Fight

A/N: Hello! I can't believe the wonderful feedback you guys have given me! Thank you so much! So, by popular demand, here is part two of "Fight." I hope it doesn't disappoint…

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Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived.

~Abraham Lincoln

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Spencer Reid was the hero of the day. Word had spread like wildfire of the fight that had taken place that morning and while he had been expecting the other shoe to drop all day, it never did. He found out later that Rossi had intercepted Strauss and reminded her that 7 agents would all vouch for Reid in that he had been acting in self defense. Reid had tried to thank Rossi, but the older agent had said, with a small, mischievous smile, that he had no idea what Reid was talking about.

Agent Stevens, on the other hand, had gotten into quite a bit of trouble. Hotch had informed Reid later in the day that, due to previous misconduct and problems with following orders, Agent Brett Stevens had been fired.

People had been coming by Reid's desk all day; they were glad to see Stevens go and they wanted to thank the person responsible. Men would give him a slap on the back and give him a friendly smile or a "nice job." Women, many of whom were absolutely fed up Stevens sexist tendencies, would pause and thank him for getting rid of "that pig." To his embarrassment, some of the more forward female agents had fawned over his injuries, saying how brave he was. To his absolute mortification, he had received the same treatment from Gary Brooks, a lab tech from questioned documents. Morgan and Emily had been highly amused, though they had said nothing.

Reid simply couldn't wait for the day to be over. He felt horrible. Partially for Stevens getting fired, but mostly for the way everyone was acting. He had never been an exceptionally popular person around the bureau, and he hadn't really minded. But now, he was the man of the hour because he had gotten into a fight and gotten someone fired. He felt as though he was no better than Stevens.

At quitting time, Morgan had stood up and sauntered over to Reid's desk. "C'mon, Reid, I owe you a drink." He said, offering the younger agent a dazzling smile.

"No, you don't, Morgan." Reid shook his head, not looking up from his computer screen. "If anything, I owe you. If you weren't teaching me self defense, Stevens probably would have- uh… well, it wouldn't have been much of a fight."

"Hey, man, don't sell yourself short. You never know what you can do until those survival instincts kick in, anyway." Morgan gave him a small, joking smile before becoming serious. "You really did good, Reid."

Reid nodded. "Thanks, but I think maybe I'll take a rain check on the drink."

Morgan looked at the young genius for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to attempt to convince him to come out for a drink. Finally, the older agent shrugged. "Alright. Rain check. See you tomorrow." Giving Reid a pat on the shoulder, Morgan gathered his things and headed out.

Emily was next to leave. She pulled on her jacket and stopped by Reid's desk on her way out. "Did Stevens really say all the things they said he did?" She asked quietly.

"Uh, yeah. He did." Reid told her, nodding.

A look of disbelief crossed Emily's normally composed features. "Why?" She asked incredulously.

Reid shrugged slightly. "I beat him out for a spot in the BAU. Gideon told me there really was no competition, Stevens wouldn't have made a very good profiler at all. But Stevens seemed to think that I pushed him out of the way or something. Ever since then he's found more and more reasons to dislike me. Also, it could be that felt threatened. Many people do tend to feel intimidated by those with higher IQs than their own, but I honestly don't think that's a legitimate fear. I mean, it's really the type of person you are, not how intelligent they are, and…"

"Okay, I get it!" Emily cut him off, laughing a little.

"Sorry…" Reid muttered, blushing.

Emily smiled at him, gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and headed out. Garcia came out of her office shortly after and bustled over to Reid's desk. "Hey, stand up for me, would you?" She said, making it sound more like an order than a request.

Confused, Reid stood up and Garcia enveloped him in a tight hug. He hissed in pain as she added pressure to the bruises Stevens had left on his ribs. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't think about that! Can I get you something?" Garcia asked, immediately releasing him.

"No, Garcia, it's okay. They're only bruises." Reid shook his head, gingerly rubbing his sore ribs.

After eyeing him suspiciously for a moment or two, Garcia nodded and gave him a much gentler hug before letting him sit down again. "Does it help to know that I got even with him?" She asked deviously.

"Garcia… what did you do?" He asked incredulously.

"Oh, sweetie, what didn't I do?" She said, winking at him.

Reid only gaped at her before she assured him that it was more for her own benefit than his. Finally she smiled softly down at him. "We're all proud of you, y'know."

Reid only nodded. "Good. See you tomorrow, Superman." Garcia told him as she, too, left the bullpen.

Sighing, Reid began to gather his things. He didn't think he could handle any more praise for something he'd rather had never happened. However, before he could make his great escape, someone called his name. "Reid." Hotch said from the doorway of his office. "Can I talk to you?"

As it was obviously not a request, Reid deposited his bag and jacket back onto his chair and headed up into Hotch's office. "Have a seat." Hotch told him when he arrived.

Reid did as he was told and waited for Hotch to speak. "I find it interesting that a team of the best profilers in the country couldn't see that you aren't proud of what transpired today." His superior finally said.

Reid's head snapped up as he fixed his boss with a confused stare. "I find it almost as interesting that you can't tell why they're all congratulating you." Hotch continued.

"What?" Reid was now thoroughly confused.

"Reid, they're not proud of you because held your own in a fight…"

"I think Morgan was pretty proud of that, actually." Reid cut in.

Hotch held up a hand and continued as though Reid hadn't interrupted. "…Or because you got Agent Stevens fired. They're proud because you stood up for yourself. From what I heard from both the team and other agents in the break room, you conducted yourself quite well. Even though Stevens was asking for it, you refused to give him what he wanted. You tried to remove yourself from the situation and you only started fighting when Stevens attacked you."

Reid did not respond, looking down at his hands in his lap. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Reid. We're proud because of the way you handled yourself, not because of what you did."

Reid's eyes widened. We. They were proud of him. They were all proud of him. And that meant more than winning every fight he'd ever fought. They were proud of him for doing what had been in his nature. They were proud of him for acting like himself. Standing up, Reid headed for the door and paused just before he left. "Thanks, Hotch."

Hotch only nodded and watched Reid head down into the bullpen, looking considerably cheered up. Smiling to himself, Hotch thought about what he had said. Every word of it had been true; he wouldn't lie about the things he had said. However, personally, Hotch was quite proud that Reid had managed to break Agent Stevens' nose- not that he'd ever tell Reid that.

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There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.

~Napoleon Bonaparte

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A/N: Hm… not what I imagined, but definitely interesting. Hope you guys enjoyed! This is most likely it for the story. Review, if you want, it would make my day!