Title:  This Feeling Won’t Go 3/?

Rating: FRT-P  (this chapter, series in all rated up to FRAO-P/SC/GV)

Pairing: Slash mostly Morgan/Reid, but mentions of Hotch/JJ, Garcia/Kevin

Summary:  The team arrives at the Ranger’s Station. 

Comments:  Better than watching Reid suck on a lollipop (and that was pretty darned good)

SPOILERS:  Mostly I take what happens on the show and twist it into how I WISH it would happen, much like Reid’s knee injury.  So, spoilers I guess from all seasons, up to the most currently aired episode at the time of posting.

WARNING most of this chapter has to do with the specs of the Ranger’s Cabin and Visitor’s Center…because I’m setting it up for what happens next mwahaha!

~~~

Disclaimer:  I don’t own any rights or trademarks to Criminal Minds, the FBI, CBS or any of the characters within.  No infringements of these copyrights are intended.  Any similarities between original characters therein are a coincidence.  I make no profit from the following fictional story.  (Fictional, maybe, but I swear this happened all in my head).

~~~

Meanwhile at the Visitor’s Cabin

Dr. Spencer Reid

“Now, your phones won’t work out here,” Toby says.  “We have radios with a decent range and the main CB unit is in the Visitors Center,” he points to the smaller cabin.  “That’s where you should set up your gear, that building has the better set-up for electronics.  Also, the outhouses are just back there, we don’t have indoor plumbing here, sadly.  I mean, well, we have plumbing in the cabin during the summer for showers but Josh had us close the pump and blow out the pipes last week when it got cold.”

I grab my messenger bag and a box of files, trying to balance another box on top when Toby comes to take it from me.  “Thanks Toby.”

He nods and smiles. “Sure, of course.  What was your name again?”

A smile creeps across my face before I realize it’s there.  “Uhm, I’m Dr. Reid, or you can call me Spencer.  If you want.”  JJ coughs as she grabs an armload of files and lets out a loud, obvious cough which I pretend to ignore.  “Either one, is…fine.”

“Okay, Spencer.” Toby nods and heads towards the cabin.

After two trips back to the truck to haul in our gear and boxes of files I finally get a chance to look around.  The main room is about the size of the briefing room back at the BAU but with taller ceilings.  There’s a small First Aid room with room enough for shelving and a cot, and another door labeled RANGER OFFICE.  The main room has a desk, several chairs and old, threadbare loveseats and enough posters, brochures, books and maps around to satisfy the information need of those who would come here.

Toby finishes setting up a card table next to the desk, as per JJ’s request, and I take a map of the park and tape it up on the wall.  JJ plugs the laptop and the charger for the satellite phone into a strip on the top of the desk, connected to a cord that runs under the desk.  “Is the generator for this building going to be able to handle a laptop?” she asks Toby.

“Actually, that generator should, its 2000 watts,” I say, continuing to set up our workstation. “The laptop uses 750 watts, plus the 750 in surge wattage.  The battery charger is unplugged, which means the batteries for the walkies must be charged…and there are only two compact fluorescent light bulbs in this room at 30 watts apiece.  Oh, and that CB radio takes about 300 watts.  So, the answer is yes.  Oh, provided the gas tank is full.”

“The tank is full—I topped it off shortly before you arrived.”  Toby stops.  “How did you know?”

“Oh, I saw the generator outside on the way in,” I say.  “How many gallons?”

“One and half,” he says.

“That’s, what, about eight hours of continuous use? And I assume you have…”

“We have a ten-gallon tank in the shed, Josh makes us bring back a few gallons every time someone goes into town,” Toby catches himself from continuing on.  “Let me start the fire, so we stay warm.”

“That would be good, thanks,” I say to Toby as he walks out the door, presumably to get firewood.  I reach into my bag for a Rice Crispy bar, offering one to JJ who takes one.

After a brief snack and a small but promising fire in the fireplace, Garcia’s face fills the screen.  “Hello hello hello!  How are the mountains?”

“Cold,” I say, suddenly reaching for the knit mittens Garcia made for me last Christmas.  “Fire’s still kicking in.”

“Okay my frost-icicles, I’ve been running anything I can on all the vics, nothing in common.  I did attempt to trace any of the usage from the satellite phone the campers had, but it hadn’t been used since they rented it.”

“Hotch suggested that we contact any outfitting stores near here to see if someone is trying to sell them the stolen goods,” JJ says.  “All we have is our sat phone…”

“I’m on top of it sweetie,” Garcia smiles.  “I’ll call any stores around and ask them to keep an eye out for the stolen items.”

