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Time	By : cr8zymommy Category: 1 through F > Criminal Minds Views: 4585 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story

Chapter List
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“A guard was found dead at the prison this morning. Vincent killed him and used his uniform to escape.”
Those words seemed to echo around in Spencer’s mind. They blotted out everything else until there was nothing left. Master was free. Master had escaped. There was absolutely no doubt in Spencer’s mind what this meant. Master was coming for him. He would come and take his boy home. There was no way he would let his boy run around free. Master would find him and take him and he would be gone. Lost. This time, no one would find him. Master would kill him first.
If the others had thought Spencer would go into a panic attack, they were wrong. He didn’t scream or cry or hide or anything that they’d expected. Instead, he did something that scared them far, far worse. Spencer went completely and utterly still. His breathing slowed, his body froze, and he pulled inside of his mind. It was the only safe haven he had. Because of that, he didn’t see the panic on Aaron’s face or feel the way Morgan’s arms tightened. He didn’t see the doctor move forward to check his breathing and he didn’t feel the fingers on his wrist that checked his pulse.
He’s going to come for you. He won’t let you stay with Morgan or anyone else. Master will come and he’ll take you away and you’ll never see anyone again. You’ll just be alone with Master and the pain all day, every day, until you die. And he will kill you eventually. You’ve always known that. No one can protect you now. No one can keep you safe.
His thoughts were absolutely terrifying. They flayed him from the inside with as much skill as his Master had ever flayed him from the outside.
There’ll be no therapy now. No slowly healing with Morgan. How could you seriously think that you were going to get a chance at a life with Morgan? You thought you could fight this? That you could ‘come out the other side’? Master told you he’d come for you. You were stupid to think he wouldn’t.
He didn’t hear Morgan trying to talk to him. Didn’t notice any of the panic going on around him at his catatonic state. Spencer was lost; trapped inside his own mind.
You know what he’ll do to you. He’s going to hurt you for disobeying as much as you have. Even for things you haven’t done. He’ll assume you’ve slept with them all. That you let them Have you. Even if it isn’t true, he’ll think it is and he’ll punish you for it. Whips, belts, fists. Rape. Everything he can think of until you’re a bloody mess on his floor, too weak to even stand. Too weak to lift a hand from the floor to defend yourself. Not that you would. Master trained you so well.
No, no. He didn’t want to go back. He couldn’t go back to being Boy again. No!
You know that’s what he’ll do to you. You’ll become boy, because it’s what you’re trained to do. It’s who you are. You’ve been broken and beaten just like a dog to come calling when Master calls. To heel, lie down, fetch. To take it all, over and over, giving him exactly what he wants. You think you’ll fight him? You think you’ll stand up to him and refuse to break? One hour in his presence and you know what you’ll do. You’ll be kneeling at his side, awaiting his orders. If he hits you, you won’t fight back. You’ll take it just like you always have. It’s all you’re good for.
Was that all he was good for? Was he doomed to live this life?
You know you are. You’re weak. You’re not strong enough to stand up against him. You’ll let him take you and you’ll let him kill you if he wants and you won’t even try to fight back. That’s what you are. That’s what you do. You’re pathetic. You’re Master’s boy.
NO!
He was not boy anymore. He wasn’t! He would never be boy again!
That little bit of strength he’d been working on building lately started to grow inside of him. He was Spencer Reid, and he was not going to go down without a fight. He would not give in. Faces flashed into the darkness of his mind, bringing with them a little light. Emily, standing beside him in Morgan’s backyard, her face lifted to the sun just as his was, a little smile curving her lips. Dave, grinning at him as he talked about things they’d done while he was gone, a little bit of pizza sauce on his cheek that no one told him was there. Aaron, steady and sure, a constant force in his life, smiling at him encouragingly when he was faltering, giving him looks that said he had faith in him. JJ, looking so sad and yet so happy when he asked for her hug, her arms gentle around him, that warmth and support he’d ached for.
