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Remember note 1 from the last chapter?
Words: 2,293 A longer one...is that a good thing or...?
Devyn is half asleep when she gets the call. She had only meant to rest her eyes on the couch for a bit. Spencer had texted her earlier, telling her about a case. She'd been disappointed that, even though the case is local, they had to cancel their dinner plans. But it gave her more time to run her errands and clean up the apartment.
She hasn't gone back to work yet. Spencer agreed more time off would be good for her and Devyn's finding that he's right. She feels better, almost ready to go back. For sure this time.
It takes a minute for Devyn's sleep-riddled mind to connect the noise with the ringing of her phone. Squinting her eyes open, Devyn reaches onto the coffee table and blindly pulls her phone towards her, answering without looking at the caller ID.
"Mm, hello?" She mumbles into the phone.
"Devyn, where are you?"
"Derek?" Devyn questions while moving to sit up. "What's going on?"
"Devyn, it's Spencer," As if a bucket of ice water is dumped down her back, Devyn's back stiffens, all sleep disappearing from her system. "Are you at the apartment? I'm on my way to get you now." Morgan's question goes unanswered. Devyn sits frozen, staring at the window across from her blankly. "Devyn?"
"I-I'm home," She stutters out before jumping to her feet. "Wh-what happened? Is-is he okay? Please tell me he's okay."
"He's in surgery," Morgan says instead of answering her question.
"What happened?" Devyn repeats herself in a growl, putting as much strength as she can behind her words.
"He was shot," Derek finally answers, his voice soft. Devyn didn't think it was possible, but she feels her stomach drop even further at the information. "Look, he was stable when I left the hospital, I'm pulling up outside now."
"I'm on my way down," Devyn mumbles before hanging up the phone. She doesn't even tie her shoes or grab a jacket before she's rushing out the door.
Morgan pulls out of the driveway as soon as Devyn closes the passenger side door of his truck. Forcing a few deep breaths, Devyn wills her voice not to break. "Where was he shot?"
"Dev-"
"Where, Derek?" Devyn cuts him off, raising and voice and twisting her head to look at him.
Sighing, Morgan grips his steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip and shakes his head. "Right above his vest. Right side."
The air is forced from Devyn's lungs for the second time that night and she lifts a hand to cover her mouth. "Were you with him? What was the ambulance's response time?"
"Devyn, this-"
"How long?"
"Fourteen minutes."
"Should've been quicker," Devyn mumbles. If she was thinking clearing she would know that they got there as fast as they could. They always get there as fast as they can. But sometimes their fastest isn't good enough. Every second counts.
Nothing else is said between the two before they pull up to the hospital. Devyn is out of the vehicle before it's even come to a complete stop. Morgan calls after her but she ignores him and rushes into the ER.
She sees the others before they see her. JJ is pacing. One arm folded across her middle while her other elbow rests on it, her fingernails between her teeth. Garcia and Emily sit together, the former's eyes are red from crying but she's calmed down with Emily's help, the older woman's hand resting on the blonde's shoulder. Rossi sits quietly by himself while Hotch stands in the corner alone.
JJ notices her first. The blonde moves forward to wrap her arms around Devyn, nearly taking a step back at the impact. Devyn hadn't bothered to slow her pace when she saw the older woman open her arms. Instead, she'd rushed to return the hug.
"He'll be okay," JJ whispers into her ear, her hand rubbing up and down Devyn's back. "He has to be."
"Do you know anything?" Devyn pulls away and asks, wiping her glassy eyes.
"Nothing new," Emily shakes her head, now standing with them. She offers Devyn a tight smile but the younger woman doesn't return it.
"Do you know the surgeon's name?" She presses but everyone only shakes their heads, watching Devyn spin on her heel and quickly move towards the desk across the room.
"I..." Morgan sighs and shakes his head again when the others look at him. He rubs his forehead before turning to watch Devyn speak with the woman behind the desk for a minute before she turns back to him. He can see her red eyes from here. See the way her hand shakes when she lifts it to run through her hair.
"I don't-" Devyn mumbles when she reaches him, her voice escaping her. "I can't-" When a cry escapes her mouth, Devyn lifts her hand to muffle the sound, and Derek steps forward, wrapping his arms around her.
"Shhh," Morgan hums softly, his hand resting on the back of Devyn's head when she leans against him, crying into his shoulder. He can feel her trembling and tightens his hold.
"I'm sorry," Devyn pushes away and wipes her eyes uselessly. "We were supposed to be having dinner right now." Maybe it's an odd thing to say or to be thinking in a time like this, but she can't help it. Just that morning, she'd been in Spencer's arms, laughing and making dinner plans. Now he's lying on an operating table with the possibility of never coming off alive. It's funny how quickly life can change.
"Hey, what'd she say?" Morgan asks gently, his hands resting on Devyn's shoulder while he nods over towards the desk.
"Just that they're still working," Devyn clears her throat and runs her hands down her face. "Derek, if he doesn-"
"Don't even," Morgan cuts her off and shakes his head for the umpteenth time. "Don't even think that. Spencer is going to be fine. You want to know how I know?" Devyn nods, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "Because of you." Derek states simply. "That kid loves you more than he loves anything. Nothing is going to keep him from you. Especially not a little bullet."
"A bullet to the chest," Devyn reminds him as if he doesn't already know.
"Not even that," Derek insist sternly. "He's strong. He's in there fighting right now and he needs you to be strong with him."
"Yeah, okay," Devyn nods shakily, sniffing and letting Derek lead her towards the others where they find a seat and wait.
Devyn isn't an impatient person, but that doesn't mean she likes waiting. Especially in moments like these. Five minutes into sitting down, she started scratching her arms and didn't stop until JJ wordlessly took one of her hands into both of hers, resting it in her lap.
