Fic: Visitors of Several Sorts, Chapter 3 (Criminal Minds, Reid / Morgan, Hotch / Chad)
Title: Visitors of Several Sorts, Chapter 3
Pair: Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan,
Aaron Hotchner / Chad Christensen
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
Criminal Minds Main List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
“Hotch, I wanna tell you something.” Morgan sighed when he escaped to Hotch`s study. “No amount of free food can compensate for that dinner discussion.”
“I know.” Hotch closed the door and went to pour them both a drink. “I wasn’t ever that close with my in-laws, but at least they didn’t compare me to their child’s ex.”
“Who happened to be sitting in the same table.” Morgan added. He took a glass from Hotch and sat down on a comfy armchair. “What was that little conversation when we came here?”
“Conversation?”
“Between Chad and Pretty Boy.”
“He wanted Reid to keep his eyes open, Chad’s mother is…. How can I put his nicely….”
“Mean old witch?”
“I was going to say showing signs of dementia. Chad wanted a second opinion from someone who has known her before.”
“And he asked Pretty Boy to keep his eyes open? He can’t even see what’s going on right in front of him.”
“Are we still talking about Ms. Christensen?”
“No.” Morgan took a long swig from his glass. “Mark.”
“Reid’s ex?”
“Yeah. He had a twin brother.”
“And?”
“Reid, being Reid, wanted to write him a letter and offer his condolences. The creep was here on some business trip and our genius took him out for lunch.”
“How did it go?”
“Apparently Reid worked his magic on the creep.”
“What does that mean?”
“The next day we got a load of roses delivered to the office. Then he started to send stuff to him daily.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Expensive stuff. Silk ties and designer shirts and just before we left he got a watch.”
“He definitely wants something, but so far it sounds totally legal.”
“It’s harassment!”
“He send some gifts and flowers. Did he send any suggestive messages?”
“No.”
“Something that would indicate escalation to something more serious?”
“No.”
“Any threats?”
“No, but I know the guy is bad news!”
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“Ms. Christensen?” Reid knocked on the doorframe.
“Spencer, come in.” Ms. Christensen opened the door and let him into the guest room. “I thought you went home already.”
“No, I wanted to talk to you first. Alone.”
“What about?”
“Chad’s was worried about you.”
“About me?”
“About your memory. Chad and I weren’t together that long and even I could tell that you’re confusing things.”
“Well, there’s nothing to worry about. I have a lot of things in my mind.” She pulled a stack of postcards from her gab. “Would you give me some privacy, I was planning to write some cards for people back home.”
“Ms. Christensen-”
“I’ve told you over and over again: Call me Sarah.”
“Okay, Sarah.” Reid hesitated. “Chad asked me to keep an you on you and tell him what I think.”
“He asked you to…. I am perfectly fine! My memory is not what it used to be, but that’s just age.”
“Chad talked to Maris last week before they put her to bed rest. If you had been showing signs of memory loss before that, she would have noticed. So it has to be something more recent.”
“Spencer, please just stop there.”
“And Arthur.”
“What about him?”
“You called him Alan. And in the dinner table you did the same thing several times. You kept switching some words to other words that sound little bit similar.” Reid sat down on the edge of the bed. “That’s called Dysphasia. You can’t formulate some words so your brain tries to find a substitute. Sometimes you couldn’t find a word at all.”
“Spencer, I am tired. Would you leave now?”
“Your hand. You’re right-handed, but you held your fork and spoon in your left hand. And you avoided all the food items that would require using a knife.”
“I just pulled some muscle.”
“You told Chad you bumped into something.”
“Same thing.”
“I may not be that good with people in general, but I can see that you’re not yourself. And I do recognise a textbook example when I see one.” He paused and waited till she turned to face him. “TIA.”
Ms. Christensen didn’t say anything. She just gave him a small nod.
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“Did you ask Garcia to check the man’s background?”
“Yeah, the guy is squeaky clean. But that doesn’t mean anything!”
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe he just has a little crush on Reid? He wouldn’t be the first guy who does weird things for that reason.” Hotch smirked.
