Intervention [RP with so_lessfragile Hanna Carmichael]

[yesimagenius]

Reid was sitting at a table outside the coffee shop waiting for Hanna to show up. They'd pre arranged to meet here. In his head he was trying to decide what the best approach was. Clearly, Hanna was mentally unstable but the only person he'd ever had to intervene in their lives directly because of that had been his mother. He couldn't exactly commit Hanna. She'd have to do that herself. He had time to make those sort of decisions though. Right now he was going to have his coffee and wait for her to show up.

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[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

Jogging he could do. Work sort of made sure he stayed in good shape. Right now he was thinking and processing. He could ask questions when they got back to the motel.

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

Once they were back inside the motel room, Hanna threw herself down on one of the beds. God, finding demons was exhausting, she thought. "So, Spence, believe me now?"

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

Spencer took his gun out and put it back in his back. He slipped the jacket off then unbuckled the holster. He sat down on the opposite bed, elbows on his knees.

"I've got a doctorate in Chemistry, one in Engineering, and multiple BA's. My IQ is 187 and I can't explain what happened out there." He was gnawing on his bottom lip a bit and his hair had fallen in his face. "I should be able to explain that."

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

Hanna sighed. Poor guy. He was wracking his brain trying to rationalize what just happened when there wasn't any way to rationalize it. It happened. Hanna didn't know why there were things out there like demons but they were there and she knew how to send them back to hell. That was what mattered. "First? Breathe. I know it's overwhelming. Hell, on my first hunt I almost got myself killed. I'm lucky another hunter saved my ass. It takes some getting used to." And I told you so, she added in her head.

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

Reid tried to take her advice and breathe for a minute. Finally he stood up and started to pace a little, all his nervous tics, tells and fidgets that he normally kept hidden coming out. He kept tucking his hair behind his ear and he really sort of wanted to hide in a small space. He'd forced himself to get out of that habit a long time ago. He scratched at his elbows, realizing heroin would be nice right now. It would numb everything and shut his brain off so he could just breathe.

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

Reid's sudden freaky behavior was beginning to worry Hanna. She got up off the bed and stepped in his path. She clamped her hands down on both shoulders. "Ok, seriously, breathe. Take a deep breath.. let it out..." She really didn't want him to pass out if he started to hyperventilate.

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

Reid looked down at her when she stepped in his path and nodded. He took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm fine," he insisted after a moment of deep breathing. He wasn't really but he was beginning to get his tics under control. He rolled his lips between his teeth and let a breath out through his nose.

He was biting back a ramble about gifteds and excuses for his tics and behaviors. He knew it'd only freak her out more. "I'm alright."

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

"Bullshit. Your twitching, fidgiting and you keep tucking your hair behind your ear. You so are not alright." She stopped. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to call him out on his bullshit. "Sit down. It might help if you stop all the pacing."

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

"It's-they're always there. I just usually control them better. I get overwhelmed and it's harder-" he stopped his ramble and sat down on the bed. His elbows went back to his knees and he knit his fingers together, hands clasping to keep from doing any of the fidgeting she had pointed out.

"It's part of the territory with gifteds. We like to be in control, we like perfection. We like to be able to explain things and quantify things, work through problems. I'm used to high stress with my job but I'm also used to being able to explain things and rationalize them. There's an excuse for behaviors and actions." He pressed his lips together again, physically stopping the ramble.

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

Hanna sat down oppisite of him. She let out a deep sigh. Poor guy, she really probably shouldn't have brought him along. I broke him, she thought, feeling extra guilty. "Well, there's no way to ratrionalize it. Bad things happen. Terrible things from Hell exist. That's the truth. And I agree, there's no excuse for the behavior of demons. They're from hell, they don't need them. They're evil. But with hauntings... you can rationalize that. There's behaviour and patterns with those. Clues to figure out," she began to explain. Maybe that would make him feel a little bit better. She really had no idea what she was saying, she just wanted him to stop freaking out.

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

He was starting to calm down, get control over everything. It did help that there were things that could be rationalized and patterns, clues to figure out. He might not understand it but at least there was a chance he could understand some of it one day. He took another deep breath and smoothed his hands over his hair before sitting up a little straighter. He still had the one year coin in his pocket from NA. He could feel the weight of it and that helped some.

"Sorry about that," he apologized quietly. "I'm alright."

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

She still didn't fully believe that he was okay, but Hanna smiled anyway. "Good. Do you still want to commit me? I sure hope not."

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

"No," Reid half smiled at her. She was more right than she probably realized. He wasn't necessarily okay but he didn't want to freak her out anymore.

"I'm sorry. Things like that just don't happen in my world."

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

Hanna's smile widened. "I can tell. It'll get easier. I mean, hell, I've been hunting since I was 18. I'm 25 now. I've accepted the fact that there are things beyond my control but I can stop at least some of it. There's comfort in that. Acceptance too."

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

"It becomes your normal," Reid nodded. He could understand that because many of the things he faced in his job were so far from anyone's normal but for the most part, he'd ceased to be freaked out by them.

"It helps. Being able to stop it, prevent it and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. At least not that particular way."

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

"It does. I mean sure, sometimes you can't save everybody, but when you do it feels damn good." Hanna sighed. She didn't want to admit that sometimes she wanted dto hyperventilate too. And crawl into a nice, safe little hole, but that wasn't fair to the people that needed the help; the people that couldn't help themselves because they had no idea what was going on.

"Anyway, I'm sure you want to get back to your normal and the hell away from me. I may not be crazy but I sure as hell am not safe to be around."

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

"It's the same thing in my job. We don't save everyone but sometimes we do and that's okay," Reid responded.

He shook his head. "It's not you. And we don't have to go now. We can wait until the morning."

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

Hanna sighed in relief. "Thank God, I was hoping you were going to say that. I'd probably end up falling asleep on the way back." She kicked off her shoes. They went straight across the room. She also tore her leather jacket off and threw that on the chair by the door. She'd crash in whatever clothes she had on then. She usually did anyway. Then in the middle of the night she'd wake up, strip down, and crawl back into bed. It was her own messed routine.

[yes-imagenius.livejournal.com]

Reid was as OCD about bedtime as he was about everything else. He carried his bag into the bathroom, changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt then brushed his teeth and walked back into the room. He got in the bed opposite Hanna's, lying on his back with one hand behind his head and the other on his stomach.

"Good night, Hanna," he said a little absently. He was thoughtful. The last time he'd slept in a room with someone had been when he was much, much younger.

[so-lessfragile.livejournal.com]

Hanna stretched out and stared at the ceiling for a second. How long had it been that she was sleeping in the same room with a guy she didn't sleep with? She couldn't recall. "Night." Hanna responded.