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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
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Edge of Insanity

Hatochiisai aka Ahmose Inarus

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

SLASH WARNING!!! Hotch/Reid

CHAPTER 8

The car pulled to a stop before a well manicured lawn, sprawling and open. The house was had creamy stucco walls, and dark red half circle ceramic roof tiles. Realtor Barbara Newkirk got out with SSA Aaron Hotchner.

“Alright.” She said with a smile at her client. “House Number One.” And they made their way up the front walk. “Classic Mediterranean Style.” She began. They reached the wall that had a wood and wrought iron gate. She pushed down on the latch and the door swung open. They stepped into a small courtyard that led to the dark wooden front door. The courtyard was terra cotta tile with beautiful ferns around the border. The sound of trickling water drew your eyes to a fountain. A Stone lion’s head was spout. The water poured out of the lion’s gaping mouth and fell into a stone basin. Hotch found himself with a sudden mental image of Garcia putting goldfish into the fountain… Mediterranean didn’t seem… fitting for Reid and himself, but he decided to give it a shot.

And so they toured the property. There was a living room and a den. A sweeping staircase in the foyer. A study by the den. A large kitchen and breakfast nook. A patio outside of the kitchen and living room overlooking a fancy pool in the back yard. Upstairs there were four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The master bedroom had a fireplace and a lavish bathroom with a large walk in glass shower with two shower heads. But Hotch had already decided that his house wasn’t for them… It was to wide and open and… bright… Hotch knew that Spencer preferred it dim and cozy.

And so they made their way to the second house. And Hotch was immediately struck by the almost creepy elegance of the Victorian home, complete with a tower. They walked up to the front porch, wooden steps creaking pleasantly under their steps. They stepped into the foyer. It was dark and gloomy, with a long shadowed staircase before them. The living room to their left had an elegantly carved mahogany fireplace. To the right was the dining room that was connected to the kitchen. Up the stairs they found three bedrooms, and a spiral staircase that led up to the tower, which could possibly work as a small office. Hotch was… pleased. And he thought that Reid would be, too. Plus, they could make one of the bedrooms the study… Jack would be thrilled at the idea of having his bedroom in the tower.

House number three was a modest two story Tudor style home. It was a bit more open than the Victorian, but Hotch really didn’t like the set up… But the backyard was beautiful. Then he found the water damage on the floor in the breakfast nook towards the back of the house. It wouldn’t be hard to fix, but he wanted to know how it happened first.

House number four was almost an immediate ‘no’. It was a ranch style house, and Hotch just… didn’t like it.

House number five was a plantation style house with a porch and second floor balcony that wrapped around the sides… It was nice, but just didn’t seem to fit himself and his little mate…

House six was on the corner of a busy intersection, and hardly had any trees… There was no privacy in the yard.

The entire way to a small restaurant, Hotch thought over the houses. When he and Ms. Newkirk settled in to eat, Hotch began to look over the papers.

“Number one… no. It’s just not our style… too bright and open. And the pool… not something we’re interested in. We’ll never use it.” The man said. “Now… Two and three are… possibles.”

“I’ll look into that water damage.” The woman said, scribbling.

“Reid would like those houses.” Hotch continued. “Four was awful,” the woman grinned, “Five is just… well… it’s not us… and I don’t like the location of the sixth.”

“So… interested in two and three.”

“Yes, I think-- wait.” And Hotch pulled out his phone. “Yeah, JJ… okay. On my way.” And he closed his phone. “I’m sorry, I’ve got a case.”

“Of course.” She said, smiling.

