slowly coming down from their sexual highs. Finally, Hotch rolled them onto their sides. Reid sighed, completely relaxed and sated as he felt Hotch's breath in his hair… an arm around his waist… Fingers gently rubbing circles over his back. The hand paused, then drew the blankets up over them. Reid was grateful; he was starting to feel the chill as his body temperature lowered. He blinked his eyes open when fingers caressed his face and ran through his hair, before drawing his head up to meet Hotch for a kiss. Reid sighed.

"Tell me…" Hotch whispered against Reid's lips. "Was it as good as your dream?"

Reid moaned and shivered. "… Fuck, Aaron…" He gasped. "You blew it out of the water…" Hotch blinked, then grinned.

"I'm better than you remember, huh?"

"God, yes…" Reid moaned, and they shared another kiss. Hotch smiled, running fingers down Reid's face.

"I love you, Spencer… God, I'm so glad you're okay…"

"I'm glad to be home…" Reid sighed as the kittens decided it was safe to draw closer and curl up near the warm bodies. Hotch smiled and lifted himself up on his elbow, reaching over Reid and turning out the light. Then he lay down again and Reid wiggled close to his lover. Hotch lay on his back and smiled as Reid took up his favorite position. He lay his head down on the man's chest and draped an arm over his waist and a leg over Hotch's legs. Hotch curled an arm around Reid, hugging him close.

"… I love you, Aaron." Reid sighed. Hotch looked down at the chestnut locks and pressed a kiss to the crown of Reid's head.

"Sleep well, Spencer."

ONE MONTH LATER

"Morning!" Reid called, walking into the BAU.

"Hey! Pretty Boy! Welcome back to active duty!" Morgan called, grinning and standing.

"I've been going out of my MIND." Reid admitted. "I've spent like, three hundred dollars on coffees in bookstores while I just stood around and read random books."

"He's not kidding." Hotch chuckled. "Every time I checked up on him, he was in Borders or Barnes & Noble reading some obscure book." Morgan grinned and ruffled Reid's hair.

"Agent Reid." The group turned and Reid inwardly groaned.

"Section Chief Strauss." He greeted, nodding.

"Your memory?"

"Almost fully recovered." Reid said. "I still have a couple of blank spots here and there… gaps in my childhood. Trivial things."

"Reid's doctors and myself all agree." Hotch said calmly. "Reid is fit for the field. He's ready to go back to work."

"It's a relief." Reid said, nodding.

"… Welcome back, then. I expect you to keep a close eye on him, Agent Hotchner."

"That won't be necessary, Ma'am." Hotch snorted. "Reid is just as sharp as before. If not more so. I have every confidence in his abilities."

"… Very well." Strauss said, then went on his way.

Reid sighed. "I was right."

"About what?" Hotch asked.

"… I don't like her."

Rossi, Morgan, Emily and JJ all snickered, and Hotch slowly smiled.

"Everyone get to work." He snorted, and sent his team on their way. They all went to their respective offices and desks, picking up their files and beginning their work. Reid only lasted ten minutes before he headed to the kitchenette to make himself some coffee. Hotch watched him from his office, silently. He looked up when JJ crossed the bullpen and headed into his office.

"What is it?" He asked.

"We've got a bad one." She said, her voice tense. Hotch nodded and they stepped out of his office. "Everyone to the round table room." He called. Morgan and Prentiss got up and followed, while JJ poked her head into Rossi's office. Reid took the stairs in the kitchenette and was already settling down when the rest of the team got there. He had changed seats. He wasn't where he usually sat, between Morgan and Prentiss. Now, he was in Garcia's seat, which was between Hotch and Morgan… What was once Gideon's seat.

Garcia just blinked and shrugged and took Reid's usual seat. Hotch just smiled and sat down by Reid. JJ passed out the files while Morgan sat down between Reid and Garcia, flipping some of Reid's hair into his face. Reid snorted and brushed his hair back, then paused. A gentle hand on his thigh. Reid sat back in his seat and relaxed, sliding a hand under the table. He linked fingers with Hotch and gave JJ his attention.

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My apologies for all of the removed scenes. the site admin is cracking down on explicit content. If you wish to read the story in its entirety, you will be able to find it soon on adult fan fiction . net. Remove the spaces from that... site admin also doesn't allow links on this site... For the full story on this current crack down, please visit my profile.