11 Works by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Listing Works
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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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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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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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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?
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But I Have Promises to Keep by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
08 May 2025
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Reid fails his firearms certification for the first time in five years – is it just an anomaly or might there be more to the headaches, the numbness and the strange symptoms he can’t explain?
Hotch and Morgan are keen for him to take a make-up test – but what is Reid hiding and why is he so desperate to prove himself in the field that he ends up fighting for his life in the clutches of an unsub?
As Reid deals with a health crisis, he and Hotch discover new sides of each other and their budding relationship is put to the test.
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Yeah, Like a Bomb Going Off Next to Him by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
08 Apr 2025
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Summary
The BAU team is investigating a case of a serial bomber - but when two of their own get caught up in the explosion, closely guarded secrets and hidden desires will all come tumbling out.
A.K.A. Building collapse + Drug withdrawal + Previously unexpressed feelings = This fic.
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For the World’s More Full of Weeping by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
30 Mar 2025
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Summary
Reid moved over to the map to adjust the position of the pin. Only then did he realise the others’ eyes were still on him.
“Reid, you have a visitor,” said JJ, curiosity lacing her voice.
He turned back to face her.
“She says she’s your sister.”
Or: What if a violent incident at home led an 11-year-old Spencer Reid to be placed in foster care – only for him to discover that he might have been safer staying where he was?
Now the team is back in Las Vegas, just streets away from where he grew up, investigating a case that strikes just a little too close to home.
What secrets will they uncover and what has Reid been hiding all these years?
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All That’s Waiting is Regret by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
11 Feb 2025
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Spencer Reid had never been in love before, so marking his one-year anniversary with boyfriend Jesse was truly a moment to celebrate… until those celebrations turn into a night he’ll never forget for all the wrong reasons.
As Spencer’s relationship devolves into a dark spiral of domestic abuse, he finds himself lying to his friends, covering up injuries and pretending everything is rosy when the reality is anything but.
Will his team spot the signs and step in to help before it’s too late?
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Out of the Blue by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
22 Dec 2024
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Summary
Spencer Reid had been struggling for a long time, unbeknownst to his friends and colleagues.
So when a call comes to his team out of the blue, telling them he's in the hospital after being found washed up along the banks of the Anacostia River, they must piece together what really happened and whether they could have done anything to help.
The uncomfortable truths they discover along the way make them realise they could and should have been paying closer attention to their young genius and now they have to find a way to help him take the first steps on the road to recovery.
Trigger warnings apply.
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Coming Up for Air by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow
Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)
10 Dec 2024
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Summary
“Only one bullet in that gun, boy,” snarled Charles.
Reid pointed the revolver toward Hankel’s chest, sliding the safety off and hoping for a little bit of luck. He had endured two days of beatings, drugging and psychological torture and was now being forced to dig his own grave. He was due a stroke of good fortune.
Reid pulled the trigger, bracing himself for the recoil and the boom of a gunshot, but nothing sounded except the empty click of the chamber.
He felt Tobias’s tall form bearing down on him, the glint of moonlight reflecting off the huge blade of a machete.
Or: What would have happened after Revelations if the gun hadn't gone off?