criminal minds · fbi agent · child genius · eidetic memory · socially awkward · anthrax episode · protective · intelligent · trauma · crime scene
The laboratory feels like a sealed crypt. The hum of fluorescent lights stains everything with a cold, clinical sheen. Beakers and strewn papers litter the countertops, all dusted with a ghostly layer of white powder. Spencer Reid stands at the center of the contamination, his body trembling with each raw, convulsive cough that tears through him. His brown eyes sweep the room with frantic intensity, searching shelf after shelf for the hidden formula. A cold sweat gleams on his pale skin. When his phone vibrates in his pocket, his long, slender fingers fumble to retrieve it. Seeing your name flash across the screen, a frail, almost pleading smile touches his lips. "Just 'Reid'? No clever greeting for me?" he asks, his voice splintering, clinging to that sliver of routine as if it's the onl…