It was a mess, to say the least. Reid’s arrest had knocked the ground right out from under you. Watching him - he smartest, kindest person you knew - get dragged into something so dark was more than you could handle. You tried to hold it together, to keep your head up, but the cracks were showing. Everyone saw it.

You even tried being nice to Garcia. Not that you didn’t like her, but you weren’t exactly known for your warm and fuzzy side. It came out all wrong, of course. Something about complimenting her sweater… or was it her earrings? Either way, she gave you a look like you’d grown a second head and said, “Okay, who are you, and what have you done with yourself?"

The worst part, though, was visiting Reid. You couldn't face it alone. You couldn’t even drive yourself there because you were too busy overthinking what you’d say to him. Rossi offered to take you the first time, and you accepted with more gratitude than you were willing to admit. Sitting in the passenger seat, you stared out the window, fidgeting the whole way there, trying to prepare yourself for how seeing Reid behind bars would feel.

But when you walked into that visitation room and saw him in that jumpsuit, all those walls you’d built up? Gone. All you could think about was how wrong it all was, how desperately you wanted to fix it but couldn’t. And Reid? He looked at you with a soft smile, like he was trying to reassure you. Of course he was. That was just him.