Three Days Later

Spencer Reid lay in the bed in the Willow Ridge Infirmary, staring out the window at the brilliant blue sky and the changing leaves… He was flat on his back, wrists restrained with IV fluids being administered. He was restrained because he kept pulling the needle out…

His stomach churned… the staff had just fed him. By force with a tube down his throat. He had refused to eat since the day he told the team to leave and not come back. Reid knew that it was foolish to think that they might allow him to starve to death in that place, but some part of him HAD hoped… He knew that when one was starving, the body released endorphins as it began to break down and burn its own tissue for fuel… It really didn’t sound like a bad way to go…

Garcia had tried to visit that morning… But Reid had refused to see her. He knew that the woman had left in tears, but… what he had told the team was the truth. Seeing them leaving without him killed him more and more each time he had to watch them leave. But they had been his only source of comfort… Now he had nothing. Nothing but his MP3, his Bedtime Bear, and his memories. He had taken to sitting in his chair by the window in the day room, close his eyes and relive moments in his mind… wonderful moments with the team…

His 24^th birthday with the trick candles on his birthday cake…

Having dinner in New York City while he struggled with chop sticks…

Morgan and Rossi helping him on the Riley Jenkins case…

Lila Archer and Morgan’s teasing…

Embracing Emily after the compound was blown up in the Benjamin Cyrus case…

Embracing Hotch after Henkel…

Hotch…

Their first night together… their first kiss… their first time making love…

The purchase of their rings… God, he missed the feel of the ring on his finger…

Christmas in Santa Fe…

His first case with the BAU…

Playing chess with Gideon…

Gideon. Reid sighed… did the man know what had happened?

He wondered what Gideon would do when he heard that his protégé was locked up in the loony bin. Slowly, Reid closed his eyes.

Whatever. What did it matter? As long as he was in this place, he was as good as dead. He was kept away from the world, and the world was kept away from him. All he had were memories… memories of when he had been happy. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

He opened his eyes and stared out the window, wondering if he would ever be happy again…

Dr. Harris sat on his sofa in his living room, drowning his worries in Scotch. But they weren’t about to leave him alone this night…

“You look upset.” He jumped and looked up at the purring female voice. They were here. The man and woman stared at him. The man’s face was blank, as usual, the woman was smirking, a sinister gleam in her eyes.

“How is he doing?” She asked.

“… How the hell do you think he’s doing?!” Dr. Harris demanded. “He’s devastated, depressed and terrified of his current situation. And in addition to the already existing depression, he’s on depressants and Tylenol PM! He sleeps a good fifteen hours a day! He hasn’t spoken a word since he told his team, his SUPPORT CIRCLE, to leave and never come back! Those people are his family! And he said he never wants to see them again. He refuses to eat, we have to FORCE feed him! He wants to die!” The man suddenly stood and hurled his glass across the room. “It’s only a matter of time before he finds a way to end his own life.”

“Good.” The woman said with a smirk. “Keep it that way. But don’t let him die. I want him to live a long, long life just as he is.”

Dr. Harris stared. “No.”

“… Excuse me?” She hissed and the man dropped his arms, which had been folded over his chest.

“Why?!” Dr. Harris demanded, walking up to her. The man quickly stepped between them, protectively. “You tell me this…” Dr. Harris hissed. “What did he ever do to you to make you want him to suffer so much? He’s a good, GOOD man!”

“He’s a murderer.” The woman hissed. “He ruined my life…”

“How?!”

“… He killed my Master.” The woman snapped. “And if you back out and do ANYTHING to ease his suffering… I will kill you.” And she turned and stalked away, the man following her. As they walked down the street, the man sighed.

“I wonder how the others are?” He murmured.

“THEY are not our concern.” The woman snapped.

“They are our family, Paloma.”

“No, they are not.” She snarled. “THEY moved on. Their lack of loyalty is atrocious.”

“Master is gone.”

“That doesn’t mean we are no longer loyal to him.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go back to Mr. Winters?”

“And do what, Jaguar?!”

“… Preciosa is in Culinary School… Sirena is learning English and going to school for a certification in Massage Therapy. And Aguilo has gotten a job as a model. Mr. Winters is helping them apply for Citizenship.” Jaguar said. “We could have the chance for a new life, too.”

“My first duty is to Master. Whether he is dead or alive. Cachorro killed him. I will make sure he spends the rest of his life suffering for his betrayal.”

Jaguar sighed… there was NO way he was talking her out of this. She was determined to make Cachorro suffer as much as possible. And when Paloma was determined, the only one who ever stood a CHANCE of stopping her was Master… And with him dead… well…

Jaguar sighed and followed her.