“I can go through the reports and compile a list,” I offer.

“Nah, already have that boy wonder.  It’s been nearly seven hours since we last talked and in between thank-you emails for wedding gifts I managed to squeeze some work in.”

“Thanks Garcia.  We are going to leave this computer on for a while, just ping in.”  JJ closes the webcam video feed and sits down.  “You know, without media to tame, tip lines to man or press conferences to organize I feel a bit out of my element,” she laughs.

“I’m going to map out the crime scenes, can you read off the coordinates?”

After we get the scenes mapped out and read over Morder’s files…which are surprisingly sparse, I see JJ glancing over at Toby repeatedly.  I’ve also noticed that he’s looking at me a lot too.  Sensing something’s wrong, I clear my throat.  “Excuse me, Toby?  Is there something warm to drink?”

“We have a coffee pot in the Cabin, I can get it started,” he stands up eagerly.  “I should start some fires in the wood stoves too.  I mean, so it’s not frozen over there.  I’ll put water on boil for tea too.”

“Thank you so much,” I nod, waiting until the door is closed behind him before I speak up.  “You okay?”

JJ smirks, “question is, are you?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve seen the way Toby looks at you, and that whole ‘Spencer’ thing?” She leans back in her chair.  “He’s cute too.”

I stretch, taking my mittens off now that the fire has kicked in.  “How long do you think they are going to be gone?”

“I don’t know, but according to Toby it’s going to get dark soon and the Rangers still want to do their nightly checks,” she taps her pen along the desk.  “You’re changing the subject.”

“You’re perceptive.”

JJ throws her pen at me.  “You should totally flirt with him before the rest get back.  Go on, see if he needs help making coffee or with the fires.”

On cue I hear the sound of ATV’s pulling up, the engines cutting off sharply.  I stand up and go outside, both because I’m eager to find out what the team found and also because I need to move around and stretch.  I go onto the porch to see Morgan, Prentiss, Hotch and Rossi jump off two ATV’s and come towards the Visitor’s Center.  Prentiss’s usually pale cheeks are bright red—and no wonder—the temp gage on the porch reads a bitter 45 degrees.  In fact, there are some snow flakes starting to flitter down from the sky.

“Where are the Rangers?” I ask, letting the team inside the warm Vistor’s Center.

“They told us to head back here, that it’s getting dark soon and they wanted to get their run done.  Morder went with them,” Morgan walks over to the fire and puts his bare hands in front of the flames.

“Toby went to start the wood stoves at the Cabin,” I say, letting a yawn slip.

“It’s too damned cold,” Prentiss says.  “Ranger Hamell said it’s probably going to snow a good inch tonight.  Then when I asked if it was too late to go into town…”

“I don’t want to risk us traveling in the dark out here,” Hotch says.  “These unsubs obviously aren’t afraid of groups, and even with weapons it’s a big risk that I’m not willing to take in the dark. Let’s warm up and then we’ll talk about the case.”

When Toby returns, Rossi and Morgan put the ATV’s in the shed while the rest of us take our gear and hoof it to the Ranger’s Cabin, only a couple hundred feet from the Visitor’s Center.  Setting everything down in the ‘living room’ area, Toby runs to the kitchen.  “I started dinner earlier this afternoon—vegetarian stew in the crock pot.  It’s ready now if you want, or we can wait.”

“Let’s take a slight break, and by then the rest of the Rangers will be back,” Hotch says, taking off his heavy coat and hanging it up by the door.  Three months and it’s still strange to see him without a sports coat.  “Where should we take our bags?”

“Josh thought we’d split up—you agents in one room, us Rangers in the other.  I suggested men and women, but then there wouldn’t be enough beds in the men’s room.  See, we have to wake up early for our patrols and all so it makes more sense for us to split that way and…” he walks to the door closest to the bathroom.  “There are six bunks in here, fresh sheets and blankets—but those sleeping bags will come in handy.  I started the stove in here and there’s plenty of wood,” he gestures.  “The door right out there is the closest to the outhouses.  There are showers in this ‘bathroom’ here, but the pump from the lake was turned off already for the winter.  Pretty much it’s just a changing room with mirrors.  There’s bottled water and if you use some, take the pails outside to dump.  The metal kettles on the stoves are for heating water—and there is a lot of bottled water in the kitchen.”

“Thank you Toby,” Hotch says, immediately throwing his go-bag on the bottom bunk closest to the door.

