NO GOOD DEED || S. REID

2.5

BY THE TIME HOTCH ARRIVED, Katharine was thoroughly rattled. There was the matter of Dr. Nichols's dead body, which had its head beaten in and minimal bloodshed, thank God. Katharine wasn't sure she'd be able to keep herself from vomiting if the doctor had bled excessively. Though that did tell them that their unsub wasn't a killer at heart if his method of attack didn't give that away already.

Katharine once again told herself not to give Dr. Jemma Simmons a call but debated on dialing up Natasha's number for easy access to Dr. Banner or even Dr. Helen Cho, who had assisted them during the Ultron crisis. In the end, she decided she shouldn't outsource without Hotch's approval. After all, the general was still hanging around.

She had isolated herself to the lab area of Dr. Nichols's home, going through his things and trying to find out more about the unsub through the doctor. She could hear Spencer pacing closer to the windows, most likely anxiously awaiting some sort of backup.

And when backup did arrive, they stayed well away from the house. Spencer called her over to the sliding glass door and held his phone out in front of them, allowing Katharine to be a part of the phone conversation.

"Reid, Katharine," Hotch answered, looking at them through the glass.

"Hotch," Spencer said. "I really messed up this time."

"Reid, we need to get you out and to the hospital," Hotch told him as EMTs and what looked to be a cleanup crew swarmed the area around them.

"No. I'm staying right here," Spencer insisted.

"No, you're not, Reid," she heard Derek argue.

"I'm already exposed," the genius said. "It's not gonna do me any good to stop working the case."

Katharine watched as Whitworth approached Hotch and Derek, saying, "He's already infected. Now, if Nichols created the strain, he may have also created the cure."

"My best chance is to stay here, see if there's a cure, try to figure out who killed Dr. Nichols." Spencer nervously glanced over at Katharine. "And two sets of hands are better than one. I have Katharine in here helping me."

She saw Derek turn slightly toward Hotch. "Come on, Hotch, say something to him."

"He's right. His best chance is inside," the dark-haired man resigned. Then, addressing Spencer, he said, "We're gonna get a suit and mask into you right away."

Spencer shook his head once. "Don't bother. It's not gonna do me any good. I'm already infected."

He hung up and turned to Katharine, who couldn't help but feel concerned for the man.

She set her jaw and grabbed hold of his hand. Every instinct in Spencer's body seemed to tell him to take his hand away from hers, but he resisted. He gripped her hand tightly and closed his eyes, letting out a shuddering breath.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, searching his face for any giveaway that the anthrax could be progressing faster than normal. He looked okay, for the time being, there was no telling how bad it could get from here.

"Yeah," he replied quietly. He opened his eyes and looked into her own, searching for maybe even a semblance of hope. When he found it, he squeezed her hand and let go. "C'mon, we've got work to do."

WHEN HOTCH CALLED THEM BACK, Spencer and Katharine had already gone through the entirety of the physical objects in the dead doctor's lab. Katharine was standing by what appeared to be Dr. Nichols's desk when Hotch called to ask for what they saw in the building.