Reid has a cold, CM fic - (4 Parts)

[ID2006]

First of all I’d like to say it was an honor to write for you Jazz. I love your work and only hope that you can appreciate mine as much as I appreciate yours.

I’m posting a day early cause I’m not sure if I’ll have time tomorrow. The story is completed, but I’m posting it in parts and depending on interruptions it may take a while to post it all. Also, I had already been writing a piece on your second prompt and I’ll start posting it in a day or two hopefully.

Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own any of these characters, nor am I making any money off of this. Also, Victor Hugo was a real person, and since he died long ago I’m hoping he doesn’t care that I used his quotes. Really, I intended no harm to anyone.

Spoilers: This story is set right after “The Popular Kids” (2005) and contains info particular to that episode and how it ends

I did the best that I could at ending this, but set it up perfectly for a sequel. I hope to get to it in the near future, but have another fic to get through first.

Prompt: A Reid fic.

And now… if you’re still reading… what you’re been waiting for…

The Power of Love… and Sickness

Almost all our desires, when examined, contain something too shameful to reveal.

~Victor Hugo~

Reid sat at his desk, rubbing at his temple with one hand. It seemed like it was taking him forever to write up this report.

The team had just got back from a case in Virginia, in which Morgan and Reid had ended up alone in the woods with the unsub. It all worked out in the end, only a few bruises left by Morgan tackling Reid in the process of taking down the unsub. That wasn’t what was bothering Dr. Spencer Reid though.

All he could think about was Gideon’s response to Reid’s nightmares. “We don't always beat the monsters to the babies, but we do enough to make the job worth it and keep the nightmares bearable.” Spencer looked down at the picture Gideon had given him.

Although Reid had finally been able to sleep peacefully on the way home, he couldn’t help but wonder if the nightmare would return tonight.

“Reid what are you still doing here?”

Jumping slightly, Reid snapped out of his own little world. He figured he would have been alone at this time of night, but there his boss stood.

“Hotch. Ummm,” it took a moment for Reid to master his thoughts, “I’m just trying to finish up this report.”

“I told you I didn’t need that till Wednesday. It’s only Monday… and you look awful.”

Truth be told Spencer felt awful too. His head seemed to ache. Probably just from lack of sleep, Reid thought to himself. That and the glare from the computer screen in the darkened room.

“I just thought it would be best if I wrote it while it’s still fresh in my mind. The accuracy of memories decreases exponentially relative to the time since the event occurred.”

Even though his tone made Reid sound as though he was wide awake, one look at his pale face, darkened circles under his squinting eyes, would tell you that he was in desperate need of sleep.

“I’m sure it will be just fine if you wait till tomorrow to write it,” like everyone else, Agent Hotchner thought.

“I guess I could try to wrap it up for the night.” Spencer said reluctantly.

“Sounds like a good idea. Oh, and just a reminder, you don’t need a statistic to support every action you made.”

Reid nodded in response, “I’ll try to keep that in mind Sir.”

Spencer resumed his gaze on the computer as Hotchner continued towards the exit.

Chapter 2

The next morning everyone in the BAU was there bright and early working on their reports, everyone except Reid.

“Hey JJ, have you seen Reid?” Morgan asked.

“Not today.”

It wasn’t like Reid to be late. Even on the day they had received the last case, Reid was there, albeit trying to load his coffee with sugar in attempt to counteract the lack of sleep from his nightmares. The point was, he was still there.

“Elle?”

“What?” Elle consumed with writing her report snapped to at the sound of her name.

“Reid... have you seen him?” Morgan questioned.

“I don’t think so. Why?”

Just then Reid entered the room. The entire group turned to look at him and Morgan was just about to make some snide comment about his tardiness, but was shocked into silence by Reid’s appearance. He looked awful. His hair was disheveled, the circles under his eyes had only darkened and his pale complexion was contrasted by the pinkness of his nostrils. JJ immediately made her way to Reid’s side.

“Are you okay Spence? You look like death.”

“You know there is no specific look that applies to death…” Reid paused to cough, “ in fact some people who are recently deceased show very little change in appearance. Really it depends on...” Reid was cut off by Morgan.

“I think she gets the point.”

“Back to my first question, are you okay?”

“I believe that was your only question and I…” Reid’s breath started to hitch, “I… I’m… Hi’Etsch… scuse be, sniff, I’b fide.” Reid stifled into his right shoulder, arm full of paperwork.

“Bless you. And you sure don’t look fine, but if you say so.” JJ rolled her eyes and let Reid get to his desk where he quickly set his stuff down and grabbed a tissue from his drawer.

Blowing his nose quietly, Reid threw the used tissue in the trash beside his desk.

Back to work.

Spencer had contemplated staying home but considering their occupations a cold seemed like an inadequate reason. Although he had almost finished his report last night, he had promised JJ he’d help her look over some potential cases involving geographical calculations.

Reid tried to set up his desk but was distracted by the burning sensation in his nose. He tried to discreetly rub it with the back of his hand, which seemed to do nothing to alleviate the annoying prickling at the bridge of his nose.

Sniffing quietly he could feel a sneeze start to build and he quickly pinched his nose. Relieved when the feeling subsided he let go. Big mistake, the feeling intensified and he was only able to partially cover a messy, “Et’SHAaa.”

Looking down sheepishly, he prayed no one would comment.

The next two hours were spent quietly finishing his report. Well, quietly was a relative term. The rest of the team was quiet and thankfully ignored his almost constant sniffling and occasional coughing and sneezing.

That was until three hours in and Morgan had finally had enough.

“Seriously dude, blow your nose already.”

“Sorry.” Reid stuffed some tissues from his desk into his pocket and quietly headed to the bathroom.

Morgan almost felt sorry for his harsh tone. Although Spencer wasn’t really a kid, Morgan couldn’t help but thinking ‘poor kid’ as Spencer walked past with the look of a child who’d been scolded.

In the bathroom, Reid felt too terrible to give thought to Morgan’s reprimand. His sinuses were burning and he rubbed at them before taking a tissue from his pocket and gently blowing.

