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Edge of Insanity	By : hatochiisai Category: 1 through F > Criminal Minds Views: 4649 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor do I make any financial profit off of writing this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Edge of Insanity

Hatochiisai aka Ahmose Inarus

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.

SLASH WARNING!!! Hotch/Reid

CHAPTER 10

Haley pulled the casserole dish out of the oven, the delicious smell of Betty Crocker’s Scalloped Potatoes filling the kitchen. She set it aside to cool and went to the stove, taking out some plates and spooning the Hamburger Helper onto them. Then she put a spoon full of peas on each plate from the sauce pan. And then she spooned up the Scalloped Potatoes. She walked over to the table.

“Okay. Coloring book away.” Jack smiled and did as he was told. “Wash your hands while I get your milk.” Haley told him.

“Okay, Mommy.” Jack said, and scurried to the sink, pulling out his little step stool. When he returned, they sat down and put their hands together and said grace, and then began to eat.

“Jack?” Haley asked.

“Ya?” Jack asked around a fork-full of Hamburger Helper.

“What do you think about Daddy moving to a great big house in a nice neighborhood with kids and a park and a big back yard?”

“Okay.” Jack said with a shrug. “Daddy’s ‘parment is BORING.”

“What if… Dr. Reid lived with Daddy?” She watched as Jack smiled. “You like Dr. Reid?”

“Weed is FUN!” Jack announced. “He makes Daddy happy.”

“He does?”

“He makes Daddy smile.” Jack said.

“Does Daddy smile when Dr. Reid isn’t there?”

“A little. But not as much.” Jack told her. “Daddy makes Weed happy, too.” Haley nodded.

“You like Dr. Reid, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Jack… would you like it if Dr. Reid moved into that big house with Daddy?”

“… Yeah.” Jack said with a shrug, and then smiled. “Then I can see him every time I see Daddy.”

“Yeah. I guess you could.” Haley sighed. “Jack… would you like it if… Dr. Reid became a family member?”

“What do you mean, Mommy?” Jack asked, curiously.

“Well… like when you and me and Daddy lived together.”

“Weed will be the mommy?”

Haley’s gut twisted at that. “More like… Uncle, I think…”

“Like Aunt Jess?”

“Yeah. Like Aunt Jess.”

“I want Weed to be family.” Jack said, smiling. “Can he?”

“… I think Daddy has every intention of making Reid part of his… family.” Haley said.

“Good. Then Daddy will be happy. Mommy?”

“Yes, honey?”

“Are you happy?”

“… I don’t know Jack. I… I guess I don’t want Dr. Reid to be part of the family.”

“Why not, Mommy?”

“Because… I wanted to be happy with Daddy.”

“Daddy told me that people change when they grow up. And sometimes when one goes one way, one goes another. And two people who were happy together can’t be anymore.” Haley stared at her son, surprised at how mature his words sounded for such a little boy. “Daddy said that he changed. And he didn’t make you happy anymore. And if he tried to make you happy, HE won’t be happy. And that he wants all of us to be happy. And that’s why he doesn’t live with us anymore. He said this way, we can all be happy.”

Haley sighed.

“Yeah… I guess we can all try to be happy.” Haley said softly.

“Everything is okay, Mommy.” Jack said, and shoved scalloped potatoes into his mouth. Haley gave him a brave smile, and picked at her own food as she struggled to try and accept the fact that Dr. Reid was going to be a part of the family whether she liked it or not… And she did know that the shy young man was a kind and gentle soul… And if what Aaron had said was true, and they truly were in love, who was she to try and damage that? After all, Hotch was right. It had been SHE who had filed for divorce, and asked Aaron to sign the papers uncontested… who was she to be upset about the fact that the man had found love with another after she had divorced him?

She sighed.

Hotch and Rossi walked up to the door of the beach front property, and knocked. After a few moments, an older woman opened the door.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” She asked.

“We’re here to see Dr. Roger Carlson.” Hotch said. She blinked, looking surprised and worried.

“I’m sorry, you must have the wrong house.” She said, forcing a smile. Hotch and Rossi pulled out their badges. Her smile vanished. “… Oh.” Now she looked worried.

“We know he’s here.” Hotch growled. “I need to see him. NOW.” She slowly stepped back and opened the door, allowing the men in.

“Roger?!” She called.

“Coming!” The familiar voice answered, and a moment later the man walked into the foyer. He froze. His eyes widened and he paled.

“… Agent Hotchner. Agent Rossi.” He gasped.

“You know why we’re here.” Rossi said, staring at the man, who seemed to cower under the glare of Agent Hotchner.

“… Come in.” The man said softly. Soon, they were all sitting in the living room, large picture windows allowing them to look out over the beach.

