"JJ, you have to go home. You need to eat and rest. Also, you need a shower."
"I can't leave him," JJ protests. She looks like hell. She has for the past weeks been living in Alex's hospital room since he got out of his surgery. With little peaceful rest and not much to eat or drink, and only have showered once while they waited for the 16 hour surgery to finish, JJ has gotten dark circles, pale skin and an exhausted expression permanently.
"I'll sit with him," Emily offers.
"No, you have your family, and I bet they're waiting for you. Go home, Emily."
"I don't care, JJ. I'm your friend and I'm asking you to go home for a couple of hours. You need to take care of yourself. Alex will get real pissed off when he hears about this, you know that. So please, go home. I'll sit here with him until you get back. And Spencer and Penelope are here too. Pen will take your home."
JJ reluctantly gives in and stands up.
"Call me if anything changes," she says to Emily.
"I will," Emily promises. "Good night, JJ."
As on cue, Penelope comes in with a uncertain smile. The female agents weren't in any heated arguing so she took that as JJ's ready to go home.
"You ready?" she asks JJ who nods and smiles tiredly.
"Yeah. Thanks, Pen. I really appreciate this."
"Oh. Nonsense. Of course I take care of my godson and his mother. You all are my favourite people. Now, let's get you home and fed."
Emily stays behind and Spencer walks in.
"How's he doing?" he asks, looking at all the machines, making calculations as Emily answers:
"He's coming out of the worst now. The doctor says he'll be waking up within this week or maybe the next. He's injuries are healing well, but she doesn't know for sure about his brain."
"Sometimes doctors put people into come, opening a chance for the brain to heal itself. I doubt Alex will be very clear on anything when he wakes up, and he'll soon ask for more painkillers, also he'll be sleeping a lot first, just natural."
"How are his chances, Spencer?"
Spencer frowns. Emily gives him a minute to make all his inner calculations. He even reads Alex's patient charge.
"Well, he'll wake up for sure. But, as the doctor said, how his brain will function is almost impossible to say. It might not have any impact at all, or he may be experiencing amnesia or worse. His brain swelled up twice, you know, and he lost oxygen."
"Did JJ tell you Alex coded in the ambulance?"
"Yes, she did." Spencer looks sad. He sighs and looks away, as if it's too painful seeing Alex lying in the bed, hooked up to all sorts of machines that keeps him alive.
"I can't imagine how he'll react when he hears about Mabel," Emily mumbles.
"Me neither."
Then Spencer adds: "I hope he wakes up soon. I miss him."
/
"He's waking up!"
JJ, Emily, Derek, Spencer and Penelope jolts up from their seats. Aaron and David are in for questioning. They're the last ones to be judged by Strauss. Penelope hastily sends a text to the three of them, telling them Alex's waking up.
A nurse removes a needle and the oxygen mask from Alex. He's hand is stirring and he moves slowly around before opening his eyes. JJ takes his hand, carefully to not to hurt his hand. Three fingers are still broken.
"Hey, honey. I'm here."
"Where am I?" His voice is gruff and hoarse. He coughs and winces in pain.
"Careful, careful," JJ insists. "You're in the hospital, but you'll be fine."
But that doesn't help. Alex grows confused and he tries to get out of the bed.
"No, Alex, you have to stay in bed! You're injured, honey, and you've had surgery and need to lie down."
"Who are you guys?" Alex shouts. He's panicking.
He doesn't know who I am!
JJ feels hurt and she looks around, seeing the same shocked and hurt expression she feels herself. The doctor steps in and signalises to the nurse an order.
"Mr Jareau, I'm Doctor Wallace. You need to listen to me. First, get back to bed. Second, stay still. We need to check your reflexes."
"Stay away from me. Who are you all?"
"Alex! You're hurt! Please, go back to bed," Penelope shouts, but the nurse stops her from coming any closer as Alex fights his mom's grip and jumps out of the bed. His body collapses on the floor as he screams without a sound.
"Grab him! Nurse, hit the button! Everyone else, get out of here, now!" Derek and Doctor Wallace carefully lift Alex back into bed as two nurses stride in with a supplement cart, and the first nurse pushes the BAU team of the room, shutting the door and closing the blinds.
