Work Text:
We are all sinners.” A tall imposing man informed Reid gravely.
“Especially men.” A petite woman added holding up a knife.
“Confess your sins.” They said together.
Spencer Reid was having something of a bad day.
The BAU team had been called to Georgia on a case where men were turning up with a missing body part as trophy taken, dead from a single shot to the heart after varying levels of torture but before castration. They were sent a live feed of the next man’s demise and they realised this was another round religious-based insanity. Still everything had been going well, right up until Reid was abducted in his sleep and woke tied to yet another uncomfortable wooden chair with his own handcuffs around his wrists and a camera on a tripod pointing at him. The first thing he thought was that he must do something to attract these people because the odds were too long for it to be happening again. For this many details to have been repeated was insane.
It had been six hours since he’d been taken and Reid was getting seriously pissed off with these people thinking he was a sinner. He was seriously tempted to throw a line about the fact he was wearing mixed fabrics just to see if they’d kill him for that or if it had to be a ‘proper’ sin. Last time it was him or JJ so he could understand that the blonde-haired and blue-eyed Jennifer Jareau might be assumed to be the purest thing on the damn Earth, social ideals worked against him there. Add in that he was the more convenient target and it only made sense that he was the one taken.
This time though, they’d walked right past a sleeping Rossi for him. That was just insulting. Implying he was the greater sinner. Not that Rossi was bad but it was relative, and they walked past Morgan in the room next to them as well, in fact they walked past the entire team. Just because he wasn’t Christian didn’t mean he was automatically a sinner, technically he was incapable of sin anyway and no religion could change that.
Reid knew that he was quickly running out of time for the team to save him, there’s only so much pain the human body could take before it just gave up. More importantly his patience was fading with each wave of electricity sent through his body; the blindfold they’d introduced didn’t help. He could imagine his team watching and so he looked up at his two tormenters with boredom clear on his face, he’d given them the screaming they wanted at first but it didn’t do anything so he got some control over himself. The woman reached forward and pulled the gag out, signalling a reprieve for him, the first since they’d started torture two hours ago.
“Are we boring you agent?” She asked as her husband held a small bowl of water for him to sip from.
“Quite. You read to me from books that I could recite in any language you asked for and make corrections as I go, though nothing can help certain portions of that mess. At first I thought I might be able to ignore you and try and solve a mathematical puzzle I’ve been working on, the solution eludes me, but then you started electrocuting me which is unbelievably cliché. Not to mention this chair, it’s an abomination, it’s a crime and a sin to force someone to sit in this without at least offering a cushion or to chain them to the floor. I’d appreciate being able to see light as well.” Reid asked, voice croaking but still catching a dark note on the last request.
“You are proud.” She said and Reid shook his head.
“Really? You got proud from that? You mistake a mixture of honesty and apathy for pride in this case, it’s a common mistake as most people don’t realise I’m a genius, again, honesty not pride.” He could practically hear a blend of voices telling him to stop testing the limits of their sanity.
“Do not mock my wife!” The man shouted and Reid rolled his eyes even though no one saw.
“I wouldn’t call that mocking but if you insist that I cease that line of conversation I can. What would you like to talk about, and please pick a topic other than religion, your misguided faith or what pain I’m going to suffer in Hell if I don’t repent?” Spencer asked, groaning as he was punched in the stomach.
“Shut up!” The husband screamed and Spencer chuckled softly.
“Oh wow, is this really all you have? No big guns for the FBI agent? Seriously, only the boring and cliché unsubs seem to want me, and what is it with religion? If you’re trying to make me more of an atheist then collectively you are doing a great job, really, ten points, I would recommend for anyone trying to recover from a infection of religion.” Spencer rambled in a blasé tone and didn’t stop when the wife held a knife to his throat.
“Listen to my husband dearie.” She snarled and Reid smiled nicely.
“Sure. Though, if I shut up I can’t confess.” Reid pointed out.
“You wish to confess?” She asked hopefully and Reid laughed again.
“Yes. I am –I’m wearing c-clothes woven of two kinds of f-fabric.” He sniffled making it dramatic and pretending to be extremely ashamed. “I’m sure God decreed against this in Leviticus chapter 19 verse 19. Did you know you’re wearing clothes woven of two kinds of fabric too? Does that mean this will be a murder double suicide or double murder suicide? Who’s the dominant partner here?” He asked dropping the drama and moving with the punch to his face.
“Do not take this lightly heathen! Confess your sins and bow!” The wife screamed and Reid laughed.
“Oh Alice I have nothing to confess to you. There are two people alive that I would confess to and neither of them are you, and I don’t bow, it’s a thing, quite well documented actually. Just as you would not bow to a pig I would not bow to you.” Reid informed her, imagining the reactions of his team mates, at least one would be worried he’d suffered a psychotic break of his own, Morgan would have chuckled at his insult and Hotch would be getting worry lines.
“You will confess and bow to us.” She screamed and Reid winced.
“You don’t have to scream, it’s not like I could move away which brings me back to this chair, it is horrible, I should arrest you for even owning it.” She removed the knife but grabbed his head and roughly forced it to touch his knees. “Ohhh, that’s nice.” Reid moaned as though it didn’t hurt. “Now can you let me up to stretch my legs?” He asked and she shrieked as her husband hit him in the side.
“Bow!” The husband roared.
“Wow! You sound like a child with a dog. We have already discussed this. How about we just have a chat? What’s wrong with a few questions?” He asked and made the husband stumble into the camera, breaking it beyond repair. “I have just one question and I want you to really think about it. Do you really think that God will praise you for doing the right thing?”
“Of course, we am ridding the world of sinners.” She said reverently echoed by him
“Well, I suppose it’s nice to be sure of what you think.” Reid sighed as he stood, stretching and casually pulling the handcuffs off, bending them like wet clay
“How did you-“ The husband began but didn’t finish, jaw flapping in shock.
“I’m an angel you ass.” Reid said and let a faint outline of his wings show through to this dimension. “Normally I’m all for repentance and forgiving but you have seriously pissed me off so I’m just going to smite you then go. Last words before I send you to Hell?” Reid asked kindly.
