This is just a oneshot. It was the first peice I had written in the criminal minds fanfic in an intention to make a story out of it but I'm gonna keep it to just one chapter, maybe a second depending on how it goes.

The rocks that didn't need looking under

Disclaimer: I do not own criminal minds

4 year old Spencer was walking home from school all by himself once again. His father was busy with work and his mother han't arrived to take him home which meant that she had forgotten to pick him up. Spencer figured that she must have been having one of her bad days again. Even at his young age, Spencer knew that his mother was ill.

It was okay though. Spencer was capable of walking home by himself and it wasn't too far away. His bagpack was rather heavy; overloaded with books on maths and chemistry as well as books from his favourite authors which slowed him down.

His eyes were on the path, watching his feet as he stepped over any cracks that were in his way as if it were an obstacle course but then something else caught his attention.

"Hey"

Spencer looked up to see a face that looked a little familar to him. He had a very good memory so he knew the exact day he met the man now approaching him. He never told Spencer his name but he remembered playing a game of chess after school 6 days 23 hours and 32 minutes ago.

"It's Spencer, right?" The slim adult questioned.

The young boy wasn't sure what to do. His mother had been saying very strange things to him and his father latley. She said that Spencer wasn't safe and they had to leave but his father was hesitant. However; he didn't like to see her stressed so they were preparing to move very soon. In the mean time, Spencer's mother made him promise to be extra cautious and that included no talking to strangers.

"You beat me at chess at the park, remember?" The adult man continued to speak.

That's right, so technically, this man wasn't a stranger. Spencer smiled shyly and nodded as the man closed the gap between them.

"I'm Gary Michaels"

Gary held out a hand but Spencer felt reluctant to shake it. He didn't like hand shaking as it consisted of too much germ spreading.

"S...Spencer Reid" the four year old stuttered nervously.

He was begining to get a bad gut feeling from the way Gary Michaels looked at him. Nobody had ever looked at him like that and it didn't feel right.

"You walking home all by yourself?" Gary questioned, looking around only to find that there were no other people around.

Spencer nodded which seemed to please Gary.

"You know, if you want, you can come over my house and have another game of chess. You can have some snacks too" Gary told him.

Spencer shook his head without a second thought. His mother wouldn't be very happy with him if she found out he went to somebody's house. She never let him do that; she always felt that it was unsafe. Not only that but Spencer was already feeling very uncomfortable around this man; being in his house would only make that feeling unbearable.

"Are you sure? We could do something else if you want?" Gary continued.

"No, I...I have to go" Spencer dismissed as he tried to walk passed Gary.

Gary suddenly grabbed his arm and held on frightened Spencer as he had never been handled so roughly before. He knew that he was in trouble and yet he still tried to fight his way out of it.

Spencer was very small, making it easy for Gary to just scoop him up and forced a hand over his mouth so that Spencer couldn't scream out.

Reid woke up with a gasp, startling both Rossi and Morgan. Reid took a few calming breaths, trying to avoid drawing the all ready attention from the two older agents. He avoid looking at the two although he knew that at least on of them would make a concerned comment about it.

"You alright, kid?" Morgan asked.

"I'm fine" Reid dismissed without looking at him.

Both men noticed the way he shifted uncomfortably under their gaze, confirming that something was up. It was clear to them that he had some sort of nightmare and figured that it had something to do with their most recent case.

Reid looked out of the jet window. He now regretted everything he did in the passed week, bringing back unwanted memories. He thought that if he solved the Riley Jenkins case, it would make his repetetive dreams go away but instead they got worse. The memories he had repressed as a young boy were all coming back to him...and it made him feel sick.

As far as Morgan and Rossi knew, Reid had almost been a victim of Gary Michaels had he not been murdered by Riley's father but right now, Reid wasn't sure if his nightmares were supressed memories or just nightmares of what could have happened if Gary Michael wasn't killed sooner.

It scared Reid; not knowing. But maybe it was for the best...maybe.

He wasn't getting nearly enough sleep because whenever he tried, he saw himself in the eyes of the four year old boy and just watched as Gary Michaels did what he wanted to him.

But he didn't understand why?

If they really were memories...

Why did he get to live when Riley Jenkins wasn't so lucky?

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