White walls. Antiseptic. Doctors. The sick. The dying. It was all enough to bring Ryker to her knees in panic attacks and migraines. Only Penelope Garcia could get this girl to walk into a hospital on her own; too bad Penelope needed to get shot to do it.
Ryker kept her eyes to the floor, breathing in and out through her mouth; it wasn't stopping her head from spinning, but it kept the medical smell out of her nose.
"You alright, Ryker?" Morgan asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"Um…no. Not really. I'm gonna go outside, tell Garcia I'll be right in."
She booked it down the hallway, not reaching the elevators fast enough. She pressed the button six or seven times, each harder than the last. It didn't hurry things along, but it also didn't stop her from doing it.
In a panic she made her way farther down the hallway, hoping to reach the stairs before she had another episode.
-
"Ryker!" JJ called after the speed walking brunette. "Where's she going?"
Penelope was finally out of surgery and up for a few visitors. Ryker couldn't stop talking about it; this wasn't the reaction JJ was expecting when they finally reached her hospital room.
"Nosocomephobia" Spencer said matter-of-factly, receiving a few raised eyebrows and an exasperated look from Morgan.
"Uh, it's the fear of hospitals."
"Someone should go check on her." All eyes were on Spencer before the words were out of Emily's mouth.
It was no secret Spencer had a school boy crush on their new intern.
"So…..go get her, Lover Boy."
" you alright?"
Ryker nodded her head once, face buried in her knees. She made herself as comfortable as she could on the simple bench outside the death trap known to most as a hospital.
"How long have you been afraid of hospitals?" Spencer asked, pushing Ryker's feet off the bench and taking a seat next to her.
"Since I was a kid. My Mom put me in therapy by the time I was a teenager, didn't do much to help though."
Spencer took in her appearance; her shoulders were hunched, fists clenched, her eyes were wide and her face pale as paper.
He reached out and pulled her into his side. Slowly her shoulders lowered back to where they should be, and her hands, though a bit sweaty, were lying flat against her legs.
"I hate the smell. It makes me sick."
"Want me to take you home?"
Ryker snorted; how ladylike.
"I've seen you drive, I'll just end up back here."
A mixture of voices and even some light laughter flowed from the room and into the hallway. Garcia muttered 'don't make me laugh' and the chuckles continued. Who can honestly stop laughing when someone tells them to stop with the jokes?
The door opened and Ryker slowly walked in, sending awkward smiles to her coworkers.
"I didn't think you'd come see me, Mediphobic." Penelope smiled, and Ryker couldn't help but grin back.
"I didn't either."
Ryker tightened her grip on Spencer's hand, and he squeezed back just as hard.
"So," Penelope couldn't keep her smile at bay. "All it took was me getting shot to finally get you two together."
Two stuttering 'might as well be twelve' coworkers instantly dropped hands and began to mutter incoherent sentences, red patches making their way across both of their faces.
And the chuckles continued.