The Lies of Life

 

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Chapter 3

 

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Reid gasped when he felt hands running over his body.  They were big, strong and firm, but so gentle…  They were male hands.  He was sure of that.  Then there was hot breath on his neck…  a kiss at his throat.   Then lips fluttered against his ear.

 

“Come on, baby…”  Tongue and teeth briefly teased his ear lobe.  “Let me in…”  Then the lips moved and gently pressed against his own.  Reid moaned as he felt the other’s tongue slip into his mouth as hips wedged themselves between his legs.

 

He tried to open his eyes…  tried to see this man.  But he couldn’t.  It frustrated him.  Who was this man?!  He knew him…  he knew he did!  And he wanted answers, dammit!  His first thought was that it was the one who called him ‘Pretty Boy’.  But the voice wasn’t the same…

 

“… Relax…”  Came the gruff command again, and then Reid felt something slide into his body.  Fingers stroked his inner walls, stretching him…  preparing him for more.  His heart pounded…  it felt familiar.  It felt good.  But it was also startling.  He didn’t know THIS about himself!  But he hadn’t really given a lot of thought to his sexuality, either.  This answered that unasked question…

 

Another kiss pressed to his mouth and the fingers left. 

 

“…  Let me in…”

 

And then he felt his body stretching around the intrusion of something long and hard.  A loud groan escaped his lips and he heard the other moan as well.  A hand caressed his face…  fingers combed through his hair.  Kisses littered his face and neck.  The rocking motion began as the man began to slowly piston his hips, moving in and out of Reid’s body.

 

The young man groaned loudly, arching his back and clinging to this man he was so intimate with…

 

“Come on, baby…”  The voice purred, thick and husky.  “I love you…”  Reid whimpered at that…

 

“…  Who are you?”  He pleaded softly, writhing at the physical pleasure.  “Please… I want to remember...”  He ran his hand up the man’s chest.  He wore a chain around his neck, with a ring hanging from it.  Reid suddenly recognized a weight on his own chest.  He felt it…  a ring on a chain.  Just like his lover…  “Who are you?”  He asked again.

 

“I’m here for you…”  The voice murmured into his ear.  “I’ll never leave you.  I love you.”  Then a harsh stab against his prostate.

 

Reid jerked and cried out, eyes snapping open as he jerked awake.  He stared at the stable ceiling and felt his body tremble.  The burning desire still pulsed in his veins like fire…  He moaned loudly, squirming and fighting with the zipper of the sleeping bag.  He managed to unzip it and toss it and the extra blankets aside, savoring the cool air drying the sweat on his hot body.  He groaned, running his hands over his face, wiping away the sweat that was there.  But God... the pressure was impossible to ignore. 

 

Moaning, Reid ran his hands down his body, hissing and arching his back when the fabric of his shirt scraped over his nipples which were hard and sensitive with the lust overtaking his body…  He squirmed and then wrestled his shirt off, running his hands over his body again.  He paused and moaned, playing with his nipples for a moment before sliding his hands down his torso, finally coming to his pajama pants.  His erection strained inside, longing to break free from the confining fabric.

 

Reid pulled the string on his pants and the knot fell undone.  Then he slid his hands down his waist, thumbs hooking under the waistline of his pants.  His hands continued down his hips and thighs, taking the garment with them.  He dragged his fingers up his thighs and abdomen, then up his own chest and neck.  He ran them up his face and ran his fingers through his hair, arching and groaning into the darkness of the stable.  A horse snorted and stomped somewhere below.

 

His pale hands moved down his even paler body, running over his flat stomach and prominent hip bones…  down his thighs, and then sliding back up his inner thighs…  Then, with a keening moan, he slid one hand up his chest again while the other curled around his straining erection.

 

Flint snorted and tossed his head at the breathy moans coming from up in the loft as Reid arched his back and pumped his erection.  He could almost feel soft lips on his own.  They parted in another moan.  But this time, it a word…  Reid was startled to hear a name pass his own lips…

 

“Aaron…” 

 

He stopped and blinked his eyes open, staring at the ceiling again.  Aaron…  God…  that name made him shiver…  it felt so right on his tongue… 

 

“Aaron…”  He moaned again, and a shiver passed though his frame.  He writhed on the sleeping bag in the hay firmly stroking his erection, his fingers growing moist with his pre-ejaculatory fluids.

