Plutobaby494: Sorry, it took so long! But here it is!!

Disclaimer: Don't own Criminal Minds, just Joe!!

ON WITH THE FICCIE

Chapter 5

It was later that night that the members of the BAU found themselves in a small hotel, getting ready to settle down for the night. They had come back to the police headquarters with some new information and brainstormed. The unsub was tricky and they needed to find out where he was going to strike next and who. His attacks seemed random, which was unlikely but true since they couldn't find a connection to his victims.

They had a partial profile complete but were no where near done enough to give to the local officers. So they decided, seeing the setting sun, to call it a night and head to the hotel they were staying at.

Reid sighed as he pushed his sweaty bangs out of his face and stepped into the room he would be sharing. He heard Morgan groan in frustration when he felt that the air in his room was just as warm as the air outside, blistering hot.

He watched as his roommate grumbled something about 'having to come to a hick town with no air conditioning' and headed towards the bathroom. Reid just set his bag on one of the beds and sat down on it, letting his exhausted body rest for the first time since he had woken up this morning.

The drugs had called out for him again today, stronger than he ever felt before. He had just about slid the needled into his shaking arm when a clumsy police officer walked into one of the desks, spilling a large pile of manila folders and spreading hundreds of papers every where, causing a shouting match to erupt.

Emily said that they were all just exhausted from trying to track down the unsub, Morgan had deducted it was just from working in this heat everyday.

Every time he ignored the calls, it left him feeling like he had just participated in a triathlon without training for it first. His body ached from the strain that he had put on it the last few weeks.

He absently heard the sound of water hitting tiles and guessed Morgan had decided to wade out the heat with a cold shower. He pulled his pack over his head and threw it on the bed, his pulse quickening when he heard the two vials of drugs clink together. It was as if someone struck a match. His body lit with longing and a shiver climbed up his spine, his fingers shaking as they reached out without his brain telling them to do so.

A loud knock from the door broke the spell, his common sense slamming back into him like a tidal wave hitting the shore. He sighed and clutched the front of his shirt tightly, hating the feel of the elephant that was sitting on his chest.

The knocking got more insistent but Reid hardly noticed, his heart thundering in his ears. It was different from his addicted pulls. No it felt as if his mind had detached itself from his body and was floating beside it, flowing in a river of pain and guilt.

"Damn it Reid, get the door. You better not be asleep already. I just got in here not five minutes ago and I am not getting out for a good half an hour," Morgan yelled bringing him back to earth.

He jumped as the person knocked again and then scrambled for the door. His breath came out in short gasps when he finally pulled the door open and saw the person he least wanted to see today.

Gideon looked his protégée up and down, his worry apparent on his face. Reid was not usually this spacey.

"Sorry, I was… daydreaming," Reid said blushing. He hoped Gideon didn't catch his hesitant pause.

Gideon's concern lessened but it didn't completely diminish. Reid looked too jumpy to just be simply daydreaming. He heard the shower running in the background and guessed Morgan was inside cooling off.

"We should talk about what happened on the plane today," Gideon said calmly getting back to why he was here in the first place.

Reid scratched the back of his head and lowered his gaze to the floor. "Do we have to? It's not that big of deal,"

Gideon, knowing that Reid didn't like to be touched, gripped the younger man's shoulder lightly making Reid jump in surprise. He reacted just as Gideon had expected, cringing backwards and pulling from the contact.

But this time, Gideon wasn't going to let him go. He didn't get this far in his career without learning something and he'd be stupid not to notice the red flags Reid had put up, unknowingly or not.

"I know we haven't talked much since Georgia but I am here for you if you want to talk to someone," he said hoping that it broke through to the man.

"I'm fine, Gideon. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I wasn't feeling all too well this morning," Reid said his guilt kicking up again at his mentor's voice. He never wanted to be a burden to anybody.

Pulling away from Gideon's touch, Reid steeled his shoulders, his face grim.

"I think I'm going to turn in early tonight for a fresh start tomorrow," he said. Gideon knew that Reid was subtly asking for him to leave.

"Ok, Reid. Good Night," Gideon said and watched as Reid shut the door mumbling a soft reply himself. He stood there for nearly a minute, staring at the closed door in contemplation.

