A/N
Thanks for the reviews! This addition isn't as long as the first but I think it does its justice. Yeah, Morgan was a little more angry than needed, but I wanted the drama so I kind of made his reaction a little more dramatic. Okay, a lot more dramatic but hey? It's fiction and I can do whatever the hell I want ;) Hope you enjoy! Also, I'm not a doctor so all medical stuff is from google.
I own nothing. All mistakes are my own. Warning for language and spoilers for previous seasons.
Morgan watched helplessly as Reid practically ran from the hotel room. Damn it! How could he have been so heartless? Morgan just punched him in the face for Pete's sake! Reid was definitely going to hate him now. He knew no matter how many times he was going to apologize to Reid, he could never take away that betrayed feeling Reid had on his face when Morgan hit him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid….
Morgan sighed and ran a hand over his face, tiredly. The sound of a door opening caused Morgan to turn around to see Hotch coming out of his room. Hotch's eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Morgan standing there.
"What are you doing?" Morgan asked Hotch when he saw that Hotch was wearing his work clothes.
"I just got a call from the station, the UNSUB's brother just came in and said he knows where the UNSUB is dumping the next body. I was going to wake up the rest of the team and go check it out, see if we can catch him in the act." Hotch said.
Morgan nodded, "I'll get JJ and Prentiss. You get Rossi."
"Where's Reid?" Hotch asked in confusion when Morgan didn't mention him.
"Reid went for a walk and I don't think he took his phone with him. We should just go without him, we don't have time to wait up on him," Morgan lied smoothly.
Hotch nodded in agreement and started walking down the hall towards Rossi's room. Morgan turned and started walking the other way to the room he knew JJ and Prentiss were sharing. He stopped at the door and gave it three, hard raps.
He waited a few seconds and then the door swung open to reveal a very tired, and somewhat annoyed Prentiss.
"What is it Morgan?" she asked. She was wearing a pain of forest green sweat pants and a black tank top.
"Hotch just got a lead on where the UNSUB is dumping the next body. We're gonna go check it out. Hurry up, we wanna catch him in the act," Morgan explained quickly.
Prentiss' tired eyes immediately snapped into attention, "Give us two minutes."
Fifteen minutes later, the BAU team (minus Reid) were sitting inside a black SUV, heading towards the location the UNSUB's brother had given them.
"Do you think it could be a trap?" Rossi asked.
Hotch shrugged, "I don't know, but be careful."
Morgan opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the distant sound of a gunshot.
"That came from the location…" JJ said uneasily.
"Morgan…." Hotch said, "Did Reid say where he went on a walk to?"
Morgan felt his blood run cold. Reid had a knack for getting into situations and with his luck, that bullet would have something to do with him.
"No, he didn't say," Morgan said.
"We're here," Hotch said quickly and jumped out of the SUV, his gun drawn. The rest of the team piled out of the SUV; Kevlar vest on and guns at the ready. Morgan held his small flashlight over his gun; his wrists were crossed over each other. The five of them approached the alley slowly, cautiously since they knew he had a gun.
"Markus Stanley, FBI!" Hotch called out into the alley.
The sound of someone running away echoed through the alley and Hotch nodded towards the rest of the team. They quickly went into the alley and waved their flashlights around, trying to get a good look at what was going on. The sound of JJ's scream echoed through the air and everyone turned to her in shock.
Morgan flashed his light on JJ, who was kneeling over something, or someone, her back to them.
"Hotch, call an ambulance!" she shouted over her shoulder.
JJ moved her body to the side and Morgan got a good look at what she was leaning over. Spencer Reid, their friend, their colleague, their genius, was lying on his back. His chest was completely covered in blood and JJ had her hands firmly pressed down to a spot in the center of his chest. That did it.
Morgan took off running in the direction the shooter had run. He ran through the darkness and followed the sound of heavy footfalls in front of him.
"STOP!" Morgan shouted in front of him.
As he ran faster, he could see the outline of a man running about ten feet in front of him. Morgan poured on the speed and the distance between them was slowly closing. In a matter of milliseconds, Morgan was right behind him. Morgan launched himself into the air and tackled the UNSUB to the ground.
The UNSUB grunted when he hit the concrete and Morgan pulled the handcuffs out of his back pocket and cuffed the man's hands behind his back. Morgan roughly pulled the man up to his feet and shoved him back towards the direction of the alley.
"He's going to die, you know," the UNSUB taunted and Morgan had to restrain himself from punching him.
A couple of minutes later, Morgan was back up with his team, watching Reid be lifted up into the ambulance.
"I'm riding," JJ told them quickly before climbing into the back of the ambulance with Reid.
Morgan still had his grip around the UNSUB's wrists as he watched the ambulance speed away. Hotch sighed and turned back to the team, his eyes grave. His white dress shirt was stained red with blood. Reid's blood. Morgan shuddered, as his words he said to his best friend echoed through his mind.