“We are not going to Hell; God will welcome us with open arms!” She informed him.
“Not going to happen. Though if you do see the god you follow send me a prayer, the name’s Spenciel by the way.” With that Reid leaned forward and pressed his palms to their foreheads. He moved over to the computer and found a way to give Garcia something to trace before returning to the chair and fixing the handcuffs back around his wrists. Just to help he sent a kind of homing beacon to Hotch to guide him closer on instinct, he wanted to be rescued soon and if at all possible before medical complications arose. The chair really was as uncomfortable as he made it sound.
“You alright?” The words interrupted his musings and Reid looked up into the face of Aaron Hotchner. Reid smiled as his hands were freed the normal way rather than his power.
“Still a bit confused. The chances of them both having simultaneous heart attacks is virtually impossible, and for it to have happened at such an opportune moment.” Reid trailed off as Hotch helped him hobble out, pausing to look behind at the two bodies guiltily. “I don’t suppose you can tell the medics I’m fine?” He whined looking at Rossi who’d just come over.
“Either you’re badly injured and trying to dodge hospital or you’re not and you can put up with their checking that for the rest of us.” He sternly informed the genius.
“Why does it always seem to be you that gets taken?” Morgan growled coming out of the house, having checked they both were dead for himself.
“They see something in me, they can tell I’m not normal and it makes them angry, you see it too, though it makes you want to protect me.” Reid shrugged. “I’m used to it.” He added and accepted Morgan’s help to the ambulance, he didn’t need it but he hadn’t been joking about their need to protect him, he indulged them when it was harmless.
“The locals can handle everything from here; I’m going to arrange for the jet in an hour.” Hotch decided and while Reid let the medics prod and poke him the rest made the customary case-closed calls and made sure that the local officers could handle clean up.
They had to wait an extra half hour for the plane so they ordered lunch on the way back to the hotel to collect go bags and drive to the closest air field. One the way Reid was more withdrawn than normal, sitting quietly in the backseat without moving which was a little bit disturbing.
“Reid, what’s on your mind?” Hotch asked, thankful that in the whispered and pointed glare argument of who could sit with Spencer it had been decided that Rossi would drive with them and that was it.
“Confessions.” He answered honestly, if over simplistically. “What I should do when we land.” He added before deciding to be a bit more normal. “If I want to work with Professor Davis on a new paper and if my plan B is a great idea or a really bad one.”
“Sleeping not a good enough idea?” Rossi joked and Reid smiled distantly.
“Hmm, I don’t think I want to be alone. I’m not craving or anything, I just don’t feel like being alone, I’m restless and liable to do something foolish like call up Ariel to fence with at midnight.” Reid asked still mostly off in memories of horrific wars and painful secrets and dead friends.
“The team wouldn’t mind going out if you want to join us, or if you have a better suggestion.” Hotch offered letting the sentence trail off.
“No, concussion, alcohol and loud people are a bad idea. I might go to a historic church.” He mused, the feeling of peace and forgiveness in old churches might just soothe his soul enough for him to sleep eventually, especially the one he was thinking of.
“Want company?” Hotch and Rossi offered at the same time and Spencer smiled at how alike they thought sometimes.
“Maybe, I wouldn’t be very good company though, I need to think. I think, it might be better if I didn’t, we’ll find out.” He pulled himself out of memories and saw they were approaching the air field. Quietly they grabbed their bags, Hotch taking Reid’s as well as his own, and boarded the jet to wait as the others climbed in and got comfortable for takeoff.
All eyes were on Spencer as he curled up on the couch and listened to the conversation of the others, it was soothing to listen to their idle chatter. After a few minutes Garcia moved and lifted his head into her lap and he moved one hand to rest on her knee and allowed her to pet his hair gently, she needed to feel like she was helping so he allowed the touch that he would normally dance away from. At some point Morgan offered him a lift home but he declined, home was still the last place he wanted to be. JJ invited him to dinner with her family and when he politely refused Blake offered dinner as well, only quieter. Rossi offered to sit with him in the church and Garcia offered to watch a sci-fi marathon with him and he refused them as well, gently since he didn’t hate the sound of it, it just wasn’t what he wanted.
Eventually he realised that his drawing away was scaring them so he accepted the last offer, a Hotch sized tail. That made everyone relax, they knew it was often Hotch he turned to after difficult cases, the man’s inherent goodness mixed with his gentle company at those times revitalised Reid. He privately felt that tonight Hotch was either the absolute best or the complete worst person to be near for now but either way things would change. He was in the sort of mood best described as restless though any mood prone to starting wars or getting people, usually him, killed is a bit extreme for the mild sounding ‘restless’.
When they landed Hotch guided Reid to his SUV and after saying farewell to everyone climbed in and asked where Reid wanted to go. First stop was a coffee shop where they picked up snacks, Reid taking more of a meal in pastries since he’d barely eaten since the night before. While they waited Hotch arranged to pick Jack up after dinner and insisted that Reid stay over, apparently he was worrying them more than he had thought.
They ate in a small garden with high walls that closed out the hustle and bustle of the street outside and they looked at the ancient church that still stood in the centre. For once Reid felt no need to tell Hotch anything about the building; it felt strange sometimes to visit places he had helped construct long ago. It was odd to visit places where different versions of him had helped make history. Sometimes he felt like walking back out those gates would lead him to a different time, one when there was only dirt road and overgrown bush. It hadn’t been a church then, it had officially been a monastery but with a staff of five it had spent more time nursing slaves back to health and sending them up north to escape than religious meditation. There had been so many angels involved in systems like that but it was always lead and thought up by a human, after all, they couldn’t influence history themselves but they could support humans. That era had been the beginning of their penance, new rules and new aims for the betterment of mankind.
