Snap Out of It

6

Tw: knives, kidnapping, childhood trauma

You walk into the station the next day carrying coffee for your coworkers. You pass them out to everyone and catch up with them.

"Reid, your cup of diabetes," you say, passing Reid his cup. He rolls his eyes and takes the cup, stirring the pale brown liquid before taking a sip.

"Thanks, Y/n," he mutters. You point to his book that's resting on the table.

"I didn't know you like the Book Thief," you inquire, taking a seat next to him as everyone else mills around.

"You mentioned it a few months ago and I figured I'd give it a try," he shrugs, opening it up. You feel butterflies in your stomach and open up your file to change your train of thought. Fifteen minutes later, everyone else has arrived and you are giving the profile to some officers.

"The unsub is likely a white male in his 20s or early 30s," Hotch says.

"He is kidnapping these children because mentally, he feels like a child. Some traumatic event, like a parent or family member dying, in his childhood probably stunted his development. We have a hit on a suspect, Jared Higgins," Reid explains. You finish up with the briefing and head out to the parking lot to get geared up. You strap on your vest and get in the back seat of one of the SUVs. Reid hops in next to you and buckles in. His knee and thigh are pressed against your leg throughout the whole ride to Jared's house. Your stomach is churning with butterflies during the ride but you ignore them, you have more important things to focus on at the moment.

You pull up outside the house and Morgan kicks down the door, announcing your presence. You walk through the house, clearing each room.

"Guys! Over here!" You shout, motioning to the basement door. Everyone follows you down the steps. At the bottom, you find your unsub with a knife pressed to a child's throat.

"Don't come closer or I swear I'll kill him!" He screams, crying and shaking. You think quickly and put your gun away, putting your hands up to show him you don't mean harm.

"Listen, I know about what happened to you. I know that your dad beat you and your mom every day and I know that he killed her when she tried to run away with you," you say, stepping forward lightly. Jared clenches his eyes shut and tears stream down his cheeks as you continue talking. "I also know that after your father went to jail, you spent years hopping between foster homes, each one worse than the previous." The unsub starts crying so hard that he drops the weapon, and Morgan takes the chance to tackle him. JJ grabs the kid and holds him close while you go help Prentiss and Hotch help the other two kids. You drive back to the station after returning the children to their parents and taking their statements. You file some reports and hop in the car to pick up your stuff from the hotel and get to the jet. On the jet ride home, you sit next to Reid.

"Good job earlier by the way," he says, flipping through the book at a fast rate.

"Thanks," you say, leaning forward. "So what part are you at?"

"Im at the part where Max is on the train with his copy of Mein Kampf," Reid mumbles, obviously not interested in the conversation. Why is he being so cold to me. You shrug out of annoyance and open up your own copy of the book. You're reading it for about the 5th time, you can never get enough of that book. You are the scene where Leisel is in Isla's house, looking at all the books. This was personally one of your favorite scenes. You read for a bit and then take a quick nap for the rest of the ride. You weren't able to sleep due to your racing thoughts about Spencer. You decide to talk to him later tonight once you get home. The jet lands about a half hour later and you make your way into the building to grab some things before you get home.