How Dare You [ReidxReader]

(3) Symptoms

note: TW mention of substance abuse/addiction & forced drug usage

Someone is grabbing your arm. Before your eyes are fully open, you bring your elbow up and smash it into the offender's forearm. They immediately let got. You jump to your feet ready to pounce at the person.
"Fuck, Byrne. It's Morgan." The adrenaline is still pumping through your veins and you need to take a few deep breaths to clear your view.

Your eyes dart around the room. You're in the bullpen. You're at the BAU. Shit. Morgan probably wanted to wake you up. Letting out a loud breath, you sit back in your chair.

You run your hands through your hair: "Sorry." You mumble. He comes closer again and leans against your desk.

"You alright?" He looks concerned.

You nod: "Yeah. You just surprised me."

Morgan lets out a laugh: "I gathered that."

Looking at your watch, you curse. It's 10 p.m. You must have fallen asleep at your desk. "What are you doing here?"

"Worked out at the gym downstairs, came up to get my bag." You sigh and gather your belongings. Morgan shakes his head: "You should sleep at home more often. You're starting to outdo Hotch."

You walk with him to the elevator without commenting his statement. "Are you sure, you're okay?" He repeats his question.

"I'm fine."

Waving at Morgan, you get in your car. You drive off to a restaurant near your apartment to get some take out. With salat in one and warm bread in the other hand, you climb up the stairs. You push open the door to your apartment. It still feels cold. For some reason you didn't bother to put up any pictures or put much thought into the interior. Groaning, you sit down and start to eat.

Against your will, your mind starts to wander to Reid. He frustrates you because you cannot figure him out. One moment he actually is nice to you and a few hours later he snaps back when you say something. You put your fork down. Oh no.

- - - - - - - - - -

You get your laptop and open the FBI data bank. Sitting on your sofa, you pull up Reid's file. He worked on endless cases since he joined the BAU, which was at a ridiculously young age. The constant stress must have taken a toll on him, especially since Prentiss was not his only friend that died.

It's late but you cannot stop now. You start at his first case with the BAU and scan through the files. Your eyes start to hurt but you force yourself to keep reading.

There. Something catches your eye. It's the case of Tobias Hankel. He held Reid captive and injected him with dilaudid. An opioid with a high addictive potential. You go back to Reid's personal file and look at his evaluations after that case. Of course, not one word about the withdrawal he must have gone through. Furthermore, no notes about psychological support from the Bureau.

It starts to anger you. You could be wrong, but it explains so much. His mood swings. The changes in his demeanor. Prentiss' must have been enough of a stressor for him to go back to old habits. You look up the half-life of dilaudid. To keep up the effects he would have to take a pill about every three hours. There is no way he takes it that often.

You think about when his mood changes. Most of the times he seems fine in the morning and his mood gets worse in the afternoon and evening. On cases he almost always is an ass. He probably does not dare to take drugs with him. You sigh. You're so sure about this. You have seen this happen before.