^Picture Credit^ -- https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbs.com%2Fshows%2Fcriminal_minds%2Fphotos%2F1006027%2F9-derek-morgan-moments-we-ll-never-forget&psig=AOvVaw08q1l4lXy2gsYDeDqjy1VI&ust=1605416512593000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCID_zu-gge0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD (OMG this moment in the show had me sobbing 100%)
Disclaimer/Trigger Warning: DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE, BLOOD, AND IMPLIED/NON-GRAPHIC GAY (MAN/MAN) SEXUAL SCENARIO AHEAD.
Reid's POV
I could taste the blood that was covering most of the left side of my face, where Jay's gun hit it's mark every time. The pain was almost unbearable, but it was crucial in this moment for me to focus...my life depends on it after all. For the first time, I knew I just had to find a way to stay alive...so that I can get back to Derek's strong arms.
"Just ask the first question, Jay." I managed to choke out.
"Alright, alright," Jay paused, allowing my eyes to meet Derek's once again, "This is going to be a fair game...which means, you, pretty miss tech-girl, are not allowed to simply search for the answers...otherwise, Spencer here will die..painfully. Got it?"
I saw Morgan subtly grasp onto Penelope's hand as she answered in a weak voice, "Understood."
"Marvelous!" Jay replied clapping his hands together in anticipation, "If everything's in order, let's move to the first question!..hmmmm.....let's start with an easy one, you know...to ease ourselves into this slowly, yeah? The first question shall be...how does our lovely state of Virginia compare to the other states in terms of size?" I was taken aback by the simplicity of the question, but my friends did not seem too relieved.
"I-I have the answer for you, Jay," I began grimacing at my stuttering yet calmed down once again by the encouraging expressions of my team, "Compared to the other 50 states, that's including Hawaii and Alaska, Virginia happens to be the 35th largest state taking in size as the primary factor."
Jay grinned and replied, "Correct...as I expected you to be...alright, who would like to ask me a question, then?"
Rossi spoke up after a short moment of unsure silence, "I'd love to, Jay. My question for you is, how did the riot start, the one that gave you and Mark the chance to escape?"
Jay's smug smile faltered for a second before it returned as he explained, "That's a fun tale. You see, after I manipulated Mark into protecting me, in exchange for me...providing him the gift of sexual pleasure on occasion, he became my puppet; he was willing to do anything for me, anything at all which was exactly how I wanted him to behave."
"So, you had Mark start a riot that allowed you both to slip out, unnoticed." Emily concluded.
Jay's grin had now fully returned, "Exactly. He throws a bit of food on a serial rapist...one thing leads to another and all of the big baddies start fighting back against some guards with kitchen forks, oh what a sight it was! That gave me the chance to speak to a few inmates while Mark made sure he wouldn't be missed right away...we met up and then got out of there. Simple."
"And those inmates you spoke too...that was you passing along your messages for us?" JJ reasoned.
Jay giggled, "Well...it looks like some blond bimbos actually have some brains in those pretty little heads of there's."
"Watch yourself, Jay." Emily butted in, clearly eager to silence Jay's words towards JJ.
"Okay, okay..I was only cracking a joke....let's move on, shall we? Your second question is a bit more..open-ended, you see? You guys are all law enforcement. So, tell me something unique and interesting about the police department in Virginia...let's have someone other than the doctor answer if you please." Jay said, completely ignoring Emily's warning.
I could name at least ten interesting facts about the Virginia police department, and I could only hope that one of my teammates had an answer. To my relief, one of them did.
"Well, the Virginia Capitol Police is the oldest police department in the country...does that work?" Garcia asked.
Jay frowned and asked, clearly a bit irritated, "How did you know that? Did you look it up on your computers? I told you what would happen if you did that!"
In a panic, Penelope replied, "No, no, I swear! I didn't! I only knew that from a case we worked a while back...please! Just don't hurt him! I got it right, fair and square!"
Jay's frown slowly dissolved, "Alright...I'm trusting you on this one, pet," Jay replied which caused Derek to angrily shift in his chair at the nickname Jay had given her, "One of you may now ask a question, I suppose, who will it be?"