There was no stopping this woman…

Hotch sighed as he walked into the Victorian house. Ms. Newkirk was behind him. The team had finished up their case the previous day, and so Hotch had asked to see the Victorian and Tudor houses again.

“Well?” Ms. Newkirk asked.

“I don’t think the Tudor house is a good fit. The layout… I just don’t like it. But this…” He sighed and looked around. “I have… ONE concern.”

“Oh?” She asked.

“Spencer’s mind runs at hyper speed. He has an over active imagination and is afraid of the dark. If he’s here alone at night… I think his mind will scare him to death!” Hotch exclaimed. Ms. Newkirk stared at him, then grinned.

“It IS kind of creepy…” She admitted.

“It’s still a possible, but…” Hotch trailed off.

“… You know what…” Ms. Newkirk said, looking like a sudden thought had come to her. “Come with me.” And they trotted out to the car and got in. She drove to the edge of the neighborhood, and pulled up in front of a house. Hotch got out of the car, and stared.

A stone wall about four feet high surrounded the property. The little wooden gate had an iron arch over it, overgrown with a climbing vine plant. It looked like Wisteria. The front yard was a wildly overgrown garden spotted with large, mature trees… yet it was very… pleasing to the eye. It was organized chaos… much like Spencer’s desk at the Bureau. The garden surrounded a quaint little stone house… an Old English Cottage. The stonework was mossy and ivy was crawling up the walls. The windows were rectangular with rounded edges. They had dark green shutters and window boxes, and the roof tiles were also a dark grayish green. The front door was a dark green that matched the shutters. Hotch found a small smile coming to his lips.

“It JUST came on the market this morning.” Ms. Newkirk said. “A family bought it, and were flipping it to live in. But then the husband got a HUGE promotion and they had to move to the West Coast immediately. So they need to sell, FAST. You’ll probably get a good deal on it, due to their need for a rapid sale, and the fact that the work isn’t complete.”

“Oh?” Hotch said.

“Yes. They were expanding. Come on. I’ll show you!” And Hotch nodded. They stepped through the little gate and made their way up the winding stone path through the garden to the front door. The front hall had two little doorways on either side. Hotch stepped through the one on the right. It was a small, cozy room with a fireplace to his right, and the wall to his left was one massive bookcase. Hotch’s heart began to thump against his ribs. He went back into the front hall and took the doorway on the right. A kitchen. A kitchen with a nice large space for a dining table before a large window that looked out onto the back yard. Hotch went back out into the main hall and headed deeper into the house. Before him was a door leading to the back yard. To his left was the wall separating the hall from the kitchen. But to the right, as soon as they passed the little room with the fire place and book case was a staircase.

“They just put this in.” Ms. Newkirk said, pointing to the stairs. “This was a single story.” The stairs had been built against the wall of a large room that the hall had suddenly opened up into. Windows showed the back yard again, and there were three doors and one dark hallway in that room. Through one was a small room with a small bathroom attached. The second door led to a larger room with a larger bathroom. The dark hallway had two doors in it. The door to the side was a closet, and the door at the end of the hall led into a laundry room that wasn’t completed, and yet ANOTHER door. Through this was the garage, that like the laundry room, had not been completed.

“As you can see, this is one of the projects they were working on. One of those other rooms USED to be the Master Bedroom.” Ms. Newkirk said.

“And now?” Hotch asked.

“Upstairs.” Ms. Newkirk told him. “Come on.” And Hotch followed her, heart pounding even more. They reached the top of the stairs and found themselves on a small landing, a doorway where two double doors were to be installed. They stepped through the empty doorway into the Master Suite. It was the skeletal beginnings, but Hotch was… ENTHRALLED. A generous open sitting area was before him, with a fireplace against the wall to his right. Before him was a pair of French doors that led out onto a balcony overlooking the backyard. Two his left was a wall with a large arched opening. There were two stairs up into the comfortable, cozy area where the bed itself was meant to be. As he stood in the arched divider wall, to his left was another doorway that would hold double doors. Beyond them was a fantastic bathroom.

