Hello All! Next chapter is here! Note: I'm not a doctor or have much experience in the medical field so the medical information in this chapter is probably not exact. Also, there is a little religious mention so I'm sorry if it offends anyone's religious preferences. It's just a story so don't take the religious stuff to heart, please. Thank you! And thanks again for the follows, and favorites, and reviews! Keep it up!
An hour passed; the other agents joined Reid in the waiting room. They all sat down except Reid who nervously paced around the room. Another hour passed with no word about Riley. Reid took a seat and busied himself with shaking his leg. Morgan and the women bowed their heads. Hotch and Rossi watched their surroundings, trying to distract themselves as time passed.
The double doors swung open, surprising the agents. The surgeon walked out with his mask, apron, and gloves still on. Blood covered everything. Reid jumped out of his seat while everyone else got up more coolly.
The surgeon took his mask off before speaking. He takes his gloves off as he talks, "Well, we've done the best we can. Riley has been starved and dehydrated for almost a week; she now weighs 92 pounds; for a girl her height and age that is extremely underweight. She had 3rd degree burns on one calf; we have some ointment that can heal that up in a month or so; it will leave a scar but it won't cause her as much pain. Ummm, her left hand was crushed and broken so we repaired that as much as possible and put it in a cast. Her right knee was completely smashed and torn; we mended the muscles and the bones will heal-with the right amount of care and rest- in a few weeks. We stitched up the wounds on her thighs and her head. The lacerations on her back were tricky; we used an ointment on them, except for the extremely deep ones, we stitched those. Her entire back is wrapped up now. There were a lot of cuts and bruises that we either treated specially or let go.
"Now, the bullet wound; the bullet itself tore through her small intestine and lodged itself into her appendix. We removed her appendix to avoid infection and restored the small intestine as best as possible. It has stopped bleeding; everything stopped bleeding, for now. She's on a high dose of morphine as we speak. But she lost around half of the blood in her body; her heart could stop at any time. She may not make it through the night. She's in room 83 if you wish to see her."
"Thank you for your time," Hotchner said to the surgeon.
The surgeon nodded and went back through the double doors.
"I'm going to see her," Reid left before anyone could object or stop him- not that anyone would. They all followed him to Riley's room.
The door to Riley's room was open when Reid got there. He entered to see a pristine, bright white, hospital room. Riley was alone in the room, lying in the bed closest to the window. Reid walked across the room, pulled up a chair, and sat at her bedside. He heard the rhythmic beeping of her heartbeat on the monitor. He wondered how long it would last. Did she have enough fight left in her to make it through this? Reid grasped her right hand and bowed his head.
Please God, don't take her. She means so much to me, to my team, to everyone who's ever met her. She has so much potential here. She's brilliant, strong, brave, and everything anyone could ever ask for in a person. She has such a bright future. I know you can give and take as you please, but, but I beg you not to take this one. Please.
The other agents gathered around her bedside as well. An hour passed and J.J and Prentiss began to nod off into sleep. They don't leave though; they wanted to see her pull through, they wanted to see her eyes again. Everyone hoped and prayed to see her awaken once more.
Beep. Beep…. Beep….Beep. The beeping of the monitor slowed. It beeped until the screeching of the flat line appeared on screen. Her heart stopped. Reid didn't let go of her hand, he couldn't lose her, not like this, not now. Tear drops splashed as they hit the linoleum floor. Reid was too devastated to do anything but stay bowed and cry silently to himself.
Light. Pure, white light surrounded Riley.
Where am I? She called out, "Reid?! Morgan?! Where am I?"
Only silence answered Riley. Fear gripped her heart. Am I dead?
"Yes," an omniscient voice replied.
"Who's there? How can you hear my thoughts?"
"We hear everything Riley," a woman's voice answered.
"Who…who are you?" she yelled tenatively. Something about that feminine voice sounded familiar to the girl.
Three figures emerged from the light. As they approached, Riley recognized them.
"Mom! Dad!" Riley rushed to them for a warm embrace while the third figure hung back. She stood back at arms length, smiling energetically- all her physical wounds gone- as the third figure walked up beside her parents. He was wearing a long, white robe with a rope tied loosely around the waist. He had shoulder length brown hair with a brown beard. His eyes were as gentle and comforting as a baby's blanket while His smile could light the world for eternity.
Riley stood, eyes wide in astonishment, "Jesus?"
"That's right my child, I am Jesus, son of God."
"So, that means I…I'm dead. This isn't a dream?"
"That is up to you. Your duty on Earth has not yet been satisfied. There is still much for you to accomplish. But, the world is full of evils. If you wish to stay here forever you may, you would be safe here. It's your decision."
Riley was torn inside. Stay here, safe from whatever the world could throw at her, with her parents? Her parents whom she missed oh so dearly. Or return and rejoin the team. She still had to tell them about God, she had to warn them and protect them. But by dying, she takes their secrets to her grave; doesn't that make them safe?
She looked to her parents,"What do I do? I can't decide for myself."
