Relapse - (5 Parts)

[matilda3948]

This is for the wonderful people who've been writing such yummy Criminal Minds fics recently. Thank you for your wonderful creative efforts!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. Damn.

Okay, takes a bit to get to the actual sneezing but there will be more. Now, on to the story...

***

“Hey, pretty boy? You with us?” Morgan asked. Reid blinked a couple times and tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear.

“Sorry, my mind wandered off,” he said.

“Hope it went somewhere fun,” Morgan said with a wink.

“Anything’s got to be more fun than this,” Prentiss said, waving towards the stack of photos of dead women. Seattle had a serial killer who was duping women by the side of local highways. JJ had been briefing the team. Morgan asked Reid a question about the topographical significance of the dump sites and found the younger man staring off into space.

“Let’s get back on topic,” Hotch said. JJ continued to explain what the local police had found. Even though he was the one who had gotten the briefing back on track, it was Hotch who found himself distracted this time. It wasn’t like Reid to be quiet during a new case briefing—completely unlike him to be outright unfocused. Even after being called out by Morgan, Hotch still noticed Reid was having a difficult time concentrating. His eyes seemed dull and he was remarkably still—no scribbling notes, twirling his pencil, or drumming on the table. As the group’s conversation began to wind down Hotch said, “Wheel’s up in an hour,” and walked out of the conference room.

Two hours later and the team was ten thousand feet in the air on their way to Seattle. Reid had taken a seat all the way at the back of the plane and had quickly closed his eyes. Hotch and Rossi sat across from each other at one of the tables and the rest of the team was clustered near the front.

“What is it?” Rossi asked. Hotch raised an eyebrow in question.

“You’re as close to agitated as I’ve ever seen you. Something about the case?”

“No,” he said. “Reid.”

“He is kind of off today isn’t he?” Rossi said. Hotch started to respond but then stopped. “We’re all entitled to an off day, right?” Rossi said. This time Hotch did voice his true concern,

“This withdrawn, quiet, unfocused behavior is familiar, Dave.”

“After Georgia?” Hotch nodded. Reid’s drug addiction following his ordeal in Georgia was something that everyone on the team knew about but never discussed. “Any idea how you’re going to handle it?” Rossi asked.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions,” Hotch said. “That’s not an accusation to make lightly. Maybe he is just having an off day.”

“But your gut says otherwise?”

“My gut says to keep an eye on him,” Hotch said.

***

The Seattle weather lived up to its reputation: damp, cold, and windy. They started at the dump sites before heading to the local police station and setting up tip hotlines and interviewing witnesses. They put in a long day and had a good list of suspects before Hotch told them to call it a night and check into the hotel. The team decided to meet back in the hotel lobby in an hour to go get a late dinner. Reid was the only one who didn’t show up on time. Morgan called his room but got no answer. Then he tried his cell and got his voicemail.

Want me to go check on him?” Morgan asked. Rossi and Hotch glanced at each other; Rossi gave him a slight nod and said,

“It’s late. Let’s go eat. He can catch up with us later.” Hotch hung back as the rest of his team walked out of the hotel. He sighed and ran a hand over his face before taking the elevator up to their floor. He knocked three times on Spencer’s door. No answer. Hotch took a breath to calm the anxiety he could feel rising in his chest. He knocked again.

“Reid? Are you there? Open the door,” he called. He thought he heard movement on the other side of the door. “Reid? Now,” he said. Finally, he heard the deadbolt on the door slide and Reid opened the door a crack.

“Something happen?” he asked.

“You were supposed to meet us for dinner,” Hotch said evenly. He could barely see the young man through the tiny opening.

“Oh, right. Sorry. I’m not hungry,” he said.

“Everything okay?” Hotch asked.

“Fine. Thanks,” Reid said and tried to shut the door only to find it blocked by Hotch’s foot.

“Open the door, Reid,” he said—the tone in his voice left very little room for argument. Reluctantly, Reid stepped aside and let his boss into the dark hotel room. Hotch wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Needles? Empty drug vials? As ridiculous as it sounded, he found himself relieved to see none of those things. Spencer was in track pants and an oversized hooded sweatshirt. He was staring at anything but his boss.

“What’s going on, Reid?” Hotch asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been withdrawn, unfocused. Clearly something is not right.”

“I’m fine,” he replied.

