Curious · Means

Title: Obsession
Rating: Teens
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
Summary: Dr. Spencer Reid was not accustomed to attention such as this, and he most certainly was not accustomed to using that attention to achieve such an end.
Author’s Note: I’m home and getting ready to leave for college, but for the last 48 I’ve had no internet due to the server somewhere being down so I apologize for the lack of updates. I’m going to try and post this at the library if I can.

Author's Note about the previous Author's Note: I'm at college. I realized that I never posted this to the comm., but it has been up at FF.net so it's kinda like a new chapter. I just started the chapter after this so that might take awhile. Sorry.

Chapter Ten

The steady drip of the IV was the only sound Spencer Reid could hear when he shut the door, and his eyes followed the bag down the line to the heavily bandaged hand barely visible beneath the white blanket covering Vivian Addy. He shuddered. Her body was curled to the side with her back to the window, and Reid had to keep his eyes focused on her face as he caught sight of the bandages wound around her back. Her eyes were closed and still beneath the lids. Reid reached out with one hand and pressed his palm against the top of her IV free hand.

“Dr. Reid?” One eye was barely open when Reid glanced down at her face, and kneeled onto floor so that his eyes were even with her own. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure that you were okay.” The fingers on the hand covering hers traced the line of the white bandages around her wrist. She squeezed her eyes shut then opened them with her eyes unfocused, but staring at him.

“Thank you, but I’m fine.” Reid shook his head.

“Our investigation almost got you killed-“

“It was only your job.” She closed her eyes as he opened his mouth. “You had reason to suspect me, and an investigation was necessary. It would’ve been impossible to foresee what would happen to me were I not the actual the murderer you were looking for during your investigation.” She turned her face into the pillows and rubbed the tip of her nose against the cloth. He watched her fingertips twitch.

“Does your nose itch?” When she nodded he pulled his hand from her hand and touched her nose with his thumb.

“Thank you.” She had been whispering before, but now she did it with her eyes closed. “I feel like I’m swimming whenever I try to move.” Her eye lids fluttered as she tried to glance at him. “When I try to remember things it’s all fuzzy around the edges and…” She shook her head into the pillow. “I can’t think.”

“It’s probably the pain medication.” Reid kept his eyes down while he rolled his lips together trying to force the words in his mind onto his tongue. “I really did enjoy having coffee with you. I’ve never told anyone about collecting books, and it was nice to talk about linguistics. I really did enjoy it. I kept talking even when I didn’t have to. It wasn’t just for my job.” He raised his eyes to her face. “And you’re asleep.” Reid straightened the blanket across her side and pressed his palm against the top of her hand curling his fingers around hers. He used one foot to pull a chair closer to the bed, and, as he kneeled on the chair, Reid rested his chin against the bed staring at her closed eyes. “At least I can think of what to say now.” His mouth curled upwards. “Don’t know how to apologize for causing a man to carve into your back, but…” He couldn’t think about that. “They don’t ever talk to me about books or linguistics or anything. It was nice to talk about it for once. Whenever I try they just ignore me or walk away without saying anything, and I know I’m annoying, but it’s not like I ever have anyone else to talk to. We don’t have time off, and no one else works in our office.” He ran his thumb across the back of her hand and forced his mind not to remember the bits and pieces of blood flecked wire that had been wound around her wrist an hour before now.

It didn’t work.

His fingers tightened around hers, and he turned his head into the bed trying to block out the images of barbed wire and bloody writing. “I’m sorry.”

Vivian Addy began to move her lips in response, but no sound fell from her lips. Reid never looked up.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Stretched out across one of the chairs in the hall, Morgan tried to pull up the image of Lila Archer in his mind side-by-side with a picture of Vivian Addy. He groaned. The ears slightly pointed and the jaw lines the same made him run one hand across his face. Any other similarities passed him by as he tried to figure out how the voluptuous figure of Lila could be related to the willowy, waif-like figure of Vivian. The doctor’s face was similar, but the cheek bones were more defined, and the eyes more almond shaped. The words of Addy drifted through his mind, “I didn’t want to embarrass Li. Everyone knew her in the neighborhood because she used to do all the school and church plays and she danced, and I couldn’t be associated with her. I’m relatively inept in social situations which I don’t mind saying because it’s very true. Li was gorgeous and she should never have had to deal with me. It was worth it with where she is today. She worked so hard, and I never wanted to ruin her chances at Julliard. It was all she ever wanted.”

