Criminal Minds One-Shots

Won't Get Fooled Again

A/N: This is just a short, slightly fluffy one-shot in honor of April Fool's Day. I hope everyone has fun and doesn't get tricked too terribly!

"Never let your loyalty make a fool of you." - Unknown

A generic melody fills Dr. Reid's ears as his phone buzzes on his bedside table. He mumbles something incoherent and finally rolls over to pick it up, becoming more alert when he sees the name, along with the time, flashing on the screen. "Sir, my alarm didn't go off! I'll be there in twenty minutes!" Before his supervisor has time to respond, Reid has already jolted out of bed and starts pulling random items of clothing out of his drawers.

"It's alright, Reid. Everyone is allowed to be late once," Agent Hotchner's monotonous voice echoes through the speaker as Reid hops around in an attempt to pull on a pair of pants with one hand. "Just hurry. We have a case in Dallas."

"On my way," Reid responds, flipping his phone shut and tossing it on his bed as he pulls on a sweater and button-up. He then runs into his bathroom and brushes his teeth for no more than twenty seconds, comes back out and puts on a pair of mismatched socks along with his shoes, slings a tie over his shoulder, and is out the door in record time.

Since the subway station is only a block from Reid's apartment, he walks it at a normal pace, bumping into a few commuters and mumbling a half-hearted "sorry" as he focuses his attention on tying his tie. Luckily for him, the train has just stopped by the time he descends the concrete stairs. He walks through the first set of opened doors he sees and doesn't even bother to sit down for the ten minute ride to Quantico.

"I'm so sorry, guys," he apologizes fifteen minutes later as he rushes into the BAU's conference room. In his morning scramble, Reid had forgotten both his messenger bag and a cup of coffee with six teaspoons of sugar. He can barely function without either of those things, and is thankful that the team has their own private jet with their own coffee maker and endless supply of sugar cubes. His mouth waters at the thought, which is why he hasn't paid much attention to his surroundings until Garcia speaks to him.

"There's our resident genius. Here." She hurls a black duffel bag into his chest and ushers him out the door before he has a chance to say anything to her. "The Avengers have already assembled on the plane. They're waiting for you there. Run! Run like the wind, my child!"

Wasting no time, Reid falls into a sprint once again, nearly tripping over the leg of his own desk as he runs through the bullpen and back into the elevator. As soon as he reaches the ground floor, he takes several twisting, turning hallways before pushing through a back door marked "authorized personnel only," squinting into the harsh morning sunlight as he heads across the FBI's airstrip and up the stairs to a waiting jet.

"Hey, Garcia said you guys were waiting. Do you have the -" Reid stops, clutching his side as he struggles for breath. "Guys?" The cab is eerily silent, and there is no sign of his five co-workers anywhere. Reid looks around confusedly for a moment before turning on his heel to walk back outside and find out what is going on. His foot has just landed on the first step when Garcia's chirpy voice fills the jet.

"Hello?" Garcia sounds just as perplexed as Reid feels, so he steps back inside and stands in front of a small monitor attached to the wall, where Garcia's eyes are sweeping the area frantically.

"Garcia, I thought you said they were waiting for me."

"They...they were," she replies, concern coating her usually sweet voice as she punches something in on her keyboard. "Everybody just calm down. I'm phoning Morgan now."