AN: A bit of a wait again, I know, but hopefully it was worth it. Unfortunately real life comes first. But here it is.
Warning: Unlike the rest of the story, this chapter changes POV's. It's quite clear when it does change and it's from Reid to Hotch, as usual. I had to do this because Reid's POV wasn't long enough to make a chapter and I still wanted to show the team's waiting room experience. Anyway, like I said, it's clear when it happens.
Alrighty, enjoy!
He kept replaying it all; from the moment Jim said the word 'surrender' to when Hotch first saw him, all of it was priceless to Reid and he wanted to keep those moments with him for a long time. Everyone was safe and alive and his team knew that he was actually among the living as well.
It all seemed so surreal. After everything that had happened that day, Reid was finally out of the bank and going to the hospital. For the most part he seemed numb all over with the exception of the dull, throbbing pain located on the left side of his chest. He knew it was mostly due to the gunshot wound but he couldn't help but think there was something else going on in there.
"That's it, Dr. Reid," one of the medics told him with a big smile as he glanced at his partner. "Relax and we'll be there before you know it."
Reid nodded gently, not even sure the man saw it but he tried anyway. He then turned his gaze to JJ who was still holding on tightly to his hand. Truth be told, JJ was not the first person he'd expect to climb in the back of the ambulance with him. Not that she wouldn't want to, but Reid thought it would more likely be Morgan, or even Hotch given he was the leader of the team. However, as he looked into her eyes, he felt a certain peace come over him; they now held that certain something that only mothers seemed to have. It made him feel safe.
"Reid," she said as the medics became less active, having seemingly done all they could do for him. "We thought…"
"I know," he said softly, suddenly realizing just how tired he was as he spoke. "M'sorry."
She seemed baffled and Reid couldn't help but notice how she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of him or keep from smiling. "Don't be. I'm just so glad you're alive."
He smiled at her, still feeling a good amount of guilt grip at his stomach. He absolutely hated the idea of his team thinking he was dead. He could only imagine how he would take news similar to that; it would devastate him. And on top of that, they had actually watched it happen. It wasn't real, of course, but they hadn't known that. The whole thing made him feel so terrible.
"Was the only way," he said, feeling it was necessary that he told her this.
"I know, Reid," she said, her smile still as present as ever. "You… you did a wonderful job. They're all still alive. It's… remarkable."
He looked at her and felt she understood which lessened the pain in his stomach but unfortunately did nothing for his chest. He looked around the ambulance now, not really focusing on anything but simply taking in the sights. But before he knew it, darkness began gathering in the corner of his eyes and it seemed so welcoming…
"Dr. Reid," someone said now, making the darkness vanish temporarily. "Dr. Reid, I need you to stay awake for me, okay? We're almost there."
He looked at this man and while he wanted so badly to disobey the order, he knew the medic was only doing his job and it was in Reid's best interest to stay awake. He watched as the medic exchanged a look with JJ, apparently telling her to talk to Reid because she was suddenly close to his face.
"Hey, Reid," she said, trying to get his attention. "Look at me… There you go. Hey," she said again with a big smile when he finally locked eyes with her. He couldn't help but smile too; the last time he'd seen her smile so much was when she was holding her newborn baby in her arms. She was happier then, of course, but still, it was nice to see her so full of joy. Unfortunately, their job had the tendency to rob them all of happiness quite a bit.
"Hey," he breathed back, noting still how weak he was becoming.
"So," she said quickly, obviously trying to keep his attention of which he fought very hard to give her. "Did you plan it the whole time? Your… being shot and all?"
He smiled again, knowing that she didn't have much else on her mind. "Yes," he replied. "M'sorry. Only way…"
"Reid, please," she said again, looking more serious now. "Please don't be sorry. You did an amazing and very brave thing today."
"Thanks," he said, almost succumbing to his fatigue once more.
"Spence, come on," JJ said again. "Stay with me. We're pulling up to the hospital now."