A large shower that was made of a tile wall up to about his hips, and glass panes from there up to the ceiling. It was in the right corner if you stepped into the bathroom and turned to your right and faced it. Stretching from the shower to the left corner was a large Garden Jacuzzi tub. Hotch turned around and stared at the long counter with two sinks before a large blank wall. Then he walked further into the bathroom. At the far end of the bathroom the straight walls suddenly angled in towards each other. On the right angle was a door leading into a tiny little room where the toilet was. To Hotch, that was a great idea… especially since Reid was shy about his bodily functions. He refused to use the bathroom if Hotch was in there, and when the man was showering, he had to put up with his young lover whining at him to hurry. On the left angled wall was a doorway leading into a large walk in closet.

Hotch turned and looked at Ms. Newkirk.

“… Can I see the back yard?” He asked, his voice soft. She smiled and nodded. Hotch followed her. They went back to the sitting area and stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the back yard. The yard was large and sprawling. Large trees not only in this yard, but the neighbors’ yards, gave it a sense of privacy. Hotch looked down. A patio was being put in, and was partially finished. It was made of gray flagstone, and a little pond with a waterfall had been installed where it could be seen from the kitchen. A stone fire pit was on the other side of the patio outside of the living room windows.

Hotch felt a smile come over him… he could see himself, Reid and Jack roasting marshmallows in that fire pit… He could see Jack running through the back yard, playing. The Master suite was… more than perfect. With the two bedrooms downstairs, they had a guest room, and a room for Jack. A small kitchen without unnecessary space (neither he nor Spencer really liked to cook), a spacious living room, and the little den with the bookshelf wall would be perfect for a study.

And the house itself… the Old English Cottage with an overgrown garden…

“It’s perfect.” The man breathed.

“Sorry?” Ms. Newkirk asked.

“It’s perfect.” Hotch said firmly, and looked at her. “Everything about it is perfect.” She blinked, surprised, and then absolutely BEAMED at him.

“That’s GREAT!” She exclaimed.

“Let’s do this.” Hotch said, nodding and looking around. Then he looked at her. “I want to get everything done and I want to meet with the contractors. I want to have it completed as soon as possible.” Ms. Newkirk looked delighted.

“Alright then!” She announced. “Let’s get in touch with the seller!”

One Week Later

Haley Hotchner sat at the table, staring at her ex-husband.

“… A house.” She finally said.

“Yes.” Hotch said. “I just closed on it.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t just kick me out of OUR house and bring him into it.”

“Haley.” Hotch sighed, trying not to roll his eyes. “I gave you the house in the Divorce Settlement because I wanted you and Jack to have that security. I never contested your claim on the house. I’m telling you this because you need to know that my relationship with Spencer is serious, and he’s not going away.” Hotch told her, and then took a deep breath. “If you try to deny me of my rights to see my son, I WILL fight you in court. And if you think you can use my relationship with Spencer against me, I will dig up every piece of dirt on you that I can find. And you know I can dig up ANY thing.”

“Are you threatening me with your Technical Analyst?!”

“If you are threatening me with our son, then yes. I will pull out all the stops, Haley. I will file for FULL custody.”

“You can’t. Not with your job.”

“If you try to deny me my right to see my son, you will have to tell them why. My relationship with Reid will be exposed. He and I will both be fired. And so we will need to get jobs. And that won’t be a problem. Reid still gets job offers at LEAST once a week.” The woman glared. “And I can be a lawyer again. I can be a PI. I can be a consultant on, oh… TV shows and movies. Crime Dramas are popular. I can get a job that will allow me to file for custody.”

Hotch sighed and reached out, taking her hand. She scowled, but didn’t pull away. “Haley. I didn’t do this to hurt you, upset you, insult you or get back at you for any reason. You know that all I’ve ever wanted was for our family to be happy. And I am happy with my job. It, despite what you thought and wanted, IS who I am. And it’s the same for Spencer. If either of us were to leave this job, we would lose a part of ourselves. I didn’t mean for this to happen with Spencer. I never asked for it… I never WANTED it. But it happened. I couldn’t control it, Haley. I… I fell in love.” She pulled her hand away. “You and I… I loved you, once. But… you loved Aaron Hotchner the Attorney. That’s who you wanted, that’s who you married. And then I became AGENT Hotchner. And I wasn’t what you wanted anymore.”