This only increased the ever present tickle in his nose and he let his breath hitch hoping to finally relieve the irritating itch, but the sneeze wouldn’t come.

Finally he blew again and tilted his head back squinting at the bright lights. That did it.

“Et’shhh, He’tshew, heh….heh… It’shew.”

Reid grabbed a few tissues and blew his nose, thankful for at least a temporary feeling of relief.

His sense of relief was short lived when he heard the sound of flushing come from one of the stalls. Shoot, he hadn’t even thought to check and see if anyone else was in here. Agent Hotchner walked out and washed his hands before sternly speaking.

“I’d like to see you in my office.”

“Yes sir.”

Agent Hotchner left and Reid washed his hands and splashed some water on his face in an attempt to try and appear more presentable.

By the time Reid printed off his report and reached Hotchner’s office his congestion had already returned and he took a moment to blow his nose before knocking and entering.

“Hotch, you asked to see me?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick last night?”

“I didn’t know I was.”

“Would you have told me if you did?”

Reid took a moment to think before answering with blatant honesty.

“Probably not.”

“Why didn’t you call in sick today? You know I’d give you an extension on your report if you needed one?”

“Actually, I just finished it.” Reid handed his paper to Hotch. “I promised JJ I’d help her with some stuff today, and… hITSHHH… and I’m not alone, in fact, eighty percent of people go to work while sick.”

“Bless. And that’s why cold’s travel through the workplace.”

“Sniff… Actually, most colds are transmitted before a person shows any symptoms so there’s very little proof indicating a difference would be made if people didn’t go to work sick.”

Reid produced a tissue from his pocket and rubbed at his nose. He couldn’t help but wince from the ever increasing sinus pain and Hotch didn’t fail to notice Spencer’s discomfort.

“If you won’t go home will you at least go see Garcia and maybe take a break there.”

Reid sighed and agreed. A break would be nice and he couldn’t fathom the idea of trying to concentrate on mathematical equations for JJ right now.

After Spencer left his office, Hotchner sat down and wondered if he had done the right thing by not sending Reid home.

Why should the kid go home alone to be sick? He phoned Garcia to let her know Reid would be coming, and why.

Reid returned to his desk and stacked some papers. He also grabbed a medical journal from his bottom drawer for some light reading.

[ID2006]

Chapter 3

When Reid arrived at Garcia’s she was up and waiting. Immediately he knew Hotch must have called her. A small recliner was already set up with a box of tissues next to it and what appeared to be some tea.

“Oh sweetie, you look awful. Here, I made a nice little spot for you. Is there anything you need? I made you some tea.” Garcia said speaking swiftly.

She always seemed to talk faster when she was worried.

“I’b fide… really.” Reid tried to reassure her but realized that his congestion got in the way of him sounding very convincing. He pulled a tissue from his pocket and blew his nose as unobtrusively as possible.

“Really, I’m fine.”

“I may not be as prolific at profiling as you, but it doesn’t take much to see you need some rest. Now come on, mi casa es su casa.”

“Thanks Garcia.”

Reid sat down and sipped at his tea. It tasted like chamomile with a slight sweet tang to it. With his nose so irritated and the headache he hadn’t even realized how sore his throat had become. The warm liquid felt smooth gliding down his throat but the steam loosened his congestion.

Setting the tea down, Spencer grabbed a tissue and cleared his nose into. This just made the itch in his nose increase.

“Heh’KShhh, hiTSH, Et’Shhh… heh… heh… HEhTSHooo.” Reid sneezed into his right elbow.

“Bless you sweet cheeks.”

“Thangs.” All the congestion had returned in an instant and Reid grabbed another tissue and scrubbed at his nose before blowing lightly into it.

Looking around for a trash Spencer was surprised to find one right next to him. ‘Man, Garcia had thought of everything.’

Reid leaned back in the chair and was thankful to not be completely alone, but not the center of attention either. Garcia had her headphones on and was quietly tapping away at her keyboard.

Spencer closed his eyes and thought he would just rest for a minute, but was fast asleep in seconds. Garcia looked over and smiled. She figured a little cold medicine in the tea couldn’t hurt.

A few hours later Morgan burst into Garcia’s and started his normal loud greeting of “Hey Baby Girl” only to be shushed by Garcia who glared at him with a look that said ‘Speak and you die’.

Derek looked around the room to figure out what was making Garcia so defensive and quickly spotted the culprit. Spencer had sprawled out a little more comfortably in his sleep and was snoring with a hint of drool leaking from his mouth.

Morgan’s face turned from slight annoyance to excited anticipation. Garcia saw the gleam in his eye and in a quiet and forceful tone rebuked Morgan for his thoughts.

“Don’t you dare.”

“Do what?” Morgan smiled not so innocently.

“You know what.” Garcia continued a stern but slightly more playful glare.

“Oh come on, I wouldn’t use permanent ones.”

“I’m not going to let you draw on him.”

“Oh fine,” Derek pouted teasingly, “Can I at least try to stick something in his mouth?”

Garcia laughed a little.

“No.” She sighed and rolled her eyes; Derek, although normally the tough guy, acted like such a boy sometimes.

Morgan, half serious about drawing on Spencer, was still a little concerned about his colleague.

“How’s he doing?”

“I think he’ll be fine. Appears to be just a cold but I think he’s running a bit of a fever. I didn’t know if he’d take anything so I put some cold meds in his tea. He’s been knocked out for a while now.”

Derek walked quietly over to Reid and gently laid the back of his hand against Spencer’s forehead. Reid coughed some and rolled around a little.

“Definitely running a temp. You should probably try to get him to take some more meds when he wakes up. How are you doing?”

Morgan returned back to Garcia and looked over her shoulder at her screen.

“I’m doing good… just practicing my skills.” Garcia added with a smile.

“What have you hacked into this time?”

“Nothing.” Garcia closed the webpage but not before Morgan had read the government logo.

“Witsec! You know Hotch is going to have a fit if he finds out you’re hacking government stuff without anyone’s go ahead.”

