AN: Okay, I figured I would be writing a tag to Amplification at some point or other because I am a bit Reid-whump fan and sicknesses are one of my favorite story lines. However, I did not anticipate such a disappointing ending (at least for a Reid hurt/COMFORT fan). The episode itself was great though. Love a good disease/quarantine story. Anyway, this story is not the kind of thing I thought I'd be doing, but it is instead me adding what I wish I had seen but I tried to keep it as close to the episode as possible.

Warning: Spoilers for Amplification.Possibly very slightly AU. This is kind of intended to be inserted in between all of the phone calls to loved ones, but some things might not add up perfectly. And all the mistakes are my own. Not beta'd.

Disclaimer: Not my show or characters. Just adding to the fun.

Enjoy :)

Enjoy the Silence

They gathered in the waiting room as they had done way too many times when waiting for someone they cared about. The team was no stranger to hospitals and waiting rooms, not that the experience ever made the wait any easier and this time it seemed particularly painful. The fact that anthrax was being spread throughout the city meant that everything, including their [potentially] dying colleague and friend was to be pushed aside until the threat was terminated.

Apart from a few mentions of his condition here and there, Hotch had made sure to keep the remaining team members from dwelling on Reid too long in fear that it would cloud their ability to complete the task at hand. He had been right, of course, but now that the unsub had been apprehended, they couldn't help but feel a certain amount of guilt at the thought of Reid had being alone at the hospital for hours with no one by his side.

As it was, none of them knew the condition of the young agent at all. After an hour or so of receiving updates from Dr. Kimura, the calls had stopped coming, apparently due to her understanding the necessity of keeping the team focused. However, now that they could and wanted to hear about Reid, no one was telling them anything.

After Brown had been captured, however, the team had all decided to make their way as quickly as possible to the hospital to check on Reid.

Derek Morgan couldn't sit still. He never really could when he was in this position; in a waiting room dying to know information on someone he cared about. And Reid was so different than anyone else. He couldn't explain it other than saying the kid was like his brother. The need to protect him was so overwhelming to Morgan sometimes, it surprised him. It nearly killed him the moment he saw the broken beaker of white powder in the room with Reid.

"Where is Kimura?" he demanded to anyone that would listen. "We've been working right beside her this whole time, and yet now, she's disappeared."

Yes, he was angry. He was fuming, in fact. Why was Reid in that hospital room, possibly bleeding from his damn lungs while the rest of them, Morgan in particular, were fine? Morgan had been right beside Reid at one point, and then before he even realized it, Reid was locked in a room with anthrax.

"Morgan," Hotch breathed, offering Morgan a sense of comfort as well as a warning. "Patience. They are likely working with the cure and without that, Reid has no chance."

Well, that certainly quieted Morgan. He knew that Hotch was right but it certainly didn't make any of this easier. He looked at the rest of the team and realized just how different they all were when worried or scared. Hotch basically looked the same as always, with maybe more stern creases in his stony face, Emily was quiet and still and all her concern was in her eyes. JJ looked different than normal and Morgan knew it was due to her previous concern for her son as well as Reid. Now that she knew the anthrax threat was over, there seemed to be a slight sense of relief as well as more concern for Reid.

Rossi and Garcia were the same as always; Rossi carefully looked over them all, worry present somewhere on his face though he was never easy to figure out whereas as Garcia had watery eyes and held her hands tightly on lap. And, Morgan paced and got mad. That was just the way he did it.

"Dr. Kimura," Morgan heard Hotch say and immediately spun around to see the female doctor coming to stop in front of them. They were all on their feet now, eagerly waiting to hear anything on Reid's condition.

"First of all, congratulations on the capture of Brown. That, no doubt, saved the lives of many," Kimura said quickly as a greeting then proceeded right away. "I'm assuming you are here for information on Dr. Reid…?"

"Yes, we are. How is he?" Hotchner said, as stony-faced as ever.

Kimura took a deep breath. "He's alive," she said simply. "We've only just now been able to administer the cure found in Dr. Nichol's lab. It, as you may imagine, had to undergo several tests before we could use it on humans."

They all remained quiet while she paused another moment.

"As I told someone at the FBI, Dr. Reid's condition did progress to a state near to that of our established patients at a record pace…"

"But why?" Garcia blurted out. "He's young and healthy… I don't understand."

