1 | TREPIDATION. [SPENCER REID]

TEN.

"You really think it could work?" she asked.

With a curt nod, Hotch agreed. "I do." His eyes fell upon Penelope Garcia exiting her office. "It worked years ago, I don't see why I can't work now."

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Alex Blake sat next to a stunned Quinn Carson. They had sent the older woman to help bring Quinn out of the place in her mind she had become stuck in. She had tried so many different tactics, only to get little reaction out of the girl each time.

Quinn hadn't blocked out Blake's words. She admired her persistence, actually. But, the impact of the situation was too much for Quinn to process all at once.

Blake compared it to a computer freezing. There was too much information that the computer had to think through, causing it to momentarily freeze. They just needed to turn Quinn off and then back on. They needed to calm her down and help her realize that she was safe.

"Hey, Quinn?" The agent's voice was soft and calm. The girl did not look her way, still frozen and staring straight forward. "Quinn, I want you to look at me. Can you do that for me?" The girl stayed paralyzed.

Blake glanced at Reid who stood in the doorway. She motioned for him to come to her, Spencer warily obliging. He furrowed his brow as she asked, "What?"

"See if she responds to your voice," Blake suggested. The genius widened his eyes at the suggestion, cocking his head in confusion. "She's opened up to you the most. There's some sort of connection there. I think she trusts you," she told him.

Reid felt his cheeks burn slightly at her words, but did not object. Nodding at Blake, he took a deep breath and crouched down in front of Quinn, keeping a good enough distance away from her so that she didn't feel overwhelmed. Triggering a panic attack was not his motive.

"H-Hey, uh, Quinn?" Although she perked up so little that it was hardly noticeable, Spencer saw it. A small smile came to his lips. "Quinn, I want you to focus on my voice, okay? Can you do that for me?" The girl hesitated, but slowly began to nod her head. The doctor's smile grew. "Okay, good, thank you." He glanced up at Blake who smiled back at him encouragingly. "I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to do your best to answer me, okay?" The slow nod returned. "Good. Quinn, can you tell me what your favorite color is?"

It was an odd question for the situation the two were in, but that was Spencer's goal; to distract her from her thoughts. Quinn's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in confusion, but squeaked out an answer nonetheless. "G-Green," she replied, voice hardly higher than a whisper. Spencer's smile turned bigger as he heard Quinn reply. Blake breathed a sigh of relief, shaking her head.

"Can you tell me why?"

Her words came out choppy and timid. "Safe," she answered. One word answers were all the team members were able to get. "Gatsby."

"The Great Gatsby?" Blake inquired quietly.

"There's a green light that Jay Gatsby refers to in the book-"

Blake cut Spencer off. "Yes, I read it," she said. "But is it her favorite color because of the book?"

"Yes," came Quinn's tiny reply. "Favorite book."

It was unnerving to see someone as brilliant as Quinn Carson become so consumed with fear that she had to resort to toddler-like sentences. "The green light? Is that why you like green?" he asked.

Quinn nodded. "I-It symbolizes Jay's hopes." Her sentences were getting longer, as she was able to focus on another topic. "Dreams for the future." The girl's eyes finally met Spencer's. "It helped me believe in a more hopeful, brighter future when I was with the Horsemen. It's a safe color, it represents safety and life."