JJ starts pacing, worrying her neck off. Penelope hurries after and tries to console her. Emily and Spencer and Derek stay behind.
"Does Alex have amnesia?" Derek asks, looking at Spencer for answer.
"Most certainly, yes," Spencer says and grimaces. He'd hoped this wouldn't happen. Now they don't know if this is permanently or not. And if it is, how big of amnesia is it?
"Spencer, what will happen now?" JJ's back, demanding answers.
"I… I can't tell for sure, JJ. But he seems to suffer from amnesia, though I can't tell how strong it is. Also…he might have some inner damages and that the body shut down right now because of the pain and adrenaline. He got frightened when he didn't recognise any us and he saw our guns. I think that next time we go in there, we'll have to hide them."
Ten minutes later the nurses and Doctor Wallace are leaving Alex's room. Doctor Wallace moves towards JJ and the others.
"How is he?"
"Does he have amnesia?"
"What's wrong with him?"
"Is he going to be okay?"
All of them fire off questions at the same time.
"Please, one at the time," Dr Wallace asks. "Ms Jareau, your son does have a mild form for amnesia, though I don't know if it's permanently yet. It might as well just be due to the swelling of his brain. I'll give him a few days, three days at the most, before I'll make any decisions. His body couldn't handle all the stress, and the adrenaline kept him from experiencing more pain, but the damage was already done and that's why he collapsed. But he'll be just fine. There are no signs of inner bleeding or other damages, his surgery wounds are healing as well as the other broken bones. I've given him some sedative to help him calm down and make him sleep. I want his brain to relax. Next time you go in there, only two at the time, and maybe you should all consider hiding the guns. Seeing he doesn't remember any of you, I doubt a gun would make him any less stressed. I'll give you and update later tonight."
"Thank you, Doc," Derek says for JJ and the rest of the team.
Doctor Wallace only nods once and then he leaves them. JJ inhales a sudden sharp breathe before entering Alex's room again, shaking as she walks. Emily runs after her friend, but before she goes, she gives her gun to Derek.
"Hotch and Rossi are on their way," Penelope says to Derek. "They should know this too.
"I agree," Derek says back.
She and Derek and Spencer go back to the waiting room and sit down, waiting for JJ, Emily, Hotch and Rossi.
"Oh, I hate this!" Penelope exclaims, throwing her arms in the air. "My godson's in there and he doesn't know who his mom is, or me. And he's hurt. And poor JJ! She doesn't know what to do, or how to help Alex."
"I know, sweat pea, but right now we gotta focus on Alex. I know he'll fight through this and JJ will be there for him. He's a trooper, you know. Soon he'll be okay."
"I hope you're right."
Spencer hasn't said a word and he doesn't seem to know what to say. Though none of the BAU team members are especially fond of hospitals, there are few people than Emily and Spencer that dislike hospitals. Emily actually hates it. Spencer doesn't like it because it reminds him of that his mom's in an institution and he sent her there. He still feels somewhat guilty.
Hotch and Rossi arrive after fifteen minutes, asking for an update. Penelope and Derek give them a short summary. Since they managed to rescue Alex and Mabel, catch LaMontagne and his fellows, Hotch has given JJ time off and the team hasn't been gone for any case, seeing they're all under careful eyes of the board and Strauss. She's not happy with the BAU dropping the original case and hopping on the jet back to Virginia, though she understands the reasons for it. She also admitted that the search and rescue were well done, she's still furious. And the board has to make up their minds: what will the teams punishment be and will Aaron Hotchner come back as Unit Chief?
/
Alex wakes up around noon the next day. JJ's inside, dozing off. She wakes up too and calls for a nurse. Still she doesn't know how Alex's brain is. Will he still have amnesia?
"Hey there," she greets him softly. Confusion spreads in his face. You still don't remember anything then.
"Hi," he answers meekly. "I'm not… Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital. You got…hurt. Do you remember anything?"
"Not much. I'm sorry, but who are you? I don't recall to have seen you before."
Strangling a sob, JJ presses a smile. She doesn't want to upset Alex.
"It's okay. You're healing and you need to rest. I'm Jennifer. I'm your mother."
"Oh… I kind of figured seeing you're here alone now. But I don't know you."
