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Return from the Edge	By : hatochiisai Category: 1 through F > Criminal Minds Views: 3693 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor do I make any financial profit off of writing and posting this work.

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Return from the Edge

Ahmose Inarus

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

SLASH WARNING!!! Hotch/Reid

Chapter 4

Brianne Facundo looked up when the door to the interrogation room opened. She folded her arms and fixed a cold look on the slender young man.

“… You were cuter in your little outfit.” She snorted.

“So were you.” Reid chuckled, moving to sit across from her in her prison issued uniform. “So… let’s start over, Brianne. Hi… I’m Dr. Spencer Reid of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, and I’ll be conducting this interview today.”

“You mean interrogation?”

“Only if you make it one.”

“… So you set me up.”

“Yes… Yes I did.”

“Why?”

“Brianne…” Reid said, a slight laugh in his tone. “You’ve killed twelve men that we know of!”

“… They fixed the game so you would keep winning?”

“Nope.” Reid said, and grinned. “That was all me. I wasn’t lying when I told you that I had been banned from most casinos on the strip when I was eighteen.” She eyed him. “So… Tell me why you wanted to kill me?”

“How about for the cash you had in your pocket?” She said in a haughty manner.

“Is that why you killed them all?”

“Of course.”

“Why?” Reid asked, relieved that she was talking without him even trying.

“Because they deserved it! They’re arrogant bastards, ALL of them!”

“Who?”

“MEN!” She snapped. Then she sat back in a huff. “You know… when I kissed you… I was thinking that out of all of them… you might be the only one I would ever feel any remorse over.”

“Why?” Reid asked, cocking his head, slightly.

“You actually seemed to genuinely be a nice guy. All the others are only concerned with what they can get… be it money, drugs… sex…” She stressed the last word, staring Reid in the eyes. She slowly eyed him up and down and ran a tongue over her lips. “It was time for THEM to get screwed. Instead of me.”

“… How did you get screwed, Brianne?” Reid asked, folding his hands and leaning towards her.

“Every man I have ever known has done nothing but TAKE from me.” She snapped. “My dad pimped me out. Bet you didn’t know that, Smart Guy. He kept all my earnings. Just as he took my mom’s paychecks when she happened to have a job. I had a couple of boyfriends. All they wanted was sex and a meal ticket. If I refused to put out or pay their way, they left. Then there were the wealthy men at the casinos… They would gamble and drink… if they lost, they wanted sex as a consolation prize… half of them wouldn’t even have money. If they won, they wanted sex to celebrate. Maybe I just got sick of it. Seeing it night after night, month after month, year after year… I decided that they should get what they REALLY deserved… and it wasn’t the cash they won at the casino.”

“So you killed innocent men as payback for the men who had wronged you?” Reid asked.

“… Honey… there’s no such thing as an innocent man.” Brianne snorted, glaring at Reid.

“What about me?” Reid asked. “You said that you would feel sorry about killing me.”

“I said you seemed nice. NOT that you’re innocent.”

“So what crime did I commit?”

“You tell me. Surely you’ve wronged a woman…”

“Not that I can think of.”

“You’ve never used a woman for sex?”

“Actually… I’ve never had sex with a woman.” Reid told her. She looked startled at that. Then there was a knock and the door opened.

“This interview is over.” Hotch said. Reid blinked, then gathered up his case file and stood. “Her lawyer is here.”

“I didn’t ask for a lawyer.” Brianne said, frowning.

“Sometimes they just show up.” Hotch said, and Reid left the room.

“Sometimes they just show up?” Reid asked, raising an eyebrow.

“They do. Like ambulance chasers.” Hotch said. “They wait for us to make an arrest and then come in and claim to be council. They’re looking to make their reputation by defending a serial killer.”

“Nice.” Reid snorted. “Is Morgan’s ego still bruised from the bouncers at the club?” Hotch chuckled.

“Just a bit.” He said with a grin. “I take it you want to see your mother before we leave?”

“Yeah.” Reid said with a nod.

“Then let’s get some sleep.” Hotch told him. “And you can see your mom in the morning.”

“… Dad?” Reid gasped, stopping in the doorway. William and Diana Reid both turned and smiled at him. “… What are you doing here?”

“I see Diana every weekend.” William said, standing. “She said you were here on a case.”

“I… We are.” Reid said, giving his dad a tentative smile and moving to sit with his parents. “We closed it out last night.”

“What kind of case were you working on?” William asked, trying to keep the conversation from dying out. To his delight, his son started off talking in that excitable fashion that he’d always had when he got onto a topic he fund fascinating, even as a child.

“Oh, we had a female serial killer!” Reid exclaimed, eyes bright. “Those are actually very rare, you know. There are three kinds, those who kill for profit, those who kill for revenge and—“

And he was off.

William and Diana Reid exchanged amused smiles and let their son talk himself out. William even playfully timed his son. And his son rambled about female serial killers for exactly seven minutes and twenty two seconds before he suddenly trailed off, blinked, then turned red and muttered, “Sorry… I… I guess I’m used to the team cutting me off when I go too far.”

“You NEVER go too far.” Diana told him with a loving smile.