“Well… he’s not going to find out… is he? Besides, it may come in handy some day.”

“I won’t tell him, but if he finds out on his own that’s your problem.”

“Thanks sweetie. Is there anything you need?”

“Nah, just coming to check on my girl before I head home. Hotch is still here if you need anything. He said we were welcome to head home if we want a break; Elle and JJ already left. JJ will probably have a case picked out by morning, so you may want to take advantage of the free time.”

“Thanks sweetie, but I think I’ll stay... at least until Reid wants to leave.”

“Suit yourself. See you tomorrow.”

“Later.”

Morgan left and Garcia bypassed the government computer restrictions to watch a movie. She was only into it a half hour before she heard harsh coughing coming from next to her. Reid was bent over trying unsuccessfully to catch his breath.

Garcia stood up and put a hand on the back of Reid’s lower neck, surprised at the amount of heat radiating off of it.

“Oh darling.” She said sympathetically as she took the tea off the desk and held it out to him. As the coughing slowed Reid lifted his head more and took the tea to sip on.

“Thags,” Spencer said congestedly when he was finally able to breath at a somewhat regular pace. Setting the tea down he grabbed a few tissues and turned away from Garcia before blowing into them. This made his headache increase in intensity and brought back that incessant tickle in his nose.

“It’Shh, Et’Shh,” Reid sneezed into the crumpled ball of used tissues and wiped his nose before tossing them in the trash and grabbing another handful. His head tilted back more slowly this time as his brows scrunched up and eyes closed.

“EkShew, ET’Shew, heh…heh…” Spencer slowly exhaled as the need to sneeze abandoned him. Annoyed, he scrubbed at his nose with the tissues, followed by another blow.

Tilting his head back he had forgotten Garcia was still there.

“Bless you Sugar.”

“Oh… sorry,” Reid said apologetically as his cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. How’re you feeling?”

Spencer’s eyes squinted, filling with water due to the intense pain and pressure behind them. He looked over at Garcia pathetically.

“Oh honey… it’s going to be okay. Do you want me to drive you home?”

The thought of being alone right now in his cold empty apartment made him feel even more miserable and Garcia could sense the dark depression filling him.

“Actually, why don’t you come stay at my place tonight?”

It took Reid a moment to comprehend. He’d never been invited to stay at anyone’s before.

“Are you sure?”

Garcia wasn’t really sure as her spontaneousness surprised herself. But the more she thought about it the more she was sure that’s what she wanted, despite the probable awkwardness.

“Yeah. Come on.”

It took Reid a moment to catch up.

“Oh shoot, I promised I’d help JJ with some stuff. It’s not time to go yet is it.”

Garcia laughed before noticing the mixture of confusion and seriousness on Reid’s face.

“Sweetie, everyone has already gone home. Well, except for Hotch probably.” Garcia corrected herself.

“Oh.” Spencer said looking forlorn.

“It’s okay. Hotch let everyone go early.” This made Spencer feel a little better. “Come on, I’m starving, do you mind if we stop somewhere for takeout?”

Reid shook his head a little as if it would clear his mind.

“Umm… yeah... that sounds fine,” Spencer said without really thinking about it.

It was clear to Garcia something was definitely wrong with the boy genius. He was never this slow.

Reid coughed to the side into his fist.

Chapter 4

On the way to Garcia’s they stopped by a soup and sandwich shop. After that it wasn’t a long drive, even so, Reid was asleep by the time they reached their destination.

Garcia didn’t want to wake Spencer but knew she had to. Nudging him gently, Reid startled and curled away from Garcia coughing harshly.

After he caught his breath Spencer swiped at his nose before facing Garcia.

“Okay sweetie, let’s get inside and get some food in you.”

Normally Reid would have corrected Garcia and pointed out that ‘you’ should be ‘us’, instead he just coughed into his fist again before opening his door and slowly getting out. Garcia grabbed the food and easily beat Reid to her door. Unlocking it, she went and set the food on the table and told Reid to make himself comfortable on the couch.

Reid sat down and tilted his head back against the couch. The light was bright and along with increasing the feeling of pressure behind his eyes, it made him squint, bringing back that all too familiar feeling.

“Et’shhh, He’tshew, hIt’shew.” Reid sneezed openly towards the floor in front of him. Sniffing, he pushed his bangs back behind his ears before rubbing at his sinuses.

“Tissues are in the bathroom, go ahead and bring out the box,” Garcia called out from around the corner.

“Thags,” Reid croaked out before slowly rising to his feet. In the bathroom he took the time to clear his nose. Although Garcia could probably still hear him, there was something about bathrooms that gave one a sense of privacy.

When he came out Garcia was seated on the couch already munching away at her sandwich. She had placed Spencer’s soup on the coffee table.

Quietly walking over he set the tissues down and sat next to Garcia. Feeling awkward, Reid broke the silence.

“Did you know that traditionally, chicken noodle soup is prepared using old hens since their meat is considered too tough to be roasted?”

“Nope, didn’t know that.” Ah yes, only Spencer would try to break the ice with something like that.

More silence.

Garcia finally suggested watching a movie and Reid nodded. Walking up to the tv, Garcia kneeled down and scanned her dvd’s, unsure of what would interest Reid.

“Pride and Prejudice okay?”

When Reid didn’t answer, Garcia turned around to find Reid muffling several sneezes into a wad of tissues. When he finished he looked up to see Garcia staring at him and his cheeks immediately turned a bright shade of pink, matching his nose.

“Sorry… um, what were you saying.”

“Oh… um, Pride and Prejudice okay?”

“Yeah.”

Garcia put the movie in and then glimpsed Reid looking around the room, tissues still in hand.

“Trash is over there.” Garcia pointed to a small container under a side table.

“Thanks.” Reid walked over and threw the tissues in and returned to the couch. Garcia didn’t join him. Instead she went and got a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt.

“Here, this might be a little more comfortable. I’ll get some blankets while you get changed.”

Reid thought for a moment, he knew the clothes probably wouldn’t fit right, but Garcia was right, they had to be better than what he was wearing.