“Damn.”  Morgan pressed his phone against his ear. “Garcia, this is all just too damn weird. How does Reid always end up in the middle of this stuff?”

“I have no idea my handsome hero, but it’s getting weirder. Someone left Reid’s business card on the nightstand by Addy’s bed.”

“Reid never gave her a card.”

“Yeah, but guess who did about a year ago. Does the name Nathan Harris ring a bell?”

“You can’t be serious, Garcia. He’s been institutionalized since Reid saved him.”

“Yeah, but it makes sense. Apparently, the guy that got to Addy was asking why Reid couldn’t save him now.”

Morgan let his head fall back against the wall. “This kid is a magnet for the freaks.”

“Mmm…How is my genius?”

“He’s in with Addy now.” Morgan shifted the phone so that it could rest against his head without the use of his hands. “He’s blaming himself. Hell, the kid should blame us more than himself. He didn’t like the idea to begin with.”

“The Oracle of Quantico foresees a long night of drinks in the next week when Harris is safely in jail. I think my place can hold seven people.”

“This is going to need a lot more than alcohol to fix it.”

“Silly profiler, there will be chocolate.” Garcia struck the enter key. “Aha! I have to go, but trust me-I would not assemble everyone until some serious chitchat has gone down.”

“All right, see you later baby girl.” Morgan hung up just as the sound of footsteps reached his ears, and he glanced down the hallway at the small man in white eyeing the door to Addy’s room. Morgan’s sentiments of the night as a whole were echoed again.

“Damn.”

_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Reid had fallen asleep when he heard the door open. His eyes jerked when the door shut, and he found himself staring at the underside of a man’s chin. Vivian Addy didn’t more in her sleep as Reid stood up.

“I’m sorry, sir, but if she’s asleep I need you to leave. Visiting hours have been over for a while.”

“Oh.” Reid glanced down at Addy’s open hand. “Sure.” He didn’t quite remember walking out the doors, but he did remember Morgan using one hand on his shoulder to steer him towards the car. His eyes stayed on the passing line of lights as Morgan tried to maneuver the streets between the hospital and Quantico while darting his eyes from the road to Reid. The younger man let his head fall against the window.

“Hey Morgan?”

“Yeah?”

“She rationalized the attack-that it was only a part of our jobs.”

“Technically it is.” Morgan shook his head as he spoke. “I’m guessing it’s how she said it that bothered you.”

“She wasn’t angry, she didn’t blame anyone, and she just dismissed it as a part of everyday life.” Reid let his head fall against the window as the car jumped. “She should be angry.” The car jerked at Morgan swerved trying to avoid the sign he’d missed seeing as his eyes had darted to Reid. “She should hate me. Elle hated me.”

It was in that moment of semi darkness as Morgan parked the car that the older agent couldn’t hold back his laughter. Turning his head slowly, Reid frowned.

“Sometimes you surprise me Reid.” Morgan turned Reid’s face towards his own with his left hand, and held his eyes. “If anything, you were Elle’s favorite.”

“If I hadn’t told me mom all of that stuff-“

“And if I hadn’t taken Elle on vacation. Now, Reid, it wasn’t your fault then, and now it’s not your fault. If Addy’s angry she’ll be angry, and if she’s not then she’s not, but do not sell yourself out because everyone on the team bears responsibility for this-you least of all. It wasn’t your idea man.” Morgan shoved Reid towards the door. “Now, Garcia is probably at the top of that elevator waiting for you with a giant thing of hot chocolate and some love.”

Reid managed to push the door open and leave the car before Morgan through an arm around his shoulders and herded him into the building. “I’m not really in the mood for hot chocolate.”

“Yeah, too bad Reid, Garcia is.” Morgan pulled Reid into a tighter hug. “You can go see her in the morning. It’ll be fine. Now, let’s get up there before Emily drinks all of your chocolate.”

-TBC-