IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
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All You Have To Do Is Call by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
03 Mar 2026
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Summary
Five times Reid didn't call the team for help and one time he (sort of) did...
A little selection box of hidden injury/illness one-shots for Spencer, mostly as a result of him not asking for help and the team wishing he'd come to them earlier.
Stories will be standalone so you don't need to read them all or read in order.
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Nothing Ever Stops You Leaving by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
13 Jan 2026
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Summary
After a lifetime of feeling like he didn’t fit in, Dr Spencer Reid had finally hit his stride. He was the FBI’s youngest-ever recruit, a valuable member of the BAU and he even had a few people he could call friends. Life was looking up.
Then Gideon leaves with nothing but a letter in a cold, empty cabin, sending Reid into a spiral of self-loathing as his old demons resurface and he struggles to navigate new challenges.
With his physical, mental and emotional wellbeing on the line, will the team realise they are missing the signs of what's really going on before it's too late?
TRIGGER WARNING: This fic deals with an eating disorder and some very unhealthy thinking. Do not read if you are under 18 or if this content will be upsetting to you, and do not use this story to trigger yourself. Please take care when reading and heed the tags.
SPOILER WARNING: Follows canon and contains spoilers up to mid-season 6.
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Nothing is Sweeter by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
31 Aug 2025
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Summary
Reid wakes up to find the barrel of a gun pointed at his head and the body of his lover dead in the bed next to him.
Dragged from his sleep by police and handcuffed when he should be on his way to a hospital, will Reid be able to convince the cops of his innocence? Or will a string of murdered lovers found with medieval quotations at the crime scenes make it impossible to deny the connection?
As the team fights to prove his innocence, disturbing secrets come to light and Reid finds himself fighting an unexpected battle of his own.
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The Great Masquerader by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
11 Jul 2025
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Summary
The doctors all said the headaches were psychosomatic – nothing but a by-product of stress, no doubt made worse by Emily’s supposed death and subsequent resurrection.
So Reid took the meds, taught himself to meditate and tried to get on with his life.
But there are still symptoms he can’t explain and when a simple chase after a suspect sees him collapsing to the ground and gasping for air, his most closely guarded secrets come spilling out.
With the team still divided, can they come together to support their youngest member as he grapples with a diagnosis even the doctors didn’t see coming?
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I’ve Been Down Here Before and I Know the Way Out by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
17 May 2025
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Summary
Hotch is in pain – not only from the injuries left behind by Foyet, but also from the grief and guilt of losing Haley in the most brutal way imaginable. As he struggles to deal with his loss, he turns to a very unhealthy way of coping.
Reid picks up on signals that something is very, very wrong with Hotch. He’d never expected to recognise the familiar signs of addiction in his boss, of all people, but if Hotch is on the same path he’s been down before, he’ll do whatever it takes to pull him back before it’s too late.
How will Hotch react to being confronted about his behaviour? Will Reid be able to offer the support he’d wished for as he struggled through withdrawal all alone? And what shocking news will Hotch learn about his teammate's battle to beat addiction?