“The brothers who built this building and started the gardens, they were killed for rescuing slaves. They had a tunnel to another shelter in what’s now Gillis Falls Park though those that were able pushed on to cross the border in one trip, spending a night in a small hovel that was designed to hide up to four adults for sleeping only. They weren’t a major stop but they healed anyone who walked into their walls and protected them, they were warriors as well as monks and they even worked as investigators if a suspected criminal fled to their walls they would provide shelter and protection until the suspect was proven guilty to them. Not a single slave died in these walls reportedly, they were rumoured to refuse to send a slave away without their immediate family, they would rescue groups at a time, two brothers travelled and raided plantations to rescue them, normally a child and one parent.” Reid found himself talking and looked to Hotch who was clearly looking at the place with new eyes.
“Is it just a church now?” He asked clearly feeling like with such a history it should be more, it should have a major charity commitment or something.
“Not exactly. The Father lives on the grounds with a woman, though officially she doesn't live here, doesn’t exist anymore actually. They provide shelter for abuse victims, they look after them and provide basic counselling and if necessary help erase their identities and set them up somewhere new. The old tunnels are still used for the same purpose, helping the abused escape the abusers.” Reid explained and Hotch nodded, technically they weren’t meant to know of underground systems like those that moved abused women and children around the country for safety but unofficially they knew.
“Why do you come here? It’s beautiful and it’s got an inspiring history, but what draws you?” Hotch asked and that was difficult to answer. He came here when he felt nostalgic, not for better days but for different days, different friends, he came here to remind himself of his purpose on Earth, he came here to remember that while humans were unbelievably evil at times there were always those desperate for change.
“You would think a building that’s housed so much pain and desperation and fear wouldn’t feel peaceful but it does. The hope of the ex-slaves, the charity of the monks, the joy of people escaping pain, it’s like it’s infected the very stones. You can feel it, even out here in the garden you can feel that good things happen here.” Reid tried to explain and Hotch nodded.
“It certainly has an atmosphere missing from most churches.” Hotch agreed.
“I know I’m normally a man of science not faith but that doesn’t mean I can’t find comfort in places like this.” Reid smiled at the little joke, he had been one of the monks, he hadn’t changed in his beliefs but his personality had changed. “The history, I suppose it reminds me that even though humans seem to progress only in how they kill each other there are always some who fight for a better world. That there have always been people like you, people who just want everyone to stop fighting and hurting each other.”
“I can understand that, some days it feels like we’re fighting an endless battle.” Hotch sighed and Spencer stood up.
“I also help with those that come through here, mostly women and children but they always call me when there’s a man. I talk with them; help them, sometimes I teach them basic hand to hand, sometimes I do their hair up nice, sometimes I handcuff myself to the far wall and just talk. Madam Nannette will call me if someone is growing violent, some of them know no other way to express everything and it’s difficult to deal with them without causing more damage. Other times it’s an ex who doesn’t understand that there is no victim to beat on anymore.” Reid explained as he stretched out sore muscles.
“When do you sleep? I know you write papers and study informally, on top of work and helping here, do you ever get time to yourself?” Hotch asked and Spencer snorted.
“Writing papers and studying is my time to myself. Work gives me passion, studying relaxes me and this gives me purpose, reminds me why I put up with crap hours, insane politics and bad beds. I can’t do that today; I’m not in the right frame of mind to help anyone unless they feel like being miserable. Come in, you can sit with me and pretend you’re not a little bit awkward to be hanging out with an atheist in a church.” Spencer finished with a joke and Hotch smiled gently but followed him inside.
They sat for about twenty minutes in peace. In that time the Father walked in once, nodding solemnly to Reid before leaving again as silently as he entered. Hotch swore the man glided in his robes making Reid snort and comment that Father John was more of an elephant. A man hiding in his hoodie walked in and Reid stood and walked over to him, guiding him to a pew and kneeling before him, Hotch caught sight of a fading bruise and a collection of cuts across the side of his face and didn’t miss the way he leaned away from Reid even.
“Have you come for sanctuary or worship?” Reid asked, John felt his wording was odd but it was the customary greeting that he’d given to thousands of people back when a white man taking a black man’s hands and kneeling before him had been shocking.
“Safety. Please. I don’t know where else to go, no one believes me, the police tried to arrest me, I ran, I panicked, I’m useless, I’m sorry.” The man whispered crying and Hotch watched as Reid took his hands gently and looked him in the eye like he rarely did at work.
“You’re safe here; this church has a history of protecting people from wrongful imprisonment and abuse. Take a moment to rest, no one will hurt you and no one will arrest you, it’s against the rules that have been in place for nearly two centuries.” Reid spoke gently and turned to Hotch. “Hotch, you better go, you need to have plausible deniability since this man has a warrant out for him, I’ll see you when I’m finished here.” Reid ordered and Hotch almost flinched at the change in demeanour.
“Why does he have to leave?” The man stammered and Reid softened again.
“So he doesn’t get caught up in this, there can be several felonies involved in keeping you from wrongful arrest and as a FBI unit chief he’d get in pretty big trouble for it. I, however, am considered invaluable to the higher ups so the worst case scenario is a temporary transfer and a maybe a few recruitment drives. I’m perfectly happy to commit a felony or two to help for that.” Reid smiled gently and the man fidgeted anxiously, not quite sure how to take that.
“I don’t care about that; we can get the legal side cleared up quickly.” Hotch frowned at Reid who rolled his eyes.
“Really Hotch, I am perfectly capable of hacking the local system and erasing any trace that this man ever got so much as a complaint against him. There is no point risking your job when I can handle this. Go find Father John or Madam Nannette and tell them we have a man for sanctuary and go home. I’ll stop by later.” Reid promised and looked to the man again. “He’s a little over-protective today.”
“A little overprotective would be nice right now.” The man smiled and it almost looked natural, except for the slight twitches.
“Then you don’t need a quadruple dose of it.” Reid teased gently.
“Reid, I’m staying.” Hotch raised an eyebrow daring Reid to argue with him but all he got was a huff of breath and an eye roll.
“Fine. Can you still get the Father or Nannette for me?” He asked nicely and so Hotch got up and wandered off looking for someone else. “I need to ask you a few basic questions, you don’t have to worry about being believed, it’s my job to know when people lie.” He offered and the man nodded.
“Sure.” He stuttered.
“First of all, what do you want to be called?” Reid asked.
