Eidetic - A Criminal Minds/Spencer Reid Story

Chapter Seventeen - Collateral Damage

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." - Khalil Gibran

*Vivian Santos*

This couldn't be happening right now. My best friend couldn't be dead right now. This has to be some mean practical joke. Any minute now, she was going to walk out of that operating room completely fine and ready to get something to eat and maybe even catch a movie. But, she wasn't coming out. Cecilia was gone, she was dead.

The doctor said that the bullet nicked an artery and she had bled out. They did everything they could, but there was nothing they could do to save her. "You have to be fucking kidding me," Josh said as he angrily stormed out of the hospital.

Spencer wanted to come back to the hospital, but I told him that I was already on my way back. I looked around outside the hospital for Josh, but he was no where to be seen. I tried calling his cell phone, but there was no answer. After fifteen minutes of trying to reach him, I called a taxi and made my way to the BAU.

The entire cab ride, I was trying my best not to burst out in tears. First Daniel is gone, and now Cecilia. Everything seemed to be falling apart at the seams, and everyone I love is in danger of losing their lives. If anyone else dies, I would have no one to blame but myself.

When I got to the BAU, I found everyone in the conference room, discussing Cecilia's death just like any other case. "The unsub couldn't have gotten far though. He had to be on foot..." Garcia stopped Morgan from saying anything else when she spotted me. All eyes were now on me and they were filled with sympathy, sorrow, and comfort.

It's just like when Daniel died, everyone started walking on eggshells around me. It was like they couldn't talk about him without making sure I was fine with it first. Now that Cecilia was gone, we can't even discuss her murder without everyone getting my approval.

How was I supposed to act right now? Was I supposed to accept their silent condolences, and then politely excuse myself from the room so they could continue on with the case without a conflict of interest? Or was I supposed to hold back my sorrow and rally the team into finding her killer. I don't know what to do, how I'm supposed to feel, or how to keep living my life without my best friend by my side. Without thinking for another second, I ran out of the room and out into the hallway just outside of the BAU. "Viv!" I heard Spencer call from behind me. I heard his footsteps as he ran after me, but I didn't stop. That is, until he caught hold of my wrist. "Viv, stop for a minute, please," he said.

"Everybody I care about is dying, Spencer. Everyone I get close to is losing their lives. I can't do this anymore," I said. I felt the tears start to fall, and I made no effort to stop them.

"Viv, none of this is your fault..."

"Don't give me that crap!" I shouted and pulled my wrist away. I didn't turn around, but I knew I had startled him. I needed to calm down, this wasn't going to help anything. I turned around and took his hand in mine. "I'm sorry, I'm just...." I felt him squeeze my hand and he placed his other hand on my cheek.

"It's okay, Viv." He kissed my forehead and then wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. I leaned and head into his chest and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. "We are going to figure out who did this. I promise." I looked up at him and he looked back down at me. Even though he didn't say it, he was right about one thing, I couldn't push my team away. No matter how hard I tried, they would always be there for me. If I wanted to figure out who killed Cecilia, I needed to trust them.

Right then, we heard the door burst open and the sound of high heels coming towards us. We turned around to see Garcia come running up to us. I will never understand how that woman manages to run so fast in four-inch heels.