 

“God…”  Reid groaned into the cold air.  He lifted his hips, sliding his other hand down his body.  He only hesitated for a moment before dropping his hand between his legs and sliding two fingers into his own body.  He groaned loudly at that, thrashing slightly as he moved his fingers in and out, pressing deeper each time.  Then, his fingertips brushed against his prostate and his body was flooded with euphoria.

 

“AH!!  GOD!”  He cried, whipping his head back as a strained sob escaped his chest.  He sucked in his breath and gave himself a firm stroke as he jabbed his fingers into his prostate again.  He arched his back and cried out into the dark as he was overcome by his orgasm.

 

Flint neighed a response to Reid’s cry of bliss, but the boy didn’t hear it.  He fell down to the hay, limp, and curled up onto his side.  He gasped for breath, staring at his hand covered in his own semen.  Confused as to why, he began to remember a taste…  Curious, he began lick his hand clean.  It was a familiar taste…  but different from the one he remembered.  He knew that the taste he was thinking of must not be the taste of his own fluids…  but that of the other man…  Aaron…  He dragged the blankets back over himself, not bothering to pull his pant back up again…  he just left them around his knees.  He sighed into the dark and closed his eyes, sated. 

 

Within moments, he had drifted into sleep where he was held in warm, loving arms…

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Rossi slowly awoke and opened his eyes.  He winced.  The light was on.  Groggy, he rolled over.  Hotch was out on the balcony of their small hotel room.  Rossi sat up.

 

“…  Aaron?”

 

“Dave.”  Hotch said, turning.  “I’m sorry.  Did I wake you?”

 

“…  Maybe.  It’s three am.”

 

“…  I know.”

 

“You can’t sleep?”

 

“…  Haven’t been sleeping well since Reid went missing.”  Hotch admitted.  “Now it’s worse.”

 

“You’re worried about him, Aaron.  That’s normal.  We’re all worried.”

 

“Dave…”

 

“I know.  For you, it’s different.  You’re his superior.  And his lover.  Double whammy.”

 

Hotch sighed and closed the door, sitting down on his bed.

 

“Aaron.  You need to sleep.  You have to be at your best to help Reid.”

 

“…  I know.  But when I close my eyes, all I can see is…”

 

“Reid suffering.”  Rossi finished for him.

 

“…  Yeah.  I see the videos of him being tortures by Tobias Hankel…  I see him being hit by Phillip Dowd…  I see him lying on the floor after being beaten and raped by Shane Harvey…  I see him lying on the floor in my front hall, wet and bloody and scared, being chased by four armed men…”  (AN:  for those last two, see ‘Anything For You’ and ‘First Impressions’)

 

“Aaron.  We’ve gotten the coroner’s reports.  Other than kidnapping and killing them, this guy took care of his victims.  Wherever Reid is, I don’t think he’s hurt.”  Rossi said.  “Wherever he is, he’s probably sleeping, warm in bed.  And knowing that, you should be able to do the same.  For the sake of getting him home.”  Hotch looked at Rossi, then sighed and nodded.  He turned out the light, lay down and closed his eyes.

 

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Reid awoke with a thick yawn, slowly stretching his body with a groan.  He blinked his eyes open, rubbing them with a fist, then slowly sat up.  He peered down into the stalls below.  Sahara and her filly were fine.  He smiled.  Then, the two kittens popped out of his sleeping bag, meowing.  They were hungry.  He scratched their ears and wormed his way out of the sleeping bag.  Shivering in the cold air, he pulled his pants up and tugged on his shirt.  Then he gathered everything, climbed out of the loft and headed for the house.  He glanced at the sun; he had slept in.

 

“Morning, Alex.”  Jonathan said when he came in.

 

“Morning.”  Reid yawned.

 

“Go get showered and dressed.  I’ll have coffee ready in a minute.”

