There was pure fear in Morgan's eyes as he looked through the bars at Gayle. She laid on the bed, hands laid across her stomach in her feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. Her breathing was shallow, and her head was on the mattress once more as she squeezed her eyes closed.
"D-Derek...I'm...it's cold," she murmured, carefully opening her eyes to see him.
"Baby, just look at me, okay? Just look at me. Keep your eyes open, it'll be okay, I swear, things are gonna be fine," he repeated, knowing she probably saw right through him. Her head rolled to the side, and she whimpered softly as she pressed her hands more into her wound.
"Derek...d-don't...d-don't lie...please..." He lowered his head, taking in a sharp breath, but rubbed his hands over the back of his neck. Before he could open his mouth to reply, a ringing sounded from Winston's pocket. Both of them turned to look at him, and he glanced at Gayle.
"What is that?"
"That..." Confusion replaced part of the fear and pain on her face as she looked up at him. "I think...that's my phone...my ringer for Reid..." she struggled to say, shaking her head. That statement brought a small smirk to his face.
"If that's your phone, Gayle, then they know where we are," he replied, glancing over his shoulder.
He hoisted the mattress off the bed frame behind him, and shoved it towards the bars nearest him. As it hit the bars, his feet slipped, and his hand hit the bar in an attempt to gain his balance. Instead of the jolt he received the first time, his hand hit the bar freely, without pain. Glancing around, he yanked the mattress away, and threw his body against the bars, groaning each time when the bars shook but didn't give. Turning, he lifted the bed frame, laying it against the bars, and slamming it against them until they gave and swung open.
Morgan toppled onto the frame as it crashed into the floor, knocking his head against the cool metal. Groaning, and putting his hand on his forehead, he sighed, and rolled onto his back, dropping onto the floor a couple feet below. Shaking it off, he scrambled back to his feet, and slid around the bars, into Gayle's cell. He yanked her phone out of Winston's pocket, and redialed the last number, listening as Reid answered.
"Gayle?"
"Reid! It's Morgan, where are you guys?"
"We're pulling up now, do you know where you are?"
"A basement in a cell with Gayle...guys, ya gotta hurry, she's not doing so well," he said, flipping on the speaker phone and setting it on the floor as he kneeled beside Gayle. She was trembling as she looked at Morgan with fear in her eyes.
Once he'd removed the sweater that Winston had been wearing, Morgan folded it, and laid it over her stomach, lifting her hands to help apply pressure.
"C'mon, Gayle, stay with me."
"Morgan, what happened?" Hotch's voice sounded through the phone.
"She's been shot, Hotch." The others were silent for the few seconds before the line went dead, and Gayle closed her eyes.
"Derek...promise me something?" she asked softly, moving her hands carefully and laying her pinky over his thumb. He glanced down, and then back up at her.
"Anything."
"...Call my mother? T-Tell her...tell her I love her," she murmured, closing her eyes as a few tears rolled down her face. He shook his head, knitting his eyebrows together.
"Don't talk like this, baby, you're gonna be fine. The team's here, you're gonna be just fine."
The door upstairs flew open as Hotch kicked it in, and the team stormed into the entryway. Morgan, turning his head, applied a little more pressure to Gayle's stomach.
"Guys! We're down here!" he called, not moving from the floor beside the bed.
Within a minute, Hotch and Reid were moving down the hallway, guns at the ready. When they saw Winston lying still upon the floor, Hotch holstered his weapon and checked his pulse before moving to Gayle and Morgan. Reid holstered his weapon, as well, but rather than enter the room, he moved back down the hallway, stepping out of the door and out of sight.
"Gayle? It's Hotch. You're safe now, we've got an ambulance on the way. Just stay calm, you'll be fine, okay?" he said, reaching down to pull her hair back off her face and neck. She rolled her eyes up to see him, and gave a very soft, semi-forced laugh.
"You two sound the same..." she replied, softly, as she closed her eyes. "I'm...really cold..." she murmured, wincing as she attempted to shift.
"Hey, hey, don't move..." Morgan said quickly, glancing up at Hotch. Behind them, they heard Reid's voice, and when they glanced, he was leading in an EMT with a gurney. Morgan carefully stood, and looked down. "Look, here's an EMT, you're gonna get help now, Gayle, you'll be fine," he said, stepping out of the way as the EMT took his place. Morgan moved around to the other side of the bed, and lifted Gayle's hand carefully, holding it between both of his.
"Derek..." She partially opened her eyes to look up at him, and his stomach dropped when he saw how weak she really was getting. "...I...I know we haven't seen eye-to-eye on everything lately...but...I just..."
"Gayle, baby...you can tell me when you get to the hospital, alright?" She slowly shook her head.
"Derek, please..."
"Save your strength...please..." he spoke, and she could hear the tone in his voice. She closed her mouth, and her eyes, as another EMT entered the room behind Reid, and helped move Gayle onto the stretcher.
"Morgan, ride with her to the hospital, and get yourself checked out," Hotch ordered, nodding after Gayle. Morgan considered, for a brief second, upon debating, but nodded, and followed behind the stretcher as the EMTs led them from the room.
Page Break
The team was quiet as they returned to the office. Rossi and Hotch were looking over the case file as they silently headed for their offices. Garcia looked up when she heard Prentiss across the way, putting her things down. There was a small smile on her face when she caught Garcia's eye, but she looked up as Reid entered the room. He came around the desks, and pulled up an empty chair to sit beside Mel as she sat in his chair, Bash still clinging to her shoulders.
"Hey...is...is Gayle..." Mel began to ask, but Reid gave a soft "shh" when he realized Bash was asleep.
"She's at the hospital, Morgan's with her," he answered simply, putting his arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple. "It's fine." Mel seemed relieved as she rested her head on Reid's, and closed her eyes.
"Can...we go now? I'm exhausted...and so is this little guy," she murmured. Reid, with a smile, nodded, and stood up, pushing the chair back.
"Sure...c'mon...Emily? If they ask, I just ran Mel and Bash home..."
"I bet they'd be fine if you waited to write your report until tomorrow," she offered, shrugging. His eyes darted towards hers as he considered it, before he nodded.
"I'll see you tomorrow...you too, Garcia," he said, squeezing her shoulder as he walked behind Mel as they headed to the elevator. Garcia looked around for a second, before looking to Prentiss.
"Is Morgan okay?"
"Oh...yeah, he's fine. A bump on the head, but he's fine," Prentiss replied reassuringly, smiling as she opened the file on her desk. Pleased to hear that he was okay, she stood up, and headed back to her own office, pulling the door closed behind her.
Page Break
The nurse jotted down the stats on the machines around the bed, before pocketing the pen, and exiting the room. Morgan, with a hand resting gently on the back of his head, made his way around the door, and sighed. Gayle was lying in bed, an IV hooked up to one arm, a bandage around her head. Her eyes were closed, but according to the monitors, her heart beat and breathing were steady, and she was stable. He crossed the linoleum floor, and stood beside her, sighing as he shook his head.
"C'mon, Gayle...wake up..." he murmured, putting his hand against her arm. He stood there quietly for a little while, watching her sleep, before he turned and exited the room, leaving her surrounded by blips and beeps from her monitors.