“Why did you do it?” She asked, suddenly.

“… I was a prosecutor. I was sick of coming in after the fact and walking through the paths of destruction and devastation these people left behind, and then try to scrape up the mess and toss it into the garbage can that was prison. I decided that I wanted to stop them before they ravaged more people’s lives. I could make a difference. A bigger difference. And I am.”

“But WHY?!” Haley cried, frustrated. “We had everything! YOU had everything! You were a respected lawyer! You were on the path to becoming a District Attorney! We were on the way up! My God, you could be making six figures now!”

“Is that all that mattered to you?!” Hotch asked, upset. “How much I was making?! How high on the Social Food Chain I could carry you to!?”

“I wanted a husband who worked a nine to five job and was home for dinner every night!” Haley cried, angry tears filling her eyes. “Who had weekends off so we could go on family trips to the park and the zoo… someone who could be there to teach our child how to ride a bike and help with homework… who would take us on Family Vacations! I wanted a HUSBAND! And instead, I got phone calls telling me you were going across the country for God knows how long!!! I got a man who came and went at all hours! I got a son asking me when Daddy was going to be home, or asking where Daddy was because Daddy was HERE when he went to bed, but WASN’T there the next morning when he had promised to take him to the playground…” Tears were flooding down her face.

“I got a man who stopped smiling and stopped laughing and stopped being the man I married!!! I got a STRANGER! In my house… in my bed… IF he was there at all. More often than not, I got an empty spot next to me in my bed. I got a man who chose his JOB over his family. Aaron… I wanted what EVERY woman wants. And you wouldn’t give me that.”

“Haley… I’m sorry.” Hotch said softly. “I regret that I let you down, but… I don’t regret my job. I don’t regret staying. And I don’t regret Spencer. He makes me happy. He and I… the job is who we are. And because we know that and understand that about each other, that’s why we work out.”

“I’m sure it also helps that you spend more time with HIM than you did with me once you started there.” Haley spat.

“I’m not apologizing for loving him. Our relationship is serious. And I want to spend the rest of my life with him.” Hotch told her. She turned and stared out the window, trying to stop her tears.

“And our son?”

“I picked a house where he will have his own room. A back yard to play in… It’s a good neighborhood… lots of kids his age… A wonderful park only a quarter of a mile from the house with a playground, a soccer field, a baseball diamond, a duck pond and lots of walking trails…” Haley watched her ex husband smile. “I want to build a new life there with the one I love. And I want my son to feel at home there. I want to take part in raising him. And it will be so much better if it is in a real house. Haley, please… don’t make me fight you for our son. A legal battle centered around him will only traumatize him.”

“… I know…” Haley whispered. The pair sat there in silence for a long time before she finally said, “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

“But I don’t want Jack around that… that…”

“Haley… is it because he’s male? Or would you act like this if I had a girlfriend?” Hotch asked, genuinely curious. She blinked and stared at him, startled.

“I wouldn’t want him near a… girlfriend…” She admitted. “But… a BOY friend… I just… Aaron, it’s not NORMAL!” Hotch sighed. “I will try to… accept it.” She finally acquiesced. “But don’t expect me to like it. OR to like HIM.”

“You’ve always liked Spencer!”

“He’s sleeping with my HUSBAND!”

“EX husband.” Hotch corrected, pulling out his phone when it buzzed, and he looked at the text message before looking back up at Haley. “I will say it again. We were divorced for a year before he and I got together. One thing that I can say to you truthfully is that in all the time I was away from you, in all of my travels, I remained faithful to you. Can you tell me the same thing?” Hotch asked her. She turned red and glared. “That’s what I thought.” Hotch finally snorted. “I have to go. I’ll let you know when the house is ready.” And he stood up and left the restaurant, his heart pounding as he thought of the text message from Garcia.

‘Get back here ASAP. Found Dr. Carlson.’
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Edge of Insanity