The team sat in silence in the waiting room. It felt like it had been ages since Reid had gone into surgery, but no update had come yet.
Morgan spent most of the time pacing the room. He needed to keep moving. If he stood still, the weight of the situation would hit him and he didn't think he would be able to remain strong if that happened. And Derek Morgan was not one to show weakness if it could be helped.
JJ had left the room briefly to call Will and fill him in on the situation. When she had returned, she sat beside Emily and had not moved since. Her head rested on her friend's shoulder, but her eyes were open, staring at nothing in particular. She was trying to wash all of the horrible images of Spencer out of her mind by thinking about all of the good times they had shared instead. Every now and again, a small smile would come across her face.
Emily was happy to be a support for JJ right now. It made her feel like she was being useful, and she needed that. Last time Reid had been abducted, she had been able to compartmentalize pretty successful; but she had been new to the team then. Now, they were her family. Reid was so important to her. She didn't know how to block that out anymore, but she knew it helped to be with her friends.
Hotch had sent a few texts to Jessica to check on Jack. After that he had read and responded to countless work emails that had been building up. He needed a distraction, knowing that the time would pass so much slower if he didn't have something to do. And time had already slowed down practically to a stop, it seemed like. He checked his watch for the hundredth time, and went back to reading emails on his phone.
Rossi spent his time ensuring everyone else was taken care of. He had made three coffee runs so far, and bought practically everything in the vending machine despite the fact that no one was eating any of it. He had stopped by the nurse's station several times as well, only to be told each time that someone would come see them in the waiting room when there was news. He reluctantly went back to the room with his friends, drinking his coffee and trying to think of anything else he could do that would help. He didn't like the feeling that the situation was out of his hands.
The only sound to be heard in the waiting room of the hospital was the typing of keyboard keys. Garcia had brought her laptop and, after failing to be able to concentrate on her knitting, had pulled it out. She was determined to figure out where she had gone wrong with the location.
"Bingo!" She exclaimed as she finally found the missing piece to the puzzle.
"What is it, sweetness?" Morgan walked over and sat beside her to look at the computer screen.
"I figured out why Reid's location didn't show up on my initial search. The residence we found him at isn't listed as having a basement. A couple of years ago the homeowner decided to have a basement added on, but the contractor cut some corners to save money and never filed for a building permit. So the records I looked don't show the house as having a basement at all." Garcia was relieved that it wasn't a mistake on her part, but still had this unshakeable feeling that she should have been able to find Reid sooner. She felt like she had let him down when he had needed her most.
"Garcia, who is the homeowner?" Emily was curious as to who could have been helping Dr. Malcolm. If there were any other parties involved, the BAU would make sure they were caught and punished accordingly.
Garcia had expected this question, and was prepared to answer it. "54-year-old bachelor, Mr. George Burgess. This is the second of two properties he owns. I'm looking at his banking records now. He used to have regular transfers of money coming in every month. Looks like it could be rent payments. But they stopped last month. A quick search on Craigslist shows that he was looking for a new tenant for the house."
Rossi leaned forward as he spoke. "So Dr. Malcolm is likely renting the place from him. But if there are no records of him paying rent, he must have paid in cash. I thought Malcolm went bankrupt, how did he get his hands on the money? Not to mention money for the vehicle we found him in, assuming it's not stolen."
Garcia nodded. "I'm going to keep digging and see what I can find on Malcolm's financials."
Hotch looked up to Garcia. He spoke in a soothing tone. "Penelope, you don't need to figure this all out now. Malcolm is in our custody; he's not going anywhere."
Garcia nodded. "I know sir, but frankly I don't do well with the waiting thing. I could use the distraction."
Hotch gave Garcia an understanding smile. "Okay." He wasn't doing so well with the 'waiting thing' either. Looking at his watch again, he realized it was now the early morning.
The room fell back into silence, each agent lost in their own thoughts, lulled by the sound of Garcia's typing.
They heard footsteps approaching the room, and looked up to find an older man in scrubs standing in the doorway. They stood as a group, Hotch approaching the man ahead of everyone else.
The doctor had black hair peppered with grey. He looked as exhausted as they all felt. He cleared his throat and addressed the room. "Agents, I'm Dr. Carmen, Spencer Reid's surgeon."
JJ couldn't help but cut in. "How is he?"
Dr. Carmen addressed the group. "He suffered from massive blood loss, I would say over 50% of his total blood volume. That amount normally results in irremediable cardiac arrest. However, we were able to resuscitate Dr. Reid upon his arrival to the ER. We rushed him into surgery where we repaired the damage done by the stab wound. Luckily no major organs were hit. We have been giving him transfusions and fluids to get his blood volume back into the safe zone. We are optimistic about his recovery, however there are some possible complications. Blood flow to Dr. Reid's brain and organs did stop for a short amount of time. There is the possibility that some damage was done. We are monitoring his organ functions closely, and everything appears normal so far."
The team breathed a sigh of cautious relief. He wasn't out of the woods, but it sounded like things were looking positive.
Dr. Carmen continued. "His other injuries include welts over his torso and arms. We've cleaned and dressed the most severe of the wounds, and given him antibiotics. They will cause him some discomfort but should heal without any further issues. He also suffered from a mild concussion, and burns from electric shock. These are not expected to have ongoing side effects though."
Hotch nodded. "Thank you doctor. When can we see him?"
"A nurse will come get you as soon as he's been settled in recovery. Though it may be a while before the anesthesia wears off. Mr. Hotchner, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" Carmen requested.
Hotch nodded and followed Dr. Carmen into the hallway.
"I was given instructions not to prescribe any narcotics to Dr. Reid. I'm honouring those wishes, but I want you to know that with his injuries, he is likely to be in a good amount of pain. We could keep him sedated until he has had a chance to recover more, if you think that would be best. That is your call."
Hotch immediately shook his head no. "Doctor, I'm not sure how much you know about the circumstances that brought Reid here, but he's been held captive on neural inhibitors for the past two days. I think the last thing Reid would want is to be kept under the influence of more restrictive drugs."
Dr. Carmen nodded in understanding. "Okay, like I said it's your call."
Hotch headed back into the waiting room, where Morgan was still on his feet, pacing the room.
"What did the doctor want to talk to you about?" Morgan asked.
Hotch brushed off the question. "He just wanted to speak about Reid's medication."
Morgan was about to press on, when a nurse entered the room. "I can take you to see Dr. Reid now."
The group stood and followed the nurse through the hallways. As they passed a large bay window, they could see that the sun was rising. It was a new day.