“I still remember when I caught you with our sextape, so don’t even talk about it. It’s too creepy.”
“Well, I got over it, so don’t worry.”
“Did you?”
Hotch poured himself another drink. “Mostly. Stuff like that doesn’t go away completely.” He took a long sip. “But I wouldn’t risk what I have now because of it.”
“Good. Because if you did, Baby Boy would kill you for hurting Chad.”
“Thanks a lot for deserting me.” Chad commented and walked in. “You left me alone with mom and Spencer. She started her matchmaking routine right away.”
“Are they still talking?”
“No, mom wanted to go and write some postcards and have an early night. Are you planning to play a gracious host?”
“Sure.” Hotch poured another drink and handed it over to Chad.
“So, what’s happening here? Or did you just want to escape the weirdness?”
“We were talking about evil twins.” Morgan grunted.
“Not necessarily evil.” Hotch corrected.
“Fine, creepy twins.” Morgan emptied his glass. "And I mean really creepy."
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“When?”
“Last week. I came home from the store and suddenly I couldn’t control my limbs. I dropped the bag to the floor. My thoughts were just.... foggy. I couldn`t focus on anything.”
“How long did it last?”
“Maybe a minute. I fell down and I couldn’t move.”
“And it went away?”
“I went to see a doctor the next morning.”
“You should have gone to the doctor right away.”
“That’s what he said. It’s not that bad anymore, I just keep messing up words sometimes. And little things like names and dates.”
“How’s your hand?”
“I can move it but…. There’s no strength. I tried to pick up a coffee cup and I couldn’t hold on to it.”
“You need physical therapy for that. Most TIA victims gain most of their mobility and muscle strenght back if they start the therapy on time. Have you had another episodes like that?”
“One, but that was shorter.”
“Did your doctor prescribe you something?”
“Yes.” She nodded to the direction of her handbag. “In the side pocket.”
Reid pulled out two small bill bottles. “Heparin and Warfarin. Didn’t he tell you to cancel your trip?”
“He did.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“I’m too busy for this. Maris will have her new baby soon and I haven’t seen my boys for months, and the Ladies society-”
“Sarah, listen to me. Your doctor prescribed you two anti-coagulant medications. He obviously took this seriously.”
“He’s overreacting. They let me out after twenty-four hours!”
“A transient ischemic attack is always serious. There’s a reason why it’s called a mini stroke, it’s a warning sign. It can lead to a much larger stroke. You still have the symptoms from the first TIA, so that should tell you something. Flying here was like playing Russian Roulette.”
“Spencer, I’m a grown woman, I don’t-”
“You said you liked me. You always went on about how smart I am, so listen to me now. If you didn’t trust your own doctors judgement, then trust mine.”
She kept her eyes on the floor, clutching her right hand with her left.
“What do you think I should do?”
“I know a doctor here, who knows a lot about these cases. I’ll give him a call and we’ll take you to the hospital for investigation.”
“You can’t tell my boys about this.”
“We could say that…. there’s some complications with your arm. You had an accident last week and it may be more serious than they thought so they`ll need to do some more tests.”
“And if I don’t go to the hospital?”
“I’ll tell Chad and he’ll drag you there kicking and screaming.”
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“I know some guys in the Dallas office.” Chad mentioned. “I could ask them to do some digging.”
“That would be great.” Morgan said. “Pretty Boy’s not listening to me at all.”
“Does he ever listen to you?”
“Depends on how I present my arguments. Whipped cream and nudity is usually the safest way.”
“There’s a can in the fridge.”
“What are you looking for?" Morgan grinned. "Threesome?”
“Morgan!” Hotch objected from his armchair. “I’m right here.”
“Sorry. Foursome?”
“I don`t think so.” Chad smirked. “Anyway, I’ll call Dallas tomorrow. Maybe they’ll find-”
“Chad!”
All three mean paused to listen. Reid’s panicked voice was coming from upstairs.
Chad leaped up and rushed to the foyer. Reid leaned over the railing on the second story landing, sounding out of breath.
“What’s going on?”
“Call an ambulance.”
Chapter 4