“Matthew. My name’s Matthew.” He offered ducking his head as though ashamed.
“It’s nice to meet you Matthew, I’m Spencer. Who’s been hurting you? A girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse?” Reid fished gently.
“G-Girlfriend.” He said quickly. “She throws things, screams at me, sometimes she hits me.” He added when Reid didn’t looked shocked or disbelieving, simply nodding instead.
“Do you have any children? Anyone else who needs help?” Reid asked and the man shook his head. “Do you need medical attention? We have good contacts if it’s serious otherwise myself and Madam Nannette are perfectly able to deal with smaller things.” He asked gently and he shook his head. “What about the blood on your shirt?” Reid asked and Matthew flinched.
“I thought it had stopped.” The man whispered and Reid nodded.
“Do you want me to see if it needs stitches? I can do them here if you want or we can go down to the doctor’s room.” Reid offered gentle as Hotch returned with Nannette.
“Does it hurt?” Matthew asked tentatively.
“Without local anaesthetic it does, however we’re not as antiquated as this building so we have a good supply, you’ll barely feel it.” Reid assured.
“What if she comes looking for me? She can be vicious.” He warned.
“This building took on half the Army of Northern Virginia and was held by five unarmed monks for six weeks before what was left of the men walked in and found the place completely empty, everyone had left through the tunnels, they even took the organ, and the army never found them or the ex-slaves that had been hiding here.” Reid offered with a smile. “I’m neither a monk nor unarmed and Father John is no ordinary Father. If she tries to get vicious with us she’ll find herself wondering how she got a black eye and why she’s in a cell at a police station facing serious charges.” Reid assured dryly.
“Spencer and John saved me too, I chose to stay instead of flee and they taught me to fight until I could kick both of their fucking asses too, we’re well trained for almost anything that might occur, and we have contacts if we ever need help.” Nanette offered with a small smile and Reid snorted.
“You’re also humble and I thought you weren’t meant to swear in churches?” Reid teased and it made Matthew chuckle softly which seemed to be the aim. “Nan, could you get me the first aid kit?”
“Sure hon, I’ll get your friend to help me make up a room near John’s, Lord knows there’s always a chore to do in this place.” Nannette teased and Spencer nodded.
“With the amount you complain I’m sure he does.” Reid agreed as she left and he smiled at Matthew. “Can you take your jacket and shirt off for me? You can wrap it around your front but I need your shoulder clear to do a good job, if it helps any I’ve done this to myself more than once.” Reid offered. “Crying makes it difficult, as does large quantities of alcohol.”
“I have other scars healing.” Matthew admitted and Reid smiled gently.
“It’s okay, we’re all scarred here, we all have stories.” Reid assured as Hotch came back with the medical kit and Reid started pulling supplies out. “Okay now I’m going to ask Hotch to hold your shoulder steady for me, I’m going to disinfect it first which will sting but it’ll be over quickly. Then I’m going to give you a bit of local anaesthetic which will pinch but it works very quickly and once that sets in I’ll start stitching, is that okay?” He asked and Matthew nodded hesitantly and so Reid showed Hotch where to place his hands to keep Matthew still without hurting him.
“Why does he need to hold me still?” Matthew asked fearfully.
“So if you flinch it won’t hurt or pull. Normally just staying still is enough but you’re like me, you’ll twitch at every sensation and it’s just quicker and easier.” Reid offered and winced as Matthew yelped at the disinfectant. “I remember Gideon told me the day we stop wincing in sympathy is the day we should quit our jobs.” Reid offered to Hotch who looked a bit put off by Reid calmly handling the needle and gently pressing it in around the cut.
“I did not expect my day to go anything like this.” Hotch muttered and Matthew snorted.
“Tell me about it. I thought it was going to be a normal day but then there’s cops banging on my door saying I’ve been abusing my girlfriend so I run and after getting turned away by every shelter in this city I end up on a church getting stitched up by an FBI agent.” Matthew breathed carefully while speaking and Reid smiled at him.
“I thought we’d catch an unsub and I’d come home to a sci-fi marathon or a new paper to write, instead the unsub catches me and I come home to a boss shadow and a reminder of why I do the job.” Reid offered as he threaded his needle and paused. “Okay, this may feel weird if you think about it but I suggest you tell Hotch a story, something happy.” Reid suggested and waited for Matthew to start talking before he began tenderly poking the edges of the deep cut, wincing slightly as he slowly pulled the wound shut with small, precise stitches.
“Are you done?” Matthew asked when Reid set the needle in a plastic bag and picked up some bandages.
“I’m going to bandage it and then glue this one on your forearm shut and put your arm in a sling to limit movement.” Reid said and Matthew nodded, watching curiously as Reid carefully bandaged his shoulder. “Now it’s going to ache, Nannette and John have pain medication they can give you and they’ll run through what you have to do to look after these.” Reid said as he worked.
“What about the cops?” Matthew pressed worriedly.
“Well some people need to disappear, start new lives in new names while others want to reclaim their life, you don’t have to decide right now and they’ll go through all the pros and cons with you. No cops will find you here so you’ve got a few days before you need to decide, when you do I’ll come back and offer you several options on dealing with them. There are benefits to having two FBI agents on your side.” Reid offered pulling out the glue. “This will twinge a little, just breathe through it.”
“Okay. Thank you. I was sure I would get turned away again, I’ve heard of other guys getting in trouble for this too, I don’t want to go to jail, not for this.” He babbled, punctuating with hisses as Reid glued the smaller cut and wrapped a bandage around it.
“No problem. If you need me, or you just want to talk, they both know how to contact me, feel free to ask them for anything.” Reid promised.
“Okay.” Matthew nodded.
“I’m serious, even if you just don’t want to be alone you can wake all three of us up. We never offer anything we can’t give happily and never promise anything we can’t be sure of. The only time I’m not available is when work gets in the way since sometimes I’m on the other side of the country, but I can still talk on the phone.” Reid shrugged.
“Thank you.” Matthew squeaked and a tear snuck out of his eye and trailed down his face, when it reached his jaw it seemed to unleash the rest of his tears which fell quietly and Reid hugged him.