“… I’m going to smile and nod.” William said, and Reid grinned at his dad’s little joke. “So… How did you catch her?”

“I, uh… I made out with her.” Reid chuckled, and his parents STARED. Reid grinned at the looks on their faces. “She was targeting big winners at the Halloween Parties at the casinos on the strip. So I went in and… well…”

“… You took the poker tables by storm?” Diana asked in a stern, ‘you’re-about-to-get-a-scolding’ tone.

“Yes Ma’am.” Reid said. Diana gave him a look. “… I won a few thousand dollars.” Reid announced with a grin, and his father laughed.

“Aren’t you banned from the casinos on the strip?” Diana asked.

“They have my photo from when I was eighteen!” Reid pointed out, and he and his father chuckled. Diana gave them BOTH a glare. “Anyway… I attracted her attention and became her target. She came onto me, I gave her the response she wanted, we cashed out and went out into an alley and… she kissed me.” His parents stared at him with quirked eyebrows. “Then she pulled a knife. We fought, I pulled my gun and she ran. We chased her into a club and apprehended her.” Reid said, ending the story quickly when he saw his mother get upset when he said that a murderer had pulled a knife on him. William noticed too, and changed the subject.

“Your mother tells me that you’ve taken up running and swimming.” He said, and Reid smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. I really enjoy it.”

“That’s great, Spencer.” William said and Diana smiled, reaching out and placing her hand on her son’s cheek.

“I’m so proud of you, baby.”

“… Thanks mom.” Reid said, smiling at her.

Hotch watched from the doorway, smiling. Then he turned and walked down the hall, pulling his phone out and dialing.

“Garcia, it’s Hotch… I need a favor.”

Reid spent the entire afternoon with his mother and father. After that, he talked Hotch into letting the team stay one more night. And to Hotch’s dismay, Reid decided to hit up some of the casinos with Morgan and Prentiss. And to the amusement of the entire team (though Hotch would never admit it), Morgan and Prentiss came back a couple hundred dollars poorer, and Reid came back much, much richer; he wouldn’t give them an exact number. But the REALLY funny part was on the plane in the morning when Morgan showed them a casino security photograph of Reid at age eighteen that said BANNED in large red letters.

“Oh, Spence, you were so CUTE!!!” JJ exclaimed.

“He was Jail Bait!” Garcia giggled.

“How did you get that?!” Hotch demanded to know.

“They caught Reid, man!” Morgan laughed, and Reid grinned.

“Security came up to us after we had cashed out and were leaving, and took Reid.” Emily told the others, trying not to laugh. Reid just grinned.

“They dragged me into security and started interrogating me, I told them it was security’s fault for letting me in and I showed them my picture on their wall. Then Morgan and Emily came in flashing badges and the next thing I know they work out a deal… Morgan gets to keep the old picture, they take a new one of me to put up, and I give them some tips and advice… like the guy a table away from where I was playing who was cheating.” And while the team laughed, Hotch just groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Well, I’m gonna give Hotch a minute to get over this…” Reid said with a glance at his lover, and slipped off.

Hotch watched as Reid closed the door of the bathroom. Then he waved the team in close.

“We didn’t MEAN to let him get into trouble…” Emily said, but Hotch ignored her.

“There’s a reason I let us stay an extra day.” Hotch told them.

“Yeah. You like to spoil the kid.” Morgan chuckled.

“OTHER than that.” Hotch snorted. “Tomorrow is our… first Anniversary.” Hotch told them. The team stared, and Garcia squealed. “Garcia, you know what to do, so you’re in charge.” Hotch said, then looked at the rest of the team. “I have a big surprise for him. I want you to go to with Garcia and pick up everything with her and get set up. I’ll have Spencer over there tomorrow at three.”

“… What are you planning?” Rossi asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“You’ll find out.” Hotch said, and the team dispersed before Reid caught them all with their heads together.

When the plane landed, Hotch sighed and walked to his car with Reid by his side.

“I have a couple of things to do at the office.” He said.

“Sure. I can get some paperwork done.” Reid said with a nod. He turned on the radio and both flinched violently when one of Jack’s Barney Singalong CD’s came on. Both of them fumbled desperately at the radio to turn it off, and finally managed to switch to the radio, which was playing Pink Floyd. Reid went to change the station, but stopped when Hotch said, “Wait, I like this song.” Reid blinked, then sat back and relaxed. He smiled at the gentle hand that fell to rest on his thigh.

When they got to work and stepped off of the elevator, they found Erin Strauss waiting for them. “Agent Reid. My office.” She said. Reid’s eyes widened. “… You’re not in trouble.” She told him, lips quirking in amusement. Reid looked at Hotch, and the man blinked.

“… You heard her. Don’t look at me.” Hotch told the boy, and headed for his office. Reid sighed and shuffled after Chief Strauss.

“Sit down, please.” She told him. He obeyed, and Strauss moved to sit behind her desk. She sighed and folded her hands and stared at him. “… Well… so much for EASING yourself back into the field.”

