Evolution, a Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 60. Ancient Wisdom

The old doctor peered into Spencer Reid’s darkest corners.

With the skill born of long experience, he went lightly, leaving no footprints on the younger man’s psyche. He watched a painful, lonely childhood unfold. He saw it make its mark, and wasn’t entirely sad for the scars it had left. After all, the person forged in those flames had survived to become the man before him. And the deeper he went, the more remarkable he found this young man’s journey.

He hesitated when he encountered the area dealing with Reid’s drug addiction. Ahhhh. So some of these gifts are not natural, but forced. That explains the lack of control. He compared Reid to his friend with the injured knee. Although he found many similarities, what he came away with was heightened concern for their bond. It was too late to undo it. He would have to educate the one to be aware of danger signs in the other.

But mostly the old man saw kindness and an extraordinary intelligence. There was a sense of ethics that pushed this youngster to try and fix the world. Part of the incentive was a hope that the cruelties and loneliness he himself knew, would never be experienced by another. It was a vain hope. A hope peculiar to the young.

The doctor smiled when he found events concerning romantic adventures. There had been precious few, but, as with his view of healing the world of its ills, this young man lived with eternal hope. The doctor saw a heart already lost in dreams of a future with a family at its center.

Well, that’s much more likely to come true than a world without pain.

When he had seen all he thought necessary, the old man withdrew. He removed his hands from Reid and observed him slowly opening his eyes, sensing the examination was over.

Reid knew the book of his life had been rifled and read, but he didn’t feel violated. He in turn wanted to extend all his abilities and try to read this stranger who now knew him so intimately, but at the same time he wanted to demonstrate that he knew how to control himself. It was an almost immature desire to show how quickly he could learn something, once pointed in the right direction. He wanted to impress this man.

The old doctor smiled, reached out and patted Reid’s knee.

“I understand you now. But you still need to learn to keep to yourself when dealing with others.” He shrugged. “For the most part. I do see where it has proved necessary on occasion for you to…intrude…even attack.”

“What are you?” Reid felt Ana’s hand slip into his as he asked the question and knew she was burning with curiosity, too.

“Already, you’re seeing more clearly. Most would have asked me who I am and expected to draw meaning from a name. An uninformative label shared by countless others.” He stood up with a slight groan and gestured for the young couple to accompany him as he headed back toward his hospital.

“Knowing too much now won’t benefit you, young man. Being told something is not like earning the knowledge yourself.”

Reid recalled his discussion with Hotch and the difference between knowing something and owning the concept of it. He recognized the truth of what he was being told, but his brain was geared toward finding shortcuts and solutions…alternate ways of attaining goals. He was a creative thinker. What flashed across his thoughts now was the idea that, by accessing someone else’s mind, he might be able to absorb their experiences. It could be a shortcut. Not saying I’d do it, but…just wondering…

“Stop it. Now.” There was no mistaking the old man’s tone, but Reid couldn’t help a small blip of rebellion from escaping.

Just wondering…