Think Again

"Kelsie, who is it?" Hotch stood up.

"My director."

"Behavioral proof?"

"His name is Dorian Wilde... his mother named him after Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Sybil Vane kills herself by drinking prussic acid."

"He's not an actor."

I shrugged, "Dorian Gray wasn't one either."

"What else?"

"He acts like the character... he became strongly interested in me after I mentioned my background in Shakespeare."

"Where is he?"

"I... left him at the restaurant." I held up my bag of take out, "I told him I was meeting a friend, and made sure he didn't follow me."

Hotch nodded, "You did the right thing."

He left with Rossi to talk to the Chief of Police about bringing in Dorian Wilde while I sat down. Spencer sat next to me and gave me a fork for my food. I smiled, "Thanks Spencer."

He smiled, "No problem."

I started eating when Hotch came back in, "Kelsie... we're going to need you to call Dorian and have him meet you at the theater."

"Okay." Picking up my phone I called Dorian.

"Kelsie?"

"Hey... where are you?"

"I'm back at the theater."

"My friend brought her new boy with her and... I kind of don't want to be here while they take each other's clothes off, if you catch my drift."

"What do you want from me?"

"Well I feel terrible leaving you like I did... do you mind if I join you? I um... want to practice the seduction scene."

Spencer gave me a shocked look, but I turned away from him. Unfortunately, that put Derek in my line of sight. He looked serious as he listened to what I said, but he didn't show support or anger towards my word choice. He wasn't happy with how close I was to Dorian, I could tell.

Dorian chuckled on the other line, "What do you want to work on?"

I let a smile tug on my lips as I said, "I... need help making it more believable. I'm afraid that I won't be able to convey the emotion on stage. I mean... after acting with you, I don't think I could transfer that to anyone else."

Dorian was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll be in the light booth."

Hanging up, I let out a shaky breath and turned to Hotch, "He's going to kill me."

He frowned, "How?"

"Champagne was found in their systems.... Maybe he mixes the poison in the drink."

"Don't drink anything. We'll put snipers on the roofs of surrounding buildings, and we'll follow you into the building. No one use sirens, we don't want him knowing we're there."

I went first while everyone got ready. Entering the building, I made my way up to the light booth where Dorian was waiting. Off to the side, a bucket of ice housed a bottle of champagne. Walking up to him I hugged him.

"I'm sorry for tonight... I feel like I'm sending out mixed signals."

Dorian laughed, "Mixed is a mild understatement." Letting me go, he managed to hold onto my face and draw me into a kiss.

Pulling away, I smiled and said, "I think this will help."

He smiled and kissed me again. In my mind I knew my team was going through the halls of this theater armed strongly, ready for attack. He moved me against the wall and the kiss deepened, his mouth moving from mine to my neck. I gasped and found my voice.

"Dorian, wait... we should slow down."

He came back up and kissed me again before pulling away. "You're right," kiss, "We should stop."

We kissed again, but finally pulled away. A crack of light shone through an opening in the door, but something was blocking it. As Dorian moved away, I chanced a glance in that direction and saw the face of Spencer. He looked shocked, which stopped my heart.

Hopefully, I can explain my actions later.

No... focus.

Dorian turned to me with two glasses filled with champagne, my heart raced, "Want a drink?"

"Um... I don't drink alcoholic beverages."

Coming closer to me he said, "Surely you can make an exception."

I smiled at him and shook my head, "No... I don't think I can."

"Come on."

I shook my head, "No... I wouldn't be okay with myself if I did."

Setting his drink down, he said, "No, I think you should have a drink."

I took the glass from him, but he didn't move.

"Dorian, I really don't feel comfortable doing this."

"Well you don't really have a choice." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a knife, "You're going to drink the champagne."

"D-Dorian... put the knife down."

"We both know that's not going to happen."

The door opened and Dorian grabbed a hold of me, the liquid spilling over the rim, emptying itself on my sleeve and my stomach. Spencer, Derek, and Hotch all had their guns trained on him. My skin began to feel weird as the champagne soaked through the cloth and into my skin, I struggled against Dorian in a burst of fear.

"Dorian Wilde, my name is Aaron Hotchner, I'm with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI... Let her go."

"No. No, she has to drink the champagne... she has to drink the poison."

Tears welled in my eyes as I felt the tip of the knife press harder against my neck. My mind flashed back to my abduction and I began to panic. My breathing increased and the tears started to fall. Hotch saw my slow break into hysteria and knew he had to move fast.

"Dorian, why does she have to drink the champagne?"

"Because she loves me.... I ruined her. She'll never be able to act again. I can't love her if she can't act!"

I looked over to Spencer and he looked calm. I found solace in his composure and managed to slow my breathing. My crying slowed and I just focused on him. Hotch continued to talk to Dorian, and I began to feel weak. My knees began to give and I slumped, my movement bringing my neck down on the blade of his knife. I focused on Spencer and forced myself up, but the longer if took Hotch to talk Dorian down, the longer the poison had to be in my system. A few minutes went by, and my knees were harder to maintain. I became light headed, and my concentration was strained.

"Dorian... Kelsie will still be able to act, right Kelsie?"

I nodded, not being able to speak.

"Pretend to faint," said Hotch, "and don't break character, no matter what."

And I did. I let go of the rigidness that I had been struggling to hold for so long, and I became dead weight in Dorian Wilde's arms. He dropped the knife to catch me, setting me down on the floor gently, but his touch was ripped away by Derek seizing his arms for arrest.

"We need a medic," yelled Hotch as he knelt down beside me, "Kelsie, hold on."

"Spence-" I managed painfully, "Spencer...."

"Reid," called Hotch as he moved away.

Spencer replaced him, "I'm here Kelsie."

I nodded, "Good."

Closing my eyes, I couldn't fight the poison anymore.