"Hey love birds. Wake up."
Reid and I looked up at Morgan. What the hell?
"Morgan, how the hell did you get into my apartment?" Reid asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
"I know how to pick a lock. It would've been a lot easier if you opened the door." Morgan replied.
"We were sleeping." I said. "What are you even doing here? What time is it?"
"7:00. Hotch called."
I sat up quickly, fully awake.
"What'd he say? Are they okay?" I asked. "Is dad okay?"
"They're all fine. They have the local police watching his building as well as either JJ, Rossi, Blake and him staying there every night, making sure no one breaks in." he said. "There is currently no sign of Justin and, since the biggest threat is on you, Hotch says he wants you to stay here with Reid until Justin's caught."
I sprang up in the bed.
"What?! That's not fair! I want to help find him!" I exclaimed.
"Honestly, Mel, I agree with your uncle. It's too dangerous for you to be out there right now with Justin out to get you." Morgan said.
"Me, too. You'd be much safer here with me." Reid said, now sitting up.
"You're as much as a victim as I am, Reid. If he breaks in or anything, you'll be first, just to break my heart." I said.
"You're forgetting that there are two guns in this house right now. He breaks in, he'll be dead in three seconds flat."
I sighed and lied back. I was defeated. Looks like I was spending the next few days in Reid's apartment with him. Not exactly the "quality time" I was thinking of, but hey, better than nothing, right?
"Oh, and your dad wants you to call him." Morgan said before leaving.
I shot up in the bed again and watching as he left, wishing my stupid voice would work.
•
"Hello?" answered Sean Hotchner.
Reid had gotten up a few minutes ago to grab a shower. I decided to call my dad to let him know I was okay.
"Daddy?" I said.
"Melanie? Sweetheart, where are you? Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine. I'm still in Virginia, at Reid's apartment. I've been put under house arrest. Er, apartment arrest. Reid's looking after me." I said. "Are you okay, daddy? Has Justin made any contact with you?"
"He called me a few weeks ago and asked if you were home. I told him no, but that was it. I could tell there was something...off about him. I don't know what it was. I hung up on him. I haven't heard anything since."
I put my arm on my knee, my hand on my forehead and took a tuff of hair in my hand as I sighed. So how the hell did he find out about me? About us?
"He knows I'm here, daddy. He knows about Quantico and the FBI. He knows I'm here."
There was silence.
"Sweetie, I didn't tell him. I swear." he said.
"I believe you, dad. I'm just scared about everyone's safty. We don't know where he is or who's his next victim." I said. "Just, promise me you'll stay safe, okay? Don't leave unless you have to, and if you do leave, please take someone with you. A cop, Uncle Hotch, anyone. Just stay safe, please."
"I will, sweetheart. I promise."
I nodded and bit my lip. My life was a mess right now and I hated it. It was horrible.
Dad was silent. I could hear him breathing, so I knew he was still there. The room was silent and all I could hear was the shower running.
"Your uncle told me about you and that smart guy. Spencer Reid?" dad finally said.
I chuckled.
"Yeah. I'm at his apartment right now." I said.
"Unlike your uncle, I'm fine with you two being together. You're a grown woman and you have your own mind. You can do whatever you want."
I smiled.
"Uncle Hotch was fine with it after I convinced him I would stay focused on the job."
"Your uncle and his job. If he wasn't dating Beth, I'd swear he'd marry his job at the FBI."
I laughed. Dad did, too.
"That's true." I said. "I better get going. This is going to cost a fortune. Stay safe daddy."
"You, too, Melanie."
"Bye."
"Goodbye."
I hung up, but longed to call again. I needed to know if he was okay when I wasn't talking to him. I needed to know Justin hadn't gotten him. I had to know.
As I sat in the bed, staring down at the sheets, Reid walked in, towel wrapped around his waist. I was surprised to see him. I hadn't heard the shower go off. I guess I just wasn't paying attention.
"You okay, my love?" he asked.