 

“Okay.  Thanks.”  Reid said, filling the kittens’ dishes.  Morgan and Garcia dove into their breakfast right away.  Reid went to his room, stripped and climbed into the shower, quickly bathing and shaving.  When he was done he toweled himself dry, dressed, and went to the kitchen.  He poured himself a cup of coffee, dumped the usual large amount of sugar into it, then sat down to breakfast with his “father”.  It was eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast.

 

“Dad?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“…  Do you know a man named…  Aaron?”

 

“…  No.  Can’t say I…  wait.  Yeah!”  He said, blinking.  Reid looked up, eagerly.  “Aaron Burke!  He has a Golden Retriever, Delilah.  Nice man.  His wife, too.  Karla.  They’re grandparents now, last I heard.”

 

“… Oh.”  Reid grumbled, drooping.  Jonathan eyed him, then just shrugged it off. 

 

“Take your time eating.  I’ll clean up while you exercise Baron.”

 

“Okay.”  Reid said, and shoveled hash browns into his mouth.  He finished quickly, then went out to the stable.  Within ten minutes he was riding Baron into the trail in the woods.  He sighed and thought long and had about his dream last night.  One reason that he liked these rides so much was that it gave him time to do this…  to think and reflect.  Other than sleeping, more memories, or what he thought were memories, came to him during his rides with Baron.  Right now, he wanted to remember Aaron.  Whoever he was…

 

He knew that it wasn’t just a dream.  Aaron had to be real.  He frowned.  But…  if Aaron were real…  if they were lovers…  why didn’t his father tell him?  Why was it that every memory he had, his father knew nothing about.  But the man could tell him everything about his life, but HE couldn’t remember anything?!  He remembered those six people…  he remember this Aaron.  But he had no memory of this house Jonathan said he had grown up in…  He couldn’t remember his mother…  his father.  The horses he cared for every day…  He seemed to have an amazing memory for facts and figures.  Hell, he could quote books cover to cover.  But he couldn’t remember what had been in his father’s veterinary medicine books…  he’d had to read them after the accident.

 

But so much of it had been so new to him…  he could tell someone that the largest rodent in the world was the Capybara, which lived in the Amazon…  and was a favorite prey of the largest snake in the world, the Anaconda.  He could tell you that while some snakes laid eggs, other snakes (like the Anaconda) gave birth to live young.  The most aggressive snake in the world was the Black Mamba and the snake with the deadliest venom was the Banded Sea Krait.

 

He could tell you that the most poisonous spider in the world was actually the Daddy Long Legs, but its fangs were too small to bite people with, so they were no danger to people.

 

He could tell you that the DNA of humans and chimpanzees were 99% the same…

 

He could tell you that the bird with the largest vocabulary was the African Gray Parrot.

 

But now he could tell someone that while official reports said that the breed with the most reported bite incidents were pit bulls, in truth the worst biter in the dog world was the Chihuahua, but because the dog is so small, no one bothers to report bite incidents involving them. 

 

Now he could also tell you that Pugs, Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Boston Terriers and Miniature Pinchers were the most common breeds to experience allergic reactions to vaccinations.

 

Now he could tell you that Labrador Retrievers were the most likely dog to be abandoned because most owners got them without knowing how much work and attention they required, often resulting in the dog becoming destructive our of boredom or too much for the owner to handle because they weren’t willing to take the time to exercise or train the dog.

 

Now he could tell you that white Boxers were exponentially more likely than other Boxers to be blind, deaf, and develop serious health problems.

 

Surely he would have remembered these things if he had read his father’s books.  And surely he HAD read them before!  Hadn’t he?

 

And that was when the stirrings of doubt began…

 

Could it be that he wasn’t who his father said he was?

 

Could it be that the man wasn’t really his father?

 

If he wasn’t…  then why was he pretending to be?

 

They reached the pond and Reid dismounted.  He let Baron nibble at the spring grass, and he moved down to the water’s edge.  Slowly, he knelt and stared at his reflection in the water.  He studied himself.  Slowly, he frowned.

