Retribution, A Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 5. The Alpha-Beta Dance

Before Hotch could ask what was wrong, Rossi slipped a controlling arm around him and steered him away from the others.

Morgan looked concerned. Reid looked positively ill, and maybe a little ashamed.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on? Tell me, Dave.”

“Shhhhhhh. Just come with me, Aaron. Everything’s fine. We need to talk, but trust me; it’s all good.”

Hotch looked over his shoulder as Rossi hustled him out a pair of French doors and onto the Ashcroft’s patio. “Look, if something’s wrong, it’s my job to set it right. I’m Reid’s best man!”

“Calm down and come quietly. Don’t make me use my cuffs.” The humor in Rossi’s voice defused Hotch’s determination to return to Reid and wrest an explanation from him. He allowed himself to be coaxed into a chair.

Rossi stood over the younger man, scratching his beard, remembering how when he’d been Reid’s age jealousy had been a constant companion, going hand in hand with the hunt for female companionship. It would pass. When Reid was rested and more secure in his new role as husband, he’d remember that Hotch was first and foremost his friend and supporter. Right now, all he saw was an attractive man who had a special connection with the woman in his life. A competitor where none existed. It would pass, but in the meantime they needed to be a little more sensitive to Reid’s newly-awakened male ego. Rossi smiled and gave his head a rueful shake.

“What is it, Dave? You’re worrying me.”

Rossi focused on his friend and boss, and decided on how he’d approach the subject at hand.

“How’re you feeling, Aaron?” Hotch blinked at him. “You were a little shaky right at the start of the ceremony. Are you feeling okay now?”

“Uh, yeah. I…Reid just got nervous, I guess. He, uh…his mind touched me…you know?”

Rossi lost some of his amusement at the situation. It was uncharacteristic for normally decisive Hotch to sound so uncertain. “Tell me what it was like. It looked as though you might have lost your balance a little. Is that why Reid put his arm around you?”

Hotch shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable. “It was nothing. Really.”

“Aaron, do I need to remind you about the nightmares? The inability to function? The months of sleep deprivation? The hours that old doctor held you at the edge of insanity and death, waiting for Reid to find a way to fix what happened when he touched you like that last time?” Rossi tilted Hotch’s chin up, enabling eye contact. “If you don’t tell me every detail, every bit of what you call ‘nothing,’ I’ll turn you over to Prentiss and give her carte blanche to make you talk. You know she’d love the challenge.”

Hotch controlled the urge to smile at the toothless threat, but the recitation of all he’d suffered did have an impact.

“There’s not much to tell. Reid panicked. I felt it when his mind entered. It was kind of a shock. I hadn’t been through anything like that for a long time. I must’ve shown it, ‘cause I remember when it passed, Reid’s arm was around me, steadying me. I told him I was okay and he let go. End of story.”

Rossi searched the dark eyes, but didn’t see any evasion or artifice in them. Maybe he doesn’t remember about Ana’s involvement. The mere suggestion of memory impairment was too reminiscent of Hotch’s previous near-death ordeal. “Aaron, do you recall Ana being there while all that happened?”

Sudden recognition made the eyes widen. “Yes! I could hear her! I could hear both of them!” Confusion passed over Hotch’s features. “Why didn’t I remember that?”