After what seemed a lifetime to Reid, who was standing on the other side of the door staring at Gideon through the peep hole, the older man finally left, retiring to his own room for the night.

Reid let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against the door. He ran a shaky hand through his long hair surprised to see his arm trembling.

"What's wrong with me," he moaned quietly as not to bother Morgan, who was now singing softly in his own little world.

Everything was spiraling out of his control. He couldn't get a grip on reality, each addictive pull dragging him back into memories of a state of blissful unawareness. He wanted to feel something to make sure he was still alive yet at the same time, craved the apathy the drugs gave him. They gave him the release he wanted from his nightmares but took away his control, robbing him of the very thing that made him who he was.

Gideon's face flashed before his eyes and he remembered how he wanted him to talk, not caring that he didn't want to talk to anyone about this. He was already ashamed with himself; he didn't want others to see the pathetic thing that was Spencer Reid.

He wished everyone would stop asking if he was alright. While deep down he knew he should be touched with their concern but every time one of them asked it brought forth a determination to prove himself, that he didn't need anyone's help. He wasn't a kid anymore. He hadn't needed anyone's help for years.

Reid knew they were suspicious, that he wasn't acting like his normal self but pity he could see behind everyone's moves was grating on his last nerves. Of course he wasn't ok. He'd be lying if he'd said he was unaffected by the events in Georgia but he had to deal with this himself. It was the only way he could ever face the guilt he felt inside.

He was stupid enough to leave JJ back at Tobias barn, to suggest they split up. He was stupid enough follow a psychotic man into the cornfields and he was the one who sold himself out when things got too hard.

Reid tugged on his hair as raw anger and guilt gnawed at his already wounded heart. He had told Tobias exactly what he wanted to hear. He bet Morgan or Hotch would've had held out longer than he had. A few slaps on the foot and smacks to his head and he was singing like a canary.

He hated himself even more because he knew Tobias had been right. He had been a terrible son, sticking his mom in that place and never visiting her. Tobias had just been the one to say it out loud and he killed him for it.

The drugs must have felt his moment of weakness for they called out, screaming at him from inside his satchel on his bed and they were as loud as if he were holding the glass vials in his hands. His muscles were taunt and ridged, prepared to spring at any moment, pouncing on his bad.

The sound of the water turning off, distracted him enough to get a grip on himself. His limbs fell slack against his body and ached as if he'd just exercised them.

He heard Morgan moving around the bathroom and quickly got up, realizing his position would cause Morgan to look at him the same way Gideon had just minutes ago. He didn't think he could take two of them in one night, especially after fighting off the drug. He needed to escape. The walls were closing in on him, constricting his air way.

Reid exited the hotel and stepped into the balmy night, not sure where he wanted to go. All he knew was that he needed to get away for a little while to pull himself together.

He didn't know how he ended up at the nearest bar or how many drinks he'd had after a while but all he knew that he felt better. He didn't remember that he had to get up for work early tomorrow and didn't think of the faces his team would give him when they found out what he had done.

Four beers into it, he was tipsy and obviously on his way to being drunk. The pain lessened a bit and he frowned when he could still feel it. He wanted it all to go away.

Realizing stronger alcohol was the answer he ordered a couple shots of tequila and vodka, and then poured them into his beer. Mixing alcohol was never a good idea but right now he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Rough night?" the bartender asked casting a concerned glance at the order. He continued cleaning the glass in his hand, seeing as this was a stranger he'd never seen before.

Reid nodded and took a drink, grimacing as it burned down his throat and settled into his stomach. Warmth pooled in his belly making him slightly nauseas. But that didn't slow him down. It took the rest of the glass of his concocted mixture before the pain finally subsided and left Reid so drunk, he couldn't see straight.

"You really think drowning away the pain with booze is the best idea," Joe, the bartender and owner of the bar asked.

"Probably not," Reid said giggling. "What have you got to eat around here," he asked changing the subject abruptly.

"Not much but most people don't come here for the food anyway," Joe said grabbing another glass from the cabinet underneath.

"Anything good," Reid asked though was not really hungry himself.

"Margaret can make some mean burgers if you're hungry," Joe asked but already knew it wasn't food the guy wanted.

"How 'bout Broccolini?" Reid asked fighting the urge to giggle again.