Garcia, her face sweet and loving, holding him close as he shook, embracing him and helping to lead him back out of the darkness that had been trying to consume him. Morgan; so many images of Morgan! The look of pride he’d given this morning. The way his heart was in his eyes when Spencer told him things that had happened to him. The smile he would wear when trying to reassure him. The protective gleam that would settle there when he thought someone was pushing Spencer too much.
Morgan. Sweet God.
All at once the morning’s events reasserted themselves into his mind. The gunshot that he’d taken to his arm that he knew, he knew, was meant for Morgan. It would have gone in Morgan’s heart if they hadn’t moved. That meant someone was trying to kill Morgan. It was too much of a coincidence that it happened on the same day they found out that Vincent had escaped.
Again Spencer saw in his mind the face of the man in the car. A face he had seen countless times at Master’s house. He’d known when he’d seen the car; it was one he’d seen in his random peeks outside while he’d been upstairs when Master had guests. The man was one of Master’s occasional business guests. The man had tried to kill Morgan. As well as he knew his Master, Spencer knew that another attempt would be made. Someone would come after Morgan again.
So what was he going to do about it? Was he going to sit here and hide and cower and be afraid? Was he going to be so terrified that Morgan spent all his time trying to protect him? Or was he going to grow up and man up and help to protect the person he loved? There was no real choice to be made.
Spencer gathered as much of his strength as he could and pulled himself out of his mind. Slowly the world seemed to return around him. Sound, first. Voices echoing around the small room, arguing with one another. Morgan’s voice telling someone “…can just back off! I told you, I’ve seen him like this before and he’ll be fine! Dammit, he was just slammed with bad news! Give him time to process it. You think you’d do ok if the man who tortured you had escaped from prison?”
“He needs medical help at the least and quite possibly psychological help as well!” A female was yelling back. Was that the doctor?
Touch was the next sense to come to him. Morgan’s arms, tight around him, keeping him close and safe. Letting no one touch him. The warmth in those arms soaked into Spencer, warming him deep down inside. Last to return was his sight. He blinked his eyes against the suddenly bright light, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Aaron stood on the other side of the bed, his back to Spencer and Morgan, and on the other side of Aaron was a room full of nurses, the doctor, and still the security guard. One of Aaron’s hands was resting on the butt of his gun. Why?
A second later he realized why. His boss, his friend, was protecting him. Keeping the others back so that Morgan could tend to Spencer. It was actually heartwarming to see.
This situation was growing quickly out of control. Spencer took a deep breath, realizing that his hands were still locked into Morgan’s shirt, his body cradled against Morgan’s chest. All he had to do was tip his head to be able to see his friend’s face. The instant he moved, Morgan looked down at him and a wide smile lit up his face. “Welcome back, pretty boy.” He murmured as he brought a hand up to cup the back of Spencer’s head.
“I’m sorry.” Spencer whispered to him. “I didn’t mean….it was just instinct.”
“Don’t worry, kid. Hotch and I understood. We had your back.”
Gratitude filled Spencer and he hoped it showed in his eyes. “Yes, I see that. But…can we move rooms now? We need to talk. All of us.” As much as the idea of being in a small room with a crowd of people scared him, it was necessary, and it was his friends he was going to have in there. “The entire team, Morgan. There’re things I need to tell you all that might help you. I’m the only one that knows Master well enough to help catch him.”
Morgan sighed and nodded at him before lifting his head. “Hotch.” He called. That was all it took to break through to their boss. The older profiler turned a little, his eyes taking in both Spencer and Morgan with one glance. “We need him either checked out or taken to a room. He’s got something to tell the team.”
A steady look and a firm nod were Aaron’s answer. He turned back to the doctor. “Do you have a room prepared for him?” he demanded.
The woman looked beyond frazzled. “Yes.” She snapped.
“Then I suggest you move him there now. And understand this; he is under our protection. Agent Morgan will be staying with him and a guard will be posted outside his room for the duration of his stay.”
And, as Spencer had seen so many times before, not a single soul disobeyed the unit chief.