"You are useless to me. You're only some stupid kid whose dreams are too big for your own good. You were a loser in school who deserved to get beat up because of it, a failure of a man in every way except books, a drug addict and a social outcast who will forever be alone. "
"Morgan," Hotch's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
Morgan looked over at the team. Prentiss had her arms wrapped protectively around her with tears in her eyes. Rossi was still staring at the spot they had found Reid's bloodied body; his eyes had a faraway look to them. Hotch had his signature steely look on but Morgan could see the panic underneath.
"Let's get to the hospital," Hotch told them and the team nodded.
Two hours later, the team was still waiting for news on their youngest member. JJ and Hotch had changed out of their bloody clothes and they were both sitting in the white, uncomfortable plastic chairs of the hospital. Morgan was pacing the waiting room restlessly while Rossi leaned up against the wall, frowning.
JJ had said that Reid flat lined once in the ambulance just as they were pulling into the hospital. She did not see them revive him but they assumed they did since Reid was in surgery now. They had called Garcia about an hour ago and managed to convince her to stay back in Quantico and look up information on their UNSUB.
Morgan's words kept replaying over and over in his head as he paced along the wall. Useless… addict... failure…. Morgan suddenly lashed out and punched the wall next to him, causing everyone to jump. He closed his eyes tightly and fought the urge to cry.
If Reid died, it would be his entire fault. He was the one who made Reid leave the hotel and run into the UNSUB. Reid was right; he overreacted and now Reid was going to pay for it. Why couldn't he have just accepted Reid's apology and move on? Why did he have to be so hardheaded and hold the grudge? If he had just been a better friend, Reid wouldn't be in this situation right now. Oh, god, how could he have been so stupid?
Morgan sighed and opened his eyes. Everyone was staring at him with concerned eyes but didn't say anything. Morgan ignored them and sat down in one of the vacant chairs. He clasped his hands together and bowed his head. For the first time in years, Derek Morgan prayed.
He prayed that Reid lived to see another day. He prayed that he could hear the kid laugh one more time, see that face light up with that awkward smile, hear him ramble about useless facts nobody really cares about but deep down they all secretly loved it when he did that. He prayed that he could tease him one more time see that face blush deep red. He prayed he could apologize for everything and make it all better. He prayed he could have his friend back.
"Spencer Reid?" a voice called out.
Morgan's head shot up and saw the doctor standing there with a clip board in his hand. The doctor's expression wasn't sad but it wasn't happy, either. Morgan took that for a good sign and rushed up towards the doctor with the rest of the team.
"That's us," Hotch said.
The doctor eyed them all. It was obvious they weren't all blood related but the doctor decided not the question it.
"Mr. Reid-" the doctor began.
"Dr. Reid," everyone corrected at the same time.
The doctor smirked slightly before continuing, "Dr. Reid is a very lucky man. The bullet went straight through his stomach and the bleeding was excessive. We lost him twice on the operating table but we were able to bring him back without a problem. We were able to patch him up nicely and I believe he will make a full recovery. But I must say, this is the closest thing to a miracle I've ever seen. Usually, when a person has this kind of injury, they only have fifteen minute until they bleed to death. It's a very painful way to die. Our stomachs are filled with hydrochloric acid. As the blood begins to intermix with the stomach acid, this causes fatal toxemia and extreme blood loss in the individual. It's actually… quiet amazing he survived. Looks like someone out there is really praying hard for this kid"
Everyone was stunned into silence. Reid had seriously cut it way too close this time. Morgan ran his hand over his face again and felt himself give a breathless laugh. He was going to be okay. Reid was going to be okay.
"Can we see him?" JJ asked, hopefully.
The doctor nodded, "He's asleep now but you can wait with him until he wakes up."
Everyone nodded their thanks and started walking down the hall towards Reid's room. Morgan hesitated mid-step. Did he really want to see Reid? Hell yes. But did Reid want to see him? Reid would probably hate him for what he did. Hotch saw Morgan's hesitation and came over to him.
"Are you okay?" Hotch asked him.
Morgan gave an unconvincing nod, "Yeah, yeah. I think I'm gonna go back to the station and see how the officers and coming with the UNSUB."
Hotch's eyes narrowed suspiciously but he just said, "Alright, I'll call you with any updates."
Morgan nodded, "Thanks."
Gradually emerging as from a deep sleep, Reid's confused brain frantically tried to explain not only where he was, but what had actually happened. Slowly the dimness and silence which surrounded him began to clear, like drifting smoke picked up by the breeze, and realization dawned as to his present predicament. All he could see was a white ceiling and the sound of countless beeping machines.
"He's waking up," a familiar voice said. JJ.
"Reid? Can you hear us?" another asked. It was a male voice; deep, stony, and hard. Hotch.