“Reid,” Hotch sighed. “I can’t help but notice similarities between your behavior now and your behavior after Georgia.” Reid ran a hand over his face and sniffed but didn’t say anything. “I hate to ask but as your boss and, more importantly, as your friend, you know I have to.” Hotch paused to give Reid a chance to deny it but he stayed silent. “Reid…have you relapsed?” Hotch asked. When he didn’t respond, Hotch reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Reid?” He was surprised when the young man quickly pulled away from him. He was even more surprised when Reid began to sneeze: HhehhNGXSHTT!! HehhXSCHTT!! Hehh…hehh…Hehhngxchht!! He pulled a crumpled tissue out from his sweatshirt pocket and covered his nose and mouth before catching another two sneezes HahpNGCHTEEW!! ehhschhtt!!

TBC...

[obsessed]

Love the intro, love the sneezes.

I have no idea what's going on though, should really get to know CM fandom.

[katia]

Yay! I've been on a Criminal Minds marathon all week and this makes me smile very much. I'd love to see more!

[everest]

I love it. I can't wait for more!

[MusicaDiabolos]

Happiness So many great Reid fics lately, I feel so spoiled!!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Hmmmm... lovely start. ( , ) I'm so curious as to what will happen next.

[ID2006]

Yay *does happy dance*. How I love CM fics, and Reid is particularly nummy.

[matilda3948]

Thanks for the nice comments! I appreciate them

On to Part 2:

Hotch was simultaneously relieved and irritated. He reached over and flipped on the hall light and finally got a good look at Reid. Hotch immediately pulled out his cell phone. Reid could only hear one side of the conversation but it was enough to get the general idea. He slumped down on the edge of his bed.

"Dave? It's me...No. He's fine...Yeah...Just sick. If you spot a drug store nearby could you stop and grab some cold medicine?"

Ngxchhht!! Ihhnxchhhtt!

"And some tissues?" Hotch added as he handed Reid his handkerchief. He blushed and gave his nose a gentle blow. Hotch hung up the phone and looked down at Reid—he wanted to be angry, but Reid looked so miserable, Hotch couldn’t quite muster his usual scowl. Instead he took off his suit coat and tossed it on a nearby chair before sitting down on the bed next to Reid. "Why didn't you just tell me you were sick?" he asked.

Reid shrugged. “I've been fighting it for a couple of days. I think the combination of the pressurized cabin air on the plane and the west coast weather finally pushed me over the edge. Did you know that pressurized air contains about ten percent less oxygen that outdoor air? Statistically speaking, that means that—”

“Reid.”

“Sorry,” he said. “So...you thought…you thought I'd relapsed?” Before Hotch had a chance to answer, Reid turned his away from him and sneezed IhhhCHMFTT!! into the handkerchief. He took a big, shuddering breath for another one before the itch in his nose disappeared. He sniffed twice to make sure the sneeze wasn’t coming back before straightening back up. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Bless you. Reid, you’ve been withdrawn and distracted. I didn’t want to assume but I couldn’t ignore your behavior.”

“You know, this is the first time we've ever really acknowledged...well...you know.”

“I know. We tried before but—”

“I shut you out. I wasn’t ready,” Reid said.

“I know.” Neither man was sure what to say next. It was the most open conversation they’d had about Reid’s addiction. Hotch was able to change the topic, however, when Reid turned away and launched into another fit of sneezes.

Ngxchhht!! HhehhNGXSHTT!! HehhXSCHTT!! Hehh…hehh…Hehhngxchht!! Ihhnxchhhtt! As much as he hated to, Reid knew he had to blow his nose. As embarrassing as it was to sneeze and blow his nose in front of his boss, it was nothing compared to the potential embarrassment of being a drippy mess.

Hotch frowned—Reid sounded terrible. He gave him a minute to recover from sneezing before reaching across and placing a hand on his forehead.

“Bless you, Spencer. How long have you been feeling bad?”

“Uh…I don’t know. Since Wednesday, I guess?”

“Reid, that was four days ago. Why didn’t you say anything? You could have stayed in DC.”

“I started taking vitamin C. Studies have shown that if you take 3ooo milligrams at the onset on a cold you can keep it from getting worse. Scientists speculate that…ehhh…that ihhh…it…Ihhgtchheew!! Ihhnngxchht!! Hehhh…HehNXCHHT!!!” He blew his nose and then issued what Hotch could only describe as a combined sigh, yawn, and shiver. “What was I saying?” Reid asked.

“Nothing,” Hotch replied. "You should get to bed. You sound terrible and I think you may be running a fever. When the team gets back I’ll wake you so you can take some cold medicine—I’m assuming you haven’t had any, right?”