A few times it felt like her legs were vibrating, causing the young woman to stand and pace. Others she felt so weak she couldn't even think about standing.
And then finally, finally, when they're nearing some unholy hour of the morning, the doctor steps into their little secluded part of the waiting room. "You're all here for Agent Reid?"
"It's Dr. Reid," Devyn doesn't know why she bothers correcting the man. That doesn't matter right now. She'd thought about this moment constantly for the past few hours. Thought about how she'd demand to know how Spencer was doing as soon as she saw his doctor. She'd opened her mouth to do just that but those aren't the words that came out.
"Right, my apologies," The doctor nods respectfully.
"How is he?" Devyn nearly cuts him off, her voice weaker than she meant for it to be. "I don't care about details, just tell me if he's going to be okay."
"He's going to be okay," Everyone in the room releases a sigh of relief at the doctor's words. Devyn thinks she would've fallen over if it weren't for JJ's hands on her shoulders. "He was lucky. The bullet missed his lung and any major arteries. But it shattered his clavicle bone. That's what we had the most trouble with, finding all the pieces but I'm confident that we have."
Despite everything, Devyn can only think about how much Spencer is going to hate that. Hate having to wear a sling, hate being less mobile, held back. She's sure she'll have to yell at him for not letting himself heal for the proper amount of time. But she'll deal with his stubborn attitude if that means he's still here. He's still with her.
"I want to see him," She doesn't ask. Devyn thinks she even cuts the doctor off but she'd zoned him out moments ago.
"Of course," The doctor nods before leaving the room, Devyn following close behind. "The anesthesia is still wearing off. He hasn't woken up yet, but he should soon."
"Thank you," Devyn mumbles distractedly as she enters the room, her gaze glued to Spencer. It almost looks like he's just sleeping. Almost. He's pale, too pale. The nasal canula under his nose providing him with extra oxygen. The bulky bandage under his hospital gown peeks out of the top. There's a needle providing fluids in the crook of his elbow and a pulse oximetry on his finger.
But ignoring all of that, Devyn moves to Spencer's left side, her hand moving to gently move some hair from his face. "Hey there, handsome," She smiles even if he can't see. "I know you had to cancel dinner, but this is a little extreme, don't you think?"
"That's our boy, always one for the dramatics," Morgan jokes from Spencer's other side, a soft smile on his lips.
The others filter in carefully, wanting to see with their own eyes that their youngest team member is in fact okay. Devyn feels them moving around but she doesn't bother looking at them, she's too busy fixing Spencer's blanket, lifting it higher onto his chest. He always gets cold easily. She doesn't want him to be cold.
"There are those beautiful brown eyes," Devyn smiles tearfully when she sees Spencer's eyes slowly opening. She runs her hand through his hair, encouraging him to wake up.
"Hmm," Spencer hums sleepily in response to her voice. His mind is groggy, clouded with a drug-induced fog. But Devyn's angelic voice breaks through those walls. He can feel her next to him, see her blurry outline from where she stands next to his bed.
Reid doesn't bother trying to speak past the cotton in his mouth. Instead, he lifts his good arm as best he can and wraps it around Devyn's waist, pulling her towards him. "Oh, okay," She chuckles, going with his movement and lying on the bed next to him.
Careful not to hurt him, Devyn shifts slowly on the bed best she can with his arm around her. His grip is surprisingly strong for someone waking up from anesthesia. But she's not complaining. "Someone's being clingy," She whispers to him with a fond smile.
"Who?" Spencer mutters in questions, eyebrows furrowing over his closed eyes.
"You, silly," Devyn responds with a soft laugh, very lightly tapping the uninjured part of his chest.
"Oh," He mumbles, wrinkling his nose before relaxing.
"I think that's our cue," Rossi announcing to the others, fighting the smile pulling at his lips. "We'll check up on you kids later." He waves, patting Spencer's ankle before making his exit along with Hotch who nods his goodbye.
"I'll be back later," Penelope whispers to Devyn and she smiles, nodding her thanks best she can. "Keep an eye on our boy genius, yeah?"
"You know it," Devyn reaches her hand out, grabbing Garcia's and squeezing before letting the blonde head out. "You guys go to, get some sleep." She tells the three remaining people, her own eyes starting to slip closed.
"You trying to get rid of us?" Morgan questions and Devyn doesn't hesitate to answer with a quick 'yes' drawing laughs from them all. "Alright then, I know when I'm wanted and when I'm not." Derek holds his hands up in surrender before dropping them back to his sides. "See you two later."
"Bye," Devyn waves lazily, eyes fully closed now. She waits for the other two women to announce their exit but before she hears a voice, she feels something soft being places over her and cracks open her eyes.
"It's cold in here," JJ tells her while adjusting the new blanket over Devyn and Spencer both. "Take your own advice, get some rest." The blonde demands softly and places a kiss to Devyn's forehead before moving back.
"Mm-hmm," Devyn hums, fully intending to do just that. "Goodnight guys."
"That's precious," Emily whispers to JJ, halting the woman's motion to turn the lights off. She pulls out her phone and snaps a quick picture before allowing JJ to continue.
"Two matching puzzle pieces." JJ nods in agreement before grabbing her friend's hand and leading her quietly from the room.
1. These guys really can't catch a break, can they?
2. Someone actually said they wanted to see something like this, so here you go lol.
3. I love Derek and Devyn's sibling like relationship, I don't think we see enough of it.
4. Spencer was so adorable when he woke up then, I love that scene. He's okay now though! Just, you know, a hole in his chest and a shattered collar bone.
5...This story isn't over yet... (Yes, that was a warning. I was going for ominous, did it work)
Thanks for reading! I'd love to know what you guys thought!
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