Reid forced his eyes opened and groaned in a pain when a dull ache erupted from his chest. He blinked his eyes in focus and saw the members of his team crowed around the white hospital bed he was lying in. He glanced down and saw his right hand being clutched tightly by JJ and the other by Prentiss. Hotch was standing at his left and Rossi stood back in the corner, like a father watching over his children. Reid looked around the room again to find the one missing person and saw that Morgan was nowhere to be found.
Reid clenched his teeth and tried to remember what had put him in the hospital. The last thing he remembered was that he walked in on the UNSUB dumping another body and then everything goes black.
"What's wrong?" Hotch asked when he saw Reid's distress.
"What happened?" Reid asked suppressed a sound of pain when the spot on his chest fired up again.
"You found the UNSUB. You probably tried to talk him down, knowing you, and apparently things went wrong and he shot you. Panic immediately shot through Reid.
"They didn't give me any narcotics, right?" Reid asked in a rush.
A ghost smile flittered across Hotch's face, "They're giving you minor pain medication but they're non-narcotic."
Reid's body visibly relaxed when he heard that news, "How bad was the shot?"
This time Prentiss spoke up, "It was pretty bad. The doctors said it hit several major organs and it was a miracle you survived. They were able to patch you up okay but they lost you twice on the table. You're a fighter, Reid"
The sadness was evident in her voice and the rest of the team members continued to stare at Reid, as if he would burst into flames at any minute.
"Looks like fate had other plans for you," Rossi said from his observing spot in the corner.
Reid gave a dry laugh and settled down into the pillows, "Yeah, fate."
"We thought we lost you…." JJ said quietly and stroked the back of his hand with her thumb.
Reid reached out and cupped JJ's chin and brought her eyes to meet his.
"I'm not going anywhere," Reid told her seriously.
The rest of the team nodded in agreement with that statement. Reid's throat tightened and he felt tears brim in his eyes. They loved him. They really loved him. Even with all of his awkwardness and quirks, they still loved him. He felt a single tear fall from his eye and roll down his cheek.
JJ reached out and wiped it away with her thumb, "What's wrong? Are you in any pain? We can leave if you want us to."
"No!" Reid said a little too quickly and his team smiled slightly, "I mean…. I want you to stay."
JJ smiled and nodded as she leaned back into her plastic chair, "Okay, we'll stay as long as you want us to."
Reid smiled and wiped the wetness from his eyes with the back of his palm, "How'd you find me anyways?"
"The UNSUB's brother came to the station and told us where he was dumping he latest body," Hotch said, "We happen to come just as he shot you."
"What were you doing there, anyway?" Prentiss asked, "You didn't have your gun, you didn't have you phone, you didn't even have shoes on! What the hell were you thinking?"
Reid at her, confused, and then asked, "Morgan didn't tell you?"
Prentiss' eyebrow's furrowed, "Tell us what?"
Reid looked around at all of his team members confused faces and frowned. Why didn't Morgan tell them about their fight?
"Morgan and I had an argument and I kind of… stormed off," Reid said sheepishly.
"So you walk into an alley? For a genius, that was a pretty stupid move," Prentiss said with bitter sarcasm.
Reid felt a blush creep up his features, "I was actually walking down the side-walk when a heard noise coming from the alley. I know it was a stupid move, but I had a feeling it could be our UNSUB so I… decided to investigate. I was trying to sneak up on him but, ah, my clumsiness got the best of me and he heard me. I tried to talk to him but…"
"Reid, I talked to you about doing things like this…" Hotch said, disapprovingly and Reid tensed. Reid through back to the Owen Savage case where Reid intentionally put his own life on the line to prevent the kid from committing suicide by cop. Later that day on the plane, Hotch told Reid that if he did a stunt like that again, he would be fired.
Hotch eyed Reid for a moment and then said, "I'm not going to fire you."
Reid sighed in relief as did everyone else.
"This time," Hotch said in a serious tone, "But pull a stunt like that again, and I won't hesitate to."
Reid smiled at Hotch, "Yes, sir."
Hotch stared at him for a few seconds before his lips slowly curved up into a smile matching Reid's, "I'm really glad you're okay."
Reid had to admit, he was a little taken aback at that statement, "Thank you, Hotch. Really, it… it means a lot to me."
Everyone sat in silence for a few moments. It wasn't uncomfortable silence, more like a bunch of people who had spent enough time together to not have to fill every moment with talking.
"Where's Morgan?" Reid eventually asked.
"He's back at the station interrogating the man who shot you," Rossi spoke up.
Reid nodded slowly, it made sense. Morgan probably feels guilty about making Reid storm off and, ultimately, getting shot. Reid sighed and felt a wave of tiredness wash over his body. His eyes drooped half-way closed and he fought to stay awake.
"Sleep," JJ ordered, "You need the rest."
And so he let his body drift into the awaiting darkness.
I'll post the last chapter tomorrow! Hope you enjoyed!
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