“No.” Reid rubbed his right eye with the heel of his hand. Hotch stood up and said,

“You’re going to fall asleep sitting up if you don’t lay down. Can I get you anything?”

“I’m fine,” Reid said. He started to pull the blankets back on the bed when he stopped and got the familiar, far away look in his eyes. He brought the now-crumpled handkerchief back up to his nose and snapped forward with a half dozen violent sneezes. Ihhgtchheew!! Ngxchhht!! Ihhnngxchht!! HhehhNGXSHTT!! hehh…Hehhngxchht!! HehhXSCHTT!! This time, he sighed, then shivered, then yawned. When Reid opened his eyes he found Hotch had finished turning down his bed and was watching him with a concerned frown.

“Bless you,” he said. “Get some rest, Spencer.”

[everest]

Aww, poor Reid. I'm loving this.

[Jazz]

asdfhslkdfh

I love the way you worked his old drug addiction into this; I've always wanted to read a fic like that. It adds a lot of depth to the plot, I think. And it gives a little background into his past, you know? Either way, I liked that you added that.

I love youur character interactions; I like seeing nice, kind, sympathetic Hotch. You don't get to see him too much, and it really is a shame.

And Reid. I love Reid.

This was fantastic

[ID2006]

ditto to everything Jazz said.

[matilda3948]

Thanks guys! I'm enjoying writing this story. Here's another little section. I tried to change the title since it says "Part 1" but I'm not sure I can and I didn't feel like cluttering the board with all my story's bits and pieces. If anyone knows how to change the post title I could clearly use a tech tutorial.

Anyway, Part 3:

“Bless you,” he said. “Get some rest, Spencer.”

Hotch sat down at the small desk in Reid’s room and opened his copy of the current case file. The young man was asleep in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t long before there was a soft knock at the door. Hotch glanced over at Reid, who hadn’t stirred, and then opened the door.

“Hey man, how’s he doing?” asked Morgan as Hotch stepped out into the hall.

“He’s sleeping for now.”

“Listen, Rossi brought dinner back for you. I’ve got some soup for Reid and the stuff you asked for from the drug store. Why don’t you take a break, get some dinner, and let me keep an eye on him for a little while?”

Hotch nodded his thanks and took off down the hall. Morgan went into the dark room and unpacked the two bags he had with him. He heard Reid roll over but he didn’t wake. Morgan sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Hey, sleeping beauty. Time to wake up,” he said. “Reid? Come on, man. I need you to wake up for me.” He heard a muffled groan from underneath the mountain of blankets. “I know. I know but boss’s orders—you need some food and some medicine.” He heard a louder groan and knew Reid was reluctantly waking up. Morgan put Reid’s soup, a spoon, a bottle of water and a couple cold pills on the nightstand. Reid finally sat up in the bed and blinked several times and gave his head a slight shake. “Wow, kid. You look like hell,” Morgan said.

Hehhngschh!! HeptXCHHTT!! Morgan opened the box of tissues and set them at Reid’s side. The young man pulled several from the box just in time to catch another two sneezes. Ehh…Hahktchhshhh!! HehhAHHTCHSHH!! The last one was strong enough to bend him at the waist. He grabbed a few fresh tissues and blew his nose.

“You sound like hell too,” Morgan said.

“Did you just come here to mock me?” Reid asked, reaching for the bottle of water. He downed the cold pills and then reached for the soup.

“Just being honest,” Morgan said with a grin.

“Anything new with the case?” Reid asked.

“We think the unsub may have suffered some kind of psychotic break about six weeks ago. That would explain his sudden change in victimology. He want from a specific victim type to victims of opportunity.”

“Have Garcia cheeehh… ehh…check for…ehhngxcchht!! Have Garcia check ehhhNXSCHTT!! Check for hehh…hehh hehhxchssht!! Check for receehhh…

“Reid, just wait till you’re done sneezing, man!” Morgan said. HhehhNGXSHTT!! hehh…Hehhngxchht!! HehhXSCHTT!! “Gees, bless you man. You alright?” Morgan asked.

Reid blew his nose and took a second to catch his breath.

“I’m fine. Sorry. Have Garcia check the two local hospitals for all the 72 hour involuntary commitments in the two weeks before our unsub escalated. There’s a chance someone close to him saw this breakdown coming.” Morgan pulled out his cell phone and dialed their tech analyst.