And she had certainly not lied. Just about as quickly as he'd been loaded up, the medics were pulling him out of the ambulance and rushing him through the emergency bay doors of the hospital and speaking very quickly to others now. Reid blinked slowly as the bright lights invaded his eyes and let them wonder over to JJ who was beginning to fall behind.
He hated how she looked scared all of the sudden and did his best to smile but before he got a chance to see her reaction, she was gone and he was now in one of the rooms.
People began talking to him, but he couldn't quite understand them. They were poking him and putting things on him and so much noise filled his brain. But amongst all the chaos was a peaceful darkness Reid could no longer resist. He left the disorder of the emergency room behind and found tranquility in a world of peace and shadows.
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The waiting room was a rather odd place to be, in Hotch's opinion. The emotions and tensions that possessed every one of them seemed unbearable and yet so welcome. As nervous, confused, ecstatic and worried they were for their friend and colleague, they all knew the smorgasbord of emotions was better than that of mourning and pain, of which they had all expected.
But Reid wasn't dead.
Hotch relaxed slightly in the waiting room chair at this very true thought. Of course, Reid was not completely out of the woods but from what he understood, the young agent had a very good chance. And any chance was a good thing.
He looked around the small surgical waiting room and observed his team. Everything had been so busy that he hadn't really had a chance to look at them and although he knew they were feeling so many different things, the only real vibe he got from them was relief. Again, they were all very aware of where they were and Reid's condition, but Hotch would be lying if he said he wasn't somehow sure Reid would pull through. And apparently, everyone was sure of it as well.
"Okay," said a voice rather loudly, interrupting the peaceful silence that had fallen over them. Hotch looked up quickly to see a very angry, very disheveled looking technical analyst standing before them.
"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?!" Penelope Garcia demanded.
Hotch bit his lip and realized how lost she had to have been after experiencing the same frenzy of emotions that came with hearing of a friend's death, then being told it didn't really happen, only she had been kept far less in the loop ever since she was told Reid was alive.
"Oh, baby girl," Morgan started as he got out of his chair and made his way towards her with open arms as if to hug her. However, she dodged his arms and looked at him with a serious expression.
"Don't you baby girl me," she said fiercely. "First I was told our little Reid was dead, then suddenly he's alive, which of course was very wonderful, if not slightly overwhelming news, but then no one had the decency to answer their damn phones?"
"Garcia, we're in a hospital…" Emily tried, but was quickly cut off.
"Yes, but outside there's a perfectly acceptable mass of area in which you could've picked up your phone and dialed a number that none of you seem to have a problem dialing several times a day…"
"Garcia," Hotch said, now standing and taking control of the situation. "We are very sorry we didn't keep you better informed. Things happened very quickly for us and our first priority was to remain with Reid. I apologize that none of us thought to give you another call, but we will gladly update you with all we know at the moment."
He really did feel bad for her; she had obviously boarded the first flight to central Florida she could find after hearing of Reid's death and had wasted no time in getting to the hospital. The glow and energy she normally possessed was nowhere in sight now and she held her oversized travel bag tightly in her hand.
"I'm sorry," she said finally, walking slowly over to a chair near the rest of them. "I probably wouldn't have gotten your calls anyway. I was on a plane for the past couple of hours. It just so happened I was waiting in the Atlanta airport when you called me, Emily. I'm glad though," she continued, putting her bag in a chair beside her. "It would've been much worse to actually show up here expecting a… well, expecting him to be gone only to find out he wasn't."
Everyone silently agreed, knowing that scenario would certainly have produced a much more distraught Garcia.
"So go on," she said, glancing at all of them expectantly. "What happened? How is he now? Do they expect him to live?"
"Slow down," Morgan replied lightly. "We'll tell you everything we know so far."
Hotch listened as they all took turns supplying the story of why Reid was at the bank, the hostage situation itself and Reid's supposed death and vividly relived the emotions he had felt at those times.