"Never heard of it," Joe said truthfully, thinking the alcohol had got to him and he was mixing his vegetables.

"You've never heard of it. That's a shame. A shame, shame. It's good. It's a hybrid between broccoli and asparagus that is good for you. It's high in vitamin C, iron, vitamin A, calcium, and foliate. It's sweeter then regular broccoli and easily versatile with any types of food," Reid said his normal ramble of knowledge messy and unorganized.

"Uh huh," Joe said sounding skeptical but wasn't one to argue with a drunk, especially since he had just met this man and didn't know what kind of drunk he was. So far the man seemed nice enough but he wasn't about to push it.

He classified people into two types, fun drunks and mean drunks. Fun drunks were usually giggly and made funny offhand comments. Mean drunks were just that, mean. They were loud, rude, and obnoxious. You could never tell which drunk someone was, until they were so intoxicated, they couldn't walk in a straight line.

Some of the funniest scenarios came from fun drunks and it was always interesting to hear what they'd done under the influence.

"But I'll tell you a secret. Something I haven't told no one," Reid said butchering his own English and then leaned in closer, casting furtive glances around as if he was going to be caught.

Joe leaned in slightly, just a little bit curious.

"I never thought the name made sense, you know. Broccolini. It sounds like a mix between broccoli and zucchini. But mom was always particular about calling things by their proper name so I secretly name it…" he looked around again and then grinned.

"Asparagoccoli," he said in a hushed tone then giggled as if he'd heard the funniest joke in his life. Joe grinned despite the idiocy of the situation.

"You see," Reid cried thumping the counter with a fist, not quite sure why he was laughing.

Joe shook his head ruefully, sighing. This man was amusing, if anything else.

Reid absently heard his cell phone ringing, interrupting whatever he had planned to say next. He glanced at his pocket, where he had put it and it took a few seconds to realize that someone was actually calling him.

He fumbled with his phone and brought it out, reading the caller Id. Reid hiccupped and pushed the call button, pressing the phone by his ear.

"Hello" he said distantly, the alcohol making him dizzy.

He heard his name and frowned, confused. It was Morgan's voice but it wasn't coming out into his ear. In fact, it sounded like it was coming out to his chin.

Reid pulled the phone to see what the problem was and the barman chuckled.

"You got the phone upside down," he said to the drunken man. Reid giggled and shrugged before turning the device around.

Morgan calling his name frantically reached his ear and a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Morgan," he cried jovially. Silence greeted him for a second, then a worried voice.

"Where are you, man? One minute you were in the room while I got into a shower, the next you were gone" Morgan said. More voices joined his in the background and Reid realized he could hear Gideon's voice. He must have called the team.

"Um… I… I don't know. Let me ask," he said. He turned to the barman and tucked the phone under his chin.

"Hey, where I am?" he asked not knowing that Morgan could hear the conversation.

The barman shook his head and rolled his eyes, before reaching for the cell phone. Reid gave it to him without a fight and swayed on the spot. Joe saw the man was about to fall out of his seat.

He put the phone to his ear, watching the man carefully. The last thing he needed was a law suit for giving the man a concussion.

"Hi, I'm Joseph Walding, the owner of Joe's Bar on 200 West Street. You'd better come pick up you're friend, he's pretty wasted," Joe said, glancing at the drunken man.

He heard a mumbled thanks and the phone clicked. He laid the phone back on the counter near the man.

"You're friends are on their way," he said picking up a glass.

"Your name is Joseph. My name is Spencer Reid. Dr. Spencer Reid. Hey, I'm a doctor," Reid muttered with awe.

Joe chuckled not bothering to comment. It was redundant.

Reid slapped the counter again, ordering another drink.

"Sorry, I don't think you can handle any more," Joe said resuming his work.

"Come on, you already tattled on me to my team! The least you could do is give me another drink," Reid said trying hard to stifle the laughter than erupted from his chest.

Joe shook his head. "Sorry, no can do,"

Reid pouted, crossing his arms over his chest like a seven year old that hadn't gotten his way. On most people it would look childish and immature, especially for a man this age. But on Reid, Joe discovered, it looked cute. And it pulled a cord in his heart.

