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1. Nothing Ever Stops You Leaving by IdLike2SayBeautifulThingsButIDontKnowHow

   Fandoms: Criminal Minds (US TV)  

   • Mature
   • No Archive Warnings Apply
   • M/M
   • Complete Work

   13 Jan 2026

   Tags

   • No Archive Warnings Apply
   • The BAU Team & Spencer Reid
   • Spencer Reid & David Rossi
   • Jason Gideon & Spencer Reid
   • Aaron Hotchner & Spencer Reid
   • Spencer Reid & Everyone
   • Ethan (Criminal Minds: Jones)/Spencer Reid
   • Spencer Reid
   • Jason Gideon
   • Aaron Hotchner
   • David Rossi
   • Derek Morgan (Criminal Minds)
   • Emily Prentiss
   • Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
   • Ethan (Criminal Minds: Jones)
   • Penelope Garcia
   • Self-Esteem Issues
   • Angst
   • Loneliness
   • Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
   • Suicidal Thoughts
   • Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction
   • Hospitals
   • Spencer Reid Whump
   • Surgery
   • Fainting
   • Canon Compliant
   • Canon-Typical Violence
   • Headaches & Migraines
   • Spoilers
   • Episode: s03e02 In Name and Blood (Criminal Minds)
   • Episode: s03e03 Scared to Death (Criminal Minds)
   • Episode: s03e07 Identity (Criminal Minds)
   • Post-Episode: s03e16 Elephant's Memory (Criminal Minds)
   • Episode: s04e03 Minimal Loss (Criminal Minds)
   • Post-Episode: s04e07 Memoriam (Criminal Minds)
   • Post-Episode: s04e24 Amplification (Criminal Minds)
   • Post-Episode: s05e01 Nameless Faceless (Criminal Minds)
   • Episode: s05e20 A Thousand Words (Criminal Minds)
   • Episode: s06e12 Corazón (Criminal Minds)
   • Abandonment
   • Parental David Rossi
   • Parental Aaron Hotchner
   • Good Friend Derek Morgan (Criminal Minds)
   • Depression
   • Found Family
   • Self-Worth Issues
   • Flashbacks
   • Smoking
   • Spencer Reid-centric
   • Self-Harm
   • Eating Disorders

   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.

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   68,600

   Chapters:

   10/10

   Comments:

   131

   Kudos:

   278

   Bookmarks:

   62

   Hits:

   4,580