"Before entering Dr. Nichol's lab, Dr. Reid cut his hand on bush outside the home. This, unfortunately, granted the powder direct access to his bloodstream, as well as him breathing it into his lungs. Together, the poison was able to attack his body on two separate levels, causing his condition to worsen very quickly."

"Okay, but how is he now?" Morgan asked, needing to know what to expect.

"Well, it's difficult to say at this exact moment," Kimura said slowly. "As I said, we've given the cure to him as well as the other four, and while we've yet to see improvements, none of the patients have worsened and that in itself is a promising sign."

"Do you expect them to live?" Rossi said, sounding surprisingly calm but to-the-point.

Kimura paused for a moment. "My personal guess? I do believe they will make it, yes. But I will tell you now, Dr. Reid alone is… very sick. I know my last update to the FBI informed you all of his respiratory arrest, of which we still have in on the respirator for, and from there, his body is rattled with fever and exhaustion. Much of his survival and overall recovery will depend on his strength. Given his refusal to accept any pain killers…"

"He what?" Hotch interrupted. Morgan looked at the others and saw the same look. The kid had refused pain killers. They all knew of his history with drugs, but that had been quite some time ago and this was anthrax, for God's sake.

"He refused to accept any pain killers for a very long time. We eventually convinced him to allow us to give him a limited amount, but even then it's probably only enough to basically keep him alive."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"Well, for the patients that have lasted this long, much of their survival was because of the narcotics keeping them comfortable. You must understand the extreme pain that comes with having a disease a severe as anthrax. As I said, he eventually agreed to some but I know the pain is intense."

"Reid is strong," Hotch said, pulling them all from their deep thoughts. "If his survival is dependent on strength, then we are pretty lucky."

This, they could agree on. Morgan knew the kid was immensely strong, even if his tall, slender form betrayed that fact.

Kimura smiled. "I have a feeling you're right."

"When can we see him?" JJ asked, asking a question they all wanted an answer to.

"Normally, we would be very hesitant to allow visitors so early, however, because he is on very little narcotics, he is awake more than I would like which means he's more aware of the pain. That being said, visitors may help distract him. I think I may allow one of you in at once and we'll see how he handles it."

Morgan looked at the others and thought about how badly he wanted to see the younger agent. Hotch caught his eye and gave him a small nod as if he knew what Morgan was craving.

"Allow me to reiterate just how ill he is, though," Kimura said with as a warning, immediately bringing Morgan back down from his brief excitement. "As I said before, he has a high fever, meaning he is usually unable to focus. He is still on a ventilator and lesions have formed on his neck and arms. "

"We understand, Doctor," Rossi said, his voice cutting through the intense air just created by her comment. The last time Derek had seen him, Reid looked fine. Well, a little paler than usual and coughing, but otherwise fine. The person Kimura just described didn't sound fine at all.

"Alright, well, I can take the first person back if you are all ready," Kimura said, looking from person to person to see which one was going to go first.

"Morgan," Hotch spoke up rather quickly. "You go first."

Morgan nodded and felt a sense of relief mixed with nerves wash over him at the thought of seeing Reid, knowing how sick he was. Kimura turned and started back the way she came and Morgan followed after a somber nod to the rest of the team.

Morgan felt his heart rate increase as they got nearer to Reid's room and found it odd how nervous he was. Finally, Kimura stopped in front of a room that had a glass window, permitting Morgan a first glimpse of his sick friend. However, apart from the blatant fact that Reid was on a ventilator, it was difficult to see much else.

"He's right in here," Dr. Kimura said as she opened the door to the room and held it for Morgan, then followed him once he had walked through.

Morgan slowly approached the bed, his stomach twisting in knots the closer he got. The kid looked… hell, like a damn kid. So much smaller and more fragile than ever before, which was really saying something. Morgan continued to look Reid over, amazed at how the dark circles seemed even darker and his cheeks more sunken. But what got Morgan the most, apart from the tube coming from the kid's mouth, was the dried blood along the collar and top portions of his hospital gown.

Derek momentarily had to look away as horrifying images of blood dripping from Reid's mouth after violent coughing spells raced through his mind. It simply wasn't fair. With all the guns and bombs and crazy people that had nearly killed the young agent, it was a fine white powder that had him the closest to death's door and in the worst shape.

Physically, Morgan corrected himself as he tried to find some sort of positivity. Reid had not been tortured or anything that should hurt him nearly as much mentally, and that was a blessing at least.

