Fic(let): Six months on
Apr. 10th, 2007 04:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asimplechordTitle: Six months on
Author: irisgirl12000
Character/Fandom: Spencer Reid, Criminal Minds
SPOILERS: For The Big Game/Revelations
Word count: 400-ish
Summary/Prompt/Author's notes: For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
why_me_why_not, who requested Reid, molecular biology. Unbeta'd, so hit me with errors where you see 'em.
(mid-August)
There are times when Reid hates his perfect memory.
When the team got back from Albuquerque, there was a single business-size envelope waiting in Reid's mailbox along with the junk mail. He almost threw it out with the flyer for the week's specials at Giant.
It looks innocent, sitting unopened on his kitchen table, but he recognizes the return address. He knows what that envelope contains. He can't bring himself to open it.
None of Reid's PhDs are in biological sciences, but he can explain the theory behinds ELISAs, Westerns, and nucleic acid testing with no problem. He used to give blood whenever there was a blood drive on campus, and he was curious after reading the Red Cross's disclaimer and "what to do" fact sheet.
Reid can recite the statistical probabilities of being infected by a sharing a needle or by exposure to blood or other body fluids. All the ways PCR amplification of RNA or DNA can fail (wrong melting or annealing temperature, too much primer, too little primer, wrong magnesium concentration, incorrect extension time) are filed away in his memory; any of these could lead to a false test result. He knows which method is most sensitive and which is fastest and which is cheapest and most commonly used. He knows the rates of false positives and negatives.
He also knows that after possible exposure it is standard policy to be tested for HIV immediately, and then again two months and six months later. Tobias Hankel was HIV negative, and he seemed to be a loner, but there's no way to be sure that the needles he used to dose Reid with were clean.
Reid picks up the envelope. It is feather-light in his hands. How can something so insubstantial be so important?
It's been a week, and the envelope has moved from the table by the door to his desk to the kitchen counter to the kitchen table. He hasn't even tried to open it. He's not sure if he can.
When his mobile rings and it's Morgan, asking him if he wants a ride to work, Reid breathes a sigh of relief. He sits the envelope back down in its spot on the table and grabs his bag. He hopes there's a new case. Something -- anything -- to keep his mind busy.
He knows eventually someone (probably Morgan) will ask, and he'll have to open it so he can answer them. But until then he's just as happy not to see a possible death sentence in print with his name attached.
Author: irisgirl12000
Character/Fandom: Spencer Reid, Criminal Minds
SPOILERS: For The Big Game/Revelations
Word count: 400-ish
Summary/Prompt/Author's notes: For
why_me_why_not, who requested Reid, molecular biology. Unbeta'd, so hit me with errors where you see 'em.(mid-August)
There are times when Reid hates his perfect memory.
When the team got back from Albuquerque, there was a single business-size envelope waiting in Reid's mailbox along with the junk mail. He almost threw it out with the flyer for the week's specials at Giant.
It looks innocent, sitting unopened on his kitchen table, but he recognizes the return address. He knows what that envelope contains. He can't bring himself to open it.
None of Reid's PhDs are in biological sciences, but he can explain the theory behinds ELISAs, Westerns, and nucleic acid testing with no problem. He used to give blood whenever there was a blood drive on campus, and he was curious after reading the Red Cross's disclaimer and "what to do" fact sheet.
Reid can recite the statistical probabilities of being infected by a sharing a needle or by exposure to blood or other body fluids. All the ways PCR amplification of RNA or DNA can fail (wrong melting or annealing temperature, too much primer, too little primer, wrong magnesium concentration, incorrect extension time) are filed away in his memory; any of these could lead to a false test result. He knows which method is most sensitive and which is fastest and which is cheapest and most commonly used. He knows the rates of false positives and negatives.
He also knows that after possible exposure it is standard policy to be tested for HIV immediately, and then again two months and six months later. Tobias Hankel was HIV negative, and he seemed to be a loner, but there's no way to be sure that the needles he used to dose Reid with were clean.
Reid picks up the envelope. It is feather-light in his hands. How can something so insubstantial be so important?
It's been a week, and the envelope has moved from the table by the door to his desk to the kitchen counter to the kitchen table. He hasn't even tried to open it. He's not sure if he can.
When his mobile rings and it's Morgan, asking him if he wants a ride to work, Reid breathes a sigh of relief. He sits the envelope back down in its spot on the table and grabs his bag. He hopes there's a new case. Something -- anything -- to keep his mind busy.
He knows eventually someone (probably Morgan) will ask, and he'll have to open it so he can answer them. But until then he's just as happy not to see a possible death sentence in print with his name attached.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-04-11 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-12 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-12 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-12 12:41 pm (UTC)*nodnod*
no subject
Date: 2007-04-24 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 06:21 pm (UTC)I think this is a great example of how playing to your strengths -- science in this case -- can make a fic really convincing and special.
Relentlessly,
Mog Decarnin
no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 04:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 06:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 04:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 11:29 am (UTC)(Deleted and Re-sent to put this under your reply -- I originally hit "Integrate" instead, like an eejit.)