Hey guys! This is my first time writing a criminal minds fic (so go easy on me haha) but please read it and review. I love criticism (as long as it is helpful) and your reviews make my day.
So anyways, this takes place in Season 2. No slash. It will be multichaptered, sorry if it takes a while, I get busy with school and forget to write. I'm super nervous for posting this.
Oh and I should give editing creds to evergreen451 because she is super awesome and my best friend and is kind enough to edit my writing without complaining.
So anyways, here it goes. It is set in Virginia, starts at the end of a case. Please don't yell at my medical misconceptions because I am not a doctor and am too lazy to look things up. Also, the ooos are when it changes perspective so sorry if thats confusing. I attempted 3rd person omniscient. Sorry, I'm stalling. I don't own anything criminal minds so don't sue me.
The team split into pairs. The unsub was within a two mile radius and since they wanted to cover the most ground possible the quickest, Hotch decided this was the safest and most efficient method. Gideon with JJ, Hotch with Prentiss, Morgan with Reid. "Remember, he has a partner, so we want him alive to lead us to the partner," Hotch's voice barked out at his agents. Starting together at the edge of the dense woods where the trees met the dirt road, they ran off in different directions, unaware of what would happen.
ooo
Spencer's stomach churned with an uneasy feeling. Something was off, he could feel it, he just couldn't pinpoint what. Before Spencer was able to put more thought into it, Morgan began to run, kicking up moist soil. He quickly followed, not wanting to lose his partner before they even got into the woods. While following on Morgan's heels, Spencer's eyes darted back and forth. He took in the dark sky, they uprooted roots of the large trees, the rustling of the leaves against the breeze. It's probably just the dark, that's probably why I'm a little nervous. No danger is here, Morgan's got my back and I have his. Nothing to worry about. So focus! Reid tried to calm himself and fool his subconscious that this was nothing more dangerous than sitting in his apartment reading his books. That there was nothing to fear. There was still a deep pit in his stomach, though. Spencer had a very bad feeling about this.
ooo
Once they were a fair distance away from the road, they began to walk, turning and pointing their guns at every rustle in the thick bush. They continued walking onward and eventually reached a small, broken down cabin. Derek signaled with his arm and they ran to each side of the closed door. Morgan raised his hand and counted backwards with his fingers. Three. Two. One. Morgan's foot broke down the door and both agents had their guns out with flashlights, scanning the interior of the structure. Something felt sticky under their feet. They looked down simultaneously to see blood pooling across the dirty, wooden floor. Reid looked up and locked eyes with an armed stranger. He lightly kicked Morgan to look up as well. Both agents now had their guns pointed at the bearded man standing in the middle of the cabin. The man had a gun, and was shifting it to point back and forth between the two FBI agents. "Take the vests off!" He yelled at the agents. They looked back at him with confusion. "You heard me, TAKE THEM OFF!"
"Only if you put your gun down." Morgan replied with a calm, steady voice. They needed to take this man in alive, Hotch's orders.
"Take them off first!" The unsub ordered. "NOW!" The two agents put their hands up and complied, taking off their bullet proof vests, having to put their guns to their sides briefly to do so. Spencer had his off first, Morgan hesitated a second before complying. Before they could think, a shot rang out, lodging itself into Spencer's abdomen. Morgan immediately raised his gun in rage and shot the unsub in the forehead. Reid slumped to the ground, collapsing.
ooo
A shot rang out. Before he could fully register it, Spencer felt an intense pain stab through his stomach. His legs gave out beneath him, the wooden floors pulling him into their embrace. His vision was blackening along the edges, more black spots dancing in front of his eyes. He felt a cold sweat break out; he felt hot but shivery at the same time. The pain had lessened due to adrenaline, but a wave of tiredness overwhelmed him. Worried brown eyes met his closing ones. "Stay with me pretty boy, keep those eyes open for me." He felt pressure on his torso, probably from Morgan's hands. He just wanted to go to sleep and escape, but he struggled to stay awake and keep shock at bay. "Come on, stay awake," Morgan ordered; his voice was swimming through Spencer's head and sounded like it was almost underwater. "Eyes open pretty boy! Open!" Spencer tried to keep his eyes open, putting all his effort into it. He attempted to shift to a more comfortable position. There was one problem though; his legs. He couldn't move them. He couldn't even feel them.
Spencer tried to now put all of his focus onto moving his legs, hell, even moving one toe would help sooth his anxiety. No such luck. "Legs," Spencer breathed out before spiralling into the world of unconsciousness and oblivion.