“Hey baby girl, I need some information.”

“Well you’ve come to the right place hotness,” she replied. Morgan gave her the specifications Reid had come up with. As they were talking Reid sneezed a violent three sneezes back to back. Kschtteew!! Nghchteew! Ngkschteew! “Oh my gosh! Who was that?” Penelope asked.

“Reid,” Morgan said. “He’s got a cold. Bless you, boy genius,” he called over his shoulder.

“Somebody’s keeping an eye on him, right?” Garcia asked.

“You know it gorgeous.”

“Good. Okay, I’ll get back to you with the results as soon as I’ve got them. Tell Reid to get well soon.”

“Thanks, mama. Garcia says she hope you feel better soon,” Morgan said. He glanced over at the bed and saw Reid was getting ready to fall asleep again. He walked over and cleaned up the nightstand, leaving the water and the box of tissues. “Feel better, man,” Morgan said quietly. He turned down the remaining lights and went to give Hotch an update.

[ID2006]

mmmmm... lovely as always.

[tma]

Awwwww!!!! Loving how you Nail the characterizations. Especially the part with Morgan and Garcia. Just made me grin.

"Reid, just wait till you’re done sneezing, man!” Morgan said

That cracked me up. hehehehe

Very nice- Love to see more.

Oh... for the updating- I think that if you request from one of the staff to be in the Writers Group I believe that will enable you to update your titles for things like that. Staff is friendly and doesn't bite.... much... lol! Hope that is helpful.

[matilda3948]

Hi all. This is probably the last part of this story. Thanks for all your kind reviews.

Reid rolled over and slowly opened his eyes and sighed. Based on the light peeking through his curtains he suspected it was nearly time for him to get up. His head didn’t seem to hurt quite as badly as it did the last few mornings which he took to be a good sign. Ngkschteew! Hehhngxchht!! Of course, it couldn’t all be good news. He sat up in bed and pulled a few tissues from the box on the nightstand and blew his nose. Then he reached over and picked up his cell phone only to find a small note taped to the screen.

Spencer, I cancelled your wakeup call. Rest and take care of yourself. We’ll call if come across something we can’t handle. —Hotch

Reid felt a mixture of gratitude and annoyance. It was nearly eleven and, although the extra sleep had been nice, that meant his team had been in the field for almost three hours without his help. He could work with a cold; he’d been doing it for the last few days. He hurried and got dressed and brushed his teeth. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. It was no wonder Hotch thought he was using: he was even paler than usual and had deep shadows under his eyes. He splashed a little cool water on his face and decided he was presentable enough. On his way out of the bathroom he felt his nose itch. He scrubbed at it with the back of his wrist and sniffed hard but it returned a moment later. Reid pinched his nose shut and stifled the strong sneeze but was hit with a wave of dizziness. He put a hand against the wall to steady himself and wait for the world to right itself. When he felt a sneeze building again he decided not to make the same mistake twice and instead sat down on the edge of his bed and pulled a handful of tissues from the box. His breathing grew shallow and he brought the tissues up within a few inches of his face. Hehh…ehh…Ktchhshh!! He felt the second one back off so he blew his nose and picked up his cell phone.

“High Mistress of digital information here. Speak mortal.”

“Hey Garcia,” he said.

“Reid, my sweet. How are you feeling?”

“Uh, a little better actually. I overslept and need to catch up with the rest of the team. Can you tell me where they are?” he asked.

“Well, that’s where it gets a little tricky. I certainly can tell you where they are but I am under strict instructions not to divulge that information.”

“Wait, what? Why can’t you tell anyone where they are?”

“Oh I can tell other people. I just can’t tell you,” she said.

“Why?”

“Boss’s orders.”

“Hotch?”

“Do you have another boss?” she quipped. She sighed. “Reid, honey, you need to take care of yourself. Why do you think he canceled your wakeup call and told you to stay in bed? I’m glad you sound better today but you’re not going to keep getting better if you’re out chasing bad guys.

Hehhktschhew!! Sniff. Tcshheew!!

“Not to mentioned the increased likelihood of getting yourself shot, or stabbed, or otherwise maimed because you’re sneezing.”

“But Garcia—”

“But nothing. Plus they have a suspect in custody. Rossi’s interrogating him now. If all goes well you guys will be home tonight. Now I have work to do and you have a nap to take.”

“Fine. Thanks, Garcia,” Reid said.