Nodding his thanks, Spencer took the clothes and headed to the bathroom to ready himself.

When he returned the couch was set up with a pillow, light sheet and a variety of blankets. Garcia looked up from the chair she now occupied and couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped her lips.

The black sweats hung loosely from Spencer’s hips, but barely reached the top of his ankles. Thankfully, the sweatshirt was big on Garcia, thus the sleeves were relatively close to the right length, however the thing was so baggy that two or three of him would have fit comfortably.

Reid was much too preoccupied to notice Garcia’s expression though.

“hiTSH, Et’Shhh, Et’Shhh” Spencer sneezed against the back of his wrist.

Garcia’s face immediately went from a look of amusement to one of sympathy. ‘Poor kid, he must be feeling awful,’ she thought silently.

“Are you sure you’re up for a movie?”

“I’b fide,” croaked Reid before taking a tissue and swiping at his reddening nose. “Really, as long as you do’t mind be falling asleep halfway through it.”

“Okay sweetie, but if you want me to turn it off just let me know.”

Spencer nodded his consent before scrubbing at his nose more vigorously.

Ugh, it was driving him nuts. As soon as Garcia began the movie, Reid took advantage of the noise and blew his nose.

Once more he got up and brought the tissue to the trash before situating himself on the couch beneath several of the blankets. Garcia noticed him shivering as he snuggled deep beneath the covers. ‘Fever must have finally set in.’

Spencer’s statement of falling asleep halfway through the movie was far from accurate. It was fewer than ten minutes in before congested snoring filled the room.

Garcia quietly got up and took Reid’s soup bowl to the kitchen before heading off to bed.

tbc

[starpollen]

I don't know this fandom but sick sniffly boys are just so adorable. And the caretaking is nice. Looking forward to more!

[Jazz]

OH SWEET JESUS.

First of all, you're so sweet. (: You're an absolutely fantastic writer and I adored every minute of it!

I'm delighted you picked the Reid prompt (I literally sqeaked from excitement when I saw the title) and from what I've read, you've done a phenomenal job with it! I know from experience (I'm writing a Criminal Minds s.s. fic for someone else) that this is a pretty difficult fandom, even if you're familiar with it, and you did wonderfully with it. Everyone's completely in character, and you even set it after a particular episode! That makes it that much easier to visualize.

Morgan almost felt sorry for his harsh tone. Although Spencer wasn’t really a kid, Morgan couldn’t help but thinking ‘poor kid’ as Spencer walked past with the look of a child who’d been scolded.

D'aw. I could totally picture this. Even if he's what, twenty seven now? The fact that he was a boy genius and only twenty three when he started is enough to make it seem like he's a kid. But it's almost an endearing sort of thing, when Morgan calls him 'kid'. It's not like, condescending. And I think you captured that close friendship really well. (:

I also really, really liked caretaking Garcia, because she's such a super-sweet Mother Hen type woman, and I know she'd be so good at it. (: And apparently she is. I absolutely love the dynamic between the two of them, and how she's all protective of Reid when he's sleeping and Morgan wants to mess with him. That's absolutely adorable!

And it totally makes sense how Reid would be all work-oriented and come even though he was sick. (:

I loved it. (: And I'm so excited for this and I'm so glad you were my secret santa! Thank you so much! Coming home and seeing this on the Stories thread made my day.

[ID2006]

Yay, I'm so glad you are enjoying this Jazz... and starpollen. And now for more.

Chapter 5

The next morning Garcia woke to the sound of her alarm. Walking to the living room she thought about waking Reid, but decided to take a shower and get ready first. ‘He could probably use as much sleep as he could get’.

Once ready, she entered the living room, not quite the way she left it before. Several tissues were scattered across the floor by the couch.

Spencer was wrapped awkwardly in blankets, no doubt he had been tossing and turning the whole night. His nose was bright red and his hair was a mess.

Garcia didn’t want to wake the boyish looking man, and thankfully didn’t have to. Spencer curled in on himself and sneezed twice into the blankets.

“Bless you.”

Reid looked up.

“Maybe you should call in sick. I’d be happy to give you a ride home.”

Reid rubbed at his face as if it might relieve some of the pressure in his sinuses.

“I’ll be fide.” Reid half croaked half whispered. Even he was shocked at how his voice sounded, although he shouldn’t have been considering how many times he woke up coughing.

The room felt as if it was spinning as he slowly sat up. Leaning his head down, he opened his eyes and realized he had left tissues strewn across the floor.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.” Reid hurriedly knelt down and collected the crumpled mess.

“It’s okay, Reid, really. Now, are you sure you won’t stay home today. You know everyone would understand.”

“Yeah, I…I’m…heh hESHooo, excuse be, I’m sure.” Reid sneezed into his elbow.

“Bless you. Okay. Why don’t I make you some tea while you get ready? We need to be there in 30 minutes.”

“I’ll be ready, and Garcia, thank you.” Reid’s voice was barely above a whisper and with his throat hurting more and more by the minute, he knew tea would be a good idea.

“Not a problem sweetie.” Garcia went to make the tea while Spencer got ready.

It took Reid very little time to get ready. Running some fingers through his hair brought it close to his normal look. His clothes, slightly wrinkled from being lumped on the floor, would just have to do.

When he exited the bathroom Garcia was standing with a coffee mug full of tea in one hand and one full of coffee in her other hand.

“Ready,” she held the tea out to him.

Reid nodded and took the tea. Taking a sip, the warm liquid felt so good going down his throat. Grabbing their bags, Garcia and Spencer headed out the door, drinks in hand.

The car ride to work was relatively uneventful. Spencer sipped quietly at his tea and the silence was punctuated only by a few sniffs and sneezes stifled against the back of his wrist.

When they arrived at their destination, Garcia took a few tissues from her purse and handed them to Spencer, whom gratefully accepted them. Reid waited until Garcia was a little ways ahead of him before blowing forcefully in a vain attempt to clear his nose.

“He’Itsh, hiTSHhh.” Reid rubbed his nose as gently as he could. At the door he threw the used tissues in the trash and gave a final swipe through his hair with his hand.

