First off, thank you to Hippiechic81 and ahowell1993 for reviewing! And to ahowell1993, while that is entirely true, the team has never met Maeve before, and Morgan can be very unreasonable when he's angry, and you can definitely count on him getting angry over Spencer's wellbeing. While, yes, he was out of line, he is distraught and searching for someone to blame for the predicament at hand. Maeve, being the new face and the only one to come out of the altercation unharmed, is automatically going to be that someone. Secondly, I'd like to give a shout out to GhostInTheBAU for helping me out with all the medical jargon in this chapter! Go show them some love!

It was several hours before any news came to the team. Maeve had worn herself out after a half hour and lay with her head resting on JJ's shoulder, still shaking every now and then in her sleep. Eventually, Morgan had reentered the room and took a chair as far away from them as possible. He'd been on the phone with Garcia, who was currently en route at that very moment.

It was only when the sun began to lighten the windows outside when the doors to the OR finally swung open and a doctor exited, carrying a clipboard. He stopped in the doorway, readinv over something on his papers. "Family of...Spencer Reid?"

Every one of them snapped to attention, the sudden movement startling Maeve back into consciousness. The doctor looked a bit skeptical at the odd assortment gathered for the young genius. "Um, you're all family?"

"Yes, we are." Hotch said impatiently. "Tell us what's going on."

"Alright, well..." He cleared his throat before he began reading from his clipboard. "Agent--"

"Doctor," Hotch interrupted again, making the doctor look even more annoyed.

"Dr Reid is a lucky man. The bullet grazed the left side of his skull, it didn't hit his brain at all, though it came dangerously close to doing so. How--"

"Is he going to be okay?" Rossi demanded. "Is he going to live?"

"As I was saying...however, the bullet came so close to penetrating the skull it caused quite a bit of swelling."

"Swelling?"

"Yes, sort of like how the skin will swell when hit against something, the same concept exists here. As a precaution, we've put him into a medically induced coma--"

"What?" Morgan demanded, stepping up closer to the doctor. Hotch held up his hand to stop him from going any further. "You put him in a coma?!"

"Morgan." Hotch said sternly.

The doctor cleared his throat. "Yes, we induced a coma using thiopental. And I assure you, if we hadn't, your friend would already be dead." At their silence, he nodded once like it satisfied him before continuing. "Now, the purpose of a medically induced coma is to ensure the protection and control of the pressure dynamics of the brain. High pressure caused by brain swelling can starve some areas of the brain of oxygen, delaying or preventing the healing process; also, swollen brain tissue can be injured by pushing against the inside of the skull. By reducing the electrical activity in the brain and slowing down the brain's metabolism, an induced coma can minimize the swelling and inflammation of the brain."

"And how long will that take?" JJ asked.

"At the most, a few weeks. But you must remember that the brain is always a tricky thing to try and predict. It could last over a month if something were to happen--"

"What do you mean by something?"

"Well, there's always risks in these kinds of situations. Heart failure, impaired circulation, and the vulnerability of other infections. But in a delicate situation such as this, it was either take the risks or he dies."

Hotch stepped forward, nodding. "We understand. Where is he now?"

"He's out of surgery and is currently being set up in a room in the neuro wing on the fifth floor. You can go see him in an hour or so."

"Thank you," Alex said. The doctor nodded before turning and heading back the way he'd come.

Maeve fell back into her chair, covering her face in her hands. The light outside was shining much brighter now, and the beams coming through her fingers blinded her, making her head pound incessantly.

"Maeve," JJ tried. "You should go home. Rest properly."

She shook her head furiously, pushing hair away from her eyes. "N-No, I'm staying here. I-I'm not tired."

"Garcia's gonna be here in a few minutes." Morgan interrupted, not waiting for a response. "I'm gonna go outside to wait on her."

"Don't break anything," Rossi made an attempt at a joke, but it quickly fell flat as the mood of the group settled back down over them all. Maeve sat up straighter in her chair, bringing her legs to her chest and resting her chin between her knees. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to imagine Spencer was standing right there in front of her with a smile and outstretched hand, just waiting for her to stand up and join him.