"So you rode with him, JJ? Was he awake?" Garcia asked, looking suddenly hopeful. When JJ nodded, Garcia continued right away. "Well how did he seem? Did he say anything?"
Hotch turned to JJ now, realizing she hadn't said much about the ambulance ride other than she had talked to him some. But even then she hadn't gone into detail.
JJ took a deep breath and Hotch could tell that she was still a bit shaken up. "Yeah, he was awake," she began, and to all of their relief, she did not seem upset about what she was saying, indicating that it had not been a terrible ride. "He didn't seem too bad, to be honest. He talked some, basically kept saying he was sorry…"
"Sorry for what?" Rossi asked immediately, beating everyone else to the question.
"Putting us through that, I guess," JJ replied.
"But it's not like he meant for that," Emily said, her eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, that may have been the only way he saw to keep those hostages safe."
"That's what he said," JJ said. "'It was the only way.'"
"Yeah, well if he does something like that again I'll break his skinny little neck," Morgan added, though it had a hint of lightness to it. "But if the kid thought that was the only way, I guess we'll just have to believe him."
"Well, the fact that everyone left that building alive should speak for itself on the matter of Reid's actions," Hotch interjected, ending that certain discussion. He did not feel it was right for whatever Reid did in that bank to be questioned. They had all expected casualties and yet there had been none.
"Speaking of which," JJ began, turning to Hotch and the others, "what happened to Masterson? That wasn't Reid, was it?"
They all kind of chuckled at this particular thought. It wasn't that they didn't think Reid could inflict physical harm on someone else, it was just that Reid was certainly more likely to go about things in a logical matter and less hands-on, so to speak.
"No," Morgan answered, still smiling. "From what we heard before we left, that Jim guy rammed the butt of his gun into Masterson's head."
"Wow," JJ said, "what an unexpected twist."
"Reid apparently managed to convince Masterson's men to turn on him," Rossi continued, "and while Masterson was… preoccupied, Jim attacked."
"Preoccupied?"
"He was choking Reid," Emily supplied, then quickly added, "from one witness's account."
This news put a damper on their recent reason to smile, but it did not kill the overall mood. And luckily, only minutes later a figure in bluish green surgical scrubs entered the waiting room area.
"Dr. Spencer Reid?"
Hotch smiled at the surgeon's expression as the entire team stood up expectantly.
"Well, I assume you federal agents will fight until you find a way around our family only rule, and given Dr. Reid's listed next of kin being a co-worker anyway, I'll save you all the hassle," the doctor said, apparently familiar with situations such as these where law enforcement agents were injured and their teams demanded information on them. "Just show me the badge and I'll fill you in."
They all and grinned slightly and did as they were told. Once the doctor was satisfied that he was addressing only FBI agents, he looked at his clipboard and began speaking.
"The bullet entered his shoulder and did quite a bit of damage, though nothing permanent," the doctor began addressing them all. "Well, I say that assuming that Dr. Reid will undergo the recommended physical therapy, but as long as he does, I do except a full recovery and for him to regain full usage of his arm."
That was the first major relief they got; a full recovery was always one of the best things they could hear.
"The most damage was done by the bullet ricocheting towards his lung. It didn't puncture it, thankfully, but it did put quite a bit of pressure on the organ. We've since alleviated the pressure but we still have him on a ventilator for the time being."
"But he's alright?" Garcia asked, staring at the doctor with a very serious expression.
"Yes," he replied. "Like I said, I expect a full recovery. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go but assuming you guys will still be here in about an hour or so, I'll have a nurse come and get you when you can visit him."
Hotch had to admire the doctor's brevity and to-the-point nature; he was certainly the first of his kind Hotch had come in contact with. They all nodded and said thanks as the man turned and left them. Looking around at the rest of his team, he saw that the sense of relief had increased.
It was now for certain; Reid was going to be alright.
EN: One more chapter to go. I thought this was going to be it but it decided to go another way. So, hope it was okay and thanks everyone for the support!