Everyone was already in the conference room when Reid finally stumbled in. Hotch had left a copy of the case file in front of the empty seat for Reid.

Spencer sat down as unobtrusively as possible, and although no one said a word, Reid could feel everyone’s eyes scan him as JJ paused briefly.

After the briefing Hotch sent everyone home to pack their stuff for the journey to Boston, the site of their new case; everyone except for Reid, which he asked to stay behind for a sec.

“Heh’KShhh, hiTSH, Et’Shhh, I’m so sorry hiTSH for be..be… He’tshhh…being late.” Reid sniffed, “It won’t happen again.”

“Bless you. Why didn’t you stay home? Seriously, it is okay to call in sick."

“I’ll be fine.” Reid croaked, voice cracking in and out. Clearing his throat again, Reid could feel Agent Hotchner’s stern stare.

“You’re not fine Reid and you aren’t going with on this one…”

“But...” Spencer tried to interject.

“But nothing, I’m not going to force you to go home, but you aren’t flying with us in this condition. If you want you can rest in Garcia’s office again and help some from there.”

Reid nodded and looked at the floor shamefully.

“It’s okay to get sick, just promise me you’ll take it easy Spencer,” Hotch said caringly.

Spencer just nodded and slowly gathered his belongings before walking to Garcia’s office as if a child sent to time out.

“I’m sorry sweetie.” Garcia greeted Spencer. Reid resignedly took his seat. He knew it was logical for him to stay given his present condition, but he couldn’t help but feel left out.

“Am I really that bad,” Garcia was starting to take offence to Reid’s displeasure at being with her. Spencer looked up, not having realized how his disappointment might affect her.

“No. I’b sorry,” Reid wanted to continue with his apology but started coughing into his fist instead. Any ounce of anger left in Garcia completely vanished.

How could she be mad at him like this, not that she was good at being mad at anyone.

“Here.” She handed Reid his almost empty mug of tea, whose cough had turned into more of a wheezing.

“Thags,” Reid took a sip and tried to slow his breathing.

“That really doesn’t sound good. Maybe you should see a doctor.”

“It’s okay Garcia. Besides we have work to do.”

Garcia just nodded and started looking up the names that Hotch had given her, the latest victims, while Reid reviewed the case file.

It wasn’t long before there was a knock at the door and Agent Hotchner walked in.

“We’re about ready to leave. I thought I would stop by and see if you two had found anything before we headed out.”

“Sorry sir. Jessica Roberts and Angela Cayhill lived within 15 miles of one another, but Janie Derekson and Robert Madden live 30 miles in differing directions from the others. I’ve been running credit card and phone records and haven’t found a connection anywhere.”

Reid coughed and Hotch redirected his attention.

“I’m pretty sure I have som…something.” Reid’s breath began to hitch. “The French no..notes at the scene are, hitshew it’shew, quodes frob Victor Hugo. Dey tradslate to…”

“Reid,” Hotch interrupted, “blow your nose.”

“Sorry sir.” Reid grabbed a tissue and blew quietly but forcefully to clear the congestion. After clearing his throat he continued.

“The note at the first victim’s, Jessica’s, translates to, ‘The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.’ The second victim’s, Janie’s, reads, ‘The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories that it has come to be disbelieved. Few people daresay nowadays that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet that is the way love begins, and only that way.’” Reid paused holding a finger up indicating for Hotch to wait a moment.

“hiTSH, Et’Shhh, Et’Shhh,” Spencer sneezed into his elbow away from Hotch.

“Bless.” Hotch said as he plucked a tissue from the box and held it out to Reid.

“Thags,” Reid sniffed as he took the tissue and blew lightly.

The third note, found at Angela’s, states, ‘Try as you will, you cannot annihilate that eternal relic of the human heart, love.’ And the final note, at Robert’s says, ‘Anger may be foolish and absurd, and one may be irritated when in the wrong; but a man never feels outraged unless in some respect he is at bottom right.’”

Reid coughed and tried to clear his throat again, his voice slowly fading.

“I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you the significance of these relating to motive, but what I find interesting is that the notes indicate a very poor understanding of French. The unsub clearly read these in English and hiTSH either translated these himself or used a free translation program online.”

Reid wiped at his nose with the back of his hand.

“Why wouldn’t he just write them in English then?” Hotch questioned, giving Reid a chance to grab a tissue and blow his nose.

“I believe it indicates a strong admiration of Victor Hugo. It’s likely the unsub’s life reflects this appreciation in other areas as well. Victor Hugo was very outspoken about politics and justice. The notes found at the crime scenes of the female victims indicate to me that he is unable to foster a true connection with these women. He likely fell in love with them and was rejected without the victim’s ever even knowing. This leads me to believe that although he won’t be outspoken in person, he likely is very opinionated about politics and injustices, possibly expressing this in letter’s to the editor in local newspapers or blogs via the internet, although he’d never use his real name.” Reid hurriedly tried to finish as the tickle returned to his nose.

“Et’shhh, He’tshew, heh… hih…” Reid sighed and lowered the tissue he had grabbed and pressed to his nose just in time.

It only took a second for the sensation to fade and return though and Spencer barely had time to get the tissue back up.

“hESHooo.” Exhausted, Reid sighed, lowering the tissue and leaning his head back.

“Bless.” Agent Hotchner said sympathetically. “You’ve done good Reid, now… try to get some rest.”

Spencer slowly closed his eyes and nodded, finally thankful that he was being left behind.

Hotchner silently indicated for Garcia to follow him out of the room. Once they were a few feet away he began speaking again.

“Keep looking and see if you can find a connection between the victims,” lowering his voice a little more he continued, “and keep an eye on Reid. He’s getting worse isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” as if it wasn’t obvious.

Reid’s fever had clearly gone up. Slight shivering had not gone unnoticed by Hotch and both he and Garcia looked back at the room to see that Reid had huddled himself up in blankets as soon as they had left.

“Drug him if you have to.”

“Will do sir.” Garcia smiled at the thought of the cold medicine in the tea the day before.

