Fic: Uncertainty, Chapter 2 (Criminal Minds, Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner / Chad)
Title: Uncertainty, Chapter 2
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pair: Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan,
Aaron Hotchner / Chad Christensen,
Sean Hotchner / Cain Christensen
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
Criminal Minds Main List
Uncertainty, Prologue
Uncertainty, Chapter 1
“Thanks for coming.” Hotch greeted when he let Reid and Morgan in. “We’re waiting for the news from the military. They’re trying to contact everyone’s family before they release the name list for the public. Cain’s editor confirmed he was there when it happened and they haven’t heard from him after the incident.”
“How’s Chad?”
“Checking his phone every thirty seconds. Or my old phone, we put his SIM-card to that one. He smashed his own phone. Just….” He glanced quickly around to make sure the man in question wasn’t listening. “Just try to distract him. Talk about something completely useless.”
“I can do that.” Reid swallowed nervously.
“You definitely can.” Morgan agreed.
Reid followed Hotch to the living room with his partner in tow. Morgan almost didn’t notice the immobile figure sitting on the stairs. Sean gave them a blank look and continued staring the wall. Morgan gave him a little pat on the shoulder.
In the living room Chad was busy hooking his phone to the charger. Hotch gave him a worried look and pulled it away from his hands.
“You checked that two minutes ago, it’s charged.”
“I know.” Chad slumped down to the couch. “And why are you wearing overalls?”
Hotch turned to look at Reid’s outfit and he had to stifle a laughter. In the dim foyer he hadn’t noticed the unusual attire. Reid blushed furiously and sat down on one of the armchairs.
“Morgan wanted to buy it, we’re going to paint our guestroom and bedroom.”
“You mean he’s actually gonna let you paint? With brushes and all?”
“Nope.” Morgan smirked. “But he just looks so adorable in overalls.”
“Anyway…..” Hotch was holding his chuckles again. “What colours did you pick?”
“Baby blue for the guestroom, but we haven’t decided about the bedroom yet. I wanted to paint that with Egyptian Desert, and Pretty boy wanted Auburn Sunset.”
“That Egyptian Desert looks like a sandbox.” Reid pouted.
“That’s the whole point, it’s relaxing. One more complaint and I’ll paint the whole room pink.”
“What kind?”
“What do you mean what kind?”
“They had a whole list of pink shades. This Little Piggy Pink, Persian Pink, Hot Pink, Light Thulian Pink-”
“Stop that.”
“Did you know that in colour symbolism pink symbolises spring, gratitude, appreciation, admiration, sympathy, socialism, femininity , health, love, romance, June, marriage, joy, flirtatiousness, innocence and child-like features.”
“I didn’t know and I didn’t really wanna know.”
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Ten minutes later they were sitting in the living room drinking coffee while the uncomfortable silence grow longer and longer. Reid’s fingers tapping the armrest sounded impossibly loud in the silent room.
“Really good coffee.” Morgan finally commented.
“Yeah, really…. tasty.” Reid added, and sounded equally uncomfortable.
“I always use two thirds of Arabica and one third of Robusta.” Hotch explained and glanced carefully at Chad.
“It’s coffee.” Chad stated calmly and slammed his mug to the floor hard enough to break it. Little pieces scattered around and his voice went from calm and collected to uncontrolled screaming. “It’s coffee! You boil some water and throw beans into it! End of story!”
He got up and marched out of the room.
Hotch started picking up the pieces of the mug and Reid followed Chad to the kitchen. He waited at the door while Chad leaned against the sink, trying to calm down.
“Remember when I send that article about Jungian approach in psychoanalysis for reviews before publication?” Reid started carefully. “When I was practically climbing up the walls?”
“How could I forget…”
“Remember what you said?”
“No.”
“You said: Rant and rave all you want, because it’s out of your hands now.”
Chad covered his face with his hands. A small sound gave through his fingers, a mixture of giggling and sobbing. Finally he lowered his hands and grabbed Reid by the arm, pulling him closer.
“Come here, you little broomstick.” He pulled Reid into a big hug, burying his face into the genius’s neck.
In the living room Hotch dumped the pieces of the mug into the trashcan and put the mop back to the closet. Morgan tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the foyer.
“Should we do something about your bro?”
“Like what? He said he wants to be alone. I can’t say anything about-” Hotch paused when he realised someone’s cell phone was ringing. His old phone was ringing and vibrating on the coffee table. He grabbed it and went to the kitchen, handing it over to Chad. He took the phone and gestured Hotch to give him some privacy.
Hotch returned to the living room, and waited with Morgan. He didn’t even notice how he checked his watch every thirty seconds, or that Sean was now waiting at the door, leaning against the doorframe. Finally Chad came from the kitchen, looking like he was making an effort to breathe calmly.
“Spencer’s still…. He wanted to talk to their medics.”
“Medics?” Hotch repeated. “So he’s….”
“Alive.” Chad slumped down to an armchair, pulled his knees against his chest and tried to breathe. “He’s alive. Injured, but alive. Spencer’s talking to them, he understands more about that stuff than I do.” The sentence was followed by a deep groan.
Reid came to the living room and approached him carefully.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m getting there. What did they say? In layman terms.”
“The pressure wave threw him to the ground and most of his injuries are from that impact. Concussion, broken ankle, some smaller fractures in the same leg. A lot of cuts from all the small pieces the explosion threw everywhere. Nothing that wont heal.”
“So when…. When is he coming back?” Hotch interrupted.
“They are sending those survivors who are well enough back here, to the military hospital in Washington. When they’ve done a check-up, he should be ready to recover at home. He’ll need some physical therapy and so on, but…. It could have been a lot worse.” Reid seemed to deflate as his monologue ended.
Chad was about to get up again when his eyes happened on the TV screen. The sound was off, but the headlines running on the screen told the latest update. Eleven dead. He buried his face into his hands again.
“It’s been one hell of a day.”
Uncertainty, Chapter 3