Hey! Hope you enjoy this chapter; it'll probably be the last one for a while as my exams start in a week :( but come the 24th May I'll be free and there will be lots more updates! Idril xxx
35. Panic
Spencer Reid POV
We stayed staring at the door for what felt like an age, unable to move from our silent vigil. What the hell had happened? I tried to run through everything I knew about coma patients and seizures but I honestly had no idea why it had happened to Marley. Hotch put his hand on my shoulder to offer me some morsel of comfort but I couldn't help wishing that it was Marley's hand offering me comfort. I wasn't sure how long we stood there; the second hand seemed to have frozen as we waited for what felt like hours. We seemed to have a mutual understanding that we wouldn't call Vince unless we had something concrete to tell him; he was barely coping as it was, without us giving him a heart attack unnecessarily. Well, I hoped, I prayed, it was unnecessarily.
"Mr Reid?" Despite the fact I hadn't been able to peel my eyes away from the door since it had been slammed shut in my face I hadn't noticed the Doctor appear until he was calling my name.
"Is she…?" I bit down hard on my lips with nerves.
"She's waking up."
"She's…" I couldn't comprehend what he'd just said, surely I'd misheard?
"She's coming round; she's still on morphine so she'll be groggy but she's waking up. You can go in and see her." I turned to Hotch and grinned at him only to find him reciprocating it.
"Thank you." I shook the Doctor's hand before turning and embracing Hotch.
"I'll call Vince and tell him, go be with her." Hotch hugged me back tightly before giving me a small shove towards Marley's door, not that I needed much persuasion. I couldn't wait to see her, stare into those beautiful brown eyes and tell her how much I loved her. The first thing I noticed when I entered the room was the lack of the green tube that had, for the last nine days, kept her alive; instead a simply translucent oxygen tubing running into her nose. I quickly went back to my seat and grabbed her hand, barely able to contain my excitement I leaned closer to her.
"Marley, can you hear me?" I licked my lips as I prayed for an answer. Sadly only silence filled the room, but one of her fingers jolted in my hand. "Marley, can you do that again?" I begged, hoping I hadn't just imagined it but the fingers moved a little more forcefully in my grasp. I grinned, as tears streamed down my face before bringing her slender fingers to my lips and kissing them.
"Spence?" A weak, but beautifully familiar, voice croaked. I looked up to find myself staring into those brown eyes I'd missed so much. I let out a little sob before leaning forwards and kissing her soft forehead.
"I've missed you."
"Where have I been?" She coughed and stared quizzically at him.
"In a coma for the last nine days." I couldn't tear my gaze away from her eyes, for so long I'd wondered if I'd ever see them again.
"Wow, I really made you wait." I snorted at her, glad she hadn't lost her sense of humour.
"You did, how about next time you try to wake up quickly?"
"I'd rather not be shot again." She leaned up and ran her shaking fingers down my cheek.
"I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure you're never in danger again. I love you." I leaned down and kissed her cracked lips, the tears still streaming down my face. I looked up at a sudden movement in the doorway to see Hotch standing there crying.
"Hey Aaron." She smiled and he hurried over to the other side of the bed.
"I am so sorry Marley."
"It wasn't your fault. Now please stop apologising." She rolled her eyes at his uncharacteristically apologetic nature but he didn't seem to care, only picking up her hand and squeezing it tightly.
"You're Dad'll be here soon." She nodded that she had heard what he'd said but she had closed her eyes again, I guessed she still felt groggy from the pain medication. We sat in silence as we sat guarding her as she slept, both of us ecstatic that she was awake. I couldn't wait to see her family's face when they got here, although it led me back to wondering whether she'd see her Mother. Surprisingly Heather was still here, although thankfully she'd stayed away from her children.
When Vince burst through the door it was the first time I'd ever seen him look happy as his eyes sparkled with excitement at seeing his daughter awake. Jesse and Nick were both grinning as they approached the bed, Jesse came round to the side I was sat on and squeezed my shoulder.
"Has she said anything?" He asked as he stroked her thumb tenderly.
"Yes, but she's still heavily sedated so she's groggy."
" 'm fine." She mumbled as she opened one eye to see the new arrivals. "Daddy."
"I'm right here, baby." He leaned down and kissed her forehead as she raised an unsteady arm to embrace him.
"Hey sleeping beauty." Jesse was the next to lean in and embrace his sister.
"Who are you and what did you do with my brother?" He snorted but continued hugging her. "What happened to John?"
