Unknown- A Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 31- Chocolate

I lay still under Reid's arm for what felt like hours, broken only by brief stints of sleep because even the fear swirling in my head couldn't keep me awake.  The thick soup of conscious and unconscious was punctuated by an immense dread, both of what the unsub could do to me and of how stupid I had been to miss such a big clue.

I watched the dull glow around the closed curtains go from deep blue to pale gray, and when it had finally turned to golden yellow, Reid stirred next to me.  I stay still, too groggy to think of getting out of bed and getting ready for work. 

It wasn't the weekend yet, was it?  Pretty sure today was a Wednesday, and I was supposed to pick up my dog today...that made me feel a smidgen better, so I rolled onto my back, dragging myself into a sitting position once Reid had gotten out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

He got me a clean towel and washcloth so I took a quick shower, and apparently Boy Wonder as Garcia called him knew how to cook somewhat decently, so I politely ate some of the eggs he had made for me even though I still wasn't hungry.  We were out the door by eight and into work with five minutes to spare.  I was almost never that early. 

Regrettably, we walked in together right as Garcia and Morgan were coming out of the break room.  The rest of the team must have just gotten back early this morning; Morgan was never on time, much less early, for work.

"Did you two elope to Mexico?" Morgan asked with a grin as we walked to our desks.

Prentiss dropped down in her chair and teased, "Oh come on, Reid would be a lot less pasty if they had."

"Shut up," Reid muttered grumpily, getting up and going to the break room for coffee most likely.

Morgan raised his eyebrows and Prentiss glanced curiously at Reid's back as he disappeared down the hall, but I didn't say anything.  At least until both of them turned to me and then Prentiss asked, "Has he been this grumpy since we left?"

"Garcia's obsession with watching kitten videos must be getting to him.  It's getting to me," I said flatly, joking by pretending to be entirely serious. 

Prentiss laughed, and Morgan shook his head and took a sip of his coffee, standing up from where he was sitting on the edge of his desk and heading in the direction of Garcia's office. 

I spun around in my chair and grabbed a file off the top of the large pile in my basket.  It had grown since yesterday, the team must have been back long enough for Hotch to get us all more case files to complete.  It's not like I wouldn't have enough time to get them all done though, I was still doing exclusively that for three days.

Two hours later, I flipped closed the cover of the manila file folder, picking it up and dropping it back onto the desk on top of the one other file I had completed.  I sighed, rubbing my hands over my eyes.

"Long night, kid?" Rossi asked me as he walked past.

I glanced up but then shook my head, "Nah, just sick of doing paperwork."

"Who isn't?" he remarked, raising his coffee mug as if to toast everyone's dislike of paperwork before taking a sip and bounding up the stairs to the raised dais where his office, Hotch's office, and the conference room were.

I dropped my head in my hands, pressing my fingers to my temples as if that would ease the constant ache in my head.  My stomach hurt and I'm pretty sure it wasn't hunger or dread, and I was unusually warm.  Normally I was always cold, the bullpen had very poor heat circulation, but today it seemed to be working better than normal. 

I pushed myself up from my chair, barely noticing the lingering ache from where the wood splinters had been embedded in my skin.  It just felt like pinpricks of fading bruises all over my back, by now I was well-used to it, so I ignored it and headed to the break room.

The vending machine was out of order, and the smell of coffee churned the constant knot in my stomach even tighter.  After searching through the cupboards, I found a questionable box of green tea, but it wasn't opened so I figured it'd be safe enough.

At least until I tried drinking some, and almost threw up.  Yeah, nope, looks like I was suffering through the rest of the day by running on pure willpower.  And it ended up being just like the previous two days, the rest of the team got a case right after lunch and were gone before one in the afternoon, leaving just Reid, Garcia, and me.

I didn't get many more case files done, but I couldn't stay late to finish them because I had to go pick up my German Shepard from the humane society, after I stopped and got a leash and collar for him.  I could get the rest later, I was a little short on money right now after paying those two parking tickets.

And even if I could have afforded to have his name engraved in the collar, I didn't know what I was going to call him until he came running out to me after I'd filled out all the paperwork.  The name Chocolate popped into my head, and it fit perfectly with the eager light and dark brown creature eagerly wagging his tail in front of me.

As expected, Chocolate spent the whole car ride to my apartment scampering between the backseat and the passenger seat, but at least he was well-behaved enough to stay off my lap so I could drive.  He obediently followed me up to my apartment, but I had to take a deep breath and brace myself before unlocking the door and stepping inside. 

Everything was in the same spot I had left it--or my stalker had left it after breaking into my apartment--last night when I'd come home from work.  Chocolate took off running around the apartment, and I had barely set my stuff down before there was a knock at the door.

My heart started racing, but it immediately stilled when I saw Mrs. Mulcahy's face through the peephole.  I opened the door, but then Chocolate came sprinting over and I had barely snagged him by the collar before he darted through my legs, barking wildly at Mrs. Mulcahy.

She jumped back in surprise, dropping her purse on the floor.  "Oh, goodness!  You got a dog, dear?" she exclaimed, a hand pressed to her chest.

"Yes," I grunted with the effort of pulling Chocolate back inside, quickly stepping out of my apartment and shutting the door behind me to keep him inside.  "I just got him today, so he's not used to the place yet," I offered an excuse for nearly giving my eighty-year-old neighbor a heart attack.

"Oh," she said with a nod, staring nervously at the closed door. 

I could faintly hear Chocolate barking through it, but I quickly changed the subject by asking, "How was your cruise?"

"It was absolutely marvelous, Charlie.  I'll tell you all about it, but if you wouldn't mind could you help me bring my bags in, first?  I have a poor taxi driver waiting outside," she said.

I must say, she was very efficient for an old lady, she must have crammed everything into two small matching floral suitcases. Carrying them up the stairs reminded me of FBI training, when we had to carry weighted dummies over a wall. The dummies were supposed to have weighed as much as your average full-grown man, and Mrs. Mulcahy's two little suitcases weighed around that, if not more. 

The whole while I was helping her haul her bags in, she didn't stop talking about what a wonderful time she'd had, and about all the places they had stopped to visit, and the pool and the massage room and the casino on the ship, and how next time I should go with her instead of her friend because there were plenty of attractive young men for me.  She had also apparently brought back a ceramic music box with a garish pink flamingo painted on it for me.  I was kind of surprised she'd thought of me, but it also reminded me of something a grandma would do.  Not that I would know, I never knew my grandparents.

I offered to stay and help Mrs. Mulcahy unpack some of her things, but she said it sounded like I was getting a cold and I should probably go get some rest.  It felt like I was coming down with something more than a cold, so I took her advice and went back to my apartment.  I still had to get Chocolate 'acquainted with his new surroundings' as the people at the shelter had said before I could even think about going to sleep.  Not that I'd get much of that anyways, but maybe drugs to combat my potential cold would help.