“You’re here about Dr. Reid.” The man said, softly. His wife sat next to him, and they held hands. “Look… I… I’m sorry. But he needs help. I had to do it. He needs ‘round the clock care and—“

“We know your diagnosis was false.” Hotch growled. “You had him COMMITTED!!!”

“Agent Reid is sick, Agent Hotchner, he—“

“We know about the woman who threatened you.” Rossi interrupted. Dr. Carlson went silent. “We know she paid you off, gave you this house, and then threatened your family.”

“… Oh.” The man gasped.

“Do you know who she is?” Hotch demanded.

“No. No, she never told me her name, she—“

“Paloma.” Hotch snapped. Carlson blinked, and then a look of horror crossed his face.

“Oh… Oh my God! She… Oh God…”

“She’s seeking vengeance for Coronado’s death.” Rossi said.

“Let me tell you how Dr. Reid is doing now…” Hotch growled, glaring at Dr. Carlson. “He won’t eat. He won’t speak. My last update said he won’t even get out of bed. He is SUICIDAL! He’s even refusing all visitors. He is SLOWLY DYING.”

“You know Dr. Devereux, right?” Rossi asked.

“Katherine. Of course!” Dr. Carlson croaked.

“She was going to release Agent Reid.” Rossi said. “She was found tortured and murdered in her home.”

“God… My God…” Carlson gasped, shaking his head.

“You have to come get Reid out.” Hotch said.

“No… no, I… I can’t… I won’t!” Carlson cried, eyes wide in terror. “If I do, she’ll kill my grandchildren!”

“Dr. Carlson, you—“

“NO!” The man shouted, standing. “You catch her. You catch her and lock her up! Until then, I will NOT risk my family! I WON’T!!!”

“If you don’t come back to clear this up, he may die!” Hotch shouted.

“If I do, my family may die! No, Agent Hotchner. I’m sorry. But if you want my help, you will get her in custody.”

Reid lay curled up in bed, ignoring the attempts of all the doctors, orderlies and nurses to coax him out of bed. This time, a mix was playing on his MP3 of angsty songs, like Linkin Park’s ‘Numb’ and ‘Pain’ by Three Day’s Grace. Reid sighed softly, then whimpered as he was forcefully dragged from his bed. Still clutching his Bedtime Bear, he staggered down the corridor, eyes closed, trusting in the hands on his arms to guide him.

He ended up in the infirmary, lying in a bed with restraints on his wrists as an IV was slid into his vein and his body was pumped full of fluid and nutrients. He just turned his head and stared out the window. He ignored Dr. Harris trying to get him to talk. His mind was quiet and blank. There was nothing but melancholy and infinite sadness. Reid blinked. That sounded familiar… where had he heard that combination of words before? … Oh well… not like it mattered. Nothing mattered any more… The only thing left for him was death.

‘To die shall be a great adventure…’

Die, and be free…

Reid longed for this freedom.

He longed to throw open the window and open newly discovered wings that could carry him far, far away from this soul-killing place.

When a nurse came to check on him, he was writhing and struggling against his restraints, tears flooding down his cheeks. She summoned Dr. Harris, but Reid wouldn’t respond to the man…

Eventually, Reid got tired and fell limp. He went back to staring out the window, the occasional tear trailing down his gaunt cheek. He didn’t move when the IV was finally removed, and didn’t resist when he was guided to the day room. There, he curled up in his chair and stared out the window, putting his ear buds in and glancing down at his MP3 and scrolling through his music, looking for something to suit his mood…

But he couldn’t find anything… he had nothing to reflect the turmoil within him. He felt dead and empty, and yet at the same time, the most intense feelings of agony, despair, loneliness and helplessness… complete and utter surrender to his incarceration. An overwhelming desire to die, and the horrible wish that he had never been born…

He began rocking himself, and gasping for breath as the emotional pain became physical. The tears were falling yet again and he dug his fingernails into his biceps. Slowly, his grip tightened more and more, and his nails dug into his skin. And then, they began to tear gouges in his arms as Reid began to hyperventilate.

Once again, staff members came out of the woodwork running over to him. His hands were dragged away from him and the blood ran down his arms. And only fifteen minutes after leaving the infirmary for his daily dose of fluids, Reid was back. He was once again restrained and sedated while his bloody arms were tended to.

And that was when Dr. Harris made a decision… he had to spare this young man as much pain as possible. So he changed his meds. He halved his dose of depressants, and increased the dose of his mild sedative. Now the boy would spend the majority of his time sleeping. Hopefully, that would spare him some of his suffering…

“… Dr. Carlson said the same thing, JJ.” Hotch sighed, when JJ called him, irate that Dr. Harris refused to do anything to help them get Reid out of Willow Ridge. “He’s refusing to do anything until Paloma has been caught. She’s got these men terrified. We’re going back to talk to the others.” And Hotch hung up. They walked back up to Winters’ front door, which was thrown open again.

