Exclaimer: I do not own characters from Criminal Minds. I just don't. ;)
The gun fired. The man fell down with a rumble. He gasped few times. Thick, red blood emerged from his mouth and spilled over his chin.
-Check the property! She's got to be somewhere here! – Derek Morgan ordered, running towards the body – He's dead.
-Sir, we've found something! – voice came form the adjacent room.
-Reid, come with me – said Morgan and headed towards the door.
Doctor Spencer Reid followed him uncertainly. Not because of the gun in his hand, not because of the murderer. He was dead. It was this feeling, he had at the moment – irrational fear of what he might see. Everything has changed since the abduction.
-Sweet Jesus… - Morgan's voice awoke him from stupefaction. He crossed the threshold and that was when he saw it. Palms. Lots of them. Big and small, black and white. In a various level of decomp. And among them – tiny body, cringed next to the old cocotte bathtub, lying in the puddle of blood and urine. The smell was hardly bearable. Scraps of clothes were barely covering her body, as pale as sheet. And though at first sight it appeared that the girl was merely scratched, Reid knew she suffered inconceivably. From the profile he knew that the murderer took his time with all the tortures.
-It's too late – Morgan moved the beam of light over the body – We're too late.
And that was when Reid saw it.
-Morgan! – he cried and rushed towards the girl – She's alive!
-Give me the paramedics here! Right now! – Spencer heard Derek but somehow muffled. Then it was all like in a slow motion. Paramedics came out of nowhere. They pushed him aside, but he stayed there and watched, speechless. Wave of memories flooded his consciousness.
-Excuse me, could I go with you – he asked, when paramedics were putting girl in the ambulance – Victim has no living relatives, as we know it.
-Jump in. You may come in hand.
5 days. 120 hours. 172800 minutes. 10368000 seconds of constant pain. Statistic shown that women are more resistant to pain than men. Reid could only wonder why. Most of them probably thought about their families, kids. But she couldn't. She had nobody on this world. Or maybe there was someone they didn't know about? He still couldn't figure out what gave her the strength to survive. When she arrived at the hospital she was in a critical condition. Like all the other victims of that serial killer, she was constantly druged, had burned and bruised feet, broken bones, dislocated almost all joints. She was also drowned multiple times. Despite all that, her tormenter did his best to keep her conscious as long as it was possible and, on the other hand alive, as long as he could. They figured out the victimology puzzle just in time to rescue her. On that Friday, at midnight, Paul Headenby was to kill and cut his twenty fifth victim, Ellen Crust, 24 year old woman from Washington.
And yet she was lying here on a hospital bed and sleeping peacefully. She made it and Spencer Reid wasn't sure why. Despite her age, she looked almost like a teenager: about 5 feet tall, tiny, almost disappearing in bedding right now. Reid smiled. It was just like him and his colleagues adding the 'doctor' title to his name not to confuse the cops, witnesses and victim's families. Young and already damaged inside…
Since the surgery Ellen had opened her eyes few times but never seemed to be particularly aware of where she was. Doctors considered her to be a small miracle from the medical point of view. The only said, she needs a rest.
Now he felt ashamed of the fact that during the investigation whole team was thinking of her as of a body. Dead. With less than 0% percent chances of surviving. After all, she was one of 3 victims of Palm Killer, who made it through 5 days of his tortures. And we, clever profilers, buried her in our minds. Did not gave her a chance. He thought about himself, being abducted by a serial killer with a split personality. The pain, the fear for his life. He snapped, back there. Confessed his 'alleged' sins. And it was his friends that rescued him. It's because of them, that he could be at the hospital right now. And where are your friends? Why didn't they make it here…?
-But why did he abducted her, broke her left leg , then took care of her, almost tended her and then finally beaten to death? – Morgan clearly wasn't convinced.
-Derek's right – Emily said – two previous victims weren't treated like that. Maybe it's not the same guy?
-He is. We just don't see the whole picture – Rossi was relentless.
-Okay, let's just assume we're chasing the same unsub. Dig in the files, we could be missing something. Morgan, you and Prentiss will go to the victims houses. And you Reid… - at that moment Reid's phone rang loudly. He picked it up immediately, not even looking at Hotchner.
-Yes. Yes, sir. Thank you very much. I will be there as fast as it is possible. Thank you. – he disconnected and headed towards the door.
-Reid, where are you going? Is this bout the case? – agent Hotchner was a bit surprised with Reid's reaction to that call.
-I-I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you… Ellen has woken up!
-And does it have anything to do with…
-…me? Yes, actually… I gave them my number and asked them to call me as soon she will fully regain consciousness. She has nobody here.
-All right. You can go. But come back today and help with the files. We have almost nothing right now.
-Of course. I'll do that. Thank you! – he left the room quickly and left Hotch alone, wondering.
Just when he was near the hospital room he saw her awake. She looked better. Still unable to walk and move on her own, but somehow more…alive. He was watching her for a while through the glass, form the distance, before he decided to go in. Uncertain, he opened the door. Ellen noticed that and turn her head. She looked at him with her big grey eyes. For a moment, Spencer wanted to go back, but then he thought: She has nobody. It's just you.
-Hi, Ellen, I'm dr. Spencer Reid from B.A.U., from FBI. I came here because…
-Is the case closed? – she interrupted.
-Is…the case closed? – he repeated, surprised by the peculiar selection of words – Technically, it's not… just lots of paper work for the police, but… do you want to know if the killer was caught? He' was shot. He's dead and you're…
-Is the case closed? – she repeated with tears in her eyes.
-No, it's not, Ellen. But you're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore… And it's just paperwork, they have to deal with. Soon it'll be over. I promise. – he tried to comfort her but she just turned away. Reid cursed himself in his mind. She's traumatized and you should focus her mind on something else than the case. Make her think positive. But he couldn't. Ellen constantly reminded him of his own abduction. By her side it just all came back…
-I'm sorry… - he suddenly heard her voice and saw her turning her head back – I didn't mean to. I lost it.
-No-no… You have nothing to be sorry about. You're the vic-… - he paused - I mean… I'm here to help you. You live alone, but do you have somebody in town, who could help you, take care of you?
-No. I've got no family, as you probably already know. I'm also pretty new in town, so, no, there's no friend to help. But don't worry bout me. I'll manage.
-I would disagree. You suffered a lot and even after you leave hospital you'll need someone to look after you. You need time to heal your bones and…your mind as well.
-I'm a tough girl, as you can see… - she smiled, but Reid somehow know it was a fake smile. A mask.
-I-I could help you. – he said suddenly – I will help you. – Ellen looked at him, surprised, but he smiled – You probably won't understand it now, but believe me, I…I know something about being tough and… Sometimes it's just not enough. Sometimes, even though it's hard, you need to trust someone, open up, before it is too late.
-Okay – she smiled, but this time truthfully – You're the doctor. I'd better be listening to you, right?