Once Toby has left the room Morgan beelines to the bunk in the corner, claiming the bottom.  JJ takes the top bunk above Prentiss, Rossi above Hotch, and that leaves me the top bunk above Morgan.  Throwing my Incredible Hulk sleeping bag up, I open my bag and start searching for a sweater to layer over my purple long-sleeve dress shirt and black pin-stripe button vest, knowing I’ll be more comfortable in this than wearing my washed wool double-breasted jacket.

“Staying warm, Hulk?” Morgan says, pulling off his shoes and wet socks, digging in his own bag for dry ones.

I pull on my grey knit cardigan, smoothing my hair from the static cling.  “Better than you.”

“I still can’t believe you have an Incredible Hulk sleeping bag,” Prentiss says, getting up to grab it from my bunk.

“I’m not the only one,” I snark, grabbing it back, “they made it in the adult size for a reason.  Besides, you wouldn’t have paid for it if you didn’t think I should have it.”  I dig through my things and find one of many pairs of wool socks I threw into my bag when we stopped at my apartment, tossing them to Morgan.  “Here, these will keep your feet warm.”

“Thanks Hulk,” he says, putting them on.  “I stepped in a massive puddle out there, wasn’t paying attention.  Oh, would it be easier for you to be on the bottom bunk? I mean, if your knee gets sore in the cold.”

I shrug.  “I’m fine, thanks Morgan.”

After a few minutes, the team walks back to the kitchen where Rangers Wilkinson, Hamell, Bell and Sheriff Morder have returned.  They are already sitting around the table, eating stew and drinking hot tea.  “Help yourselves, we don’t stand on ceremony in these parts,” Bell says.

Letting everyone else go ahead of me, I file at the end of the line, grabbing an enameled metal bowl and partially bent spoon.  “This looks good, thanks Toby.”

 “Tobe, this is just how Mom used to make.” Bell says, scooping food into his mouth at an alarming rate.

Toby smiles yet again.  He reminds me a lot of Dave Tango—that constant need for approval and to prove himself in the presence of others in his field.  He was flirting with me, and I didn’t exactly help.  Not like I’m about to ask him out.  Where would we go on a date out here?  I smile to myself, filling my bowl when it’s my turn at the crock pot.  Grabbing a packet of crackers and an old, chipped coffee mug—which JJ fills with hot water and a tea bag for me—I take my spot over on one of the worn love seats next to Morgan.

“Spencer, you’d be interested to know that the generator for this cabin has a 5500 running wattage load,” Toby says from his spot not too far away.

I see JJ and Prentiss exchange looks before I respond.  “What is plugged in?”

“Right now we’re running Agent Jareau’s computer, a battery charger, the crock pot, three light bulbs—but there are three others not on—and the battery charger for the walkies,” he finishes ticking off the appliances on his fingers.

I nod.  “That leaves us a couple thousand watts to run a CD player and a disco ball if we want to have a dance party.” I quickly fill my mouth with a spoonful of Toby’s stew, feeling like an idiot—and yet feeling empowered.

Morgan nearly chokes on his food.  “What are you talking about?”

“Just trying to make conversation,” I defend.  “Didn’t you want to go clubbing while we were in Colorado anyway?”

I sense Morgan shift and I swear he moves closer to me on this loveseat.  “The Incredible Hulk wants to have a dance party?”

I shoot him a look, shaking my head and shoveling more food in my mouth.  He’s always pulling his little ‘pranks’ and sometimes they are downright cruel.  It’s like he doesn’t know when to stop.  Of course, neither of us having brothers, we never learned those types of boundaries.  That, plus the fact that I let him get away with all of this because I can’t rid myself of my feelings towards him.

After Rossi mercifully changes the topic, the group continues to chat through our meal—my voice absent from the conversation.  I notice Morgan’s thigh against mine in the love seat and after I’m done I get up and take my plate to the kitchen, where Ranger Wilkinson is already washing dishes with hot water from the kettle on the wood stove, soap, and two pails on the counter.  When my offer to help her is rejected, I go back to the living room with a fresh cup of tea in my hands.

After discussing our lack of additional information and the need to meet in the morning to hash out a profile, we take a look at the time and decide to turn in.  While Toby and Bell gather more wood from outside, we go to our room to get ready for bed.  After a trip to the outhouse through the half inch of snow on the ground, I take a turn in the ‘bathroom’ to give myself a rudimentary sponge bath with too-hot water from the woodstove and a washcloth from the pile provided before brushing my teeth, taking out my contacts, and changing into matching blue-striped pajamas, my other pair of wool socks and a navy sweatshirt that I bought once when I thought joining a gym would be a good idea.