“It’s alright. We’re here for you, whatever you need.” Reid patted Matthew on the back only sending one ‘oh god why me’ look to Hotch and they both waited quietly for Matthew to tire, at which point Nannette bustled in like she hadn’t been lurking around the corner waiting for the perfect moment. Pretending she couldn’t tell he’d been crying she helped him up and took him to the room she’d prepared in a flurry of words both comforting and assuring.
“You were good with him.” Hotch murmured when they’d left the room. “Mentioning FBI usually doesn’t help.” He added dryly.
“I told him what he needed to hear without lying. Everyone needs to hear different things in these sorts of situations; there is no spiel you can prepare though certain elements are repeated.” Reid explained knowing that Hotch knew but not sure what he should say.
“You’ll think I’m being silly but you almost looked angelic for a while there.” Hotch said and Reid smiled.
“Sometimes I think you see more than the others.” Reid offered and they sat in silence a bit longer before Father John came out and moved over to them.
“Matthew is sleeping.” He started. “Who is your friend that you trust with our secrets?” John asked clearly assessing Hotch in a way that made the agent feel small and at the same time very defensive.
“This is Agent Hotchner, my superior at the FBI. He won’t tell anyone.” Reid assured and Hotch reached into his pocket to grab one of his cards.
“I doubt I’d be much good with victims but if you ever need help getting rid of someone looking too close you can call me too.” He offered and John took the card slowly and Reid grinned.
“He is a good man, I know you told me so but I never trust anyone.” John spoke to Reid before turning back to Hotch. “Thank you for the offer, if Spencer should be unable to assist we will call on you though you’re right, you would be a disaster with the victims. Far too alpha male.” He made it almost a joke and Hotch nodded, he couldn’t be offended by an assessment he’d made as well.
“Still, I’d rather you be able to call me and never need my help than need my help and have no way to reach me.” Hotch felt like he needed to say something and narrowed his eyes slightly; this Father wasn’t going to make him babble in front of Reid.
“Relax, everyone gets that at first. John can see into people’s hearts just like you see their soul. It makes people nervous at first, I still babble when he gives me that look.” Reid patted Hotch’s arm and he frowned, he didn’t appreciate the feeling at all.
“I will leave you in peace now, call me if you need anything.” John seemed to glide instead of walk as he left the room and Hotch was amazed by the grace which he didn’t associate with ex-marine.
“How long do we still have?” Reid asked and Hotch looked at his watch having forgot that time even existed.
“About three hours.” He answered knowing the imprecision made Reid look at him reproachfully while trying not to smile.
“Would you hear my confession?” Reid asked and Hotch just blinked at him. “It’s kind of what I came here to do.”
“I’m not a priest, I don’t think confession is a good word to use with law enforcement and you’re an atheist.” He pointed out finally and Reid snorted at the last bit.
“Okay, probably not the best phrasing but I don’t care that you’re not a priest. As you pointed out I’m not religious and John won’t mind so long as I leave happier than I came in, the robes are mostly to hide the fact he looks like he could beat Morgan as a warm up, the Catholic thing is still a front. Confession is good for the soul I’ve discovered, only I prefer not to do it to a room full of ex-addicts.” Reid assured and Hotch found himself agreeing despite his better judgement.
Reid led him to an old fashioned confessional. It was dark wood like the pews and very simple in design, upon closer inspection it was clearly handmade lovingly with the decorative crucifix adorning the three doors. Reid opened the middle door and Hotch stepped in feeling a little blasphemous but took a seat in the old club-style armchair and lightly traced his fingers over the delicate rosary beads and old leather bible. He checked that one panel was closed and watched as Reid settled himself on his knees with his head bowed and Hotch was overcome with the sense of Reid being something more than anyone he’d ever met before. Then he saw the small book labelled ‘script’ and chuckled when he found it was a copy of the various things priest’s were meant to say, apparently John wasn’t too great at this either.
“Forgive me Hotch for I have sinned, it’s been longer than you would believe since my last confession.” Reid’s lips quirked slightly as he said that and Hotch quickly looked at the scripts before deciding to do what felt natural.
“Start when you’re ready.” He said knowing it didn’t sound too priestly but that’s what Reid was getting.
“Ah, in that case maybe we should wait a few millennia?” Reid joked and Hotch made a disapproving noise so Reid shrugged. “No one ever said humour couldn’t exist alongside repentance.” Reid scolded and Hotch chuckled at that.
“Probably, but I would like to get home to Jack at some point tonight.” He pointed out and it was Reid’s turn to laugh.
“Okay fine. I’m skipping the venial sins since we really don’t have time for them, it’s been a long time so assume I’ve done most of the thought ones and I’ve lied plenty. I perjured myself once in recent memory but the courts were going to convict an innocent man based on his character and the jury’s racism so I felt it was worth the risk, I’ve sheltered suspected criminals and a few actual criminal.” Reid shrugged.
“I’m pretending I didn’t hear that.” Hotch sighed, he trusted Reid to have only taken such a risk if absolutely certain it was necessary, but the last bit, maybe Reid had gone unsub at some point.
“Good, then you won’t mind if we skip the many sexual things that the church continues to misunderstand. All that actually matters is safe, sane, and consensual, well, risk-aware if not safe.” Reid said and Hotch grunted in agreement, he didn’t need to know that anyway. “Hmm. There’s self-mutilation and suicidal ideation, one attempt for old time’s sake, which lead to a lot of cursing my father for hating me enough to make me immortal, who even makes their eternal enemy immortal? That’s stupid. You know I’ve wilfully done drugs and unjustly hurt people with my words. I’ve killed, more than you know.” Reid bit his lip.
“What?” Hotch asked suddenly.
“I killed the couple holding me hostage today and covered the crime up. I killed the last man to approach this sanctuary and seek a woman he had almost killed. Since my last confession I have killed-“ Reid paused bobbing his head as he counted. “- three hundred and sixty-eight evil men, three hundred and forty-three evil women, twelve innocents by mistake, and my lover, brother Raphael.” Reid continued almost without listening to him.