Thirty minutes later, Spencer sat in his hospital bed in the same pair of pajama pants he’d been wearing when he left the house that morning. The top was gone, removed to tend to his arm, and he’d refused anything to put on over it. Clothes felt beyond confining right now. He would have suffocated or gone insane if he’d been forced to put anything else on. When Dave came, he brought a change of clothes for Morgan, who had promptly changed right by Spencer’s bedside while the women waited in the hallway.
When the two senior profilers saw Morgan take his credentials out of his sweater and transfer them to his coat pocket, they both gave him strange looks. “You carry your credentials when you walk the dog in pajamas?” Dave asked him with surprise.
Morgan shrugged and finished adjusting his clothes. “You never know when it’ll come in handy.” He said. With a smile he climbed into the hospital bed, situating himself against the elevated back. “I guess I’m just in the habit of grabbing them whenever I go anywhere. The bastard is lucky I didn’t bring my gun with me.”
Once Morgan had settled into the bed, Spencer didn’t hesitate to curl into him, his back pressed against Morgan’s front. No matter how much strength he was holding on to or how much courage he had built, things were just easier when he was physically touching Morgan. It made it easier for him to concentrate and keep that strength from faltering. Luckily, the bed was on the left side of the room, so Spencer could lie on his left side and keep his right arm from being touched while still being able to look at the rest of the room. When Morgan’s arm settled around his waist, holding him close, Spencer couldn’t stop himself from sighing in relief.
Now that they were settled, the door was opened and Garcia, Emily and JJ all filed in, taking varying seats around the private hospital room. Garcia naturally took the chair closest to the head of the bed, her hands coming out to rest over Spencer’s and offer him support. Her eyes were red rimmed, showing that she’d been crying. JJ took a seat near the foot of the bed, reaching out hesitantly to touch at his ankle, unsure if her contact would be welcomed. Spencer couldn’t bring himself to smile, but he gave her a look and a nod that he hoped conveyed his consent. It must have, because she smiled at him and let her hand curl around his ankle.
Dave had a chair against the wall, across from his bed, while Aaron and Emily stood on either side of him. The group made a little semi-circle around the bed. Spencer looked at them all and felt his heart grow a little. These people were the best friends he had ever had. They were his family. True to form, they were banding together now, uniting over the horror that loomed in the distance, each of them willing and eager to protect those that they considered theirs.
To try and gain enough strength to say what needed to be said, Spencer shifted his hand and laced his fingers with Morgan’s in silent appeal. His friend didn’t hesitate to squeeze his fingers to show him that he was there. That he wasn’t going anywhere.
“I recognized the car.” Spencer said suddenly. He chewed his lip a second before calming his mind. He had to do this right; not jumbled up and incoherent. This was important. So, he started over, walking them through what had happened, telling them about the strange sensation he’d had that had made him look around. No one interrupted him as he told about seeing the car, that he had recognized both it and the driver, and as he had pulled him and Morgan to the ground. Or as he told about how the shot hadn’t been intended for him and the reasons why he knew that.
When he was done, Dave was the first to speak. “You said you know who did this? Do you know his name, Reid?”
Sadly, the young man shook his head. “No, I don’t.”
“Where do you know him from?” Though they all felt they knew the answer, Aaron still asked the obvious question.
This was where Spencer knew he would need strength. He gripped Morgan’s fingers in his. “He…he was a business guest that Master had over occasionally. He helped Master in certain aspects of business. Did him favors.”
“What kind of favors?”
Anyone could see that Aaron hated asking almost as much as Spencer hated the memories that swarmed to life.
His speech was more candid than they’d expected when he answered. “He assisted Master in disposing of the pretty ladies when it became necessary and in helping him transport any that he needed. In return, Master let him have one hour with me for each service rendered. Master never stayed in the room, but he supervised through the cameras and he had strict rules that had to be followed.”
He saw the horror in their eyes at hearing that he had been used as barter. Spencer knew that it was a horrible thing, but it had been the way his life was at the time. Maybe they didn’t expect you to so openly talk about it. You haven’t really been forthcoming about details before this.
Was that what it was? Gathering courage, Spencer quietly asked “Do you guys not want me to talk about these things? I don’t mean to upset you.”