“I’ll be checking in later.”

“Hopefully I have more. Have a good flight.”

“Thanks.” And with that Agent Hotchner left.

Chapter 6

Garcia stepped back into the office quietly so as not to wake Spencer. It didn’t matter though since it wasn’t long before he woke up coughing.

“Want some more tea?”

Reid nodded, still coughing.

Garcia took the empty mug from the desk and put fresh water and a thing of Theraflu in it. If anything, she hoped it would at least lower Spencer’s fever.

She returned to Spencer still coughing roughly into his hand every few seconds.

“Here, this should help.”

Spencer took the steaming mug from her hands and swallowed some of the liquid. Although he grimaced at the medicinal taste of it, he was relieved that it soothed his throat.

“Thags.” Spencer said congestedly, trying to keep his nose from running. Taking one more sip, he then set down the mug and retrieved a few tissues in an attempt to stop the flow from his nose.

Blowing quietly, he hazarded a glance at Garcia who was, thankfully, at least pretending not to pay attention.

After a few more sips and visits to the tissue box, Spencer finally let his head fall to the side and drifted to sleep.

Six hours later Spencer woke. Rubbing his eyes, he was relieved to find the pressure had dissipated somewhat. Coughing, he unintentionally got Garcia’s attention.

“How’re you feeling?” Garcia quickly put the back of her hand to Spencer’s forehead, removing it before he had a chance to register it was there. “Fever’s down.”

“Okay.” Reid’s voice was barely above a whisper. He coughed a few times, but even that barely made a sound.

“You don’t sound okay.”

Spencer’s voice cracked in and out, “Head hurts less, throats a little sore, chills are gone though. How long was I out for?”

“About six hours. Hotch has checked in a few times. They haven’t found much. Apparently, Angela was seen at a club two nights before her death, but there’s no proof any of the other victims ever went there. They also found out Mr. Madden was a repairman, mostly working on heating systems. He doesn’t have a great reputation for his work though. Because of the note left the team suspects that he probably did a job for the unsub, obviously not a very good job at that. The team’s been focusing on that lead since they still haven’t been able to make a connection with the other victims. Also, they are having trouble on narrowing down a location given the distance between victims.”

“Where did the victims work again?” Reid’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Ummm,” Garcia did some quick typing. “Jessica worked as a waitress at a burger joint… Janie, librarian’s assistant… and Angela was a florist.”

“I…” Reid paused, quickly grabbing a tissue “heh’ISHhh, iTSHhh… thigk I have ad idea codcerding where the udsub lives. Call Hotch.” Reid blew his nose while Garcia dialed.

“Hey sweet thang, got something for us.” Morgan answered.

“Reid might, Hotch there?”

“Yup, got you on speaker.”

Reid tried to speak loud enough for them to hear but his voice just crackled in and out.

“I think we’re breaking up.” Morgan looked down surprised they had full bars.

“No,” Garcia sighed, “That would be Reid, he’s lost his voice.”

“Great.” Garcia could hear the eye roll.

Reid tried clearing his throat, to no avail. Finally, his eyes lit up and he swiped Garcia’s keyboard.

“Hold on a sec. He’s typing,” Garcia informed the team.

“He thinks the unsub lives close to where Jessica and Angela work. He says the unsub probably met all of them at their workplace, they all do jobs involving the public. The unsub probably doesn’t travel far to get to a burger joint or florists since there are so many of them, but he’d have to travel farther to find a library or a repairman. Check the local yellowpages and see if the library Janie worked at was the closest one to the florists and if Robert Madden was the closest repaiman listed.”

“Nice work sicky.” Morgan commented.

Garcia spoke next.

“Hey, do you know if there are any security cameras in the library, one may show the unsub.”

“Gideon’s going to go check it out and get a list of people who have library cards. Maybe one will match with someone in Madden’s records. We think the unsub is fairly fit since he was able to strangle all of his victims. He obviously wasn’t too scared about overpowering Madden, he would have used another method if he was. We also believe he’s not very attractive, someone who his female victims, all good-looking and in their early twenties, wouldn’t take a second look at.”

Reid nodded his agreement before turning away and stifling two sneezes into a tissue.

“Is there anything else Garcia?” Hotch finally spoke up.

Garcia looked at Reid who shook his head no.

“Pretty sure that’s it. Send me any footage from the library.”

“Will do pretty lady. Reid, take care man.” The phone clicked as Morgan hung up.

Garcia looked over at Reid, noting that his eyes were closed and he was rubbing his temple.

“Headache back?”

“Yeah.” Reid whispered.

“I’m going to go get a sandwich from the breakroom. Before I leave I’ve got Tylenol or some nighttime cold meds. Got a preference.”

“Ty... ty… NNtschh,” Reid stifled a sneeze into the back of his hand, not a very smart move given the already excruciating pain in his head. Rubbing his head Spencer had forgotten he had even been talking.

“Tylenol?”

“What?” Spencer croaked.

“You want Tylenol? Are you sure you’d rather not just sleep. I could always drop you off at home. You know I’ll be here all night.”

“I,” Reid tried to clear his throat and finally figured out he might as well just whisper, “I’ll stay. And I want to be awake to help.”

“Okay,” Garcia started digging through her purse, “Just tell me if you want me to take you home.” Finally finding her bottle of Tylenol, she handed two to Reid who swallowed them with the cold leftover liquid in his mug.

After returning Garcia’s keyboard to it’s proper place, Reid rested his head in his hands. Garcia quietly slipped out, turning off the lights as she left.

tbc

[Sitruuna]

He lost his voice, how perfect is that? This is really something I would so like to see (in the show... So I could actualy hear his voice like that), I just love this, Reid is so sick. And the cough and everything. I really love thi fic and the way write this and how manage to keep the characters as thay should be (like... In character).

And I'm sorry if something in this doesn't make sense, that might hapen...

[matilda3948]

OH SWEET JESUS.

My sentiments exactly!!

[ID2006]

and the final two chapters...

Chapter 7

For awhile Reid enjoyed the dim silence of the room. It wasn’t long before his nose decided to interrupt things though.