“… Wait! You said I wasn’t in trouble!” Reid yelped, eyes wide. She quirked an eyebrow at his childlike outburst. “Look… we knew she was targeting big winners, we tried to corner her several times, we decided that we couldn’t operate the way we were, it would only get more people killed. We had to set a trap. The casinos wouldn’t play along and help us fix a game, so… I had to fix one for us.”

“… The casino wants their money back.” Strauss said, and Reid’s jaw dropped.

“WHAT?!” He yelped, and Strauss fought not to laugh. “You can tell them that if they had co-operated the FBI wouldn’t have had to send in a genius to play their tables like a chess game!”

“They have argued that you should be penalized for gambling on the job.”

“Thanks to their refusal to co-operate, the gambling WAS the job.” Reid smirked. Strauss slowly smiled. “If they had co-operated, the chips I started with would have been provided by them. And so everything I won would have belonged to them. But I bought my own damn chips, I played them… I’m keeping what I won!” Reid howled, folding his arms and scowling like a stubborn child. Strauss quirked an eyebrow, then leaned back, smiling in her amusement at the indignant agent.

“Here’s their number. You can give them a call and tell them yourself.” She said, sliding a piece of paper across the desk. “Now… I want you to have a brief psychiatric evaluation. I just want to make sure your leap back into the field didn’t affect you in a negative way.”

“Aw, man…”

“Please send Agent Hotchner in.”

“Yes Ma’am…” Reid grumbled, and shuffled out of her office. A few minutes later, Hotch entered.

“What did you say to my Agent to make him act like a petulant child?” He asked, looking amused. Strauss smiled back.

“I’ve sent him for a psych eval after he jumped back into the field head first.” She said. “Which he was NOT supposed to do.”

“He performed brilliantly.” Hotch told her, sitting down. She nodded.

“I’ve already looked over Agent Jareau’s report. And he did perform his duties in a professional manner. But the second night… he isn’t mentioned.”

“Our second night into the operation, he wasn’t with us.” Hotch said. She looked at him.

“And where was he?”

“… With his mother.” Hotch told her. “On my insistence. She hadn’t heard from him in four months, I felt that he had to go see her and… come clean to her about what had happened. He stayed the night with her. And it did him worlds of good.”

“I see. It was… therapeutic for him?”

“It was therapeutic for BOTH of them. You… are aware of his mother’s condition?”

“I’ve never really looked into it.”

“… His mother is a paranoid schizophrenic who was institutionalized when Dr. Reid turned eighteen.” Hotch said. “And… her son is the most important thing in her life. When he vanished for four months when he once used to write her a letter every day… she assumed the worst. And all she could do was sit and… wait for news. When that news was her son walking through the door… well…”

“I understand completely. Perhaps he should have taken time off and spent some more time with her.” Strauss said, softly.

“I will be encouraging that a bit later.” Hotch said with a nod. “For now, I need to see him settled back into his routine.”

“… He has been staying with you.” Strauss said, glancing down at her papers.

“He has. As it is, Dr. Blair is NOT recommending that he live alone. She feels that won’t help his mental state. She wants him to stay with someone. And honestly, we have been appreciating the company during the time he’s been staying with me, so the arrangement has been extended until further notice.”

“… You’re roommates?”

“We are.”

“… Talk about the Odd Couple.” Strauss muttered, and Hotch fought not to grin.

“You have NO idea.” He chuckled. “But it’s… comforting since the divorce, and… he’s always lived alone. Plus it frees up some of our finances. I’m able to provide more for my son and he’s able to… um… buy a new coffee machine…” Strauss raised an eyebrow.

“… Coffee machine.”

“Have you SEEN how much he drinks?” Hotch asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“I understand that the team is his… Circle of Support in his recovery.” Strauss said, looking at Dr. Blair’s reports again.

“Yes.” Hotch said with a nod.

“I’ll see what his evaluation says. For now, continue as you are. If he is your roommate, then I expect you to monitor his mental state at home, too.”

“That’s one of the reasons for this arrangement.” Hotch said with a nod.

“Then I approve.” She said. “… Dr. Blair recommends that if the two of you are rooming together, that you should consider getting a pet.”

“Getting a-- sorry -- what?!” Hotch blurted, and Strauss was amused to see the man’s poker face fall away.

“A pet. Dr. Blair thinks it would be good for him.”

And to her increased amusement, Hotch scowled and grossed his arms and grumbled, “He has a fish tank!”

“Now who’s acting like a petulant child?” Strauss asked, smirking. Hotch GLARED. She froze… God, she forgot just how intimidating that look was…

Strauss was the first to drop their gaze…

Hotch took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the small shop, a little bell tinkling to announce his arrival. An elderly couple were working behind the counter. They looked up, and both smiled.

“Good afternoon Ms. Vermelli.” Hotch said with a small smile.

“… I was wondering when you would be picking up your order.” The woman said, a twinkle in her eye.

“How is Dr. Reid?” Asked Mr. Vermelli while his wife went to get Hotch’s order.

“He’s MUCH better, thank you.”

“Is today the big day, then?” Mrs. Vermelli asked, setting down his order for him to inspect.

“Tomorrow.” Hotch said, nodding. He turned and looked down at the item, a wondrous smile spreading across his face. “… Tomorrow.”
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