Chapter 37

Spencer sat in the chairs along the wall in the hallway, shaking his leg nervously as he waited for Scarlett to be brought out from the MRI. He stood and paced, sitting back down quickly when felt a wave of dizziness over take him.

He swore softly under his breath just as Garcia came to sit beside him.

"You okay, poodle?" she asked gently, seeing his hands shake as he ran them through his hair.

"No," he scowled darkly, looking at her. "I feel like shit..." he admitted.

Penelope leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. "I wish there was something they could do, sweetie..."

"They did... or offered anyway," he said with a sigh. He stuffed his hand into his pocket, pulling out a prescription bottle.

"They gave me step down doses... pills to help wean me off the injection they gave me," he looked at the bottle like it was going to bite him.

"Oh..." Garcia watched his face closely. "And you don't want to take them?"

"It's only going to prolong the inevitable, Penny. I'll still get withdrawals..." he closed his hand over the bottle, swallowing hard when he felt bile rise in his throat.

Penelope noticed his face turn ashen as sweat broke out on his forehead. She rubbed his back and met his eyes when he looked at her. She took the bottle of pills and read the label.

"How bad is it going to get, Reid?" she asked gently.

Spencer sighed and closed his eyes.

"Uh... besides the headache and tremors, I'll more than likely experience nausea and vomiting, restlessness, skin irritation, agitation, drowsiness, vertigo and insomnia..." he stated, sounding as though he were reading from a textbook. "There is also a slight possibility for seizures and hallucinations, but those are less common..."

Garcia looked him in the eye. "And you don't believe prolonging that inevitability is a viable option?" she asked. When he gave her a scathing look, she shrugged.

"I'm just playing devil's advocate here," she told him. When she reached over and placed her hand on his arm, she felt him tremble. "I just thought it'd be better for you to deal with at home. And I know you won't leave until she does..."

"No! I'm not leaving..." he stammered as a chill wracked his system. He closed his eyes again, fighting against the tremors. "Fuck..." he swore, grabbing the pill bottle from her and heading into the rest room.

Penelope wiped at her eyes before he came back out, not asking or mentioning it again. She figured if he took the pill, it would be obvious soon enough in the absence of the worst symptoms. Instead, she leaned against his shoulder and he took her hand, giving it a quick squeeze as they waited together for Scarlett's return.

A bit later, an orderly came around the corner, pushing Scarlett in a wheelchair. Spencer shook his head when he noticed she'd tucked her legs up under her, sitting on them instead of the seat.

"I can walk just fine," she was complaining to the man.

"I'm sorry, it's hospital policy... you don't want to make me lose my job, do you?"

Scarlett sighed heavily. She quickly scanned the hall, her eyes lighting on Spencer immediately.

"Hey, you..." she smiled up at him.

"Hey, yourself..." he grinned back. "Scarlett – let these people do their jobs," he nudged her legs, until she sat correctly in the chair.

"Fine..." she pouted, looking over at Penelope. "Please tell me they at least got me out of the fish bowl..." she asked, hoping that she wasn't going back to the ICU.

"All set, pumpkin. Private room, no more full view windows..." Garcia handed a page of paperwork to the orderly.

"Thank God..." she sighed. She reached over and caught Spencer's hand as he walked alongside her.

"Lead the way..." she told them.

"Your brother took your stuff and is waiting on us..." Penelope told them. "If I know him, he's got the game on," she laughed.

When the orderly pushed her into the room, she saw Derek sitting on the bed, channel surfing through the stations.

"Anything good on?" she teased as she pulled herself out of the chair and jumped into the bed alongside him, grabbing the remote from him.

"Nothing that I could find..." he said with a grin. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "I'm happy to see you are back to your usual annoying self..." he teased. Scarlett stuck her tongue out at him and started scrolling through the channels herself.

Reid watched them interact a moment longer before stepping into the bathroom as a wave of dizziness hit him. He stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection and splashed cold water on his face. Looking into the mirror again, he sighed, seeing that distant look in his eyes that he was certain Scarlett would notice. He closed them, feeling the room spin around him.

When he stepped out, he saw the others look at him and felt his face heat.