“What the hell Reid?” Hotch demanded again.
“I lie a lot, obviously I have no choice as mortals can’t know that I am an angel yet I wish I could tell this one mortal what I am. I feel he suspects, he is a good and righteous man, I have directly upset his fate as I could not bear to part with him yet. I have wanted to tell him everything though and that is a sin even I could not absolve. To tell him of Lucifer and Lilith and the god before the current Lord, just to think of the predecessor is a taboo among my kind.” Reid blatantly ignored him and Hotch was wondering if Reid had hit his head harder than previously thought.
“Reid, can you make sense again?” He asked.
“Do not be afraid Aaron, I am Spencel, Angel of the Lord God, previously the Tormented One, also Lust of the Seven, formerly Arch Angel of the Seventh Division of the Shamed and The Betraying Snake, formerly arch angel under Lucifer of the Seventh Division of the Covert, the last son and murderer or the Father. I come in peace.” He paused then smiled. “I really want to say ‘take me to your leader’ now but that would just be weird and I’ve done that before but I’ve never been able to say them both together, it’s always ‘I come in violence, take me to your leader’.”
“Reid, how hard did you hit your head?” Hotch inquired thankful he was sitting.
“Not hard at all Sir. Please Aaron, let me tell you the history of Heaven. I was the last of the Heavenly Host to be made; I quickly caught Lucifer’s attention with my growing reputation for causing trouble in my quest to protect Lilith from Adam. Before you recoil Lucifer was the best being I’ll ever know, seeing that I fought with god regularly he began to support me and our Division became known as the ‘Morning Star’ as we fought for a new dawn for humanity, one with equality between man and woman and respect for beasts.” Reid explained.
“Father ordered that Lilith submit to the man he considered her husband, Adam, but there was no way she would submit to a man or anyone else. She was amazing, you would have loved her. Thus a war began in Heaven, joining the Seventh Division of Covert was the Fourth Division of Healing, the Fifth Division of Histories and the Sixth Division of Messengers. As the war raged the First Division of Warriors decimated the Fifth Division and the Fourth Division became divided. The Sixth Division was slaughtered completely and the Seventh Division was suffering imminent defeat.”
“What happened?” Hotch asked despite himself, getting caught up in the story.
“Lucifer and myself were spending a routine week on Earth with Lilith when Adam and God caught the three of us in a rather compromising position. Angels have no rules regarding sex as we cannot reproduce but you know what the early bible thought of cheating women. Lilith was married in His eyes and he became involved in the war. The Seventh Division was cut down to seven thousand angels by the time Lilith announced she was pregnant with either Lucifer’s or my child. We surrendered under the condition that one of us be allowed to live and care for her and the child.”
“Hold on. You had a threesome with Lucifer and Lilith?” Hotch demanded and Reid laughed, a pained sound that made Hotch believe the story.
“Yes. As punishment for our rebellion what remained of the Seventh Division was tasked with tempting humanity to sin. Lucifer was given a new dimension where he would be forced to torture the humans who sinned for eternity. He made me promise to look after Lilith who had been banished from Eden and I promised so he ended himself. Over the years order resumed, Eve submitted to Adam, there was a great flood, eventually there were just seven of us left. He decreed us to be the seven deadly sins, giving us the one that would hurt the most, I was to be Lust.”
“That doesn’t sound like you, not even a little bit.” Hotch sighed.
“Think about it, I wasn’t the one lusting, I was the one inspiring lust, I had been the angel of intercourse for a very long time before that too. Anyway we refused and began to fight again, angels fell rather than fight us fuelled by centuries of pain and hate, most of the ones that fell went crazy, forming myths of the gods. Eventually my six brothers were destroyed and only I was left. I decimated the First Division; I killed half of their original number before they could secure me. As punishment I was to exist forever and suffer at the foot of the throne.” Reid paused.
“Any being could force themselves upon me however they wished, my chains burned into me and hooks were driven through my flesh to hold me in place each day and night. I could make it end, if I just agreed to torture dead angels who had angered Father, I refused for centuries. One of my guards began to fall in love with me, one night he freed me and gave me his sword so I killed my Father in the middle of his court. Within seconds they all had run me through with their swords yet I lived, I cursed and I raged that I still could not be with Lucifer again.”
“What happened next?” Hotch whispered not wanting to break the spell but Reid had paused longer than before.
“I created another flood in my anger. It wiped out almost all life but some survived. There was civil war in Heaven again, and again angels fell and went crazy, this time they were characters like Iesus and Siddhartha. War raged and I ignored it all in favour of hiding on earth, discovering the limits of pain for humanity and learning to mimic them. After centuries I grew weary of listening to the war and made them take sides in a human war. Angels cannot make history but we can support a human trying so we each took a side in the crusades, winner takes all.”
“Which crusade?” Hotch asked.
“All of them. We killed men, women and children without a care; we made parents kill their children and children kill their parents, we burned families trapped in their homes, we were vicious. We made humanity suffer as we had suffered yet even our worst was a pale imitation of the anguish. We were cruelty personified until, by some miracle, one side won. Well Raphael, the Arch Angel of the Fourth Division of Healing, took me back to Heaven and healed my soul as best he could. For several centuries we healed ourselves then in the early eighteen hundreds we began reorganizing.”
“It took you that long?” Hotch gasped and Reid chuckled.
“We are mostly immortal remember, time may heal all wounds but for us that is measured in decades instead of seconds. Eventually we were ready to come to earth again and begin our new jobs, to assist the improvement of humankind without upsetting history. I came back to a new country, a place I’d never been before and found one man holding others as slaves as I had been held, I killed him immedieately. Quickly I sought out four monks who felt the same way I did and helped them build this place, when the confederate army marched through I sent the other monks with the ex-slaves to freedom and held the gates alone.”
“That explains why you like coming here.” Hotch murmured and Reid snorted.
“Really? That’s what you got from the story? I confess to a human for the first time since the end of 1848 when I gave my confession to Harry and all I get is that? The time before that was 1279 when I gave my sword to my commander and he cut my head off and betrayed me. You can laugh at that, I scared the hell out of him by calmly picking up my head and taking back my sword.” Reid joked and Hotch snorted.