"Legs." Spencer whispered to Morgan before passing out. Morgan's eyes widened and watched Spencer's eyes flutter shut.
ooo
"NO SPENCER! NO! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SLEEP!" He picked Spencer up into his arms bridal style and run, not caring about causing further damage, only caring about getting him to a hospital. He sprinted through the woods, stumbling over branches and roots but somehow staying upright. He saw the car, the team outside it, the road, and he ran faster. "Hospital! Now!" He yelled out to the team urgently, too panicked and in a hurry to explain more. They loaded Spencer's limp body into the back of the car, laying him across the back seats. Gideon drove double the speed limit and Morgan sat in the back, hovering above Spencer and applying pressure to the bullet wound. Hotch was in the front. There was no room for the rest of the team so they called for Penelope to pick them up. No no no no no. Not you buddy. This is all my fault. Morgan thought, tears streaming down his face, watching Spencer's chest barely rise and fall. If only I shot the killer right away, if only we didn't take the vests off and negotiated further, if only... Morgan's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival to the hospital. Hotch got out and ran into the emergency doors they parked directly outside of, returning a second later with doctors and a gurney.
Morgan watched as they loaded Spencer's frail, thin frame onto the gurney. They started CPR when he stopped breathing. He followed them through the hallways, the world seeming unreal and hazy around him. "Sir, you can't go in there," a nurse said in a nasally voice, blocking him from the operating room. He was prepared to bust through her, to make sure he was there with Spencer, but Hotch grabbed his shoulders from behind and led him to the waiting room sitting him down in a plastic covered chair. All they could do now was wait.
ooo
Penelope was sitting in her office, trying to find Tom Cruise's cell phone number, when a call broke the comfortable silence. Assuming it was Morgan she happily answered. "What's up, Sweet Cheeks?" She flirted.
"Garcia," It was Emily's voice. Garcia blushed at her mistake. "We need you to pick us up ASAP." Prentiss's voice was urgent and serious. Garcia wrote the address she was instructed to pick them up on a pink sticky note with her purple gel pen.
"I'll be right there." Garcia assured, wondering what was going on. She got out of her office and walked to the elevator, impatiently pushing the button repeatedly. The elevator was taking forever so she took off running down the stairs.
She panted a little when she reached her car in the parking garage. Her hatred of running reminded her why she would much rather work with her beloved computers than in the field. Garcia turned the key in the ignition and sped off to pick up her stranded team members.
She turned off the interstate onto the dirt road, after driving a few miles on the rocky, unpaved trail she saw Emily and JJ waving her down. Penelope stopped right in front of them. Emily ran up, taking shotgun, and JJ sat in the back seat. "We need to go to the hospital. I'll explain on the way." Emily told her, voice cracking slightly. JJ sat quietly in the backseat, silent tears wetting her cheeks.
They got on the interstate again and sped in the direction of the hospital. "What happened my lovelies?" Penelope asked, adrenaline racing through her veins, wondering if her beloved chocolate god was injured.
"Reid... he- he was sh-shotttt." JJ quietly stuttered from the back seat. Penelope's face paled, her little baby Reid was shot. Last time she saw him he was excitedly rambling to her about quantum physics like an excitable puppy. Thoughts raced through her head a mile a minute. Is he ok? What happened? Is... is he dead? They sped along the highway, riding in silence. The only noise in the car was the muffled sobs of JJ.
Penelope parked as close to the hospital entrance as she could and got out of her car slamming the door behind her. They walked to the entrance of the hospital, hesitating at the door, afraid of discovering their friend to be dead. When they walked in, they immediately saw they boys in the waiting room. Gideon sitting on a plastic covered chair, his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees. Hotch was pacing back and forth. Morgan was sitting in a chair a few down from Gideon, his knee jittering up and down impatiently. Morgan's eyes lit up slightly when he saw Penelope. He got up and walked over to her and without saying a word, pulled her into a bear hug. Penelope buried her head into his chest, her tears wetting his shirt. They eventually pulled away and Morgan and Emily went to go get everyone coffee. Penelope looked at the clock, 1:27 am. This was going to be a long night.
ooo
Hotch continued to pace across the waiting room. This is my fault, if we didn't split up this wouldn't have happened. Guilt gnawed at him, even though deep down he knew he made the right call of splitting up. Morgan came back and handed him a styrofoam cup full of black coffee. He sat it down on a magazine littered table and continued pacing. He walked up to the receptionist at the front desk. "Any news for Spencer Reid?" he asked, growing more and more impatient by the minute.
"Let me check," she tapped on the computer keyboard in front of her, "he is still in surgery. I don't know when he will get out." She picked up her People magazine and resumed reading about whatever celebrity scandal was the hot topic at the time.
Hotch, walked away and continued to pace. He turned to his team, "This may be a while, you guys should go home and get some rest, I'll call you if anything happens." They team shook their heads.
"I'm not going anywhere." Morgan grumbled.
"Me neither." JJ quietly added.