"Spence..." Scarlett's voice called out to him. He looked towards her, his body starting to feel heavy.

Scarlett moved over in the bed, closer to Derek, to make room for him to sit alongside her. She saw Reid's eyes narrow as he looked at Morgan. Anger lit behind the hazel glare.

Derek noticed also. "Really, kid?" he asked incredulously. Penelope sucked in a breath, moving to Spencer's side. He looked down at her, a strange look in his eyes.

"C'mon, Reid..." she said gently leading him over to the edge of the bed. "Sit down before you fall down..."

Scarlett exchanged a look with her brother. "Pens..." she said quietly. "Explain please..."

"umm..." Garcia looked away from them, unsure what to say.

Spencer scowled darkly, trying to focus on the conversation. Instead his mind drew in on Morgan's arm still around Scarlett's shoulders and he heard himself snarl.

"Get off her," he growled, his voice sounding strange in his ears.

Morgan raised his eyebrow. "I'm not 'on her', Reid..." he snapped back, angry at the look on his friend's face. "You better check yourself..." he warned.

"Oh, no, no... we aren't doing this..." Penelope pushed herself in front of Reid when he took a step forward. Derek sat up straighter, looking Spencer in the eye.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked in a softer tone, noticing the vacant stare there. "Penelope... if you know what's up, you better say something..."

"I don't know... not for sure... could this be a reaction to coming off the Haldol?" she asked.

Scarlett looked from Penelope to Spencer. "No... but aggression is a side effect from taking it... if it wasn't a big enough dose to knock a person out..." she said, a warning tone lighting her words. "Spence?" she watched him sway on his feet.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind as her voice came to him. When he focused in on her, he saw her sigh.

"Come here, baby..." she told him, reaching for his hand, pulling him forward.

Spencer sat on the edge of the bed, hard. He turned slightly, looking into Scarlett's eyes.

"What did you take, love?" she asked, nudging him gently. When he reached in his pocket and handed over the bottle of pills, she read the label.

"How many?" he heard her ask, her voice sounding distant. She opened the bottle and quickly counted the pills, noting two were missing.

"He said the doctor gave them to him, so he could step down off the original dose, slowly..." Penelope said quietly. "I wasn't sure if he took them or not, I didn't ask... maybe about an hour ago? When you were in the MRI... I just told him that no one would blame him if he did... because he didn't want to go through the withdrawals while he was here..."

Morgan shook his head. "Yeah, because this is better..." he ground out, as Scarlett pulled Reid back onto the bed beside her.

"Shut up, D." she told him hotly. "I told you I wanted to take him home..."

Spencer heard everything around him as if it were coming from the bottom of a well. He closed his eyes tightly.

"It's alright. He probably didn't need the full dose to step down... but he'll be fine. We'll be home tomorrow and we'll deal with it there..."

Scarlett blew her hair out of her face as she held onto Spencer tightly. Morgan moved over to his friend's side, pulling off his shoes and lifting him more fully onto the bed. He shook his head slightly when Reid moved closer to Scarlett's side, ducking his face into her neck.

"Yeah, he's nothing like an over-grown puppy..." he teased, catching his sister's eye.

Scarlett smiled. "Yeah, but he's my 'over-grown puppy'," she shot back. She pushed his hair off his forehead and kissed him. "I think I'll keep him..."

"Right..." Derek moved back to the other side of the bed and handed Scarlett the remotes for the TV and the iHome. "Here," he told her, dropping a kiss to her lips. "You take care of your boo... and yourself. I'll come back later to check on you both."

Scarlett nodded and looked over at Penelope. "You might as well go too, sweetie," she told her. "I don't think I'm going to be much company."

"Sure, okay..." Garcia grabbed her purse from the chair and stopped to look at Reid. "I'm sorry I said anything..." she told Scarlett.

"It's alright Pens, really. This or the withdrawals, either way it wasn't going to be pretty..."

"Okay... right..." she said before she followed Morgan out the door.

Scarlett sighed as she leaned over Spencer and pressed a kiss to his hair. "We'll get through this together, farm boy..." she told him, quietly.