Her mother stepped forward and rested her hand upon Riley's cheek. "Do what is right. We will love you no matter what you choose. We have been watching and we couldn't be more proud of you, sweetie. If you choose to go, we'll miss you but we'll always be with you and us with you. Don't ever forget that."
A tear rolled down Riley's cheek. "I want to stay here with you but, but I need to help the team; they can stop Him once and for all." She looked to Jesus, "My job on Earth isn't over. I see that now. There's much more I need to do. I have to go on." Her gaze returned to her parents, "I'm sorry but I have to."
Her step-father stepped forward "Don't be sorry, Riley. We understand."
More tears streamed off Riley's chin. "I miss you guys so much. I want to stay but…but I can't." She hugged her parents one last time and started taking steps away from the crowd. She looked over her shoulder and began to lose sight of them when suddenly everything went black.
Someone whispered in her ear, "Good luck."
Reid felt a sudden pressure on his hands. It felt like Riley was squeezing back. That's not possible, relax Spencer, you're imagining things.
Beep. Beep. Beep. The flat line turned back into peaks and dips. Everyone looked up almost simultaneously at the monitor. A heart rhythm displayed itself on the screen. Reid squeezed her hand, testing with his hands what his eyes were seeing.
"Ouch dude you don't have to kill my hand. I'd like to keep one of my only working body parts still operating if you don't mind," Riley snapped, retracting her hand from Reid's killer grip. Her eyes opened with her mouth. Eyes that were as clear and blue as the ocean; they seemed to sparkle with new life.
Reid's jaw dropped as he saw her fully functioning and heard the monitor confirm what he saw. Everyone else's eyes shot to her as well; no one expected to hear her voice again. They were all happily stunned and awe struck into silence.
Riley felt self-conscious under the agents' unrelenting eyes.
"What? Why are you all staring at me?" she finally asked, unable to wait for one of them to speak.
"You, you stopped breathing. You, your heart stopped. You were legally dead for like five minutes," J.J informed her.
Riley smiled like it was a joke."Really? He said it would be like a dream. I assumed I was just sleeping…" She looked at the gaping faces around her and stopped smiling. A yawn spread across her face as her body grew tired simply from the effort of reviving itself.
Hotch cleared his throat, "We should leave and let you sleep. It looks like you could use the rest."
No one disagreed with him; she needed to sleep, she looked drained; and now the agents could rest easy knowing she was alive. J.J went to Riley's side, stroked her hair, smiled, and walked out. Rossi smiled and said, "Good to have you back, girl," before exiting. Hotch nodded, showed a hint of a rare smile, and left. Prentiss touched her arm, smiled, and followed the others. Morgan gripped her shoulder and smiled, "Glad you're back, Riley. He," pointed to Reid, "was going crazy looking for you." Morgan walked away smiling and shaking his head in disbelief. How did she do it? he repeated to himself over and over.
The lone agent looked down at Riley from the side of her bed. Tears formed in his eyes again. He coudn't stop them from spilling out and flowing over his cheeks. Like a dam finally bursting, the tears grew in quantity.
"I, I thought I l-lost you," he blubbered.
Seeing Reid like this, caused Riley's unshed tears to fall as well. She motioned- with her right arm- that she wanted Reid to come closer and give her a hug. He bent over and hugged her to the best of his ability- he hesitated for fear of putting too much pressure on her injuries. Riley wrapped her arms around him, pulled him in tight, and buried her head in his shoulder.
"You didn't. I'm here Reid, I'm here. I'm never leaving again, I promise," she cried into his shirt.
"I'll never let you go again," he countered. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him from taking you."
Riley pushed him away to hold him at shoulder length. Her face was tear-streaked, just like his. She looked him in the eyes as she spoke, "This wasn't your fault, Reid. This was my mistake; I, I can't explain it now but I can assure you this was my bad. There was nothing you could do," she paused to the backs of her fingers over his bruised cheek. "I'm sorry they hurt you." Another tear washed over her cheek.
Reid brushed his fingers over her bruised and cut face. He noticed the long scratches along her neck and cringed at the thought of how she acquired those. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you before he hurt you."
"You did save me, Reid. I'm alive and well because of you."
Reid had nothing to say back. He just smiled, stroked her hair, and leaned up to leave. Riley grabbed his arm and looked at him with big puppy dog eyes.
"Will you stay with me?" she begged. "I-I just want the company."
He smiled, "Of course I will." He sat down in the chair beside her bed and yawned.
They said their good-nights and Riley tilted her head and closed her eyes. Reid watched her for a few moments before he himself closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Riley opened her eyes after a moment's pause and smiled. She listened to the slow, steady sound of his breathing for a while and savored the feeling of being safe and sound again. Being alert, cautious, and scared for her life seemed like a memory to her- a memory that could still within reach. Her callous feelings formed during her imprisonment began to fade as she listened to Reid's breathing. She couldn't be happier as she fell asleep, safe in the hospital bed beside her friend who she risked her life to protect.
