Evolution, a Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 55. Truth in Blood

Reid was nearly running by the time he reached the lobby.

When he shot around the corner, Morgan and Rossi stood up, concerned that Hotch had taken a turn for the worse. But when Ana ran to him and wrapped him in a hug, pride beaming in her smile, they relaxed.

Not for long. Reid’s next words were galvanizing.

“He remembers. Everything. How she drugged him. How she drove him away and left him. Everything.”

“Do I wanna know how he remembered?” Rossi stroked his beard. He was thinking about the instances of ‘recovered’ memory that he’d seen proven false during trial proceedings. The last thing he wanted was for Hotch to be subjected to the kind of scrutiny that called everything…honesty, sanity, integrity…into question. “I’m sorry, Reid, but I have to ask if there’s any chance what Hotch recalls was…implanted?”

Reid didn’t seem to take offense. “Absolutely not. I swear. I saw the memories in him and all I did was free them. Clean them up. Show them to him. I didn’t create anything.”

“Oh, man…” Morgan stepped back and braced himself with one hand against a wall. This new world Reid was part of…telepathy and empathy and freeing memories, for God’s sake!...was just a little too alien for him. He took a breath and decided to focus on the goal, not the means to attain it. Hotch’s unfettered memory meant honest testimony, which in turn meant Bescardi could be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. To help himself over the oddness of the situation, Morgan chanted a legal mantra to himself. Kidnapping, abandonment, manufacture of an hallucinogen…Kidnapping, abandonment… Within seconds, he was feeling more grounded.

“So we can go arrest her, right?” Reid’s eager anticipation was infectious.

Rossi glanced at his watch. It was well past midday.

“It’s at least a six hour round trip. Do we want to do this now and drive back after sundown on a treacherous mountain road, or wait for tomorrow? I guarantee you, Carol’s not going anywhere. She’ll still be there if we wait.”

Morgan and Reid shared a look. It spoke of how they’d almost lost Hotch, of how he’d looked when they found him. They answered in unison.

“Get her. Get her now.”

Rossi’s grin echoed the sentiment.

“I was hoping you’d say that. Come on, children. Let’s go for a drive.”

xxxxxxx

In the end Ana stayed behind.

She didn’t have any experience in arresting or transporting criminal suspects. And, even though she didn’t want to be apart from Spencer, she hated the thought of walking into the monastery again. Even more, she didn’t want to be confined in the SUV with Dr. Bescardi. Close proximity would make her a captive audience to the twisted bitterness and warped ambition of someone she thought might actually be the proverbial mad scientist.

“Besides, someone should stay with Hotch and let him know where you guys are. Especially now he remembers what was done to him.”

Reid looked at her wistfully, but understood and agreed with her reasoning.

When she reached up and brushed a shy, gentle kiss...their first…over his lips, his sad expression vanished.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“I’ll be waiting.”…Always…she silently reassured him.

Morgan was about to say something appropriately embarrassing when Rossi’s elbow caught him in the ribs.