A/N: Please check out my profile for a poll regarding which story will be coming at the end of this one.
Chapter 8
warnings: very graphic gore
July 21
Spencer went into the kitchen to make lunch. He was determined to get the fridge cleaned out before Derek got home so they could go grocery shopping. Clooney trotted over to the slender young man on his knees in front of the open fridge. The golden retriever stuck his wet nose on the pale neck. "Clooney, stop it!" He cried. The cold nose had sent a shiver down his spine.
Before he knew what was happening he slid to the floor tucked over into a tight ball feeling his kidnapper sliding the bloody intestines over his head, around his neck, across his face, and down his arms. He vomited his breakfast violently across the floor.
Clooney kept trying to approach him, but every time a nose or paw touched his bare skin, his body seized and shook like a full-blown seizure, except he was completely aware. Reality flashed back and forth between the kind dog trying to help and his captor slicing up his own body-accusing Spencer of planting things in him and saying that he could have them back.
xxxxx
Fifteen minutes later, Spencer crawled to the bathroom and managed to pull himself up onto the closed toilet. He laid his head against the cabinet for a few minutes before standing and grabbing a washcloth to wet his face. Then he went to the couch and curled up. Sleep seemed to be non-existent, so he began pacing the room.
Clooney kept watch, but every sound made Spencer jump. His nerves were making him an absolute wreck. He grabbed the phone and called Derek.
xxxxx
Morgan pulled his cell phone off of his belt and looked at the caller ID before answering. "Hi Spencer. What's up?"
"D-Derek."
"Hey, kid. What's wrong?"
"I-I just had a flashback. I d-don't want to st-stay here alone."
"Okay, I'll come get you." He was concerned about the fear he could clearly hear. This was definitely a bad one.
"No, I can t-take the bus. I c-can't stay here."
"Are you sure? You could wait next store with Mrs. Adams."
"I want to come to you."
"Alright, Spencer. I'll be waiting downstairs at the desk for you with a pass. Be careful and make sure you take your house keys and ID." Morgan rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew something wasn't right. Spencer was really upset, and it was worrying the way he didn't want to stay in the house.
xxxxx
Spencer rocked from foot to foot while waiting for the bus to come. The flashback had been so vivid that his skin was still crawling. He tried to push the bile back down his throat, but when that didn't work he walked over to a tree and dry heaved. When he finished, he was sweating and cold at the same time. Luckily the bus turned the corner, and when it stopped he quickly boarded and took a seat toward the back, where he could lay his face against the cool window glass.
xxxxx
Four blocks from his destination, a man came down the aisle and stopped beside Spencer's seat. "Mind if I sit here?"
Reid looked up and saw . . . Dylan. He kept telling himself, 'No, no, no he is dead.' The man stepped closer. "NO, get away from me. You're dead, you're not real." He climbed over the back of his seat and tried to get away.
The bus came to a screeching halt and Spencer lost his balance. He slid backwards on his butt until he was in the corner. The frightened man could hear voices all around but couldn't make out what they were saying. Then he saw a man in uniform. "Peter," he called.
Spencer was having trouble focusing and jumped when someone touched his arm. Then it all came back to him. "Please, I just need to get to Derek."
"Can you tell me where Derek lives?" The older officer asked.
"I'm not going to his house. He works for the FBI." Spencer watched the two officers and knew that they didn't believe him.
"Please, just take me to him. I'll prove to you that is where I am going. Here," he shoved his ID at the officer in front of him. "You can see that I live with him."
"Go ahead and run this, Sam, while I get him to the car." The white haired officer gently took Reid's hand. "Come on now." Spencer was pulled to his feet and silently followed the man off the bus and over to the police cruiser. "What's your name son?"
"S-Spencer, Spencer Reid."
"Okay, Spencer. I'm Charlie, and this is Sam. Have you been to the FBI headquarters before?"
"Yes, Derek took me to meet the rest of his team. Sometimes I have lunch or dinner with them."
xxxxx
"We have a case. Conference room in five minutes." Hotch called from his doorway.
"Prentiss, I'll be there in a minute. I need to have Garcia meet Reid downstairs."
"Is everything okay?"
"He had a flashback and doesn't want to stay by himself. I'll know more once he gets here." Derek rushed to Penelope's office and asked for the favor.
xxxxx
Garcia watched Derek leave. Poor Spencer was having a bad day. She rummaged in her cabinet for a bag of butterscotch. After finding it, she poured a large handful into a candy dish and set it beside the monitors she allowed the young man to use. The candies were hidden so she would always have some on hand when the curious boy visited her. Her preparations finished, Garcia headed downstairs to fill out his pass and wait for the man at the door.
xxxxx
Garcia signed the last piece of paper and waited for the pass. She turned when the door opened and Spencer walked in followed by two uniforms. She rushed over to him and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Oh, Sweet Pea, it's going to be okay." He was trembling terribly.
"Where's D-Derek?"
She pulled back and saw the fear burning in his eyes. "He got a case and sent me down to get you."
"Ma'am." One of the officers said.