I smiled again. My love. Where'd I find this guy? Oh right! The BAU! He's a genius, duh.
"I'm fine. I was just talking to my dad." I said.
"How is he?"
"He's fine. He told me that he didn't tell Justin anything, making me wonder how he found out about everything." I said. "It's gonna be a long few days."
"We'll catch him, Mel. Don't worry."
I nodded. I believed that. I was just worried about what he'd do beforehand.
I looked up at Reid, who looked awkward. I realized he was waiting for me to leave so that he could get dressed. I laughed and got up on my knees, the blankets fell to the bed.
I walked to the end of the bed and wrapped my arms around Reid's neck and pulled him for a kiss. Once I pulled away, I noticed he was blushing. I laughed and got up.
"I'm gonna go get a shower, 'kay?" I said.
"Okay."
I jumped off the bed and went to the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I turned on the water, which turned hot immediately since Reid just got out.
I pulled off my clothes and climbed in, letting the hot water run over me, washing away all my worries and fears. For a second, I was relaxed. I was glad I could have a few minutes without stress or worry.
I stood in the shower for about 2 or 3 minutes just letting my worries wash away before finally turning the water off and getting out. I grabbed a towel and used it to dry my hair a bit and them got another to wrap around my body.
I exited the bathroom and walked back to Reid's room. I stopped outside his door.
"You still in there?" I asked.
"Yeah." he replied.
"You still getting changed."
"Almost done."
"Can I come in and get some clothes?"
He hesitated before answering, "Yeah sure."
I opened the door, slowly. I peaked in to see Reid pulling on a white, button up shirt. I smiled and pushed the door open a little bit. It creaked as I did so, causing Reid to jump.
"You said I could come in." I said, laughing.
"Yeah. I know. Sorry. I was lost in thought." he replied, looking down at his shirt. To hide the blush, I'd imagine.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked. "This whole mess I've made?"
"It's not your fault, Mel. He's the abusive bastard who's after you."
I smiled up at Reid.
"I've never heard you curse before." I mused.
"I try not to make a habit of it. Don't expect to hear anymore of it."
I chuckled and got on the tips of my toes to kiss him. When I pulled away, I smirked with an idea.
"Nice 6 pack." I said and hit him in the stomach. Not hard. Just a playful punch.
He back up and wrapped his arms around his stomach, letting out a "Oof" as he did so. He looked up at me, his eyes saying, "Why would you do that?"
"I love you!" I reminded him as he stood up straight.
"You're lucky I love you, too." he said.
"Or else what? I'm a girl. You can't hurt me."
"You don't think?"
I raised an eyebrow as if to say, "try it". And he did. He smiled and tackled me onto the bed. I laughed as he pinned me down and tickled my sides.
"Reiders! I'm in a towel!" I squealed.
His face turned bright red as he stood up.
"Oh, right." he said and laughed awkwardly. "Sorry."
"It's okay." I laughed, sitting up. "No harm, no foul. Sorry for hitting you, but seriously, you should work out more."
"We can't all be Morgan, okay!" he joked, buttoning up his shirt.
I laughed and got up, searching for my bag of clothes. As I did so, I noticed something on Reid's dresser. I picked it up. It was a box. I opened it and turned around to look at Reid.
"What's this?" I asked, holding out a ring.
He turned around and looked at it. He opened his mouth, the closed it.
"Was I not supposed to find it?" I asked.
"No. I wanted you to. It's a, uh, it's an engagement ring. I was going to ask you later-"
I looked down at the ring and gave it back to Reid. He looked up at me. I could see the heartbreak in his eyes.
"We haven't been dating that long, Reid. I know that this whole situation makes you want to hurry things along in case something goes wrong or something, but I'm just not ready yet." I explained. "Please don't be mad or sad or anything."
"No no. I understand. It was a worth a shot, that's all."
He pulled on a vest over his shirt and exited the room, closing the door behind him. I sat down in the bed, feeling guilty. I was sure he wasn't that upset, but I could tell he was a bit heart broken.
