A/N: Hello all! This is my first fanfiction within the Criminal Minds universe, an idea that popped into my head. This story begins around the time of Season 7 and will be completely AU. I hope you enjoy! x
I do NOT own Criminal Minds, only my OCs
Chapter 1
"Okay, put in two I/O lines and get more warm blankets!" one of the doctors called out as Derek watched on hopelessly.
"Sir, you cannot be in here." One of the nurses reasoned with him, trying to guide him out of the trauma room.
"What is going on?! I am not leaving him!" He replied, completely ignoring the nurses request. This was all his fault. He should have never let Reid out of his sight. Anger flared up inside the agent, thinking of the unsub locking Reid inside the walk-in freezer. That son of a bitch!
"Agent Morgan, please let the doctors do their job." The nurse reasoned with him again just as another doctor entered the room.
"Someone paged Cardio?" Olivia asked as she adjusted a glove on her right hand, heading straight towards the casualty. Morgan watched her as she walked towards Reid, the determination in her eyes somewhat comforting him. He exited the room, letting the nurse show him towards the waiting area.
"He is hypothermic, temperature is 66 degrees, we lost all vitals and pulse." Doctor Gonzales told Olivia as he continued CPR on their patient.
Olivia inspected the slender man laying in front her briefly, nodding her head as she took the information in.
"We need to get it to at least 86 degrees before we can try to revive his heart." She let everyone know. "We need dual chest tubes and a thoracic lavage, please. Also, Kemp, get in here. We need abdominal CPR for better circulation." She showed the intern where to place his hands. "Push, push, keep it steady. About 100 beats per minute."
"Boswell, where do you need me?" Doctor Schneider asked the redhead.
"We are doing everything we can at the moment. Could you perhaps update the family or friends, show them to the relatives room. It will be a while before we know any more." Olivia replied to her after sighing.
x-x
"It's bad." Derek said lowly as he approached his team, Penelope jumping out of her seat and rushing towards him, engulfing him in a hug.
"It should have been me." Derek almost whimpered, returning his 'baby girl's' hug.
"No, no, no. Do not blame yourself!" Penelope pulled back from the hug and gave him a stern but gentle look. He was close to tears as he looked back at her.
JJ rounded the corner, her face full of sadness and worry. "I brought his go-bag. Just in case."
Rossi placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder, his lips pressed together in a thin line.
"Excuse me, are you with Spencer Reid?" a short blonde woman asked the group.
"Yes! How is he?!" Penelope replied promptly before anyone else had a chance.
"Are you a family member?" the lady asked, her eyes looking over each person in the team.
"His mother resides in Bennington Sanitarium, a mental institution. She is currently not of sound mind, unfortunately." Hotch explained calmly.
"We are his family." Prentiss chimed in behind him.
"Unfortunately it is too early to tell. Currently he is in critical condition but some of our best doctors, Doctor Gonzales, Doctor Boswell and Doctor Hunter are warming him, trying to get a pulse." Doctor Schneider explained to the group after a moment. A patient's confidentiality was important to uphold, but these were federal agents. Penelope gasped in shock and a single tear ran down her cheek as she leant into Derek.
"Would you like to follow me into the relatives room? It is a bit more private."
"That would be perfect, thank you." Hotch replied politely.
x-x
An hour had passed and their patient's temperature still wasn't high enough to revive his heart so Olivia made the call to get him into an operation room to get him on bypass. Once she had successfully connected him to the machine she looked up at the other doctor's faces, seeing exhaustion within them.
"Stop compressions." Kemp and Hunter stepped back, each of them breathing heavily behind their masks as Gonzales eyed the monitor. "Temperature is up to 80 degrees now." He noted.
"What now?" Doctor Kemp, the intern asked.
"The blood is circulating and we are warming him. All we can do now is wait." Olivia explained to him. She then sat on a stool by the OR table, her eyes carefully scanning the monitor.
-x-
"Doctor Boswell, a word." Head of Cardio, Doctor Helm insisted in the doorway making her curse inwardly.