“Is that all your sins?” Hotch asked getting back to the point of the box and Reid smiled.
“I’m not listing them all one by one, I’ve been here near continuously since 1808, do you know how much a person sins in that time? A lot. So yes, that is all the major ones that are relevant for an angel, I give you the right to absolve me of my sins as you see fit.” He added as an afterthought.
“So generous Spencel.” Hotch tried the name out and they both made face.
“O homo, ex toto corde paenitet me omnium meorum peccatorum, eaque detestor, quia peccando, non solum poenas a te iuste statutas promeritus sum, sed praesertim quia offendi te, summum bonum, ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris. Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia tua, de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum. Amen.” Reid said in Latin and Hotch found himself understanding the words, too surprised to ask he replied and realised it was also in Latin.
“I am honoured by your confession and through the power you grant me I give you pardon and peace, I absolve you from your sins.” He whispered back and Reid smiled up and him. They both stepped out of the confessional booths and Hotch leant against the nearest solid object, barely realising it was the altar. Reid followed him with a small smile and lowered himself to his knees again, sitting back on his heels and bowing forward.
“O human who hath seen me, be not afraid and be not glad for I am no better than thou. This is thy kingdom in which I seek refuge. To thee I give my life and my sword, to thee I pledge allegiance for the duration of thy lifetime and when thy time comes, I would be honoured to carry your soul to Heaven. Forgive me my trespasses and forgive me the trespasses of my brethren, lead me not into temptation or wrongful acts but to follow in thine righteous footsteps.” Reid spoke calmly and pushed back so he was sitting on his feet and reached over one shoulder, drawing a fiery sword from what appeared to be thin air which he held in his hands and lifted it above his head to Hotch who just stared
“Arise Spencer.” He choked out. “This is too much.” He added pulling Reid to his feet.
“You are the fourth being to whom I’ve pledged my sword. You would do me an honour to accept and command me, it’s not as formal as it sounds, I’m just a sucker for tradition if it’s fun and harmless.” Reid shrugged looking less angelic and more human. Hotch realised he was crying and pushing the sword hand to the side he surrounded Reid in a sudden hug.
“I should be the one bowing and I don’t have a sword to pledge but guns are kind of similar?” He suggested and they both started laughing as Reid put his sword away. “I accept your sword or your gun, I think you’re insane for it but I accept.” He added and they both leant against the counter cackling madly at the weird day they’d had.
“Did Spencer tell you?” Father John asked and they both guiltily stopped laughing turning to face the Father.
“Yes. I told him.” Reid smiled at John.
“Good. Whatever it was you needed it. May the Lord be with you.” Father John glided out again and Reid burst into more laughter.
“Closer than he knows. Wonder what he’d do if he found out that he’d helped the Lord God through his brief drug addiction and scolded him for blasphemy? I really should work out if it’s possible for me to blaspheme against myself.” Reid mused and Hotch was floored all over again.
“You’re. But. Spencer?” He stuttered and Reid clapped him on the back and started guiding him out.
“Yeah, it’s a lot to take in, just wait until I tell you what I can actually do; you’ll be amazed and oddly underwhelmed. You also get to hear the prayers that go specifically to the angel side of me and you’ll find you always know which direction I’m in and if I’m in mortal danger. You don’t need to worry about mortal danger; this isn’t a vessel technically so I can’t even get banished to Heaven, I only get injured if you lot witness it.” Reid shrugged and Hotch didn’t protest as the angel –God- slid into the driver’s seat, seemed a petty thing to worry about now and his mind was still spinning.
“Why me?” Hotch asked and there really wasn’t much else to ask, he wasn’t good enough.
“Well first you can see souls, you don’t know it and you think it’s part of profiling but it allowed you to see a bit more of what I am than everyone else, Garcia is the same. Rossi and Morgan can see into hearts like Father John. I think JJ and Blake might have a slight ability to see consequence but I’m not even sure if that’s a thing still. It’s rare but you seem to gravitate to fields where you can help, I have a theory that humans with gifts and abusive childhoods are drawn to law enforcement at elite levels, or some similarly painful career. I’m also fairly certain that it means you are descendent of human and angel couplings, I think Father John might be my great-grandson.” Reid babbled as he drove and Hotch just tried to keep up.
“Oh right, why you. You’re a good person Aaron, do you know how rare it is to find someone who’s actually pure in thought and deed? You’d think it wouldn’t be that hard but it is. Then they’ve got to be loyal and capable of handling great power, humble but confident, a sense of humour, strong and commanding, ambitious but not at the cost of other people, ambitious only to the point that they are the best at what they do and use the skill to help everyone.” Reid continued.
“Sense of humour?” Hotch asked because he didn’t know what to say, it made Reid laugh so hard Hotch was momentarily afraid he’d drive off the road and kill them before realising that it was probably impossible.
“See? That’s what I mean. If you want to talk to me I suggest praying to ‘Spencel’ instead of ‘God’, do you know how many pray each day? I tune that shit out most of the time, I don’t need to know that Amanda is being mean and someone needs to heal poor Jerry, who is coincidentally actually a real jerk and totally deserves the non-fatal disease he has, might make him nicer.” Reid snorted.
“Does anyone still pray to you for intercourse?” Hotch asked unable to resist and was immediately pleased with the pout it drew.
“Not very often. Some obscure book used my name and a few people have found it amusing to try praying to me before they go on dates, I’ve taken to turning up as a waiter and ‘blessing’ their date by anointing them and their date in holy water.” Reid smiled and Hotch giggled.
“That’s hilarious, and a little bit mean.” He scolded and Reid poked his tongue out at him.
“I get woken up or distracted by some teenager going ‘Please Spencel, please let me laid tonight, she’s got really big tits and I so want to piss on them, please make her agree.’ Or something else I don’t want to know about.” Reid fired back and Hotch couldn’t speak, he was laughing too hard.
Reid decided to leave Hotch in the car since he was still recovering from laughter and rung the doorbell to Jessica’s place. When Jack threw open the door after seeing him he picked the boy up.
