Criminal Minds Imagines

nine: nightmares

you sat up in a frenzy, the blood rushing back into your brain to make you realize it was all a nightmare. nothing had happened to you like it had before.

you were safe.

you looked over to see reid was still laying there, still dressed. he had obviously come in from work to come check in on you and decided to stay.

you didn't want to go back to sleep so you grabbed your phone and began checking your social media accounts.

reid stirred in his sleep, causing you to look over. he wore a soft smile on his lips as he shifted his head position.

you swallowed, trying to force a smile but it didn't come after that nightmare.

the same sounds of gunshots, blood running down your arms and legs, bruises aching everyday hit you night after night.

you closed your eyes, trying to bury your face into your hands to muffle your sobs but it woke him up- and you hated him knowing that you had nightmares every night.

you had kept it a secret up until now.

"hey, hey," he said, sitting up while you continued to try to muffle your sobs- like it was going to even do anything at this point. "hey, ____? look at me."

you removed your face from your hands to look up at him, a frown evident on your lips and fear in your eyes.

"hey, what's wrong? what happened?"

you let out a shaky sigh, the tears still running down your cheeks. he continued to stare into your eyes.

"i've been lying to you," you told him gently.

he blinked a few times, readjusting his sitting position. "what?"

"reid, ever since i got abducted," you paused, seeing his facial expression shift back to concern. "i've been having nightmares. nightmares where i relive the entire situation and i haven't been able to get them to stop."

he continued to look at you.

"and i haven't been telling you because," you felt more tears running down your cheeks. "because it's so embarrassing."

you began to cry more, feeling more tears just overcome your body as he pulled you into his hold. you gratefully accepted it, leaning back against his chest.

"____, it's not embarrassing at all. lots of victims that go through that situation live with nightmares for months but eventually, it goes away. mine did."

you nodded, feeling his arms wrapped around your waist and his chin resting on your head.

"you'll move on from them eventually but you should've just told me. you know that i've dealt with this exact same thing, so why didn't you?"

you shrugged, continuing to lean against him. you felt protected, and you wanted to stay that way.

"i- i just couldn't. it was gonna be so awkward," you told him softly.

he sighed, feeling you playing with his hands as he looked down at you.

"there's nothing to be embarrassed of, ____. next time you have a nightmare, you just have to tell me so we can get through it together."