His Secret (Sequel to Fibonacci)

Chapter 1 -- Old Case; Former Intern

^Picture Credit^ -- https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.factinate.com%2Fthings%2F31-profiled-facts-criminal-minds%2F2%2F&psig=AOvVaw0GtIfTqNmRXgObe8Wrc777&ust=1605409675969000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCIiJ0LKHge0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAT

Reid's POV

"It actually doesn't bother me much at all anymore. It was a year ago now, and I think I am finally able to move on. " I lied to my therapist. I felt slightly bad for lying to her though; Suzanne Brixey was my therapist I spoke to during the aftermath of my kidnapping by Tobias Hankel all those years ago. I thought it fitting that I received her help once again. She was a sweet woman, probably around 50 years old by my naked-eye guess, and she always seemed to have a smile on her face. I was always curious what was hidden underneath such a prominent, and seemingly permanent smile; and how did she maintain it anyways?

"Spencer?" her voice interrupted my mind's wandering.

I looked up from my hands, which were interlocked on my lap, my thumbs twiddling, and responded, "I'm so sorry, what was that?"

She smiled, shockingly I know, and said, "Oh, I was wondering how you were doing with your crush?"

I was taken aback by her question and asked, "What are you talking about?"

She laughed before answering, "I can see it in your soul, my dear. You definitely have a special attraction to someone. Tell me about it."

I had spoken to her about my uncertainty in terms of my sexuality and that only. I had never mentioned I had a crush at all! I never mentioned Derek.........For quite some time, I have realized my feelings for him, but I never thought my feelings would go unnoticed by him; he knows me too well. I've had these thoughts about him in my mind but have never acted upon them or let them interfere with work; yet again, nothing could ever interfere with my work.   

"Spencer?"

"I'd actually r-rather not discuss it, thank you." I quickly responded, scolding myself internally for stuttering. 

Her smile grew and she replied, "Ahhh, so your feelings aren't reciprocated, I take it. Is he a colleague?"

I could feel my hands becoming increasingly sweaty, "W-well...I said I'd rather not talk about it this time, if you please?" She took this as a signal to drop the subject, thankfully. From then on, the session proceeded as normal with her asking about my PTSD that I was also untruthful about. I tried assuring her that I no longer required monthly sessions but she insisted that I return the same time next month. I groaned internally as I finally exited the therapist's office before quickly making my way to the BAU, eager to drown my thoughts in paperwork; perhaps I could even do some of the others' files too. That thought filled me with excitement as I finally reached the BAU office where I swiftly passed through security before bolting to my desk and getting started, ignoring anyone in my path. 

After breezing through 20 case files, I finally looked around and realized how truly early I was. The coffee wasn't even made yet, and I took it upon myself to fix that. After filling up my cup with coffee and a healthy and reasonable amount of sugar, I made my way back to my desk only to get stopped by Penelope.

"Hello and...good morning, Boy Wonder....um.." The absence of her normal bubbly tone, her inability to let me know of something immediately, and the fact that she was here at work so early in the day told me something was definitely wrong here.

Before she could finish her thought, I interrupted, "What is it, Penelope?"

Instead of responding to my question, she lead me back into her office before closing the door and sitting down; I stood behind her looking at her screen where she pulled up a recent news broadcast that looked like it must have been released during my therapy session. I felt the blood drain from my face at the headline alone: Convicted Serial Murderer, Jay Stevenson, Escapes from Custody. 

Penelope broke the unsettling silence that ensued, "I'm...shocked that you even came in today....Hotch will get it if you need to go home and-"

"No," I stopped her, "I'm staying. I don't care what the team says...I'm working this case." With that, I bolted out of her office and to the bullpen where I noticed no one seemed to have started their paperwork; my confusion was answered when I noticed the team already gathered in the conference room. Shaking my head, I made my way up the ramp and walked right in the door, causing all eyes to shift my way; my gaze lingered at a particular set of chocolate brown eyes before my attention turned to Hotch who was standing at the monitor. As I closed the door behind me, I noticed the pictures on the monitor of the smiling faces of Daniel Pacella and Joey Gadea, two past victims, and the dead body of Kyle, Jay's lover who had died when the team rescued me. 

"I know you're going to want me to stay out of this one, but...I can't. Plus, you'll probably need my help in finding Jay...I spent a-a lot of...time with him." 

After thinking it over, Hotch answered, "While I still advise you to go home...I can't force you." 

"Hotch! It's too dangerous for him to stay. Maybe Jay is after him!" Morgan exclaimed, begging Hotch to force me to leave. 

I responded, "He probably is...but that won't stop me from helping you guys catch him." No one else argued after that, though I could sense the worry for my safety riddling everyone sitting at the round table. Without another word, I took the last empty seat closest to Hotch and prepared for what was to come. 

"As I was saying, " Hotch continued, "There was a prison riot that supposedly began randomly last night which gave Stevenson the opportunity to flee. All other prisoners ended up being accounted for after the riot was neutralized, aside from Jay. No one has seen him anywhere."

"I highly doubt that all the prisoners are accounted for Hotch...Jay wouldn't try this all on his own..he would need a partner, someone to replace Kyle..Jay beat me up some, sure....but Kyle was the brute force, and Jay is smart enough to find more force to back him up." I voiced in. 

"Assuming Jay and the partner are on foot they couldn't have gone too far without acquiring some form of transportation. Have Garcia check for stolen or missing vehicles in the area, maybe if we find a vehicle, we can find them." Rossi added. 

"In the meantime, we should all head to the prison and talk to some of the inmates. Maybe one of them will give us something. Let's go." Hotch announced as everyone made their way out of the BAU and to the cars, leaving me and Morgan in the now empty conference room. 

"Are you sure about this, man? I don't want anything happening to you." 

My heart skipped a beat at his concern before I responded, "I'm sure...it'll be alright, Derek....I got you protecting me." I could've sworn I saw his cheeks heat up the faintest tint before we both headed out and got into an SUV where Hotch was waiting.