It didn’t surprise him that it was JJ who answered before anyone else could. “No, Spence. It’s not that you’re upsetting us.” She rushed to reassure him. “It’s just hard to hear sometimes, you know? We hate knowing that you had to live that way.”
“Should I…should I not talk about it?”
“You definitely should.” Dave said firmly. He leaned forward, arms resting on his thighs. “It’s better to talk about it than bottle it up inside. I’m glad you aren’t trying to hide it from us.”
Hide it from them? “Why would I do that?” He asked with surprise. Tipping his head, he looked over at Morgan with confusion, hoping his friend would help him understand. “I don’t understand.”
Morgan’s smile was slightly sad, confusing Spencer even more. “You remember dealing with victims, Spencer. Most of them don’t like to talk about what happened to them. It’s hard for them to do it, so they tend to bottle it up, which is dangerous for them.”
“What’s the point in doing that?” Spencer couldn’t resist asking. He was beyond confused now. “Why would I keep it a secret?”
With his free hand, Morgan brushed a strand of hair back from Spencer’s face, still smiling sadly at him. “Why don’t you explain to them why you don’t keep it a secret? Then they’ll understand better.”
Explain it to them? Spencer furrowed his brows as he tried to think of how to put it. He looked back out at the group of them while he gathered his words. “I just, I don’t know. I don’t see the point. If you wanted to know, you’d find out anyways. There’s tons of video footage of my time there. I just, I don’t understand this. You asked me a question and I answered. Wasn’t that right?”
Emily gave him a reassuring smile. “It was, Reid. Don’t worry. You just were so private before so it startles us a little when you aren’t now.”
“Oh. Well, what’s there to be private about? Why bother? People always find out anyways. If you don’t give it on your own, they just take it.” He shrugged, ignoring the burn his arm gave when he did. “I’d rather just let it out right away then wait for it to be taken. It’s easier.”
When all their expressions turned slightly pained, Spencer bit at his lip. This was getting far off topic. He tried to scramble to bring it back to what was important. Why were they worrying about how he spoke when there was a bigger threat here? Someone was trying to kill Morgan and they were worrying about something as little as how candid he spoke to them? “I can give you a description of him, or a date for one instants I saw him. I happened to see the calendar that day. Then you could go to that day in Master’s video files and see what he looks like on film. It was November twenty second last year.”
“I can do that, sweetie.” Garcia told him with a smile. “I’ll run him through the system and see if I get any hits.”
“Wait.” Oh, wow, he was getting slow. It had been so long since he’d thought like a profiler. Like an agent. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this. There’s a simpler way. His car. The license plate is DDM-190. You’ll probably find him easier that way.”
“Perfect! I’ll get right on it as soon as we leave.”
With a calm and steady stare, Aaron moved toward the bed, stopping right beside it. “We’ll be posting a guard outside the door.” He told Spencer seriously. “The both of you are to stay here. For no reason are you to leave until tomorrow when you’re discharged. When it comes time for you to leave, we’ll all be here to escort you home. There we’ll have no less than one other person staying with you two at all times until we have Vincent back in custody.” His expression softened slightly to that gentle look that Spencer often saw there anymore. “We won’t let him have you again, Spencer.”
“What about the pretty lady?” Spencer asked suddenly. “She should be watched, too. He might…he might try to come and finish the job.”
“I’ve already sent two agents to guard her. They checked in and let me know she’s safe.”
Spencer sagged back into Morgan. Everyone that was important was protected now. He closed his eyes on a sigh. The others seemed to take that as a cue to leave. He heard them all stand up, promising that they would be back soon. Garcia told Morgan she would contact him as soon as she knew anything, right after she told the team. Within a minute the room was empty once again.
The arm around Spencer’s waist tightened slightly. Before Spencer could say anything, he felt Morgan shift and heard his low murmur. “Shut it off for a while, pretty boy. We’re both here and we’re both safe. You should get some sleep while you can. The next few days may be tiring.”
His advice was sound. Secure in Morgan’s arms, the younger man closed his eyes and let his brain shut down. Within moments, he was asleep.
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