He would often take her to her cheerleading practice, as she was on the cheer squad and had gained the hearts of everyone in the stands when she danced and he would sit in the stands and wait, watching every single practice.
He knew that her mom struggled with paying bills and when he offered to take Kaylee to her practice and to other things, he knew just how grateful Heather was that he would help at all.
Reid didn’t do it to get admiring looks, he spent time with Kaylee because she was a genuine person with a heart of gold, and he looked forward to their adventures.
Kaylee had Down Syndrome, and she was smarter than most people gave her credit for.
She was full of sass, sweetness and life. And he loved that girl like she was his sister.
She would tell him about every single thought that popped in her head and he loved hearing her thoughts and when she told him about her crushes at school, he would laugh and let her know what kind of boys they were.
Kaylee would laugh at his silly antics when he talked about the boys.
She would always get so excited when he came to help in their class and would eat lunch with her every day that he could.
When he graduated from high school, Kaylee sat with Heather and his family.
She cried happy tears and he hugged her tight, just like he did Emery.
She was his good friend. One of his only friends. Aside from Kian.
She was at his farewell party as well when he left for the academy.
When he left, she cried and it was hard to leave not only his family behind, but her as well.
* * *
He went through the academy quickly finishing in just over 6 months, taking any extra classes he could that would help further his career. He wanted to hone each skill he thought he needed.
It paid off though, because he got a job with the Chicago police department as a regular police officer at first.
He did that for a few months, but he made his way up the ranks to Detective, because his supervisors were impressed with his skills of observation.
He would pour over the old cases they had, and his supervisor would have him sit in on the interviews of the newest men that were brought in for the crimes they committed but wouldn’t admit to.
He would study the men from behind the glass intently and watch their body language as they were asked questions.
He absolutely loved catching men in their lies. He caught more than one person because of it and let men go that were innocent.
It was a good feeling sending the men that were meant to be in prison to prison.
He didn’t have many friends at the station, and still stuck to himself mainly.
He was grateful that Kaylee would send him letters while he was at the academy and once a week, he would talk to her on the phone.
She kept him from slipping into Detective mode too often and he was able to just be Reid when she talked to him.
One day out of the blue, his supervisor called him into his office, “Collins. Get your ass in here.”
He stepped inside the office, “Yes sir?”
The Chief of Police, Mark Cazair gestured for him to sit down.
“I have a new assignment for you Collins. This is completely different than what you have done for us in the past weeks. We have been trying to nail something on this guy for years, but he always slips through our fingers. I have intel from around Chicago that he is the head of the Mafia here and because of that, he has a lot of fingers in a lot of different pies, and yet for each crime he has committed, he always has an airtight alibi and damn it, I know he is guilty as sin.”
Reid nodded, “Well, I wasn’t expecting that. What can I do? There are many officers who have more seniority than I.”
Mark shook his head, “I know. Except none of them pay attention to details like you do. I need to catch this guy. He leaves dead bodies, drugs and abused women in his wake, and I am tired of it. Tired of seeing his hold on my city when he should be behind bars. For the rest of his life. He is a cocky son of a bitch, has been for years, letting me see that he is clean as a whistle, but I know different. Help me catch this guy, I know you can.”