"I am busy, Doctor Helm. I will find you later." She replied, her eyes never leaving the monitor. Doctor Gonzales' eyes looked toward the ground, knowing a disagreement was about to unfold.
"Doctor Boswell, it has been three hours. I know it is difficult for you, but we have exhausted our resources. If you are not willing to call it, I will as I won't let you waste more resources." Helm warned her in a serious tone.
Olivia's eyes filled with anger at his words. "Wasting resources. Doctor Helm, that is what you call it. I call it saving a life and doing my job."
"Kemp step away from the table." Helm ordered the intern sternly. Kemp swallowed hard as he took a step back from the table with an apologetic look in his eyes.
"Doctor Helm, this is MY pati- that… that. Can you see that? Is that a rhythm?" Olivia's eyes widened as she paid even more attention to the monitor. She stood up and pointed, then looking back at Doctor Gonzales.
"I don't see one, Liv."
"You don't see that?" She responded, desperately trying to show her colleague. "Right there!"
"Charge to 120!" she instructed as she got ready to revive his heart.
"Clear!" A loud thump erupted as the machine tried to re-start Reid's heart.
"Liv, come on." Gonzales tried to reason with her.
"I got it, I can see it, it's right there! Charge to 150. Clear."
Another thump.
"Come on, I can see it! Charge to 200. Clear."
The monitor started to beep and Olivia's eyes lit up. "There. That is a rhythm!" A sigh of relief escaped her.
x-x
A knock on the door got the door got the team's attention as a handsome, young doctor entered the relatives room. "My name is Doctor Kemp and I have been seeing to your friend Spencer Reid."
"How is he now?" Emily asked quickly as everybody's eyes lit up. They were all full of hope but at the same time worry.
"Doctor Boswell put Doctor Reid on bypass, they have warmed him and they have been able to get a pulse back."
"Oh thank all the Gods and universes!" Garcia exclaimed, relief washing over them all!
"Can we see him?" JJ asked, a glimmer of hope in her big blue eyes.
"He is not awake yet but I am sure he would appreciate someone familiar being with him when he wakes up. " Kemp replied to the group before he led them to Reid's room.
"Our neurosurgeon has informed us that his brainwaves are slow, but seem relatively normal for what he has been through. More tests will be done when he wakes up." Doctor Kemp explained, referring to the machines Spencer was hooked up to.
"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you." Penelope exclaimed as she squeezed the intern, catching him off guard.
"It is not me you have to thank. Doctor Boswell did an amazing job and fought for him every second." He informed the group.
"And where is this Doctor Boswell?" Derek asked him, raising his eyebrows. He wanted to thank her personally.
"Um… I believe she is in a meeting currently." Kemp responded rather awkwardly. "I am sure you will see her around."
x-x
"Come in." Doctor Helm called from his office.
"I know what you're going to say. But listen, he is… he is a hero, he saves lives every day, from like the worst people possible and death and I only felt it was fair someone fought for him in the same–"
"Good work, Boswell." He looked up at her and forced a small smile.
"Wait… what?" Her green eyes widened in shock at what her superior said.
"Good work." He repeated, his eyes never breaking away from her. He was well into his 40s and his hair was beginning to become grey. "I hate to admit this of course." He added with a chuckle.
Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her. She simply gawked at Doctor Helm in confusion.
"I should trust you more, Olivia. It is just hard for me to accept that a 27 year old attending who graduated high school and medical school early is better at my job than I am. I suppose in a way, I am jealous of your success. Which makes me, an ass."
"We are all just human and have our moments." Olivia replied nonchalantly. It was true, everybody had their imperfections.
"I should thank you for being here, despite me having made it difficult for you lately. You are making my job as head of department easier by being so successful. Now go home and rest." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand and she left the room, still taken by surprise by the encounter that just transpired. Shaking her thoughts off she decided she did not want to leave the hospital until she knew her patient was awake and how he was.