Spencer took hold of a tissue and held it with both hands in front of his face. Head tilted back, his breath began to hitch, and then… nothing.

Reid sighed as he lowered the tissue. The tickling filled his nose with congestion and Spencer wearily blew his nose into the tissue.

By the time Garcia returned to the office, Reid had gone through several more tissues.

“Hey sweetie. Feeling any better?”

Reid looked up, eyes revealing how miserable he felt.

“Awe, honey, I’m sorry. I brought you some soup.” Reid eyed the microwavable container of soup and smiled weakly.

Grasping it, he felt the heat radiating from the plastic mug shape. The top corner easily popped up and Reid drank the liquid, thankful for the comfort it brought.

Spencer’s headache remained despite the meds, but the pain had drastically reduced.

“Garcia,” Reid’s voice was finally a little louder, but it still barely held with a congested huskiness to it. “Could you give me control of one of the screens?”

“Sure thing.” Garcia swiftly pulled out a mouse and keyboard and with some quick taps on her keyboard, Reid was set.

Sniffing, Spencer ran a finger under his nose before looking up the local newspaper near the crime scenes. After reading through nearly three months worth of letters to the editor Reid finally ran across something.

“Joseph Leopold.”

“What.” Garcia looked over.

“Joseph Leopold.” Reid paused to blow his nose before continuing. “There’s a few letters written by a Joseph Leopold.”

“Should I run the name?”

“It won’t do you much good. Joseph Leopold was Victor Hugo’s father. Has the team sent you the list…heh…hih…” Reid scrubbed at his nose and sniffed, “the list of library card holders.”

“IT’SHhhh heh het’SHhhh,” Spencer sneezed openly to the side before grabbing a tissue and massaging his nose again.

“Bless, and yes, yes they have, just not the clients of the florist’s shop or Mr. Madden. Let me run that name against what I have though.” A few quick clicks later, “Right on, here’s a Joseph Leopold and… here’s an address,” more tapping, “and it’s fake. Should I call Hotch?”

“Mmmm… not yet. Can you see what he’s checked out recently?”

“You doubt my skills?” Garcia said playfully and was glad when it elicited a smile from Reid.

It took only minutes for Garcia to hack the libraries system.

“Let’s see here. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, The Days of the French Revoltion, Watership Down, A Rose for Mary: The Hunt for the Boston Strangler…”

Reid coughed before affirming, “That’s our guy.”

The phone rang just as Garcia was about to pick it up.

“Ah sweet lovin, you knew I was thinking of you.”

“Of course baby, you know it,” came Morgan’s voice through the line. Hey, no luck with the library cameras, but there is some footage from a convenience store

cam across the street, emailing it to you now.”

“Awe, thanks babe. We might have a present for you as well.” Garcia handed the phone to Reid.

“Hey,” Reid croaked before coughing to the side, finally grabbing a tissue to empty some of the gunk from his lungs into.

“You okay there buddy?” Morgan said, concern evident in his voice.

“I’ll be fine,” Spencer finally continued, voice returning to a whisper, “Listen, our guy goes by an alias of Joseph Leopold. He probably used his real name anywhere he paid money, but you could ask the head librarian and other’s if they remember anyone by that name.”

“Thanks dude, the lead with Madden is going nowhere; I swear this guy kept some of the worst records we’ve ever seen.”

“Itchew.”

Morgan’s thought were interupted by a sneeze, for once one not from Reid.

“Baby girl, don’t you dare go getting sick on me.”

“I’m fine, really,” Garcia rubbed at her nose and responded to Reid’s questioning look.

“Really, I am.”

She looked convincing enough, so Reid let it drop.

“Got anything else for me kid? JJ’s calling.”

“Not yet.”

“‘Kay, we’ll check in soon. Take care you two.”

The phone clicked as Morgan hung up.

Reid resumed coughing up a lung into another tissue.

“Are you sure you’re okay Reid, that cough really doesn’t sound good?”

“Yeah,” Reid tried to clear his throat, wincing at the resulting pain, “Garcia, can you check the video footage against the time the unsub checked out his last book.”

“Ummm, let’s see.”

Garcia checked the library records before fast forwarding through the video.

“Okay, I think we got something. Only one person exited within five minutes of the checkout.”

As Garcia zoomed in, Reid scanned the image. His looks seemed to fit the team’s profile.

“Can you clean it up any?”

“Trying sweet pea.” It took Garcia a few minutes before she spoke further. “Okay, that’s as good as I can get it. It’s not clear enough for facial recognition.”

“No, but it should help the team.”

Garcia dialed Morgan.

“Just couldn’t live without me, could you baby?”

“Don’t you know it; and I have another return present.”

Garcia sent the image and filled Morgan in.

“Garcia,” Reid interrupted.

Garcia turned, still grinning from her flirtations with Morgan, however her expression quickly changed when she saw Reid.

“I gotta go.” Morgan tried to speak but Garcia hung up.

“Reid, talk to me.”

Spencer was wheezing and had his head lowered.

“I…. don’t…. feel… good.” Spencer struggled to speak and breathe.

“Can you make it to the car?” Spencer slowly turned his head from side to side indicating no.

“I’m going to call an ambulance.”

Reid made no indication of moving.

Garcia made the call and pulled up Reid’s file to give the EMT’s all his information. Despite the cool cloth Garcia kept held to the back of his neck, Reid’s temperature was over 104 degrees by the time emergency services had arrived.

As the EMT’s loaded Spencer into the ambulance, Garcia held his hand and told him she’d see him soon.

Reid blinked in response and Garcia could see him crack a small reassuring smile behind the oxygen mask. As their hands parted, Garcia tried to prevent the tears filling her eyes from overflowing.

Once the ambulance was on its way Garcia dialed Morgan.

“Why so quick to leave me baby girl, everything okay?”

“No, It’s Reid.” Garcia started to sob.

“I need you to calm down for me baby. What happened?”

“Okay,” Garcia wiped away her tears and took a few breathes. “He couldn’t breathe right. I had to call an ambulance.”