"I'm seeing slight improvements," Dr. Kimura said, pulling Morgan from his thoughts. He turned to see her placing Reid's chart back in its holder. "Slight, but promising."

"So, he'll get better for sure?"

"I do believe so, yes," Kimura answered. "I do strongly believe, however, that his condition would be far better had he accepted the painkillers. Pain, alone, can have devastating effects."

Morgan looked away from her, not wanting to think about Reid refusing something that would ease his pain but also understanding why he did it.

"I'm sensing this is a sensitive subject," the doctor said quietly.

"Yeah," Morgan replied, still not looking her. "Reid's been through while on the job. Some of the worst stuff a person can go through."

"Well, he can now add anthrax to that list," she added softly, sadly.

Morgan nodded and then something occurred to him. "Can I talk to you outside?"

Kimura looked surprised but recovered quickly. "Yes. Of course.'

They stepped outside and, out of the desire to get back in there as quick as possible, Derek began speaking right away.

"I realized with the information you've heard so far, you can pretty much guess why he doesn't want painkillers, right?"

"I have my guesses," Kimura replied, still apparently confused as to where this was going.

"Okay look, a few years back, he was abducted and tortured by a schizophrenic man and was constantly having Dilaudid shoved in him," Morgan said quickly, not allowing himself time enough to consider whether or not it was right to be telling her this, but he felt she ought to know. "He ended up developing a small addition, but he's been clean for a long time now. I just don't want you to get the wrong idea about him. He is very strong."

Dr. Kimura looked at him for a moment and Morgan was surprised at how he suddenly felt angry at the idea of her judging Reid for something.

"Agent Morgan, I cannot even imagine what an FBI profiler goes through with every case. Obviously, on this particular case alone, one of you were infected with a deadly form of anthrax. The fact that anyone would do a job such as yours is proof enough that you are all very strong. Addictions and issues such as those are, perhaps not acceptable, but almost expected," Dr. Kimura said softly and kindly, gaining more of Derek's respect with every word. "I do not hold any sort of negative judgment towards Dr. Reid from what I know if him, including this new information. In fact, you have only reinforced my faith in him pulling through this. I just hate to think that he has had to endure anything worse than this."

Morgan let out a deep sigh and decided he made the right choice.

"Thanks," he said. "Just… you know, don't mention that you know anything."

"Of course not," Kimura said. "I appreciate you telling me." She then turned around and looked through the glass. "He's awake."

Morgan's heart stopped temporarily as he saw the slightest movement coming from Reid's bed before bolting back into the room along with Kimura.

"Reid," he said softly as he approached the kid's bed. Soft brown eyes could only been seen through tiny slits and it was apparent that even though Reid was technically awake, he was not all there. Morgan saw one of his hands clench weakly then watched as the kid's eyes rather frantically moved over him and Kimura.

"Doc…," Morgan said fearfully. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

"Don't worry, Agent. This is due to his high temperature," Kimura said quickly as she placed her hand on Reid's face. "Dr. Reid, please calm down for me. Someone has come to see you."

She then moved back and gave Morgan some room to get up there. The wild look and feverish look of Reid's face scared him, but Morgan didn't let it stop him.

"Hey Reid. Everyone's here waiting for you to get better, okay?"

Relief filled Morgan's body as Reid focused into Morgan's eyes, showing some level of recognition and even a hint of coherence.

"We got the guy and you've been given a cure. You did it, kid. Now just close your eyes and get some rest. We need you outta here as soon as possible."

Reid stared at him for a moment more and Morgan was quite sure that he had gotten through to the fever-stricken man. Slowly, Reid blinked a few times tiredly before his eyes didn't reopen.

"Nice job, Agent."

"Call me Derek," he replied. "And thanks. For the compliment and keeping him alive."

She chuckled. "Well, I couldn't have done it without him."

Derek then laughed too. "Yeah, that's just how it goes with him. At the end of the day, you think you did something good then you realize it was pretty much all him," he said, looking over at the now sleeping Reid.

He smiled. "I wouldn't trade it for the world though."

EN: I'm not sure if I'll continue this or not. I kind of want to just because I like writing and would like to do more, but honestly, I'm not going to write more if no one else seems to be interested. Not a ploy for comments, promise, but I'm at the last week of school with finals coming up, I'm suffering through mono right now and my parents are divorcing. Bottom line, I'm tired. So, while I'd like to do some more, I will only if others want it too.

K, either way, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!!