Criminal Minds One Shots

Map of Bruises

Reid stopped by the bed, glancing down at Charlie sprawled across it.  The blankets were on the ground, one corner twisted around her ankle the only thing keeping them entirely off the floor.  She was wearing a tank top and boy shorts, the gray and navy blue contrasting from the white sheets. Her hair was splayed in a messy tangle behind her head, one arm thrown above her head and the other at her side.

He took a step closer when he realized that her skin wasn't it's usual dull pale, rather darker an spotted in blobs of purple, black, and red.  Upon noticing they were bruises scattered  across her forearms, he gently grabbed one of her wrists to inspect it more closely.

Not gently enough apparently, though, because Charlie startled awake with a gasp, a feral fear shining in her eyes as she jerked upright ad socked him right in the jaw with her free arm.

"He--ack!" he choked on a yell of surprise, releasing her other arm and taking a step back to keep from losing his balance.  "Damn it, Charlie!" he exclaimed, rubbing his jaw and giving her a look.

She cradled both her arms to her chest, sitting back on the bed with her legs curled under her, reminding him of a helpless child.  His aching jaw was the only indication at the moment that she wasn't as fragile as she looked.  She didn't respond, or apologize, instead just hissed out a breath when she shifted and jostled some other bruised part of her body.

"When did you get those?" he asked, sitting down next to her on the bed, a hand still on his jaw.

"I must have used my arms as battering rams in my sleep," she answered casually, sarcastic as always.

"Charlie, come on," he chided.

She stayed silent, glancing down at the map of bruises traced across her skin.

"You just punched me in the face, I think I deserve an answer," Reid bargained.

"I may have gotten mugged last night," she admitted.

His eyebrows rose and he spit out a disbelieving, "What?"

"After work last night I went out with Garcia and Prentiss, but Garcia drank too much so Prentiss had to go get her a cab.  I paid the and on my way outside some guys grabbed me.  I fought them off and got away, I'm fine," she explained evenly.

"Why didn't you call me to come get you or something?" he asked.

"Cause I handled it myself," she refuted, glancing at her arms once again.  "I only noticed they hurt when you rudely woke me up," she shot him with a sneer.

"Well you punched me in the face, so we're even," Reid argued back.

A small smile crept onto her face, and then she got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready.  Only when she was walking out of the room, her back turned to him, did he notice the splotches of multi-colored skin on her shoulder and a few on the back of her calf and side of her thigh.