Connection
Truan stood outside Jaye's room in the ER watching the doctors work, arms crossed, his eyes never leaving her, his worry mounting as she went through bag after bag of blood. He'd called Spencer from the ambulance, they were on their way. Truan's blood type was the same as hers so he'd already given all he could for the next 24 hours.
JJ and Spencer came running in, faces panicked, JJ stopping next to Truan. Spencer went straight into Jaye's room and immediately felt a silent, black terror. He staggered and gripped the foot of her bed. But it wasn't his own fear he was feeling. He looked at Jaye and yes, he was afraid for her, but this was different. She was unconscious and unaware of what was happening, but then the fear reached out, clawed at him, at his mind, and for a moment he thought he was dreaming again.
Spencer shook his head and forced himself to focus. This couldn't be real, he was awake! He looked at JJ through the glass and saw her watching him, her concern written all over her face, and he focused on that.
"Dr. Reid." the lead doctor spoke. "We have to make a decision right now. We have to deliver the baby, and then maybe we can stop her bleeding..."
Spencer nodded, looking him in the eye. "Will Jaye survive?"
"I don't know," he answered honestly. But I do know this baby is going to die if we don't get her out. The amniotic sac ruptured completely almost ten minutes ago, she could be choking on blood... we need to get her -"
Spencer's mind was whirling - the baby – his daughter, his little girl... and then he felt her. As sure as he knew his own mind he knew it was her. She was in his mind - the fear had been coming from her! Spencer thought quickly of Jaye, and what she would want. Would she ever want to live at the cost of her child's life? Never, no... NO! And then he felt his daughter's thoughts, her fear... growing weaker... he felt her slipping from his mind and he knew what he had to do.
"Get her out. Deliver her. Do it now." Spencer said.
Immediately the doctors sprang into action, throwing up a field and performing an emergency c-section. Minutes later the baby was out, cord clipped, and the doctors instantly went back to work on Jaye, pumping even more blood into her veins, doing their best to keep it inside her weakening body. Doing their best to save her life.
The neo-natal nurse cleared the baby's airways and quickly wrapped her into a heated bassinet, wheeling her out of the room at top speed with Spencer on her heels. He felt his daughter reaching, frantic, afraid and cold, not understanding and he tentatively reached back. His perfect mind touched her connection and held it, he did his best to think calm, loving thoughts, and felt her terror ebb... for the first time, he felt it slowly calm until it was just a dim, slight throbbing at the edge of his consciousness.
All through the NICU nurses, and then the doctor's ministrations, he held her in his mind, flooding her with warm thoughts of love and encouragement, soothing her frantic, wordless fear with silent murmurs of comfort. He felt her sleep then, finally, exhausted by her ordeal. He sagged with relief as he heard them give stable reports of her vitals. She would need to be there for a while. Her lungs weren't fully formed yet and she'd need to stay in the NICU for a few weeks... but she would live. His daughter would live.
Truan sat next to Jaye, holding her hand. The doctors had done everything they could, and now it was up to her. They had exhausted the hospital's blood supply, and now because JJ was O-positive, the universal blood type, she was lying on a bed, emergency transfusing Jaye until the blood bank could replenish the hospital's supply.
"You really care about her, don't you?" JJ asked Truan, her voice low.
"I care about all of my patients, Agent Jareau." he replied, reaching up to smooth a stray hair off Jaye's forehead.
"This much?" she continued.
Truan looked over at the blonde woman. "No." he admitted.
JJ regarded him for a second. "You don't like me, do you?" she asked.
"I don't really know you," he replied. "She does, though."
JJ's eyes went to the unconscious brunette's delicately pale face and said "I doubt that."
"She does. As much as she loves Doctor Reid, as much as she could despise you? She doesn't. Whenever she does speak of you, and it isn't often, but when she does... she uses kind words." he said. "She says you've never been rude or mean to her once. Not one time."
"I understand her. We both love him. I admire her, Truan, I do. I don't know what I'd do without him, and I see how strong she must be to go through this." JJ admitted.
"Doctor Reid is very lucky to have two such incredible women in his life. Two such women who love him as they do." His eyes went back to Jaye. "Thank you for sharing your blood with her."
JJ nodded. "She would've done the same for me."
Spencer came in, seeing JJ on the bed and immediately assessed what was going on. He looked at Truan as he moved to JJ and asked. "How is she?"
"She's weak... very. It's still touch and go. We won't know anything for a while. How is the bambina?
"She's on oxygen and a ventilator, but she's sleeping peacefully. The docs are confident she'll be okay. I'm going back over there in a little while. God, she's beautiful, JJ." He looked at her, reaching to touch her hair, he bent over and kissed her forehead. Their eyes met and she smiled up at him, squeezing his hand. He straightened and squeezed back . "No more nightmares," he whispered.
She looked up at him, puzzled. "How do you... what?"
"Tell you later." he said. "Scoot over." He climbed in with her as she made room for him in the narrow bed. He draped his arm over her stomach and let himself relax against her as best he could. Truan looked over at them and gave a half-smile. All of them became very quiet, listening for anything from Jaye that might signal a change. All of them caring, all of them hopeful for what tomorrow would bring.