The team remained in the cramped waiting room. Penelope sat in the chair next to Morgan, resting her head on his shoulder. Emily tried to distract herself by flipping through a housekeeping magazine. JJ sipped at her coffee. Hotch continued to pace, watching the second hand on the clock tick in circles at an impossibly slow rate.
ooo
Spencer woke up. The first thing he noticed was the steady beeping of a heart monitor, and he felt an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. Without opening his eyes, he tried to swipe it off. A cool gloved hand grabbed his arm and put it back down at his side. The small movement of his arm made him exhausted. Where am I? His thoughts slurred. His mind jumped, he was in the hospital. Maybe they took me away and locked me in a psych ward. I'm not crazy! I swear! His heart raced causing the monitor to beep faster and faster. "We need to sedate him again," he heard a female's voice echo somewhere in the darkness. His heart beating faster and faster, he thought his chest would explode. You can't lock me up like my mom, you can't. I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not cra- Medicine seeped into his iv, putting him back into a trance.
ooo
A nurse came out into the hallway and walked into the waiting room. When she walked in, a very attractive African American man stood up at her presence. "What's the word?" He asked.
"He woke up about an hour ago but freaked out so needed to be sedated again." She told him. "We will continue monitoring him but we will not know much more until he wakes up again." She watched the relief wash over the six anxious faces. "He is stable now but still in critical condition." She added, not wanting to get their hopes up too high. Should I tell them he is probably paralyzed and will never walk again? Not yet, we don't know for sure. She turned around and began walking back.
"Wait!" The black man yelled out, stopping her in her tracks. "Can we see him?"
"Not yet. When he wakes up again, only immediate family can visit him. Then after he recovers a little you guys can"
"He doesn't have a family," The black haired one stood up, telling her with a monotone yet sad voice, "we are his family."
"I'll go check who is listed as his emergency contact." She walked to the receptionist and they whispered back and forth. The receptionist tapped some more on her computer and then showed the nurse the screen. "Aaron Hotchner," she called out, and the black haired man took a step forwards, "you are listed as his emergency contact and will be allowed to visit him when he wakes up again. You guys might as well sit down, it will be a while until the medicine wears off."
ooo
The medicine they gave to sedate Spencer was beginning to wear off. He felt a little nauseous and the morphine drip they gave him made him feel woozy. Right above where he got shot was a sharp pain when he wriggled around. Below that was numb. Spencer opened his eyes, the bright light made him blink a little and his head was throbbing but he kept them open. He squinted, trying to figure out why he was here. Oh yeah, I got shot. He began to remember him and Morgan in the cabin. Taking the vest off. Anything past that had escaped his memory. Morgan! Is he ok? I shouldn't have blacked out, I should have made sure he was ok, did he get shot, where is he... A doctor's voice stopped his train of thoughts. I should pay attention to the doctor. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite focus on what the doctor was saying, he caught a few words every now and then but was too drugged up to piece them together.
Spencer closed his eyes in exhaustion and frustration. He just wanted to go to sleep and wake up in his bed and discover it was just a bad dream. He just wanted to go home.
Hotch walked in the room, escorted by a nurse. Spencer felt a warm hand grab his cool one, he opened his eyes to find Hotch's face. "Hey doctor, how are you doing?" Hotch asked.
"I'm sorry." Spencer whispered, feeling ashamed and guilt ridden.
"For what?"
I dont know. Just sorry." Spencer closed his eyes again and fell back into a dreamless sleep.
ooo
Hotch stayed there for a while, watching over him. Spencer looked even smaller than usual in the hospital bed. Tubes covered him. There were several going into his arm, one that reached underneath the covers which Hotch assumed to be a catheter, a tube drizzling oxygen into his nose. For some reason it made him think of his own son, so small and vulnerable looking. He sat in a chair pulled up next to the bed, he had Spencer's and was stroking it with his thumb. It was so cold, so boney. He's too young for this, too young for this job, too young for this life. He knew this wasn't true, although he was the youngest member of the team, he was born to work as a profiler. Still, Hotch felt guilt stir up his stomach. I don't know how, but this is my fault. I'm sorry Spencer. He sat there for what seemed like eternity before getting up to tell the rest of the team how Spencer was doing.
He walked into the waiting room, and saw the team sprawled out on the chairs asleep. All except Morgan, who looked like he hadn't slept in days. Hotch looked at the clock, it was 5:30ish. Morgan walked up to him, rubbing at his red rimmed eyes and overcome with guilt. "How is he?" Morgan asked.
"He's alright." Hotch lied. It would kill Morgan to see Spencer right now.
"Good. I'm going to go get some more coffee." Morgan shuffled in the direction of the cafeteria.
"You should get some sleep, you need it."
"Nah, I'm good." Morgan waved him off and continued walking down the hallway. If Spencer was here, he would correct me saying it was fine instead of good. Then he would ramble of some random fact that nobody really listened to. Morgan kinda missed the rambling that had driven him crazy over the years.