“Oh no you don’t!” Hotch yelped, catching Courtney as she flew forwards to pounce, kiss and grope him again. “Back inside with you. NOW.” And he shoved the giggling girl back into the house. He and Rossi went back to Winters’ study. The man was still there with Aguilo, Preciosa and Sirena.

“What did he say?” Sirena asked immediately, standing.

“He won’t do a thin to help us until we catch Paloma.” Rossi said.

“… We need your help.” Hotch said, staring at the slaves. Preciosa stared at them, then lowered her eyes.

“I… have class.” She mumbled, looking frightened and guilty. Sirena looked at her, then looked at the agents.

“I will help you.” She said. “I just started my classes. I can withdraw and postpone.”

“… I can help too.” Aguilo said. “Jaguar es mi hermano. He is like my brother… I need to be there for him.”

“… Preciosa?” Winters asked. “Are you sure?” The woman looked up, fear in her eyes.

“… I cannot betray Paloma… She… she will kill me…” Preciosa gasped. “I have known her longer than any of you… I know what she is capable of… And I do not wish to be the one to anger her… she… she is insane…” Hotch and Rossi stared at her. There was no mistaking her genuine terror. “No… I will not help you.” And she stood and fled from the room.

Sirena stared after her, then sighed and drooped. Aguilo put a hand on her shoulder. Sirena gave him a grateful smile.

“We would… appreciate any help you can give.” Rossi said to the two former slaves.

“I’m coming, too.” Winters said.

And within two hours, Hotch and Rossi were on the plane back to Quantico with Winters, Sirena and Aguilo.

When Reid awoke from his drug induced sleep, he found himself in a room with padded walls. It was completely empty save for his Bedtime Bear. They had even taken his MP3 player. Reid looked down at his bandaged arms, and then at his fingers; his nails had been cut to the quick. The young man sighed; he grabbed his Bedtime Bear and curled up on the floor in the corner in the fetal position, and began to rock himself. After a few minutes, he began to quietly hum the theme to ‘Braveheart’ to himself. And he did this until he drifted off to sleep.

He woke when Riley entered his new cell and walked over.

“Spencer.” The man said gently, kneeling a placing a bowl of soup with crackers down before him. “If you want to go back to your room, you need to eat.” Reid just gave the man a sad look, then turned away and rested his head on the padded wall.

“Spencer, you can’t keep hurting yourself.” Riley told him. “You know that Agent Hotchner receives daily reports, don’t you?” Reid didn’t respond. “You know that every day you refuse to eat, you’re upsetting him…” This time, Reid gave the man a sharp glare. “I can tell you’re close to him.” Reid’s eyes narrowed. “You would eat for him.” Reid’s eyes flashed, and for a moment he looked as though he might lash out at Riley, but he quickly deflated and was overcome by his despair again.

“Spencer, you can’t live on the IV alone for long. Do you want us to implement a feeding tube?”

Reid whimpered and shook his head, burying his face into Bedtime Bear. Riley sighed, reaching out and laying a hand on the broken young man’s back. But Reid let out a frightened cry and threw himself away from the touch, scrambling into another corner.

“Alright… I’m leaving. But if you don’t eat that soup, we will have to consider a feeding tube…” Riley told him, and left. Reid just sat in the corner and cried. Slowly, his soft cries became harsh, violent sobs… he clawed at his own chest, as if trying to pry out the pain in his heart. Suddenly, he leapt to his feet and ran at the door, slamming his shoulder into it. He yelped at the impact, but he didn’t give up. His mind and emotions were more turbulent than they had ever been. He would have been at his breaking point if he hadn’t already broken. But nothing mattered in that moment except for getting out of that place.

All he wanted was to go home. Go back to his loft apartment… never mind the fact that he had been evicted. He would get out of that room, and run out the front doors. He would make his way back to Quantico and return to his loft. And he would open the door and everything would be the way they used to be. His cats would run to greet him. He would take off his coat and place his messenger bag on the floor. Then he would feed his fish and take a shower. Then he would make coffee, start a fire in the fireplace and curl up to read. Then Hotch would come home. The man would shower, and then join the boy on the sofa. And he would hold him and love him and then he would kiss him and they would make love and fall asleep in each other’s arms. They would wake in the morning and go to work.

Yes… If only he could get back to his loft, everything would be okay! Everything would be back to normal.

Reid slammed himself into the door over and over and over again, not even noticing the throbbing pain that pulsed through his shoulder. He didn’t stop until he stumbled and fell to his knees in exhaustion. He sat there for a moment, then began to giggle, breathlessly. His giggles progressed to hysterical laughter…

Mad laughter.

He laughed for what seemed like an eternity, his laughter eventually weakening as he fought to breathe… for a moment, all was silent. And then he fisted his hands in his hair, lifted his head, stared at the ceiling and screamed. It was a long, single piercing note that carried out of his room and down the corridors.