"Can I help you?" Garcia brushed hair out of Spencer's face and wiped at the tears now wetting his cheeks. "Hey, Sugar, it is going to be okay. I promise."
"We need to speak with Derek if that is possible?" She could hear the insinuation in the man's voice that Derek didn't exist.
"Of course. Follow me." Penelope took Spencer's hand and led him over to the desk. She grabbed his pass and clipped it to the hem of the cardigan he was wearing. All four of them filled the elevator and went to the sixth floor.
Garcia pulled Spencer by the hand she was still holding and guided him to Morgan's desk. "You sit here, Sweet Pea. I'm just going to get Derek." She watched him a moment and was a little concerned when he pulled the cardigan tighter around himself and began rocking back and forth.
xxxxx
Derek looked over when Garcia tapped on the door before opening it.
"Morgan, there are some uniforms here that need to speak with you regarding Spencer."
He looked to Hotch, and when the older man nodded his head, followed Garcia down to his desk. Spencer was rocking back and forth and kept his head tucked down, hiding behind his hair. "Hey, Spencer. Can you calm down for me?" Derek saw the two officers standing back. "It's going to be okay. I promise. Garcia is going to stay with you while I talk to these men."
Penelope pulled a chair over and took one of Spencer's hands in both of hers, rubbing it soothingly.
"What happened?" Morgan asked the officers.
"Are you Derek?" Charlie asked.
"Yes. I am SSA Derek Morgan, and I'm Spencer's guardian."
"Can you tell us what his mental status is?"
Derek rubbed a hand down his face. "He suffers from PTSD and brain trauma."
"PTSD? He's so young." Sam commented.
"I know." Morgan agreed. "He was kidnapped and it ended very badly. Needless to say, he has flashbacks."
"That must be what was happening on the bus. We got a call about a disturbed rider. He wanted one of the other riders to stay away from him. When we arrived, he had backed himself into a corner and he thought that I was someone named Peter."
"No." Morgan whispered.
"That mean something?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah, he was living with my friend Peter, a deputy Sheriff in Indiana. Spencer saw him get shot, and then he died. Then Spencer was kidnapped, for the second time, by the man that had killed Peter."
"That poor boy." Charlie sighed.
Sam interrupted before things could get too solemn. "We wanted to let you know that the PD has set up a program for people that need special attention-basically for anyone mentally challenged by retardation or like your friend with brain trauma and PTSD. It's also for others with mental illness like bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia."
"The program allows him to get a special ID that identifies his specific problem and has a code. Any officer can call the code in and find out special instructions for handling the person or where to take them or who to contact. This program also schedules a time where you can come to the station and Spencer can meet the officers that routinely patrol the areas he visits-places like his home neighborhood, the bus lines he typically uses, or the medical district he frequents. The idea is for the officers to know more about him if a situation happens, and also so he can meet them and hopefully make him feel more safe and cooperative when he has an episode."
Charlie pulled out two cards from his pocket. "This is the number to call for the program and these are my numbers."
Derek wasn't usually an emotional man, but he felt tears stinging his eyes. "Thank you so much. I had no idea. This will make him feel safer, and maybe he'll go out more on his own." He turned to look at Spencer and saw him with his head down on the desk.
Morgan quickly walked over to the desk and knelt down beside Reid. "Spencer, did you have a seizure?" He could see that the pupils were dilated.
The young man nodded his head. "I, I don't feel so good Derek."
"Come on, let's lay you down on the floor." He opened his arms and Spencer literally fell into them. Morgan barely got the slender body into the recovery position before Reid began seizing again.
Charlie came over and knelt on the other side of Spencer. "Do want any help?"
The third seizure started. "Open that bottom drawer; there is a kit of rectal diazepam in the back." The officer handed over the medication. "Call an ambulance." Morgan undid Spencer's pants and let the older man help him get them pulled down. He knew the kid would be embarrassed, but they had no choice. The seizures couldn't continue like this. Derek carefully prepped the medicine and allowed Charlie to help him administer it since Spencer was still jerking and making it difficult to safely insert the syringe.
Together they pulled the brown corduroy pants back into place. "Here," Garcia handed over a knit lap-blanket.
"Mmmmh." Spencer moaned as he blinked his eyes several times.
"Easy, Spencer. Just lay still." Derek grasped the long fingers that reached for him. "No, don't try to sit up.
"Does this happen often?" Sam asked from behind Charlie.
"No, usually just a seizure in his sleep or once a week. However, since they are caused by traumatic brain injury, it is very important that we stop a multiple seizure episode. If he has too many in a row, it could set him back."
Derek brushed hair back behind Spencer's ear. "Garcia, call Dr. Branden; tell them about the multiple seizures and that we are going to the hospital." He looked over when two EMTs came into the room with a gurney. "Over here," he motioned to them.
xxxxx
Dr. Branden stepped into the small curtained-off cubicle. "How are you doing, Spencer?"
"Better; tired." He rubbed his eyes and tried to concentrate on what the doctor was saying.