“Feel better my genius,” she said and hung up. Reid tossed his cell phone on the nightstand and looked at his unmade bed. It did look tempting. Garcia did say they had a suspect in custody. He could lay down for just a little while.

*****

“Come kid, time to go home,” Morgan’s voice cut through Reid’s sleep.

“You got him?” Reid asked without opening his eyes.

“We got him. Rossi got a full confession so we’re heading back as soon as you get yourself out of that bed.” That was incentive enough to get Reid to sit up and rub his eyes. “How you feeling?” Morgan asked giving his friend an appraising look.

“Better actually,” Reid said.

“You actually look a little better.”

“Thanks.” Reid tossed his things in his bag and they headed downstairs to meet the rest of the team and head to the airport. The jet was ready and waiting. Reid took a spot at the back of the plane again and rested his head against the back of the chair.

“Here,” JJ said as she placed a blanket on his lap. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than yesterday but still…ehh…ehh…ehktschheew! Hhektchhew! Sniff. Still not 100% though.”

“Bless you,” she said before popping into the plane’s bathroom and coming back with a box of tissues. “Well, we’ve got a long flight. You should get some rest.”

“Thanks,” he said and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Prentiss had drifted off and Morgan was lost in his own world, headphones firmly in place and Hotch and Rossi were sitting across from each other working on their case reports.

“That was a hell of a interrogation today, Dave” Hotch said.

“Thanks. He was ready to talk, he just didn’t realize it yet.”

“Well, it certainly makes life easier when they confess. Simplifies the paperwork at any rate.”

“You think the prosecutor will plead him out?” Rossi asked. When Hotch didn’t respond Rossi looked up from his paperwork. He was met with a novel sight. Hotch was sitting with his index finger pressed under his nose, his eyes shut, taking slow breaths attempting to hold a sneeze at bay. It was a fight he was clearly going to lose but it was amusing to watch him try to will it away. After another few seconds, the sneeze finally won and Hotch turned towards the window and sneezed into his cupped hands. Ahhtchhew!

“Bless you.”

“Thank you. Excuse me.”

“You catching Reid’s cold?” Rossi asked.

“No.” But even as he denied it, Aaron’s voice caught and he sneezed another masculine Ahhchheew!! pulled out his handkerchief and caught another Ahhmptchhh! in the fabric. He looked up to see his friend giving him a skeptical look. “Maybe,” Hotch said.

[obsessed]

Would you like the parts of the title changed?

Also.

Oh, that maybe will be a yes soon enough.

Nicely done!

[matilda3948]

Would you like the parts of the title changed?

Can you change the title so it doesn't say Part 1? That would be super.

Also.

Oh, that maybe will be a yes soon enough.

Nicely done!

[silentdreamer789]

Wow, loved this, though you stopped at the best part! I loved poor sick Reid, and then you gave it to Hotch, which was so perfect. Sneezy Hotch is my favourite, though after this...caretaker Hotch and sneezy Reid may be challenging it for that top spot! Great fic.

[matilda3948]

Wow, loved this, though you stopped at the best part! I loved poor sick Reid, and then you gave it to Hotch, which was so perfect. Sneezy Hotch is my favourite, though after this...caretaker Hotch and sneezy Reid may be challenging it for that top spot! Great fic.

Well...since you asked maybe I could do one more section . I confess, I'm rather partial to sneezy Hotch as well. Let me see if inspiration strikes.

[everest]

Ooh, it would be awesome if you did another section with a sick Hotch! I love him.

I loved this entire story! You did a great job, even if you choose not to continue.

[Sitruuna]

A sneezy Hotch... Something almost as good as a sick Reid (especially when his face is his, not Gibb's (from NCIS...))

[silentdreamer789]

Well...since you asked maybe I could do one more section . I confess, I'm rather partial to sneezy Hotch as well. Let me see if inspiration strikes.

That would be EPIC. I am crossing my fingers for that inspriation to strike! Sneezy stoic Hotch...

[matilda3948]

Apparently, what inspires me to write are all these nice comments.

And now...sneezy Hotch...

“You catching Reid’s cold?” Rossi asked.

“No.” But even as he denied it, Aaron’s voice caught and he sneezed another masculine Ahhchheew!! pulled out his handkerchief and caught another Ahhmptchhh! in the fabric. He looked up to see his friend giving him a skeptical look. “Maybe,” Hotch said.