As his scream died away, Spencer Reid slumped to the floor, limp. His eyes went completely blank. He didn’t move.

Only minutes later, the door slammed open and people ran in. He was rolled onto his back. People called out to him. They shook him… called his name… a hand slapped him across the face. Cold water was splashed over his head. But he gave no indication that any of it had been noticed.

He was moved back to the infirmary. They gave him his Bedtime Bear… they gave him his MP3 player. They took the photos from his room and showed them to him. But there was no response.

The lights were on, but there was nobody home…

Hotch and Rossi were walking into the bullpen when Hotch got the call. While Rossi introduced JJ and Garcia to Winters, Aguilo and Sirena, Hotch took the call.

It was Aguilo who saw the look of horror wash over the man, and watched as he slowly dropped into Agent Anderson’s chair, letting his face fall into his hand.

“Senor Hotchner?” Aguilo called, and walked over. The team looked over and quickly followed.

“… That was Dr. Harris.” Hotch breathed.

“Did something happen to Spence?!” JJ gasped, now looking terrified.

“… He’s fallen into a catatonic state.” Hotch whispered, slowly putting down his phone. “He hurt himself this morning. They put him into a… an isolated cell with padded walls… they brought him lunch, told him if he wouldn’t eat they would have to force a feeding tube on him. He… cried for a long time, then started throwing himself against the door, trying to break it down… he collapsed and started laughing… and then he screamed and… and just… collapsed. Now he doesn’t respond to anything. He’s just lying there, staring off into space. They’re putting in a feeding tube in the morning if he… doesn’t snap out of it.”

By the time Hotch finished JJ, Garcia and Sirena (Aguilo had been translating) were all in tears.

“Hotch… we gotta do something, man!” Morgan cried, upset.

“We are.” Hotch growled, standing. His mask fell neatly into place. “JJ, call Florida. I want Dr. Carlson arrested and expedited YESTERDAY. Garcia, I want you to work with Jeff, Isabella and Armando. They know Paloma and Jaguar best, try to find them.”

“Yessir!” Garcia nodded, and herded the three people into her Cyber Cave.

“You three, with me.” Hotch said looking at Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi. “Morgan, you and I are closest to Reid, we’re going to try and get him to snap out of it.”

“And us?” Prentiss asked.

“… Read Dr. Harris his rights.”

“Charges?” Rossi asked.

“False Imprisonment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, hell, he knows the diagnosis is false, Criminal Malpractice, accepting a bribe, Kidnapping, WHATEVER you can think of.” Hotch growled as they rode the elevator down to the cars. “Then grill him. I want Paloma.”

The woman sat on the side of the bed, a book balanced in the crook of one arm while her hand gently stroked the unruly dark hair of the little boy in the bed. “Fine. One more about Reynard the Fox. One day, Reynard the fox thought it would be fun to play a joke on his friend, the stork. So he invited his friend to dinner. When the stork got there, the fox presented a delicious stew he had made. He poured it into a wide, shallow dish and set it on the table. ‘Eat, my friend’ he said. But because the dish was so flat and shallow, with his long beak, the stork couldn’t eat it. Smug at his joke, the fox lapped up the delicious stew from the shallow dish, while the stork hardly got any, and the stork left even more hungry than when he had arrived. A few nights later, the stork decided to get back at the fox, so he invited him over for dinner. He served a delicious stew of his own in a large jar with a narrow mouth. ‘Eat, my friend’, the stork said, but the fox couldn’t even get his nose into the jar. But the stork easily dipped his bill into the jar and ate all of the delicious soup. All the fox got were a few drops that spilled over the side, and the fox left even hungrier then when he had arrived. And he had also learned his lesson…” Spencer smiled, looking at the illustration of the fox and the stork.

“And yet he keeps doing things like that.” The boy pointed out.

“One can only hope that one day the fox runs out of lessons to learn.” Diana Reid said, closing the blue book and lovingly running her hands over the cover, staring at the words, ‘Stories That Never Grow Old’. It had been hers when she was a little girl and she had loved it. Her young son loved it too. She turned and leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to the little boy’s head. Spencer smiled up at her and she smiled back at the sight of the gap in his teeth. One of the teeth was currently under his pillow.

“Mom?”

“What is it, baby?”

“One more story?”

“… which one do you want?” Diana asked.

“… Guess.” Spencer challenged with a grin.

“… Ummm… Either ‘The Boy And the North Wind’ or ‘Shingebiss the Duck’.”

“Shingebiss!” Spencer cheered. Diana laughed and sat down on his bed again, opening the book.

“… Once upon a time, a little duck named Shingebiss lived in a lodge by the lake…” Diana began.

Spencer Reid lay there in his bed in the Willow Ridge infirmary, staring up at an empty place on his bedside, where his mother sat reading to him…
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Edge of Insanity