"You just don't remember. But that will change."
Hopefully!
"Alexander, good to see you awake. I'm Dr Wallace. Do you know where you are?"
"In a hospital."
"What date is it?"
"Don't know."
"What's your name?"
"Alexander. But I know that because you just said it."
"I see. Do you know who this is?" Dr Wallace points at JJ.
"She said she's my mother, but I don't remember."
"Okay. That's okay. Now, I want to do some tests before I'll let you rest. Are you feeling any pain?"
"A little. In my head. And hand. And my left side. And I feel sore everywhere."
"That's normal. Now, don't blink now." He finds a small flashlight and checks his pupils, then he listens to Alex's heart and lungs, checking his pulse and looks at his reflexes with a small hammer. Writing something in the hospital charge, he tells JJ: "He's doing better now, but I'm still concerned about his brain. We will take him to a CT and MRI scan. I think that will give us a clearer image on his brain's development."
"When will we know if this amnesia is a permanent thing or not?" JJ hurries to ask. The doctor shrugs.
"Maybe another day or so. I'll keep you posted, Ms Jareau." And then he leaves JJ to Alex. There's an awkward silence and none of them manage to look the other one in the eyes. After a few moments, both Penelope and Emily walk in together.
"Hey there, Alex," Emily greets with a relieved smile. She's glad to see Alex awake. He looks a bit better now.
"Hi," he replies, trying not to show his confusion. He can't remember to know any of the women, but obviously they both know him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot," Emily apologizes. "I'm Emily Prentiss, a friend of JJ and you, and you're actually the godfather of my twins."
"Godfather?" he repeats.
I am? Oh, that was unexpected. How well do they all know me?
"Yeah. They're defiantly your biggest fans. JJ, coffee?" Emily hands out a cup of coffee to the blonde woman.
"Thanks."
"Well, I couldn't show up here empty handed either," Penelope says and pulls out a bag from behind her back. "Would you do the honour?"
Alex smiles slightly and accepts the bag. He opens it and sees a box full of cookies, two books and a picture frame. JJ sits quiet and watches as her son take out one item at once, feeling its weight. She can see the small smile widens. That, more than everything, makes her feel relaxed and content. A wave of love for Penelope hits her. Penelope always knows what she needs to do and she does it well. Right now, bringing small gifts, like she always does, was the right move.
"When you were younger, you and I always baked cookies together. But you didn't want with only chocolate chip, so we always added something more in them. These are for you, and they're dipped with chocolate, they have some toppings and they're also filled with different goodies. But I won't say more. It's up to you to explore those delicious treats."
"Wow…Thanks. Thank you very much!"
"Oh, nonsense!" But Penelope blushes lightly. "And this is some books I think you will like. The movies are coming out soon too, so if you like the books, give me a call and I'll have the tickets ready."
Alex doesn't know what to say to that. That woman is so full of life, so bubbly and kind. But most of all, she seems to know how to behave herself. At least she isn't constantly sending him worried side glances or mouths words to his mom.
Emily, Penelope and JJ stay for another hour. They don't talk too much to Alex directly, but try to steer the conversation over to light and casual subjects. Alex doesn't want to tell them he's tired, but seeing they are profilers and Penelope works within the BAU, they all get the hint and leave. Even JJ leaves, but only for a couple of minutes.
"You don't have to be here all day," he tells her.
Her eyes widen.
"If you're busy, I mean," Alex hurries to add.
"I'm not busy," she says, shaking her head. "I'm here because you are my son. And I want to be here."
How can I be your son when I don't know who I am? Or you.
"It doesn't matter to me if you can't remember anything now, because first you have to get better before we can think about anything else," she continues, as if she just read his mind.
"Okay," he says slowly. He sighs and sinks back, feeling tired.
"You can sleep," JJ says softly, "I'll be here when you wake up. If you want me to."
Alex forces himself to open his eyes. JJ's insecurities make him feel bad. He didn't mean to make her feel as she's bothering him. But she makes him a bit uncomfortable. She's so worried because she cares about him because he's her son. But she can't understand him. He doesn't know anything or anyone. Especially her. But that doesn't mean he can't try to get to know everyone again.
Before falling to sleep, he manages to whisper out: "I'd like that."