Hotch called him. The hospital had called JJ's Unit Chief as soon as she was brought in. Spencer flew to the hospital, obeying no traffic laws and nearly getting himself into an accident twice before screeching up to the entrance, leaving his car running as he leapt out, slowing down only long enough to find out what room she was in.

It was bad. Multiple contusions, head trauma, a broken clavicle, and concussion were on the short list… both her eyes were blackened and there was so much blood in her hair that it looked red. They'd stabilized her, but she was in a coma, and at this point, the doctors considered that a good thing.

Will had been called first, he was still her emergency contact, and he was sitting by her bed holding her limp hand, his eyes glued to her face. Spencer had called Morgan and everyone was on the way, but all he could see was JJ.

She lay there looking so fragile and small and broken. He noticed Will of course, but moved to her other side, picking up her chart along the way and checking the readouts on the machines she was hooked to.

He looked at Will across the bed and took a breath. "How did it happen?"

Will looked at him with red-rimmed eyes, his face a mask of grief and said "Get out."

Spencer looked back at him, his expression steely and said "That's not going to happen."

Will stood up, not letting go of her hand. "If she hadn't been going to see you, she'd be safe at home right this minute. With me."

Spencer said "Will, this isn't the time. All that matters-"

"You think you need to tell me what matters right now?" His voice was a strangled whisper. "What matters is you need to get out of my sight. You need to leave us alone. I don't want you anywhere near her, or me, ever again. You hear me? That 'big brain' gettin' all this? Stay. The Fuck. Away." His bloodshot eyes bore into Spencer's, threatening.

"I'm not leaving her Will," he said calmly, "and I'm sure as hell not going to stand here and argue with you over her. She wants me here, you know she does."

"Well I don't. And I can make you leave, either voluntarily or," he grabbed the front of Spencer's shirt and yanked him forward. "…not."

Hotch came into the room then, with Morgan right behind him. He took in the two men and asked "What's going on here?"

Will blinked, releasing Spencer, who immediately turned to JJ, looking for any signs of her regaining consciousness. He took her wrist and felt her pulse, measuring it. Will turned to Hotch and said, pointing at Spencer, "He needs to leave."

Hotch said "Reid, with me, now." As he moved to exit the room, Morgan stood at the foot of JJ's bed, and rested his hand on her foot.

"Go on, man. I'll be here," he said pointedly to Spencer, looking at Will, who ignored him, his attention turned back to JJ.

The two agents went into the hallway and Spencer said, looking over his shoulder, "He can't keep me from her, Hotch. I need to be in there with her. I know… I'm sure JJ would want me to be."

"Reid you need to fill me in here. Why is Will reacting to you like this? Tell me now."

Spencer looked down and exhaled, then made the decision to tell his boss, his friend.

"She'd left him, Hotch. She'd left him and was on her way to me. To me, Hotch…" The misery in his face was evident.

Aaron Hotchner put his hands on the younger man's shoulders, not as surprised as he should've been. "Are you sure?"

Spencer just looked at him, somber.

"Then this is between the three of you, but I won't let anything jeopardize JJ's recovery."

"He's not her husband, Hotch. He can't have me banned, and I won't stay away from her. I need to be in there right now, in fact." He looked over his shoulder into the room again.

"No, he can't, but if either of you cause any trouble the doctor can and will eject you and I wouldn't blame him, understood?"

Reid nodded.

"Reid, this isn't your fault. Come on," Hotch said, returning to the room.

Will looked as if to move towards Spencer and Hotch put himself between the two men. Morgan bristled at Will's demeanor too, taking his cues from Hotch and Reid, although not understanding completely.

"Until JJ wakes up and settles this, I'm going to respect both of your rights to be here," Hotch said, looking Will straight in the eye. "…and so are you. What's most important is that we are all here for JJ, and that she makes a full and fast recovery. Are we clear?"

"Look Aaron, none of you need to be here. I can call you when she wakes up and-"

Spencer moved around the opposite side of the bed, catching JJ's hand and feeling for her pulse again just as Morgan shook his head. "Not gonna happen, man," the big man said to Will. "None of us are going anywhere."

Just then Penelope and Emily rushed in, breathless and worried, filling up the already crowded room. Will threw his hands up and turned back to hold JJ's other hand, sitting down hard in the chair and glaring at Spencer across the bed.

Morgan went to the two women and in his lowest, calmest voice, told them JJ's condition. Hotch gave a stern look to both Spencer and Will, then left to go speak to the doctor.

Spencer's whole world shrunk down to the tiny figure beneath the blanket. He took in her injuries and catalogued them, worrying anew with each thing noticed. Her warm, limp hand in his, he focused on watching her breath rise and fall in her chest. She wasn't on a ventilator, that was good. He busied his brilliant mind by trying to search for positives in this situation, indicators that she'd fully recover. He may as well have been alone in the room, as much as he noticed the team coming and going, or even Will. All he cared about was the damaged goddess in front of him. She was all that mattered. She was everything.

Morgan was the last to leave her room in favor of the waiting room, hesitant as he was to do so. He didn't feel comfortable leaving Will alone in there with Spencer, even though he didn't really know why yet. He had no idea why Will was so hostile to Reid, blaming him. The three of them sat there in silence, the beeping of JJ's monitors the only sound in the room.

Eventually Derek got up and went out to join the others, intending to keep one eye on the goings on in here.

"I have something to tell you all that I need you to keep within the team for now," Hotch began. "Reid divulged it to me out of necessity, and I'll ask you to respect him and JJ's privacy during this ordeal. We're all worried about JJ, but him more than any of us."

"Hotch, what?" Morgan prompted, worried.

"They're together." Hotch said. "Or trying to be. They've made that decision."

Everyone looked at each other, with Garcia smiling in spite of it all.

"Will is… not amenable to what they've decided, and my guess is that he intends to fight for the relationship." Hotch finished.

"Pfft," Emily said. "Like JJ is some damsel a duel will decide? If she loves Reid… and I think I speak for all of us when I say it's not really that much of a surprise… then Will 'fighting' for her is pretty misguided. We're not exactly on the playground, here."

"And it is none of our business. Again, keep this to yourselves unless Reid or JJ tell us otherwise. This accident threw a wrench into their plans, in more ways than one; she was on her way to him, having just told Will when it happened."

"Oh, my poor loves, my babies!" Garcia said, standing and looking at them through the glass.

"Hey if this is what they both want, why is Will here?" Morgan asked.

"You don't just stop caring in one day." Emily said.

"I get that but he's acting like he's all in charge and Reid has no right to be in there. If I understand you correctly Hotch, he has more of a right than Will does. It's Reid that JJ is going to want to see first thing when she wakes up." Morgan replied.

"JJ's injuries are severe. I think everyone who knows her will want to be here, regardless of relationship status," Hotch said. "And this may very well cast a different light on things. It could go either way and we won't know her decision until she wakes up."

Morgan arched his eyebrows and went back in the room. He put his hand on Reid's shoulder before resuming his seat next to his friend. The situation clearer, his always protective instincts toward Reid kicked into high gear. Nobody was going to mess with him, or JJ, as long as Derek was around. He leaned back in his chair, one eye on Will, the other on Spencer, both men focused on JJ.