 

“…  Who am I?”  He whispered.  His reflection was silent as ever…

 

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Later that day, Reid was in the Vet Hospital.  Morgan and Garcia were wrestling around on the floor by his feet.  Reid opened the fridge and pulled out several vials.  FVRCP, FeLV.  Feline Distemper combination vaccination, and Feline Leukemia vaccine.  His pets were ready for their boosters.  He went over to the sink and washed his hands, then lined up the syringes he would need.  Then he picked up a couple of vials.  In that moment, he glanced up at himself in the mirror.  And then, his mind was assaulted.

 

He was in a bathroom.  He looked pale and scared.  On edge.  He had a leather messenger bag on his shoulder.  His heart pounding, he made sure that the bathroom was empty, then locked the door and moved to the counters, staring at himself.  He set down a cup of coffee, then fumbled desperately in the bag, pulling out two vials of clear liquid…  And then the sudden desire overwhelmed him…  To fill a syringe with the liquid…  inject it into his own veins.

 

Reid jerked, then groaned and slowly fell to his knees on the floor, the vaccines rolling away from him.

 

“…  Dilaudid.”  He gasped out.  Then, he was assaulted by something else entirely.  Something that made him break into a cold sweat. 

 

He was handcuffed, sitting in a chair in a small wooden shack.  A foul smell permeated the air…  he was cold…  scared… in pain.  The door opened and a man walked in.  He was holding a skinned carcass.

 

“You need to eat.”  The man said, putting the bloody mass down on a table and removing his gloves.

 

Reid looked at the man, then asked, “What’s your name?” 

 

The man gave him a shy and confused smile.  “…  Tobias.”

 

“Who was here before?”

 

“Probably my father.”  Tobias said.  He looked Reid over.  “I’m sorry if he hurt you”.  Then he quickly crossed the room, removing his belt.

 

“What are you doing?”  Reid heard himself ask. 

 

Tobias said nothing, kneeling and wrapping the belt around Reid’s right bicep.

 

“No…  Don’t…  Please don’t.”  He whimpered.

 

“It helps.”  The man said, pulling out a syringe and a small bottle… one of the bottles from the other memory.  “Don’t tell my father.  He doesn’t know they’re here.”

 

Reid’s breathing was fast…  frightened.  “Please…  I…  I don’t want it!  I don’t want it!  Please…!”  He begged.

 

“Trust me.  It helps.”  Tobias said, exposing the inside of Reid’s elbow and locating a vein.  “I know.”

 

“Please don’t!”  Reid pleaded once more as the needle slid into his vein.  Then…  a feeling of ecstasy flooded through him…

 

Reid gasped and jerked out of the memory.  He sat on the floor of the clinic, leaning against the wall.  He was gasping for breath and covered in sweat.  It was a long time before he managed to get to his feet.  With shaking hands, he gathered up the vaccines, prepared them, and administered them to the kittens.  Then he hurried to the office and sat down, turning on the computer.

 

He pulled up the search engine and typed in one word.  Dilaudid.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The team stood over the table, staring at the evidence, as if hoping that one of the photos would suddenly speak and tell them where their missing teammate was.

 

Morgan’s phone rang and he set it out on the table.  “You’re on speaker, baby girl.”

 

“I’ve got something.”  Garcia said, quickly.  “Dr. Jonathan Wilkes, DVM.  He lives out in rural Wyoming.”

 

“What about him, Garcia?”  Hotch asked.

 

“Almost fifteen years ago, he lost his twenty three year old son, Alexander Wilkes.  He was thrown from a horse and broke his neck.  A year later, the first vic went missing.  On the anniversary of Alexander’s death.  JJ, I just sent a picture of the guy to your phone.”

 

JJ blinked and flicked it open. 

 

“Oh my God…”  She gasped, and showed the others.  “He looks like Reid!”

 

“And Jonathan Wilkes probably has Reid.”  Rossi said. 

 

“Good work, Garcia.”  Hotch called.

 

“I just sent you his address, now get going!  Bring him home!”  Garcia gasped, then hung up.

 

No one said a word.  They all just headed for the cars.