He thought of his three year old back home, lying asleep in her bed and couldn't help but feel protective over this man who looked so much like a child stuck in a mans body. While he was relatively new at parenting thing, he knew what sorrow and guilt looked like. And this man had oozed both when he'd first stepped into the bar.

It almost made him want to give in to the pout and give this man what he wanted. Almost.

In order to break the trance the man seemed to have over him, Joe glanced around his pub. It was surprisingly empty tonight. The usual locals all sat at one of the many tables and booths but even then it was bare. Reid was the only one sitting at the bar.

"I think I'll call you Joey," Reid said suddenly bringing the barman's attention back to him. Joe scowled lightly, but didn't say anything.

Spencer probably wouldn't even remember they'd met tomorrow. Which means he wouldn't remember that particular nickname, which he hated with a passion. Joe felt bad for the man; he was going to have a killer headache in the morning. But he hated being called Joey.

The door to the bar slammed open and four people came running in. Joe looked up about to yell at the yahoo's making a ruckus in his pub but stopped when he caught the frenzied looks they all had as they swept the bar with their eyes.

When they saw Spencer, they all ran over. Two older men instantly came over and grabbed Spencer by the arms. A younger one, glared at him but Joe could see the worry shinning behind.

A blonde girl hung back, unsure how to help but was equally worried.

"How long has he been here?" the eldest asked turning to look at Joe.

Joe screwed his face in thought.

"An hour or so,"

Gideon suppressed the anger he felt. Reid was blind faced drunk and on a case but he couldn't help but feel that part of this was his fault for believing the younger man and leaving him alone.

"Thanks," he said lifting Reid up by his underarms with Hotch grabbing his other side.

"Hi guys," Reid said with a large grin on his face. He looked at his team as if he just noticed they were there.

"Come on, Reid. Were going back to the hotel," Hotch said his voice a mixture of angry and worried.

Reid just nodded and let himself be pulled up. Gideon just hoped the Reid didn't pass out before they got him to the hotel. He wasn't worried about the weight of the younger man's body as Reid was skin and bone any way.

He just hoped he could have a talk with him before he was all but dead to the world and still an open book. The minute he woke up tomorrow and was sober, he'd shut himself off again. It was the chance of a lifetime.

But Gideon didn't count on it, seeing as Reid couldn't focus on anything. His feet dragged and stumbled as the older profilers pulled him out of the bar.

Morgan scowled suppressing the fury that he felt at the younger man. He knew what Reid was doing here and hated the man at the moment for wanting to forget whatever had been bothering him rather than talk to his team, to him.

He felt JJ come up behind him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She didn't have to say anything.

Morgan spared a small smile at the blonde media liaison before turning to exit the bar, JJ on his heels.

"Excuse me" a voice called, stopping them both in their tracks. Morgan turned to face the barman, who had both his eyes on him.

"You're friend didn't pay for his drinks" he said his conscious kicking up again. He hated to ask seeing how troubled the young man seemed to be and how worried his friends were but he still needed to put a roof over his family and to do that, he needed to make money. Morgan recognized the voice on the phone and felt indebted to the man.

He pulled out his wallet, "How much?"

"Twenty," Joe said simply, not troubling to do the math. Morgan scowled and pulled out a twenty, muttering softly.

"Reid so owes me," he said handing the money over.

"Is you're friend ok?" he asked placing the bills into the register.

Morgan glanced at JJ, confused. "Yes, why would you say that?"

"He seemed to be trying to drown something away," Joe said.

He didn't usually care this much for tourists that came to his bar. They usually left in a few days anyway. But from the first moment he met this kid, he knew it was different. The kid would probably be gone in a few days, but Joe had always been a softy for browned eyes kids. He should known they'd be his weakness since he had one brown eyed girl of his own that ran circles around him.

Spencer barely looked old enough to buy alcohol and tonight he'd adopted the look of a kicked puppy. Or he'd lost his puppy and than found it killed the next day.

"He's going through some things," Morgan answered vaguely. It was all too new to go into the full story, especially with someone who didn't know Reid.

"He seems like a nice kid, take care of him," Joe said kindly, then turned away.

Morgan nodded, a fire burning in his eyes. He turned and walked out of the bar, JJ following him.

They had a bone to pick with Reid.

TO BE CONTINUED

Plutobaby494: So your thoughts? Good? Bad? Thanks to all my reviewers!!

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