“Your dad is dying of laughter. You should go tickle him.” Reid suggested pointing to the car before putting Jack down and watching as he ran and attacked his father. Jessica came up beside him and laughed at the image of Hotch falling out of the SUV while being pulled by Jack who immediately pounced and started tickling him.
Reid thanked Jessica for looking after Jack and quietly explained the case, assuring her he was alright but Hotch and the team were paranoid. Then he put Jack’s things in the back seat and pulled Jack off his father with a smile and got the boy buckled into the backseat while Hotch tried to regain his dignity by snatching the driver’s seat. Muttering about alpha males Reid handed the keys over and teased Hotch the entire drive over not trusting God to drive his car for more than ten minutes.
They stayed up talking about the logistics and guidelines of having an angel under Hotch’s command and Hotch marvelled when Reid healed himself. Eventually Hotch pointed out that he needed sleep so Reid pressed a hand to his forehead and Hotch could have sworn he saw two large black wings behind Spencer for just a second, it made him want to grovel. Hotch spent the rest of the morning teasing Reid for drinking coffee when it was completely unnecessary, even Reid’s complaints that it was part of the personality didn’t stop him.
Just before they were about to leave for work a prayer came in and once Reid heard the tone of it he pressed his forehead to Hotch’s allowing the other man to hear the desperate plea.
“Oh god, someone, please make someone walk by and save me.” It was a child crying and Hotch told him to go, meeting him later at the office so Reid disappeared and Hotch realised his life had just gotten more complicated and amazing.
While Reid took the child and ran Hotch raced to work. They’d discussed what to tell the team and eventually Reid had agreed that Hotch could tell anyone he liked but Reid would erase the memory if they didn’t take it well. Hotch wanted to have a surprise waiting for Reid when he rescued the child, since he wasn’t actually omnipotent it might work.
“Round table room, now!” Hotch called sharply and his team looked up, it was unusual for him to be so urgent so early in the morning. After a second of shock they began moving, Morgan running to get Garcia from the break room.
“What’s the case?” Blake asked tiredly, at least they got a whole night in their own bed.
“There is none. I just need to tell you something very important very quickly because it’s about Reid.” Hotch said speaking quickly and finding that he could trace Reid’s general location well enough to tell he was carrying the girl, probably running with her.
“Did something happen? Is he alright?” Rossi demanded suddenly, echoed by everyone else with similar sentiments so Hotch held up a hand.
“He’s fine, a mess of insecurity as per usual but fine. He told me something yesterday and this is going to sound insane but I saw proof, undeniable, not secretly slipped a hallucinogen, proof.” He insisted and everyone looked at him anxiously. “Reid is an angel. I want us to do the Lord’s Prayer or something when he gets here because he’s been through metaphorical hell and he’s got a lot of guilt dating back forever. Right now he’s off saving a little kid who prayed for someone to save them.”
“Hold up, he’s out there alone?” Morgan growled protectively.
“I think he’ll be fine. He’s been in enough wars to manage absolutely anything if there aren’t too many witnesses. He took me to a church yesterday, one he helped build in the early 1800s to ferry slaves up north, he defended it against the confederate army alone while everyone escaped. He roped me into playing priest so he could confess and at first I thought he’d gone unsub on us but then he explained and he really should have started with that instead of how many evil people he’s killed. He’s been through a lot but he fought god for women’s rights and suffered unimaginable torture to protect a woman he loved and possibly their child.” Hotch rambled slightly.
“Possibly their child?” Rossi asked with a grin clearly hoping to tease Reid about it.
“Possibly Lucifer’s, apparently he was a good guy. Just modify the prayer so it’s God on Earth not Father in Heaven.” Hotch asked and they all nodded not even questioning at this point. It wasn’t the weirdest thing they’d heard oddly enough, it was the weirdest thing they’d collectively believed though. “He’s in the lobby.” Hotch announced sensing the sudden movement and they waited patiently as Reid looked at where they normally were and wandered into the round table room suspiciously.
Rossi started it, kneeling and bowing his head before Spencer who quickly shut the door and looked to Hotch in alarm.
“Our Lord, who art on Earth, hallowed be thy name.” Rossi began and Morgan dropped to his knees with Hotch and Garcia.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.” The three joined in and Blake and JJ fell to their knees as well, joining in to finish the poem while Reid gaped at them. “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen” When they finished Reid lightly touched Rossi on the shoulder.
“Please don’t kneel.” Reid whispered trying to hide the tremor in both his voice and arm. When no one moved he repeated his request dismayed to hear the hysteria creeping into his voice. That, at least, made them all resume seats and he looked at them all before dropping to his knees and bowing like he had with Hotch.
“Oh humans who hath seen me, be not afraid and be not glad for I am no better than thou. This is thy kingdom in which I seek refuge. Forgive me my trespasses and forgive me the trespasses of my brethren. Pray unto me and I will come, I pledge to protect you and your offspring so long as we serve together and I am able. Amen.” Reid spoke clearly but gently and Hotch placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him up to his knees.
“With witnesses to confirm our bond I give you my sword Aaron Hotchner, I pledge allegiance and service to you for the remainder of your life and when it ends I would be honoured to carry your soul home.” Reid pulled out his sword again and Hotch looked at it hesitantly. “Don’t worry, it only burns if I mean the person touching it harm; or they are attempting to steal it or use it for evil, I learn from my mistakes, I refuse to get beheaded with my own sword again.” Reid shrugged and so Hotch took the sword by the handle and touched him gently on the shoulders and head before handing the sword back.
“If we didn’t believe you before pulling a fiery sword from nowhere certainly convinced me.” Rossi decided and everyone smiled.
“So do you have wings, or is that a human myth?” Garcia asked and Reid chuckled. Smiling at his family Reid felt that maybe he was finally getting over what he’d survived as an angel and a demon. His team would give him purpose just as those monks had and they would keep him from sliding backwards. Reid thought that maybe this was happiness, as the team degenerated into friendly bickering as he explained his wings and why he wouldn’t show them. Yes, this was happiness. This was home.