"Me.," Morgan answered immediately as I gave him a smile of encouragement, "In your messages...we figured out you wanted to meet Spencer at Mallows Bay..alone...what happened to that plan? What made you decide to....take him in the night instead; isn't that more risky, for you and Mark?"
I slightly nodded my head at Derek, signaling that he had asked a really good question..I was wondering the same thing myself. Derek noticed my gesture and grinned at me; I didn't think it was possible for me to get butterflies of happiness at a time like this, but one look from Derek Morgan had my stomach doing silent gymnastics. This happiness was only temporary, of course, as Jay answered the question.
"What a good question, Agent Morgan...looks like you really want to save your precious little boyfriend," Derek's jaw clenched and our other teammates shot Jay a dirty glare before he continued, "Alright, tough crowd. Well, I did initially want to meet him in a place of my choosing, just the two of us...I was hoping to have gotten rid of Mark by then....but Mark refused to let up; he insisted that we stick together and whenever I tried ending him he threatened to turn himself in and rat me out, but you see, I only needed him for escape. If I would've brought that sorry excuse of a serial killer along with me to Mallows Bay, it would've ended badly, trust me. He may seem like a stone cold killer, but he's really just an idiot who liked to slice up human torsos. So, I decided to simply use his strength one last time to get Spencer in our clutches....Mallows Bay wasn't a huge loss...just a mild inconvenience." Strange. When we were initially looking at a profile, we guessed that Jay would need brawn to go with his brains for this entire journey...neither I nor my team, as evident by the mildly confused expressions adorning their faces, expected him to eliminate his partner so early on.
Nevertheless, the game continued, "Alright, that's enough of that. Onto another question! Your third question shall be.....what is the lovely slogan for our state of Virginia?" I visibly cringed at the irony of this question.
"A-am I allowed to answer?" I ask.
"Absolutely not!" Jay exclaimed back while slapping me once again across the face.
"Don't touch him, you son of a bitch!" I heard Derek scream into the computer.
Jay rolled his eyes and replied nonchalantly, "Oh, it's just a little slap on the face! He's had a lot worse than that, am I right? Does the name....Tobias Hankle mean anything to you guys?" I felt the color completely drain from my face.
"How do you know about that?" Hotch asked.
Jay answered, too calmly, "Oh man, rumors about him spread across the prison like wild fire. Just like there were rumors about me and my sweet Kyle...once you kidnap and torture a federal agent, you're kind of a legend.....I don't believe anyone has answered my question."
JJ spoke up, "Virginia's state slogan is.....'Virginia is for lovers.'"
Jay's smile grew uncomfortably large, "You are exactly correct, Miss Jareau! One of you may ask me a question now, and I suggest you choose it wisely...I'm growing bored of this back and for-"
"I have a question for you, Jay," I ignored the looks of shock from my team, advising me to think about what I was doing, but I was also starting to get fed up with this pointless back and forth, "Why are we wasting time with this ridiculous and honestly boring game? What are you waiting for?" This time, the slap wasn't as surprising, but it still stung nonetheless.
"You don't like my game! Well, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Jay...let's keep our heads, here." Rossi warned.
The rest of the small conversation that followed was cancelled out from my hearing as my vision set on Derek's eyes. Once again, they were full of fear and anger, and I could only imagine mine betrayed my façade, revealing my pain and anxiety. During our silent conversation, I did everything in my power to let him know how much I loved him...and he seemed to be doing the same. Unfortunately, our conversation was ended abruptly with Jay's fist colliding with my stomach.
"No! Stop, please!" I heard Morgan beg, followed by even more yells from the rest of the team as I was beaten to a pulp. Sometime after my chair had fallen over, my right arm smashing against the concrete, my weight and that of the chair making the pain even worse, I had closed my eyes to avoid the gaze of the now dead Mark Tolson, who's eyes had not shut. In this new welcomed darkness, my mind wandered. Will Derek still love me after this is all over? My face has been beaten to a complete pulp, bruises all over my body; I'll probably have to wear a cast on my right arm, judging by the pain and slight numbness. I am broken. Who would desire such a defeated weakling? That was the last thought I could form before unconsciousness completely took over.