“Did they get there?”

“Yeah, I called you as soon as they left.”

“Okay, let me call Hotch and I’ll call you right back. Why don’t you go sit down at your desk, I won’t take long.”

“Okay.” Garcia immediately returned to her desk as Morgan hung up. She tried to breathe, but couldn’t concentrate on anything except for how Reid had looked. She worried she should have forced him to go to the doctor. What if he wasn’t okay? Thoughts continued to swim in and out of her head and she was thankful when the phone rang.

“What do I do?” Garcia was frantic.

“Calm down sweetie. Do you think you can drive?”

“I think so.”

“Hotch took the photo you sent to where the first victim worked and one of the employees recognized him. His real name is Robert Jacobson. Can you run it?”

“Ummm, yeah.” Garcia tried to calm herself as she pulled up Jacobson’s driver’s license and voter’s registration. “Yup, this looks like the guy on the tape. I’m emailing you a copy of his ID and address.”

“Thanks babe… okay, I got it. This should be all we need. Hotch says you can go check on Reid. We’ll let you know if we need anything else.”

“Okay,” Garcia slowly breathed out.

“It’s going to be okay baby.”

“Yeah.” She tried to get herself to agree with what she just said.

“I’m going to hang up now, are you going to be okay?”

Garcia shook her head to try and clear it.

“Yeah. I’m going to go check on Reid, you’re going to get this guy, and then you’ll be coming back. Everything’s all right.”

“That’s right. I’ll talk to you soon. Call me if you need anything?”

“Will do. Thanks my chocolate hunk of love,” Garcia replied, finally calming down.

“You’re welcome sweet thang.” And with that both hung up.

Chapter 8

At the hospital, Garcia found Reid conscious, but hooked up to a million machines.

“How you feeling?” Garcia slowly walked up and held the young man’s hand.

“Awful,” Spencer finally admitted.

Garcia smiled, eliciting a smile from Reid in return.

“I talked to the doctor. He said it was pneumonia.”

Reid nodded knowingly.

“Since you seem relatively fit otherwise, he thinks you may be out in a few days.”

“Under strict orders of bed rest.” Reid added before sneezing weekly to the side.

“Here,” Garcia grabbed a tissue from the box beside the bed and handed it to Reid.

“Thanks.” Reid took it and rubbed at his nose while Garcia pretended to be interested in something else.

When she looked back Reid was yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“You should really get some sleep. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

“You don’t have to stay Garcia, I’ll be fine.” Reid coughed lightly into his fist.

“I know. But I want to. Now close your eyes and get some sleep.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Reid playfully whispered. Garcia smiled and lightly slapped his arm in return. Smiling back, Spencer allowed his eyes to close and it only took a minute for his breathe to turn into an even wheezing.

Garcia laid down on the couch in the room and draped her jacket over herself.

The next morning Garcia awoke to a familiar hand on her shoulder.

“When did you guys get back?” Garcia smiled up at Morgan and the rest of the BAU.

“Just now. How’s Reid?”

“He has pneumonia. The doc said he could be released in a few days if he continues to respond to treatment.”

“Good.”

“He’ll need to be on bed rest for awhile though and I feel bad about him being left alone in his apartment. Do you think he’d be able to stay at my place? I have an air mattress.”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”

Garcia smiled before getting a far away look. Morgan was about to ask before Garcia quickly clamped a hand to her nose.

“Itchew, heh Etchew.”

“Bless you.”

The entire team stared at Garcia as if awaiting something.

“I’m fide, really.”

Morgan pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Garcia before speaking.

“Sure, that’s what Reid said.”

“Okay you two,” Hotch spoke up, “Morgan, new assignment, take Penelope home and get her taken care of.”

Morgan smiled happily, “Aye aye captain.”

“The rest of you go home and get some rest. We don’t need anyone else coming down with this.”

“Who’ll stay with Reid?” JJ questioned.

Gideon jumped in knowing Agent Hotchner planned to volunteer himself. “Hotch and I will take turns.”

“You sure Gideon, you know I’d do it.”

“I’m sure, you need the rest too. I’ll take first shift.”

“Okay, let’s head home everybody.”

The team slowly filed out, leaving just Gideon and Reid. Gideon pulled a chair up beside Reid and allowed himself to doze.

A few hours later Reid awoke.

“Gideon?”

“Hey kid. How you feeling?”

“Did you catch him?”

“Yes, we caught him, thanks to you.”

“Good.” Spencer sighed contentedly, closing his eyes. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“No more monsters,” Reid said as he grasped at the wallet sized picture beside his bed. Once the picture was in hand Spencer immediately drifted back to sleep.

“Good.” Gideon whispered, smiling at the boy genius before allowing himself to drift off as well.

~The End

[Sitruuna]

People really should write more pneumoni fics. A lot more. And these two parts were really great... I don't have good enough words to describe this.

[matilda3948]

This is so many different kinds of fantastic!

Thank you!!

[Jazz]

Ultimately, this is one of my absolute favorite fics in the whole wide world, and I'm so glad you were my Secret Santa. (: Your updates were fast, your plot was brilliant, and your characterization completely matched that of the tv show.

I'm still amazed at how fast you updated! (: It's so exciting. I've probably reread this a few different times. I am absolutely in love with the way you wrote it, the way you took the prompt; I love everything about it!

I liked that he was still working even though he was sick, because let's face it, that's totally a Reid thing to do. I also really like the fact that you made Garcia sick too. It was fantastic And lord knows I love a little bit of contagion (in fics, at least. IRL, i'm kind of a germaphobe. XD)

And I loved the whole 'No more monsters,' part. Like, you have no idea. It was probably my favorite part of the whole story (even though it was all fantastic!)

Thank you so much for writing this for me! I'm so appreciative!

[alyssa]

I just found this (horrified I didn't find it earlier!) and it is brilliant! I love criminal minds, especially Reid and this one is so well written. I love how he is insistent that he can keep working even while sick! Everyone is so in character, love it

[ID2006]

Awe. Thank you for the wonderful comment.