When I go back to the bedroom JJ is already sleeping, just the top of her blonde head poking out from under the sleeping bag and green wool army blanket provided.  Hotch is changed into a miss-matched sweat suit and is sitting on the edge of his bunk, glasses on, reading a file with a book light.  Rossi moves past me to the bathroom, while Prentiss stocks the stove—letting the glow of the fire cast a shadow on a tucked-in Morgan on his bed, snoring under a pile of blanket.

“I would give my right leg for a hotel room right now,” Prentiss whispers to me as I walk by her.  “Nice jammies, by the way.”

“Thanks,” I say, climbing up to my bunk and slinking into my Incredible Hulk sleeping bag.  “You too,” I comment on her purple drawstring pants and candy-cane stripped hooded sweatshirt.

~

An hour later I wake up with the need to use the restroom.  It isn’t until I nearly fall off the bunk that I remember where I am.  When I climb down and go into the main room to get my boots, I see Toby sitting in front of the fire place in the living room, a blanket wrapped around him.

“Oh, hi Spencer,” he stands up.  “Is everything okay?”

“I just, uhm, do you have a flashlight?”

“Right next to the door,” he points.  “Here, put on my boots, there’s a bit of snow on the ground—you want to take my gun?”  He gets up and brings me a pair of winter boots, which I manage to slip on. 

I nod.  “Yeah, mine’s still in the hostler near my bed.  Probably a good idea, considering,” I say, taking the rifle he offers me.  “A rifle?”

“Yeah, a Ranger’s standard weapon.  Can’t take down a bear charging after you with a Glock,” he smirks.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I respond.  Throwing on my coat, which is still hanging on a nail by the door, I venture outside.  Once finished, I come back through the five inches of snow to see Toby still up, still staring at the fire, with a flask in his hand.  I shed the jacket and boots and sit on the couch next to him.  “Are you on night watch?”

He shakes his head.  “No, can’t sleep. Josh and I are third generation Rangers, well, I’ll be a Ranger next summer.  Nothing like this has ever happened to the Bells.”  He takes a drink and hands me the flask.

“Statistically, I’m not surprised.  See, the cost-benefit analysis model would negate a state camp ground as a primary hunting ground for a serial killer, or pair of serial killers.  The terrain is difficult, the victim pool limited and the degree of escalation…” I turn to see Toby has a tired look in his eyes.  Taking a drink of what turns out to be whiskey, I change the subject.  “I mean, uhm, I can understand what its like to be out of your element.”

He laughs quietly, nearly choking on the whiskey in his mouth before swallowing. “Do you always ramble on like that?”

It’s my turn to laugh. “I’m getting better at not doing it.”

“Well, I find you fascinating.”  He turns his torso to better face me, passing me the flask.  “Josh says that you’re a genius.”

He is flirting with me.  I think about what JJ said and decide to go for it.  “Really? I usually sit around, draw on maps and occasionally get to bust an unsub.  You get to trek around in the woods, wear plaid and pee in an outhouse.”

“Bust an unsub? Like, with bullet-proof vests and guns drawn?” His eyes start to twinkle and he’s definitely showing interest in me.

I shrug, taking my second and final drink from the flask.  “Yeah, fancy navy-blue Kevlar with the letters ‘FBI’ in white.  Fashionable stuff.”

“I’m sure you look good in it,” he says, leaning in a little bit closer to me.

I bite my lip, torn between wanting to lean in for a kiss and wanting to go back to bed.  The professional thing would be to go back to bed—if anyone saw Toby could get chewed out by Bell and Hotch and our team looks bad.  If I did, then I could…get some?  Some isn’t what I want and I know that.  It would be a good idea, get my mind off of Morgan.  Same reason I should have hooked up with my TA Alan back in Las Vegas.  Or actually responded when some guy bought me a drink at a bar.  Because I need to move on from this fantasy of me and Morgan together. 

Isn’t going to happen.

And neither is me and Toby.

I clear my throat and stand up.  “I should get some sleep.”

His eyes get wide.  “Oh, I thought maybe you were…oh shit I’m sorry don’t tell Josh he’s always saying I hit on the straight guys and…”

I shake my head.  “I’m not straight, but I’m not available.  I’m sorry if I led you on.”

“Oh.  Good night.”

My heart sinks as his does while I pad back to my bunk.