Short!fic - Before the Day Breaks (Criminal Minds)
Title: Before the Day Breaks
Author: Ry (curseangel / dreamsforlease)
Rating: PG
Warnings: Slight angst.
Characters/Pairings: Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid. Could be seen as slightly Hotch/Reid, but you'd have to squint.
Summary: Hotchner gets wounded in the line. It's been a hell of a long day. So of course he gets a phone call at one in the morning. Takes place circa season one.
Title and cut-text from Daughter Darling's "Absconding".
He's barely conscious, but his cell is ringing, the vibrate function making tiny clacking noises on the table by the bed where he left it, half-hoping it would stay silent, dead. Because Haley's giving him that look again, can't they just leave you alone for one night and he reaches with the wrong arm, forgets in the fog of sleep and lingering pain medication that he got shot yesterday, left shoulder useless for another couple of weeks at least. Fumbling with his right hand, he grabs the phone, shoots his wife an apologetic look as he flips it open.
"I woke you up." There's no pretense or pause, Reid's voice hushed like maybe he's in public or, much more likely even at this hour, in the office. The hint of stammer, false start tells him more than it doesn't. More than Spencer will, but he's not sure yet if he wants to call that a bonus.
Aaron moves, then, gives Haley another look as he gets out of the bed, excuses himself to the hallway as he says, "Yes. It's alright - is something wrong?" Because Reid didn't call him often; if he needed something, chances were better that he would call Morgan or Elle. Calling him was out of character. Not exactly right.
But he'd forgotten again. "No, nothing's wrong." He's hasty with the answer, quick to set aside any worry. "I just.. I wanted to make sure you were alright." That was said almost like an admission, something guilty, and he remembers that Reid had moved towards the ambulance, but Morgan had led him away. He hadn't seen him since then. And then he'd forgotten that he was injured and of course he'd worry. Calling at one in the morning was maybe ill-advised, but it wasn't that unusual for them. He was usually awake, after all.
"I'm fine," he said, leaning against the wall, aware and consciously not acknowledging that Haley was listening from the bedroom, trying to determine who he was talking to when she should have known already. No, it wasn't the curt, short calls of Gideon or JJ telling him he was needed, and so it was perhaps more suspicious. He tried not to be bothered by that. The idea of that. "Are you still in the office?"
Hotchner can almost hear Spencer's little smile, the furtive glance around like someone's caught him at something. "I had paperwork," he replied after a moment, and Hotchner adds the unspoken and coffee, because he didn't know anyone in the world who could benefit more from a caffeine intervention than Spencer Reid. "Your shoulder, it was.. the bullet didn't lodge, did it? They just gave you stitches, right?" Of course he needed more detail to feel secure. Aaron smiled, just slightly, turned from the open doorway.
"Just stitches. I have some medication, I'll be in tomorrow." Today, he corrected mentally, noting the time. His tone was vaguely reassuring, because he was trying - the last thing he wanted on his mind was making Reid more anxious and contributing to the young doctor's habitual lack of sleep.
A pause, and Spencer's soft, "Okay." Accepting, finally, and Hotchner nodded to the phone. The wall.
"I'll see you in the morning, Reid." He waits for the confirmation before he ends the call, turns to go back to his room, back to the life that feels increasingly more like a job than his actual work does, and increasingly less like his family.
Author: Ry (curseangel / dreamsforlease)
Rating: PG
Warnings: Slight angst.
Characters/Pairings: Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid. Could be seen as slightly Hotch/Reid, but you'd have to squint.
Summary: Hotchner gets wounded in the line. It's been a hell of a long day. So of course he gets a phone call at one in the morning. Takes place circa season one.
Title and cut-text from Daughter Darling's "Absconding".
He's barely conscious, but his cell is ringing, the vibrate function making tiny clacking noises on the table by the bed where he left it, half-hoping it would stay silent, dead. Because Haley's giving him that look again, can't they just leave you alone for one night and he reaches with the wrong arm, forgets in the fog of sleep and lingering pain medication that he got shot yesterday, left shoulder useless for another couple of weeks at least. Fumbling with his right hand, he grabs the phone, shoots his wife an apologetic look as he flips it open.
"I woke you up." There's no pretense or pause, Reid's voice hushed like maybe he's in public or, much more likely even at this hour, in the office. The hint of stammer, false start tells him more than it doesn't. More than Spencer will, but he's not sure yet if he wants to call that a bonus.
Aaron moves, then, gives Haley another look as he gets out of the bed, excuses himself to the hallway as he says, "Yes. It's alright - is something wrong?" Because Reid didn't call him often; if he needed something, chances were better that he would call Morgan or Elle. Calling him was out of character. Not exactly right.
But he'd forgotten again. "No, nothing's wrong." He's hasty with the answer, quick to set aside any worry. "I just.. I wanted to make sure you were alright." That was said almost like an admission, something guilty, and he remembers that Reid had moved towards the ambulance, but Morgan had led him away. He hadn't seen him since then. And then he'd forgotten that he was injured and of course he'd worry. Calling at one in the morning was maybe ill-advised, but it wasn't that unusual for them. He was usually awake, after all.
"I'm fine," he said, leaning against the wall, aware and consciously not acknowledging that Haley was listening from the bedroom, trying to determine who he was talking to when she should have known already. No, it wasn't the curt, short calls of Gideon or JJ telling him he was needed, and so it was perhaps more suspicious. He tried not to be bothered by that. The idea of that. "Are you still in the office?"
Hotchner can almost hear Spencer's little smile, the furtive glance around like someone's caught him at something. "I had paperwork," he replied after a moment, and Hotchner adds the unspoken and coffee, because he didn't know anyone in the world who could benefit more from a caffeine intervention than Spencer Reid. "Your shoulder, it was.. the bullet didn't lodge, did it? They just gave you stitches, right?" Of course he needed more detail to feel secure. Aaron smiled, just slightly, turned from the open doorway.
"Just stitches. I have some medication, I'll be in tomorrow." Today, he corrected mentally, noting the time. His tone was vaguely reassuring, because he was trying - the last thing he wanted on his mind was making Reid more anxious and contributing to the young doctor's habitual lack of sleep.
A pause, and Spencer's soft, "Okay." Accepting, finally, and Hotchner nodded to the phone. The wall.
"I'll see you in the morning, Reid." He waits for the confirmation before he ends the call, turns to go back to his room, back to the life that feels increasingly more like a job than his actual work does, and increasingly less like his family.