"Why do you care about that bastard?" Jesse snapped as he leaned back against my chair.
"I don't, I just want to know if he's still out there." Her eyes flicked towards the door as if he was about to burst in to finish the job. I shuddered at the thought.
"He's dead." There was something victorious in Hotch's voice, I could understand it. I'd never been so glad someone was dead in my life. She nodded before reaching out for my hand which I gripped tightly.
"How's Jack?" She asked as she turned her head to bury it partially in the pillow, obviously still groggy.
"He's missing you, maybe later when you're feeling better you can talk to him." A smile pulled at the corners of her lips at the idea as he eyes closed again, she gripped my hand tightly and mumbled something that sounded like 'don't leave' before her breathing levelled out as she fell back asleep. We stayed quiet for a while to make sure she was asleep but then Vince began to get up, mumbling something.
"No way, you are not going to speak to her!" Jesse yelled causing Marley to stir. I was surprised that Vince was the most amicable towards Heather; after all, she'd left him and his children. But then again, my Mother had been strangely amicable towards my Father during the Riley Jenkins fiasco; maybe it was a parental thing.
"Be quiet, your sister is sleeping." Vince snapped.
"Trying to sleep." Marley mumbled in agreement.
"You've slept for nine days, I think you're fine." Jesse fired back at her.
"There's the brother I know and love. What's up?" She opened one eye to take in the two Prince men glaring at each other.
"Dad wants to talk to Mom."
"What!" She launched up on the bed only to let out a piercing scream of pain before flopping down onto the bed and clutching her chest as the machines she was hooked to began shrieking in distress. One of the nurses came running in to check on Marley who was gasping in pain, I stood up, flapping uselessly by her side as I tried to help her.
"If you're causing her distress then you'll all have to leave. She's still very sick." The nurse snapped glaring at the lot of us.
"No they're fine. I just forgot where I was." Marley gave a grimace that I'm sure she was trying to pass off as a smile before grasping my hand in hers while the other hand still gripped her side as she took several calming breaths.
"Just take it easy." The nurse glared at the lot of us in warning before leaving us alone again. As soon as the door swung shut Marley turned to give her Father the patented Hotchner glare Marley was giving him. I felt bad for Vince, that glare could scare hardened criminals.
"Marls, she came to see you; she's been her days. I didn't want to send her away when you might want to…" He trailed off as the glare continued. Aaron patted her hand to soothe her while Jesse looked victorious that Marley agreed with his views on their Mother. "I'll take that as a no. I'm sorry Marley, I didn't mean to upset you."
"Just don't let her in." She stipulated but she grabbed his hand and squeezed it in an act of forgiveness. Marley turned her head to the side, I guessed she was going to try and get some more sleep but then she froze as she caught sight of something. Her face blanched white and she started gasping for air as if the room had suddenly become an airtight vacuum, her nails bit deep into my flash as she began whimpering.
"Marls." I stroked her arm as she tried to sit up again only to gasp in pain but she continued trying to get out of bed, even trying to pull the IV drip out of her arm. Terrified and confused at what the hell had set her off I moved to sit on the bed and try to pull her back down so she couldn't hurt herself any further, although from the way she was gasping I was pretty sure her lungs were protesting her exertion. I began humming quietly like I'd seen her do with Jack when he was upset as I stroked her back with the hand that wasn't attached to the arm that Marley was clinging to as if she was drowning. I was sure she'd drawn blood but I allowed her to dig her nails in deeper as she cried desperately. I hated seeing her like this; it made me want to kill Jonathon all over again.
"He's here… he's coming… he's here… Spence help me!" She began babbling hysterically as she buried her head in my shoulder as she clung to me. Jesse looked desperately at me as he kept looking at the corner that had scared Marley; there was nothing there, just a table we'd been playing cards on. Cards. "if you're into card games and peanut butter sandwiches."
"The cards." Hotch and I said at the same time.
"Move the cards." Hotch instructed as he and Vince both rubbed her back to try and calm her down.
"Marley, its ok. We were playing earlier, it was not him. He's dead Marley. I'm her sweetie, I'm here. No one is ever going to hurt you again. I promise baby." I kept babbling as I peppered her forehead with kisses, all the while trying not to cry as I watched the girl I loved lose her mind over a pack of playing cards. She may have been on the road to recover physically, but mentally she still trapped with Jonathon.
And I had no idea how I was going to make her better.