I sighed and went back to looking for my clothes when I realized I forgot to pack clothes. I had gone to Reid's straight from the BAU and didn't pack the clothes.
"Damn it!" I said, getting frustrated. Nothing was working out in my favor.
I rested my head in my hands and let myself have a good cry. I needed it. Everything was just catching up to me. Everything I've caused. This is all my fault.
I took a deep breath and sat back up. I wiped the tears from my eyes and stood up.
"Don't let them see you cry." was something Morgan had told me when I was in hospital after being stabbed. "If they see you crying, they'll win. Don't let them know they've won."
I wasn't going to let Justin see me this way. He wasn't going to win. He wasn't going to break me.
I took one of Reid's shirts and put it on with a pair of his boxers and brushed my wet, tangling hair. I looked at myself in the mirror.
"You're strong." I whispered. "Justin cannot break you, no matter what he does."
I nodded to myself and walked out to the living room. Reid sat on the couch, reading a book. He flipped the page every few seconds. Wow. He was a fast reader.
"Hey." I said in a soft voice. I felt like he was still a bit upset.
He looked up and smiled at me. Maybe he wasn't.
"Hey. What happened to getting dressed?" he asked.
"I forgot to pack clothes and since I'm kind of under apartment arrest, I can't leave to get clothes and neither can you since you're looking after me." I said.
"Oh. Well, it'll be like your first night at the BAU when you caught that rapist."
I smiled at the memory.
"You gave me your sweater because that bastard broke the buttons on my blouse." I remembered, sitting next to him. "I think I still have it, actually."
"Keep it. I don't need it. I have more."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Keep it."
I snuggled into Reid's arm and rested my head on his shoulder.
"Thanks babe." I said. "You're amazing."
"Not as amazing as you."
•
We spent all day watching movies. Every so often, I'd call someone like JJ or Uncle Hotch or my dad and see how they were. There was no sign of Justin in New York at the moment, meaning he could already be over here in Virginia.
I wouldn't doubt it. After killing Molly, he probably headed right over here to see if his warning worked.
I sat in Reid's bedroom again, just thinking. I rested my head on my hands and stared at the wall. I wanted to find him. I needed to before he hurt anyone else.
"Hey." Reid said, standing in the door way. I looked up and smiled at him. "You okay?"
"Fine. Just thinking of other ways to mess up everyone's lives." I said.
"This isn't your fault, Mel. If he really cared about you, he wouldn't be doing any of this. He'd accept the fact that you've moved in and that'd be it."
"Something must've triggered him and made him want to get me back at all costs." I said.
"A stressor." Reid said, nodding.
I smiled. He sat down next to me and hugged me close, resting his head in mine. I buried my head in his chest and closed my eyes, blocking out the world around me.
"I wish he'd go away." I whispered.
"We all do. We don't want you to be in danger."
I sat up and looked at Reid.
"You guys. You're all so nice. You all care about each other no matter what-"
"Because we're family. If one of us is in danger, we all are. It's been like this since after Gideon left. Before, too, but more after he left."
"Gideon, Prentess, Greenaway. Is that all?" I asked. Reid nodded. "I knew Gideon. I met him the first time I visited my uncle. I liked him. I've never meet Prentiss or Greenaway, but I did hear about them. I hope they're okay."
"I don't know about Elle, but I do know that Prentiss is in London right now, so I supposed she's doing okay."
"I guess she and I have a lot in common. Justin is my Doyle." I said.
Reid smiled. I leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss went a little deeper than I meant as Reid began kissing my jawline and down my neck. He stopped at one part of my neck and I could almost feel him creating a hickey.
I pushed him away and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him again. He ran his hands up his shirt, the one that I was wearing. I ran mine over his half decently muscly stomach.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I lied back on the bed, not breaking the kiss. Reid put his left hand behind my head, guiding me down. The right one stayed under the shirt.
I started unbuttoning his shirt, my heart racing as I did so. I broke the kiss to pull off his shirt.
I lied back again and let Reid take over.