Psychopathy

Chapter 43- The End Of An Era

Isabel needed to see her friends. It was becoming harder and harder, mentally, to remember what she had to fight for. She needed a reminder. There were rolling storm clouds in the sky, a reminder of the Devil's rage. What he was so pissed off about this time, Isabel didn't know. She winced as she brought her arm up, a remnant of the pain from when he broke her arm. But still, she managed to bring some of the clouds down to her, smoothing the bottom into obsidian. She tried to conjure up images of her friends, and while they normally came easy, this time, it was hard.

In fact, it was impossible. All she saw was static, like a television with no connection. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Why wasn't she able to connect to the Overworld?

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Reid walked into the bullpen, shrugging off his jacket and depositing it on the back of his chair. It had been getting warmer in recent weeks, and Reid was thankful for that. It got a lot colder in D.C. than it did in Las Vegas, and after all the years he'd spent away from Las Vegas, he had yet to get used to it. But he was also thankful for the warmer weather because Akilah got pissy when it got cold, and nobody was safe when Akilah got pissy. When the temperature raised, so did her mood.

At least things were settling down after the excitement of the previous week. It was the last week in February, and while Valentine's Day had usually been a sour day for Reid, he had actually enjoyed it this year. Most everyone on his team had a date for the day, though Reid's had been a little different. Morgan and Akilah had gone out, as did JJ and Will and Garcia and Kevin. He had even heard that Hotch had gone out with Beth, a newcomer on the scene. From what Reid heard, they had met while Hotch had trained for the triathlon he was due to compete in soon.

But Reid? Reid had joined Teresa and Ria when they went out to dinner not to celebrate Valentine's Day, but Ria's birthday. The little girl had been ecstatic and proud to be turning three, and she had let everyone know. She had proudly announced her birthday to anyone who would listen. The hostess, the waitress, even the couple in the booth next to them- no one was safe. It wasn't enough that Ria was wearing a white dress with a pink tutu that displayed that she was three. She wanted everyone to know.

But while Ria still wouldn't stop calling Reid "Pretty Boy," she was quickly becoming one of Reid's favorite people- and him hers. While no one would be above Teresa to Ria, she was quickly becoming a fan of Reid and became excited every time he showed up. It didn't hurt that he had given her the Mickey Mouse doll for Christmas and another loved present for her birthday. A box set of Dr. Seuss classics. Dr. Seuss was pervasive in the daycare's library, but Ria didn't have any of her own. Now she did, and according to Teresa, she had been requesting them every night when she went to bed. Ria was a smart girl.

Reid had a smile on his face when he remembered Ria at the restaurant. So excited that it was her birthday and so proud to be turning three. That innocence was one of the reasons he liked seeing Ria. It was comforting to know that innocence still existed in the world; that despite all the evil in the world, children were still able to be children. All the ugliness in the world hadn't taken the beauty and wonder from their eyes. That was a win in his book. It was a sign that maybe his job was actually making a difference.

The smile dropped from his face when he saw that day's date circled on his desk calendar. In a few hours, the next livestream would start. It had been hard for him to enter into the new year without Ciara by his side. It had been hard for him to think about it being 2012- not when he hadn't seen Ciara physically since 2010. It was at times like those he realized how much the days were blurring together. How time had dilated and constricted and become completely meaningless.

But maybe this would be the year. They had entered 2012 without her, but maybe she'd be there when they rang in 2013. Reid could only hope.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was just past 10 in the morning. They wouldn't be accepting a new case, not today. Later in the week, once the livestream was going, they would look at new cases. But never on the first day. The first and last days were usually the important ones. That was when everything seemed to happen. The livestream was constantly victim to a mid-week slump just like the rest of the world.