Evolution, a Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 1. Freak

        Spencer Reid had been trying to hide the strange evolution of his mind for months, but the feed store tricked him. It lulled him with its folksy atmosphere and peaceful, country aura. He let his guard down in front of two of the most observant profilers the FBI had ever known.

       If Hotch hadn't wanted to buy birdseed...in bulk no less...and if Rossi hadn't said that there were probably things like baby chicks and ducks and at least one or two cats in residence at every rural feed store, Reid might have stayed in the SUV. He might have read one of the books he always carried when the team had to travel. He might have gone for a short walk along the two-lane highway. But he'd never been to an honest-to-God feed store and it sounded interesting. So he accompanied his friends inside.

         Things would never be the same.

        Hotch was budget-conscious. He was acutely aware that he wanted his son to enjoy a college education; something that cost an astronomical amount which would only increase in the fourteen years it would take Jack to attain college age.

        Hotch bought in bulk whenever possible.

        The Unit Chief was still discovering ways to enjoy his new townhouse. He thought Jack would like putting up some birdfeeders and watching the species that patronized them change with the seasons. So when they were traveling home from a case that had ended in the sad ruins of an antique farmhouse and Hotch saw the life-sized plastic horse with the 'Feed-n-Seed in Bulk' sign propped against it, he'd pulled in. Rossi and Reid went with him.

        It was a dusty, pleasant store where a man in a suit looked as out of place as Christmas wrapping on the Fourth of July. While Hotch inspected sacks of seed stacked against a wall, Rossi and Reid wandered. They were grinning down at bins of fluffy chicks the color of dandelions, tumbling and cheeping under the warmth of incubator lights, when Hotch approached the check-out counter.

        "Can I get the fifty pound sack of sunflower seed mix?" He nodded toward the wall where his chosen purchase was lumped among bags of unshelled peanuts and containers of cracked corn.

        "Sure." The woman behind the counter had 'farm' written all over her. Faded jeans, frayed t-shirt, and well-worn boots clad a frame that devoted its days to physical labor. Her co-worker looked equally competent, with the exception of a baseball cap covered in pink and white sequins. Hotch considered asking where he could get one. Garcia would love it.

        "That'll be twenty dollars on the nose." The clerk rang Hotch's purchase up on an old-fashioned adding machine. Hotch found that charming.

        "Do you need help loading it?" the second woman asked. He didn't find it charming to be asked if he needed help lifting fifty pounds. Hotch was still a little self-conscious about the physical ordeals he'd endured during the last year. And Morgan kept reminding him that gaining 'a few more pounds wouldn't hurt.'

        "No, I can handle it. But thanks." His gratitude wasn't sincere, but Hotch was a gentleman and would never abandon courtesy just because someone made him feel...well,...skinny.

        Seeing their leader was paying, Rossi and Reid ambled over. Rossi stood beside Hotch. Reid moved closer to the counter, bracing his hips against it as he leaned over to see what was attached to the portion of calico fur he'd glimpsed, but which wasn't fully visible.

        It was the promised cat-in-residence. Reid grinned at the largest cat he'd ever seen.

        "Hey, kitty." He reached over and extended a hand toward the creature regarding him with perfect feline indifference. It was clear the animal didn't need any new friends and had no interest in expanding its social circle.