Truth be told, Aaron knew he was almost beyond “catching” and had nearly arrived at “caught” Reid’s cold. When he woke up that morning he had a headache and he sneezed three times while getting ready for work. As the morning progressed he felt his limbs grow heavy and that telltale head cold fog settling in his brain. It was one the reasons he encouraged Dave to do the interrogation—their unsub was not a man to face without being at the top of your game. He remembered Reid saying something about taking vitamin C to ward off a cold but he couldn’t remember how much. Hotch was incredibly thankful that they were almost back to DC and had a few days off rotation before they’d have to go back out into the field. As their plane descended, he could feel the pressure in his ears and sinuses increase to an uncomfortable level. He discreetly put pressure on one ear, then the other. Rossi saw but didn’t comment. When the plane landed Hotch stood up and said,

“Nice job, all of you. I need your reports by 5:00pm tomorrow and then we’re off rotation until Wednesday.” JJ, Reid, and Morgan went home straight from the airport while Prentiss, Rossi and Hotch went back to the office. Prentiss went to check in with Garcia and the men walked back towards their offices.

“Sure you don’t want to just head home?” Rossi asked casually.

“I’m fine,” Hotch said. His friend nodded, expecting nothing less. Hotch shut the door to his office, sunk into his desk chair, and leaned his head back. He took a deep breath and then opened his desk drawer and grabbed a bottle of asprin. He dry swallowed two of them and snapped his desk lap on. He just wanted to get a couple hours of work done before calling it a night. He worked for about twenty minutes before putting his pen down and pulling out the crumpled handkerchief he had used on the plane. He closed his eyes and waited for the sneeze to build. Hahh…ahhh…Ahhmptchew!! Hahh…ehhAHHPTCHEEW!! He blew his nose before folding up the handkerchief and tucking it back in his jacket pocket. However, he felt the tickle in his nose beginning to build again. He pushed himself up from his chair and picked up the box of tissues from the table next to the sofa in his office. On his way back to his desk he paused, pulled several tissues from the box and brought them up to his face to catch another few strong sneezes Hahhchteew!! EhhHAHHschheew!! The sneezes bent him at the waist. He shook his head slightly and returned to his desk. His nose had begun to run and, much to his annoyance, he had to pause every few minutes to blow his nose. He was able to work for about an hour when someone knocked on his door. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie before telling the person to come in. Prentiss opened the door and came into his office.

“Hey. I just emailed you my report. If it’s alright I’m going to get a couple extra hours of sleep tomorrow morning.”

“Of course,” he said. He heard how rough his voice sounded and knew she noticed too—Emily missed nothing. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“You almost done?” she asked. Despite his best efforts, he had to clear his throat before he answered,

“A few more hours.”

“Oh, Hotch, it’s nearly nine thirty. Why don’t you let me help?”

“I appreciate it but you actually don’t have authority to complete them.”

“Okay. Well, why don’t you let me take some of them and give them to Rossi?” She could have sworn he nearly smiled. In fact, he might have even laughed had he not been hit with the overwhelming urge to sneeze. He held up a hand, gesturing for Emily to wait a moment. He turned his head and stifled a strong sneeze by pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger. As soon as he let go, however, the itch returned with a vengeance and he doubled over with a fit of violent sneezes. Ahhktchheew!!KTCHEEW!! Ahh…Hahhptcheew!! HAHHNGTCHEEW!! He pulled a handful of tissues from the box and gave his nose a tired blow. When he turned back to face Emily, the fatigue was finally showing

“Bless you,” she sighed. “Okay, you’ve obviously come down with whatever Reid had. You need to go home and get in bed.”

“I’ll go home as soon as I get these reports finished,” he said.

“Let somebody else take the heavy lifting on this one. You worked even harder than usual to give Reid time to rest and take care of himself—it’s okay to let us do the same.”

“Prentiss, I’m fi—”

“If you say you’re fine, so help me, I will call Garcia,” she said, taking a step towards him. He glared at her, trying to see if she was bluffing. The last thing he wanted was his technical analyst swooping in and playing mother hen. So, when Emily held her ground, he relented.

“Fine,” he said.

[silentdreamer789]

Oh, wow. That was perfect. Poor Hotch, sneezy and stoic in equal measures. I absolutely loved it. And Prentiss threatening him with Garcia was priceless!

Apparently, what inspires me to write are all these nice comments.

I am quite happy to continue writing nice comments in exchange for more sneezy Hotch! You know, just in case you were thinking of writing more...

[ID2006]

Yay... sneezy SPN and CM to come back to... I think I found heaven.