"It's been over a year since you last had a cluster of seizures. That's good, but I want to run some tests and see if we can figure out what triggered it."
"He had a very bad flashback about an hour before."
You can say that again. Spencer thought to himself. His eyes began to droop again, and he stopped fighting the fatigue when he felt Derek take his hand and rub soothing circles on the back of it. He was so glad that Peter left him in Derek's care. Before sleep consumed him, he caught the last bit of conversation.
" . . . keep him overnight."
xxxxx
July 22
Derek walked into the room carrying a bag of fresh clothes. He had had to clean up the kitchen and throw out the ruined food from the open fridge. "Are you ready to get out of here?"
"Absolutely; give me those."
"Let me help you. Dr. Branden said you might be a little dizzy for a day or two."
They quickly went through the discharge process, and Spencer fell asleep in the car. Morgan reached over and shook him. "Wake up Spencer."
He smiled when the young man blinked his eyes and then rubbed them like a five-year-old.
"What are we doing here?" Spencer asked.
"I have to work the case, but I don't want to leave you alone right now. Hotch said it's okay, and there's a cot set up in Garcia's office."
"You're sure it's okay? I don't want to make them mad. Sheriff Carson didn't like it if I hung around the station too many days in a row."
Morgan watched the shy man twisting his fingers. "It's okay. Hotch is the one that suggested it. He didn't think you should be alone."
"Okay, I like Garcia." Spencer smiled his shy, barely-there grin.
xxxxx
"Hi, Sweat Pea. How do you feel?" Garcia asked when they walked into her office.
"Very tired." Spencer replied.
"Okay, you can lay down over here." Derek walked over and picked up the folded blanket. He waited for Spencer to take off his shoes and lay down. Then he covered the young man up. Spencer was asleep in moments.
"Is he going to be okay?" Garcia asked.
"Yeah, the doctor ran some tests. Unfortunately, this is normal for brain trauma. The good news is that it has been over a year since he has had multiple seizures. He might have some coordination issues, so follow him if he gets up. There's also a chance that he can be disoriented when he wakes. Both of these side effects should resolve in a couple of days." He flipped off the switch for the spot light over Spencer's cot. "I'll be in the conference room going over what the team has so far."
"Okay, Love."
xxxxx
Garcia looked over when she heard movement from the cot. "Hey, Sweat Pea, you're awake." She watched him look all around and then rolled her chair over to him. "You're at the BAU, honey."
He sat up, and she handed him a bottle of water. "Thanks." Spencer tried standing up, and she caught him by the waist when he stumbled.
"Take it easy."
"I need to use the restroom."
"Okay, let me help you." She smiled at the horrified look that crossed his face. "Just to the restroom, not in it. The doctor said your coordination could be off and Derek would have my head if I let something happen to you." Garcia kept her arm firmly around his thin waist and managed to keep him from breaking something. She only hoped that he would be safe inside by himself.
xxxxx
July 23
"Thanks for letting me know, Hotch. I need to get Spencer home."
"No problem. How is he doing?" Hotch asked over the speaker phone.
"He's still dizzy off-and-on throughout the day. I'm going to interview home-care nurses tomorrow. The doctor said that it should pass since he hasn't had another seizure, but he can't be left at home without someone qualified to care for him." Morgan gathered up the last of the papers from the table and stuffed them in a box.
"You and Garcia should go on home. The rest of us are flying out in the morning."
"See you then." Morgan hit the 'off' button on the phone and then headed for Garcia's office.
xxxxx
Morgan stepped into Garcia's office and found Spencer sitting next to her with his head down on the desk. She was rubbing circles across his back with her flame-coated nails. Then the smell hit him.
"He's been sick."
Garcia bent her neck around to look at him. "Yeah, he got really dizzy on our way back from the break room."
Derek knelt down next to the quiet man and rubbed the bony knee beneath the khakis. "Spencer, do you think you can make it to the car? Hotch is sending us home."
The young man turned his head toward Morgan and bit his bottom lip. "I'm not sure."
"Let's try." He helped Spencer stand and then wrapped one arm around the thin waist looping his index finger through a belt loop in the front and using his right hand to hold Spencer's wrist and press on the pressure point. Morgan hoped it would be enough to get them to the car.
"I'll follow you in case you need help." Penelope grabbed her purse and then a plastic grocery bag from her drawer. She held it up. "In case he doesn't make it."
"Good thinking." Derek replied.
The trio managed to make it to Derek's ruby red sedan without incident, but the only way Spencer could be any paler would be if they painted him solid white.
"Take some slow, deep breaths." Garcia coached. Then she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll see you soon, Sweat Pea."
"Thanks, Penelope." They walked to the back of the car and he hugged her tightly. "He loves hanging out with you and said that you are the only one that doesn't treat him like a freak."
"Oh, poor baby. You told him he's not a freak right?"
"Actually, he finished that statement by saying that you weren't exactly normal, so that's probably why."
They both shared a chuckle. "I never wanted to be normal."
"I like you just the way you are, Baby Doll."
The two friends parted and headed to their respective homes to catch some sleep before a new case could hit.
