CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
In the waiting room time seemed to have stopped. The anxiety level in the small area increased exponentially with each passing minute. Each member of the team dealt with it differently. None of them were very successful though.
OOOOO
Pain waited at the surface. Aaron knew that intuitively. For a few brief moments he considered staying where he was, in the darkness, where he felt safe and healthy. It only took an image of Reid as he'd last seen him to send the Unit Chief rocketing to the surface of his mind.
"Spencer!" Hotch gasped as the pain he'd expected to find pounced on his mind and body. Blinking frantically, he tried to adjust his light dazzled eyes to the world around him so he could figure out where his junior tea m member was. Unconsciously, he grabbed hold of the blankets over his body with his good hand and tried to throw them off as he attempted to stand up. All he knew was that he had to reach the thin young man who was himself in a great deal of pain. In the too bright world on the other side of his eyes, Aaron thought he saw a slightly less brilliant area move toward him.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down," a male voice stated from somewhere. The blob was hovering over him.
His brown eyes finally adjusted to the light in the room, Hotch became dimly aware of the fact that the room he was in was Spartan in furnishings. There was the bed he was struggling to get out of, another bed a short distance away, a large window opposite his bed and two vinyl, uncomfortable looking chairs. Oh, and there were night tables as Aaron discovered as he sent the one beside his bed flying when he tried to use it as a cane to reach his feet. Large windows covered the wall opposite his bed, creating the bright light that had blinded him. Someone had left the shades wide open.
Then strong hands caught hold of him as a male nurse pressed him back down into the bed. The pain that had vanished when panic had descended on Hotch's mind abruptly returned. With a low groan, Aaron crumpled into the bed.
"That's better," the nurse said as he gently repositioned the FBI agent's body onto the hospital bed. At the moment Hotch seemed to be just flailing arms and legs. He'd been expecting the man to come around soon but not with the violence he'd demonstrated thus far. This much agitation wasn't good for the agent's rate of recovery. He was going to have to do something about that.
"Where's Reid?" Hotch demanded as he panted through the pain. His eyes darted around the room as he continued to try to evaluate his situation. Something was getting in his way, though, keeping his mind from functioning properly. Finally his attention turned to the nurse as he injected a liquid into the port on his IV line. Knowing immediately that it was the drugs they were pumping into him to keep the pain manageable that was clouding his mind, Hotch tried to use his other hand to pull the offending tube out of his arm. All he managed to do was to bat at the plastic tubing with his heavily cast hand.
"Dr. Reid is in surgery," the nurse stated as he continued to readjust Hotch back onto his bed. Damn but the man was stubborn as he continued to try to gain his feet. The drugs weren't taking effect as quickly as he'd hoped.
"Which room?" Hotch demanded. The youngest member of his team was somewhere in this building without anyone to watch over him. Logically he knew the doctors were doing their best to take care of Spencer but with all the drugs in his system and the trauma to his own body, Hotch wasn't thinking particularly logically at the moment.
"If you don't calm down I'm going to have to call the doctor and get a stronger sedative for you," the nurse stated as he took a step back. With the way the agent was fighting with him, he wasn't convinced he wasn't causing the man more harm than good.
"No," Hotch grated as he slumped back onto the bed. As much as he desperately wanted to go in search of his friend/subordinate, his body just wasn't cooperating as every ounce of strength his panic had created evaporated. Reluctantly, Hotch's eye lids fluttered shut over his brown eyes and oblivion took over once again.
OOOOO
Pain. It was both an emotion and physical response to trauma. It was a sensation that Dr. Spencer Reid was all too familiar with. It was also a sensation that he wasn't afraid to face. As he slowly came back to himself, Reid hoped desperately that the doctors hadn't increased his discomfort by giving him drugs.
A low moan escaped from Reid's slightly parted lips. He was dimly aware that the sound he'd heard had come from him. It was a response to all the damage that had been done to his body. Reid was greatly relieved to realize that there wasn't any pain as he pried his eyes opened.
"Hello there," a far too peppy female voice stated from Reid's right side.
Scanning in that direction, Reid found a brunette nurse fussing with the tube running into his arm. Upon seeing the needle, Reid's automatic response was to pull it out. He'd had enough of needles. They reminded him of his addiction to dilaudid, an episode of his life he wasn't eager to revisit. Clumsily, he tried to pull it out.
"Whoa. We need to leave that in for a while," the nurse said as she gently moved Reid's hand away. "How are you feeling?"
"MMMhhff," was all that came out as Reid blinked rapidly and took in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed of course was the lack of Hotch. This revelation sent a spike of fear through his body. Then Reid took a closer look. He was in the recovery ward. Apparently they'd just finished giving him some form of anaesthetic. Looking down his body, all Reid could see was a white cotton blanket.
"Still a little dopey, huh?" the nurse asked. She pulled a second blanket out of somewhere and carefully laid it over Reid's body. He was only dimly aware that the process didn't hurt.
"What?" Reid got out. The longer he was awake the better he was getting control of his own body and mind. Ignoring the nurse, Reid made a quick assessment of his body. He had bruises and abrasions on his arms and legs. Where they came from he didn't try to remember. His torso and stomach were in similar shape. Holding his breath, Reid tentatively ran his free hand over his pelvis.
"You just came out of surgery. The doctors will explain everything that had to be done after you're more aware and we have you down in your room," the nurse said as she fussed with his blankets, etc.
"Hotch?" Reid asked as he continued to explore. All he really found were bandages. Before he could check under them to try to figure out what exactly had been done, the nurse caught hold of his hand and pulled it up over top of the blankets.
"Is that the other agent? He's down in the room all ready," the nurse prattled on. "I think your friends didn't want you to be separated or something."
"Good," Reid said. Shifting in the blankets, he tried to figure out what the nurse had stopped him from finding out. The fact that he couldn't feel anything at all under the bandages freaked him out a little.
A second nurse entered the room. There were several beds but at the moment only Reid's was occupied. Moving over to Reid, the nurse began releasing the brakes on his bed.
"Since you're awake, we're going to move you downstairs," the nurse explained as the two of them rolled Reid and his bed out of the room.
OOOOO
"The two agents are settling into their room," Dr. Hill announced once he'd entered the waiting room. The surgery had gone remarkably well but he wasn't going to tell them that. As a bone, though, he had come to the waiting room to talk to the impatient agents. "Give us about half an hour. After that, you can visit them two at a time. They've been through a lot and need to get as much sleep as they can."
"How are they?" Morgan asked, relief making his knees a little weak. Beside him Penelope stifled a sob as she listened for the doctor's next words. Unconsciously, Morgan snaked an arm around the blond computer tech and held her against his side.
"They came through very well," Hill hedged.
"What about Reid? Did you give him any narcotics?" Dave asked. He too was feeling a little weak at the knees. It was almost over.
"No. So far it seems we are able to manage his pain without them," Hill stated as he looked around at the very concerned faces watching him like a hawk. Clearly this group was more of a family than simply a team of people who worked together. He felt he had to at least give them that. "Give us half an hour then you can come up to room 212."
"Thank you, doctor," Emily said as the man turned and left. Sighing deeply, she sank down into the chair she'd flown out of when the doctor had entered the room. Two chairs away, J.J. did the same.
"Thank God," J.J. breathed. Then they settled in to wait yet again.
A/N: Yes. I know. It's been far too long. If it's any consolation, it's been even longer for all my other stories. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to do better with the next one. Thanks for sticking with me and sending me all the wonderful reviews! They make me very happy!
Susanne