Retribution, A Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 66. Injured Minds

Morgan and Prentiss went with Reid.

J.J., however, elected to remain behind.

She reasoned there was nothing the other three couldn’t handle on their own, and she didn’t feel right about deserting Hotch and Rossi. Plus, it was her first encounter with this mysterious doctor who she gathered was at the heart of the strangeness that Morgan found so unsettling.

She kept out of the way, close to the table supporting the laptop. Garcia hissed at her to be turned so the webcam was trained on the trio of men, affording her a view of the one she’d privately dubbed The Supernatural Sensei.

The doctor had a small, tolerant smile. He could sense the young woman’s curiosity coupled with a wariness that stemmed from her desire to protect her teammates. It was a theme he encountered in all of them. It was one of the factors that wove this disparate group together. But there was also more of a respectful air about this woman. The dark-haired one was a hunter. Her main objective in visiting his town had been to nose out secrets and satisfy her curiosity by active means like snooping and questioning. This woman, however, chose a more cautious, quiet approach. The doctor appreciated both methods, but, he had to admit, he preferred the sedate calm of the agent who was currently observing him. The other was…

…a handful. Probably caused her parents no end of worry and grief as a child.

He turned his mind back to Aaron, fully focusing on the task, the child, at hand.

“Will he be okay?” Rossi had to ask. He could never tell by the expressions that passed across the wrinkled features whether the doctor was amused, bemused, or confused. “Is he going to be alright?”

The doctor increased the light pressure of his hand on Hotch’s brow. He used the fingers of the other to trace the taut muscles of his patient’s neck, coming to rest at the base of the throat. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t the decisive response for which Rossi had hoped.

“I’ll do my best.” The doctor glanced up into the concerned once-and-future father’s eyes. “But this sort of thing really must stop. He can’t keep letting his psyche be a playground for others.”

Rossi felt the first stirrings of resentment, of a need to defend Hotch’s actions. “He did it to save a child. I’m sure it wasn’t something he undertook lightly.”

“I’m not saying he didn’t do the right thing.” Shrewd eyes peered up at Rossi over the tops of half-moon glasses. “But you should know the full story. He did it, in part, because of you.”

“Me!?” Rossi glanced to where J.J. and Garcia’s digital image were mutely tracking the conversation.

J.J. blinked, realizing some line was about to be crossed, pushing the discussion from ‘suitable for public consumption’ to ‘no outsiders allowed, please.’ She nodded. Excusing herself, she picked up the laptop and moved to the far end of the cabin, much to Garcia’s harshly whispered displeasure.

With their audience out of earshot, Rossi still kept his voice low. “This is the last thing I wanted Aaron to do! And believe me, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The doctor closed his eyes, concentrating on the slight movement of his hands in contact with his patient. “He put himself at risk, because he couldn’t bear to see the telepath’s pain. His last thought, before giving himself over, was that he would do anything to spare the telepath the experience you went through…of losing a baby, a newborn.”

The hands seemed to find what they’d been seeking. They stilled, pressing more firmly. “And a good first step toward keeping your son safe from this sort of thing would be to put that charm my colleague went to the trouble of fashioning back on him.”