Fic: Visitor, Chapter 6/6 (Criminal Minds, Reid / Morgan, Hotch / Chad, Garcia, Elle)
Title: Visitor, Chapter 6/6
Pair: Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan,
Aaron Hotchner / Chad Christensen
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc
Criminal Minds Main List
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Elle tried to suppress the urge to giggle. The sight was too comical to me actually intimidating. Hotch had decided to give them some privacy by offering to rustle up some lunch at the newly scrubbed grill, and disappeared to the back yard, leaving her alone to face Reid and his two guards.
Morgan and Chad had both took few steps back, sitting side by side behind the coffee table. Both had automatically assumed the same position: Arms crossed over chest to emphasise their biceps, legs slightly apart like a gunslinger waiting for the first move. Both men looked like suspicious watchdogs. Morgan did try to keep his face neutral, but Chad didn’t even bother. He looked openly hostile and ready to kick her out if necessary.
“Have you two been practising that?”
Two identical frowns appeared in sync.
“Morgan…” Reid looked more than a bit uncertain, but pushed himself to continue. “Not that I don’t appreciate the concern, but…”
“We’re just waiting for the food.” Morgan claimed.
“Aaron’s barbequing, so it will take a while.” Chad added. “He has his own system for it.”
“Morgan, you’re the one who brought me here.” Reid stated and took a deep breath. “Five minutes? Please.”
“Well… Okay.” Morgan nodded reluctantly and followed Chad to the French windows that lead to the small terrace facing the back yard.
“I meant both of you.” Reid specified and gave them a pleading look. “We’ll be out in five minutes.”
“Fine. But stay where we can see you.” Chad followed Morgan outside and closed the windows. The two men sat down on the low wooden railing and a short silence started. After few minutes of quiet resisting, they both turned to look through the windows. Reid and Elle were still on the couch. They were talking, although the conversation was obviously awkward. Morgan turned away when Reid gave him an annoyed little hand gesture.
“How did you get him to come here?” Chad glanced over Morgan’s shoulder. “He doesn’t look too happy.”
“I used the simplest way: I just tossed him on my shoulder and brought him here.”
“I think he’s getting angry.”
“Elle can handle it.”
“I mean angry at us, he’s sending that glare at us…”
“You mean the kitten glower?”
“Yep.”
“What about Elle?”
“Stuffing her face with cake and looking awkward. Now they’re saying something…”
“Can you read lips?”
“No.”
“Try.”
“Boys?” Garcia parked herself under the terrace and yanked Morgan by his shoe. “Are you gonna come down? Jackie-Wackie wants to play ball again and Hootchie is getting ready to fire up the grill.”
“Shhhhhs.” Morgan hissed. “We’re on a surveillance job.”
“What’s happening in there?”
“Nothing so far…” He glanced carefully over his shoulder. “They’re talking.”
“Good talking or bad talking?”
“Just talking.”
“How do they look?”
“They look… I don’t know, sitting down?”
“Is anyone crying?”
“No.”
“Yelling?”
“No.”
“Eating cake?”
“Yeah.”
“Is there any left?”
“Elle just took the last slice.”
“Greedy bitch…” Garcia turned red, then green and then red again. “Sorry, that was the hung-over talking.”
“Wait an hour, and we’ll have some real food.” Chad comforted. “Unless you’re one of those people, who like to drink raw eggs for hung-over.”
“Don’t talk about raw eggs… Is Hotchie any good with the grill?”
“You’ve been here for a barbeque before, what do you think?”
“Yeah, but then we were invited. This time we just showed up.”
“Aaron stocked up for the weekend, so we have enough food to feed an army.”
“I wouldn’t mind having an army of my own…” Garcia forced back a feel of vomit crawling up her throat. “Big soldiers pointing at me with their big guns… and don’t look at me like that. I gotta think about something nice, or I’ll throw up.”
“I thought you were feeling better-”
“So did I… I was good for a while and then it came back again…When I’ve had a really good night, I can throw up on and off the whole day.” She pressed her hand over her mouth. “But usually I have a good nigh with Kevin, not Elle… I didn’t even get to dress up…”
“Don’t ask.” Morgan leaned closer to Chad, looking ready to jump off the deck and make a run for it. “I’ve known her a lot longer than you, so believe me. I know where it leads, and you don’t wanna see that when there’s food and a small kid around.”
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“Aren`t you gonna say something?” Morgan started carefully. He waited while Reid kicked off his shoes and walked up the stairs. The genius hadn’t said a word during the drive home. “Anything goes.”
Reid didn’t respond. Morgan waited for a minute, then joined him in the bedroom. Patience wasn`t his strong suit even when it was about Reid and he continued his rant as if the pause hadn`t even happened.
“Anything. Like… I loved the hot dogs, or… Did you see what that lady next door was doing in front of her window? Just something!” A ball of dark fur run past him and jumped up against Reid’s feet. “Like: Clooney’s always sniffing me after a barbeque.”
“Clooney’s always sniffing me after a barbeque.” Reid repeated. He sat down on the edge of the bed and Clooney jumped up to his lap. “You remember that case we had in L.A.?”
“Which one?”
“The one where I ended up with a phone number.” Reid pulled a little piece of paper from the breast pocket of his shirt. “She gave me her number and e-mail.”
“Are you gonna call her?”
“I don’t know.”
“You talked to her face to face, that was probably the hardest step.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t fit.”
“What doesn’t fit?”
“Anything.” Reid scratched Clooney’s ears. “She doesn’t fit into it and I’m not sure where that hole went. I mean Emily didn’t fill it, she has her own slot and Rossi didn’t replace Gideon… There was a hole to fill after she left, and I don’t know when it disappeared.”
“I guess we all moved on.”
“Yeah. I just don’t know… I’m good at compartmentalising, but I can’t find a place for her. First she leaves and then she comes and soon she’ll leave again. Just like Gideon. He left without warning too. Elle’s stunt I can understand, she had some hard times back then, but… I don’t want Gideon back, and I don’t know if I want her back either.”
“You don’t mean that-”
“I mean that I can’t have her back as someone I trust and someone, who I know is there to cover my back. I trusted her to be there and I tried to be there for her, but it didn’t matter.” Reid sniffed. He flipped the paper over his knuckles, made it disappear and reappear. “I care for her, but I don’t know where to put her.”
“You mean in your life or in your speed dials?”
“Life. She’ll be gone when her job here is done and I can’t do it again. She’ll leave.”
“It doesn’t mean-”
“People leave. They say they won’t and then they leave anyway.” Reid tangled the paper between his fingers. Clooney looked up and snatched it from him. The dog leaped off his lap and curled up in the corner to chew his new toy.
For a minute Reid and Morgan just stared at Clooney, while the paper turned into a mush and finally disappeared into the dog’s mouth.
“You think that was a sign?”
“Maybe.” Reid gave him a faint smile. He got off the bed and went to the adjoined bathroom. “I think I’ll take a bath. Have you seen my book?”
“Baby-”
“It was somewhere… Okay, I found it.” He pulled a pile of newspapers off the nightstand and picked up the thick tomb, that had been in the bottom.
“I could call Garcia and ask the number-”
“Morgan.” Reid paused at the door. “Don’t call.”
“Are you sure?”
“I just want to have a minute alone. Just... soak and think about this.”
“Okay, baby.” Morgan nodded. “You want something with your bath and book?”
“You still got that bottle of red wine I liked?”
“That really sweet one? Yeah, I think so.”
“And… you could give Clooney a treat too. He solved a problem two grown men couldn’t solve.”