A Bit Of Death

Another Case

*BEFORE SEASON 5'S EPISODE RISKY BUSINESS, THIS IS ALSO BEFORE THE TEAM KNOWS ABOUT JJ AND WILL*

Reid's POV
When I leave Aaron's office I quietly sit at my desk and everyone gives me a questioning look, "what?" I ask them. Rossi glances at his watch and says "an hour and a half later he returns".
Shocked I say, "wait it's been that long?"
Morgan chuckles and says "time flies when your having fun".
I glare at him and say "if your implying that we had sex you would be wrong and it wasn't fun, it was...." I trail off and realize I don't know what it was. Morgan is shocked because I've never been that bold about that part of my private life. Aaron saves me when he leaves his office, walking toward us.
We stay quiet and he says "conference room, we've got another case but there's a catch". Nodding we all head to the conference room and sit down, I sit next to Aaron, our chair are close too. Garcia brings up images and Aaron says "Strauss wants us on this case. However after this case we are getting a two week vacation". Everyone gets distracted and I smile at Aaron, he slips his hand into mine and squeezes it. He then let's go and says "Garcia you can start now". Garcia runs through the profile and I stare at the bodies trying to figure out something useful. Three students have been killed by having their wrists sliced, they look like suicides but three in a couple days is almost impossible. I stare at the cuts and get distracted, "that could be me" just runs through my head over and over again. I don't look at Aaron because I'm too afraid to see his reaction to the pictures.
Emily breaks my thoughts when she say "the reports say a standard blade was used, something that's commonly used for cutting. So what kind of blade are we talking?" Emily looks to me for an answer.
I know they are expecting me to answer as always but I don't want to, I still answer, "anything can be used from a razor blade, exacto knife blade, even a blade from a hand held pencil sharpener. There are larger blades that are commonly used but from the report I'd say an exacto knife blade based on the precise cut and the way each cut has a slight curve at the end...that could be a signature". I finish but avoid Aaron's gaze.
Rossi says "good to know, that just narrows it down to anyone who's been to Walmart".
Aaron looks at the clock and says, "we can talk more on the jet, wheels up in 20". Everyone stands to head out and Aaron and I stay behind. I turn to see him and he looks so sad. He pulls me into a hug and pushes through the pain.
I hide my face in him and I hold in sobs as I say over and over "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry".
He holds me close and says "shhh there's nothing to be sorry for, shhh spence shhh". I know that leaving in 20 means grab your bags and race to the jet, he pulls back and says "it's okay spence". I nod and we both know that we should go so he grabs his go-bag and I grab mine. We race to join everyone in the elevator and I lean into Aaron and he wraps an arm around me. We all ride down in silence and Aaron kisses the top of my head. The doors open and we all take the SUVs to the jet. The car ride is silent and we all board the jet in a rush, we quickly try to put our bags away and sit down. I put my bag up top and realize it will hurt Aaron if he tries so when I see him start to raise his arms a little I drop my messenger bag and take his bags from him, he thanks me and I help him sit on the couch. Everyone settles in and the plane takes off.

Hotch's POV
Spence sits on the arm of the couch next to me and I lean my head against his legs. He places a hand on the side of my face and brushes my cheek with his thumb. We sit for a while before Rossi asks, "how common is cutting, I mean you never hear about it".
"17% percent of college students cut, 12%-23% of adolescents 13-25 years old self harm, and 60% of those are women. There's seven common warning signs of self harm; unexplained cuts or scars, blood stains, possession of sharp objects, frequent accidents, constant long sleeves, long periods of time alone in bathrooms and bedrooms, and isolation". Spencer tells them because he knows they want facts. That's what they expect. I sigh quietly and enough for him to hear but no one else, I doubt the team will connect some off those back to spence but I still worry. I look up at spence and he adds "bottle caps and glass shards can also be used but they're less common and these cuts are to clean for that".
Emily nods and says "good to know".
JJ nods and I know she's thinking of her sister. I forgot Garcia was listening until I glance at the laptop and see her quietly listening in.
She speaks up and says looking at spence and I, "I'm not trying to pry but are you guys okay, we're all worried and we're all here for you guys".
I smile and say "it's okay garcia, it's nothing, but thank you". I look up and see spence nodding in agreement and I give him a slightly worried look.
Garcia says "okay" but I can tell she's not convinced.
Spence leans down and whispers in my ear "I want to see later" at first I'm confused but I soon feel his hand that was on my face move so it's gently touching my chest and I nod.
As Spencer sits back up Morgan asks Garcia, "baby girl, can you tell us DC time?"
She glances at a clock and says "5:30....and you are in the same time zone". I think over the trip, we're heading to Boston so I we'll arrive at about 7:00.
Looking at the team I say, "rest now, we'll head to the station for a couple hours before we go the hotel". Everyone nods and a few people drift off, I lay down and tug on Spencer's hand so he'll lay down with me. He carefully joins me on the couch and I wrap my arms around him. I tense when his body touches my chest and he stokes his hair and hushes me. I hide my face in him, breathing in his scent as I fight through the pain. Eventually it fades and I start to relax, I feel my eyelids go heavy and let sleep take me. The last thing I hear is spence's soft voice whispering sweet nothings in my ear.
* * *
When I wake up spence has his arms around me and is holding me close. I keep my eyes closed and listen, it sounds like everyone's up.
"They're so cute" JJ says.
Garcia tells Morgan "chocolate thunder, pick me up so I can see this".
I hear Morgan say "okay hang on".
After a pause and some moving around I hear Garcia "awww" from the laptop. She then says "they are so adorable together".
What I here next shocks me, Emily says "has anyone payed Rossi yet?"
Garcia says "not yet, I really thought it was going to be you and Hotch".
Emily tells her, "no I had bets on you and Morgan".
Morgan interrupts Garcia saying, "I had bets on Reid and JJ".
"I'm um...not looking for a relationship" JJ says.
Rossi tells JJ, "you work with profilers, are you really gonna say that?"
JJ says "no".
Morgan asks, "how come we all are paying Rossi and we all said that it couldn't be Hotch and Reid".
"Because none of us knew Hotch or Reid weren't straight, we all just assumed" Garcia says, "anyways, how much again?"
"$50" Rossi informs her.
"I say we pay when we get back" Emily says. Everyone agrees and I'm shocked at what I just listened to. Spencer shifts in my arms, I keep my head hidden in his chest and I feel his arms tighten around me. I can feel the rest of the team's eyes on us and the jet is silent for a while and I drift back to sleep.