Cold Hands ✔️

seven

chapter 7; running on spite and fury

Spencer Reid detests Dr. Adeline Ripper.

She's everything he is, but somehow the worst part of it, according to him. She's arrogant, conceited, a know-it-all and always eager to show off, he thought. Spencer hated how her brain worked the same way as his, coming to the same conclusion at the same time as him. As petty as it sounds, he's the smart one of the team. He relished in the fact that he had millions of facts and information tidbits at his fingertips.

Spencer Reid detests Dr. Adeline Ripper.

The team always went to him for everything, and he loved providing them with the information. He loved feeling needed and wanted, it's what bonds him to the team. Yes he could go off teaching or being an academic, but he loves chasing criminals and he loves his BAU family. 

Spencer Reid detests Dr. Adeline Ripper.

And for someone to come in and try to worm their way in? It caused Spencer to become resentful. Here was this smart, intelligent, even beautiful woman who surely will intimidate the male serial killers, who is winning over the team. Everyone loves her, it's hard not to. Even the serial killer claims that Reid's not as smart as her.

Spencer Reid detests Dr. Adeline Ripper.

All he could think about as he caught and held Adeline's fainted body was how much he hates her. The feeling of the weight of her leaning against his chest felt wrong. He kept her head leaning against his shoulder because despite his hate for the women, he didn't want her hitting her head. He stayed like that for a brief second, before going into the proper procedure for fainting.

He placed Adeline on her back, propping her knees up so her feet were flat on the floor. Next, loosening constrictive clothing. Spencer undid her belt and the button of her skinny jeans. He moved up to her head next, making sure her airways were open.

Garcia ran around the table as soon as Adeline fainted. She was across from Reid knelt down, checking on Adeline. When Reid went to undo her belt, no one made a move. To anyone else, that would be suspicious, but everyone in the room knew the good doctor's intentions were pure, especially since by now the whole team has picked up on the tension between the two. Garcia didn't doubt him, and instead moved Adeline's arms to the side.

Morgan ran out of the conference room to grab a glass of water. Morgan was thankful that Reid could grab her before she hit the ground so he didn't also have to grab an ice pack.

"Let's clear the room, everyone." Hotch told the rest of the group. His tone showed how much he cared for the situation. He knew that when she woke, she may feel embarrassed at all the eyes on her, and she didn't need that. He was the last to leave the room, giving a lingering worried glance at Adeline before leaving the three people in the room, confident in Spencer's abilities and Garcia's helpfulness. Morgan brushed past Hotch, setting the glass down on the table. He touched Garcia's shoulder, telling her to let him know if they need anything, and then silently left the room.

This may seem like a big ordeal, but it happened fairly quickly and the team all knew what needed to be done. Not that anyone had ever fainted at the round table, much less a profiler, but they had dealt with grieving family members enough to be prepared.

Spencer kept tapping the side of Adeline's face, gently calling the nickname Adeline very quickly grew to despise. Not that she hated the nickname, but more that the insufferable Dr. Reid was using it, and she hated that it was the first thing she heard when she woke up. Soon her eyelids fluttered open, a groan escaping her lips.

"I told you not to call me that." she whispered, and Garcia let out a happy sigh. Garcia didn't like the thought of her fainting, and even more so at the emotional turmoil that caused her to faint, but she was happy her new friend was okay.

"You actually never outwardly told me that. You uh, you just implied." Reid said, taking a look into Adeline's eyes for any indication of a concussion, which he knew was silly to look for since he caught her, but he had to cover all bases, of course. 

"Georgia." Adeline called out, still staring into the eyes of Dr. Reid. He gave a quizzical look, eyebrows furrowed together and lips pursed. 

" 'I'm Gone With The Wind' is what the email read. It was capitalized, and the book was set in Georgia. That's where the next crime is happening." Adeline was sure of this. Despite all the taunting and ego in the email, that was one of the few things that didn't fall in line with his character.

"Okay, maybe you should relax." Garcia said, and when she saw Adeline struggling to get up, her hands went to the young doctor's back and her arm to help ease her up into a sitting position. Garcia didn't even want her paying attention to the case, she hated how everyone on the team did this. To her, it seemed like she was the only one in touch with her emotions. At the thought of this a smile adorned her face slightly, until she felt guilty and remembered the matter at hand.

Adeline's hand shot up to her head, her head pounding. She briefly wondered if she had hit her head, but realized that the pounding came from inside her head, not from an outside bruise. She spoke through the pain, her tone tight and the hurt evident in her voice.

"He said that the next kill will benefit the both of us." Adeline told the pair. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the pain in her voice killed Reid. Although the same feeling was evident whenever he heard that tone of voice, he reasoned. He hated seeing someone in pain that he couldn't fix, no matter the person.

"But, but I have no ties to Georgia. No family or friends live there." Adeline tried to ignore the pain in her head. It was stressing her mind to be thinking hard like that right after fainting.

"The book wasn't published until June, that's a long waiting period. Do we think he will wait that long?" Reid asked. One side of his mind hoped not, hoped for another case so that the unsub might make a mistake and it's another step closer to catching him. But on the other side he doesn't want any more deaths. But he knows that with this job, if not this unsub then another unsub will kill. There will always be death on their doorstep.

The group hoped the same as Reid, but were filled with doubt.